Update..

I was up LATE last night working on my secret new project!! I am happy to say Phase 1 is 75% complete with the remainder projected to be finished by the end of the weekend. Then Phase 2 starts monday but I am having a rather big distraction from Scotland coming so who knows how long phase two will take? I may hang onto these till the new year, I am not sure. We will see where we are at.

I was woken up EARLY this morning by a delivery from China!! My 2009 Prototypes for the new figurines are here!!! YAY! They are SO awesome, I totally love them. Johnnie will be photographing them this weekend and we will be showing them to you soon. He put in a half a day at work today so he should be home at lunch time so I can put him to work!! He is going to photograph Enchanted moon too and format some things for products. Maybe do an Igoogle theme too. He rocks.

My best friend from High School, Kelly is headed over, I am SO glad she called! I was so engrossed in Project X I totally forgot she was coming today. My laser beam like focus at times can be a detriment to everyone who loves me...I forget things a lot. That is why I don't have plants..the pets at least say Hey..yeah feed and pet me.

Well I better get myself presentable for company and I will be updating you again soon :)

Painting

Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a magical Thanksgiving!! For my non US buddies I hope your Thursday was just as magical! We had a LOT of food yesterday! Having two families houses to go to means 2x the food. I didn't think I was going to make it! Oddly as full as I was, I was hungry again at like 8 pm being as all we ate the entire day was one meal and dessert. Everything was really good and it was great to spend some time with out families.

I did manage to work on my project a lot more this evening. I would say I am 50% done with phase one. I plan on having phase one completed by Sunday. That will still give me almost a full day to paint before I get Steven from the airport. Lets hope I stay this productive for a while! I hate not being able to create or in a rut it makes me feel so useless! I like my new project. I am wondering if I should release it right away or hold onto it for the new year...hmmm decisions decisions.

It is late and I find myself WIDE awake! I go through the oddest sleep phases I swear. I just can't shut my brain off. This would have come in handy if I wanted to brave the Black Friday crowds. That is SO not for me. Johnnie and I did that one year and that was plenty! 90% of my shopping is done already and I am going to fill out my cards this weekend. I like to take care of these things early so I can actually ENJOY the holidays. That and I will have Steven here and we have all sorts of fun things planned.

Well I hope everyone has a great day!! Johnnie is going to photograph Enchanted Moon this weekend so I will post her after that.

Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

The thing that irks me about this day is the presidential "pardon" of the one lucky turkey. My question is what crime did said turkey commit and why oh why is it punishable by cannibalism? What is THAT? Apparently it is a crime to be delicious. Believe me if pies had feelings I wouldn't be so indignant about their ritual slaughter.. Sigh. Next year we are skipping the family thing and having tofurky.

I am working late (or early depending on how you look at it) on my next art piece! It is all inked and sitting on the art desk now. I am pretty excited about it but I won't say more then that. I have plans for this one, grand plans. We will see if it all comes to fruition. Enchanted Moon is done and she is coming. This weekend I think.

Today and every day I am thankful I get to do a job that I love and for all my friends and fans. (among MANY other blessings)

Anyway have a rockin Thanksgiving!!

New artwork

I just finished putting the finishing touches on Enchanted Moon!! Yeah I know she was a long time coming. If I have time before T Day kickoff I will post her on here tomorrow.

I have an idea for a new watercolor piece. I haven't done a straight up watercolor in such a long time it should be interesting. I hate not having an undo button!!!

Steven comes on Monday!! I have so many things to do before he gets here (like finish my shopping and do my holiday cards) I want to be able to go places and show him around. I doubt he traveled 3000 miles to watch me work. I will be working in the evenings and everything still will ship on Fridays. All orders paid in full this week will be shipped on Friday.

Anyway I better get back to work.

New necklaces

I added the rest of my new necklaces on ETSY!! They are pretty cool!

http://ping.fm/dOmd1

I am working on some sketches for new paintings today! I am excited to get started on them soon but I want them to be PERFECT.

I am also getting some stuff ready for our holiday gift show vlog! I hope it will be a neat one.

A sample sale

Hi Everyone,

Mystic Memories (my perfume fairy) is changing all of its packaging for the better. The new bottles and everything are LOVELY but I have full sized samples of a lot of things I had for trade shows this year. They are less then a year old and in perfect condition. I would like to sell these. I have the following:

Chitters 4oz hand and body lotion: 12.00
Bitters 4oz massage oil: 12.00
Keepers 8oz bath and shower gel: 20.00
Flitters 4oz bath and shower gel: 12.00
Jitters 8oz conditioner: 12.00
Critters 8oz shampoo: 12.00
Jeepers 8 oz body lotion: 20.00

I have three 10 gm (5gm of minerals) mineral makeups in a gift tin that go for 35.00 a piece

I have one Critters, Chitters and Keepers
for 20.00

They aren't going to be in tins anymore so those are it.
These are WAY below retail price. Shipping is 5.00, I can combine shipping with any order or for several pieces.

message me if you are interested in any of these.

Thanks
Ash

Girlie head tilt weekend!!

Yay the weekend is there! The Twilight movie is out! Giovanna Adams and I are having a "Girlie head tilt weekend" with bad food, vampires and other dreamy boy movies. We are going to see Twilight tomorrow! I <3 Edward..yeah I know I am a DORK. Poor Johnnie I hope he doesn't choke to death on the estrogen. It will be nice to have estrogen in the house. I am GROSSLY outnumbered. The only other girls in the house is one rabbit and the chinchilla. Everything else ..BOYS!

I am straightening up a little before Giovanna gets here (we are clutter bugs) and deciding which shows to do next year. I can't believe juries and everything are taking apps now. I just finished last month! I want to do SO much more art before everything kicks off again in May (or sooner if we add some shows to the roster) There never seems to be enough time. There is even less time with a procrastinator like me.

I have finally finished with going through samples and prototyping of figurines, I have been doing it for AGES now but I want it all to be PERFECT so that is how it goes. Next week Johnnie and I are going through finances and seeing what we are going to be doing for 2009. Then it is Thanksgiving. Monday December 1st Steven is coming back to America for two weeks!! I am going to be busy busy busy.

Johnnie will be working on a special project this weekend too!

Also a reminder that my figurines and matted archival prints are buy two get one free until MONDAY the 24th of November. ALL of my original art is on sale right now too. I should be adding new necklaces to ETSY and maybe some other fun stuff. Maybe I will do a few little sculptures ..maybe not. We will see.

Have an awesome weekend everyone and stay tuned for a special video blog on sunday!!

Out with the old..

Hi Everyone,

I have come to realize that I have WAY too many original art pieces kicking about here and that is hindering any new art I may be creating. So EVERY original I have is on SALE. Some very drastically reduced. There are several pieces under 100.00. I really want to clear all of these out to make room for new art and merchandise.

Buy here : http://ping.fm/uPS9d

I have some painfully old pieces still around that I don't even have on the site. Several gryphon pieces and the like. I am willing to let them go for 50.00 plus shipping. email me for more info if you are interested ashevans@phoenixxfirestudios.com

I think with things more cleared out I will be free to create more original pieces.

Have a good day everyone.

What should I do?

Ok well I want to start a new piece but I don't know if I should do a traditional medium or another digital piece. I am torn my digital pieces are selling REALLY well, better then I expected actually.

It snowed here!! For about half a min! It was enough to distract me from what I was doing. Yeah I am like five, I know.

Seriously folks, digital or traditional???

Head desk..

What is it about Corel painter x which makes me try it for like 5 min and then run back screaming to Photoshop? Is it the choices? All the brushes? What is it??All I can manage to do in it is make a puddle of mud and I get all twitchy. Do I just paint wrong? It makes me wonder all the time. Seriously Painter X is my arch nemesis. EVIL EVIL EVIL. I am sure it doesn't help that I want to be able to paint like Nene Thomas like yesterday.... HAAHAHA a girl can dream can't she?

So today I am still feeling pretty uninspired so I am fiddling with a digital piece that has been kicking around forever. I want to do a traditional piece next, but I totally lack focus. I think I have AADD (art attention deficit disorder) I always seem to agree to too much, get overwhelmed and shut down. I never learn, I never change, I am guessing there is a sick little part of me that likes to suffer. Lots to do. Johnnie is overloaded at work so I lost him as a helper for the week. Things are about to get interesting I feel.

There are so many pieces I WANT to do and paint, I just can't seem to get them out so they sit there gnawing at the inside of my skull. Part of me doesn't want to paint because I have originals sitting around unloved. I really need to just auction them off. I will get around to it someday I am sure. My Mr Printy still isn't working. I think he may have died, which makes me sad because it is SO expensive to get another one. Who knew the move to glossy prints would be such a total pain in the butt!!!

I AM looking forward to this weekend!!! Yay for girlie head tilt weekend with booze and vampires and fun!! Is it Friday yet???

I hope everyone is having a great day and hopefully I will have a more fun post tomorrow.

not so seamless

OK I just realized that www.ashevans.com is down. It is OK http://ping.fm/VaPr8 is up and working. My new webhost is on it and we will fix it soon. Sorry everyone.

Candles are in stock now!!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you know all of my candles are back in stock but in limited quantities. These are the LAST ones I am able to get before the holidays and they will be sold on a first come first served basis. I have already sold some before I even posted so be well advised they are in demand.

Also today I will be adding some more necklaces to my ETSY shop.

http://ping.fm/dOmd1

Sad

I am sad to say that things did not work out with our adopted dog. We had to return him to the shelter yesterday evening. He had issues we where trying to work through (which is much expected with a pound puppy) but yesterday he attacked both myself and Loki my cat. Attacking me I could live with but I can't put any of my pets in harms way. It was a hard decision for me to make because I feel like I could have gotten through to him eventually but again not at the expense of someone else. Good old Cezar even put himself between Brutus and the cat. He is sad not to have a playmate but I think even he was uneasy with some things. The good news is a rescue was on its way to pick him up and with my notes they should be able to place him in a cat free home. I am still beating myself up about it and I am sure I will do for days to come. For Cezars sake we will be looking at other adoptables later on. He definitely needs another Chihuahua as he enjoys their company the most (I guess he is breedist)

Anyway I thought I would let you all know, off to the post office for me.

new necklaces available on ETSY http://ping.fm/dOmd1
and I am painting today :)

New mailing list and a little contest..

Hi Everyone,

As my web hosting has switched over I have a new mailing list. To everyone on my list already you should have gotten an email about a special sale yesterday. If you did NOT please check your spam folder. I am not sure what the deal with this is as a LOT of messages bounced back. If you are on my list and did not get a mail AND it isn't in your spam filter let me know. I am trying to fix everything ASAP. I guess nothing is ever really y seamless so sorry for that.

AND here is the important reason why you d on't want to be left out. On new years eve, December 31st I will be GIVING away one original painting FREE. All you have to do is be on my mailing list. So if you want a crack at it please sign up! You can do so at http://www.ashevans.com

Also starting December first I will resume the free print give away. So if you are on the mailing list you are already entered to win.

Lately I have been so easily tired. It is hard to get anything done but I am sure trying. I have lots to do today it is just a matter of staying energized and motivated. My new necklaces are FINISHED!! They are totally awesome AND I will be putting them on ETSY soon. They are beautiful glass lockets, I can even personalize the back for you. I have 6 blank lockets left and I think I am going to let these be CUSTOM necklaces. You get to pick the ribbon and accent color AND the art that goes inside. I will be posting details about that soon.

2009 figurines will be decided in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

Have a great day everyone.

New!!!

Hi Everyone,

I am HAPPY to say I have a new web host! THANK GOD because my last one was NOT good at all. So everything should be faster and better and sorry for the inconveniences it has caused many of you. We worked as quickly as possible to correct the problem.

I have some new cross stitch patterns with Heaven and Earth Designs!!

We now have 35 different patterns and our newest ones are:

Cocoa the candy corn
Fairy Floss the candy corn

http://ping.fm/CeD6m

More coming soon!

Everyone is adjusting the best they can with our new dog. He is a little on the aggressive side and he has separation anxiety issues but I think we can work through them and everyone will be happy in the end. Brutus and Cezar are sleeping comfortably in the studio as I type.

Today I intend on finishing my special new necklaces that I have been working on. They are really great and with any luck they will be on sale this week. I only have a few because I wanted to try them out and see if they where successful. So when they DO come out please know the quantities are limited.

My candles are shipping tomorrow! I should have more in stock by the weekend but be aware these are the LAST ones until the new year. My candle fairy is moving and we won't be able to place any more orders until after the holiday.

Speaking of holiday as a reminder get your orders in EARLY! We have limited stock of some items and we are simply not reordering until after the new year. The last day to place a holiday order is Friday December 19th. I can in no way promise that it will arrive at its destination before the holiday but we decided to stay open later this year as we got a few emails last year saying please please please. I caved but I will say this year is going to be different. No exceptions it was just way too stressful last year!

Well I better get some laundry in and get back to work. I hope everyone is having a great day!!

Life with a second dog..

Life with a second dog is pretty interesting. The whole pack mentality kicks in and it is interesting for me to watch things. I also realize how SPOILED Cezar had me. He IS so good I take for granted all dogs aren't like him. We got this dog so Cezie wouldn't be such a couch potato. He didn't like going on walks. We have found a match with Brutus. He LOVES to walk. I have been woken up at 5:30 this morning ( dreadfully early for me) and we have already been out in the cold for a walk. MAN I need to buy warmer clothes or it is going to be a LONG winter.Brutus is adjusting OK. He has some behavioral issues but I think a lot of that will be worked out when he is neutered. Hopefully things will work out. I am just thankful I have had training with animals before. For those of you who don't know I was a Vet Tech for 2 years and was studying to go to vet school. Unfortunately I got exposed to too much radiation at the place where I worked and was unable to keep working there or continue my studies due to the over exposure. I simply can't take more Xrays on a day to day basis. Its sad but I am a firm believer of things happening for a reason. I also worked a bit with horses and used to ride a lot. I would like to get back into riding but lessons are pricey and horse ownership is even more so. I am hoping as my business progresses I find myself able to continue with that. I love horses and riding so much! I guess you can tell that from some of my work huh?

Well after I can feel my hands again I guess I will get to work for the day. I am debating at the moment over starting something new or finishing up an older piece that has been waiting for me to get around to it.

I also wanted to announce that I am having a figurine sale! Buy two get one FREE. It is a great time to stock up for holiday gifts. This sale will run TODAY until November 24th so that gives you plenty of time. All you have to do is buy any two figurines and in the notes section of the check out note which one you want free. No extra shipping or anything. Or you can buy two and email me your third one. Up to you. Anyway take advantage of this offer!

Have a great day everyone!!

Painting live now!!

http://ping.fm/hY1j8

hmmm...

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone had a delightfully spooky Halloween! We had lots of ghosts and goblins coming to our door this year. We did manage to have a little leftover candy which is always nice. I made some Chile pepper pumpkin seeds as well as a batch of Old Bay seeds too. They are yummy! We took very few photos, I will have to post them tomorrow in my Vlog. I am feeling a little bit better though I am not 100% yet which is driving me NUTS.

Also I am having an issue with my EPSON printer. I have a really nice printer which does photos, the problem is I never had used it for glossy photos before. It prints like a dream on matte paper but I wanted to upgrade all my prints now to the glossy. The problem is I have LINES through every glossy print I make. I tried the nozzle check (several tries and lots of wasted ink later no change) Print head alignment, changing the print speed. Nothing! The Matte paper ones are PERFECT, I just don't get it. I bought the paper the recommended and everything. Has anyone had this problem? Any advice? It is an EPSON R1800 printer. Sigh I really really hope this doesn't mean another printer for me just for glossy. If anyone out there prints on glossy what do you use? I spent SO much on paper it isn't even funny, I never dreamed there would be an issue since I never had problems before and EPSON recommended this paper FOR my printer! Customer service swears it is broken but if it was why only on the glossy paper?

Oh well.

Today I am trying to take it easy as much as possible, I am itching to get back to work but I am just not feeling well enough yet.

Have a great Saturday everyone