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...

TGIF

Thought it was about time "Bertie" made his debut on my blog. He is one of three of my faithful companions. As a work/create at-home artist my days can be very quiet but Bertie keeps me entertained with all his playfulness! He loves to get my attention by waiting until I'm close to the cage (I have him in my studio) and then squawks and flaps his wings until I stop what I'm doing and pay him some mind! He got his name from the old PBS series called "Wooster and Jeeves" an all time favorite of mine. Bertie was one of the main characters on the show (you may now know him as "House".

My Garden

After a particularly windy and rainy day yesterday, this is the aftermath in my garden. The wind and rain was hard on my cherry blossoms. The swing in the backyard was up- ended during the night! But today is better and a little bit of sunshine is coming our way...

My Pocket Watch Tags Made it To Treasury West

My Pocket Watch gift tags made it to Etsy Treasury West and I'd like to give a big "thank you" to Susan at photohale. To see Susans' Etsy shop click on the link to her shop.

FYI: Why You Should Become a "Follower"

By clicking on the widget at the left and adding yourself to my Followers you will be able to find my blog quickly and not have to remember my blog name. This is a great way to keep track of blogs you like! I do this myself as I like to go back frequently to blogs that are of interest to me. Hope this post is helpful to you.

May Daze

Just finished a fabric collage which I have sewn to a canvas bag and finished painting a bird with acrylics on canvas. Why am I mentioning this? That's my excuse for not blogging in so long...I'll upload a photo of it. I've been trying to stretch my wings and try lots of other mediums. My newest project that I am currently working on is a little figurine made of paperclay. I plan to attach it to a box I previously made.

I just updated my Etsy shop with some more tag designs. Take a look if you get a chance. I digitally collaged them and I think they turned out nicely.

Saw the movie "State of Play" and thought it was great. If you like a good thriller this is a good one to see (with Russel Crowe).

Well, I will strive to keep my blog updated more frequently but if by chance you notice its been awhile you know I am working on something fun and exciting so keep checking back.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter Happiness to All

I Made The Etsy Treasury

This card made it to an Etsy Treasury hosted by thebeadgirl

Check out whats new at the shop

DOLL HEADS

These handmade doll heads (clay) have been staring up at me for quite some time. I need to make bodies for them. Hopefully soon!

BUTTONS

Did you know that buttons make excellent embellishments for cards and tags? Of course they also look great just sitting around, too! I mean, who can resist them?

FAVORITE THINGS

Just a few of my very favorite things:

Green depression glass perfume bottles! I love green and I love vintage perfume bottles so....

This is my vintage music box ballerina. She is very old but still dances to the Emperors Waltz. She moves up and down and her legs swing. When I found her she was missing her glass dome so I had to replace it. It doesn't fit really great but I've never found anything else that will work.

This is the glass dome replacement. It has a tendency to slip down.

The Week in Photos

I spent the week with my camera taking photographs of everything I found interesting. I will use these as inspiration this week for my collages and you may even see one as a background in one of my digital collages.

I love the way

the light is reflecting off the

water under the pier in this photo... and the

movement of the water is so pretty!

Sun setting in Newport...

Industrial sights....

Is there a romantic way to go? Maybe this is it...

Crabber harvesting his catch of the day...

Don't you just want to go inside!

Two days of sunshine at the coast, horray!

ANOTHER FRANTIC MONDAY

These are my two Yorkie "babies". They are not too sure about the ocean waves!



Woke up to a light sprinkling of snow this morning. What happened to Spring????? I have got Spring fever early this year. And to think its in the 70's in Phoenix, AZ.

I took the plunge and spent most of Sunday reworking my Etsy banner and avatar. Check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335756 and let me know what you think. Feel free to contact me or leave a comment. Would love to hear from you.