EHAG News

Just a quick post tonight to tell you that EHAG (the Eclectic Halloween Artists Group, of which I'm a proud member!) is now on Facebook. So if you're there too, and if you're into Halloween (and really, who ISN'T?!) please join us by clicking here and becoming a "fan" of the group! This means you'll get updates to your home page about new works, giveaways, and events like our upcoming Skeleton Key Hunt, which begins May 4th. :)

Hope to see you there!

~ Carolee

The Witching Hour!

Can you believe it's April 30th already?! The eve of May Day and Beltane (and just six months to Halloween and Samhain!)

Since I think it's a bit of a drag to visit blogs that sound like encyclopedias, I won't bore you with a whole history lesson about Beltane Eve and May Day - it's easy enough to look up, and I'm not any kind of authority on the subject anyway...I'm just all up for anything celebrating flowers and spring and involving bonfires and dancing and revelry!


The mantle clock above was actually painted with Halloween in mind, but I think the revelry and merriment of the spring celebration kind of made it's way in there too. It's listed now on eBay. :)

I'll be back tomorrow with some new goodies, and in the meantime, I'm wishing all who celebrate it a Happy Beltane Eve (and if there's anything special you're doing to herald in the season, please share!)

¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

Check This Out!

My PFATT and EHAG friend Lori Davis, of Vintage Palette Art is having a little giveaway on her other blog, The Village Gift Shoppe. Four different goodies, so run on over and leave a comment! I'm on my way now....

(Was that enough links for you? Hehe!)

♥ Carolee

Commission Fun!

I just have to share the most recent commission - soooooooo much fun to paint this one.

Meet Sir Winston Churchill.....


Winston is the resident shop cat at East Chatham Wines and Spirits, in East Chatham, New York, and a very handsome fellow indeed.

Here he is again in one of the photos I used for reference - perched atop some wine boxes, the better to survey his kingdom....


Isn't he sweet? And doesn't this look like a FUN shop?! I wish I were closer...but then, I could do some serious damage to the bank account in a place like this (LOVE my red wine!)

East Chatham is a bit outside Albany, very near the NY/Mass state line (I looked it up), so if anyone is in the area, do drop in. There's no website yet, but you can email the proprietors for info and directions at ecws@taconic.net. :)

That's about it for tonight....I'm off now to sculpt a moon face, then to the Land of Nod.....

Sweet Dreams!
♥ Carolee
PS - If you'd like your own furbaby painted, just shoot me an email, and I can give you an estimate and time frame. :)

The Enchanted Garden....and the Not So Enchanted Garden

In my dreams, this is how my garden appears - bursting with color, every flower imaginable, a little stone path....and fairies of course! Lots and lots of fairies. :)

The reality is a wee bit different....

Lots and lots of dandelions


Ivy completely out of control on the trunk of my beloved flowering crabapple tree

And aconite taking over the herb garden.

There's a short window of time in which we need to get it under control before planting the herbs and annuals, but when? Work and the dreaded flu (which has knocked John for a loop, but I've so far managed to avoid) are overwhelming at the moment, so there it it sits - like The Secret Garden, longing for someone to rescue it.

I haven't decided yet if the sight of my neighbor's garden is motivating me or just inducing guilt. He's a very nice retired gentleman who spends most of his days gardening, and taking care of all the stray cats in the neighborhood. Isn't that nice? Not only for the kitties, but it saves me from becoming the crazy neighborhood cat lady, hehe.

These photos really don't do his garden justice, as they were taken from our side of the little wire fence. I just LOVE his old potting shed too - so much more character than our rusted metal, *sigh*....

But I still have the dream garden in my head, inspiring me to work and clear and plant - a little here, a little there.

The Enchanted Garden sign shown above is up for grabs on eBay now. Maybe it will inspire a fairy garden? I hope so....

How does YOUR garden grow? Have you cleared away the winter debris and planted yet? Flowers? Herbs? Do tell, if only to let me live vicariously, haha...

♥ Carolee

Crazy Busy and Loving It!

First, I have to tell you it's absolutely GORGEOUS here in southeastern Pennsylvania! The dogwoods and flowering crabapple have begun to bloom, the fish and frogs are happily swimming around the pond (time to start feeding them again!) and birdsongs are filling the air. I soooooooooo want to be out there prepping the garden, but there are a gazillion other things I must tend to first. :)

So here's a quick rundown of the doings around here....

New treasure boxes just listed on eBay and Etsy:

This one says "Plant a garden, Feed the birds, Fly a kite, Dance in the rain, Take long walks, Smell the roses"...(Can you tell I have spring fever?!)

And these two are soooooo cute - just 3" x 3" and lined with whimsical paper...



I'm painting signs for both eBay and a commissions this weekend too - and would you believe I'm almost caught up with commission work?! Yep - just two pieces to go, and the schedule is open again! So if there's a piece you're longing for, shoot me an email. I can't make any promises, and to be honest, I'm kind of fussy about commissions anyway - they have to be FUN (I know, how spoiled am I?) It's just that I truly believe you can't do a piece justice if your heart isn't in it. Anyway, if you have a wicked cool idea (or trust me with one, hehe!) drop me a line. :)

In other news, I was soooooooo pleased to open my email this morning and discover I'm the featured artist on the PFATT blog (the "Primitive Folk Art Talk and Tea" group). Actually, I think the way they put it is that I'm their "Featured Pfattie" - the P is silent, by the way, so it's appropriate on so many levels!

Oh - and if anyone hasn't noticed the Facebook banner on the right side of the blog, please feel free to friend me there. Like the blog here, I often post info about works in progress, so it's an easy way to get the heads-up. Oh, and Twitter!! Yep, like everyone else in the universe, I'm tweeting. You can find me there under "kingofmice".

Work is also in progress for the upcoming Ghoultide Gathering show - October will be here before we know it, and I'm sooooooooo looking forward seeing everyone!

That's about it for now - I'm off to drop some tunes in the CD player and start painting. Later tonight, dinner at a friend's house. I'm bringing dessert, which would normally find me in the kitchen half the day, but with this week's schedule I'm taking the easy way out and hitting the bakery on the way there (shhhhhhh - don't tell!)

Have a magical, productive and *creative* weekend, all!

♥ Carolee

Update :)

At the risk of boring you to death with this one, I have to share I finally finished and listed it!



More goodies tomorrow....

♥ Carolee

Just a Peek...

Listing on eBay tomorrow night. :)

♥ ~ Carolee

The Art of Letters

In this age of email and instant messaging, we sometimes forget it wasn't all that long ago letter writing was the only means of written communication. Words were carefully chosen, penmanship mattered, and the thoughts expressed were personal, written down for all eternity....

When was the last time you received a handwritten letter? When was the last time you wrote one?

I know, I know, I sound absolutely ancient here....

But there's a lot to be said for doing things the old fashioned way on occasion, don't you think?

For one thing, letters leave a tangible record for future generations. Given the test of time, emails, memos and blogs pale in comparison to letters, journals and diaries. The letter shown above is from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett....so romantic. It's part of an anthology of love letters John presented me with a few years ago on Valentine's Day. Here's another page, this one from Sir Richard Steele (Dublin born English writer) to Mary Scurlock, penned in August, 1707. A declaration of love, the letter closes: "Dear Molly, I am tenderly, passionately, faithfully Thine, Richd Steele".

Sorry, but no one writes emails like that. ;)

Letter writing also forces us to slow down, to organize our thoughts, to use language as it was meant to be used, without abbreviations and acronyms. (Don't even get me started on "Ur" and "2 go"!) We may save a few seconds with this kind of communication, but we lose something far more precious.

This is all by way of telling you I've had letter writing on my mind for some time now...

I've mentioned the desire to create a large stationary chest for storing beautiful writing supplies, and I actually have TWO to share today; one completed, and one a work in progress. The chest you see below was created for a very special collector in New York. She was looking for something in lighter shades, neutrals, ivory and gold, with an old fashioned yet somewhat mystical feel, incorporating stamps and letters, and large enough to hold boxes of notecards....



Such a joy to paint this one! It will be on it's way in a day or two. :)

The next chest is in progress, and may even be completed tomorrow. It's shaping up to be a very elegant witch's stationary chest, and may also include a black cat and a raven, not sure yet. I want to add some hand lettering too - perhaps single words of inspiration like "magic" and "art" and enchantment"...Heres a sneak peek:


Oh - and did I mention I'm including a plumed pen, a bottle of ink, a brass seal and two sticks of sealing wax?! Yep.;)

Unless I receive an offer I can't refuse, look for this one on eBay very soon!

That's about all for now. I'm off to the kitchen throw a quiche in the oven, slice some strawberries for dessert, and pop an old movie in the dvd player ("The Philadlephia Story", with Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart)...

There's a lot to be said for "old fashioned". ;)

♥ ~ Carolee

A Mermaid Party....

....And I'm late, as usual!

Without John along as navigator, today's road trip found me completely lost more than once (I soooooooooo need GPS!) so I just got home....

I feel like such a deadbeat, signing up for Lisa's enchanting Mermaid Tea Party, then missing the boat, so to speak. But better late than never, right?

No time now to create the mermaid painting I had planned, so instead I'll share one I painted a couple of years ago, as the face of a sparkly, glittery carriage clock now residing with a collector in Maryland. :)

I love, love, LOVE painting mermaids, and must do at least one this summer!

I'm off to mingle with the other party guests now, if they'll have me, hehe. ;)

Back again tomorrow with a sneak peek at what's in store....

♥ Carolee

New Work and a Road Trip!

I've been busy as a bee these last few days - completed a commission, and listed four new pieces of art (two on eBay and two on Etsy!)

The first I have to share with you is a bit of a departure for me, and completely primitive. If only the pieces in this assemblage could talk....the homes they've graced, the lives they've witnessed....Very cool to work with materials so steeped in history!


The shutter still has it's original layers of paint, and the lettering is pieces of antique hardware. It's listed now on eBay. :)

The next two pieces are tiny trinket boxes listed on Etsy. Actually, only one is still listed. The siamese sold overnight.




Lots of fun these two! Their collars are Swarovski crystals.

And finally, the birthday canvas shown in the post below. Tempting as it is to keep this one, it's more tempting to pay the bills, haha...So it's listed on eBay now, with the offer to personalize the top layer of cake! I thought it would make a fun birthday gift if someone wanted to purchase it and have the recipient's name or number of years painted on for posterity....

That's it for new work, until the wicked cool stationary box I've been promising - look for it early in the week. ;)

In the meantime, I'm off on a little road trip today!! This one will be all by myself, as John is down with the plague this week (I'm pounding Airborne and echinacea tea in an effort not to catch it) Sooooooo, I'm off to the wilds of northern Pennsylvania all by my lonesome....

You may remember a mention here a few months ago about my favorite wood supplier going out of business - another casualty of this economy, and so sad. I bought everything I could before the closing of course, but supplies are dwindling. At any rate, after failed attempts to contact the former owner, I did a bit of sleuthing, and was able to contact their woodworker - a retired gentleman who lives a few hours north of here, who very kindly agreed to accept an order from me. (I was doing the happy dance for DAYS!) His work is just exquisite, and I'm thrilled to say I'll be picking up some pieces I thought I'd never see again, including the large chest shown on my banner, a couple of ornament chests, and several smaller boxes. (YAY!!)

I'm told the trip is a beautiful drive, much of it running north along the Susquehanna river, so even though this is technically a work related trip, I'm hoping it will feel like a real, live day off. And I couldn't ask for a better day - 70 and sunny - just perfect! :)

I'm off now to grab some tunes for the car....Hoping to take some photos too...

Wishing everyone a magical day today!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

A Birthday Party?

Okay, so here's the thing....

I'm rapidly approaching the half century mark (just about three more months!) and it occurs to me that I have never in my adult life had a party. Seriously - no wedding shower, no baby shower, no birthday parties, no anniversary parties....nada.

I've thrown plenty of them for others - showers, surprise birthday parties, Halloween parties, Day of the Dead parties, Christmas parties, Fourth of July parties, graduation parties, etc....Like almost any wife and Mom, celebrations have become my domain. ;)

And I really do enjoy them from beginning to end - the menu planning, the cooking, the decorating, the entertaining - all of it. Well, OK, almost all of it. I could do without the cleaning up. ;)

So I have to admit I'm crossing my fingers that this year - milestone birthday that it IS - someone else around here will step up to the plate...

But I'm not holding my breath. ;)

To that end, I'm thinking about throwing myself (and everyone here in bloglandia) a fabulous fifty celebration - a fiesta of sorts here on the blog, honoring all of us who, whether already past that 50th milestone, or still approaching it, hope to age fabulously.

I'm not talking about looks here, but about spirit; about never letting go of wonder and magic, about following your bliss, about keeping an open mind.....about the aging process being an awakening!

I've blogged about this subject before, and was delighted recently to read the very same sentiment on the truly fabulous Vanessa Valencia's blog. How she never wanted to lose sight of her five year old self....I was reading along, thinking "YES! That's it!"...and it started me thinking there must be soooooooo many of us who feel that way...

And I think we need a party, don't you?

This has been so much on my mind lately I painted a whimsical little birthday canvas (the one shown above) with a birthday mouse putting the cherry at the top of her own off-kilter cake (LOVE all those off kilter cakes the bakeries are doing now - so perfect, haha!). Anyway, this one is my little present to myself, at least until it sells (in this economy, I have to sell everything I've taken time to paint!) Not sure if it will end up on eBay or Etsy, but stay tuned. :)

In the meantime, tell me what you think of this Birthday Blog Party idea! I've never hosted a blog party before, and don't exactly know how to go about it - a banner and list of participants to start with I guess? Maybe a month or so before the big day? Or a couple of weeks? Feel free to jump in here, I need all the help I can get....

That's about it for now - I have to get back to work! Sooooooooo many new projects in the works, and a road trip tomorrow to visit the most wonderful woodworker for new goodies!

Wishing everyone a magical and *creative* weekend!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

Giveaway Winner, and More to Come!

I sooooooooooooo love doing these little giveaways - it feels like such a small thank-you for all the kind comments, support and encouragement everyone gives so freely here. But I do wish I could send each and every one of you something special! Until I figure that out, we'll whittle away at it with the monthly giveaways, hehe....

With 186 entries between followers and comments, it took awhile to write it all down this morning - I couldn't figure out how to use a random number generator and still include extra chances for those who commented, so just decided to draw names...

And the winner of the little star box is Zan Asha of Wild at Heart Art. :)

Look for another giveaway very soon though, and this summer a blog party (you're all invited!) with FIVE giveaways in one week! Still working out the details for this one, but hope to post something later today, so stay tuned. ;)

That's about it for now...I'm off finish a little piece for said blog party, two more tiny trinket boxes, and a witch's coat/cloak rack....

Back very soon!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

It's been raining steadily all day here in Pennsylvania, but as I write this, the sun is finally peeking through the clouds, making every thing outside shimmer and sparkle - one of those "ahhhhhhh!" moments, where you have to stop whatever you're doing and just smile at the beauty of it all.

The most recent nod to springtime is this whimsical trio of tiny trinket boxes, listed just now on Etsy. They're selling individually, but I almost hate to break them up - I can just picture them on a dresser, desk or table all together.... *UPDATE* - SOLD


Tomorrow will be a quiet day for us, and very non-traditional in terms of Easter dinner. Between John's low salt diet and my aversion to eating meat, the Easter feast will be a pasta dish, accompanied by a fresh baked french bread and a glass of red wine. Not sure what to do about dessert. Those cupcakes (see previous post) are GONE - or gone from HERE anyway, hehe (dropped them off at a friend's house, lest like everything else, they show up on my hips!) So.....maybe some fat free tapioca pudding for dessert tomorrow. ;)

Okay, back to work for me now, but I'll leave you with this artsy little clip from my latest favorite CD, Neko Case's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"....Been listening to this one a lot as I paint, and need to pick up her latest, "Middle Cyclone" soon!

Wishing everyone who celebrates a Happy and Blessed Easter tomorrow!!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

Cupcakey Goodness!

It's been awhile since I've painted cupcakes (aside from the Halloween cupcakes, some of you may remember all those yummy bakery signs many years ago!) but the inspiration is back full force...


Maybe it's all those gourmet cupcake bakeries popping up everywhere, maybe it's this year's birthday (the rapidly approaching half century mark!)....or maybe it's just that cupcakes make me smile. :)

One of my fondest childhood memories is walking home from school, opening the front door and finding Mom (who is truly June Cleaver, by the way) there with a huge tray of fresh baked cupcakes. The perfect "after school snack". Remember after-school snacks? Not store bought, but the kind made from scratch...yummmmmmmmm. Once my brother ate an entire pumpkin pie. I'm not kidding. He was about twelve years old, and Mom was out somewhere, and called to make sure everyone was home safely, asking what he had for a snack. "A pie", he said. "You mean a piece of pie?"...."No. A pie." And a gallon of milk as I remember, too. Twelve year old boys are bottomless pits.

So yeah. Cupcakes on the brain this week. :)

Strawberry cupcakes baked just today....with sprinkles....

And this sparkly cupcake candle box (which also has about a gazillion other uses) now up for grabs on the PFATT Marketplace....*UPDATE* - SOLD.

Oh - and if anyone is in the general Philadelphia area, check this place out - cupcakey goodness down on the Main Line! The Chai Latte flavor is seriously amazing.

What's your favorite kind of cupcake? Inquiring minds want to know.....

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

PS - I'll be back soon with a few tiny trinket boxes on Etsy. In the meantime, if you haven't already, scroll down to the next post and read about all the giveaways, including the blog followers giveaway right here. (Five more days!)

Counting Crows, Ghouls Gone Wild, and Three Giveaways!

It's been a crazy busy weekend, but soooooooo productive! (I feel the same way about productive weekends as most people feel about relaxing weekends, hehe - they make me feel good)...

First, I have to share this treasure box, inspired by an old English divination rhyme for counting crows (and yep - that's where the band got the name). The crow perched on top is sculpted from paperclay, and inside the box there's a trail of little crow footprints. LOTS of fun, this one, and listed now on eBay:

Next up, as promised - "Ghouls Gone Wild!"

The treasure chest is also listed on eBay, and the little canvas can be found beginning tomorrow on the EHAG Art blog's Frightful Fete Giveaway, so do run over there and enter!





Next, a giveaway for blog followers! This sparkly star shaped trinket box will find a home with one of the wonderful people who follow the blog here....



If you're already a follower, you're entered automatically, and if you leave a comment, you'll be entered twice! If you're not a follower, all you have to do is click "follow" (on the right) and sign in with a username or email and password. It's a great way to keep up with all the blogs you love, and receive notification when new posts appear.

The drawing will close at midnight April 14th, and I'll draw the winning name on Wednesday the 15th. IMPORTANT - I must have a way to access the winner's email address. The easiest way to do this is to post it on your blogger profile, but if not, please include it in your comment here. If I can't reach you, I'll need to draw another name....

Finally, drop by the PFATT blog for another giveaway! I didn't have time to contribute any goodies to this one, but do drop by and enter - lots of talent there!

That's about it for now...I'm off to pour a glass of sangria, and toast all of you who enable me to spend my days dreaming and creating - I can't thank you enough!!

Artful Blessings,

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee

"Ghouls Gone Wild!".....

Stay tuned, hehe....

~ Carolee

Surfacing...

Just a quick hello this evening. I'm exhausted after two days of doctor, dentist and finally an endodontist visit, which resulted in yet another root canal. No fun (and even with insurance insanely expensive) but short of having the tooth pulled (which seriously freaks me out) there's no alternative.

Commissions and new pieces are progressing, but a day or two behind schedule, so I'll be working all weekend.

Look for a raven/crow inspired piece tomorrow and a witch's stationary box early next week!!

In the meantime, have a magical weekend, and I promise to write something more interesting soon. :)

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee