Good Morning Friends!

I wanted to make a quick post before I do my BIG post. My BIG post is where I'm going to respond to a few tags and awards and then share a few of my recent purchases. But.....I don't have all of the photos I need yet and it's been a while since I last checked in.



Here is what I've been working on this week. They are made from stuffed muslin with acrylics painted over top. I added some vintage collage elements, mica, and a little fiberfill puff of smoke. I was inspired by the few vintage houses that I have from my grandfathers old train set. They will be available on Glitter and Grunge on August 1st.

That's it! I'm so sorry for the lame post....it's been a crazy summer as usual! Talk to you all soon:)

A New Painting and a New Shop

Hello Friends,
I hope you all had a splendid weekend! Ours was hot and steamy but we made the best of it at the pool.

I have a new painting, "Pink Doo" nest head that is now available in my Etsy shop. I am also having my Nest Head series put on stationary so that is something that will be in my poor little neglected shop soon. I warned you that the summer months were going to be tough for me!

And as if I didn't already have enough to do, I have opened another Etsy shop.
Sisters Mercantile will hold all of the things I buy at flea markets with the intent to make into something fabulous. But once home, reality sets in and said item gets added to my mile long to-do list. The truth is I love to buy old things, mostly paper items or little vintagy (my own word)things but I really have little or no use for...especially no room for! But most, if not all of my purchases are bought with the artist in mind so check in often for little things for original collages and altered art projects.

I will try to stop in this week to post a few of my wonderful Etsy purchases as well as little gems from fellow bloggers!

Have a great week!!!!

Thanks!

Good morning Friends,
First I would like to thank you for all of your support and kind words regarding Spooky Time Jingles. There were so many great things on opening night and I believe a great many sold. There are still lots and lots of great things over there so if you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?

I took a little break from the studio so far this week to spend some time re-organizing my work area and play with the boys. I did finish my winter Nest Head so I can use her for my holiday banner.

Here is a picture of Alex, the redneck crime-fighting cowboy! Why he keeps putting this outfit together, I don't know. Last night he had it on with silver sunglasses. He marches to the beat of his own drummer, for sure.

I also want to thank my blogging buddies Mystele and Marie for this lovely award!

Mystele and I have been sharing ideas on what to do with two wild boys during the summer months. I think we are both at our wits end but having someone else to chat with certainly does help! Marie is another one of the wonderful artists at STJ and she has a really nice blog....stop in and say hi:) I am going to follow the rules to this award and give it to other bloggers who inspire me but this may take a few days:)

I will leave you with a few pictures of my ever blooming garden. It has been so hot here all summer that I really haven't been able to spend much time on the patio enjoying it. I water in the morning and check on it in the evening but that's it. So sad....I think I need to build some sort of pergola covered in grape vines over the patio to keep it cool. An umbrella just isn't cutting it!

My favorite plant.......hydrangea - nikko blue

My little daisies.......

climbing black eyed susan vine on left and pink honeysuckle on right. Awesome salvaged birdhouse center.

My other favorite plant......the hosta. It's one of the blue varieties but I'm not sure of the exact name.

Enjoy your summer day wherever you are!!!

Just Waiting......

I'm here just waiting for midnight to come so I can spend some money. I'm not usually up this late but the early bird gets the worm, right? Anyway, while I was waiting I finished up another Poe in a box. This on is a bit smaller but the box he is in is really cool. It's an old Dustless Crayon (I'm assuming this means chalk) box and its really old and chippy and has this great vintage smell.....I love the smell of old stuff. Old books are the best! Do not fear, the smell is not strong or musty, I promise. Anyway, you can find it here along with my little buddy Bradley. I'm sort of sad to part with him but I think he is anxious to get to a new home and see what treats he can get.

Ok folks, I'm fading fast. Have a good night!

It's Spooky Time!!!!

This is it! Spooky Time Jingles opens tonight at midnight!!!!! I'm soooo excited to have my work among these fantastic holiday artists! You have got to check them out. From what I've seen from the photos posted in the Flickr group there are going to be some amazing things for sale. AND, don't forget, if you like it, buy it because they are one of a kind so once they're gone, they're gone forever! And, as an added bonus, you get FREE shipping for the debut month.

Here is a peek at what I am going to have in my shop.......

and.....

So if you're a night owl or just looking to get some fabulous Halloween and Christmas art............I'll see you tonight!!!

Poe Obsessed!

Update......Poe and Pluto (The cat from Poe's short story "The Black Cat".) See my Flickr page for more photos!

Ok, I think I may have to go to Poe anonymous. I've been reading, drawing and painting Poe for the past few days. So much so I think I can draw his likeness in my sleep!

This is a doll in progress....notice his little one eyed cat? I just started to sketch on muslin and then I cut him out, sewed and stuffed. I have so much fun painting his face! I think it's because of his deep set eyes and his large forehead. Well, I'm working my little fingers to the bone for the upcoming Spooky Time Jingles debut. You really should check out all of the amazing artists! I'm already getting my credit card warm for all of the activity it's going to get. I, like most of you, sell my art so I can buy more art:) So don't forget to check in on the 13th!

The Dr. gave me lots of goodies to help my back so I'm off to bed with a lovely muscle relaxer. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

More Christmas.......

Here is what I finished up last night. I had made the snowman but never finished him last winter. THe little tree and car I picked up at the flea market last weekend so they were quickly put to use. The wood base is a scrap of wood I had lying around in my craft/junk cabinet for a while. So, the whole piece is entirely recycled in one way or another. He is made from good old fashioned papier mache.....newspaper and liquid starch.

Have a happy Monday!

Hello Friends!

Here is my latest "Nest Head" for Halloween! The photo is pretty poor because it's been a dreary holiday weekend here in NJ. I really don't mind since I'm getting thing done and my garden is getting a much needed drink:) She will be available soon, where I'm not sure yet but I will let you know.

Well, I'm off to the studio! Have a nice Sunday:)

And the Winner is...........

Mette over at Moonfairy! So Bradley will be traveling to Norway, yippee! Congrats to you and thanks so much to the rest of you for playing along and giving me a laugh:)
Have a great night!!!!

Christmas in July!

Happy 4th of July Friends! What are you doing today? BBQ? Fireworks? We are heading over to my sisters for a little cook-out and I'm bringing stuff to make peanutbutter smores that you make on the grill, mmmmmm. I found the easy recipe here.

We spent yesterday at the Philadelphia Zoo. Did you know that the Philadelphia Zoo is America's first zoo? They have some really amazing old buildings there. I've been in love with the elephant house since I was a little girl. The next time I go, I'll take some pictures of the old structures for you to see. Between childhood and art school visits I've probably been to this zoo over 50 times and yesterday was the first time I ever saw an elephant swim! It was the most awesome thing ever! She was spraying water all over and making that wonderful elephant noise. I was thrilled but the boys kept begging to move on. You know kids, they don't appreciate how amazing it is that they are standing on the other side of a mere two inches of glass from three tigers that would love to eat them:)

Going home we drove through the city.....oops! I forgot that it was 4th of July weekend.....what other city would you go to to celebrate Independence Day than the home of the Declaration of Independence? Duh! It took us a half hour to travel 6 blocks, eeek.

Does this make you feel like Christmas? I didn't think so but here is my latest painting, available in my Etsy shop now.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and don't forget to make a comment for my give away below. I'll do the drawing tonight.....good luck!

It's Time for a Giveaway!

Hello Friends,

In honor of my Glitter and Grunge debut, I am going to do a giveaway.

Little Bradley and his cat could be yours! He's painted on a 4" x 6" chunky sided canvas and he's all ready for Halloween....only four months away but who's counting? ME! All you need to do is leave a comment telling me something you can't live without. And no mushy stuff! No my kids, my husband, blah, blah, blah! I want products, food, yummy ice cream flavor, whatever. I will draw the name Friday night.

I haven't been able to get to the studio because I hurt my back. Now, I'm not at all looking for sympathy. I simply want to share my sad, sad story with you to give you a chuckle:) So this is how I originally hurt my back. I was sitting on a bench with my legs crossed, twisting sideways ever so slightly to share a buttery pretzel with Alex and........that's it! I wasn't barrelled over by a mall cop chasing a shoplifter. I wasn't tripped by a crazy stroller wielding mom. I was just sitting! How sad is that? So this was about a month and a half ago and it finally was feeling better and then we went over a friends house who just got a trampoline. Helooooo! Can you see where this is going? Anyway, almost 40 year old gals have no business doing tricks no less, on a trampoline:)

The moral of the story is: Don't twist sideways while crossing your legs if you're 38 and if you do, don't do tricks on a trampoline with a six year old.

Have a great day and don't forget to stop over at Glitter and Grunge. There are a lot of great artists, including Dani from Ambitions Design.