michelle my belle

on my desk

i love our new allen designs line of pencil cups!
and for the moment, this is my fave...

it says "born to laugh" on the back.

although with this dreary/exceptionally cold nw weather, i'm feeling more like crying.
2nd day of spring,  and it's pouring rain AND 37º.

i need a hot cup of tea.

mini moo card love

i really adore these little moo cards.
the fact that you can get a different piece of your art printed on every one of them is quite somethin'.

just for fun, i added a QR code this time around.
do you use one?
have you ever scanned one?

my three favorites out of this batch.

they're just so yummy.


i've been slowly getting ready for artfest 2012.
i can't believe it's only one week away.
i'm so looking forward to seeing my crazy art friends!
are you going?

weekend in a nutshell

we had sushi (seaweed salad)

jess decided to make us lunch one day...

her masterpiece: honey & pnut butter sandwiches, pnut butter & plantain smoothie and apple/plantain sticks.
pretty cute presentation.
best part? -she cleaned up the mess!

lex got lot's of homework done, including this chemistry project.

i finished labeling & organizing some studio baskets.

you'd laugh if you saw how many different things i tried before i ended up with these very simple, chalkboard on heavy chip board, ones!

all in all, a weekend i feel good about.

 

farm fresh eggs & artsy egg cups

my friend reenie of peculiar ambitions gifted us some beautiful eggs from her farm the other day.

these little guys were even standing on their heads they were so excited!

the fabulous egg cups are by artist alison palmer.
i'd love to visit connecticut and take one of her workshops someday!
i've had an obsession with ceramics for as long as i can remember.
i did take some classes once.
i very quickly came to the realization that...
i should just stick to purchasing other people's.

all this really makes me want chickens!
my husband would NEVER go for it.
i will have to settle with living vicariously through you reenie.

what's- old, yellow, functional and super cool?

it's my latest find on etsy, of course.
i've always wanted a vintage coffee pot.
when i finally searched etsy to acquire one, this was one of the first ones to pop up.
and it's perfectly me.
it was a "meant to be".

and, it even works!

i plan on serving many batches of hot tea punch out of this big yellow beauty.

i'm a happy girl.

this weekend i'm DETERMINED to be productive & inspired.
i plan on running for one, since i've fallen off the wagon and didn't run a SINGLE day this week.
painting for two, still many paintings to finish.
but mostly, just using my time wisely.

xoxo-m

green party & sour grapes!

i'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with pinterest right now.
my love of it- awesome ideas like Pure Sugar's SOUR GRAPES.

these are the easiest thing EVER.
a box of lime jello, washed WET grapes, toss in a plastic bag to coat them and viola-
you're the hit of the party!

a pretty, fairly healthy and simple snack that can even be enjoyed by adults.

wasabi peas, watermelon licorice & sour grapes
in lieu of st. patrick's day,  i was going with the theme of green.

i also tried this recipe for greek spinach dip with pita bread.
not my favorite.
but it looked pretty.

st. patrick's day cupcake toppers (free)!

st. patrick's day is already almost here!
these cute & funky st. patrick's day cupcake toppers are ones that i previously designed for a party.
i've included the free downloads for them at the bottom of this post.
i haven't quite gotten around to this years yet... not sure if it's going to happen.






do you have any big plans/traditions for st. patty's day 2012?

 
download free st. patrick's day clover cupcake topper.
download free st. patrick's day frog cupcake topper.

 

here kitty kitty painting

not quite completed but close

part of this weekend was spent weeding through my studio, working on completing all the paintings that are half done.
the bummer is, starting again after not touching them for SO long- i end up essentially repainting the whole thing over again.

perhaps i will grow out of this rotten habit someday!?!?!?!?
PLEASE say you have experience with this and you've conquered it.
give me hope that the whispered words to myself of "never again" are not lost in the wind.

i also managed an 11 mile run on Saturday!
my longest run in over a year.
it feels good to be active again.
and my body seems to be holding up. yay!

be original pencil cup

another pencil cup...
my friend had a great idea of adding a little rice to the cup to make the pencils display better.
duh! why hadn't i thought of that!

hopefully these little guys will be up on our website by early next week.

suggested by one of my studio girls, i'm making this tomorrow. yum!

p.s. thank you for all the creative & crazy ideas for the title of my last piece!  xoxo-m

having WAY too much FUN!

another painting complete.
a bit on the hedgehog-ish side.
super love him...





but still trying to come up with a title.
anything yelling out at you?
i have a few in my mind, but i've not settled on any one of them yet.
words are my weakness.
as you can probably tell with my mad writing skillzzzz.

xoxo-m