The Truth of the Matter

This is Mailey and I being silly wearing our book lights. Yes, I wear it on my head....I hate the book clip ons! Being silly with my children is something I plan to do more of these days. Read on.......

I guess you'd pretty much be living under a rock to not be aware of what was going on around us these days in the states. Although I never watch or listen to the news, I prefer my little bubble of naiveness, I can see the struggle as I pass gas station after gas station with no gasoline and notice the quite empty parking lot at the local mall. People are scared, and well we should be. We've lived well above our means for years now as a nation. I know our family has spent more money on useless "things" over the past few years. And what I really wish I had back was not necessarily the money, but some of that time I spent shopping. I'd have used that time in the backyard more, games with the kids, cooked more meals, etc. So maybe all this chaos will bring about an awareness that staying at home is not so bad, and that less is more.

Which brings me to the real point of this soapbox blog. This weekend is the Norcross Art Festival. An annual event that is usually visited by thousands. I have a really icky feeling in my belly that this may not be the case this year. And I am going to have to face up to the fact that this first event may not be my best. I have to not be discouraged, and keep my head high. I have worked for 2 months now getting everything ready. And it is-packed, labeled, inventoried. Ready to find a loving home. If you are lucky enough to fill your tank with gas, and can find your way to Norcross, Georgia please stop by and say hello. It'll make my day so much brighter! But for now, I think I'll do some playing in the backyard with my children. It costs nothing, but is quite priceless, don't you think?

End note: It's 9PM- Afterschool we went to get ice cream, then William went to Noah's while Mailey and I swang. We did her homework in the playhouse and ate pizza (that I made, not ordered) there too. Except Papa bear, he was too big (seriously, I think the floor would've caved in, we've got to get the sinking floor raised soon!) Mailey then put on a lovely cheer/gymnastics show. More homework followed the show and before you knew it, the babies were ready for bed. Amazing what no TV and tons of fresh air can do for a family. Now I can tackle a new painting before the wee hours like usual!

Mini Magnets and Prints

These sweet little magnets are great pick-up items for teachers, stockings or a treat for yourself. They are printed on blank poker chips....yep...poker chips. These birds are sure to bring good luck to your table! $2.00 each

Finally, I broke down and made prints of my art last week. After noticing how well other Etsy shops did selling prints, and a nudge from Valerie and others, I did it. They are either 5"x5" or 5"x7" mounted onto acid free 8"x10" card stock and placed in a clear sleeve. The 5" prints would look wonderful in the IKEA square frames in a grouping. So would the 5x7's actually! These prints will be $10 each. I've got about 16 different images printed at this point.

So that's about it for me for the show. I actually am more nervous about the weekend than I was to get married! My tummy has some crazy butterflies already. The what ifs always get me. I am so not a last minute girl. All my ducks are in a row with items to sell, but the unexpected and things I can not control are what will keep me a little edgy this week. Keep your fingers crossed for weather like this weekend and lots of happy shoppers!

Mattie's Social Circle- They're All Here!

I finished up all the felted bird sculptures I intend to take next weekend yesterday. I have the standing ones all lined up on my art desk and the caged ones all hanging from the kitchen chandelier (which looks so good, I'll have a hard time letting them go!). Then it hit me, they are like a little 3-D version of Mattie's Social Circle! Each one has so much personality. I can see them talking away to each other now. I've one more to make tomorrow, and that's a Mattie. For now, Mailey and I have named the rest of the circle and here they are: The caged girls are $45.oo each.

This is Sadie in her Tweet nest. She is $40.00.
These girls on stands are $35.oo each.

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday! We sure did here at the Horne Family house. Lots of football, hot dogs and napping! I'll be back soon with shots of my prints hot off the press and magnets.

Felted Friends

Last year Valerie took some of our felted sweaters from making flower pins and crafted these cutey pie birds. So, desperately needing a change from painting, I decided to craft a few of these sweeties for next weekend myself. I of course got a bit carried away since it was so much fun to make Mattie and her friends come off the canvas! We are still in the process of naming them all, Mailey loves this job. So far I have 4 on stands like above, 2 standing on their own and 4 in cages (still working on those babies, no pics yet).
There is so much personality in these little ones. I just want to pinch their whittle cheeks!
Then, while watching Top Design last night I got an idea to make a little cuff bracelet. Mailey had cut the cuffs off some sweaters earlier and was wearing them around the house like bracelets. They were cute plain, but adding the flower with the fabric covered button in the center...ooo...I am going to make some more of these!
I decided to add button closures instead of the pull on technique like Mailey. And besides, there's alot more seam around the bottom to make bracelets from than cuffs.

PS ....... I have found a few sweaters at the Goodwill to felt, but Valerie mentioned the other day that on Etsy you can buy from people that have already bought and felted the sweaters. I did just that and for $30 got an amazing bag of treats to make these goodies. So if you are wanting to try this on your own, I recommend Etsy!

The Girls

At the Vintage-Flea we have a wonderful collection of mannequins we call "the girls". We always dress them up in fun things...right now they have fabulous newspaper skirts complete with lovely bows. So when I needed to fix up my two little "girls" for the show I got just a wee bit carried away and made them these super fun paper skirts....with my sewing machine no less! I just had to share their picture. The larger girl was my Christmas present when I was 21, the baby is normally in Mailey's room with a costume on. I am so going to have the best dressed booth in Norcross. If anything, I want people to feel welcome as they pass by, come on in, and stay a spell.

PS That adorable house in the background is Mailey's little playhouse. I wish I could take it with me for my booth!

New Little Tweets

These one-of-a-kind little "Tweets" were made by my nibble little fingers with tons of love. There are earrings, necklaces (that have leaf earrings to match) and rings for you to choose from. The nest beads were a special purchase during a February trip to New York with Valerie. There will be no more, so if you are interested let me know. Otherwise they'll be making their debut in Norcross next weekend. Hope you are having a lovely day! Things are going steady here in the art studio!

New Textured Paintings

"Oh Happy Field" 18" x 18"
"Orange Bike" 19" x 24"

Just a peek up close at some of the new textured paintings I've been working on. This week I am in high production mode getting ready for the Norcross show. I cleaned up my painting area to work on some felted bird sculptures and fun appliqued pillows I can't wait to show you. I've also decided to offer prints. Of course in the midst of all my chaos are the kids practices and my husband's campaign. Busy is the key word around here. Busy and organized is what we strive for always. Somehow it all gets done and I sleep quite soundly! My focus remains on getting through until next week when I can't wait for it to all come together. I am thrilled to be participating in the show and can't wait to share all this joy I've been stashing in my garage with happy buyers!

The Funky Chicken Art Project...Here I come!

This past weekend I received an exciting e-mail from Christina. She owns the Funky Chicken Art Project in Dahlonega, GA. After visiting her website, complete with a rooster call, I decided Mattie would fit right in. I packed up my box tonight of: Framed marble tiles......
Porcelain Pendants.....
And two little originals.

I mentioned that I have three big shows coming up and had all originals earmarked for those events. She totally understood and asked me to go ahead with the tiles and jewelry. I decided to add 2 originals to see how they did. Hopefully I'll get the pressing and other little bits done for the shows and can get more original work made to "spread the love" as my sweet friend Stephanie would say. So if you are in the Dahlonega area sometime, be sure to stop by and say hello to Christina!

Last Night's Event

Here's a peek at last night's Fall Artwalk. I took only my textured painting series, pendants and my new "Little Treasures" line of one-of-a-kind earrings and necklaces. I'll post pics of those close-up later. The night was filled with people looking at the store and all its goodies. Valerie and her team have done an amazing job getting the store ready for Halloween. It's full of products that I would love to have in my home! I really enjoyed being just an artist last night, visiting with customers and old friends. It was a wonderful evening...thanks Valerie for letting me be a part of such a nice event!

Fall Artwalk in Downtown Newnan

This Friday night from 5-8 PM merchants in downtown Newnan will be open late for the annual Fall Artwalk. It is always such a fun evening. Lots of people, lots of food and even more wine! This year I am participating as just an artist. I'll admit it is a bit strange being on the other side of the counter these days! My art will be featured at The Vintage-Flea right along side Valerie's, several jewelry artists, a pastel artist and probably more! We at the Flea always loved having lots of fresh artists featured.
I'll be bringing just my textured paintings this time around. I've developed this technique into something I really enjoy the process of. It takes 3 days to complete a painting, which makes me crazy impatient sometimes, but the end results always outweigh this impatience! Some come on down and say hello!

In the "Zone"

Last night I told my husband that I was going to stay up late and try to get some painting done. With all the changes in my life over the past month, I have to say that getting a regular routine going has been difficult. I don't know how I balanced everything when I worked full-time, honestly! And my inspirations have been a bit off kilter too. A funk you could say. I am not a last minute person. Nor do I work well under short deadlines. I like to plan ahead, make lists, check things off, and go to bed early the night before a big event. I never crammed for tests the night before...never. So this art show is throwing me for a loop. Dead line drawing near, get a tent, need a credit card machine, do I have what will sell made, getting the stuff loaded and to Norcross, hotel reservations, and the list just piles and swims in my head. Especially at night. Last night however, I'd finished up my run of paintings (I like to draw a series, then paint them all at once) and went to bed on a creative high you could say. Visions of the bike painting were coming together, I theme I've wanted to try for awhile now. So I went to sleep peacefully instead of my head swimming.I woke, I jumped out of bed, got the kids to school and went for my morning walk/run with Lily. Usually I run about two mailboxes worth. Then walk the rest. But today, by golly I ran and ran until I ran out of neighborhood. Not sure exactly how far, but I'd say about 3 miles. I was in the "zone". Feels good. Now I'm ready to tackle that bike painting. I'll let you know how it goes. For now here are two newbies. The top one is called "Fall is Coming", the bottom one is "Triplets in the Fall". I let my daughter Mailey help me with the names of my paintings, she gets a total kick out of it. When she saw the three birds she said, "Mommy you've got to call this one the triplets, like our friends at church." We have not one but two sets of triplet friends at our church by the way! Have a creative day!

Tag You're it!

I've never been tagged, and not sure I did this right but here goes:
This past week I was tagged by Bridgette .

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 5 following bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they've been tagged.


Here's my list:
Valerie Dumas
Michele Maule
Lori Craig
Sara Anthony
Sara Hearn

Drumroll please..........my 6 unspectacular quirks are:
1. I can't make any art until my house is clean and orderly.
2. I hate to sleep with a ceiling fan on.
3. I treat my dog Lily like a human baby.
4. I check my e-mail like 50 times a day.
5. I've always had a fear of falling down stairs.
6. I love the smell of paint.

PS I actually looked up quirk in the dictionary and it said it is a perculiar trait. I imagine I have many more from other's eyes, but these are the ones I thought of first! Have a nice evening!

New Work

The countdown until the Norcross Arts Fest has started. Officially I have 33 days. This means get into gear Jenni mode! My goal was 5 paintings this week, and I did just that. Here are my favorite 2 of the bunch: "Rosie's Gift" 20" x 20" canvas in salvage wood frame
"Mattie Finds Henry, Her One True Love" 12"x 12" on wood