Heat and Bugs and Art

Well I want to start out by saying, "I HATE BUGS!!!" Oh lordy, I have NEVER EVER seen so many heinous varieties as I have here in the South.  Like right now beetles are banging against the window of my craft room. Go to sleep you hideous things!!! AND these - bright red velvet nightmares they call "Cowkillers" with a sting so vicious it can kill a cow supposedly. I actually saw one on my driveway the other day. Heaven knows where it was headed. Ha!!! Not on my property you don't! DEAD (I think...) AND these -  the biggest black wasps I've ever seen anywhere, the size of a hummingbird that continually burrow into my barn floor no matter how many gallons of insecticide I dump down those holes. Lovely eh?  I'm supporting the local hardware stores here in town with all the wasp spray I'm buying. All I can say is be careful what you wish for! I wanted to move here so I better just shut the front door and get on with it!

 

OK, now onto art and what I've been working on. Painting. Lots and lots of painting. I've also been working on an interesting collage thing with spooky houses that I'm really diggin! (Diggin. Isn't that like a word from the '60's? I LIKE IT!)  Anyway... I've been working on all sizes of canvases from 2x2 on up. My subjects have mostly been snowmen but I have started to do more Halloween as well. I'll post some pics here in the next day or so.

 

Jewelry: Oh boy. I think I have a love/hate with it. I'm not sure why exactly. Well wait, yes, I do know why. The wire wrap ring thingys. I forgot how to do it and can't seem to find my way back to knowing. See I took this amazing class from this gal in Bonney Lake, WA, named Kara and she was just this great teacher and made it super easy. I didn't practice enough and now that I need to make some, um...I forgot. So here I am now in ol' Lewisburg, TN with no (anything) craft or bead stores so I head on up to Berry Hill, TN with a friend and we go to a bead store there. No names mentioned. This lady at the counter who attempted to show me and my Andre-the-Giant sized hands, how exactly to hold the correct tool, well I swear she served in the German army - you WILL hold the pin THIS WAY!!! Scary!!!!  Needless to say she didn't teach me anything. So after that I've just been muddling my way through putting stuff together.  I have been making some things and they're not half-bad. I don't know. I love dangly things so I did some of that off the chain, but then I wanted beads too so I did part beads then a crimp bead, then the chain and so it went... 

 

I did make some of my own pendant charms out of Sculpy - a day of the dead skull and also a heart with a witch/broom. They're "OK". Eh. Maybe I'm my worst critic. Sculpy = love/hate as well. I'm going to do something with them as in add beads, chain, etc. and then decide if I'll list them for sale or not. Yes yes I'll post pics.  

 

Here's something I am excited about! This Fall/Winter, I'm planning on doing some craft fairs.  I think up in Nashville at the Expo center and then maybe some others in some smaller towns. I was going to do one in Bell Buckle but not sure and the deadline is fast approaching to decide. My goal is to get more work out there and build my By Way of Salem presence here in the south. I'm working getting as much done now as I possibly can and also getting my booth display together. Just that alone and being all creative and enticing to get people to come in is work, but it's very fun too.

 

I'm happy that I'm back creating and blogging and settled in pretty much here, so get used to seeing me!! 

SNoWmEn WArm YouR HEarT!

 

 

Did you add to your snowman collection yet this year? Or choose a Christmas tree topper? Well then stop on by my Etsy store to see these, plus many of my other snowman creations made just for you! 

Halloween Works in Progress

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a few of my most recent creations with y'all before I forget, which I'm known to do since I strongly believe there's a direct correlation between art and insanity!

This is my first attempt designing/stitching and painting my version of a monster doll. I know, I know, you've probably seen a lot of these already, but I wanted to give it a try cause they're so darn cute. Mine isn't done yet so this really is a WIP (work in progress). Once I have him complete, I'll put up a new pic. I've got a couple more appendages to add...

Not using a pattern, I sort of winged it. Just stitching and shaping as I went along. Being a fabric hoarder (and darn proud of it!), I had lots of Halloween scraps and quarters available to choose from. It was more difficult than I thought to put all the fabric selections together, and even now it's too "perfect", so next time I'm just going to randomly pick and choose.

For the face, I did some stitching but then had to add in my handpainting as well. His "crazy" eye and teeth are painted and trimmed with stitching instead of ink.

Once I stitched all the parts and pieces together, I laughed out loud how he turned out! I liked him!

Here's my Halloween version of my favorite snowman holding a pumpkin under the night sky while a spooky tree watches from behind. I still have to add some finishing touches, but he's on the way to chubby cuteness!

Next is a Halloween "Trick or Treat" Wish box. This is a petite wooden box, embellished with a special surprise inside; a tiny envelope to hide a wish underneath the lid. The top is painted with witch boots(say that 3 times fast!) and whirls, stars and dots, along with lots of witch hats all the way around the sides. It's held up by 4 ball feet, each painted a different Halloween color with added polka dots. Inside is lined with black and white polka dot paper.

 

You can see all of these and more in my Etsy store. Just click here and it will take you right to it. Happy Halloween! 

Oh-So-Cuddly Snowmen

I've been busy painting lately. Snowmen. Lots and lots of snowmen!  These are a few of my favorites. I paint this little guy on all sorts of things; wood, rocks, canvas, clay - anything! I just think no matter how you paint snowmen, they are always cute! I have these for sale in my Etsy store and they've been selling out as soon as I list them. Must be lots of snowmen lovers and collectors, like me out there!

Merry Christmas To All!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. Thank you for your love and friendship throughout this past year. I have the most amazing fans of my art; from California to Russia and everywhere in between! Thank you for your support. I'm truly blessed to call you my friend. May you all have the merriest Christmas! And Happy New Year! With love, Jeannine

Painting a little bit of Winter

These are my latest little creations. I say little because these are petite canvases of 4 x 5. They are done in acrylics, then embellished with decorative papers and distressed letters. I was so charmed by them when they were finished, I didn't want to sell them!

I'm working on a few more right now. I know, it's close to Christmas and I'm a bit behind in my seasonal creations, but I can't create by the season. I have to feel it, or it doesn't happen. I could paint snowmen all year long, even in Summer. Right now, I'm feeling a bit candy cane-ish, so we'll see what I might come up with! Ho Ho Ho!

Snowmen; My Favorite Winter Friend

There's more to a snowman than meets the eye! He's the icon of Winter, our childhood, children's books and movies, and this lovable character is everywhere! On coffee mugs at Starbucks, plates at Pier 1, napkins at grocery stores, greeting cards, door hangers, gift wrap, Christmas ornaments, holiday sweaters bound for the return counter, and so much more. And who can possibly pass up a huge field of snow and not at least think about building a snowman? Not me.
I myself have a huge collection. Every year I set out to purchase at least one thing "Snowman". My collection includes gift bags, decorative tins, soft sculptures, carvings I bought in Switzerland, candleholders, ceramic statues, german glass ornaments, Bob's boxes, tins that were once filled with chocolates, even greeting card boxes I had to save because the snowmen were too adorable to just toss out. They're so cute and cuddly, I don't know how anyone can resist them.

Do you know who built the first snowman? It was in Eau Claire, WI in 1809 by Vernon Paul and his little girl Yetty. How about the world's tallest snowman? Apparently that record was set in 2008 in Bethel, Maine as a way to put Bethel on the map. The snowman stood 122 feet and 1 inch! How did they get up there??

One of my favorite books as a child was "The Littlest Snowman". As I remember, it was a story about a snowman that came to town and brought joy. As the thermometer went up, the snowman started to melt. The snowmen went and got every flavor of ice cream and ate it, then sat upon the town Christmas tree. A northwind came and blew all the ice cream flavored snow all through the air. A beautiful written classic children's book that every family should have. So wonderful...wish I still had mine....
If you've been following my art and blog for any length of time, you know I incorporate a lot of snowmen in my art. I've painted, stuffed, glued, and glittered them and I never get tired of seeing their cherubic faces. And I'm always on the search for more to add to my personal collection.


Snowmen bring smiles to our faces. They're a way of celebrating the bite of Winter, young and old alike.

If a snowman had a voice, who do you think he'd sound like?