Reindeer - Open Media ATC swap

These were hand drawn and then watercolored for the Reindeer - Open Media ATC swap over at AFA.  I then used gel pens and 3D Glaze pens for the black outlines and details.  My scanner was set at 200 dpi, so the colors didn't come through like I wanted, but they turned out super cool.

I love these reindeer and am sad to depart with them.  I hope I get some fun ones in return.  The one with the lights turned out to be my second favorite and the candy cane reindeer is my first favorite.

"Design-a-Dog Bone" Open Media Swap

So, this was an interesting swap.  This was a open media swap with the end result being a 6" or 8" dog bone.  I haven't had a dog of my own since I was a teenager and someone stole that one.  We did own a dog in Colorado, but it ended up being "psycho" and we had to give it back to the original owner.

These were fun to make and I broke out my Gloss Mod Podge to create the background out of some random paper I had lying around.  Then I cut each dog bone out and added doggie stickers.  I outlined each item and added swirls and dots with my white gel pen and metallic gel pens.

I took my awl and punched holes around each dog bone after I glued another piece of cardstock to the back of each bone.  Once all the bones had holes I took embroidery floss and "stitched" around each bone.  They might look simple, but in reality it took me like two days to make these.  I'm happy with how they turned out and am possibly going to make some for myself.

I'm also thinking about hosting a swap for Cat Paws!

Shrunken Head Wind Chime

Politics! Everyone's Got An Opinion!

Peas in a Pod...

 Typically, I stay out of political and religious discussions.  It never bodes well for anyone that is, I guess, liberal.  However, I would like to point out that everyone has an opinion and everyone is entitled to said opinion.  My Alumni, Colorado Technical University, recently posted on FaceBook a link to an article that displayed 22 Executives and what the best advice was that they had ever received.

Having been a business owner myself, I wondered what it was that set those familiar and successful people aside from people like, who only wished we could be like them.  So, I proceeded to read each and everyone of the 22 executive advicements and the one that stood out for the most was the one by Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer, PIMCO.

He said "I remember asking my father, 'Why do we need four newspapers?' He said to me, 'Unless you read different points of view, your mind will eventually close, and you'll become a prisoner to a certain point of view that you'll never question.'"  From a 2009 interview with CNN Money

Wow, that was so profound for me.  Know why?  Because lately everyone is so fixated on their opinions about the war, Israel, the United States deficit, etc. and it seems like it is only on the negative.  It also seems that as humans, by nature, we look to blame those that are in charge because we don't like how something has turned out or where it is going.

So, before you consider someone's elses opinion or assume that something someone says is GOLD, remember there are different points of view and you don't want to become imprisoned by only that point of view.  Research and talk to others so that you can form an educated opinion of your own.