Spotted some Sheep!

I spotted this sheep print I did in Target on girls PJ's. The design staff created the art for the top using elements from the print.

SHARK MAN - Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty

I did this illustration of Sharkman to participate in the 3 year anniversary of a great blog Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty set up by illustrator Aaron Zenz to showcase the great art created by his kids Lily, Grace and Isaac. What a creative family! Aaron sent out an open invitation for artists to do their versions of his kids' art. He is accepting submissions till the end of the month. Sharkman is a character created by Isaac.

MONEY CAN'T BUY TASTE

If you appreciate a great story to go along with a great find, then Erin Green's very funny blog MONEY CAN'T BUY TASTE is for you. This is one of my favorite blogs, she's a very clever writer & she always makes me laugh.
Not being as clever as Erin I won't even attempt to be as witty, I do however love to repurpose great finds so I'll share a few with you here. I'm a very lucky lady because my husband brings me many great "gifts", no not flowers or jewelry.... Here are a few of my favorites.
Joe got this M off the name plate of an old tugboat and welded quarter rod to it for stakes. I can't tell you how delighted I was when he brought this home!

My best friend Sue gave me the top of this bird bath and told me to do something with it... it was Joe who came up with the idea for the base. Also from a tugboat, the base is a brass shaft cutless bearing.

How clever is this door mat! Once again Joe brought this home, it's a conveyor belt from a skimmer boat (ironically it's from a sanitation boat) used to clean up the water. It is a little rough on bare feet though!

This little guy is a recent "gift", I'm sure many will recognize him as the hood ornament from a mac truck.

Here is the most recent treasure to be brought home; 2 Lobster pot markers that got caught up in a propeller. I have no idea what will become of them but I'm sure with a coat of paint they will grace my garden next year, stay tuned!

"TOADALLY" SWEET

Surprise surprise more frogs! I came across this one in JCPenny girls dept. It just never gets old finding your art out there, especially when it's been reproduced so well. There were only minor changes from my original print; the words toadally sweet were removed & some minor color changes but I think it looks great!

Frogs have been "toadally" good for me this year!

Another froggy print I did at Joann Fabrics. Hummmm.... maybe this is tmi but I got my first wart ever this year, small price to pay for all the good fortune the frogs have brought me!

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY JOE!!!!!

Today the other great love of my life turns 22, boy that went fast! I guess it's true what they say "Time flies when you're having fun!" I'd post photos but then he would get mad & that would ruin the day ( no fun in that!)

I've made my mark...(Tattoo Update)

Ta Da! Here it is... the healed tattoo, as you can see it looks a good deal different than my original design. When we met with Anil for the consult he made some very helpful suggestions, he felt it was too colorful and too feminine so I "manned" it up a bit, lost the flowers, distressed the banner, moved the names & dates around & left the color up to him. Since it was in honor of our 25th anniversary he chose to use red and blue, red to represent passion and blue to represent the calmness, a good mix for a successful long term relationship. It sounded really good, besides red is my favorite color & blue is Joes!
This photo was taken right after it was done, it took about 2 1/2 hours but that was because we had almost 20 years to catch up on! It was fascinating to watch it being done, I'm so tempted to get a little one myself!
I met Anil Gupta 20 years ago when we both worked for the same garment company. Over the years I heard a lot about him and his tremendous success in the tattoo business. I even saw him on several tv specials. One of the things he became quite famous for is his miniature reproductions of the old masters paintings, amazing work, as is his portrait and fantasy work (I could go on & on!). His place is not your typical tattoo parlor, there are no stock designs. He does all the art custom for each client ( some very famous ones), they either give him a concept or just leave it up to him. Because he also respected me as an artist he clearly made an exception by using my art but his suggestions made made all the difference. He has a tremendous following, which keeps him booked for months in advance but because I knew him he squeezed us in without the long wait! It finally paid off knowing someone! Check out his website (link attached), he's an amazingly talented artist and a really nice guy.Anil Gupta

Kutztown Folk Festival

The Funnel Cakes alone makes it worth the trip!This 4th of July Joe & I went to the 60th Annual Kutztown Folk Festival. As always we had a wonderful time. When our kids were young we would go every year, planning a camping trip to the area and going to the festival on multiple days. It is a great family outing, a ton of things for the kids to participate in, lots of history, music, square dancing, petting zoo, horse drawn merry go round, crafts etc. For the Adults there is a wonderful variety of high quality handmade items, with a lot of the artists demonstrating their crafts. Rumor has it that the beer in the Beer Garden is ice cold too and always seems to have a croud! There is a good variety of food and if you’ve never been to an OX Roast, this is the place to go! It’s an annual event I highly recommend! Next years festival dates are July 3 –July 11 2010 Kutztown FestivalGotta love recycled garden art, and for me this was love at first sight! Bill & Margaret Tamburino of "Funcrafters" created this dragonfly and they have several more pieces that I look forward to purchasing in the future. You can email them for future show info; Funcrafters@enter.net
Wherever I go I’m always on the lookout for hand made Christmas ornaments made by local artists, this year I hit the jackpot! I bought quite a few but by far these by the “Tin Tinker” are my absolute favorites! Tin Tinker

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

In honor of the 4th of July I added these American Inspired birdhouses to my etsy shop. Check them out between the BBQ & fireworks! Have a great Holiday!

Going to the Beach is for the birds!

Posted 4 more birdhouses on my etsy. I lived in a beach community for 20 years, I only wish I had lived in a house as fun looking as these!