The Birthday Bug Parade! :-)

Look, it's the Birthday Bug Parade marching into the Spring Season! These bugs are ready to celebrate along with you. They are also here to bring you an update about the Recyc-a-lite bunnies. Due to Christine's camera's batteries dying, the bunnies weren't able to do a photo shoot as planned. However, they should be able to reschedule for a photo shoot as soon as the batteries are re-charged. Stay tuned to see the bunnies in color.


As you can see the Birthday Bugs will travel far and wide to wish you the best, brightest and joyful birthday ever. They are excellent at climbing up front porch steps, despite their small size and paper-doll physique.


As seen here, they will come in black and white or in color along with streamers. Just invite them and see how much fun they bring to any birthday. And take a look at how the Birthday Bugs came to be who they are today.


The above photo shows the bugs being created on a very heavy litho stone. They were printed as Lithography prints. Afterward they were colored with watercolors, hand-cut, and assembled into the birthday bugs you see here.



The Birthday Bugs wish you a Happy Birthday whenever your birthday may be. And they'd like to share with you a website in honor of birthdays. It's where you can find out what type of specials are offered to you on your birthday, such as a free dessert or a free entree at a restaurant. Just visit the Free Birthday Treats website and search by your state or online. You can also search for birthday offers for your kids and your pets. Pretty Cool! :-)

A Rainy Day Tuesday

Hello,

It's a mellow, laid-back rainy Spring Day here in Wisconsin. I'm continuing to push myself along to get my pieces done for the Craft Show on April 4th. There is still a lot to get done, but it is exciting and fun and keeps my mind off of the doom and gloom reported on evening news. Awhile back I wrote something that I'd like to share in my blog. The day was similar to today, but then it was freezing rain and snow falling from the sky. Please read the following and enjoy!



Forget about TV or music or the computer to occupy my time. Give me a pencil, some paper and my imagination. Give me some sculpting medium and "time." Give me some paint and more "time." Being creative is the most relaxing, entertaining and challenging way to spend my time.

The other day, I had about 70 pieces of mini-sculptures to paint. During this painting session, I had no music playing, only the sound of freezing rain and snow lightly tapping on my window. It was a "quiet" time, yet a productive time. I painted mini gumball machines, turtles, ice cream cones, pineapples and bunnies. One of my favorite pieces to paint is the bunny standing that I paint either wearing a dress or with a jacket and shoes, depending if it's boy bunny or a girl bunny. I was painting 4 little girl bunnies with different dresses and colors, adding some little details here and there. After I painted them and looked at them, I stood them up on their little bunny feet and thought, "This is so much fun to do! All of these little characters were created without the aid of TV, music, or a computer. It was simply enjoyable and simply creating." That painting session left me so content and relaxed, it "re-charged" me from the inside out.




Relax and enjoy your day! I will blog along with you again next time. Take care.

Long time, no blog!

Hello,

I was hoping to "blog" earlier than today, but things just didn't work out as expected. The last week has been very busy. Last weekend, on Sunday, I helped my friend Robin at her fundraiser for St. Baldrick's. It's an organization that raises money for children's cancer research by people collecting donations to get their heads shaved at the event. They are called "Shavees." Robin has gotten her head shaved for this event for the last three years. And the last two years she organized a St. Baldrick's event in the Fond du Lac area. Last year, at her first event, she raised $30,000 for St. Baldrick's and this year it looks like another successful year. She does an excellent job at getting the event organized and I'm so proud of her.



This year was my first year attending the event. My friend Hannah also volunteered along with me at the fundraiser. We had a great time and it was awesome to see young school kids getting their heads shaved to support a classmate who has cancer. And then there were the high school kids giving their own money to get their own head shaved. It was inspiring.

As the event progressed, Hannah and I didn't have too much to do at our table, so we decided to do some coloring. There were some St. Balrick's coloring pages and crayons at the event. The photo above is the page that Hannah colored and gave to me. Isn't it nice?



The photo pictured above is of one of my storybook watercolor prints. I donated a print of this image for the silent auction at the St. Baldrick's event. Later, I was introduced to the person who "won" my print and she told me that she works at the local post office and she's going to hang it up at the post office. I thought that was pretty nice.

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for my first craft show and making arrangements to have some of my work at a gallery in Illinois. As we speak my bunnies are in the painting studio and I would've taken a photo of them "in the process", but they have been very camera shy right now. However, I think once they are painted, they will be feeling a little more bold and ready for a photo shoot.



And this week I found someone through my local Freecycle group who can supply me with burned out light bulbs. She works at a recycling center not too far from where I live and I can stop by the recycling center to get light bulbs for my Recyc-a-lite sculptures. Hurray!

I guess I better be going for now. Have a nice day and "Welcome Spring!"

I won a prize from the La Belle Ave Blog! :-)

Hello,

Have you ever seen the magazine, Artful Blogging? Last year I bought an issue to help "inspire" me to start my own blog. It probably sounds bad, but I didn't start reading the issue until last month. In its pages I found interesting and inspiring stories and beautiful photos from bloggers worldwide. One article I read featured the blog, La Belle Avenue, created by Gina Lewis. There was one photo that really caught my eye, it was the first quilt Gina ever made and she made it from fabric that people sent to her from all around the world. The quilt turned out beautiful and I wish that I could own one like it. After reading about Gina's blog, I wanted to visit her blog and see it "in person" so to speak. The very first day I visited her blog she was having an "un-birthday" giveaway in honor of her birthday. I posted a comment on her blog to be entered in the giveaway and guess what? Yes, I was one of the winners. My very first blogging experience and I won a prize. Beginner's luck?!?



Yesterday I received the prize that I won from La Belle Avenue. It is a cute softie beetle bug. My new beetle friend found a nice home right next to my Grassy the Grasshopper sculpture. He's a really nice addition to my storybook sculptures and has made friends with the whole gang, Lilly, Toby, Oliver and the rest of the Lilly Bug Gang. Now what should I name the beetle? Any suggestions?

Thank you Gina for being so generous on your birthday. I love my beetle! :-)

Think Spring, the chicks are in living color!

The chickies were so excited to show you their new colors. To celebrate they went out shopping to find some new hats to wear. Although they were ready for a photo shoot to show you their coats of color, they also realized they'd like a little sheen to protect their color treatments. Immediately after posing for their photos they got a little coat of matte glaze to give a bit of sheen to their new look for Spring. After the new sheen, the chicks thought they would like to add some embellishments to their new hats, so they were busy looking for flowers and ribbons to dress up their hats a little bit. There is a possibility that the chicks may pose again to show you their last minute touches.



A little cowboy Chick-a-lite thinks he might add a black ribbon to finish off his hat.



And this lil' chick thinks a little flower embellishment and coordinating ribbon would be the perfect touch to "Spring-a-fie" her hat.



The chicks were also wondering if the new hats are better than no hats. What do you think?

They also would like to would remind you to "Think Spring!" :-)

Chick-a-lites in line at the painting studio

As the chicks are patiently awaiting their turn to be "colorized", they wanted to show you the pieces that are in the last stages of painting. According to the chicks there were about 70-80 pieces that were in the painting studio before they got in line. These pieces will eventually be on their way to a craft show, April 4th, along with the chicks and bunnies.






These pieces will be made into either magnets or pins for the Spring craft show. The chicks wanted to let you know that they managed to get their first coat of color despite the congestion experienced at the painting studio. A lack of space can lead to a halt in production at the studio, but there have been sincere efforts to try to avoid delays. Their color treatment should be completed soon. They are looking forward to showing off their new color. And just in time, the first day of Spring being a week away. Hurray! :)

Leo the Bunny is giving you an update.

"Hello, I am Leo and I wanted to share with you the status of my chickie and bunny friends. Right now they are 'hanging in there', though they are looking a little pale - lacking a 'healthy glow'. As of now they have not gotten their color yet. They are being very patient and are expecting to start getting a little color tomorrow, despite the cold Wisconsin winter temps. From my sources, it looks like the chicks are first in line to receive their color treatments. Then it will be the bunnies' turn. Both the chicks and bunnies are planning to be available for photos as soon as the color treatments are completed. The earliest time for photos is scheduled for the weekend. Please stay tuned for further updates. And note, the photo below shows a sampling of some items that are pre-color and as we speak are in the final stages of color treatments. They will soon be off to get glazed and to make room for the chicks to get some color of their own. Thank you for tuning in and have a nice day." :-)

Snowy White "Chick-a-lites" and "Bunn-a-lites"?

After my snowy post, I was anxious to bring a little color to my blog. I'm not much of a snow enthusiast, but a color enthusiast? Yes, definitely.

I wanted to share a peak into my Recyc-a-lite projects. What are Recyc-a-lites? They are sculptures I make with burned out light bulbs. After friends and family have saved their bulbs for me, I had a couple dozen to make some characters with. Oh, and by the way, I'm in need of some more burned out light bulbs. If you have any bulbs needing a new outlook on life send them my way. I give "burned out" light bulbs a new life and prevent them from ending up to a "life in the dumps". Take a look.



Bunnies without eyes and beakless chicks. What's happening?

I'm working on some Recyc-a-lite chicks and bunnies for an upcoming craft show in April. By the way, this craft show is my very first craft show. The "Chick-a-lites" and "Bunn-a-lites" are the newest members of the Recyc-a-lite family. Some of the first Recyc-a-lites were penguin sculptures. My USA Bride and Quebec Groom penguins made it on display at the CHA convention earlier this year. The very first USA Bride and Quebec Groom penguins I made are now living in Quebec with my friend, Megan and her husband, Jean. They were a wedding gift for them last year. I also have a Recyc-a-lite penguin for sale at my Etsy store, Lilly Bug Boutique.

These bunnies and chickies are ready for a little color in their lives and so am I. Once painted, I will post some new chickies and bunnies in bloomin' color.

Talk to you later. C-ya! :-)

Snowy Sunday Birthday

Welcome to my blog!

Today on my Snowy Sunday Birthday, I finally have decided to begin my blog. It has actually happened after much trepidation. Will I find enough things to share and say to continue blogging regularly? I sure hope so and plan to do so. I have plenty of photos to share some of them including a "behind the scenes" look at making my storybook sculptures. And maybe there will be a video or two of some demos of things I'm working on. Please stop by and blog along with me!

And don't forget to visit my website, www.lillybugstudio.com