Easter Sale!

Things have been a little crazy for me. My Mom had a heart attack and some crazy rare complications. She almost died. I haven't had much time for promotions and my blog but today I was thinking I should do something.

I began to think about Lent. Most of us give something up for Lent and we are supposed to pray, fast and give alms. So I was thinking, if you all have been doing the prayer, fasting & almsgiving, then it's time you get a little reward for that effort! LOL 

So I'm doing my part for you. I will over until Easter, 15 percent off anything in my Etsy shop. Just use the coupon code: Easter15 .  Have a blessed Lent and Easter! Oh and keep my Mom, Theresa in your prayers.
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The rosary box above is available in my shop (rosary not included).  Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86965504/hand-painted-porcelain-cross-shaped

Funny Little Find

So today as I'm doing morning prayer out of an old prayer book (My Prayer Book - Father Lasance) a prayer card fell out. I love prayer cards. Mostly the old ones with the beautiful religious paintings on them. People know that and give them to me all the time. I have a few that belonged to family who have longed past. It's a running joke that I'm the rescuer of religious items. If someone dies and family wants to toss those things out and they give it to me because they know I will keep them.

Well anyway back to the story. So out falls a card. The front says "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference."

But the REVERSE says the following (I think God is trying to tell me something)

A Prayer for those Growing Old

Lord, tThou knowest I am growing older. Keep me from becoming talkative and possessed with the idea that I must express myself on every subject. 

Release me from the craving to straighten out everyone's affairs.

Keep me from the recital of endless detail. Give me the wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips when I am inclined to tell of my aches and pains. They are increasing with the years and my love to speak of them grows sweeter as time goes by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Make me thoughtful but not nosey; helpful but not bossey. With my vast store of wisdom and experience it does seem a pity not to use it all.  But Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Amen.

Valentine's Blog Give Away

In celebration of St. Valentine's Day, I am offering this piece of porcelain as a blog give away. It's painted with blue forget me knots and accented with white gold details.  You can use it for any of the following.

• butter dish
• vanity tray to hold jewelry
• glasses holder
• paper clip holder
• tray for your salt & pepper shakers

It's very functional. It has been china painted and fired in a kiln so the paint in permanently fired into the glaze.

So what's the catch for winning it? Just do the following:

• Leave a comment with your email (1 entry)
• Follow my blog.(1 entry)
• Go to my etsy shop: Http://jywheeler.etsy.com and find a item with a heart on it and tell me which one is your favorite in your comment (1 entries)
• Read my January 27th blog entry & let me know which pet portrait is your favorite. (1 entry)

GOOD LUCK!!!!   ALL ENTRIES DUE BY FEB 5TH...WINNERS DRAWN FEB 6TH.  US ENTRIES ONLY.

New Shop, New Friend on Etsy

Well for sometime now I have been taking card making & jewelry workshops at the Pascal Senior Center. It's been a lot of fun.  Besides the lovely cards and the beautiful jewelry I have come home with, I also found a friend. Susan Brown the instructor. 

In our discussions about handmade things, we discussed Etsy and I encouraged her to open a shop there since I have been there for a number of years and really like the community at large, not to mention making a few sales here and there. LOL

Well she bit the bullet and jumped in with both feet and hence was borne:

The photo above is a bracelet, I'm hoping she will teach us soon...hint hint.

So go check it out! And if you love this bracelet as much as me, go buy it at:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/90966831/bead-crocheted-bracelet

OFG Says Thank You....

...to our loyal customers.  Many of our Old Farmhouse Gathering Etsy team shops will be having a 50Club category in their shops. In that category will be an item 50% off.  To find all the sale items Search for OFG50Club on Etsy. Sale Ends February 5th!

Here's my item. It's a handpainted bird house. The birdhouse is not designed to go outside. It is made for decorative purposes only.  Longing for spring. I am...

Here's the link to the birdhouse.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/33502861/handpainted-bird-house-ofg50club

Remember the sale ends February 5, 2012.

Pet Portraits

So lately it seems that I have become a pet portrait artist! LOL I have done a few in the past in watercolor and on porcelain but lately I've had a run of commission work.....so check out a few.

This one was done for someone who didn't have a King Charles Spaniel but liked them...I found a photograph of one of these animals online and used it for my study

.This one was done for a friend who's dog had to be put to sleep. She had his ashes in a box and wanted to have his portrait to be mounted on it. I also did one for my cousin. She wanted her cat's portrait put on a porcelain urn into which she wanted to put his ashes. Sure enough I found a porcelain urn and painted it for her but I don't have a photo of that one.

Then just a couple of weeks ago someone wanted me to do a plate of their son's girlfriend's cat. The photo was not very sharp. It was a bit blurred but I did the best I could with it. She seemed to like it alot. So much so that she has asked me to do another one of her cat. So I'm guessing that I will be doing more pet portraits. :)

Happy Paint Party Friday.  For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

The Wedding is Over....

So the wedding is over and things have settled down. This week Glenn and I helped Jay move all his stuff to Jackie's boy oh boy....they've got a lot of things to go through. But I'm sure they will get it all taken care of in time and the place will be a perfect mesh of both him and her.

The wedding went off beautifully. Everything was perfect. From the weather to the ceremony. Thank you to Father Brian Nolan, Sister Liz Sjoberg and Deacon Joe Goldsmith for a beautiful ceremony.  Oh and to one of the bridesmaids Diana Healy for a beautiful "Ave Maria".

The hotel where we had the reception - Doubletree by Hilton BWI was incredible. They were so accommodating and helpful. I stayed there 4  days and it was one of the nicest hotel stays I've ever had.   Everyone was so friendly and helpful.  They even let us have the honeymoon suite early so Jackie and the girls could get ready for the wedding. 

All those little details came of perfectly as well. I have such wonderfully talented friends.   They helped make this day as special as my daughter is to me. Thank you friends.

 Beth Pardoe made the cake.  It was 5 flavors. And everyone raved about how good it was. It included funfetti which is Jackie's favorite. There was also Orange Chocolate for Jay. Also Almond, Lemon and Chocolate.

Allison Wade did the centerpieces, purse corsages, boutiners, corsages & bouquets.  Everything was equisite. The brooch bouquet was breath taking. Jackie had asked her to include a locket with a photo of her deceased grandmother and her friend who died in a car accident. She told her she 'wanted them in the wedding.' Allison put them right where Jackie could see them while she was going down the aisle. I cried when I saw it. It was so beautiful.

My friend, Jeannie O'Hare did the restoration to the gown. After 60 years the lace was a bit dry-rotted. She reinforced it with netting and where there were 2 stains from dye from a swatch of my bridesmaids fabric (which had somehow gotten into the bag with the gown) she did a wonderful job of hiding it with bridal appliques...you could not tell. It looked like the designs were supposed to be there....Jeanne is incredible.

The men's boutineers were fun. They were feathers and buttons. Jackie loves feathers. Jay's included typewriter keys J and P. His grandfather had a typewriter repair shop years ago.  The kids also had a 100 year old manual typewriter for the guest book. It was cute.

Patricia Potze made the green silk pocket handkerchiefs. They looked perfect..Jackie wanted a touch of green. Her favorite color.

Then they were off to St. Augustine Florida for a week of relaxation but alas, they both got colds and came back sick. Of course, they shared their colds with me and her father...what are families for!

The Day Before....

Joey & Jackie, my son and daughter....

...the wedding of my baby girl. This morning we went to daily Mass at Holy Trinity with friends. One of them arranged for Jackie to get a bride's blessing. It was very special. Marlene is a good friend.  The readings today were about Israel who insisted on a King to rule them like the other nations.  The Priest said that they should have asked for was to follow God's plan. One of the things the priest said in the Homily was that we should all strive, not to be like other people as Israel wanted, but to be people of God.

When he blessed Jackie, he told her to not to be like other wives but a wife that God would want her to be. It made me think about when she was little. I always asked God for my children to bring glory to Him through their lives. I believe he has answered that prayer. I'm sure she will be the wife God wants her to be and I look forward to watching it happen!

It's Finished!

Well my brother finished tiling the kitchen..I'm a little slow getting the photos up! But I've been a little preoccupied with the wedding and such...LOL

 Anyway, here are the photos. The tile is tumbled marble. It's so beautiful. It had lots of holes all over it, reminding me of Roman ruins. When my brother grouted it all over it filled the holes in, making an interesting contrast.

I love the accent tiles and the trim. It's a metal that looks like old copper.


The whole thing looks great with my dark cabinet and light counter. I'm very pleased with it. I even found stone light switch & plug covers and Joe put those in for me.  He was so funny. The tiles are mis-shappened because they are supposed to look rustic and old. But he's such a perfectionist that he kept trying to get them total lined up etc.

I kept telling him that I wanted the old world charm. He would look at me like I had 3 heads. LOL

I'm so in love with it...it really classes up the joint! :)

Sunday Sketches

Well, it's been a while since I've done Sunday Sketches. I need to get back into my blogging routine.That's my New Year's Resolutions! LOL
I have been trying to be a little more regular with my other blog ring so now I'm going to try to keep this one up as well....so what have I been doing? Well, I've been busy with craft shows and then my daughter's wedding which is coming up on January 14! Yayyy..... I do have a few new things to show you. But for today there is just one (I have to save some for future SS's!)

This is a pendant. It's china painted. I love blue jays. My yard is full of them and they are quite entertaining.

You can find it in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89354654/handpainted-porcelain-bluejay-pendant


Enjoy the Sunday Sketch and for more awesome art visit http://bluechairdiary.blogspot.com/

Looking Back & Happy New Year

Well today is the last day of 2011.  I'm thinking it's been a pretty good year. My daughter got engaged and my son got married this year.  I joined a senior center (I'm one of the youngest there) and have been having fun making cards & jewelry.  I lost 13 pounds but I think 5 found their way back! LOL.  My family had this photo taken. I've always wanted to have one taken and never had. This was the best year to do it since we would include my two newest kids (Diana and Jay).

My husband and I made a trip to Atlantic City. We didn't win anything but we had a great time. I hadn't been there in years. My whole family (kids & grandson) went on the annual trip to Ocean City. It was lots of fun. I look forward to that trip every year. This summer I also saw Bill Cosby at Pier 6. He was awesome. I have always wanted to see him. It was a real treat.

My parents have been in fairly good health for 83 and 84. I'm so lucky to have them. I realize I won't have them here for ever so I try to spend as much time with them as possible.

This year I began making greeting cards. I made all my Christmas Cards and have made several get well and birthday cards. I had a friend tell me she planned to keep all the cards I sent her when she was sick. That made me feel good! :)

So I hope your 2011 was a good one too. If not, remember, there's always next year and it can only get better! So I wish you lots of  blessings in 2012, health, happiness and prosperity. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. :)

Paint Party Friday!

So lately I have been making cards. In fact I made all my Christmas cards this year. I made a bunch of  Get Well and Birthday cards and I've given most of them away.

The other day I made a bunch of Valentine's Day cards that I hope to get up on Etsy.

I have a ton of paper these days...I'm become quite the paper addict. Anyway, I was thinking one day when I was getting ready to paint these Angel ornaments that it would be cool to combine the paper and paint. So here it is. I just LOVE the way it looks. I painted the wings and faces but the dresses are scrapbook paper with embellishment. I also did some snowmen  but I did the hats in paper. And, I did some snowflakes that way. They are all in my Etsy shop. Go take a look: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JYWheeler?section_id=5261008....Happy Paint Party Friday!

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

What Do These 2 Things Have in Common?

 The kitchen! Yes, I'm finally going to get my wall under the cabinets tiled. I wanted to do glass tile but it seems lately everyone else is doing that so always wanting to be different, I decided that I would go to tumbled marble tile. It's every beautiful and very European. And I think the design will be timeless.

So stay tuned. I'm having the best contractor in town do the work, my brother! Joe Yori is the owner of Yori's Building Improvement. He does  awesome work if I may say so myself. He does every thing. My Dad always says he's 7 contractors in one because he can do everything, carpentry, brick & stone work, drywall, windows, asphalt, siding concrete ...he does bathrooms, kitchens, additions, siding...commercial or residental....whatever you need he can do it.  He recently did a bathroom rennovation, just finished 2 kitchens, a whole house window replacement & commercial tile work for a restuarant in Ocean City.

Look at these beautiful brick steps he did for me. I was away on vacation, came back and they were there! All I asked for was another row of brick on the top step so my Dad could come in and out of the door easier and he just rebuilt them. I even had a kid who was trick or treating tell me he loved the steps. How funny is that?

So stay tuned for the finished product. I'll post photos afterwards.

Yori's Building Improvement. 443-250-9899 in the Baltimore Area as well as Lower Delaware & Maryland Eastern Shores.

Kitchen Craft Project Gone Wrong

Sometimes I wonder why I even walk into the kitchen. Most times I have one kind of disaster or another. Yesterday's disaster was quite entertaining.  So I saw this candy tray on Pinterest and thought, "I can do that" How many times do we think "I can do that." but never do but I was determined since I had some peppermints and the oven was already hot to try it.  So I printed out the directions and followed the instructions:
1) preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) put wax paper on cookie tray
3) unwrap peppermints and place in a pattern.
4) bake 8-10 minutes
5) cool on cookie sheet and remove carefully as it is fragile.

I did just that. Well what do you know. My oven began to smoke like crazy! It was so bad I had to open the window. Now the little window usually has a little doll sitting on it. It's a cute little doll made for me by Pocomedio of my Etsy Team, Old Farmhouse Gathering.  It looks like my husband and sits on the window. The DH (darling husband) said, "put the screen in." I said, it's too cold for bugs to be out. It will be fine." and I carefully opened the window."  Before long, I hear the DH say to me, "He couldn't stand it anymore and he jumped out of the window."   "WHAT???" I said, thinking it was something on TV.

I turned around and this is what I saw. Stoney was GONE!  Oh my. I ran outside to retrieve him. At first I couldn't find him. Where could he have gone. He must be here some where. Finally I spotted him, face down in the bushes.   Whew!  I picked him up and put him back on the window...this time I closed it as all the smoke had left the family room & kitchen.  I checked the tray...it's a little lopsided. Here's what it looks like. I can't make anymore because I'm out of those peppermints. I believe the instructions should have said to turn off the oven when it reaches 350 degrees and let it sit for 8-10 minutes. That would have been enough to melt them....Lesson Learned.....Maybe after Christmas when all the candy goes on sale I'll try this again making sure Stoney is out of the window if I open it.

 And people wonder why my email is HeyLucy1....well I gotta lotta splainin to do!   Merry Christmas.

Paint Party Friday

It's sure been warm here. We've got spring for the first days of winter here on the East Coast and I'm really enjoying it.....well enough of the weather report. Today's post for Paint Party Friday is a butterfly watercolor ACEO. I love butterflies. There is a bush next to my parent's which always has a ton of butterflies on it.

Recently I've gotten in to card making. I was thinking one day that it might be fun to combine my art with my card making and so my Art on a Card was born. It's an original ACEO in plastic adhered to a handmade card.  So it's a Greeting & Gift in One!!!!   The ACEO slides easily out of the plastic. The card is blank inside. I have 4 so far in my shop. More to come.

For more Paint Party Features visit:  http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

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Link to this card on my etsy shop: 


http://www.etsy.com/listing/72640673/art-on-a-card-watercolor-aceo-original