kids+art+ home+autumn= happy me

back to art, etsy, and blogging after a not so brief hiatus....happy me :). listed 4 new pieces today in my etsy store...please stop by etSy sUnDappLed nEst. enjoying a Saturday at home with just my littles (Darby and Lily), love days like these. Thank you Lord.

All Joy

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
James 1:2-4

Joy in trials, bright beautiful colors w/ braided, tattered ribbon, soft fabric, vintage flowers on an old worn child's book cover. Life is imperfect and beautiful. True joy is joy that can be found in the worn and tattered times of life. it is joy that overflows form a heart and life that trust in God's goodness It is joy that comes with the wisdom and patience of age.

Do you see the cross in the middle? I wanted it is symbolizes the source, the middle of true joy, true peace and comfort!

4 1/4 in, x 6 1/2 in child's book cover, hung by a handmade "gypsy ribbon braid"
to purchase this piece and to see more of my "porch art style" little pieces, please visit my etsy shop. Thank you.

if my art were a person...

My porch art...If art were a person, maybe my art would be a sweet, wise old lady sitting peacefully on her front porch swing with a brightly colored, gently tattered quilt on her lap, on a soft rainy morning.

listed 2 little pieces today on etsy....please come and see.

clean art porch= yay :)!!!!

May 1st ?! Where did that month go?! Anywho, I happily created in my clean art studio (so, guess what I did all day yesterday....came home from my am run and spent almost the entire day cleaning my art porch!). Well worth it though! Tee hee, have to laugh because if a non media/ non altered art buff entered my porch they would not quite see the clean ;)

So today, 3 art challenges:
Theme Thursday: Vintage (woohoo!!)
Love vintage babies, this one a tiny bit steam punky...
Sunday Postcard Art theme:Weddings (went w/ the bride)
used one of my handmade doll heads, brushed it w/ beeswax
and Every Inchie Monday: hearts (used one of my fave stamps- bleeding heart.)
stack of 1" squares of vintage paper, brushed w/ beeswax.

Click on any of those challenge links to see many other artist's creative takes on those same challenges!

Stop back soon! I feel a creative month of May coming on!!

pOrch aRt

I create my art on my enclosed front porch, it is my humble (truly HUMBLE) art studio. Our, um, shabby chic (emphasis on the shabby) Maine farm house rental came complete with a long, narrow closed in porch, with a wall of windows across the front (most of them still have the panes!) My favorite decor feature- A set of white Christmas lights I have across the ceiling...creating a warm, magical, vintage glow in the evening, and early morning too.

The more objects I collected on my antique market ventures, and the more art that I created with these finds, the more I noticed that my art was beginning to resemble my porch! The backdrop unashamedly old, weathered, gray, chipped, scratched, dented, faded...then here and there tiny random bursts of color, like the few yellow, pink and blue buttons in a jar of weathered grey and white ones...or my gypsy braids...ripped strips of bright vintage floral fabric, wrapped around a stack of antique grey and brown school books.

There is freedom in creating porch art. Stain spots, rips, tattered edges, all featured and loved for their age and beauty! random pencil jottings I have discovered inside antique book covers...thoughtful words ALMOST lost and forgotten, now featured as treasured writings adorned with bright flowers, birds, and butterflies.

There is lovely truth in porch art. Life is not precise (I hate measuring), perfect, or pristine. The grey and the colorful coexist in beautiful, honest, reality. The dark moments and the bright moments of our lives make us who we are. Porch art is a simple honest extension of the life I love- my life, my porch, grey and bright and beautiful.

spring quilt and art sampler

...found an old quilt..in the corner of a booth ..at an antique market...discounted 50%. Yes I bought it, and am now using it in my art. Lovely colors and fabrics! What a find- 1" x 1"...perfect for my new found love of making assemblage samplers as seen above and unique inchies. Never tried inchies before, check out my inchie w/ my handmade doll head a few posts down.


This piece pictured in this post is for the monthly Creative Paper Artists (CPA) blog, please check out the rest of the design team's take the spring color palette pictured. I love color challenges! It is always fun to go on a scavenger hunt through my art drawers, tins, bins, and boxes to find fabric, found objects, & paper ephemera that match the color challenge!

The best part is, that you can join the challenge too! So hop on over and check out the CPA blog and create some art with us!

I am now offering this piece on my etsy shop page sun dappled nest, please stop by to see this and other pieces from previous posts!

my favorite gypsy

One more challenge...then I am goin' ta bed. If I don't go, the challenge will be getting up early for work tomorrow! Anywho, the Crazy Amigo challenge,this week- Fave stamp. Well, I had to go back to my lovely lady stamp for this one.With this stamp I created a whole set of gypsy tags for a shop down in Texas, gained entry onto the MPTS design team, and well, just have had lots of fun. So here she is once again. Never wearin' the same tattered ribbon skirt twice though ;) God bless ya'all and good-night!

ps..please don't say goodbye w/ out checking out the rest of my blog :) Thanks!