AFC-Daily Hats

where has the time gone...

thanksgiving day has come and gone and the weekend is now almost over.

it's been 2 months and a few days since my last post. i can't say anything extraordinary has happen to keep me from blogging, but i will say my time has been extremely busy.

my department puts up all of the christmas decorations for the retail stores in our division. that's 14 stores to be exact. not that they are huge stores- but i'm here to tell you that's a lot of christmas trees, garland and gift boxes.

three quarters of the trees have lights on them and from year to year 80% of the the lights need to be replaced because they burn out. it's a huge job to get everything prepped and ready for installation. we started right about the time of my last post and finished wednesday before thanksgiving. whew, i'm glad that's done.

i also designed a new package for one of our gift stores. i will be showing and telling about that in the next few weeks.

we also lost a position in our department this year with all of the budget cuts. we could have used those extra hands for installing. and to top it off my hours were cut. nothing like getting the job done with 1 hand tied behind your back, or feeling like it anyway.

i also took a photoshop class this semester. it was fun and very cool. i learned some great tricks from an excellent teacher. i love when that happens.

the piece that you see above is a piece i completed for A Fashionable Challenge. Daily Hats was the prompt. since we are entering our coldest months of the year here in NO. CA i choose something to keep my head warm on those blustery days.

after all that, i guess i better start thinking about my own christmas. not sure there will be any decorations up in my house. we'll see...

Dawning of the Age of Aquarius

the bulk of this design was an old cosmopolitan magazine cover.

it spoke to me as an archetype for a series of astrology art i am working on.

i added a few photoshop touches to give her that aquarius flair.

If anyone knows the name of the illustrator please drop me a note. he/she deserves all the credit.

INT-Open Theme

i can't believe this is the last weekend in september. fall is here and winter is coming.

i was lost in the chilly coastal fog most of yesterday. i came home cold and tired from a weary week of work.

the end of this month brings a round of changes in our division at work.

nancy's last day was yesterday, joceylyn and michele will leave next wednesday. i wish them all the very best. although change is hard, looking back usually tells us it was the next true step on our paths.

some of these changes were products of the economy and some were self made choices of starting new lives with new and old partners.

september is usually a difficult month for me. the summer is over and the leaves fall. i usually feel melancholy about what i set out to achieve back in january. it usually has been abandoned because of lack of time or energy. and now, september is over and i hardly had time for my usual self pity. i guess that's a very good thing.

one of the reasons the month has passed me by so quickly is that i enrolled in a Photoshop course at our local community collage. i love it! the above image is one of my first completed projects. i wish my mind could keep up with my hands, or vice versa, but it is very cool. another tool for my artist tool bag. i am sure that you will see more of my self proclaimed masterpieces during the weeks ahead.

so on to october, and in the words of one of my favorite southern girls, scarlet o'hara, "tomorrow is another day" have a great journey, where ever it leads you!

IMT-chair

i have posted this image before for IF,

but it is one of my favorite paintings.

i did a male version of this chair using darker wood tones in the background and a stack of books rather than the wine and slippers seen here.

my boyfriend loved the His and i am living with the Her's. i will admit this is not my color story but there is something VERY warm and inviting about this painting when i come home from a more and more prevalent- crappy day at work.

IMT-Pears

i didn't have time to research who lizzie a. borden was. i can't help but wonder if she was the original axe murder...

it was one of the few short pear quotes i could find for my digital painting.

have a great last week of summer!

On Guard or kicking a good man when he's down

yet another week from hell at work.

and my question is, who's on first?

now that hours have been cut, and my coworkers and myself

are forced to take vacations days, communication has gone by the wayside.

so, i'm out of the office for 2 days and all hell breaks lose with deliveries that i am expected to make look beautiful in the stores. HELLO ? i've been forced to not work those days, that you, management decided on, to save thousand for the company. and it was also decided by the next tier down in management to send HUGE shipments to the stores. what did they think, that the staff would just let it sit in boxes? they are low on stock, of course they are going to it out. they think it looks beautiful, because my job can be done by any monkey. though the reality is that they have done a crap job(that i will have to clean up) and the client is totally confused by the mess that sits before them.

i get back to the office after forced vacation and i am expected to be in 3 places at once.

i am a now here to tell you that it really was no vacation

that took me away from a job i needed to be there for. the frustration level mounts.

and to top if off i got a- please be a little kinder to your co worker- speech because one of the managers was offended by the way i spoke to him in front of one of his sales people. SORRY, it wouldn't have happened had he been managing his staff.

well this is me just blowing more steam, again. i am pretty sure that there will be another session listed here on steam blowing in the very near future.

this story is getting more boring by the day.

this digital photo says it all.

TOUCHE

IMT-Cupcake(s)

no truer words have ever been said.

even if you are not a cake fan, the sight of these little creatures make you wonder what they are all about.

there is a woman who sells home made cupcakes at our farmers market on monday evenings. they are soooo goood! i have to close my eyes and walk by quickly. otherwise i spend a fortune on all of the different flavor combinations.

so here's to you mrs. delish, your cupcakes make me and my taste buds smile.