Getting Ready for Upcoming Holiday Season

First, I'd like to apologize for not posting in so long.  I am alive and well, just been neglecting my blog but feel like I might be ready to do some serious blogging!

My Jolipapier Etsy shop is doing well and my first order of business is to thank all of you that have supported me.  I am truly humbled and grateful. I love crafting, art is in my blood.  Creativity comes in many forms, some of us are great cooks, some are writers, photographers and in my case it is creating with my hands, transforming a blank page into something beautiful.

The holiday seasons are fast approaching and all summer I have been busy trying to get my inventories up and ready.  So be sure to look for new items in all my Etsy shops.

I have been playing around with mixed media for awhile now and you may notice it creeping into my cards and tags.  I like to embellish, paint, handstamp and add lots of depth to some of my tags.  As I play around with my art I will from time to time pass on what I learn here on this blog, so check back in and see what's happening in Julie's art lab.

Wishing you all a happy and creative day!  and for your enjoyment a photo taken from a rose growing on my rosebush.

Recipe for Tart Grapes

Last visit to grocery store left me with 4 lbs of green grapes that were so sour my face crunched. So what do I do with 4 lbs of sour grapes. With a little research I found this:

Ingred:

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light sour cream

5 cups seedless green grapes (or any kind) washed and stemmed

mint sprigs for garnish

Directions:

In large bowl mix sugar and sour cream, add grapes, stir well to coat. Cover and chill for several hours. Spoon into individual dishes and garnish with mint. Serves 6. Calories: 167.5 (from fat: 38)

So good and looks pretty! I plan to serve this as a dessert tonight as I am trying to lose some weight. I will try to share more recipes as I get a chance to try them out and rate them!

*Recipe credited to Southern Living.

Happy Holidays!

Where has the time gone. I meant to update my blog weeks ago...thought I'd give you a preview of what's in the shop for the holidays. Thanks for looking! and have a wonderful Christmas!

HALLOWEEN DECORATING

Halloween is just around the corner and as it is my favorite holiday, next to Christmas anyway, my daughter and I have already started decorating! Don't let these portraits fool you, they are very SPOOKY! Depending on where and what angle you're standing from the photo the image morphs into terrible beings. So fun...

Spring Has Sprung

Well the sun was shining brightly yesterday and since I had my camera in my hand I ventured into my garden out back to see what I could find and under the snowball bushes I found these pretty little bells! They are so delicate! My husband thinks they are called snowbells but I'm not sure. I'll have to do some research but aren't they pretty?

A New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Its been so busy this is the first chance I've had to post so bear with me. We had a beautiful Christmas, quite Merry and Bright. Hope yours was too!

Hang Dry

Wow, another week has gone by! Hard to believe. I've been busy this week prepping tags to sell. Some I've hand dyed and others I've coffee stained. This is a bit arduous but well worth it. I use a paint brush to brush on the paints and stains and keep reapplying until they look the way I want them to. I used to use a more hit or miss approach that was fast but wasn't always satisfied with the results. I like to hang them to dry, then I can work both sides at the same time. So now I have "the start of something beautiful" as the saying goes...