Sale! Sale! Sale!

To help her husband in their wood shop where together they make beautiful furniture pieces, a creative and  crafty  friend of mine is giving up selling her unique handiwork at our shows that we have been doing together for several years.


She generously let me have her "leftovers" which I am now offering for sale at very reasonable prices ....and....ALL THE PROFIT  FROM THE SALE OF THESE ITEMS WILL GO TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY!!! 

To purchase, visit my website, http://www.wood-n-stitches.com/ and contact to let me know what piece/pieces you are interested in purchases and I will send you an invoice.  Then you may make your tax deductible check to The American Cancer Society and mail it to me.  After I receive your check, I will ship your package to you ASAP.


You may also just purchase using the shopping cart on the website, but won't get the tax deduction.


Here are some of the items.

SOLD & THANK YOU

Both sets of Santa's Boots & Hats
SOLD & THANK YOU

"Twas the Week After Christmas and All the Orders Were Filled...

All the grandchildren were here

With brushes in hand

And the little ones

Had one demand.

"B", PLEASE

Let US paint cypress knees!!!

Waiting patiently!

Pardon the messy house!

Showing off their talents!

The oldest one had previously painted both a snowman and a Santa so she wanted to try her hand at painting a Grinch.

She can hardly wait for me to let her start

helping me paint for my shows.

Think "Inside the Box"...

As I've said before, I have trouble thinking "outside the box"

...so I just decided to think "inside" the box...

the crayon box that is!

Having taught 1st grade for so long, I'm quite comfortable

with primary colors...

the inspiriation for this batch of my Santas.

I hope they "make a passing grade"!

Sonething Old, Something New...

Oh, don't get excited! There are no wedding plans for anyone in my family.

Something old...that would ME, the artist who painted this Santa.

Something borrowed...that would be the IDEA (inspired by a Toni McQuire pattern) for this Santa.

Something new...that would be this OOAK cypress knee Santa.

Something blue...that would be this BLUE robe on this original hand painted cypress knee Santa.

                                                                   
         
                                                                      Other new Santas just off the painting table...

                                                                                                         



Santa's Workshop Has Been Busy

This lone elf has been cranking out more new Santas this week.  Here's a peek at some of my Santas with a little bit of a new look for 2011.  However, next week I'll be helping with VBS at my chuch and one of my granddaughters will be here for the week.

Better enjoy her while I can.  She will soon be to old to attend VBS as she has done each year since she was three years old.



Introducing First of 2011 Santas

Finally, I've completed the first batch of my 2011 Santas!

These are all hand painted on cypress knees.  For those who aren't familiar with cypress knees, they are part of the root system of the cypress trees that grow so plentiful at the edges of lakes and bayous in the south.  The "knees" pop up out of the water at the base of the tree.  Once the tree has been cut for lumber the "knees" are just useless.  That is until someone like me takes God's wonderful creation and gives it new life such as I did in creating my Santas.  Visit my website, http://www.wood-n-stitches.com/ to see more.

Here's a glimpse of before and after.

Before (actually "during" because I've already primed and basecoated)



After



Like Grandma..Like Granddaughters

My oldest granddaughter called me last week from her talented art class!  Her art teacher wanted to tell me that she thought my artistic genes had surely been passed down to my granddaughter.  (She had received one of my hand painted cypress knee Santas as a Christmas gift.)   She was excited to inform me that my granddaughter had received 1st place on one of her artworks sumitted to the school district's end of the year ArtQuest!

ArtQuest featured more than 2,400 projects from students in Kindergarten through 12th grade throughout the school district.  The 1st place blue ribbon exhibits were showcased in the lobby of the convention center and the artists were recognized by the school superintendent who presented them with a gift bag containing art supplies. 

As we admired the fifth grader's award winning watercolor/ink composition, her younger sister announced to us that she, too, had a drawing on display.  News to all of us!!!!  She promptly located her school's section among the 2,000 plus exhibits and low and behold...though she had not received a blue ribbon...there it was!!!  Her "Bug" had made the trip from her 2nd grade classroom all the way up onto that exhibit hall wall!

Way to go girls!!!  Your "B' is so very proud of you.  So glad I could pass those artistic genes on to you, but sorry to say, you'll have to look to your other grandmother for those cooking genes!