Saturday, November 20, 2010

A New Blog

I just wanted to let you all know that I have started a new craft blog called Funky & Feisty. You can find it here http://funkyfeisty.wordpress.com/ I hope that you will stop by and check it out.
This one will remain active but I wanted to start one with more of a focus.

Hope to see ya there!
Cheryl

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thursday 13: 13 Favorite Holiday Movies

I've not done a Thursday 13 in a while so here goes. !3 of my Favorite Holiday Movies in no particular order.

1) Elf
2) Miracle on 34th Street(all versions)
3) Halloween Town (Totally cheesy but I love it!)
4) Nightmare Before Christmas (Does double duty and works for TWO holidays)
5) An American Christmas Carol (This one has Henry Winkler in it and is hard to find)
6) A Muppet Christmas Carol
7) Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas
8) The Bishop's Wife
9) All of the Santa Clause movies
10) Santa Baby (Don't judge me)
11) All of those classic Rankin bass specials ( I own them all but don't know if I would classify them as MOVIES)
12) Scrooged
13) Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Crafty Stuff


I have a couple of craft fairs coming up. The next one is this Saturday. You can find the info above.

Here are some things that I'll have for sale at upcoming shows. Some of these are also available on etsy. Let me know if there is something you'd like.


This Ho Ho Ho Domino necklace is available on etsy


I love turning old cigar boxes into fun treasure boxes.
There are more pics of this on etsy


How do you REALLY feel about the season?
Bah Hum Bug on etsy.


And NO, I did not intend this as a Twitter reference...
I'm not that clever. :)


This is the first frame I did utilizing some wall paper sample books I received.
This one is also on etsy.

This is a great 4x6 frame for those who love to travel.

I love the whole robot thing. This is on etsy.

I will have more than this featured at my table. Please stop by and say hi! Also don't forget to 'LIKE' Funky & Feisty Home Decor and More on Facebook

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

New Items



















I have been working on some canvases. 'How TWEET it is' is 11x14. It's done with paper and Mod Podge and then embellished with ribbon, buttons, magnetic words and dimensional paint. I started this as a whim but had a lot of fun with it.













I was very excited when a friend asked me to make one for her little girl. That's how 'Luv Bugs' came about. My friend wanted something with lady bugs. This one is also paper on stretched canvas. I used acrylic paint, magnetic words and buttons to embellish it.






















I am working on one titled 'Dance'. It is an 8 x 10 canvas featuring a purple and pink penguin in a tutu. Once it is finished it will be available at my etsy shop.






















Most of you know that frames were where I started with this. I had a friend who commissioned a music theme framed from me for her daughter. I liked it so much I had to do another one that was similar. I was pretty happy with the results.



I am anxious to know what you think. Please feel free to comment!
I would also like to know if you would be interested in finding out about other arts and crafters out there that I run across.

Don't forget to visit my etsy shop which doesn't look like much now but I am working on it!

www.funkyfeisty.etsy.com

Friday, September 10, 2010

Sarah Zamora and the One Dollar Challenge

So yesterday I listed my 13 favorite artists from CIB. shortly after that post I received a message on Facebook from one of those artists. Sarah Zamora received an email from a Bravo tv show called Work of Art. It's an exciting opportunity to get her art out there and win a big deal gallery show. As with most things in life the trip to New York costs money. This mom of two young kids is asking for help in raising that money. She doesn't want much... Just a dollar. She needs 500 people to donate $1 to her PayPal account.
Wouldn't it give you a warm feeling down in the pit of your stomach to help some one to possibly get discovered?

What is her art like?
Click HERE to view her amazing portfolio.

What is her story?
Click HERE to view her BIO and artist statement.

So how can you help?
Click HERE to view her video and to donate your dollar through PayPal

What happens when she reaches her goal?
Click HERE to view the web page to view the page for ArtLoveMagic, the non-profit organization she will be donating anything over the top to.

This is a great opportunity for Sarah Zamora and I hope you will take the time in the next couple of days to stop by her site and help her out.
Please feel free to post any words of encouragement here on this post and I will make sure she gets them.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Thursday 13: 13 of My Favorite Artists at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar

This past Saturday my friend, Leslie, and I headed out for a kid free day at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar in Fort Worth Texas. It was great. We got there early enough to be amongst the first 50 people to get INCREDIBLE swag bags. This thing was stuffed full of jewelry, barrettes, smelly stuff... You name it. Since Leslie and I are both of the crafty ilk we were in heaven. I really wish I would have taken my camera but, alas, I did not. There were so many wonderful vendors there it was tough to narrow it down to 13. I did though... I hope you will click on each and check them out. Buying handmade is a wonderful way to support small businesses and find unique items for yourself and to give as gifts. Who knows? Maybe one of these folks will be the inspiration you need to go out and get Crafty!

Here we go...

1) Original Youth : I'm not sure what to say about Sarah Zamora's art work except that I am completely drawn to it. You need to check it out. Keep in mind that she also does custom work.

2) The Soap Addict : This stuff smells sooooo... good. I was fortunate enough to have a friend willing to give up one of her winning raflle tickets (Thanks Leslie) and with that I chose the gift bag from The Soap Addict. I got a Rosemary Mint bar of soap, a key lime lip balm and a lavendar Lotion Bar. mmmm... It smells great without being too perfumey and it moisturizes without leaving you greasey feeling.

3) Mama Dee's Boutique : She makes a giant crocheted octopus named Ollie and then takes pics of him to post on her Facebook page. Need I say more???

4) Krafty Munchkin Designs : One of the cutest business cards I have ever seen! She sells some wonderful little change purses too. I LOVE her monster bag but have never had the extra dough to allow myself the purchase. Everyone feel a little sorry for me for a sec... OK that's enough.

5) House of Smash : SO this guy was selling WAY cool cuff bracelets made from old vinyl records. YAY! for re-purposing. Not ony were the cuffs cool but then he shared a story about his daughter making a bear all by herself. You'll have to ask him about it. Gotta love a crafty dad. PLUS I noticed that his etsy shop features some way cool paintings.

6) Revel Designs : You moms out there need to check out this ladies re-usable sandwhich bags. Totally cute, especially when you realize that they have a piece of chalkboard cloth on them for little notes.

7) Childsplay Designs : She uses some really cool fabrics to make some way neat stuff. AND she was super sweet!

8) Joe Art : This guy's stuff is really cool. He uses found objects, cut paper, fiber, metal.... And it's all cool. I was really surprised to find out how reasonably priced he was as well.

9) ROBOT POP : I LOVE her stuff! My swag bag contained a pair of earrings made from pink heart erasers that she made. Woo Hoo! If you are into cute and funky you need to check her out.

10) Nerbomber : one word... 'meh'. Check out her site and you will see why. Very clever and cute.

11) Marge and Skully Designs : My pal Leslie won a custom quilt from Angela. I think we could have talked to her all day. She had so many great quilt designs. PLUS! She was wise enough to not put the backing on the quilt tops so that you can pick your own fun fabric for the back of one of her patchwork quilts... DOn't worry, she has fabrics for you to choose from.

12) Casey's Clutter : She made necklaces out of Fisher Price little people! She's a genius! Her stuff is so nostalgic you aren't going to be able to pick out just one piece to buy and you;re gonna need to buy something for your brother, your cousin and your best friend that grew up down the street!

13) Nixie Jane : What caught my eye the most with these ladies was their paper art. They are very textural (ooo... I guess that is a word since I didn't get the red underline!)

So please check these folks out. You can find even more crafters through etsy Fort Worth.

You can also see what my friend Leslie is up to at www.RuffleBottom.com . If you don't look at this stuff and say aww... there may be something wrong with you!






Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Really? It's been a week???

Wow, where has the time gone. I can't believe it's been a week since I posted! I'd love to say I've been cranking out all sorts of craft projects but in truth I just got one started. I am working on a collage piece on a canvas. I've not done that before. It's fun.
I am also signing on for another craft fair. This one is called Mom's Market and is sponsored by the Arlington Early Childhood PTA. It will be held on Saturday, October 9. Once I get some more info I will get it out to you. Plus... If you are interested in participating shoot me a message and I will pass it on to the correct people.
If you know of any craft events going on please feel free to share them!

As for now I will appease you with pictures of cute kids...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Hey Crafty Tuesday... It's been a while

One of the things that is keeping me from posting is crafting. YAY! I have filled a couple special orders and am working on another. I'm also trying to build backstock for an up coming craft fair at Martin High School here in Arlington, TX in October. I am so excited to be making some extra money selling my stuff.
I recently received an order from a lady whose daughter received one of my boxes as a gift. It was so exciting to find that she liked what I did so much that she wanted to order more for some one else. I fell like Sally Field: "You like me, you really like me!"
Now all I have to do is get some pictures taken and get some stuff on Etsy and hope that works out for me. I have been doing Artfire but I really want to try to join up with the local etsy group. I am trying to be all about creating and networking right now. With the future of the book business heading digital I may need something to fall back on. My looks can only carry me for so long!

Here are a couple of special order frames I've done recently:


This is a frame a friend ordered for her adult daughter who is being given a cello and lessons for her birthday. I was really happy with this frame and I am making more along the same lines.


This frame is for a friend who has a cyclist boyfriend. I really like working with the bike parts but am running low. I have an idea for some other cycling frames. My husband is also a cyclist so there are often pieces parts floating around.

What have YOU been working on?

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Thursday 13: 13 Favorite Television Shows

First, let me apologize to all who stopped by last week and didn't get a return visit from me. It's been a crazy few days.

This is a list of 13 of my favorite television shows. They aren't in any particular order and I'm sure that I have had WAY more than 13 favorites in my lifetime.

1) Psych
2) Monk
3) Law and Order (all of them)
4) Project Runway
5) Bewitched
6) How to Look Good Naked (The BBC one with Gok Wan)
7) Andy Griffith
8) All in the Family
9) King of the Hill
10) NCIS
11) Let's Make a Deal
12) The Match Game
13) Love Boat

What are your favorites?

Check out other people's lists at Thursday 13.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Art Envy



As I expand my circle of artst fartsy people I find that I start to have 'Art Envy'. I look at what everyone is doing. How much they're selling. The accolades they're getting and, although I am excited for them, I get a little jealous. I have little tantrums in my head. I want to sell more stuff. I want to win awards. I want people to seek me out.
This leads me to run out and look at all of the 'run your own craft business books'. I delve in and learn how to market. How to run my own craft show. What licenses I need. I try to figure out what I am doing wrong.
I get SOOOOO wrapped up in this I stop working. I stop making things. Hmmm, could this be what I am doing wrong? How am I supposed to sell things if I don't have anything to sell? How can I win awards if I don't enter contests? How can people know to seek me out if I'm not out there to be sought out?
It's time I stop feeling sorry for myself. It's time I pull myself up by my boot straps and get out there. It's time I get out the glue and the paper and start creating. If you don't hear from me for a while I may have glued myself to something. Watch for me. I am going to set up an etsy sight soon. I am going to bombard you with pictures of stuff that I'm doing. I am going to remind you over and over that I make custom items. If I don't... please free to call me out.
Off to glue I go...

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Thursday 13: Pet Peeves

Here are thirteen of my pet peeves in no particular order...

1) People who can't admit when they are wrong.
2) Smoking in the car with your kids in it.
3) Smoking around kids in general.
4) Kids not being restrained properly in a motor vehicle. I will dial 9-1-1 instantly if I'm in the passenger seat.
5) Drinking and driving.
6) Talking on the cell phone when you are being waited on.
7) Swearing in public. (this one bugs me much more now that I have kids)
8) People who mock others when those 'others' are within ear shot. It's not nice regardless but to do it when some one may hear you and get hurt really irks me.
9) Being asked questions when I'm on the phone.
10) The fact that ice cream makes me gain weight instead of lose it.
11) The fact that diet soda makes you crave sweets. What's that all about? Oh Diet Pepsi... Why have you forsaken me?
12) People who can take things OFF of a shelf but not return them to said shelf.
13) People who leave their kids unattended in the bookstore because they assume it's safe. ( I could come up with several pet peeve lists just from working retail... Hmmm... I guess I'l file that away for later.)


Don't forget to check out other Thursday 13 posts here http://thursday-13.com/

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Growing Up is Hard to Do

A few weeks back a friend asked me and a few others to share our stories about growing up on a blog that has been created to show kids that they are not alone.

I grew up a poor black child... Oh wait... That's not my story... Here is MY story.

I grew up in a stable Catholic family. I am the oldest of five. My parents are STILL married, to each other, after 41 years. We didn't have a lot of money but we never lacked anything.
I was a 'Drama Geek' in high school. I wore Chucks when people thought of them as clown shoes. I wore big clunky boots. I had parts of my head shaved. I was no where near cool enough to be a leading role in the 'punk/skate rat/new wave' scene where I grew up and I was a little to geeky and weird for the Student Council crowd. I had friends in all the circles but I tended to be closest to the most troubled kids.
I would wander around and find shoes and make sure no one left parties with anyone we didn't know if they'd been drinking. I'd hold hair back while my friends puked. I'd sit at parties and listen to the police scanner to make sure no one was headed our way. I had a friend who got mad at me for knowing more people at the mall than she did. I also had a friend who stopped talking to me because another friend had invited me some where and I hadn't asked if she could come along. I had friends who would run away and come to my house.
I lost friends to drugs. When I got older I had a friend following The Grateful Dead. I would get late night phone calls from her. She would be places like the hospital because half of her veins had collapsed from shooting up so much. Or she would share stories about how she had lost all of her clothes and wandered around all of the camps looking for a grilled cheese sandwich.
I lost friends to suicide. One of my closest friends in high school I had met while she was in the hospital with another friend after HIS first attempted suicide. She came to our school a few months later and we clicked. I would get notes passed to me about how she had been sitting out back with a gun but her step-dad had found her. She would tell me she wasn't taking her medication. She wanted my undivided attention. I wanted to give it.
All of this started to have it's toll on me. I worried. I enabled. Luckily I had parents who were wise and understanding. When a friend came to my house 'unexpectedly' from Chicago my parents called his parents and found out he had run away. They smoothed things over with his folks and talked to them about accepting my friend for who he was. They talked to my school about getting me counseling when a friend from another school killed himself.
I had stable friends as well. Friends who wanted to make something of themselves. Friends who let me be who I wanted to be. Friends who didn't expect me to drop everything for them if I was having a better time than they were.
I know that there are some of you out there. You aren't the troubled one but your friends are. You are the mom. The care-taker. The punching bag. You don't have to be. It's hard to learn that you can't save the world. It's also hard not too lose yourself while trying to save everyone. You know who the soul suckers in your life are. You don't have to abandon them completely. You just have to be able to step back and take a breath and do something for yourself. Listen to music. Write. Make some art. Hang out with people that you feel you can breathe around.
Keep your heart open and loving but be as open and loving with yourself as you are with others. If you have some one who is continually making you feel like crap maybe they need to go. I'm not trying to sound like a preachy adult. I am some one who has been there. I am forty years old and still trying to learn this lesson.

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Worm Hat

My kids tend to be 'creative types' so I'm not sure why I was surprised when my husband took the kids off for balloon animals and my daughter came back with this...


I know what you're thinking but get your minds out of the gutter. It's a worm hat. My husband asked her three times and each time she said 'worm hat'. I'm just not sure that the guy had to make it from a flesh colored balloon.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

My Lesbian Summer (Sort of)

I may have mentioned my friend Lauren to you on occasion. We spent close to every waking moment together this summer. We even shared a booth at the Bloomington Farmer's Market. We began to notice that when we talked to people we were saying things like 'Between the two of us we have four kids' and 'When we were making lunch the other day...'. We had even started finishing each others sentences. We were rarely seen one without the other. A light clicked one day when we realized that some people probably thought we were a 'couple'.
It sort of became a running joke. People even tried to convince our husbands that if we were a couple then they probably were to. My husband's response to that was that they were just guys who liked lesbians. Whatever... We were cool with it. It didn't seem to bother the people who didn't know better. It didn't seem to bug our gay friends. Although my husband tried to convince our friend Louisa to start an 'anti-Cheryl-and-Lauren' group on Facebook to out our straightness...
Truth is... I LOVE my girlfriends with all my heart and if I ever had to Kate and Allie it I would soooo... live with Lauren but I like my husband. Most of the time. I think I rather like NOT knowing what's going on in his head half the time. I think I would be too catty in a relationship with another woman, especially at that time of the month and then there's that whole synchronizing of the cycles thing. TWO women on the same cycle can't always be a joyous thing...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: In the Summertime









Thursday 13- 13 Favorite Kids Books

I am trying out a new MEME where I make a list of 13 things... ANY 13 things... on Thursdays. Here is my first go at it...

FAVORITE KIDS BOOKS (in no particular order)

1) Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell Illust. by David Catrow
2) Something Queer is Going on by Elizabeth Levy
3) Who's a Pest? by Crosby Bonsall
4) Free To Be You and Me by Marlo Thomas and Friends
5) Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
6) My Friend Is Sad by Mo Willems
7) Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book by Lauren Child
8) Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
9) Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
10) Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
11) True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
12) Prom Dates From Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
13) Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt





Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Living With a Princess

So Claudia is creeping up on three. She tells me often that she is a princess. Her favorite color is pink. For the most part she's a good kid. She's funny. She's cute. She's creative. She's sneaky. She's way too smart for her own good. I know everybody thinks their kids are smart but I'm not talking about book smart I'm talking about 'Evil Genius' smart. She can lie without blinking an eye. She'll blame things on her big brother and, unless I've seen what's happened, I can never be sure. Clyde... Terrible liar. He smirks. He looks away. He almost always stammer as he begins a story about how his sister was being goofy and just happened to bump her head on the toy in his hand. The worst part is that my daughter has no fear of me. NONE. I yell. She laughs. I put her in time-out. She laughs and crawls away over and over again. I don't normally spank but when I do I want a reaction. Clyde would bawl if you tapped him ever so slightly on the leg. Claudia finds it humorous. I try to stay firm. I try to be strong. I try to look her in the face and tell her no but when I do I often get a face like this...
What's a mom to do?

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Kindergarten


In one month my little boy starts kindergarten. He is very excited. I am too. I almost feel like a bad mom because I am so excited to have my son out of the house for 7 1/2 hours five days a week. I have my anxious moments but they are few. Clyde is a social kid who learns much better from other people than he does his mom. When I try to teach him something it's too hard and he can't remember things from one minute to the next. His pre-school teacher says he's a joy and ready to learn. Kudos to those of you who are able to successfully homeschool. I don't think I'm cut out for it.
I worry that when he gets to school people are going to expect more from him because he's a tall kid. I worry that he'll never learn to hold his pencil correctly. I worry that the other kids will learn to read and he'll still be trying to learn his letters. I worry that he'll get his feelings hurt.
On the plus side going down to one kid during the day sort of seems like a blessing. I may get something done. Maybe I'll be able to get some crafting done and get some stuff sold. Maybe I'll be able to keep the house clean... That's sort of a pipe dream. I know damn well that I am no Martha Stewart.
Either way we will be starting a new era. I think we're all ready for it. I just hope the school is!

Friday, July 23, 2010

What a Great Summer

So sorry that it's been a while. I've been busy with the Farmer's Market and with moving back to Texas. This has been a crazy busy summer but I wouldn't have changed much about it. I may have placed some kids in individual plastic bubbles from time to time but other than that it was pretty amazing.

I had a great time working with Lauren. She is so organized and has so many awesome ideas that it really inspired me. If you haven't checked out her way cool stuff you need to. http://lmlowel.etsy.com Plus you can check out our joint Facebook page under Funky & Feisty and loved again.

The Farmer's Market was a truly incredible experience. Sure there were days when I barely broke even but I almost always at LEAST broke even. Babysitters were probably my biggest expense. I met wonderful people and got to talk... A LOT!

There was Sarah AKA Hula Hoop girl who makes and decorates her own hula hoops. I now have one and have been trying to learn how to use it. It's tons of fun and I swear that one day I will get the hang of it. You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SarahLousCustomHoops Ya know ya wanna...

Sarah hared a space with her brother CJ who is an incredible photographer. You can check him out here http://cjzimmerman.carbonmade.com/ I hope you do check out his stuff. I really liked it and I'm picky. ;)

Then there were the Medici girls and all their delicious bread. I will miss that bread but if you are in the Bloomington/Normal area you can find them at the Farmer's Market. You can also visit the wonderfully tasty Medici restaurant and Bakery in Uptown Normal.


Not at the Farmer's Market but equally amazing is The Zoo Lady. She is an INCREDIBLE face painter. The kids begged for their faces to be painted whenever she was near. Of course I gave in.

I also had a chance to meet Emily Busha who makes the cutest ever PJs and library bags you've ever seen. She dyes her own shirts and then creates great designs for them using freezer paper. I swear the girl must never drink caffeine! The library bags are sturdy... We've tested ours out... retro cool and have two pockets inside; one for your library card and one for Change for your library fines. You can check out her blog which has a link to her etsy shop that I think is empty right now... Work on that Emily! ;) http://apronwings.typepad.com/apron_wings/


I also got to meet Monica Innis. She makes beautiful jewelry. She uses great colors and everything is unique. I don't think my descriptions can do her work justice but you can check out her etsy shop http://www.innisms.etsy.com and see for yourself!

I am going to miss all of this about IL but I will be back next summer and will hopefully have bigger and better things planned.
Please at least give these folks a nod. They all work really hard to create some really fun and amazing things. They wouldn't be on here if I didn't really respect them and what they do!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Friendship

There is something to be said for the friendships that kids form. They go at them full on. They love each other to pieces and then fight like old married couples. They take. They give. They whine. They laugh. They pinch. They hug. They tattle. They share secrets. The beauty of all this is that come tomorrow, all the bad stuff is forgotten and the friendship is still there.
When do we lose that?