Ugly? Beautiful? or just Wonderful?

There are so many ways to look at the world, and the many things in it. I often fall on the side of "it's so ugly it's beautiful" rather than "a face so ugly only it's mother could love it." I have a few beautiful creatures to share, I hope you like them too.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Dingogirl66

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AdoptanAlien
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WooldeBeast

Out of sight but not out of mind

The tragedy in Haiti still goes on, even if it is no longer the main focus of the international press. The HeartsforHaiti shop continues to list and sell items and most importantly it continues to donate 100% of it's income to Doctors Without Borders. The following was copied (with permission) from a post on an Etsy forum and gives some sense of the wonderful work this group is helping Doctors Without Borders accomplish.

As of 10 pm EST 2/18/10 we have raised $30,435.36 (after fees) for Doctors Without Borders.

I was curious after your comment beberagz-so i did some looking on the Doctors Without Borders website. This comes from their general page of where your donation goes http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/what.cfm

$35 Two high-energy meals a day to 200 children
$50 Vaccinations for 50 people against meningitis, measles, polio or other deadly epidemics
$70 Two basic suture kits to repair minor shrapnel wounds
$100 Infection-fighting antibiotics to treat nearly 40 wounded children
$250 A sterilization kit for syringes and needles used in mobile vaccination campaigns
$500 A medical kit containing basic drugs, supplies, equipment, and dressings to treat 1,500 patients for three months
$1000 Emergency medical supplies to aid 5,000 disaster victims for an entire month
$5500 An emergency health kit to care for 10,000 displaced people for three months.

Then I did some number crunching:
Taking $30,000 and hypothetically saying it would only go to help one of those items (just for the sake of visualization)-even though I am sure it gets split up into lots of places-this could translate into:
health kits to care for 50000 people for three months,
Or emergency medical supplies for 150000 people for a month,
Or medical kits with basic drugs and supplies to treat 90000 people for three months
Or 120 sterilization kits used in mobile vaccine campaigns
Or enough antibiotics to treat 12000 wounded children
Or vaccinations against meningitis, measles or polio for 30000 people
Or two meals a day for 171428 childrenPretty amazing results of how much 30000 can do!!
Written by the owner of: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FiveSparrows

Snow snow snow, nothing but snow

After years with almost no snowfall in the midAtlantic region we have been hit with more snow then anyone here has seen in one season. The storm in December dumped a couple of feet on us, but this past week that December storm seems like a distant memory of a snow squall. My kids have been home all week and thanks to the previously scheduled Presidents day holiday they will have a break almost as long as Winter Break, unfortunately we've been snowed in and unable to do much out side the house/neighborhood. Unless shoveling snow counts.
I'm loving my neighbor Mr Meck, he came by our end of town and not only plowed our street, but plowed out nearly all of the buried cars on my end of the block.
What is it about extreme weather conditions that brings out the best in some people? Neighbors that have never even made eye contact with me were all out with shovels and helping each other (and me) dig out cars and sidewalks.

Hearts for Haiti update

As of 11:45pm on 1/19 EST www.heartsforhaiti.etsy.com raised $6369.66 (after fees) 100% of that money is going to Doctors without Borders.
Since the shop opened on the 16th the shop has sold 565 items and at the time I'm writing this they have 522 items listed for sale.

Kudos to the volunteer etsians who have given ...uncountable hours to listing and contacting sellers.

Hearts for Haiti - in business!

It took a little while to get it all sorted out but they did it, Hearts for Haiti went live with listings on Jan 16th. As of 6:43pm on the 18th the numbers looked like this:
Currently in PayPal: $3911.69
Etsy fees: $297.54
Total for Doctors Without Borders: $3614.15

As of 10:46pm on the 18th there are 332 items for sale and 316 sales already made.

Please stop by the Hearts for Haiti shop and see if you can help keep the momentum going.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartsforHaiti

Hearts for Haiti

I've been following a thread on the Etsy forums, there is a ground swell of shop owners trying to set up a shop raise funds for Haiti. The plan is for the participants to donate items to be sold through one hub site on Etsy. each item will be shipped free and 100% of the monies raised will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. (Except for the etsy fee/listing cost 3.5%+$.20).

I have a personal connection to Haiti. Though it was so long ago I don't remember it, my grandparents helped establish the first art museum in Haiti. For a while when I was a child visiting my grandparents might mean spending time with visiting Haitian artists. One artists, Murat Brierre spent a summer teaching me to speak Creole, the family story says that I was fluent by the end of that summer, but unfortunately I don't remember a word of it now. I am the proud owner of one of Monsieur Brierre's sculptures. The woman in is my mother and the children are my brother and myself.

More later as the Hearts for Haiti project is ready for launch.

Where would your looking glass take you?

Do you ever find yourself mentally wandering away? Wishing you could be somewhere else for even a few moments? If you could set Alice's looking glass so you could go anywhere where would you go?

Today I'm finding myself longing for a magical retreat. Since none of my mirrors will allow me to enter a magical world I'm wandering through Etsy's art categories day dreaming of places to escape to. I thought I'd share the images that held me in their thrall, inviting me to enter their worlds and ponder their mysteries.

Bass Harbor Lighthouse, this is genuinely one of my favorite places in the world. There is something magical about it, once you are down among the rocks there are no bad views. I have spent hours here in the summer.
http://www.cmeredith.etsy.com/

I have never even heard of this place, but it is so beautiful I could spend ages staring at the image and wishing I could wander among the rocks.

Rock Rainbow in Antelope, http://www.csmithinva.etsy.com/







This photo makes me think there might fae hiding in the trees, or sitting on the roof just waiting to play a trick or wondering how humans could create such a beautifully fae building.

Summer house, Brodick Castle, Isle of Arran, Scotland
http://www.walkerdesign.etsy.com/





The Dryad's Retreat http://www.xenya.etsy.com/


Here the name perfectly reflects the magic of the image. In my mind I am wandering through these woods, hoping to catch a glimpse of a dryad.