The Monkey Regrets to Inform You...

Argh! I did not get to my MIMM post yesterday, obviously. I had a good reason though, it has to do with cold hard cash...got slammed with orders over the weekend and decided that it was time to pad the gift tag inventory just a little bit. The busy season is sneaking up on us very quickly, and with that in mind I worked on less creative pursuits this past week.

But in case you are not familiar with Monkey in the Middle Mondays, let me explain just a bit...

Monkey in the Middle Mondays are my way keeping myself in check (at least most weeks- lol!)and working on something new every single week (explained in a little more detail here )...I share pics of my WIPS and I would love to see what you are working on! WIPS are one of my favorite things to follow on blogs. I'm a before and after kinda gal, even though I don't do much trash to treasure these days.

To get a good idea of a real MIMM post, go visit my friend Kathy at Catnip Studio. She's sharing her cleaned up studio this week. Definitely worth a visit- Kathy's studio is truly envy-worthy!

I do have something I can share with you this week, although the creating part of this project is done, I'm still working on it. Using the pencils and markers and paint and ink is the fun part. It's the scanning and tweaking on Photoshop and printing that's my biggest challenge. And that's where this piece is at right now. But I'll share a sneak peak....

And that's it for this abbreviated MIMM...on Tuesday...

Make sure you scroll down and visit my giveaway...Giving away some Fall goodies....

Until next time,

STEPH

The Most Wonderful Time of Year deserves a GIVEAWAY!

It's that time again....The October Issue of Create and Decorate is on the shelves!

If that cover doesn't make you ready for Fall...how about this?

This lamp is my contribution this issue...a little whimsical Halloween for your painting pleasure...

For some reason, when I re-subscribed (there are a few issues that I have no projects in, so I don't get complimentary copies), I ended up with two subscriptions. So in months where I also have a project, I end up with four copies. What better excuse for a giveaway?

In case that's not enough....Just because I feel like celebrating all sorts of "new" stuff ...new school year, new season, new issue of one of my favorite mags, new project for me...I'm going to give a couple of those issues away! Our last giveaway was in the winter, so it's time for a new one, don't you think?

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post. Tell me what your favorite thing about Fall is...

If you write about the contest on your own blog and link back to me, let me know by sending me an email with the link, and I will enter your name a second time!

What's in it for you? I will draw two lucky names who will each get a copy of the October issue of Create and Decorate , the candle lamp used and one set of two silicone dipped bulbs. All you will need to get started is the lampshade (and the source for that is in the article), paints and brushes.

Let's keep it open a few days, so we can get the word out...How 'bout you have until midnight on Labor Day to enter....

Come on, tell me what you love about Fall...

Good Luck everyone!

Until Next Time,

STEPH

P.S. You have to leave me some way to contact you, please (email is fine)! Anonymous posts with no contact info will be deleted. If I cannot connect with winners within a few days of trying, I will draw again....

Shades of Inspiration

The Shades of Inspiration Flickr Group is very quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit. Hosted by Sadie Olive, each week brings a new photography challenge, usually related to a specific color or color combination. This week is a little bit different:the shade of rust or the actual process, your choice. Often the two are one and the same, but not always.

Most of my rust is in the garden, which has been woefully neglected this summer. There's a reason I'm playing with macro setting on this one. Trust me, you don't need to see the weeds...

This is a rusty old milk jug that I got at an auction about five years ago. Or should I say Mr. Sunshine got it for me while I was inside bidding on the pretties (the old farm stuff was being auctioned off at the same time outside). He knows me so well and bless his heart, the rusty junk is not really his thing, but he humors me....that's true love, I tell you.

I got this old wash tub in Germany, junking (I swear Germans threw out the BEST junk!). Notice it did not get planted this year.

The good news? That means I can share the awesome display of rust in action on the interior....

Bad news? That rust in action is actually eating away the bottom of the tub...

I have blogged about these old alarm clocks more than once, but rust is rust and these are a great example. That and I just love them....any excuse to blog about my Ohio Alarm Clocks and I am all over it (it's more about the memories attached to the weekend I got them , I think)...I'm a little quirky that way...

A close-up of the bird house that serves as the background in the last picture...rust and green are such a natural combination....it just looks right....

More clock action and a close-up of the Texas liscense plate roof of another of my birdhouses, which is made out of an old Coca-Cola crate- would have been perfect for last week's red and white challenge...oh well....

And last but not least, the rust that isn't really rust....As I was coming home this morning from that way too early soccer practice drop off, I spied this in my yard. Now I am a Texas gal (have I mentioned that? *wink*), and at home it's 100 degrees and the hottest part of the year. They won't see a leaf like this for at least two months (if they are lucky). But here in upstate New York, the mornings are already crisp...I'd even say this morning was downright chilly...in AUGUST . And of course when the temperatures drop the leaves turn and start to fall.

This beautiful example is the first fallen leaf I have seen this year....a sign of things to come...

If this leaf is any indication, I think I may be taking allot of pictures this Fall...

Unitl Next Time,

STEPH

Happy Monkey Monday....

Monkey in the Middle Mondays are my way keeping myself in check and working on something new every single week (explained in a little more detail here )...I share pics of my WIPS and I would love to see what you are working on! WIPS are one of my favorite things to follow on blogs. I'm a before and after kinda gal, even though I don't do much trash to treasure these days.

My goal with MIMM is to have a regular group of crafty/artsy bloggers post every Monday about their creative process (or even lack of progress because I have gone there more than a time or two). Maybe you could be one of them? My friend Kathy at Catnip Studio (she also has her MIMM post up - just click on "Catnip Studio" to see) has given me some really awesome suggestions to get a few more folks to participate. Contests and giveaways figured fairly prominently in the emails and I think that's a fantastic idea! Once I get the rugrats back in school, I think we will pursue that.

In the meantime, if you have a project you'd like to share, drop me an email with the link to your blog. I will post it here for all to see...

I have a true banana potpourri (eww!) to share with you this week.

Working on some custom tag orders...

I love these silhouettes, so simple and nostalgic....

And some vintage toybox inspiration...love the feather and tutu sported by this cute little baby doll. She's quite cheeky, wouldn't you agree?

And this little boy/clown....haven't decided what color card stock I want to mount him on...hmmmm....

The little red wagon will be a companion tag to my Radio Flyer Tricycle tag , mounted on brick red card stock.

Did a little bit of painting this week too. Trying to get a jump on the holidays. These spoons will soon make a sparkly forest of my Christmas Spoon Ornies ...

No purpose to this picture, but it's not so often that anything is lined up so neatly in my work area- I had to document the occasion! Plus I just liked the colors and impulsively snapped a shot.

I have about one hundred and fifty of these old factory thread bobbins. They are really thick and sturdy cardboard and perfect to make some sort of ornie out of. Haven't figured it all out yet but I am playing with them (and can never resist an opportunity to polka dot anything!).

This year is quickly turning in to the year of the ornie for me. I will have all sorts of tree trimmings available during the holidays....stay tuned...

And so there we have another week of MIMM...hope the upcoming week treats you well!

Until Next Time,

STEPH

My Only Sunshine....

That would be my MR. SUNSHINE ...

I have noticed that my one and only true love has left me a message...he hasn't been able to view the blog from Iraq, lots of restrictions on internet access...pesky security and all that hoo-ha (just kidding, if my monkey pictures are considered a threat to national security, then so be it)...

But somehow, he persevered and got through....

So this message is just for him...

I love you, sweetie and I miss you....we all do....

Even Miss Molly...

Not sure about the fat cat though....

Monday again....where does the time go? The monkey is rearing his banana eatin' head yet again...

If you're not familiar with Monkey in the Middle Monday, click here to learn a bit more.

And then go visit Kathy at Catnip Studio.

I will be sorry if you don't because this is the most awesome M-i-t-M yet! The mosaic work that Kathy does is absolutely beautiful and you will be missing some serious eye candy if you don't click...seriously!

Now what am I in the middle of this week? It's not the traditional make something, show the progress kind of post this week...

I have mentioned that I want to start offering prints from some of my original illustrations and paintings. I sent out to have some prints made, but just wasn't happy with the results. I am very much a believer in controlling everything I possibly can concerning my work (if you add "freak" after control I won't be too offended- I promise! ). The only obstacle blocking my path to complete control was a lack of a high quality printer. The short list has been compiled for months. I have been scanning the sale ads for at least half that time, hoping one of the printers that I pined for would become affordable to me.

So imagine my surprise when I went to Staples a few weeks ago for something completely different and came across one of the objects of my desire on clearance! Serious clearance...more than 50% off kinda clearance....less than 200 bucks kinda clearance. I felt like Yukon Cornelius striking gold with his little pick ax. Out came the plastic and five minutes later I was the proud owner of a professional quality, wide format printer....

...and then I had to learn how to use said printer....it's a whole lotta machine for a girl who's just a bit (Ok- a LOT) on the low side of the Computer genius scale....throw in Photoshop for editing and I have had a major learning experience recently....

See how much I have learned?

These are just a few of the rejected prints....and I have arranged them fairly neatly on my high speed printer, for your viewing pleasure. Imagine a stack with at least twice as many sheets of paper. Imagine yourself throwing it up in the air and watching all of the pages flutter to the ground, covering the floor. THAT"S what my very tiny workspace looked like almost all weekend. (And don't make fun of the duck! He's an instant stress reliever who sings the chicken dance and does a little jig for me whenever I want to scream at that high speed printer- my family knew what they were doing when they gave him to me as a birthday joke...)

BUT the good news is that I think I finally got it!

The resulting print is available on Etsy....hopefully with more to come....

Until next time,

STEPH

Trunkt...

A month or so ago, while surfing the forums on Etsy (yes, again), I read about a place called trunkt.org ...

It's a juried portfolio site (aimed mainly at the wholesale market but so much fun to just window shop) and the consensus on the post I was reading was that it wasn't the easiest place to get accepted to (specially in the jewelry category-thank goodness I wasn't trying to get in there). I was feeling a little reckless that day, so on a whim (what the heck!), I submitted my best photos and crossed my fingers.

Well I was thrilled when I was accepted! I have finally gotten enough pictures in my portfolio, that I thought I would share. Make sure you explore a little if you go visit...so much eye candy in one central location....

Oh yeah, and if you're shopping Etsy, make sure you do a search for "Team Trunkt", the new street team for Trunkt members...

Until Next Time,

STEPH

Shades of Inspiration....

I have been a member of Sadie Olive's Shades of Inspiration Flickr Group since it's inception, but this is my first post for the weekly challenge (time just is not on my side). If you haven't visited SadieOlive's Blog or the Flickr Group before, make sure you click on the links above and check them out. Each week a new color challenge is issued.

Your assignment: get your camera in hand and start shooting; post the results. There are some absolutely beautiful shots posted in this group, so please don't laugh at my humble first-timer's offerings...

This week's challenge was Pale Blue and Brown...

An oldie but good for me. Never ever get tired of taking photos of my button collection. And when I can sneak in some vintage canning jars, well that's just icing...

A close up...this one is my favorite...

And there are allot of us who chose seashells as a subject (who doesn't think of the beach when you hear these two colors said in the same sentence?)....I just love the way the pale blue glass matches one of the shells...so soft and pretty....

Again, this second shot is my favorite of the two. The way the light makes the blues glass almost glow...picks up all of the bubbles and chips in the great antique canning lid...I can almost feel the saltwater in the air and the sand between my toes....

Hopefully, I will be able to continue to participate in this challenge. It's a great way to learn more about the art of photography...a hobby that helps the business (because it is so true-on Etsy, it's all about the photo!). Sweet!

Until Next Time,

STEPH

Monkey on Tuesday....

And this time, it's not my fault!

Blogger seems to have resolved its' issues and I have pictures again...hopefully my laptop will not get finicky and we can finish this post....

Right off the bat, if you would like to learn more about Monkey in the Middle Monday, just click here ....

And I do have a link to share with you this week....
Catnip Studio
Go take a look at what Kathy was up to this week...too cute!

And now it's time for me to share. I have been coloring this week, playing with my new Prismacolor Pencils...learning quite a bit and having fun with them too....Doing some more planning for the upcoming seasons ...

Recognize this guy?

I really want to start a line of prints meant for kids' rooms based on vintage children's toys. I love the old Fisher Price pull toys and have a small collection. Plus, I recently started collecting old game cards with adorable grapics. Got this circus themed set that is featured on my MitM banner above from my friend Kath's supply shop INeedThat .

And what better set to get some practice in with? These little guys make me smile every time I see them, particularly the Monkey (of course)...

I am also trying to work up a game plan for the holiday season, using pencil drawn art...

I have had these little Swedish pony shaped cut outs for a few years now, one of those "Do you think you can do anything with these because they are going in the trash if you don't want them" kind of gifts. I really do love the shape of them and can see them on a tree. My first thought was to go traditional, but I am not Swedish (my wonderful Step Mom Karen is -she was nice enough to give these to me, thinking I could do something with them) and I wanted to do something a little different. So I am experimenting right now.....


Gotta start somewhere, right? I think I am headed in a "cherry cottage" inspired direction on these, with lots of vintage trims and maybe just a bit of mica or German Glass Glitter sparkle...I can see it in my mind's eye, a whole collection of different but coordinating painted ponies...oh my!

....I think it will be cute....

But you never know until you try....

Until Next time,
STEPH

Manic Monday...

Ugh....

Today is just not my blogging day....

Seems Blogger is having some photo uploading issues. And the laptop ate my post earlier today when I actually had a nearly completed Monkey-in-the-Middle Monday extravaganza (including photos) ready to go...

I think it's a sign, and I am all about listening to those kinds of signs....

So the Monkey will make his appearance on Tuesday this week...hopefully...

Stay tuned....