I guess I've kind of vanished since Halloween. I have so many scenes I want to create, and yet I haven't been very creative lately. Blame coming down from the holiday high and all the contests I managed to enter, or blame the new iPhone 4 I've been obsessed with for a week (yes, finally got one, and so did my 15 year old)...or most likely they're both to blame. Either way, I haven't done much in the last two weeks. Guess it's sort of a hiatus. I hope to start getting back into creating asap. I managed to clean off my internal hard drive by moving most of my files to a back-up external and another external. So other than playing with my iPhone, I have no more excuses...lol.

Let the creativeness commence!

The month of August - warm, sunny, and inspiration impaired. Maybe because I've created so many images this year...or maybe because I've been away from home visiting family this month...or maybe both...I've just had such a lack of inspiration to create anything lately. My muse must have gone on vacation without leaving so much as a forwarding address. And funny enough, one of the two images I've managed to create this month so far is one representing my muse.

Got a few contest deadlines coming up....so here's to hoping my muse resurfaces so I can get to work on those!

In the time spent away from creating, I have managed to get my RedBubble account off the ground. I've had that account for two years and I'm finally getting around to updating it. I'm also starting to get some art added to Zazzle, but that one is gonna take a little longer to get my older stuff uploaded to. So if you want to look at (and maybe purchase ) some other prints, head on over to my RedBubble page. I've also created an Artist page on Facebook, so go "Like" it!

Well, we had a wonderfully fun family vacation June 27th - July 2nd to the Disneyland Resort! We left home on June 27th (my oldest son's 15th birthday), and drove about 10 hours (not including the extra hour spent in L.A. traffic) to Southern California.
Once checked into the hotel, we walked over to Downtown Disney...a small shopping area in between Disneyland and Disney California. Spent some time there window shopping, then went back to the hotel...the boys wanted to go swimming in the pool!

The next day, we walked over to Disneyland! Had a great day walking around, riding the attractions, looking in the shops, watching the parade, and eating...lol. We all got our free lanyard and Disney pin to start our pin trading collections. By the end of the trip, the boys ended up with 3 pins each, hubby got 6, and somehow I managed to pick up 10 (plus a new Tink lanyard with a Tink key chain)!
After spending about 14 hours at the park, we were tired and our feet hurt. Time to head back to the hotel.

The 29th brought us over to Disney California. Walked around, rode the attractions (not as many as over in Disneyland), and watched a musical stage version of Aladdin. It was great!
Another long day and we were beat.

We got up earlier on the 30th, as our passes allowed us one early day into Disneyland...we got to be in the park an hour before it opened to the general public. That allowed us to ride an attraction that has a long line soon after opening - Star Tours. After that, we roamed around, riding some of the attractions we missed on Tuesday, as well as re-riding our favorites.
Later that evening, we watched Fantasmic - an awesome fireworks and fountains show.

On Friday the 1st we headed back over to Disney California first thing to get tickets for the nighttime show, World Of Color. After that we hit our favorite attractions there - California Screamin' roller coaster and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Then we went back over to Disneyland.
Since this was our last day, I made a concerted effort to get as many character signatures (and pictures) as I could. All told, I managed to get 12 - Goofy, Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Silvermist (one of Tink's faerie friends), Tinkerbell, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Mulan, Ariel, Belle, and Captain Hook.
Later that evening, we went back over to Disney California to watch the show (World Of Color) - a mix of fireworks, fountains, and lasers. Since it was the 1st, they did a 4th of July pre-show. It was all breathtakingly beautiful!

On the 2nd, we waved good-bye to Disneyland...and hello to the ocean! We stopped at one of the beaches in the area before starting the long drive home. The water was colder than I expected, but the boys didn't care...lol.

Then it was homeward bound. The boys were done after 3 days...but hubby and I could have stayed another week...taking it in at a much slower pace. One of these years, it'll have to be just the two of us.

Wow, some people really are heartless. I created a contest entry last month for a group I am now banned from. I'm apparently banned because of the conversation below.
Said contest entry was submitted before the contest ended, a week before I went on vacation, on the 19th of June. For some reason unknown to me, my entry was never approved...it just sat, waiting to be approved. A journal went through the group on the 26th of June, asking if any entries were not approved yet. The contest ended on the 20th or 21st...so the group moderator waited almost a week before getting around to this. I posted that mine wasn't. The moderator asked for the link to the entry, and I posted it. I heard nothing back that day so I figured all was good.
The next day, the 27th of June, I left early in the morning (around 5:30am) to head out to Disneyland. I was gone from then until Sunday morning (1:30am) the 3rd. After getting sleep, we headed out to town. Didn't think to check dA since everything should have been fine with all my contest entries...I never got an email saying otherwise. The 4th was also a busy day...grocery shopping...so I didn't get a chance to check dA then, either.
So, on the 5th, when I finally got a chance to sit down and get caught up on things, this is what I find in my notes here:

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Jun 29, 2011, 11:58:28 AM (removed) said the following:

For your piece to be included in the contest please approve the request I sent.  I sent the request a day ago so it should be waiting for you.  Please complete this within 48 hours.  Thank you.
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Uh, considering I left town early on the 27th, I wasn't around on the 28th or 29th. I had a journal posted about this on the front of my dA page. Obviously I still wanted in the contest or I wouldn't have bothered to reply to the journal with my link on the 26th. My email addy is also on my dA page...I was checking my email on my mobile phone while I was gone.
So this is what I wrote back:

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1d 13h ago RavenMoonDesigns said the following:

I really hope my piece will be included in the contest, since I created it specifically for it. I have been out of town on vacation since the 27th of June and have not been able to log onto dA until now. I have approved the request just now. Thank you.

~ Brandy
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Well, about 12 hours later, I saw my response had been read, but no response was given back. I also saw that the voting poll had already been posted. I wrote again:

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23h 55m ago RavenMoonDesigns said the following:

Hello,
Still wondering if something is going to be done about this. It is highly unfair that my entry was not included in the voting poll. I followed all contest rules, and I submitted before the contest end date. Had this image not been done specifically for this contest, I wouldn't be so adamant about it...but I did create it specifically for this contest.
I submitted on the 19th and left for vacation on the 27th. That was plenty of time to get this situation sorted out and my entry included. As I stated, I was out of town and very busy during the week I was gone...so I didn't get a chance to check dA until last night. I had thought after I sent the link to my entry on the 26th (the day before I left) that all was good and it would be included, so I didn't think about it while I was out of town. Even an email sent directly to me to notify me that I need to approve it would have been nice (as I was checking my email via my mobile phone).
I feel rather hurt that I was essentially forgot about and left out of the contest simply because for some reason my entry wasn't approved when I submitted it (over 2 weeks ago), and then I went on vacation thinking it would be included, only to come back and find it wasn't.

~ Brandy
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The response I got:

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21h 49m ago (removed) said the following:

Please note it is too late to do anything about it at this point.  The poll was started a while ago.  If you wish to remove your entry or entries from the gallery I respect your decision.
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Too late?? The poll had only been up about 4 days from when I first responded! In another group I'm in, there was a huge discrepancy with some of the entries as well as after a winner was picked. That whole thing was scraped and we started over with a re-vote...after the vote had been going for about a week or two and winners were picked. But in this group I am now banned from, 4 days is too late?? After I had already submitted my entry before the end date, after I responded with a link right before I left on vacation (remember, she waited almost a week after the contest ended to even begin asking for entries that somehow didn't get approved)...I am the one who is too late??? WTF???

So, I responded back...a little more irked this time:

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16h 20m ago RavenMoonDesigns said the following:

So, through someone else's fault, I have to pay for it?? It was NOT my fault my entry was not included. Whomever it is who was supposed to approve submissions is at fault here. I submitted IN TIME. In the Elrond contest, the poll was delayed for a while (we're talking weeks here) because of the other person not responding. But in this one, you couldn't bother to give me the same courtesy?? I even wrote a journal that is still on my main dA page about being out of town for a week and that I most likely won't be able to respond during that time. But of course, no one bothered to check that, just like no one bothered to email me directly (my email addy is also listed on my main dA page). Seems like when someone screws up around here, the blame doesn't go on them, but on the innocent person who only wanted to enter a contest.
If you won't bother to give me the courtesy of having my entry included, since none of this was my fault in the first place, then I must say, your group is one not worth being in...and I will remove all my artwork, as well as spread the word that this group does not care about it's members. I'm beyond hurt now, this really ticks me off. I take time to enter the contest and get my entry in ON TIME (more than 2 weeks ago), someone else screws up and then you say too bad??? Really great way to keep members.
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To which I got this reply:

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6h 4m ago (removed) said the following:

Please leave the group.
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I wrote a response to this, only to find she banned me from both responding to her, as well as banned from the group. (So why she told me to leave, I don't know. She could have just said she banned me and save me the trouble of writing a response.)

I was hurt that she couldn't be bothered to wait a few more days like she did with the previous contest (or even, Gods forbid, email me personally), but her responses really ticked me off...seems like she didn't even really care. I was too much a bother for her, so I was banned. Like I said...some people are just heartless. And when you run a group that way, don't be surprised if you start losing members. If you want people to care about you, it would be in your best interest to care about them as well.

Been waiting a month and a half since we first started planning...and now it's here - we're going to Disneyland!!

My oldest son's 15th birthday is tomorrow, and since he likes taking trips instead of getting material things, we started planning. We went to Fort Bragg last year, so we wanted to go somewhere else this year. We thought Yosemite would be a good choice...until we realized that if we want to stay in Yosemite, we would have had to make reservations in February. Yikes...so that one was a no-go. Then it hit us...why not Disneyland? You're never to old to enjoy the land of the perpetual young! So, we're leaving early tomorrow morning for a 4 day, 5 night stay in SoCal.

I had a lot of contests lined up to enter this month...and I managed to get at least one entry submitted to all of them - feeling quite accomplished. But, for the next week at least, I will be pretty silent...no new art, anyway. I'll try to get on when I can to check journals and comments. But if I don't get a chance, you'll all know why.

One last thing before I go (gotta get the laundry done, so I can start packing)...in one of the contests I entered, I managed to get placed in the top 10. Now it's community voting for the winner. If any of you get a chance, please have a look at the entries and vote - [link] The poll to vote is here: [link]

Have a great week! (I know I will!)

Well, I'm finally doing it...replacing deviantArt's watermark with my own, less intrusive one. I know a watermark in the center of each art piece is a tad annoying...but unfortunately art theft is a continuous problem. I'm still trying to get my art noticed enough to sell it, but I do not want it getting noticed and taken for free without my permission.

Since I started uploading all my recent work earlier this year, I have been lazy and have just been resorting to using deviantArt's huge watermark on my images. I don't like how big and intrusive it is, but I also don't want my hard work to end up on someone else's site. So I've dealt with it...which means my fans and viewers have dealt with it as well.

Today, well last night actually, I have decided to be lazy no more! I'm going through each of my pieces and adding my own watermark. It's still in the middle of the image, for the most part, but it's smaller with no huge logo. The artwork can be seen through the watermark a lot easier now. It'll take some time to get to all the art I have uploaded, but I will get to it and get dA's hideous one removed.

I hope you all will understand why I leave a watermark on my images, but I hope this way will be better for everyone.

A little update, since I haven't written in a while.

It's springtime!...and even though we're still getting rain and the occasional hail storm (like earlier today), the snow is melting, the grass is coming back, and the birds are starting to sing. It's still cold enough to need a fire going in the morning and in the evening, but that's better than having to keep it going all day. No leaves on the trees, yet, but they should be budding soon.

In my own little world, I have been extremely busy churning out contest piece after contest piece. I've found a lot of contests that are to my liking, and the themes have been quite inspirational. I don't really enter contests to win anything anymore, as that rarely ever happens. But the themes give me inspiration and I like to challenge myself to see how well I conform to the theme and how different (or not-so-different) my ideas are from everyone else.
There are a couple pieces that haven't been posted...as per contest rules, I cannot post them until winners have been announced. I'm currently working on another one now...and when finished will hopefully have time to get an Easter/spring-type image (not a contest entry) done before Sunday.

I probably won't get a chance to write again before the holiday, so I want to wish everyone who celebrates a very happy Easter...and a beautiful spring!

...I gots it now, yes I do. And I'm putting it to the test right now.

I kept putting off buying it...I figured Poser 8 works well enough, even though I do have a 64-bit system. After mine and hubby's spontaneous vacation last month, I didn't really have the money to get both Poser Pro and Alien Skin's Bokeh as a b-day gift for myself, (although before our vacation, hubby was telling me to get both if I wanted). So I got Bokeh and figured I'd get Poser Pro eventually. (Though now I wish I would have waited on Bokeh as well...Alien Skin is having a 30% off sale. )

Well, eventually came a lot sooner than I expected... decided to give out a 50% off coupon for a Spring Sale, making all of their software half price. A sidegrade to Poser Pro 2010 for less than $130??? Hell yeah, I jumped on that deal!

Took a few days of downloading (the program, the content, and all my python scripts), but I finally got everything installed. Been setting up a scene and doing test renders half the day, and now I'm on the final render. It does seem to be making better use of my system with being coded for 64-bit. My render time has seemed to have decreased somewhat...and I'm using DOF...usually a render time-killer.

It's nice to finally be up to speed program wise and have the latest of things. I've always been a couple releases behind, with any program...and now to not only have the latest version of PaintShop Pro, but Poser as well is......well, just awesome.

First off, Happy late Valentine's Day to those who celebrate!

I haven't updated in the past few days because I've been out of town. Hubby and I took a spontaneous mini-vacation from Thursday through Sunday...we dropped the boys (and puppy) off at my parents house and took a 3-day trip to San Fransisco! We haven't been there in years and haven't really been anywhere vacation-like since last June/July. It was a nice break from the kids and the day-to-day routine. Hubby and I really had a wonderful time!

And on top of our trip, hubby, being the sweetheart that he is, bought me a faerie/dragon wind chime, some potted white roses, and a sweet card. Yes, I did get him something as well...a box of chocolates (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) and a card. I know I'm being all sappy, but I can't help it when I love my hubby so much!

...to celebrate another year of life! Thirty-four years of life, that would be.

Despite the bad economy, that past year has been a pretty good one. My hubby is one of the fortunate ones to still have his job, and on top of that, he's made quite a bit in overtime the past year. So I was finally able to get the laptop computer I've been wanting (got it in May...late b-day gift). It renders much faster than our desktop...but it's also a better built (and faster) computer.

This year, as a gift for myself, I think I'm gonna get Alien Skin's Bokeh 2 plug-in. I've been playing with the trial for the past two weeks...and find it a very useful tool for my art. I love playing with depth of field within my art, so I'm thinking this would be a nice addition to my collection. I do like playing around with photos as well, when I have some free-time, so the plug-in would get even more use there.

Might as well post a little update here as well...since I posted on the 16th, I've be able to get quite a few art pieces put up here from last year (since I kinda neglected coming here)...up to April of 2010 now...woohoo!! I will be getting the rest up as quick as I can...but I am modifying each one a bit from it's original, so it's gonna to take a little while to get them all added. Trying to get a least a few added every day or every other day, though...so keep on the lookout.

Wow...it's been a while since I hung out here. I really need to update everything. Will be getting to that this month...and hopefully have it all updated by month's end. Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things here.