happiness is...

a green smoothie &

some quiet time in the studio

(hope you are having a great weekend!)

A call to action: write to your friends!

Am I for real? Yes, 100%. I seriously want you to write to your friends. I didn't say text. I didn't say IM. I didn't say email. I said write. As in pen (or pencil) and paper. Personally, I'm a big fan of post cards - they are so fun to send and receive.

Why am I asking you to write to your friends? Well, I don't know about you but I gotten very busy over the past few years and I've noticed that where letters and cards used to be the norm, now it's all about quick texts and Facebook emails. Although I am completely up to date on what my friends across the country did with their families and friends over the weekend (thanks to social media), I have absolutely no idea how they are actually doing. So my call to action is to reconnect the old fashioned way. I'm planning on sending out 3 postcards to friends I haven't heard from in a while.  Wanna join me?  If you haven't any post cards, just email me (info at elisaannlindstrom dot com) and I'll be happy to send some landscape post cards your way.

Happy re-connecting!

a sneak peek in the studio today

Today I finished the sky.

I also started working on the land.

So far it has been a quiet week for me as a virtual assistant. So, I've been able to get some quality studio time in. (*sothankful) Although it is nice to be able to help small businesses be successful, it's also nice to just paint. Maybe that sounds selfish. But, for me: no painting = major burnout (and honestly, we all need to do things just for ourselves every once in a while. Ya'know?).

It’s easy being green: Can I recycle my old clothing?

This is just the beginning of my "collection"

So I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been going through everything we have to find ways to have less stuff in our little condo (recycling, donating, selling). It’s been going well so far but one thing I’ve noticed and I’ll admit is that I’ve been a bit of a hoarder. Yep. Me. What have I been hoarding you ask? Clothes. Not clothes that I want to wear or whatever. Clothes that have holes and stains in them that I can’t give as a hand-me-down or to a charity. The thought of throwing them away didn’t seem right.  So I’ve been hoarding them, hoping that I could figure out a way to recycle or reuse the clothes.

Well, it turns out I can keep clothes in bags for only so long before I get antsy. So I started looking online for solutions.  Here’s what I came up with:

1)   The North Face has a program called CLOTHES THE LOOP where you can drop off used clothes and footwear to their stores (only participating locations).  Any brand and condition of clothing is accepted.  You can find out the participating locations here.

2)   H&M is doing a similar program.  They also take any brand and any condition of clothes (no shoes) but you can take it to any H&M store and you can receive a voucher with a discount for your next purchase.  The limit is two shopping bags of clothing a day. Find out more here.

3)   GROWNYC has a program as well. This program is for New York City residents.  If you’re a New Yorker, check out the drop-off days/times here.

4)   Chicago Textile Recycling allows you to set up a clothing drive to recycle your used clothing. Find out more here.

There are more options online. If none of these choices work for you, it just takes a quick search to find one that is closer to home. Luckily, it looks like more and more metropolitan areas and clothing stores are catching on.

Because I want to get these bags out as soon as possible and I don’t live close to the Chicago area North Face that’s listed as a participating location, I’m going to do the H&M program.   Maybe in the near future I can set up a clothing drive through Chicago Textile Recycling.

One bag down, one more to go

finally they are filled

Ready to go

What about you? Have you tried any of these programs out or a program near your home?

For more information on where you can recycle unused/broken items, check out earth911, they have a lot of resources there.

a moment with Under A Western Sky

Under a Western Sky copyright elisa ann lindstrom

A clear day,
The mountains in the distance,
a moment to find some peace.

The most important decision we make...

It's Earth Day!

Fresh copyright elisa ann lindstrom

I personally am a big believer in it being earth day every day, but just for kicks: are you doing anything special for earth day? Have you done anything very eco-friendly recently? Let me know in the comments below and have a beautiful, green day.

Introducing Stress Free Kits in my shop

Stress Free Kit + original sketch copyright elisa ann lindstrom

How did stress free kits come about? Well, one day I was talking with a collector of my art (and also a good friend) who said she liked to sit in her kitchen, drink tea and look at one of my paintings.  She told me it relaxed her. So of course I felt compelled to create Stress Free Kits: a porcelain mug of one of my drawings with a set of 10 decaf tea bags.  They are meant to be bought as an add on with a painting or drawing from my elisaann.etsy shop, but can be bought on their own as well.

The three mugs that are currently available

 

A stress free kit contains:

• 1 white mug (with either purple flowers, a yellow bird or two red chairs)
• 10 caffeine free tea bags (chamomile, spice dragon red chai, mellow moments or peppermint)

 

Stress Free Kit - elisa ann lindstrom

To see the three kits, visit my shop here.

  

Stunned/In denial/In Complete Disbelief

copyright elisa ann lindstrom

I’ve been trying to think of the right words to describe my feelings about the recent bombings during the Boston Marathon. Honestly, it still feels unreal. 9/11 was very real for me. I was living in New York and was in Battery Park headed toward the Staten Island Ferry when I heard the 2^nd plane crash. The school shootings in Connecticut were very present and real for me because I related as a mother and as a wife of a teacher.  The shootings that have been going on throughout the country over the past few years have shocked me but for some reason feel so unreal.

That being said, they were all very real and affected so many people.

My heart goes out to anyone affected by the tragedy in Boston and anywhere there is violence directed at innocent people.

Wow! Six Years

WOW!

I can't believe it has been six years since I started my first Etsy shop: elisaann.etsy.com

I've met some really cool people, sent my work all over the world and learned a lot about selling art and running a business. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me over the years. 

To celebrate and to thank you for your continued support, I am offering FREE SHIPPING all weekend at elisaann (yes, this includes orders to Canada and overseas). Use the coupon code: WOW6YEARS (offer expires at April 14th at midnight). 

Have a great weekend!