Stuporbowl

So, how was your Superbowl weekend?  I unfortunately, was sick.  First cold in longer than I can remember. Spent most of it on the couch watching movies.  9 to be exact, between Friday & Sunday night.  Wanna Know which ones?

The Butler (Oprah, Forrest Whitaker, etc.)  AWESOME film.  Great perspective. Sad times, not too long ago in the overall scheme of things.
Mona Lisa Smile (Julia Roberts)  Older film, but good.  See how far we've come as women, wow.
Dead Poets Society, Always a favorite.  Emily's first time seeing it,  "Oh captain, my captain"

Sunday was when the real movie marathon took place.  Should have called it a tea drinking marathon too. At least 10 cups of hot teas. Plus I chose films that took me to far away lands and times.

An Ideal Husband - Fun British film, Pride and predjudice-esque. A very good laugh. Good cast.
A Good Woman - Scarlet Johansen is darling.  Helen Hunt is good. Nicely done. Set in the 30's.
A Year By the Lake - another older film.  Vanessa Redgrave was lovely. Young Uma Thurman. Also set in the 30's.
Camilla - Jessica Tandy as a musician who finally follows her heart, Set in the 80's.
America's Sweethearts - Who doesn't love a movie with John Cusack in it?
The Muse -  This one was ok, (I was at the end of my movie watching patience)
Lastly was Blue Orchid - This is a newer film and yes, (we have family who works in the industry and once and a while we get to see oscar contenders at home)  OMYGOSH, Cate Blanchette should win an oscar for her performance.  Wow.

Anyway.

On Saturday, My honey helped re-do the corner of my studio where my desk is.  The lighting was bad, more like non existent.  While the Candelier was romantic, it was impractical.

So I bought a "vintage" 80's/90's brass chandelier at the thrift store for $20.  Spent $20 on glass shades and spray painted it a fabulous turquoise blue.  Very happy with it. Not to mention how much better lit this area is!

 My son built the shadow boxes for me a year and a half ago.  If you go to Glitterfest, you might have seen them.  People of course wanted to buy my displays, but since this was a trying time in my son's life, I didn't want to sell them.  I wanted to hold onto them in the event I lost him.

He is better now, but I am still happy I did not sell these boxes.   We removed the pink and aqua boxes from their bases.  Bases were used in the shelf (below) we built in my studio last year.

 The Marie Antoinette painting I did in 2008, Antler Girl on the right is a WIP.

Time to fill up the shelves and shadow boxes.   This is a really weird location.  Would be considered the dining room if I used the living/dining room like a normal person.  But what's normal anyway???

I'll be sure to share pics when they are all full of fun do dads!!!

Hope you had a nice super bowl weekend!

XO,
Lisa

Custom Cupcake Dolls

A few years ago, I made some of this cupcake doll for a customer.

She was on a really tight budget and I tried to come up with something

smaller than the size dolls I typically work in and less expensive.

Well, then I made the Christmas ones.

Taught a class on spring ones and created a few more custom orders.

This year I taught a Valentine class and am

now developing dolls for every season.

(more classes will be announced soon)

One of my favorite customers

(who is also a crack up)

Lives too far to take a class and decided to order 5 dolls.

Each one representing a facet of her personality.

She sent some do dads to use if I wanted, but gave

me full creative license otherwise.

Did I have FUN making these....

Left to right...

"Eat Dessert First"

"So Silly"

"Me? Lost?"

"Kitty Bo Peep"

"She's a Pistol"

Now to pack up these little darlings and ship them off to their new home!

Thank you Cindy for your order, hope you love them!!!

XO,

Lisa

Vegetarianism

Hello Friends.  My Man and I have fully committed to vegetarianism.  Why?  Too many health issues that all point to the food we are eating.  After years of suffering and me on/off again with food elimination diets, it was time to just do it.

Not to blame my partner or family, but it is pretty difficult to be responsible for feeding the family an entirely different style of eating when you want to become a vegetarian or vegan.  Not to mention trying to eat HEALTHY Veg/gluten free out in restaurants is REALLY hard. (unless you live in some super hip City)  Friends and family don't always understand and you get the "what do you do for protein" question.   When you decide to not eat meat or dairy, it seems that some people think you are passing judgment on them for eating those things, by you NOT eating them.    Which we are not.  What one eats is simply a lifestyle choice, but in some ways has been just as divisive as discussing politics or religion.

I had a couple bouts of being pretty dang sick last few years after eating certain foods.  It kept getting more frequent and severe.  It culminated at the the Holidays.  I was so sick after indulging in holiday food, that one week into the New Year, we made the change.   Having my Man on board and enjoying it has beed truly wonderful.   I'd like to become full vegan, but for now we do have the occasional egg or salmon.  No, meat, wheat, dairy, refined sugar, wine or coffee.  Having tried this lifestyle on and off in the past, knew I'd be fine.  My Man on the other hand, was a bit of a sugar/coffee junkie.  Happy to report, he doesn't miss any of it and we are having a fantastic time trying new recipes.  Almost every symptom I was having is gone and even my man can't believe how great he feels and how much better and more consistent our energy levels are.  Our skin has improved, digestion, sleep, eyes are brighter, etc, etc.  Next we are getting back to working out.  We fell off that wagon last year too.  Despite not exercising we have lost between us 19 lbs in under one month. Oddly, both Rob and I "cheated" this month, while him eating lunch at work and me with a friend.  We both felt ill that night.

So, my goal here in bloglandia is not to convert or debate with anyone. But to offer some really cool recipes we have tried and LOVE.  Plus link to other peoples site that I have gotten some really cool recipes from.

Last night we shared a photo of our Vegan Spicy Thai Noodle Recipe (don't know where I found it online, so cannot link to original creator) and promised to share with a few of you today.  Here it is!  If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Spicy Thai Noodles

Sauce:

1/2 cup cashew butter
2/3 cup water
4 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic (we used 4)
1 tablespoons fresh finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons miso paste
1-4 thai peppers (we used 2 and it was pretty hot)
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Place all of the above ingredients except cilantro in a blender and blend until smooth.  Then add the cilantro and blend again. Set aside.

Toppings & Noodles:

1/2 thinly sliced red pepper
1/2 cup tofu in chunks (optional)
1 cup diced kale
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 lime cut into wedges
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/3 cup cashews
Cilantro for serving

package of rice noodles (we used the whole package, honestly it was too much) since we were feeding three of us, half a package would have been fine.

Soak the noodles in very warm water for at least 30-45 minutes.

Cook onions, tofu, red pepper, carrot in grapeseed oil until onions get slightly translucent and tofu gets colored and firms up. (I use medium texture tofu)  Add Kale and a 2 tablespoons of water and steam quickly.

turn heat down to low and simmer until water is evaporated.  Add noodles and sauce to vegetables, tossing until all is covered.   Continue cooking until noodles are soft.

Serve in bowl topped with chopped cilantro, sesame seed and chopped cashews, with a lime wedge on the side.

(tips I learned from this recipe:  Cooking thai noodles is kind of tricky.  Overcook and you have mush, under cook and they are chewy.  Much smaller window and room for error compared to wheat pasta. Next time I make this, I will be sure my noodles are pretty much done before I toss with the veggies and sauce.  Rice noodles are delicate and the more you stir them around in the pan, the more they break apart)

After dinner we made this cake, compliments of Jenny Doh.  It is a paleo recipe and was fabulous!

http://blog.crescendoh.com/crescendo/2014/01/favorite-paleo-chocolate-cake-recipe.html

Let me know what you think!

xo,
Lisa

Saturday Bliss

You know those days and you wake up, cranky?  Well, today was one of those days.
Trying to snap myself out of my mood, I decided to work on a few neglected projects
for myself.  This between working on Kits for my "Valentine Cupcake Girl" class in two weeks and an order for 5 Custom Cupcake girls for this super FAB client of mine.

First, "Mr. Byrd".  You see, he has been lying in a little bin in my garage studio for, oh, say
2 years.  Waiting ever so patiently for me to get to him.  You know the projects you have for
yourself, just never seem to take priority over, say...the "paying" orders.  ;-)

Mr. Bird resides on my desk right next to my computer, to gently remind me to Stay focused
on my direction.  (he has a compass as a necklace, um since his eyesight is not so swell)

Secondly, "be the change you wish to see in the world" is perhaps my favorite quote of all time.
Been wanting to make a "junk" sign to hang above my sliding door in the family room. Pretty happy with it.

Lastly, my "Bloom" sign needed a little juging...you know goodging?  Good grief how to you spell it???  To "Spiff" something up....anyone?  anyone? Pray tell me if you know.

"Bloom" got the leaves added to the corners and hung next to my Favorite Mannequin...full of....BLOOMS.  Ha.

Yep one of those days. If I weren't in the middle of a juice fast and trying to kick my wine and caffeine habit, I'd open a bottle of wine. No wonder I woke up cranky! LOL ;-)

Have a great remainder of the weekend!!! XOXO ~ Lisa

Valentine Cupcake Girl Class

Well, the New Year is upon us and as promised,
I will be teaching at least one class a month for 2014!
Woohoo!

To start it off, my very popular "Cupcake Girl" Class
will start it all off. I just designed the sweetest
Valentine version...so sweet, she'll give you a toothache
without the sugar and calories!  ;-)

I will first offer this class in my Home Studio,
Saturday, January 18th from 10-3.

Class Cost is $85.00
This includes all supplies, instructions
to create your very own doll and also enjoy a lovely lunch.

Class size is limited to 8, so don't wait to long sign
up as there already is a interest list.

(I have cats/dogs who will not be inside to bother us,
but mention it if you have allergies)


Second class will be offered at Tricia Samsal's
brand new store location,

"Vintage Bliss Warehouse"
Friday, February 7th, 10-3.
Class fee $85.  No lunch provided,
but we will work something out to
make taking a break easy.

My class at Tricia's coincides with her monthly
Flea Market event, which is the Bomb!  Can't wait to
go shop as well.

Road trip with Rita Read of Mammabellarte as she
is teaching there as well on Saturday.

Email me if you are interested in either of these classes.
daydreampainter@aol.com.

Payment must be made in full before the class via check or paypal.
Classes are non--refundable. Space is reserved as soon as payment is
received.

Happiest of New Years to you and your Families!

xoxo,
Lisa

A Very Vintage Christmas

Have had a super fun time this year creating wonderful Vintage Christmas items

for my family and myself.  Because I took over the living room with the fireplace for my Studio,

it created a limited amount of space for a large floor tree and fireplace display of stockings.  My home is just shy of 1700 sq ft and has 4 bedrooms.  So you can understand, it's not huge, no huge kitchen or family room.  Which I am Totally ok with.  Bigger houses = more to clean and more overall expense.  No thanks!

Hope you enjoy the show and tell...

Overall view of Christmas from the kitchen...

I threw in a shot of our "new to us" Dining table and chairs.

Just scored off of Craigslist for $150...already painted this fab color,

with two extension leaves, extra legs for support and an old school folding

cover to protect it.

I have been looking for a table to fit this small space ever since

I moved my studio from it.

Exceptionally happy with the colors.

I painted Santa on a 2ft by 3ft canvas...he is also glittered with snowy glitter, but

is hard to see in these pics.

My vintage ornament tree, oh how I LOVE thee.

My Mom bought the Santa candle when I was a kid.

I found all the other elements this year to create this vignette.

FUNKY lit faux candle and wacky plastic candle wreath compliments

of local thrift stores.  I added the bulbs and pine to the wreath.

Tinsel tree from Home goods, clearance because it was missing it's base,

which was fine...I wanted to put it in a vintage pottery piece anyway.

Ornaments are all vintage or made by yours truly.

Old mercury glass garland is so pretty!

Is this mouse climbing a ladder cute or what?

LOVE old ornaments!!!

My little Christmas Winter Wonderland Cottage.

Maybe I will have one like this for real one day!

A lot of work, but oh so fun to make!

Tell me...who doesn't LOVE Target's dollar bin????

"let it Snow" sign...One buck...oh yea!!!

Crochet tree was a gift to my daughter when she was born

13 years ago. I popped in on a vintage pottery piece and added

the bulbs...so sweet.

This fabulous cottage is musical and my Mother made it years ago in a ceramics class.

Just LOVE it too!

Finally have a Jewelry tree picture.

It lights too.

Painted "Believe" the other night to fill in the space 

and balance it all out.

Funky Reindeer holds precious ornaments my kids made in school

over the years.

Since my fireplace is in my Studio...thought

it apt to hang our stockings on our family tree.

My Nana who is 87 years old, spent years making these and about 40 more stockings

like this for our entire family.

Such a talented lady...and patient for details.

about 60 hours for each stocking.

My talented Mum also made this darling snowman one year.

Isn't he sweet?

Tall snow globe by me...small ones by cost plus a few years back.

altered by me...

Recently picked up the feather tree at a show and hung my

collection of vintage angels on it.

So, there you go!

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you have seen the progression of some

of these projects.  Oops, forgot my front door wreath...oh well.

Now that I am done decorating...I guess I better get

to buying some presents, finishing custom orders, making a few gifts,  baking cookies and wrapping.

May you and yours Have a Wonderful Christmas!!!

XOXO,

Lisa

Honored

A few pieces of my work are featured on Deb Kennedy's Ah-mazing blog...Thank you my sweet friend.  I am honored.    Go check it out!  XOXO

http://homewardfounddecor.blogspot.com/2013/12/fanciful-glass-assemblages.html