cheryl oz designs

love is in the air...

2012-01-20T20:36:00.010-05:00

A set of cute Sock Monkey Cupid Tiny Valentine Cards that would be perfect for gift-giving to friends in the classroom, students to slip in the vent of a locker, co-workers, neighbors, secret admirers, well.... anyone really, that you want to wish a happy valentine's day!

My Etsy shop listing is for: One set of 16 cards + red envelopes with 8 valentine wishes (see below) tied with red + white baker's twine. Tiny card size: 2 9/16" x 3 9/16" (fyi: envelopes do not meet US postal mailing standards - but are perfect for self-delivery!)

Valentine wishes included per set (2 of each): Big Hugs, Love Bug, My Sweet, Be Mine, Cutie Pie, Hug Me, True Love, Love You

it's the little things...

2012-01-11T18:09:00.005-05:00

A few days ago I was browsing around on etsy and I stumbled upon these two mid-century books. As you know I have a thing for anything mid-century and especially things related to cooking and furniture. Anyway, it was a had to have them kinda moment, so I instantly snatched them up and they arrived today! I can't wait to sit down and check them out.

I love the sketchy styled illustrations in the cookbook.

I love the mid-century interiors in the lighting book. I just wish they were in color.

holiday punch

2011-12-27T13:33:00.004-05:00

This Christmas Eve we tried a delicious Christmas Punch from the Martha Stewart Holiday handbook this year and I thought I'd share it with you because... well, it's so darn tasty and it would be just as good for a New Year's Eve party too!

I made an ice ring in a bundt pan with cranberries and orange slices and it kept the punch chilled very nicely the whole evening. It looked festive too!

DIYpsi : an indie art fair

2011-12-05T16:32:00.006-05:00

So, if you missed the DUCF this past weekend (tisk-tisk... just kidding, but you did miss out on a great show), don't fret... stop on by the DIYpsi! There will be 35 artist vendors + hand-crafted beer + great food in a cool venue at The Corner Brewery. Now that's a great holiday shopping experience!

Saturday 11-8pm • Sunday 12-6pm

an evening of baking...

2011-11-29T21:57:00.002-05:00

Shrink film that is! Lots of ornaments and magnets.

Coming soon!

christmas memory #1

2011-11-28T22:59:00.003-05:00

This Christmas I am looking forward mostly to enjoying the season with my family. Anyone that knows me or who has been following my blog for the past 2 1/2 years, knows that my Dad has been very sick and in and out of the hospital all during that time. So this year I am the most thankful for being able to spend the holidays with everyone and actually get to enjoy this beautiful season.

So in regards to that, I thought it might be fun to try and remember some of my favorite childhood memories and share them on the blog with you throughout the holiday season.

I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that one of my favorite Christmas memories is a year that I was very sick with the flu. Since I was so sick and didn't really want to get up off of the sofa, my Mom thought it would be fun to pop popcorn and string them with cranberries for our tree garland. I still laid on the sofa, but it definitely perked me up. I loved it and ever since then my Mom and I have said we'd do it again, but we never have. Although, now I don't think we'd be able to because our dogs are crazy about popcorn and I'm afraid they might eat the tree!

If you want to try it too, check out this link from Martha Stewart! She even has a great idea of taking the edible garlands outside after Christmas and hanging them in your trees for the birds and squirrels.

these are a few of my.... favorite things

2011-11-27T21:38:00.009-05:00

A: Able Cable Sweater - Sahalie • B: Wool/Cashmere Kneesocks - Sahalie • C: Striped JerseyTurtleneck - J.Jill • D: Rock Star Wrap Bracelet - Arhaus Jewels • Xbox Virtua Tennis 4 • Books: Soup of the Day Williams-Sonoma - 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year • Design*Sponge at Home • Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients • Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color • Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists:52 Exercises to Make Drawing Fun

Every year since as far back as I can remember I have made a Christmas list. Probably like most kids at first it was just circling things in the Toys R Us catalog, or even just mentioning it to my parents every time my favorite toy crossed the TV screen. I can remember one Christmas quite vividly, somewhere in the late 70's. I wanted a Barbie pool. The one with the pump-action working shower. C'mon... seriously, that was cool! I'm sure my parents got tired of me droning on about that one. Or the Christmas I believe that I was in third grade when a classmate of mine brought in her Speak & Spell and her Merlin for Show & Tell that day. You betcha those were on my list that year!

Well, it's to the point now where my family requires the list and is somewhat amused by my list as well. I think they feel it's easier to buy something they know that I will love and will be extremely happy about. It's sort of become a tradition and a lot more of our family members make lists too. I think these lists are so helpful because I love giving gifts and I love even more when I get something for someone that they are really excited about getting, instead of floundering around the malls wondering what would make someone happy on Christmas Day. Having said that, there are a few occasions when I feel that it's fun picking up on little hints, or the likes of people "mainly my husband" and surprising him with something he has briefly spoken of but would have never imagined that he would receive it for Christmas. But, when you have a lot of gifts to buy at Christmas... lists are nice and they make the holiday less hectic and stressful. Don't we all need a little less holiday stress?

I usually try to make my list decorative in some way. Some years it has been very elaborate with photos + design, or some sort of cut + paste crafty-type project, but this year it was a straight forward list, typed up quickly with some red + green and a fun font. Actually, now that I think about it the past few years have been well, quite hectic and the list thing isn't as fun or on the top of my priority list as it was in the past. This Christmas will hopefully be more fun than the past two since my Dad is finally well enough to enjoy the holidays.

For a some visual amusement, I thought I'd whip up a quick, visual wish list of some of the things that I love this year. I hope all of your Christmas wishes come true!

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T05:00:00.004-05:00

I'm actually working on this post a few days in advance because I wanted to be able to really think about the things that I am truly thankful for in my life and jot them down as I go.

I'm thankful for:

• my husband (best friend)* who makes my life truly amazing! • my parents • family • old friendships + new ones too! • our pups! • prayers for my dad from people i don't even know as well as the ones we do • miracles • God • our cozy home • good health • happiness + big belly laughs • the power of positive thinking • smiles : because a smile can change everything • nature's beauty that gives me so much inspiration and constantly amazes me • *the opportunity to be working towards my dream

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Now let's all sit back and enjoy that pumpkin pie (except I really don't care for pumpkin pie... I prefer apple.)

holiday open house : yellow door art market

2011-11-18T17:18:00.004-05:00

Check it out!

This Saturday is Yellow Door Art Market's Holiday Open House!

crafty goodness

2011-11-08T21:37:00.004-05:00

Going to the art + craft supplies store is always fun.

A bagful of goodies to play with for new items for upcoming shows!

So much to do... so little time!

cheese tortellini soup with cannellini, kale + kielbasa

2011-11-03T18:09:00.005-04:00

I've had this recipe in my binder for what seems like forever (okay, since 2002 -- but that is a really long time)! I have no idea why I waited so long to make it, because it's so simply delicious and so easy too! The recipe is originally from Bon Appetit, but I changed a few things here and there, so here's the recipe below the way I made it.

Cheese Tortellini Soup with Cannellini Beans, Kale + Kielbasa

Serves 6

2 T. olive oil

12 oz. fully cooked smoked turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 T. dried thyme

1/2 t. dried crushed red pepper flakes

2 boxes low-salt chicken stock

4 c. kale (roughly 1/2 bunch), chopped

1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained (chick peas would be delicious too!)

1 9-oz. package cheese tortellini

Asiago or Parmesan Reggiano, grated (for topping the soup)

Directions:

Heat oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add next 5 ingredients and saute until onions are soft and kielbasa is slightly brown, about 12 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in kale and beans. Reduce heat to low and simmer until kale is wilted, about 4 minutes. Add tortellini to soup. Simmer until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite, about 7 minutes and/or (follow tortellini directions on package). Ladle into bowl. Serve, passing cheese separately to top the soup. Enjoy!

A few days later I was in the baking bread kinda mood so, I made some Onion Focaccia bread and I added some Herbs of Provence on top and that really made it a great meal! If you click the links, it will take to the Williams-Sonoma site where you'll be able to print the bread recipe and if you wish you'll be able to purchase my favorite Herbs of Provence. I've tried other brands, but I like this one the best. It's a nice blend. Wait until you see the little jar that it comes in! It's too cute and you can buy refills of the herbs instead of having to keep replacing the jar! That's for all of you little "green bees" out there! :o)

holiday shows

2011-11-03T08:16:00.006-04:00

Get ready to get your handmade-gift giving groove on and swing by the art shows that I'll be in this December! Both events have a stellar list of artist vendors to fill up your shopping lists with tons of unique gifts.

Detroit Urban Craft Fair

Masonic Temple, Detroit • Dec. 3rd + 4th

Hours: Dec. 3rd: 10am to 7pm + Dec. 4th: 11am to 6pm

DIYpsi

Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti • Dec. 10th + 11th

Hours: Dec.10th: 11am to 8pm + Dec. 11th: 12am to 6pm

•

Hope to see you there!

a surprise gum ball

2011-11-02T07:52:00.009-04:00

I was having one of those blah days yesterday. I was just not feeling myself and things really weren't working out right. But, then something great happened, like when you were a kid and you ate one of those ice cream cone-shaped cups from the ice cream man with the bubblegum flavored ice cream and just when you thought you were finished, a surprise bonus gum ball is waiting for you at the bottom of the cone!

So anyway, later in the day I tried some retail therapy and out to dinner at CPK (one of my favs) with my Momma (which I must admit, helped for the time being). My Mom got a stylish, winter down coat, gloves, a scarf, a pair of shoes and a vest! She never spends money on herself and especially with everything going on with my Dad, I think she enjoyed a bit of retail therapy herself! Then I got home and I was back in my funk even while watching my favorite show "Parenthood". I was looking thumbing thru emails, Facebook news feeds and Twitter posts on my iPhone and I found out that there was a "whole" blog post about my illustrations on FLOR's Musings blog. A-FREAKING-MAZING! Talk about a surprise gum ball! Not just a post of one of my images, a whole blog post about my work! Woo-hoooo! I'm taking this a sign from the big guy upstairs -- keep going... you're doing a great job and people are beginning to notice your hard work so keep it up! Some days like yesterday, I kinda needed some reassurance that I've been doing the right thing and going in the right direction. I think especially when you're doing something creative where you put your heart + soul into what you're doing it's nice to have a "sign" once in awhile.

Now you may be wondering what is Flor? Okay, only the most brilliant idea in modern carpet squares! There's every color, texture and pattern that you can imagine and styles that would fit any home's decorating style and palette. I love them so much I have two rugs in our home (and I'm always trying to find another place to put them too). The most current one is in our kitchen that we have been working hard on remodeling into a more swanky, modern atmosphere that is more our style. The other is in our basement in my art studio. This one, at one time was also in our kitchen for oh, I'd say maybe 6 years. I loved it and still do and it's still in amazingly, great shape for being walked on by two humans and two dogs every day in the heart of our kitchen so it got plenty of high traffic. I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I had the new plans for the kitchen, but didn't want to just pack it up and then it dawned on me.... heeeey, this will work out great in the studio too! The colors and everything!

Their blog is all about design findings. Four gals contribute to writing the blog all of which have every unique creative backgrounds. A big thanks goes out to one particular gal, Miriam Bradford who owns her own Social Invitation design site, LimoncelloSTYLE for writing the blog post on my work! Thanks so much, Miriam!

sneak peek... holidays 2011

2011-10-26T17:12:00.003-04:00

I've been working on some new work for the holidays. Here's a sneak peek of a new illustration I just finished yesterday for one of my holiday card designs.

Yellow Door Art Market's 1st Birthday!

2011-10-22T08:48:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Yellow Door Art Market!

Stop by the store today.... most artists will have their items discounted by 15%, Michigan sips, snacks and special treats!

new + improved

2011-09-30T16:27:00.004-04:00

For awhile now I have been thinking about updating my Etsy shop and blog banner, but it was such a pain the first time around getting it sized right that I have been putting it off. Today, I sat down and it was so simple. I have no idea what I was fretting about?

one nephew + two and a half days of fun

2011-08-25T15:56:00.004-04:00

I took a break from most things art-related for a few days and we had our eight year old nephew come to visit. I'm not just saying this because he's my nephew but, he's a super great kid. He listened well, never talked back, cleaned up after himself and went to sleep like a big boy too! His Mom and Dad will be very proud! We packed "a lot" of fun into just two and half days. Dog walking, ice cream, drawing, shopping, eating out, video games and lots of swimming too! He loved our dogs... and we had two really long walks with them. One morning he awoke to a couple of furry sleeping companions all snuggled up with him. He definitely has a couple of new buddies, although once he left today they both crashed for a two hour nap. I thought I would need a nap too, but instead I'm kinda energized and already miss the little bugger. See you soon, C!

angela adams

2011-08-18T14:25:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite designers is Angela Adams from Maine. The company is Angela and her husband Sherwood, a furniture designer. They started making the most amazing rugs, that depict the outdoors in a modern design style. The hand-tufted rugs are pretty much my dream rugs, if I was to own one. Amazing designs and craftsmanship! Since then then they have really expanded their designs to all sorts of great stuff, like home accessories, bedding, fashion and now amazing paper goods and more.

I've always loved paper, which is quite obvious I'm sure... and their new designs are not only just as fantastic as her rugs designs, but also letterpress which is very near and dear to my little ol' design heart. I cannot tell you how much I would love to partner up with someone and work on some letterpress designs together. That would be SO FUN! Now to find that person who has a cool press!

Here's a few of my favorites from her paper collection:

Lulu

Kanga

I had to throw in this Box of Labels too! Super cute!

salt + pepper

2011-08-11T14:33:00.004-04:00

I'm finally finished with a new painting "salt + pepper" that I'm really excited about sharing with you. The salt + pepper shakers are from the family cottage and the first time my husband took me to his family's cottage was when we were dating. I spied these art deco beauties right away. I have no idea why it has taken me so long to be inspired to paint them, but I finally brought them home on our last trip so I could use them for reference. I'll be taking them back though, because they are a nice part of history for the cottage.

I have 8x8 and 5x5 prints now available in my Etsy shop!

illustration giveaway

2011-07-27T11:28:00.003-04:00

Being the artist of the week at Yellow Door Art Market has perks for me and you! You can enter to win a "Purple Sweater Barbie" 8x10 print and a set of "Her Beautiful Red Shoes" notecards. Click on Yellow Door Door Art Market, to go to their blog for all of the details on how to enter!

artist of the week

2011-07-25T15:14:00.004-04:00

I had a great weekend with swimming, shopping, bbqing and visiting with old friends. Looks like this week is starting off great too! I'm artist of the week at Yellow Door Art Market! You can check it out on their blog all week long and I believe sometime this week there is a giveaway too!

pure garden pleasure

2011-07-23T08:36:00.006-04:00

I look forward to this time of the Summer for one reason in my garden and that's to see my Stargazer Lilies bloom. When I was about 19, which is a tad over 20 years ago since I'm about to be 40 in just a few weeks. I worked at a Flower Market for a Summer job. As far as a retail job goes, I loved it. I loved watching the floral designers create beautiful arrangements and helping the customers pick and arrange a perfect bouquet for a loved one. I was surrounded by gorgeous flowers everyday. Each one was it's own work of art. I loved learning about the different flowers, especially the ones I had never seen before, which is when I discovered the Stargazer Lily.

For about five years now we've had the lilies in our rock garden. We watch the stalks of the lilies grow taller and taller from May thru June, and then mid to end of July we get about a week and half of bloom time. Every year they never disappoint and that week and a half is worth the wait time! Pop, pop, pop each bloom pops open and I swear prettier than the last one. The colors, the smell... it's pure garden pleasure.

shadow art fair : ypsilanti, mi : saturday, july 16th, 2011

2011-07-11T13:55:00.003-04:00

We had a great time up at the cottage for a week but now it's time to get back to business. I'll be at The Shadow Art Fair this coming Saturday in Ypsilanti, MI.

One day = 40 artists + 9000 gallons of beer! Noon till Midnight!!

It's a 12-hour event held 2-times a year at The Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti.

now available : red pop button set

2011-06-28T20:46:00.003-04:00

My mini pinback red pop (faygo) buttons

are now available in my Etsy shop!

A set of 2 just for you!

cool terrariums by twig

2011-06-22T14:50:00.010-04:00

(All of the amazing photos are from the Twig website)

Ever see something in a magazine and you can't stop thinking about. Well, that something for me are these cute terrariums, by a company called Twig.

I was thumbing thru the June issue of Real Simple on our ride up to the cottage and I couldn't wait to come home to check them out on the computer. But, then we got home... and of course I forgot about it and then I put the magazine someplace that I couldn't remember. Yesterday I found it and I looked them up and they are so cute!

What's really cute is that there are not just plants and rocks, there's tiny surprises inside, tucked away into interesting glass vessels of all shapes and sizes. I think I have to have one!

I had a terrarium as kid and I loved it. The terrarium is very little maintenance which is perfect for my house because we don't have a lot of good lighting to grow plants! I've always loved anything tiny.

red pop mini button samples

2011-06-21T18:03:00.004-04:00

i was testing out my "red pop" illustration on some mini buttons today. i can't decide if i should make them with the tiny bottle, or the cropped. maybe i should do both? maybe they could come as a set or maybe not? any input from anyone who loves red pop would be great! thanks so much!

garden color

2011-06-08T06:46:00.010-04:00

Last week after our vacation to the cottage, the very next day I headed to the nursery to purchase all of my flowers and then the remainder of the afternoon and evening I spent it planting. This year I'm really excited about having Cosmos. I've been wanting them for a few years now, but have never seen a mature plant at any of the nurseries that I go to. I almost considered starting from seed, but I didn't have to this time. This is the very first bloom on the plant and it's supposed to be a multi-colored flower so we'll see what I get for a bloom next time. Years ago, when I used to design wedding invitations, one of my clients from California had me do a watercolor illustrations of a chocolate cosmos for her invites, and that's when I started loving these blooms.

The clematis really went crazy already! It's forever blooming variety so hopefully it will keep going with all of the beautiful blooms. It makes a nice backdrop to our rock garden.

This dahlia reminded me of a water lily and Monet's waterlily paintings have always been a favorite.

And finally, some full sun coleus that I'm excite to try growing in the rock garden. I alway plant shade coleus but I spied this variety and the leaves are so pretty. Should make a nice addition to the rock garden this year.

soda pop nostalgia

2011-06-07T20:17:00.002-04:00

The vintage Faygo Red Pop is one of those things that reminds me of being a kid. It reminds me of Summer BBQs in my parents backyard, birthday parties, and drive-in movies with my parents while dressed in my pjs and a huge bowl of popcorn that my Mom popped from home. Special, simple, happy times with great memories.

I love that a lot of the food industry companies are bringing back vintage looking packaging. It's that feel good sort of thing. When I saw this bottle at a local deli, I bought an extra one to bring home to use for reference for this painting. Maybe it brings back happy memories for you too?

Print is printed on 8 1/2 x 11" Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Matte Paper, formatted for a standard 8x10. Printed on a Epson Stylus R1900 with UltraChrome Archival quality inks meant to last a lifetime.

Print will be signed and packaged in a cellophane wrapper with an acid-free backing board and certificate.

may recap + island fox

2011-06-06T22:26:00.009-04:00

It's been awhile since I've written a blog post and all I really have to say to that is, sometimes you feel like it and sometimes you don't (because Almond Joys got nuts and Mounds don't! -- I had to add that in.) There was too much rain and gray skies in May and I just wasn't feeling the whole blog thing. Now it's sunny and the flowers are perking up and the grass looks beautiful and the birdies are chirping. Summer is my kinda season!

Here's what I have been up to over the last few weeks:

• participated in the flint handmade spring art fair

• took a tour of the rust belt market - i'll be there a vendor on saturday, june 18th from 11-7pm!

• went to visit my friend in lansing for a girls' weekend

• spent the memorial holiday at the cottage on drummond island

• dropped off some work at melody's lane in mackinaw city

• getting my garden ready for summer. lots of flowers, veggies & herbs

• bicycle riding on my gigi bike (i miss her so much during the winter)

• working on some new paintings for prints, cards and more!

I started my most current painting while I was at the cottage, but just finished it today while painting on our patio. I hardly ever paint wildlife but I must have been thinking about our trip up to the cottage so I gathered up some photo reference before we left. "Island Fox" is the first of my Drummond Island wildlife series. Eventually, I'd like to have enough paintings to create a notecard set with all of the prints. Prints in 8x10 are now available in my Etsy shop and soon Yellow Door Art Market in Berkley, MI.

flint spring craft market

2011-05-04T08:57:00.002-04:00

Here's where I'll be this Saturday.

Bring Mom and make it a fun Mother's Day weekend!

Reuben Soup

2011-04-19T06:00:00.001-04:00

If it's going to keep acting like winter outside, you might as well keep your belly warm with some delicious soup. My husband likes reuben sandwiches. He was gone away for business last week and he was hoping for something delicious for dinner when he got back that evening. So, I thought about it for awhile and I had this reuben soup recipe that I had been meaning to try for quite awhile, because there's a local bar + grill near our house that made reuben soup (that he loved) and they no longer make it. However, once I made the soup and tasted it according to the directions, it was rather dull and lacked that special zip that you get when you eat the sandwich. So... I started tinkering with ingredients and writing them down as I added them to the pot. After about 15 minutes with a little dash of this and a little dash of that, I tasted it and was quite pleased with the results. I took some down to my neighbors and she loved it too! She liked it so well she asked for the recipe and made it last night for her family for dinner.

Reuben Soup

1/2 c. diced onion

1/2 c. diced celery

1/4 c. butter, cubed

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 c. beef broth

2 c. half -n- half cream

1 c. 2% milk

1/4 lb. sliced deli corned beef, coarsely chopped

1-14 0z. can sauerkraut, rinsed and well-drained

2 T. ketchup

2 T. tomato paste

1 t. sugar

1 c. (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

1/8 t. caraway seeds (optional)

1/4 t. salt, plus more to taste

1/4 t. pepper, plus more to taste

In a large pot, saute' the onion and celery in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minute or until thickened.

Reduce heat to med-low. Stir in the cream and milk. Whisk in ketchup, tomato paste, sugar and caraway seeds. Add corned beef, sauerkraut, salt + pepper; heat through (do not boil). Whisk in cheese until melted.

Enjoy!

Two "NEW" Barbie Watercolor Prints!

2011-04-18T10:29:00.006-04:00

"Green Tweed Jacket"

"Mustard Topper"

Just a few weeks back I debuted two new Barbie watercolor original paintings at my show in Lake Orion at the Flint Street Gallery/Little Monsters toy shop. Today I added the archival prints to my Etsy shop! There are two sizes available which are: 5x5" square (sized to fit an affordable, IKEA Ribba 9x9" frame that comes with a nice mat as well) and an 8x10" (which fits any standard 8x10 frame).

I hope you like them!

P.S. I'll let you in on a little secret. My goal is to have 2 more vintage Barbie paintings for a total of 12 completed paintings, before the end of the year so that I can design calendars for 2012. Two more paintings... coming soon!

Creatively Yours,

Cheryl

elmhurst art museum - chicago

2011-04-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

I have some pretty exciting news!

About a month ago I was contacted by the Elmhurst Art Museum in a suburb of Chicago. They wanted to know if I would be interested in selling my work thru them in their museum shop. Did I even have to think about it? No - well maybe for a millisecond! Of course the answer was... YES!

I've been busy making up mid-century modern chair single cards, boxed card sets and button sets. I can't wait for them to be on display in the museum shop! The buttons sets that will be sold at the museum are now in sets of 5 because just last week I finished up a new chair design and I am now also including my Turquoise Molded Plastic Rocker. The new chair will be announced very soon!

Wanna check 'em out on Facebook?

dancing eye gallery - northville, mi

2011-04-12T15:46:00.007-04:00

The days are getting warmer and sunnier and people are finally getting out and about. HOORAY, it finally feels like Spring!!!

If you're looking for something fun to do, then check out downtown Northville. It's loaded with unique shops and restaurants. So treat yourself to some lunch and shopping, and then why not walk on over to check out The Dancing Eye Gallery. If you're already familiar with the gallery then you know you'll find lots of amazing art goodies inside. If you haven't... boy, are you ready for an artistic treat! Guess what? You can now find my work there too! Last week I dropped off cards, prints and button sets. There's some seasonal cards for Easter + Mother's Day too! To stay updated with the most current news at Dancing Eye check out their facebook page too!

the show...

2011-04-11T13:22:00.016-04:00

The opening of my show was so fun! First I'd like to say a big thank you to Chris & Leila from Little Monsters and The Flint St. Gallery for hosting my show. Then a big thank you to all of my friends and family that showed up to the event! It turned out to be a great day, no really... 77 and SUNNY! A crazy out of the blue perfect day. It felt like mid-June! Anyway... it was fun chatting about art, sipping wine and noshing on cheese + crackers. I didn't get photos of all of the artwork that was hung or even everyone that attended but here are a few photos...

my friends christy + chris (cuties!)

my nephew connor (he loved the store!)

my pal maggie + her friend jeff

our hostesses: chris + leila

that's my mom in the purple and my hubby jeff in orange in the back

my two aunts: joann + carol

my mom-in-law mary lou in the blue (and a little rhyming too!)

my artist pal jen + her cutie-patootie gianna

grandma sullivan (psssst! she's 99 and lookin' fabulous)

sock monkey mommy's day card

2011-04-08T20:28:00.007-04:00

Last week when we went out to Little Monsters/Flint St. Gallery to drop off my work for my show this Sunday, I had to look around at all of the fantastic toys again. Truly though, I still haven't spent enough time there looking at all of the goodies. My husband said that he thinks I should work there. I really do love toys! However, I did happen to spy this cute, baby sock monkey. It is an absolute perfect match to my larger one that I have at home. Together they make an adorable set and they also inspired me to make a Mother's Day card. The card is now available for sale in my Etsy shop. It's never to earlier to start thinking about Mom! :o)

art -n- good eats!

2011-04-03T16:15:00.007-04:00

Today was a great day, despite the rainy, snowy Spring weather we had today here in Michigan. First we went to drop off my work for my art show in Lake Orion at The Flint St. Gallery. While we were out there, we got a recommendation from my friend Kelli to check out Union Woodshop for lunch since we were out that way.

The restaurant has a very cool, art deco retro vibe with warm cozy, glowing lights, candles on the tables and lots of wood with kraft paper on the tables. The first thing you smell upon entering the building is wood from the wood burning oven. You're immediately in cozy heaven! I enjoyed the food presentation just as well the food itself with the serving dishes being a mix of regular white dishes and metal, half-size jelly roll pans. Very fitting I thought to the overall theme/feel of the restaurant.

We decided to do some share-sies so we could try out more of what the restaurant had to offer. We shared the special appetizer of smoked venison sausage with Bourbon, Michigan Cherry Mustard, Union Mac & Cheese, Grilled Chicken Club Samiches and for dessert the Butter Scotch Pudding.

The Venison Sausage was smoked-perfectly, and finished with a shade of spice. The sauce was slightly, spicy but, chocked full of whole, plump Michigan cherries which was was a pleasant surprise, since I thought it was going to be more of a pureed sauce. Needless to say, the sauce accompanied the sausage wonderfully. For only $4.50... it's a must try.

Okay, hands down, this is the BEST baked Mac & Cheese I have ever eaten. It's a huge portion of penne pasta with a Bechamel sauce, loaded with Vermont Sharp Cheddar, Pinconning and the most amazing Parmesan crunchy crust. I can't stress it to you enough how amazing the crust was. Perfectly, cheesy, deep-golden brown and crispy. This is a main course and if you like, you can add ham to it as well. We opted for ham-less.

This is not your normal Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich. No sir. For starters, the maple bacon is house made. Yes, I said it, house made! It has the perfect amount of maple-flavor and is thick-cut with that salty, chewy bite that every bacon lover loves. It's too bad they don't sell it by the pound, because we inquired and my husband was ready to buy some for home. The Memphis Mayo is a tomato/vinegar base and definitely adds to the overall flavor of the sandwich while not to overpower. Along with the sandwich you also get a generous portion of potato salad, this salad is not just an accompaniment or after thought as you find with most restaurant sides. It's loaded with big chunks of Yukon Gold potatoes, fresh dill, whole grain mustard, red onion and again some more of that amazing house made bacon. I detected some celery seed as well. I'd go back just for the potato salad. Yes, it's that good!

The waitress who was very on top of her game, was very helpful and courteous and recommended the Butter Scotch Pudding for dessert if we were up for it. I only had half of my half of sandwich so I could make sure I had room for dessert. So, pudding. I'm not a big pudding fan. This was creamy and dreamy and what butterscotch pudding dreams to taste like. It's topped with fresh whipped cream and house-smoked sea salt. Intrigued? So were we... but very happy with our choice. It was that perfect combination of that subtly salty-sweet we craved at the end of our meal.

The kitchen was bustling for a late lunch crowd and the dishes for the other patrons were coming out of the kitchen at a rapid-pace. Everything looked dandy! Wood-Fired pizzas, Woodsticks (which are wood-fired breadsticks with a garlic -butter cream cheese dip -- a carb-lovers dream!) Burgers, Baby Back Ribs, Cedar Planked Salmon, Smoked Ribeye, Brisket, and more... This is definitely a gem in Clarkston. Check 'em out on facebook too! There's several pics of their dishes. If you plan on heading out to a concert this Summer at DTE, I'd go out out that way early and make a pre-concert stop for lunch or dinner!

Before I head out, this one is for the ladies! If you check out the restaurant, go take a peek in the rest room near the kitchen to see the graphic, purple & gold deco wallpaper and gold-leaf ceiling. Ultra hip, stylish!

solo exhibition : flint street gallery

2011-03-27T08:31:00.007-04:00

I have BIG news and I'm super excited about it! I'm having a solo art exhibition at the Flint St. Gallery located within "Little Monsters" in Lake Orion. The focus will be on my Barbie doll illustrations and I'll have some other work there as well. The opening reception is Sunday, April 10th from 4-6 pm. I'd love to see lots of familiar faces! The show runs from April 4th - May 28th.

About the gallery/store:

The Flint St. Gallery is inside of the Little Monsters. Little Monsters is owned by Christine McKenna and Leila Freijy. If you've ever seen the movie "You Got Mail" with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, think of the cute, neighborhood friendly bookstore that Meg's character owned in the film. It's got the same vibe as that, but with toys. Everything is so unique. You'll find toys you definitely won't be finding at the big-box toy stores and toys made in the U.S. I could have spent hours in there just looking at all of the fun stuff. What I really loved is that Leila's son drew their logo! Chris and Leila are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all of the products they sell in the shop and are willing to help you pick out that perfect toy! What's also great about them is that they love art, are big on community spirit and they love promoting local artists! In the back of the shop they have created the Flint St. Gallery. The gallery typically hosts individual shows from 2-3 months. Immediately upon walking into the store, I knew this place was for me! It definitely fits my kid at heart personality and I'm so excited to be hosting my first solo show with them.

Hope to see you there!

16 W. Flint Street, Lake Orion, MI 48361

248.814.8697

Psst... I have more exciting news coming soon too!

creatively yours,

cheryl

chicken pot pie

2011-03-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

I roasted a chicken the other day for our dinner. Unless we have guests, we always have a lot of leftover chicken, which we love, so really... I'm not complaining. Instead of of my usual standbys like chicken salad or chicken enchiladas, I felt like a belly-warming pot pie. Around last Thanksgiving, I found a recipe by Giada on the Food Network that was used for leftover turkey and pancetta. She's one of my favorite Food Network chefs. So, I just replaced the turkey with chicken and I didn't have any pancetta on hand, but I did have some bacon -- which worked in a pinch just as nicely. This recipe is a little timely, probably best kept for the weekend, unless you make the filling the day before and the crust the day you want to bake them. The parmesan-cornmeal crust is to die for! Before you even take one bite your senses are in a nutty, parmesan trance. Definitely a keeper for next Thanksgiving turkey leftovers! Enjoy...

sock monkey easter bunny card

2011-03-11T08:36:00.006-05:00

What's cuter than a regular ol' sock monkey? That would be a sock monkey dressed up like the Easter Bunny! Hippity - hoppity Easter's on it's way! Cards now available in my Etsy shop and coming soon to Yellow Door.

Micro-fine glitter embellishments on the front of card.

inside greeting: hoppy easter • card size: A2 - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"

to be inspired.

2011-03-09T21:57:00.015-05:00

Have you ever looked at someone's artwork and been so inspired you think to yourself, "I'd like to try that style." Well, that's EXACTLY what happened to me yesterday. I got an email that someone new was following me on Twitter, so I clicked their name and it went to this super, cool textile workshop called Harvest Textiles in Australia. Check out their site. It's amazing. In the meantime here's a few examples of a screen printing class that they offer. All I can say is gorgeous and dang, why do they have to be in Australia?!

Then on their website I found this artist who is teaching a watercolor class at their shop, who has this loose, sort of skewed watercolor style where mainly she focuses on food and packaging. Her name is Dawn Tan. I'm in love with her style. Here's a few examples:

Well I have to say... it was like the little lightbulb (it was more like the old, cube-like flash bulbs from vintage cameras if you really want to know) went off inside my head because what do I love most... food and my watercolor paints. By now if you read my blog, you know I usually illustrate these tight, detailed images. I remember as a child I used to love going grocery shopping with my Mom to mainly stare at all of the food packaging as I rode in the cart seat while dangling my feet in food delight. I could be at well, any store and if some cool packaging caught my eye, I could spend time in the food aisles for hours. I love the international food aisle at my grocery store. For one, you already know I love to cook and new ingredients mean new yummy dishes, but also from an eye candy perspective, packaging is well... amazing to me. After all, most of us buy products solely because the packaging is interesting to us. I also remember that I used to love drawing food and well any kind of packaging. I remember drawing some Clinique makeup products in high school as one of our assignments in art class. I loved the intricate details of the fonts, and the shiny qualities of the metallic cap and then just the opposite end of the tube being a matte finish.

I decided to throw some caution to the wind and have some fun with my sketchbook tonight. A new sketchbook too I might add, so that's exciting in itself as you know. So, I pranced into the kitchen (oh yes... I did prance) and whipped open the cupboard doors and the first thing that jumped out at me was Nutella. So, I plopped myself in front of the tv and instead of watercolors I used colored pencils. I really wanted that kinda skewed perspective that Dawn kinda did, so I tried to skew the cap in my drawing oddly a bit. I really wanted to do watercolors on this exercise but, I also didn't want to drag my watercolor gear to the living room. Plus, my watercolors that I use are tubes and tubes can be a drag sometimes, squirting out the paint, mixing the colors... On a side note, I have my eye on a 36-pan set of watercolors that I'm dying to purchase soon.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the process of just drawing and looking at the object for all of it's beautiful details. Here I go again with the details. I have to tell you though, I think I should have chosen a box of chicken stock, or maybe the sun-dried tomatoes, because before I could even start adding color to my illustration I had to dive into that darn jar of Nutella. Yes, that's what Nutella does to me. It calls to me.... Cheryl.... you know I'm so delicious! Come see me in the kitchen. Eat some, go ahead. Forget that I'm 200 calories a tablespoon. So, I did... I ate some and dang, that Nutella is so deadly, delicious. But, after my indulgence I got back to work with the color.

My drawing was still pretty detailed. I think looking at it, it's different from my usual style but, it's not really as loose as Dawn's style either. I tried not to be too crazy anal about the exact proportions of the type. I just can't seem to get myself to loosen up to that degree. I do have to say that it was much more enjoyable just doing what I felt. Letting go to just enjoy the drawing exercise. I'm going to try to loosen up my next piece and I definitely want to use some watercolors too, because I think the watercolors are a great way to capture the loose style. All in all, it was really fun and I'm pleased with the end results... except for the 200-300 calories of Nutella that I woofed!

Illustration Friday : Warning

2011-03-08T19:08:00.005-05:00

Warning: May Cause Drowziness

I've decided to start participating in Illustration Friday. Every Friday of each week you get a topic to illustrate. This week's topic was "warning." So... I illustrated a girl drinking a very, fizzy soda that she didn't read the label on and next thing you know she was asleep on the table.

Wood Block Prints

2011-03-04T06:00:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago I decided that I would like to try putting my For Charles & Ray Eames chair prints on wood blocks. So I purchased some wood blocks and well, after some paint and a few coats of varnish they look fantastic! I added a sawtooth hardware piece to the back so it's easy to hang. I think that's what I really love about them. You just need a nail and that's it. No framing required. I also love that you have the option to hang them or you could even stack them. I'm taking one set out to Yellow Door so depending on how they do, I may have them on Etsy. I'd love to hear some feedback!

The "live what you love" print is a letterpress print (i adore letterpress) that I purchased from Heartfish Press on Etsy by Hijiri Shepard to hang in my new studio. My Dad made us the clock a few years after we got married. I just love that clock!

Black & White Swimsuit Barbie

2011-03-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

Here she is... the classic, original Barbie! I'm not sure why I have waited so long to illustrate this particular Barbie because she's the one I have (well, I don't have the original I have a model that came out in the 80's to look like the original). I also have an ornament that Hallmark came out with in the 90s I believe.

This is the newest Barbie to add to my collection of vintage-looking Barbie illustrations. What else is really exciting is that I'm now going to start offering my Barbie prints in a larger 11x14" size. They will soon be added to my Etsy shop. This illustration like all of the rest will also be offered in the 5x5 (sized for an ikea ribba 9x9" frame) and 8x10 sizes. All of them will be available in my Etsy shop and at Yellow Door Art Market.

perfect roast chicken

2011-03-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Before

I'm convinced that the perfect dinner is a roast chicken. But, not any roast chicken recipe will do... the recipe I have been using for the last four or five times I've made one has been from the Barefoot Contessa with some minor tweaks that I have made. For one we love roasted veggies at our house, so I've started roasting not only potatoes and carrots, but also parsnips and brussel sprouts. A caramelized sprout is a delicious treat! What I love about making roast chicken for dinner is that it is DELICIOUS and SIMPLE! Lately, I've been really busy and making a simple, easy to prepare dinner is exactly what I'm after. I've started to make this chicken once a week, and what is even better yet, leftover chicken for sandwiches or soup... or maybe even some chicken enchiladas! Yum...

After

Perfect Roast Chicken

from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook - serves 3 to 4

1 5 to 6 lb. roasting chicken

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme

1 lemon, quartered

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in the roasting pan. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, the lemon quarters and all of the garlic. Lift up the skin from the breast of the chicken and rub some of the butter under the skin onto the breast and legs. Brush the outside of the chicken with the remaining butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tuck the wing tips underneath the body of the chicken. Scatter the onion slices around the chicken.

To roast vegetables with your chicken:

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 bunch brussel sprouts, outer leaves cleaned and ends snipped

1 spanish onion, thickly sliced

3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks

3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

12 baby yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, skin left on

Drizzle olive oil over all vegetables. Sprinkle salt and pepper, toss vegetables and place into roaster around the sides of the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours (or till a meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees) until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

figgy + fern

2011-02-23T07:57:00.009-05:00

I've been sketching more often lately... mostly while we watch tv in the evenings, because there's not many shows on tv that I'm interested these days. It's the best time of day for me to relax and unwind with my sketchbook.

Anyway, Figgy + Fern derived from a sketchbook session the other day. Figgy is Fern's dog. I was thinking about maybe trying to write and illustrate some little stories about them. I also thought it would be fun to have the stories coming from Figgy's perspective on life. I know for sure I'll be doing more illustrations because they came out so cute.

The finished illustration is done in watecolor with a digital background. The archival 8x10 print is now available in my Etsy shop! I've love to hear what you think about Figgy + Fern!

sometimes i...

2011-02-21T18:24:00.004-05:00

like to wear a cute pin on my jean jacket and on my messenger bag. If you do too, then check out two new button sets at Yellow Door Art Market or in my Etsy store.

contemporary interior design with vintage barbie prints

2011-02-19T09:05:00.009-05:00

Occasionally I get photos from my clients showing where they have hung my artwork in their homes. I love seeing how they have framed the work and the decorating of their home too. It really makes me happy to know that someone is enjoying my work.

I received some really beautiful photos from a client who a few months back had purchased four of my 8x10 Barbie prints to hang in her new designed and decorated living room. She framed them in black with wide black matting. They really look stunning. I really love the style of her place and they really give the vintage Barbie prints a stylish vibe. Thanks so much for sending the photos!

I get a lot of people asking me if people buy these prints mainly for little girls bedrooms. Most of the time I have no idea where people put them unless I'm lucky enough to have a conversation with my client. Personally, that's why I love these photos because it just shows how stunning this vintage icon can look in a setting for the whole family. What I've always loved about the vintage Barbie is that she's a classic. She's something most people can connect with and she represents something much bigger than a just a doll.

kelly moore bags : b-hobo

2011-02-17T17:45:00.007-05:00

I have an SLR camera but I don't carry it around much because well, the camera bag that I have I don't like very much. I have a big clunky, backpack bag, that is really only good for our trips to our cottage or other outdoorsy trips. My friend Kelli from Purple Tree Photography is a professional photographer and she's always keeping me in the know about the coolest new photography stuff. I told her about my dilemma about not carrying my camera around that much and that's when she clued me in on the Kelly Moore bags!

It's great because Kelly Moore is a professional photographer, so she understands what people are looking for in a great photo bag. They are stylish so they don't look like a clunky camera bag, especially if you want to be incognito with your camera bag and still look hip. You can still carry things like your wallet, cell phone, keys, lip gloss etc... that you would normally carry in your purse. There's several styles, but my favorite style is called the B-Hobo bag. It's got a fashionable looking flap, plenty of room for my camera body and a few lenses, plus all of my personal belongings. They come in great colors too (psst! I like Mustard)! I don't have one of these bags yet, but it's on my wish list. Oh, and hey, there's a cool guy's messenger style bag too, so the fellas aren't left out either!

mash : pommegranate blueberry

2011-02-10T18:09:00.008-05:00

I'm the kind of person that when I find something that I love I want to tell everyone else about and maybe they will love it too. My new love is mash. What's mash you say? Well, it's a low-calorie flavored, fizzy water (not overly fizzy). The flavor I happened to try today was pommegranate blueberry. I do realize that pomegranate is spelled wrong, but that's how they spell it.... I have no idea why.

Anyway, we went out to lunch today at Pot Belly. Which I love too by the way because I love a warm, toasty sandwich with melted cheese and the fact that they have warm, hearty soups and chili. I love Jimmy Johns, but I wish they had soup. Anyway... I digress. As I was deciding on what I wanted to eat, so many delicious choices at Pot Belly, I looked down and in the glass beverage case I see this unusual, and striking plastic bottle. I read the label, saw that it was pomegranate & blueberry, two of my favorite flavors in one so snagged it for my beverage with lunch. I'm always drawn to packaging, thanks to my design background . Sometimes I've been sorry about my choices due to packaging design, but not this time.

The water is slightly fizzy. I'm not a big soda pop drinker and typically I just drink plain ol' water, but sometimes I want something with a little flavor and this was delicious and lower in calories than drinking regular soda if you are a soda drinker. At this point I have no idea where else you can find it, but I did notice there's a website coming soon. I hope I'll be able to find this beverage soon at my local market or maybe even Target. The cost at Pot Belly was $2 for a 20fl oz. bottle. I can't wait to try some more flavors! If you have tried another flavor let me know how it was and where you bought it too!

paint swatch

2011-02-10T08:05:00.002-05:00

As we continue to work on our kitchen, I thought I'd show you a sneak peek of the ceramic floor (which reminds me of stained concrete) and a swatch of red that is being used on one small accent wall in our kitchen too!

project kitchen continues...

2011-01-26T20:48:00.014-05:00

For over a year now, we've had a work in progress in our kitchen. First, we got new appliances, then we had a new counter top & sink installed and a mosaic backsplash. Things got put on hold for a year when we found out my Dad was sick. Now that he's doing better (well, slowly getting better), we're back at it again. A few weeks ago, the floor finally got finished and it's GORGEOUS! Totally worth waiting for. We had ceramic tile installed for the kitchen floor, the landing to the basement and the steps leading downstairs to my studio.

I saved lots of pennies to splurge on this iridescent, mosaic glass tile from Oceanside Tile. We purchased ours from Virginia Tile in Farmington Hills. It's been so long since we've been back at the kitchen that I may have even posted some of these photos before!

Both photos are from the tile brochure. The color we chose is on the second image (top left) called: Anthracite. We also purchased this tile from Virginia Tile.

Today I sanded the walls, because about 9 years ago, we decided to do a painting technique with glaze on the lower portion of the walls underneath the chair rail and it really needed to be sanded before we would paint over it. The chair rail is being removed so there was a lot of sanding! To tell you the truth, we never thought we'd be the ones to have to sand it or at least I never thought I'd be the one having to sand it. I have to say I thought the power sander was going to be more fun, but it wasn't. What a huge mess!

So, since we had to put everything on hold for awhile. I had begun putting together a folder of my ideas and a digital folder full of images. One of the things I had been brainstorming about was an area rug by Flor. We had one previously and it worked out so nicely, that we decided we should do another for the new kitchen too. Here's a sneak peek on the 9-piece rug from FLOR that will eventually be going into our kitchen as an area rug near the sink & stove. The image is from the Flor website. I love the chairs in this photo too!

The Flor carpet tile is from the Ins & Outs group. Color: Black

Another part of kitchen is the dining room. At some point, the wall between the kitchen and dining room had been opened up to create more flow from the living room, dining room and kitchen, like many homes built today. I chose a new chandelier for the space from West Elm... that I LOVE! We finally ordered it and it has arrived, but I have to say I was shocked speechless to see that every little glass link is wrapped separately & securely in it's own little section tucked into foam. This is going to be a job putting this baby together, something that I haven't shared with the husband yet. He may freak. I definitely have more patience on this sort of thing.

More to come soon!

molded plastic rocker

2011-01-24T21:30:00.008-05:00

I've just added a new mid-century, modern Eames furniture chair to my collection of paintings the Turquoise Molded Plastic Rocker. This painting like my others has been created in gouache. I love this medium for it's opaque qualities and I think it suits this era of furniture very well. I have an 8x10" and a 5x5" size available in my Etsy shop. The 5x5" size fits a 9x9" IKEA Ribba frame. The frames come with a nicely cut mat and are available in white, black, metallic silver and a natural wood finish. It gives the print a professional framed look for an affordable price. I'll be dropping off some prints of this chair to Yellow Door very soon!

the lunch studio and flint handmade

2011-01-19T08:30:00.010-05:00

If you're hungry and you're going to be out and about near downtown Flint check out The Lunch Studio for a tasty sandwich, soup or salad! While you're there, check out the Flint Handmade shop within the restaurant for some cute, handmade Valentines! I'm excited to have my Valentine Owl, Dancing Cups, and Puppy Love cards and prints there!

valentines day : oh, how i love you!

2011-01-13T15:15:00.015-05:00

I love Valentine's Day! What's not to like about a holiday that has solely to do with love? It doesn't necessarily have to just be about that special someone. There are so many people in my life that I love and that I am truly thankful that they are in my life. I love them with all of my heart. There are things, places, and memories to love too!

Here's a few new valentine cards I've posted to my Etsy store and will be available at Yellow Door Art Market, starting Saturday, January 14th. I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Dancing Cups

A2 size card: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" with red envelope

micro-fine glittered details on eiffel tower & lamp posts

front: be mine

inside message: happy valentine's day

Also available in an 8x10 customized print!

Valentine Owl

A2 size card: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" with red envelope

micro-fine glitter details on heart

front: hoo love u?

inside message: i do! happy valentine's day

Also available in an 8x10 print!

•

Also, I'm bringing back my Puppy Love card!

Puppy Love

A2 size card: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" with red envelope

digital illustration with microfine glitter details + stitching

inside message: with love

buttons, buttons and oh some magnets too!

2011-01-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty excited about some new items that I'll be offering at Yellow Door and my Etsy shop for 2011!

My sock monkey illustration buttons were quite popular at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair holiday show so I've decided to add some more designs to mini 1" buttons. Adding to my button collection, I'll be having the three Eames chair illustrations and seven Barbie illustration buttons. I've decided to sell the buttons in sets at Yellow Door and I haven't quite decided if I'll be selling the buttons in sets or sold individually on Etsy. Decisions, decisions...

For those of you that love magnets, I'll be having mini 1" magnets made of each of my three Eames styled chair illustrations and the seven Barbie illustrations too! I'm going to sell the magnets in singles.

Look for mini buttons & magnets at Yellow Door & my Etsy store mid-February!

I have some other new items coming soon for 2011! I can't wait to tell you about them really soon!

be mine : customized valentine print

2011-01-07T13:45:00.006-05:00

Mr. Espresso cup & Ms. Hot Cocoa cup are dancing their Valentine's Day away, in the streets of Paris and this lovely illustration can be customized too! For purchase see my Etsy store.

CUSTOMIZED INFORMATION:
• Customize this print with your initials + your valentine's initials "or" you can have "be mine" in the heart. Please see the last two photo examples on my Etsy listing for how the initial version will look.

• Please specify in the "message to seller" at checkout if you would like "initials" or "be mine" format in the heart and please don't forget to add the initials the way you would like them too! All initials will be lowercase in the same font as shown with the + sign between the initials. If you do not specify in the message to seller, I'll assume you would like "be mine." No returns/exchanges are available on customized prints.

Print size: 8x10
Paper size: 8 1/2 x 11"

Print will be signed and packaged in a cellophane bag with backing board for stability.

Valentine cards coming soon in this design!

sailor

2011-01-05T20:25:00.007-05:00

This is Sailor...

and his best friend Brad.

A few months ago though... Sailor got very, very sick suddenly in the night. Brad rushed him to the ER vet. After being there awhile with no hope of Sailor getting well, the vet asked Brad to make the toughest decision of his life, and sadly had to put poor Sailor to sleep. Brad was so terribly sad. If you knew Brad then you knew that Sailor meant the world to him. The saddest part.... the saddest part of all for me, was reading his sketchbook entry about that night at the vet and about how much his little Sailor meant to him. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even read the entry out loud to Jeff, so he had to read it himself and it brought him to tears as well. So moved by all of that, I discussed with Jeff that maybe a painting of his old friend would be a nice way to commemorate his life. So I did. Here's a pic Brad snapped for me of the painting hanging in his home, since I forgot to take a photo of it before I gave it to him.

the perfect gift : lil' portraits

2010-12-19T08:31:00.005-05:00

I wanted to share some new lil' portraits that I was commissioned to do for a grandma's christmas gift. Check out these lil' cutie-pies! They were so fun to work on and I hope it's a nice surprise for grandma too! They really do make the perfect personal gift and if this grandma is like my grandma... they already have everything and thinking of the perfect gift becomes really hard, but there's one thing for sure... they love anything to do with their grandchildren. I also created some shrink film ornaments of the same paintings for mom and grandma. Nice keepsakes to be adorned on their Christmas tree year after year!

holiday wrapping

2010-12-15T15:28:00.006-05:00

Now that we're full swing into the holiday season I've been busy wrapping up the gifts as we purchase them or as they arrive from the man in the big brown truck. I like to wrap them as we get them so we can enjoy looking at them under the tree for awhile before they are all ripped to shreds in a matter of seconds.

Normally, I'm out searching for the prettiest gift wrap I can find, and usually I prefer Hallmark or Papyrus, and the reason for Hallmark is that I like the fact that they print lines on the inside of the roll for straight cutting... (which I hope they always continue to do...) then I'm off to the craft store buying oodles of ribbon. This year I thought I'd be a little more crafty and turns out I'm saving a lot of money too. So, I had this roll of kraft brown paper laying around that was never even opened and I decided that I would start wrapping the gifts in this roll. All of the gifts will be wrapped in recycled paper this year, and even if I have to buy some bags for odd shaped gifts that cannot be boxed I'll still go with the kraft bags for a nice cohesive look under our Christmas tree. I went thru my ribbon box and I already had several different styles of red ribbon so I that was it, and I decided to go with some kind of red ribbon, string or twine. I did go to the craft store and purchase several more styles of ribbon, and as luck would have it all of them were on sale too. While I was standing in line, I got sucked into some fuzzy red and green pom-poms and red buttons from the $1 bin that will later be hot-glued onto some packages. But, hey... they were from the dollar bin and I think they make the packages look fantastic. I am in love with bakers twine so I had to use some of that as well. Then while perusing the aisles, I got a bag of red jingle bells and some random picks for wreaths that I thought would look nice on a package. I also used some stamps and silver metallic ink that I had from home. Then the other day while shopping at Whole Foods, I saw this big display of big, gourmet flavored candy canes (pomegranate, nutmeg and pear and many more but those were the ones that I chose) by Hammond Candies, and there was a gal loading up her basket full of them and she remarked how wonderful they were so of course I plopped a handful of them in my basket too. I got lucky and they were also on sale for $1.99 each, and these are not thin, wimpy looking candy canes these are thick and rather dapper looking canes. I hope the gal was right and they are quite tasty. Before I get off of the subject of Whole Foods, I also purchased a tin full of teeny-tiny bite-sized cinnamon rolls.... 20 seconds in the microwave with a cup of tea and they are absolutely to die for. Which leads me to my next comment, why oh why can't there be a Whole Foods by where I live??? Anyway... enough of that but it really does irk the foodie in me that we do not have any great food markets that are not without a long-trek in the car someplace that usually involves snacks and possibly a coffee. Yes, that's how far I must travel for good eats. Okay.... never mind, enough rambling.

While I was trying to take some photos of the packages for the blog, our dog had to get in on the action of course. I think she thinks whenever I get out the camera.... it's all about her. But, she is so cute, so I couldn't resist!

after the DUCF... 2010

2010-12-08T08:14:00.011-05:00

WOW!

Is the first word that comes to mind!

What an amazingly, fun, exhausting, exciting weekend! I had SO MUCH FUN at the DUCF and it really warms my heart to get all of the nice feedback about my work. I had so many friends come out to see me and that's really appreciated too! I met a bunch of new artsy people and I just can't stop talking about how beautiful the Filmore Theatre is, how well the event was organized by the Handmade Detroit girls, how nice the staff was at the theatre and really well... how everything was just absolutely perfect. Even the veggie burgers and waffle fries were amazing!

Here's some quick pics of my table. While they are not the best photos because I just brought my little pocket camera on Sunday and I was in a rush to get some pics before the people started rolling in.... you can still what my table looked like.

Notecards and mini sock monkey buttons were a big hit!

Boxes and boxes of holiday cards!

Polymer clay art pendants with sterling silver chains and swarovski crystals!

Holiday cards, gift tags & needle-felted ornaments hanging on the tiny tree!

A gorgeous chandelier hanging inside the theatre!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

cyber monday holiday sale!

2010-11-28T09:14:00.004-05:00

Shop all-day this Monday (Nov.29th) in my Etsy store for 20% off your holiday orders! Discount applies to items purchased not shipping charges. Enter coupon code: CYBERMONDAY10 to receive the discount.

Happy Holidays!

where will you be?

2010-11-16T12:24:00.007-05:00

i don't know where you'll be on december 4th and 5th but, i know where i'll be and i think this is something that you should check out too! stop by and see me and a ton of other fabulously talented artists at the 5th detroit urban craft fair at the filmore theatre in detroit!

apple crostata with cheddar crust

2010-11-10T06:00:00.003-05:00

This crostata is simply perfect from the perfectly cooked, tender apples to the flaky, cheddar crust. I'm really not a big, pie-baking girl, probably because desserts, while I like them occasionally, I usually don't make them. But, I wanted to try this recipe because I was intrigued by the cheddar in the rustic-styled crust and we were having guests over so making a dessert seemed like a good idea. The bonus of this pie is that the crust recipe makes enough for 2 and you can freeze the other pie crust for up to a month. If you're intrigued as well, you should try it!

APPLE CROSTATA WITH CHEDDAR PIE CRUST
from Martha Stewart Living - Nov. 2010

FOR THE CRUST
1 disk Cheddar Pie dough (recipe follows)
1 large egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling (mine was from Williams Sonoma)

FOR THE FILLING
2 tart apples, Granny Smith or Gala
2 McIntosh apples or similar apple
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. apricot preserves, warmed

Make the crust: Roll out dough to a 13-inch round, about 1/8" thick, on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Make the filling: Toss together apples, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 375. Spread filling over dough, leaving a 1 1/2" border. Fold edges in to form a crust; brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Refrigerate until edges are firm about 30 minutes.

Bake crostata until apples are tender and crust is golden, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Brush apples with apricot preserves.

CHEDDAR PIE DOUGH
Makes 2-discs enough for 2 crostatas
Make ahead dough can be frozen for up to 1 month.

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
2 sticks cold, unsalted butter; cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 c. ice water
1 c. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

Pulse flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 1/4 c. water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse. Add cheese; pulse until combined.

Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to overnight.

cool crafty find!

2010-11-08T05:30:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already been a week since I scored this cool book. Last weekend my neighbors took me to my first estate sale. It was a bunch of mixed emotions while I was there. At first I was sad that the woman who lived there had just passed away. On the other hand, it was a bit like an exciting, treasure hunt walking thru this house, pulling open drawers, looking at furniture and random teacups, jewelry and kitchen ware. I didn't find anything I wanted to buy, but I'd definitely do that again.

On our way back we stopped at a garage sale, something else I rarely do, because I have enough of my own old stuff and I've been working really hard at de-cluttering our home. In a big box of books, mostly newer children's books, this cool 1960's era children's craft book peeked out of the top. I snatched it up immediately, with only looking at a few pages. I love things from that mid-century time period, but especially things with cool illustrations. This book was beat up on the cover and the binding is in need of some repair but inside it's filled with crafty goodies. As I looked thru this book it reminded me of simpler things, remembering back to being a child and how simple things created by hand are sometimes the best things. It reminded me of all of the fun craft projects I used to make with my Mom. One of my favorite little graphics is the little pirate in the bottom photo, he's on the left. I'll repair the binding with some glue and I keep thinking about what a great find this was for only 50 cents! I also kept picking up a box of "original" Tinkertoys... I'm kicking myself for not buying those as well. Oh well, on to the next treasure hunt!

happy halloween

2010-10-30T13:36:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone has a safe and spook-tacular Halloween-ie!

Here's our pumpkins that we carved last night. Now it's time to roast the seeds. YUM!

winter berries : original watercolor painting

2010-10-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I finished up a new watercolor painting called "winter berries" but, because I've been so busy working on my new studio space and getting ready for the opening of Yellow Door Art Market I haven't had a chance until now to take photos of this new piece.

We're steadily approaching my least favorite season, but over the past few winter seasons because I still walk regularly in the winter months outdoors, I've become more in tune with my outdoorsy side. I love seeing the glistening snow and in the midst of winter, bright red winter berries hanging on the tree branches. I think this little birdie is happy about the berries too!

Archival prints in 8x10 and 5x7 are now available in my Etsy shop. The framed original watercolor will be available at Yellow Door Art Market in Berkley, Michigan as well as archival prints and holiday cards (coming soon). The grand opening is Saturday, November 13th!

chicken chili bliss

2010-10-22T19:57:00.007-04:00

As I type this blog post, I am indulging in what could seriously be the "best" red chicken chili recipe I have ever tasted, and possibly the best chili I have ever had. I'm sure you purest chili lovers won't agree. You'll say, where's the beef or the competition chili lovers will say, but there's beans in there! I don't care... this is hands-down the most deliciously smoky, perfectly-palate balanced, meaty, rich and slightly spicy chili recipe and I'm glad I found you in my October 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe isn't one of those, open your cans of crushed tomatoes and dump all of the stuff in the pot kind of recipes. This is labor-intensive and worth every bit of time spent in the kitchen. Trust me, 'cause a foodie never lies about something quite as serious as good eats.

In the recipe it suggests making cornbread croutons and I don't think I'll ever eat chili at home without them ever again. It was seriously a hallelujah moment at my first bite! The tiny bites of salty, sweet cornbread goodness complimented this chili so perfectly. So, make your favorite cornbread (mine is slightly sweet), once the cornbread is cooled, cut the bread into 3/4" inch pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

The recipe also suggests making chili nachos with the leftovers and you can surely bet that I have already purchased the ingredients needed to make them too!

I should also mention that the recipe calls for red kidney beans. While my husband and I will eat a red kidney bean there are other beans that we prefer much more, so instead of kidneys I replaced them with a can of pinto beans.

Thank you Lucinda Scala Quinn from Mad Hungry for creating this amazing dish and to Martha for publishing it in her magazine!

studio sneak peeks

2010-09-27T07:46:00.004-04:00

I've spent the majority of last week working on the remodel of the studio. I'm not sure which day I started, but the prep work (which was way more intense than I originally had planned on and almost killed me) and a lot of the priming and painting got done over the past week. My Aunt came by to help and we knocked out a lot of painting on Saturday. I couldn't believe how much we got accomplished in one day. It's nice to have a painting buddy. I still have one long wall to do, which has doors and cabinets and shelving so it will be a little time consuming. Our neighbor came over and we finally got the old bar out of the basement as well as the old broken treadmill. I'll be back at it today but before I go, here's a few sneak peek pics!

The new brushed silver knobs that will be on all of the cabinets in the studio.

The room has one accent wall, which is Poinsettia Red, the remaining walls are white. There's one thing the studio needed and that was to brighten up the space. My plan is definitely working. For the red wall, I purchased the new Behr paint with the primer in it. I'm very impressed. I have always used Behr paint in the past, but I could not believe that in just one coat of paint it completely covered the old knotty pine paneling.

Before & After : Studio Table

2010-09-20T08:11:00.013-04:00

Besides purging out the basement for my studio for the last few weeks... I have been working on refinishing an old table that I almost threw out a few years ago. I apologize for my before pic because I didn't really think about taking a before pic of just the table and I had already a full coat of primer on it once I did think about it. My before pic is a little blurry and out of focus because it's actually a cropped photo of one of my before pics for my studio so that table wasn't my focus. Okay, anyway moving on....

BEFORE

Previously the table had a black top with sides that could fold up or down. The whole thing was in desperate need of something otherwise it would have found itself out on the curb.

AFTER

For the overall color of the piece, I used paint that I already had on hand which happened to be Behr Ultra White in a semi-gloss. The wall behind this piece is going to be red and the majority of the other furniture will also be white. This is also the same white paint that will be used for all of the trim for the studio when we get to that stage and is also the same white paint used for all of the trim work in our home.

I found some deep turquoise paint so I lighten it up with some white paint and painted the one interior shelf and the inside of the doors the light turquoise color.

I used a metallic silver spray paint for the hinges and once I installed the screws then I touched them up to with some metallic acrylic paint I had on hand.

The two things that I splurged a bit on were the interior lining paper and the knobs. The lining paper, which is wrapping paper that is called "Tweets" is sold per sheet was ordered online from one of my favorite letterpress studios Snow & Graham in Chicago. I purchased a few extra sheets of this paper because I have a few other small projects lined up for this paper as well. You'll see soon!

I wanted some unique looking knobs since I was painting the entire piece in white. The Color Swatch knobs were purchased from one of my favorite stores Anthropologie. If you're looking for unique knobs and hardware this is the place. The only thing that isn't done yet on the piece is that I'm having a piece of glass cut for the top from a local glass shop. I want to be able to slide things under the top and to protect the top finish as well.

witchy wishes...

2010-09-16T06:00:00.002-04:00

As soon as there is a crispness in the air, I'm already thinking about Halloween because I just simply love it! I just finished a new, gouache illustration called "Halloween Flight" with a cute, little witch on her broom and her sidekick Ollie the owl. These two are zipping about the Halloween night skies.

I printed the illustration for the card on a bright, white French Paper Co. cardstock, and embellished each card with some iridescent glitter medium. It's terribly cute! They are each packed with a Poppy Orange, Paper Source European styled envelope with rounded flap and packaged in a cellophane wrapper. The card is called "Witchy Wishes" and is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

it's coming together...

2010-09-15T06:00:00.002-04:00

Over the past few days I have been stressing a bit trying to figure out my wall plan for my set-up display at Yellow Door Art Market in Berkley, Michigan.

Here's what my criteria was in designing my space:

1) my display wall space - 6ft wide x 7ft tall

2) have an organized, professional looking space to incorporate the majority of my creations

3) for my design to fit in well with the design of Yellow Door's style

4) to be creative and to spend as little money as possible in creating my display

After a few days of searching online, shopping around locally, a Sunday morning spent on my computer designing the layout and I finally have a plan that I'm really happy with.

Luckily, I was able to use a lot of things that I already have at home. For one, I have a sideboard, narrow table that I redecorated years ago that was originally in my Great-Grandma's basement headed for the junk pile. I repainted it using a crackle finish with pale green as the bottom coat and the top crackle is white. The table has brushed stainless pulls on the four drawers. You see... we're in the process of updating our kitchen and I have been trying to figure out what I was going to do with my table anyway. So, I found a great use for it and I'm sure my Grandma would be happy to know I'm getting so much use out of it! Also, I have 2-white, ledge-style shelves in our kitchen they will also be used in my design for my framed original paintings. I found a silver metal shelf from west elm and "bonus", I had a gift card so, the shelf was free to me! While shopping online I found some wire baskets at Crate & Barrel. I'm going to mount those to the wall to hold my art prints of various sizes. So it turns out that I only need to purchase the wire baskets, some two-prong stainless steel hooks from Lowes or Home Depot (used to hang some of my ribbon-hung acrylic paintings and holiday ornaments), and mounting screws. There's a few more details I'm not mentioning here you'll have to come visit Yellow Door when they open for all the fun.

I love it when a plan all comes together!

kermit was right!

2010-09-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

I know why Kermit the Frog wanted to know why there are songs about rainbows... because they are absolutely amazing! One evening up on the island, a rainbow appeared after an dreadfully, long day of being cooped up watching the rain pour down. I took about four or five photos and this is the only one that really came out, and even then I'm not completely satisfied with it, but there it is captured in time to remember our rainbow on that long, rainy day. It just makes me realize that there's always something to be happy about for each and every day.

my dog loves me...

2010-09-13T06:00:00.003-04:00

But maybe not so much today.

My husband was taking a shower and I noticed there was a t-shirt of his laying on the bed. The dog had jumped up onto the bed so I decided to wrap her little head. Yes, I'm like a child... I know, I know, why do that to the poor dog? What even possesses me to do these things? Well, I did it and that's that. Anyway, she didn't seem to mind too much since it didn't disturb her rest on the bed, but then again... it wasn't like her tail was making that constant happy wiggle like it normally does. She looked so cute that my husband said we had to take a photo, then we took it off.

it really is the little things...

2010-09-12T08:25:00.009-04:00

three to be exact!

Early this Spring up at the cottage we planted three apple trees (Ida Reds and Honeycrisp). I couldn't believe it but, during our July trip, we noticed that one of the Ida Red trees had a few apples. We were pretty excited because when my husband purchased the trees they told us that they would most likely not bear fruit for a few years. Maybe next year we'll have enough to make a pie.

When we got up to the cottage this time, they were ready to be picked. I took some photos of our prized first crop, then picked two of the apples and left one to give to the deer. After my photos I sliced one to share for a snack.

summer recap : 2010

2010-09-02T07:38:00.005-04:00

Everyone keeps posting on facebook about Summer coming to an end, which kinda makes me sad to see my favorite season go, so I decided to write a list to remind me of all of the wonderful things no matter how big or small that I loved so much about this Summer.

• Adding a new flower garden w/my hubby and watching it grow

• Trying out lots of new BBQ recipes on the Weber

• Getting a new boat and fishing with Jeff and my Dad on his boat

• Being in my first art show

• Being a part of the 1st Maker Faire, Detroit at The Henry Ford in Dearborn

• Making some new artist friends

• Seeing the Yellow Finches & Hummingbirds in the garden!

• Getting accepted into Yellow Door Art Market

• Relaxing up at the cottage on Drummond Island

• Starting to work on my new studio space

• Salmon fishing in Muskegon

• Shooting lots of garden photos

• Watching our little nephew play soccer

• Cruising in the convertible in the evenings especially to my favorite place

• Fish fry's at the Tiki

• Having another great 39th birthday

• Drinking coffee on the patio in the morning & watching the sun come up

• Finally getting a hammock stand!

• Fresh basil from the garden & making pesto to last us all year long

• Bike-riding with Gigi

• Hangin' out with Jules & watching fireworks rooftop!

• Making blueberry scones with fresh, seasonal blueberries

• Watching the little garden mouse & bunny scurry around the yard

• BBQ at Jason & Kat's

There's one thing for sure... happiness in life is mostly about the simple, little things. What were your Summer favorites?

studio inspiration

2010-08-30T15:54:00.008-04:00

A year ago or two ago I was dreaming about a new studio space, and now it's finally happening. As you know from earlier blog posts I've been cleaning out my basement so that I can finally have a bigger workspace and we'll have a little workout area too. I'm excited that finally our basement will be more than a junk pit and will now be a space that we can use and enjoy.

Overall concept:

So... while I was busy dreaming about my studio space, I stumbled onto this image from Pottery Barn. I found something a few weeks ago in another catalog, and thought I'd go that route, but after reading this article about studios and how your space should be totally you, I went back to my original idea. I want to make sure this is going to be something that I'm going to be happy with for a long, long time. What I really like from the inspiration photo is the single, striking red colored wall with the crisp white furniture and silver accents. This is totally what I'm looking for to really brighten it up down there. My plans are to paint one wall red and the remaining walls, ceiling, trim and shelving in white.

Worktable:

At the time I also liked the concept of the worktable in the inspiration photo, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for as far as the storage on the sides and the tabletop is not as large as I would like it to be, and it's also more expensive than what I found that I really like. So bonus when I found this table unit at IKEA a few months ago. The one thing I love about IKEA is their ideas on organization and storage. I snapped this photo for my inspiration board.

Flooring:

My plans are to cover our dingy looking tiled floor with carpet squares in Gunmetal Gray.

Sneak peek:

Right now I'm working on a piece of furniture that has been in my husband's family for years. He said at one time it was a bar, then a tv stand and now my plans are to use it for storage and a packing station for shop orders. It's been sitting in our basement collecting dust and collecting junk on top of it -- until now. So, I'm repainting the piece and putting new knobs on the front and maybe something new inside too. I'm still working on my ideas for that. A few days ago I found some really cool knobs from Anthropologie so I decided to spring for them today and I ordered them.

I'll have more posts about the studio coming soon...

fun in the northern muskegon sun...

2010-08-29T08:51:00.006-04:00

Friday was a GREAT day! It was about the most fun I've had all summer and I'm not kidding you either. A group of us (my husband, my dad, my uncle G, our friend Dave and his son Steve) went to Northern Muskegon on a salmon charter for fishing. The boat was 35 ft. long with a flying bridge on top. Very cool. The weather was a balmy 78 degrees, the winds however were not cooperating. The water was rough, but I loved it! The swells were at least 6-ft high during some points of our 8-hr excursion. I pretty much spent my entire time up on the bridge, because the view was fantastic.

Since my Dad's surgery from this past Christmas it's been a long recovery for him. He loves to fish though and hasn't been able to get out onto his own boat much this Summer. Even though he was really tired when it was his turn to reel in a fish he sprung into action. It was great seeing him in his element and reeling in the biggest salmon that we caught that day.

Since it was so rocky it was "really" hard to get steady photos - I was lucky to snap a few. We brought home 6 king salmon and 1 trophy-sized brown trout. Yesterday we grilled up some salmon and fried some perch that we caught a few weeks back. I put a little rub on the salmon with dill and onion powder, S&P then finished the fish with a little drizzle of some sauce at the end. The sauce was lemon juice, chopped capers, chives, S&P and olive oil. It was fantastic. Probably the best salmon I've ever had -- and I'm not kidding, because sometimes I'm not into salmon all that much, especially when it's really fishy-tasting. But this was absolutely delicious!

I also would like to mention that the homes along the water in Northern Muskegon were gorgeous. Very cute area. I can't wait to go back. It was such a fun time!

It was definitely a nice break from the norm and spending time with our family and friends.

let's groove...

2010-08-22T09:09:00.005-04:00

To give you a little idea of what I'm dealing with in my basement/studio remodel, I've snapped a few sneak peek pics, while you're checking them out, think Earth, Wind and Fire! Not only do I think it, but every time, I go downstairs I swear I can hear, "Let's Groove" playing... At least I can dance my way into the laundry room. HA!

Oh yes, I have the ultimate in luxury flooring. It's what all of the rich & famous are going ga-ga for... it's brown and tan checkerboard tiles. Snazzy, huh! Uh, nooo. The solution to cover up this dreamy floor, is going to be carpet square flooring. Thank you for modern solutions!

Next up - real hardwood paneling.... Oh yes, the exquisite pine paneling is featured on most of the walls in our basement. Let's booooogie on down! Boooooogie on down! So, the solution, since I don't want to create even more work for myself, such as ripping it down and drywalling the whole room we're going to paint it.

There's also a section of some of the walls that have been covered with some textured wall paper. Some of it was peeling off so I figured, let's peel it even more and see what it's covering up. Perhaps at one time there was a saloon in our basement where men spat in spittoons and wore their ten-gallon hats and ordered sasaparilla. I'm not sure, but when I'm done with it, it's definitely going years into the future to bring it up to speed with a more modern vibe.

p o f i t

2010-08-11T17:51:00.011-04:00

p• urge

My studio room is so disorganized I can't even focus. I have stuff piling up everywhere. So, my hubby and I discussed moving the majority of my art studio downstairs and making a nice big, workspace for me, and then just having the upstairs room more like a computer room. So what does that involve, well... A LOT! Our basement since we got married almost 8 years ago has turned into what I call the pit. It's the pit because we live in a modest-size Ranch home that really should be enough space for two people, but really isn't with all of the things we have acquired over the years. I'm trying to make sense of what is down there and I'm trying to purge more stuff and reorganize so I can take my studio room contents downstairs.

o• rganize

I've already scoped out a cool work table from IKEA, but I'm hoping while I'm there I will get some more organization ideas. They are great for that stuff! I need a lot of organizing so that I can access my supplies easily, which is something that is not happening now.

I really don't want to spend a lot of money to move down there and I'd really like to utilize some furniture pieces and things we already have in our home, but maybe sprucing them up with a fresh, creative look. I'd like to paint the walls, possibly the floor and things like that, but I don't know if that's going to happen right now because really I just want to get back to working on my artwork and I just can't function in my space. However, it would be great if I could at least get the floor fixed up, because right now it has 1960's floor tile on it now that is looking pretty shabby.

i• nspire

When I look look around my current studio room I feel my neck tense up. All I can see is the piles of boxes and bins, stacks of papers, just wall to wall messiness and it makes me ill. I'm so much more organized than this and I want to scream when I'm in here! I'm pretty much a tidy artist which is why I think I like watercolor and gouache painting the best. The clean up is easy and it requires minimal space really. But, then my crafty side comes in and I have all of this other stuff. Stuff that I also enjoy, but this stuff and all of the supplies that go along with it, takes up a lot of space. Plus, if I keep jamming it in the closet or the bins I can't see it, and if I can't see it well, I don't use it. I forget what's even there and I may have duplicate supplies or supplies that I have totally forgotten I even own. Like today, I found a HUGE box of markers. HUGE! Which brought me back to all of the fun, marker illustrations I use to do in college. So, I may do some of those again! It's even inspiring to clean!

f• ocus

I'm also looking forward to the move because I get distracted easily and by that I mean the computer. It's the enemy for my day, really, unless I'm designing something. I cannot believe how easily I can get distracted looking at blogs, shopping online or admittedly facebook. Oh geez... that bloody facebook. I love it and hate it all in the same breath. Ugh. It will be nice to be downstairs to focus.

t• hink

Also, I need a thinking space. Sometimes I can doodle away with the tv on, the dogs barking, etc... but other times when I really want to brainstorm, I need some quiet time. So, I'm hoping my new space will let me do that, if not I'm getting those airport headphones the guys on the ramp use to muffle out the airplane noise.

I'd like to post some photos, but right now... the place down there is in no shape for photos. I will eventually though!

birthday recap

2010-08-06T08:02:00.005-04:00

I had a super fabulous birthday yesterday! The sun was shining, it was just a gorgeous day... a little hot, but that's August for ya.

• breakfast in the hammock

• convertible ride to lunch with my hubby

• lots of birthday cards & presents

• nap with my pups

• dinner with my parents and aunt & uncle

• a sparkly gift

• chocolate cake in the tiki

• fettuccine

• and my best friend is coming for a weekend visit full of more b-day weekend fun!

birthday print sale today only!

2010-08-05T05:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Print Sale!

Today's my birthday and I'd like to give you a little something too. All of the prints listed in my Etsy shop will be $5 off of the regular price for today (Aug.5) only! So, if you've had your eye on one of my prints, today is the day to snag one.

8x10 - Regular Price - $25 - Sale $20

5x7 - Reg. Price - $18 - Sale $13

5" sq. - Reg. Price - $15 - Sale $10

(5" sq. sized to fit a 9x9" IKEA Ribba Frame - frames come in metallic silver, white, black and natural wood - white frame shown above)

--- BRAND NEW PRINT ! ---

Peony

5x7 and 8x10 sizes available

Refunds will take place once the Paypal sale has gone thru, then afterwards I will manually refund your Paypal account. The Paypal sale has to have gone thru on Aug.5th to qualify for the sale price. Thank you.

fresh from the faire : new pendant designs!

2010-08-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

I featured some of my newest fine art pendant designs at the Maker Faire, Detroit this weekend. They are now all available in my Etsy shop.

Each pendant is totally hand-crafted from start to finish. The pendants are made from polymer clay which are molded by hand, baked, then some are sanded and some are left to have a more organic finish. After sanding comes the painting process. Prior to painting I've worked up several designs in my sketchbook so I'm ready to go once the pendants are baked. I sketch the design onto the clay then I paint the design. After painting, I apply several layers of sealant to protect the artwork on the pendant. If the designs require Swarovski crystals I apply them next. Lastly, I wire the pendant and attach the 16" sterling silver bead ball chain. Each pendant is packed onto a cardstock weight card, adorning it's name and the reverse has cleaning instructions. The pendant will be packed in a handmade felt bag for storage when not in use.

As you can see it's quite a process for such a tiny item but, I absolutely love, love, love the results and in person they look fantastic. I got several compliments on them at the show. To date, I have not repeated any design so each design is "unique to your piece." I will recreate a design for a custom piece, however it has to be a significant enough change so that I am not duplicating the "exact" design on the last one. It's like wearing your own little piece of fine art. Each piece is signed on the back with my artist signature "c.oz."

Want a custom piece for yourself or for a gift? Absolutely, just ask! I'd be happy to create one for just for you.

making friends at maker faire

2010-08-03T06:00:00.002-04:00

I met a lot of great people at Maker Faire, Detroit... the people attending the show, the makers, the Handmade Detroit gals, the committee people, the volunteers, the people from The Henry Ford and some fellow artists. Check out a few of them below!

Mitten Made - Allie

Allie is non-stop with crocheting... and it's non-stop amazing-ness! So talented!

Burnt Desserts - Carrie

Carrie makes all sorts of creative cuteness with felt. Cupcake and chocolate covered strawberry hairclips, felted headbands, felted play food for children and the list goes on and on. I found out that we even were in art school at the the same time together but our paths never crossed then.

Broad Street - Sara

Sara's pieces are very unique. She repurposes vintage jewelry and creates her own unique jewelry pieces with finds from all over. Her website is fantastic!

Sloe Gin Fizz - Nicole

Nicole's whimsical, skinny-line illustrations remind me of my favorite

children's books by Shel Silverstein and the colors remind me of Dr. Suess.

A few other artists I chatted with...

Check out their cool sites!

Radical Recycks - Tracie

Needle Noodles - Christen

Here's a few pics of my table display. I wish I would have taken more photos, some close-ups and such but I was so taken aback by all of the excitement... I forgot. Oh, well... next time.

I want to thank my hubby for giving up his weekend to help me with my display. It's a lot of hard work shuffling your stuff back and forth, long hours, the heat and humidity. It means the world to me! Also, to all of my friends and family that stopped by to support my efforts... a big hug to you too! Of course my Mom too, who helped me get ready for the show! You are all the best!! - xo

maker faire detroit : editors choice award

2010-08-02T09:31:00.004-04:00

I am so honored and so excited to tell you that I received an Editor's Choice Award for my artwork displayed at Maker Faire from the Maker Faire Committee. THANKS SO MUCH!!

I'd also like to give a big shout out to the gals at Handmade Detroit -- without them it wouldn't have been possible for me to participate. Thanks so much girls! :o) Also, of course to everyone that makes the Maker Faire possible. It was amazing! And of course, everyone from The Henry Ford. Thanks so much for hosting this spectacular event! I loved it so much! THANK YOU!

...another blog post coming soon about Maker Faire!

CRAFT magazine...

2010-07-29T08:51:00.004-04:00

To check out a little more about me and a few of the other artists I'll be hangin' out with at Maker Faire read this listing in Craft magazine.

busy, busy, busy...

2010-07-24T08:44:00.005-04:00

This week has been really busy. I've been cutting, pasting, printing, painting, glittering... and I even got a huge blister from cutting felt with my Grandma's pinking shears. Occupational hazard I guess. Anyway, I'm getting ready for Maker Faire, well Craft Faire my part of the Maker Faire that I'll be in next weekend at The Henry Ford in Dearborn! Woo-hooooo! I can't wait. I've been working on so many projects. The photo above is just a sneak peek. Hope to see you there next weekend! It's going to be a blast!

the lilies are blooming...

2010-07-13T10:39:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite parts of Summer is when my Stargazer Lilies bloom. Before blooming, it's a lot of waiting and watching the stalks of the lilies grow for the first half of the season. Then a few more weeks later the pod-like blooms begin to emerge and eventually get larger, and finally as the pods are turning from green to a whitish hue you know the lilies will soon be blooming. Once they bloom they are the most fragrant flowers. The hummingbirds and butterflies just love them. Between the vibrant colors, the fragrant blooms and the unique shape of each individual section of the plant, they truly are a miracle of Mother Nature.

(Just fyi: I did no enhancement in Photoshop to the images. The flowers are truly this gorgeous.)

island beauty

2010-07-12T09:21:00.017-04:00

For over ten years now, I have been going up to Drummond Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for vacation with my husband, family and friends. On one of my first trips up to see the cottage I noticed a small, hand-painted sign posted on one of the trees that read "island beauty" and even now after ten years I continue to find more of that beauty on every trip. Enjoy the pics!

M is for Monday...

2010-06-28T11:21:00.006-04:00

(Hosta blooms - can definitely be pretty too!)

On Mondays, I like to fertilize everything in our front garden and yard. So, I started calling it MiracleGro Monday, which also helps me to remember what day I need to fertilize. After fertilizing, I snapped a few photos.

(Tiny grasshopper - only about the size of a quarter)

(Daylillies in our front yard)

(Mr. Bee wanted in on the Salvia action - so he snuck in the shot.)

definitely, worth waiting for...

2010-06-26T08:38:00.007-04:00

It's here! Our hammock stand is here! HOORAY!

Okay, let me back up the story a bit and then you'll understand my excitement for the hammock. Five, yes... FIVE years ago I purchased a beautiful, multi-colored striped, quilted hammock and pillow from Potterybarn and when I purchased it, my hubby said, don't buy a stand... I'll figure something out for it. I agreed, since he is very handy around the house and I figured we would eventually find some way to rig up a hammock in our yard. So, since then every Summer has come and gone and nothing ever happened with our hammock. We've been working really hard on our yard and gardens this year and I think that's why finally, this year he broke down and agreed that we should buy a stand. I ordered a black stand from Hayneedle. I got 10% off because I ordered a birdbath for my Mom for Mother's Day from them and the coupon came with it and free shipping. I ordered it on Monday and it was already here on Friday. You can't beat that! It felt just like Christmas when it arrived. It was a snap to put together, literally like five minutes once out of the box, but the most exciting part was unrolling my hammock that I purchased years ago. I almost forgot what it looked like. Guess who was the first one to take a quick siesta in it? You guessed it, my hubby. He looks so cute napping in it too! I guess it's true what "they" say, that some things are worth waiting for.

for my bbq foodie friends... commence the mouth-watering!

2010-06-23T09:27:00.009-04:00

Last night my husband and I made a new recipe from our favorite grilling cookbook, Weber's Real Grilling. If you're going to buy one grilling cookbook this Summer... get this one. It's chocked full of great grilling tips for charcoal and gas grills, rubs, marinades, sauces and a plethora of recipes to fill up your BBQ menus for the entire Summer and then some.

We made the Texas Beef Ribs with Tomato and Jalapeno Sauce on our charcoal Weber. If you're not a big spicy-heat lover, it's okay, the sauce wasn't spicy at all even though it has "jalapeno" in the title. It had the perfect amount of seasoning and flavor. However, if you're looking for that spicy heat, I'd recommend throwing in a fresh, diced jalapeno while you're making the sauce, saute it with some olive oil before you follow the beginning sauce steps below and heck, a little finely-diced onion thrown in there would also add some fantastic flavor.

Texas Beef Ribs in Tomato and Jalapeno Sauce

Weber's Real Grilling cookbook 2005

Prep time: 10 minutes

Grilling time: about 2 hours

Sauce

2 c. tomato sauce

1/2 c. dry red wine

1/2 c. jalapeno jelly (i used Knox Jalapeno Spread)

1 T. cider vinegar

2 t. chili powder

1 rack beef ribs, 4 to 5 lbs., cut into 3 or 4 sections to fit inside of pan

2 t. kosher salt

1 t. freshly ground pepper

Set up your coals for INDIRECT cooking on your charcoal grill.

1. To make the sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring until the jelly dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat.

At this point, I would recommend whipping up a pitcher of margaritas... because now you have to wait for the grill to do it's magic and it helps to have a tasty beverage while you wait.

2. Allow the ribs to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 min. before grilling. Season ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear the ribs over DIRECT medium heat until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally "watch for flare-ups." Place ribs, meaty side down, in a deep 10x13" baking dish "NOT aluminum or cast-iron - we used a glass Pyrex dish - also, sprayed it with some non-stick cooking spray for easy clean-up". Bring the sauce back to a boil and pour over the ribs. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and put the grill lid on the grill. Grill over INDIRECT medium heat for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue grilling "with grill lid on" until the meat has pulled away from the bone, 45 to 60 minutes, turning ribs occasionally. Remove the ribs from the sauce. Cut into individual ribs and serve with some sauce drizzled over the top.

While I really enjoyed this recipe, I must say that typically I'm not a huge fan of beef ribs, mostly because they are a little on the fatty-side, and even as a foodie, knowing that fat adds flavor, I prefer a leaner meat choice. At our house, we make a lot of pork on the grill, and I think this recipe would work just as nicely with some meaty pork ribs, like country-styled ribs, or maybe even a nice whole loin -- the sauce would also be fantastic for some pulled pork sammies.

My family has been die-hard charcoal grill lovers for pretty much my entire life -- although, typically because the charcoal grill takes more time, it's something we mainly do on the weekends. If you're new to charcoal grilling and want to try this recipe, don't use charcoal lighter fluid, go to the hardware store and pick yourself up a chimney starter or some electric starters. Either way they are easy to use, inexpensive and much healthier than lighter fluid and if you purchase the Weber cookbook it will explain how to set up your grill for perfect cooking. Enjoy!

and the winner is...

2010-06-15T07:53:00.004-04:00

AMANDA!

Congratulations, Amanda!

You'll be receiving one card I've selected from my Barbie series in the above image.

aqua dress

2010-06-12T07:00:00.004-04:00

(4 3/4" print example - watermark will not be on final printed piece)

Here she is... my newest painting in my Barbie collection "Aqua Dress." On this Barbie painting, I decided to make her hair a little more towards red. I think it contrasts nicely with her aqua dress.

I've made two sizes of archival quality prints available in my Etsy shop: my standard 4 3/4" which fits an IKEA Ribba frame very nicely and an 8x10" which will fit any standard frame. Should you like a different size, it's possible I can accommodate your request. Comment here on my blog with your email address.

(8x10 print example - watermark will not be on final printed piece)

The original will be framed and for sale at the craft faire in July.

for me and you...

2010-06-11T08:47:00.012-04:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not sure what it is about Barbie that fascinates or inspires me, but I love her. But, then again I love most things midcentury. Since I'm noticing a trend with my fascination of her, I decided that I would hunt down a vintage Barbie so that I could have her for my very own painting reference. Well... It was virtually impossible to get my hands on a "real" retro Barbie from 1959, so instead I picked up a Mattel reproduction from the 1990's that I picked up on Amazon. The box was in okay condition but, someone kept her all wrapped up nicely since it was never opened, and it wasn't the box that I was after anyway. I'm sure at some point even the reproduction might be worth a little something to a collector unopened, but for me she's worth a lot more outside of her box, where I can pose her on my desk and change up her outfits to be inspired for more new paintings. More on that in a minute!

What's really cool about the reproduction is that they even included a reproduction of the original box she came in from 1959. The loosely styled, vibrant colored illustrations are absolutely fantastic and there's a short little book included about the history of Barbie. Any idea what her last name is? I had no idea until now. Now, no cheating... looking it up on the internet, just take a guess and post me a comment. All comments will be entered into a drawing to win a single Barbie notecard that I have already selected from my series. But, hurry the contests ends Monday, June 14th. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email, so makes sure you put your email into the comment section.

Once I stumbled upon the doll, I thought wouldn't it be cool if I could find some retro doll clothing patterns for her. No, I'm not going to sew them, but my Mom who "loves" making doll clothes would surely be interested in the task. So, while I was on Amazon I also found to patterns loaded with different outfits, my Mom is chomping at the bit to get started. I figured that having vintage outfits made would help me in my paintings as well, and give my Mom something to do that she loves. Also... I'm thinking, my Mom might even like to start selling the retro-styled outfits in my Etsy store or a store of her own.

Also, I just finished up another Barbie watercolor painting to go along with my series. I'll be posting her as soon as I can scan it and get it ready to make prints. The original will be framed and for sale at the craft faire, coming soon in July! Ooh, I can't wait!

exciting news...

2010-06-09T20:35:00.007-04:00

I've been MIA from blogging but, I have some very big news that I'm going to share with you.

I applied for the Craft Faire (Handmade Detroit), which is being held during the Maker Faire at The Henry Ford in Dearborn during the last weekend of July. Yep... and guess what, I got in!!! YIPPEEE! It's not easy as you would think making into juried craft shows these days. I applied for two smaller shows prior to this one and didn't make it in. I was a little bummed, but if at first you don't succeed, try, try... again. So, as you can imagine I'm very excited for the opportunity and I'm waiting for them to send me more details.

The fair is juried so, in order to get in you have to fill out a short form and also send images of what your style looks like with your products, along with a nominal entry fee. A few weeks later you find out if you made the cut by email. Instead of choosing just five single images (your allowed up to five images to submit), I decided to make collages of my work in just three to submit. I'll share them below.

As soon as I have more details regarding the craft faire, I'll let you in on them as well!

a little fun with photoshop actions

2010-05-21T14:29:00.003-04:00

I keep seeing people use these Photoshop actions on their photos and some of them are pretty neat. I particularly like the actions that make photos look vintage in some way. I downloaded a free polaroid style action (from a site that I cannot remember right now), so just for fun I played around with a dogwood image that I shot a few weeks ago.

flutter butterfly fine art pendant

2010-05-15T15:26:00.007-04:00

I've been working on a few new fine art pendants, but this time I've decided not to sand them smooth like the first set I made. This time I liked the more organic nature of the lines from my hands working with the clay. The lines of the clay gave the pendants a nice texture and I thought it was more fitting on this piece since this piece was something nature related.

This piece is hand-formed and baked. After baking, instead of sanding... this time I painted my design, then once the paint is dry I painted several layers of Mod Podge sealer on them so the art itself can never be removed. Once the sealant is dry I glue on the Swarovski crystals, wire them and attach them to the beadball chain. It's a pretty lengthy process for one little pendant, but I love the results.

flutter butterfly fine art pendant

• Hand-shaped, lime green polymer clay pendant • Embellished with orange & dark sepia brown acrylic paints & layered with a semi-gloss sealant for protection • Swarovski aquamarine colored crystals • 16" - 1mm sterling silver bead ball chain • Size of pendant: 1 1/8" wide x 1 1/4" tall • $32

happy earth day

2010-04-22T08:16:00.004-04:00

I just realized that I have been taking a lot of photos over the past few weeks. But, seriously how could I not? It's gorgeous out there! My husband and I walk pretty much everyday for exercise and everyday we walk we notice something new and beautiful evolving with this time of year. The trees are budding and about to leaf, the spring flowers are blooming and the grass is the most intense green. We have a lot of animal activity nearby too with ducks, geese, bunnies and I just saw a black squirrel the other day too. Neighbors have been neatly manicuring their lawns and sprucing up their yards. Porches have started to get chairs back on them for evening chats with their neighbors. It's truly a beautiful time of year.

But, of course, there's always something that can disrupt our walk, like the people who choose not to pick up their dog's poop, or the litterbugs leaving trash on the sidewalks. It's sad that a lot of people really just don't care. If we all do our part we can keep our world a beautiful place. I know I'm mindful to pick up trash I might see blowing around, even if it's not my yard, or some broken glass that some poor puppy dog might step on with his bare paw. It's a good a thing that only takes a second and it makes my neighborhood look even nicer.

spring elk

2010-04-21T06:00:00.007-04:00

I finally got around to finishing the painting for my husband's birthday. Jeff is an avid outdoorsman and last Fall he took a trip to Idaho for elk hunting. He just had his 40th birthday in February too, so I thought a painting of an elk would be a good way to commemorate his milestone birthday and his trip. I purchased a rustic-styled frame for this piece and shot this photo in our backyard.

You don't see a lot of "manly" related items on Etsy, so I decided to offer archival prints of this painting too! So, if there's an avid outdoorsman in your life, he may possibly like this print too!

Print size: 8x10" Paper size: 8 1/2 x 11" Printed on bright white , Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte on an Epson Stylus Photo R1900 printer using Epson UltraChrome archival inks. Print will be signed and a certificate of authenticity will be included. It will packaged in a cellophane bag with acid-free backing board to ensure a safe delivery. Please note: Watermark will not appear on printed piece. Frame is not included.