Bear & Lee

"Bear & Lee" 5 by 7, Pastel

I was working on this custom pet portrait today. It was a lot of fun to do, especially that little kitty in the background. The photo given to me for reference was not ideal and I had a little trouble working out the lighting. Unfortunately it was the only photo of Bear that the customer had. I tried to make it work and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I just love these pet portraits. I might try some wildlife in watercolor this week. :)

Looking Back

Taking a look back today at some of my first pastel paintings. It's hard to believe that only 2 years have gone by since I began painting in pastel. I was quite intimidated by the medium when I first began but I'm pretty comfortable with it now.

"End of Day" - My first pastel painting
"A Day Away" - My second pastel painting

It's kind of fun to look back and see how far you've come. I haven't been working on my painting skills nearly as much as I'd like, because the sewing part of my business has been growing. But growing as an artist is still very important to me. I tend to be very hard on myself, but I can honestly say that I'm happy with my growth so far.

I can't wait to see where I'm at in 10 years! :)

Baby Rag Quilts

I have been having so much fun making these baby quilts! Now come on, if you were a child wouldn't you just LOVE one of these? I would!

This quilt is made from the Dessert Party line by Robert Kaufman fabrics.
This quilt is made from the Meadow Friends line by Moda.
This quilt is made from the Fox Trails line by Riley Blake.

I title these "baby quilts" but they're perfectly large enough to be cuddle quilts, or throw quilts for older children. I have plans to make some rag quilts for adults as well.

Have a great weekend!

Dance Of Shadows

"Dance of Shadows" 8 by 10, Pastel Painting

Available Here

If you're thinking that this scene looks familiar, you would be correct. I painted it about 3 years ago in watercolor. In fact it was one of the first watercolor paintings I ever did, and it now hangs in my kitchen. Well, I had been wanting to try the scene in pastel so I finally did. It was great fun to do, and a lot more work in pastel, that's for sure. But the color pay off was worth it.

Scanning this painting certainly did not do it justice. The painting is so much prettier in person. I'm quite happy with it and it's available for purchase on Etsy.

I hope you have a nice night!

Long Arm Quilting Services

 I am now offering professional long arm quilting services! Quilting will be done on my new Tin Lizzie 18 long arm machine.

Pricing:

The cost for edge-to-edge free motion meandering is $.01 per square inch.

To figure out the cost, multiply the width x length (of your quilt top) x $.01 = Total

Example: 70" x 90" = 6300" x $.01 = $63.00 (plus shipping)

This cost is based upon you providing the backing fabric and batting. If needed batting and backing fabric can be provided at an additional charge (I use Warm & Natural 100% cotton batting).

*Please note there is a $35.00 minimum (per quilt)

Design:

You can choose between a big stippling meander (as shown in the 1st photo below) or an all over loopy meander (as shown in the 2nd photo below). This is all done free motion.

You can let me know what color thread you would like or you can leave it up to me. I generally use neutral thread colors.

Other Services:

Binding services can be provided upon request.

Hand sewn binding - $.25 per linear inch (this includes assembling binding, machine sewing on top and hand sewing on bottom). You provide the fabric.

I can also attach binding with mitered corners to your quilt by machine so your quilt is ready for you to finish by hand. The cost for this is $.10 per linear inch.

Tips:

*Please make sure that your backing fabric and batting (if not provided by me) are at least 4" larger than the quilt top, on all sides.

*Please make sure to trim up or square your quilt top and backing.

*Make sure all seams are secure and all excess threads are removed.

You can contact me through Etsy to submit your quilt top for quilting or you can e-mail me at - angela292@hotmail.com

I accept Paypal, personal checks and money orders. If you send a personal check, I will ship your quilt once the check clears.

Turnaround time is approximately 1 - 2 weeks.

Please don't hesitate to message me through Etsy, or contact me by e-mail with any questions you may have.

Item Of The Week

This week's item-of-the-week in my Etsy shop is this sweet Sophie baby quilt. It's offered at a reduced price of $75 with free shipping, until Sunday at midnight.

My baby rag quilts have been a hot item! I've sold several and received requests for custom quilts as well. I'm working on a pile of them this week for my shop. I'll share some of my new ones soon. :)

Have a lovely evening!

Item of the Week

"A New England Lighthouse" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available Here

This week is painting week, so I've chosen a pastel painting as my item-of-the-week on Etsy. It's on sale for $45 and will ship for free! I have to say that I just love this little painting. I've even entertained the thought of keeping it for myself, but I don't have a place for it at the moment. I think it would look adorable in a kitchen or bathroom.

For a bit of good news, I just sold "Contentment" at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery! It's a recent pug painting that I did. Hopefully it's a sign of many more sales to come!

Have a wonderful week!

In My Sewing Room This Week

One of my goals for the new year was to find a better balance for my art and quilting. Therefore, I've decided to alternate weeks, and I spent this week in my sewing room. I started the week out by making a custom rag quilt for an Etsy customer. Then I made two baby quilt tops and got those onto the long arm machine (which you can see in the photo above). I still have to hand sew the binding on those. Today I think I will work on another rag quilt. I'm enjoying the slightly larger ones, and I think others would as well. They're a great deal of work, but worth it!

I'll post photos of these quilts soon. Have a lovely weekend!!

Item Of The Week

This "Little Apples" baby quilt is my item-of-the-week on Etsy! My rag baby quilts have been selling quickly and I think it's only a matter of time before someone snatches this adorable quilt!

My item-of-the-week is an item that I offer at a reduced price and it includes free shipping. For this quilt, it's an $18 savings! The reduced price is $85 (regularly $95). And after doing some research on Etsy, very similar quilts sell for nearly $200 or more! I believe in pricing my work (artwork included) reasonably.

So if you know someone who has a baby or will be having a baby, please check out my baby quilts! They make incredible gifts!

Have a great week!

A Pugs Life

"A Pugs Life" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available Here

In an effort to get my groove back I've been working on this painting the past couple days. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I was however, disappointed with the way that it scanned. This particular piece looks so much better in person. The overall softness has not been captured in this photo.

This painting is 5 by 7, and the painting surface is Ampersand Pastelbord. I used all pastel pencils for this piece.

I'm thinking about a landscape for my next painting.

Have a great weekend!

Goals

"A New England Lighthouse" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available Here

It's that time of year again - time to start thinking about setting goals for the new year. I recently found my list of art goals that I'd set for 2011. There are many that I didn't meet (such as the number of paintings that I wanted to accomplish) and some that I did (such as my financial goals related to my art). Even though I didn't meet many of my goals, I still believe in setting them. Goals give you something to strive for and even if you don't achieve them, you're still moving forward.

For this year I'm not going to set a goal for a certain number of paintings that I want to do. Instead, I've made a resolution to find a better balance for my art and quilting. I think I've come up with something that will work. Instead of trying to paint one day and quilt the next, I'm going to alternate weeks. One week I'll paint, and the next I'll quilt. It should work rather well.

I'd love to hear your art related goals for the new year!

My First Art Show!

"Cosmos" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here

I booked my first show yesterday! It will take place in the River Room of the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery in Stillwater Minnesota. I will be doing it along with one of the owners, Randy. I had originally thought about doing it myself but the space is pretty large and I wasn't sure I would be able to fill it. Perhaps next year I could take on a solo show! So anyway the show will take place for the month of December, this year. I have lots of time to prepare, but a lot of work to do!

One of my goals for this year is to do more things like this. I'm relatively shy and don't like talking about myself a whole lot, but I know in order for my business to grow I have to step out of my comfort zone a bit. This is the first step!

I took a bunch of new work to the gallery yesterday and brought some back as well. One of the pieces I brought back is "Cosmos," shown above. Check out my Etsy shop for some more new stuff!

Hope you're having a great week!

Contentment

"Contentment" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

I took a little break from quilting to paint yesterday. I finished up this little painting today. My final painting of 2011! I've never painted a pug before and it was fun. He's just so cute. It's also been about a month or so since I last painted and I felt very rusty. One of my goals for the new year is to better balance quilting and painting. Improving my painting skills is very important to me and I need to make it a bigger priority.

This painting will be available at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery this next week.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year! Thanks for all your kind words of support and encouragement this year!

Item of the Week & New Years Sale

"Pears" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

"Pears" is this week's item-of-the-week on Etsy. It's on sale for $45 with free shipping. So many people have shown interest in this little painting, I would like to find it a good home. :)

I'm also have a New Years sale on Etsy. Free shipping on all items until Sunday at midnight. To receive the discount use coupon code "newyear" at checkout! Please keep in mind that you must use the coupon code to receive the discount, it will not happen automatically.

Hope you all had a great Christmas! I can't believe it's over already!

Too Cute Baby Quilts

I've been hard at work the past couple days making these little baby quilts. I just love them! And if I had a baby I'd be in real trouble because I'd want to keep them all for myself. I listed 6 and here are a few-

These would make a fabulous gift if you know anyone who has a baby! You can see more in my Etsy shop.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

New Quilt

I just listed my first big quilt on Etsy! I made this top using fabric from the Neptune fabric line by Moda, many months ago. I knew I would be unable to quilt it on my sewing machine, so naturally it was the first quilt I quilted on my new machine. This quilt is a very generous size measuring 41" by 71".

I finished up my school work yesterday and now I have a 2 week break (which isn't nearly long enough!). So, I'm looking forward to getting a lot of quilting done and hopefully some painting too. I made 3 table runners yesterday which make up a set that I will be listing on Etsy probably tomorrow or the next day. Today I spent the day making a baby quilt. I tried a completely different pattern and it was rather time consuming, but I really like it. I'm going to attach it to my long arm machine tomorrow and get it quilted.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

My Art In The Smurfs

If you've been following my blog for a while you know that some of my hand painted cigar boxes were purchased for the set of The Smurfs film. Well the movie just came out on DVD and I was able to get some still shots of the scenes in which you can see my boxes. I circled them in the photos below. :)

My Peach Roses box.

Another shot of my Peach Roses box.
My Red Poppies box, behind Smurfette! Another shot of my Red Poppies box.

They actually purchased 3 boxes, but I have been unable to find that one. It's possible that they chose not to use it; either that or it's hiding somewhere.

If you have children or just enjoy these types of movies, I highly suggest this one! It's actually really cute.

Have a great week!

200 Sales!

Yesterday I hit my 200th sale on Etsy! I know compared to others that's no big deal, but it is for me. As I've added new and different items to my shop my sales have increased. I'm hoping that they increase a lot more! :)

This week's item-of-the-week is an Adoring quilted table runner, for $26 plus free shipping.
There's still plenty of time to receive orders in time for Christmas!

Have a great week!

All Set Up

My long arm machine is all set up and I've been practicing a bit.

It's huge but luckily it fits perfectly in my sun room.

I took this little video yesterday of me quilting my very first quilt. Please excuse the quality, I was holding my iphone with one hand and quilting with the other.

I've been completely bombarded by homework and yesterday I decided to take a break from it and quilt. I have a couple more big projects and final exams due by the end of next week. Until then I don't intend to get any painting or quilting done. But hopefully over my short break I'll get something accomplished.

Hope you're all having a great week!

New Quilting Machine

So, I've been talking recently about a huge investment that I've made in my business... Well, here it is! I've bought a long arm quilting machine. I'm so super excited about getting it but nervous as well. And I say "nervous" because I could have bought a small car for the amount of money I paid for this thing! Yikes!

It's a Tin Lizzie 18, and I purchased the 10 foot wooden frame seen in the picture. It's being delivered tomorrow and it will be going out in my sunroom. It's just the perfect place for it and I'm excited to try it out. The men delivering it are even going to give me a training session so I won't have to worry about figuring that all out on my own.

The purpose of purchasing this machine is first and foremost so I can branch out and quilt larger items. Every table runner and baby blanket I've made has been quilted on my sewing machine. And that works just fine for small projects but makes quilting a larger blanket next to impossible. I also plan to offer quilting services once I become proficient enough. I don't imagine it will take long since I have been quilting on my sewing machine and understand the concept. I plan to offer long arm quilting through my Etsy page and perhaps even through the gallery who represents me (The Stillwater Art Guild Gallery), as I have some quilted items there.

I'm discovering that growth is so scary and exciting at the same time. But I think I'm more excited and optimistic that I can really create something.

On a side note, I recently marked some paintings down on Etsy to $1!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with them, I'm just trying to make room for new work.

Hope you're having a great week!