Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Parting Shots at Halloween!

The last days of Halloween.........always inspire with curious images!


Cat Hat People...........People Cat Hat..........!
Halloween People Circus Swag!
Strange Girls Pop Up!
Guess Who's Coming to Halloween Pop UP?
Witchful Thinking Pop Up!

The Ghost of Lady Ca......Diver.....without her horse!

And Goodnight to Halloween From the House of Tiddley Winks!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Halloween In a Box......To Go!

Help..Help.........it's almost Halloween, and I have much more to show......Oh that's right I do this all year long......nevermind! Here's some Halloween Take Out!

Non-Religious Halloween Eye-Con
Mrs. Sweety Todd......preparing just desserts for Halloween Treats!
May Two Old Bats Join the Party?
You can "shoes" your friends, but you are stuck with your Hallowed Relatives
Skeleton Spa in Pompeii
Between the Devil and Dogzilla
Halloween Triple Threat

Still hungry........more Halloween on the go.......to take out later.................Run, Run, Run.......as fast as you can.......you can't catch me.............I'm the Gingerbread Man......or Gingerbread Person to be politically correct..................I'm off to another project!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Your Political Alter Ego!


I have the perfect solution for all your political discussions in these trying times..........TA DA it's Scoopy. Scoopy the political commentator...........(hey, a little aside, another type of tater tot.......a common tater...........see the tater tots from a past post for an explanation) Anyway.........Scoopy is loved, and he has never met a friend he did not know. Yet, he is also feared by all, for his to the point, straight scooping commentary on daily polictical events. He is an advocate of free speech to the max, and affords whomever is holding him the ability to express themselves without the fear of reprisal.........rebuttle, however, maybe. You too can have your own Scoopy............just find an old ice cream scoop, and go to town.........well, not literally, but then again maybe literally if you need some supplies to create a personality for Scoopy. Remember the old chant I scream......You Scream........We all scream for Ice Cream.........well, that old chant never held more meaning than now. I scream Rules!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Pop Up Halloween Everywhere..........and Anywhere!

I am more than a little "eggxcited".........The Wondrous Winter Fete is over, a wonderful time was had, and many new acquaintances were made. Thank you Kimberlee and Melissa for working so hard to put this ..........your first Winter Fete idea into action. The guests I spoke with were pleased with the quality, variety and uniqueness of the offerings by the artists. Again......I had my camera with me, but did not take one picture......not even one of my own table. I think I am not paying attention to the rules of blogging 101................take pictures lots of pictures. It is safe to assume by now that I have been more wordy than visual. I guess the thought being that if there are only words then everyone can use their imaginations about what is being said. No? OK I promise to do better in the future and take more pictures for visual inspiration.


I do have some individual pictures of some of the pop ups I made for the show. They were a hit...............funny how sometimes last minute projects seem to resonate the best. I think the thing about the pop ups is that because they are attached to small dowels they can be stuck and displayed in so many places for Halloween. Like the paper decorations from the past they look old, but do not require pins or tape to hold them, so they won't rip when being put away for next year. They can be placed in even the darkest corner to give it a festive touch. Something else I like to do is use my art work over and over in different ways after the original piece has been created. In this pop up........Nemrod the little dressed clown figure is a picture of a cloth figure that was made.

This dashing couple have a Fatal Attraction to Halloween. I sure they never figured when their picture was taken that they would end up this way. This would also be a fun way to use pictures of your relatives from the past that were just off the boat. I like to use pictures of my relatives, friends, pets etc. in my art work as often as possible. I wonder why no one likes to pose for me anymore.


The boys of Halloween in a Trick or Treat state of mind...........maybe you have some pictures of yourself in your costume........nothing like the present to make those memories of yours come alive.
The glitter on the shoes really makes this man, a werewolf catcher, as it does on all the pop ups. Hmmmmmmmm maybe this might be a way of playing a Halloween prank on a neighbor instead of toilet papering his yard. What would be even more fun is to make this pop up life size and put it in your yard or his.......or maybe prop it up by the door for all the neighborhood Trick or Treaters to see. Your local copy store can make large size figures.

These two are ready for some Punkin Dunkin........... OK enough already.......you get the idea, or should I say the picture. Which gives me an idea..........here really are some pictures to get you started making your own Halloween pop ups.......oh but first I could not resist...........my dogs on the bodies of my grandfather and great grandmother...........they look so elegant!
I need to get busy and make this into a pop up........the relatives are coming for Halloween! Here are some pictures for you to transform.............hurry it's almost Halloween!



Last Girl Standing..........
Albert and Cora
A come hither Halloween figure.
Take one, take all the family members for your Halloween pop up.......go have some fun.......it would be interesting to see how they all end up.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

It's In the Air

Love is in the air...........the love of grapes and all things related to wine. It is the harvest season in the Napa Valley.........but first............ The dormant vines out the back door wait throughout the winter. In the chilly early morning air, ease on down the road to check the temperature and start the wind machines because this morning the reading is almost 32 degrees.
It is almost sunrise over the vineyard. After the temperature warms up, it will be time to turn off the wind machines, and the tractor work begins again.
This is the end result of all the watchful care. Beautiful bunches of grapes that are beginning to ripen and now wait to be harvested. We harvest now at night with lights. The grapes arrive at the winery cool and in good condition if picked at night.

Andrew, our grandson, is inspecting some night harvested grapes, before the stems are removed.
Our daughter Taylor, who is part of the winemaking team, loading night harvested Pinot Noir grapes. This is only the beginning of what looks to be a long slow harvest. Pray for no rain until after harvest is complete, and plenty of sunshine.