Holiday Surpises and Dreams of India

A spur-of-the-moment surprise...The Lonely Peppermint Tree print is on sale for just $9.50 as a Holiday Shop Special! But only until December 1st, when it will get bumped back up to $12. This is my most popular print, so if you've been eyeing it, jump over to the shop and snag your own right now!

I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for the holidays, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled. I'm thinking perhaps of throwing together a few grab bags (with trading card-sized prints, perhaps?...) and special one-of-a-kind theme packs, so please stay tuned! I just need to work out the logistics.

Also, I went and saw this gem last night with a friend.

Loved. It. I'm still absorbing it, I loved it so much. My fave Wes Anderson movie is still Life Aquatic (and no bad critic reviews or angry moviegoer can change that) but this latest film of his was so lovely, that I'm dying to get the dvd already (Criterion, do you hear that? Huh?). Sigh. How fabulous.

More to do. Frantically getting ready for the show, so if you don't hear from me for a while, you can picture me covered in alizarin crimson and glittered fingers. 'Cause that's exactly how I'll look. Have a good weekend, kiddos!

It's Raining Men

Popping in briefly to let you all know those fancifully mysterious gents are now live and in the shop!

There's only one of each, so if you want a particular fellow, hop on him quick (that didn't sound *nearly* as dirty in my head...).

Oh, and if anyone has any good dvd recommendations, I'm all ears! I'm beefing up my Netflix que and am in need of some suggestions (I especially love period flicks as well as good indie films).

Thank you all and happy trails ahead this week!

Men of Mystery

Oh my. In between the incredibly long hours at work, late nights working on ornaments & prints, and mornings spent packaging up goodies, I put up my 3 ft aqua tinsel tree.
Yes. It is in fact only November. And Thanksgiving is still a good two weeks away. But with the way things are around here, by the time I actually get a moment to savor the holiday senses, it will be gone. At least, that's what happened last year. I haven't gotten to the point yet where I can listen to the holiday tunes (give that a couple more weeks still...), but apparently I've reached the "must-decorate-and-make-the-house-Christmas-cozy" state. I put the tree on a vintage melamine tray I bought last year at a small antique/boutique store (it's just so adorable!). There's also a bunch of yummy candles burning away (I found the best Roasted Chestnuts scented one at Michael's the other day)

A large batch of glitter birdies has flown through the post and is merrily heading towards MY MY boutique down in Hatboro, PA for east coast shoppers. Yay! I'm laying off the glitter bird ornaments for a few days until I can cleanse my space of all glitter. And get the remainder of said glitter out of my curly hair.

I also want to tell you that there will be a Shop Update of sorts on Monday, November 12th in which a handful of newly handpainted brooches and other goodies will be put up for greedy hands. I'm crazy about them! A mysterious English gent adorns each pin with snippets of text clipped from an antique book. Fanciful ribbon and lacey bows make each one a darling addition to a jacket--I put one on today to see how it looked and had a hard time getting myself to take it off. Each is a completely original, one-of-a-kind miniature painting for you to pin wherever you wish! Here's all four that will be listed as "Dear Chap" brooches:

Handsome gents, no?

Back to the painting table I go. Happy Friday!

Halloween Treats and What Lies Ahead

My goodness. What a whirlwind it's been around here. I hope everyone had a splendid Halloween! Mine was...perfect. I spent Halloween-Eve by myself and made a wonderful dinner (something that, living alone and all, doesn't happen very often), popcorn balls, lit a herd of candles and watched a couple late night films (American Psycho--which is one of my all-time *fave* horror/black comedy films--and, of course, Nightmare Before Christmas--which I have to watch every Halloween).

Then on Halloween day, I got dressed up in my last-minute costume and went to work. Who did I dress up as, you ask?

Why, a member of Team Zissou, of course! The track pants were the perfect shade of pale blue and the darker blue stripe + the "Z" emblem were both done in colored electrical tape. And I must say, that was a last minute "eureka!" moment that worked unbelievably well. The hat ($1 from a local dollar store) was perfect and my belted gun was nothing more than a dog's leash and a cheap modified black cap gun from the dollar store as well. I did an adaptation on the navy blue sweater with the white Z from the movie (which is in one of my favorite scenes between Ned And Steve). I'm such a dork.

I got to wear it to a Halloween party at a friend's house, where we ate and drank ourselves silly and watched a pile of horror films. It was so fabulous.

And now, with the beginning of November, there is loads of work to be done in preparation for the December show. I have my work cut out for me. Supplies have been ordered, plans have been made, and now I just need to find the time to get it all done. I'll also be working on a wonderful painting project for a hip Fresno, CA nursery's catalog and am beginning to consign with a boutique in PA. Needless to say, it's mayhem here in the studio. Nonetheless, new work is still being eeked out of me.

This will be a rather large (for me, at least) painting that I'm still planning and tweaking. I'm very excited about it though!
And these miniature painted wooden plaques have some fun things in store for them. They were originally part of another project that was changed at the last minute and now, shall be resurrected into little projects of their own. I'm planning on putting together a couple themed holiday gift packs for sale in the online shop and they will more than likely go in them.

I can't believe it's already November! Where oh where has the year gone? I do hope you are all well and enjoying the first weekend of the month!