Beautiful Basic Mugs are Now Available

Looking for a simple mug in bold beautiful colors? Well they are now available at thepaintinglibra.etsy.com!

Each mug is handpainted in glossy or matte colors that make a bold statement. They are perfect for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and some are big enough to enjoy soup or ice cream out of!

Ripple Mug in Really Red

Tall Venti Latte in Dark Straw

Ripple Mug in a Matte Orange

Ripple Mug in Bright Kiwi

My popular Large Latte in Really Red

If you are looking for a particular color let me know. Custom orders are ALWAYS welcome. Be sure to get yours fast for the holidays! Check out more mugs at thepaintinglibra.etsy.com.

Featured Seller: Illuminare by Karen Cicco

An old friend from high school has finally started to sell her AMAZING photos on Etsy. I have been watching her stuff on Facebook and I am happy to see she is bringing her work to the world. She currently is living in the Netherlands and that seems to be the perfect backdrop for her camera. The vivid colors and level of detail is beautiful. She has a gift and I am very proud of her.

Check out some of my favorites.




Check out her amazing photos at www.kcicco.etsy.com

Melting! I'm Melting!!

*Sigh*…. It is the first of December and my poor Etsy shop doesn't have any new items. For the last couple weeks my pottery has been melting in the kiln and I can’t figure out why. The pottery is the same, the glaze is the same, and my technique is the same. Yet I am getting mugs that look like water has been poured over them before they made it into the kiln. It is not as simple as a small paint pull here and there which can be touched up. I am talking on full on melting like the Wicked Witch of the East.
Of course this can be super discouraging to see your hard work pretty much go in the trash. Hopefully Glenda can appear in her cute pink bubble and solve my kiln problems.

FEATURED SELLER: SaltyandSweet

Looking for an unusual gift you can't find in stores this holiday season? Check out SaltyandSweet's cool mobiles. SaltyandSweet laser cuts black mat board cool characters and designs and joined with wire make the coolest mobiles I have seen. They are simple, clean and yet make a statement! Plus they are just a few miles from The Painting Libra in Tempe Arizona! Hopefully one day SaltyandSweet will make a mermaid mobile....

Check out a few cool designs!

I am digging the MJ design

I have always been a fan of pin-ups. Classy and sexy!

A cool wild wild west design!

Check out more designs at www.SaltyandSweet.etsy.com. Be sure to order early! The deadline for domestic orders is 12/16 for regular shipping!

New Moon & Breaking Dawn Inspired Mugs

New Moon & Breaking Dawn inspired mugs are now available! (I am currently working on Eclipse mugs). Perfect for drinking your favorite beverage snuggled up next to your vampire or wolf.
Check them out at www.thepaintinglibra.etsy.com.

Featured Seller: The Short Shop

I recently went on a 7 day long cruise to Mexico. For anyone who has been on a cruise that long, you have to pack everything but the kitchen sink! It is fine and dandy when you are packing clean clothes before you go on the vacation, but what do you do about the dirty ones DURING your vacation? You don’t want your dirty undies touching your clean undies, at least I do. I used to use plastic bags, but those are not friendly to the earth and pretty costly.

At least that is me. Lucky for me I brought handmade laundry and shoes bags made by The Short Shop! They came in so handy! I was able to pack my shoes in the shoe size bags which keep the dirty soles away from clean clothes. Then I keep my dirty laundry in an oversized matching bag all week long then simply put it in one suitcase to take home.

When I got home, opened the suitcase, took it out of the bag and dumped it all on the laundry room floor! No worries about what was dirty and what was clean. I even threw the bags in the washing machine too!

Here are two cute bags she has currently listed on Etsy.

These make wonderful gifts for the person you can never buy for. I bet you could use them to wrap your holiday gifts in - two presents in ONE. Perfect for the planet too!

She is a newbie to Etsy and making tons of new bags daily so be sure to check her out at http://www.theshortshop.etsy.com/

A Little Mermaid After All.....

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a mermaid. For some odd reason I never dressed up like one for Halloween. Finally this year I had a custom made costume made after my design of the little mermaid. I went for a more realistic take on Ariel with a seaweed style top, tons of shell jewerly and a textured tail with scales.

I spent my halloween on a cruise ship to Mexico so it was really fun to walk around in the tight tail. Since I walked so slow, everyone got a good shot of my amazing costume!

My boyfriend dressed up a tribute to MJ, a costume I helped him put together of course!

I was so happy with it I might wear it next year....