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/