The New Year

Greetings & Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous New Year. I'm looking forward to starting fresh, as I always am at this time of year. I have high hopes for myself, my home, and my family. And of course, high hopes and goals for my beloved work and business.
I count 2008 as a successful year. We are no less in debt than this time last year, but I had much opportunity to meet and connect with fellow artists and Etsians, reconnect with a wonderful old friend, and spend time with out-of state family. For this, I feel richer.
I spent much time last year gathering vintage materials which I will incorporate into many new designs and also offer at my Etsy shop. I have a feeling bird-themes will be playing a large part in upcoming work. We already have some beautiful Heart Themed work ready to go for Valentines. Look for it soon both at Etsy and CafePress.
Until next time, I'll be hunkered down at home, dreaming and creating.
Again, Happiest of New Years and Warm Winter Wishes.

New Holiday Art

Here are some new mixed media pieces I've done for the Holidays. You can find them featured on some great products at our CafePress Shop. And stay tuned for some lovely Holiday items from our Etsy Shop.

Ho,Ho,Ho, It's off to work I go!

Gearing up for lots of Christmas work this week...new Etsy items, special orders, designing christmas cards, offering up some vintage supplies for Christmas crafts, etc. Also, I'll be adding some Christmas designs to my CafePress Shop. Maybe I'll sneak in a little decorating, too...Snow expected tonite, that'll bring on the Christmas spirit!

PS Does this photo look like a Martha Stewart ad or what?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I'm prepping for tomorrow-it's the first Thanksgiving that I'm hosting at our house. Can't wait for Turkey!! I'm shutting down my computer for the next two days-no work, no internet...just food & family.
I hope everyone has a yummy, safe, and joyful holiday'
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Twitter

So, I caved and join Twitter. I met a colleague the other day, a fellow Etsian, Gayle, from Monkey Threads, who recommended it and said it was really fun. So, I signed up and let's see what happens! I'm not sure I totally get it yet, but I'm sure I'll catch on evench.

So Exciting...

I'm very excitedly getting ready for "Escape to the Cape". It's a scrapbooking retreat that I'm attending with two of my sisters-in-law. We have been counting down the days for weeks, and now its finally here! Four days of non-stop cropping and sister-in-law bonding. Without husbands or three-year-olds! Yay. I even designed special t-shirts for the three of us (which, by the way,are also available for purchase at my CafePress shop).

Discovering Derian

Greetings! While surfing the 'net today, I discovered designer/decoupage artist John Derian at Anne's Blog. (Which, incidentally, she's got a good thing going on, too. I'd LOVE a "Subscription to Delight". )Anyways, back to John Derien. I'm completely entranced by his work. The designs are random, simple images plus ephemera, mixed and layered, perfectly, somehow...I can't put a finger on it, but these simple images; a fir tree, an insect, a word, are elevated to icon status in his beautiful collages. Enchanting.

Book Review

Bethany Lowe's Folk Art Halloween
My latest Halloween decorating/inspiration book. I love this book-the design, the color palette (yes, of course, black & orange), and the photography. My favorite part is, as usual, the pictures-EYE CANDY! The projects are cool-vintagey, whimsical. They seem easy enough,and there's lots of good instructions, templates, and clip-art included. A very fun and inspirational book. Especially if you're already a Bethany Lowe fan, as I am!

P.S.

I am loving this new color scheme for my Blog. Very Halloween-y. I'll change it after Oct. 31st!

Miscellany

No great shakes here, at home or in the studio. Well, that's not entirely true-I've added some Autumn goodies to the shop, some have already been posted here, but here's photos of the latest:


I'm still lagging on the Autumn decorating. I wonder what my problem is? Need some inspiration. Think I'll hole up in the bedroom and flip thru some decorating magazines for ideas. My favorites are Country Living, Country Sampler, and Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. Always good ideas and great photos.

AUTUMN GREETINGS!!

YAY!!!! It's Official-The First Day of Autumn. In case there's any doubt in your mind, I LOVE AUTUMN!!! The cooler air, the gorgeous colors... Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and, ohmygod, more Pumpkins! I love words like... Harvest... Gather... Bountiful... Abundance. I love colors like ... ochre... burnt orange... paprika... sage... copper...amber... cinnabar (love that name!) The crispness in the air is so energizing to me, I wish it could be like this all year.
Happy Fall! Go out and Gather your Bountiful
and Abundant Harvest!!

NEW Hallowe'en Goodes @ Etsy

Yay! Today my shop is featured on the Holidays Showcase at Etsy. For the occasion, I've added
some new Halloween and Autumn-themed goodies...







Enjoy! My fave is the Jack O'Man Hanger.

Wanted:One Witchy Woman

This gal is now available at our Etsy shop. Her name is Victoria and she has been tranformed from an antique cabinet card into a delightful Hallowe'en Treasure. Vintage papers, original art, glitter, buttons, fibers; she's got it all! Take a look-and standby for more Autumn Goodies on the way!

5 New Goodies @ Cafepress

In all my excitement over upcoming Halloween, I've already added some new products to MSD Mercantile. Check out our 1.) Scare E. Crow magnet. 2.) Crow on Sage throw pillow. 3.)Crow and Sunflower Print. 4.) Jack O'Man Treat Tote. And 5.) Candy Corns Toddler Tee. These are great holiday accents and gifts. Stay tuned for more...

It's here!...Almost

I'm getting very excited for Fall! All the stores have their autumn and Halloween goodies out on display. Is it too soon to decorate for Halloween? I finally have my own pumpkins growing in my yard (by accident, but who cares).I have some great ideas...For decorating and creating...I'll have some Autmn & Halloween goods up for sale soon at my Etsy shop. Witchy Women, Postcard Art, note cards, ornaments,etc. Keep your eyes on the shop! And check back soon for photos of Autumn Decorating progress...

Just for Pretty...

French Paquets, available in our Etsy shop



My husband surprised me w/ the most gorgeous teapot I've ever seen after his trip to Florida.




An antique crocheted dress yoke that hangs in my office.







My doily collection, gathered and stacked, with a little nest perched on top. I got the inspiration to stack my doilies on a cake stand from Country Living.













A sweet handcrafted baby card. This will soon be among our offerings at Etsy as well.










"Shabby Chic" Rabbits

Self-Indulgence...

Greetings-I want to show off my new paper doll! It's been awhile since I did a creative project for the sheer fun of it. I indulged myself w/ some paper-doll parts stamps that I recently purchased from my new favorite rubber stamp store, Beautiful Impressions.




Isn't she lovely? I was in vintage heaven while making her...an old postcard, vintage lace and sheet music, plus antique buttons-LOVE IT! I also ordered a few more sets of Character Construction stamps from Terri. Very Marie Antoinette-can't wait.

Vive la Kaari Meng!

I've decided to start talking about my beloved books on my blog. No one here (husband,son,cat) cares about "inspiration","vintage goodness","beautiful vignettes",etc. At least on my blog I can gush all I want about my inspirational books full of vintage goodness and beautiful vignettes!


I'll start with these two beauties from Kaari Meng of French General. My first was The French Inspired Home which absolutely made my mouth water. I love all things French and to find a whole book full of franco-style projects was a dream come true. The photos are so great-I wish my laundry room looked that good!-and Kaari has provided pages full of lovely labels, tags, etc. for us to copy and use in our own personal projects. My more recent purchase, French Inspired Jewelry, is equally beautiful. Pure eye-candy. The beaded baubles are lovely and look very easy to make. I'll be honest with you, though. I'll probably never make any of them. But I will pore over the photos over and over, sure to find new inspiration every time.

Happy June!

Wow, June already. Summer's here. Now it'll be hard to stay inside & do work. Too bad I can't build on a screened-in porch to set my studio up in! Things at MSD have been quite busy lately...a marathon week of scrapbooking to meet a contest deadline, a wonderfully fun invitation job, gift creations and lots of other miscellaneous projects. One thing I haven't been working on lately is my painting & collage work. I'm hoping to get to that once things slow down over the next few weeks. So, check our Etsy shop in a few weeks for some new goodies. Also, our Cafe Press shop has been overhauled recently, see what you think...OK, onto planning my summer fun, oh, I mean work.

Enjoy!

Spring at Last!

Ah, Thank God! I love this stage of spring when the leaves are so delicate and the prettiest, freshest shade of green. I like to call it "chartreuse". I think I learned that one from Martha.And the sky seems bluer, somehow. We're loving all the sunshine and birdsong and fresh air.I want to start using colors in my artwork like chartreuse, sky blue, palest pink, and creamy, buttery yellow.

 

                  Enjoy your Spring!

New Friends, New Earrings!

I made friends with two awesome jewelry designers last weekend at a vendor show I did. Naturally, I had to buy some of their treasures. First, Christina Bracale-amazing, mother of three boys and entrepreneur!- of Little Trend Setters custom made these beauties for me:
        

Cool, huh? I love them.

Then there's my new Etsy Guru, Janice, of  Destiny's Creations. Are these not gorgeous? I had a hard time choosing from all of her beautiful creations.

Check these ladies out. They are two beautiful women, inside and out, with beautiful jewelry.

Time Keeps on Slippin'

Wow, Daylight Savings is killing me this year! It's been two days and I still haven't adjusted. I'm exhausted and feel like I'm in a time warp. Whooped and Warped. That's me. It'll be nice to have it stay lighter longer. Maybe since my body clock's still on old time I can train myself to get up earlier in the morning (uh, yeah, good luck with that...).

NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH

For those of you who don't know, March is officially National Craft Month. Yay! Lots of sales and celebrations to honor it. What are you doing to celebrate your creativity? I'm trying out some new products, Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Chipboard Letters, and Grafix Rub-Onz. I'll be using them to make a sign for the MSD Design Studio. Can't wait. I'll post photos and feedback on my new products.
March is also National Women's History Month. I'm challinging myself to develop a project to combine the two-celebrate creativity and honor women of the past. Hmmm....

P.S. Are these ribbons gorgeous or what? $1 bin at Michaels.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Happy Valentine's Day, One and All!! Hope your days are filled with Love, Peace, and Romance.

Spring Fever? Yes, Please!

I’m getting psyched for spring! Once Christmas is over, I’m done w/winter. I recently was inspired (by Tara Frey of Bella Pink) to go to Homegoods, and I must say, I hit the spring décor mother lode ! I stocked up on eggs and nests-my favorite spring design elements. I love filling up bowls and vessels full of eggs, and tucking little nests here and there. And God knows I can’t get enough of my new favorite color-Robin’s Egg Blue.

The New Year

We're starting off the new year, like everyone, with several goals in mind...
First, and always, ORGANIZE THE STUDIO!
Second, keep blog,etsy shop, and cafepress shop UPDATED!
Third, the mantra for the year (personally and professionally): TAKE JOY!