Let's E'lope

With the UPS man's visit this afternoon, I am officially the "Envelope Queen" and I've finally unearthed the scanner from beneath a mound of linen and silk, salvaged electronics, artwork, knitting, and other things not properly put away.

Over 2000 of the little buggers in an assortment of these lovely colors. The dark ones look particularly cool if you write the address in silver or white gel pen. If you ever want a specific color other than what is shown, just mention it and I'm happy to sub it out.

Because I want to be able to make stuff like this for my Etsy shop. Mandala cards.

and these...

As you can guess by my envelope investment, I'm hoping to do a bit more in the Etsy shop. Wish me luck, or tell me what you'd like to see there.

Beetle Tracks

Near our house on the dog walking route, we have a wide patch of incredibly fine dust. It's so soft and light your tennis shoes sink in a few inches every step, and if you don't walk slowly and ducklike, your shoes fill with dirt immediately. We also have a healthy population of various beetly bugs. Here is a survey of some of their different tracks left during the night. These range from half an inch wide to about two inches wide. They are really quite fascinating in their diversity, density, and busyness.

State of mind

Some small ink and watercolor paintings I've done recently:

My intent was to get this pair onto notecards on Etsy, but the image is more a testament to how I feel getting ready for the trade show in St. Charles in a few days.  So, perhaps when I get back.  So many ways you could caption this.

• Ever have one of those days?
• Ouch, that had to hurt.
• Give me a call when you get free.
• Hope you're back on your feet again soon.
• The Twister Champion reigns!
• Relax!

Ditto.

Don't forget to relax. Drawing mandalas is a great tool for me to unwind a bit. So, if the first picture is the "before" this is the "after."