Mother Nature's Monthly Gift

I had to photograph this because I thought it was about the most incredibly stupid marketing campaign I have ever seen. I generally try to fill out to get free samples when I can. You can get them on Wal-Mart.com or other freebie sites. This one was from Wal-Mart.com. It says Mother Nature's Monthly Gift. Now, is it me or do you believe a woman made this campaign or a man? So you open this box and there are tampons! Yep...Here is a gift for your gift! WHAT???? What bothered me about this is that the packaging they used was quite a quality box worthy of chocolates or something. I look at things like this as such a waste because inside it was another box that held the tampons. Perhaps the money spent on the catchy little saying box could have supplied another free tampon or the cash could have been used to donate to charity or something better than the stupid box but it was funny and stupid to open yet another shipping box and see this! Wow! What a gift!

This was in Statesville, NC on one of the buildings. I thought it was fitting for me to see on the day I saw it because I was walking around looking for beautiful things to take photographs of, essentially looking for art & I found it, literally! I liked the shadow on it because it has the same slant as the lettering. I also liked it because of the color combo. Very nice!

Garbage Lasagna.... YUM!

I love lasagna! I love most Italian food. My second favorite type of food. My Mom made lasagna for us when we were kids. I can remember helping her. We'd boil the noodles that had that sort of lace edge. They would always stick together and it was kind of a big deal to hold the hot noodles while assembling the lasagna. I use the noodles that you don't cook first by Barilla and I think it is just as good. I did like eating the scraps that we didn't use though. My lasagna is a little more in depth than what my Mom made. Probably because she had two picky kids to try and please. So for the recipe of Garbage Lasagna read below...

1 Box of Lasagna Noodles (The uncook kind)

1/2 an onion (Carmelize)

1/2 a green pepper (Cooked)

1 Package of Ground Chicken (Brown it and season to taste~ then add in the onions and peppers)

1 Jar of Pasta Sauce

1 Bag of Uncooked Spinach (Triple washed)

1 Sm. Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

1 Pk. Mushrooms

1 bag of Mozarella Cheese

Parm. Cheese (Sprinkle in the layers for flavor)

Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning (Oregano)

ADD anything that you like to it...Whatever is left over in the fridge and pantry...I always make it a little differeent with the same concept in mind. It is just as delicious with no meat in it. I have had vegitarians over to eat and they have been just as happy with it as when I make it with meat in it. People that come over have actually requested it. It is delicious! Make your own Garbage Lasagna!!!

Idea for the Class of 87' mugs

Patrick Mc. wants to have mugs made for his class and he wants the school but the company he wants to use doesn't do photos, I guess, so I told him I could do a drawing for him and this is it after the pen drawing and computer enhancement. I thought it looked pretty much like a tattoo. Bulldogs are always so tough looking anyway so the addition of the tribal looking parts made sense to me. Can you see how his bottom teeth are the old school? I considered having the dog pushing the school and having the school leaning but thought that was a bad vibe since no one is happy that the school is gone & that is what it would have looked like it was representing, ya know? So, what do you think? Does it look good enough for the mugs? I want one!

PumpkinDoodle.Etsy.com

This is my Etsy store. Etsy is a web site devoted to artists that create art or sell supplies & vintage items. Go check out my store. I modified this banner to not have the name just the picture before posting it on my Etsy store. I have had the store for a while now but I haven't actually sold anything on there but I have not promoted my store the way I should. I should do that but I am the worst about promoting myself. Since I am here I should say...Go check it out. It isn't very full right now but I plan to add more soon. If you have not been on Etsy check out the other artists too. It is one cool place with so many talented artists.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6209204

Art-O-Mat

I had actually been out and about to several different little stores and saw these intriguing little cigarette machines that had art in them. I had to find out more. I went to Canvas Monkey in NoDa to find out what it was called and then came home to find out just how you can put your own art in one. I had to make a prototype and send it in, get it judged by the folks there and I was chosen. I love to dabble in photography so it was the natural choice of things to place in the Art-O-Mat for me. I have actually sold a few pieces prior to putting them in Art-O-Mat so that makes me a semi-pro. ;) So, I digress to deciding on my idea. I figured why just place my photo in a box and have it vended. I decided that because they are cigarette machines I would place the photos in 'match books' to have a clever play on the original intent. Aren't they cute? Each package has two photos inside the matchbook and a story about me, my e-mail address and other information. I have sold quite a bit so far and anticipate having to start getting my second order ready soon. My pieces have been split between two machines. One in Tampa, Florida and another in The Kentucky Center. It was pretty exciting to get that first check in the mail. Knowing that I sold so many pieces was the coolest thing. I don't know what I will place in the Art-O-Mat next order. I need to start to think about it. Anyone else have their art in the Art-O-Mat Galleries/Machines? Show me your art. Does anyone want to join Art-O-Mat? It is easy. Here is the link...http://www.artomat.org/home.html