Christmas

We had such a lovely Christmas this year. The girls got more than they could possibly ever want, thanks in large part to their grandparents...on both sides. We've also been spending lots of time with my sister and her family who made the trek to Indiana all the way from the Florida Keys. It's so nice to see them. Annie has twin two-year old boys, so you can just imagine how fun Christmas was having all the kids together...there was never a dull moment! Check out some of the crazyness...

Christmas Eve at my grandma's house. Ella and Eva are playing with their cousins, Gabe and Gavin.

Getting ready for bed on Christmas Eve. The girls put out a sugar cookie, banana and chocolate milk for Santa. The rumor around our house is that Santa gets tired of regular old plain milk.

Christmas morning at our house.



Christmas at my parents' house with gifts piled high!


Me and my girls.



David and Ella posing by the fireplace...I think Eva took this picture!

David surprised me this year with a wonderful gift...my favorite actually. I'm still a little shocked at his sneakyness. So, imagine my surprise when I opened my last box on Christmas morning and found a Jodi Ohl original! I checked Jodi's etsy shop often...just to see if the two pieces that were on my Christmas list were still there. I pretty much wrote it off as a lost cause when both pieces were still in Jodi's shop on Christmas Eve. So, I was totally elated when I opened that box!

Here is the piece that hubby got for me. It's called "Burgess Street". Be sure to check out Jodi's work in her etsy shop.

I also got tons of new art supplies...canvases, scrapbook papers, gel medium, watercolor paper...and a gift card that I've already spent and then some. I think I feel my muse starting to return. And my sis and I had a girl's afternoon out and went to the spa for massages today...I totally needed the pampering and enjoyed every minute of it.

So after the excitment of Christmas faded a bit, I realized that my precious little kitty cat had vanished. She's an older indoor cat and never ventures far, but she has been gone for almost 5 days now and we haven't a clue where she could be. We've scoured the neighborhood, hung up flyers and talked to the neighbors, but there's still no sign of her. I can't imagine where she could be. She is just like one of the family...I've had her since I've lived on my own and she was "my" cat. I hope she comes back soon.

We also celebrated a birthday here yesterday. Eva turned two years old...where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday Ella was two and Eva was a newborn. While she's definitely been a handful (much more so than her sister ever was)...we love her so much and enjoy her little personality (most of the time). She's definitely got a mind of her own. I wonder (and worry) what she'll be like as a teenager...we're in for some major trouble with this one.

The Four Seasons...in my living room

Well, for months now hubby and I have commented to each other that we need something to hang on our bare living room wall…the one and only wall that you can see as you approach the front door…the big green bare wall that you see from the street. We obviously weren’t getting anywhere by simply talking about it, so hubby suggested that I make something to hang on the empty wall. At first I shrugged it off…even though I have a few pieces hanging on the walls of our house (waiting to be sold), the prospect of making something large enough to make a dent in the vast empty space was daunting to say the least. I looked around etsy and proposed some alternatives, but not having hundreds of dollars to spend on artwork pretty much put an end to that discussion.

So, a few months ago while I was out, I picked up 4 16”x16” canvases thinking that I would certainly rather do 4 smaller (if you can call 16x16 small) pieces than one huge canvas. Bare in mind that I usually work small…2.5”x3.5”, 6”x6”, with an occasional 8”x10” thrown in when I’m feeling really adventurous, however, I’d recently completed a custom piece that was 20”x20”, so I felt confident in my abilities to do larger pieces.

If you don’t know by now, I’m kind of a tree freak…they show up in nearly every piece I do…and since I had 4 canvases, what better theme than a tree in each of the four seasons.

Until this point I tended to avoid spring trees (I had a bad experience once trying to create a spring tree that I’d rather not talk about) and winter trees…what can I say…I hate snow and wintertime in general.

I basically breezed right through the summer and fall canvases…they only took a month or so to finish. I made a few small studies for what the remaining seasons would look like, but I just wasn’t happy with the mediums I had chosen for the snow. I wanted something white and semi-transparent so vintage paper could be seen underneath, but wanted to avoid paint. Then, as I was lying in bed half asleep one night, it finally hit me…gesso! It was right in front of me the entire time and really added some unique texture to the winter snow.

Although the whole process took several months to complete, it was so much fun making these pieces “just for me”. As an artist, I am usually making art for my etsy shop, for friends and family or for gifts, but rarely take time to make something just for me. I’m extremely grateful that I did this project and now, I can’t help but stop and smile when I see my trees hanging on my wall.

Have you made anything “just for you” lately? If not, I highly suggest that you do it…even if it is just something small. You’ll be glad you did!

A Blue Christmas

A new treasury I found myself in...such a pretty collection and one of my favorite colors!

SALE!!!

Pretty Little Pendant


That's right...I decided to join in the whole Black Friday - Cyber Monday hoopla and have my own little sale. Between Friday, November 28 and Monday, December 1, I'm offering free shipping and marking down some of my original work.



Be sure to check out these shops too! They are all wonderfully talented mixed media artists from the Metsy Team who are offering incredible deals this weekend. Some sales have already begun...

lucysweetlucy

ArtSnark

CeeVeeArts

MizKatie

Peace of Pi Studio & Pibits

Two Cool Texans

P is for Paper

Amyma

Vintage Snaps and Scrap

Tiny Art by JMullin

gunnelsvensson

A little bit of everything

Lately I’ve been busy doing a little bit of everything. My precious little Ella made an absolutely beautiful flower girl last weekend. She is definitely my little princess. She loves wearing dresses and getting all dolled up with make-up and glitter…I guess you could say we’re complete opposites in that regard…lol. Hopefully she’ll grow out of it and become the volleyball and basketball star that we know she can be (jk). Anyway, she looked gorgeous and even managed to drop a few petals as she slowly strolled down the aisle. The ring bearer left her in the dust :)

I’ve been working on quite a few custom orders for Christmas, but hope to be caught up this week…*wipes sweat from brow* So, if you’re looking for a unique gift...art or jewelry, be sure to check out my etsy shop. If you are interested in custom work, please let me know asap…the giant Christmas countdown clock inside Target is ticking!

On an absolutely unrelated note…well, it sort-of ties in with Christmas. I have a fun new obsession…SOAP!!! Several months ago, I bought the most amazing hand-made soap from an etsy seller. After spending a small fortune on this amazing soap, I did a little research (ok…more than a little research) and learned the basics of cold-process soap making – basically your grandma’s lye soap. Only now you can purchase a million different oils, additives, herbs and fragrances to combine into your own luscious combinations. If you are one of the lucky few that I buy Christmas presents for, please skip right over the picture below. Oh but do continue to read because some of the items from my Christmas list can be found in the next paragraph...lol.

I’ve made about 10 different batches so far and am anxious to make more. Unfortunately I’m out of oils, lye and lots of other stuff that I need to make the soap, so I’ve added them to my Christmas list…sodium hydroxide, palm oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, French green clay, fragrance oils…all can be found and purchased through The Soap Dish, a local Indiana small business.

Have a great week!
~Alisa

Some of my very first-every collages...made from fabric

Recently the topic on my favorite etsy mixed media thread turned to fabric and how much we all love it…which got me thinking about some of the very first collages that I made.

Several years ago I went to an art market around Christmas time and saw the most amazing fabric art. I bought a small piece that now hangs in my daughter’s room, but left completely inspired.



I seem to get a bit obsessed with something and then all of a sudden I move on to something else. This period of producing fabric collages lasted about six months…after that it was acrylic painting (I think)…I can hardly keep it all straight. All I can do is just go with the flow and have a good time.



I still love the beautiful colors and textures of fabric. Who knows…maybe I’ll revisit it again someday.

Mom, can I have that?

I was browsing the treasury listings today and was pleasantly surprised to find one of my pieces featured in this fun treasury created by polkadotpancake. I just love the "Share your toys" poster...now if only my girls could read...lol. And polkadotpancake makes the most amazing lego bracelets. Who knew such beautiful jewelry could be made with old toys???