Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap - 2007

I participated in the lovely Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap last month. I love anything vintage, and my entire house is basically filled with old stuff, except for my electronics. But vintage kitchen has got to be my favorite. I like my kitchen to look very cheerful. Maybe it's a way to try to make myself seem like I'm an old fashioned housewife who makes lots of homemade bread and other goodies, and always has an extensive, healthy meal at hand. Which I'm not! But it's nice to dream! So I decided to join in on the fun with the other wonderful girls and get myself a swap partner, and hopefully be able to send something her way that she would enjoy.


This is the package sent from Melissa out on the Jersey Shore all the way out here to California. Very Spring-like in it's packaging!


This is the oh, so fun, collection of goodies sent to me from my swap partner. How much fun to open and find the surprises! There's an old tin box, vintage inspired yellow bowls (so very cheery and always needed!), a muffin tray that I can always use for sorting my supplies, a very old pie tin, very quaint recipe cards with an adorable crochet flower, three vintage inspired cookie cutters (some that I don't have-amazingly!), and my son's favorite - a goody bag of yummy Easter chocolates (those didn't last long). What fabulous stuff! Thanks so much Melissa! It was so wonderful meeting you!


I love this sweet tin box the most! I have an extensive tin box collection. I'd rather store all of my supplies in an adorably-old tin box, than a new plastic box with no personality. No matter how many I get, I can always find something to put inside of them. So I put my collection of tiny boxes inside this cute one from Melissa!


Phoebus really liked the leftover tissue in the box from Melissa! What a cozy bed!


These are the goodies that I sent to Melissa. She collects Mexican floral batea trays and I wanted to get her one. I know I have one floating around in my shed or somewhere lost in my house. I looked, but no luck. Just couldn't find it. I was bummed about that. Instead, I decided to paint my own batea-inspired little plaque. I like how it turned out. I hope she had as much fun in this swap as I did! And thank you, Jenny, for organizing the fun event. Hope to do it again!

Illustration Friday - Snap

The IF theme this week is "snap". So here you have a bunch of "snap dragons."

The brightly colored flowers are so named because of the way you can snap the flower heads and make the little dragons open and close their mouths. I've never actually done this to one of these flowers, even as a kid, but I guess many kids enjoy doing this. I remember these flowers growing in my mom's garden when I was young. I've always loved their bold splash of color, but I personally have never really had good luck with them. I've tried growing them from seed before and they took 2 years to finally bloom. The ones I planted from the nursery never seemed to live long. I think they needed more organic matter in the soil. Something that mountain dirt lacks sometimes - too much decomposed granite. I'm sure I'll try again some day, and I'll be sure to add something to the soil. Then I may get to see these little dragons snap!

Here it is on ebay.

It's an ACEO (2.5x3.5 inches), watercolor and pen and ink.

Bloomin Daffodils

Look at how cheerful this guy (or gal) is! I've got a few daffodils here and there in my yard. If any flower has a true personality, it's the daffodil. They are one of the plants that can survive the many moles and gophers I've got. They don't eat daffodils! I don't know if my bulbs are lacking nutrients, but only a small percentage bloom each year.
I'm starting the annual chore of cleaning out the garden of it's fallen pine needles and cones, acorns, branches, and dead growth. It takes me a long time because I do a pretty small amount at a time. It is still a little early, so I can take my time.



This is a more rare variety of daffodil. I missed it's prime. I think it got snowed on last Tuesday.

Art Lesson - 3D Tissue flowers collage

This lovely piece was created by a seconder grader. I was inspired by spring for this collage of flowers art lesson. Made with tissue paper and glue. I cut the tissue into circles to save time. An older child could do this their self. Then used the old, eraser of a pencil wrapped with the tissue and glued it. We twisted strips for the stems, and made grass with tissue cut into fringe. I tried to get her to use a variety of methods with the tissue paper. You can also roll a small piece into a ball. I like how she made the flowers look like they're blowing in the wind.

My week was so busy that I felt like I had a hang over today. Art lessons, my son's busy schedule, other unusual events, and an extra amount of volunteering at the school - that made for a small amount of time left over for my art. Usually, Sundays are my best day for lots of art making, so I look forward to that tomorrow!

I'm listening toJack Johnson now on Austin City Limits. Jack has got the most relaxing groove. How can something so mellow make you want to dance? It's a goodey.

Back Home

I'm back home after a few days down at my mom's house. Then a day at my sister's. I'm not ready to post any art today, but I had to get something on to this blog. It had been too long. So I had to show a nice picture from my mom's garden this past weekend. A wonderful thing about Orange County, California is you can have a great garden year round. My mom's garden is a little bit of wilderness in the middle of suburbia. A little bit of paradise amongst the concrete jungle. My camera was malfunctioning so this was the only shot taken while down in OC. I couldn't get any pictures of my twin 16 month old nephews. I spent 24 hours with those little guys and what a joy that was. A busy, exhausting JOY!

I grew up mainly in Orange County until I was 21. Then I moved out to the mountains. I don't think I could ever live there again, but I do enjoy the lush, jungle-like gardens that grow there.

Spring Fling Tea with Artsy Mama

So glad you could stop by for a relaxing cup of tea in honor of springtime! Artsy Mama was so very kind to host this lovely party in which visitors from around the world attended. You should definitely drop by her place to join in the festivities!

I love any excuse to use some of my vintage tea cups. I'm sorry I couldn't make some hand made crumpets of some sort, but I do have these yummy mint-chocolate cookies made by Newman's Own Organics. I was busy volunteering at the school today, so I couldn't find the time to bake. I'm making it to the party just in time for tea time on the west coast - 3:30 pm.



Also, while you're here you should take a walk amongst the garden and see the fruit trees in bloom. Here's my plum blooming early in the warmth of this early spring on the mountain. Believe it or not, we'll probably get another freeze here before June, so these beauties will probably not transform into a fruit. This is the life on a mountain in Southern California.

I'm a huge fan of tea, be it hot or iced, green, black or any color. I can guzzle a pot of it down each day in winter. In summer my glass of iced tea is never far away. It's so nice that the beverage can be so beneficial for your health as well. It makes it fine to overdo it and have cups and cups of the stuff. So sit back, relax and have another cup! Happy Spring to you all!

Fifi The Wonder Dog - Art2

The Art2 Theme Week is "Circus." I've done Art Squared before, but this is the first time I've participated in the eBay group - Art2.

This is "Fifi The Wonder Dog." She's able to spread love and magic all while doing a balancing act with her busy life.

It is acrylic on 5x5 inch plywood. With lots of glitter and a final coat of acrylic matte varnish. Yeah, plywood is not the highest quality, but I like the way these look hanging on a wall in a group of other art squared. And once painted look very folksy and whimsical.

You can find it here on etsy.

Sweet Scent of Violets

The delicately tiny violets are blooming at my house. They are so cute, and have a very subtle sweet scent. I've got a few varieties. These are the two that have made their appearance. I know that I just posted a bit about my garden. I think I'm so looking forward to the warm months, and the flowers are starting to bloom, so I feel the urge to take some photos of them. I've also got a painting in the works and hopefully tomorrow I can post that.

Now on to photography. Many have probably seen that I don't always take the best pictures. I just can't get the lighting right all the time. I always hear that the best pictures are taken in indirect lighting - like on an overcast day. Well, the first picture was taken in the shade, the second was obviously taken with some sun shining on the flower. I think the sunny one looks better, I guess. But does it caputure the true colors? For now I'll just continue trying to get the best photo that I can, and maybe I'll master photography some day!

A Very Mod Easter Bunny Doll

This is quite a dapper Easter Bunny dresssed in his finest mod-attire. He's a little quirky and lots of fun. And he's ready to hippity hop down the bunny trail.

He's made out of an old dress that just didn't fit me right. Plus I added some cotton polka dot and muslin, some wool-blend felt, ric rac, and a cute checkered bow tie made from a ribbon. I machine quilted his suit, and embroidered his face. He's very folky, not perfect stitching. Meaning you can see lots of stitches. But that's part of his folkiness.

This is part of the VIM Doll Project on ebay. The VIM members were to do a doll in whatever art form they preferred. So as I've said before, I love to partake in challenges and theme weeks. So I gave it a go. I just know he would do better on etsy, but oh well.

I'm going to hopefully make some more bunny cuties for etsy real soon while it's still the Easter season. Stay tuned.

-SOLD-

Spring Ahead with a Crocus

Only in California can you have snow one week, and flowers the next! That's the way these crocus are though. They are the tough little beauties that bloom while the snow is melting around them. They are always the first flower that blooms in my garden, trumpeting the beginning of Spring! It feels like summer now in March, but I know that could very well change any day. Up here at 6200 feet our true official growing season doesn't begin until Mother's Day. After that we can plant tender seeds and annuals. I've also seen it snow in June so I have a feeling this bit of hot weather is just a tease, and only the hardy bloomers will show their faces for now. Still, what a joy to see the flowers return, one by one.

The Frog Prince

My ACEO group's special promotion this week was "Frog". I did a Frog Prince. Is she about to plant a big kiss on this guy? Is it true love?

Can you tell I like to participate in challenges? I love being prompted with some kind of subject. Yes, it's a challenge, but it also motivates me. Lately, I do more challenges than anything. If it gets me to do some art, it can't be bad!

This is an ACEO - 2.5x3.5 inches. It's painted in acrylic. It's here on Etsy.

Studio Friday - Let's Face It!

The subject for Studio Friday this week is "Let's Face It!" ...whatever 'it' is. What have you been procrastinating about and dragging your heels to do?

This is the story of my life. So to find just one topic was the challenge.

I've been putting off cleaning my desk, but not just my desk, the shelf above my desk. My cats have been in the house a lot this winter and they've made a mess of it. It's one of their favorite places to sit and look out the window, safe from the dog. Well, they really thrashed it with their clumsiness. I've also been meaning to paint the shelf, any color. I had to use some old acrylic I had. Not sure if it's the BEST color, but it was available. I even had some Christmas lights that needed to be taken down, how pathetic!

I couldn't reveal how bad it looked without an after-shot to go with it! And now looking at the after-shot I wonder... Did it change at all??!!! Still pretty cluttered (the result of a small house and way too much stuff!), but I do think the paint helped to cheer it up a bit. And definately not my favorite chore, but worthwhile in the end!

Illustration Friday - Hide

"Hide Your Love Away". I'm glad I could participate in Illustration Friday again. The challenges there are so very... challenging! It can really excercise your brain to come up with an idea.

What a coincidence to hear the Beatle song this morning. So this idea was born - a mama and baby kangaroo. Such a cute image of motherly love! This is an ACEO (2.5 x 3.5 inches).

-SOLD-

Later in the night I heard another quote from a song that also gave me some inspiration - "All the things you try to HIDE will be revealed on the other side" from the song, "Hell", by the Squirrel Nut Zippers.I'll have to put that on the back burner til another day.

Art Lesson - Symmetrical Butterflies

This is an art lesson that I did in a third grade class. It's a good one for third grade because they are learning about symmetry in math. So it's always nice to have a little art to connect with math.

First they were to fold a paper in half. Then we drew half of the butterfly. You must watch that they are actually drawing on the fold - there's bound to be a couple that don't. I tried to encourage them to do their own design, and also to keep it large. It seems there's always some kids that draw so tiny. They can use pencil first if they are not comfortable with using oil pastels right away. I usually allow that because someone is bound to make a mistake. Then they traced over their pencil with a black oil pastel. Then I had them fold the paper in back with the drawing on the inside. After that I had them use a paint mixing stick to rub the design onto the other side of the paper. You probably did this at some time in grade school. When I was a kid we would use a pencil and totally color it with pencil to transfer the image. I decided the pencil is just too much pencil lead and is a mess. So I use whatever hard tool instead. I try to use something that's not so distracting - scissor handles, or clothes pins work, but they are distracting too! After the transfer is done (have them check and look at it from time to time) they need to darken the transfer and colored it in. Since I had some time left over I had them paint over the butterfly with watercolor. It wasn't necessary, but it's nice because this group hadn't done a watercolor resist yet this year. It can be amazing how the watercolor doesn't change the oil pastel, and they had some fun with that. When they were done, if they had time, they could do their own design. I was glad when many choose to do more symmetry and came up with there own creatures. That was very imaginative and fun!

Frank is the name of the creature, not the kid!

Lots of Snow and Blue Skies

The sun finally popped out from behind the clouds around noon.



This is a street near my house. My dirt road wasn't plowed, so that made for some difficulties.



Some difficulties, yet such a gorgeous scene!

Tea with the Mad Hatter

This weeks ACEO challenge was "hat". I did "Tea with the Mad Hatter". My Mad Hatter is a dog. I like how the March Hare looks truly mad, and poor Alice is a little freaked at her circumstance.

I was reading about The Mad Hatter and found this interesting info. Did you know that Hatters really did go mad? Mercury was once used in the felting process of making hats. This caused some terrible effects, making them quite mad! Not sure what made the March Hare so mad.

It's always so much fun to draw Alice and her crazy encounters. So yes I hear "hat" and Lewis Carroll definately comes to my mind.

This is an ACEO.
-SOLD-

NibbleFest-Fairy Tales-Thumbelina

The NibbleFest theme this month is "Fairy Tales". My favorite fairy tale has to be "Thumbelina" or "Little Tiny" by Hans Christian Andersen. The first book I remember owning was "Thumbelina." It had a cover that was a venticular (3D looking picture). I hadn't thought of that book in a long time. I wish I had a copy of it now. I always loved the story and the Swallow is definately a favorite. So of course, I had to do this little rendering.
-SOLD-

I listed my card, and then went to list Wesley's NibbleFest. Well, just by accident did I list mine first, I usually do his first. In between the 2 listings, eBay seems to be doing maintenance. Am I going crazy, or didn't they usually always do maintenance at 1am, not 11pm PST? That really messed me up. So I guess I'll have to put Wesley's on a 3 day auction. It will better than having an auction end at 1 am, I think.

I still seem to be fighting off the dreaded sickness. I am having minor symptoms though - nothing like what everyone else has. I'm still taking Airborne twice a day. I'm thinking good thoughts!

Long Fingerless Gloves

I was out of town for a few days. While at my mom's I was able to crochet these arm warmers/fingerless gloves. They look like candy stripes to me- for the girl who like bright colors or pink.

See them on Etsy, here.

We had to come home early since my son got sick. It's a real bummer to be sick when you've got the week off of school. We were planning on going to Disneyland yesterday too. He's got a fever and there's lots of germs at my house right now. My throat was a little scratchy on Monday, so I took some Airborne, and am taking it twice a day. So far, so good. We'll see in a few days if I get sick or not. If not, I'll probably have Airborne to thank for that!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

It's time for the Year Of The Pig! In honor of the Chinese New Year, we made dragons in my art class yesterday. This was in my son's 4th grade class, so of course, it was enjoyable. I talked a little about Chinese New Year and how the dragon is the most sacred animal in Chinese culture. They each were given 3 pieces of thick paper to draw and color the head, body and tail. I did a simple example of how to draw a dragon. Many did their own version and that was great. They were to also fold the body into an accordion fold (some did need help with this also). Along with my helpers, I helped them to attach the head, body and tail together using brads, or brass fasteners. I also took the extra time to add hole protectors, which was a good thing because the kids really were playing with them when they were done. We attached sticks with masking tape on the back. It was a fair amount of work for the adults to put the things together, but some kids could do it and they also helped.

This example is from a very talented young lady. She's always one of the shining stars in the class. (Along with my own son-of course! Just my biased opinion!!)

This was very age appropriate lesson. The kids really enjoyed it, no breakdowns, took the whole 55 minutes, and the teacher also agreed and thought it was a wonderful project. Yaaaayyyy!

Happy Valentines Day

These are my son's Valentines that he handed out this year. We printed one of his ACEOs onto paper and wrapped a chocolate bar with the print. He then sealed it with a sticker and wrote on the back. I thought they turned out great and unique.

Most kids had the usual store bought Valentines. There's always a couple that make their Valentines - the same kids each year. I always appreciate the homemade varieties. I hope someone in the class can appreciate my son's as well. He's always made his also, since kindergarten.

It was a very nice Valentines Day for us. I hope you all had a memorable day of Love, too!

Art Lesson - Valentine Fairies

This lesson was inspired by and wouldn't be possible without the pixies created by Laurie at Happy as a Lark Designs.

I made these little Valentine Fairies with a second grader and her 3 year old sister yesterday. They were made with wooden bead and dowel, paper, felt, pipe cleaners, ric rack, glitter and pom pom. I had never used the sticky felt before. It really sticks well and sandwiches the legs and dowel very sturdy. I had to help the 3 year old cut and glue, but the second grader could make most of the whole thing herself. I mainly helped with the hat. The project was more crafty than artsy I think, but the girls loved it. Sometimes the project just has to be fun. Even if the adults think there should be some fancy, elaborate lesson on art, the kids just want it to be fun. I try to balance it and mix it up a bit. So I had to take advantage of Valentines day, and just make a cutesy, girly, heart fairy... just for fun.

W.C. Dog and Mae Kit West

W.C. Dog is quite enchanted with Mae Kit West, giving her an elegant kiss on the hand. The eBay ACEO Enthusiasts group challenge for the week is "kiss". I had to do these two. Nothing cuter than a dog and cat in love!

This is an ACEO - 2.5x3.5 inches, acrylic on 140lb watercolor paper.
-SOLD-
We got some rain yesterday, so I've been enjoying the freshly moistened aroma of the earth. I'm happy it was rain and not snow after our freezing January up here on the mountain. Now if we can get some more and hopefully not be in a drought, that would be wonderful. I'll live with the muddy footprints being tracked in by dogs, cats and kids (both little and big) in exchange for lots of water for the forest.

Potted Plants-ACEO

The ACEO challenge of the week was "pot". I came up with a more serious painting - "Potted Plants in a Row". I love when challenges force me to do a painting that has been in my mind for some time now. Most of these plants are long gone now, lost to freeze, or old age. They were sitting on my deck rail back in 1992. Only the first plant on the left, feverfew, still remains. That was my first feverfew. That plant later moved with me, and reseeded and spread throughout my present yard. But it does make a lovely addition in the summer, even with it's wild appearance.

This is acrylic on 140 lb. watercolor paper. ACEO size - 2.5x3.5 inches.
-SOLD-

Inspire Me Thursday - portrait

This is my first "Inspire Me Thursday" -the theme being "portrait". I've done a lot of portraits through the years. For this portrait I wanted to do this stylized version of my Grandma, Kathryn. I've wanted to do a painting of this photo of her for a long time. So I made a little ACEO with her lovely face, using acrylics. The second drawing is one I did of my other Grandma, Bettie that I did a year ago. Both photos were taken around the same time, while in their 20s. I love vintage women, especially these two.

Find the ACEO here on etsy.

Illustration Friday - sprout

Another entry for Illustration Friday, this week... sprout. This is "Little Miss Garlic Sprout". Everyday she wishes for someone to share her sunset and wine. She has a great personality, but maybe just a bit too much odor.

This may be a bit of a stretch for "sprout". While I was thinking about the subject I saw this garlic going to sprout in my kitchen. What's sad is it was only bought a few days before. That's how fresh our market is up here in this small town. Sad huh?

This is an ACEO, a small art card, 2.5x3.5 inches.

You can find it here on Etsy.

Art Lesson - Underwater

I finally took some pictures of the art lesson from a couple of weeks ago. This was an underwater scene that a class of kindergartners did. First we drew a fish together with oil pastels. Then they added whatever underwater creatures that they wanted to. Of course we talked about what other creatures could be down underwater to spark their imagination. After the scene was drawn with the pastels, we had to switch over to water color. I breifly gave them a mini lesson on the ins and outs of watercolor- kindergartners must be reminded of certain things. They then painted right over the oil pastels with the watercolor, adding water for their creatures.

You must make it clear to press down on the pastels, to give a good, and thick amount of color. And to go ahead and do a lot of coloring in before adding the water. They must also be reminded to not color the background with the pastel, that you will add water later. There seems to be at least one that will try to do that, even with a mention of it once.

If I do this lesson with the first graders, I think I will have them do a larger fish and just a few of the other smaller elements. I think that will give a bolder finished product.

If was a very successfull lesson and the little ones seemed to like it.

Love Birds

The challenge in the ACEO group this week was "Lovebirds." I took it quite literally and came up with this pair. They are in love and enjoying the sunset together. I noticed some people have done a pair of lovebirds - you know, the little parrot kind. I don't know which interpretation is more literal, mine or the parrots?

I think I'll digitally add some words to this image and make some cards. I've got a couple of other designs, all with the same love or valentine theme. Then I can sell a set of Lover cards. But will someone really buy a set of these? Most people don't need more than one Lover card to give. Unless you're buying a set for a classroom, then they'll need 20 or more. I just like the idea of sets of greeting cards. I guess they can always be used as general greetings for throughout the year.

I think I should do a larger art piece soon. But for now we have an ACEO, 2.5x3.5 inches, watercolor and pen and ink.

SOLD

New wrist warmers-fingerless gloves

I made these cozy wrist warmers, or a longish fingerless glove. They are a very woodsy type of green. They look like forest moss. They're made with an acrylic "mohair" yarn and they are kind of fuzzy. I really love the wool yarn that is hand spun by so many people these days, but I get an itchy feeling sometimes with wool. So this pair of gloves is for the people that are sensitive to wool.

Now that I've figured out this pattern, I will make some more using a variety of yarns. And I like them so much that I must make a pair for myself as well.

You can find them for sale now on Etsy.

They're only $10.00.

Illustration Friday - Red

My entry for Illustration Friday's Red had to be Little Red Riding Hood. This is "Beware of Strangers".

There was bound to be other Little Reds that were done this week. I'm just glad that I had mine pretty much done before I went and looked at some of the other entries. I didn't want to be influenced by the other Riding Hoods, or I would be too intimidated to do my own. There are so many wonderful illustrations on IF. It can really take your time away if you get too involved at looking at all the fabulous art there.

As for Little Red Riding Hood - I don't think I really liked the story all that much. But she does have a cute outfit! I've always been a little upset with the Wolf always being the bad guy. I can understand the damage they do, but I also see so much beauty. But I enjoy all animals really. And to have any become extinct or even to have none in their natural habitat - well that is truly one of the most sad things to me. Having been a German Shepherd owner for so long, I can appreciate wolfs even that much more. My own Ziggy is so wolf-like at times and that adds to my love for the wild wolves.

This is an ACEO, 2.5x3.5 inches, acrylic on acid-free, 140lb watercolor paper. I've listed it on eBay, and as usual for my ACEOs- a $0.99 starting bid.

-SOLD-

Pretty in Pink

Well here's yet another flapper. The theme week for the ACEO Enthusiasts group on eBay was "cosmetics." I have a picture of my sister that I always wanted to do a painting of. She was about 17 in the pix and she is putting on some makeup. I thought that was a good excuse to finally do the picture of her. So I started doodling and soon the image turned into this flapper girl. My sister never was a flapper but I guess I like to draw that kind of girl so much that it just transformed into this. Soon I saw the face in the heart and that became my valentine stamp from the previous post.

This girl had to take a break and go powder her nose. She's surely hiding something very sad as you can see in her eyes. I hope she gets a handle on her emotions and can go back to the party and have a fun time after all.

This is of course another ACEO, 2.5x3.5 inches, acrylic.

Valentines Day Cards - Or any occasion really

I printed some Valentines Day cards with my hand made stamp today. This is the best picture I got of the design. I have some that are printed with 2 colors - black and red or black and pink. Then I added some glitter to the wet acrylic paint. I do like the colored ones but I wanted to show a clear pix of the design here. And if ever something looked better in person, these hand printed cards are it - with each looking a bit different from the next. And the little bit of fine glitter adds a special something.

Why do I use acrylic paint and not ink? Well, I just don't have the ink right now. I've made my Christmas cards for 2 years now in the same way. I'm guessing people like ink better than paint because the paint is very thick on the stamp. It dries fast and if you're not careful it can start to clog the stamp up. And I'm not sure how well the glitter would stick to the ink. The paint makes for an unpredictable outcome, but that also makes each card that much more unique. I've just been happy with how the cards turn out with paint so I haven't gotten any ink to use instead.

They're for sale on etsy right now

I Heart U - carved stamp

I drew and carved this stamp last night. It's carved on a 2 3/4x4 1/2 inch Speedball Speedy-Cut. These are so soft to carve, making for an easy way to make your own hand made stamp. I always seem to forget about making letters backward and that's the only slight problem I had with this.

Froggy Went a Courtin' - NFAC

I joined in on NibbleFest this month. The theme was - music/musician. A familiar subject for me. This is "Froggy Went a Courtin'", and I pretty much love these two.

I was listening to WDVX, which I often do on Sundays, and I heard the Froggy song. This was a very old version from the 30s. My memories of Froggy Went a Courtin, are of Tom and Jerry. Jerry had an old cowboy uncle and he sang that song. It left a big impression on me and I think I must've always loved the song, (and the adorable mouse uncle). Then I heard the song on Wild Hog in the Woods which is on from 6-7 pm PST, on WDVX. That's when I decided to do this cute couple for my nibblefest entry. My son sang the song in music. It's nice to hear there's some culture that is still taught. I don't like to think of what happens to poor Froggy in the end. So I just think of him in this happy way. Enjoying the day out courtin this fair lady.

I'm in an ACEO mood lately, and that's what this is. 3.5x2.5 inches, watercolor and pen and ink.

-SOLD-

Illustration Friday - Super Hero

Here we have "Rocky Raccoon-Defender of the Forest". He's faster than a speeding arsonist, more powerful than a bunch of bark beetles, and able to leap tall bulldozers with a single bound.

I'm not in the habit of drawing super heroes, so coming up with an idea was challenging. I finally thought that it would be great if there only were a super hero to protect the forest and it's creatures. Although I also thought it would be nice to have a super hero to clean my house and make dinner.

This is an ACEO, 2.5x3.5 inches, watercolor and pen and ink.

click here to see it on Etsy.

Three Little Friends

Here are 3 Luv-N-Kitties. I really enjoy these little cuties. So fun to make. All three are on etsyright now.

We woke up to an unexpected couple of inches of snow this morning. It was a blustery, snowy morning and that made for a chaotic time of getting ready. I got a ride to town with a friend for an art lesson at the school. Because of my confusing morning, I forgot my camera so I will post later about that lesson. I will teach the same lesson to the other Kindergarten class next week, so maybe you'll be interested in hearing about it then.

Painting a Day - Illustration Friday-80s

This is my entry for this week's Ilustration Friday. The theme is 80s. This is "MewDonna".

I couldn't make up my mind while I was thinking about the 80s. My interests at that time were so varied, and changed so often. So I just thought of what was very influentual during that time. And, of course, Madonna came to mind. And then MewDonna was born. I did actually buy the first Madonna album, on cassette tape. What's a cassette? Seems so ancient, and more obsolete than records. Because I still listen to records, but rarely listen to cassettes. I did have a lot of fun dancing to Madonna many times, especially to that first album. That was before she had really hit it big and before I got a bit burned out from her. I was a bit anti-mainstream back then. Guess I still am.

Having come of age during the 80s made it a very eventful time for me. But I wouldn't say they were the best of times. Well, maybe some of it was!

It's an ACEO, 3.5x2.5 inches, acrylic.

-SOLD-

Luv-N-Kitties

This is my first Luv-N-Kitty. She's very folky-cute and she even has a heart pocket that holds a special Valentine's Day card (or any special message.) As with all my sewing projects, I used vintage or reclaimed fabrics, as well as a little felt. Her face is painted in acrylic. I've got a couple more just about to be finished, probably today sometime. You can find this cutey for sale on etsy by clicking here.


I really like the idea of "Painting a Day", but I'm discovering it is just impossible for me. I'm finding that it is affecting my blog habits. I only seem to post paintings since I started this Daily painting thing. I don't want the administrator on the Daily Painting site to have extra work by weeding through my non-painting blogs. So because of this I don't post my other creations. And well, I have to do these other things as well as paint. That's the way I am. I like the idea of painting new pieces for the practice and the productivity. But I find the creative deadline daunting. I don't want to paint just anything. I have to have an interesting subject, and somedays I don't have an interesting subject in my mind. I knew that would be a problem for me, and is definately one I need to work on. But I also think it's important for me to make other things besides a new idea on canvas everyday. So I don't know, will I be kicked out of the group?

Well, I've decided to just create, and blog, whatever is naturally happening for me--rather than hindering the creative process with rules that I alone have put on myself!

Painting a Day - Cheers again

I liked my previous painting a day so much that I wanted to paint a sister for her. Well this sister must be the problem child because she took so much longer to paint than the first one. I finally had to just say, "Oh well," and give up on her. Some times paintings just flow and I'm happy with them right away. Other times, well here she is! She's ok, really! I do kind of like her quirky, goofy expression. I just have to accept her for what she is. And stop wasting time on this one painting. Maybe I learned a little something from the endless workings of her face. I don't know! But anyway I had to post a painting since I will leave town AGAIN tomorrow. So as usual I get on a role, then boom, something stops my production. Check back in a couple days, please. I promise I will have a longer stretch of creativity. That's a promise to myself!

This is acrylic on 5x7" canvas board.

click here to see it on Etsy.