I came across this old photograph of my son, Jordan with a bluebird and it was the inspiration behind the painting of the angel with the bluebirds. The bluebird in the photo came down our chimney into our wood stove and Jordan rescued him. At first it was black with soot and we didn't realize it was a bluebird until Jordan very gently wiped all of the soot off of him. He sat in Jordan's hand for about 30 minutes before flying away!

The other painting is how I felt earlier this week when it was about 70 degrees here in Missouri. This morning I saw that bunny on my patio, but we are expecting snow tomorrow!

I hope to post these on eBay later tonight!

LONGING

I guess I have been feeling melancholy this weekend, maybe because I have been sick. On this painting I was playing with light and shadow. This young lady is gazing longingly out the window. Is she longing for spring or a lost love? You decide.

Is everyone getting kind of sick of winter out there? In a way I am, but then again, spring around here is SO much work. I have lots of landscaping and gardens to take care of, tons of outdoor furniture and a pool to deal with. Once it is all done, I love it! It's a good thing that I am off of work in the summers to take care of everything, otherwise I would never be able to keep up. I don't mind "hibernating" a little longer!

NEW PAINTING

This new painting is called "Regal Thoughts". She is so deep in thought that she seems to have forgotten the sweet Siamese kitty on her lap! I really like how the colors turned out on this one. I just listed her on eBay if you would like to check it out.

Unfortunately, I have been suffering from a miserable cold/sore throat/headache this weekend. I was just thinking how long it has been since I've had one. I guess I jinxed it! I work with preschoolers 4 days a week so my immunities have been boosted pretty high over the years--but I didn't escape the germs this time! I guess I wiped one too many noses this week--even though my hands are raw from all the washing!

Have a great Saturday~~I hope to paint some more this afternoon.

PHOTO FROM MY CHILDHOOD

I couldn't resist stealing this photo from my mom's recent blog. It brought me such happy childhood memories. We always seemed to have lots of kitties and puppies around the house. Most of them my poor Dad didn't even know about. We hid the calico cat for about 3 or 4 months before he ever noticed her! ha ha In this photo from 1970 I am 12 years old (middle) with my two sisters, Susan and Kerry (Jennifer wasn't born yet). We were having a random "Cat Birthday Party" I don't remember which cat's birthday it was! I do remember baking the cakes and having a lot of trouble getting them all to keep their hats on for the picture! ha ha. We had parties for all of our pets on their birthdays similar to this one. Poor things!

NEW PENDANTS

Here are the pendants I just finished! I thought I would never get them finished and photographed. I didn't show the backs, but they all have some kind of quote or wording with collage stuff on the back. I am thinking of putting a couple on eBay just to see what happens and then put the rest in my Etsy shop. I hope to get that done this evening.

I just put some cute little glass magnets in my Etsy shop. I used tiny prints of my original artwork. Check them out, you may find one with your favorite painting featured.

It has been a nice long weekend, but it is coming to an end. I just looked out my window and saw Jordan pull up from his weekly piano lesson. Yes, it is still weird for me to see him driving the ol' mini van. I guess I better get to making supper now. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Happy Valentines Day; Next--St. Patty's!

Happy Valentines Day to all of my friends!

I have been looking ahead to St. Patty's Day and finished these little paintings this week. I have always been fascinated with Irish dancers and wanted to paint one. The sheet music is a copy of "Irish Eyes". The paintings will be on Ebay soon.

I hope to make some more pendants today and I am also going to make glass magnets using small prints of my work. Hopefully I will add them to my Etsy shop this weekend. You might find a magnet or pendant with a small print of a painting that you already own!

Have a wonderful Valentines Day. We are just staying in with a steak dinner tonight. It's kind of nice to be home with a movie and a nice fire.

Jordan's Drum Comp. and My New Venture

Here is Jordan in his Drumline Competition from over the weekend. I was pretty far away, so it isn't very clear. Jordan also plays the piano for his school's Jazz Band and will be traveling to a competition for that on Friday. He sure loves his music. It's funny, he enjoys such a wide range of styles. His iPod includes anything from Mozart to Billy Holiday to Bobby Darin to Ben Folds. He also got his driver's license over the weekend. Ugh! More worries for Mom!

If you check out my new Etsy store, you will see that I have decided to take custom orders for using vintage photos in personalized pendants. I think they would make very unique gifts. I will also continue to make pendants using reduced sized prints of my original folk art paintings.

I am working on some St. Patrick's day themed artwork and hope to have some listed on Ebay soon. I have a 4 day weekend coming up, so hopefully I will get something done!

NEW PROJECTS!

Well, what do you think of my new projects? This is why I was learning to solder! The first necklace was going to be a surprise for my mom, but I guess she will see it now...This is a two sided pendant featuring a copy of an old photo of my mom and her twin. On the flip side I cut words from an old book describing them. I sandwiched this all between two pieces of glass, put copper tape around the whole thing incorporating a wire hook on top. Then I soldered the front, back, and edges with lead-free solder. I strung the pendant on a waxed cotton cord with decorative beads.

The grouping below is of several pendants I made in the same way, using reduced-sized prints of some of my original paintings. They all have something else on the other side, a quote or saying with more decorative paper.
These are pretty tedious to make and I haven't quite decided on the price yet. I was thinking of opening an Etsy shop with them. What do you think? The one thing I wonder about is, does anyone have an Etsy shop without offering credit card usage? I don't know anything about that part. I would probably only take PayPal since I already have that set up through Ebay. I wonder if that would effect my business?

Also, I have been thinking of offering to custom make these pendants using customers' personal vintage photos similar to the one I made for my Mom. They would make wonderfully thoughtful gifts. It would be easy enough for people to email a copy of the photo to me and I could take it from there. (I think) As long as the photo quality was decent. Well, so many questions. I need my artist friends to tell me what they think! Thank You!

Here she is! Megan arrived safely at my home on Wednesday. She is quite beautiful in person. The workmanship is awesome. She was created by the very talented Jenny Carter of Wonders of Whimsy. I won her in a raffle she generously had to raise money for her other organization, Alley Cat Rescue. You must visit her blogs and see all the wonderful things she creates and all the sweet kitties she saves. Thank you Jenny!

I have such a busy weekend ahead of me. First of all, Tara is coming home tonight! Yippee! I am taking Jordan to take his driver's test right after school today--Yikes-hate it! Then tonight, we are all going to see my niece in the high school performance of the Wizard of Oz (she is the Wicked Witch). Tomorrow, I will go watch Jordan in his Drumline competition in another town. Yes, it is kind of like the movie, if you have seen it, with lots of intense drumming. I hope my headache is gone by then! It started yesterday with my seeing bright flashes and a zig zag bright line before my vision. My mom and sister, Jennifer get them too. They are classic migraines, and are terrible. I haven't had one in a very long time, though.

I hope at some point this weekend, I get to work on the new creations I have had floating around in my head. I get nervous when I don't get to paint or create for awhile. Some of you know what I mean! Well, I'm off to clean the house and put short ribs and cabbage in the crock pot (an old German fav). Have a great weekend everyone!

Armload of Love!

My kitty paintings seem to be the most popular, so here is an "Armload of Love" for you! The gray one seems to be trying to get away~This is a 6"X6"X1.5" deep sided canvas. It will be on Ebay tonight.

I have been experimenting with some new creations lately. My husband gave me a lesson in soldering over the weekend for one of my new endeavors. I hope my new ideas work out! As soon as I finish something, I will show you!