Happy Valentines Day!

The day for lovers. As for us, we stuffed our faces! The family went to a nearby Chinese joint and ate pot stickers and dim sum. I have been busy getting things ready to apply for shows for spirng and summer. The show pieces I have been working on are very nice and hope they will get me into a few of the high brow shows. So keep your fingers crossed! For this months give away I would like for you to go to my Art Fire shop and find your favorite green pice I have in my studio. While doing some work there I noticed hmmm... I have so much green. But I've come to the concusion that it is a great accent color! In return the randomly chosen winner will receive a green piece I love. Win/Win!

This is one of my favorite greens at the moment.

Happy February

Here is what our yeard and the original homestead looked like this week. We have just gone through a hellish winter. We have had ice and snow on top of that. Last week my daughter went to school only twice. So....

I never mind February too much. It means spring is just that much closer. Plus living south of Nebraska (where I grew up) means there is even less chance of getting too much more snow. Seeing the sun more has made me in the mood to clean. I cleaned my side of the bedroom yesterday. Living in a small farm house is quaint, but they has so much less stuff then and so had no need for storage space. Not that we have tons of stuff, but what we do have is hard to find a home for.

I am again planning on having a give away for the month of February. So stay tuned for details.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chinese New Year that is. I hope the year of the ox will find everyone well and having a prosperous year! As for me I am looking forward to show season starting. I have been applying for several and am currently at work on some new show pieces. People who have done art shows know how important good show slides are. I hope that my improved picture taking skills will help in this area as well. Jewelry is a tough category for anyone and every little edge helps. Please continue to stay tuned for next month's give away. I hope to be able to do one each month.

Give Away Winner

Congratulations to Itsy Bitsy Bracelets! She is the winner of my blog give away. She will soon be getting Cobalt Blue Dot Earrings.

Stay tuned for my next blog give away. I am going to do one a month while I can.

First Sale at Art Fire

Yea! I have finally had that first sale. There is nothing like hanging in flux and then getting that first sale. Whether it is at a web site or a show, I am always filled with angst until I get that first one. So, Now that I have had the first, today was the second. Art Fire is such an impressive site. Although they are still in beta, they are quickly moving to make sute it is a site filled with all the tools and resources a seller needs. What is so very impressive though is their cutomer service. You see members of staff and even the president in the Chatterbox (forums) everyday answering questions and giving encouragement to all. If you are an artist, check it out. And tell them I marciamenendez sent ya. ;)

Now for the promotion just a few things I am loving at the moment.

Remember to visit my Art Fire shop come back here and tell me what you like for a chance to win a pair of earrings!

Life at Art Fire

I am still really liking Art Fire. The people there are so nice and helpful. I would like to encourage people to look at this wonderful blog as well. It is run by the wonderful artist moostone. She features hand picked items from Art Fire artisans.

http://moonstone.tumblr.com/

Also I would like to take a moment to remind people of the January earring sale I am having. In conjunction with that sign up to win a pair of free earrings from A & M Accessories.

http://www.marciamenendez.artfire.com/

Pick out the item you like best in my shop and post it here. "A" will draw a winner on the 25th.

It's a win/win deal!

With Valentine's Dat fast upon us take a look at the goodies I have waiting for you. For those sure of themselves, why not get the Love is a Battlefield purse. It's a nice sick twist on this holiday.

Give Aways?

I know these are popular to do to get people to visit your blog more often. I am thinking this may be in order. This is all about self promotion people. Soooo.... Since January is the month I am having my earring special, I will be giving away a pair of fused glass earrings. My fused glass dots are very popular and comfortable. Almost like you have nothing in at all!

Now we get to the nitty gritty.

The Rules.

You have to visit my Art Fire studio and look at the items I have listed in there.

Come back and tell me which item you liked best. I will put all names in a hat and have the A of A & M Accessories (who just happens to be my kid) draw a winner on January 25th. You may comment as many times as you like, but please only one comment per day. Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you! If you don't want to leave your contact info here youcan contact me through Art Fire.

I know you are all chomping at the bit to get to my studio. So off ya go now!

www.marciamenendez.artfire.com

Plans for the Coming Year

Some of the things I would like to do with this blogbesides increase trafic in my shops, are to interview other artists, do product givaways, and feature some of my personal work.

Today I did get down to the studio since it was 60* outside. You see, I have no heat in my studio, which make fine motor skills very difficult. But I did get there today and I got a load in my kiln. It is finishing annealing as I type.

I also managed to list quite a few things in my Art Fire studio. Let me tell you about the exciting sale A & M Accessories is having on Art Fire. Right now when you buy earrings the more you buy the more you save! It goes like this

1st pair $10

2nd pair $8

3rd pair $7

That is three pair of art fused glass earrings for $25

Stop by my studio and see what is warm from my kiln!

http://marciamenendez.artfire.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to take this opportunity to outline some of my hopes for 2009. Especially with this blog. I hope to draw business to my shops, as well as feature artists in the communities where I sell. The shows that we will be doing will also be posted here.

For now I would like to wish all of you a healthy and happy new year.