Triple threat

There are three things, in particular, that have thrown any “healthy eating” resolutions out the door:

1.  Carrabba’s cookbook – David and I both LOVE to eat out at Carrabba’s but it’s a bit pricey so I was thrilled to find their cookbook which features many recipes on their current menu!  I’ve been making 1 or 2 meals each week from this cookbook and it’s apparent now why we like their food so much; it’s pretty rich (lots of butter, heavy cream and cheeses), but sooo good!

2.  Girl Scout Cookies – ’tis the season, need I say more?  No, but really, we’ve had two neighbors hit us up and I just can’t say no to the cute girls at the grocery store looking for support for their troop.  As such, we have a sizeable stockpile of thin mints taunting us.  Dangerous I tell ya…dangerous!

3.  I’ve discovered a little national franchise called Gigi’s cupcakes.  What turned into a “let’s check it out” visit now becomes a weekly stop for us (and a half dozen going home with us…oy vay).  Their cupcakes are sooooooooooo good.

Ah well, ike I always say…life is short, revel in the small joys and eat more cake!

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Whimsical Wednesday: Fun with sassy old photos and free giveaways!

So I started my collage-a-day ACEO plan…although it’s more like 10 ACEO collages in a week because the truth is that even I don’t want to sit down and paint everyday.  I typically like to have marathon painting/collaging sessions once a week (twice a week if time allows).

So I sat down to work with some old photos I’ve been stocking up on and went to it.  I tried to add my signature to each piece by adding a stamp to each image, a tiny heart somewhere on the piece and flowers in the hair.  It’s just my thing I guess.  And some of these are a little sassy (read: nude-ish)…you’ve probably figured out by now that it’s also my thing.  Part sweet, part sassy.

Anyway, I’m really happy with how these came out and it was super fun (not to mention I got these 10 done in about 1.5 hours, so it’s really gratifying to have that many collages down in a short amount of time; now I understand the appeal of creating ACEO/mini-art cards!).

I’m giving away 5 of these.  Interested in a piece of original mini-art?  Leave a comment below telling me which one is your favorite!  I’ll use the random number generator program from Random.org, pick 5 winners and will contact those folks for a mailing address by this weekend.  Pretty simple right?  If you want to know when more giveaways are happening, then subscribe to my blog!

UPDATE: drawing is now closed…since not too many folks commented, everyone will get one, yay!  I’ll be in touch

Last week when I was working on my cake and coffee pieces, I shared one of my cupcake pieces…here are two more:

Ah yes, there’s the sweet to my sass

So I’m pretty excited about a big leap I took this week: I ordered UPCs for my line!  This is not a minor expense mind you,  but I’m really hoping to start selling some of my goods (i.e. bookmarks, magnets, note cards) in boutiques and stores this year and having a bar code on your products is often the first step in the door (most won’t talk to you until you do so), so I’m hoping that acquiring UPCs will help to put my intentions out to the universe.  Of course there’s lots of legwork to be done and “pounding the pavement” as they say, but I’m excited to have taken this first step.

My art shop is doing so much better than I could have ever anticipated in this short amount of time (and I’m picking up more wholesale interest) so I’m thinking I’ll eventually gear down my goodies and supplies shop so I can focus solely on my art shop.  Not only is it my busiest shop, but also the one that brings me the most satisfaction by far.  We’ll see where it takes me…

Thanks for following me along on this incredible journey during this past year…how my life has changed and I’m so very grateful. ♥

Okay enough with being sappy…gotta keep up the sweet and sassy persona after all!

Thanks everyone

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When bitter turns to sweet and then back to bittersweet

The earlier part of my day was a grumpy one.  The kind where Murphy’s Law is chasing you down.  Almost taunting you.

Why does it always seem that when you’re pressed for time everything goes awry?

Well that was the theme of my day: trying to crank out orders before the post office closed at noon, only to have technology problems and not be able to get most of my orders out…trying to make cupcakes for a friend’s going away party and the recipe not turning out right (even though I just made a couple months ago and didn’t need to make any high-altitude adjustments then)…trying to get to said party an hour late (where I was in charge of decorations) only to fall behind every Sunday driver driving on a Saturday in the left lane of a busy highway.

You know those kind of days right?  I try to be all positive and think to myself that the universe is telling me to slow down.  But it doesn’t help.  I hate running late, I hate running behind and I hate people who use the left lane as a regular driving lane instead of the passing lane.  Amen.

But the Pièce de résistance was when I arrived at my friend’s home only to determine that the first letter of my yet-to-be-assembled banner got separated from the group, thus her banner read ” ood Luck Jess”  (Beware, I used, um…, a saucy font for her banner as we are a bit saucy ourselves)

Although I originally felt defeated as it was just another blow to my jacked up day, in the end, I was admittedly grateful for the err as it created a wonderful conversation piece and lots of laughs from the quizzical looks of attendees.

What started out as a bitter day, quickly turned to sweet once I landed in the cushion of friends.  Great food, great company and great stories that have my belly aching from laughing so hard.

But the bittersweet part is that one of the Fab 5 is moving, hence the reason for the party.  We’re all trying to not talk too much about it, lest we fall apart into a heap of tears, but we’re all feeling that tug.

Of course, I had to give her a little pushback…

But I guess without the bitter, you’d never fully appreciate the sweet…

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I’m addicted

Lately I’ve been addicted to cakes and cupcakes.  Not so much the eating part (though I do love me some) but more the imagery of them.  Perhaps its their whimsical nature when all decorated.  Their fun and sweet and always impart a smile.

I also can’t get enough of any cake/cupcake show (my sister has always had dreams of being a baker and I secretly would love to open up a cupcake shop with her) and lately I’ve been sketching up dozens of cakes/cupcakes in my journal.

Last night I made my first cake-themed mixed media piece (only 30 more to go!) and I’m not sure if I should leave it blank or put a word/saying across it.  Since I put words on everything else, I’m thinking I might leave these blank…

I’m not sure if anyone would buy a canvas with a cake/cupcake on it, but they could be made into cards.  Anyways it was a quick and fun way to spend 45 minutes.

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