whimsy art studio

snowman and sheet music?

2011-12-12T18:58:00.000-05:00

I had a canvas. I had sheet music. I wanted to paint something Christmas but also could carry over to winter.

Hmmmm

A snowman.

Do you like how it turned out?

How could you not?

he is just so dang cute.

stay warm, trisha

hands to heart

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hands

Heart

Simply LoVE

trisha

My huggable guys

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

A friend to hug when you are down.

A friend to tell all your secrets to.

A friend to have just to be there.

We all need those.

Here are ones I have created to become just that to someone special.

which one do you need?

trisha

A button tree

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Simply made.

Simply put.

A tree of buttons.

Simplicity is key.

trisha

More items on the shelf...

2011-11-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

Love this shelving unit.

It has allowed me to get away from the painting and dabbling in other areas I enjoy just as much.

Here's some more items I've been working on.

Frames, tags, paintings, printed muslin ribbon, and more..

Time to shop for the holidays.

trisha

Frames and graphics

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I took some inspiration from the Shanty2Chic girls and made some frames for the holidays.

I painted and distressed them and then my sister printed out some awesome graphics from the Graphics Fairy to showcase on them.

Take a look.

Here it is without anything on it:

You'll notice they are distressed and I added some rosettes to the front for a whimsical touch.

Now you can put anything on them. Recipes, photos, anything.

Those kids were too funny. Thanks to Karen at the Graphics Fairy for always sharing her finds.

what would you put on them?

trisha

linking to Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy

Hobby Horse

2011-11-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Silhouettes are all the rage.

So put them and Christmas together with a fun frame and you have this:

giddy on up and get your Holiday shopping started.

trisha

2011-11-24T15:51:00.002-05:00

New display space

2011-11-22T18:53:00.001-05:00

As you remember I have a space in the Artists Colony and was showcasing my paintings on my cool polka dot framed wall space. Well paintings are moving really slow. I figured I could use my other talents and branch out a bit. But this meant I needed something to display on.

In steps my sister and her husband to the rescue.

They dug around their workshop and found pieces to construct a fun shelving unit with a touch of whimsy to represent my style.

They took boards but then used old spindles from an old kitchen table I had to make the supports.

Here she is loaded up.

It now allows me space to utilize that paintings just didn't work at. And it has opened up a whole new area for me to create for.

what do you think?

trisha

linking to Primitive & Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday

job 12:8

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

We should all do this once in awhile.

keep painting, trisha

a stack of teacups

2011-11-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

Stacked precariously on top of each other.

Another fun painting available at the tea room.

keep painting, trisha

believe

2011-11-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

Believe.

A simple request but sometimes so difficult to grasp.

keep painting, trisha

A tall order of tea

2011-11-04T07:00:00.002-04:00

Another painting available at Afternoon Tea.

keep painting, trisha

words of wisdom

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

some simple words to live by

keep painting, trisha

love

2011-11-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

LOVE

enough said

keep painting, trisha

all the birdies in a row...

2011-11-01T07:00:00.002-04:00

My fave- birds.

These fellows are ready to just march right out of the colony in a line.

keep painting, trisha

teacup of flowers

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another one for the tea room.

I am really enjoying these bold colors and fun images.

keep painting, trisha

Soar

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Everyone has dreams.

We need to take those dreams and soar with them.

What do you dream of?

keep painting, trisha

a stack of birds..

2011-10-28T07:00:00.004-04:00

I am trying to keep my space at the Carolina Artists' Colony filled.

But my birds are so popular they keep flying out the door.

keep painting, trisha

linking to:
The Shabby Nest : Frugal Friday
Make it Fabulous : Momma's kinda crafty
Tickled Pink : #504 Main

live in the sunshine..

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Emerson said, " live in the sunshine".

I agree.

keep painting, trisha

Tea and polka dots..

2011-10-26T16:22:00.000-04:00

I am now doing more painting for Afternoon Tea - which is a tea room in Sanford. This one I took in to fill her walls with color and a tea theme. If you ever meet Christina you will realize she has a zest for life so vibrant colors and pattern are her to a "tea".

keep painting, trisha

wonder

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wonder...

It's life's great pleasure.

To just wonder.

keep painting, trisha

Birds..

2011-10-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Birds.

I love them.

All of them. I adore watching them and then capturing their grace on a canvas or paper.

I paint a great deal of birds and it is always a different look. I do realistic birds and folk birds. This one is a nod toward folk.

No two birds are exactly alike - just like humans.

They are a wonder in nature.

keep painting, trisha

how do birds stay warm in the winter?

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Why with a hat, scarf and boots.

This is just one adorable bird don't you think?

keep painting, trisha

It's a bird life

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's a birds life. Well they have it so nice don't they? Except for cats :)

keep painting, trisha

Autumn = sunflowers

2011-10-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite flowers to paint is a sunflower. I love doing them with a multitude of backgrounds.

I don't think you can go wrong with a flower that lifts it's head to smile at the sun.

This one was done on paper then attached to a canvas. A different take to try.

keep painting, trisha

Pumpkins are so Halloween.

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

The ultimate reminder of Halloween- Pumpkins.

Happy Halloween to you,

trisha

Boo! Almost Halloween

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Are you ready for Halloween?

I love this time of year - kids happy, candy pumpkins, costumes and the fall chill.

Here is a bit of art that embraces all that is Halloween.

It's available in my booth..

boo to you,

trisha

A tall order of tea

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another painting available at Afternoon Tea.

keep painting, trisha

Zinnias anyone?

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

OK I love zinnias.

I can't get them to grow so I go over and look at my sisters flowers. She plants a couple plants and then they reseed everywhere..she has a green thumb I tell you. Think she could help a sister out and share the plant love? She does try to get my garden going and works on it all the time.

Anyway, I started this painting and just did not like it.

My sister and niece loved it so I worked on it a bit more and then I liked it too.

I have it consigned at Added Accents..

So, what do you think?

keep painting, trisha

Sunflowers at Added Accents

2011-09-22T10:41:00.000-04:00

Well it is looking up in Whimsy World.

I have my own space at Carolina Artists' Colony and I have items in a store downtown called

Added Accents. She has a beautiful store that is more on the contemporary, fun, young person level.

She loves bright, fun colors. She saw some of my sunflower pictures from the Colony and wanted some larger ones to consign in her store..

And voila....

She has now decided she'd like some with a bright turquoise background.

I love getting to do this as a job.

What have you been painting?

keep on painting, trisha

beach memories

2011-09-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

The beach. Simply put the best place in the world. At least for me it is. And I am so lucky that North Carolina has so many awesome beaches to enjoy.

ahh to be there now?

keep painting, trisha

climbing flowers

2011-09-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

This piece is a different work. You'll notice a patchwork effect in the background. Some, upon a quick glance think it is paint. But it is decoupaged fabric squares like a patchwork quilt. Then the climbing flowers are painted upon that. Very unique piece.

keep painting, trisha

sunflowers = autumn

2011-09-15T07:00:00.002-04:00

If you've ever driven through Kansas in early autumn then you know how a love for sunflowers can happen instantly. If you love autumn and sunflowers then it is a place of bliss.

keep painting, trisha

reaching for the sky.

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

On certain days all we can do is reach for the sun....

keep painting, trisha

a stack of caffeine

2011-09-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

In the morning I NEED a large Coke. Others need coffee. I wonder if some need a stack of coffee?

which cup would hold your caffeine fix?

keep painting, trisha

tiny rose

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the tiniest of roses makes the biggest impression.

keep painting, trisha

putting it on a pedestal.

2011-09-09T07:00:00.002-04:00

Everything of importance gets put on a pedestal. So, why not in this season of autumn put a pumpkin on a pedestal? I mean it is pretty much the true symbol of autumn is it not?

what do you put on a pedestal?

keep painting, trisha

sharing with these wonderful bloggers:
frugalicious friday at finding fabulous
tickled pink fridays at 504 main

He loves me - he loves me not

2011-09-08T07:00:00.002-04:00

This is a mixture of flowers with daisies which always makes me think of the childhood game:

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.

Why is it when you actually have a boy you like and you do that - it always comes out - he loves me not?

who loves you?

keep painting, trisha

Roses anyone?

2011-09-07T07:00:00.001-04:00

Thought I'd share a painting a day with you. These are all paintings in my booth at the current time.

This is a bright whimsical take on a bouquet of pink roses.

So fun.

you like?

keep painting, trisha

a sunflowery kind of day

2011-09-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

I feel as if autumn is trying to come into play. I wish I was surrounded by sunflowers and cool breezes.

Well if you can't have it you create it.

what kind of day are you having?

keep painting, Trisha

anyone want a cupcake?

2011-09-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Are you in the mood for a cupcake?

Here's one I painted up and it is for sale.

yummy.

keep painting, Trisha

Ta Da...

2011-09-02T16:53:00.000-04:00

The space is loaded up with art. Take a look.

I kind of feel that there is some dead space at the bottom. You can't really hang art down low or it can't be seen. So, I have a telephone bench that my sister is going to paint white and recover the seat. I will place it there and put a canvas on the little table.

And here is a bit of a closer look.

Stop by Carolina Artists' Colony on facebook and like us then come on down and visit the place.

I will give a close up of a couple of the paintings tomorrow.

until then- keep painting,

Trisha

booth time

2011-08-28T19:27:00.001-04:00

Well the booth is now finished. All that is missing is the artwork. But I am working hard on that this week.

I hope to have pictures of all the art to show you on Thursday- that is when I am loading up my space.

For now you'll have to enjoy pics of it empty..

You'll have to imagine the before was a wall that was an ugly green..ugly

We painted it in a nice beige neutral so the artwork will show best.

Then my sister, Tammy of Tattered & Timeless made me a sign.

Then she painted up some boards in red and did white polka dots on them. That is the border on my business card. She said why not make a frame to frame all your artwork and really show that it is your space and tie it back to you logo and business card.

Here's the space:

And a close up of the sign. Her hubby, Kirk hung it all and also made the sign stick out to have some dimension to the flat wall.

I can't wait to fill it on Thursday and then show you the final effect.

Until then,

Trisha

ahhh new business cards

2011-05-18T16:49:00.000-04:00

A new venture starts tomorrow.

I have found a store in my town that is going to allow me to consign some of my art.

It will get it out to a bigger market.

And I am excited, scared, nervous and happy.

Here is my new business card.

All me- fun and whimsical.

Wish me luck as this journey starts.

Successful Show!!!

2011-05-08T18:28:00.001-04:00

Show was a great Success. We sold lots and had tons of people looking at the open house.

Yes the Whimsy cottage has been put on the market..hope it sells quickly so I can get on with things.

I have already moved and am trying to create a new Whimsy Studio in my new -old 60's ranch.

It will be cottage-y when my sister and I are all done with it. We have grand plans in the works- lots of dreams to bring to life..like adding a front porch, back screen porch and completely redoing the kitchen.

But back to the show. Here are a few shots my sister took...I'll post more later from my camera.

My house that is for sale:

Our booth space:

a better view of my wall of art pieces:

me manning the checkout with my niece, Sophie:

And some closeups of some of my art:

Well off to rest some after a long day...

See you soon with more pics.

~ trisha

Guests at Work

2011-03-15T05:59:00.000-04:00

This is what I see every morning when I get to work.

Somedays seagulls join them.

I love seeing them,

I am not sure how much longer they will be hanging around,

so I am enjoying it.

This is what they looked like after I took the first picture.

They were coming after me and honking like crazy.

I still love them. :)

Thanks for stopping in and taking a look.

Come back soon.

Signs and more Signs

2011-03-11T22:09:00.000-05:00

I have been busy getting ready for the spring show.

It is the first Saturday of May, so will be here soon.

Here are some signs I have been working on.

They aren't finished yet, but I thought you might enjoy

a sneak peak.

Thanks for visiting.

View from the car

2011-03-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

I drive an hour to work everyday.

It sounds like a bad thing,

and I admit with these gas prices it isn't great.

But, the scenery on the way is beautiful.

Here is the what I enjoyed looking at a couple of mornings ago:

Isn't it beautiful?

Sunrise over the lake.

Thanks for stopping by.

In Search of Spring

2011-02-15T08:47:00.003-05:00

Old Phil said spring was coming so I thought I would see if I could find any signs of it.

At my sister's house I saw this:

Daffodils pushing up through the earth!!

I am so excited- hurry up spring. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T07:24:00.004-05:00

Sunny Sunday

2011-02-13T19:39:00.006-05:00

Here in the NC we had a warm spring-like weekend.

After so much cold weather you just felt like you had to go out in the sunshine and enjoy it a bit.

I headed to my sister's house and got to spend time in the sun

with my sister and her family.

My niece Sophie had a little painting area set up and

was having a great time.

Sun, Sophie and paint...

what could be more fun?

I hope you all had a great weekend and

enjoyed a little sunshine.

I am going to link this to

A life made lovely- my first time.

Thanks for visiting.

Birthdays!!!

2011-02-04T17:45:00.001-05:00

Today is a busy day for birthdays!

In order of age:

Happy Birthday to my brother, Tom.

I hope he has a great day!!!

Also Happy #6 to my neice Sophie!

You bring so many smiles to my life.

And finally, it is one of my dog's birthday.

Happy #3 to Daisy!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the day- even if it isn't your birthday. :)

Spring Thoughts

2011-01-20T19:13:00.000-05:00

It may be cold and wintry outside,

but at work I get to play with spring flowers

and make fun arrangements.

It's enjoyable to pretend it is spring.

I hope you are finding fun ways to get through

this winter. :)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for visiting me and reading my blog.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and

a Happy New Year!

I am planning lots of new projects and paintings

to share with you in the new year.

As for now, I am going to enjoy these 2 days off

with my family.

Christmas Decor

2010-12-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

A little Christmas Decor:

The Christmas Bird

2010-12-09T07:31:00.000-05:00

One of my friends gave me an early Christmas present, this adorable bird.

I love him, he is so dapper.

Won't he look great with my other Christmas feathered friends?

Fun Weekend

2010-12-06T20:48:00.001-05:00

I had this weekend off from work and got to spend a lot of it with 2 of my sister's kids:

Jack and Sophie.

We had loads of fun.

My mom, myself and the kids played some Jenga:

Mom and Sophie did some coloring:

Then we all went to see "Tangled" which was very good.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Thanks for stopping by,

got to go get to work on Christmas cards! :)

Transfer Tutorial

2010-11-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

You asked for a tutorial on the transfer method I used for the canvas that was featured on Graphics Fairy- well here is how I did it.

First I paint various shades of browns on my canvas, as seen here:

Then I paint over top of that with 1-2 coats of cream colored paint.

Once that has completely dried I add a coat of Matte Gel Medium.

Don't put it on too thick, about the thickness of spreading butter on bread.

Now you need a copy of the image you wish to transfer. It has to be a copy, not a print from the computer. I take mine to Staples and get them copied, make sure that if you have an image with writing that you get a mirror image.

Place your copy, image side down, onto the canvas. Do this right after you have spread the gel medium on, it has to be wet. Press the image down and rub away any air bubbles.

Let the canvas dry completely. I usually let it dry overnight.

Once it is completely dry, you dampen the paper with water.

Once it is wet, start peeling off the paper gently.

The paper will peel off and leave the image on your canvas.

You may have to rub it a bit to get all of the paper fibers off.

After you are finished with that, sand, paint, antique- whatever you like. :)

Give it a try, it is a lot of fun. Any questions, please let me know.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Etsy Shop

2010-11-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

My poor Etsy shop has been sitting empty for so long. I feel so guilty, how could I have neglected it so?

Well, I am tossing the guilt aside and getting to work. I added some pieces today and am planning to add more throughout the week. I have lots of pieces completed. I just need to get them photographed and into my shop. Here are a couple of pieces that I put in the shop today.

Please check out my shop to see more.

Also, I am working on the tutorial that I promised. I had a little technical difficulty, but am hoping to have it posted later this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

OMG I have been featured

2010-10-25T19:46:00.000-04:00

I just was notified by the awesome Karen at The Graphcs Fairy that I have been featured on

Brag Monday.

All because of my little canvas I did.

Check it out here.

Boingo Halloween Pumpkin

2010-10-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

We have all seen various types and takes on pumpkins this season. There are fabric ones, plastic ones, real ones and paper ones. But have you seen one on a spring ? - kinda like tigger ready to pounce.

Well I have tons of these springs - yes the previous owners left me a rather ratty sofa and well - my dog chewed it up more than I'd care to share and right before I was going to have my brother-in-law haul it to the dump - my sister said, " cut out the springs and save those. You might find something cool to do with them."

My sister is a junk nut. She will pick anything up and try to see a way to repurpose it. She is not too cool to dumpster dive- no sir.

Well I did this:

I did two in this fun orange pattern. It is napkins decoupaged over a paper mache pumpkin. Then I tied some of my hand- stained, hand stamped Halloween ribbon to the spring.

Aren't you just bouncing to have this?

linking to:

Getting Crafty on Hump Day at Nikkis Nifty Knacks

Creative Share Wednesday at Trendy Treehouse

Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Pumpkin Categorically crafting show at Someday Crafts

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design

canvas of beauty

2010-10-18T07:11:00.003-04:00

Okay I will admit it- one of my favorite blogs- other than my sisters- Tattered & Timeless is the Graphic's Fairy. Is that nice woman not one of the best all around greatest people out there?

I mean she takes time out of her busy life to give us free clip art of all imaginable things. Even if it isn't your type it is all beautiful and so useful.

She hosts Brag Monday to allow us all to show off how we use her gifts.

Here is what I did:

I did a transfer using one of her images and then doing it by using gesso and a copy machine image. It just transfers the ink from the paper to the canvas. It was such fun to do I can't wait to do many more. I can see Christmas ones, spring ones - oh the list just goes wild.

Join other to see what they are bragging about at the Graphic Fairy's Brag Monday
And since this is so vintage and antique white I thought it would be a nice thing to share at
Faded Charm for White Wednesday.

Since you have asked for more info about this transfer, I will get to work and have a tutorial posted soon.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

Silver to behold

2010-10-17T13:00:00.002-04:00

Another new item I did for Cameron this year was some silver. I found an article somewhere that showed taking silver trays and painting on them and then embellishing them with crystals.

I did a few and thought I'd share them with you all.

I've created some Christmas ones also but will share them at a later time.

thanks for checking in with my creativity.

linking to :

Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Party at I heart naptime
Vintage Inspirations at Common Ground

A little Wordle type Art

2010-10-16T21:36:00.003-04:00

Well since being slammed before and now after Cameron Day I haven't had time to share my newest creations with you. I played around with wordle a bit and came up with some pretty awesome art pieces. My favorite - words of the NC beaches sold pretty quickly and I'll share a picture of it soon. But here are two pieces I sent down to my sister's booth to sell.

This was my take on Halloween. Cute isn't it?

And this was to go with the way my sister does the booth - all vintage, shabby - well the name of her business - all "tattered & timeless".

linking to these great parties:

The weekend wrap up at It's So Very Cheri

Friday Link party at Creation Corner
The Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party at I heart naptime
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design
Hooking up with HOH at House of Hepworths
Get your Craft on at Today's Creative Blog

Street Fair Time

2010-09-24T20:18:00.000-04:00

It's almost time for the Cameron Street Fair!! I have been so busy getting stuff ready that I haven't had time to post.

Next weekend is the fair and after that I will be posting lots of pictures. I have been painting a lot and have taken before and after shots. So please chack back in after the fair and I will share with you what I have been up to. :)

Here is are a few shots of our booth from the last fair.

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend Fun!

2010-08-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

Hello!

Today I had fun babysitting Sophie and Jack while my sister was working on her booth.

(See it here)

We had a treasure hunt:

Jack reading the clue.

Racing to find the next clue.

Then we did some painting:

And took a walk:

Did you have fun this weekend?

Now I must get busy painting...only a month til the fall show!!

Yikes!!

Buttons!!

2010-08-13T23:04:00.000-04:00

Have I ever mentioned my love of buttons?

I love 'em.

I can't help it.

The colors just draw me in.

The pictures below are from my studio space.

No matter how messy and out of control the rest of my studio may be...

I can look over at my button shelf and it makes me smile.

I hope you have enjoyed this small look into my studio.

I will try to share more photos soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great weekend!!

Summer Paintings

2010-08-02T19:01:00.001-04:00

Hello!!

I have been so busy with work and paintings. I have started teaching painting classes at the local Michaels. I have my first class tomorrow. Please wish me luck. :)

Here is a look at the painting that I will be teaching tomorrow. It is for a kids beginner class.

If you'd like to see more of the paintings that I will be teaching.

Please check out my other class blog:

trishasartclasses.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Beach Time

2010-06-28T20:19:00.001-04:00

I will be heading to the beach in a few days. I can hardly wait. My wonderful sister and her family have invited me on their annual beach trip. This is the third time I have gone and I have had a great time everytime. I am so lucky that my sister and her family include me in their vacation. I am so looking forward to playing in the ocean with my niece and nephews, searching for the perfect seashell for my sister, making seashell necklaces with my niece and just relaxing and talking with my mom and sister. Oh and watching the boys try to dig a giant hole in the sand. (never really understood this, but they do it every year.) :)

Here are some pictures from last years trip to get you in the beach mood.

Have a great week, I will see you again when I get back.

Thanks for stopping by.

Graduation Gift

2010-06-18T16:55:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest painting. A wonderful lady that I met at work hired me to paint it for her daughter's high school graduation gift. The daughter's favorite colors are hot pink and black. The mother wanted the poem and wanted it to look whimsical. She loved it, I hope her daughter did too. :)

I painted polka-dots around the edges of the canvas, but forgot to take a picture.

Thanks for stopping and taking a look.

One of my Faves

2010-06-02T19:21:00.000-04:00

I have done MANY paintings over the years and thought I would show you one of my favorites.

I love the colors.

I am actually planning on painting and amoire in my craft room using the same look.

I will, of course, post a picture of that when it is finished.

Trip with Mom

2010-05-16T17:18:00.000-04:00

As a Mother's Day gift, a week late, I took my mom to a local public garden. Although a lot of things weren't in bloom yet, it was still beautiful. We definitly plan to head back later in the summer to check it out again.

Enjoy the photos:

Thanks for stopping by!

Cameron Day May 2010 is complete.

2010-05-02T21:10:00.000-04:00

Well we completed our May 2010 Cameron Day. My sister does not have reliable access to a computer at this time so I figured I'd let her followers know how it went. You know a little sister sharing stuff.

The day was perfect- no rain, a bit of a breeze and sunshine- but most importantly there were shoppers. We had a great turnout and couldn't be more thankful for all the ladies that shopped with us and the men that were along for the ride.

This is a peek at our booth space- my sister is a bit more laid back but I am a girl that believes in "GO BIG OR GO HOME" So of course we had to decorate it up to the nines. Thankfully we had a great deal of help from my friend Liz from Texas- thanks a bunch to you and your foofing the space.

Here is a closeup of some of the items Trisha made..notice the very cute pails covered in sheet music with the birds nests on top.. And of course she loves frogs so one had to have a frog in it.

Here she did a tin box full of eggs..a large nest with a bird on it and some apothecary jars containing nests.

Here you will notice two of her paintings..one of a more whimsical bird and the other of a nest of very realistic eggs..my fave painting in my opinion..

Here you will see many of her new paintings hanging on the shutters..she also made some hair bows hanging on a ribbon on the right shutter and she did the sheet music lamp on the blue dresser.

More paintings on the back shutter,

My favorite of all her creations is the sheet music egg that is on the huge nest sitting on the spring..is that not the cutest dang thing you have ever seen?

More paintings..

Another shot of my fave - the egg.

Here is Trisha relaxing on her porch with my daughter(her niece) Sophie. Along for the selling experience is her co-worker/friend Jenn and her hubby..

Well that is it for the show this May. We'll be back at it in October again..So, please Join us the first Saturday in October to shop with us and see our newest creations..
Only 152 days to go Trisha - thanks for going on this adventure with me-
love your sis,
tammy

Getting Ready

2010-04-25T20:12:00.000-04:00

I am sorry I haven't posted in awhile, I have been busy getting ready for this weekend's street fair. I have been creating lots of fun pieces that I can't wait to show you. I plan on taking lots of pictures of our booth. If you are in the local area, please head down to Cameron, NC and enjoy the street fair this Saturday. The town will be filled with antique and craft vendors... oh and of course food vendors too. :)

Hope to see you there!

Easter Basket Swap

2010-04-03T20:43:00.000-04:00

I joined Miss Rhea's Easter Basket Swap, which was a lot of fun. We had to make an Easter Basket out of a yogurt cup. It was a lot tougher covering that tiny yogurt cup than I thought it would be! :) We were assigned two partners to send our yogurt cup baskets filled with 5 items. Here are the two that I made for Janet and Melony:

I added a small canvas Easter hanging. Then I made a glass marble magnet with floral pictures, a flower pin, a small collage and a robin's egg.

This is the Easter basket that I received from Melony:

I love it! I told her that my favorite color combo is robins egg blue and red, which she captured beautifully on my yogurt cup. And without me even saying, she added pom-pom fringe which I LOVE! Thanks so much Melony.

I did not receive a basket from my other partner.

Please visit Miss Rhea to check out links to other baskets. :)

Words to Live By

2010-03-24T21:49:00.000-04:00

A few reminders for myself in my studio.

Happy Spring!!

2010-03-20T19:07:00.000-04:00

Yippee!!!

It is the first day of spring!

Sunshine and warm temps here.

I got to spend most of the day outside, it was great!

Hope it is nice where you are.

Dream Big Dreams

2010-03-18T13:05:00.000-04:00

Here is another collage I did- I think it turned out quite cute. I love the bird and also the sentiment on it.

It is supposed to be nice out this weekend. I plan to be in the sun painting some projects for the upcoming show. Hopefully I will have some new stuff to share with you next week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Thrive

2010-03-13T11:13:00.000-05:00

It is a beautiful spring day here so I am going to make this post short. My nephew invited me over to watch him skate, he said I could be lazy if I wanted. Sounds like a marvelous idea to me. Sit in the sun and watch him skate. :)

Here is another one of my collages that I completed recently. I love the happy colors in this one.

The picture came out a bit dark, I need to retake it now that the sun is out.

I hope it is sunny where you are and you get a chance to either be creative or lazy. Or maybe a bit of both. :)

New Header

2010-03-11T16:27:00.002-05:00

Well just thought I'd shake things up a bit for spring. Take a look at the new header- yeah that's right it is spring and it better stay that way.

U R Loved

2010-03-10T20:45:00.001-05:00

Spring has finally arrived here in NC. The daffodils are blooming, warm temps and sunshine- yippee.

I have been busy trying to get some collages done for an upcoming show. Here are two of my latest. I was thinking how sometimes we feel alone and need to be reminded that we are loved. So, I created these collages as a reminder. :)

I hope spring has arrived where you are.

I am linking this too:

My Art Table

2010-03-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share with you what my art table looks like - it is quite a mess. This isn't always a bad thing, right now it is messy because I have been busy creating. I used to have a sign that said- I'm not messy, I am creative! I might need to make myself a new sign with that motto. :) Here's is my work space:

I have been playing with collages this week rather than painting. It has been a lot of fun. It's inspiring to try something different and just have fun with it. I really enjoy the colors and textures in these collages. Most of you know I am a quote junkie. I am always righting down quotes that I like. I have notebooks filled with them. Incorporating quotes into these collages has been great.

Here are a couple collages that I have been working on, they are not finished, but I would love to know what you think of them.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Some more art

2010-02-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

These are some art pieces that I created for my neice, Sophie. She has them hanging in her room. Enjoy !

And bring on spring please.

Nature- Three Muses Challenge

2010-02-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

This week's Three Muses Challenge topic was "nature." Most, if not all of my paintings are nature inspired. The beauty of nature is what motivates me to do art. It is always inspiring. So, I chose this sweet little painting as my entry into this week's challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

3 Bird Painting on Etsy

2010-02-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

Hello,

I thought maybe a reminder of spring might be in order, with so many of you under snow. This is a painting I did a while back. It is a fun, kind of silly painting of 3 birds.

It also has some collaged elements on it.

I was emailing some friends back home in WV. They have gotten lots of snow. I sure don't miss shoveling snow, scraping windshields, driving in snow etc. But I have to admit, I kind of miss that snowed in feeling. That feeling that you can just stay in and not worry about going anywhere. One time we were snowed in for days and my dad decided to go out in his 4 wheel drive just to see what the roads were like. ( I think he might have been getting a little bit of cabin fever.) He was gone for awhile, told us the roads were horrible and that he had to stop and help pull various cars out of ditches. On his drive he found a store that was open and brought us back a bunch of magazines. Wow- snowed in with a pile of new magazines- awesome! Does it get any better than that? :)

Too all of you covered in snow: stay safe and warm.

Thanks for stopping by,

Birds of a Feather

2010-02-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple mixed media pieces that I have done that fit the Birds of a Feather theme for this weeks "Three Muses Challenge."

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Now I need to head over to Three Muses and check out what everyone else did.

Etsy Update

2010-02-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Hello,

Just wanted to let you know that this daffodil painting is now for sale in my etsy shop.

Well, now that the sun is starting to melt some of the ice - I guess I better head to work.

Stay warm and have a great day. :)

It's cold outside!

2010-01-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

Well the snow hit North Carolina this weekend and boy is it cold out there. There is snow and ice everywhere. Luckily it is supposed to warm up a bit today- let the melting begin! :)

Daisy doesn't have much fur, so I had to search for an old dog sweater that belongs to my parent's dog. It is a bit small, but works. At first she wasn't happy about it, wouldn't look at me. But after a lot of compliments on how beautiful she looks she seems to be liking it just fine.

Thanks for stopping by!

Work in Progress

2010-01-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

This week's Three Muses Challenge topic is "Quips and Quotes." I happened to be working on the collage/painting below and thought it fit well with the theme. This piece is still a work in progress, but so far I am really liking it. I kind of let go while doing the background. I just kept playing until I got to a point that I liked. It was a lot of fun. The little girl in this piece is my niece Sophie- I adore her, she brings so much joy to my life. She is quite the fashionista and I did this piece to celebrate her silly, stylin' self. :)

Art from the Past

2010-01-19T22:56:00.003-05:00

Both my computer and I took ill this week. Thankfully we are both doing better now, but I haven't gotten much painting accomplished. I thought I would share a couple art pieces that I did a couple years ago, I love them and have them both hanging in my living room. I thought they fit the themes of both Mixed Media Monday- which was "Wings" and for the Three Muses Challenge which was "In the Air".

Three Muses - Water

2010-01-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

This weeks challenge topic over at the Three Muses blog is water. I did a lot of thinking on this before I started painting. I think because it has been so cold here and I am impatiently waiting for spring, I decided to paint a daffodil in a jar of water. I tried to remember to take photos as I went along, so you can see the progression of the painting. I hope you like it.

This first shot is after I had basecoated the canvas with black gesso, drawn the image on and started painting the background color.

In this picture I have filled in most of the areas of the painting with color.

Adding shadows and highlights.

Continuing to add detail to the painting.

At this point, I collaged on polka-dots, added colored pencil and also watercolor crayons.

The finished painting with antiquing and rubber stamping.

Three Muses Challenge

2010-01-06T20:40:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone.

I hope the new year has started off wonderfully for you.

I decided for the new year I wanted to join in on some of the art challenges that I see online.

I recently found the Three Muses Challenge Blog and I love it, so I thought I would join in and add one of my paintings to the list.

This weeks challenge was ANGEL.

I painted an angel this summer and I thouhgt I would share it.

I also painted a few angel ornaments for Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-25T10:44:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. My secret Santa at work gave me these adorable birds. I love them!

First Sale on Etsy

2009-12-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

I had my first sale on Etsy this week!! I am so excited, I sold 4 paintings to a wonderful lady in Pennsylvania. I hope they enjoy their new home.

I thought I would share another painting that I posted on Etsy. My mom and niece, Sophie, like the paintings with the little girls.

Speaking of Sophie, she had her preschool Christmas program last night. It was so much fun. Sophie was a beautiful angel with sparkely shoes. :)

New Items in Etsy Shop

2009-12-03T12:25:00.002-05:00

I am busy putting new items in my etsy shop. Please take a look- for the month of December there is free shipping on all items in the shop. I will be adding more all month, so keep checking back.

Here's a peek at one item added today.

sold

Red Friday

2009-11-30T16:04:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I just wanted to post and invite all of you to visit my etsy shop this Friday, the 4th of December. It is Red Friday. This is a day that various shops join together and have sales and free shipping. I will be adding lots of paintings. Please click on the Red Friday button and check out all the shops involved. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

happy thanksgiving

2009-11-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

Have a great day and hope to have some great updates for you soon.

Nutcracker Update

2009-11-22T18:23:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share an update on my nutcracker pots with you. I showed you a picture of them in my previous post. I had to make them for work and they took forever. They took longer to make than they lasted in the store! When I went to work this week another employee complimented me on how cute my nutcrackers turned out and then asked me what happened to them. I was clueless as to what she was talking about and then she told me that there was only one left. Come to find out 2 of them were stolen! I guess I should take it as a compliment that someone would take such a risk for something I made, but it sure is a downer that there are people out there that do such things.

Now I am onto making another display for work. I will try to share some pictures this week. Maybe we should lock these displays down with bicycle chains. :)

Nutcracker Pots

2009-11-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

I haven't been doing a lot of painting this week- why? Because of these crazy nutcracker pots that I had to make for work. I work at Michaels and these are for a display. I seem to always catch myself volunteering for stuff and then later I am stressed out because I don't have enough time to get everything done. Oh well that seems to be true for many of us. Anyway I am glad to say that the nutcracker fellows are finshed and now I can get back to work on my own paintings. :)