An Addition to My Art Collection

I was so happy to have found out yesterday that I had won a blog giveaway sponsered by Karen Faulkner (http://www.karenfaulknerart.etsy.com/)~ I've been following her wonderful blog ever since I started my own blog and enjoyed reading about her new pieces and her life. Her blog is: http://www.karenfaulknerart.blogspot.com/.

The giveaway was for an ACEO from her shop, which features one of her simple and beautiful watercolor flower paintings. I chose one entitled "Dragonfly Wings". Each blogger had to write a short blurb on what they were buying their loved ones for Christmas that was handmade. I wrote that I was making a necklace for my boyfriend's grandmother, bought watercolor notecards for my grandmother, bought a handmade bookmark for my aunt, who is a reading teacher, and best of all, bought a painting from Karen Faulkner for my mother!

This picture is so peaceful and simple, which will bring a tranquility to my room I use for jewelry. I especially love all the hues of purple and violet. I can't wait to hang this on my wall!

Thank you so much Karen!

Spotlight on Strawberries

I was thinking about my childhood and came across a memory of going strawberry picking every June in a place near where I used to live. It was a big field, where you could just roam around with a little basket and pick your own strawberries. The place had a huge strawberry shaped balloon that would fly high above the field~ you can see it from a ways away while you were driving. That's what I remember most about picking strawberries~ the balloon! In honor of my childhood memory, I went looking for beautiful things that have a strawberry theme to them.

This art print is handmade by LaBerge (http://www.laberge.etsy.com/). I really love the details of each berry, and their vivid color!

Ah... soooo cute. This is a strawberry felted doll necklace handmade by Rosemary4Remembrance(http://www.rosemary4remembrance.etsy.com/). I am really loving the adorable face!

This beautifully photographed soap, handmade by savor (http://www.savor.etsy.com/) , is entitled Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I love the vibrant pink coloring...and well, it looks good enough to eat!

These earrings are from me, cymbaline84 (www.cymbaline84.etsy.com). I made them with my childhood memory in mind. I love how the brass and the bright red really go together.

A Flurry of Red Balloons

There's something sad about a balloon, flaoting on its own, higher and higher into the sky. It always makes me think of the child who accidently let it go, watching it fly away. There is also something striking about a lone balloon~ especially a lone red balloon. It is a splash of unexpected color against a landscape. It just shows that beauty can come from anything, even something as out of the ordinary as a red balloon against the empty sky. It is also subject for many works of art. Here are a few of my finds from Etsy, featuring red balloons:

This art print, handmade by ellemoss (http://www.ellemoss.etsy.com/) , is named "She Still Haunts Me" I love how the balloon is indeed the one bright splash of color in the print, with the rest of the colors being darker.









This photo, entitled, "Red Balloon" was taken by angiemuldowney (http://www.angiemuldowney.etsy.com/). Perhaps a poor child really lost their balloon. I love again the contrast of the red against the tree branches and the dismally sky sky.

This print, handmade by auusiepatches (http://www.aussiepatches.etsy.com/) caught my eye not only because of the balloons, but the girl herself~ I love her outfit, and her red hair! This is entitled "Red Balloons on a Line".

This surrealistic print is handmade by BellatrixArt (http://www.bellatrixart.etsy.com/). It is entitled "Just a Dream Within a Dream" I am in love with the colors, and how the moon seems to be radiating light right out of the picture!

Make A Wish!

Remember when you were young, you would stop and pick up a dandelion (not the bright yellow ones, but the fuzzy white ones), and blow on it, scattering its seeds everywhere? They would go flying in every direction the wind took them, piloted by their fluffy parachutes. The best part of the whole thing was making a wish, every time you did it. While I am still reminiscing the dandelions and wishes from my childhood, I would also like to share wonderful finds from the Great World of Etsy on this very subject.

This clock is awesome~ it hangs up on my wall right now. It was featured on Etsy's front page months ago, and it was one of those purchases that I knew I had to make. The flowers remind me a little of both dandelions and Queen Anne's lace. The color combination is so bold. It not only keeps the time, but it is a work of art as well. This clock was handmade by bode22 (http://www.bode22.etsy.com/). This store has more clocks that have wonderful designs, all of them unique.

I love the different shades of gray in this picture~ very serene! This proves that gray is not just a "one tone" type of color~ there are a lot of contrasts throughout this picture. This print is called "Dandelion Dreams". This photo is by thebunnycage (http://www.thebunnycage.etsy.com/). This store has an array of wonderful prints and phots that are definately worth checking out!

These lovely little dandelion graphics are actually four separate wall decals. These wuld be perfect on a blank wall, spaced out in a manner so they look like they are drifting up, up, and away. They are handmade by holly, (http://www.holly.etsy.com/). She has many different decals in her shop~ these particular decals come in a variety of different colors. A great idea to go beyond the traditional framed art!

This print, handmade by papermoth (http://www.papermoth.etsy.com/), is one in a series of prints that has this particular design, "Perennial Moment", in a variety of soft pastel colors. This one is tea green. I love this color, it is so soft, and makes the dandelions look for delicate. Other colors include silver, aqua, lavendr, pink, gold, and an original color of a mixture of gold and deep aqua. This fun shop has many more designs to chhose from~ all are whimsical and fun, and alot of them bring a soft feminitity to a room!

I couldn't resist putting this print, handmade by Vieiragirl (www.vieiragirl.etsy.com) into this collection. I love the almost grayish blue-violet backgound, and the soft bursts of wisy white. This print is entitled "Fall Branch". You can almost reach out and touch the little white bursts, expecting them to feel like fuzzy dandelions! This shop sports a colorful variety of prints that are nature inspired.

Cooling Aquas

Fall might be here, but it's pretty close to being in the thirties out right now outside my window. I am already looking ahead to snow. I am for skipping for now the warmth and spice of autumn's colors and turning to the crisp cooler (colder!) side of the color spectrum. One of my favorite colors from that side of the spectrum is aqua blue. The lighter blues are used in interior decorating to bring a serenity to a room. I have comprised a list of a few of my finds, spotlighting Etsy artists who also pay homage to this calming color.

Not only do I love the muted tone of aqua used this soap, I also love the way it was photgraphed. The white background makes the color of this picture really pop! This soap is called Caribbean SpearMist, and it is handmade by AngelBellaBody (http://www.angelbellabody.etsy.com/)

It is a goat's milk soap, scented with Spearamint essential oils and sprinkled with rose hips on the top.

This print, handmade by OrangeWillow (http://www.orangewillow.etsy.com/) , has crisp lines and a bold color scheme. I love the details of the petals. The aqua hued background is perfect! It is another one of my favorite ways to create aqua, with a bit of gray mixed in, to make it more muted. This is entitled "Petal Dreams". It is a perfect size, 8.5" X 11", and would look so sharp with a black frame.

The pendant on this gorgeous genuine sea glass makes me thirsty... perhaps it is the refreshing color, a bit warmer tone of aqua that the previous two pictures, and perhaps it is because the pendant is a bottle top that was weathered by the sea. I love how this photograph was taken, it really shows the clear details of the pendant, and its vivid color. This necklace was handmade by seaglassdesigns (http://www.seaglassdesigns.etsy.com/) .

This aqua brings us back to the more muted aqua hues of the color spectrum. A wonderful piece of pottery that incorporates earthen browns, reds, and greens. This piece was handmade by redhotpottery, (http://www.redhotpottery.etsy.com/). It is perfectly sized to serve soup in, which is a wonderful thing this time of year. Personally I love eating soup out of pottery mugs, as opposed to eating it out of bowls~ they have handles so they can be held while you are curled up on the couch..wrapped up in a warm blanket. Did I mention it was very cold out right now? :)

Stripes!

I love to wear stripes. My socks have bright stripes on them, and my shirts have stripes on them. Stripes make me feel bold~ it's definately one of my favorite designs. I want to share with you some more wonderful finds from across the Craftsphere, aka Etsy, that involve this wonderful design.

This print is called "Ice Lady and Her Red Hot Shoes". The stripe theme is more subtle, as the focus is on a killer pair of shoes that this lady has on. :) I love the choice of colors. I love the more muted colors on the color wheel, as they impart a gorgeous softness. This print is made by luciajohnson (http://www.luciajohnson.etsy.com/). Check out her other prints~ she has this design in more delicous colors!

I love this print, handmade by gorjuss (http://www.gorjuss.etsy.com/). It is called "Tiptoes". From the beautiful heather gray, purple and blue, to her black hair, to her little eyes. And of course, I love her striped socks! Gorjuss has a large variety of prints and paintings, a lot of them sporting these black haired little girls that are decidedly goth and undeniably adorable.

I have this print up on my wall right now. This is called "Lydia". I love her little outfit, her adorable short hair cut, and her beautiful eyes. The red and white stripes really provide a brightness to the picture. This print is handmade by the black apple (http://www.theblackapple.etsy.com/) She has many other prints that sport subjects with amazingly cute outfits and bright eyes.

This print blew me away~ red white and black are one my more favorite color combinations. Once put on the wall, this will definitely bring a bright presence to a room. I love the striped stockings! This is called "Under the House". It is handmade by gallery32 (http://www.gallery32.etsy.com//). Her store has an array of other beautiful photographs, many inspired by instances in nature.