Something Small...

It only takes a small thing to remind the one you love that they are not forgotten on Valentine's Day...


My latest "small thing"

made from recycled aluminum beverage cans.


beer or soda





patterned or plain



Big enough to hold some candies, a small gift, a note, some confetti!


Your choice of box design, ribbon, cardstock heart, confetti (even shredded recycled US currency!)


use coupon code THANKS at checkout for free shipping(first class,priority mail upgrade is available for an extra fee.) Available in my Etsy Shop LizardSkins

The Missed Connections of Sophie Blackall

Reading through the Etsy blog today, I came upon a wonderful video featuring Sophie Blackall, an artist who lives in Brooklyn. It explains Sophie's public works project, featured on the NYC subway, (congrats, Sophie!) which is based on her finding the "missed connections" section of Craig's List. Evidently that is where people place personal ads in hopes of finding some stranger they ran into somewhere.


I am totally loving Sophie's work; the beautiful watercolor technique, the funky little people, and, of course, their amazing stories. Haven't we all had a "missed connection" in our lives?


Read more about it in Sophie's blog.
Visit her Etsy shop (read her shop announcement, she has a special running until Valentine's Day!)

Read about her in the etsy blog, and see the video.

i think i have to go buy some...

Hug A Chicken (Fresh Eggs For Sale!)

You may know Carolyn and Danny Sleeper (if you live in Washington, NC.) They run Slatestone Studio, a pottery haven where children of all ages play in clay. (Including me.) That's Danny, surrounded by the summer batch of clay chickies...aren't they cute? Mr. Danny is really great with them.

Lately, there have been chickies of another kind...


The feathered kind!


It is so much fun to go to Slatestone Studio and watch them run around...they have a little fenced area, and straw bales as a playground. I sometimes bring them a few grape tomatoes or some bread, and they love that. The other thing i am loving about it:


That's right, beautiful big, brown fresh eggs! And they are so tasty!



Perhaps it is the "free range" thing...maybe it is what they feed them (my occasional grape tomato?) But MAYBE it is the hugs. Yes, hugs.



That's Carolyn Sleeper, cuddling up with that hen. I, personally have not done it. But I have seen it. They run right up to you in the yard, and want to be held. AWWWW

That just tickles my fancy, these chickens that are loved and love to be loved!

So if you are in Washington, NC, and are looking for really GREAT fresh eggs, check out Slatestone Studio, on Slatestone Road (call ahead 252 945 3541.) I know you won't be sorry...And, while you are there, check out the egg plates, too!

The Wave by Curry Wolfe

I love seeing what people make with the little ceramic basket bases they buy in my MakeABasket Etsy shop!

Curry Wolfe got this little base awhile ago, and made a basket as a Christmas present. As many of us do, she let the basket go without photographing it. But her friend was kind enough to snap a few views and send them back to her, so we get to see it!

Curry took the flamingo base and made a whole little scene out of it, with wrapped rows and strategically placed sparkling beads, she made a whole little ecosystem with shoreline and a big wave coming in...watch out, flamingo! I love it!

You can think of your own novel and colorful ways to make coiling your own thing...

look for supplies at MakeABasket.etsy.com

pamela

Art & Art Deadlines Artist of the Year!

Remember this?
Last October, i was the Featured Artist on the Art & Art Deadlines blog. What an honor!

Lots of you read the article and left a comment for me. How good you are to me :-)

Because of all your comments, i am now the featured Artist of the Year, with a permanent link on this blog!

Thanks again...and thank you to R.L. Gibson, the blogger who featured me.

This blog is an amazing resource, and if you are an artist and have not subscribed to it yet, you need to get on & do it!

And submit your own work to the $2 art contest!

Bug A Bug A Bug

When my youngest son was small, he loved bugs...and i used to say to him "bug a bug a bug" all the time...i don't know why. But this grew into a nickname, and bugs have never been the same around our house.

It is nice to know others like them too.

Here is testimonial to that. Another gorgeous basket by Geraldine Kiser.

She says, "This one went to another daughter, Ellen. Ellen has loved bugs of ALL kinds since before she could talk. I have NO idea why, it's just Ellen. When she was little I told her the house was sprayed for bugs so if she brought them in they would die. She happily transported bugs OUT of the house all the time! At age 27 she still LOVES bugs!"

The basket is so pretty, Geraldine, and how wonderful that you chose something she loves so much to combine with your talent for coiling.

Of course the base was purchased in my MakeABasket etsy shop. You might find a few bugs there still, if you are interested (or frogs, or lizards, etc.) To find a particular motif, to to the search box at the top of the page in my etsy shop and type in a search word. Make sure "this shop" is selected from the drop down menu before you search! I accept requests, as well!

Geraldine has started a new blog, you may find baskets there too! Check it out: http://gdinespicoftheday.blogspot.com/

Monster Stars

Thanks to Danica Duensing, who sent photos of how she used my aluminum beverage can star pattern, which she purchased on Etsy.

Danica wanted to make MONSTER stars for her niece for Christmas. Well, I don't know anyone who drinks that highly charged stuff, and I am NOT going to buy the drink and pour out the liquid to get the cans. After all, this IS about recycling, and that would be just wasteful....So the only way she was going to get them was to make them herself. But she rose to the challenge!


Don't they look amazing????? Danica added her own touch with twisted cool wire hangers , instead of the little gold strings I use on mine.

Danica says: "Here's a picture of the 3 Monster stars I made using your pattern. The
smallest is your medium star, the middle size one is your large star
and we enlarged your pattern to make the biggest one, which we gave to
our niece for Christmas and she loved it!

Thanks again for writing out this tutorial, I really appreciate it!"'

Wow, I really appreciate your sharing your success with me, Danica! The stars look GREAT!

If you want to make your own brand of stars, you can! My pattern is available for purchase here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/86641790/pdf-pattern-aluminum-can-stars-upcycled

If you have made your own stars using my pattern, you can share them here, or on YouCanMakeThis.com , if you purchased your pattern there!

P.S. Thanks very much to Carol Miller, who sent me some Monster cans (already flattened!) So now Monster drink stars are available in my shop. What a friend!

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I had to share a new addition to my Christmas tree, coiled pine needle teneriffe creation by Helen Cahill, Touch of Pine of Guffey, CO. Exquisite! Thanks, Mom!