I madonnari

I always enjoy I Madonnari, the chalk art festival held at Santa Barbara Mission.

Birthday

I had one of those milestone birthdays a couple weeks ago. You know the one where you go on medicare?

So I threw myself a self-catered party, using all my pretty dishes and silverware. Yes, actual people attended. 

As did Frank and Ernest!

I made all the food because I had a vision. However I was able to delegate (cheese and meat plating by Ernest and his girlfriend, Frank’s Famous Chocolate Chip cookies by Frank).

There were also tea sandwich fixings which I forgot to photograph. 

Happy May Day

Here is my spring tree.

Roast My Cat

Easter Crafts

My easter tree.  Frank painted the cat egg this year.

The cat cards are for my boys, of course  

I painted these years ago when Ernest was little (the dude is 29 today!). The skirted rabbit is a copy of a catalog photo of a hooked rug. Thanks to the recent magic of google image search, I can credit the original artist Kelly B. Rightsell. I thought it needed a companion, with carrots of course, so I also made the jeaned rabbit. They’ve been tucked away for 20+ years but I thought they’d be fun to have out for Easter.

Valentine

I made a few cards.

I had a lot of pink ornaments, so I made a Valentine's tree.  I really enjoyed having it.  

I think I'll do an Easter tree next, with the family-made easter eggs.

Pink and Sparkly Returns

“Pink and Sparkly” returns!

I now have enough vintage ornaments to cover the entire tree. But where do the hooks go while in storage? I swear every ornament had a hook when I put them away last year.

New this year are two color-changing LED spotlights. 

Christmas Cards

I made some Christmas cards this week.

I mostly used natural pigments I bought last year at La Compagnie des Ochres in Rousillon France.

Grinch

My Grinch is from 2018. 

A Few Cards

For my friends who missed our lunch bunch. 😻

Christmas Crafting

I am attempting a few arts and crafts lately. Here are some ornaments I made to share with my “ladies lunch bunch” tomorrow. 

The beads I used for the embellishments have been in my stash for at least 50 years! 

Feliz Dia de los Muertos

Para Francina, la reina de los gatos. 

Mid-Century Modern Cat Art

I did this back in 2020 or so. 

Happy Halloween

Flashback to 2017 and one of my favorite bookstore windows.

We transitioned the window Halloween night when the Great Pumpkin appreciated its sincerity.



Signs of Fall 2024

I always enjoy the scarecrows around town. I loved the clever use of a lampshade to make Halloweentown's mayor. This was at the city hall building.

We saw a Dracula comedy.

And visited the original.

Had some fall pie.

Made mummy dogs.

And enjoyed the first fire of the season.

Cards

This is the first creative project I've done in ages. Do I have some mojo back?

Handy liked them.

Personalization

I always love creating these personalized items but I’m not going to order them. I have enough stuff!  Here’s the latest batch. 

Long Long Trailer

I didn't realize that the Long Long Trailer lives nearby! 

It appeared at a local fundraiser!

So cool!

I entered a raffle to win a 2-night stay. 

I doubt I’ll win, but a person can dream.

Coincidentally, I had read the book a few months ago.  It’s hard to find but you can read a free scan on InternetArchive. Archive.org but they are temporarily offline