Ginny's Small Studio

Good Mail Day

Sometimes the light comes in the window just right in the morning and it makes everything okay again.

This morning was one of those mornings.

Yesterday was a wonderful mail day.  First I received this great little packet of goodies from friend Chris Meador.  Now how did she know I like the number 5? I really like the gold and black number decals. I wonder if they are still sold somewhere. Thank you, Chris!

Then I received "The Ringmaster".  I had been wanting him for some time.  He is a creation of Tracey Truly, the artist behind A Little Character. It is a cool website full of Tracey's little characters.  Go have a browse.

I can't get over the wonderful details that Tracey incorporates into her art. Check out the close-up of the face and mouth.  Amazing work.

I spent the morning adding stuff to my etsy shop.  If you are planning on taking Mary Ann Moss' Full Tilt Boogie workshop and why wouldn't you, I have added several more Victorian albums to my shop. More info on her many workshops can be found on her blog: Dispatch From LA. I also added some great metal numbers and other vintage goodies.

Under the heading of Recycling:

Consider this.

Guido, Guido, Guido!

I was looking through a box of cards and postcards that I have been hoarding, no saving, for years because I liked the graphics and just couldn't part with them.  Among them were these wonderful cards done by Italian photographer Guido Cecere.

I just love these. What do you think?

Thanks for playing the "What if" game.

What if....

What if this was the kitchen you walked into every morning? What would your day be like?

What if....

What if you woke up in this bed this morning, what would your day be like?

Or this one?

What if...

What if this was where you bathed in the morning......what would your day be like?

Shameless Plug

I have been trying to destash my house of all the odds and ends and excesses of my various endeavors, online and offline. Almost daily I add new stuff to my etsy shop.  Usually I only add 3-5 items, but yesterday in a spurt of enthusiasm, I added all the rest of my vintage New York City subway train roll signs.

I have added about 15 of them.  They are the last of these. Here is what we did with one of them. We framed it and hung it. This is the kitchen when we lived in CA a few years ago. The strips are 52" long, so they make quite a statement.

I have lots of other stuff in my etsy shop. I have all the wonderful Coffee Break Design stencils, kits and novelties. I still miss Mike (the late and great owner of CBD) so much.

One of my favorite items is the 12" high Masonite mannequins.  The set comes in two sizes 5" and 12" (shown above) and includes one male, one female (two males shown above) and two sets of wings in case you want them to soar. They can be painted, stamped, drilled, collages, etc...you know what to do with them, of course.

I have a variety of other goodies besides the above.

Go on over and have a browse:  Ginny's Small Studio

 

What is it About White?

We went shopping for vintage yesterday and as always I am immediately drawn to the booths that feature a white theme. Drawn to them like a moth to a light.

This booth was so inviting and so pretty.

I like how a little bit of silver was added to the white to give the display some sparkle and reflection.

Now that I am looking at the photos I took, I am wondering if I was just unconsciously drawn by the little number 5 in the background.

In our antique room at Brothers  Antique Mall we started out with all white tables and display units but quickly the bright reds of advertising, the primary gasoline station numbers and the wood boxes took over.  Oh well.  

What always draws you in.

Summer Parades Ohio Style

Every June, Avon OH holds a parade, a duct tape parade. All entries must be made from , yes, duct tape.

So small town.  So much fun to see the entries.

And the first place winner was........

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. I couldn't be there again.  She lives 2000 miles away, but we talked on the phone and she was happy.  Happy Birthday, Amy!  I love you. Bonus Dad John says he does, too.

Amy way back when:

And Amy and her husband now:

The Morgan

 

I love both the concept and the reality of the Morgan Conservatory here on the west side of Cleveland.

They have wonderful workshops that are really different from the usual mixed media workshops that we are all used to from the regular art events. The Morgan is a non-profit organization that is working to promote and keep alive the processes of papermaking, letterpress and bookmaking.

Next weekend, July 16-17, they have a wonderful workshop.

Here is the information about next weekends workshop taught by Andrea Peterson.  You should take it to learn something new and to support the wonderful Morgan.

July 16 - 17 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location The Morgan Conservatory 1754 E. 47th Street Cleveland OH
Instructed by Andrea Peterson

In this workshop you will explore stencil construction and use. You will
start with photographic stencils and build a vocabulary of stencils to use
with finely beaten pigmented fiber. Andrea will talk about the fiber types
that work well for this process and a variety of simple techniques to
create unusual and stunning paper surfaces. Pigments, sizing and retention
aids will be explained and demonstrated how they function successfully for
this process. You will come away from this weekend with a variety of
photographic and abstract pulp paintings made using a variety of
techniques and fibers. These skills can later be used for illustrations,
preserving memories, and creating backgrounds for art pieces.

You can register online at

http://morganconservatory.org/tabs_paper.html
 or by calling
216-361-9255.

Shopping for Vintage Treasures

Several times a year there is a huge flea market and antiques fair held at a county fairground about 3 hours from us. We have been several times and always find a carload of goodies or at least enough treasures to make the 6 hour round trip worthwhile. The july show is always the biggest and most fun so this year we decided to go a day early and stay overnight. That way we could be one of the "early birds" and gather all the good stuff.  

We set the alarm for 6 AM. took our showers at bedtime and made sure the hotel served an early breakfast. Off to sleep we went dreaming of all the goodies we were going to find the next day. The next thing I was aware of was John getting dressed and shaking my shoulder to wake me up.  I stretched and yawned and looked over at the clock.  It was only 4 AM! John had looked at the clock wrong. We laughed and tried to go back to sleep, but no, that did not happen.  

Here is what happens when you are the first one at the fair when it opens:

The vendors aren't ready. Most had set up the night before, but were covered up and not ready for customers.  It was disappointing, very disappointing.  We walked around for several hours.  It is a huge fairground with hundreds of vendors both indoors and out, but even by 11 AM there were few open.

As we were leaving, we saw this guy in the truck above begin to unload.  I can't imagine how frustrating this truck full of old and new garden decorations would be to load and unload.

If you are a scrapbooker, you may want to check out my daughter's etsy shop for some crafting goodies.