Merry Christmas!

Hope your Christmas is full of bright and beautiful things! God bless us, everyone!


My son's 1st homemade Christmas ornament.

Clean, not wet.

A cup Dom wanted to use requires the use of a straw if you want to use the lid.  As I got rid of the straw awhile back, this voids usage of the lid.  After him begging to use the cup anyway, I told him he could have water if he sat on the floor, and the cup got less than an inch of H2O in the bottom.

He got mostly through his first serving before I heard him say "Uh-oh."

Then he attempted to show off his Spanish...
"Water on pantaronis."

Me: "Dom, you made a mess."
Dom "See, clean!"


Well, I have succeeded at teaching him that water doesn't hurt anything...  though I don't think Mama is ready for open-topped cups anytime soon.

In other news, Baby OII checks in at a cauliflower this week, weighing in around 2 lbs!

Autumn colors.

Etsy's front page just screams fall beauty at the moment... here's the Treasury it's based off of.

Love, love, love this beautiful combo of handmade items!

Autumn Love

Two season inspired Treasuries I was recently featured in!  Love the autumn/fall colors going on.  This is my oh so favourite time of year.  

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Fall by UnklesAMarcotte

Autumn in Rochester by SoftShellCrafts

An Update

So, as you can probably guess blogging is NOT my strong point.  I am great at following others,' just terrible at writing my own.  I haven't been devoting as much time to Ji Babu and Etsy because at the moment I am working through the editing process for this wedding that I shot.  I am nearing the end of that though, and then will be able to go full force towards prepping for the holidays! It'll be my first Christmas with my Etsy shops open, and I'm excited to see how that all goes.

For now, look for me in person at Artist Row at the Rochester Public Market this coming Sunday, September 18th.  The show goes from 10 until 4pm, and I will be in the A shed, spot #39.  Come stop by and say Hi!

I also just got my acceptance for the MayDay Underground show in November, so mark your calendars for  the 5th and plan to come out to the Armory for an awesome show featuring Art of all kinds!

Show Announcements

Just found out that ReHatched, a creation of Local Visionaries, is cancelled this coming Saturday, meaning you won't get to see me there.

However, I recently received my acceptance to Artist Row at the Rochester Public Market on Sunday, September 18th, so I will be showing and selling work there.  I have some things I might try to have made and in the inventory by then.  If you're in the area, I hope you can make it out sometime between 10 and 4 to enjoy the creativity of local artists.

earthy.

Check out my Chicken image printed on muslin and framed in an embroidery hoop, featured in this Earthy treasury, curated by FleaMarketGal:

Vote for me!

I have two pieces in this month's team challenge for the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team.  You can easily vote for either of them (the 1st and 2nd options are mine!) Here on the RNEST blog.  It should only take you a minute or two, and I'd really appreciate all the votes I can get.  Thanks guys!

Christmas in July

Christmas in July sales (not officially a part of Etsy, but unofficially, definitely a big deal), are starting up all over.  Check out Etsy.com, and search 'Christmas in July' or 'CIJ' to find many deals from all types of shops!
I will have one in both my shops, Ji Babu and Sarah G. Ortiz Photography, featuring free shipping, lower prices, and free goodies!  Promos in my shop go from tomorrow, Thursday, July 14th through the 25th.  Keep a lookout for coupon codes by checking up here, and pass the word along to your friends.

Featured today on the Etsy Moms blog is a preview of what's on sale, including a piece from my Photo shop (bottom line, 1st on left).  Check out this fun Treasury, put together by LAccentNou

A Flowery RNEST Treasury!

Wow - it's been awhile.  Sorry guys!  I was on a ridiculous trip that included 4 weddings, a ballet recital, and my 8 year old brother's birthday, all in one week, mind you.  And then this past week has been mostly recovering and prepping for Corn Hill.

I will try to be a bit more faithful in updating even amongst summer busy-ness, vacations, and shows!

For now, enjoy this Treasury, RNEST in Bloom, featuring my Tulip Print.

Exciting News!

I just got word yesterday that I was chosen to be part of a special group of young Emerging Artists in a Showcase at the Annual Corn Hill Arts Fest!  This showcase will be open the whole Fest during the daytime on Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th!  If you are local and plan on coming to Corn Hill this summer, please come see me.  We, as of now, should be in the Nathaniel Rochester Community School parking lot at 85 Adams Street.  I am definitely looking forward to this festival and am already making new prints and getting to do lots of matting, framing, and mounting.  More to come...

Colorful Treasury to Brighten a Gray Day

My photo is featured... (3rd row, 2nd column)

Crafty in Color

Blog Discovery.

I am still working out how I want to pace differently themed posts...  I definitely want to share other artists and crafters' blogs, so today that is what's happening.

I found this Etsian (Julie Ann Art) last week with her fun robot art... she also has cupcakes, elephants, and all sorts of other lovely designs.

Check out her shop, and also her blog- it's pretty fabulous, and I just entered to win the most awesome set of mustache mugs... if you hurry, you might make it in time to enter as well!

Etsy Shop Grand Opening Coupon Code.

Wow - how's that for a post title!?!  Anyhoo, the shop officially has more than ten items, with more on their way, SO through the month of May, enjoy 20% OFF your entire order!

Use coupon code: GrandOpening when checking out at www.jibabu.etsy.com

Giveaway!!!

Enter to win this print over at:

http://rochesternystreetteam.blogspot.com/2011/05/wednesday-wellspring-sarah-g-ortiz.html

A day off.

Yesterday, I took the WHOLE Saturday off.  I am pretty sure this has not happened since maybe early January.  Off of housework.  Off of Etsy business stuff.  Off of pretty much everything.  It was marvelous.

The day began early as my small person (now aged 17 months!) has decided he does in fact, want to take after his father and get up at the butt crack of dawn.  Pretty much every day this week has begun by 6:30 at the latest - thankfully my lovely husband knows how much of a morning person I am not and has been non-grudgingly taking the first shift.

With the early start in the day, we were packed up and ready to go by 9ish.  The plan was the head to Buffalo, NY to check out the Museum of Science as I'd scored 4 free tickets in a giveaway.  The museum lacked the draw to hold us there much more than 2 hours though it might have been the loud grumblings in our stomachs that made us decide it was foodtime.  I don't know Buffalo all that well, so I'd done a quick Google search early in the morning to check out restaurant reviews and come up with a list of at least a dozen that looked promising.

We ended up at a tiny little place on Elmwood Ave that was more than promising.  It was devine.  So, if you are ever in Buffalo. and you're hungry, I highly recommend Europa Bistro.  We tried all kinds of stuff, and between the 4 of us (my brother had come along, and yes, we ordered Dom his own stuff, mostly so we could try it...), managed to try several amazing dishes.  I'm not a restaurant reviewer writer by any means, but it was so good, I might travel to Buffalo just to eat there again.

The day was not yet over.  No more plans had really been made, but we had a map, and we knew Buffalo had a zoo, and we also knew we got a discount.  All those reasons made for a pretty compelling urge to go search out the Buffalo Zoo.  Also, very worth it.  We all had a blast - I almost wanted to sneak a spider monkey out.  Man, they were cute.  Dom was thrilled with finally seeing a gorilla in person - although one of his first words, his experience to gorillas had been limited to the book "Goodnight Gorilla."

I decided to count yesterday as my real Mother's Day - today was fantastic as well, but I did clean the toilet, so I'll go with the adventures of Buffalo with the win for the weekend.  For now, it's off to bed.

New Listings!

Four new items up in the Ji Babu shop!  As soon as I get ten up on there, I will officially start the Grand Opening sale, and I promise, faithful blog followers, you shall get the coupon code offer!  I might even do a giveaway!

For now, check out what I put up today:

Ji Babu on Etsy

I'd love some feedback as well, so leave me a note on here!

MayDay Update + Photos

So, MayDay Underground was this past Saturday.  It went fantastically!  The Main St. Armory, where they held this one, was a fantastic location, and I lucked out being the 4th table in smack in the middle.  Sadly, since I was stuck behind my table much of the day, I didn't really get to wander and see the other awesome vendors, but from my perch, the variety and skill was great.  I also got to sit next to some very fun watermelon pillows from ArtSnack.

All in all, the day proved to be worth it, if not only for the many fun connections I made.  I look forward to applying (and hopefully getting into) the November show.

Here's the table as a whole...

A closer view...

Framed dictionary prints, and a corner of the magnet tray.

The photo prints side along with the card sets displayed in the red wire basket.

And here is me.  A little blurry, but oh well.

First Listing in the Etsy shop!

Go check it out: http://www.etsy.com/listing/73377787/upcycled-decopauged-jewelry-box-575-x-55

Two new Treasuries

I'm featured in both.  Check them out!


Come as you are

and Playtime all the time!

New Art!

Here's a peek at some new stuff I've been working on the past few weeks.  The show debut for all of it shall be tomorrow at MayDay Underground.  I'm super excited for the show and am planning to have a blast.  =)

Shown below are prints of my photographs on a natural muslin fabric.  I then framed them in embroidery hoops that I painted.  I think they turned out pretty fun!

Hopefully, within the next week or so these will be up for sale on my Etsy site :  www.jibabu.etsy.com  Nothing is on there right now, so be on the lookout for a blog update next week promoting the "Grand Opening."

Giveaway: $50 Target Giftcard over at Everything Etsy

Win a $50 gift card to Target.  All you have to do is check out this post:
Groopdealz Check it out!
over at Everything Etsy, and follow the instructions from there.  Good luck!

Featured...

over at The Misplaced Midwesterner on their Money Mondays weekly post:

http://themisplacedmidwesterner.blogspot.com/2011/04/money-mondays-week-17-in-2011.html

Alice in Wonderland Treasury

A friend of mine made this Treasury inspired by Alice in Wonderland...

Rainy Days.

April Showers Treasury

MayDay Underground!

Art Garage Sale

Rochester Local art group, Local Visionaries, held an Art Garage sale this past Sunday over at Lovin Cup. I was able to participate, which was great.  The weather was horrible, and I lucked out with an indoor table (the perks to arriving early!).  The above picture shows what my set-up was like.  My set up for shows changes with each one.  I find new display "racks" and try new things each time.  One can only hope that eventually I'll find the perfect flow.

 In September I'll be doing another show with Local Visionaries... ReHatched, a showcase of Woman artists, musicians, and poets.  If you're in the area & want to come, contact me - I have tickets for $10, which includes 2 ReHatched events + a complimentary glass of wine.

Bienvenue.

So, first post... finally!

Yeepers, it's taken me forever.  I keep getting behind with work due to at home illnesses and what not.  Spring is supposed to be here, yet yesterday Rochester had snow.  Oh well, eventually it shall arrive.

Ji Babu officially debuted its wares at the Hodge Podge Arts + Crafts Show at Roberts Wesleyan College a couple of days ago.  Although I also was showing work from Sarah G. Ortiz Photography, I only sold Ji Babu merchandise, which was neat.

The Etsy shop remains empty at present since I am building inventory for MayDay Underground, a huge Indie Market here in Rochester that's happening in less than 2 weeks.  Once that's over, I can concentrate on listing some items online.  For now, keep in touch here, and check out the Facebook page - link to the right!

As an intro to what's been happening behind the scenes, check out the photos below.

I discovered I had kept many, many bottlecaps over the year.

Solution: Paint them for magnets!

Some random old children's books and paper from my saved supply added some funk.

Found the perfect storage and display at a garage sale.

And ta-da!  Several of these sold the other night, so now onto making more!