vintage paper/collage art

Throughout my kids’ lives, I have painted an ornament each year for them to hang on our tree.  Ry is still a bachelor and lives in an apartment we built onto our home, so he shares our tree, (plus most of his apartment is a home gym, with punching bags and weights, not exactly Christmas tree friendly).

But Adam lives with his pretty little hippy chick and Sugarwings, so I think it is time to pack up all of his ornaments and send to his own happy home.

The teddy on the rocking horse was an early one for him, painted in 1981.

But his all time favorite was the pink Care Bear. My little guy was never afraid to be fond of pink toys. He had a pink water balloon named Pinky that lived for over a week and went every where with him when he was four. He wrapped Pinky up in a towel "blanket" to cuddle it. (the towel came in handy when Pinky met his demise)

This was one rough, tough, little boy, but he had his sweet side too, and that might be why he is such a great dad now.

This Care Bear ornie is even more special now, because Sugarwings is a huge Care Bear fan, and her uncle Ryan is giving her a big stuffed pink Care Bear for Christmas.

Some of the balls that I painted over the years are satin, most are glass. 

When I was a single mother, working as a waitress, I used to buy all the kid’s Christmas gifts with money I made by selling hand painted ornaments for $3-  $5 each.  And my hand painted ornaments were the gifts I gave to everyone else. I still do a few dozen each year as presents, as well as selling them.

I also used to paint these pre-made ceramic pieces too.  These two horses were painted to look like our own horses, Scooter and Fairy Belle.  I think these were made for Adam in his Jr. High years. 

Here is a cartoon of Adam as a high school wrestler.

And a moon face for the year he had his bedroom done up in gargoyles.

The marble looking balls were some that he and I made together, by pouring and then swirling acrylic paints and glitter into clear glass balls.

Sadly, not all the ornaments survived, we’ve had a few mishaps over the years. But I have quite a few to pass on and to hope he will pass on to Sugarwings someday.

  Some of them do make me cringe, looking back at them.  I think I was lucky to sell my work for five bucks back then! They were all cute, but maybe not that good.

I enjoy seeing the progression of my style over the years.  And I am glad I didn’t trash the ones I painted when I was young, no matter how bad they look to me now.

Some of my sentimental things always make it into my holiday decor, things that aren’t necessarily Christmas items.

Like this scrapbook, that I made last year of Sugarwings. I have it opened to the page of her first Xmas.  

(of course, I made the book so thick, it never closes anyway!)

The book that Mr. Snowman (the doll is not sentimental, only 50 cents at a garage sale)  is reading was written by a friend, Vicky Howard. And the apron covering the chair was sent to me by my great Aunt Caroline who is turning 100 this next summer.

I had painted this little wooden box for my mom one year. And she didn’t really like cats, so i don’t remember why I painted a kitten for her.

I think I was just in a kitty phase and was painting a lot of kittens in late 80s.

I always have family things on display year round and dedicated one wall in my stair way to paintings and photos of people I love.

The background of the oval painting of my mom is of a quilt she made for me.  And I hung the necklace she wore in the painting to a nail I put into the frame.  It is a charm necklace that I made for her, and she used to wear it a lot.

Here is a painting I did of my husband’s grandmother, and also used a quilt she gave to me as a background.

Her name was Gladys, so I added a gladiola to the painting. 

I used her quilt top as a table cloth in the library and set out more family scrapbooks on it.

One page is open to Grandma Nathan’s picture in a cabinet card.  The background is "quilted" with strips of paper, and I tied a teeny sewing machine charm to the flap of the photo cover.

And the card opens up to the photo I did the painting of.

Well, I’d better get to work. I have a studio to clean up and turn into a dining room.

Does this look like a place you’d want to eat Christmas dinner?????

I have packed up a few things, sold a few, gave some away, and then the rest of the things from my sale are just shoved here and there and every where.  I have to do a major transformation, plus buy gifts  for my family and wrap them. And did I mention that not a single Xmas card has been made or sent??? I’ve been in bed with the flu and have severely fallen behind.

Heck, I’ve shown you bad artwork from my youth, the total wreck of my studio, I’m sure you’d love to see the ultimate in NON-eye candy photos- me recovering from the flu. Ugh.  Now, I have probably chased away all my readers for good!

At least I have Twinkle by my side through it all.

Now, for a shower and back to work. Or maybe a nap.

PS– here is a little tidbit of decorating advice from my funny freind, Beth.  She was sick too, and stayed at an auction long enough to buy a transferware bowl before going home to bed, and I said, at least she had a pretty puke bowl to keep by her bed. 

"That’s a pleasant thought- maybe you should write an article about how to keep living a lovely life while you sick- pretty puke bowls, arrange your pills in the shape of flowers, use antique lace hankies instead of kleenex to blow your nose, take your cough medicine from a sterling silver spoon"