02.17.10
Posted in Art Journal, Main at 11:12 pm by carrie
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 :)
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02.10.10
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings, Sharing the Handmade Love, business-a-go-go, sidenotes at 12:10 am by carrie
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…
and the finished product…
All of these
art boards are listed on the website :)
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!
Going to get some sleep… she said reluctantly :)
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01.31.10
Posted in Main, Sharing the Handmade Love at 11:56 pm by carrie
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! :)
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01.11.10
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings, Sharing the Handmade Love, business-a-go-go, outings at 12:19 pm by carrie
Brrrrr!!!!
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!
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12.23.09
Posted in Main, Sharing the Handmade Love at 9:35 am by carrie
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
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12.22.09
Posted in Main, Sharing the Handmade Love at 2:11 pm by carrie
Thought I would share our Christmas card this year… I had a lot of fun making it :)
Front…
The inside… (watercolor and ink)
And the other side of the inside…
It’s a 1960′s Christmas :)
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12.14.09
Posted in Fun Stuff, Main, coupons at 10:08 pm by carrie
We’ve decided to participate in the 2nd annual Free Shipping Day!
Over 600 merchants will be participating. Many of them will have free shipping without any other restrictions (like us!) Order anytime on Thursday, December 17th and get FREE shipping with guaranteed delivery by December 24th.
So, on December 17th from Midnight PST to Midnight PST, we will offer FREE SHIPPING on all orders! No minimum to buy! :) Enter the code “freeship” at checkout to receive your free shipping.
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12.11.09
Posted in Interior Design, Main, Mind Wanderings, Sharing the Handmade Love at 12:51 pm by carrie
Mantles are for decorating… it’s the heart of the living room, and usually the heart of the home. Back in California, we never used our fireplace (at all), but here in North Carolina, we turn it on and actually use it! Here is our current Christmas mantle (in our very first home!)…
And here is 2008′s mantle…
At the store, we had a few fake mantles sprinkled around… Here are a few Christmas Mantles from the years gone by….
… and our very first Christmas tree back in 2003…
Here are some random mantle displays..
Birthday mantle
Explorer mantle
Valentine’s Day mantle
Valentine’s mantle close up
Halloween mantle
Ocean-themed room mantle
Hard to see, but this is a handmade freestanding mantle that we had in the store (made by Robert… who we miss!)
Here is my Mom’s mantle and Christmas Cupboard…
I love all the pink and green! She has a pink Christmas tree, too… hopefully she’ll get that picture to me, soon :)
If you have an awesome mantle display, email it to me and I’ll post it here! :) Happy decorating!!
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