Really Sweet Ribbon Swags

I finished up this sweet and pretty little project a couple weeks ago.

I am so so pleased with how it turned out.

 

This pile of seven carefully selected fabrics and some white cording...

 

 

became this...

 

the prettiest ribbon swags...I made four.

 

 

I was looking for the perfect thing to decorate our new 'Pagoda' (more on the rebuild later)...

 

I think they were the perfect answer to fill the space...

 especially when the sun and wind plays through them...ahhhh...



 

Pretty fabric (all on sale) + creativity = a happy heart & delighted eyes.

 

 

What's the next project?

well Henrie suggested we refresh the 'pond' area so that's what we're on to now, ha ha!

 



The City Walks Sale...

As you know last Saturday I spent my day selling my goods at our local "City Walks Tour", an artisans sale where several houses host a few artists each and than the public are given a map and can come tour and shop at each house. It was my first time participating, but the 11th year it's taken place and despite the current troubles & worries of flu & recession, was a great success with over 300 people visiting each house. Here was my display and little corner...which I loved it was so cozy and comfy...

Every sale is different, sometimes I sell mostly necklaces, other times I sell an equal mix of everything, this time however I sold lots of cards and my felt star and bird ornaments.

Mary Bon, our lovely and fun house hostess was selling her pottery in the kitchen which was also full of baked goodies and warmth and across from me was my friend Jana, selling her beautiful jewelry, she is such a strong and lovely gal that Jana Brogan...

In the living room were 2 artists...you can see abit of Florence White's set up in the photo below, she was selling her lovely knitted goods and had also brought her spinning wheel and added coziness to the day but spinning wool.

I refuse to show the other artist for he was wearing a suit he made from buck skin! (which as you can imagine just horrified me, and even more so since that morning on our way up to the sale Jon and I saw the most beautiful deer and we felt so lucky to take in it's majesty!) and I am sorry, but from what I could see the guy had enough skin of his own to wear! So since this is my blog and I can post what I want and because this blog is also about animal advocacy I have no desire to advertise or share his wares with my readers.

It was a great day, alot of fun with alot of sales and full of lovely people and defiantly something I would do again next year. For now...my hands are so cold I can barely move them, I turned my studio heat off over the weekend and forgot to turn it back on! so I am slightly frozen, ha ha...so I am going to go partake in a warm cup of something sweet and bury my hands in some warm rabbity goodness. So than, 'adieu' for now, be well, be warm and thanks for popping in!

Yard Critters

I am stuck inside and can't work outside today because of a chilly and rainy day...and I am finding that I am missing my furry little yard cohorts...Jonathan jokes that we go through a small fortune every month in peanuts and seeds to feed everybody who frequents our yard...let's see currently there is; Rudy, Toot, Schmoot, Chapman, Twitter...and another baby red squirrel, black squirrel and chipmunk, 3 pigeons and 2 sterling black birds unnamed...it's a busy yard... though I am always hoping for the groundhog who took refuge under our front porch last year to come back...and maybe a few wild bunnies living safely in the back portion of the yard would be nice!... ha ha...

...Today I am just thinking that it's very 'cool' how I never feel lonely out there in the yard by myself, because I am far from alone...not with all those critters running around, not to mention the 4 furries running around and munching our gardens bare, who actually do live in the house with us...though sometimes the 'others' (yes indeed, I am a big 'Lost' fan, ha ha) think they should live inside! Just the other day I was laying on my belly on the floor with Hazel and Jinny, we were all just chillin together, when I suddenly feel something jump onto my calves, run up my thighs and jump and sit momentarily on my back!...it was Toot, one of the baby red squirrels, knowing me if it really did want to move in I'd make the appropriate accommodations!... Anyhow, I didn't want to leave everyone high and dry, as I know I am usually disappointed when I visit my usual blogs and they haven't been updated for days...I am very busy with new works, most stuff is admittedly NOT going smoothly, but luckily I have Jonathan to help me and constantly say 'Mandy...breathe...it's okay...' and a dad who pops over despite being exhausted to help with a chop saw that's gone all wonky just when frames are desperately needed...and a mom who gladly drives all the way over at the drop of a hat to drive us to Canadian Tire because in the middle of Jonathan changing the brake pads, a much needed socket wrench decided to break! It's been abit of a tiring week with more going array than as planned..

BUT until I am ready to unveil my latest projects, some new prints are coming up soon for the shop...and also I figured it was about time for a tour of my downstairs studio (the upstairs one is currently undergoing redecoration!...tune in soon for those posts...I am off into the chill and wet to mail a piece off to Indianapolis...it's so exciting to think someone WAYYY over 'there' wants my work:D YAHOO:D

A Beautiful New Shelf/Door & Pantry

So over delicious holidays my ever so talented and handy honey made this beautiful and very useful addition to our cozy little abode....

It is the door to our new pantry area and I am so excited and happy with it. It's a lovely new place to display some of my work, such as cards, small paintings and jewelry. But it feels like a wonderful secret everytime I open it to go into the pantry (which for about 7 years now has been such a disater. It was simply a place for us to throw everything we didn't know what to do with). So over the holidays it took a good 3 days of sorting things out, recycling, redistributing and just plain chucking and Jonathan spent another 3 days giving it a fresh coat of paint, putting in lots of shelving, new flooring etc...he did a wonderful job. Here is what lays behind the shelf/door....

...and yes of course, being somewhat of a neat freak...even the pantry has to be orderly, the only room I don't organize and touch, and yes begrudgeling so, is Jonathans office space on the main floor, I want to trust me!

Last but not least I wanted to mention, to any of my local readers who like to come by my studio to browse, look or purchase, I do have a good selection of Pretty In Print fabric cards, by my talented and lovely friend Judit Gueth. They look great alongside my cards on my newest card shelving.

Well with that bit of new goodness shared, I am off....lots to do, lots to do...Happy Creating and join me tommorow for a new little Avian Painting.

Friday's Here With An Older Illustration

Good Friday Everyone. We've had a few lovely days full of sunshine and thankfully not-intolerable heat but today is gloomy and looks like it will rain any minute which I am actually happy about because I have too much to get done to worry about the outdoors beckoning me to 'come hither' ha ha.

Since I've been busy with some other secretive things:D which I can't share with you this week...let me show you another old favourite of mine "Home" which is the coloured pencil study for one of my most favourite paintings that I've done so far...here's the painted version...which my friend Maria will attest to that it's defiantly not one for sale, I just can't seem to part with it.

This version was done years later in acrylic on canvas and it's about 2 x 3 feet. It was one of my very first paintings that I didn't show to many people and aside from it's subject which hits home for me (at the time all Jon and I wanted was a little house near the water that we could live in peacefully and blissfully and fill with rabbits:D....we got our wish years later:D) whenever I look at this painting I am reminded of the joy I had in making it, the excitement that came with working with paints...well I just think that it's important to keep reminders around like that so I refuse to part with this piece and it happily lives in my main studio.

I welcome all of you to hyperlink images to your most favourite and not-for-sale inspirations in the comments section following this post.

Well, I really must get going...my studio needs attention....serious attention actually and some added twinkle lights and pink paint I am thinking, I promise to share photos of my studio someday soon. Also, today my dad is getting back home, yay...so we'll go meet him at the airport.

With that I bid you all a fantastic fantastic Friday...don't forget I'll be doing a Saturday post this week for the "Mad Tea Party".

Monday Musings

Good Morning Everyone. We are having a lovely morning here at our house, Ella and Roo lay in the sunshine in this spot every single morning, it's pretty cute and sets our day off to a nice start. Although this morning they were naughty and I had to clean up some pee! Even after being a rabbit slave/parent for over 10 years now, I have to remind myself that 'bunnies will be bunnies'.

I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to face this new week with coziness and excitement. This weekend I had a recap lesson on how to NOT covet what others have, but I won't get into the details, ha ha. I do truly believe that there is something to learn, big or small from every single person we meet throughout our day. Luckily, lately my life is full of wonderfully warm and fulfilled people with successful careers and successful personal lives, it's lovely and empowering to be around, that's for sure.

So hmmm...let's see, our weekend was rather quiet, we spent Saturday at my folks, eating, eating and eating, my dad had to try out his new grill, ha ha...it was a lovely visit, I love my parents. They are the kind of parents who are there for you no matter what, they see a need and they fill it and that means alot to both myself and my sweetheart. They are also, our one and only trusted bunny-sitters, ha ha.

I was served breakfast in bed on Sunday, where we proceeded to watch "War of the Worlds", I don't know why, it seemed like an odd pick for a sunny Sunday morning but that's what we felt like watching whiles we ate and vegged out, it is one of our favourite movies. I didn't realize that that story is written by H.G. Wells, which I found funny because I am currently listening to the audio book of H.G. Wells 'The Invisible Man" and it's not my cup of tea at all!

Speaking of tea, let me share with you a new find and one that I love, "Yogi Teas". As you can see I have a growing collection.

Well dear readers (though I don't think there are very many of you at this moment!), I have to get my little fingers to work. I started on a new pastel this weekend and I am frustrated because it's been a long time since I played with pastel and I forgot how messy it is till I get to the coloured pencil stage. My trick also with pastel is to work with a tiny little keyboard vacuum. Because I have allergies and pastel dust can often aggravate me (but I am not willing to give it up entirely) and I really dislike blowing the dust into the air. However this weekend I couldn't find my vacuum, so every time I'd get enough dust to blow away, I'd run upstairs and out to the front porch to blow it off out there! Maybe I'll go searching for a new little vacuum today, as I turned my studio upside down trying to find my old one!

Have a good day everyone. I'll share a new image with you tommorow. Happy Creating in whatever form you choose to do it in.