French Poppy

Burlap!

For the last few months I have been keeping my eye on burlap.  I see it pop up every now and then and I have been slowly falling for it.  It started off with the big burlap bags I bought wholesale for the show I did in Idaho, they are very french looking, love them.  Then the other day I saw Chris from Urban Prairie Refueled had some burlap lurking on his blog too.  He was showcasing this really cute clutch!  I love it!  Bummer she is all sold out of them, I am hoping she makes more.  They are from burlap coffee bags, which prompted me to go out in the garage and find some burlap from our coffee deliveries we used to get when owning a espresso shop.  Which then gave me this idea...

I love granny squares, and made an afghan once upon a time, so I thought these little squares would be cute on burlap.  I could handle making 4, but not a bizillion to make another afghan, so this works just great for me.  Also, I am into these bright colors lately, lots of orange, don't know why, but there you have it.  I will be really curious to see where burlap takes us in the near future.  Maybe a new hot decorating accessory?  Keep your eyes open for it!

And for more holiday shopping ideas....my sweet friend Colette has some really cute things for sale on her website!  Go check out her creative ideas!  I love this hat she made..

   

Miladies

Let me introduce you to a few of miladies---er-my nuns!  I don't know what sparked me to start painting them, but I just love doing it.  They are whimsical, kinda goofy, but always have on red shoes or boots no matter what they are doing.  I chuckled not too long after painting one of them, I saw the Pope wearing red boots, couldn't believe it.  Anyway, just thought I would let you see a few of them, my intentions were to someday get a calendar published with all the little ladies.  Still may happen, but I need to paint a few more.  As for these, they are my best sellers on ebay and etsy.  Please feel free to shop for one at my Etsy art shop.   

Buying Handmade

After cruising around Etsy, I have discovered a lot of cool presents for Christmas, and for me...I love buying handmade items, and there are so many unique good quality crafted items from Etsy, who can resist!  I don't know if you like links, but I am forever clicking on bloggers links to find that great site I haven't found before.  These links are from artisans, so please take a peek.  And please leave me a comment with your favorite Etsy store or maybe a website from a crafter/artisan, it's time to start shopping!

Cool Messenger Bags from the Netherlands

Surreal Art here...and here

Black Apple art

Jewels jewels and  more jewels.  and one more!

Greeting Cards

love these ties!

Silver and Silver from Italy

Totes & Tees

soaps

The list could go on forever, all I need are some cool journals, candles, purses and sweet crafted decor items.  If you know of some shops, let me know!   

Family Craft Day

Look at this messy fun craft table!  Yes, this is the annual after Thanksgiving family craft day!  Each year we come up with a craft we can all make and put our own personal touch to.  This year we choose to make Teresa McFayden's Advent Calendar's.  We honestly made an attempt to come up with our own project, but came up bone dry, so while I was blogging and reading Teresa's blog, she had the directions to make her calendars.  And walah--our futile attempt and coming up with a craft was solved. 

All of us gathered our supplies and got to work on our calendars.  And trust me each one is different with it's own personality.  Check out all our work.  We have glittery themes, traditional red/green Christmas, cowboyish, sporty and so on.  Thanks to Teresa for saving us from racking our noggins, this was a great project! 

 

Wishing you a day full of love and bountiful joy on this Thanksgiving Day!!

Oprah's Book Club

Normally I don't follow the Oprah Book Club frenzy, well yeah I jumped on the James Frye thing, but other than that I really don't pay much attention to her selections.  Except this time.  I was watching her show the other day, the one where she had all of the love stories on, oh wow, wasn't some of those stories great!  Anyway, she unveiled her new book club selection,  The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  Something about it intrigued me, maybe it was the hunkering down with a book that has 973 pages?  I don't know, but I found it the other day and literally have had a really hard time putting it down ever since. 

Notice the bulging eyes...I am completely  entranced, engulfed!  Trouble is I am supposed to be working on my illustration, my deadline is creeping up, and all I want to do is read.  I find myself holding this book instead of my paints!  Yikes!  If you haven't bought it yet, go buy it!!  I have set myself on a timer, 1 hour of reading, 1 hour of painting, 1 hour of reading, etc...

 

Twilight Hours

In between working on my illustration and peeking up at the TV while re-runs of Two and a half Men is in the background, I glanced over and looked at my silver.  I love silver, don't you?  I am starting to get a good collection of it in various forms, but love my groupings of candlesticks.  Now honestly, 2 are vintage, 2 are newer and 2 are very faux pas from Target.   I would love to collect more vintage silver candle holders, but they are a little harder to come by, so I settle for looky likes.  Nonetheless they still look pretty in the twilight. 

Also in the night lights with candles glowing is my little bottle.  See here is the thing, I know that the thing to do is bling up your vintage bottles, but I don't have any bling either, so I blanged it.  Yep, I painted some bottles instead, kinda a little bottle tattoo if you will.  Now if I could get Tracy to make me one of her really cool bottle tops **wink wink** well that would just top it off!  I decorate things the best I know how, and honestly if it can be painted then chances are it will be.  Just thought I would share another idea on how to jazz up those old bottles!  So do you see things differently in the evening too?  Candlelight and twilight, what a great combo.

Tea Towel Tutorial

First off I apologize for the really crappy picture.  It's very gloomy and stormy outside so there was not one good spot to take a photo.

Okay onward, I wanted to share how to make these tea towels for yourself or for a present for someone, or whatever you wish.  It is so very simple and really adds some french charm to your kitchen.   Well I chose the french theme, but you could certainly use any graphic you wish.  I am really into black & white and french things so this was my choice.

Materials needed:  Flour sacks, or tea towels, T-shirt transfer paper, scissors, iron, and creativity.

Steps:

1.  Find your graphic, you may have to scan it in, or download it to your computer.  If you are really savvy with your photoshop or other graphic software you can change the color on the graphic. 

2.  Make sure before you print it out that you reverse the image.   Print image out on T-shirt transfer paper. 

3. After printing cut around the graphic so you don't get that sticky stuff left behind from the transfer paper. 

4.  Follow directions from the transfer paper to iron on your tea towel.

5.  Finished!

Now go for it, have fun with it and add this new trinket to your kitchen.  And hey, you can even really use them, they aren't just for pretty.  If you find yourself not being able to do it yourself, I would be more than happy to make you some for a small fee of course. :)   

Quiet

Art is the stored honey of the human soul, gathered on wings of misery and travail.
Theodore Dreiser

I was told the other day or actually asked, why are you so quiet?  Gosh, I really didn't realize I was being too quiet.  I am not a loud mouth, rambunctious person by nature, but I guess there are times when I am a little more withdrawn and quiet than normal.  Usually these are the times when I am pretty busy doing art, and that is this week.  I have been quiet on my blog and in public.  My mind is busy thinking and doing and creating.  I have been enjoying some quotes here and there including the one above, and this one..

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."  -Jane Howard

So far in this blogging journey I am on, this little quote rang well with me because where I am right now, what I am doing, could not have been so easy without my blogging family, tribe or clan, whichever you call it.  Doors have opened, advantages have happened.  I needed my blog, my network,  it's allowed many of us to begin businesses, start new ventures, and meet new wonderful people.  Yes, I needed this in my life. 

When I am sitting being quiet, involved with my artwork, my quietness is always grateful that I can open my pages here and be in my stillness but also be opened to the world and your adventures and inspirations.  More work ahead today, it's raining and I am pretty sure this will be a jammies day with my laptop!  Enjoy yours wherever you are!

I Can Explain...

I know some of you think geez..already..she changed her blog face again!  Sorry peeps, this is me, something you will have to get used to.  I will probably change it often, so you may never know what will pop up.  As I explained to someone recently, I just have colors and graphics and ideas flying through my brain usually in the wee hours of the morning, and out they have to come.  Please bear with me as your eyes will just get used to one and look and then another may take it's place.  Thanks for understanding this malfunction of my thinking process!  Also, I would like to share with you a few of my daughter's drawings from her portfolio.  And, if anyone is interested in having a portrait done for Christmas, I know Kayla would love the work.  Just pop by her blog and send her an email if you are interested.  It can make a great family heirloom gift and a pretty reasonable price.