Happy Holidays from Sunflower Studio!

It's Nut Puff day here at the homestead. I've been making these delightful little melt-in-your-mouth treats since I was sixteen years old. I ripped the recipe out of a Seventeen magazine in 1984 and have been torturing my family with them ever since.

Nut Puffs

1 c. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. confectionary sugar

2 c. flour

1 c. ground, minced or chopped walnuts (depends on your own fancy how fine you do this)

*You'll need one additional cup of the confectionary sugar for later...

Combine butter and sugar, beat by hand until well blended. Add nuts. Add vanilla. Beat in flour. Shape in to small balls (approximately 1 1/2" in size) and place on a baking sheet about 1" apart. Bake them for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from baking sheet and while the lil' buggers are still are still warm do this: Put that reserved one cup of confectionary sugar into a brown paper bag and throw the puffs into the bag and give it a good shake. Be gentle, you don't want them breaking up because then you'd have to eat all those small parts by yourself! (eeek!)Anyway, shake the nut puffs to coat them with the confectionary sugar, remove them from the bag by using a slotted spoon.

Tah-Dah....Holiday Delight! This recipe makes 72 little pieces of heaven. I dare you to eat just one. I generally make two or three batches right before Christmas, any more than that and my waistline explodes.

Thinking of you my bloggy buddies. Have a great holiday, see you when it's over. *hug*

Blackle

Hey, did you know it costs less in megawatt energy hours to use a dark screen? My younger brother introduced me to Blackle.com (Powered by Google.com) just this week. He informed me of this energy saving tip. Being a lover of Mama Earth I jumped on board and switched my homepage to Blackle. Same information, dark screen. Click here if your're curious about seeing a pix of my handsome young brother, he looks like a young Randy Travis.

Upon reading the info provided by Blackle.com I thought I'd give darkening my blog a go. I try to be conscientious of my choices in order to preserve the Earth that I so love but I don't want to be a pest to those who do read my blog so the question is this:

1) Does it bother to you read against a dark background??
2) Will you consider using Blackle.com in an effort to conserve energy and therefore Mama Earth?

Here's the tag: Blackle.com...saving energy one search at a time (THEY TOLD ME TO SAY THAT!)

Be Authentic...

This is a series titled Authenticity. Watercolor paper as my canvas. Acrylic, chalk, effy stuff, you know, mixed media. Two things happened that made me think about being authentic. It went like this.



I was thinking of how to gift my young teenage friends at Heartwood College of Art. There are four of them and they have made such an impression on my heart. I am den mother. That's what they call me. They ask my opinion. We have deep discussions, I buy them chocolate.



"What could I do" I kept asking myself "They are all so different." Take Anna for example. Her hair is pink, purple, green, blue and maybe even brown. I don't know what color her real hair is, she loves to add spark to her hair. She loves the movie the Labryinth and loves to swear.



JoAnna has hair that reaches her bum. She has huge brown eyes and a beautiful smile. She attends church faithfully, speaks softly and carefully. She's gentle and focused and accepts everyone.



Nathaniel is a spark! He's done every drug known to man and is a walking pharmacologist. He admits to his downfalls and he is stressed out a LOT for someone his age. He is convinced of his short time here on earth and he is a DOLL!! He won my heart almost in the first hour I met him. His pain reminds me of someone close to me. And I can't forget that he's a poet, too.



Desaraie is just so sweet, the face of a little fairy. "I'm not gonna lie" she said on the first day "I can't draw." She is going to school for photography but her heart is with her many pets. The dog, the fish, the cat. Oh her tender heart and her lazy boyfriend have taught me tons.



See, they're different these kids, and I want them to know that different is good. I want them to stay different, keep their qualities even when the world says they shouldn't. It's hard sometimes because you just want to fit in but really now, how do you put a square peg in a round hole? I wish someone had told me how to keep my authenticity. I am just now returning to myself.



In honor of my friends in color and design. I love you.

11 x 14...different is good.

The next two came to be in this way:

I've had a few days off now and am still absorbing the new energy from my spiritual retreat. Yesterday I spent a little bit of time on the net checking my horoscope etc. I went to check Celia Fenn's monthly report of the energies for this month as well. She had a message about the request to be authentic. It was a detailed account of how good it is for your soul and how to go about it. The words touched me. It was what I needed to hear.

Living in small town America can really squelch a persons growth. When people glance at you sideways and then lift their hand to cover their whispers it cuts deep and steals from you. I have always felt different and finally when I decided to just be me the whispering began. It's a struggle that I want to win.

Below are two paintings based on the information from the message of Celia Fenn.

Don't Resist the Flow, 10" x 10", mixed media

You Don't Need to Fit In, 10" x 10", mixed media

Then it was on to fimo fun. I made covered bobby pins, earrings, necklaces, pendants, and MORE! Now I just have to package them.

And then....
Okay, so I don't generally end my entries with a giNORMOUS picture of my face, but here I am in all my authentic glory. Heh heh. I woke up happy and willing to just go with the flow.

I slipped out of my pink polka dot jammies (did you have any doubt about my bed attire?) into some jeans a smart black t-shirt and my favorite denim-go-to-studio overshirt. I donned the new earrings I made and embellished the overshirt with a pink fimo pin. The hair, she called for ponytails and I was thrilled to discover my hair has gr0wn enough to comply.

HERE I AM WORLD! Authentically me. Silly. Quirky. Unusually happy (considering). Still sporting blue eyes and adding crows feet and laugh lines daily.



Tam I am. Huh, whooda thunk it?



Learn your place in the dance of life and go with the flow. Be authentic.

Attach Yourself to Joy

This art titled Stand Tall, 16 x 20" is acrylic mixed media piece on canvas, it is one of a series of three. I did this during AEDM and it took a really long time to complete for some silly reason. But it is done now. It made me happy as I worked on it. I love the background swirls.I love that trees aren't yellow but this one is. I love that dirt isn't red but my dirt is. I love the swirl leaves in the trees. I love that leaves aren't blue but mine are. Going up the trunk of the tree is the words "realize your importance". In the leaves of the tree it says " give a good quality", "Try to do good" and "love yourself". Ground yourself....Stand Tall. JOY!

I spent the weekend at a spiritual retreat in New Jersey. I went with a really special girlfriend. I feel rejuvenated, refreshed and full of love and life. I promised God I would live joyfully (among other things), he has promised to walk with me always. Ahhhh, I needed time with like-minded people. I needed to dig deep into my soul and I did. I came away empowered and wanting to empower others. Joy!This handsome dude was playing Brazilian music, maybe Mexican...anyway, on the streets of Salem Mass last month when I did a brief visit there. I am such a sucker for street musicians. I was swept away by his music, the romantic staccato beat and (he he) the lovely dark hair. I bought his CD as my daughter stood down street rolling her eyes and covering her face groaning, "Mom, not again." Now I listen to this music as I create. JOY!

What doors will open for you when you own your joy? Another group hug? I thought so....

MUAH!!

Fluffy Stuff-just for funsies!

For you my bloggy friends. Isn't this hand and paintbrush image so cool? I was about to use it this morning when I thought of you. Maybe she'd like one of these, says I. I answered myself, Yes, she would. So have at it. Use this wherever your lil' heart desires. Click. Copy. Paste. Glue. Glitter.

Think of me when this you see. He he he.





This is the front of my 2008 datebook. No more expensive datebooks for me. I took a freebie at the bank, covered its logo with my stickers, added pretty scrapbooking tabs to divide it to my liking and VOILA (btw~that's French for voila)....my 2008 life in a book.

The next pix is the back of the book, a gentle reminder: Life Life. If Kelly Rae can put her life schedule on big yellow posterboard then so can I!! If Mindy and Leah can design their own journal/datebook/lifebinder then so can I!!

I'm feeling kind of silly today. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and man-oh-man it is amazing!! When life clicks, the cogs match up, the steam starts pouring out and life takes a sharp right turn that sets you off in a new direction suddenly the air seems fresher, the colors seem brighter and oddly enough even my coffee tastes better (impossible!)

Blogging is good.

Group hug now.

Muah!

I'm off to school.

Catching Up on Art Every Day

Hi Everyone! I haven't fallen away, just been busy getting a grip on the holidays and whatnot. Life sure is a whirlwind sometimes but at least I've been able to be creative every day. I don't think I can properly share all the creativity I've put out to the Universe lately but I can at least share these with you... Enjoy.

More sketches from my work days. Negative space. Positive space. A copy of a coffee cup from a Bully Hill Wine poster. A bird design from one of our Italian chicken pitchers at the cafe. Nothing too difficult here, just keeping my hand and brain busy whilst I wait for the first table of guests to arrive.








Oooooh. Fufillment. Another Klimt piece. This one is again one inch by one and one half inches big (or small). I really enjoy doing these little take-offs. Fun. Challenging. More to come, I'm sure of it.
















Pink fimo beads, hand blended and layered in a pretty variation of pink/reds and smacking with yellow and white. See here the beads, pins and pendant potential!

I also got busy making holiday fimo pins with rhinestones and crystals. I have hats and trees. If you are interested they are available for sale. 1-1 1/2" tall for $8 each I'll be happy to pop one in the mail to you.











Sewing. *sigh* How I love my sewing machine. I took the old girl out and set her up. See, it's like this. I have to do a very homemade Christmas so I hit the big JoAnn Fabric black Friday sale and came out with some real purty things.
Ol' Miss Muffet wants to have a pink kitchen some day so I decided to make an oven mitt, four coasters and a matching apron to go along with some pink coffee mugs. It will make her sweet smile shine. (Okay, that and a Louis Vuitton fake duffle that her Dad will pick up for her, he he).

Speaking of Miss Muffett, here she is!! This is one of her senior pix. She doesn't like this photo but I think it's great. Love the red in her hair, wish I could get mine to do that!

Danny Brother won't let me take his photo. Wish I could show you how cute he is, too. Tall, dark and handsome.













Remember the handmade Christmas I mentioned?? Here is more oven mitts and hot pads. These will got to Cindy-Lou-Who my loverly sister in law, my former Mom-in-law who still thinks I'm that cats pajamas, my dear Mama and one set will go on sale here at my website. I love the muted country colors of these and gosh-darn don't I love polka dots and dingle balls.

Well there, that's it for now. I really did do other creative things, like baking dark chocolate thumprint cookies, onion tainted mashed potatoes, a poster for Thanksgiving at the college, poetry and a whole mish-mash of things.

I hope you're well. I'm wishing you cozy autumn nights by a blazing fire with sketchbook in hand and cocoa in the other. Enjoy this blessed season.

I Saved the Best for Last...scroll down.

You may remember that I started this Tarot card last week. I poked at it a few times over the last few days. I added some watercolor pencils strokes that need to be played with using my brushes. This one, as I mentioned before, is a work in progress.

Day 8

More Vespa sketches from the restaurant, on the days I work this is all I can muster.

Day 9

Now remember the Red Shoe entry I did? I started going wild with shoe sketches so these next three have a theme going. How about these bunny slippers? There seems to be a shadow on the scan, but you get the gist of it.

Day 10

More slippers. More bunnies. How many of us tired mothers put on a pair of pink fluffy slippers when we get home and our feet are aching? I don't usually bother to remove my socks, I leave them on, stripes and all.

I kind of wish I hadn't gotten so bold with my charcoal, but what's done is done.

Day 11

Blue, blue, blue suede shoes. Can't you hear the King sing? This one was really fun to make and in person it's a great piece. The scanner isn't doing it justice.

Day 12

Save the best for last, right? Yesterday the art school went on a group field trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Amtrak and then the Green Line subway got us there. We had a super time taking in the work of the Masters and some amazing modern day artists including a huge wall mural by actor Dennis Hopper.

Many times I caught myself with mouth agape. Being in the presence of these important pieces of work left me kind of numb.

One of my favorite artists is Gustav Klimt because of the emotions that I feel when see his work. I literally get all wrapped up in his this painting looking at the loving embrace and the peace in her face as he lovingly puts his lips to her cheek. Oh *sigh*...it's so beautiful.

So this painting is NOT in Boston, it is Vienna, but the museum store sells a silk scarf with this painting on it and in the store the scarf is framed. I kept going back to it and going back to it and going back to it. Subconsciously, that which we find ourselves attracted to is usually our soul speaking to us. "Pay attention, Tammy, what is the message here?" And I know the answer to my reaction of this painting but won't reveal it here.

I came home and googled some more of Klimt's work. I now have a goal to buy a reproduction of this and other Klimt works. His style is something that truly resonates with me. I need to read more of his history.

I printed a pix of his The Kiss work and laid it in front of me and got busy.

This is my version of the kiss. I thought I'd challenge myself. This work is... 1" x 1 1/2" ....yes, for you who are bad with numbers....one inch by one and one half inches... I did it on a scrapbookers chipboard piece. Gesso, acrylic, colored pencil and marker. Looking at it in this size isn't so great, but when it's so tiny in real life, it's a great take off! It took me about three hours start to finish and I'm certain his original painting took him three months to finish, but I am happy with my result.

Today Klimt, tomorrow.....Renoir?