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Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Show and Tell!

Hi Everyone!
I hope you all are having a great day. I can't believe that it's August already.  Where has the summer gone?  I don't know about you but the days just fly by and it's making me dizzy.

Well,  I've got a couple of things to show you and something to tell you.  First, the Show:
I got Bea framed!!! Squeal!!!  I had a 60% off coupon for Michaels that was burning a hole in my pocket.  So I bit the bullet and marched my hind end down there last week.  A sweet girl named Heidi did the framing for me and she did a wonderful job.  I will be requesting her to frame for me again.

Here she is in all her beauty!  (Click and the pics will get big so you can see the details)


Detail of the frame:

So I got on a framing kick.  I had a 60% off coupon for AC Moore too.  I took BBD's Summer House down there to be framed.  Let's just say I am not impressed and I won't be going back.  I am a bit worried about the piece cause they are sending it away to be framed.  Michaels does it in-house.  The employee I spoke with was fairly knowledgeable but really tried her best to influence the style and type of frame that I wanted to buy.  I bought along 2 other pieces to be framed that weren't stretched yet (The City Stitcher's, Lucy Minton and Autumn Leaves from The Prairie Schooler) and asked her to cut foam core for me so I could stretch them but they don't do that.  So, I asked if the foam core they had to purchase was acid free and she couldn't tell me.  So needless to say, there was no sale at ACM. I'll just wait until another 60% off at Michaels and give Heidi my business.

And now for the (show &) tell part. 

I am starting to paint again.  I've painted for profit about 15 years ago and I enjoyed it.  Did a bunch of craft fairs and sold at home shows.  It was when Mike was a little boy to supplement our income and to get me out of the house.  Well, since things will be tight in the coming months financially,  I decided to try my hand at painting again.  Here's my first piece to sell:

BOO- from the book, A Folk Art Fancy by Myra Mahy 


A close up:

The piece is approximately 11"long by 12" high, hand painted in acrylic (by moi!) and finished with 2 coats of polyurethane. 

Here are the particulars:
I am asking $25 + travel expenses:  $30 total in the US.  If you are in NY, please add 8% sales tax.  International folks, please contact me at J24D29@stny.rr.com for the total price.  Payment can be concealed cash, paypal (no credit cards just yet) and money orders.  If you pay by check, I will hold the piece until the check clears.  So if you are interested in BOO, please email me at J24D29@stny.rr.com.

I will be posting more painted pieces as a get them finished.  I probably will either set up another blog or sell through Etsy.  I'm not sure yet.

I hope you love Bea (as much as I do) and my painting too.  Stay tuned for more pieces in the days to come!

12 comments:

diamondc said...

I love your stitched piece sometimes Michael's or Joann's offer a 40% or more off coupon on the internet and you can use it in store.
Your painting is lovely I really enjoy hand made items.
Good to hear from you, and yes summer is flying by so sad.
Happy stitching and painting.
Catherine

valerie said...

Your Bea looks wonderful framed! Congrats on getting back into painting. I love this Halloween decoration! I will be keeping an eye out to see what else you add...

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Bea looks GREAT! perfect in fact!!!!
And oh heaven's Joanie...that painted piece is GORGOUS!!!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Bea is gorgeous, Joanie! It's always so fun to bring home a newly framed piece and find the perfect place to hang it. you should be thrilled - it's fabulous!!!

Darling Halloween decoration.

Natalia said...

I love your painting !!! Yo do great at that... About the framing, I find it so outrageously expensive at Michaels and any other store, that I have learned to do it myself. If you know how to stretch your piece, you can get really inexpensive (but very nice frames) on websites like www.frankenframes.com or www.framesbymail.com This last one will even mat the pieces for you which makes it a bit more expensive. The only disadvantage is that you don't have the frame right there to put next to your piece, but they will send you samples for free. Give it a try :-)

Anonymous said...

Bea is just Bea-utiful. What a happy, happy squeal that would have been :) Congratulations.

Jennifer said...

The Michaels and AC Moores in my area (suburban Philly) accept each other's coupons for regular merchandise, so I wonder if they would accept framing coupons too? The catch is AC Moore has coupons you can print on their website for their stores, but Michael's will not accept the printed ones - only the ones from the paper.

Both stores will also accept Joann's coupons as well, and if you sign up for the Joann's mailing list, you should get flyers pretty regularly.

Karoline said...

Bea is stunning, great framing.

Love Boo, it's very cute

Jeanne said...

Joanie your framed Bea looks marvelous - the frame really accents the orangey-red tone of the thread. I'll bet you are thrilled - I remember when you posted your finish on the BP SAL! My Bea is done but still rolled up in tissue paper -it's my next big piece to get framed. Congrats and your painting is lovely too. Good luck with bringing in some extra $$'s.

staci said...

Bea is STUNNING! You've chosen the perfect frame to highlight this beauty!

Jan said...

Your BEA is awesome! Curious as to what fiber you used on what linen!The framing is just so right for it, congratulations on a job well done, from start to finish!

Adorable painted folk art...good luck with a quick sale!!

Laura said...

Your Beatrix looks so fabulous!!!! Stunning! and I love your pumpkins too!!!!! Lots of talent over there young lady!