All That Glitters!

Oh how I love October and it's already more than halfway over. Sad... I wish it would last for another 6 months! Our temps here have started to drop a bit, though this week we might be headed up into the 80's again when really temps should be in the 50's or 60's. That's the south for you, always on the warm side of things.

I've got a zillion projects going on right now. I just completed a HUGE one yesterday that I wanted to have done for the past 3 years. LOL! We built a smaller horse shed for one of my horses and it was just plywood so it was ugly, weathered, aging...looking pretty shabby. Yesterday I went out and painted it finally, and we trimmed it out in bright white to really finish it off. Looks 1000x times better! Next is our garden shed which I originally painted a bright yellow and has faded so badly, that I'm going to repaint and make it too fresh and bright.

So - all that glitters? Well....I've been working on lots and lots of jewelry. Did I mention how much I LOVE to solder?! Oh I do. I took some amazing classes this past summer and have been working so hard on new jewelry pieces. I've been so fortunate too to be able to sell so many this year. That's really gratifying. Here are a few things I've made so far:

My next addition will be hand stamping. I'm currently in the "collecting" stage; letter sets, metal blanks, and various tools. I'm in LOVE with this form of jewelry making too, though it can be extremely frustrating as well if you don't get a good impression with the stamp. The letter sets too are very expensive. I mean VERY expensive. Not the $50 or 60 that are in the stores. These are hundreds of dollars, so it's a huge investment. The difference in stamping though is comparable to buying a Volkswagen to a Ferrari! That huge of a difference. The work you put out though is also amazing, so it's worth the investment I think.  This is one I made for a memorial pendant for an order:

And just a fun one:

I've got bracelets coming as well and a lot more fun things. I hope to show you some more soon! Happy Fall!

Of WIPS, and Fall, and Candy Corn! Hooray Halloween is on it's way!

I look forward to Summer every year...time to thaw out from the long, bone-chilling winters of the Northwest, where frost-covered lawns make way for lush gardens, and planters are filled with pretty blossoms!

But my favorite time of year? Well Fall of course!

What better time to display one's favorite Halloween art?!  And create new works-in-progress as well! Right now I'm working on some paintings; all different sizes of canvas, from 4x 5 to 6x6 and maybe larger. I've just finished a few skelly paintings which you saw in the previous post and now I'm doing a few more of those plus some new Halloween-themed mixed media as well.

Note to self: Must get onto some sculpting! I have a few pumpkin folk on the drawing board. And do you remember this little sculpt I did last year? One of my Woodland Winter collectibles. And such a sweet face! My dear and favorite fan AND BWOS blog-stalker (lol), Janelle from Texas, got this as a Christmas gift from her hubby. How thoughtful of him huh? I think she's been waiting for me to do some more in time for this Christmas...I'm on it Janelle!

 

I'll leave you now with some very "spirited" Halloween photos to get you in the mood.. I'll be back shortly with pics of my new work!  Till then...unpleasant dreams!

Things That Go Bump...

Wanting to save the world from zombies, vampires, witches, or some other unsavory creature this Halloween? Well turn on and tune in to Halloween programming on TV this October! Maybe you'll learn a few tricks.


What's on this month? Let's take a look:



A new show this season called Grimm. It debuts on October 28th and I think it's based on Grimm's Fairytales. I saw the preview - looked like cops and trolls or something of that nature.

Next: Martha Stewart's Haunted House (Hallmark Channel) October 24th, 8 pm (E.T) No one does a holiday better than Martha! I know this will be a must-see for me - even if I have to DVR it and watch it the next day!

Making Monsters (Travel Channel) runs Sunday's through 10/23

It's about a Colorado based family who makes monsters and supplies them to haunted houses, theme parks, movies, etc... This could be fun!

I skipped over some others so make sure to check your local listings on your guide.

Here's the list of my top 4 Halloween favorites:

Jeepers Creepers - Still to this day, the creepiest horror flick I've ever seen.

Halloween - Yes, that same classic movie. From the spooky theme music to the cinematography. Dark, moody and creepy! No matter how many times I see it, I still get scared.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! What more can I say about that. Candy corn sweetness. Awwwww...

Nightmare Before Christmas - It's Tim Burton for corn's sake! What's not to love?

Halloween Creepy Craft

Of course I love October! It's Halloween silly! There's just something magical about the month don't you think? A certain feel to the air......


So with just a couple weeks away, I thought I'd share with you some wonderfully spooky, and frightfully kooky Halloween ideas for decorating this season!


Treat bags courtesy Martha Stewart

Rubber stamping of course is one method for making some cute Halloween cards and decor, but have you ever tried potato stamping? It's an easy way to add a bit of spookiness to treat bags, gift tags or anything else you might want to creep out...

All you need are a few items:
Potato - I use Idaho since they're larger and firmer
Paring knife
Carrot or apple peeler
Small melon baller (for eye sockets) but you can use the end of one of the peelers as well
Acrylic paints (whatever colors)
Item you want to stamp (cards, bags, tags...)

Anywhere you cut away or scoop out, will be the part that doesn't make an imprint. So if you scoop out eyes for example, those will remain white or whatever the background of what your stamping on is. Get it?

Let's get started! After determining your pattern, cut the potato in half. Then I like to draw my pattern onto the raw potato (Sharpie pen or outline with the point of a skewer, whatever...). Next, start "carving" away the design. Remember - the raised portion will be what gets printed onto the card, tag, etc.... Once you've finished carving, brush your acrylic paint onto the potato and stamp away! Easy and fun!

Here are a few ideas of what to stamp to get you started:

Bats
Skulls
Pumpkins
Candy Corn

I used this technique (waaaay before Martha ever got hold of this idea!) on black satin drapes I made and then stamped them with white skulls and hung them in my windows for Halloween. Truth be told, I had them up all year actually because.... everyday is Halloween!!!

Favorite Fall Things

Fall is peeking it's head around the corner up here in Washington. The leaves are slowly changing from bright vivid green, to just a touch of autumny orange and gold. Big puffy clouds are high in the brighter-than-blue sky and there's that undeniable crispness in the air. It's going to be warm this week, maybe in the 80's I heard, but it's still got the feel of Fall.



Fall brings my favorite month with it; October. My birthday, haunted houses start their yearly seasonal appearance, then Halloween! Decorating my front porch with pumpkins, gourds and other Fall ephemera is something I look forward to each year. Every year I get at least 1 new Fall/Halloween item to display. And being the Halloween Queen that I am, of course my display is up all year!!!



What are your favorite Fall things? Here's a few of mine:
Sweaters and hoodies
Vegetable soup with seasonal vegetables
Orange and red leaves
Hot apple cider
Candy corn
Candy apples
Horror movies and endless reruns of my fave: Halloween
Pumpkin patches
Whirlwinds of leaves that blow along the ground...

What are some of yours?

I leave you with this lovely song about Fall. You've probably all heard it. It's an unmistakable melody - very haunting and melancholy - just beautiful. This was my father's favorite song. It was originally recorded in French as Les Feuilles Mortes (means The Dying Leaves) with lyrics by poet Jacques Prevert.

Autumn Leaves (Johnny Mercer)
The falling leaves drift by the window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses,
The sun-burned hands I used to hold.
Since you went away the days grow long,
And soon I'll hear old winter's song,
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.

October Happenings...

Hi gang!

Here we are in October already. I love Fall don't you? It's so beautiful. Normally here in WA, we've got a lot more of the Fall-look going on, but I think the strange weather of the earlier seasons has seriously confused Mother Nature, so it's not quite typical here right now.


What else is going on? Cosmetology school (Gene Juarez) is going really well for me. The first day out on the salon floor, I have to admit I wanted to quit! I was scared to death and just dreading taking my first guest. It's not that I don't know the stuff, but doing it on someone who can talk back? That's a whole other thing! My dear friend, Amalia, aka "Blake", who sat next to me in Design (cutting), and is next to me now on the floor, told me "J-nine, you need to calm down! You're freaking ME out and making ME nervous!" Honestly, I had no idea I was giving off that vibe. Well she was right. So for the next day and a half, I regrouped and just thought, ya know - this is IT. This is what you've been going to school for. Get it together girl! My next salon day, it was like I'd been doing it forever. And ya know what? I LOVE it!! Nothing scares me. I look forward to meeting my guests, and love the challenge of creating something new for someone and turning them into fabulous Divas! I've done haircuts, foils, colors, and each one has turned out great. Why? My attitude. I love what I do and so I think it comes out in how I do it. I love my guests too. They come in for a 5-star service and that's what they should get.


This month was also my birthday, October 2nd. And what a GREAT birthday I had! The girls at school surprised me first thing in the morning with a big balloon bouquet, flowers, cards, gifts, and lots of hugs and birthday wishes. They're not only my "support" with salon-life, but also dear friends.

For myself for my birthday? I bought P90X! I've seen what it can do for a body. And lordy - does it work! It's 13 extreme exercise videos that don't quit, including doing pull-ups. When was the last time YOU did a pull-up? I'm predicting I should be able to do ONE by October 2, 2011! Anyway, since my surgery last October, I've lost 25 lbs just from being off pain meds, staying away from most carbs and being more active. I thought it was time to give myself the gift of health and fitness. It's good for the mind as well, and for those of you who know me - well you know I need that! LOL!

Speaking of art and getting back to business. I'm working on an order for snowmen right now for a store back in Rhode Island. Obviously I haven't been doing a lot of creating because of my school schedule, and that'll still have to wait pretty much till I'm done. School demands and requirements get harder as you progress so I have to give that my full attention. I will try to create here and there as time allows, and I'll keep you all updated at least monthly on any news.


Happy Fall everyone!
Jeannine

A Bit of Progress

Remember the painting I was working on with the dancing skeleton? Finally I have a bit of progress on it. I forgot how much work it takes, at least for me!

I'm liking how it's all working so far. Each color block will be a different Halloween scene, yet tie in together. I'm also adding other elements besides painting. I've got some "altered" art ideas that I'm going to incorporate which should add some visual interest as well.

Hope you enjoy the preview! A lot left to do, so back to painting I go!