My Little Artist, Part 2

Add paints to that list... Oh my.

Me & My Little Artist

So, I still haven't finished my swap tags for Art & Soul. I still have like 3 days though, right? HA. I guess it's a good thing that I work best under pressure and multi-tasking at the last darn minute! You would think that I could at least stay focused long enough to work on something that I NEED to have done, but no. Instead of finishing my tags, I made this!

I like using glass with other materials that make it dimensional. I just noticed as I was uploading the pictures that the little girl I used has a foot showing! AGH! I'll cover that up. I haven't decided if I am going to keep this or put it on Etsy yet. It didn't take long to make & I have ideas for a few more, so maybe I'll whip up some more in between laundry, dishes, work OH- and those darn swap tags!!!

~

And now, my little artist, Jake. I like to think he takes after me. He is always at my side when I am making something. His tiny little chair right next to mine so he doesn't miss a thing. Always right there, he is. It drives me nuts when I am trying to get something done, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. This boy is definitely my biggest fan. I adore him so much. He has quite a personality. VERY strong willed, I like to think he gets that from his dad. He has several notebooks laying around the house that he is always drawing in. At the moment, he has had markers, pens and chalk all taken away for, um, how should I say it.... using his artistic abilities on mediums that were not meant to be artistic mediums {pillows, coffee table, sofa, his fingernails, the stairs, Zoey...you get it}. So, I guess I am limiting his creativity to crayons {washable crayons} at the moment, but he's ok. Really.

Don't you love his painting shirt??

The artist showcase:

I have so many things he has painted & drawn saved already. I guess since he is only 2 and a half I might have to start letting some of it go or I might have quite a collection by the time he hits grade school!!

Off to get some stuff done! Have a great day ~ Lisa

Oh My Goodness...

So, as you may have read before, I am going to the Art & Soul Retreat in Hampton, VA. I decided that since it was only a week or so away that I would look over some of the messages that were being posted about it, since I joined the Yahoo Group months ago. I have never checked any of these posting until yesterday. THAT is when I realized that these girls make swap items for each other!! OMG!! So, frantically I called Andrea and she eased my mind a little bit about not taking something if I didn't have time. Ugh. I hate to go empty handed, though. Especially if people were going to be giving me sweet handmade goodies. So, I racked my brain all night long for something easy to make but not cheesy. I can't very well make stained glass somethings for everyone, since I don't even have time to make them for my own shop! So, this is what I came up with. The theme is 'By the Sea' so my mermaid was very appropriate, I think. And I still managed to use some glass. Hopefully everyone will like them, I have never made tags before! If you are there & would like one, come find me!!

The beginning stages... water coloring manila folders to look like altered tags!

After the seam binding, yarn and glitter...

Close up of the center image, the beautiful Aurianne.

And the finished product! I am only making 24, hope that is enough. I still have to finish about 18 of them! I haven't decided if adding a trim on the bottom would be 'too much' or not. Is there ever such a thing as 'too much'!?!?!

Have a great day! ~Lisa

Happy Birthday, Friend!

Head on over to Velvet Strawberries and wish Andrea a Happy 32nd Birthday!! Here's wishing you the best, sweet friend!

~Love, Lisa

Meet Cyria, the Pink Mermaid

Just finished! Isn't she pretty?? She's just visiting me until someone claims her for their own! I'll take good care of her until she arrives at her new home!! You can claim her here!

Have a good Monday~ Lisa

Just Random Things

I haven't posted in almost a week!! Wow, it just doesn't seem like the week went by so fast. I had my dear friend Shannon visiting with her son Nate for most of the week, maybe that is why time flew by. We had a very nice visit and like always, I was so sad they had to go. Nate is only one month older than Zoey so they had a great time taking toys away from each other!

I don't have many recent creations to talk about since Shannon was here all week, I didn't make anything new and since I didn't work a whole lot while she was here, I pretty much worked all day yesterday and a little today. What I do have to show you is this necklace that I made for my sweet friend, Abby! I fashioned it after the one bought on Etsy awhile ago, since I liked it so much. I blogged about it here. She loved it, and has requested earrings to match!! I'll get right on that, friend!

I also have been trying to figure out how the heck I should store/display this huge box of scrap trim I got when I was rummaging through my grandmas craft room a while back. I found this skeleton key hanger on a craft store outing and thought maybe I could just drape a bunch of trim over the hooks {color coated, of course}. I still have to hang this up before I decide if that is what I want to use it for, but I haven't decided where yet. I liked the painting technique on this.

That's all the random trim that needs a home outside it's current huggies diaper box!

Well, I just finished up a little work for the day and I think it is high time to fire up the ole soldering iron and get these things I have started done! I want to be able to post a bunch of new things before I head out to the Art and Soul retreat!

I just threw that picture in because I thought these rhinestones were so pretty!

Hope you had a great weekend! ~Lisa

Another Great Weekend

Over the weekend we went to Akron to visit my family. I did manage to squeeze in a few hours with my sister to make it to the local flea market, and I found lots of great things! Lots of vintage costume jewelry to add to my creations, take a look!

I also feel like I hit the fairy jackpot! I found these little ceramic fairies there. They are about 5" tall, and oh so pretty!

I was originally going to hang them in Zoey's room on her fireplace mantel, but then I thought they would look great altered up a bit and used on my creations. Here are a couple I added to Magic Wands!

I like how they turned out. I won't use them all on the Magic Wands, I do have some more ideas running around in my head for them...oh goodness...

But the reason we really went to Ohio was because my youngest brother pays high school soccer and they were having a Reverse Raffle fundraiser for the team. I adore all of my brothers and sisters more than anything {there are 6 of us} and I can't resist helping out his team when I can. He is the baby of us all, at 17. A junior in high school. I was a junior in high school when I started working at my first job, then he was born a year later. Now, he works at the same place for his first job. Ugh. I hate so much that he is growing up, but couldn't be more proud of the young man he has become. He loves my children so much and is Jake's hero {along side his dad, of course!} So, here is Kyle in action. He is such a great player, we all love to go to see him dominate the field! He had a game yesterday that we missed because we were driving home {and the weather was like winter} but we will make it there for more, since he is on like 3 different teams and it's just a few hours away. Jake LOVES to go to his games, and I will admit I do love to see him play, too!

So, hopefully you all had wonderful fun filled, family filled, great weekends as well! Back home & back to work! But that also means back to our regular sleep schedules, too!! YIPPEE!

I LOVE Craigslist...

Let me start off by explaining... We live in a 100+ year home. Apparently, when these homes were built, they didn't feel the need to add closets on the main floor. We also have a huge space, everyone here calls them 'parlors' that is basically useless right inside the front door. It's a good home for the Christmas tree, but for the other 10 months of the year, the dog uses it to watch {I mean bark at} other dogs. Big waste of space.


So, we have no closets on the first floor. This has created mass confusion over the winter in our parlor with 4 sets of coats, hats, scarfs, gloves, boots, etc... {and the dog} you get the picture. We thought that we had the problem solved with a coat tree and a basket for gloves. No. AND, my 9 month old LOVES to eat shoes, and they are too readily accessible to her. My sister-in-law has a giant dresser in her entry way that houses various things for them, and I thought that might solve our problems. So, onto Craigslist I go!!


I know I have raved about it before, but man, I love Craigslist!!! I have never had a bad experience and I honestly feel like I always get a bargain. And what woman doesn't like to get a bargain!?! So, here's my latest find, a Drexel 'La Fleur' Dresser and Nightstand:

A Few scratches & dents, but nothing a little touch up paint won't fix!
And, the nightstand!! Goodbye old ugly end table in the living room!!Here it is re-painted and in it's new home.And finally, our new 'closet'! I didn't repaint this one, too pretty. All Jake's shoes in one drawer, his gloves, hats & scarfs in another. All Zoey's shoes in one drawer, her gloves, hats & scarfs in another. Scott's shoes are in the middle, and we still have 2 more drawers for whatever I want. The coats are still on the coat tree for now...Picked up the mirror for $19.99 at a local discount store, and I LOVE how it turned out!!And I saved the best for last- they only wanted $20 for both the nightstand and the dresser!!!

So, what's your best Craigslist buy?

This Past Weekend

I have some new things in the shop today! I have been trying to get things done all weekend, but most of us know how that goes... Saturday came and went and I didn't make a dent in the list of things to do. I made a little headway today, but I just noticed that it's getting pretty late!! Here's some things just listed in the Esty shop:

These 2 party hats are probably my favorite so far, love that little birdie!

I like how the sea horse and dolphin turned out, too!


These magic wands are so pretty. Really happy with how they look. Here's some closeups of the wands:
I want to end by saying how saddened I was to hear about Ryan's passing. My heart aches for them so much, I can not even imagine the strength that they will need to get through this. I don't want to go on and on, because it truly makes me very sad every time I think of them... Please say a prayer for them.