The Forever House....

Happy Tuesday, fellow bloghoppers!

Many thanks to all for the overwhelming well-wishes and kudos sent to Mr. Sunshine since his return last week. Your kindness is one of the many reasons I love this little handmade online community we're all citizens of...

One thing I did very little of during Mr. Sunshine's deployment was to just sit down and start to paint....whatever came to mind....

There was a time when painting was ALL I did....

That started with his first deployment in 2004.

In between then and now, there was a move or two (or three), some health problems for both me and Mr. Sunshine (and a few other family members), the loss of my Father, and a second deployment . Major creative mojo killers taken individually, let alone racked up, one on top of the other in quick succession.

So it has been a long time since I just sat down and exhaled, releasing everything- the tension, obligations, the pressure to make something with selling it in mind- and just creating for me, myself and I...

I have always, always, been fascinated with houses.

I paint them often. Cute little cottages, folk art inspired saltbox houses, houses for critters (barns), houses for worship (chapels). I think every painter has a favorite subject, like winsome little girls with big eyes, still life florals, whimsical animals, and on and on. Mine is houses.

We moved often when I was a child, and each new house was an adventure, a new start. Maybe it was the new color I got to paint my room every time we moved, I honestly don't know...but moving did not bother me that much...


As an adult, I have lived in many, many houses...not so much of an adventure anymore and new starts are over-rated, specially when you have teens who don't consider this lifestyle exciting.

Some houses I have loved, others I have loathed. But each has contributed at least one tick (some positive, some negative) to my mental check list of what the "forever house" (the one we move into after Mr. Sunshine retires from the military and hopefully NEVER leave again) will, and maybe more importantly, will not have. I pity the poor Realtor who has to deal with me in a few years...

Anyway, I sat down last night and just painted. When I did, of course what naturally came out of the brushes was this wee little purple house.

I sketched a series of three small canvases, all featuring (of course) a house or two, connected by the yellow brick road you see above....

A happy, simple little painting....
this is what happens when I exhale...

How about you?
What is your "happy, just for you" crafting groove?
I would love to read all about it....

Until Next Time,

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....

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

(This has GOT to be a RECORD) Monkey-in-the-Middle Monday...

How many weeks in a row now? Ok, not as many as I thought, but I'm still dang proud of myself because I actually do have something to share with you today...again! Given how busy the past few weeks have been, that's not too shabby...

To learn a little more about Monkey-in-the-middle Mondays, just click right here.

I don't have too many participating this week. Kathi over at Out on a Whim has went and gone on vacation...imagine that in the middle of summer. Haven't heard from my other regulars, but if they are participating I will update during the week. I do have one link, however, a new friend...

Oh! Just one more thing...

Don't you love that Title? I do! Go visit Mel and check out the 80's ergo chair that she helped a friend re-do....FUN!

If you are taking the plunge and participating, please just send me a quick email with your link. It may take a few days, but I will definitely get you on the wall of fame...errr....Monkey post...

And without further ado, it's time for me to share....

Sometimes, I find a stamp and it takes me awhile to give it a test run. Sometimes I find a stamp and I have to stamp with it IMMEDIATELY (you get where this is going)...when I stumbled upon these 12 days of Christmas stamps, I knew they'd be occupying valuable thinking space in my mind until I actually did something with them. I just love them! Not sure if I love this initial experiment, but they are growing on me...

I think I may sell these more as ornaments because I can't imagine splitting them up...you can't have just one day of Christmas, can you?

I forgot how many birds "my true love gave to me" ...should fit right in this year, considering how popular the feathered friends are right now....

My personal favorite is the "lords a-leaping" there in the lower left...

But I always enjoy a good piper piping or drummer drumming...

Now let's just change the mood COMPLETELY, shall we? The Cottage Style Street Team is celebrating Christmas in July this week on Etsy...so in honor of the event, I am channeling my inner "girly girl"....

What better way to do it than on some sweetly ornate vintage silverware? I don't know if you can read it, but the engraving on that middle handle says "Hotel Ponce DeLeon"...I want to stay there!

I have a hard time with forks and knives...I often have to buy a whole box of mixed pieces to get the spoons I usually paint. After a very busy holiday last year and tons of buying this year in anticipation of another busy Christmas, my collection of forks and knives is piling up....I need to figure this out...

Snowflakes are simple enough to fit on those pesky forks....

And the glass glitter adds a nice touch in person, even if it's hard to capture that sparkle in a digital image...

I haven't gotten to the pinkies yet....I also thought about painting little vintage looking ball ornaments or jingle bells or maybe a wee little tree...just can't decide....any opinions or suggestions out there (good, bad, even ugly)?

And so there you have it, this week's record breaking Monkey-in-the-Middle Monday...

'Til Next Time....

STEPH

Let the Festivus Begin....

The Monkey in the Middle Festivus, that is...

Home from the dentist (have a cavity,dang it!) and a very expensive trip to Sam's Club (I have a true love/hate relationship with that place).....

And now it's show-n-tell time, Monkey style (scroll down and read the post from this morning first if you are completely confused)...

This is what I have been working on the last week or so...and this just proves how much slower things move for me in the summertime....Yes that is a Patriotic, 4th of July inspired bell. I meant to have it done early last week (and seriously, I should have had it done a month ago).

Sometimes good intentions just don't cut it, but like a good worker bee, I am going to finish it this week and get it on Etsy....Patriotic is good year round, right (work with me)?

Let Freedom Ring...get it?

I'm not too proud to admit I did not come up with this....I told my friend Roseann that I was doing a patriotic bell ...she is already the proud owner of several of my other bells and she suggested "Let freedom Ring".....clever girl....

Couldn'tr resist some "fireworks" either, in the form of some sparkly German glass glitter...every girl needs a little bling....

And on the paper end of Sunshine & Ravioli, I have been doing some custom work....

These sweet tags are for a baby girl....a variation on my collection of blue bird tags on Etsy. We went eco-friendly with this one, using recycled pink card stock and cotton ties (not to that step yet).

Sweet birdies on ballerina pink....I am loving these! So much so that I think I may start offering this option in my Etsy store....

And there you have it...back in the saddle again....

Now hop on over and visit my good friends Kathi and Lisa, because they are back on the Monkey Bandwagon with me...it's good to have friends! :0)

If you'd like to join Monkey in the Middle Mondays (Next week will be Monday-promise I'll plan ahead), create a post on your blog and let me know about it. For the time being I will add a link here so everyone can see your WIPS (that sounds a little naughty doesn't it? Not really, Works In Progress, for those that don't know)...

Come on, it will be fun....

Monkey Incognito....

Psssstt!!

Cover your eyes...this Monday's Monkey has gone undercover....

You see, I can't share what I am working on this week...

It's a secret....

I can tell you that I am working on a magazine deadline and give you a few little hints....

Here's a tiny portion of what I am working on right now for Create & Decorate. Notice the slightly blurry photo which furthers the air of mystery (couldn't have anything to do with the dreary weather or the rush I was in)....



Here's a hint about the colors I'm using...you've figured it out, right?

Sorry to be so mysterious......but I really can't share....
I can, however, share what I will be working on later in the week...
It's time for me to start thinking about the holidays (yes, the ones that start in October and end in December)....I'm starting on my Holiday patterns for 2008....Yes, I know it's not even Spring yet if you live in an area like mine, but...painters start working way ahead for gifts and shows....so I'm actually on the ball for a change....

It's about HOPPIN' Time....

They are DONE!

Worked most of the day on Monday's Monkey project because two consecutive appearances on my Monday post is the new limit....plus it's way too close to Easter (note to self: next New Year's, check the calendar and CIRCLE Easter with a big PINK Sharpie....). Story of my life: should have been done with Easter stuff a couple of weeks ago.....

These pictures aren't the best, but I wanted to share....

Mr. Sunshine is working late tonight, doing hooah soldier stuff, so I think I will take advantage of the extra time and start the pattern right now.....

These finished pieces will be listed tomorrow on Etsy. My fingers are crossed for some good natural light tomorrow morning so I can get some more detailed photos...got to decide how I will offer them also..... a complete set of four, in pairs, individually....

I can't decide...any opinions?

A Most Likely too late for Easter MIM MONDAY....

I have developed a routine lately: for my painted pieces, seems to take me a couple of weeks to finish a pattern project (more like a tortoise than a hare). Orders have been keeping me busy, so I'm not complaining...but it makes for a rather redundant Monkey....

I have made progress on these Easter Treat buckets....

This is the little girl bunny....she still needs a face. I always seem to save faces for last because they are a challenge for me....but I have given her a name....meet Clover....

But Poppy....he's too distinguished (despite the pink coat-lol!) to be a "boy" bunny....this is definitely a grown-up...so I have named him Poppy...maybe he's the wee one's Grand Dad....He looks a bit spotty because I have already sprinkled him with German glass glitter...All he needs is a bit of the rick rack trim, a few buttons and a handle....and then.... *poof*.....he's real.....

The polka dotted pots will have my favorite quotes from my favorite hare tale: The Velveteen Rabbit.....

This project will be finished this week...pattern available by next Monday at the latest....maybe a little late for Easter but hey, good patterns never go bad....and always in season for all you wabbit fans like me....

So anybody else want to share? I promise I will post any links sent to me....ask Janna...

:o)

Here's to the start of a great, productive, creative week.....

Happy Mon-Mon-Monkey Monday!!

M-M-M-onday!

Here we go again....I tell you, even if there is no one out there enjoying this segment, it is keeping me in line. That makes it worth its' weight in bananas!

This weeks's project...a few more Easter treats....why didn't anyone tell me Easter was so EARLY this year? Or even better, why didn't I bother to look??? Oh...well....

These are treat pails (shhh...don't tell anyone- they are peat pots....I love cheap surfaces, don't you? Kinda makes messing up irrelevant....), semi-done up (so far) in sherbert colors with a base of chocolate (of course!) brown...

If you look closely, there are a couple of vintage inspired bunnies sketched in the buttercream circles...

mmm...sherbert, chocolate, buttercream....who'd guess I skipped lunch??

My "less done" project from last week is a new set of spoon ornies. My supply of the tiny tin spoons has dried up (temporarily, I certainly hope....anybody know where I can get some more? I pay pretty good), so I decided to do this set of vintage wooden taster spoons. I was lucky enough to find these intact in their wax paper sleeves -they are so cute (and coincidentally available on my website and in my Etsy shop)...

Think we'll do some more bunnies and maybe a few chicks this time....super simple- it will be a quick and easy pattern!!

And finally some eye candy....this photo was shot in a house we *seriously* considered buying when we moved up here. Isn't it gorgeous? All of the home's original (100+ year old) woodwork was intact also...a great find of a house, but at 3000+ square feet a little intimidating as far as maintenance was concerned.

Mr. Sunshine will be deploying *over there* this Spring and this was just a bit too much house for me to manage alone for 15 months, but....sigh....I sure think about what *might have been*....

And on that happy note, I leave you with your Monday....

Happy crafting!!