« December 2009 | Main | February 2010 »
I haven't done a '(Makes Me) Happy Friday' post in forever. Oops.
I am constantly seeing images, quotes and websites that inspire & delight me though. I was piling up quite a few post it notes on my computer desk writing them all down. Not terribly efficient. Or organized.
So I decided to try out a tumblr site. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it sure is fun.
Go ahead and take a peek: Virtual Goodness
Have a wonderful weekend!
It feels like I was making this wreath for a long, long time.
Maybe that's because I started it about 6 weeks ago. In fact, I seem to recall watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' while wrapping the yarn. Hmmm.
This wreath is a belated Christmas/Birthday gift for a good friend of mine in New York.
It's been a while since I've been to her house, but I'm hoping that these colors will work in her current decor. Or she can stick it in some out of the way corner in her hallway until I come to visit. ;-)
For this wreath I used a wire form wrapped with batting. It wasn't nearly as thick or sturdy as the straw or styrofoam base, but it worked just fine. My favorite part is the yarn-wrapped twig. I went back & forth about whether to leave it 'au naturel' but in the end decided to wrap it. It was oh so soothing to spin the stick and twirl the yarn around it. The felt flowers were die cut in my Big Shot machine--with felt my mom supplied from her stash. Thanks Mom.
So finally, after all sorts of production delays, I packed this wreath up and sent it off into the world--hopefully to be enjoyed as a harbinger of spring for years to come.
{And yes, this is the first project I worked on in my new dining room studio--hurray!}
Latest favorites...
During the cold New England winter, our unheated basement is pretty much the last place I want to be. Unfortunately, all of my art supplies and work space are located--in the unheated, as-yet unfinished, basement.
At least they were.
Last weekend, my husband gave me the go ahead to transform our dining room into a (temporary) studio space. With no more food-centered holidays on the horizon for a while, the dining room was available, sort of. For many, the dining room only gets used a few days a year. For us, it's actually the only room that has a table and a place for all of us to eat together. Our kitchen has an island and a peninsula (sounds so tropical) but a total of only 4 stools. There are 5 of us. It usually works out ok because a. BGD gets home late and the kids have already eaten dinner or b. BGD doesn't seem to mind standing up at the island to eat. At any rate, I'm going to try to keep one end of the table clean & clear (or at least easily clear-able) so we could all be sitting down and eating as a family--albeit in different rooms. Fortunately we had the opening between the two rooms enlarged when we moved in so we can have the illusion of togetherness while dining in semi-privacy. We do have a 6 seat table out on the deck...
I'm still in the process of deciding what to bring upstairs and what to leave in the basement, however, things are coming along nicely. Here are a few glimpses...
My tiered work/storage table, with paint spinner, sewing machine and my still not quite finished Lisa Kaus inspired Gridlocked piece.
I love these tissue paper honeycombs. I got them last month at Pearl River in NYC. They hang above a very comfy chair that I hijacked from the family room.
I took the salt and pepper shakers out of my $6.99 Pottery Barn Outlet shadow box shelf (sold as an advent calendar) and filled it with glitter, flock and specialty paints.
Ok, I had to leave one S&P set in.
We brought up my white 5 tier wire shelving unit and a smaller bookcase and free standing shelf for storing lots of goodies.
I love the barber shop glass jars--99 cents each a few years back at Old Tyme Pottery in Charlotte.
The space is still in transition but I did feel obligated to get out my sketchbook and play for while. Can you tell what my favorite colors are??
Looking forward to finishing up organizing and beginning to create...and Spring!
{though I have no plans to head back down to the basement until at least Thanksgiving ;-)}
Aaaah flickr, how I love thee...
Back in December when we got together with my crafty cousins to make wreaths, we had an idea.
For a new etsy shop.
A collaborative shop in which 4 artful women, 2 mothers and 2 daughters could showcase their creations. And share inspiration, motivation and expertise.
After a few adjustments, Artful Hands Studios was born.
In theory, all 4 of us (me, my mom, my cousin Penny and her daughter Audrey) will be listing stuff in the shop and posting on a yet to be created blog. In reality, currently anyway, my mom & Audrey are stocking the shop. And doing a lovely job.
Just today, my mom listed 3 new Valentine themed wreaths.
My favorite wreath of Audrey's sold last week, but she still has quite a few listed. I'm particularly fond of the Blue Chenille Shimmer wreath
as well as the Pretty Bird wreath.
We're all getting together again this weekend for a post-holiday fete, an Artful Hands business meeting, and no doubt, a bit of crafting and creating--as long as the winter weather doesn't throw a monkey wrench into our plans (as happened last weekend).
Wish us luck, and do check out the AHS goodies at the shop :-)
This year I was challenged to get my husband a Christmas gift that would be "totally unexpected".
Can you guess who threw down this challenge?
While he may have thought the red fleece "hand holding mittens" (found at Ocean State Job Lot for $1.99) were my answer to his challenge, I went above and beyond winter wear.
The road I chose was: handpainted custom dog portraits of BGD's favorite canines, Jake & Maisy.
These adorable portraits were painted by the talented Denise Levy
I saw Denise's work on another blog (Kelly Lautenbach) and I fell in love & knew my husband would love portraits of his best friends.
Denise was very easy to work with and incorporated all my special requests (all the specific handpainted words, the color schemes and even the daisy for Daisy in Maisy's portrait). I'm so happy with the paintings--I think they may be one of the best gifts I've ever given my husband.
Of course it doesn't hurt that I get to enjoy them too ;-)
visit Denise's etsy shop here: Mothball Charlie
