Red Sets Out....To Your Home? My First Blog Giveaway!

And the winner is: Girl216Designs!!!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment and for the offers of custard! You are near and dear to my heart! I would have had Boog draw the name, but I was fearful for a couple of reasons:

1.) I was afraid that she would fall head-first into aforementioned tall, stylish hat.
And 2.) I was afraid that she would eat the winning name. She has a fondness for small bits of paper, and the drawn name would have been a goner!
(Seriously. When do babies stop eating everything that they find? It is so bad (and comical!) that if I could attach wheels to her and push her around, she would hoover the floor!)

Much love to you all! And thank you to the new followers! Have a lovely, creative, and handmade rest of your week, and I'll be adding new posts soon! :-)



One handmade red cape = $65
One stinkin' cute nickname = $50
Homemade custards for ailing grandmother = $25
Dog whistle = $12
RED's chutzpah to make it through the wood to YOUR home? = PRICELESS!!!

Hello, everyone near and far! I hope that you have had a lovely and creative week and that you have had the courage to go through whatever "woods" you are facing! To celebrate the fact that we are all courageous artists (!), I'm having my FIRST GIVEAWAY! (I'm just a tad excited, so I hope that my writing is coherent!)

It's very simple and very sweet. Just leave a comment. I love them, you know! (I toyed with asking for custards. But I figured that would be quite time-consuming and messy, and the weight gain would be unforgivable.)

In a week's time, I'll draw a random name out of a very tall, yet fashionable hat!



Oh, you could do one other thing... Stop by my Etsy shop! (Click on the small banner above.) Browse a little. Heart a few items, if you're so inclined! I would "heart" your visits very much.

I have a few "thank you's" that I must, must, must extend! Thank you's to Jolie of JolieArt, to Melissa at Sew Sweet Stiches, and to Tara at Jewelry by Tara for the lovely blog features. You didn't have to do it, and I'm so thankful for your thoughtfulness! Please check out their blogs and then click through to their wonderful Etsy shops!!!

It's a Handmade Revolution!

Yeah!!! I was awarded my first blogger award!!! Actually, I was awarded the "Kreativ Blogger" award twice! (So is that two separate awards if it's for the same award? I don't care! I'll take what I can get! :-) "Thank you's" to the lovely and talented Michelle Eaton and to the lovely and talented Shonna Bucaroff. Check out the fab work of these two wonderful artistas!!!

So here goes. 7 facts about me:

1. I was an actor in LA which meant that I did a lot of odds-and-ends jobs, including background work on a gob of television shows and a game show where I had to stay awake for 24 hours and then perform physical tasks while answering questions. The game-show bit is not all that different from my life now. :-) And the rest sounds way more glamorous than it was. But, oh, the stories...
2. I think Indian food is divine. I could go for that right now.
3. If I had the means and time to do it, I would be a total groupie for "WovenHand."
4. I danced for 18 years, and I have the creaky joints to show for it.
5. I successfully avoided diapers until I had a Boog of my own.
6. I enjoy a good cigar. BAD, I know!!!
7. I'm Scottish, German, Cherokee, and Osage. So I guess that makes me a Scotch-German-Native American.

And the 7 bloggers that I am bestowing the award to are (drumroll please!):
1. Jolie
2. Julie-Anne
3. Darla
4. Pinkglitterfae
5. Amy
6. Nicola
7. Lisa

I know that I should probably write a new post, but leap with me. There is continuity here, I promise! These blog awards are fantastic, and what an amazing opportunity to be able to see each other's work and to gain insight about each wonderful artist and to offer feedback. It's just dawning on me how connected we are and how we are a part of something truly special! We are in a Handmade Revolution!

No matter if things are slow for you right now in finding your particular audience or if you are rockin' out, I am thankful to be a part of such an inspiring group!

So here are my latest creations: "Alice's Reign" and a little owl bib necklace.

In the meantime, I'm thinking of slogans for our movement. "Make crafts. Not war."--too cliche. "Artisans do it with their hands." --kind of makes me giggle like a 14-year-old. "Handmade...embracing the human touch."

Creative Drink of Choice

After reading some frightening literature about what comprises my daily cup(s) of joe, I decided to encourage my love of tea. :-) Black, white, green, flavored--all are lovely. Combine that fact with the perfect cup (I'm talking the feel of the cup--the perfect cup has a certain "weight" to it. Like the one pictured. Perfect.), and you have a heavenly drink. Not to mention a creative aid! I do have a question for you ladies across the pond: Is PG Tips really England's #1 tea? I've grown quite fond of it, but please don't hesitate to shoo me on to something better! Oh, and one other thing. No matter how many antioxidants red tea has, if you add sugar and cream, you will GAIN WEIGHT. Ahem. You can have too much of a good thing as I recently found out. ;-)

Here's a shot of Boog (a.k.a. "Punkenhead") and her pumpkin!

Wearing Different Hats

Confession: The "mommy" ME and the "artist" ME are fighting. More like duking it out. I can honestly say that I'm not sure who is going to win... It is a miracle that I finished a painting yesterday and a necklace today.

It was a small painting and a simpler necklace, but finishing anything is a HUGE win--for the artist and the mommy.

Here's to the act of completion!

Angel with Sunflowers - What Would This Angel Tweet?

I wanted to share my latest angel painting because she is a completely different painting style for me. I can sometimes feel that my brush strokes are tight, so I wanted to work on spontaneity and a more "painterly" quality. I made myself use an oversize brush and have at it, not worrying too much about placement. I think she turned out quite romantic and soft--like an old postcard!

On a more flip note: She looks like she has a thing or two to say. I would what she would tweet about? I am new to the twittosphere, and I had a mild panic attack when I didn't know what "RT" meant! I must admit that I'm liking it! I like getting updates on what people are creating, and I like the glimpses into their creative process... So, do YOU twitter? And if you do, what do you tweet about?

Dragonfly Maiden

I just finished this custom piece, and I wanted to share her with you. She has quite a bit of moxy, don't you think? I do feel that sometimes my paintings capture the way I want to be. :-)

Or maybe I just need to find the perfect shade of red lipstick (I just know that it exists!) and work on my 'tude!