Monday, October 27, 2008

Make Something Monday: 1952 Built By Sign

Make Something Monday

I know that I am running late posting this but it's still Monday here for another 23 minutes. :-D



This sign is a custom design done on Belizean pine using white and black acrylic paints. I distressed the edges and the middle a little to make it seem older than it is. It's been sprayed with a fixative to protect it from the weather.

This is my first custom order for someone I don't know (she contacted me on Etsy) so I am really nervous about it. I painted most of the black with a teeny, tiny, paint brush that has about 10 hairs in it.

I hope my customer likes it!



Etsy Shop: http://CoconutPalmDesigns.etsy.com

I've Been Awarded!



Oh wow! I feel like jumping up and down like a little girl who was just told she could ride the Merry-Go-Round one more time!

Thank you so much to the Jolly Mom, Piera!

Not only did she and Felicia, from Go Graham Go, start the fabulous "Make Something Monday" meme, which I joined, she has now awarded my blog with the I heart your blog award. I've seen the little picture on so many other blogs but never thought it would be given to me.

And to pass on the love, here are my seven picks:

1. http://smadarstreasure.blogspot.com/
2. http://toxander.blogspot.com/
3. http://leet-gallery.blogspot.com/
4. http://alteredevents.blogspot.com/
5. http://www.theartzoo.com/
6. http://www.itisnaptime.com/
7. http://www.themombuzz.com/

Friday, October 24, 2008

I've Been Tagged!!!

I've been tagged by http://kaysk9s.blogspot.com/ and I'm supposed to share 7 facts about myself that are probably not known by many. So here goes...

7 Random Things About Me...

1. I am a single mother, by choice, to a wonderful almost 9 month old son who I adopted the day he was born.
2. I have an insane passion for power tools.
3. On my family's property, where I live, we have a total of 18 dogs, 3 cats, 4 rabbits, many fish, many birds, 2 turtles, 2 horses, 2 cows and 6 people.
4. I've lived in 3 different countries.
5. I firmly believe ice cream is a food and can be eaten for any meal.
6. I hate making phone calls unless I know for a fact who is going to answer at the other end.
7. I collect quotes and other tidbits of information.

Here are the 7 blogs I'm tagging:

http://jkjsblog.blogspot.com/
http://kamunggay.blogspot.com/
http://www.salsaberries.com/
http://wondermom.info/
http://www.modernmommyblog.com/
http://urbanmommy.today.com/
http://sewingmom.com/

Monday, October 20, 2008

Make Something Monday!



I'm really excited to say I've joined my first meme, Make Something Monday!

Many thanks to Felicia at Go Graham Go for inviting me to join and to both Go Graham Go and Jolly Mom for starting it.

Visit me next Monday for my first offering!

- Joanne

Etsy Shop: http://CoconutPalmDesigns.etsy.com

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

New In My Etsy Shop



It's taken me a while but I've finally gotten this sign listed in my Etsy shop as an example of a Personalized Name Sign I am now offering.

Etsy Shop: http://CoconutPalmDesigns.etsy.com

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Featured Artist: 1337art



Jewelry, Collage, & More

1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Christina Moore. Gig Harbor, Washington. I've been making jewelry for a couple of years, and I've been making collages in some form or another since high school. Art is a wonderful thing to be apart of, and I hope to one day be able to run (CM Designs dba) 1337art as my main and only job. I have so many notebooks and loose pages full of ideas and designs I want to produce.

2. What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Colors, shapes, textures, music, and just about anything. Sometimes I sit down with supplies everywhere and pick up a couple things that I like and find a way to incorporate them together.

3. What is your favourite thing in your shop and why?

My Gambler's Bracelet. My fiance inspired me to make it for his work's Christmas Party last year. He looked me in the eyes and said he really liked it.

4. If you had a client who had unlimited money, what would you create for him and why?

I would create anything (to the best of my abilities) that his heart desired. I would definitely make it something both personal and truly one of a kind.

5. Why should people buy handmade?

Because you can't find something at a department store that was handcrafted by someone's own two hands with love and pride.

Etsy Shop: http://1337art.etsy.com
Blog: http://elite-art.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Featured Artist: Allover Art



1. Tell me a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

Hello! My name is Ruth Jones and I am the artist and owner of Allover Art in Holly Springs, NC. My husband and I are newlyweds, and we live with our three year old rescue German Shepherd mix Kasey. We adore her and she has been a great inspiration to me. I specialize in original fine art oil paintings on canvas, as well as any other creative medium I can get my hands on. I also dedicate myself to creating custom art that speaks uniquely of you. I possess the ability to render an enormous diversity of subjects through oil paint. My custom work includes pet portraits, wedding portraits, family portraits, and landscapes. My talent for, and delight in, painting first took shape in high school where I was a member of the National Art Honor Society. A graduate of Rutgers University, I received a degree in Art History by studying the various eras, techniques, and great masterpieces that helped shape the art world into what it is today. I interned at a New York City art publication where I received further exposure to the workings of the art community. A few years later, the desire to share the knowledge and experience that I had gathered initiated the creation of Allover Art!

2. What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I was sitting in my bedroom one day on a weekend, back when I was in high school. I must have been bored because I decided I would realistically draw my hand. Well I drew it and my mom saw it and complimented me on it. That spurred me to enroll in a general visual arts class in high school, and it was there that I fell in love with painting.

3. Why should people buy your product?

I often find that people are looking for a painting to go in their home, or a way to memorialize a pet, and then they come across me. The majority of my work is custom and I take great pleasure in working closely with my clients to create exactly what they want. When it comes to my pet portraits, I have often heard that my paintings look like photos. A fellow Etsyian even said that when they went into my shop they thought I did photography, before they read my descriptions and realized that my works were actually oil paintings. I work to exceed the expectations of my clients.

4. Besides what you feature in your shop, do you plan to turn your creative mind elsewhere or what do you hope to creatively do next?

I am contemplating creating miniature acrylic paintings on wooden tiles. I have several 1 1/4 inch tiles that I am going to create small works of art on, seal in resin, and turn into pendants for necklaces.

5. Where would be the best location for showing off your product (the Louvre, Buckingham Palace)?

My work is best displayed in my clients' homes. However, I have found that vet offices and any place that dedicates itself to animals are also great environments for my work. Art galleries are also great environments for viewing my work.

Etsy Shop: http://alloverart.etsy.com
Etsy Teams: NCTriangle Team
Website: http://alloverart.net
Blog: http://alloverart-nc.blogspot.com