The frosting almost looks like the cross section of Irish Spring soap… not very tasty… but I may try to recreate it in real food form to prove that stripey icing can be delicious. (Tangent: Do you remember that Irish Spring commercial where the guy is standing next to a waterfall, gets out his pocket knife and carves into the cake of soap showing you its strata, all while explaining it’s freshness using a thick Irish accent? I think that has stuck with me for decades because I still LOVE the smell and color of Irish Spring… truly… it’s the little things in life, isn’t it?)
This cupcake is currently being adhered to a wood board, will be covered in glitter and shiny gold paint and hanging from green ribbon… to adorn your home in time for St. Patty’s Day :)
Okay, so I found an Irish Spring commercial… no waterfall, but you see the soap cross section and it’s hilarious nonetheless!
If you watch the other Irish Spring commercials youtube suggests, you’ll see every cliche in the book… Irish setters, Irish flags, curly red-haired boys covered in freckles, vests, harps and green filters… no leprechauns or gold though… it must not really be Irish then, hmmm? :) hehe!
You know how an old book makes a “creaking” noise when you open it because the spine hasn’t been stretched in years and years? Well, that’s the sound my art journal made when I picked it up this evening… it’s been way too long.
I’m thinking I’ll paint an entire series of cottages now :)
And here’s a piece I started back in 2003-2004… just finished it tonight (not sure I like it, though)… but it was a cute idea…
I found inspiration in the art of Mary Blair for the top painting, and the barn painting came from an old album cover, but I can’t remember which? I seem to recall the artist was Shag’s inspiration. If you want to explore new ways of doing art (music etc), you could read about your favorite artist and find out who inspired them, and work all the way back… and it’s fun to do the research, too :)
We had fun over the weekend… Avatar musical chairs, baristas with attitude and not watching the Super Bowl at a Super Bowl party. We met more of our new neighbors and it ended with us all playing Rock Band… and we weren’t even at our house. How. Does that… always happen? :) (we secretly LOVE it)
It’s been rainy, gloomy and cold here in Cary… supposed to be super windy and stormy tomorrow. There are still tiny stubborn patches of snow sprinkled around where the sun can’t reach them. I’ve been perched up in my office, glittering by chandelier with a nice hot cup of tea, gazing out the window at all the rain. Every once in a while a gorgeous red cardinal will sit in the small tree out front, then decide he’s had enough and flutter away to find some shelter. I think we’re all ready for spring to arrive :)
I’ve been procrastinating on these art boards… I guess it took a gray day for me to sit down and finish what I started…
Glitter makes any gloomy day 100% better! AND it gets you thinking… what else can I put glitter on??
I have a zillion ideas swimming around in my brain (at any given moment at least)… my fingers can’t keep up and that is frustrating! I have dozens of new designs cued up to become an art board, pendant, greeting card or art journal entry… does one really need to sleep? Just wonderin’.
But sometimes, I’m so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of these ideas, that I break down and turn on (guilty pleasure alert) Judge Judy instead of creating… because I believe she’s working hard enough for all of us, really.
Normally… said ideas would be sketches, half-finished paintings, emails to myself or they get lost in the Tasmanian devil that is my office… I’ve found a new solution (Thank you Brian!). It is the elephant (aka Evernote). I will share this link, but will go into more detail further :) Long story short… it’s amazing. Double amazing if you have an iphone. And it doesn’t look like much, but utilized properly… (or semi-properly in my case) it’s the organizing tool you’ve always wanted :) More to come on that later!
My first retail job was working at The Folk Tree Collection in Pasadena… the store was well known for their seasonal art exhibits. My favorite annual tradition was the Hearts & Flowers show that went up right after Christmas. Gorgeous handmade jewelry pieces, large art pieces made of beautiful decoupaged randomness (like crutches made into dolls), hearts with feathered wings, altered books, hand blown glass flowers, inspirational quotes and images… so many beautiful expressions of sincere joy and love. When Gail, the gallery coordinator, put the show up in early January, it was as if the new year could finally begin with a fresh start. All the bright colors and love letters to love itself… It truly made my heart happy.
The Collection is no longer there, but their sister store, The Folk Tree, is still open and thriving (and hosting their 22nd Hearts and Flowers show this year!)
So, I see Valentine’s Day not only as a day for lovers, but a day for everyone to enjoy…to stop and remember who we love and why we love. It’s not about getting overpriced roses… it’s about cherishing the fact that you are loved and are able to give love back. Love is the most amazing gift that life has given us :)
With all of that said… I still like cutesy-poo Valentine images… with cupcakes, hearts and flowers :)
The above items were painted by myself… acrylic on paper. I’m in the process of making art boards out of them…
And this sweet little puppy… he needs to be made into something… hmmm….
The past few weeks have been a wee bit hectic…
I started a new job as an assistant to a music composer, we’re currently snowed-in and house bound and lots of other “that’s life for you” events going on… Things to learn from and reflect on… life is quite the journey.
But this week, I’m going to focus on love… sending it out to all of you in blogland, too! :)
There’s a cold snap here in North Carolina. It’s been in the TEENS at night… 17, 19… and in the 30’s during the day. I’ve now discovered what wearing “layers” is all about. The flip flops have been retired to the summer wardrobe box and I’ve been frequenting the weather.com application on my iphone constantly. Thank you Los Angeles for being so predictable because now I know what I’m missing ;)
Longing for the warmer climate and being cooped up inside, I stumbled across several pictures from a summer show we participated in back in 2004ish (I think). Ahhh, the 10′x10′ booth on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose… in June. And we’d complain about that “June Gloom” and the 60-70 degree overcast weather it brought… I wouldn’t mind a little of that right now!
Even Meg got to meet other fans of the street fair!
It’s fun to see these pictures… see what we used to make and how we used to display our wares. The garden sign used to be a huge staple at the store and in the booth… feeling inspired to make more outdoorsy products because I would much rather be hanging out in a garden than stuck in the house!
If you are running around LA in short sleeves and open-toed shoes, say a little thank you and remember everyone on the East Coast (Florida, too!)… we’re going stir crazy! hehe!
Made a few treats to mail out… realized half-way through that cupcakes probably wouldn’t ship well so… cookies will ship, cupcakes will go out to our local peeps :)
On our baking menu…
Oatmeal cookies sandwiched with butter cream frosting and rolled in mini chocolate chips
Chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with butter cream frosting and rolled in crushed peppermint
Chocolate with chocolate and white chocolate chip cookies
Peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies
Mini vanilla cupcakes topped with butter cream frosting then rolled in sugar, chocolate chips or peppermint
