Christmas Cheers and yummy treat

 

I wanted to wish all of my followers a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

I also wanted to share with you an easy holiday treat for neighbors, co-workers, or family. Get a bag of mini Rolos, swirly pretzels, and pecans. Place the pretzels on the pan, then put a Rolo on top of each pretzel. I put my pecans on before to bake with the pretzels. You could actually wait until you take the pan out of the oven, then place the pecans quickly on top of the chocolate while it is still soft. Set your oven at 300 degrees, then bake them for 3 to 4 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Take them out of the oven, then let them cool for about an hour. Once they a cool you can place them in a treat bag to give as a gift. Simple, easy and yummy! The sweet and salty combination are great.

 

 

 

 

Abstract painting to functional art

Several years ago I decided to make my original work into a clock to sell at shows and in my Etsy shop. I made this abstract painting many years ago. I took a picture of it, then cropped it.

Then I digitally add numbers to the image to make it into a functional art clock.

My Past Week in a Nutshell

 

This past week was filled with many events for the Thanksgiving week. The Saturday before the holiday I exhibited at the St. Pius Holiday Marketplace.

 

 

On Sunday we went to church then later that evening we attended my son's football banquet. The team received sweatshirt hoodies with their number on the chest. They also received wonderful recognition from their coach. 

 

 

 

 

On Monday we drove down to Florida to spend the holiday with my mom. On Thursday the kids went with Todd to visit an old friend  at Cocoa Beach while my mom and I prepared the meal.

 

 

 

 

Friday we went to Disney World. We took the ferry boat over to the park.

 

 

 

 

Jordan, Michael, Bethany and I road the people mover at Tomorrow Land. 

 

 

 

 

We are watching one of the parades they have during the day.

 

 

 

This was Jordan's very first time at Disney World. He had a great time!

 

Needless to say, we were exhausted the next day. After one day of rest we went back home to Atlanta.

 

 

 

New Pendants

I'm getting ready for a holiday show this weekend at St. Pius Holiday Market. Finally, I have gotten around to making some new pendants for the show and then they will be available in my shop. The pendants are now drying with a layer of resin. It has been a few years since I have made them. I had to refresh my memory on how to mix the epoxy together.

Gallery Grand Re-Opening

I have been working with this lovely gallery over the past two years. Sylvia and Carolyn approached me when they saw my work in a local online networking group for women.  These two sisters and business partner were about to open their quaint gallery in the downtown Lawrenceville. They wanted me to have a few pieces at their location.

 

This past few weeks the Lona Gallery moved to a larger space at the other end of the block. The grand re-opening has taken them a month to slowly transition to the new space. For their kick off, they had this wonderful reception. 

 

 

 

 

The place was packed with many guest, patrons, artist, and friends.

 

 

 

 

Here are a bunch of my paintings on the shelves. 

 

 

 

 

The gallery is filled with a wide variety of art by local artist.

 

 

 

 

 

The food was a feast of delectable treats.

 

 

 

 

The caterer Phoenix Gardens, owns her own farm and raises her own free range chicken that she uses for her catering business. Gwendolyn and her husband did not grow up on a farm, but just started reading about farming, and decided to give it a try. They also grow their own vegetables and sell them at local farmers markets.

 

Carolyn behind the counter.

 

 

 

 

We were delighted by soft jazz music and spoken word by Lisa Marie McNeill. This poetry was accompanied to music. She made a special poem for Carolyn and Sylvia.

Ornaments and Silliness

 

 Ornaments fress out of the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

They are all painted and ready to put a coat of varnish on them.

Guess who blew a mega bubble all over his face and glasses? Jordan! I thought you would get a good laugh out of this. Have a great weekend!

The Cats Meow

I decided to expand my series of creatures to cats. Although, I really am a dog lover first and foremost, I decided to create this little guy.

 Many years ago I was such a big fan of the comic strip Garfield. He was so funny with his I don't care attitude. You knew who really ran that house. His poor owner tried his best, but Garfield was the king of that castle.

This clock will be available in my shop within the next day. 

Mirror mirror on the wall

 I purchased these mirrors from Ikea I am ashamed to say almost seven years ago. I discovered them in a box in our basement a year or so ago.

 

  I decided to hang them in the sitting room in my master bedroom.

 

 

 

 

First I masked the mirror with painter's tape

 

 

Next I added white paint for my first coat. I used craft paint that I already had in my studio. Once the paint dried I applied crackle coat on top of the white.

The final coat I added this funky purple to give it that pop to the mirrors.

 

 

Now here is the finished product. I just need to touch up a few areas then varnish the wood. Hopefully it won't take me that long to hang them up.

Mr. Scarecrow.

Here is my front porch with my scarecrow and pumpkin. I painted swirls all around the pumpkin with acrylic. I saw these beautiful pumpkins painted in gold on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a try. I love the simple elegance it adds to the pumpkin

Have a great weekend!

Norcross Arts Festival

 

I was so excited to go attend the festival with Todd and the boys. The day was clear and warm for this annual event.

 

 

 

 Todd took the boys to the kids zone while I got to visit with some artist friends. I was talking so much I forgot to take a picture of Celeste who was my neighbor at this show two years ago. She traveled from Fort Myers Florida to do this show.

 

The Norcross Arts Festival is filled with colorful whimsical and folk art.

 

When I saw this booth I just had to stop by and chat with these lovely ladies. The name attracted me so much. They told me about how they came up with their name. Deb and Sue are both ovarian cancer survivors.Their perspective on broken and discarded glass is to bring beauty to the life in their art. Deb is a seven year cancer survivor of Stage 3C, and is still under going treatment. Sue has been cancer free for eight years. These ladies are a true inspiration to me.

 

I wish I had a chance to share with you the other great artist that I met this past weekend. I feel so inspired every time I get a chance to go visit other artist and hear their story behind their art.

Welcome October

 

I'm slowly getting into the fall season. I painted a sample painting last week for my painting classes.

 

 

 

I also got a chance to put up some fall decorations on my mantle. Next I will decorate my front porch with my scarecrow and a pumpkin. Stay tuned for that later this week. 

Fall is in the Air

I am so glad the the fall season has finally started this past week. This summer has been especially hot here and in most parts of the country. That is why I am enjoying the crisp mornings and cooler nights.

Now is the time to start pulling out all of my fall decorations for the inside of the house and for the outside as well. This ornament is one of many that I am putting up to hang on my mantel.

The winner of my blog giveaway from Jen's shop is Tophat. Congrats!!

Blog Feature: Jennifer Dedonato & Giveaway

 

I first came across Jennifer's work several years ago from another blog that I follow. I was so drawn to her colors and upliting messages. Since that time I have been following and commenting on her blog.  

When Jennifer was little she knew she wanted to be an artist. She loved it! Jennifer's favorite time of the day in school was art class and she remembers going to vacation bible school and being so excited when it was time to create an art project. She started taking it more seriously about eight years ago. Jennifer has a son with Autism and he was deathly afraid of bugs. His fear was due to a bee sting and he became so frightened he wouldn’t go outside the entire summer. Jennifer decided to make a book about bugs for him. Having some colored cardstock at home, she began cutting and gluing the next thing she knew she had several pretty cute little bugs. Both of my boys recognized and enjoyed them so I was inspired to create more. Then one thing lead to another and later started incorporating acrylic and dye inks. She feels that her at drawing is not great but somehow cutting the papers just clicked for her. After experiencing something very traumatic in her family turned into something positive for her to be able to develop her own style.

Jennifer is very strongly influenced by quotes. She also loves patterns and textured paper.When she sees a great paper she will think to herself…”a giraffe would look really good in that pattern”. However, she has to be very careful using patterned paper because of licensing so she makes a lot of her own now.

Jennifer also likes going to antique stores and garage sales with close friends. She also likes to sew sometime, but her artwork keeps her pretty busy.

  She lives in a suburb just outside of Houston. She enjoys the fact that there is a huge art community here and she enjoys being a part of it. Also two of her dearest friends Nicole Foshee and Adriana Whitney are artists awho live close to her. Being close friends with such talented ladies has encouraged her to continue doing the best she can.
Jennifer first started selling on Etsy since 2008.  She was so ecstatic when she made her first sale!

 

Jennifer also has been involved with licensing her art almost two years. She was selling her artwork at the First Saturday Artist Market here in Houston and someone bought one of her original pieces. One thing lead to another and it was shown to a licensing agent. She got a call a few days later and viola. She is currently signed with Cypress Fine Art Licensing out of New Jersey

 

Jennifer is graciously offering one of my readers this print with the message "My dreams are here to stay." Just leave a comment for a chance to win. The winner will be announced next Monday September 24th.

A Revamp

 

 

I made this painting many years ago. I had first made this into a card when I first started my Etsy shop. I titled the original painting "Joyful Noise." I decided to revamp this older painting and make it into an art block. I added some of the Bible passage, Psalms 98:4 into the image with my Adobe Indesign.  

It is a good idea to go back and look at older sketches that you can alter in some new way to create a brand new product. I am constantly thinking of new price points to have in my Etsy shop, and at art festivals. In this tough economy you need to be creative!

So long summer!

 

It is hard to believe that summer time is coming to a close now with the Labor Day weekend just ending. Now most kids are back in school, and all the fun activities will soon become a cherished memory.

 

I wanted to share with you what we did this weekend as a family. My husband took off Friday, so we enjoyed lunch out at Twisted Taco. They have very unusual combinations in their tacos. If you have one in your area you should give them a try. 

 

 

 

On Saturday my daughter and I went shopping. Then later that evening my son Michael had a football game. Unfortunately they lost their game, but hopefully they will win the next game. My younger son Jordan, got his first try as a water boy for the team. Great job Jordan!

 

 

 

On Sunday my daughter Bethany turned 15 yrs. old.  I can't believe how time has gone by so quickly. She is actually an inch taller than me now. How did that happen?

 

The family went out to Chili's to celebrate her special day. We had a going out to dinner. I loved not having to cook.

 

I hope you all had a fantastic Labor day weekend!

Marbelized Pound Cake

On Sunday, I try to make a dessert for my family to eat after dinner. It had been several months since I made a pountd cake, so I decided to make a marbelized pound cake. Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try.

Ingredients

      2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, beat sugar and butter or margarine until blended. Increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, milk, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and eggs; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Increase speed to high, and beat batter 4 minutes longer.
2. Remove about 2 1/2 cups batter to a medium bowl. With a wire whisk or fork, beat cocoa into batter in medium bowl until well blended.
3. Grease a 10 inch tube pan. Alternately spoon vanilla and chocolate layers into prepared pan. With a large spoon, cut and twist through batters to obtain marbled effect.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan, and on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely.