Brand New in my ETSY Shop!

Oh have I been busy with these! And loving it. I started out wanting to make a wreath with black roses (mission accomplished--see below), but then as I was grouping some of the leftover roses, I realized they have a great shabby cottage chic feel to them!

The roses are made from recycled magazine pages. I think you could definitely call this upcycling!

Both the Shabby Cottage Wall Hanging and the wreath and the Black Rose Halloween Wreath are in my Bumblebina ETSY shop now.

* (Update: All have SOLD).

Now in My ETSY Shop

As promised, I now have a set of cards featuring this little O~H~I~O Cuties group in my bumblebina ETSY shop.

Each card features a print of my original drawing and each print is hand colored. These are so much fun and a perfect way to show your Buckeye Pride!

IF - Pattern

Happy Girl, 5.25" x 4.75", acrylics and mixed media on1-1/2" wood (AVAILABLE)

"She felt a great hope, a great love" and this had been a pattern throughout her life.

New in My ETSY Shop

I have been experimenting with several new techniques lately. These two little sweeties are some of the results. The first one just makes me happy so I called her "Happy Girl" She's in my tmatthews ETSY shop now.

Happy Girl, 5.25" x 4.75", Acrylics and mixed media on 1-1/2" wood

And this painting is maybe my craziest experiment yet. I've been picturing layered paintings in my head for a long time and these images lent themselves to it perfectly. The bird and girl are separate pieces that are then mounted on another piece of MDF that's painted to look (I hope) like wallpaper. I wanted them to look like portraits hanging on a wall--all self contained in one piece. The layering makes the piece quite substantial (1-12" thick total) and quite bold. Molly's in the shop too. (UPDATE: Molly has SOLD)

Molly, 6.5" x 4", Mixed media Original Block Print Painting on 1-1/2" MDF (SOLD)

A side view so you can see the thickness.

Newest Name Sign

This sweet little sign went in the mail yesterday. Such fun, feminine colors. It was ordered to match a really cute Pottery Barn bedding set.

Name Signs are always available in my bumblebina ETSY shop.

New Products In Cafe Press

It's fall which means it's FOOTBALL SEASON. And football season is the greatest time of the year. And who is the greatest football team? The Ohio State Buckeyes of course! (This is purely my opinion, don't get upset if you're a Michigan fan!)

I've been planning these little drawings for a long time and I finally got some little O-H-I-O Cuties I really, really like. Below is an example of one of the groups. They've got Buckeye Spirit yes they do, how bout you?I am in the process of making some handmade cards with hand-colored prints of the Cuties. They'll be in my Bumblebina shop soon.

For now, I do have LOTS and LOTS of products in my CafePress shop just waiting for you to show that you belong to the Buckeye Nation!!

Ringer T-Shirt $23.00

Onesie $13.00*

Canvas Tote $15.99

Large Mug $14.00

*The little onesie may be my favorite! So fun!

Inspire Me Thursday - Open

Molly, 6.5" X 4", mixed media original block print painting on 1-1/2" Wood

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.

---Buddah

(The theme this week for Inspire Me Thursday is Open, as in do whatever you want. I decided to take it a little more literally and used the word open in my theme.)

UPDATE: *SOLD

Chalkboard Sign

New in my bumblebina ETSY shop this 8" x 6" chalkboard sign is perfect for a kitchen or door. What do you want to say?

*SOLD

A Cupcake to End All Cupcakes

I had a group of girls (ages 8 -11) from church at my house last week learning to decorate cupcakes. Here's a cupcakes one of the cute girls made. She put frosting, then good stuff, then more frosting and another layer of good stuff and a bit more frosting. (Her words)

It isn't pretty, but you know you'd eat it!!!

Better After

Remember my patio table? It's featured on Better After. It's a fun site. Check it out if you get a chance!

NFAC - Birds and Bees

The theme this month is Birds and Bees. No bees here, but I do have two fun, new paintings with birds. Both of these are available now on e-bay as part of the Nibblefest Art Contest.

Eve, 5" x 4.5", Original Block Mixed Media Painting on 3/4" MDF (SOLD)

Pink Bird, 5.5" x 4.5", acrylics and mixed media on 1/2" MDF (SOLD)

Something New

I've been playing around with a new technique and I am having so much fun!! I've been doing some lino block printing. What is that exactly?

Well, it all begins with a drawing, which is transferred onto a lino block (basically a very large eraser type material). Each character is hand carved into the block with a lino cutter, then I print it on a prepared wood block. The image is hand painted with acrylic paints. Then it gets a bit crazy as I embellish with paper, paint, colored pencils, pens, text, or anything else that catches my eye.

Need to see an example? You got it!

This is what the hand carved stamp looks like (it's been used as you can tell by the black paint all over it)

And here are some of the pieces I've been working on

Some of these are available on e-bay this week and the others are headed for ETSY.

IF - Infinite

Red Tree IV, 3" x 6", Acrylics on 3/4" wood (SOLD)

Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.

---Blaise Pascal

*SOLD

Inspire Me Thursday - Plaid

This little plaid butterfly is part of my folk art painting called "How Does Your Garden Grow?" She fits right in with the polka dot flowers and spotted grass...

How Does Your Garden Grow, 9" x 12", Acrylics and mixed media on canvas (Private Collection - aka my niece's bedroom)  :)

New Name Signs

This Painted Circle Teacher Name Sign is a new style I'm offering in my Bumblebina ETSY shop.

And this Chalkboard Style Teacher Name Sign is one of my most popular sellers, also available in my Bumblebina ETSY shop.

IF - Welcome

Angels are always welcome here.

Inspire Me Thursday - In Good Company

This is Batty and who wouldn't want him in their belfry?

Batty, 3.5" x 4.75", Acrylics on 1/4" wood is currently available HERE.


UPDATE: *SOLD

I Made a Sweater!

Finally a knitted item for me and a sweater! This is the first sweater I've ever made. It was so fun. Now I have an order in for a lime and purple striped (cute!!) sweater for my daughter. I will take a picture of this sweater on as soon as it's not too hot to even think about putting on a wool sweater! :)

Shalom Sweater
Yarn Used: Cascade 220
Needle Size: US 11

Name Signs

These are my newest orders. Teacher and Child Name Signs are always available in my Bumblebina ETSY shop.

It's Still Looking Spooky!

I have lots of Halloween Text Blocks in my bumblebina ETSY shop.

(UPDATE: The Spooky block and the Trick or Treat block have SOLD)

It's Starting To Look a Bit Spooky...

These two little sweeties are currently available in my tmatthews ETSY shop. It's never too early for Halloween!! (Update: Batty has SOLD).

This is "Hilde" and she is a good witch.

And this is "Batty". He's looking for love.

Name Signs

These are the newest signs that went in the mail last week. Teacher Signs are always available in my Bumblebina ETSY shop. The "Brittany" sign is a new design (painted circles) that will be available soon in my shop.

IF - Magnify

There are certain butterflies, when seen magnified, that do, in fact, have eyelashes and wear pink lipstick. It's a rare occurrence, but they do exist. :)

Buffy, 9" x 12", Prisma Colored Pencil on Canvas (SOLD)

Inspire Me Thursday - Pears

I LOVE pears. I love paintings of pear. I love to paint pears. I have a beautiful painting by Lisa Hartmann of a pear hanging in my living room. It's gorgeous and I get comments on it all the time.

Below are two paintings of pears I did. The first hangs in my sister's house and the second is in my mom's kitchen. (So I get to visit these painting whenever I see my family!) :)