Halloween Mail

New in the shop! I'm really excited to be offering these. Halloween faux postage stamp sticker packs!

I actually drew and designed these last year when I was frustrated with the serious lack of spooky themed postage (really USPS, what gives? The Poe stamps were amazing and are still among my faves...but why don't you come up with a new slightly-Halloweenish stamp design every year?) and used them on my outgoing Halloween mail (with real stamps too, of course). They were quite the hit. I tweaked them just a smidge this year with a thinner paper to replicate the look and feel of "real" stamps and used a pair of stamp edge perforating scissors for the finishing touch. So happy with the outcome!

Each pack contains 8 of these 1x1.25" stamp stickers (2 of each design). They're entirely handmade by me in the studio (drawn, designed, printed, cut, and stickerized with a Xyron machine). Right now I only have 3 packs available, as I'm testing the waters to see how these do before spending an all-out day in production mode.

I love mail and stamps and Halloween and mail art. When all combine together, it's like hot caramel sauce and ice cream: complete and utter happiness.

Sketchin' and Paintin'

Well, Halloween has come and ended. I ended up spending it at home with a couple classically good Halloween flicks (Suspiria--a fave--and The Lost Boys) and gorged on homemade caramel apples, chips, pop, and chocolate dipped marshmallows. Twas a great night, indeed.

And now I'm in all-out sketching/planning/painting mayhem as I busily prepare for a January show in Seattle at the ever-fabulous Bluebottle Art Gallery. As the time whittles away and we draw nearer to the date, I'll give you all a head's-up on the details.
The last remaining pages in my current sketchbook are filled with portraits, studies, and quickie doodles as I flesh everything out.I'm now in the painting stages and I'm really, really excited with how the pieces are coming along.

And I'm also working on some tiny and random paintings for the online shop as well . The holidays are coming (isn't it amazing how quickly the end of the year goes?) and I'd like to have a lot of new goods for folks to snatch up for themselves and loved ones.

So much to do, so much to do!

Today I think I'll buzz down to the store and grab some Halloween candy on sale before it's gone for good. I was good and resisted the urge to gobble up tons of candy last month...though I did buy a bunch of candy corn.

Those candy corn pumpkins are awfully hard to resist.

Lets Celebrate With Cider And Pumpkin Muffins

Can I just speak for the country and world at large when I say, "Thank. Goodness."

What a night! What an election! Wow. I think for the first time ever, I am so overwhelmingly proud of my country. And it feels so good to have someone you admire greatly take over the damp and mildewy helm of the ship.

I had a fabulous Halloween with a group of friends and I have lots and lots of costume pics to show you! I know it's November and all, but I hope you bear with my tardiness in some costume show-and-tell. Pumpkin carving, old horror movie a'watchin', junk food eating, drinking, and lots of chatting. I love Halloween. As explained earlier, I went as Little Red Riding Hood (choosing to represent the story more so than just the character). After a week of handsewing and assembling, it all came together and turned out pretty neat.

I made a little red hooded capelet completely from scratch--no pattern, no sewing machine. It turned out better than I was expecting (I didn't have time to line it this time around, but hopefully will get that done one of these days). I already owned the red cotton fabric and the vintage lacy trim I picked up from the thrift store. For the dress, this is what I started with--a vintage 70s Boho dress I bought from Etsy seller MrsRosencranz (image above from her shop). I loved the cut and simplicity of it. It was the perfect blank canvas for the look I was after. After much tweaking, hemming, adding, replacing, and garnishing, this is what I came up with (please forgive my crummy images--it was 3am and I was completely ready to hop in bed). The wolf mask is made of a lightweight paperclay I sculpted and painted then tied to a stick.

Lots of laces, fabric remnants, haphazard stitches, and other bits 'n bobs...

And in my hair I pinned various branches, leaves, sparkly blossoms from the craft store (and even a wee bird's nest!).It was just too fun to assemble and wear about. I wish Halloween was more than once a year.

Well, I'm off to get some coffee in my blood and some paint on my fingers! Happy November everyone! I'll be back later this week with some art sneak peeks plus a blog giveaway (and it's a good one). Stay warm!

Little Red

Oh my. Hello, sweeties. I haven't forgotten you! In fact, you have all been on my mind. Thank you *so* much for your constant love and support. The update was a success and I'm thrilled to have a few more original paintings and sketches and things off delighting folks 'round the country. There's still oodles more left if you've been on the fence.

I've slowed down a bit on the painting front, which is actually quite good as I was completely absorbed there for a good 3 weeks. I'm a little red-eyed and lost, but happy with the new pieces. I can't wait to unveil them all to you! This particular one I just listed in the shop and I'm rather smitten with it (no doubt my most mixed-media mini piece to date):
I've been hanging onto this antique 1800s book cover for a long time wondering what to do with it. It is, hands down, the coolest antique store find I've come across. It used to be the cover of a photographer's cabinet card photo book. When I found it, the book binding was no more, and the cover was completely seperated from the aged cabinet cards. I think I paid $10 for the whole shebang. I still have the back cover and will probably hold onto that one a wee bit longer...

And Halloween is just around the bend! Yay! I've been dreaming up costume ideas and I think I've finally settled on dressing up in a Little Red Riding Hood ensemble--encorporating elements from the entire story in my costume. It's a bit daunting, and I'm waiting on the vintage dress I ordered to get here to do some alterations, but man am I excited!

I've been scouring Etsy to gather some visual inspirations for my costume and thought I'd share some with all of you. Some of these pieces have sold, some are still up for grabs and would make wonderful costume additions (and are even perfect for after the spooky holiday is over). Together, they make a wonderfully adult version of the Little Red Riding Hood story:

neckwarmer/capelet from NandaHandcraftedathena's love nest necklace from luxedeluxered chenille cape from TessVintageKnitsgingham and lace dress from GreyBrocket

victorian cape from gloomthpeacock headband from portobello
victorian revival dress from lulalee


coyote mask from merimask
amelia headband from whichgoose
gentilly slip from bayousalvage
chartreuse bunny button from poodlebreath
basket handbag from lisazainralph lauren oxford lace up boots from nstylevintage

Yummy! So much eye candy. I wish I could scoop all of these lovelies up for a jaw-dropping outfit.

Happy Monday, peeps! Hope it's full of whimsy!