Awwww...bunnies!!!

My niece Katrina was promised a bunny for a pet when she turned 10. This summer her promise was fulfilled. And instead of only one bunny they got two bunnies. Sugar, is Katrina's bunny and Honey, is being shared by Kristin and Jordan.

During the last two years of waiting for her wish to have a bunny, Katrina got an assortment of bunny books from the library so she would know how to take care of her bunny. While reading about bunnies she found out that you can get a leash for your bunny. In the photo above, Sugar is wearing the bunny leash. And getting a collar/leash on a bunny who isn't used to being held is quite a chore. My niece Kristin managed to get the leash on but it didn't stay on for too long since the leash size is a little large for the bunnies right now.

Here, the bunny sisters are in their cage eating at their dish.

Aren't they cute?

And here's the nice bunny hutch that my sister found offered for free on Craig's list.

My First Craft Show pics!!!

This last April was my very first craft show that I participated in. At the show, my friend Deanna took some pics with her camera for me. Yes, it's been awhile since April, but it's better late than never. So here are the photos. The pic above is me with my creations.

The white case in the photo above displayed my Artful Pen collection. I recently purchased an acrylic displayer for my pens. I bought it for $10, at a Hallmark store going out of business. What a bargain! I don't have a pic of it yet.

When I look at these pics, I think of all of the ways I want to improve the "merchandising" of my work. Since my first show I found some new display fixtures from a couple of local gift shops going out of business. I'm so glad that I was able to find a tabletop spinner to hang my hand-made pins on. It will look so much better than having them just laying flat on the table. I also found a nice floor spinner to hang my Petite Purses on. Yay! Click here to see the pics of my Petite Purse display spinner.

Up near the top center of the photo stands my Bride and Groom Recyc-a-lite penguins, that I customize. Below the Bride and Groom are my Recyc-a-lite bunny and chick sculptures.

The framed print is a giclee print of one of my watercolors. I had a raffle prize basket with some Easter treats and a Recyc-a-lite chick sculpture.

I was fortunate to have three helpers for my craft show booth. Unfortnately, it was not too busy, so we didn't have too many customers to wait on. In the photo above are Pat, Renee and myself. Renee was looking at my necklace that I was wearing that my sister, Sue, made for me. And my third helper, Deanna, is taking the photo of us.

Here's one of my Recyc-a-lite Chick sculptures!!!

And here's one of my favorite pics of my Recyc-a-lite bunnies.

A couple of my Recyc-a-lite penguin sculptures.

And last but not least, my ladybug sculptures.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my first craft show pics. My second craft show will be at the end of November and I'm hoping that my "merchandising" skills will be more effective then. I'm busy getting more pieces done for the November show. Talk to you later! :-)

Frankie the Frog "Leaps into Reading"!

Here's my newest piece that I painted last week. I dropped it off at an art gallery in Illinois yesterday. Since I was in Illinois, in the burbs of the Windy City, I was able to visit my sis and her family before I headed to the gallery. I showed my nieces and nephews my new sculptures. While at my sister's house, I was trying to think of a name for my new Frankie the Frog piece and my niece Kristin helped me out during my brainstorming session. I was thinking of naming it, "Leap Reader" and Kristin suggested, "Leap into Reading." And that's what I named it, so here it is, my "Leap into Reading" sculpture of Frankie the Frog. Thank you Kristin! :-)


Frankie is leaping from a book titled, "The Adventures of Lilly the Ladybug" and of course images of Lilly are present on the book cover, Frankie's arm and within the pages of the book that Frankie is reading himself.


I had this sculpture sitting around for awhile unpainted. Before painting it, I wasn't sure if I really liked the piece, but magic always seems to happen once I add paint and color to my sculptures. That's an exciting part of the process. After hours of sculpting in a neutral gray medium, Apoxie Sculpt, seeing it with color brings a whole new life to the sculpture. Up to this point, I have never gotten tired of the transformation from gray to color. I love color!


And here's my cute lil' nephew, Andrew Chung, who will be one year old on Easter Sunday. He's getting close to taking his first steps. In the photo above he's trying to get to one of my Chick-a-lites. I brought some of my craft show pieces to show the Chung family. I thought Andrew looked so adorable peering over the edge of the table, so I snapped a photo. He really wanted to touch the chick and bunny I brought along. He's such a joy to see, I wish I could see the Chungs more often.


The craft show is now only two days away and it seems like I have a mountain of work to get done yet. I posted a few photos of my pieces after they got a coat of "glaze." These pieces will be either a pin or a magnet that I will be selling at the craft show along with my Recyc-a-lites. I think I will have about a 100 pins and/or magnets for my show.




"Hope". . . one of the things I'm trying to hold on tight to is hope. One of my favorite pieces, mainly because it symbolizes something so powerful and encouraging. Without hope, there is no life.



And yes, here they are . . . finally in color, the Bunn-a-lites! I may post some other bunny pics sometime, since the cream colored bunny almost blends in with the background color. There will be 12 bunnies hopping their way to the craft show this weekend.

Take care! :-)

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.

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! :-)