happy halloweenie

thought i would share some of my most favorite halloween costumes.....whatever happen to the day of plastic masks with flannel pj's? my mom was quite the seamstress in those days...my absolute favorite costume was being the angel!
hope all have a great holiday!

Mark Your Calendars

so i'm so excited about the up coming craft shows for this holiday season. First the creative alliance show on sunday, dec. 2 ...which Tricia and I have been brainstorming over since we only get one table and can only display on that one table top. we went to ikea today to do some brainstorming..i'm seeing a lot of "snacks" being part of my half of the table. I guess i'm more excited about the squidfire indie craft show at the lyric on the following sunday on dec. 9. i remember going to the lyric as an elementary kid going to see the symphony. now i'm going to be there selling my wares..who da thunk? so write them dates down in your date book! ya hear!

my inspiration

i love this picture of my nanny.....she has been my inspiration for all of the aprons I make, the pillows, the bags, the cooking I attempt to improve upon....my grandmother, so beautiful in her apron doing her yard work!

new banner for the etsy shop

life has been quite insane....school.....crafting....posting...
things to do on my list:
make postcards to send out for upcoming craft shows and etsy shop
make more pillows
make more aprons
make more tote bags

try to make some sort of smaller items

blah blah blah

what do you think of my new banner?

new tool* brush rolls

very handy dandy for organizing paint brushes, pencils, sewing materials, knitting needles, etc.

New Items on Etsy

well, the MAEA conference was very succesful. there is a lot to be said about presenting the right products to the right audience. I sold 8 of my 10 aprons, 2 totes and a bunch of pencil, brush and eyeglass cases. the best addition was excepting credit card charges! we would not have as well , especially me, if charges were not an option. anyway, today was cleaning day...and picture taking day. I posted 3 new eye glass cases today. Tomorrow, brush/tool rolls.

Bat For Lashes - Whats a Girl To Do

kool animals doing tricks on bikes! what else could a gal ask for!

A new Look!!!

thanks to my best buddy Patrick, he has updated jennyjen to look and feel a bit more like jennyjen! he's added some great new background colors as well as did a little re-arranging. we're not too happy with the switch to the new blogger...not as much that we can do with certain aspect ....trying to make the links have their own page...he's added a new photo section where i can document my world travels. we updated our whole buisness plan with a new macpro and air card so we can update from abroad, i can now have credit card sales at my jennyjen booths, and we can constantly stay connected!!!! Harvey will be so proud of us..as well as adding the garage and entire basement to our business side of the house! Our house is more for our businesses than our actual living! The basement is being converted to my painting and silk screening studio, while the garage will be the new bike workshop. so new things are happening...still trying to train chucky and louie to ways of the sweat shop...they're A's in the unraveling to making a mess in the yarn department. i really think those claws would be great for ripping out my sewing mistakes..

tomorrow is the MAEA conference..I've made really cool tote bags that stand on their own, plenty of pockets and space for the dream teacher tote! All they need are wheels and self-control driving devices! Will post after conference.

so thanks again PATRICK FOR MY NEW LOOK!

flag paintings up for sale

decided to put some of my flag paintings on my etsy site. When I turned 40, I decided to complete a series of paintings titled 40 flags. I sewed 40 canvases, grounded them with matt medium, and used oil paint to create my symbolic flags. I call them flags in need of formal representation for very informal and hidden mysteries that I encountered growing up. I started out with basic patterns to represent a each "country" of growth, then added imagery and painted layers to build onto the meaning. Each represents a part of growing up as a woman in the U.S. from the early 60’s to the present.
The flags hang on the wall, by two grommet openings at the top, or you can frame them.
all flags are 16” W X 12.5” H; Oil on sewn and stretched canvas; Hangs like a tapestry

new aprons ....art teachers pay close attention!!!!!

Here are 2 aprons from my new line of "observation aprons"...these work especially well for the art teacher. They are reversable! one decorative side, for those days the prinicpal or parents stop by to watch you teach, and a demin side for those messy paint projects! They also work well for the messy cook...one flip over and your guest won't know what a mess you created in the kitchen. Medium weight cotton duck and denin makes these aprons very durable..one can even garden in them! Aprons as well as totebags, eye and pencil cases and letterpress cards will be for sale at the MAEA conference on October 19, at Towson University'd FIne Arts Building. Left overs will be posted on my etsy site and then brought to the merry mark at the creative alliance Dec. 2 and the Lyric for the Squid Fire show. I now take credit cards on line as well as during shows. Email me if you're interested. And don't forget to check out my etsy shop by clicking any items in the top right hand corner.

first drawings of the year

Here is a small sampling of the first major drawing, my students completed in Studio 1 this year. I have a great class! I am so excited about my school year this year. I really feel positive about it. Alot is going on and I hope to showcase their work and happenings throughout the year. My class shown their endurance well by sticking with the tedious subject matter of glass, metalic objects and cloth ! Not bad for 15-17 year olds!