Darling Maltese Shih Tzu Puppy Dog Lulu Painted Pet Portrait Acrylic on Canvas Board

From photography pet portrait session to painted pet portrait project. This darling little Lulu girl was shy and timid and a challenge to photograph. A long lens was needed for this precious girl. The best picture of her was transformed into a painted portrait. I love the symmetry and colors of the photo. The innocence and quite possibly a 'piss off and keep away' in her look is priceless. She is shy, but curious and kept her distance from me. The love and joy she brought to my dear friend Evelyn will be treasured forever.

Vintage Brown Leather Shoulder Bag Harold's Made in Italy Fully Restored

Most things on my to do list I do myself such as install light fixtures and mowing my own grass. No probs. On one occasion I pulled a wee bit too hard on my beautiful vintage handbag and tore the square sides that secure the straps. Oops. So I thought that maybe with a little super glue, I could repair this guy. Not so fast. Requires commercial machines and SUPER thread from the talented people at Caniglia's shoe Repair. The close up shot of the leather 'square' on both sides of the strap has been repaired. I'm very happy that I'm able to use my handsome bag once again. A thrift store find for $14.99 plus $25 for the repair is a small price to pay for a gorgeous everyday bag I'm in love with. I'm not interested in designer bags. I love charm and character that comes from a vintage bag that has been used and abused from another time and place. Harold's in Italy does a fine job in my book. Vintage love.

Modern Blonde Pom Dog in a Wheelbarrow Portrait Throwback Thursday

Showing off my handsome blonde Pom. Photographed with my Olympus and a long lens. 40-150mm. I've always shot with Olympus and Canon and found both to be useful for different reasons. I love them both. The Oly is way more user friendly. Super easy to shoot on the fly. But not as many lenses available. Not good. And not as fast as the Canon. Canon is fast and I have way more lenses to work with. My fave is the 50mm 1.4. Dream lens is 85mm portrait lens. It'll be a loaner one day for play. But, why dream when I can just do it? Hmmm. Portraits of a Pomeranian. Love.

National Wildlife Federation Retro Vintage Fox Poster Mark Trail Comic Graphic Ebay Auction for Earth Day

Selling this fine piece of paper from 1980. It's beautifully laminated. Bright and clean. And oh so retro! I can see this poster pinned up on the wall of my grade school from 1980 and thinking about how cute and adorable it would look in my 1980's bedroom. Cute animal posters were part of my retro decor back then. This guy was found at a garage sale with other laminated school displays in a box a few years back for about a buck. Teacher storage stuff. I'm all about recycling, re purposing, restoring and of course, reselling all my collectables on eBay. It's earth day and this handsome piece of paper is for sale for $24.99 with all of the profits going to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. I searched for NWF but they are not listed on eBay so, I chose the next best organization that is local to me. Win a super cool vintage poster and your donation goes to help wildlife in Nebraska! Earth Day is April 22. But I celebrate it every day. Nature. Animals. Love.

Darling Lil Bub the Cat Painted Pet Portrait 11X17" Acrylic

Lil Bub has been one of my favorite cat animals to follow on  instagram. Her precious purrsonality has captured all of our hearts. She's Royal (still working on the crown part) and deserves to be treated as such. Of course she's got loads of precious purrrsonality. The fantastic photos of her prove that. And cat whimsy. I don't know her purrsonaly (haha) but I'm willing to bet she's a whimsical cat. Which I tried to capture with the fun 'spatter dash' elements (fave word to describe some of my paintings) and lost and found pops of color. This is my version of her. Lil Bub Love.

19 Easy Steps for Selling Items on Ebay

This is from a post I discovered back in 2011 written by some guy who nailed it totally. I fully agree with this entire list and what you read about today on how 'easy' it is, you may think twice. I've been selling part time on eBay for 10 years now and love the lengthy process! It's a delight to sell something to a collector and package it really well. Simply satisfying! Yes, eBay has simplified the process and the technology has sped up of course with smart phones. That has saved a bunch of time. So when your buddies and pals ask you to do a favor for them, inform them please. BTW, don't forget to check out my auctions!!! Always unique collectibles for sale all the time!!


Whenever someone asks me to sell something for them, I tell them my cut/fee, and some will say, "Wow, that much for just posting an auction?"...so in case some novices are unaware of what it takes to sell something, here's the (approx.) 19 steps involved:

PULLING (the items)
GRADING (the items)
APPRAISING (the items)
TESTING (the items)
SHOOTING (the items)
TRANSFERRING (the photos)
EDITING (the photos)
SAVING (the photos)
UPLOADING (the photos)
DESCRIBING (the items)
LISTING (the items)
ANSWERING (the questions)
REVISING (the listings)
INVOICING (the buyers)
RELISTING (the items)
WAITING (for payment)
PACKING (the items)
MAILING (the items)
POSTING FEEDBACK (for the sale) and then start over again....

So there's a few steps involved, as you can see. Tell that to any interested parties whom want you to "sell something for them on eBay."..perhaps they will understand.

Happy Easter Morning Portrait of a Handsome Blonde Pom Sitting in a pile of Daffodils and Tulips

Taken literally this Easter Sunday morning. Sun was just rising up and it captured a sparkle of light into his little brown puppy dog eyes. The smells were driving him crazy and he was all over the place. Hard of hearing and seeing it took a moment for him to turn and look at the sunrise. He didn't need to look at me. The feeling was serene and he posed just perfectly for me in this big spring pile of daffodils and tulips. As always. My little man Furby. Dog Love.

Gorgeous Royal Haeger Vintage MCM Green Drip Glaze Square Bowl

There are certain pottery pieces that I am beyond in love with that are made in the Mid Century Era. This particular piece made by Royal Haeger pottery is one of them. Discovered in a Goodwill store once again and paid either 5.99 or 7.99. I know it wasn't a dollar. Nearly mint condition. With a tiny pinhole chip on top and no crazing. Absolutely magnificent! Those rich blue and green tones just ooze with beauty. This is my 3rd piece in my tiny collection of Royal Haeger Pottery. I'm always on the hunt for another extraordinary piece made by them. The ones I have collected were found a few years back and nowadays it's tricky to find the unique pieces for nothing anymore. MCM has infected a new generation. I'm still infected with this love. 

Designing some more popular cat products such as pillows, mugs and a cute nightlight for sale on Zazzle

 

                                                                  wake up with a cat

New Fiddle Leaf Fig Ficus Tropical Plant who lives in Lovely Vintage MCM Planter

This handsome guy was propagated from a leaf cutting about 4 years ago. The first year he looked like he wasn't going to survive in a cup of water. The second year, still struggling to grow, I stuck him in a pile of soil in this lovely vintage MCM planter that was found at another garage sale for a dollar. The crack on the side doesn't bother me at all. It's a perfect size pot for this little guy. Then on the third year FINALLY some new growth was emerging and boy was it thrilling! Slow but thrilling. Seriously. He has this internal clock I believe that tells him every year in the month of March only, I shall grow big and strong. Two weeks ago 3 new leaves popped. And I see another one happening now. He is now about 30" tall. Each leaf grouping is about 8-10". I get the obsession people have with this plant. It's sculptural and architectural. It transforms a blah home into a beyond amazing green home. Interior designers are nuts about this tropical plant in every pinterest pic. I learned that it takes years to get him to grow unless you own a greenhouse. Which most people don't. Bright indirect sunlight with a bit of that SUPERTHRIVE every spring season is the trick. I waited patiently for him to grow into the handsome plant that he is becoming. Fiddle leaf. Love.

Happy National Pet day! Black Labrador and Blonde Pomeranian with Mom Fall Portrait in the Park

Sadly, my black lab Kenobi is no longer with me and I miss him SOOOO much! But my blonde pom Furbz is still kickin at 14! He still does jumping jacks for me every day I come home from work! A favorite pet portrait of me and the pets that I will treasure forever! Pet love.

Kodak Brownie Starmite MIDGET Camera Throwback Thursday 1980's South Dakota Road Trip

As you can clearly see I can take along this KODAK 'midget' camera ANYWHERE and can take pictures ANYTIME I please. I think I took a lot of pictures of myself and chipmunks. When I discover the pictures from my sweet KODAK Brownie Starmite I took on this fun1980's road trip with the family from Norway, I will most definitely post them later. I loved road trips as a kid. Mom always said my sis and I should just grab our sleeping bags and stuffed animals and pile up in the back of the fake wood paneling station wagon. South Dakota was a yearly tradition. Extended family lived on the way. Scenery was pretty tolerable for a kid. Wall Drug was the bomb. And it wasn't too far from home. Photography was in this Scandinavian blood all along. Road trips. Wanna go back. Love.

National Deep Dish Pizza Day Chicago's Lou Malnati's The Best Deep Dish on the PLANET

I wish I lived next door to a Lou Malnati's Pizzaria in Chicago. It's heavenly. I will only order the cheese. Don't need any sort of toppings. Nope. Cheese pizza is ALL you will ever need. I always attempt to create my own deep dish at home about once a year. Ingredients are expensive! I do own a large deep dish pan. So I got that going for me. And it turns out OKAY. Never quite like Lou's though... But seriously, take a 8 hour road trip to Chicago to experience the awesomeness of Lou's deep dish. You will NEVER regret it. Pizza Love.

Lovely Mid Century Vintage Chalkware Plaque Plate Black and Gold German Hansel and Gretel Home

Another marvelous thrift store find for about a buck. My lovely vintage chalkware Hansel and Gretel home painted black with metallic tones. Great condition and a good 12" round size. No visible markings that I can find. This guy is truly unique as I can find no other quite like it on ETSY or Ebay. You may find plates and plaques similar, but not in this condition or with this shiny metallic paint style. He may land on eBay in a auction very soon. Thrifting. Inspiring. Love.

So Long Snow Days Charming Blonde Pomeranian Furby Spends Less Time in the Great Outdoors

My guy Furby used to run and romp in the snow back in the glory days of a young energetic Pomeranian Pup. Watching his little paws tear through the snow was quite amusing. Keeping up with this little guy was tough sometimes on our fun runs! Pomeranian's were bred down from working dogs back in Pomerania. Imagine being a toy size pup that is disguised like he's a hard worker. Privileged and owned by royalty. He is the little dog that thinks he can. Dog life. Love.