Remembering "Cool Hand Luke"

To the hottest man who ever lived...you will be missed.

Tricks and Treats

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to pop in to say hi and share my latest little painting now available in my shop. (sorry about the photo quality but it's a rainy day here in NJ) I painted it last night during the Presidental debate and the Phillies game...GO PHILLIES!!! I have already decided who I am voting for but I still get very frustrated watching debates because they never seem to answer the questions asked at all, or in a way that isn't all jumbled up in a million different words. It would be nice to get a simple yes or no once in a while. I can't wait to watch the vice-presidental debate! Should be VERY interesting and make for excellent SNL material:)

Did you see my Obama button over there on the right? Want one? Click here.

I hope you all have a very nice weekend and pop on over and visit Jenn at Noodle and Lou to wish her a happy birthday!

Kindness!

Hello Friends,It's been a busy week here and I just wanted to pop in and say a quick hello. Hello!

The other day I received a most unexpected package and when I opened it.....



what a nice surprise! Dani from Ambitions Design and Spooky Time Jingles sent me this sweet little gal. She's titled "Most Beautiful" and I love her. Dani has been such a kind and generous blog friend over the past few months I feel like I should be giving her a gift! Thanks Dani!!!

Also I wanted to share the awesome little ATC I scored from the Halloween swap. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Janell Berryman of Pumpkinseeds Originals and this is what she sent me!
Isn't she the cutest little thing? This was my very first "anything" swap so I am looking forward to participating in more. Thanks Janell!

And last...here is my latest commissioned family portrait. This is the Hilliard family. The mom, Scottie, makes fabulous plush things and has a great Etsy shop so please check her out!

Have a great day!

A Little Sharing

Hello Friends,
Thanks again for all of the well wishes...they must be working because the worst is over and I'm on the mend. You are all my wonderful blog friends!

I have been working on a few commissioned pieces this week so I haven't had much time to blog. That and now having two kids who have homework, time is slipping by.



On Thursday after the bus pulled away I hopped in the car and ran to my favorite flea market. Thursday is the best day because of all of the antique dealers. Which really tranlates to "Good Junk". I found this huge box full of vintage sheet music and a few old childrens books.

The guy offered the whole box to me for $40. but I only took 8. I was tempted but I know this is more than I need and I am in the process of trying to have LESS stuff, not MORE. The cute little book is titled 'Cinder the Cat' and it has the sweetest little illustrations and lovely turquoise and red coloring.

I was also able to get some of my Halloween decorations out. I know the pictures aren't the best but the cabinet is glossy black and it's hard to get a good shot. These are all Dept. 56 and the house lights up like lightning and makes spooky noises. The boys used to be very freaked out by this:) The car ornaments hanging from the branches are also Dept. 56 and I scored them at the flea market for $2.00 each, brand new still wrapped in their boxes.



I also spent my "not feeling so great days" watching this...

I loved it and it's yet another production set in this time period that makes me say, "Thank God for modern medicine!" We all talk about how lovely the cottages and clothing are but how hard it must have been to live in those times. Geez!

Here is a book I found at our most fabulous public library. It's titled 'Wake the Dead' by Monica Harris and illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas and it's full of the cutest little characters and lots of funny puns. The art kind of has that Edward Gorey feel to them.

I think I'm going to buy this one for my collection!

Have a great day!

Oh Well...

Hello Friends,
Yay! I'm posting for the second day...in a row! I have had a lot of things going on lately and I'm sure you all have too. Fall is here this morning, it's cool and crisp with a sprinkling of leaves on the ground that just makes me smile:)

I want to thank you all for the well wishes pertaining to my "Shingles" issue. Unlucky for me and everyone who has to look at me on a daily basis, I have them on my face, in my ear and scalp. Lucky for me, I work from home so said people are limited to my family who HAVE to love me no matter how gross I look:) It's more painful than I expected (thank you Tylenol) but we are keeping things light with lots of "Shingles" jokes. Alex ran a toy car over my face the other day and I told him this wasn't a good idea because it hurts me, then his dad added,
"Yeah Alex, don't drive on the roof. " My kids and my nephew were pretending to build a house and Jake said they were waiting on mommy to bring the shingles...ha ha ha. It's so nice to have a family full of comedians (sarcasm) !
Oh well...



Do you have this? I do, every school year and I HATE IT! I try to be organized. See the organizer in the back? It's full of crap that I probably don't need but am afraid to throw away. I try to be diligent and throw papers away as they come but there are always a few I need to hold on to and then it looks like this. My mom had this pile when I was growing up and it seems to have followed me into my adult life. I remember always knocking it over onto the floor and thinking, "I hate this pile, I'll never have a pile like this."
Oh well...


Here is what happens when you use your own compost to fertilize your plants. A large pumpkin vine growing in a place it's not supposed to be in . I threw our pumpkins from last fall in my compost pile and this is what happened. I am thrilled, however my husband is not due to the fact that he needs to move it every time he mows. I also find tomato plants growing in unusual places.
Oh well...




Yesterday I was feeling a little blah and I had the urge to just paint. Not think and sketch but just get out a canvas and draw the first thing that came into my head and then paint. I had THE BEST time. And to make it all the better, Jake loves it and thinks it's the best painting I have ever done and we have to keep it. He's such a sweet kid!
Oh well...

I'm off to get my Spooky Time Jingles pages ready for the September 13th update. Don't forget to stop by...there are going to be a few new artists and even a Guest Artist, ooooooh, very curious!


Thanks for stopping by and reading my babble!

Hello Friends....
Once again I promised to post more often but have not delivered. I thought that with this extra time in the morning I would be able to get a few more things done but that hasn't happened yet.
Yesterday was spent driving back and forth to and from Dr's and the pharmacy......I have shingles! EEEEK! Can you believe it? If my 40 something girlfriend didn't have them last year I probably would have been more upset because the only other person I know who has had them is my 93 year old grandmother. But apparently they are very common and you can only give them to yourself so I'm not being treated like a lepher. Yay!






On to other happier news.. here are my latest little pumpkin ornaments. They will be for sale at Spooky Time Jingles on our next update, Sept 13th. I'm really starting to get into fall. Tonight is Back to School night and that always seems to put me in the mood. I have been inspired by several bloggers to break out my Halloween decorations earlier than usual to get an extra few weeks out of them. So hopefully I will have some pictures to share soon.

Here is Stinky catching a little sun. She is my first girl....she has been with me longer than any of my boys and I believe loves me more than all of them put together. I had her and my other kitty long before I met my husband and she has been a wonderful friend thru the years. She's getting a bit "Bitchy" in her old age but that's to be understood, right?

And here is what the FedEx man brought me yesterday. Yay! I have named her Big Mamma since she's quite a bit larger than my current printer. I probably should have taken that into consideration before I purchased her but, oh well....I'll make her fit somehow! So now I have to get started on the millions of ideas I have swimming around in my brain and then print, print,print! Greeting cards, bookmarks........

Last but not least, I want to share the adorable doll my sister made for me. She named her Celie and gave her a purple dress on honor of my favorite movie/play "The Color Purple". Last Christmas Mandy took me to New York to see The Color Purple on Broadway....so good it made me cry! I just love her to pieces! (the doll and my sister)

Thanks Mandy.

Boo Hoo...

Alex hopped on the bus this morning, never looking back. His brother is in front of him and his best friend is next to him so I guess he feels pretty safe! Good job Big Al! I'm so proud of you!

I'm sitting here in complete silence except for the whirr of the dishwasher....it's a little weird to be honest. Kindergarten is only 2 1/2 hours around here so I better get crackin!

I spent the better part of yesterday finishing up my "Cozy Cottage" ornaments. They will officially be for sale at Spooky Time Jingles on the 13th but if you would like to reserve a set now, email me here. I only made 4 sets and this will probably be it for the season. The tallest house is around 7" tall and they all have a little puff of smoke, a number, a little word on the door like love, sweet... they are $55.00 for a set of 3.

Well, I'm off to start a load of laundry and try to get some things finished in the studio.
Have a great day!

The Last Day of Summer

Well Friends, it's finally here, the very last day of summer for us. We were treated to a nice Diner lunch by Gramma, yummy grilled cheese sandwiches with pickles and french fries. Tonight we have "Beauty Treatments" to do (clipping of fingernails, toenails...) all of the things I neglected on a regular basis over the summer. I'm curious to see how well Alex does in the morning since despite my best efforts to get him up earlier, he has been sleeping till 10 am every morning. Very strange for a 5 year old, I know. He always tells me how he likes to stay up late at night but sleep in the morning so I guess he's a night owl by nature. Jake on the other hand never sleeps. He stays up late sneaking books under his blankets with a wee pen-light and then he's up no later than 7am. I don't know how he does it. I call him "Mr. Itchy Pants" because he always needs to be doing something, never staying still for more than a few minutes. I often look at my funny little guys and wonder what kind of men they are going to be. Good one's I think!





Take a look at the Cozy Cottage assembly line! I'm almost finished with the painting and then I will start the collage part...my favorite. Hopefully I will have them ready to go by the end of the week. I'll keep you updated.









Isn't he the sweetest little ghost? He's haunting a tiny little house but how scared could you be with a ghost that cute? I hope to have him in my shop soon too.


Well, I better get back to my stay at home mom duties but I should be back to visit my little blog more often in the future!


Thanks for visiting!