Happy Halloween!

"Masquerade"

approximately 21"x27.5"

acrylic on fabric (attached to an old cupboard door)

You may remember the start of this painting from last week.  (You can see the work in progress here).  Well, she is finished just in time for the masquerade ball over at Inspiration Avenue!

And since a Sunday wouldn't be a Sunday without a visit to Sophia's blog, I've included the sketch that started it all....

It's time to celebrate Halloween so I'm heading over to my friend Natasha May's Party!  Wheee!!!

Put on your costume, join in the fun, and...

Have a Happy Halloween!

Paint Party Friday (Week 33) + The Butterfly Effect = Surreal Art!

"Cinderelephant"

approximately 21"x22"

acrylic on fabric (attached to an old cupboard door)

(Not the best photo - it's been dark and snowing!)

My inspiration for this week's PPF painting came from the surrealism theme over at The Butterfly Effect.

As I was thinking about that theme, I came across a sketchbook page I shared way back in February (you can see it here).  The itty-bitty Cinderelephant at the bottom of that page led to a new stream of consciousness drawing...

Because there aren't many things more surreal than an elephant who prances around in glass slippers!

Creative Tuesday Challenge: Autumn or Fall... Whatever You Call It, It's Inspirational!

Squirrel Love

It's been a while since I've been able to participate in Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday Challenge and I've missed it!

Autumn has caused the chipmunks and squirrels in my neighborhood to go into overdrive as they prepare for the Winter ahead.  As a result, it seemed appropriate to post a little "squirrel love" for Creative Tuesday's Fall theme.

Please be sure to stop by the new Creative Tuesday blog to see all of the other Fun Fall Creations!

And...

Amy is offering a 'Free Live Video Workshop' tomorrow (October 26th) at 3pm (CST).

(Click here for more information.)

And...

The very creative Harmony from Feed Your Soul Art interviewed me.  (You can read it here.)

And...

Well, nothing else.  I'm just being silly...

Wishing you a very Creative Tuesday!

I'm A Lucky, Lucky Girl!

"Tell Your Story (Words Like Feathers)"

by Sadee Schilling

I love getting fun mail!  This weekend I received a wonderful package all the way from Germany!  

"What was inside the wonderful package?", you may ask...  It was a beautiful print by the kind, generous, and very talented Sadee Schilling!

  

When I saw her artwork online I thought, "Wow!".  

Then, when I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on her blog I cheered, "Yippee!".  

When her print arrived on Saturday I said to Bob, "Holy smoke!  Look at how incredible this is!"

Please excuse the quality of the photo - it has been so rainy here.

(I just couldn't wait to share it with you!)

As soon as it arrived I was very anxious to hang it - I had the perfect spot!  (A corner of my living room next to one of my bookshelves.)  But... I had to stop and admire the quality of her print first - the paper it is printed on makes me swoon!  I knew it was beautiful from seeing it online, but in person it is amazing!

Thank you Sadee!

To get an amazing print of your own (or for a fabulous gift), please visit Sadee's shop!

Sunday Sketches... Balance

Just like this bear on a ball, I am looking for balance...

Since Tyler has started kindergarten, you would think it would be easier to "get it all done".  But, greater amounts of time seem to lead to greater expectations...  I still find myself struggling to find the balance between fun-family-and-friends-time, art-time, business-time, computer-time, and has-to-be-done-mundane-chore-time.

I would love to hear how you "find the time"... What are your tricks for finding balance?

And don't forget to stop by Sophia's blog to see how my Sunday Sketching buddies have been spending their time this week!

Paint Party Friday Meets The Butterfly Effect!

A sneak peek at my work in progress.

One of the paintings I've been working on this week was inspired by the "masks" theme over at The Butterfly Effect.

The very first thing that popped into my head when I read the theme was "raccoon", my next thought was "masquerade ball".  So I figured, "Hey, why not combine the two?"  (It's probably not much of a shock since I seem to be a wee bit obsessed with creating anthropomorphic animals! Ha!)

This work in progress is approximately 21'' x 27.5".  I started by attaching fabric to an old cabinet door (another shocker!), then painting on top of that...  

Happy PPF!

and

Do You See What I See?

This could be an average, ordinary photo of a local highway. Or it could be...

The photo of a snail about to cross the road.  (I just hope he waits until traffic slows down!)


I saw this "snail tree" while driving on the highway a few weeks ago.  My understanding husband, Bob, found a safe place I could take a photo of it... There's nothing like dragging my family into my crazy, right?!? Ha!

I will file this image away and someday it may become the subject of a drawing or painting because...

Inspiration is Everywhere!

Please join Inspiration Avenue as they celebrate 500+ "Fab Followers" and 3 years of sharing inspiration!

I Have An Adorable Admirer...

Well, I should say my balloons have an adorable admirer...

Over the summer I posted this balloon paper as part of my CareFREE Friday series.  Melanie wrote to me to let me know that her 3 year old son loved the paper so much he carried the printed version around with him.  As you can imagine, a sheet of paper doesn't last long in the hands of a three year old and she kept having to print it out. 

This past week, Melanie wrote to me again to let me know that Caleb still loved the balloons so much and she was printing so many copies because they were so well loved, that she decided to have him look at them online instead!  (She even sent a photo of him admiring the balloons!)

Isn't he the cutest?!?

Thank you for sharing this with me Melanie and Caleb - Emails and comments like this make my days!

Sunday Sketches

Today I am thinking about raccoons...

Please be sure to stop by Sophia's blog to see what my Sunday Sketching buddies are thinking about today!

Paint Party Friday... One Thing Leads To Another

It was a school holiday on Monday, so I had the pleasure of painting with Tyler... Paint Party Live!  Wheee!!!

We rolled out 100% recycled brown paper (they sell it at my local home improvement store in great big rolls).  Then we went to town with acrylic paints and watercolor crayons!  The end result? A gigantic 6ft. by 6ft. playful mess of goodness!!!

I thought that it would make terrific backgrounds, so with Tyler's blessing I cut it up.  I took one of the pieces and attached it to a scrap piece of wood I had laying around.

In addition to the fun I had painting with T-man, I painted some quick watercolor poppies.  On Tuesday, Tracey posted a pretty poppy post. (Say that ten times fast! Ha!)  She mentioned a free online workshop offered by Studio Margot called The Poppy Spree.  It sounded like fun so I thought I'd give it a try!

Ever since I saw this photo on Heather's blog, I've been itching to paint a small bouquet of flowers.  This seemed like the perfect week to do it!  I cut out the poppies I had painted for The Poppy Spree, attached them to the background I showed earlier in this post, then created a mixed media vase full of poppies.

Happy PPF!

Contraption

When correcting a crocodile's crooked teeth,

braces become quite a

contraption.

The Post In Which I Tell You More Than You Ever Wanted To Know...

About Me!

Amy over at butterscape recently set out on a quest to interview all of the readers of her blog.  Well, since I'm a reader of her blog and I think it's a nifty idea, here is my interview:

1. what is your name and stuff?  and any other good information.  like bank account details.

My name is Kristin, but everyone in my family calls me Honey.  (If you want to know why, you can read about it here.)

I live in Buffalo, New York with my husband (Bob), son (Tyler), and 2 cats (Mona and Lisa).

(I think I'll leave off my bank account information... Unless of course, you are part of a "Nigerian family of wealth" who is looking for an "overseas partner" to "transfer a large sum of money" to.  Then please feel free to send me an email!  Ha!)

2. what is super hot about you?  <--- don't you Dare skip this one.  answer it.

My moustache.

(Just look at the pic at the top of this post if you don't believe me!)

3. don't lie or cheat: what is under your couch right now?

A playing card and a sock.

4. when was the last time you shaved your legs?

Yesterday.

5. what did you have for breakfast?

A handful of cashews, a cherry cake doughnut, and water.

(Healthy, right?!?)

6.  if you could choose a new name, what would you name yourself?

My mom wanted to name me Sunshine - I always thought that would have been cool.

7. have you ever had plastic surgery?

No.  But... I have had a plastic surgeon put stitches in my face twice.  The first time was when I accidentally got hit in the fivehead (my head is much too large to be a forehead) with a golf club while playing mini golf with friends my senior year in high school.  The second time was after a freak rollerblading accident shortly before my wedding.  (In addition to messing up my chin, I knocked my front teeth out!)  

I am very, very accident prone.

8. are you afraid of the dark?

No.  Not really.  Well... maybe sometimes.

9. are you a hermit?

I am a seasonal hermit.  Winters aren't fun where I live (at least I don't think so), so I tend to stay inside... a lot.

Hmmm... Maybe that's just hibernation...

10. why do you blog?

The connections.  I have discovered an amazing community of creative folks who continually inspire me (and I have made some wonderful friends as a result).

The end.

Okay, your turn - grab the questions from Amy's post and have some fun... I'd love to read your answers too!

Inspiration Avenue + Sunday Sketches = Owlrageous Fun!

Owlrageously Wise

10.5"x14.5"

mixed media on an old cupboard door

The theme this week at Inspiration Avenue is "owls" and I couldn't resist!

And* since it wouldn't be a Sunday without a sketch (or a visit to Sophia's blog)...

(The sketch that started it all.)

* And now for something completely unrelated to owls...

Since I've started sharing my writing publicly on this blog, I've noticed that I often have my high school English teacher's voice in my head.  I have been plagued by the thought that every time I start my sentence with and or but the grammar police are going to show up at my door.  This morning I decided that enough was enough and I looked it up.  Imagine my delight at the following discovery:

"Contrary to what your high school English teacher told you, there's no reason not to begin a sentence with but or and; in fact, these words often make a sentence more forceful and graceful. They are almost always better than beginning with however or additionally. Beginning with but or and does make your writing less formal; — but worse things could happen to most writing than becoming less formal."
-Lynch Guide to Grammar and Style

Wishing you an Owlrageously fun Sunday!

Paint Party Friday... Work In Progress

(A sneak peek at my most recent Work-In Progress!)

I also wanted to take this opportunity to answer a couple of questions posed by 2 lovely and talented ladies, Nicola and Kat, last week...

"Are they done in acrylic or oils (or watercolors or pastels)?"

Both, last week's paintings and this week's work in progress are done in acrylics.  I always use floetrol mixed with my paint to increase it's blendability.  I love oils, but I don't love the clean-up, so acrylics it is!

"What sort of board do you use to paint on?"

Last week's paintings were created on 12x12 gallery wrapped canvases that had been covered in decorative papers first.  (You can see the backgrounds in this post.)

This week, I am painting on an old cupboard door that I sanded and covered with old book pages.

Be sure to stop back this weekend because this painting is for Inspiration Avenue's owl theme (which means I have to finish it by Sunday morning)!

Not All Bears...

...Hibernate.

Sunday Sketches... For Sophia

Love, peace, and great big hugs...

for Sophia.