Vintage Sweets

Antique Shop Finds

After attending vendor night at Art and Soul I couldn't wait to go antiquing again. I found some cool stuff in John Whiting's booth of "Whitings Old Papers" at vendor night as well as some great stuff at Collage Closet's booth.
So since I needed to fuel my fire and I couldn't wait until my next antique show I went antique shopping on my lunch hour at a shop I just found, "Roxie's" about 2 blocks from where I work. I found a great old embossed med. sized picture album with vintage cabinet cards for $10.00, also a great little book of poems with a rather interesting cover with gold flowers for $10.00. Of course I couldn't pass up this cute little coin purse with the word "Bremen" for $3.00 and my last purchase as I was walking out the door is this beautiful bracelet hand twisted out of brass with turquoise stones for only $12.00. I just love my purchases and can hardly wait for my next antique show over Memorial Day weekend. I have a show on the Sunday before(to sell) and then on Memorial Day I go to a BIG Flea Market Antique Show (to shop)This particular show is a favorite of mine and the Memorial Day show is the biggest and best of the season. I always manage to spend my alloted money and come home with some fantastic finds. I will be sure to post pictures of what I buy there, but for now here are my wonderful antique shop finds.

More pictures from Art and Soul

Andi finding the dreaded "Monkey" on her door. The "Monkey" But whose door is it on this time? Who has the "Monkey" now?

Rainy,cold Mother's Day

Well it's Mother's Day and I can do what ever I want today, so.... I decided to post some pictures from Art and Soul in Hampton.
My first day of class was with Stephanie Rubiano, Bedazzling Butterflies, this class was awesome and one of my all time favorites! My other favorite class was my "Girls Got Goth" necklace class with Sally Jean. One of my classes I didn't care for and my last class was another with Sally Jean that we cut apart bottles and encased items inside. I loved that class as well, however I need a class in how to take photos for your blog. Because the picture is blurry of that. I will post that later. This was truly a wonderful art retreat and I loved being able to meet new people and reconnect with old friends.

Frantically Working

Here is a photo of my fat book page for our local art group fatbook swap, Vintage School House. I have been frantically working on all of my commitments and trying to get everything done before I leave for Art and Soul in Hampton. 14 more days til we leave!

26 fatbook pages done
1 pocketful RR done and mailed
2 pieces of artwork mailed to Somerset
6 giftees done for A&S 9 more to do.
Trades for A&S to do.
Supplies to for A&S to do.

Robin's Pocketful

Here are the photos of the Robin's pocketful. I started working on it last weekend and finished today. The pocket art is an extra fabric page from a swap I hosted. When I found out Robin's theme I knew exactly what to do for her page.My artwork is all designed around the pocket art. I had been saving the fabric crazy quilt page to give to someone, and Robin is the perfect recipient.

The Artist's Brain.....

...is it different than the rest? I find myself thinking about things that to the average person probably wouldn't make sense.  When I see for instance, a fabric blouse someone is wearing the colors are what stick in my mind and I begin to imagine a collage using that fabric and then start picturing buttons I can add and how I could cut the sleeve to get that ruffle...or I get in the bathtub(yes I like baths,and some of my best ideas happen there)and start picturing how I can apply paint to a canvas and what colors to mix and then I can add this or that. My mind just seems to spin with ideas. I am a very visual person and love to sit in my studio and look at all of the containers full of bits and bobs of things and actually get in a zone in my head where I am not cognizant of what is happening in the here and now, a sort of daydream state. I start assembling collages in my head and planning projects. But by far my best place for ideas is in the car on my way home from work, I just need to figure out a way to get these on paper while I'm driving.
Sometimes my brain actually gets in the way of actual art, I spend too much time daydreaming and not enough doing art. I wonder does anyone else feel this way? What do you see? A palm tree? or beautiful shades of luscious green? Spiky yet delicate leaves in colors ranging from celery to emerald? 

Spring Cleaning

Well I bought the new Cloth,Paper, Scissors Studio magazine and it inspired me to do some spring cleaning.
I took a carload of "good junk" to both of my local art group meetings and only came home with one small box of stuff no one wanted. Believe me my studio will never look  as organized and clean as the ones featured in the magazine, however it is an improvement. I still have a long way to go in the cleaning process, actually my husband says it still looks like a pig sty(his words exactly). I had to quit the  spring cleaning  and get ready for Art and Soul in Virginia. Here are some of the areas that are done.

Joyce's Pocketful

I just finished working on Joyce's pocketful book. I made the pocket art first ( a little leather book) but it was too thick for the pocket, so yesterday at the last minute I had to made something else for her pocket. Sorry Joyce, you won't be getting the little leather book. I really stayed in my comfort zone here using colors I love as well as vintage images of young girls. The cover page of her book has a bluebird on it that was painted by my late grandfather, as well as one of my new favorite papers by Basic Grey. The pocket art that is going to be hers is a page from an old photo album that is collaged and has a transparency of a French hand tinted postcard from my collection.

Happy Valentines Day!

I participated with my local AB group in a vintage Valentine Fatbook. I just got my book back this week and it is just fantastic. Here is my page.

Isabel's Page

I am currently involved in a RR called "Pocketful" , one of my friends Vicki Sun is also in this RR. Her niece was very interested in this RR and Vicki asked several of the participants if they would be willing to art a pocket page of Isabel's. Now that the holiday rush and the January clean-up is over, I found the time to work on her pages. I have been working on these pages for a couple of weekends and now I have finished, so here they are....