This morning I listed my cute little VW Beetle for sale on craigslist.com. I sold it later that afternoon to a Volkswagen mechanic who has the knowledge to fix it and keep it running. I had many happy times in that little Bug! And boy did it have the miles to show for it! I loved that little car and I'm glad it has found a happy home!

I just re-designed my business card to get the word out about my new online Etsy shop. I figure that I can use it at future art shows I might participate in as well. Can't wait to get them back from the printer and start giving them out!

Just found this cute business card idea for artists. It folds up into an artist's easel! What a creative idea!

This Valentine's Day card project was so cute that I just had to share it with everyone. You can find it at http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/post.cfm/valentine-popcorn-invitation.

I'm so happy to be included in this treasury on Etsy. It includes one of my Valentine's Day art prints on canvas. I hope you'll take a look!

Just wanted to share that I now have a dedicated Facebook page for Toni Wall Art & Design - my home art studio. I'm just getting started so I would really love it if you would "Like" my page and follow my updates! I hope to share some interesting tidbits of information about what's happening in the studio and in the field of art and design in general. Here's the link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toni-Wall-Art-Design/149119985128329

Thanks so much!!

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Tomorrow I will add two more pieces of art to my Etsy shop. They were inspired by Valentine's Day but they also have another meaning. Today, all across America, women were asked to wear "Red For Women's Heart Disease". Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. I myself have begun to watch my high blood pressure and high cholesterol and have begun to take measures to lose weight and eat healthy.

By watching Dr. Oz on television every day, I have picked up some great tips. Here are a few of the doctor's tips; 1) decrease salt - no more than 1500 mg of sodium per day, 2) drink eight glasses of water a day, 3) eat a high fiber diet like oatmeal for breakfast and add 1 tablespoon of flax seed to increase the fiber, 4) take a brisk walk that gets your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes three times per week, and 5) take two baby aspirin before bedtime with a full glass of water. He said that if you have hypertension (blood pressure that is 140 over 80 and above) it can take 10 years off of your life if you don't get it under control. It also leads to enlargement of the heart, hardening of the arteries, and damage to your liver. That show was a wake-up call for me! Also, being overweight places more stress on your heart so I am really motivated to take off the extra 25 pounds I have gradually put on over the past few years!

I hope this information was helpful to you as well! Have a heart-healthy day!

My Blooming Angel was just included in a new Etsy treasury called Folk Art. You can see the collection here - http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d49d6dac9868eefc414e2c0/folk-art?ref=pr_treasury. Thank you Oenopia for sharing the love! Visit Oenopia's Etsy shop filled with pretty things at http://www.etsy.com/shop/oenopia# and my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/toniwall?ref=pr_shop_more. Thanks for your support!

Here are a few things that I am working on at the moment. I don't necessarily plan some of my paintings. The African-American lady reminds me of Michelle Obama with her strong arms, sixties flip hairstyle, and her Jackie-O dress. I think I'll call the painting "Michelle".

The dancer is still not finished. I'm trying a new technique that I read about in Somerset magazine - not sure if I'm going to like it when I'm through but I'll keep working on it to see what I end up with. I put a lot of hours into my paintings because I ruminate on the subject matter so much!

The house painting was inspired by the neighborhood I'm staying in. It's very humble to say the least. The subject of the painting is - as humble as it is, there's no place like home. I'm learning to love my neighborhood with God's help. There's a move to revitalize the area by bringing in the arts and encouraging artists to purchase homes here. I used to think years ago that it would be great for the city to turn East Lake into an arts district by giving artists affordable housing and bringing a new dimension of culture to the area. When I was younger, I used to go to East Lake Park to walk and feeds the ducks. When I was a child there was a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and train rides through the park. I vaguely remember it though. There's also the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center that is located at the foothills of the Appalachians that is just five minutes away. Amazingly, I have never actually visited the nature center! (I need to get out more!) Yes, it would be great to see this area revitalized again!

Thank you so much to Sarah at Harmless Color for including one of my paintings, Be Free As A Bird, in her Etsy treasury - http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d464a1aa6228eefc18dd1f7/lets-paint-the-forest-red. She also has a wonderful blog at http://harmlesscolor.blogspot.com/ where she showcases some of her handmade gift items and delicious recipes that make me want to get in the kitchen and bake! What a wonderful way to begin the day!

I was playing around today with Adobe Photoshop and created a new collage to post online. It was made using a digital scrapbook collection I designed a few years ago called Springtime Poppies. I was in the bookstore the other day (my favorite place in the world!) and noticed that poppies were featured on the cover of the January issue of Somerset Magazine. There was also a wonderful inside article on designing mixed-media artwork featuring this beautiful springtime flower. I couldn't resist the urge to explore and create!

I just listed a new painting on Etsy called "True Love". The painting celebrates the true love of a young mother for her child as they enjoy nature among budding dogwoods and sweet robins. I thought I would share the progressive development of this mixed media collage painting from sketch to the finished painting. As you can see, I changed things along the way, but painting is a journey and you just go where it takes you. I just realized that I started my sketch off with the baby holding a stuffed animal - a rabbit. I didn't even think about 2011 being the Year of the Rabbit! Maybe I should have left the painting the way that it was. Oh well, I'll just have to paint another one. Anyway, I hope you like this version! The painting is listed in my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/listing/66923562/true-love-original-mixed-media-painting?ref=pr_shop if you'd like to take a peek:)

These photo collages were a Christmas surprise for some of the kids in my family. They had asked me if I would do a collage for each of them when they saw the fairy photo collages I had done earlier in the year. The boys are avid sports enthusiasts and are very involved in team sports at their school, so I pictured them as bobbleheads for their school football team. And of course a little girl is always happy to be turned into a princess!

I created some new collage paintings over the holidays as Christmas gifts for my family. I thought I would post them here since I have been so bad about keeping up with this blog. My New Year's resolution is to start blogging and work on being a full-time artist. Thank you to my two followers:) and also thank you to the people who posted nice comments from several months ago that I just noticed today! I hope you all have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year:)