Hooray for Spring!

Spring has finally arrived! It was in the 70's here in Louisville and the sun was shining today. I love it!

I especially love moving all the heavy bulky sweaters out of my closet. They take up way too much room and I love packing them away in big Rubbermaid tubs. Off to the attic! That's one of my favorite things about the change to warm weather - getting out my spring and summer clothes.

I also love all the spring blooming flowers, like pansies, daffodils and hyacinth. Best of all is when the lilac blooms! I had a huge lilac bush at my old house and it is one of the things I miss the most. The Bradford pears are in bloom all around us. Unfortunately we lost two from our back yard as a result of the ice storm. The good news is that we are having three new trees planted tomorrow. I can't wait to see how they look.

Here is a birthday card I made for our niece Courtney who just turned 13 this month. She loves the color pink and absolutely loves cupcakes.
I had not made a card in quite awhile and it was fun picking out some spring paper and embellishments. I bought some of the paper stacks in citrus colors and bought some fruit and flower stickers in those same colors. I can't wait to make more cards!

Latest Design Challenge

A friend from college asked me to create a necklace for her mom with beads that her mom had already purchased. They just wanted me to design the piece using only the beads they purchased and then string it. She brought me a bag filled with chocolate brown and white jasper. There were three different styles of beads: round, flat asymmetrical, and larger faceted chunks.

This was a fun project for me as it's not what I would normally create. Again, sometimes we get into a rut of designing the same/similar styles, or things that ~we~ like because that's what we know! And there is nothing wrong with that. But I love when I get a design challenge as it gives me the opportunity to grow as an artist and try something new.

The best part is when I was finished, I was told that the necklace was exactly what she had in mind. Mission accomplished!

March Team Giveaway - Bluegrass Etsy Team

Its time for another Bluegrass Etsy Team Giveaway!

This month's giveaway comes to us from Rachel Blanton of Wilmoth Farms. The value of this wonderful soap set is $29. Here's what you can win:

"Very Sexy" woman's soap (Victoria's Secret type)
"Masculine Musk" men's soap
"Oatmeal Milk & Honey" soap
"Soapy Clean" guest size soap
"Very Sexy" 2 ounce Body Butter
"Strawberry" Lip Balm 2 ounce
And thrown in for fun - a natural loofah sponge!

Rachel's ultra-nourishing soap combines Goat Milk and Honey in a base of wonderfully moisturizing saponified oils, unrefined Shea and Cocoa butters, that will nourish your skin from head to toe. Honey is a natural humectant, which draws moisture to the skin, and Goat Milk is a natural skin moisturizer and is great for sloughing away dead skin cells. With all natural ingredients, her soaps are hypoallergenic and mild enough for the softest, most sensitive skin.

All of the Wilmoth Farms soaps are handmade with 100% pure and natural goat milk soap, and lots of love!

Want to get entered in this contest? All you have to do is visit our BEST Kentucky Bluegrass etsy team blog for the details. We ask you to visit Rachel's shop and return back to the team blog post and leave a comment. The winner will be chosen at random from the comments left at the team blog.

Be sure to visit Wilmoth Farms etsy shop to see all this and more!!

Ta Da!! Check it Out!

Bam!
How's this for a blast of brightness?? How could you be sleepy or bored with these colors to keep you alert?

This is still a work in progress, but I am pleased to show you these pictures. I finally have a place to create again, after waiting for the past couple months! It's seemed like a lifetime. I should share with you that I am pretty organized and anal about some things, so it really bugged me that my stuff was scattered throughout the basement and I didn't know where anything was for about 8 weeks.

This weekend my husband shared with me the alarming news that all art related items *must* fit inside this room. That was after I planned to leave my big tub with wheels that I use at craft shows outside the door, among other things. So if it all must fit, then I must get rid of some of the art supplies I've been hoarding half my life. I am not sure why I had a big bag of turquoise blue and red scraps of suede, but they have to go. And I know I probably don't "need" 25 cigar boxes, but hey, each one is unique and a different shape. Those get to stay. I threw out a laminator from Big Lots that did not work when I bought it. Moving it across town when we bought this house and storing it for 5 more years did not make it work any better. Out it goes! See, I can do this. It's just hard because some day I might need it. While hubs was working on the room, he discovered my two big boxes of shells and rocks which I moved from my previous house. They were not marked "shells and rocks" which is why they were undiscovered for five years in the storage space below the steps. (I am blonde, but not dumb). I think I will now have to downsize my collection.

So here are some pics after I have tried to reorganize. The brown table is my jewelry work space and the laminated table is for paper arts and other crafts I may become infatuated with in the future. (I want to learn felting and I really need to make those soldered glass slide necklaces). I like that the outlets are all at table level.



At some point down the road, we'll finish the other two walls (maybe in lime green & or pink to complete the "citrus" look). We'll wait for now as we need access to the pipes in case we add a bathroom. And we'll put down hardwood flooring and a drop ceiling someday. But for now, I have what I need to get working!

What do you think? Want to come over and create something with me? If you do, you have to promise to take some rocks and shells with you when you leave.

Delayed Gratification - Polymer Clay Pendant

Last year I went to Kentucky Crafted, which is a show of Kentucky artists and craftsmen. It also includes food growers and producers. It's a great event and one that I look forward to each year. So last year I spotted a very talented polymer clay artist named Sonya Linder with Whimsicality and made it a point to remember to go back to her booth. And I forgot...and told myself that since I had her card, I would just buy from her website. When I checked the website, the pendants I liked were not online.

So I waited a whole year for Kentucky Crafted 2009 to roll around! And this time I did not procrastinate! My friend Bobbi noticed I was having trouble deciding and I had narrowed it down to three pendants. She urged me to buy two, since I had waited so long. (I can't shop with her as she enables me!) But it was sound advice. So I bought these two pendants which I dearly love. I have worn both already, and have received lots of compliments on them. And my friend Bobbi also went back to buy one for herself before we left the show.

I am happy to report that Sonya has some of the pendants at her online store. If you want to see more of Sonya's jewelry, check out her etsy shop.

Studio Update

Here's the latest work on the studio. John is making great progress! The two walls shown are primed and ready to paint. Didn't he do an outstanding job on the drywall?



My color choices seemed good at the time. I love the citrus combination of yellow/pink/orange/coral/lime. We bought mini cans of the coral-red and a bright but dark orange. Applied to the wall and it was way too dark for a room in the basement without windows. Ack! Back to the drawing board. Good thing we bought small cans.


I have seen so many paint chips from Lowes that my head is swimming.


Here we go! The gallons of paint are purchased. My two choices are taped to the wall and painting begins. One is an orange with a lot of yellow and the other is a really bright yellow. The lady at Lowes was shocked at how much tint went into the can and said "now that's yellow!" I hope I like the end result!! Too late to turn back now...

More to come. You may need to be wearin' shades.

A Town Called Peculiar

My longtime, online artist friend Kristin Smith is helping plan an event for the Downtown Peculiar Arts and Culture District (Peculiar is a town in Missouri). Kristin explains that they are a "non-profit, grass roots group working toward the revitalization of Peculiar as interactive arts and cultural center."

Their upcoming train car themed event is "The Frisco Depot" which features a dinner and an art auction. (Kristin designed the poster you see above). She explains that they have an "odd auction as the interested bidders just put money (anywhere from a quarter up to three dollars depending upon the value of the piece) into a bowl on their table, and then hold up their paddles to indicate that they in on the bid. Then numbers are drawn like a lottery...and whoever's number comes up wins the art." Most people bid on every piece.

Here is the story about how the town was named from wikipedia:
Peculiar received its name in 1868 when the first postmaster, Edgar Thomson, had his first choice rejected because it already existed. Several other choices were also rejected. The story goes that the annoyed Thomson wrote to the Postmaster General himself to complain saying, among other things, "We don't care what name you give us so long as it is sort of 'peculiar'," (with "peculiar" in quotation marks). So the town became known as Peculiar.

The town motto is "Where the 'odds' are with you". And a historical plaque in the town reads: "In 1861-1864 while bloody battles raged throughout the southern states nothing happened here." (I thought that was pretty amusing)

Here is my entry for their art auction. I have dubbed this piece "Funkytown."