Monday Morning by Claudine Intner. Digital Photograph. © 2012

It is Monday. Are you ready? Some of you may be recuperating from the Super Bowl, but I am just itching to get going. It seems like it has been a number of weeks of craziness and commitments. The kids have had a number of days off and half days. It makes it a challenge to commit to art or even get chores done.

Morning Pier by Claudine Intner. Digital Photograph. © 2012

Two weeks ago we lost a cousin to breast cancer. She fought long and hard to stay around as long as she could for her three children. My thoughts frequently go to her and her family as they face life without her. I think about her husband juggling all the responsibilities of parenthood while dealing with his loss.

Morning Sun by Claudine Intner. Digital Photograph. © 2012

Samantha’s battle and her determination to keep going are a powerful reminder.  Cherish those around you and enjoy each day. Focus on the important things in life and brush aside the trivial.

Monday Morning on the Magothy River by Claudine Intner. Digital Photograph. © 2012

Do you get hung up on the little things? I know that I do. Try to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I have given a lot of thought lately on how I can do better as a mother, wife, and artist. I want to strive to be better while finding a better balance. I hope you can find the balance as well.

I wish you a wonderful and happy week.

Mom Cards by Claudine Intner. Set of 5 greeting cards. © 2012

Hot off the presses! Freshly printed Mom Cards! I love the smell of freshly printed stuff… carry over from the days of graphic design. What’s better than the smell? How great these cards turned out! I was so psyched to receive the package of newly printed cards.

Mom Cards by Claudine Intner. Set of 5 greeting cards. © 2012

I am resisting the urge to hoard them all by selling some on Etsy. A set of five includes one each of these designs. They would be great for thank you notes, birthday cards, Mother’s Day, and more! Or you can be sneaky and frame them all! An instant Claudine Intner gallery of art in your home! Hop on over to Etsy to pick up a set today. 

Sassy Girl by Claudine Intner. Artist trading card. 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Markers on bristol paper. © 2012

HELLO! Meet my new friends! I have been having a lot of fun creating a series of miniature works of art called artist trading cards. What is an artist trading card? Basically it is a miniature work of art that you can collect, send to others, or trade. You might also see the term ATC which is short for artist trading card or ACEO which means art card editions and originals. It’s like a baseball card for art! In fact, these little gems fit inside a baseball card holder. Pretty neat, huh?

Artist trading cards by Claudine Intner. © 2012

Don’t they look great together as a group? These little gems are adorable and full of personality. They are fun to collect or share.

Super Woman by Claudine Intner. Artist Trading Card. 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. markers on bristol paper. © 2012

I hope you enjoyed meeting my new friends! You can see more in my Etsy shop. See if you can spot the purple marker on my fingers in the picture… oops!

Have you done anything stupid lately? Apparently I have. Somehow I messed up my knee. They are thinking it is a torn meniscus, but I won’t know for sure until the MRI. The doctor said my knee sounded “crunchy” which apparently is a technical medical term for really screwed up.

It is amazing how messing up one part of your body effects so many other things. My never ending to do list is growing as I sit on the DL (disabled list). The plus side is I have a lot of sketching time. The down side is most of the chores that are falling upon my poor husband to do.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed that I won’t need surgery!

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holidays. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of Etsy orders, gift buying, and holidays. The kids headed back to school on Tuesday, and I have spent the last couple of days trying to sort through and catch up. Today I will finally make it into the studio. I am hoping to do a little tidying up and then experiment with some new materials and new ideas.

The Eighth Night of Hanukkah by Claudine Intner. Photograph. © 2011

I have a number of resolutions for 2012 — or perhaps a better word is goals. I have set a sales goal as well as some tedious ones like keeping better track of the business side of my art. I will be continuing with my Sketch A Day Challenge that I started on my birthday. I also just signed up to take part in the Momtographers’ Snap 52 Project. Basically you take a photo a week for all of 2012 and share in on their Facebook page. The goal is to take better photos — especially ones of the family. Above is my first photo which was taken the last night of Hanukkah.

Do you have any goals for 2012?

Are you sending out holiday cards this year? I am but unfortunately I haven’t gotten to them out yet. I am kind of wondering if it is a dying art in this age of Facebook and Twitter. Personally I love to get good ole fashion snail mail. So if you are writing out cards — especially to someone that is Jewish — how do you write Hanukkah? Chanukah? Channukkah? Artist friend Dora Ficher mentioned that there are 16 ways to spell Hanukkah. I thought it would be neat to make a little sketch with all the variations and quickly ran into trouble with duplicates. After tossing a few sketches into the recycling bin, I set off to Google and came back with this handy link. What cracks me up is it says “16 Ways to Spell Hanukkah,” but then it lists 18! I have a feeling there are probably even more spellings if you get a little more inventive. I think my new favorite way to spell is Xanuka. It looks like some really exotic holiday!

Want to get a holiday card? Join my mailing list!

And so the holidays begin! Last night marked the first night of Hanukkah. The boys are wound up and ready for fun. Too bad they have a few more days of school before winter break.

I wish you and yours a wonderful HOLIDAY!

It is that time of year! Time for the holiday concerts at school. Last week we enjoyed my middle child’s string concert. He plays the violin. Tonight is the band and chorus concert where my oldest will play xylophone and percussion. We are so proud of both of them as they have really worked hard and enjoy music so much.

Not quite in the holiday mood yet? Try watching this…

Hello, Monday. Today’s been all about my to do list. Unfortunately on that list was having the plumber come check out a possible major plumbing disaster in the making. So I spent most of the morning doing chores and praying to the plumbing gods. Thankfully the major crisis has been avoided for now… If you have polybutylene pipe, you will understand.

I hope your Monday has been as productive… and lucky!

Love the Ravens? Or have someone on your list that does? Find some purple love amongst these gift ideas.

The Perfect Bohemian Sl… melaniem67 $18.00	Baltimore Ravens Person… SpotLightJewel… $9.99	on sale NEW handmade C… RainyDayStitch… $29.99	Baltimore Ravens Footba… ButtonDivas $5.00
Baltimore Ravens Korker… KrystalRae2858 $6.00	Gerber Daisy Collage Mi… claudine $36.00	Purple White Baltimore … RibbonsInBloom $8.00	Baltimore Ravens Hat SnoKNolly $32.00
Plush Owls 2 for 20 tzburps $20.00	Game Day Sale – Baltimo… TheCherishedBe… $20.00	Purple Poe with Raven -… badalice13 $80.00	Baltimore Raven’s S… DesiredCrochet $18.00
Baltimore Ravens Hand P… StoneCityDesig… $7.50	Ravens leather bracelet… TheCrookedElm $18.00	Crab Shell, Painted, Pu… ItsArtHon $9.99	Purple “Baltimore … spunkytown $14.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.