Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year to all of my friends out there in Blogland! Thanks to all of you who have stopped by my blog this year and left your wonderful comments. I really have appreciated each and every one of them! I've also enjoyed visiting your blogs!

My 9 wishes for you this year:
1. Good joint health......you never know how important your knees, hips, shoulders and elbows are until you have trouble with them! Treat them well!

2. At least 10 minutes a day to enjoy nature and think about what makes it so great or who created it's greatness.

3. Free time to do things that are free (remember, some good things in life really are free).

4. Close family.

5. Good friends to laugh with.

6. A short memory to forget all the rat bastards who did you wrong (life is too short to dwell on the "rat bastards" of this world.....don't try to understand their motives.....you never will and that's why they are "rat bastards").

7. Moderation in everything......eating, exercising, spending....you get the picture.

8. Patience and tolerance.

9. Finding a new thing that you really like to do that you've never done before.

Hey, how about those resolutions?!?!?!?!?!?

Here are mine in no particular order and I'm not actually calling them "resolutions" but rather "things I'd like to do this year".

This year I'd like to learn either how to play the piano or sit on a piano. I'm thinking the latter will be a better bet than the former because I have excellent ballance!

I'd like to remember to wear a hat out on the boat this summer to protect me from sun damage.......maybe not this hat........it might freak out the people in the water!I'm thinking more like this cool Australian Bush hat. I think I wouldn't look quite as ridiculous in this hat as the shark hat (I'd hope!).

Oh yah! How about that exercise thing???? You know everybody makes that commitment to exercise more in 2009 including me. I joined the gym 3 days ago and could barely raise my right arm this morning to brush my teeth or pick up a glass to drink out of because my muscles hurt! I think I need to buy a box of straws and Crest White Strips until I strengthen my noodle arms.
I'd like to do something kind of daring in 2009.......... not swallowing knives, I'm kind of attached to my uvula......but something daring. I'll have to think about this one. Any suggestions?(no knives, needles or any other sharp objects, please).

I'm going to try to have 3 pieces of my art published in magazines this year.

I'd like to go for a ride on a train in 2009, I've never been on a train. I've always thought there is something terribly romantic about train travel. I hope it doesn't make me motion sick and I barf....that's not romantic!

Lastly, I'd love to go Marlin fishing in Florida. This most likely won't happen but it's nice to dream!Well, it's now 12:05, I've watched 'the Ball' drop on T.V., kissed my wonderful husband and now I'm off to get some shut eye! Do you have any resolutions for 2009? If so leave a comment, I'd love to know what others are planning to do in 2009!

New Valentine Shop......Very Vintage Valentines!

It's never to early to start thinking about Valentine's Day! It's just 46 days away!

I've started a new Valentine shop called Very Vintage Valentines. Here you will find a variety of vintage inspired Valentine art, handmade journals of all sizes and jewelry. Check in often as I will be adding goodies on a daily basis.

Here's a sneak peek........ to see more pop on over to Very Vintage Valentines!

Happy Birthday Jim and Melissa!

Happy Birthday to my Dad and Happy Birthday to me too! He's 78 years young and I'm 42 years young! I've decided that after the age of 40, you no longer say "old"..... instead you say "young"! After all, age is just a number and more of a state of mind. I had a great birthday!!! Gary suprised me with a beautiful jacket and and took me out for lunch and dinner. I suprised Dad and Mom with chocolate creme pie tonight complete with a birthday candle!

Here's my Dad from this summer doing what he loves to do best..........work on and run heavy equipment. This is a little bulldozer he uses on the farm. My dad is 78 years young and still goes to work at the gravel plant every day. He loves what he does!

Since I was born on my dad's birthday he always says, "She was the best birthday present I ever got, but certainly has been the most expensive!" LOL! My mom said that December 29, 1966 was a very icy night and Dad fell 3 times trying to make it around the car to open the door to get her in to got to the hospital. When they got there and he took off his winter coat he had on a stripped shirt, plaid pants and 2 different colored socks! The funny part was that my mom had his clothes all layed out for him in case they had to got to the hospital in the middle of the night but he was so nervous and forget about them and just grabbed whatever he could find to wear. I bet he was a sight to see!

The End of the ATC Adventure

Well, I've come to the end of my year long adventure of creating an Artist Trading Card a Day for the entire year of 2008. An Artist Trading Card is a small work of art always measuring 2.5 by 3.5 inches and can be created with just about any type of medium. I just posted the last 5 ATCs ahead of time on Flickr. As I look back at all 365 ATCs, I reminisced about what was happening in my life on the day that I made specific ATCs.

The first ATC I made on January 1, 2008

The last ATC......December 31, 2008

This year wasn't all that hot for me, I had a lot of stress which caused some health problems however creating my ATC and gave me something to focus on and brought me through some tough times. Art is like that, it's therapeutic it's cathartic and it's healing. I've often said about creating art....."when I'm sad I create art and it makes me feel happy and when I'm happy and create art it makes me feel even better". Art has always been there for me whether it's using a stick to draw a picture in the sand or creating a mixed media project with 6 different meduims. There is a quote from aritst Hans Hoffman, which to me sums it all up, "A work of art is a world in itself reflecting senses and emotions of the artist's world." I look back at the 365 ATCs and I can tell you what was happening in my world when I was creating each and every one of them.

Ok, enough serious stuff! Now you ask what does it take to create 365 ATCs? Here are some statistics:
3193.75 square inches of cardstock for the backing, which is 266.145 square feet of cardstock

4 medium sized jars of Liquitex Gel Medium

3 paint brushes to apply the glue

1 computer printer cartridge

$85 (estimated) in stamps to mail the ATCs all over the world

2 nail brushes (to get the dried gel meduim off my fingers)

Interesting people I've met, traded with and even became friends with...... priceless!

If you'd like to see all 365 Artist Trading Cards click here! I still have many available and if you see one you like, email me with the date and title of it and I'll send it to you if it hasn't been mailed off already. It was great fun and I'm happy I stuck to it. Hmmmmm, I'm wondering what I should do for 2009?!?!? Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my blogland friends! Wishing you and yours a wonderful day full of family, friends, food, fun and love!

Elf!

Oh boy! Oh boy! I just turned on the T.V. and guess what's on???? That's right......Elf! It's become one of my favorite Christmas shows. Will Farrel is hilarious! I crack up when he goes up the escalator for the first time. Time to make a cup of hot chocolate and watch it!

When I was little I was obsessed with elves, especially their shoes. I wanted a pair of the curly toed shoes. My mom and aunt would hunt year after year for a pair of them but to no avail, I never got a pair. :-( I still would like a pair of them and I still have an obsession for shoes.....all kinds of shoes! Speaking of elves......here's an elf ornament I made with a copy of a vintage photo from around 1920. It's made on a piece of foam core board and measures 3 inches by 3 inches.

Still on the elf theme........here is a chair cover I made a few years ago from a piece of red wool and green felt, pom-poms and snowflake sequins. The top of the elf boot is open so you can tuck a piece of greenery or maybe even a few candy canes in it.

Check out this adorable elf cookie! Recipe below.......Ingredients:
1/2 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
3 tablespoons milk, divided
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, divided
6 drops red food coloring, divided
140 milk chocolate M&M's (about 2/3 cup)
56 almond slices (about 4 teaspoons)
56 brown M&M's miniature baking bits (about 1 tablespoon)
28 red M&M's miniature baking bits (about 1-1/2 teaspoons)

Directions: In a small bowl, beat cookie dough and flour until combined. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 1-3/4-in. x 3-1/4-in. diamond cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For one batch of glaze, in a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 4-1/2 teaspoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon extract. Remove 1 tablespoon glaze to another bowl. Tint remaining glaze with 3 drops food coloring. Working with one cookie at a time, spread red glaze over top half of cookie.

Place one M&M at top for tassel and four M&M's across edge of glaze for hat brim. For ears, place two almonds above M&M's on each end. Dip baking bits in plain glaze; place brown bits on cookie for eyes and a red bit for nose. Repeat with 13 more cookies. Make second batch of glaze with remaining confectioners' sugar, milk, extract and food coloring. Decorate remaining cookies as above. Yield: 28 cookies.

Ok, Christmas break starts officially on Monday for me and this is one of my projects I'd like to get to over break.......I got my bench block (piece of metal to pound the wire on), (my daddy found it for me) and the black annealed wire (my hubby found it for me). This magazine is the Winter addition of Somerset Studio Belle Armoire Jewelry. There are a lot of cool projects in this magazine. If my project turns out, I might be having a giveaway of one of the pieces. He,he,he!

And the Winner Is..............

The randomly picked winner of the the cards and Christmas tunes is...........insert drum roll here........... Sherry over at http://www.gotart4u.blogspot.com/
Congrats Sherry! Please send me an email with your address.
Thanks to all who entered!
Melissa

Card and Christmas Tunes Giveaway!

I'm giving away a set of 4 of my handmade Christmas cards and a copy of my Jingle Bell Jam 2008 Favorite Holiday Tunes! Just leave a comment and picture/link on your blog and you'll be entered. I'll draw the name randomly on Wednesday and send them right out! They are 5 inches by 4 inches and the inside reads "Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

The Christmas Cards Are Finished!

Finally! Whew! I got the Christmas cards finished that I started last Sunday. This was a rough week for me, I got a bad chest cold. The cough that came along with it sounded like a springer spaniel with kennel cough! It kept me up half the night even with the cough medicine with codeine. However, I'm feeling much better today and spent the whole day making 28 cards. I think I'm getting slower in my old age because it took me a lot longer than I thought it would to make them! But then again they're a little labor intensive!

Here they are displayed on my sleigh coffee table...............

This one's my favorite!

Here's a little tutorial on how they are made..........
Start with a piece of Warm and Natural cotton batting 3.5 by 4.5 inches.......

Cut a patch of fabric and fray the edges then sew it on........Sew on a few smaller squares of fabric.........

Print out images you want to use in your cards from the computer on Bazzill textured off white card stock. It comes in 12 by 12 inch sheets so you'll have to cut it down to 8.5 by 11 inches to go through the printer..........

Zig Zag sew the image onto the piece of batting with the fabric patches......

Then sew the whole thing onto the front of you card. I used recycled plain brown ones. Cut out sayings "Merry Christmas", distress with walnut ink on the edges and glue onto the front of the card.....

Sew the greeting on the inside of the card and stamp little snowflakes here and there........

When I finished with the cards I had a Clementine! They smell like Christmas to me. Plus I needed a little vitamin C after my grueling 7 hour card ordeal! I was feeling weak!!!!

Making Connections and Christmas cards

As an artist I draw inspiration from nature and sometimes happenings in my little world. This past week and weekend have been full of connections for me. I connected this week with friends I haven't seen in 6 months, I also connected with a friend today through a telephone call that I haven't talked to in about 14 years. Strangely enough I dreamed about her 3 times this past week, to me this was a "sign" to find her and call her up. We had a great conversation and I'm so happy we got a chance to talk today. She doesn't know it but I've always consistered her the "cool older sister" that I always wanted!

I think of life like a big piece of fabric and the people we encounter are like the treads that run throught that fabric.....some fibers are long and strong, those are the friends you have over a lifetime, sometimes the fibers are short and weak and break, those are the people that you might have thought of as friends but sadly they were not or perphaps they really were true friends but were only in your life for a short time. Sometimes the fabric unravels and no matter how hard you try to stop it, you can't....those were the important people in your life who have either passed on or just walked away.....either way they leave a hole in the fabric of your life. Sometimes the fabric is patched and layered with another pattern of fibers and those are the people that you lose track of and then find again. Connecting with these people this week and weekend was like sewing patches onto my fabric of life. I consider myself lucky, I have a colorful fabric of life with an interesting pattern and lots of patches with a few holes here and there, but it's my fabric and one I wear proudly.

So it's very fitting that my Christmas cards this year have been created with fabric with patches sewn on them. I was inspired by the artist from a neigboring town who created this card. Isn't it cute?

Here are the cards I started today. They are smaller than the one above, 4 inches by 5 inches. They're quite time consuming but I think they're work it. My friend Donna, makes the most amazing Christmas cards every year and she makes me feel like a slacker so this year I decided to make some cards. At the rate I'm going I'll probably get them done by Easter!

I hope you all have had a chance to make some connections this weekend. Have fabulous Monday!

Snow Angel ATC and Cathie's painting and Pizzelles

It's been so cold here today! Snow is predicted this weekend! Snow Angel Artist Trading Card

The wonderfully talented Cathie Holman is giving away this darling canvas over on her website. To check out her detailed, delightful paintings that will send you running for a cup of hot chocolate go to: http://catherineholmanfolkart.blogspot.com/

It's time to make those lucious Pizzelles again! Yah! Wednesday night I went to my friend Linda's house and a bunch of us got together to make Pizzelles! We had a great time! I'd like to show you pictures of the pizzelle making but I forgot to ask them if I could put their pictures on the blog so here is just a picture of the pizzelle iron that is as old as I am!

Here's the recipe I use:

Pizzelles
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons vanilla or anise extract
3 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
Beat eggs, add sugar gradually and beat until smooth. Add margarine and extract. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to egg mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls on hot pizzelle iron.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.

Toodee's Holiday Adventure.....

I've had a few people email wondering what Toodee the studio monster has been up to because they haven't seen him on the blog lately. Well.........as a matter of fact he was in rare form tonight!


When I went into the studio he had my husband's sock in his head and was rapping "Jingle Bells".........or was it "Yo! Jingle Bells"!? I promptly took the sock off his head and chased him out of the way while I put some Yo Yo Ma on the iPod, I think cello music is calming.

The next thing you know, he pops up in front of me with a blue boa and rhinestone earrings on announcing that's he's ready to go to the symphony! (the cello music put him in the mood). The only way I could get this get-up off of him was to promise to shoot a "holiday" picture of him.

This is what we came up with................he kept telling me that the gingerbread men were talking to him. When I asked him what they were saying to him, he replied, "bite my head off".

I went back to work in the studio and about an hour later I called for him but couldn't find him so I went upstairs and there he was in the pie safe trying to "blend in" as he called it with the other Christmas decorations.

Twenty mintues later I found Toodee in the kitchen.........................................
It looks like he followed through with the gingerbread man threat! Bad Toodee, getting into the Bailey's! Well, he was just having a little 'Christmas Cheer'!

Merry Christmas from Toodee the Studio Monster!
Thanks again for sending him to me Jacque! He as been a challenge and a joy!

7 Random Questions Answered......

I've been tagged by the Spotted Sparrow to answer 7 random question which I got off of Thursday Thunks.

1. PB and Jelly, what flavor of jelly? Strawberry of course!
2. When you think of your best friend, what color comes to mind? orange
3. Would you rather be Spiderman or Batman? Batman because I hate spiders
4. What is your favorite smell? Vanilla
5. What color is the sky in your world? Right now it's black but in my mind it's a pale yellow color....like the one on a hazy July morning.
6. Have you ever had a rescued dog as a pet? Yes, his name was Patches and I had him for 14 years and he was an awesome dog! I got him from the animal shelter.
7. What accent drives you crazy (good or bad)? I really can't stand to hear French people speak English! Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah.....that's what it sounds like to me!

Elf Yourself!

Ok, I'm ashamed to say I just spent 45 minutes playing around on this site, turning myself into a dancing elf and laughing my butt off! I think my husband thinks I'm insane! Check out the dancing elf video on the sidebar.

Go here to "elf" yourself!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/