The star above

Gifts for your furry friends!

Ok these are soooooo easy! You can make them for cats too! I made mine for all the dogs in your family and a couple for your neighbors dogs too. All you need is an old tshirt and a pair of scissors. Or you could use any fabric really. Cut tshirt into strips, take three strips and tie a knot about 3 inches down and just start braiding the strips,go longer and wider strips for big dogs and shorter and skinnier for smaller dogs. And the length depends on the dog also,I braided mine about 6 inches for my small dog and about 8 inches for my bigger dog. Then tie a knot at the other end and again leave about 3 inches after the knot. The dogs like that part of the toy. There you have it,all your furry friends have presents. I'm gonna bake some of these treats too for them and put them in a cello bag and tie closed with a strip of the same tshirt that I made their toys with. Heres the recipe and have fun!

Peanut butter dog bones!

2 tablespoons of corn oil

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup water

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups of white flour

Oven 350,Combine oil,peanut butter,and water. Add flour,one cup at a time,then knead into firm dough. Roll dough to 1/4 thickness and cut with any cookie cutter. Bake for about 20 minutes. I bake mine alittle less so there not as hard!

Etsy Sale

Hi,I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! I did,lots of family and lots of cooking and eating and Lots to be thank ful for! I don't know about you but I decided I was going to do most of my Christmas shopping online this year,I decided this after I watched the news on friday night and found out how many people got hurt over Christmas shopping. One story I heard was a girl that got her nose broken over a 3$ pair of slippers! I thought that was so sad,it takes the meaning out of Christmas,I know you really can't avoid stores especially this time of the year but I will do most of my shopping online if I can. So anyway I'm joining in on the cyber monday fun and having a sale in my etsy shop! Just type in BLACKFRIDAY20 and receive 20% off. Stay safe and I will be back later this week,I have another fun easy tutorial in the works!

Chirstmas gift bag tutorial

When I had my store I used to make these to give to people to hold their gift certificates that they purchased from me,of course being a country store I made them out of homespuns and vintage fabric but this year I'm making some artsy ones. You can use whatever material you have on hand(good way to use up some of those scraps). I used muslin that I painted alittle white onto. You will need material,string or ribbon,stamp and an ink pad. I used staz on. Cut two pieces of material 4 1/2 x 3 1/2,and about 12 inches of string. Sew the two pieces together,lay string on top and fold over about 1/4 inch over the string,sew the hem,becareful not to sew the string! Sew up the other two sides,inside out and I put a piece of cardboard inside of bag so the stamp won't go through. Stamp image on front of bag,tie a knot at the end of string and there you have it alittle gift bag perfect for gift cards. I painted my bag and added alittle details. This one is for my daughter,she's 14 so you know what she likes to do Shop,Shop and Shop. Have fun.

Christmas ornaments.

I"ve been busy making some christmas ornaments and I'm so excited to say that they all have a new home hanging in an art gallery along with some prints of my art. Heres how it happened, I was at an arts and craft/flea market kind of show and was trying to sell some of my art. There was a singer there singing for entertainment,when he was on break he was walking around checking out all the stuff when he stopped and talked to me and said how he really liked my art and ask if I was in his sisters gallery and I said no, then he went and got his sister and she said she would love to have my art in her gallery. And you don't know how thank ful I am that it happened this way because I'm kinda of an introvert,not shy at all just like to do my own thing by myself usually and I really don't think I could of took my art into a gallery to show them my work and then have them reject it,I know it happens all the time but I take things personally usually and I wasnt ready for that rejection yet. I was happy selling online,even though I would like to sell more I was content. So thats my exciting story and I just wanted to share it. Have a great weekend!

A little pumpkin painting...

and some pumpkin sketching. I thought a banana was hard to sketch but a pumpkin was a challenge! I know its been awhile since I was here but I really haven't painted much,I think I'm taking alittle break from it but I'm still being creative. Lately I have been all over the place with art and not really getting much done. Trying new things,being inspired by different artists. Taking a few online classes,trying to find myself,my way of doing things. I want my own style, I don't want people to look at my art and say oh she must of took a class from so and so. I want people to look at my art and say I like YOUR style,its different. You know what I mean? I visit and follow so many blogs daily and I always see everybodys unique style and thats what I want. I think the only way to find that is just keep creating,try different things,different styles, Does anybody else ever feel this way? I think thats why I don't post that much because everything I make reminds me to much of somebody elses art. Well anyway enough of my whining,hopefully I'll be back sooner then later!

I'm back!

Ok I know its been awhile but my son decided to give me a project that took alittle longer then I thought it would. He has a game room in his garage and bought a couple of chairs for 10.00 and ask me if I could do something to them and since his gameroom has alot of new york yankee and a few other of his favorite teams this is what I came up with. He was happy with them,I really wish I took a before picture,they had fish and shells all over them. I tried to go over the material with paint but it just wouldnt cover them up so I had to redo all the cushion with canvas material. Can you see my little helper in the background? Her name is talula bell,she was suppose to be a teacup chihuahua but she grew to 12pounds.

The other picture is a journal page that I'm now doing on canvas. She's titleed "The wonders of a sunset" Hopefully I'll have her listed on etsy within a week! Have a great week!

Another book and "In Beauty she walks"

Another week and another book,I love to paint but theres something about stitching the book thats so relaxing. I think because when I paint I'm constantly on my feet moving around and then when I stitch the book I'm usually sitting down sipping coffee. I think I over did it on this painting,not sure if its too busy or if I like it the way it is. I guess its kinda abstract in its own way. My company came and went,it was a nice short visit and my mom never came which was fine so I had a quiet week to paint and sew. Hope everybody else is having a good week and enjoying some cooler weather,its still hot down here,we usually don't feel a change until late october ugggg. Be back soon!

finished my little book of art,making journals,and a girl and the black swan.

Not much art for me this past week,I have company coming and I have been cleaning,changing sheets,organizing my art room,getting ready. They come in tonight, and leave sunday. A short visit,then I think my mother is coming in on monday, deep breath! It will be ok,I just have to keep reminding myself.

I did get a chance to finish up my little art book. I think it would make a great little journal for poems. It has about five little paintings inside it but theres still enough room to journal. Then I finished up my last page in my store bought journal and I didnt have time to go and buy a new one so I had some paper on hand and made my own journal. I think thats what i'm going to start doing,just using what I have instead of going to buy new. After cleaning my art room,I decided I have not an another inch to store anything else! And last is my sketch of a girl and the black swan. I think I might try to put her on a canvas. Well I guess I better go and bake a cake for the company!

Been Busy...

Painting,book making and staying in my sweats until 1:00, does anybody else do that,the time goes by so quickly when you're painting,the next thing I know its the afternoon and I realize I havent showered yet,I feel like such a bum, I just tell my husband that I'm a starving artist but I'm enjoying life! Hope you're enjoying life too!

P.S You can see more pictures of my cracker jack journal on my etsy!

Did you ever have those weeks?

You know the ones where everything you try to do,just doesnt come out! Well thats what has been happening to me,and actually its been the last two weeks! I'm in the mood as my husband calls it. I can't get nothing done because I keep trying to paint and the more I mess things up the more I want to paint. Finally I decided to go to my sketch book and try to paint one of my sketches which is the girl reading the book,and what do you know she came out ok,not one of my best but I'm happy with her. The other girl is from a dream I had,that girl was worked over at least four times! Hopefully now I can get some wash done and maybe some more painting! And I hope to be back sooner then later.....

Alone again!

Wahhhhhhhh Niki started her first day of highschool and yes I really did cry alittle. I can't help it. She's my baby and I feel like time is just going by to quickly! Actually her day was yesterday. After crying I went out to breakfast with a couple of my art friends and they brought along some tissues and listen to me whine(talk)then I felt alittle better. Today was alot better,did some art with no interuptions,baked chcoc chip cookies,cleaned the house,caught up on laundry,listed on etsy,and now I'm blogging. I think this girl can get used to being alone!

Yep twice in one week!

Can you tell I don't have a job anymore? LOL. I usually feel good when I post once a week but now that I have more time,I can paint more therefore I can post more. Been playing with collage,and the first one is a work in progress,now i'll add alittle collage to it,then paint and play.I'll show you the finished piece when its done,unless I mess it up. Have a great weekend. Try to stay cool,its in the triple digits down here in florida! Even the water is hot! Maybe I'll go and make some freshly squeezed lemonaide. I have the time to squeeze the lemons.

Paynes gray and unidentified objects!

More time at home means more painting and more cleaning! Since I don't have my store anymore,I find myself cleaning the things that have'nt been cleaned in awhile(windows,closets,frig). The other day I went grocery shopping and as i'm putting stuff away,you know how you start shoving stuff in the frig because theres just really no more room,I decided this is stupid,I have the time,why not clean the frig so thats what I did and I found some unidentified objects in there,stuff in a country crock container that did not look like butter,things that really didnt belong in the frig and don't know who would put them in there,i.e an earring and hair under the drawer, Of course when I ask my daughter about the earring she didnt know anything about it. Lets not forget about the unopened popsicle that was now just juice with a stick that was making a nice little puddle going down the sides of the frig and when I ask my grandsons about it they at least admitting to doing it and saying they wanted the orange one not the grape one!How these things get in there I'll never know but I do know one lesson learned "clean the frig more frequently" Which I now plan to do every time I go to the grocery store!

Now on to the paynes grey,a friend of mine thats also an artist but always uses brightly colored paints made a comment about my art but in a nice way. She didn't offend me or anything but she said that the color is depressing,I on the other hand find it peaceful,relaxing,warm like the sky at night or right before a storm or a deep mysterious ocean. What do you think? Also wanted to mention that my "walk on the beach" painting was featured in a treasury on etsy,which is exciting to me. Take a look here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTEyNjM4Mzh8NTAwODQzMTEz/salty-air

Where I've been and "fat man floating"

I know what you're saying I can't believe she named her painting that! But before you say anything,I didnt name it let me explain. We went to captiva island for a week and I was doing some sketching by the pool and we ment this couple,(the man that I was sketching)he finally caught on that I was sketching him and we got to talking with him and his wife and me and my husband and after spending quite abit of time with them (john and margaret) he is the one that named his own sketch,which I turned into a painting when I got home. The original sketch is being mailed to him and thats how I got the name and thats where I've been on an island soaking up the sun,finding shells,alittle sketching,spending time with my daughter, and watching beautiful sunsets. Hope everybody else is enjoying summer. School starts in less then three weeks here!

A palm tree and who needs sharpies?

This is the biggest I ever worked on. Its a 16x12 canvas. I know its not that big but for some reason canvas scares me,I think because everytime I work on one I mess it up,which I did on this one too but I just kept going. I call it my mixed media palm tree because theres so much different collage,stamping and everything else underneath the painting which you can't tell but in the picture it does show through alittle which I think makes it more interesting to view.
Hope everybody had a nice 4th of july,I did! It was so relaxing just hanging out at the beach, I really shouldnt say it was relaxing because my grandsons kept me busy playing but I did find alittle time to sketch. The fireworks were beautiful but what I found even more beautiful was these things called chinese lanterns,which are like big balls with fire in them and they just drift out into the sky, people kept letting them go one after another. Very cool looking,I don't know where they got them but I did here they use them in weddings now. Anyway for all you journalers out there, I found a great deal for some black sharpies. They are on sale at target for 1.54 now because of back to school but wait before you go make sure you go to target.com and scroll down to where it says coupons in small letters (all the way at the bottom) and click on that and you will find a $1.00 off coupon for sharpies and print it out. Now you can get them for 54scents! Hooray! I stocked up,you can print out at least two,I also had my daughter print me out a couple. Also if you go to scotchbrand.com you can print out a magic tape coupon for a 1.00 off and the tape is on sale for a 1.00 so you guessed it,the tape is free! Perfect for stocking up for Christmas. Ok its too early to think about Christmas,but you can use it in your journals too. Well its raining here so I'm going to bake some snickerdoodles! Have a great week.

A couple of days off!

After working at the store sooooo much I decided to take a few days off before I finish up there. So instead of the normal housework,wash,grocery shopping I decided to do nothing but paint and play in my studio. And these are the results of playing. The first one is titled "Brandi and her locket" and the second one is "feeding the birds". I had a nice of couple of days. Back to work tomorrow and friday,then off to the beach for the 4th. Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!