New houses on Etsy!

Ok. So I finally added a few new pieces to the etsy store. By Friday I will also have a calendar and 3 new birdcage nest builders up as well!



Here's a peek at the additions:



























The trees are starting to turn and it really is starting to feel like fall! Which means this weekend will be spent "fall festivalling" with cider and pumpkins! Hope you are planning some fall fun too!

Bye bye Birthdays... it's a new week...

Last week went by in a whirlwind...
Spending time with my friends on my birthday and then planning and executing a perfect 11th birthday celebration for my Emily... my time and energy was zapped!
For Emily's birthday we took two of her friends to the Great Frederick County Fair and then came home for a fun movie nite and sleepover!
We have been to the fair a few times, but this is the first year we rode and of those rides (not me...) and we saw a baby calf being born!!! SOOOO cute! And the momma knew what to do right from the start. It was amazing to see the mom attending to her new baby. It took a little while, but well worth the wait!




Now that all the festivities are over... it's back to work for me!
Ok.. just a bit more play... I had signed up for a MAXICARD swap on ATCSforall.com where I had to take any postage stamp (cancelled or new) and create a 4x6 postcard size art that incorporates that stamp. You can either copy the stamp or work with theme. Either way, it has to be handdrawn/painted.

Here's what I came up with!
I can't wait to see my returns!

Ok... Now I'm back to work.
...

Birthday FUNDAY!

I have a group of best friends that I love to hang out with any time I get a chance! These are the same friends that I have crafty work days with, exercise with and bounce all my ideas off of!
Every time one of our birthday's come around we have a tradition of having a meal and going shopping for the day!
Tomorrow is my birthday and I share it with my dear friend Kathy! (BTW: Kathy and I also share the same wedding anniversary date - She's just a few years before me ;) WHAT A COINCIDENCE!)

So we had our special day today! We ate lunch at a yummy downtown Frederick Tapas Restaurant - Isabella's, and went shopping for shoes, candles and clothes!

These are the awesome gifts my friends gave me. A hand dyed~ handmade slouch bag, a beautifully organic candle display and an awesome Cathy Nichols piece - (Red Balloons) ALOFT! Each of my friends knows exactly what I LOVE!

I had such a wonderful day. It was so fun and I am so fortunate to share this special day with my friends!
Thank you Rene', Stacie and Kathy for celebrating together!

Next time is Stacie's turn... in APRIL... hmmm... we will have to have another reason for food and shopping before then :)

One little bit of business news - I will be dropping off about 4 more houses at the Muse tomorrow. So check them out when if you get a chance!

A whole town...

More and more houses today. Stacie invited me to her studio today. I love working there because it feels like I'm going to "work". I actually get ready and eat breakfast and head in my car to work! Even though it is only 4 houses up the street :) But I need to haul my supplies, so a car is needed.
I made another Halloween house and a couple others. This time around I am incorporating precious and semi-precious stones. I like the idea of using the stones for their healing and chakra properties.
Hopefully I will deliver some to the Muse tomorrow afternoon.

I want to have about 20 houses done by the end of Sept. That's not asking too much? Is it?

Hope you're having a creative week!
See you soon!

It's Friday and I've started HOUSES!

Well I can't believe that the week is already at an end! It's been a busy busy week.
A fresh batch of calendars was delivered to the Muse on Wednesday and I finally got started on those tricky little houses!

I am so happy with how they are turning out. I even made a Halloween one for sale next week (again at the Muse!)
I started out with my new shipment of paper birdhouses and collaged/covered them with all vintage book pages. I had some french pages as well as old english pages.
The next step is painting the base colors in acrylics. I almost think they are perfect just plain like that... But then comes the fun collaging/detailing steps.




My favorite part... being able to create each house one of a kind and according to my mood at that moment!
Here's a picture of the Halloween house... creepy...

All in all, this was a very productive week; With a couple breaks built in for school volunteering, lunch with friends, errand running and exercise, the week just rushed by.




Oh, one more thing... Stacie sent me a video about artists this week. So many times I feel discouraged and wonder, "what the heck am I doing?" I wonder if making and selling pieces is worth the time and effort. I found the video very inspiring and encouraging. I realized I really do love creating things with my hands; I love the satisfaction is brings when something is finished and packaged either for sale or as a personal gift. It helped me justify my decision to create with my time & not take a more traditional career path that is just not for me.
It was helpful to me... maybe it will be for you too... or maybe not. If you have a few minutes, check it out!

Krista Vernoff "Commit to Thrive" from Omega Institute on Vimeo.

I hope you have a great weekend! See you next week!

Going to the Muse on Wed!

I can't believe it, but I think I will be able to get to the Muse on Wednesday! It's been a busy couple weeks and I'm still feeling a little out of the swing of things. My friends and I were just talking about how things are not fitting just right yet.


I do have the calendars ready for delivery and something new! Wine Glass Tags. I will be offering the tags in sets of 4 and 10!
Also in the batch are Halloween sets!


They fit right around the base of a wine glass and are made from very sturdy card stock... although they are meant to be disposable!
I will also begin to offer them at my etsy store soon!



The photos with the wine glasses are meant to show how they are used.




That was a prototype and after several design changes, I decided to go with pretty papers with lots of color!



So That's where I'm at for the time being... somewhere between blissfully creating and watching the clock hands spin out of control...

Where are you these days?

More Calendar Pics!

Ok... so I haven't even had time to start my birdhouses yet this week... hmph! But I did finish my first batch of calendars! They are ready for shipment to stores.
I think I will start putting them out next week!
Here's a few more shots of the pages!
Tomorrow is a day off for the kids so I'm not sure if I will be working or not. Depends on what the day brings I guess. I'm hoping to get to the birdhouses by Fri, but chances are ... next week.
That's the way it goes... I suppose... :)

2011 Calendars are in the works!

Probably one of the most rewarding projects I do annually is the paper bag calendar. I love the whole process of making them. From folding and sewing, painting, embellishing and assembling... each step requires attention and creativity.
When the "spirit moves me", I sit down and make a few pages. When I am having a creative block, I have to set them aside. Forcing the pages always shows in the end result!
Yesterday I had one of those perfect days; when colors and inspiration all came together. So I got right to work!
I can tell... I'm going to fall in love with 2011~!
here's a couple photos of what I did so far.

The style of these calendars have evolved in the past 4 years and this year the theme, "Imagine", has emerged!

As the time gets closer, I will keep you informed on when they will start being available in stores and online!

On the agenda for next week... more birdhouses!
Thanks for checking me out today! See you soon!

additional FALL 2010 Cards...

Here's just a few more cards that I am working on this week. This line is distinguished by the vintage photo corners (so far...)!
It's fun to work with this new size: 3.5"x5".

Some more exciting news... My box of blank birdhouses arrived yesterday! So next week those will be added to the schedule. YEA!

This week is flying by... as usual. How's your week going? Any new projects in the works?