New Smelly Rhino Black and White logo

He he...What do you think?

I'll take "Things that keep me from working" for $500 Alex!

A new print available ready to frame or as a greeting card.

Yes, I have mentioned this before, as it seems to wreak continual havoc on me, but, I have noticed that the more I network, participate in groups and forums, post to the numerous artists' sites to which I belong, blog, tweet, plurk, update Myspace and Facebook....the less Frackin' time I have to do anything else...(at all).

Well, it's important to find a balance, and I don't own the Wii Fit game, which offers yoga, so I must pledge to find it somewhere else. (There is still some tax return left, so I could just go buy the damn game. After all, my 77 year old retired Nun/Aunt has one, why don't I?)

Of course, I only partly mean it when I say, "Stop Bothering me while I'm trying to ignore you!", because if I was truly ignoring you, I wouldn't have my Dell Mini right next to me in my studio, constantly reminding me that it's there, you know...it calls to me, beckons, reflecting light at me like a little brother trying to annoy you by moving his watch up and down so it shines in your face, making you squint, until you pay it some attention.

I'll never get over my need for the Internet. I admit, I am an net addict, I work alone in a studio and the web is my companion! You understand, many of you. I have been waiting for something to come along to keep me on track, to help me limit the amount of time I spend online.

Cue the Space Odyssey Music (try to suppress the memory of monkeys beating bones and stuff) ...Dum..Dum....Dumm.....Da Dummmm....boom boom boom boom boom boom booom ...

Two weeks ago, I got an Iphone.

And unto this Iphone....

I promptly installed twitter and facebook apps.
Got weather in a touch,
a movie in seconds.
I can plan my schedule, make appts,
take notes, calculate anything,
take credit card payments from clients,
and call my Mom.

...And it was done.

NOW, I can be captivated anywhere I go. I don't know how I lived without it. (I always say that)

I'm cutting it short because it's late and I'm tired.

Truth is, this device has everything a person needs, that they should have without going to the pc for hours and hours, like obsessed people do (who are you talking about?), making this the perfect pocket-sized time saver...Or is it?

In a word, NEATO!

I'll take "Things that keep me from working" for $500 Alex!

DIY Spray Booth, Part Deux

Part deux in the saga of finding an easy, deconstructable portable booth, that, for most purposes, I just wanted to leave up and in the same spot!

Ok, I admit the other spray booth was quick and had it's issues, like I couldn't close the garage door without having to take it down. But hey, what do you want for $20! I kept the clothes pins though, for use in the new version.

This new version involves PVC pipe and joints, and the cheapest shower curtains and rings you can find. There are some cuts you will have to make to the pipe of course, but perhaps if you don't have a chop saw, you can convince some really nice guy at Home Depot to do them, but there are quite a few.

The reason my booth is this size reminds me of the story about the woman who was always cutting off the ends of the roast before she cooked it.

Her husband upon observing that she was wasting meat asked, "Why do you cut off the ends of the roast, honey?"

She replied, "Because that is how my Mother did it!!"

The next time the man's Mother-in-law came to the house, he asked her, "Why do you cut off the ends of the roast?"

She replied, "Well, I cut them off to fit it in my pan!"

It is this size because that is how much room I have in the garage that doesn't get in the way of Eric's woodshop.

So, you may want to make it bigger if you paint larger items, but I'm finding for me, this seems to work pretty well. The good thing is, though, I didn't glue the joints, so that I could take apart, which leaves me the option of making the booth deeper if I need to!

My booth is about 5 feet wide and deep by about 7 feet tall.

Basic How-to:
Your booth will be constructed of two sides (identical rectangles of any size) secured with corner elbow joints. Then you will join them together with struts on the top and sides. That's it!

Lay out the rectangles where you have space, like the driveway!
Decide where you want the struts to be and cut your pipes into two sections, but be sure to make the identical cut on the other rectangle (opposite side of the booth), so you can add your strut! Join the two pieces using a T joint. Now you add the strut!

For extra support, you can add struts anwhere! Again, follow the same rule as above: Put T joints anywhere in your booth by cutting any length of pipe, on top and bottom of the booth, or side to side. Then join the two lengths with the T joint and throw in a strut! Easy peasy!

Put everything together. Glue is optional. I don't use it because I want to take it apart! Once you have everything together, add shower curtain rings to three sides and follow with the curtains! Secure the corner seams with clothespins. Place a dropcloth on the floor of your booth before spraying! Have fun!

materials
1.5" pvc pipe, about 10-12 (you can use thicker or thinner pvc depending on the size of your booth
1 pack of T joints, 6-10
8 pvc elbows
3 sets of shower curtain rings
3 shower curtain liners
1 drop cloth
Total cost under $40

DIY Spray Booth, Part Deux

In response to a thank you

A new acquaintance told me "Thank you. Thanks for really helping me and taking the time.

I said, "Well, you're welcome! It's no problem. I am happy to help. Really!"

I have noticed in my life that others may act like they care, but really don't want to be bothered with your problems. They just don't want to take the time to listen to what you have to say, because it might take some effort on their part to help you or console you.

Unfortunately, I use to feel that it was rare when someone lent their heart or time to me, although I never asked.

Still, I trudge along with a big open heart, believing that my genuine good will can make a difference, and that there are still many wonderful people on Earth who themselves really care!

Many may never know how much I cared because they were too busy with their lives and a little too self-absorbed to notice the effort of another on their behalf, but maybe one day in the future, a hardened heart may think back about the kindness she received from others and soften a little bit in order to do a good deed for someone else.

When I was young, I would sometimes come home from school and cry at the pettiness of others, and my Mother would say, "Those who really care will be the best friends of your life and you will come to realize that they are who really matter to you."

My friend chuckled, "You make me feel good about myself!"

It really should not be about reciprocation. It should not be about getting praise for being considerate. But, when you realize that for a very long time, you have chosen to interact with people who didn't value how important your friendship was, you come to have a little sadness about you. About your choices, perhaps. Some kind of reality check, I suppose.

I think of it now as an opportunity. To continue to reach out to others.

Lately, I have been meeting some amazing people who have gone out of their way to think about me. This is a good time to say thanks to them and for the wonderful friends I have in my life and how lucky I am to have them!

Thanks to Elsie, for thinking of me all the time! You are truly an open heart!
Thanks to Diane, whom I just met, for thinking of me for art demos at nearby schools.
Thanks to Christy, a new online friend, who makes me laugh and tweets a lot!
Thanks to my best friend Kristle, who has been there for 25 years!!
Thanks to the awesome bloggers out there who have featured me on their own blogs.
Thanks to the awesome bloggers out there who have put me on their blogroll, and make me roll with laughter on a regular basis.
Thanks to all in my ebay, etsy and artfire groups..you all totally rock with encouragement.
Wow, this feels soo good!

I feel so grateful!
I know I am on the right path now.

In response to a thank you

Go Team North Georgia !

North Georgia Etsy Team Blog Monthly Challenge!


This is one of my teams!! I hope you will visit the challenge and vote for your favorite entry!

(Thanks for putting up with all my promotional stuff lately!!)

Regards,
Rebecca

Go Team North Georgia !