Sleepy Hollow Folk Art Originals

This Week in PIctures

2012-01-29T09:13:00.004-06:00

Fun Weekend Project: Photo Canvases

2012-01-27T17:52:00.011-06:00

I had to shelve my lamp project for now because it turns out that the spray paint I wanted to use does not, in fact, look anything like the cap indicates. Sooooo, I will have to come up with a new plan.

Instead, I decided to make some photo canvases!
Here's how I did it: Edit and size your pictures to fit your canvas. I really love the texture of canvas so I chose to print my photos out on textured acrylic paper instead of smooth photo paper because the canvas loses the texture once you cover it with the paper. I had one small picture printed on gloss photo paper and you can really tell the difference in the picture above. We'll solve that problem in a bit. Then, I used an assortment of old canvases and wooden blocks with picture hangers attached to the back and used gel medium to adhere the pictures to them. I accidentally picked up the extra heavy gel medium last time I bought it, and it is too thick for my brushes so I spread it with a paper towel. On the plus side, it made much faster work of it!(yes, I see the missing "I", but I didn't feel like redoing the whole collage!)
Once the photos were glued on and dried, I painted all of the sides black and covered the whole thing with modge podge. Unfortunately, I also goofed and got black paint on one of the pictures that left black smudges. Again, we will solve that problem in a bit. Problem solving time!
Problem 1: The canvas with the red background was an online order that ended up too bright for me so I made a glaze using mod podge and a drop of antiquing gel (dark brown paint works also) and painted a coat over the top only of the canvas to tone it down a little. I also used this technique on the one small picture that I printed on glossy photo paper, and since my modge podge is matte, it toned it down and reduced the glossy finish.
Problem 2: How to fix the paint smudge. Since I gave most of the pictures a vintage-y filter in editing anyway, I decided to make another darker glaze using black and brown and distress the edges of all the pictures so that it made the smudge on the one less obvious. I am really pleased with the finished grouping! Now I just need to find a wall to hang them on!

It's all in My Head and Last Week's 365 Pictures

2012-01-25T20:29:00.009-06:00

I'm late getting my pictures up from last weeks 365 Project because I really didn't want to have the same thing 3 posts in a row and thought I might get motivated to do some art or some of the crafty projects I have planned for around the house...Alas, I did none of it.

As for the crafty projects around the house, I am planning on redoing 2 table lamps (that I revamped a while back), a floor lamp, mod podging (yes, it is now a verb!) some word plaques and trinket box, painting a couple of pieces to incorporate more red and replace some of the pink that I have been using as an accent color, making a couple of wreaths (because I love them right now) and making myself some Valentine Decorations. Remember last year's post?!

Key word- "planning". I need to get the ideas out of my head and get my hands going, but until then enjoy week 3 in pictures!

Week 2 in Pictures

2012-01-15T19:39:00.004-06:00

Time for another week in pictures, two of which were chosen as week 2 favorites on the Picablog! One of the Picaboo Favorites

and the second Picaboo favorite

This Week in PIctures

2012-01-07T09:29:00.005-06:00

I hope you all had a really wonderful Holiday season! I know I did!

I decided to join in the Picaboo 365 Project this year. You simply commit to taking a picture each day and to help you out they will have tips and themes to help inspire you. You can find out more information here and, if you haven't heard of Picaboo check out their site here. I've made a couple of books using Picaboo and it is totally addicting!

It officially started on January 2, but since this is leap year there will still be 365 pictures.

This is week one of my world in pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T17:29:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has a fabulous day tomorrow full of food, family, friends, and laughter!

New Christmas Sculpures!

2011-11-18T20:03:00.001-06:00

Check them out in my Etsy shop!

Black Friday Sale!!

2011-11-17T20:17:00.004-06:00

My sister over at The Vanity Faire and I have decided to have a Black Friday Sale!

All day Friday November 25 we will be offering 20% off of everything in our Etsy shops! Just use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY at the checkout in either store!! (Find The Vanity Faire here)

Layaway will NOT be available on any 20% off Black Friday purchases.
Check out these great items from my Shop!

Easy Chair Makeover

2011-11-16T21:18:00.008-06:00

Before/After
I've had this old chair sitting at the desk in the living room for a few years now. I never intended on keeping it very long, but never got around to replacing it.

Since it is here, and I had some leftover material from making throw pillows for my new super cute red corduroy couches, I decided I would give it a quick makeover to match the rest of the living room. (I've got some more scraps from the other pillows that I will be using to makeover the lampshades soon!)

(pretty ugly, huh?!)
The first thing you want to do is remove the seat from the chair. Usually it's as simple as turning it over and taking out a few screws. I painted the chair with American Accents Espresso, which I had leftover from a furniture painting frenzy I went on about 3 years ago. after the first coat
I ended up with about 3 thin layers of paint to get the deep rich color I wanted. While the chair is drying, lay out your fabric (I find working on the floor best for these types of projects) and put your cushion on it upside down. Cut around the cushion leaving enough room all the way around to go up and over the sides and still have an inch and half or more to staple to the bottom. Start by folding the first side of the fabric up and simply stapling it in place with a staple gun about every couple of inches. My seat has rounded corners so when you get to the corner you want to stop and pleat the corner stapling each pleat as you go. As you work your way around to the second side make sure you start to pull the fabric fairly taut. I stuffed my cushion with a bit of fiber fill to make it thicker. If you would like to do that you need to make sure to leave a little wiggle room. Once you make your way around the cushion once check to see if you need to add any staples and then you are ready to put your seat back on your chair.
Your done! Enjoy your brand new custom chair!

Healthy Homemade Dog Treats

2011-11-07T13:22:00.009-06:00

Didn't they turn out pretty!
My kiddo and I have been talking about making homemade dog treats for a long time now and since he was home today recovering from being extremely sick over the weekend, we decided today was the day. We ended up with some random hearts and circles since we don't have a dog bone cookie cutter, but I found this set at Hobby Lobby online and will probably order it.

I added the turmeric to the recipe because it is a great natural anti-inflammatory and is supposed to aid in helping rid the body of impurities in both animals and people. I substituted chicken broth for the water found in most recipes because I thought it would be tasty!
*note: obviously these are not meant for pooches with grain allergies

The recipe:
1 c peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 lg. egg
2 tbls honey
2-3 tbls ground turmeric (optional)
1 1/2c hot (not boiling) chicken broth (you can use water)
2 c flour
1 c oats
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c ground flax
(you can substitute the wheat germ and flax for the same amount more of oats or flour)
extra flour and oats to dust your work surface with when rolling
1 beaten egg

To make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Stir together the peanut butter, egg, honey, and turmeric and then add the hot broth a bit at a time so the peanut butter isn't lumpy. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients upping the flour or oats as necessary if it is too sticky to work with.

*(tip: I actually work with mine a bit sticky so that when I am kneading it on the flour it doesn't end up with too much flour. The trick is to make sure the working surface has plenty of flour and oats and then sprinkle the top also so that you can press on it with out getting dough stuck to your hands. )
Put your dough on a work surface dusted with flour AND oats and knead lightly. The oats on the work surface give a nice texture to the outside of the finished cookie
Press into the thickness you want. About 1/2" to 3/4" worked well for me. Cut out your cookie shapes, roll into small balls and flatten with a fork, or roll into a log and cut into slices. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and brush them with the beaten egg. (I let Paisley eat the leftover egg- raw egg is great for making their coats shiny!) Ready for the oven

Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes. Paisley waiting for the cookies to cook!

Watch them because they tend to get dark quickly towards the end. Turn off the oven and let them cool for several hours or overnight so that they dry out well. This part is important if you plan on storing them for a while. (I didn't wait that long because I'm sharing them and I'm not planning on storing them longer than a couple of days) The drier they are the longer they store. Otherwise I imagine freezing them would work well also for extended storage. I think ours will run out long before I have to worry about that!
I burned the bottoms of the first pan, but Paisley didn't mind, she still gobbled a couple up! I found a pumpkin dog treat recipe that I will try next and tell you how it turned out and see if I can find something yummy for our feline babies!

Upcycled Halloween Wreath Step by Step

2011-10-15T17:06:00.011-05:00

Inspired by the Heirloom Christmas Wreath I made last year, I wanted to make a Halloween wreath with the same vintage-y heirloom quality. I didn't have the collection of kitchy Halloween items with nostalgic memories so I opted to hit the dollar stores, Wal Mart, and search Etsy for some vintage Halloween items to produce this Halloween Wreath that I will treasure for years to come! So, as I amassed my pile of goodies, I wracked my brain and combed the net for inspiration on the base part of the wreath. What I really wanted was just a black Christmas style wreath and I couldn't find one anywhere. So my goodies waited for weeks in a patient pile on the table until my Mom suggested that I just spray paint a regular wreath. I remembered that I had an old ratty wreath out in the shed that was way past it's prime and decided that it was the perfect guinea pig for my spray paint experiment and is a large wreath to accommodate all of my goodies . I went to work ripping off the old stuff. Once it was cleaned off I made sure that I spread the branches out so that the paint would get all through it, and I wasn't sure if everything would be stuck together from the paint so I wanted it as spread out as possible. I started with an almost empty can of flat black spray paint and ran out before I was done. Since I didn't want to have to trek out to the store in the middle of a project, I scrounged up a can of metallic dark antique bronze from the collection of projects past and thought I'd give that a try. It actually ended up giving it a nice sheen and was dark enough over the black since I was going to fill it up with decorations anyway. Then, I had to make some new balls to use. I had decided a while ago that I was going to use paint and glitter on inexpensive styrofoam balls so that they would be fairly durable and I already had a huge stockpile of them laying around. (I'm seriously thinking about making some more balls to use as a bouquet in a vase- so cute!)

I had six of the larger new type of styrofoam balls that are smooth and paint-able so I painted those with a swirly stripe and just glittered the older more porous balls in some of my favorite shades of Halloween, and hit them with a quick coat of clear gloss to keep the glitter from falling off. I used all sorts of things to round out the wreath: A foam sign that was solid orange that I fixed up a bit by glittering alternating letters black, 2 large ravens, plastic pumpkin treat buckets, vintage cupcake toppers and picks that I found on Etsy, small plastic skulls, (I always temper the creepy with plenty of cute!) a large black glittered skull, a big glittery, stripe-y spider, black and white polka dotted ribbon I picked up at WalMart, etc, some old purple satin balls that I found stuck in with the tote of styrofoam (score!). I can't tell you how much I love how it turned out!
So dig out your old wreaths and get to work. Scrounge your old decorations, your kids rooms for old pez toppers or (any of those other toppers that come on holiday candies), check out your dollar stores and cake decorating aisle at the local everything mart, and dig out those styrofoam balls and get to glittering! You are only limited by your imagination! Just keep in mind you need to think weather proof if you are using outdoors.

Creepy Trivia and a Little Haunted HIstory!

2011-10-13T14:05:00.009-05:00

Did you know that these cool "bird" masks are really Medieval Venetian plague masks worn by doctors to protect themselves during the black plague? The beak part of the mask has an open slit across the underneath that they would stuff with herbs that would supposedly act as a kind of filter to keep out the contamination.

Poveglia Island in Italy, who's sorted history dates from 421AD, is now said to be haunted by the spirits of hundreds of thousands of plague victims ( from the 2 earliest outbreaks) that were taken there to be quarantined. The island is said to be made of the ashes of the dead that were burned there. At the first signs of showing plague symptoms, the victims would be taken by boat, sometimes by force, and left there on the island. The doctors would have a metal basket of herbs that they burned on the boat to purify the air around them, along with wearing the horrifying masks that were often the last sight of the sick.

In the early 1920's a mental hospital was built on the ashes of the dead and the patients claimed to see ghosts of plague victims and people calling for help. These claims were subsequently ignored since the patients had already been deemed mentally disturbed. Later, one of the doctors at the facility started doing awful experiments on his patients and butchering them before he himself went mad and jumped from the bell tower. It is said that while he survived the fall, the spirits of the island rose in a mist and finished him off.

What's Your Favorite Movie Moment?

2011-10-06T12:11:00.006-05:00

I was watching the Lord of the Rings Return of the King for, oh, about the hundredth time now, and every time I watch it I cheer for Eowyn as she follows her heart and sneaks along with the men to fight for her people.
I think the absolute best girl power moment in the history of movies is when she stands up and reveals that she is "no man" and kills the Witch King! Love it!

I can't talk about the Lord of the Rings with out mentioning Aragon, though. The best Aragon moment is when he jumps off of the Ghost ships with Legolas and Gimli! I'm a sucker for the "heros walking through the smoke and saving the day" kind of scenes.

So, What's your favorite girl power moment?
Or favorite "hero saving the day" moment?

Halloween Ornament Winners!

2011-10-01T14:11:00.002-05:00

The winners of my ornament drawing are Vivian and Rosebabys! Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone that participated!

Last of the Halloween Goodies

2011-09-26T18:44:00.003-05:00

...for this year, anyway! I finished up some mini's and a couple of other pieces that I just had to make and now it's time to move on to Christmas! I should have these listed on Etsy in the next couple of days.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway on the sticky post above.
Have a great week everyone!

Etsy Front Page!

2011-09-24T10:31:00.003-05:00

I am so excited to have my Dracula featured on the front page of Etsy right now! The front page features only last an hour so I have to enjoy my time while it lasts! lol
Thanks Etsy!

Time for a Halloween Giveaway!!

2011-09-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a giveaway since last year at Halloween, so I am long overdue! I have 2 sets of these handmade paper Halloween ornaments to give away. (both sets are exactly alike) They are perfect for a Halloween feather tree!
All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment on this post! I will announce 2 random winners on October 1st. That gives you until September 30th at midnight central time to get your name in the hat!

If you would like to help spread the word just come back and leave another comment letting me know where you posted and I will give you another entry.

Good Luck!

Obsess Much?

2011-09-12T11:12:00.005-05:00

It seems like all I'm posting about is art.....and, well, I am, but that's because I get into these little obsessive moods trying to get my Holiday art out in time for the Holiday buyers. So....Here are a couple more pieces for your viewing pleasure! Happy Monday!

Boo!

2011-09-05T18:32:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd share a few more Halloween creations I have finished. 2 Halloween Jack in the Box type make-dos and a really hip Frankenstein's Monster!
I am having issues getting good pics for Etsy, so I'm hoping to catch up on some of that in tomorrow's early morning light.
Have a great week bloggy friends!

Ghoulfriends

2011-08-30T16:51:00.005-05:00

I've finished up this fun trio of "ghoulfriends"....(you know, instead of "girlfriends"!) so look for them this week in my shop!

And here are two more fun guys that are waiting for their turn to be finished up...your gonna love 'em!Also, if you happen to be in or around the Houston/Galveston area here in Texas, stop by Annette's Emporium and check out my collection of Halloween goodies available in her shop!

Vampire, Witch, Frankies Bride, and...Santa?

2011-08-26T16:46:00.004-05:00

Here are 3 more Halloweenies all painted and waiting on wigs and embellishments. I think they are going to be really fun! And, I wanted to show you guys the totally awesome Santa that I got from a swap in our Magical Holiday Artists group. (I've been playing with pictures taken on my phone so sorry this one is not too clear!)
It was made for me by Sharon Stavenhagen. If you love this Santa, and I know you do, visit her Etsy shop and check out all of her great work!

First of the Halloweenies!

2011-08-25T07:57:00.003-05:00

We got rain, glorious rain last night and we are so happy here. We haven't had a drop in months and it is starting to look like a barren wasteland! You can tell the little animals outside are happy and the trees even look grateful!

Hopefully this will start a little of the cool down into fall, and to help us get in the mood a bit, here are the first 2 creations from this year's Halloween collection!
On Etsy now!

More Goodies!

2011-08-24T17:15:00.005-05:00

As promised, here are some more new items just listed!

This finishes up some things that have been lying around all summer waiting for a photo shoot.and lastly, a hint of the fall season that is just around the corner!I will be putting out Halloween exclusively for the next few weeks, so keep your eyes open for some spooky fun yet to come!

Lots of New Original Art Pendants on Etsy!

2011-08-23T22:08:00.003-05:00

Just listed today!

More new goodies tomorrow...yes, I break the Etsy golden rule and list a bunch all at once, but with the new search switched to relevancy it doesn't matter that much anymore!

Love the new search!

Quick WIP Update

2011-08-17T17:14:00.005-05:00

Here's a bit of what I have been working on...and I mean bits! I can't seem to make myself stop and completely finish one thing at a time! Hopefully you will see some of this come together really soon, but, in the meantime, I have a few more things I want to start first...hee hee!

If I had a Magic Time Machine...

2011-08-15T13:12:00.006-05:00

To beat the heat we have been staying in the house and watching a lot of Netflix! I love their streaming movies because I can catch up on most of my favorite shows and watch reruns of some of my favorite old movies and TV shows. The last 2 days I have been watching "Murder She Wrote". Not only do I love a good murder mystery, I love the feeling of being back in the 80's when things were much simpler and more innocent and Cabot Cove seems like a great place to live! I used to watch the show with my Grandmother so there are all kind of good, familiar feelings when I watch it now.

Sooooo, if I had a time machine, I would travel back to the 80's to the fictional town of Cabot Cove and stay there forever!

If you had a magic time machine where would you go? Some place fictional? Somewhere in the past where you vacationed as a child? See what really happened in Area 51 or to JFK?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Just in Case You were Wondering...

2011-07-10T17:16:00.003-05:00

We've been in the pool! It's Scuba Steve!
I'll get back to my art soon, but right now we've been having some family fun!

Wip Sketches

2011-07-06T17:49:00.004-05:00

Just thought I'd share some new preliminary sketches I have started for sculptures. I have one of the 3 witches on the bottom started- a kind of "witches thru the ages" set, and I think I am going to make those into a series of paintings, too. I am also going thru all of my old idea sketches and updating some of them so I can finally bring them to life!

What are you working on?

Finally!!!

2011-06-28T09:43:00.007-05:00

I haven't been able to upload a picture to blogger for the last couple of weeks so I am going to combine a couple of posts I had ready into one! (In order to upload the pics, I had to go to blogger in draft and then back to regular blogger to finish editing. It still took forever to upload the pics!)

First of all, I wanted to share one of my fav pics from our beach vacation.

I love how you can see our sandcastle in progress and how everyone stopped to look at the water at the same time!

Secondly, I finished the first batch of minis and the art pendants!
I showed you the wips a couple posts down so you can go back and see how they started.

The "Woodland" set

The "Under the Sea" set

"The First Thanksgiving" and "Autumn Harvest" set

and finally, the art pendant necklaces got blinged out with a some beads and charms from vintage costume jewelry.

As soon as I get a chance I will get them listed on Etsy, but I can't seem to get the pictures taken. Until then, visit my shop and check out all of the cute things that are already there!

2011-06-02T00:07:00.002-05:00

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. ~Leonardo da Vinci

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T09:21:00.003-05:00

Thank you to all the Men and Women, past and present, that have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much so that we may have the freedoms we enjoy today!

I salute you!

Long Overdue WIPs!

2011-05-26T20:05:00.004-05:00

Finally, I have some new pieces to show you guys!

First off, I am working on a bunch of minis in different themes. This is just the start, I have a large list to check off- things are so much cuter in miniature!

Then, remember these?
They are vintage milk glass lamp shades that I rescued from my shed a while back and thought would make great skirt bottoms for some art dolls.
I have started on 2 of them.
Obviously one will be a mermaid and the other one...well, you'll just have to wait and see!
I can't wait to get them finished, but time is short around here so I'm not sure when that will be. Until then- School's out for summer for my kiddo, and we plan on having some fun!
I hope everyone in this hemisphere has great plans for the summer whether it's traveling, chilling out at home, or enjoying your local attractions with a "staycation"!

In a Slump?

2011-05-16T18:26:00.003-05:00

Lately I have a big case of the "don'twanna's". I have plenty of creative ideas, but when I go to execute them, they don't work out so I have several unfinished, barely started art projects laying around. I tried to do some new projects around the house, but changed my mind before I even got started. I feel sluggish, and lazy, and uninspired, so, I am stepping back for a while to get a better prospective on things. I am actually going to try cutting some of the refined sugars and junk out of my diet and see if I can't get back some of my energy and enthusiasm. Bye bye junk....

Hello, healthier me!
Wish me luck because I am a total choco- and coffee-oholic and it will be hard even though I used to eat really healthy.

Yessss!

2011-05-03T19:08:00.003-05:00

A little while back my sister picked up this great set of vintage Samsonite luggage (check it out here)at a local thrift store for a steal and I have been sooooo jealous!

But not anymore! I got lucky and found this beautiful set in red for a steal ($9 for both pieces!) at a local church rummage sale. Score! I don't think that they are quite as old as Leslie's and I got a soft case instead of the train case, but they are in just as great shape and go beautifully with the teal handmade purse I got from my Hunny for my birthday from Kinies on Etsy!

Best purse EVAH!

The Butterfly

2011-04-26T21:14:00.003-05:00

The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough. ~Rabindranath Tagore

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T22:34:00.001-05:00

I'm doin' the Happy Easter dance! I'm sure my tummy will be full of colored eggs tomorrow- so I may end up lookin' like these bunnies!

I hope you all have a great day filled with fun, family, faith, good food, and many blessings!

What to do with Vintage Monkey Parts...

2011-04-21T08:48:00.005-05:00

My SIL gave me these vintage monkey parts that she really loved and had a hard time parting from, but she was making room for her baby and couldn't think of anything to do with them.
I decided to see if I could make something for her for the baby's room and came up with this cute doll. I used some old red felt for the body and free handed a pattern right on to the felt. Then I used some cute vintage baby block fabric for the accents and the hat, which is cardboard rolled into a cone that I sprayed with glue and quickly covered in fabric pre-cut to fit the cone. I didn't have any pom poms or yarn in the right colors to make some, so I found some fluffy chenille stems and rolled them into balls with flat bottoms to glue on for the pom poms! It was a fairly easy project and I think it ended up looking like an old toy!

Vote for your Fan Favorite!

2011-04-19T08:28:00.002-05:00

We had a group challenge for the Magical Holiday Artists on Etsy to come up with a bunny- any medium any size and, now, we want YOU to head over to the Magical Holiday Artist page on Facebook to vote on a fan favorite! Enter your votes in the comments for the "Spring Bunny Challenge" album(here) on Facebook and we will let you know the winner on Saturday!
What are you waiting for? Head over there, "like" our page and pick a fave!

Spring Babies!

2011-04-18T09:13:00.000-05:00

Babies are popping up all around us!
We have 3 sweet bunny babies from our French Angoras Giselle and Thumper.

(Giselle)
They were a little hard to get a picture of because Mamma is really protective so I had to get one through the cage. Aren't the little teeth on that one adorable! We also have 7 little BB Red Bantam chicks (small Old English Game) and more in the incubator waiting to hatch. Here are the proud parents!

And I saved the best for last!
(insert drum roll here)
Meet our newest nephew, Joshua, born just a few days ago! Welcome to the world baby, We love you!

What's popping up around you?

Lovely Blog Award

2011-04-16T00:33:00.002-05:00

Becca from Magikal Seasons gave me this sweet blog award! Thanks you Becca! I am supposed to pick 15 blogs and pass this award on to them, but in the tradition of my blog, I invite all of my lovely blog friends to take this award to add to their collection! Each and every one of you are lovely!

Lion, Giraffe, and Chickens, Oh My!

2011-04-12T13:54:00.006-05:00

... and a monkey, elephant, and retro birds! Partridge in a Round Tree! lol I love the vintage toy feel of these sweet baby animals. The monkey already sold! The chicken and rooster were a departure from what I usually do, but I wanted to do something fun with simple lines and a retro modern feel.

All new pieces listed in my Etsy shop now!

-that which we call a rose

2011-04-10T22:27:00.006-05:00

By any other name would smell as sweet;

- William Shakespeare

As we go through our busy days let us not forget to stop, smell the roses, and just enjoy the moment.

New Original Paintings

2011-04-03T18:19:00.003-05:00

I finished up my Steampunk Bunny and remembered that I hadn't yet shared my other newest painting so here they are! Steampunk Bunny

To Bee or Not to Bee
They are available now in my Etsy shop.

Steampunk Bunny WIP

2011-03-30T22:15:00.005-05:00

This is the sketch for a painting that I am working on for the Rabbit Challenge at the Magical Holiday Artists Group. It will be a ready to frame original on watercolor paper- if it turns out!

Baby Shoes...

2011-03-15T20:53:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share the sweet gift that my Mom made for my birthday. She made this shadow box with a pair of my first shoes and that little bit of bling in the top center is one of my Grandmother's favorite earrings (the other one went into a shadow box just like this for my twin sister!). I have to say it brought tears to my eyes! I just love it! Thanks Mom!

I also got handmade gifts from my sister and SIL, but I will save them for later!

Canvas WIPs

2011-03-07T21:45:00.003-06:00

I am taking a little break from sculpting and working on some canvases that I have been wanting to do forever. Here's a little sneak peek: I am hoping to do an Art/Craft fair in Louisiana at the end of April and these will be coming with me!

Weekend Finds!

2011-03-01T17:22:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend we went to the flea market and I found a few retro pieces for my kitchen, plus a couple of sets of old knitting needles because they were so pretty- those are for my craft room!Don't you just love all of those colors together?!

I spent all of $12 on my stash- that awesome fondue pot was 2 bucks! Fun fun! I can't wait for the next scrapbook night at my house- we are so cheesin' it up! I just need to go online and find some fondue forks....

My Review

2011-02-28T10:36:00.001-06:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

I love my new tea kettle!

By Malissa from East Texas on 2/28/2011

Great kettle, beautiful color, fast shipping, great price!

(legalese)

Spring Re-Organizing!

2011-02-25T16:13:00.004-06:00

With Spring just around the corner it is time to start thinking about Spring cleaning and re-organizing around here! I get the Homemade Simple newsletter (if you don't get it you should here - it's a great mag!) and it has some really good tips on getting those junk drawers cleaned out and ways to upcycle boxes and cans into cute organizers. I am also going to try to get back on the Flylady program. She has some great ways to ease you into daily routines that keep you and your home in order and de-cluttered! Find her website here.

A few posts back I told you I joined a free de-clutter your business online course you can still check out here!

Notice a theme here?

Easter Cuties

2011-02-24T16:59:00.004-06:00

I have these cute guys ready to find a new home this Easter! Stop by my shop on Artfire and take a look!

SEO on Artfire and Etsy

2011-02-22T09:03:00.003-06:00

Warning: Wordy Boring Post!
Since I don't feel like actually creating right now, I have been trying to focus on ways to get my name out there and one of the things that I did was re-open my store on Artfire and go Pro. I have been reading up and it seems that the way shoppers can find you is very different between the venues.
Let's take them one at a time.
Etsy:

Etsy is set up for drawing in traffic from buyers that are already there. If you want to take advantage of this buyer pool, you need to have your keywords, tags, and titles (in other words, your "Search Engine Optimization" or "SEO") set up in such a way as to get found in the Etsy internal searches. They have been doing so many changes on that, that I have no idea what the best way to do that is. I do know, that even once you get your keywords correct, that you must still renew often (which can really add up) in order to keep from getting buried in the thousands of listings in your category, and now it seems that with the new "relevancy search" that they are testing it is making it even harder. Supposedly, once all of the changes settle down it will be better.

I'm just learning all of this and still don't fully understand everything so I don't know, but a quick search in the forums on "SEO" or "relevancy" will give you a wealth of information if you can follow it!

side note on Etsy: They do not automatically feed all of your items to Google Base, unless you are "syndicated". Syndication is a feature that can only be done a few shops at a time because Google only accepts so many -so many shops, including mine are still waiting.

Of course, ideally, you would not be depending on buyers that just happen upon your store through a search, you would be bringing in your own customers through advertising and getting search engines to find you.

This brings us to Artfire:

Artfire traffic is dependent on Google Search (or Google Product Search- I'm still learning the difference, and I forget which they are focused on) so you need to have spot on SEO. This not only means getting your tags and titles right, but you need to repeat those keywords in the first couple of lines in the body of your description. They automatically feed your items into Google Base. The down side to this is that Artfire gives preference to Pro members in getting them to the top of these list. Though if your items fall in a very niche specific market and get found through very specific searches I imagine that it doesn't make much of a difference whether you are basic or pro. Also, there is no renewing at Artfire. Again, you can put "SEO" in the forum search and come up with a wealth of knowledge, and some basics for those of you like me that are new to all of this.

Basically I am working on getting my SEO right, and it seems like all I do lately is edit edit edit!
I am going to try to maximize the benefits of each site and see if I can't get a little more traffic to my art. Ideally I would like to be selling from my own site, but I am not sure how to submit my items to google that way. Looks like there is a lot more research in my future!

Feel free to correct me if I have gotten something wrong or chime in with any good info that you have!

What Era Inspires You?

2011-02-18T08:49:00.009-06:00

In trying to find some inspiration I have gone back to reading about some of my favorite time periods in history- especially about the fashion, lifestyles, writers, and artists of the times.

Who doesn't love the castles and princesses or the knights on their noble steeds of the Middle Ages?
Though it was dark era in history, it gave us Leonardo Da Vinci, chivalry, the Renaissance, Queen Elizabeth, and the setting to many a fairy tale!

I love the extremes of the 18th century- The beginning filled with the extravagances and excesses of the over the top Marie Antionette and the end with the beauty, softness, elegance, and simplicity of the "Jane Austen" era.

I love London's Victorian Gothic revival era with it's elaborate architecture, bold, romantic clothing, and decadence.
It is also the time period that gave us Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne who inspired the modern "Steampunk Revolution".

What time periods inspire you?
I would love to hear about them!

De-Clutter your Online Biz!

2011-02-15T15:29:00.003-06:00

I have signed up for a free 6 week online course for helping you streamline and de-clutter your online business! If you are interested in joining too you can visit the link here! Did I mention it is FREE!

pssst...over here is a preview of what you can learn!

A Little to Me from ME!

2011-02-10T14:12:00.003-06:00

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from Etsy today.

I am thinking about getting myself a to me from me Valentine's Day gift (or more) from my favorites that way I know I'll get something I love!

Shopping Anyone?

2011-02-04T14:33:00.006-06:00

With all of the snowy weather keeping us home bound on top of me being sick most of the week, I am ready to do some shopping. Unfortunately, even if the roads weren't so bad, I am still not well enough to get out.

Where does that leave me? Why shopping online at CSN stores, of course! And with tax time around the corner my mind wanders to wishing I had a home office of my own to maybe just taking a look at new home office desks to make what space I have feel new! I found a really cute armoire style desk that was super affordable, but it's out of stock :(...guess I'll just have to look around and see what else I can find!
Something like this, or this would work great for sewing and crafting on one end, and putting my computer on the other.
Stay tuned for a review on what whatever I find!

New Art Pendants

2011-01-31T13:17:00.002-06:00

I have several new art pendants listed in my shop now! And don't forget to stop by California Girl's blog and enter her giveaway-just 2 more days left!

A Southern Fried Giveaway!

2011-01-28T07:52:00.005-06:00

My Mom, Kathy, has started a new cooking blog where she will be giving you lots of great recipes, ideas, and tips on cooking. There are already several mouthwatering recipes for you and now she is hosting her first ever GIVEAWAY!! Stop by her blog for a chance to win $20.00 to shop at CSN stores online! Hurry, the giveaway ends at midnight central time on February 2!

Valentine Party Shakers

2011-01-21T20:27:00.005-06:00

You liked them at Halloween, you're going to LOVE them for Valentine's Day- Skelly Party Shakers are back! And this time, I've kicked them up a notch with lots of extra detail! Visit my shop to find them!

Hippity Hoppity Easter's Coming....a bit early!

2011-01-15T14:53:00.005-06:00

Now available in my shop, 4 hand sculpted paperclay Easter cuties!

A Big Confession...

2011-01-10T08:10:00.003-06:00

Ok guys, are you ready for this?

I am about to reveal something so totally unbelievable, so freakishly unlike me, so
- so
- so weird that I can't imagine why I have let it go on so long.
Here it goes....

I DON'T OWN ANY DECORATIONS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

There.
I said it.
I have no idea why this is.
I am a Holiday freak.
I have totes and totes of Christmas and Halloween/Fall.
I have just one tote of Easter (which I also can't believe), but
NOTHING
Valentine's Day.
I think I can trace this back to my single days of hating the holiday. "Blah", I would think as I inevitably ended up being single on that day, "This is just a holiday designed for Hallmark to make more money and make the rest of us feel sad and inadequate."
So I scorned the frilly pink and red decorations as I passed them in the store. I stuck my tongue out in the face of all the after holiday markdowns. And....I ended up with nothing because of it. Maybe I will take this year to start making and collecting some stuff. Maybe not. But I feel better now that I got that off of my chest!

Score!

2011-01-09T11:18:00.004-06:00

Last weekend at Canton (Texas' famous monthly flea market) I came across some great old books to use in my mixed media art. I can't bear to tear up books unless they are already torn up or messed up in some fashion so I was really excited to find these book bundles! The biggest one is a dictionary from 1897- soooo cool! And then there are 3 old childrens books from 1925, 1930, and 1944 and a big stack of Child's Life from 1971-1974. There are some great images and text in them! The vintage milk glass shades are not from Canton. I rescued those from my Mom or Grandmother's garage sale pile at least 10 years ago in the form of a chandelier that I was going to remake, but never got around to. I think that they are fairly old- maybe 1960's? I rediscovered them in my shed while straightening up a couple of days ago. They are in great shape from the neck down(they just need a good washing), but broken where they are held in by the screws. I was looking at them and realized that turned upside down (like in the picture) they resemble big dress skirts...so an idea was born and you will be seeing some art dolls coming out of those!

New Valentine-y Art!

2011-01-08T15:54:00.007-06:00

Here are a few new pieces. I will have them all listed in my shop in the next few days! Mixed Media raised relief 6 x 6 canvas Hand sculpted paperclay Octopus mermaid girl with her sea horse pet Hand sculpted polymer clay Valentine mini houses or gnome homes

Have a great weekend! We are hoping for a little snow here!

Thursday's Find

2011-01-06T16:00:00.003-06:00

I want to start featuring some of my fellow Etsy sellers, and I thought I would start with some shops that I have purchased from. I got this great stamp set from SadieLace on Etsy. She has a great selection of stamp sets at really great prices! Pop by and check her out if you are in need of a stamp fix!

Heirloom Wreath and Thursday's Finds!

2011-01-05T09:41:00.005-06:00

I just had to make a wreath like the one I found on page 90-91 of this online magazine, "Inspired Ideas, The Christmas Issue".
(click on the pictures to view them larger)
I have lots of old glass balls and vintage bits and bobs that are from my Grandmother, Mom, and various flea markets and junk sales and this was the perfect way to use some of them! So yesterday I did it before I packed everything back up and I had enough left over to make a small 10" tree to go with it. There is so much to look at on this wreath that you can't take it all in in just one glance! The tree is old, but I never really used it and it has been getting bumped around in the boxes for years now. I almost got rid of it this year, but now it will hold a special place next year along with the beautiful wreath(-maybe in a glass dome?)! The best part? When I start unpacking all of my decorations next year I will have forgotten that I made them and they will be fabulous new treasures to look at!
Check back tomorrow for what I will try to make a regular weekly feature, Thursday's Finds, where I will feature a great shop from Etsy!

Quail and Zipper Flowers!

2011-01-04T10:23:00.006-06:00

Finally a bit of free time! Hayden went back to school today and our visiting relatives are all gone, so I thought I'd show you a little of what happened in the last 2 weeks.
Our biggest news- we have babies! Quail babies, that is! Our adventures in "farming" led my husband to buying a small incubator and trying to hatch eggs that our young quail have been laying. We started with 50 or so eggs (we put them in every couple of days or so) in the incubator and last week they started hatching. It has been the coolest thing watching them come out of their eggs and growing so fast. At one point the first day it looked like pop corn popping around with so many little eggs moving around! Fast forward one week and we now have over 30 of these sweet little things! I just love them- needless to say we will only be using these for eggs! So cute!

I also have one little project that I made for myself over the holidays- a zipper flower wreath. Last year I made a bunch of these flowers out of vintage zippers and have not had any luck trying sell them so I wanted to figure out something that I could do with several at once that was different from what others were doing.

My sister suggested making a wreath out of them. I was going to sell it when I finished it, but it turned out soooo cute that I decided to keep it for myself! I have it hanging on the outside of my bedroom door that faces the living room and it really brings all of the bright fun colors that I have in my house on to that wall.

So, that's all for now. I going to make a Christmas wreath today that I saw in an online magazine before I put all of my decorations away and will have that to show you tomorrow.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Holiday season! I know I did!

Celebrate 365

2010-12-15T14:55:00.003-06:00

See my Victorian Ice Skates Ornament on the back cover(top center) of the Winter 2010 issue of Celebrate 365 magazine!

Lots of New Christmas Items Available!!!

2010-12-13T22:28:00.001-06:00

Etsy
sleepyhollowfolkart

My Review of World of Spiders Three Piece Twin Comforter Set

2010-12-04T14:16:00.002-06:00

I ended up buying the Discovery comforter set for my kiddo and reviewed it for the website. He loves it! I think I am going to redo his room a bit and then get some pics to share!

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Features:

Set includes comforter, bedskirt and one pillow sham
Twin size
Comforter constructed of 55% cotton and 45% polyester
Features photo-real spider icon with glow in the dark web
Machine washable
Purchase of this product benefits th...

A Glowing Review

By Malissa from East Texas on 12/4/2010

Pros: Light weight but warm, Attractive Design

Best Uses: Year-round

Describe Yourself: Midrange Shopper

The product looks just like the picture and really does glow in the dark. The blanket is nice and fluffy,and fits the bed nicely, but I had hoped for the price that the material would be a bit softer than the cheaper box store comforters that we usually buy. Overall, We love it and I think with washes the material will soften up.

(legalese)

One on One Project Night- Part 2

2010-11-24T11:06:00.003-06:00

So, my nephew, Cameron, wanted help sketching a dragon out of his dragonology book. I took one look at it and thought, "I'll never be able to do that!", but I told him "sure, we can do that!".

And guess what? I did it and it turned out pretty great! He is sooo happy with it he wants a series to frame and hang on his bedroom walls. The look on his face when I finished was the best! It took the duration of the movie "The Last Airbender" to finish it, quite a bit longer than the gloves took to make!
My own kiddo couldn't think of anything he wanted to do with me, so he said he would let me know when he thought of something!

One on One Project Night- Part 1

2010-11-24T11:02:00.001-06:00

My niece and nephew ended up spending the night last night and each of them wanted to do something different so I decided that we would do some one on one projects. The first one was making a pair of fingerless gloves. Kennedy has been asking for months for a pair and we were looking around on Etsy for some that she liked (only just about every pair she saw!), but she wanted them in time for Thanksgiving. Soooo, after seeing some that were just recycled socks, I dug through my sock drawer and found some cute stripey socks, one of my favorite pairs, but hey, they are old and I couldn't resist those big blue eyes!
They took about 20 minutes to make and she loves them! Wanna know how I did it?
Like this: Take one pair of long socks, cut off the foot right above the heel, along the raw edge you just cut, run a zig zag stitch, cut a hole at the other end about where you want your thumb to come out, again, run a zig zag stitch along the raw edges of the hole, we added some quick little layered flowers that we cut freehand out of 3 colors of felt, added a button to the middle and then sewed them to the top of the hand part of the gloves! That's it! Super quick, easy, fun, and cute!!

S is for Snowman

2010-11-18T11:53:00.004-06:00

I made 3 cute snowmen on altered alphabet blocks that are available in my shop now! They are hand sculpted from paperclay, with hand crocheted scarves and a hat (thanks Les for making those!), hand sculpted candies, and the most gorgeous silver glass glitter!

Lampshade Makeover

2010-11-15T22:41:00.007-06:00

I decided to give my 2 plain white lampshades (I accidentally deleted my before shot, oops!) a make over and give up the hunt for new lampshades for now! I started by making a template from sheets of plain white copy paper that I taped to the inside of the lampshade side by side, making sure to tape the seams a bit as I went and loosely taping the paper to the top of the shade so I could easily remove it. Then I trimmed up the excess on the bottom and where the beginning and ending edges inside met- do not tape this seam because you want to be able to lay the template out flat.

I then used my inspiration piece
(a cute cross that was at my sister in law let me borrow off of her wall!)and sketched out a design across the template in pencil. After I had my design the way I wanted it, I outlined all of the main parts in black Sharpie marker and re-taped it to the inside of the lampshade. Then, with the light on so that you can see it easily, trace the design onto the shade using pencil or marker. I would recommend marker because I used a charcoal pencil and got a lot of unwanted smudges that wouldn't come off and ended up outlining it in marker anyway at the end. After your outline is traced you can paint it, but my shades looked pretty cool with just the black and white so you could just stop there. I, however, was going for color so I used regular acrylic craft paint let it dry, outlined it in black Sharpie, and then added a jewels sparingly to a few of the larger flowers.

Viola, updated shades for practically nothing!

As a side note, I also tried painting the whole shade first in a pale blue for the background, but when I tested it out on the lamp with the light on it looked awful. I had a hard time getting the paint off even though it was still wet, and ended up with a few pale blotches that I'll chalk up to background interest! (though I would have rather had a nice clean background)

Have you heard of CSN?

2010-11-12T19:59:00.005-06:00

CSN is an online retailer that has over 200 stores where you can find everything from a counter stool for your kitchen to school supplies to slipcovers for your couch and so much more! So far I have just window shopped there, but I was asked about a product review and will be choosing a product for review in a future post. I am thinking a new comforter set for my kiddo, like this cool glow in the dark Animal Planet set,

or maybe a new kitchen tea kettle for me! this one by Rachael Ray is really cute!
We'll see soon! Head over there yourself to check it out and see all of the great items you can find in one place!

Empathy Monster....ummm, sort of....

2010-11-09T13:50:00.005-06:00

My little boy is somewhat prone to bad dreams (as am I) and "seeing monsters" in the dark shadows of his room, so my Mom started making him "Monster Spray" a couple of years ago that he could spray around his room to keep out the bad thoughts. He doesn't really use it all of the time, but when he is feeling a little scared because of something he watched on TV or read about.

So as part of this weeks lesson for the Willowing "Art, Heart, and Healing" class I decided to make a "Goodnight Monster" to keep his bad dreams away instead of the "Empathy Monster" that goes with the class. It took a little longer that expected, but I still made it in only a couple of hours this morning. It comes complete with a pocket on the front to hold his bottle of monster spray! I'm going to put it on his bed for him so he will find it when he comes home from school today!

ETSY SALE!!!

2010-11-08T09:47:00.004-06:00

I am having a 15% off Sale on all Halloween items in my shop for the month of November! These pieces even make great Christmas presents for the Halloween collector in your life! Don't miss out, everything will go back to regular price after the sale ends!

A Few Things for Thanksgiving

2010-11-06T09:12:00.007-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend so far! We have been battling the flu at our house, but I did manage to get a few things made for a Thanksgiving update in my Etsy shop.

This is a cute Pilgrim turkey with his harvest. He is fairly large at about 7.5" tall and entirely hand sculpted from paperclay. The other pictures are 3 sets of miniature ornaments that are also hand sculpted from paperclay. They are even cuter in person. My photography skills never do the pieces justice!
I have 2 more pieces that I am working on, but I am experimenting a bit and I am not sure if they will turn out or not!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2010-10-31T09:58:00.002-05:00

Have fun, be safe, and eat lots of candy!

Willowing Art Class

2010-10-26T21:45:00.003-05:00

I am taking a great free online art healing course at Willowing.ning and I am working on the lessons there as well as some new pieces for Etsy, (and dodging tornadoes over the weekend!).

The course is about letting go of childhood traumas or issues, accepting yourself as who you are, and not being afraid to express yourself through art. She also offers a variety of paid classes on mixed media painting techniques, faces, etc. that look like they will be very informative, especially since I have never had any formal art training. I may try some of those out later. I heard about the course from my sister who happened upon some of Tam's videos on you tube and then saw the badge for the course on a blog.
It is really a lot of fun and I am learning some new techniques, which is kind of what I am in it for, considering I had a really fun, loving environment growing up and was spoiled rotten! I am altering the lessons to be a sort of an appreciation for all of the blessings that I have been given. I will post my progress as I finish the lessons, but I started a week late and have to squish them in with the rest of what I have going! Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Winter WIPs

2010-10-18T16:37:00.002-05:00

Here is a sneak peek at some new winter/Christmas pieces in the works. I should have them ready to list by the end of the week!

And the winner is...........

2010-10-15T19:53:00.002-05:00

Trish Moore!

Congratulations, Trish, on winning the drawing for my glittery skull make do! Thank you to everyone who took the time to come and comment on my blog! I have another giveaway planned for after Thanksgiving so keep an eye out!

My Little Chef

2010-10-14T20:33:00.004-05:00

Hayden (age 8) has decided that once a month or so he should get to plan, shop for, and cook a meal. We thought that was a good idea so last night he cooked his first dinner for us! On the menu: Steaks and corn on the cob on the grill and "pre-loaded" mashed potatoes (he stirred cheese and bacon bits into the mashed potatoes and then topped them with sour cream). Yummy! He did so well and had minimal help with the grill and around the stove. He even peeled the potatoes! The finished product! Looks pretty terrific, huh!

Halloween in Wonderland

2010-10-11T23:02:00.003-05:00

I finally finished and listed my Halloween in Wonderland dolls! These are the first 3 in the series. I will be adding more characters in the future and already have sketches of some cool Halloween versions of your favorite Wonderland inhabitants! They are listed in my Etsy shop.

My Halloween Giveaway!!!

2010-10-08T14:31:00.005-05:00

I just finished listing some blingy Halloween Goodies in my Etsy shop, but I saved out one of the cool glittery Skulls for one of you guys! This is a preformed skull that I covered in glass glitter with a handmade vintage music paper crown accented with a black satin ribbon and a handmade crepe paper ruffle, all securely attached to a metal candlestick.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here on my blog on this post only! I will draw a name on October 15th so I can get it to you by Halloween!
If you would like to help spread the word you can get the badge from my sidebar and just link it back to this post!
And while you are entering giveaways....stop by my sister's blog and check out her giveaway!

One Hundred and Eleventieth blog giveaway

2010-10-06T10:23:00.004-05:00

.......this is not my giveaway... yet, but I wanted to help spread the word! My sister, Leslie, is having a giveaway over on her blog to celebrate her one hundred and eleventieth blog post, (click on the picture to go to the blog post)
and Bilbo wants to help by giving the winner his "one ring to rule your wardrobe!" Stop by there and put your name down. You have up to 3 chances to enter before the 23rd of this month! Hurry up, it will be here before you know it...and trust me, you WANT this ring....my precious...they are going to try to get my precious....

Glitter WIPs and Giveaway Teaser!

2010-10-05T23:26:00.005-05:00

This is what I have been working on lately....lots of glittery things! I have been so backed up with skelly shaker orders that I haven't had time to do much else ( not that I 'm complaining- I am sooo thankful for my customers!), but I am trying to finish these things up that I started on a couple of weeks ago! I should have these listed pretty soon so check back.
ALSO......Look out in the next couple of days for a Halloween giveaway here on my blog!

Indie Artisians Feature

2010-10-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already been there, Indie Artisans is a great place to find lots of new Artists gathered in their fun, ever-changing collections.

Right now they are featuring Halloween/Day of the Dead items in their "Have a Handmade Fright" collection and I am lucky enough to have my Salem Ghost featured!

Go take a peek and don't forget to scroll down and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and the Hive!

Adventures in Wine Making

2010-09-23T08:42:00.003-05:00

My husband and I are attempting to make wine which we are hoping is ready by Christmas. We have been talking for the last few years about making homemade wine and cheese (yes, we are thinking about making cheese!) baskets for the family. Several months ago we made homemade beer and it turned out really good...and I don't even like beer! We are making it from a kit and not completely from scratch. Right now it is in the "primary ferment" bucket
and it is bubbling away like crazy.

About mid week next week we will be putting it into these giant bottles for the next stage. Once it is bottled up in individual bottles, we are going to make cute labels. We also got homemade root beer and cream soda (or as we call it, "butterbeer" from the Harry Potter books!) kits so we could add bottles of that to the baskets for the kids. Mmmmm, I can't wait to try it all! When we start our cheese making adventure I will be sure to show you!

A Sweet Award!

2010-09-22T14:17:00.003-05:00

A little while back the sweet Chris at Magical Fairys gave me this awesome award! We are supposed to pick 10 things we like and then pick 10 special people to give it to, but as is usual for awards on my blog, I invite all of the readers of my blog to accept the award if you would like because you are all special to me! Thank you for the time you take out of your busy lives to come visit here!

Without further ado....here are my 10 things I like:

Spending time with my little boy
Spending time with family and friends and animals
Coffee with lots of sweet flavored creamer
Jane Austen
Rainy days
Being creative in all that I do whether it is in my art or making dinner fun
Aqua/teal blue, orange, brown, deep red, citron, pink
Reading English cozy mystery novels
Cream Sherry
Watching movies with a big tub of popcorn

I could really go on and on, but I have probably already bored you!

Halloweenie Glitter Balls

2010-09-21T10:09:00.004-05:00

I had some clear glass ornaments that have been hanging around waiting on a project so I decided to do something simple with them and just cover them in glitter. I wanted orange balls for my Halloween tree, but didn't want a really orange-y orange so I went with Martha Stewart's beautiful Copper fine glitter. I LOVE Martha Stewart glitter. If you have never used it, it is absolutely the most sparkly glitter ever! You will be hooked once you use it!

Trick or Treat Time!

2010-09-15T22:22:00.003-05:00

You have one more chance tomorrow to get over to the Trick or Treat blog event and win some great prizes! Don't miss out! You can start here with Sweet B!

Lots of Halloween Goodies!

2010-09-15T16:38:00.004-05:00

I've listed new items in my Etsy shop! 2 Cloth and Clay witches

2 Hobgoblin sculptures,

some cute paper altered art ornaments

altered coaster

altered playing card

and paper glitter skeletons from a scan of a vintage die cut last but not least, I made more skelly shakers with new pattern paper hats

There are still a lot of great Halloween items ready to go home with you so come by and take a look!

Shabby Shriek Halloween Tree Garland Tutorial

2010-09-13T15:39:00.006-05:00

My sister calls the frilly Halloween stuff that I have been making "Shabby Shriek" (instead of shabby chic- get it?!) and I needed a new Halloween tree to show some of it off so I decided to just do one of those quickie spray painted branch trees. I used a big branch off of our mean ol' thorny mesquite tree so it would be good and spiky and spooky looking. I started to put ornaments on it, but thought it needed a little something else and was wishing I had some kind of garland for it, when some black spiderweb lace scraps caught my eye. Which brings us to the how to!

I thought any sort of black lace should do for this.Take your piece of lace and rip it into strips.

Vary the lengths a bit so it doesn't look too uniform. My lace naturally ripped in uneven strips and sizes.
Tie each length together leaving the knot ends hanging.

Continue until you have the length you desire.

That's it! Super easy, super quick, and super cute! Mine took less than five minutes to make, seriously! I also found these great glitter spiders to poke into the lace here and there, added my ornaments, and viola a "Shabby Shriek" Halloween tree!
What was that? You want to know where to find ornaments like that? Well, right here in my Etsy shop! And if you mention you read this blog post you can get 15% off of your ornament purchase! Just put "Ornaments" in the message to seller and I will refund the difference thru paypal!

Tea Party Swap Doll

2010-09-09T12:14:00.006-05:00

I participated in the Halloween Tea Party swap hosted by Rabbit Hollow Prims. My swap partner received her doll from me so it is safe to show what I made her now! I haven't gotten mine from her yet, so I will update when it gets here. I made a cloth and clay witch with her teapot complete with a frog trying to escape! She was my first ugly witch and I loved how she turned out so much that I am making a similar one to put in my Etsy shop.

Junk finds and Rust Solution

2010-09-05T13:18:00.006-05:00

It's Canton weekend here in Texas. We went yesterday and I ran across a few things for my art projects among other fun purchases and tons of junk food! I found some great wooden spools, some very old mini glass Christmas balls that had an unopened pkg. of vintage Santa stickers in among them, and these springs that I have been looking around for. They are a little larger than what I had in mind and not very rusty, but I will rust them and make the size work for the projects I had in mind. I got this rust recipe from my Mom and thought I would share it for those of you that don't already have one. It only makes a cup of solution so I am going to adjust it to cover a large amount of springs. Hopefully it will work out right!

Rusting Solution

(Caution this is very toxic to children and animals. Do not dispose down sink. Dispose of properly by pouring cat litter in the container and marking toxic before throwing out into garbage.)

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup bleach

1 teaspoon salt

Leave in jar of solution for 2 days and then lay on a disposable plate with paper towels to dry. Items will rust beautifully as it dries. Do not reuse solution.

Salt Dough Fun

2010-08-07T12:02:00.008-05:00

A few days ago we made up a batch of salt dough. The kids always have so much fun making things, it is really easy to make, and it can be "baked" in the microwave so they get to start painting it soon after they make it. 1 cup flour 1 cup salt 1/2 cup warm watermix thoroughly, you could also add food coloring at the mixing point if you would like to color the dough
I made 3 batches up so I then divided it into 3 equal parts you can see here about how much 1 batch yields in little hands

Now it's time to create! Once you have your pieces made you can cook them in the microwave in 30 second increments, or 10 second increments if it is really thin or small. Let cool and then it is ready to paint. We did a lot of sculpting and starting over so we didn't get much made or any painting done, but the fun is in the process.

Crouching Zucchini, Hidden Eggplant

2010-08-05T15:18:00.003-05:00

Most of the time I have no trouble getting Hayden to eat his veggies, especially in lasagne, but yesterday my much pickier niece and nephew were over so I decided to sneak the veggies into the meal. I made up my sauce as usual, but instead of slicing and dicing the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant (I usually just layer them in when I use them) I decided to food process them almost to a puree along with the onion, sautee it with the meat, and then just mix it into the sauce. Hee Hee, they never saw it coming. So my Cameron and Kennedy, that would live on a diet of chicken nuggets and Ramen Noodles if you let them, ate super healthy and yummy lasagne chocked full of veggie goodeness! I'm going to try pureeing steamed cauliflower and mixing it into my mac and cheese next time!

2010-08-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

Caroline from Caroline's Crafts is having a great giveaway of one of her sweet creations! Just head over to her blog and put your name in to enter!

The Hungry Couch

2010-07-31T21:43:00.005-05:00

You know how couches eat change and pens and junk, kinda like a dryer eats socks, right? Well our couch must have been really hungry over the years, and I 'm not talking about under the cushions. I clean those out every few days because I'm always losing my cell phone in between them. I'm talking about those crevices that open up only when you are sitting on them, and then as soon as you get up they close up and you never realize how much has fallen INSIDE the couch. Well, I hunted all day for the TV remote, all the while having this feeling that it had finally made it to the black hole of the couch so I decided it was time to turn the couch over and slice a smallish slit in the underside to retrieve it. This is what we found.....the kids thought it was a treasure trove of stuff they had lost over the years! And guess what else I found....yeah, that's right- the remote.

New Items Listed!

2010-07-24T14:26:00.004-05:00

Lots of Halloween goodies available in my Etsy shop now and still more to come! Come by and check them out!

MLB Giveaway

2010-07-12T11:47:00.002-05:00

Hurry to enter the drawing to win this cool piece from MLB Studios! You have until July 17, but you need to go today so you can help spread the word!