It's Been A While Hasn't It?

Hello folks.

How have you been?

It's been a while hasn't it?

Yes - it absolutely has, but for good reason I promise.

Amidst buying my first home and how to maintain it with some resemblance of routine, I got the biggest surprise of my life.  What was it you ask?  I got pregnant.

It's still pretty early since I've just wrapped up my first trimester, but as you can imagine, all of me time and energy has been sucked up into this big black hole known as motherhood.  Or perhaps I should say preparing for motherhood?

I've been sick constantly and have no idea why anyone would call it "morning sickness".  That's a big fat lie.  Then there's appointments to dash to every other week.  Add in baby showers, registries, pregnancy advice books, head aches, back cakes, reading up on how to be the most perfect imperfect parent... You get the idea.

With all of this in mind, I decided to put the brakes on my art business and focus my creative energy on being in the moment.  Perhaps it will result in some new art, a new type of business altogether, or maybe it will give me time to be still.  All of it sounds wonderful, so I'm just going to see where life takes me for a little while.

Since my current obsession is all things baby, that's what I plan to share on my blog for now.

Here is the baby announcement I created to share with friends and family.

The vintage images are from this wonderful Etsy stores, The Digital Chick and Quirky Twerp.

Here are their weblinks:

The Digital Chick:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDigitalChick

Quirky Twerp:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/quirkytwerp

With a little help from Photoshop and the lovely png files I purchased from these fabulous stores, it was easy to create exactly what I wanted.  If you are interested in vintage images of all sorts (not just baby themed) you have to check them out.

I think I will start using their images for future card creations around the holidays??? We'll see.  The doctor says that since the baby is due in early January, there's a chance it may be a Christmas baby.  My initial response?  Does that mean I can play Mary and put my baby in a manger?  I'm just kidding. In my very dorky way.

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing you smiles, sunshine, heath, and happiness in the New Year!

-Nichole

Finding Sweet Moments in Historical Alexandria, Virginia

This week my "spare-ent", Jan, is visiting me from California.  From the minute she landed to the moment we open our eyes in the morning we are constantly on the go.  Living in Alexandria, Virginia, just 15 minutes outside of D.C., there's lots to do and see.


Today we ventured out to Old Town Alexandria.  The heart of downtown and a hub of activity and history preceding the American Revolution and the Civil War.  The architecture here is very sweet and filled with whisperings of times I'll only ever read about.  But still, just to be in the midst of buildings that have seen so many changes and historical marks of U.S. history makes me sigh.


Here are a few pictures of today's outing...

Tibetan Folk Art

I was in a local coffee shop this morning before my regular jaunt to the grocery store.  Yep.  I'm that exciting.  Anyway, while I was waiting in line, I saw the headlines to the New York Times (see article here: Tibetan Culture Serves Chinese Political Goals).  It is a sad situation over there and I can't help but feel disheartened by the current state of affairs for those in Tibet.  After I read the article (and ordered my coffee), I began studying the brightly colored costumes the dancers were wearing in the photograph.  The colors were so vibrant that it inspired me to start researching Tibetan folk art when I got home.

Here are some of the images and magnificent works of art I found.

All of the visual treasures I found inspired me to begin a series of animals from the Tibetan region with motifs and colors found in the artwork of Tibet.

Here is the beginnings of my first painting which starts off with a series of rough sketches

and tons of erasing and adjusting until I feel like it's ready for the next phase.

Take a look and let me know what you think.  I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

I'm thinking that if the series is successful, perhaps funds raised from their purchase can go to

a "Friends of Tibet" organization to help promote awareness and public outreach.

Make Way For Art...

After spending seven years in an apartment in Washington, D.C. with my husband, I developed a keen awareness of space, or lack of space, to create my artwork.

If my desk was full of papers from work, I would travel to the dining room table.  If my husband was working there, I would try his desk. If his desk was piled high with his books, then I would work at the coffee table.

In any of these scenarios, space to place my artwork to try was a constant issue.  Where do you place twenty-five to fifty cards that are drying anyway?

In comes BOON!  Yes, I said BOON.

A funny name for a funny tool I know.  

Here is what it looks like: 

But do you see what it's doing here?  Amazing isn't it?  Oh the simple things in life and what pleasure they can bring!!!  I found this little guy online, but I've seen them in places like the Container Store and even Crate and Barrel.  They're meant for drying baby bottles and all the little odds and ends that go with it.  The prongs (those bright green things) are fairly stiff with a little give for standing bottles straight up in.  As you can see from my photos, I have other ideas in mind.

I have the medium sized Boon Lawn Drying Rack, but they come in smaller and larger sizes. The great thing about these things is that they take up little space when you are not using it.  When you are in the mood to make, they can hold all sorts of odd objects.  I've used this to hold up to seventy-five printed cards I needed to dry.  

In these photos, it is holding up some wooden ovals I put gesso onto.

When you're done with it, simply store it away.  You can lay it flat or stand it sideways like a book.

If it is dirty, you can take the "grass" out and place it along with the white tray into the dishwasher.

It's a no-mess, easy way to dry any artwork you are working on.  

Here is the link if you are interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Grass-Countertop-Drying-Green

I promise, I'm not getting paid for this rant.  

If you do decide to try it out, let me know how you like it.  I'd love to hear your ideas for how you might use it for your creations.

Easy Christmas Decor

So... about those candy forms I created waaaaayyyy back in October?  

Yes these ones.

Well truth be told, I didn't get around to making them into candy decorations for Halloween.  

BUT! I did make them into festive holiday candies (minus the calories) for Christmas.  

I have this adorable Rudolph planter from the 50's that I picked up last year at the Dulles Expo Center  Antique Fair.   I didn't have a poinsettia plant to put into it and had the thought of putting some candy inside.  The only dilemma is that I am trying sooooo hard to be good and cut back on the sweets.  

This is when I realized I had those candy forms from October still waiting to be turned into something cool.

I pulled out my gesso, acrylic paint, super fine glitter, glitter-glue, and metallic ink and got to work.

Here they are and I'm smitten.  They are a perfect "filler" for Rudolph's sleigh and I don't have to worry about the temptation of the added holiday treats sitting around.

Cute Circus Owl Ready for the Fall Festivities

This is Toot the Owl.  No more wooded forest for him.  He ran off to the circus and saw his first elephant and a rather small mongoose.  He also had his first taste of cotton candy.  Quite delectable on the palate he thought.  Upon meeting the ring master, he was hired immediately for his unexpected talent for playing the pipe organ.  Now this cute little circus owl enjoys late evenings with bewildering sites played to the tune of familiar melodies you heard when you were a child off to the big tent.

You can find him in my shop, waiting to visit you at: www.etsy.com/shop/wildhearthistories