Alaska Adventure!

I'm off to visit my sister on her homestead in Alaska!
See you soon.

Grief - Courage- Art and Inspiration

"Sad Angel"
A miniature painting created while I was caring for my elderly mom, who passed away last year.

"Grief can be the rich under painting that strengthens our life's work of art." - Melody Lea Lamb

By my Beaded Art partner and dear friend Karen Lideen:
We’re pleased to introduce two of our new friends. Casey and Kelly are a mother and daughter who not only share a love for art and a superb talent for creating art but the courage to live rich lives despite grief.

Casey suffered a massive brain-stem stroke which rendered her right and dominant hand useless. Kelly lives with acute leukemia. Despite their challenges they approach life with grace and beauty; literally. Sumi-e, ink painting, exemplifies the concept of "Less is More."

"Time Electric" by Casey Shannon

Throughout her stroke recovery Casey learned to do more with less. She worked hard, eventually learning to talk again and walk with the assistance of her service dog. Her lovely spirit and fierce determination shine through in her art.

"Noble Snow Spirit Like Bamboo" by Casey Shannon

In her own words, Kelly "is a painter!" She is not defined by the deadly disease that might escort us to our own pity party. Her water color paintings practically breathe – Giraffe with a slight sense of humor, Cougar with an intense gaze and Leafy Sea Dragon in delightful play.

"Orchid" by Kelly Kuhlman-Chester

We never know what the day might bring for us - great joy, sorrow, success, disappointment. What we can do is decide how to approach what we are given. Casey and Kelly chose the high road and give back each day through the beauty of their art. We are blessed to be aware of these two women. They shake us up. They push us to be better. They encourage us to improve.

"Tree Frog" by Kelly Kuhlman-Chester

"Sea Turtle" by Kelly Kuhlman-Chester

Take a moment to visit Casey’s website and Kelly’s Etsy shop where you can learn more about these women and purchase their beautiful art. When you buy from Kelly you help support her and her family through her fight of acute leukemia. All proceeds go to raising Kelly’s sweet baby daughter, Aven.

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This post is written by my Beaded Art business partner and dear friend Karen Lideen

Bunny Rabbit Art Necklace Give Away!

Enter to win "Her Royal Bunny-ness" Art Pendant.

Lisa N Valero won the necklace on July 23, 2011...yay!!

I'd like the opportunity to share my newest miniature art collection. For a chance to win this charming little bunny rabbit pendant you will need to...

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1) Follow this blog by clicking "Join this site" under "My Peeps" (left).

2) Leave a comment on this post.

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That's it! I'll draw a winner on July 22, 2011.

You will then be entered to win this cute Victorian Bunny Necklace! Her Majesty, The Royal Bunny-ness is posed for her portrait in all her finest lace and accented tastefully with a sky blue broach beneath her fluffy chin. She looks especially regal in this petite art keepsake.

For the last few months, I've been creating these unique art pendants which feature my miniature art. They seem to be a real "hit" with my collectors and I am certainly having a great time making them. Having created over 400 little ACEO paintings in the last few years, I'll never run out of subjects to transform into wearable art.

The Glass Dome that frames Her Royal bunny-ness, measures 2" x 1" and is backed by a coordinating pattern paper with my signature. It is then held by an high quality 24 Inch Length – 1.5mm Diameter Silver Electroplated Ball Chain.

Your pendant has been sealed and made water resistant for daily use, but please remember to remove your necklace before swimming or showering!

Beautiful Lady Bunny keepsake will come secured in a charming little gift box- ready for gifting and shipped in a well padded mailer.

Good luck and Enjoy!

Newest Art Pendant Necklaces

Featured today are three of my latest art pendants. I've been creating these small art pendant (necklaces) which feature my miniature art, for the last few months. I was inspired to create these little keepsake gems after I had seen some made by other artists on Etsy. I thought... how fun would it be to try making some of my own using my miniature paintings? I was also thinking it would be yet another way of sharing my art in a unique form that is charming, wearable and gift-able! My handmade necklaces are silver plated "frames" which hold round, oval, or rectangle glass domes secured over an archival print with a special crystal clear glaze. Some are glass domes backed by archival print paper which have been signed by myself and then preserved in a glaze. All the necklaces are then suspended from either silver-plated ball chains or handmade satin ribbon cords.

So, here are three of the twenty plus glass pendants I now have featured in my Etsy shop.

Summer Hummingbird Glass Pendant:

Hummingbirds, to me, are like real life brightly colored fairies! They just amaze me with their magical qualities. Here is an interesting Hummingbird fact: Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive; the majority of their activity consists simply of sitting or perching. My miniature painting of a Hummingbird captures one little bird perched in the rain. His feathers are slightly puffed out to dry. Little Hummingbird looks especially magical in this petite art keepsake.

Purchase Summer Hummingbird Pendant here.

Young Wood Thrush Art Pendant:

One of the most common woodland birds in the East, the Wood Thrush is best known for its beautiful song. The Thrush favors deep forests and is seldom seen outside the woods. My little painting of a young Wood Thrush looks particularly charming in this petite art keepsake, which you can purchase here.

Bluejay Art Pendant:

Necklace side view and backside:

My winter Blue Jay is warming himself in the welcomed winter sunshine! He looks especially magical in this petite art keepsake. Purchase Bluejay here.


Enjoy my new art form!

Need Your Artistic Feedback

A week ago I offered this cute little clown greeting card, free for you to download, print and use. Now I would LOVE your feedback!

• How did it turn out for you?
• Was it easy to follow the directions?
• Did it print well?
• Did it fold correctly?
• Do you like it???

Below are the instructions you'll need to get your free art card.

Step one:
Click on the image below to open the large version (this is to avoid a very slow page load here on my blog)



Step two:
Right click the image and save to your desktop.

Step three:
Cut in half a standard size sheet of card stock rated to use in your printer, (I use Epson Premium Presentation Paper). You will want to cut this so that you have two sheets of 5.5 inch by 8.5 inch pieces.

Step four:
Depending on the program you use, ( I prefer Google's Picasa) be sure to orient the free art layout so that it fits your half sheet completely. You may want to do a test run on regular printer paper.

Step five:
Print, fold and enjoy!!

I've given you a black and white version so that even printers that do not have high end ink will produce a nice little greeting card. Why don't you try coloring in the card (or have your children give it a try). I'd love to see what you come up with!
with your version and I'll post it here for you.

Enjoy!!