Winter Wonderland Art

As the holiday season fast approaches I decided I should share some of my holiday and winter themed art pieces. A few of the items I am displaying here have been sold, but I will gladly recreate any design. They won't be exact, but they will be close to the original.

Here is one of my smaller winter themed pieces...this little
Winter Wonderland wood burning was burned and then painted.

Many of you may remember burning pieces of wood in art class at school. Or perhaps your parents bought you a wood burning kit when you were younger...I know I had one! This is the same type of tool. The only difference for me now is I played around with it long enough to find my own style. I like using the straight line bit, but I also figured out how to use some of the other bits. I like to add some shadowing to the wood burning designs I create so the flat tool bits help me add dimension to my pieces.

Here's a good example of one of my wood burnings that has lots of shadowing...

And finally...these are my favorites!! All of these Woodland Animal Wood Burnings have been sold but I will gladly recreate any one of them for you...

I hope you enjoyed these simple wood burned designs. I love creating them! More sharing to come soon...until then,

Today's Yin is Yesterday's Yang

Yesterday we had an early day. Our morning schedules overlapped each other and everyone needed to be ready and out the door by 7:40. Sunday evening we put our heads together and figured out a shower schedule and decided who was getting in the shower and when.

Monday morning came and went perfectly. I dropped the kids off at school and as I was pulling back into the driveway my husband was pulling out and was headed to work. I thought to myself, "This morning went off without a hitch...how perfect...how peaceful. A great way to start the new week."

Today, however, was the exact opposite. GGRRRR!! I use my radio as my alarm clock. I didn't sleep well tossing and turning most of the night. I finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until 6:50. I am usually up by 5:45. I saw the clock and thought maybe I was dreaming so I jumped up and ran to the dining room to look at the clock out there. No luck...it really was 6:50. I couldn't figure out why my alarm didn't go off. After investigating I learned that the volume somehow got turned down so I never heard it. Regardless of that issue I woke the kids up and within minutes everyone was moving around. Yes, the chaos ensued.

When all was said and done everything worked out fine. Even though it was a rushed morning I dropped the kids off at school in plenty of time. But as I was driving home I had to laugh. It's so ironic how you can have such a smooth morning one day then 24 hours later you are running around and freaking out.

But isn't that life? Isn't that what happens all the time...even with things you don't even realize? As I was making the beds I contemplated the concept of yin and yang. Everyone has good days, everyone has bad days. You can't have light without the dark. You can't appreciate your health if you've never had sickness.

Over the past few years I've realized that bad days don't have to upset us or piss us off. I try to look at it this way--perhaps crappy, stressful days can be used to our advantage and can help us appreciate the good days.

As I get older and my kids reach adulthood I've learned to look at things through a balanced perspective...or at least I try to do so. I try to appreciate everyday, good or bad.

Contemplating my moments of yin and yang reminded me of a name sign I made a couple of years ago...

Yes, "Balance" (and, of course, the Holey Pokey)...that's what it's all about!

More fun to come...until then,

Snowman Door Decoration - Snowman Decoration - Snowman Home Decor

I am honored and happy to see one of my wood burnings getting so much attention on Pinterest!

My sweet snowman wood burning has a high number of repins and this number is growing daily!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/156148312052337490/

In actuality this snowman was made last year and sold. But I still have it listed on my website because I am willing to remake most my home decor designs. I've seen an interest in this piece on Pinterest throughout the year. However, because this is the season for winter decorating the interest in my pin has exploded. I get notifications from Pinterest every time one of my pins gets repined. This one is shared several times a day. I am now at the point where if I see one of these notifications I know it will be my snowman!

I am thrilled and happy at the popularity of my design and have remade a few for reorders. There are only a couple left in inventory so if you plan to buy one you might have to wait for me to make you another! They are going quickly!

More fun to come...until then,

Wood Burned Jewelry

A few years ago I began playing around with my wood burning tool and, through my 'playtime', I ended up designing some unique woodburned necklace pendants. While it took some time to get my style worked out, things began to come together for me last Christmas after my sister bought a few of these pendants from me to give to her co-workers as holiday gifts. I was a bit nervous to hear what everyone thought, but--THANKFULLY--they were very warmly received by her friends so I took this as a sign that I should forge ahead with more designs.

I made a few wood burned pendants and pins with a springtime theme and took them with me to a few art shows that I attended. Lots of positive feedback and compliments were shared by my customers so I was pleased by the response.

But lately I've been infatuated with the Chevron print pattern. I'm sure you've seen it in fashion, home decor and everywhere. If you aren't familiar here's a sample of the design that I found online:

My infatuation began when I had a customer order a name sign with this pattern. I blogged about designing this name sign on my Creative Name Signs Blog. In a nutshell, I was very nervous to create a design with this pattern. I never thought I'd be able to do it. But after some thought and planning it worked out. I was so happy with the outcome I began figuring out other items I could create with this pattern. Of course creating wood burned jewelry came to mind and I'm happy to report I've gotten a few pendant orders featuring this design! Yay! Here are a few photos:

So I'm happy that my infatuation with this design is paying off for me. And with the holiday shopping season just around the corner more sales are coming my way!

Okay...it's time to run...lots to do on this busy morning! More fun topics to share soon...until then,

Zebra Print Nursery Room Decor

As I'm sure you're aware animal prints are super popular in home decor styles as well as clothing, jewelry and more. I recently painted a really fun name sign for a customer that had the zebra print pattern on it.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me back track...

Several years ago I painted a room sign that had a border with zebra print but the design ended up being very small and wasn't very prominent on the sign at all. Take a look...

See what I mean? I like the color combination, I LOVE the quote and the details are perfect for the theme. But in looking back it just doesn't get me excited. As a matter of fact, after painting that sign the thought of painting a zebra pattern made me nervous.

So when this recent order came up I got a bit on the jittery side. But I was upfront and honest with my customer. I shared the photo with her explained how tiny the pattern ended up. She understood my point and after a few emails discussing this design we figured out a way to make the zebra print stand out. Now I can't wait for someone to order this pattern! I LOVED PAINTING IT!

This sign was created for a newborn baby and the customer wanted the little zebras on there to fill in the space. But if you don't want the zebras on there I could leave them out. In the empty space I could paint some flowers, trees, stars or just about anything will work. Or we could just leave it be with the name. Then the sign would be sure to 'grow' with your little girl. Picture it...this design without the zebras. Wouldn't it still work well for a teenager? I certainly think so!

While custom artwork can be frustrating at times I do love it! I enjoy the fact that any piece of my artwork can be tweaked to suit your needs. This 'tweaking' opens up a whole new world for satisfying your room décor needs. What may be perfect for a newborn girl could also be perfect for a tween girl as long as you're in tune with your imagination and you're up for me making a few small changes.

Fun, fun, fun! My work is almost always fun! And I am blessed!

More sharing coming soon...until then,

Trying Out the Art Festival Scene

Years ago I set up tables at several local arts and crafts shows. The first couple of shows I did very well. But the more often I paid for a space and set up a table the less interest people had in my work. I think the biggest drawback was that my artwork was all custom made--house portraits and personalized signs and plaques. I honestly don't believe the disinterest came from lack of talent or that it wasn't good enough. My impression is that when people go to craft shows they tend to buy on impulse and they also tend to buy things that are less expensive. Believe me, I know my artwork isn't cheap but I refuse to compromise that area of my business. I work too hard to short sell myself. I feel that the issue for me was a result of trying to sell my high priced art work in a small town where the economy has been depressed for years. It's hard to get people to spend their hard earned money. So my participation in art shows went on the back burner and I concentrated all my energy on selling my products online. Thankfully that focus paid off well for my little home business.

Lately, though, I've been getting the bug to sell at art festivals. We had a beautiful event in the neighboring town last weekend and I decided to take a shot at setting up a table with my artwork. The financial results were 'fair' when you talk about the revenue generated from that day. However, I had a sample house portrait displayed along with my custom made note cards and the people were overwhelmingly interested in that product. I only took a handful of house portrait brochures with me because I didn't think that item would generate much interest. But boy was I wrong! All but two of my brochures were taken along with many, many of my business cards. I'm looking forward with hope that more money will be generated from that festival down the road.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of my booth display along with a photos of some of my favorite items that were sold or at least generated the most interest that day...

This as the only original painting that sold that day...I love this painting and I plan to paint another one very soon!

My 'Orange Rose painting' generated loads of interest but, as I said, I don't think people go to these shows planning to spend a lot of money and, of course, my original paintings cost much more.

Here's another painting that people went crazy over. I love it, too, and a tiny part of me is glad I still have ownership of it! Sometimes my paintings feel like a child to me and I don't want to let them go! I know! Crazy, right??

My sweet little paper flowers were much adored, but I didn't sell any. I had only just made them a few days before the event and I didn't get a chance to price them. My plan was to only use them as part of my display. But people really took to them. So I'm in the process of making more for the next show. (My husband would say I'm a bit neurotic over these flowers, but I just can't help myself! They are so fun to make!)

Here's a photo of a seaside themed step stool top that I wood burned and painted and had for sale. The step stool was my highest priced item and while it generated load and loads of interest I again believe the price was too high for an art festival in our area of the country.

And last, but certainly not least, my sweet watermelons! We had cut down a tree in our yard that I blogged about it recently. My husband unintentionally cut a few pieces of wood into a wedge shape. As soon as I picked them up to move to the huge wood pile I saw a piece of watermelon! So I went out one day after we got done cutting down the tree, grabbed these two wedges and went to my little imaginary world of Jane Loedding Art and...voila! They are so doggone cute! These two little wedges got more attention and love than almost any other item on display. I love them and ended up selling one of them. Yahoo!

So all in all, I'm glad I decided to take this leap. I will be going to another local art festival in a few weeks and I plan to take a large variety of art prints to that show since they can be sold for much less that my original paintings. I'll be sure to let you know how that one goes.

Okay...it's time for me to get moving to today's work schedule! I'll be sharing more fun soon! Until then,

BAM 10,000 Facebook Fan Auction

I have one of my wood burnings listed in an auction that's being held on the Business Among Moms Facebook Page...

Click on over to see all the wonderful items that are up for bidding!

Business Among Moms 10,000 Fan Auction

My wood burned angel is included among all of the wonderful items. It has a retail value of $36.00 and the bidding starts at $1.00!!

Make sure to click on over and join in on the bidding!

More fun on the way...until then,

Wearable Art Jewelry and Pendants

October is always a slow month for me so the last week or so I've been spending time making wearable art pendants. Creating things that are outide of my normal work--i.e. the items I sell from Creative Name Signs and Images of Home--is fun for me because I can just let myself go and see what my imagination comes up with.

My art pendants are made of a variety of craft supplies most of which I have sitting around my art room. Some pendants are made of wood scraps that I have leftover from my name signs. Sometimes I use a small piece of wood or a small glass tile that I purchase at my local craft store. Using a heavy glue and sealant I incorporate a print of my artwork onto a pendant. Another way I make my art pendants is to use my wood burning tool where I burn a design into a small piece of wood. It really all depends on what mood I'm in on any particular day.

This is my favorite wooden pendant necklace...

Then I made this one (not listed anywhere yet) which is somewhat personalized for me. The background of the pendant was taken from a print of my painting that I call "Colorful Spirals". The three tiny hearts represent each one of my children...

Since my art pendants are new and not anything I've sold as of yet I decided to try out this new website called Fiverr.com. I found it a few months ago and finally had the time last week to really delve into it and see what I can do. I listed a few of my pendants there as well as a few holiday ornaments that I painted. It is pretty fun and I've had some inquiries already.

Here's a link to my listings...Jane Loedding Art on Fiverr.com.

I'd love it if you'd take some time to check out my work. And if you see something you like...then what the heck...it's only $5.00!!

Okay...it's getting late in the morning and I need to shower. I know very soon my son will be calling for me to go pick him up from his fiend's house. More fun to come...until then,

My 'Sugar Skull' Art

I just learned how out of it I am. Up until about a week or so ago I had never heard the term 'sugar skull'. I had the TV on for background noise...as usual. I overheard the term sugar skull and I wondered what it was. The term floated around in my brain for a few days and finally I decided to look it up. This is what I learned:

"The Sugar Skull is one of the main symbols or images seen during the Day of the Dead festivities and represents the past ancestors of Mexico. The reason they are called "sugar skulls" is because the authentic sugar skulls were made out of clay molded sugar."

Then I went on to do a search for images of sugar skulls. I was fascinated with how colorful, ornate and pretty they were. I love to paint with color and last night I sat down to paint my first sugar skull...

The realization of how out of it I really am materialized when I showed the painting to my daughter and husband. They both already knew what a sugar skull was. My daughter rolled her eyes and informed me that she learned all about this stuff in school in Spanish class. DUH! Apparently I've been hiding under a rock for far too long! Oh well, I'll have to get over it!

Meanwhile, I had a great time painting it and I hope to be able to paint more!

Okay...got more orders to fulfill so I'd better get off this computer and get to work!

More sharing to come soon...until then,

Fun drawings...

I thought I'd share a couple little drawings I made in the past. I'm a nervous type of person and I have a hard time sitting still...that is unless I'm completely exhausted! Then I can lay down and sleep without much trouble.

But every once in a while when I'm sitting around filling a little bit of time...like when I'm on the phone with someone and I get put on hold...I doodle. And during the cold winter months I seem to have more time on my hands so I'll take out my drawing pad and play around a bit.

Here are a couple pictures of a few little doodles I made...

"Dreaming of Chocolate"

"Hope"

"Girls Dream"

"Shoe on a Pedestal"

"My Kind of Tea Party"

I hope you enjoy them...I always have fun when I'm creating!

More fun to come soon...until then,

Howdy!

Wow! I've been out of the loop for a while now! So much has gone on during the past month and the time has comppletely gotten away from me. Needless to say my blogging habits have gone by the wayside. My oldest son graduated, then we had a handful of graduation parties to attend. Two weeks after his graduation we had his party which took lots of time and attention away from my so-called 'normal' life. Now it's almost the Fourth of July! Summer is flying by.

Meanwhile I thought I'd share a few photos of some of my recent work. I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page dedicated to my Creative Name Signs website. The first day of networking I got an order for a personalized plaque with this quote...

"Life is too short to wear department store jewelry."

My customer was very flexible with her color scheme choice and basically let me choose how to create the sign. I really enjoyed creating it...here's a photo:

Then I created this child room sign for another customer...this one--as you can guess--was for a little girl...

I love how the unicorn turned out. I thought using purple for the background added so much to the theme.

And my last sharing for today...I created this nursery room sign for an expectant mom of a baby boy...

I always love creating nautical theme plaques. I blame that on my love of the beach!

Okay...I've shared enough today. I have a book review to post and I hope to get to that in the next few days.

Until then...enjoy these wonderful days of summer! And Happy Fourth of July!

Illustration Friday - 'Sight'

The topic for today's 'Illustration Friday' is 'Sight'.

Here's my contribution...

"She sees the world through rose colored glasses and it drives everyone nuts!"

More fun to come...until then,

The Ribbon Retreat Blog

I recently discovered a fun and whimsical crafting blog and as I scrolled through their many projects I got very excited and immediately thought that I have to share this site with my readers. Over at The Ribbon Retreat Blog they offer tons of tutorials which include detailed instructions on how to make a variety of items using ribbons, fabrics and many other crafting supplies and tools.

I was simply delighted by many of the project ideas they share and the fact that they list step-by-step written instructions along with photos instantly enraptured my crafty soul. Most of the tutorials are, as I just described, shown with photos and written instructions. But they also have video tutorials as well one of which features a card making kit . What a clever idea! And the tutorial narrator was so happy and her happiness was contagious!
 
They share in a few simple steps how to make some really fun items like ribbon flip flops, hair bows for little girls and babies, car seat belt covers, aprons and so much more! They even had a tutorial on how to make a ribbon organizer. Here's my ribbon stash:

Do you think maybe--just maybe--I should make one for myself??? I'm thinking "Yes!"

Okay, I'm rambling here...let me get back to these awesome crafting tutorials!

One thing I thought I'd better warn you about is that some of the projects include the use of a sewing machine. Now to some of you that's not a big deal, but to someone like me it is. Sure, I can sew on a button, patches and maybe try to hem some pants. But using a sewing machine is another story. I have--or should say 'had'--a sewing machine a few years ago. I tried to use it and just couldn't figure it out. Darn!! Then I lent it to my niece to use for a school project. Then she gave it to my mom and eventually it ended up at my sister's house. I can't tell you how many times over the years I've considered learning to sew, but time never seems to be on my side. Maybe someday.

Thankfully The Ribbon Retreat Blog has many tutorials that do not require the use of a sewing machine so I can still give many of the projects a try. If you are a crafty person and you like to try your hand at fun and whimsical craft projects then this is exactly the place to go!

More fun to come...until then,

Playtime sharing...

I'm quite fanatical about collecting saying or quotes and every so often I simply hear something...no matter how trivial...and it sticks in my mind. One day a few months ago I came across this description or title and thought it sounded so sweet so I wrote it down:

I don't know why but I felt compelled to try and paint my version of the 'Bluebird of Happiness'. But being that my 'playtime' is so limited that note sat in my messy paint area for several weeks. Here's my messy paint area, by the way...

I finally got started on my Bluebird a few weeks ago. I want to add more to the background but here's where I am so far...

Now most people would paint the background first then paint the main subject, but I'm kind of weird and get ahead of myself at times. Either that or I'm just a backwards thinker!

Meanwhile, I'll keep looking at this and figure out what else to add. It could possibly be another 6 months before I consider it complete, but whatever. That's how my life is these days! Never enough time to do what I really want. Oh well! Someday I suppose I'll have more time.

Okay...more fun and sharing on the way...until then,