Notecards

One of the advantages of my Torn Paper Paintings has been in making some lovely blank notecards from them. They are bold and colorful and really stand out.
Since I don't get to keep the originals around very long ...this gives me one other way to enjoy them and let others who don't get the chance to see the originals enjoy them as well.
I'm happy to say that for the start of the summer season they are now available at Seeds Studio in Wells, Maine....as well as Partners Village Store in Westport, Ma.
I will be doing a bit of traveling over the next few weeks....but when I return, I'm thinking I may make some available on my Etsy shop as well.
Will keep you posted.

Jewelry break

Every now and then I need to take a bit of a break from the regular art and when I do, it's usually to do a bit of jewelry.

Here's a few new pieces I decided to add to my Etsy shop. I've been having a lot of fun doing some summer earrings.

Snowflakes

Feel like I haven't been around for a while. It's been a long week or so. We lost a very much loved family member a little more than a week ago, and it has been a bit difficult to sort things out emotionally and get on with things. I honestly never do very well with the passing of loved ones.

The last few days I've slowly started to get back into my art. Managed to do a couple of small pieces for some art swaps and just discovered this lovely bead pattern who's design just reminds me of snowflakes. The pattern was meant to create flowers as embelishments for a

necklace...but when I made the first one and saw it coming out looking like a snowflake...well, I just had to end up creating snowflake earrings with it.

I must say, this has made me smile and feel good when I'm working on them, so I've added them to my Etsy shop and I think I'll look for more ways to switch them up.

I hope you enjoy them. They've certainly helped my spirits.

Cupcake Notecards

Well....I couldn't resist!
I turned some of my favorite cupcake paper pieces into notecards.
I think they look adorable...and let's face it....everyone loves cupcakes.
I've added these to the collection of notecards I have in my Etys shop.
Over the holiday weekend I went to a party and brought some of these with me to see what folks thought....and they were wild over them. I got sooo inspired by the reaction....yep....more cupcakes are in the works!!

Beaded Beads

I spent the day yesterday at an all day workshop for "beaded beads". It started at 9:30 am and finished up a bit after 4:30 pm.....at which point I almost finished two beads! It took another hour after I'd gotten home to finish up the second one. I had taken a workshop with this instructor once before for another style bead which I still make many of and sometimes put into my etsy shop. These two beads were quite different in style. More crystals are involved in these....so a bit more costly to make.

It was a fun day and a sort of a birthday present to myself. Actually, the owner of the bead shop where the classes are held also knew that my b-day was this weekend....so she had a little cake for me as well. Sooo sweet!!!

Arabian Cupcakes

I know that may sound like a funny name,
but the reason I call it that is due to the sort of "turban" effect they have.

I actually fashioned this piece after the way in which I make my "real" cupcakes.

When I bake real cupcakes I often will cut into the top at an angle making a circle
with a pointy bottom. I then fill the hole with frosting using a pastry bag….placing the cut out piece of cake back into the frosting, pointy side down. Then I add one more squeeze of the frosting on the very top of that. Hence….that Arabian turban look!

This piece is 8"x10" and is one of two I've been working on a little at a time over the last few weeks. With a tight schedule, I can't give them as much of my time as I'd like. The other I've got going is quite a bit larger than this one....and "no"...not a cupcake...lol
You'll just have to wait a bit longer to see that one!

Treasury

How sweet is this!
I was included in a really lovely treasury that was put together by my friend Jennifer.
What a great job she did. The collection is so beautiful and colorful and the art is so well done.
Jenn...I'm quite impressed and honored to be included.
Oh yes....mine is that little redhead with the big eye in the upper right!

Beach thoughts in snow

Ahhhh....thoughts of the beach. I can almost feel the warm sand between my toes and the sun on my face!!

Reality check....it's in the 20's and snowing yet again! But hey, a girl can dream, can't she!! I've had enough of winter already!

These are just a few seaglass pieces I've been working on lately for my Etsy shop. Thought it was time to do something with the promise of summer yet to come!

Lotus Flowers

I must be thinking spring because I just made my latest earrings for my Etsy shop...and they are white lotus flowers.
Living on a pond, it get covered with these beautiful flowers all season. It's no wonder we have lots of dragonflies as well....I would pick a pond full of these to live in too if I were a dragonfly.

I'm also going to creat a display of these for my sister-in-laws wellness center
since it is named Lotus Rising Center.
I think these will work just beautifully there.

Anything to think spring right now is good. I'm soo looking forward to when our temps go all the way back up into the 30's!!!

A New Piece

Yep...my first new piece for the new year!!
While still being pretty new with this torn paper style and having for years struggled with collage....I'm really liking this!
My daughter gave me a beautiful collection of lovely handmade papers at Christmas and many of those were used in this piece...along with a bit of Asian text that I put bits of in the tail and fins.
I really enjoyed doing this one and already looking forward to the next.

One more under the wire

The last cupcake piece for this year!
Since I want to try bigger pieces using this paper painting process, I figured I'd get myself rolling, now that the holidays are almost over, with a slightly larger 5"x7" piece.
This was a good warm up. I ran into several spots where I had to completely redo what I'd done because it simply didn't look right to my eye.
I'm pretty satisfied with the end result and ready to start the new year with something other than a cupcake.....unless it's the edible kind...lol

Peek-a-Boo Kitty

OK....so maybe I'm having tooo much fun with the shrink plastic....but you've got to admit....isn't this cute??
I've been doing one experiment after another and when these two came together, well, it was a purrrrfect match!

I'm not sure if little kitty is thinking "snack" or if he's just enjoying watching the birdie.

I decided that this one had to become a new addition in my Etsy shop. Of course I made one for ME too!!
Ahhhh.....what will be next??!!?

Shopping and turkey

When you have dinner at your in-laws house and that is where the turkey was cooked....it leaves you with no leftovers for the time honored turkey sandwiches!! Wellll.....we can't have that, now can we!
So, YES, I've bought a turkey and it is in the oven right now. I just have to have my leftovers...lol

While I didn't join the actual madness of the Friday
shopping day, I did go out and poke around a bit.

Didn't go anywhere near the mall. I had certain missions in mind, so went to the little shops that I had something in mind to get. They weren't anywhere near as busy.

As for shopping......I certainly hope to see Etsy get some business! I've been busy making new pieces like these earrings and other items and I know all the other shops have as well. There are also many great sales going on along with Free Shipping deals!

Shopping Etsy in your PJ's with a nice cup of coffee is really the way to go!

Being Thankful

Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving Day!!!
While so many problems surround us at this time....it's still time to sit back and look at what we DO have to be thankful for!
I know I have much to give thanks for....a wonderful husband and family, a comfortable warm home, enough food, logs for the fire, a nice cup of tea, a good book......all the simple things. Things that get overlooked everyday!
Stop and take a good look at them today.
All the bigger things will all work themselves out in time.

Well.....off to take care of business now.
Gotta go get my Etsy shop ready for tomorrow's big sales!
Geesh....hard to believe we are now into the big Christmas crunch.
Take care and be careful out there tomorrow. I personally don't intend to get up and join the throngs of 4am shoppers. Yikes. I think I'll sit in my pj's with my coffee and see what sales there are online!

Off season finds

I just love finding things that are "after the holiday" clearence sales. I was recently at a craft shop and found their clearence on all the Halloween items that were left over. After hunting through everything, I found these wooden "haunted tree" decorations. The only thing I really saw that was "haunted" was that they had a face.

Well....that was easily taken care of!!!
I purchased two of these....at 75% off....which brought them down to $1 each.

I took them home and first painted white over the faces.
I then painted the whole tree with a lovely shade of green.
Well..........look what a nice "earring display" they turned into. I've put a bunch of the leaf earrings that I've been making for my Etsy shop on the trees....and they look sweet.

I'm going to use one of them as a display for the earrings at my sister-in-laws wellness center.

Gotta love those off season finds!!

Yellow this time!

Well...this time I tried the shrink plastic with a photo of a yellow leaf that I'd gotten from a tree beside the pond. I LOVE the way that the yellow turned out. The transparency of this one is even nicer and I found just the right beads to add to it to bring out the colors!
It's official....I'm hooked on this stuff.

She looks like

autumn itself to me! I just love the way the colors worked out....and that little leaf on her head...perfect!
Book pages seem to add so much to these little folk. This one is a bit bigger that I've been doing. She's 51/2" x 81/2". Enjoyed working on the slightly larger size and was surprised at how much time this one took. Almost had forgotten the time involved since I'd been doing so much tiny art.
I'm hopeful that I'll work these up into an even bigger size pretty soon!
For now, I'll work on this size a while. Just added her to my Etsy shop!

More Chartreuse

Yep....told you I love this color!!!

Just had to make another "beaded bead" using these colors. I think they are just sooo yummy!
Soo, at this point I've got enough different items in my Etsy shop to create a set of chartreuse!

I think I need to make a set for ME now!!

The colors

of fall makes me run out of the house with my camera often. This evening was just lovely as the light hit all those trees. I couldn't help but notice a big shadow cast from the trees on my side of the pond creating almost a big gliding bird image.

Seems I wasn't the only one who couldn't help but take pictures today. My neighbor was out on her kayak with her large camera taking advantage of the light and colors as well.

While standing on the dock I turned around and realized that there was a lovely bit of color behind me facing the house. The reds

are just sooo beautiful.

After taking all these lovely views, I of course took a number of single leaf shots to use to make more autumn leaf earrings!

Faux Glass

is what these new earrings look like in the light.

I have been playing with shrink plastic and have had such fun. Using crystal clear plastic I free formed the shapes and gave them a pale pink and green color. When the plastic was still really hot I impressed a rubber stamp into it. They came out looking like antique pressed glass shards. Adding glass beads and wires they make a great pair of earrings. I've just added these to my Etsy shop and will be making more!



The pair of leaf earrings are done using the same plastic. These however are done using a photo taken of actual leaves from a red maple tree in my front yard! The process is quite different and a bit more involved, but I just love the end result!
I haven't added any of these to the shop yet, but plan to!