Christmas Tags!

My first edition of cute Christmas Tags will be up in the shop on Sunday! I'm still in the final creation process but so far each package will have six tags with different artwork (by me) and will include a string for tying on packages. I'll also be creating a sticker set for those who find the tie on tag cumbersome.

Only 24 more shopping days.....

:)

Little Cute Things

Check Shop66 tomorrow through Sunday for little cute things I'll be adding to the shop! Just some of the items above will be available as well as more kitschy cute Christmas elves and some original art.

:)

Etsy Top Favs: Part II

It's Wednesday night and time for Etsy Top Favs. I have so many - it's very hard to decide - so this week I'm only highlighting one:

Yaelfran

I adore Yaelfran - she's an original. Her incredible art work is presented in pins, necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. (or as she lists as her favorite materials: paper, plastic, ink). She is lives in Buenos Aires and is a mother of two.

Here a just a few of my favorite things I've purchased:

Apple and Pear pins. (I have the Apple.)

Cool Women Rings. (I have the yellow one.)

You and me pendant.

Though shipping takes a little while from Buenos Aires it's totally worth it when you get your package. She adds many surprises and her work is so inspiring you'll be glad you waited!

Visit my blog next Wednesday for more Etsy Top Favs.

:)

Christmas Cute Loot in the Shop!

I just added Christmas Cute Loot to my shop! The two editions - Tree and Ornament or Santa in a Box are limited editions - only six of each are assembled. Get yours while it lasts. I'll be posting more editions of Christmas Cute Loot and regular Cute Loot throughout the week.

The kitschy elves are going quickly! Fortunately, I have tons more. I'll be posting some each day. Maybe one will strike your fancy!

See my blog later for more Etsy favorites and other new items that will be featured in my shop!

Happy Wednesday!

:)

Shop 66 has Elves!

I'm finally loading up stuff!! Visit my shop or blog each day this week and check out the new goodies! Late last night I added several kitschy elves. Today (Monday) I'll be adding Christmas tags and Cute Loot (goody bags).

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and got plenty of rest! I did and it paid off - I'm back on my feet from my nasty ear infection.

Happy Monday!

:)

The Countdown

Christmas is coming fast! I'm diligently making and assembling my little goodies for my Etsy shop: Cute Loot, Christmas Cute Loot, Vintage Elves and Ornament groups, Christmas Gift Tags, Buttons, Magnets, and some small affordable art. Visit my site all next week as I will be trying to add something new each day.

Wish me luck as I'm still trying to get well from my ear infection. It's been a tough one. (Oh please, South Carolina trees - stop pollinating! You're making me sick.)

Happy Saturday!

:)

Where's the goods?

I am currently in the process of adding and editing my shop. Please check back Sunday evening for my new or improved listings.

HAPPY, HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY!

:)

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you friends and family for all your support and encouragement!

Have a wonderful day!

:)

Shop, shop, shop, and shop

It's that time again - the "big" shopping weekend. Just thinking about it makes me exhausted.

I know I've taken the handmade pledge and I'm sure we'll all try very hard to abide by it, however, there are also a few small independent shops & websites needing our support this Holiday season (many support and sell handmade). Here are some of my favorites:

Giant Robot

Pop Ink

Insound

Fred Flare

Archie McPhee

Rock Scissor Paper

The Small Object

Kid Pirate

Little Odd Forest

Cut + Paste

Buy Olympia

The Curiosity Shoppe

My Paper Crane

Velocity Art and Design

Reprodepot Fabrics

Happy Shopping!!

:)

Worked all night...

Like most artistic and creative people, I was up all night working. Or as some people call it - I had insomnia. I've always had it. Growing up my family thought this was unusual and that something must be wrong with me. The many different doctors I saw over the years didn't seem to think anything of it when they were told and looked for real things wrong with me. Then I met Dr. Rothenberg when I was 29 years old -- he put it this way "your normal - your creative mind works best in the middle of the night - I'm awake often between 2:00 and 4:00 am. Just do something constructive and creative with you mind. Once it's satisfied, you'll be tired again." Thank you Dr. Rothenberg!

Many famous creative minds had insomnia: Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Shakespeare and Franz Kafka.

Enjoy my little drawing. Just one of the many things I did last night.

:)

Busy Little Elves

I'm like a team of busy little elves working hard at getting organized to upload more things to my shop. Over the weekend, I'll be adding more Christmas stuff; Cute Loot; vintage decor; pins and magnets; handmade plush; and original art.

Be sure to visit Shop 66 after Thanksgiving!

:)

Now my studio is re-arranged, re-organized and super clean.

Vintage ornaments ready to be sorted, photographed and added to the shop.

Some of the vintage scarves that will be added.

Etsy Top Favs: Part I

I took the Handmade Pledge and hope you will too. Here's two of my favorite Etsy shops (and some of the work I've purchased):

Elsita

One of my top favorite artist's right now is Elsa Mora (aka Elsita). She lives in Southern California with her lovely little family. Elsita's work hits my heart and soul just the right way. I find something every week I can't resist purchasing. Her blog also uplifts me every day. She is very strong in spirit. She inspires me.

Here are a few works I have:

Heart and Brain.

Little Drops.

Uchis.

Marmee Craft

Marmee Craft (aka Marjorie) is another one of my top favorites. I also find something I want often -- the presentation of her work is also diverse. Her blog reads: "Marjorie lives in a whimsical little nook with her dear and darling husband and two deliciously adorable cats...she is wont to paint ladies with long necks, sweet (and sometimes sad) little woodlanders and she also loves to sew."

I have the following works by Marmee Craft:

Whole Again.

Group Portrait in Plush.

Transfiguration 2.

View my blog next week Wednesday for a few more of my favorites.

:)

Treasure Hunting - Savannah, Georgia

Though I'm still a little under the weather, I took a short trip to Savannah to see if I could find some treasures. Now the South is still new to me, so each time it's been hit or miss.

My first stop was the famous "Keller's Flea Market." All I can say is, I might consider getting a concealed weapons permit next time I go. It was truly a "flea" market. I figured out it was especially not the right place for me when I saw they sold live animals. Seeing that was like putting a knife in my stomach. I honestly did not know that was legal - but as they say here "Honey, you're in the South now..." I left feeling dirty and smelling like bad fried food.

My trusty Garmin helped me get back to downtown Savannah to an antique store I missed on my last visit "Antiques Emporium on 38th." I hit the jackpot! It's a two-story Victorian house filled with all sorts of antique and vintage treasures. My favorite finds were a 1908 Sears catalog; several vintage linens and a bag of sewing tools and notions; cutesy vintage all occasion cards; miniature animals and trinkets; and a handmade curio cabinet from the 60's.

After loading the cabinet and all my other finds in my car, I was ready to go back home. It was a short trip but well worth it.

Cute Vintage Cards...Adorable Greetings!

My favorite it the little child angel painting a squirrel!

My new cute curio - waiting to be placed in the house - where will it go....?

A Christmas Dove

A Cute Unicorn

:)

Rinkya Rules!

I love Rinkya! It's my collector secret and a dream come true.

"What Is Rinkya? Rinkya is a Japan Auction & Online Shopping Service. Want to bid on Japanese Auctions? But you can't read...... and the Japanese seller won't ship it out of Japan anyway? Well, Rinkya can bid and ship all these items to you."

(from Rinkya website)

Yes, it costs $$'s but if you're a serious collector and fan of new and vintage Japanese toys, dolls and other items, it's totally worth it. Just look at the dolls I have won! Not only do you find items that you would rarely find in the US -- all items are in very good condition. Many come in their own boxes and are wrapped extra carefully. Standards are just higher in Japan.

Thank you Rinkya!!

:)

Sick

I'm out of commission today -- in bed sick with an ear infection. Check back in a few days and I'll have new things to share!

:)

Cuter Cute Loot

Here it is cuter Cute Loot -- much cuter, bigger, nicer, cooler. (I want it!) It includes interesting textured paper, cute plastic beads, two types of ribbon, a porcelain bunny bead, a vintage wood house, a red plastic solider, a green circus-type squirrel, and two cute flower appliques. (Forgive me for the bad photography - I'm yet to buy that new camera...)

Just a few tweaks here and a few tweaks there and I'll be satisfied to start bagging! :)

Cute Loot !!!!

Before I left for my afternoon fun, I finished my "Cute Loot" prototype. My studio is a huge mess but I'm happy with the results.

Look for "Cute Loot" on Shop 66 by the end of the week. I'll even have some large size, kitschy Christmas ones. Super cool!

:)

Nice Day for a Motorcycle Ride

I'm taking the day off today. I'm exhausted from the 2+ weeks of traveling, visiting, unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and working! My boyfriend, George, is also taking the day off from his super big site design project. We are going to take a ride on his new motorcycle this afternoon. It's so relaxing and rehabilitating. Seriously!

It's also sunny and beautiful in South Carolina today. I'll have to dress extra warm but the sun on my face will feel wonderful.

:)

Coming to Shop 66

New items will be listed in my shop daily through mid-December. I've stocked up and sorted through all my things to upload fast. For the last two days (Nov. 11 & 12) I've listed items in groups but from here on items will be loaded randomly to show off the shop's diverse inventory. Hopefully, I can fit some time in to create and add some of my art.

Here's just a peak at some items I'm loading this evening:

Vintage Wood Baby Bird Magnetic Shakers; Vintage Bear Set; Sweetheart Vintage Tin; Handmade Woolie Wire Dog Set
Happy Shopping!!

:)

Ready, Set.....

I'm determined to start actually doing art and slowing down the other stuff that takes up my time - hunting, gathering and collecting....seriously. I think I broke my shopping bone the past two weeks! I have all the supplies and things I need....just got to dive in.

I've been drooling over quite a few great books latley and they've almost triggered my creative spirit. Here's some of my favorites:

Olle Eksell - Swedish Graphic Designer (ISBN978-4-89444-547-5; Pie Books). Fantastic book - all in Japanese but it really does not matter. I actually picked this book up at Urban Outfitters but it is also available at Last Gasp Books.

The Summer Noisy Book by Margaret Brown; Illustrations by Leonard Weisgard (ISBN0-06-020855-4; Harper Collins Publishers). I'm in love with Leonard Weisgard's graphics in this book. So primary - so flat - so pure. It's even a favorite of his children - on their tribute website.

Capek's Bookshelf: The Book Design of Josef Capek (ISBN4-89444-249-3; Pie Books) Brilliant Czech graphic artist born over 100 years ago. I bought this copy off GiantRobot.com but it is also available at Last Gasp Books.

Klaus Haapaniemi - Monsters (ISBN 1-58423-179-3; Pocko Editions - Gingko Press) Fin/Swede folk art inspired modern graphics - truly original.

Visit my Blog soon for images of my new work...

:)

Slowly Unpacking & Organizing

I'm slowly unpacking and organizing from my trip to Detroit and super shopping. Tomorrow (Nov. 12) I'll be uploading to Shop 66 some very cool vintage finds as well as kitschey Christmas elves and ornaments. Some will be as low as $1.00 each. I'll be making an extra effort to list as many things as I can for the Christmas holiday season for the next two weeks. Be sure to visit my site daily.

If there is anything in particular you are interested in please feel free to contact me through my Etsy site.

:)

So much!

What a super long week and road trip back home - especially when you stop at antique malls every hour - thank you Garmin! Look for a new post from me later this coming weekend. There's so many new things I have to share and upload on Shop 66!

I love this new little giraffe that came in the mail while I was away! He was just waiting for me to come home and be added to my collection.

:)

Michigan Doll Show!

One of my favorite things is to attend a doll show. It's a little surreal and very intense but well worth it. This year I was fortunate to be in Michigan the week of the semi-annual "Doll Show Productions" Doll Show and Sale. I left with three full bags of vintage dollies, toys and plush.

It was a very, very good day.

:)

My Treasures!

Well the reunion of me and my treasures has begun! So far I've found a lot of things I was looking for including a whole box of vintage patterns, my antique dolls, and most of my art book collection but not my owl collection!! Fortunately I still have another day to look. Though it was only over a year ago I packed for my move to South Carolina and stored all these things, it feels like forever. My daughter was drooling a little over a couple of my sock monkeys and a crocheted cat-in-the-hat...sorry sweetie - you're not getting these babies!

Handmade Made For Me!

I lust over handmade stuff I've asked artists to make especially for me. Here's just a few things I've commissioned this past month:

Custom Friendly Letter Monsters: Big G and little g by The Whimsy Patch .

I had these made because my boyfriend and I have names that start with a G. He's Big G and I'm little g.

Custom Hoodies by Aorta

I love everything by Aorta but garments go fast...so I had these two hoodies made.

The first one is Deer with a Stache - this was a brand new design - I am the first to get one! The second is Bunny Girl - this commemorates my early childhood when I wore a handmade bunny suit and sang a little song to introduce my family's traveling puppet show (that's another story...).