I am lying in bed at night with ideas bouncing around. I need to get up and write them down before I can go to sleep. They are ideas for posing. Ideas for locations. Ideas for props. Then it starts to feed into my craft life. I have ideas for new projects. Techniques I would like to try. Gift ideas.

I feel refreshed in my creative life. I am being inspired. I am excited. I could do this for a living. Not sure why I had put photography back on the shelf for so long but it’s come out now and, with some dusting off,  I am determined to make it work.

In the meantime I hope you will enjoy my Wordless Wednesday post.

Fidgety

Please stop by the Wordless Wednesday site and check out some more offerings for this week. Just click <HERE>

Reunited

For More Wordless Wednesday shots click HERE.

I know that it is supposed to be very helpful in promoting your business. Currently I have two things that I am trying to promote; My craft business- Funky & Feisty Home Decor and More as well as my new Photography Business- Cheryl Navalinsky Photography.

This blog is one way I use social media to try to get my self out there. I do get some traffic and my Site Stats page shows me that you do click on my links occasionally.

I also use Facebook for both businesses. If you are interested you can find my Facebook Page for Funky & Feisty home Decor and More by clicking on my business name. Or for Cheryl Navalinsky Photography by doing the same. When you like people’s businesses on Facebook you get updates and info about them and their products.

Then there is etsy. I LOVE etsy but, truth be told, I don’t sell much on there. I’ve used it more as a networking tool. I have met some amazing artists on etsy. I also belong to a few etsy groups. This helps me to get the word out there through other artists. It has also opened up the door for me to do some craft shows. My etsy page is here >Click<. etsy817  is here >Click<.  NC Triangle Street Team on etsy is here >Click<.  And Acorn to Oak handmade is here >Click<

My newest journey is into PINTEREST. Using Pinterest you can ‘PIN‘ things to ‘Boards’ and share them with others. It’s like your own on-line bulletin board. You can check it out by clicking right HERE. It’s pretty neat.

I have NOT ventured into Twitter yet but I’ve heard how much others have liked it. What about you? Do you Tweet? Is it effective?

The beauty with all of this things is that ANYONE can use them. They are fun and interactive. Of course they are more fun when others interact WITH you. Was that a subtle enough hint?

How have you yourself used social media and has it worked for you?

You can find it by clicking here —> Cheryl Navalinsky Photography

Hope you like it.

Girl on the go

Happy Wordless Wednesday everyone! Click HERE for more WW posts.

I’ve recently decided that, along with my artsy craftsy stuff, I am going to attempt to jump back into photography. Anyone who has known me for more than about an hour has seen me with my camera in my hand. I received my first camera for Christmas when I was maybe 7 from my Grampy. When most kids dreamed about being veterinarians or firemen I was  pretending that I was a photographer for Life or National Geographic or, later, Thrasher. I went into video production because it was the closest thing to a photo degree my community college (where I could go for free) offered. I later transferred to Ohio State to major in photography.

I was NOT ready for college. They say Ohio State is a party school but I don’t remember much about the school part. Don’t get me wrong… I had a great time. I loved my time there but I didn’t put as much effort into my classes as I should have.

I now look at some of my friends who have gone on and done AMAZING things with their photography and I am jealous. I kick myself and ask… Why aren’t I doing that. Just look at who they are and what they are doing and you will see why.

Click here for Rachel Papo who has won various awards and done pieces for a variety of New York newspapers.

and

Click here for Amy Haskell who works around Tucson doing portrait work as well as product shots and interior photos.

I can’t begin to list all of the amazing photographers I have met through the years. one of the reasons I didn’t get back into photography in Texas after I got DSLR was that I knew so many people already who were already pretty well established. The competition was tough. It’s tough here as well but, since I am in a new place, why not work on a new me and really concentrate on filling my life with art and photography and hopefully by doing what I love in my own way I will be able to make a living at it.

My next step is to build back up that portfolio. I tend to focus on kiddos. I like natural shots of kids having fun with their families and friends. I like for kids to be goofy. I’m not above taking a picture of the kid pouting in the corner. I like the tender moments too. Right now I have 2 families lined up to let me do their photos at a very discounted rate. I’m excited to work with them because they both have cute kids who have a lot of spunk and personality.

Here is a slide show of some of the photos I’ve done in the past that will have to serve as somewhat of a portfolio for the time being. Let me know what you think.

Sat down with my son and these were some things that he came up with as some of his favorite items!

Wedding Cake Topper Kawaii R… TheHappyAcorn $79.99	Carrot Monster PinkSprinklesP… $15.00	Green Monster hooded Bath to… Yikestwins $37.00
chalkboard skull in jet blac… iamhome $42.00	Limited Edition American Bis… makerandmaker $98.00	Tiny Wookiee Cufflinks rapscalliondes… $30.00
Wicked Bob Polymer Clay Broo… monstersteam $15.00	Sulley, Monsters Inc. Munny Tbot2021 $75.00	oeufling: essie everyeskimo $16.00
Cute mini Monster dolls. Min… TodoPapel $8.00	KING KONG Handmade Wood Figu… WeeWoodBePals $44.99	Super Hero Embroidery Design… 8clawsandapaw $6.95
Godzilla Kitty and Tokyo Tow… zebracakes $3.00	Steampunk Rabbit Scientist A… terehurst $325.00	Steampunk art doll OOAK soft KooKooCraft $89.00
Universal Monsters horror cl… missmercy $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

SO I let Clyde create this and he ended up with more hits on this in one day than any of mine have generated in the first week! Hope you enjoy and remember… You can click on each of the images above to be taken to the Etsy posting.

I love things that are a little off kilter. Here are some of my cute AND quirky favorites. Hope you enjoy!

Let Smiles Be Your Umbrella … AllenDesignsSt… $60.00	cute Girl Baby Doll FluffyFlowers $18.00	Painted wood rocking horse ArtziFartzi $185.00
Superb Snowhite szofita ring szofita $200.00	Fine Art Print – Escape to S… PeppermintDayd… $10.00	Sugar Skull Compostition Boo… longoriagirls $8.00
BAM comic embroidered headba… janinebasil $23.00	6×8 Flat canvas Beeswax Folk… LiaLane $50.00	D and D Rosary – Even Gamers… forestofglenn $225.00
Mustache Necklace With Pink,… jjjustice $20.00	susy homemaker- original col… claudinehellmu… $255.00	Comfort 8 X 8 Inch Print of … juliettecrane $20.00
Cutie Spider Fused Glass Pen… larkspurstudio… $20.00	Halloween Bat Gift Tags Vint… Alyssabeths $5.75	First Date….an 8×10 print OriginalYouth $12.00
Calavera Necklace, with Hear… laurenmojica $34.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

So… Sometime ago I watched a Youtube video featuring artist Katie Kendrick. She gave a tutorial on doing backgrounds for mixed-media art pieces. It looked like fun so I decided to give it a try.  I just played. I used water color paper and water color crayons. I used old dress patterns. I used paint. I just kept playing and adding layers.  I had a blast. And then IT happened. I hit a block and put it away for the summer.

Not long ago ANOTHER artist that I had met on-line shared some pieces that I was inspired by. Alicia Caudel does some amazing altered art pieces but recently painted some portraits. These made me think of my little blue haired girl packed away in a box. I pulled her out and my daughter INSISTED I start working on her again. So I did!

I let the piece lead me. It turned out like nothing I had really done before.  I started to see things in it that had more meaning than I had realized before. Hidden things that only made sense to me. She took on a life of her own. I posted a couple of pictures while I was working on it and then a picture of the finished product. It wasn’t a ready for etsy type picture or anything but in a matter of minutes she had found a new home and a friend commissioned to be sent along with her.

I need to learn how to do this more. Just let the moment take me. I need more practice at starting out with absolutely NO idea of where I’m headed. Unlike my directional sense in a car my artsy sense can’t really get me so lost I have to call some one to figure out how to get home.

Enjoy your day and make sure to check out BOTH Katie Kendrick’s Blog: Joyously Becoming and Alicia Caudel’s Website: Altered Bits by simply clicking on the italicized names.

I won a way cool Sugar Skull Composition Notebook.

I opened it with an audience. My kids could hardly wait. My soon to be 7 year old gave me the puppy dog eyes and told me that he felt jealous. I didn’t fall for it. I was not giving up my notebook. No matter HOW cute and pathetic the kid. I love it. You should check out their shop and see some of the other designs that they have. They have a ton of other cool stuff as well.

Thanks for the awesome prize Stephanie! I am going to put it to good use.