Christmas in August

Back Upon Request 

I have added the miniature Christmas ornaments back in to my Squier Etsy Shop.

Perfect for a mini Christmas tree or even a full size tree!

At Christmas time I add quite a few to my own large real tree.  It adds an elegant little touch.

New Design Project

Rubber Stamps! 

Heart Shaped Recycle Symbol
and the symbol with text
I heart RECYCLED PACKAGING

Both are available as self-inking rubber stamps with red ink.  Custom colors can be special ordered.

Perfect for stamping your packaging or anything else to let everyone know you love to recycle and use recycled packaging.  Plus it would be great if they would recycle it as well.

I have decided to add this new product to my Squier Etsy shop.  Take a peak!


And yes!  I have been creating new watercolor paintings and will do my best to show them off here on my blog.  Must try harder to keep those brushes wet!

Palindrome

Rhodalite Forest 
by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 3 x 4 inches

Are you enjoying Palindrome Week?

4-17-14

The date written out in numbers is the same forward and backwards.

41714

Good Morning Snow?

January Frost
by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches


It is April not January, however, we awoke to snow this chilly morning.  The temperature was in the low 20s.  It was mid 60s yesterday afternoon and it was over 70 the day before.  Such is the temperature of Spring up and down with Winter trying to hold on tight.  But I have flowers blooming in my gardens, crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils, siberian irises and more.

I have been working on the redesign of my RASquier.com website.  This January Frost painting and more 5x7 watercolors are on display and up for sale.  My goal is to continue to add more of my art to the website.  The six new pieces added yesterday were all painted this year.  A few have been displayed here on my blog and now they are listed for sale.

http://rasquier.com/watercolor5x7.html

Featuring Country Road Spring

Country Road - Spring 
is one in the set of 4 note cards created from my latest watercolor painting series.

http://rasquier.com/cards.html

Sneak Peek: Country Road Series

My newest series of 4 paintings are now available as note cards!

It was so much fun planning and painting a country road in the four seasons.  Then photographing the paintings.  Creating the layouts for the note cards.  Sending it all off to the printers.  Days later two boxes arrived on my doorstep!

Oh so exciting!!

I can't wait to spread the word.

They are 4.25 x 6 inches, blank inside and come with white envelopes.  Perfect for handwriting a lovely little note to a friend.


Country Road Series of 4 Seasons Note Cards
http://rasquier.com/cards.html

Reintroducing My Dew Drop Series

Iolite Dew Drop
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
ACEO Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

I have decided to reintroduce my Dew Drop Series back into my Etsy shop.  I have quite a few that have not be put up for sale before.  Plus a bunch of favorites that I believe deserve to have a wonderful new home somewhere around the world.

You can find some of these mini works of art in my Squier Etsy Shop.  http://squier.etsy.com

Return to Dew Drops

Dew Drops in Violet Blue
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches

It has been a while since I painted dew drops.  I decided I would try my hand and see what happens.

I love it!

This lovely small watercolor paintings and the other winter landscapes you see here on my blog are for sale.  Soon I will be adding them to my website complete with PayPal buttons, but in the meantime if you desire to purchase one, contact me!

http://rasquier.com

Winter Watercolor

The Old Tree 
by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 4x5 inches

A lovely small watercolor painting.  A winter scene with a burst of setting sunshine behind the big old tree on a chilly winter day.

Stay warm!

Monday Morning Lamby

One should not leave their newly needle felted project on the living room coffee table if you have a playful cat.

Scooter kitty decided Lamby was a fun new friend for him to play with.  Poor Lamby.  He even ended up with a tuft of red wool from our living room carpet on the top of his head from his adventures with Scooter.

I placed Lamby back on the foam needle felting cushion and kept him on the corner of my desk.  In between emails, bookkeeping, design work and waiting for customers to get back to me, I was able to needle felt Lamby back to beautiful cuteness.

For now ... Lamby lives on my desk ...

Little Lamby

The second DIY kit I purchased was a needle felting kit to create a sheep from BearCreekDesigns on Etsy.

I decided I wanted to give needle felting a try.  This DIY Kit was perfect for a beginner like me.  I began creating the body and the head while watching a movie on DVD on Saturday night.

By Sunday afternoon, I had this adorable little Lamby!  He's so cute.  Needle felting was not as difficult as I thought it would be and I really enjoyed creating this little fellow.

Homemade Cheese

Yes, Fresh Homemade Mozzarella!

I splurged on two DIY Kits I found on Etsy.  Kind of as little birthday presents for me from my darling little furry friends.  I ordered them earlier in the week and both arrived by the end of the week.

I found a DIY Mozzarella Kit from UrbanCheesecraft on Etsy.

This afternoon Michael and I made our first batch of homemade mozzarella cheese.  It was so much fun and very easy to do too!  Cheese in an hour.

We made two blobs of cheese, I made mine plain and Michael added dried oregano to his.  They both turned out great.  We ate some as hors d'oeuvres and shredded some on top of homemade pizzas.   The kit comes with enough stuff to make 10 batches.  Just add your own milk.

On a Landscape Roll

Winter Bliss
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches

Three days in a row, three snowy landscape watercolor paintings.  This is definitely a favorite!

Another Winter Landscape

Winter Blues
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches

Looks like another snow storm is approaching.

Chilly Day Painting

Winter Chill 
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches

Saunders Waterford 140 lb. Cold Pressed Paper
Maimeri Blu Watercolor Paint

A lovely peaceful winter landscape.

It's My Birthday!

January 4th - It's my birthday!

Gorgeous yellow roses, what a lovely surprise.

New Year 2014

Happy New Year! 

Let's hope 2014 is a fun, prosperous and filled with lots of creativity!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas! 

Hope Santa is very good to you this  year!

(And me too)

Studio Cleaning

Cerulean Snow 
by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 5x7 inches

140 lb. Watercolor Paper

I have been working on reorganizing and cleaning my office and my studio.  Here is a little painting I painted back in 2008.  I love it!  I will be adding it to my website for sale.  I love painting landscapes.

http://rasquier.com

December is Here Already

Peaceful Snow
by Artist Rita A. Squier

Original Watercolor Painting
Size: 4x6 inches

140 lb. Saunders Waterford Cold Pressed Paper
Maimeri Blu Watercolor Paint
Winsor & Newton Brushes

I cannot believe December is here already!  Where did the year go?  Where did my November blog posts go?  I thought I blogged at least twice?  I plan on painting everyday this month.  This little painting I painted yesterday, December 2nd.  As soon as I completed it, I signed it.  Then I remembered the charity I was going to donate it to wants the paintings signed only on the back.  So, I painted three more 4x6 watercolor paintings today.  Which I have photographed, but I haven't decided which one to donate yet.

ACEO versus ATC

What do those letters stand for?

ACEO = Art Cards, Editions & Originals  - Sold to artists and collectors.

ATC = Artist Trading Cards  - Traded amongst artists.

Artist Trading Cards and Art Cards are one in the same.

They are referred to as Artist Trading Cards when traded and Art Cards when sold.

The major requirement is the size, which is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The same size as other themed trading cards, like baseball cards. 

Artists from all over the world create these little works of art in a variety of mediums and subject matter. Artists will trade them with other artists.

Artists sell them to those who love small art and to those who would love to collect art but cannot really afford to buy the larger pieces the artist is selling. This also allows people to collect a larger variety of art since they are only buying little pieces. The art cards are meant to be sold at lower prices and to reach a wider audience.

They can be framed in little frames. They can be matted and framed singly in an 8x10 inch frame for a very contemporary look. Mat them in groups in a single mat to fill a larger or longer frame.

Collecting Art Cards or Artist Trading Cards is a wonderful way to start or add to your own art collection.

I now sell my original watercolor Art Cards through my own website: 

http://rasquier.com/aceo.html

Start your art collection today if you haven't already!