From The Nest

Chick Gone Wild....Leaping.....

Leap Year...the last day of February 2008....Friday, February 29th....a special date...and then we don't see this date again for another 4 years...pretty cool huh?

so my "Chick Gone Wild" illustration is a perfect choice for my post to celebrate this special day!

She is leaping around dancing like a crazy chick and leading us into the spring and Easter season.

She is so happy twirling and laughing because she knows that springtime is just around the corner and it is so hard to wear pretty half shells and ribbons in the wintertime.....so finally she is going to be dressed more appropriately.

She is leaping for joy that soon her good pal the Easter Bunny will be hopping down the bunny trail and leaving her pretty hand painted eggs and sweet candy to chomp on. Besides, they just like to hang out...they go way back.( he digs a cool looking chick in a half shell)

She is just giddy because she loves when the flowers are in bloom and the butterflys come back to play with her and other garden friends.

Chickie is tossing the flowers high in the air in a celebration dance that soon it will be spring, the weather will be warm and sunny, the flowers will be up, the birds and bees will be buzzing and chirping, the days will be longer and lighter, and she will be able to romp around in her painted half shell without feeling a chill at all.(and who doesn't like a cool chick dancing anytime of the year wearing what ever??)

So, today we should all be "Chicks Gone Wild"...leap around, dance, throw on your half shell or your dancing clothes, throw caution to the wind, twirl and laugh and hoot and holler since this last day of February surely means that springtime is not far behind, that Easter is coming and it is early this year, the sun is shining, it is a good day and it is Friday...so the weekend is here...and....

the Captain and I are going to work on the "brite work" on our boat this weekend...(that is the term for the varnished wood on a boat).....which means.......that....... oh how exciting....I can feel a dance coming on...that the boating season......... which follows shortly after the spring season.......is not too too far away.

So leap away my bloggette buddies...dance around, cavort..twirl...enjoy-laugh-be merry-sing-call a friend, have lunch-dance the day away....

for this is the last day of February...the 29th, 2008 and that is very cool indeed!

more later,

I have to go find my half shell!!

carol

Sandpails in the Snow

Snowing again today, the light and fluffy kind and the sun is shining. A few days ago the samples arrived of my little sandpails that I designed. They are already to ship and will be out on the market in the springtime. Aren't they cute? So here I am with sandpails for the beach in the white fluffy snow of February.
You may remember my post in early January showing the artwork for these sandpails.

The first two are the fish and the mermaid design.

The next two are the lighthouse and the umbrellas on the beach designs.

The inside yellow color of the sandpail was not correct so I had them change it to a warmer yellow, one with not so much green in it. That will be much better.

But aside from that minor change, they all came out very well. This is a good example of why designers should maintain quality control over their design work being licensed and reproduced by manufacturers. It is important to do color checks and make sure that the product represents the design as best as possible. I am always happy to check out the samples for my clients so I can maintain the look I want and make sure that everything is OK. I think it is very important.

so, from a snowy New England day here I am checking out sandpails...keeping it fresh and fun, always something new going on here in the studio....hey, wait a minute....does that mean summer that is not far behind?

more later,
carol

Bucks County PA

The Captain and I had a nice long weekend down in Bucks County, PA. It was so pretty and the snow was melting down there, so the air was crisp and clean making for a great day to shoot photos.

Pretty bright red door on a stone church in downtown Doylestown.

Very rural there, lots of old stone farm houses, acres of land and horses and deers....landscape for miles of farm land, rolled up hay bales and lots of horses peeking over the fences.

The entire area is very historic along the Delaware river and George Washington's famous river crossing...did you know that it was the men from Marblehead that rowed his boat across the river that snowy wintery day so long ago?

This is Font Hill the famous castle that was built by Henry C. Mercer, the man who started the tile company in Doylestown. He was a wealthy man who never married and was instrumental in helping to preserve the Arts and Crafts movement with his interest in collecting and maintaining the art of the individual...not wanting mass production to take over the creative and special talents of the artisians.

Headed over to Lambertville to hit the antique shops. Look at this wonderful old train station that sits right over the bridge.

Loved the big oversized pillows made from old rugs...great colors, warm and comfy looking.

Walking up the hill along the main street we came to this restaurant and it's sign saying that they only serve dinner when there is a full moon....interesting.

This charming store window advertised lots of cute things, but the store was closed so we didn't get a chance to check it out. Love the watering cans hanging up and down on wires, playful and decorative along with the terra cotta flower pots.

Well lookie here....those famous Matroyska dolls have now made their way onto pillows in Pennsylvania. I just knew they were going to be a hit!

We spent quite a bit of time in this antique shop...I bought some old hotel silver ice cream cups, some bakelite buttons, and a couple of Victorian wooden blocks. This section was all old millinery...great hats and frou frou stuff that ladies wore way back when. So much to see...so I took a lot of photos.

This pink hat looks so cute...just imagine some fancy lady all dressed up to meet her beau wearing this little number...rock on!

The blue hat just killed me....looked like it would sweep you up in the air if it were a windy day...love the Mexican colors on the felt jacket, the "Annie Hall" bowler hat...so much to see here.

nice long walk again outside in the fresh air..you can see what a nice day it was...sunny and such blue skies, made for a wonderful backdrop for the old stone houses.

How inviting is this old doorway nestled in amongst the planted trees and windows of the old farm house. Very quaint.
Everything was charming, such a pretty spot...we had a wonderful visit..the only thing missing down there is that they don't have the ocean.

picturesque for sure.

more later,
carol

Hot Boiled Lobsters

Took a nice long weekend away with the Captain to visit one of our daughters and her family who live down in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in a beautiful old stone farm house out in the country.

We brought lobsters fresh from the cold waters off of Marblehead in a cooler with lots of cold packs and cooked them that night for dinner as a special treat and were they ever good.

Just Fantastic. Hot boiled lobsters...melted hot drawn butter...Cape Cod potato chips and Blue Ribbon Chocolate cake for dessert.... just divine.

More photos of the very pretty Bucks County on my post tomorrow...but for tonight, just an illustration of my lobster chef cooking the hot boiled lobsters seemed appropriate..

we had a long drive so we are a bit tired after a fun and very busy long weekend with all the munchkins.

more on my antiquing trip tomorrow....lots to see.

more later,
carol

Heart in the Snow

I love the snow..the winter...the crisp coldness of the days of February, makes you think about life...you know...be introspective.

We had to cancel out road trip to PA due to the big snow storm. We would have been driving right into it since it is coming right up the Eastern Coast. Schools are cancelled and the State has requested business owners let employees out to go home early today as they are expecting over 9 inches of white fluffy snow.

So, the Captain and I have hunkered down with cheese and crackers, blankets and a few good movies to watch.

A brief walk outside showed how much snow we have accumulated up to this point...about 4 or 5 inches so far..really fluffy, everything is so pretty and quiet...

except for my anal-retentive neighbor down the street who goes out the minute there is a flake on the ground with his snow blower...the guy is a little wierd anyhow, but he is out of control with his snow blower..must be like over compensating for......something....

Last week he was snow blowing at 4:45 am and woke up the entire neighborhood....nice huh...and since the storm is far from over, he will be back again tonight snow blowing again for certain...doesn't have much of a life it seems, so snow blowing is his big thing....can't wait for summer...

So peaceful and so pretty and so calming...I am ignoring him...

here's to loving the snow!

more later,

carol

Shine on Harvest Moon

Wow! What a display last night...I hope you all saw it. Mother Nature at her finest... the lunar eclipse,when the moon passes through the earth's shadow creating this wonderful coppery orange glow on the moon. All the planets have to be aligned just right with the earth in the middle for this all to happen and there it was last night...a perfect line up, clear night, no clouds...a perfect show... It was just awesome.

When I was growing up, anytime there was an event like this my parents would get my brother and I out of bed and out we all would trudge to see the display...every lunar or solar eclipse, the passing of sputnik over our house, the hurricanes pounding waves in Marblehead harbor, whatever it was, we were out there in the to see it. In fact, my 85 year old Mother called us yesterday afternoon to remind us not to miss the lunar eclipse at 8:45 last night. She couldn't wait to see it! I was fortunate to grow up with parents who made us aware of the world around us and taught us to appreciate nature and to not miss anything that she might provide for us.

The Captain and I were outside watching the lunar eclipse. It was cold but so clear, all the clouds were gone, so it was a perfect night to see it. What a show and the color was so pretty...that dusty reddish glow caused by the earth's atmosphere, just like when you see a sunset or sunrise....I mean, how incredible.
The Captain told me this cool story about the moon while we were watching this fabulous display. Apparently on one of the many trips back to the New World, Columbus was stranded somewhere near Jamaica. The disgruntled natives had stopped providing food to Columbus and his crew. Since Columbus studied the astrological tables, he knew that the lunar eclipse was scheduled to happen soon. So, a few days before the event, he tricked the natives and told them that his God would be angry with them if they didn't continue to help him and his crew. He told them that his God would make the moon turn red and then disappear. When the actual lunar eclipse took place a few days later, the frightened natives were terrified since it seemed that Columbus's prediction had come true. The natives then immediately continued to supply Columbus and all his crew with food and provisions, until the Spanish ships arrived to rescue them.
I had never heard that story before, but I thought it was so cool. Just another example of how knowledge is power and knowing about something frees you from the fear of it.

So, shine on you big full harvest moon, your light was so bright at 5 am this morning I thought it was daylight. Isn't that Mother Nature just the coolest, I mean, how extraordinary that this even can happen. It almost seems magical.

What a wondrous event, I am so glad that we could witness this and I hope all of you did as well.
Shine on, shine on Mr. Moon.

more later,

carol

Matroyska Dolls

Every once in a while an icon comes through the design world like a speeding bullet....and here is one that is taking the design world by storm...the famous Matroyska doll.

A few years ago the Captain and I were traveling in Russia. Just outside an ancient onion-domed cathedral in St. Petersburg we spotted a small group of stalls with local artisans selling wooden crafts and hand made scarfs and darling music boxes. One young man who spoke wonderful English ( told us he learned it on MTV) was selling the famous Matroyska Dolls. He had every design imaginable from Bill Clinton( the tiny doll in this group was none other than Monica Lewinski!) to Fidel Castro and everything in between. I opted for the more traditional peasant girl type you see here. I think this one opens 7 or 8 times to the teenist tinest doll you could ever imagine.

The munchkins have loved taking the doll apart and then trying to get them all back together correctly. You need to match up the painting on the front of each doll so that the two pieces form a perfect matching design. Quite a lot of work goes into the making of these and they are a very famous craft in Russia. The ones that are done by well known painters go for hundreds of dollars.

So, not to be outdone I have joined in the fray and this is my version of the Matroyska doll pattern.

Now the big question is can I sell this to an American company?

we shall see...........

more later,
carol

Coffee Lovers

I know that Valentine's Day is over now, but I just could not resist one more heart motif....this one from my coffee series I painted and it is called "Coffee Lovers".

I just really liked the way the cups intertwined together, almost forming one cup by being so attached....just reminded me of people...you know, how you get along so well with some people and have so much in common, that you are almost "together" in spirit and kind about so much in life....

like these two coffee cups...connected at the handle because they are lovers...
you can feel that way about a friend as well, someone who has the same energy as you, the same interests and passions for life...

like so many of you creative gals out in merry ole Blogland, we are all connected in a way by our interests and loves and creativity.

Don't know how I got going in this direction... just a lot of ramblings from an artist who spent the entire day painting up new products for a fall gardening line, topped off at 5:30 pm with dinner with 3 munchkins at the Pancake house...pancakes, chocolate milk and ice cream...dinner of the chosen few...it was heavenly and the company was exceptional..how lucky can one gal be...painting all day, Mozart playing on the CD, then an early dinner with the cutest munchkins you ever saw.

"Coffee Lovers"....well, I was connected with them tonight, we laughed and giggled and poured tons of maple syrup on our pancakes, as much as we wanted along with 2 cups of chocolate milk, colored in the entire placement even though they only gave us 4 crayon colors (nice to have a Nana who is an artist I always say)...it is great to be able to say OK all the time to them...that is way more fun than saying No...a bonus of being the Nana...Yes is the only word we use!

So it is true devotion from the munchkins...much like being a celebrity...when you come in they yell and jump around they are so happy to see you...and off we go, hand in hand, to the Pancake House, the place where dreams are answered if you happen to be with your Nana!

have a nice evening.

more later,

carol

Rosie Mary Love

Look what the Captain gave me for Valentine's Day! It is a necklace made by the very talented Tammy Fisher of www.frenchkiss.etsy.com. Now to be honest I directed him to the site, pointing out the treasures she had made. That is OK...he still gets full credit for the purchase, after all, how would he know that I loved this necklace if I didn't point it out to him?

Look at the presentation...it was wrapped up in linen, sewn to a card for safe keeping, all made of vintage treasures. Then it was slid into a pouch made of fabric buttoned together with a rhinestone bead, tied with her hang tag.

It even has a name.."Rosie Mary"...vintage sweetness, a darling collage she made housed in a vintage locket half with antique mother of pearl rosary, faceted turquoise rondelles, vintage rhinestone bead balls, and oxidized sterling silver hoops. At the very end 2 deep blue iolite beads attach the necklace to the rhinestone clasp....amazing!

such talent...here is a closer look...make sure that you go on her Etsy shop to see her jewelry..it is unique and beautiful.

We had a wonderful dinner last night when the Captain got home. Hot boiled lobsters and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Summery sounding I know, but it all was so good and tasted divine! I know that Valentine's Day is a bit commercial now and you shouldn't need a day like this to tell someone how you feel. But, the truth is we are all so busy with our lives that it is perhaps nice to have a day set aside for this to remind us to do so. The Captain is always thoughtful anyhow, each and every day, he really is. But, I still love the Valentine's experience...

I remember when I was a little girl in school we would always have a Valentine's Day party. Everyone in the class would get a pink candy heart shaped mint on their desk from the teacher and a ton of Valentine cards from other kids in your class. There was a big cardboard box up in the front of the classroom that we all had decorated with hearts and more hearts and for a week your classmates would put their cards into the box chattering away. There was a big build up to the excitement of finally opening this love mailbox filled with Valentine's cards on the day. I still have some of mine...I always loved the day, the pink and red designs and all the hearts and everyone being so especially sweet and nice and getting little pressies at home as well. Happy sweet Valentine's...we even had a little song we learned that I still remember....it went something like this...

"Valentine, valentine, tell me what you say.
I love you, I love you, more and more each day."

Imagine a classroom of little kids, holding a fistful of red heart cards along with a big pink candy heart all singing along together about Valentine love....it was very sweet indeed. Looking back, seemed like an innocent time when there wasn't much to worry about except how many Valentine's cards you got. Simple. Sweet. Innocent. Love.

Hope your Captain was good to you.

I'll be going out later today after I work on my new product line. If you see me, please notice that I will be wearing my Rosie Mary love...looks so pretty.

more later,
carol

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day today!

Tonight I am cooking hot boiled lobsters for the Captain which should be fun.

Am I a lucky girl or what? This man is such a nice guy, I met him when we were in the 7th grade, that is how long I have known him. He is handsome, kind, generous, let's me be me and loves all of it, is a fabulous Dad to our 3 girls, is so easy to live with and supports everything I do....I can always count on my Captain for anything.

Each day is good you know, we have fun together and enjoy each day.

We are the lucky ones, still happily married, still having fun and he is still the one who makes my heart beat fast!!

more later,
carol