Going Junkin!

Hello Friends,

Tomorrow I leave for my annual Sister's Weekend in Adamstown, PA. If you have been reading my blog for a few years, you know how much I look forward to this trip. Usually it's just my sister and myself but this year we are bringing our honorary sister, Marie!  

We LOVE to hit the outdoor flea markets like Shupp's Grove and Renningers in Kutztown.

At night we visit a lot of the indoor antique malls. Our favorite is Mad Hatter Antiques.

It doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside is FABULOUS!

Filled with tons and tons of booths.

Me.

My Sis.

Silly pictures of us at Mad Hatter last fall.

I usually try to buy for my vintage shop and a few things for my garden but this year I have a project in mind....



The shed looks a little sad in this pic. In season it's surrounded by pink and red roses.

I want to fix up my garden shed. I was thinking of painting it a pretty periwinkle blue with the white trim and maybe cherry red doors. I had the brilliant idea of decorating the front with vintage dishes in pinks, whites and reds, but I have boys who repeatedly hit the shed with baseballs so that's not going to work. Plan B may be hanging vintage garden hand tools. Or maybe I'll just wait and see what inspires me while I'm away.

My wish list includes:

*1 old window to cover the ugly shed window

*small shutters or something to give the appearance of shutters

*fabric to make outdoor pillows for the patio furniture

*wash basin or large container to replace my fountain (which has a hole in it)

My garden is finally starting to grow into itself. Many of the things I have planted are in their third and fourth year. The vines and roses are finally climbing the trellis and you can see less and less of the mulch in the flower beds.

I will share pictures when I return! 

Fishy Fun

Hello Friends,

I hope it is as beautiful where you are as it is here!

I've been spending a lot of time outdoors getting the gardens in shape but I managed to finish a couple of paper fish this week. Even with the boy's home for spring break!

Here is the first one...

I picked up this tray a Goodwill for a few dollars.

I love the idea of doing my paintings on recycled items.

It just makes it more fun and interesting to me.

Here is a pic of the detail in the fish.

This is a fun one that I did on a piece of scrap wood.

I also added some gold thumb tacks for a little "bling."

I"m thinking of doing a few more fish and then I'll add them to my shop.

It's been a long time since I have added anything new to the poor old Etsy shop.

Hopefully that will change!

Enjoy your day:)

May Workshop Announcement!

Hello Friends,

I wanted to stop by and announce a fun new mixed media workshop that I will be teaching on Saturday,May 5th, 2012.

11:00 - 2:00

at Home Fine Art Gallery

In this exciting class you will learn the versatile technique of decoupage as well as a few other mixed media techniques. Decoupage is a medium where glue is used to attach colored paper and small objects to another object. In this project we will be covering and decorating a large 25” dress form/jewelry mannequin. You will also learn to use an antique wash and how to incorporate found objects in your project.

Here is a close-up showing some of the detail we will be adding with vintage lace and text.

***************

This is a 3 hour workshop that will be held at Home Fine Art Gallery in Mt. Holly NJ. The workshop fee is $55 and that includes all supplies needed to make this project.

Snacks and beverages will be provided but feel free to pack a lunch to eat during our break!

Click on the Classes and Workshops tab above for more information and registration details.

Any questions, feel free to email me (Tracy)at

vintagesister2006@yahoo.com

I hope to see you there!!

New Goodies!

Hello Friends,

I added a few new goodies to my shop.

First, I made a new brooches.

I had a few of these for sale at the art gallery I belong to and decided to do some for the shop.

The face is made from polymer clay that was baked, sanded and then painted with acrylics.

I attached the face to a round of felt and added some hand stitched detail.

 The pin on the back is also hand sewn.

Each brooch is signed and dated on a little tag in the back.

Pefect for Mother's Day!

I also did a couple of vintage bathing suit paintings.

They are 5x7 on wood blocks.

I painted the sides with white stripes and then gave them a good

sanding for a distressed look.

They are available in my Etsy shop right this very, very minute!!

That's it for today....I'm pooped.

Happy President's Day!

This print is available in my Etsy shop!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Hello Friends,

An early happy Valentine's Day to you!

For the last few years we have celebrated Valentine's Day with a special family dinner.

I decorate the table with our "fancy " dishes and silverware and we drink sparkling cider from champagne glasses. This was especially thrilling for Alex who, to my mortification, walked around telling everyone how he got drunk on champagne. 

It's a wonder CPS hasn't come knocking on our door.

The other day at a Dr.'s visit the Dr. asked him what kind of things he likes to do, to which he promptly answered, "Watch T.V."

Ugh!

Anyway....

Placecards with a special little message inside.

Last year I let everyone choose one thing they would like to have.

We had fried shrimp, baked macaroni and cheese, (this is the best recipe EVER!) and I think we had red velvet cupcakes for dessert. Alex doesn't like shrimp so I made him a heart shaped pizza.

My boys are creatures of habit so when I asked them what they wanted this year it was no surprise that they requested the exact same menu from last year. 

The only exception would be chocolate covered strawberries for Alex.  

What do you do for Valentine's Day?

In art news, I just finished a rather large painting.

18"x 24"

This isn't the best picture.

It's entirely too cold to be standing outside taking pictures today!!

The text says "A heart that loves is always young."

I will have matted prints of this piece available later this week.

Well, I'm off to have lunch with my sister.

Enjoy your day!!

What I'm Reading...

Hello Friends,

I'm a huge reader and this year I have decided to keep a log of how many books I read.

I bought my son a journal when he first started reading regularly to keep a list of all of the books he reads. I just thought it would be fun to keep a record, to look back five years and say, "Hey, I remember reading that" or "Oh gosh, I remember when I was into reading that." 

I can't tell you how many times I have come home with a book from the library only to remember (sometimes three chapters in) that I had read it before. 

He actually took it a bit further and adds his "book review" as well as the title.

I read really fast and although I enjoy the stories, I tend to forget a lot later on. 

That's NOT the case with my beloved Jane Austen. I have read and re-read all of her books many, many times. Like most Austen fans, my favorite is Pride & Prejudice with 

Sense and Sensibility as a close second. 

I do read "after Jane Austen" books but I still haven't found any that I really love.

I read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and didn't like it so I skipped Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (although I've been told that this one is much better.)  

My sister in law Lisa loaned me  Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James.

I'm about halfway through and I would say it's ok.

Not great but entertaining.

I think Lisa said it was, "Meh" which I thought was funny. 

While chatting on Facebook about this book,

one of my friends that has a baby said she got a Jane Austen counting book for her daughter. 

I HAD to find this book so I looked it up on Amazon.

Oh was that a mistake because look at what else I found!

  click on the pic's for the links to Amazon.

and

Now I think I need to have them all!

I have some Amazon gift cards I have been saving for a rainy day.

It's raining!!!

Now I need to find out more about this Jennifer Adams.

How cute is her art?? 

I'm going to be keeping track of my books in my sidebar soon so if you see something you would like to comment on, please do!

Enjoy your day.