Feelin' happy...

THANK YOU kindly for all of your support and orders for my book. It will be available through Blurb for quite some time and I will also have some copies for sale here on my blog in April. I may even add some suprises to go with it:)

We're finally feelin' springy here today. Just got in from a puddle jumping walk with the kids. It's 45 and feels like 70 to us:) hehe! I got my hair cut today. Amazing how a new doo can lighten your mood:)

Decorated my studio (aka dining room) for spring.
Added this lovely print from Jenny and Aaron and attached it to a vintage gray with button magnets. Perfect for the kitchen.
Got this lovely trim from Birds of a Feather. I can't wait to use it. Heidi makes the most gorgeous stuff! Check out her etsy.

Check out this feather headress (?) I found at an estate sale this weekend!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Guess what???

I'm published!!

Order the book HERE.

I also ordered a handful of copies that I will be bringing to Sweetpeas with my at the end of the month. When I return, I will sell what's left here on my blog in April. Also had a question about having to become a "member" of Blurb.com to order. That is who I published it through. Looks like you do need to, but it's free and easy. Here are a few pictures, click on book preview for more. Hope you enjoy!

THANK YOU all for your support of my blog and my creative process. I think you'll enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed making it. My main goal of the book was to have my blog in a tangible format so it's not just "out there" in cyberspace. During the process of sifting through thousands of pictures and hundreds of blog entries, I came to realize that my blog and therefore this book is truly an authentic representation of who I am. To have found a community to share that with and be supportive of is such an amazing blessing.

Hugs!

Warm and fuzzy post...

I had already planned on the title of this post when my sister emailed me this article with the same name. It's from a freelance writing site. I thought it would be fun to share, since it's all about blogging pals. The question is asked, why do we need our blogging pals? The author answers 1.) No one understands you as well as another blogger. 2.)You’ll get more work. 3.)You get sick day help. 4.) You might find some good long-term partnerships 5.) Your friends will rally around you. 6.) Your overall workload lessens. 7.) Friendly competition. Each one of these is expanded on in the article. Good food for thought.

Thanks, Laura!

So what would you say are the major benefits for you when it comes to having blog pals?

Speaking of friends, I got some fun mail on Friday that perked me up. Ms Amy from inspireco sent me an invite to be in on some of the fabulous changes you'll be seeing from her soon. Can't wait! Also got the newest issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. It's so bright and cheery. Heather Bailey is featured.These fun goodies are from One Ripe Peach on etsy. Love the extras she included:)

This random project goes to an undisclosed recipient. Definitely warm and fuzzy...
At an estate sale today I came across this little snuggle buns for literally a pretty penny. I put her in the middle of the wreath I bought from Katie Runnels and she seems mighty happy:)
Hope you're having a good weekend!

Getting on track..

Trying to play catch up on this Friday morning. Since it's -5 degrees out, I won't be going anywhere until I have to. Can you believe it?! Even for Minnesota that is cold for this time of year. Will spring ever come? Here are my pages from the last few days for the 21 Day Challenge. The habit I'm trying to form is adding things that inspire me in some way to a journal to keep track of what gets my creative juices flowing. Kind of a catch all "go to" book for creative sparks. Above are kitchen ideas and colors that make me smile. Below are oh so inspiring creative spaces. I'm compensating for our winter white by putting lots of color in this journal to keep me from going completely crazy:)
In my last post I shared the nest I made for Heather of Speckled Egg for her Sweet Nest Swap. Today I have the pleasure of sharing the *gorgeous* nest that she sent me. Wow, check out those colors. I absolutely love it! Thanks, Heather.


Speaking of nests, have you seen the new issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine? My issue came yesterday. I used to subscribe to Blueprint mag and when that went away, they substituted the subscription with MSL. The nests on the cover and inside are amazing! She also has a super cute tutorial on making some little birdies out of crepe paper. Martha also has an online Easter workshop going on with some fun ideas.

In other catch up news, all the partners for the Vintage Party Swap have been sent. If you didn't get an email from me check your spam folder. If it's not there, email me at artsy_mama@hotmail.com

Have a great weekend! I hope to go to a few estate sales. What are your plans?

Much love...

Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel loved. Thank you for your enthusiasm for the goodies I sold! It's so wonderful to have a community of people that love vintage as much as I do and supports my creative process of incorporating them into my art. That means more estate sales for me:) I will try to have another shop update soon.

The Vintage Party Swap is now closed! Thanks for all the interest and fun party theme ideas. If you are in the swap, you will receive an email from me this week with all the info. and your partner. Feel free to use the button above on your blog if you're participating.

I am excited to be able to show you the nest I made for my partner and swap hostess Heather of Speckled Egg. It is for her Sweet Nest Swap. It put a smile on my face as I put it all together, hopefully Heather is enjoying it as well. Have a great day! It's snowing here again....

It's a blog sale!!!

Edit: SOLD OUT! Wewh, after a crazy day of trying to figure out what's going on with etsy, everything sold here on my blog. Sounds like others of you have been having trouble listing things recently as well. I hope to make some more eggs up with different trims. Thank you for your support and business!!!!!

Phooey with etsy today. I can't figure out why it will take some of my pictures and not others, so Plan B is to just sell them here. It will be first come first serve. I will combine shipping on purchases. Email me at artsy_mama@hotmail.com with the names of the item(s) you would like, which can be found below that item. Also please provide your paypal address so that I can invoice you. Most items are $4.50 shipping for first item and $2 each additional item.
This purple vintage beaded basket (above) is gorgeous. It measures approx. 5 1/2" high and is filled with beaded flowers. $10~ SOLD!
This large bird is striking in color. Lovely piece, 8" tall. $15~ SOLD!

I adore this Lefton China basket with stand. Measures 7" tall with handle. Here is the front (above) and backside (below). It says copyright 1955, handpainted china. $12~ SOLD

I have 10 of these large eggs, each one is filled with to the brim with vintage trim of varying lengths. $10 per egg. I will number each below and if you would like to purchase one, email me at artsy_mama@hotmail.com with your top 2 choices (if you have 2) and your paypal address. I will send you a paypal invoice. Shipping is $4.50 for the first and $2 each additional.

ONE~ SOLD!

TWO~ SOLD!

THREE~ SOLD!

FOUR~ SOLD!

FIVE~ SOLD!

SIX~ SOLD!

SEVEN~ SOLD!

EIGHT~ SOLD!

NINE~ SOLD!

TEN~ SOLD!

Sorry for all the confusion and late posting. Happy shopping!

Shop update....

The Vintage Party Swap is still taking participants. You are all coming up with the most creative ideas. Love it! See post below for details. If you're in the swap, here's the swap button for you to take and post on your blog.

I just wanted to let you know that I will be updating my etsy shop tomorrow,

Tuesday, March 4th at approx. 10 am CST.

I realized that I haven't shared some of my estate sale finds with you for awhile and came up with some spring goodies that I know you'll love:) These pages for the 21 Day Challenge are inspired by my shop update. Do you catch the theme?!
See ya then!

Vintage Party Swap Invite!

This swap is now FULL!

After gathering some of my favorite vintage party supplies together, I thought it may be fun to host a little swap. I did have some hiccups with the last swap. So if you don't think you can follow through on this, please don't sign up. It really makes for a giant headache, especially for the swap hostess, yours truly. So for those of you that would like to do this.

Decide on a party theme that you would like to receive items for. It could be for a:

birthday (please specify baby, child, adult)

baby shower

wedding

anniversary

spring

holiday

tea party

anything else you may come up with

Comment on this post with your top two preferences for theme and your email. Then I will partner you up and you will send to that person in the theme of their choice. Now you certainly do not need to supply them with all of their party needs. Your not expected to find 20 of the same napkins or plates. They could always scan in the image and come up with thier own. The idea is to send them a variety of items for their theme, with a vintage twist. Now they can be actual vintage or vintage inspired, but should definitely have a vintage "vibe" to them. Know what I mean?! For example, I am gathering vintage items for my little girls 3rd birthday. This could include party napkins, plates, maybe some neat party hats, cupcake toppers, wrapping paper, vintage party cookbook. You get the idea. *I highly encourage at least one item to be handmade vintage inspired.* Sound like fun? I will only take the first 40 serious swappers!!! Oh yea, and the mail out date is by April 14th (my daughters 3rd birthday!) You must be in the US or Canada and be willing to ship either US or Canada, priority mail with delivery confirmation.

Here are my party inspired pages in my 21 Days Challenge journal.

Party on!

Day One {Intention}

Ok, we are off and running on Day One of Rhonna's 21 Day Challenge. Here is Rhonna's quote. As you can see I used it in my page above. I also journaled a little on the ledger paper on the right. It says, "My goal...fill this book with bits and pieces of life that inspire, entice me and wake me up to the world."

What fun this is going to be to take a little time each day, just a few minutes, to cut and paste whatever is inspiring me in my life right now. Today I added bits of fabric and trim from an estate sale jaunt, magazine photos, whatever suits my fancy:)

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Daily dose...for 21 days

For those of you that have read this blog for awhile, you know that I'm all about daily inspiration. Feeling inspired in your everday life by things around you. You also know that I love going to estate sales and find that other peoples junk inspires me to no end. Last night at the library a copy of Lynne Perrella's new book Art Making: Collections and Obsessions came in for me. This book truly speaks my language. She says "Whether we call it collecting, accumulating, scavenging, scrounging, gathering or junking, it's all about the urge to surround ourselves with our stuff, our loot, our stash, our hoard, our mother lode of treasures, and to reap the inspiration that these sometimes inexpicably irrisistable objects provide." I have sometimes struggled with the question and the balance of becoming too material and consumer minded. Lynne says that "....nor do we need the quantities of things we amass. And yet, like the art process itself, there is something rewarding about trusting our instincts and letting each discovery unfold. Keeping our inner radar tuned to the innate possibilities of each object is an important part of the game, a way to keep energized and engaged throughout a whole lifetime of creativity." Mati wrote today about daily inspiration.. she said "it all calls into question: what makes us feel most inspired? alive? motivated? it's these little nuggets of inspiration that fuel me.....how does that translate to painting and creating art? most of us would agree that it is part of the process. of noticing the shade of pink & the contrast of the bright green of the ranunculus against it's robin's egg blue vase."

Here is my sweet daily muse (below).

Then I found out that Rhonna was once again spreading her magic and starting up another 21 Days Challenge. Read all about it here!

So I am combining all of these ramblings about collections, inspiration and art into this challenge. For 21 days I am going to try to form a habit of keeping tabs on my daily inspirations and growing collections in a journal. I'm entranced with the idea of documenting where I get ideas from and what inspires me. Keeping an inspiration journal should be truly delightful. Speaking of documentation, have you seen the new inspiration ezine by Erin of Design for Mankind? Vol. 2 is out and it is amazing!