for a friend.

this was my end of the deal… “you know who you are!”

she’ll see you tomorrow!  hehe

have a great evening, everyone!

cj

finally friday!

  excitement and anticipation is in the air around here.  certainly, i’ve got the best two kids in the whole wide world!   our son just recently started his new job, he’s been truly blessed with an opportunity working for a company with a very bright  future and today is our daughter’s first day of her junior year in high school .  she’ll be taking four college credit classes this year & hoping to juggle her part time job, as well.  it’s been busy, busy fine tuning the details… i am such a proud momma!   many blessings and  best wishes for luck as they tackle this new chapter in their lives , they’ll do just fine!  my children are truly my pride and joy… take a peek.  here’s my brendan!

and here’s my bethany!

I can’t believe how the time has flown by, just yesterday they were so tiny.  I love you both! 

wishing everyone a happy, relaxing and safe weekend~  I’ll close for now with a photo of a visitor that we had early this morning.  monkey had a  friend stop by to visit!  pretty darn cute, huh?

. 

later, gators!

christina

I have a friend…

who’s having a birthday.  she is absolutely wonderful and makes each day better by just being...  thank you for all that you do for others!!!

happy birthday, claudia!  ox

hugs!

it's the weekend!

hey dolls!!!  i hope that everyone is staying cool out there in this scorching heat.  i believe that the temp. here is in the 100's today (we've been experiencing quite a heat streak) and here's to hoping that it won't stop many from enjoying our amelia earhart weekend festivities!  i'll be out and about walking the mall later! :)
been under the weather and missing in action for the last couple of weeks... i'm on my second round of antibiotics so a speedy turnaround is expected!  *fingers crossed* ;)
NEWSFLASH!  that creativity craving is creeping back into my life.  (say THAT ten times fast... creativity craving is creeping!)  LOL! the urge to get completely lost in bold, fantastic color, make a mess and express myself  from deep within.. yup.  i feel the need for speed... 
will fill you in again soon... wish me luck!!!
hugs,
cj

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENDAN!!!!!!

happy 22nd to my amazing son, may he have the very best of birthdays today and 100 more to come!!!!  we love you so much!

God bless you,

momma OXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

it’s a gorgeous sunny monday!

howdy!!   just popping in for a quickie, how was everyone’s weekend?  I tackled some more spring cleaning around the house, concentrating on the porches.  it felt so good to freshen and edit the outdoor areas, and right before trash day!   *finally* growing some grass in the bare spots too, the yard is coming along nicely! 

trying to stay busy over here with various creative projects and still have much going on in the week ahead.    I hope to catch up with you all again in the next few days and am excited to fill you in on what’s been going on!

hugs ~~

thank goodness the sun is shining, that’s what makes me tick! 

it’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood!

christina

so. this is about as good as it’s going to get… at least for the time being!

frustrated and tired, the blog looks a tad bit better…  I’ll quit for now.  say hello to my crabby little friend. 

are you all having a wonderful week?   hang in there, it’s almost the weekend!

i.want. to. create.

hugs ox

whoa!! where does the time go?? i’ve been MIA again!

 

 

happy day to all of my family and friends and I certainly hope that you had a blessed easter sunday!!  we spent the day with family and i couldn’t have asked for anything more~ it was a beautiful day here!! 

what have I been up to?  I’ve been blessed with many things to do…my plate has been pretty full lately.   (welp,  at least I’m trying to stay outta trouble, right?  hehe)  just trying to keep busy~ you know what it’s like, the list goes on… family, holidays, starting up and preparing for first monday workshops at cottage of the seasons again,  getting involved more in our community with a handful of  side projects, working…

geez, and I don’t know what is going on with this blog o’ mine?!?   twice now I have spent over an hour trying to fix my blog background… to no avail.  one of these days it’ll look the way that I want it to!  in the meantime, bear with me, please.  I’ll just try to keep my uploaded pics interesting!  :)

sending sweet love and wishing you all a wonderful week~ I’ll check in again soon!

hugs,

christina

and the sweet winner is…

YAY!!!!  congrats to my lucky girl, holly!!!! 

everyone ended up having their name on a ticket,  plopped into one of my cutie vintage bowls.   holly’s name was chosen and is hereby proclaimed  **the winner**!!!!!  (hand picked by that super fabulous daughter o’ mine!!  thank you, beth!)   I’ll get in touch with you and get this into the mail for you asap!   congrats sweet friend and oh yeah, holly~  you rock!!!  make sure to stop by holly’s blog ~~ Hollyrocks ~~ you’ll just love what you see! 

thank you all for being a part of this, I’ll try to do this more often!

hugs,

christina ox

the giveaway~

the sun is bright,  this makes for a better photo.

misha and lorraine, you are entered, thank you so much! 

hugs to all!

christina

just a little giveaway… because you are all so sweet!

overdue I know. 

sorry for the delay, but here we go!

all together now… here’s the loot!

my photos aren’t the best this time, so please bear with me.  the sun decided not to shine today, so my pictures look just as gloomy.

first off, I’ll be offering 4 " little blank books”.  these are small hand painted and doodled, accordion style books to jot tiny notes/affirmations.  perfectly and conveniently packed in a well-used child’s watercolor paints case.

teensy tiny sweet candies in a very teensy tiny frame…

a repurposed decorative tray with a “happy'” cake… 

oh, and I couldn’t forget a “sweet shoppe” silly necklace…

who knows?  the winner might even get an extra special something surprise.  hmmm, maybe personalized?  yes.  that sounds like a really good idea!

it’s all so easy peasy.  all that you have to do is simply leave a comment on this post and I will draw a random winner on monday, march 7th.  you know the drill~~ if you are a fellow blogger, I’ll know how to contact you.  if not, just make sure to leave me your email addy.

good luck and thank you all for being such dear, sweet friends!  I appreciate YOU so much!

oxox 

christina

going through some old photos for inspiration today…

this is a personalized journal that was done for a customer around Christmas time.

ahem.. *cough, cough*… still need to make one for a friend’s daughter… I promise, I will get rolling on that one, girl! 

ox

HEY! I just love my new thrifted window valances!

our family room in the back of the house… let the sun shine in!

(as soon as it comes back out from behind the clouds!  )

oxo

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies!!!

U R SWEET

oxoxox

completely frustrated over here.

sooooooo…

  i’ve been working on the appearance of my blog.  for some reason, i CANNOT get a header photo to show up.  i’ve been trying to tweak  it for two days now and my patience has expired.  i still have hair left, so it’s time to stop.  

maybe i’ll come back to it, maybe I won’t.

ox

My eyes were the size of silver dollars!!

I’ll bet now, you can understand why…

Thank you, sweet Claudia~  you know me so well!  OX

Christina

just checking in!

sending wishes to all in hopes that everyone has a terrific day today!!!

ox

this is truly a laughing matter!

um, so yeah.

just a quick visual.

an explanation of how and why I accumulate so much “stuff”!!!  notice the price of my not-so-new popcorn containers.  still attached and waiting for a good washing… for FOUR of them, at that!  they’ll go great in my retro kitchen!

notice.

HAHAHA!!!

hugs and wishes for a sparkly day!

christina

hello, my friends!

happy new year!  a commitment to blogging really should be one of my resolutions for the new year.  i have been terrible at keeping up with my poor, neglected  icandy….

hey,  here’s a quick peek at what I’ve been up to the last couple of days...  i’ll be finishing  these in the next few days so that they can be delivered downtown!  stop by cottage of the season’s soon and take a peek at the latest originals up for sale!

thanks for looking! 

hugs to all and stay safe and warm out there!

christina

Good morning!

Busy, busy morning working on a few custom journals!!  I’ll be donating ten to a local organization for the holiday and I’m in the midst of creating a sweet, customized keepsake for a very special young lady!  I just can’t wait to complete them and share the results with you all!  Check back to see photos in the next week, it’s crunch time!

oxox

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Oh geez, time as gotten away from me~ AGAIN!  I’ve been keeping busy working on handmade gifts and getting some CHISTmas shopping done here and there.  (this coming from the woman that is normally racing around like a mad~person on Christmas eve…)  It is sooo hard to believe that it’s right around the corner, it’ll be here before we know it.  Why do I feel like there are not enough hours in the day? 

Hmm… today’s to do list.   I’m waiting on paintings to dry, catching up on a bit of housework , trying to get a few custom journal orders ready, then off to the groomer and work in a bit.  (Diesel needs a makeover!  hehe! )

Things here are going great and I wish you all a wonderful day, my friends!  I’ll be back soon!

Hugs, CJ

Good day!

The haunted season is upon us…  a special shout out to Day Hasson ~ the creator of  my haunted houses, what an awesome and unique addition to my holiday decor!  (I still need to frame the transformation of OUR home).  ;)   Day provides custom work at such a reasonable price and takes such good care of her customers.  If you are on facebook, you can find her @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/DaysDreams/366059692775

She’s gearing up for the holiday season, so place your orders quick!   Just imagine a customized Christmas scene…  they make such wonderful gifts!

They are just fabulous!  Love ya’ girl!

Christina

ox

Thank you all so much for your input.

I think that it’s safe to say that I overreacted… that episode just rubbed me the wrong way.  You are all so sweet, knowledgeable and gave me some very sound advice.  I really appreciate you taking the time to comment! 

HUGS!

ox

Should I be angry or flattered?

Because, I am extremely angry.  While dropping off more of my   Halloween creations downtown today, a group of women come in to browse the store.  Long story short, one of them started snapping photos of my artwork.  Turning, staging and zooming in, she snapped a good size handful of pictures.  I was lucky enough to be there and actually witness it while it was happening!!!!  (NOT~ that was an exaggeration!) I was not aware of what was going on, until I see the flash going off and this woman was backed into a corner around my inventory. 

Okay.  Biting my tongue, I said nothing to her simply out of respect for the lovely shop owners and because I am a representing artist there, but my blood was boiling.  I’m sure that you can imagine what I wanted to do and say...  to be quite frank, i am pissed.  Yes, I need to calm myself down and remember that old saying.  Something about the greatest form of flattery is……………………COPYING??????!!!!!!!!!

Who knows what she is  planning on doing with the photos of my work… I can only speculate and assume.  hmmmm. 

Ugh.  Thanks for listening guys, I just really had to vent.  What is your opinion about things like this?  I know that it must happen all of the time, to all of the great artists out there… I just hate that I had to SEE it first hand happening to MY artwork.

On a lighter and absolutely wonderful note, I had just stepped foot into the store when Melissa & Karen told me that someone very sweet had just left after purchasing a few of my things.  I apparently, just missed her.  :(  They also let me know that *you* had told them how much you loved my work.  To the sweetheart that just made my day, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  It’s people like you that inspire and make all of us so happy to do what we love to do.  I only wish that I knew your name, I would love to meet you!  Melissa did say that you took home my card and might check out my blog… PLEASE do and let me know exactly who you are if you decide to stop by for a visit sometime!  Big hugs and much appreciation to you, you really made my day!  :)

oxox

Christina

Extra, extra… read all about it!

Spooky stuff going up for sale…

Taking these to Cottage of the Seasons next week!

Madly making more… stay tuned!

ox

$4.oo I say!

a shot of some of my goods… “ love sweet love”  this cutie picture says it all!

metal clipboard advertisement calendar & fancy picks.

oh, the cake decorating sweets, ribbon, mini eggs in perfect colors and doll heads.

these are the most delicate mugs.  gorgeous hand blown glass, i was afraid to wash them.  eeek!

lovin’ the necklace!

up close of the calendar dates… fantastic!

what can i say??? i have a secret love affair with ironstone… and the butter dish?  almost as huge as the platter!

did you really think that i was going to leave this little heart chain behind???  L.O.V.E.

silly popcorn bowl but big and can be put to very good use in my art room.  imagine how much i can stash away in that~ out of sight and cute to boot!  oh, and the bag inside??  SpIdEr WebBiNG for my spooky creations. 

YE~HAW!!!!!  it was a good day!

hugs!