It's A Man Thing!

I started making "Man Cave" signs after visiting my sister. She mentioned that her hubby was down in his "Man Cave". I thought it was very appropriate description as this is the place where he could smoke, drink, grunt, fart...and do whatever else "men do"! LOL!





So that was the inspiration for the theme. This one is classic, I think! Since then I have added a few more....



This one should be posted at the entrance to every man cave as a warning to humankind (women) that she is entering the twilight zone!



And just in case you've forgetten the rules....



Men are definitely from Mars as the book title suggest....they should be a species unto their own...it's hard to figure out sometimes what makes them tick other than the obvious...how their mind works...well that's a scary place to visit! Anyway, I know as the mother of 3 boys, that I wouldn't trade them for a gaggle of girls! So here's to the "Men" in my life! I celebrate you! Not to mention I didn't want to make you feel left out with all the divaness from yesterday! LOL!

Once A Diva...Always A Diva!

Thought I would post my new themed signs...This weeks theme was "diva". I had a special request for a personalized "diva den" sign on etsy and things just took off from there! LOL!





So thank you to Helen of HAG Jewels for the inspiration. Be sure to click on her name to check out her etsy shoppe.



I think this one is a hoot...you never know just what will happen in a diva's den! LOL!



And of course, if you are of the male gender...you definitely want to enter at your own risk! LOL!



This one is just for marking out your territory! It's a nice big sign 5½"x20" so there will be no mistaking who's territory it really is! All have been done with an ivory background with fuschia lettering and gold star accents to complete that true diva look.

Making Progress...Kitchen Update

We're slowing making progress on the kitchen. I pray for rainy days...that's when the hubby works on the kitchen as his lawn service business takes priority...sigh!
The hubby and Josh are removing the plaster from the wall between the kitchen and dining room. The hubby wants to put a counter bar island in...as I said this project has a life of it's own!




While my house was being built one of the workers signed his name and gave his info on where he lived. I love finding things like this. Gives the house some personality. In the previous picture, there is a telephone ringer box in the corner of the wall...pretty cool. We also found a pocket knife that was left in the wall by someone.





The walls that were leading to the basement alcove and living room alcove have been removed.It makes the kitchen look so much bigger. We now need to tear out the hardwood floor to incorporate that part into the kitchen and extend the ceramic tile floor. The basement steps now are straight shot down...no more corners to have to turn and wasted space. Yeah!



It looks like one more day of demolition and we should be able to start working on reconstruction. With the forecast of 5 days of rain...maybe lots will get done...then again the forecast is for showers...so maybe not.

The Bees Are Buzzing in Baltimore

I received this little bugger in the mail today from my good friend Lisa Robinson. Lisa is the "Bingo Queen" for an internet painting forum that I host on delphi. Lisa takes her precious time, and I do mean precious as Lisa is the head chick to a blended family of 6 children...God Bless her! Anyway, Lisa takes the time to not only create the bingo lists, keep track of our word list, post bingo words daily, she also creates the most whimsical prizes for both the winner and the losers of the game. Lisa's creations always bring a smile to my face.



This is a picture of a few of the other loser prizes that I have received from Lisa over the years. She definitely has her own style! LOL! You can find Lisa's work on etsy by clicking on this link www.primchick.etsy.com and on ebay her user is theprimchick...sorry no link for that one. Be sure to check her out.

I just want to take the time to thank Lisa for all that she does for the Painters Box forum. So Lisa, I would like to thank you for your humor, wit and commitment to The Painters Box forum. I'm so glad that I "met" you those many years ago. You have truely enriched my life.



And if you have an interest in painting, sharing, chatting, drop me an email for an invite to The Painters Box through either etsy and ebay. We are always looking to make new friends.

In Honor Of Earth Day....

In honor of Earth Day, I decided to give you an update on my flower beds. I've gotten my side flower bed all planted. I was able to get some nice perennials from the flea market on Sunday. I planted some coreopsis, dianthus, lavendula, and arenaria to compliment the hostas, peonies, salvia, bearded irises, and day lilies that were already there. I also planted some marigolds and impatiens for summer color. We added some solar lights to provide low level nighttime lighting.

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 as a way to promote awareness of the Earth's environment. Approx. 20 millions Americans participated with a goal of a healthy, sustainable environment. Twenty years later Earth Day grew to 200 million people in 141 different countries, lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Today it is celebrated in over 175 countries with various observance activities.

Earth Day has spawned many of todays' environmental programs that we have in place. Recycling plastic, paper, cans and aluminum to keep it out of landfills. Calls for clean, renewable energy sources. Protection of our streams, rivers and natural resources including endangered species...these groups all found a reason to unite and pool their efforts in a common cause...to raise awareness of our impact on our environment.



In our family we try to respect the Earth by recycling our bottles, cans and paper products. We use CFL's in our light fixtures to cut our energy consumption. We try to turn off lights, tv's and appliances when we aren't using them. We have installed low flow shower heads and low water use toilets. We have replaced some of our appliances with Energy Star rated ones to help lower energy consumption. It's just our small contribution to help our environment.

Today is a day to rethink our environmental strategy. To find ways that we can further help save the environment. Any small contribution that one person makes, can be multiplied by millions all across the world...we can make a difference.

Anyway, Happy Earth Day. Get out and enjoy the day. Plant a tree, a flower, a bush. Embrace our world...it's the only one we have.

What The Queen Wants The Queen Gets

I made a few more new queen signs to add to the my series of queen signs. I find it easier to work in themes when creating new designs. Helps keep the creative juices flowing.

Every woman needs this sign to remind the "males" in her life! I know my hubby may put up a fight at first but he usually comes around to what the "queen" wants! LOL!



I really love this one...and it's sooo true. And the last is for all my fellow women...rejoice in our "queenness" ! Is that even a word...well I guess it is now!



Hope you enjoy them!

More Flea Market Finds

The allure of the flea market on Sundays is too great...there I confessed! Is this the first step in a twelve step junk collectors anonymous program? If so, I won't go quietly....rather I will go kicking and screaming! LOL!


I was able to go to one of my favorite flea market again today and pick up a bunch of new goodies to paint. My stash is really building up and with the warmer weather I should be able to get most of it primed and painted soon. There were a ton of vendors and customers as the weather was ideal...not too hot, not too cool...just right.



Anyway, I was able to pick up 3 teapots, 2 rolling pins, 2 glass lanterns...one that was brand new still in the packaging, a grater, an abc plate, a small mirror, a nice scale, a 2 piece canister set, a heat diffuser, a dozen still in the box zinc lids, 2 sifters, 3 band aid tins, 2 small jugs/crocks, a pineapple shaped bowl and a shaker thingy. I know real technical terminology! I can't wait to get started painting this batch up as I already have some ideas of what I'm painting.

I also picked up some fantastic perennials and two Martha Washington geraniums from a local grower that sets up there. His prices are terrific and so far I haven't had a single perennial loss yet from last falls plantings.

Anyway, stay tuned for an update of some of the finished projects from my treasure hunting.

Baa Baa Black Sheep Have You Any Wool?

Customers at my craftshows always ask me if I paint all the things that I have in my booth...I must admit I answer a little sheepishly, that yes, I do. I guess you can say I'm obsessed.



The conversation then goes something like this..."You must paint all night and day". Some days I do, some days I don't



Part of the "secret" of how I get so much painted is to paint more than one piece with the same design.




I know...boring! But if you want to have enough to sell at shows week in and week out, you do what's necessary.


So when I'm painting for shows I basecoat a bunch of different pieces to put my design on.





I then proceed to transfer the pattern and start to paint the design. It just makes sense to paint multiple pieces since the brush already has the paint...it doesn't take that much more to paint one, two, three..or how many more with the same color.



I've painted the same design on 10 different pieces.



While they may all have the same design they do look different. As you can see I've added some pip berries, rusty stars, homespun fabric, to enhance each piece.




More than one piece also makes it easy to display at craftshows. I group like themes together to help my customers focus on their decor. This helps them add to their collection and it helps me with increased sales.

Bite Me: You Know You Want To

Now that I have your attention! This week I got into making twilight signs. I found the font from the bookcover and decided to have some fun and see what I could come with.




Of course I would be remiss without providing some background information on the movie and the books. The first movie is based on a book written by Stephenie Meyer. The story is about a pair of young lovers..one a vampire(Edward) the other a young girl(Bella) who never quite fit in.




Bella soon finds herself in the small town of Forks, Washington, where she meets and falls in love with Edward. Surely not a classic romantic love story, but a more modern day love story.



Twilight has been on the New York Times bestsellers list for many, many weeks, mainly appealing to todays youth. There are literally 100's of Twilight fan sites from full blown websites to blogs to fulfill any twilight fans thirst for information. And of course the next movie is already in production. Stay tuned for more Twilight mania.

My Kitchen Update

My friend Sharon has been bugging me for an update on my kitchen renovation. After putting in a new kitchen floor, I decided that the cabinets needed to go, the bulkheads needed to be removed, new lighting needs to be put in, a new tile backsplash installed.


That's Josh working...looking cool while doing it. Isn't the wallpaper lovely? That was under another layer of equally bad wallpaper.


The bulkhead is removed.


The ceiling plaster is down. So is the lovely light.


Half of the plaster is off the wall.

This project has taken on a life of it's own. We still have more demolition to do before we can start reconstruction. Two trips to the dump to take the construction debris away.

Yes, my hubby moves slower than molasses at the South Pole. Sigh! I may have a new kitchen sometime before the end of the year.