July is here.....

Can you believe it's July 1st tomorrow? I can't! It seems like just yesterday I was welcoming spring.

Well, I had a busy summer weekend with lots of swimming and catching fire flies with the kids. We are all bit up from the mosquitoes so we are itching like mad! When I tell you that Alex loves his graduation gown I'm not exaggerating. As soon as he woke up on Friday, he put the cap and gown on. Here is him at the breakfast table. (It was early so please don't mind my messy kitchen:) When he got dressed for the pool he put it back on until I explained how hot he would be. Saturday he wore it out to dinner and everyone kept asking if he graduated. I was like , "Yeah...... two days ago" He such a funny kid!






My mind is always going so I did some sketches but other than that, I have nothing new to share. I highly reccommend keeping a wee sketchbook by your bed. I have so many good ideas at night and as much as I say, "Oooh, that's a good one, remember that in the morning" , I almost never do. So that is something on my list for this weeks craft store stop.

******BREAKING NEWS ***********

In celebration of my Glitter and Grunge debut, I will be doing a giveaway tomorrow. So please don't forget to stop by and see what it is and leave a comment!

Have a great day!

Let Summer Begin!!!!

So, it's official! School is finished and the summer has begun. Here is our little graduate....

He's holding his little autograph dog and book that his teachers gave him. I'm ashamed to say that I grumbled at having to pay $14.00 for a cap and gown that he will wear for 30 minutes because I think he looks so darn cute. And, he loved it so much he wore it out to dinner and to Toys R Us for his "Graduation Present". Boo hoo, my little baby is going to big boy school :( I had to laugh because I started to cry as soon as they started the commencement music and I was like, "Come on Tracy, get a grip!" .....and so I did, but only so I didn't embarrass my family. Congratulations Alex!

I thought it would be fun to share a few "Studio" shots. I'm like the "Nutty Artist" or something. My work area is a complete disaster but I refuse to clean it up until I'm finished all of my projects that need all of this junk. Funny enough, the pictures make it look much neater than it really is.

Poe in a Box is almost complete. I collaged a copy of "The Raven" to the inside of the cigar box and antiqued it. I think it looks pretty good. It needs a little something extra but I think I will know it when I see it. Anyway, the next time you see Mr. Poe, he will be complete and ready for sale. At this point, if I add up all of the hours I've worked on him I'll have to charge a million dollars, lol.

Have a great evening AND weekend if I don't get a chance to check in again before then.

Will This Week Ever End??

Hello Friends,
I hope you are all well and good! This is our final week of end of school craziness and then hopefully off to the lazy days of summer. Why is school running so late you ask? Alex goes to private pre-school so I guess we're getting our $"s worth:) His "Graduation" is thursday with little caps and gowns and all....I can't wait to see all of the cute little graduates! I'll be sure to post a few pictures.

I've been busy in the studio but I have to say that it doesn't seem like I'm getting too much accomplished. I think all of the projects I've started have many steps and they are taking longer than I expected. Hopefully I can get into a groove in the future and things will run more smoothly.....ha! wishful thinking on my part! Later this week I will give you a peek at my offerings for my Glitter and Grunge debut. There are a few familiar paintings that I loved so much that I promised to keep for myself but I decided to give them up. I would rather sell them to make money to buy other peoples art!

Here are my two latest paintings that will be available on Ebay later this week...I'll let you know.






Have a great day!

Something Spooky this way comes.......

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining Dani from Ambitions Design in her new venture, Spooky Time Jingles. It's going to be an on-line market place for all things Halloween and Christmas. I am very excited and can't wait to see what all of the talented folk artists have to offer! Who doesn't love these great holidays? So take a peek here!!!

Meet my little gang of trick or treaters in various stages of "doneness".

Bradley the Lil' Devil ............

and Eunice the teeny witch. More to come!

Have a great weekend!

A New Poe....

Here is what I worked on last night. It's not often that I am thrilled by my own work but this has got to be one of my favorites. He's made of painted, stuffed muslin on a little peg and spool. I just love how he turned out and I can't wait to put him in his vintage cigar box display.

I still haven't stopped laughing at my first Poe attempt. He looks like Borat! I'm keeping him on display in my studio as a reminder for me to NOT attempt this again. I do much better painting than modeling in clay, heehee!

Well, I'm off to work on some new doll designs....little devils and cats! Oh, and remember this sketch? Well here she is without her arms and legs. I promised her she'd be free to roam the house tonight with all of her new limbs....that's why she's smiling:)

Have a great day!

Zooey and Pumpkin

Hello Friends,
Here are a few pictures of my newest Halloween doll. Meet Zooey and her little kitty Pumpkin. While working on her I have come up with a few ways I'm going to make her more special......arms, seperate kitty. We'll see! She's about 11" tall made from stuffed and painted muslin.
I'm off to the studio to work on some new dolls. The weather is cool and breezy tonight! Wonderful sleeping weather....Zzzzzzzzzzz. Goodnight!

Slowly working.....

Hello Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Fathers Day weekend. Ours was busy but enjoyable, mostly spent at the pool.
As the title states, I'm slowly trying to get into my studio. Here are a few things that I have in the works.....

This is my latest commissioned painting .......

Some Halloween things I'm working on.....

Little hands....

A little Poe head......

I volunteer at my sons school in the library so this year the class made me thank you cards. All of them were great but a few were really special so I thought I would share them with you. Again, I'm sorry about the photo quality, I desperately need a new battery in my camera. One more thing for the "To Do" list! UGH!

Most of them have pictures of me on the front and they just cracked me up! All of them gave me awesome yellow hair. I think it's hilarious that they all have my hairstyle perfectly.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Fathers Day!

Hello Friends,I hope you are all keeping cool wherever you are! We have been extra busy with end of school year parties, picnics, etc......so the studio has been neglected. But I promise to be back next week with a few new Halloween dolls and paintings.

I will leave you with one of my favorite pictures of my dad. He's in the engine hatch of his beloved boat "Half Fast". He bought it used and always hated the name but said it was bad luck to change the name of a boat:) Happy Fathers Day Dad, we miss you!

Sketches of Things to Come....

Hello Friends,

I hope you all are having a wonderful week. We are finally finished with our first official heat wave. It lasted 4 days and was close to 100 degrees every day. So we have been at the pool splashing around in what felt like bath water....not too refreshing but it was better than sitting inside all day.

I've mostly been working in my sketchbook these days so I will share ideas of things to come...

As you can see, I'm trying to get a jump start on good ol' Halloween. We'll see! I am also getting a few things together for my Glitter & Grunge debut on July 1st and my new Ebay opening one day soon. I'll keep you all posted.

Have a great day!

Baby Ducks Have Arrived

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to share the pictures of mamma duck and her babies. As soon as they all hatched, off they went. Where I'm not too sure. Good luck to you mamma duck!

***She had an even dozen, in honor of National Donut Day .....so you see 11 little babies ( minus the one in ducky heaven) ******

Donuts, Donuts, Donuts!

Did you know it's National Donut Day? Yummmmm....what a day to celebrate! Is there a National Chocolate Day? If so, I can't wait. Who makes up these days anyway? Im thinking probably the baking industry. So do your part and eat some donuts today, I know I will!

I apologize for the content of this post as I spent the whole day yesterday cleaning my studio, I have no new work to share. I did do a few little things to my Halloween dolls but nothing worthy of a picture. I got an Ott LIght in the mail yesterday that I ordered from Joanns. I'm not too sure I'm liking it. I know it's supposed to look like natural light but the blue cast it gives off gives me an uneasy feeling. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Do any of you have one? Do you like it?

The baby ducks have begun to hatch overnight. I checked this morning and there seems to be one that isn't going to make it. I keep wanting to interfere and help him but I keep telling myself to let mother nature take it's course but it's hard. This was one of the reasons I wasn't too happy that she built a nest in my garden. But on a much sweeter note, I took a peek out of my window to see two little heads poking out from under mamma making little peeping sounds. I hope everything is ok from here on out. I don't handle these things well, nature or not.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this stomach virus my boys have had. Five days each....totally knocked out, sleeping and doing the other two things that a stomach virus does. I haven't been out of the house other than to grocery shop (boo, hisss) for 8 days. This weekend is supposed to be a scorcher so hopefully we will make it to the pool!

I wanted to thank all of you who contributed recycling ideas!

Have a great weekend.

How Green is Your Studio?

I was looking at my work area the other night and I started thinking of some of the ways we artists can reuse and recycle and have a "Green" studio. Here are a few things that I do when I work to conserve....

1. I use torn newspaper or used copy paper to cover my canvases to add texture. Just use gel medium to glue it to the canvas and then give it a coat of gesso. Or you can skip the gesso and let some of the print peek through.

2. When we go out to eat, the wait staff always gives us more napkins than we can use. I always stuff them in my bag to use when I paint. Fast food places always give you a ton of napkins too.
Save them, they're free!


3. I never use throw-away pallets. Buy them in plastic at the craft store for only a dollar or two. You'll be saving trees and landfill space.


4. I save tissue paper and any packing material I receive to use later to ship my own packages. I also use plastic bags from Target, Walmart, etc. to wrap my paintings to protect them from possible water damage and cushion my packages.

If you do anything in your studio that may help the environment leave a comment! I'd like some more ideas.

Here is my latest "Nest Head". I'm not sure where I'm going to sell her yet but I'll let you know!

And here is a little peek at my newest Halloween doll.

Have a great day!

A Beautiful Sunday....

Hello Friends,
I hope that the sun is shining as brightly for you as it is for all of us NJ folks. We had a busy day yesterday. It started at 5:30 am for me, getting the kids ready for our treck to Claysburg PA for my father in-laws funeral/memorial service. It's a 4+ hour drive but the scenery is just breathtaking. We saw mountains, cattle grazing over acres and acres of fresh green pastures, tons of sheep with their little lambs running behind. We even spied a little red fox on a hill above the turnpike. My little Alex has an awful stomach virus, AGAIN!, so he had to stay with grandma for the day but I think Jake was very pleased to be the only child again for the day. We didn't get home until almost 11:00 pm so needless to say today is a genuine day of rest. I was so sorry I didn't bring my camera! I always have it with me but I guess in the hustle and bustle of the morning I forgot to shove it in my bag. The whole ride I was thinking of how I would love to live in the country like this, on a farm miles and miles from everyone. Then three hours later we were driving through the city of Philadelphia and I started to get excited about the lights and architecture and the energy. Good for me where I am, I'm within driving distance of both.

My Halloween doll is just about finished. Her hat, cape and broom are in the making and I'm thinking she needs a man......

I was tagged A-Z by my dear friend Dani from Ambitions Design.Here goes.....

A -Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Anyone who reads my blog knows it's my sister! My hubby too but in a different way.
C- Cautious or Crazy: A bit of both
D-Day: Friday nights when the work and school week are done and it's just me, my family , pizza and a beer. (Beer for me, not the kids)
E- Essential Item: Hmmmmmm....would have to be my Burts Bees lip balm and my book collection.
F- Favorite Color: Red, It's bold and it makes me smile:)
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Not a big fan but would consider them both if they were covered in chocolate.
H-Home town: I love the town I now live in, Mount Laurel, NJ and Philadelphia has a special place in my heart.
I- Indulgences: cocoa puffs with ice cold milk
J- January or July?:.... July...no doubt. I love the summer months.
K-Kids:.... 2 sweet, adorably gross little boys.
L-Life is incomplete without: Hugs and kisses and being creative
M- Marriage Date: June 14th 1997
N- Number of Siblings:2, 1 brother and 1 sister
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples- I love oranges but I'm very impatient and oranges take too long to peel.
P- Phobias or Fears: I save spiders but crickets freak me out and I make my husband kill them.
Q- Quote: Don't sweat the small stuff
R- Reason To Smile: My Family and nature
S- Season: I can't pick one. I love the change of all seasons but I'm usually sick of winter by January.
T- Tag Three:
Only if they want to do it, I would choose:
1. Jenn from Noodle and Lou Studio
2. Kim from Running on Ink
3. Michell from Gingham World
U- Unknown fact about me: I have a crush on James McAvoy
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I would love to say I don't eat meat but I'm not a big vegetable eater and I fear I would starve. But in my defense, I eat more sugar than I do meat OR vegetables.
W- Worst Habit: disorganized
Y-Your favorite food: Pizza and Breyers Chocolate ice cream
Z: Zodiac Sign: Aries

I hope you find these more exciting than I.
Have a great day!