A Good Book

Hello Friends,
You will be happy to hear that it seems the germs are heading on to the next unsuspecting family. My husband and my youngest were the only ones to get the bug so I feel very lucky!!!

I have been a busy little blogger lately and have made some wonderful new friends. I really didn't know what to expect when I started this but I'm so glad that I did!

I read, from start to finish in one day Boy by Roald Dahl. If you don't know who he is he's the wonderful author of such great books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Matilda just to name a few. Boy is a book he wrote about all of the memorable things that happened to him throughout his childhood. He was Norwegian, not to mention born in a completely different era so it was so interesting I couldn't put it down. The best part is that while I was reading it, I recognized a few lines from one of my favorite movies. In You've Got Mail, there's a part when Meg Ryan is reading a book out loud to children in her shop. She says "Why don't we slip it into one of Mrs. Pratchett's jars of sweets? Then when she puts her dirty hand in to grab a handful, she'll grab a stinky dead mouse instead." All the times I have watched that movie, I never knew what she was reading. Now I do. Dahl is telling the story of him and a few schoolmates putting a dead mouse in a cranky sweet shop keepers candy jar. Very funny!
If you are a fan of his other stories, please take the time to read this book. You will understand where his mind was when he wrote a lot of his books. ( I feel like I'm on Reading Rainbow, LOL)

I am attaching the latest custom paintings I have finished since that is all I've been up to lately:)
Have a wonderful day!

I've Been Tagged

Yay! I've been tagged by the lovely and talented Lillian at Annas Dreams by Lillian. I'm going to try to think of six things but I can't promise they will be interesting:)
Here are the Rules: 1. Link to the person that tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. 4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. 5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. Ok, here are mine.

1. I am a hearing impaired. I have almost no hearing in my right ear and partial hearing in my left. You would never know it if you met me, I do fine with what I have:)
2. That being said, I like to sleep with my good ear on my pillow so I don't have to hear my husband snore! See, everything happens for a reason.
3. I am a huge procrastinator.
4. I save spiders by scooping them up and taking them outside but I will pulverize a cricket in a second. They freak me out with all that jumping!
5. I read Pride and Prejudice almost every night before bed. When I get to the end, I start back at page one.
6. I love to get my hair cut. I wish my hair would grow faster so I could go to the salon more often.

Now here are the six wonderful people I am tagging! Eloise, Nina, Stephanie, Dani, Sarah and last but not least Lorajean. Please check out their blogs as they are all wonderful artists:)

Sick and Tired....

Hello My Friends,
I am trying to squeeze a post in here between my loads of laundry. As you may recall, I was doing laundry in my last post. Well, after I stripped all of the beds and did four loads of sheets and blankets, remade all beds nice and neat, my little angel came down with a stomach virus. I'm sure I don't need to go into great detail for you all to understand why I am AGAIN!!! washing all sheets, blankets, and now comforters!!!UGH!!! Someone needs to invent some sort of contraption that attaches to a kids face to catch the vomit. They never seem to get to the pot fast enough! Alex still has a fever but I'm hoping that will pass over night:)
On a healthier (and less disgusting) note....I completed a painting this morning that I have attached a photo of. I just love doing these bird lady portraits! I'm thinking of doing a full length view but I need to do a little more sketching.
One last thing....have any of you seen the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors? The March/April issue is full of ETSY. There is even a story titled "heavens to Etsy". Plus it features
Kelly Rae Roberts and a few other Etsy sellers. I'ts a great magazine if you've never heard of it. Lots of great inspiration!
Well, I'm off to take out the (hopefully) last load! Wish me luck.

Easter is Just Around the Corner

....and I'm trying my best to get some stuff made for the holiday! I stayed up late the other night trying to finish these little paintings so I can get a head start on Easter. I am going to put them in my shop eventually but I want to use them for Easter cards as well. I have to cut this short since it's laundry day here:( I hope you all have a great "non laundry" day!

Spreading Good Vibes

Hello everyone! It's been a crazy few days in NJ...yesterday it was a beautiful 60+ degrees! I opened the windows to get all of those "Cold" germs we keep passing back and forth out and the boys had a great time playing outside. Today however, it was in the 30's, with freezing wind! It's nuts!!! It was a little spring tease;)

My sister is on vacation this week and I feel lost! I shouldn't feel this way since she only left Sunday and we've already spoke three times but I know she's not close and it bothers me!!

Anyway, I am pleased to announce that I sold two of my largest pieces today!!! I really , really loved them but I know they are going to a good home where they will be appreciated. So to all of my blog friends, I am sending you my good vibes and wishing you much success! Have a great night!

Life is Good!

I don't really have any huge news to support this statement other than it's Friday!!! (Not that Friday means anything to a stay at home mom)

I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day. We had a romantic dinner of veggie pizza and double chocolate cake! No, I didn't cook a darn thing. I hate to cook! The funny thing is I love to watch cooking shows. There is something so relaxing about watching someone do something. It's probably because I grew up with my mom in the kitchen cooking big meals while watching cooking shows on PBS. Unfortunately for my family, I picked up the TV watching but not the cooking:) Go figure. I do cook because I have to, but I usually don't start until about 45 minutes before my husband comes home from work. Thank goodness he's not used to elaborate meals or he would have left me by now!!! I hate to plan meals and I almost never make a grocery list....I'm a mess!

Well I'll leave you with a little collage I just finished that I made from a vintage cigar box and some little wooden blocks I bought at our wonderful antique mall. You can find it here.

Have a great weekend!

I Forgot!

Check out mandybbags for Wednesdays eco tip! It's a good one featuring another Etsy seller:)

Happy Valentines Day

We had a busy Valentine's Eve here at The Vintage Sister House. Lots of Valentine signing and heart cookie making. Needless to say, I will be cleaning up red sugar and sprinkles off of the kitchen floor all day! We went through a jar of cherries, one full container of red sugar, and one large container of chocolate sprinkles. And it wasn't because they went on the cookies either! Every time I turned around they were licking their fingers. So the moral of this story is....do not eat our cookies!
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day filled with lots and lots of hugs and kisses!
XXX
OOO

Nuts!

No... sadly I'm not speaking of the snack or the way something makes you crazy. I'm speaking of the new word my boy's have started using to describe a part of their anatomy. As in, "Mommy, Jake just kicked me in the nuts!" or "Jake, stop or I'll kick you in the nuts!" You have to picture my sweet, blonde haired, blue eyed four year old when you read this. He is all sweetness and perfection until he opens his mouth and then you are like"Good God! What did he just say?" The worst part about this issue is that the first time I heard it, they saw me smile. I know....it's the #1 rule in parenting! Don't let them see you laugh! But I am as immature as they come and I find words to be very amusing. Like fart. We were never allowed to use this word growing up and truth be told, I'm not too fond of hearing my kids say it either. But, sadly, it still makes me laugh as do many , many childish words.
Anyway............I 'm pretty sure I won't be nominated for "Mom of the Year 2008". There's always next year!
Just thought I'd share and make you all feel good about your own parenting skills. You're welcome! That's what I'm here for:)

Good Morning Friends!

I hope you all are having a good weekend. My sister and I started our day this morning with a yoga class. It was especially fun for me because the class is held in an art gallery plus the building is a converted old home probably dating back 200 years or so. It was nice to not be in a gym or classroom and to be surrounded by creativity!
The words aren't flowing today so I am going to keep things short and sweet. As I mentioned before, I have been playing around with different mediums and styles due my constant need for change. I always admire artists who have a consistent style and a flow to their work but I don't know if this is possible for me. Maybe my work is consistent and I just don't recognize it? Anyway, here is a little glimpse of what I have been working on this past week. I'm kind of in portrait mode right now and I am really enjoying it. Flowers and birds also seem to be flowing from my head of late and I'm attributing this to my desire for winter to be over!
Have a great, peaceful weekend!

P.S. Visit my sister Mandy's blog for weekly eco-friendly tips. We at the Vintage Sister house have been trying our best to stop being wasteful......we gave up drinking straws and our next goal is to banish juice boxes! They are really such a waste!

Spring Wardrobe

OMG! Why does it seem like when you just want to post a little something real quick, your computer decides it wants to go soooooo slooooow! I think mine is tired of this dreary winter weather and is ready for spring. We haven't had any snow in NJ (to my kids dismay) but we have more than made up for it in rain. I like a relaxing rainy day every once in a while but this is crazy. I feel like I live in Seattle! No offense to the rainy city but I need a little sun to brighten my spirits....not to mention all of the walking I'm not doing to burn off the half bag of Valentine Sweet Tarts I ate this morning:) I love candy!

Anyway..... this rant brings me to a more happy subject. I bought this great little skirt on Etsy the other day. The shop owner is Karina Potestio and her work is wonderful. I love how she mixes great fabrics with birds. Karina had just sold a similar skirt and was kind enough to order more of the polka dot fabric for me. I love, love, love green and white dots! So, here I am, waiting for spring so I can wear my new green skirt with a tank top and flip flops. Check out her shop for some springy goodness of your own!

Have a happy, sunny day!

Tagging My Sister

Hello Friends,
It's been a busy few days here at The Vintage Sister house. I haven't been doing much painting....on canvas, but I have been painting furniture. I've been working on fixing up my studio since it sits in the middle of my house and is seen by everyone who enters my home. As all of you messy crafters know, this can be problematic. Our house is a ranch style with an open floor plan which I love. But when you first walk in, you can basically see every room except for the bedrooms. My studio is in the dining room since we never bothered to purchase a formal dining room set. We are not a formal family! I think in the spring we are going to remodel my studio....put on some french doors, new flooring...blah, blah, blah. I'll post pictures when everything is finished.
On another note, my artistic style is in need of change. As I noted before, I get bored very easily. My mind is constantly going and I have had many sleepless nights lately because I have had this painting in my head that I just couldn't get on to paper. But the other day I FINALLY! worked and worked until I got it the way it was in my dream. Now I have a million more ideas for dolls, paintings and even pillows. You can get a peek of my newest painting on my sisters blog.
Speaking of my sister.............she is also an Etsy seller who makes handbags out of recycled fabrics. She has been doing this for years and her stuff is great. I have a ton of her bags! So with this I am going to tag my sister so she can tell us 5 random things about herself!
Have a great day!

I Was Tagged

Oh my...I was tagged by the lovely Jenn at Noodle and Lou. So, here are 5 random facts about me!

1. I have a stuffed seal that I have been sleeping with for the past 25 years. His name is Mistletoe. My mom gave him to me on Christmas eve because I was so excited, I couldn't fall asleep. I was afraid that when I had kids I would have to put him away because he's so old and I didn't want him to be ruined. But honestly he's so gross my kids don't go near him. Thank goodness! This is one of the many things my husband chooses to acceopt about me:)

2. My childhood home is on the water, and one day I found a message in a bottle. Actually it was around 18 messages from a third grade class at a local school. Sadly the bottle didn't travel very far but I wrote back to them letting them know I found the bottle and they sent me more letters and many adorable drawings. I still have them all.

3. I once went 15 hours without going pee because I went to an air show 4 hours away and I REFUSED to use a Mr. Bob! T.M.I?

4. I love to watch "Clean House" on the Style network! My family thinks I'm nuts but I like to see the people who have way more junk than me. People that are more disfunctional than me make me feel better about myself. I consider this affordable therapy:)

5. I love to read books that take place in other countries. And when I'm finished, I speak with an accent....but only in my head!

Please don't judge me too harshly. We artists are known to be an odd bunch, right? Well, that's the excuse I use anyway!

Score!

I just had to show everyone my great dollar store score! I was just wandering around on my way to buy some plastic storage containers and to my delight!!!!!!!! I found this wonderful children's book by Giselle Potter. I would have gladly paid the full $17.00 for it since it's absolutely marvelous but who can refuse a buck? They also had a few Maurice Sendak books but I already have them. I have been a fan of Giselle's for some time because I have been collecting Children's Books since the late 80's. I have tons! I have every
Chris Van Allsburg book including my coveted signed copy of 'The Widow's Broom' . My boys are NOT allowed to read these without me present! No sticky fingers or bent pages, thank you very much. But we do enjoy story time with them and I think the boys like the fact that they are the "Special " books that we read together.
So, you have to check out her website at www.gisellepotter.com AND...When I googled her guess what I found? She is also an Etsy seller! Maybe you already know this but I'm so excited.
Ok, I think I'm showing a little too much of my dorkiness here so I'll stop ranting but you have to see this book and the story she tells about herself growing up and traveling to Italy. It's a dream!!