michelle my belle

rudolph the red nosed... snow-baby-angel ornament!

schmolly. that's quite the title eh.
i wasn't certain what to call this complex holiday creature!
i'm pretty sure i've covered all the christmas characters...
just missing the baby jesus.

the colors are yummy and cheerful!
and i love the slight weirdness to them.
okay, maybe slight is a bit of an understatement...

each one can be customized with the house address or word up to 4 characters.

i just posted 6 of them on etsy!

here's the owl ornament i did last year.

and snowman ornaments i made in 2009.
another snowman ornament from 2008.(this is one of my faves)

xxoo-m :)

happy december 1st!

i can't believe it's december already!
for me it's the month of diy's, crafts, parties, food... too much food!, decorating, friends, laughter, celebration and remembering the reason for the season...

dangling doodlings

unfortunately, it's also very much the month of... stress, over commitment, winter gift show preparation, trying to balance the 'have-to's' and the 'want-to's' and just plain hectic-ness!
and this year... let's throw in trying to get settled into a new house!
i forgot how much work it was to get the little things done: paper towel holder, blinds, stools for the kitchen... dumb things, but a whole lot of time involved!

don't forget... this is our last weekend for our studio sale!
would love to see you there. :)

 

the much anticipated STAIRS!!!

my hand painted stairs are finally installed!
they were quite the laborious endeavor, but i'm totally thrilled with how they turned out.
find my original stair inspiration here.

this set of stairs lead from our living quarters to my home studio above the garage...
i thought this quote by john maxwell was quite appropriate for the location :) and oh-so-true!

quote by john maxwell

we used beat up oak for the treads so it would flow nicely into the studio space where we were able to use the salvaged oak floors from the original house.

now if these can't inspire me to get into the studio... i don't know what will!

an art studio MUST!

at least for me...
a solid table is vital to my art studio happiness.

i'm completely spoiled and blessed to have a wonderful husband that understands this and is handy enough to build me one.

as you can see, he put wheels on it.
that way, if i'm working on a large project it can be rolled out of the way, making more room.
the shelf on the bottom provides extra storage along with a comfortable foot rest.
in this studio, i thought ahead and asked them to put an outlet in the middle of the floor-
making it easy to run a plug up through the middle of the table for a heat gun, hot glue gun, etc.

we're still working hard at moving into the house/home studio...
our bodies are hurting and we are both tired beyond belief.
but we're excited and thankful.

i hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ours was small, simple and very enjoyable.

the day has finally come!

the day being... move in day/days!
i am excited and yet the idea of setting everything back up is daunting.
it's been a LONG time since we moved.
we've i've collected so much crap!

it's hard as an artist...
everything, i mean EVERYTHING can be turned into a piece of art! right?!
please tell me that i'm not alone on this.
...and that is why i have more stuff in my studio than we have in our entire house!

well, off to bed.
a long day awaits me.

1st studio sale weekend completed!

well, after many long days of set up, our annual Allen Designs Studio Sale's first weekend is behind us.

one of my favorite things i did- is this sign i painted in reverse on the window!
...sometimes it's the weirdest things that make me the happiest.

one of my sweetest young customers and her stylin' hat. *love*


the weekend was a lot of fun.
i loved getting to share our new space with awesome people who have been a part of my life for so very long.
some going as far back as Portland Saturday Market days (15 years ago)!
thank you to those of you who were able to venture my way.
you blessed my socks off. :)

missed it? don't fret.. there will be one more studio sale Dec. 2nd & 3rd.

camera strap & clock goody giveaway!

i've had these last 3 camera straps laying around the studio from my camera strap making days.
just waiting for the right people to give them to...

so i thought... why not offer one as a giveaway!
who better to give one to, than one of you!

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i've just added this carpe diem clock to the giveaway.
so thursday i'll be drawing 2 winners instead of just one!

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there are 4 ways you can enter:
-pick any or all-

• 1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you like to take pictures of or maybe what you like to do in your spare time.
• 2. Share us with your friends on Facebook or Twitter using the share buttons at the bottom of this post. and leave a comment letting me know you did.
• 3. Sign up for our Newsletter. (right hand side of this blog)
• 4. Post our giveaway on your blog! (worth 3 entries!!) Feel free to pull this image to use on your blog. And don't forget to leave me a comment so I know you did.
  
  

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contest will close Thursday, Nov. 17th.
if you're local (Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA) and you're the winner
you could pick it up at our annual studio sale! otherwise we'll send it to you.
thank you for playing!! :)
 
international entries are welcome with shipping included on the camera strap only.

11th annual Allen Designs studio sale!!!

it's almost here!
our Allen Designs'/Close2myART big yearly art, clock & gift sale in the NEW LOCATION - vancouver, washington!
make sure to sign up for our newsletter (in the right column of this blog) for more info.
we'll have all the whimsical, colorful, unique pendulum clocks, soap spitters™/dispensers, money banks, treasure boxes, picture frames your heart could desire.
perfect for those hard-to-buy-for peeps in your life!

4510 NE 68th Dr. Suite 116
Vancouver, WA 98661
Ph. 360.314.4527

*use google maps ONLY (they're the only ones that have the correct directions with an updated map)

come for a visit and check out our new diggs!
we'd love to see you. :)

***exclusively through our newsletter- we'll be sending out some specials for those of you who aren't local or are unable to make it.***

 

stick stars, holiday decorating & craft

getting a bit crafty around here.
and on the cheap.
i think these stick stars will make an awesome window display... we'll soon see.
was inspired by this and this.

so far, a little more time consuming than i had counted on.
the story of my life!

aqua blue & orange studio happiness

slowly trying to get our studio ready for our annual Allen Designs Studio Sale here in Vancouver, WA.
if you're interested, sign up for our newsletter (in the right column), we send our invites by email.

as soon as we moved into our new studio i painted one whole wall orange.
the orange quickly wore on me and hence decided it needed some pretty aqua blue to go with it!
honestly, i was set to paint over all the orange but saw how yummy the two colors were together.

here's a glimpse from outside.
i like how the leaf shapes kind of hide the ugly fire alarm stuff... i said kind of...

my baby is growing up too fast!
at a mere 11 years old, she's officially taller than me now.

hope you're having a wonderful weekend. :)