Blog Avoidance

Hello Friends,

I apologize for the unannounced blog break. I have been reading and commenting on blogs all week but I haven't had the urge to write in my own. It happens:) What I have been concentrating on is trying to get my house and studio in order, finish up consignments and help Jake with a school project. Lucky for me my husband does all of the homework and study chores while I do the art projects. Yes, I find myself avoiding my kids school work the same way I avoided my own back in the day.

Here is the "Ryan Howard" (1st baseman for the Phillies) coffee can head project. We made everything with felt except the hat was papier mache. Fun!

I also finished these two family portraits....

And Marcel the Fish Juggler is complete. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him but here he is...

And here is a sweet little painting I bought from Thelma.

Here is how she came packaged.

Stinky really appreciated the purchase as well, thanks!

Stinky says have a puuuurfect weekend! Sorry, I couldn't resist:)

8 Very Random Facts About ME!

Hello Friends,
Today is a pleasantly warm day at 35 degrees and I was able to take my morning walk, yay! I spent the past few days searching the internet for our summer vacation hanging on to the thought of warmer weather.

I was tagged by Micki of The Art Hermit to list a few random facts about myself. I thought to make it a little bit more interesting, I would add pictures too:)

#1. I love books. Books to read, books to admire, books that I like the smell of, cute little books, big coffee table books. The pictures don't include the bunch of books I have stashed in my studio and my nightstand drawers. And the bad part is I don't keep every book I read, only my favorites. For this reason, I've been trying to take advantage of the public library.

Tiny little English/French Dictionary...one of my favorites from my sister.

Mostly gardening books in need of a book shelf...Ikea trip still needed:)




Very messy bookcase in need of organizing!

#2. I love the smell of old, moldy books. I told you I have book issues!

#3. Almost every piece of clothing I own is covered in paint, especially my pj's. I would NEVER answer the door in my jammies. No pictures...I'm too ashamed.

#4. I have an addiction to lip balm. I have so many that I have to keep them in a bowl. This is just the stash in my room. I have more in my purse and in every coat and jacket pocket. My current favorite is Burt Bee's Clove. It's like Christmas on your lips. I told my sister this and she told me I was crazy:)

Lip stash!

#5. I like to take walks at night and peek in on my neighbors to see how their house is decorated. I do this from the sidewalk people, don't get any ideas!!

#6. I hate mouth noises. Lip smacking, sloppy kissing...drives me nuts!

#7. Here is a little picture of where I sleep...Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

#8. I am a soap opera watcher. I have been watching General Hospital since I was 5 with my mom. I don't go nuts if I miss a day or two because all soap watchers know you can miss a few years and still basically know what's going on. No pictures of me sitting on the couch watching tv, sorry.

Remember, I said these facts are random, not interesting!!!

Have a great day!

Tomato Soup Love and a WIP

Hello Friends,
I don't know about you but this weather is making me lazy! All I want to do is snuggle up under a blanket and hibernate. The one thing I have been doing is making (and eating) this yummy tomato soup. I started looking for a good recipe after having creamy tomato soup at Panera. This isn't the same but just as good plus it's so easy and doesn't have any weird ingredients. Believe me, if I have all of the ingredients on hand, it must be simple.

Homemade Tomato Soup (from the Food Network website)

Prep Time:
10 min
Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings

1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, diced 1 small carrot, diced 1 yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

I left out the basil and I used skim milk instead of cream and it was still good. Sorry I don't have any pictures but I ate it all before I had the idea to post the recipe:) To make it extra, extra delicious, serve it with really good croutons.

Next is the most recent picture of "The Fish Juggler." I can't remember the last time I took so much time on a painting but it's been fun.

Well, I'm off to the studio the finish a few family portraits that I will share with you later:)

Have a great day!!

MLK, Obama and New Works

Hello Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It's snowing here today but much warmer so the snow isn't sticking. Everyone is home today thanks to Dr. King...Happy Birthday MLK!! Speaking of amazing men, are you excited about the inauguration tomorrow? Even if you didn't vote for Obama, you have to be a little excited about the change he represents. Just the fact that we have our first African American president gives me chills. It's something I was sure I would see in my lifetime but it happened much quicker. Now we just need a woman president and then I'll be a happy girl!

One of my goals this year is to grow as an artist and revisit my past at the same time. My style of late has been mostly portraits and polka dotted haired girls. But in my past, I was headed more towards a career in Illustration. In fact, that's what I have a degree in. So I started doing some sketches elaborating on the "skinny people" theme and I came up with an idea for a couple. As the sketch progressed, they turned into a bride and groom. Why? I have no idea. I love the idea of the guy in a pinstriped suit so I guess that's where my mind took me. So here it is...

His heart says "My wife" and hers "My Husband."

I had to laugh because the book I cut the fence text from was "War of the Worlds" and after I glued down some pieces I saw the word martian a few times. Oh well, I hope people don't read it too closely:)

I have had this vintage book on the circus for years and I was browsing through it last night for inspiration and this is where I am so far...

I'm painting on recycled wood so that's what the weird green color is and yes, he's juggling fish:)

Lastly I leave you a little picture to make you smile...

Have a great week!!!

It's Sooooo Cold!

Hello Friends,
Here I sit at my computer wearing my fleece pj's and Ugg boots. Not my usual attire but my feet were sooooo cold. Now I just need some Ugg pants...maybe an Ugg jumpsuit of sorts. Do these exist? For years I have shunned these boots because of their UGGliness (sorry Ugg lovers) but I broke down and bought a pair before our trip to the mountains. Let me just say that it was money very well spent. I wear them all day. Indoors. Outdoors. I would even wear them to bed if my husband would permit. And as an added bonus, you don't wear socks and if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, then you know that I have issues with laundry...the less the better. It's a mere 9 degrees here in Southern New Jersey. I know a lot of you are saying big deal! I've read a lot of blog posts lately regarding -40 and such so I will just say this...it's cold and I don't like it!!

I took some pictures of my still unfinished studio. I am still trying to find some time to get to Ikea for some much needed storage items. Shelves, boxes, magazine bins, etc. So take a look, click to enlarge to see the nitty gritty of my artsy room.

L shaped work area in need of a skirt to hide my boxes.

Also needed are better looking boxes:)

Little window that my kids and husband like to peek at me through.


My painting area with my inspiration board above.

My craft armoire. Hidden behind the curtain are about 15 plastic bins with all kinds of goodies. I should have taken a picture for you...maybe next time. See the little heater on the left? I close the french doors and turn that baby on and roast myself....lovely!!!

If you live where it's cold, keep warm. If however you live in a climate that is above 50 degrees, send us some warm thoughts, will ya?

We Have Snow!

Hello Friends,
We finally got a little bit of snow...and I mean a little! Just a dusting but Alex managed to make a snowball when he got off the bus so he was happy.

So far 2009 has been a pretty lucky year for me:) I have been the lucky winner of not one but two give aways so far. The first was this amazingly cute little bear made by Aleta of The Silly Bear. I just found her blog recently and it's a new favorite. Her home is beautiful and her bears are so adorable and well made. Thanks Aleta!! The second thing I won was a "Blog Remodel" thru Spooky Time Jingles so keep an eye out for some changes to my cozy little blog.

I added these guys to my shop today so take a look! I'm off to make some hot cocoa and do more laundry, UGH!

To all my peeps in the north, keep warm!!

Skinny Valentine's

Hello Friends,
I am off to take the boys to their school skating party but I wanted to post the two little paintings I finished today. I am going to add little hangers so they can be hung from a Valentine's tree or a little drawer knob, etc... I have another handsome man that I painted but I forgot to take his picture! I will hopefully have these in the shop sometime tomorrow.
Have a great night!!!

STJ Update!

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to pop in and remind you all that the Spooky Time Jingles update is tomorrow and we are all going to be offering some FABULOUS Valentine goodies. I have my credit card out all ready to pounce because I need some new stuff for my "Holiday" cabinet. It's really just a corner cabinet that I have had since I was a little girl. I try to decorate it for every season/holiday and my Valentines display is a bit sorry.

Here is what I am offering this month!

Blurry photo! UGH!!! "Valentine" polymer clay sculpture.

"Frida el Amor" mixed media painting.

Meggan mixed media doll with vintage fabric.

Well, I'm off to the studio to work on a few commissioned pieces that I will share with you when they are completed.

Have a lovely day!!!

A Little Bit Different

Hello Friends,
I have been feeling a bit blah lately and my work is suffering for it! I'm sure I have a bit of cabin fever plus a little post holiday let down. How about you? So the other night I forced myself into the studio and sat down at my table. Back when we had our floors put in, the skid that the wood was delivered on had a huge piece of compressed wood that our contractor was going to throw away. I asked him to kindly cut it up into smaller pieces and voila, about 20 new paint surfaces! So after I picked one up, I remembered a trick an art teacher showed me and I took out a sharpy and started to sketch directly on the wood. No sketch book, no tracing paper, no tedious detailed drawing. Then I broke out the BIG brushes. What my teacher actually showed me was to use marker or pen to sketch because it makes you loosen up your drawing and not be so fussy. So I basically just painted and had a bunch of fun! This is what I came up with...

I gave her a coating of bees wax too!

The little boy is a work in progress but I think they will look cute together.

So if your feeling blue...break out the big brushes!

Starting Fresh

Hello Friends,

I hope you all are having a nice weekend thus far. We are expecting a big snow storm today and tomorrow but I suspect it will be the same rain and slushy mess we seem to be getting lately...no snow for us yet. I haven't been a big snow person ever since I became an adult and realized that it doesn't get me out of anything anymore...school, work, etc. I can still do laundry, I can still clean, I can usually still grocery shop so snow has kind of lost it's allure. I would like one nice long snow where it begins in the late evening and ends in the early morning, preferably a Saturday, where we wake up to a white wonderland. But then I would like for it to melt by the next morning so that it doesn't get all dirty and messy and my life can continue in it's normal manner. Is that too much to ask?

I am slooooowly getting back to the studio. I attempted my first Frida painting the other day. I painted her on wood with some vintage sheet music and I gave her some fantastic polka dotted hair that I think she and Diego would love. I think I will be offering her over at Spooky Time Jingles on the 13th of this month. Speaking of STJ, don't forget to stop by. All of the artists are going to be offering Valentines work this month as well as Halloween and/or Christmas. I am going to try to make my offerings "holiday neutral." Meaning they will be able to be used for more than one holiday or even displayed all year long. I will give some peeks tomorrow!

Here is a new print I just added to my shop. "Crafty Valentine" ...note cards coming soon:)

Here is a picture of my latest project. I know what you are thinking, "It's a table" but it's not just any table, it's a LEGO table! No more, "Can you guy's please clear the Lego's off the kitchen table so I can set the table?" and no more"Oh Mom, but I can't move them, it will mess everything up." I am also very proud of the fact that I didn't spend any money on it either. The table is my old studio work table, which was my sister's old apartment dining table that I painted with left over red paint. Did I tell you that I love red? Now I just need to invent some kind of LEGO detector so we can find them before the vacuum does!!!

Have a great weekend!

Oh Electricity!

I just wanted to share this with all of you. On Saturday the power went out in our house for about 45 minutes. This is the conversation we had.

setting: The boys are playing a new Wii video game and I'm in my adjoining studio

Jake: What just happened?

Me: The power went out

Jake: But I was playing my game!

Me: Ok, but the power went out, just wait a few minutes, maybe it will come back on

30 seconds later....

Jake: I checked the power strip and the lights not on

Me: That's because there is no electricity

Jake: But maybe something fell on the button and shut off the tv.

Me: But the power in the whole house is off.

Jake: So? Doesn't the strip control the whole house?

Me: No, just the tv, dvd player and stereo, etc...

Jake: Oh, hey Alex, do you wanna go in my room and watch Survivor Man?

Alex: Ok.

Me: Helooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, we have no power!

Groaning in unison.

Now mind you, Jake is a very bright, straight A student. This is how dependant my kids, and I'm sure many others, are on electricity. They both ended up sitting on the couch , gasp!, reading a book. They love to read but usually only when they should be sleeping:)

I was thinking of the poor people who lost their electricity during various winter storms for days and days. Ugh! I would have to be heavily medicated:)

I'm slowly trying to get back into the groove of things. Organizing, purging, avoiding buying anything new until I feel a bit lighter, physically AND mentally. Emphasis on the physically! I hate the "out of control" feeling that seems to come with the holidays every year, don't you?

I've been doing some sketching and doodling ideas for upcoming work. I'm also going to make an effort to work on decorating my home. Now that the living room is completed, the rest of the house needs a little perking up! Shhhh, don't tell my husband:) Nothing a couple visits to Ikea can't help;)

Well, I hope this new year is treating you all well so far!

Have a great day!!!

New Years Yard Sale!!

Date: Jan. 2- Jan. 7

Time: 24/7

Address: The Vintage Sister Shop

Ok, so it's not really a YARD sale so much as a cleaning out the studio to make

room for more stuff sale. So between today and next Wednesday, I will be

offering 25% off everything in my Etsy shop.

So break out that Christmas cash and buy yourself a little something!!!

Just make your purchase through Etsy but do not pay. I will send you an invoice with

the revised amount:) Also, please leave a comment mentioning the discount in the comment section or you can convo me as this offer is for my blog readers!!

Happy Shopping!!!