GICLEEs & LIMITED EDITION PRINTS

This week I'm uploading a lot of limited edition prints of my past work. You can see them all on eBay under the_wild_gypsy

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZthe_wild_gypsy


Here's one of my favorite pieces:

Happy New Year!

To all the Jewish doctors and nurses who held my hand during my cancer journey I send best wishes for the Happiest of New Years!

And in that same spiritual vein I want to offer up thanks for the blessings that have occured in my life over the last few weeks. We've been able to find new health insurance and have reduced our monthly costs from a killer $1808.77 down to an almost manageable $768.00. And today we got a call finalizing the re-instatement of our mortgage so now I will have a roof over my head when our own New Year's celebration takes place.

God is good and works in His own time. Unfortunately for us we are usually running on a different timetable. However, faith will always see you through. My favorite verse says it all: Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive, whatever you ask for in prayer".(NIV)

Today was spent working on my dessert jewelry. The cupcake and ice cream cone earrings are coming along nicely and I should have a few pair to post by the weekend. I've also got a few ready to be made up as pendants. Close friends are the only ones who will remember that I used to be a free-lance designer with Polyform Products, the makers of Premo polymer clay. Up until my breast cancer surgery in '04 that was the only outlet for my creativity. I put it aside because I was concerned with the fumes from the baking and the possibility of ingesting the pvc from the clay itself. But I find that there is no better modeling material to perfect these earring designs so I went back to the clay and have been happily sculpting all kinds of yummy creations in miniature.

I haven't yet started to color them but I'm thinking that the watercolor technique I've perfected for non-porous surfaces should work well with these. I can't think of any other way to get the strawberry cones to look edible and not plastic. I'll post by the end of the week and let y'all be the judge.

"Chihuly"

"Chihuly" back atcha rocker girl. http://rockerjewlz.blogspot.com/

Stock Market CRASH!

Who once said that those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it? The media or whoever came up with the "Wall Street Bail Out" title is doing a disservice to Main Street. Does no one remember that the Great Depression came about as a result of the 1929 Stock Market crash? Perhaps if they re-named it Main Street Bail Out, more folks would realize that unless they support shoring up the economy the company that they are loyal to for five days a week may not be able to get enough credit to get enough new work to support that 9-5 job.

I'm no economist, I have no 'agenda', I just think it's a very scary place that America is heading towards. At some point we are going to have to bail someone out and whether it's Wall Street or Main Street it's bound to deeply affect our future.

At this point I would also like to point out that I DID NOT VOTE FOR GEORGE BUSH. If I remember correctly he was responsible for the bankruptcy of at least a half dozen companies before he got into politics. Guess this is his biggest and best...the Bankruptcy of America by George W. Bush.

Wall Street Bail Out

Wish someone would bail me out! It's the end-beginning of the month and credit card bills are due. I can't believe it! All but one of my credit card/banks has been bought out. I don't know who I owe or what their name is. Won't someone bail me out?

Of course not. I'm not an exec. with my slightly tarnished golden parachute. I'm just some working drudge trying to meet her bills and still buy groceries and feed her cats. No one cares whether I've slipped from the middle of the middle class way down to the top of the poverty level class. I got no one watching my back. What I earn from my art is what feeds me. Some weeks it's all peanut butter and crackers and some weeks I get to buy some 80% lean hamburger. Last night it was pot roast...a rare treat that I thoroughly enjoyed.

OK...so I'm one of the whining class that Paulson (?) talked about. Whine, whine, whine...I'm hungry so is that whining or are those just loud hunger pangs? Why is the middle class passe? Don't we deserve to get out of the squeeze press and be able to serve our kitties something other than DRY cat food? Look at this poor baby's face. He looks so defeated Wouldn't you want to bail him out of a life of dry kibble?




OK...whining coming to an end. Back to working on my new line of earrings. I figure if I CAN"T AFFORD TO EAT DESSERT, I'll just create it and wear it...LOL This is so NOT funny! $700 billion dollars...I'd be happy with a bailout of $700...and so would my sweet little furbabies!

Dishing water

Today was a first! I always wondered what would happen if my wallet was empty and I couldn't pay for my meal. I'd heard they'd send you to the kitchen to wash dishes!

Since Dear Sister always takes me to breakfast on Sundays after church I never have to worry about that happening. This morning we were just finishing up a delicious breakfast at our VERY FAVORITE CAFE...the SideDoor in Lake Como, NJ, when I looked in the back where my friend Lorrie was running back and forth from the stove to the sink and realized that once again the 'new' dishwasher had quit.

Not one to sit on my hands when there is an obvious need I shucked off my jacket and dug into the dishes. Now anyone who tells you that washing dishes is a never ending chore ain't kidding when you're working at the sink of a popular and BUSY cafe. After about 10 minutes of back breaking work I heard giggling and realized that my daughter had stopped in for breakfast. All I heard was her yelling into the back "I can't believe it, my Mom NEVER washes dishes! She's right, of course, since I've had a dishwasher for all of my 37 years of marriage.

But when you have a friend in need how can you turn your back on something as simple as lending a hand...a soapy one this day...but it made me feel useful and helpful and loving all at the same time. Love you lots, Lorrie...you're my very FAVORITE friend/cook/hostess!! Now where's that darn hand lotion!

This week's ACEOs

Visiting with aunt bEtsy has been lovely. She's a bit a bit slow so I've come back home to list my Halloween paintings and my oop decorative painting patterns. I've missed everyone on eBay but now I'm going to divide my time between aunt bEtsy and the Bay! Here are some of the Halloween ACEO prints I'm listing this week:

Waiting for the Nor'Easter

The skies are ominious and the wind is picking up hour by hour. The first nor'easter of the fall is just hours away, scheduled for sometime mid-PM today. The air always feels electric and makes my skin crawl when a storm is approaching. Growing up so close to the Atlantic makes me super sensitive I guess.

We clamdiggers thought nothing about going out in the height of any storm to check Mother Ocean. She is a powerful force and more so when the north wind is blowing. I can remember the excitement of those times when you would brace yourself against the wet, salty wind and see the power of the churning waves. My father, a WWII photographer, never missed an opportunity to drive the five blocks to the ocean in driving wind and rain and sometimes snow to capture that power of nature.

I miss my Dad and I miss that tingly excitement of a storm at its zenith. Now I just hunker down by the wood stove and ride it out. But there is still that lingering memory of the power and the glory of nature in all her fury. Are you watching, Daddy?

Counting my blessings instead of sheep

Just about time to get off the computer and get myself ready to sleep. I'm hoping for a good night's rest but if not I'll count my blessings tonight instead. I got a lot accomplished today from my to do list and one thing that didn't appear on it. I sent a box of crafting goodies to Sarah Huckman down in MS. You can see her list of needs on her blog. I've posted it to the right of this.

I'm still creatively stuck but tomorrow I'm hoping that I may break through the inertia that's gripped me for many days. I am pulled between needing to create art and needing to make money. Every time I think I've gotten myself to a place where I can balance the two I fall off the fence and bruise my creative spirit. But isn't this what makes an artist so interesting...angst and nothing but? I'd like for one day to be a homemaker who turns out a great coffee cake and her world is complete! Does Mrs. Cleaver still exist?

Another Sleepless night in Jersey

I simply hate those nights when your mind is racing with a thousand thoughts and sleep is as far away as the tooth fairy. After 37 years of marriage to a man who snores and a bed cat who likes to prowl around, I'm thinking of saving up for a twin size bed.

I mean how selfish is it to want to actually sleep through the night? I think that Beaver's Mom and Dad had the right idea...twin beds. But with a 6'7" DH I'm the one who will have to leave the king sized one for a twin. He always says he can't sleep when I'm not in bed but while he may believe that myth I've noticed that within 45 seconds of me leaving it, he's back to snoring again.
Now before anyone suggests he be tested for sleep apnea he has been. And it's severe enough to warrant a breathing mask. Unfortunately without health insurance at the present moment we're living with a worn out mask that leaks air and gives me nightmares of being stalked by a GIANT HISSING COCKROACH!!

However bad the nights are, the days are worse. I drag my butt from room to room wishing I was a fluffy fat cat like the ones who get to doze in the sun shining in through the sliding glass door and skylight.


Last night I listed a piece in the NFAC, Nibblefest Art Contest on eBay. OK, call me crazy, I was hoping that someone would actually bid on it. I have one bid of 99 cents but there are others on there with 18 bids and $15 this early in the game. I just had to do it though. I keep thinking that one day I'll find the right combination of colors or images and suddenly I'll be one of the 'in' crowd.

I'll be what I used to be when I was doing the gallery/art show circuit...I'll be a star! What used to sell for 350 dollars now brings me 14.99 if I'm lucky. I keep thinking it's because I suck as an artist, but I don't know if I'm right. I always thought I had talent but as the years go on I think I may be losing it...or maybe I never had it to begin with??? Here's the piece that's hitting 99 cents right now:



Oh hello...my Mom just called and said she's not going to church and so I'm going to play hooky myself and go back to bed. If you've got suggestions for me on this piece of art, PLEASE just post your thoughts in the comment section below. TTYL

Happy Birthing Day to Me

29 years ago today I was busy shopping at the mall, getting all the last minute things I needed done because I was four days overdue with my second child. I spent the entire day away from home, mostly in stores and then took a nap at my Mom's because I was having some painless contractions. Arrived home around 6 pm to the phone ringing off the hook. Seems like my dear doctor had been frantic all day trying to get in touch with me. I'd seen his associate that morning at 9 am, had the exam, had the associate say "you're going to have a girl" and then gone on my merry way for the rest of the day. Apparently those 'painless' contractions were actually labor pains and the Dr. was afraid I was going to drop the kid somewhere other than the hospital!


He told me to hurry my butt right over to the hospital pronto. OK...sounds like a good idea BUT..in my younger days I did NOTHING without showering, shampooing, shaving and putting on full make-up...so I did all of that and arrived in the hospital at 8 pm where DH and I made our way up the elevator to the third floor and into the maternity ward.


At 30 I was unflappable but the doctor was totally frantic and he took one look at me and started screaming..."what took you so long, you could have had that baby on the Garden State Parkway". I told him that I had to shower, etc and his response was to scream back..."this isn't a da*n party we're holding here, you're in labor"! Apparently I'd been walking around since 10 am in full out labor without feeling any pain...*sigh*...that should have told me something! 'Cause she's caused me more pain than either of my children in these last 29 years.
Anyway, long story short, with the nurses grabbing at my clothes and the doctor yelling orders they finally got me on the labor bed, shaved me and when he examined me he said the only reason I hadn't given birth during the day was because my water hadn't broken. DUH! wouldn't I have noticed THAT???


As with my first child he had to break my water and I immediately went into HARD labor which lasted about 12 minutes and after the third push I delivered a beautiful 8 lb. 12 oz baby girl right there on the labor bed. No chance for an episiotomy so I had to go into the labor room to get some stitches but I was holding the baby in one arm and nursing her and talking on the phone to everyone with a local number 54 minutes after I arrived at the maternity room door. And that my friends is a way to have a baby! Here's my little darling as she looks today. Photo courtesy of Mommy:

Everybody wants a piece of my 24 hours!!!

I was going to start making earrings this am...but OH NO! the telemarketing firm that DH hired sent a BAD script that no one would respond to and he's got me re-writing or at least that's what I'm supposed to be doing. But I'm feeling bitchy so I'm blogging to get my fingers exercised before I start. Just because I've been a copy writer for 40 years DOES not mean I want to spend time re-writing dopey scripts that some hack sends over. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....ok...fingers exercised enough. When I finally get this dang thing done I'll tweet, then start working creatively my way.

AND OH YES...IF YOU ARE A TELEMARKETER WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD, PLEASE TWEET ME OR LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW BECAUSE I THINK YOU MAY HAVE A JOB!!!

Moving to Aunt bEtsy

Due to the high cost of listing on eBay and the fierce competition that my already stressed out body can no longer endure, I'm packing it in after almost 8 years of listing as the_wild_gypsy and moving to Etsy.
I hope my loyal customers and eBay friends will visit wildgypsyart as I plan to have a LOT of new pieces listed in the coming week.

One thing I'm most definitely going to do is to list larger pieces AND bring in my jewelry. I used to sell on justbeads.com but because of health issues after breast cancer I needed to narrow my focus. Now I need to narrow it even more because trying to keep up with the rising fees of eBay is emptying my wallet faster than it's filling it.

So to all friends...come see me here: http://www.wildgypsyart.etsy.com or just click on the pretty cake at the top of this post!

9/11 Seven years and one day after

Yesterday was difficult. Seven years ago and still the wounds are raw. Although I am not a NYC resident I’m 30 miles as the crow flies from ground zero. And I remember. I remember the moment I first heard that a plane had hit the North Tower. My husband, his voice strained called and said, turn on the TV, a plane just hit the North Tower. No need for me to ask what tower, the Twin Towers had been a part of my view of the NY skyline forever. And then his voice saying, “this is no accident, look out at the sky”.


I did just as he asked. I walked out my front door and looked up at a sky that was so blue it hurt to look at it: a perfect, crystal blue sky that is so rarely seen along the Jersey Shore. In that moment of inattention, I missed the second plane colliding. But the screams of my children still inside were reason enough to rush back inside to see the South Tower engulfed in flames and black smoke. For hours we clung to the TV hoping against hope that somehow this nightmare would end differently.


Hundreds of books, movies, documentaries and magazine articles have been written about that day of national tragedy. CNN’s timeline is the best minute-by-minute capture of that tragic day: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/chronology.attack/index.html


What I share is the view of someone on the fringes of the eye of that firestorm. Here then are the snapshots from my memory of September 11, 2001


· Doctor’s appointment at 1 pm. Dr. cuts it short; he’s on his way to Riverview Hospital just 12 minutes away to triage the injured who will be brought in by boat. In those moments we are still hopeful that he would be needed. No boat ever arrived with survivors.

· Driving up the shore road towards Atlantic Highlands watching the black plume of smoke drifting like a huge python along the horizon. Black smoke from the funeral pyre of thousands of innocents.

· Nearing the Highlands and having to detour on road after road to find a way to climb the hills and see the NYC skyline.

· Finding a huge section of land roped off and guards silently inviting us in to park.

· Silence as we leave the car and start our climb upwards toward the high lands through familiar streets suddenly unfamiliar in their mourning.

· Silence of the people coming down the hills, tears streaming from eyes both young and old.

· Silence at the zenith where we join hundreds lined up along the ridge watching across the bay at the black smoke rising from a suddenly unfamiliar skyline.

· Silence; prayers; whispers; tears; soft sobbing as we make our way back down the streets to our car. Patience as the line of cars await to fill spots as they empty.

· Silence in the empty streets; empty stores; closed malls.

· Silence as we finally locate a restaurant still open and are quietly shown to a table facing the TV.

· Silence; whispers; tears as we watch the telecasters grimly recounting the events of the last seven hours.

· Silence as we drive back towards home and stop at a convenience store to purchase editions of newspapers with screaming headlines.

· And finally the silence of that blinding crystal blue sky. No planes flying, just silence and tears and a blue, blue sky that we East Coasters now refer to as a 911 sky.

Does anyone really care

that I'm blogging today? The world is a busy place, how can it stop to see what I'm doing. Does anyone really care? Probably not, but why not? Other blogs get great traffic but mine is slow on the uptake. I have to get noticed, but how? Ideas for anyone stumbling across this is always welcome. Feel free to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right.
I tweet on twitter but get no replies...do I not do it often enough? Are other people watching my tweets OR am I in cyberspace, flying solo? Hmmmmm...back to sorting AVON products, it's at least making me money. eBay and etsy are stubborn and I can't break through that glass ceiling to become a power seller on eBay or a seller at all on etsy. I AM doing something wrong but I need to spend some time figuring out WHAT??? Blogging can be a lonely business after all...especially if no one comments or says Hey, I like what you just said. Oh well, Sebby, my sweet darling cat is crying to get out of the bedroom and away from all of this cosmetic crap and oh, no! He's climbed up on the desk and any minute is going to pounce on the keyboard................ gbvgf gfv,fv g,vf, see..I told you so....ta ta for now or ttfn for those in the know.

Make Over is sparse and far from done

I had hoped to fancy up this blog but my brain is definitely not ready for a lot of heavy duty html'ing so it will have to stay this way until I figure out just how to add my own elements. I thought I was ready to take it on but after a visit from my daughter and a call from my mother I'm feeling the squeeze of being in the middle...AGAIN! More tomorrow...maybe!

Make Overs

This week I planned to do a lot of Lisa Bebi's paint overs but this morning I need a kick start. I'm tired and totally non-creative so I'm going to get a make-over. For this blog. I designed auction templates on eBay until they pulled the plug on e-delivery of items so I've got a lot of custom designed options. Right now I'm sitting her pondering how I'd like to go about it soooooooooo
I think I'm going to visit some of my favorite blogs and get some ideas for what I want to change. I definitely want to make it more exciting than this black and white format. When I started the blog a couple of years ago it seemed the easiest route to follow. Now I need it to POP and sing...sooooooo
off to visit blogland. I'll be back later today or this week with a new look. Not that anyone is looking yet...LOL Hugs, y'all...I'm off to see the wizard!

Lisa Bebi paint over collage technique: An explanation!

Because I've gotten sooooo many 'what the hecks' I decided I'd better write just a bit more about this technique as presented in the 30 page article in the Spring 2008 edition of Somerset Workshop where she explains how to do this 'technique'.
And I quote: "Find a glamour ad with an image of a person that speaks to you. Photocopy the image a couple of times. The rawness of the ripped out edge adds to the overall effect, so do not trim it. Paint the background color in a bright acrylic color on a canvas board. Ultimately you will have a soft piece, so choose an initial color that is bright so that a bit of it will peek through the layers. When the background paint has dried, adhere the torn image onto the top by using matte medium to the back of the image and generously to the canvas support. Carefully rub any excess medium out of all the bubbles and pockets. Once the canvas is dry, paint around the figure with bright color (she used orange) where you think there would be true color for the gown and a bit of this color should be worked into her skin and hair. While still wet, paint highlights with cool white. While both these colors are wet, stamp into the paint with various images that suggest femininity and possibly classic style. When completely dry, add further embellishments. I love to use a thick painterly style around a beautiful delicate looking figure." Lisa's piece was a beautifully gowned woman called "Beginning to Feel the Cold". If you can get a copy of a Somerset Workshop it appears on page 53.
You can also find more info at: http://www.lisabebiart.com/.
I'm fascinated by this technique because it's got a certain energy to begin with and adding your own style with acrylic paint and stamps takes it to a different level. This week I'm going to be using vintage family photos with this technique and I'll be posting more to my blog as I go along.

Lisa Bebi paint-over collage technique???

For the second time in as many days, someone has said to me, "What the HECK is a paint-over"? The short answer is; take a photo or magazine page, affix to a canvas board and then using acrylic paints you PAINT OVER THE IMAGE. Now if that doesn't explain it any better, just google: Lisa Bebi +paint-over. OK...my sister just did it and comes up with the info that will better explain the technique since it's not mine to fully explain. I've only done it twice so far and have a long way to go before I can do it well enough to explain it. Also http://itspamelasworld.blogspot.com/2008/04/paint-over-technique.html has examples of this very same technique by another blogger and artist.
I'm so appreciative of Lisa for being generous with her technique in the Spring 2008 edition of Somerset Workshop. Her "Altered Images Fun & Easy paint over technique" is a wealth of information about this wonderful way of expression. I was able to do these paint overs by reading the information presented. I would love to take one of her workshops but because of $$$ restrictions and travel costs I've never been able to fit one into my life...but someday!
This week is MINE! with the exception of Tuesday when my AVON boxes will arrive on my front steps before dawn and I'll be out delivering all of those wonderful products to my friends and family. Other than that I plan to PAINT all week using lots of my vintage family photos and some of my newer pieces from garden shops. I'll keep posting all week so stay tuned!
Hugs from Jersey y'all :)

Original Acrylic Overlay Paintings

One of the comments on my last posting was from Lorri who thought the piece was great but didn't understand the technique. Since I'm not the "mother" of paint-overs I would suggest that anyone who is interested in particulars just google Lisa Bebi. She has a blog and has written many, many articles in Somerset Studios magazine as well as others. I've looked at her work for several years but this particular technique just grabbed me and I dearly wanted to challenge myself to try it.
All things considered I think I did pretty well with the two pieces that I attempted but DH says "size matters" and he wants me to go bigger. These were on 6x8 and 8x10 canvasses. I think I might have a few bigger sizes in my studio so I just might try doing a larger size. I don't honestly know why I freak myself out with the thought of doing bigger pieces. I think it all goes back to that childhood warning of 'don't waste it'. I don't know the real reason but I do know that I'm bushed and even though it's a gorgeous day in Jersey I'm going to crawl into bed for a few extra winks of sleep. I'll probably Twitter later on today, and I might even post again her tonight but I need some down time.
For now, here's another of my latest pieces to chew on :) This particular piece is NOT a paint over but it's still a collage with embossed aluminum cupcake wrapper and lots of beeswax.
I love cupcakes and they LOVE to reside on my thighs as soon as I gobble them down. My size 8 body could eat a dozen but my slightly more mature figure just slathers 'em right on the places I don't want them to land. lol

Paint-over collage technique

or as some call it, acrylic overlay painting. A rose by any other name and all that. I'm not finished, but here's the almost finished second piece I did today. It gave me many more problems because I was working from a gray scale copy that I glued to my canvas board so it was a 'what's the best color to use here' journey. I want to add a cake topper and do some more oddz and endz but at least I kept my promise to myself and did a second one before I talked myself into believing it's not worth the trouble. It is but....you decide for yourself. Here it is: It was inspired by a 'whimsy cake' that I saw on the internet. Who knew a cake could still stand up while it was leaning over :)

Lisa Bebi unique paint-over collage technique

I've read about this technique several times and finally decided to try it out. I'm pretty pleased with the result considering this was my first try. I left her face mostly unpainted because I loved her sassy look.

I'm working on painting number two but the weather that Hanna the Hurricane pushed in front of her is so tropical I feel like I'm breathing soup. But I'll be back at the drawing board as soon as I Tweet this blog posting. If the other piece is done tonight, I'll post it here as well. Thanks for looking. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AND CRITIQUES, that's the only way that I'll be able to hone my technique since I'm doing this by reading an article and not by taking a hands-on class.

She's here and........

Hanna the Hurricane is nothing more than a spring storm. Problem for me is that without air conditioning I need to keep the doors and windows open and right now the air she pushed in front of her was tropical and feels like breathing hot soup. It's 80 in the house and everything is hanging limply, including myself. I've escaped to my bedroom and my 'puter to post one of the paint overs that I did. This is one from yesterday and the first one that I've done but I'm pretty pleased with her.
I am almost finished with the second one but it was printed in shades of gray and coloring it to look punchy is driving me punch drunk and the heat isn't helping. Next post will show "Protecting Her Cupcakes".

She's getting closer......

Hanna Hurricane is drawing closer to the Jersey Shore. We're ready but so far just some rain and wind, not much of either. She won't be a direct hit, will just brush past unless she changes direction so I'm not expecting much of anything.

Been up since 6:45 am EDT. Woke up easily with no grogginess which is a miracle for me. I tried to remember what I did different but the only thing that comes to mind is that I didn't snack before I went to bed. Maybe the blood sugar thing? Anyway, had to call DD and tell her when she came up for a visit today (she's nine blocks from the ocean)not to come in thru the front door. Miss Muffet has been building again and her web stretches from the metal framework of the walkway arch to the side of the house. DS says we're probably the strangest family in the neighborhood, rearranging our life to fit that of a spider but I thought that was a given anyway...the strangest family part I mean! But I truthfully don't see why I should go out and destroy a perfectly good web. So far she's been more than generous building one beautiful web after another in various parts of the front door area. And they are truly beautiful when the light hits them just right. Here...let me post a pic so you can see what I mean.


Now that I've wasted time uploading pictures from my camera to my photo album to my Adobe PS to here I guess I'd better get to it and start another paint over. I'll post both pieces later today and that my friends is a promise or my name isn't Carolyn, a Jersey Girl...LOL

Happy Birthday Mommy!

It's Mom's 85th B'day today. In an hour and a half my sister (the designated daughter) is coming by to pick me up and take the three of us to breakfast at our favorite eatery. The Side Door Cafe in Lake Como, NJ. Owner and chief cook, Lorrie Thrush, will make it a memorable experience, just as she always does! If you are ever in the area of Belmar, NJ do yourself a HUGE favor and continue south into Lake Como and stop at the Side Door. The food is fabulous and hospitality unsurpassed! Oh, and tell Lorrie I said HI!

So after breakfast we'll be going back to Mom's house and from her birthday wish list picking out things that need fixing, moving or cleaning. At 85 Mom does not need anything new, she's got an adorable cottage that is in perfect balance between old and new. I'm going to try and persuade her to discard her sewing room since she hasn't sewn a stitch since Daddy died back in '98. I think the room would make a wonderful reading nook and I'm going to work hard at convincing her of this.

Already have homes for the sewing cabinet, the treadmill and the quilting table she's got stuffed in there. But sssssssshhhhhhhhhhh...don't tell her I told you...we've got to make her believe it was her own fabulous idea!

I hate the thought of not painting today but I need a day doing something different so I can come back to it with fresh eyes. Happy Birthday to anyone lucky enough to be born on Mom's birthday :)
Carolyn, a Jersey Girl

Overslept and creatively challanged today!

Bad night and I slept until noon. I NEVER do that but now I guess I can say that I DO do that! I really need to start painting but I can't seem to get past this tiredness.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow, isn't there?
Here's my latest pieces I'm planning to post to my etsy shop.



Angel Food Cake



Devils Food Cake





Fairy Cake


I really NEED to paint more and blog and twitter less but I've never been good at dividing up my time. So when I paint.....I PAINT until I drop. When I eat......I EAT until I'm binging. *sigh* if only I were a woman of few vices :)

A Summer Place

Today is IT! OFFICIAL LAST DAY OF THE SEASON AT THE JERSEY SHORE. The official last day of out-of-towners honking and yelling and getting drunk and throwing up in the storm drains.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a child I would spend this day in mourning. My summer friend Jane's family would be leaving their summer house driveway on 16th and turning right and right again as I ran through the backyards to wave one last time from in front of my home on 17th. The start of school would be two days away and I would be having that shivery scared/happy feeling in the pit of my stomach because that meant I got to wear my new set of clothes and use the brand new pencils and PINK eraser!

But mostly it was a sad day. A few tears shed for the end of summer friendships as the 'city people' went back north and our town went into its winter quiet. A 'little death' really because the noise and summer life were gone for another 8 months. Replacing it were transient families who would rent the summer bungelows. They would be moving in tomorrow, stay through Memorial Day and disappear out of my life forever once summer started again.

Living in a seashore town was always filled with summer happiness and winter blues. And to this very day those same feeling prevail. I am sad, sad, sad and not expecting it to lift for at least 2 days. That's when our family comes together to celebrate my Mom's 85th b'day and we'll all tell our summer horror stories of the city folk as we secretly await their return once again.