A Bonus Monkey....

Can I tell you how much I love my friend Kathi at Out on a Whim Studio?

For the second week in a row, she is joining my Monkey Madness...

As a matter of fact, she's the one who reminded me earlier that I had not posted today....how's that for a friend?

And for that she she gets a special mention...

And look at this!

This is one of her completed pieces from last week....

Check out her blog because there's more where this came from....

And if you decide to participate, let me know....I'll definitely post a link and occasionally I'll post pics too (specially if I kind of cheated that week)....

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....

Show Me Your Buttons!

Happy Sunday, everyone! Analise over at Sugar*Sugar has issued a challenge....She wants to see our buttons....
And do I have buttons!
If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know the story of the mason jars filled with buttons that make up my blog Banner (if not just click here to read a bit more about them). Well Analise's challenge inspired me to drop everything and finally give those buttons the attention they deserve. I had been putting off (dreading the task, really) the sorting and cleaning these guys, but I use these guys in my crafting. It had become a major pain to sort through every jar for just the *right* button (read this post to see what I am talking about).
Now, thanks to Anelise, they are clean (for the most part- some were so stubborn that no amount of scrubbing got them completely clean) and sorted (although I may have to find more jars or figure out a new system because I have way too many white buttons to fit in one jar but not enough to fill up two) and photographed (the FUN part!)....
So without further rambling, I share with you...
My Buttons....



Let's start with the bling.....







The Neutral Textures...







PINK!
The coral-ly pink carved button in both photos is my absolute favorite button of the whole collection. I have four of these, waiting for a very special, still unknown, project...





Reds.... After I sorted them all, I figured out that the red buttons, for some reason, have the BEST textures and details....





Blues.... The crackled glass buttons in these photos are a close second on my favorites list...they are SO interesting to look at.....





Some funky Greens....



And, last but not least (because I didn't even get to the black and brown buttons and there are some winners in there too!) Golden Ambers....







So there you have it....a small selection of my buttons....A HUGE thank you to Analise for hosting this challenge!Now I guess I have to get back to my real chores...Or I can just go look at all the other pretty buttons....decisions, decisions....

Sneak Peek...

Analise over at Sugar*Sugar has issued a button Challenge....she wants to see 'em!

Thought I would just give you a sneak peek at tomorrow's post...I have been scrubbing and sorting my buttons (a task I have been meaning to do for almost a year)....the same ones you can see every time you visit this blog (there they are, right up there on my banner)....

After working so hard, I am pooped! But the photos are taken and I will blog them all tomorrow (and there's a ton of pictures-had a blast taking them all)....so make sure you check back tomorrow for more eye candy.....

I finally got a Treasury!

I have been trying to get a Treasury on Etsy for what seems like forever....I just don't seem to have the stick-to-it-ness (ie patience) it seems to take to snag one...

Well the trick seems to be sit on the phone chatting with your sister, watching the screen as you talk... and poof!....there's the magic box down at the bottom of the screen....ok not quite that simple, but I did notice that the numbers were getting low as I did my morning Etsy run, so I decided to keep the Treasury window open and see what happened....

It's just a happy little treasury....I doubt there's any chance of it being on page one of the hot list or anything else, but these are just a few of my favorites and they all make me smile....that goes a long way in my world....

Monkey on TuesdaY....

My good friend Kathi over at Out on a Whim Studio (don't you just love that name? I am a big fan of quirky, clever business names and Kathi's is one of my faves) joined yesterday's Monkey in the Middle Festivities...

Kathi is a great altered artist with a vintage/prim influence. She makes the best grungy tags ( I have a ton of them to prove it). Go check out what she's in the middle of this week....but knowing her, she's probably finished the projects in her pics- she's fast!

The Monkey Is BACK!!

Woohoo!! I have something to share with you this week!

First off, I have to acknowledge one other brave soul who joined me last week (but she didn't tell me, so I have an excuse for not sharing her link). My friend Cassie at Mockingbird Hill gave us a peek at what she was working on last week....and I have to admit I was intrigued by her photo (and she apologized for being a day late....hey my Monkey never even showed up last week!)...Thanks for participating Cassie! Hope your Momma's on the fast road to recovery....

And now, on with the show....

I'm not really in the middle of this one....almost done, actually....just have to add some bits and baubles and bling (more?) and she's outta here....ok, parking on Etsy, hoping someone will like her enough to adopt....

For obvious reasons, I call this one "Our House"...

I have always loved that song "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young....I have a slew of these plaques that I have had for almost a year waiting for the right project...I finally found it over the weekend when this little picture came together...

Sometimes, things just click in your head and you just know what you will do...how it will come together...the planets align, your fortune turns and the process is easy.... If you are a lucky soul, it happens to you often....if you're me, it's a rare bird and you better enjoy it before it flies the coop....

So anyway, on Friday, I was boiling eggs to color and humming this song to myself when the light bulb finally came on (must be one of those energy efficient fluorescent things that takes forever to turn on completely)...paint it, genius!

So I finished my eggs, dug out one of these plaques and got started....

There are allot of different mediums and influences in this one...I used a bit of my scrap booking/tag making skills, a bit of the altered art influence with some different surfaces and mediums. The cottage/shabby/ girly thing got a shout out too, with plenty of German Glass glitter (vintage buttons and ribbons to follow) and light, sunny colors, and of course, decorative painting (because at the end of the day, that is who I am)....

So I'm thrilled to be able to actually share something with you....

And I hope the upcoming week is joyfully productive and creative for you too!

Happy M-m-Monday to YOU!!