Got time for a quick survey?

Okay, on occasion curiosity get the better of me and I put a poll or survey out to get answers to whatever questions may be floating around inside my brain. So today's questions have to do with greeting cards & all 3 are pretty simple and straightforward questions-
1-In the last few years, what are some of the occasions you can remember buying greeting cards for.
2-Whom did you purchase the cards for- friends or family?
3-What id the most important element in a greeting card that you look for(i.e. art on the card, inside verse, humor, etc)?

Owls and Ice Cream and Mother's Love

Hey Everyone and Happy Thursday!! It's so close to the weekend, I can almost taste it!!

Until then, here's a little owl love from my etsy shop called "The Owl Barn" :

That little painting is an ACEO in watercolors and acrylics. The title is "Sprinkles". :)

Here's another for you and although the original painting of this one sold, you can snag the print on a card for Mother's Day:

Happy upcoming weekend to you all!!

Rhonda

Shop Tam Moody Greeting Cards Today!

Lots of new designs available!

Mother's Day Cards, Graduation Cards, Red Hat Ladies Birthday,

Thank You, Invitations, etc., Teacher Appreciation,

Cancer Patient Cards, Get Well, Thinking of You,

& thousands more to choose from!

Stop by today & check it out!

Dawg Art on Etsy

Check out all the great art we have on Etsy! So much to look at and to purchase and such great deals too!
Dawg Team Art

Also Check out my blog www.creationsbylisak.blogspot for all kinds updates on everything, plus I am giving away a set of 4 photo aceo cards for signing up for my blog this month!

Grandma

MARLENE'S ART AND MORE BLOG
For: April 17, 2009

When I was trying to come up with a great subject for my log I noticed there was a lot of talk about our Grandmother’s in the groups I belong to. That decided my subject. Most of us have memories of our grandmother’s I know I do. She lived in a different town so I didn’t see her often but we would travel to see her, what I thought was a long ride, which was only about 1 to 2 hours. Sometimes her and my grandfather would come to visit us, my grandpa always had candy in his pocket for us, but this is about grandma. Grandma lived on a farm and me being a city girl always loved the adventure of the farm. There was so many fun things to see and do that I could not experience at my own home.


One of the things I would do with my grandmother was to visit her garden with her. We would sit on the bench next to the house (yes, her house was painted her favorite color, pink) and with a big silver bowl in between us we would snap beans, or shell peas, sometimes we would shuck corn in preparation for the feast of a dinner she would prepare for us. All the while we would visit about important things like how I was enjoying summer vacation, or how I did in school. She could look very stern, but had a heart of gold and a very dry sense of humor.

Once during the Summer we were allowed to spend a whole week at Grandma’s just playing and enjoying life on the farm. These were special days and my favorite Summer memories are there. There was a big old hollow tree with great climbing branches that became our “Tarzan Tree” and an irrigation ditch we had to jump over to get to it. Sometimes we’d make it and sometimes not. She had a huge rug loom we could work on and a piano that I could play.

For breakfast on at least one morning she would make us Abelskivers. My Grandma was Danish and these were a favorite Danish breakfast. They were an apple filled, round, pancake. They were made in a special pan, cast iron with 7 round indents. She would tell us they were time consuming to make so if she made them we had to eat a whole pan. I laugh now because when I was little they seemed so big and it was hard to eat them all, but yummy. Grandma cooked on a wood stove and I swear her pan was bigger than mine. Abelskivers have become an Easter tradition at our house and I would like to share the recipe with you all. If you do not have or cannot find an abelskiver pan (at most kitchen stores) you can just cook like pancakes and serve
the apple on the side.

ABELSKIVERS

1) I make my own chunky applesauce to use for the filling, any applesauce will work. You can also use finely chopped apple, or jam of your choice.

2) 3 eggs sparated
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Shortning or oil

Have filling ready. Preheat pan to medium.Separate eggs into two large bowls.
Beat the egg yolks and add the buttermilk. combine the dry ingredients and add gradually to the yolk mixture, beating well after each addition.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, fold them into the other mixture.
Melt 1/4 teaspoon shortning or oil in each cup of an abelskiver pan. fill each cup to just below the top with batter, place a small dab of filling in center of each abelskiver and cover with batter. When ebelskiver is brown and loosens from the pan turn over by rotating pancake and cook the other side. I use a small metal skewer to rotate mine, you can use a wooden skewer also. To use skewer just put point into the edge of the pancake and rotate it up and over. Keep rotating until pancake is brown all the way around.
Serve with butter, maple syrup, jam, or sprinkle with lemon juice and dust with powdered sugar. Makes 2 dozen Abelskivers

The 'what if' question

Inspiration to get your creativity rolling is all around you. All you need to do is cultivate the 'What if' question.

Maybe you're reading a short story about a history professor and an actress on the topic of kick-boxing or orchid growing. You might think to yourself - what if that's not a history professor but a salesman, not an actress but a young girl and instead of kick-boxing or orchids the subject is homelessness*. What might your creativity come up with given these different characters and different situation?

Or you might be studying a picture, photo or painting of a summer's day landscape of a lake surrounded by trees with mountains in the background, all in shades of green with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds floating around. What if it were autumn? How would the colors change on the trees (which would also change their reflections in the lake); what color would the sky be; what color the far hills? Think of these things and another great painting will be eager to leap from your brush.

One of my favorite materials is polymer clay. It's so versatile and there are so many different techniques you can try out with it, all leading to differing results. But, what if that were marzipan or sugar paste and you had a birthday cake to decorate?

For example, the decoration for this cake was created from hours of practice using polymer clay - it's not a professional finish, but the birthday girl was pleased with it... (she's a keen gardener and flower lover)



Ideas in one area of creativity lead to ideas in others and as the ideas lead, the confidence follows. Once the confidence in your creativity grows there'll be no stopping you!

Creatively yours,

Susan

*You can read the story mentioned above about the salesman, the young girl and homelessness here. It was one of my first short stories to be published and I'm still fond of it.

Blue Hyacinth Macaw oil painting

This lovely bird gave my husband, grandsons and me a show. We saw him at Moody Gardens in Galveston a couple of years ago. I painted him just recently and he measures 12"x12". He is also done in oils. He would certainly grace your home.
Click to bid

thanks
Barbara

Advertisting On Our Dawg Website

Designing Artists On Ning

Hello Did you know you can post an ad on our Website for as little as $5.00 per month~!

I will make your ad up and post for $5.00 per month we want to keep our Dawg Group free of other ads be Self Supported We are getting 1000's of clicks per month so you will get a HUGE coverage with just $5.00. So Come on anyone with any type of art can advertise with us, just email me at lparker1116@yahoo.com we need your advertise to keep us self supported.

Contact us today and come and check out the great ads we have now on our group!

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Artbylisak

Lazyhawk

Annamarie

Barbara Haviland

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Spring is Here!

Extra, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

My name is Myrna Migala aka as "Thanks4lookin" on ETSY

Our Monthly Quest sponsored by the famous DAWG Artist group has taken a new twist, we are taking our talent to ETSY, and you can read all about it here http://tinyurl.com/dewbha

Since this is our first month the turn out might not meet our expectations, but why not go to the above link and HELP US! See if this is something that might interest you.

Everyone can nominate 1 entry posted on ETSY. Nominations must be in by the 10th of the month. The listings must be $4.99, and have 'DAWG Quest Spring' in the title. That is how we will search for them. Send nominations to artistsuetaylorperez@yahoo.com

Today is my turn to blog here, therefore I will give you a sneak peek at my entry. However this contest is not limited to only my art. Anyone even YOU can join in by creating your own ACEO, or start your collection today. Purchase your first collectible at this low price of $4.99. ACEO's make perfect gifts, and they come in every subject under the sun.

Remember you can either enter your own art or nominate any ACEO you see priced at $4.99 and tagged 'DAWG QUEST SPRING', so go to ETSY by clicking the tiny url above, once there feel free to comment, and/or search 'Dawg Quest Spring' and nominate someone.

Spring Sale on Bonanzle - No April Fool's!

Twenty percent off anything in my Bonanzle shop....just use the coupon code: spring

For painted porcelain, glass, decorative painting, miniature art (ACEO's) and jewelry drop by my shop. Here's some of the things available.

Http://thebonz.com/eclecticspirit