Illustration Friday: Flavor

cantaloupe 1
Originally uploaded by Fern House Studio.

Gosh, it was hard to choose for this one-- I've done so many works with that lurking somewhere in the subtext. For one thing, I often chose colors to go together by how they taste (not literally, but visually, I experience colors are having a visual taste)...weird, huh? But I opted for this set of three that have a very obvious relationship to the topic of flavor.

**SALE** at my Etsy Shop

To encourage folks to shop at my Etsy shop, I'm having a sale on all prints and small works there.
Among the gems you'll find there...
Small Works on Paper like this painting called "Yellow Circles". It's beautifully matted and shrinkwrapped--ready to pop into a frame.

& Prints, like this lovely print, "3 in a Tree". Only limited quantities of the prints are available for sale, so be quick!


...and a very cool vintage Rooster wall hanging.

NEW at my Etsy Shop

Looking to do some after-Holidays blues-busting retail therapy? Well, these are sure to cheer you up. These cards are NEW at my Etsy Shop.





These gorgeous limited edition handpainted postcards are made on heavy paper. Painted in gouache and acylic with colored pencil details added--lovely contrast of textures. This edition has a gold background with warm and cool color sets in a circle motif.

These can be sent as a postcard, framed as a painting, or sent as a gift in the white envelope that comes with it.
Only 25 of these cards have been created. Each is unique.

Size: approx. 4 1/4" x 6"
Price: $5.50 each or set of 3 for $14.00 each comes with a white envelope.

I'll hope you'll take a few mometns to visit my Etsy shop (hopefully during your long vacation).

Happy Holidays Everyone

Thanks everyone, for stopping by my blog this year and especially this Holiday season. This has been my first Christmas season with a website and blog, and it's been so wonderful getting support form people all over the world for my artwork and creative pursuits. Thanks so much!

For a fun holiday song, click here.

PS Thanks to ThriftGoddess for mentioning my panda puppet in her Holiday Bliss Guide 2005.

Illustration Friday: Holiday Zeke

Every year I used to do a Holiday card of my dog , Zeke. As he passed away this year, I think it's a fitting memorial to include one of them as this Illustration Friday post. Happy Holidays everyone...I know Zeke is still delivering gifts up in doggie heaven-- it's not a sad thing.

Ornament Thursday #9: Creative Trees

Even though it comes from the Martha Stewart Empire, which I never thought I'd like anything from, I'm smitten with this quarterly magazine called Kids fun stuff to do together. It's for parents and kids and it's so neat, I think I'm going to get a subscription to it and give a subscription to my sister and niece. It's the art teacher in me.


This latest issue had the coolest Christmas tree decorating ideas-- I mean really sweet and creative!

(Little known fact: my framer, Raymond Strout of Ahlblad's Frameshop in Bar Harbor, Maine, knows Martha Stewart and has even been over to her house in Northeast Harbor for Thanksgiving before. This is officially the only piece of celebrity gossip you will ever read on this blog!)

Ok...asides aside, look at these awesome tree decorating ideas from the Kids magazine:

This tree made from Tinker Toys (I always snicker when I say that ...tinker toys...heeheehee) is so colorful, and decorated with buttons. I love it!


Then there's this incredibly inventive & fun tree decorated solely with office supplies--if only I'd seen this years ago! Look, there are colored paperclip chains, keytage ornaments adorned with stickers, and a bubble wrap base. It's THE tree for us office supply store lovers.


I had so many suggestions for Ornament Thursday and I wish I could've mentioned them all. But I'll leave you with one of my favorites...these lovely and festive stained glass ornaments with Holiday words from Humble Beads. I truly adore these:

packages flying out!

Lots of packages are flying out of Fern House Studio last minute! I'm posting this parrot for Meredith, as she asked about parrots-- yes I do have this one last parrot left at the moment...

Thanks Secret Santas

A big thanks to Rose Flash of Ontario for being a very cool Switchboards Secret Santa. She sent me a lovely red/pink bracelet and matching earrings.

And thanks to Jen at Sic on Sin for sending these very cool magents to me as a thank you for the Secret Santa gift I sent her. How sweet! She has a very cool store-- check it out.

Ornament Thursday # 8: Puff Daddy and More

How about some **handmade, puffy, stuffy, fabric ornaments**?

Here are some great ones...
a Brown Bird Ornament from circle circle dot dot:


Merry Magic Mushroom Ornaments from Keykalou's etsy shop...

Diamond Garden Patchwork Ornament by Counting Sheep Studio at Funky Utopia. I Couldn't get the picture to upload, so go see it :)

I've been seeing lots of cool **vintage ornaments** around here lately. These from Wisteria are reproductions, not true vintage, but cool nonetheless:


Lastly, this how-to from Craftgodesss shows how to make your own very cute beer coaster Christmas ornaments. I wish I could put the picture here, but I couldn't pull it off the page. They are so fun looking.

Happy Ornament Shopping & Making!

Ornament Thursday # 7--longer post coming soon!

This week's Ornament Thursday post is a quick one, as my mom's in the hospital and I have a trunk show this weekend.

So here are just a few links to keep you going-- I'll try to get a longer post up on Sunday or Monday.
Frosted Miniature Fruit Set of 6 from European Trading Company .

Beaded ornaments from Beaded Things...


& Snowflake ornaments kit from Sparkle & Shine

A Crafty Christmas & then some

Sales are humming along here at Fern House Studio. I suggest if you've got your eye on something, order soon, because I'm doing a big trunk show this weekend (Dec 10th) and may sell out on many things.

Just finished this dog puppet commission for a student of mine... her parents commissioned it for her as a Christmas gift (very thoughtful!):


I've gotten so many suggestions for Ornament Thursday, that here are a few early sneak peeks.

These star ornaments from Sprout Studio are lovely...But I love all her stuff!


And these puffy penguins from Bake Sale Designs are the sweetest!

The HUGE ornaments from Wisteria (below) are quite something!
Wisteria is one of those catalogs founded by rich people and for rich people and it cracks me up & intrigues me at the same time. Full of expensive, cool stuff that nobody really needs, but...

(For the record, I have nothing against rich people, actually I'd like to be one!)

The text in their catalog is quite creative, as well... get this: (from the site) "Three sizes of sparkly etched-glass ornaments in turquoise and silver for spectacular holiday arranging. Each has a satin ribbon for hanging. The largest seems almost as big as Susanna, and is very heavy. This is an ornament that could be seen from the street if you hang it artfully in a window. Passersby will gaze in awe, getting out of their cars to visit quietly with other families who have paused to view your ornament. Perhaps caroling will break out spontaneously. You might find yourselves on TV. It could happen. "

Ok... Whatever, but those ornaments are impressive, I admit!

Ornament Thursday #6: Christmas Trees

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree....
I'm getting my tree this weekend, if the weather and boyfriend cooperate.

There are some really cute Christmas tree ornaments out there to hang on your...well...tree. By that I mean ornaments that look like trees.

How about this Bucktoothed tree ornament from Bridge Troll. net Wish I could've gotten the image posted, but it just didn't work (you'll have to visit her site to see it).

Or this tree ornament made from recycled computer circuit board from Acorn Studios Very clever (and earth-friendly)!




Now, for the Motherload of ornaments, especially glass blown ornaments, you have got to check out this site. It's THE BEST! It's hard to even pick which to mention, but I loved this fall leaf and this Christmas Tree They've got lots of great tree ornament to choose from, and I'll point you in some other directions on their site in future posts.


Have you put up your tree yet? It's always so exciting. I love decorating the tree, its like painting a canvas.

New Wonderful Felt Gallery

On my way back from the dentist Monday, I stopped at this wonderful felt & fiber gallery, Spiralworks Fiber Studio & Gallery in Canaan, Maine. I was intrigued by a huge, amazing felted bird sitting over a colorful nest of felted balls in the window.

The artist behind all this is Heather Kerner, and her work is amazing... here are a few examples:




To add to my delight, she's going to carry my cards and perhaps some other work of mine in her wonderful space. I'm so excited. Here's her address if you are Mainer that ever goes to Sugarloaf and passes by there:
SpiralWorks
P.O. Box 35
284 Main Street (Rt. 2)
Canaan, ME 04924
207-474-6519

There will be a gallery opening Gala Event on Friday, December 9th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. there,so check it out if you are anywhere near there... really worth the while.

Oh...coming soon, I am cleaning out my CD collection and have lots of CD's I plan to give away on this blog. I'll begin posting them soon...more info to come...

Ornament Thursday #5: Holiday Delight

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Seems fitting to have an edible-looking ornament to start out today's Ornament Thursday post, since we'll all probably be eating a lot today.


India Romeo has the Sweetest (pardon the pun) cupcake ornaments at her site. What better way to celebrate the season than buy handmade for the Holidays!

Several other handmade, albeit very different handmade, ornaments come form Inge-Glas. These are Authentic German Ornaments that make me very nostalgic for my Swiss roots. The Müller-Blech family, glassblowers since 1597, have preserved the tradition and craftsmanship of blowing glass and glass ornaments as we know today for over 400 years. I love and collect them (budget permitting).These are just a few of my favorties. The birds are cool because they clip onto the tree branch and sit on it.


As I write this post, it's starting to snow here in Maine-- the Holiday season has truly begun. I hope it's full of abundance, cheer and happiness for you all, and not too much mall frenzy!

That's how I feel, too...

"Color possesses me. I don't have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter." -Swiss artist Paul Klee.


Park bei Lu, 1938, by Paul Klee

This little painting of my own was inspired by Paul Klee:

Ornament Thursday #4

For some holiday sparkle, Crate & Barrel has a huge, lovely ornament selection. Here are just a couple of highlights: The Ball Ornament with Paper Dots and the Flocked Teardrop Ornaments.

Speaking of ornaments, I just completed lots of these ornament-inspired gift tags. Some of them are going to The Sampler, and perhaps others will be for sale up at my site. They're made from origami or embossed foil paper & felt collage with added stitching and a colorful string for attaching to packages.


...and if you're looking for some glitzy stuff to add to your Holiday crafts, this site is not to be missed!

New at my site

This sweet Panda handpuppet is up at my site. The body is quite elegant, sewn from a satiny, lightweight brocade-like fabric with an Asian print.

Ornament Thursday

This week's ornaments come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's store.

I'm a sucker for these old fashioned Father Christmas ornaments-- The "Old World Charm" comes through in this version.


The unicorn in captivity ornament is based on a tapestry from the Museum's collection. I've always loved the image...I remember a friend had a poster of this in her room when we were in 6th or 7th grade and I was enchanted by it.

You can get a better look at or purchase these at the Museum's website...it's doing a good deed, too, as purchases support the Museum.

Up for trade (or sale)

I made a little felt holder to go with two of my felted carrot pens. The holder is 100% wool felt, has 2 little carrots sewn on the front, with the greens embroidered on. And a vintage green button. Comes with the 2 felted carrot pens.
I'm a bit shy saying it, but this is up for trade (or sale)-post here-- or email christina at fernhousestudio.com **This trade has been taken...THANKS-- visit again to see what's up for trading.**