Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

Country Living 2012

Well, didn't we get lucky over the weekend?  We were at the Country Living (outdoor) show in Atlanta over the weekend and thank goodness we got that out of the way before this humongous storm decided to make its way on shore.  I'm in South Carolina, so we're not really getting the brunt of it, but we are still feeling 50 mile per hour gusts.

Anyway, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to all of those craft tents in winds like that.

Hard to believe, but it was a glorious weekend, weather-wise and we had a ball.

My friend, Lara, and I left bright and early on Friday morning and got there just about the time when they were opening the gates.

It's always so inspirational going to this show.  The booth setups are so creative.  The only drawback I can think of is it gets really crowded mid-day.  Sometimes the popular booths are jam packed and it's impossible to look around.

The trick is to make a quick tour of all the booths before it gets too crowded.

It's hard to stay focused and keep moving, but we pretty much stuck to that plan.

OK, keep moving, take pictures, do a little shopping, drop off heavy stuff at the bag check......plus, stay focused because there's so much to see and so many beautiful things that you can't help but go into sensory overload!

But honestly, it's a very well organized show and it's really a thrill just to be there.

So much to see and it's all so tempting!

It would be easy to for me to spend all of my money very quickly and then wander around penniless.

Wonderful old camera collection.

Feeling blessed.

Typewriter planter

Collections always look better grouped together.

Loved this top hat!

We wound the 1st day up around 4:00 and left to go find our hotel.

It was supposedly only 2 miles outside of Stone Mt. Park gate, but the GPS took us on some crazy route that looped around the highways for over 15 minutes.  We finally got to the hotel and even made another mad journey out to Hobby Lobby that evening before hitting the hay.  

The next morning, we headed back to the show for a few more hours of shopping before going home.

Revisitng some of our favorite booths.

Trying to see everything one last time.

Getting some last minute pictures.

Picking up a few gifts to take home...

decisions, decisions...pearls,

jewelry or bronze baby shoes?

....or maybe a plastic bride and groom statue...

ah well...I'm happy with what I brought home.  For me, sometimes it's more about the experience than loading myself down with purchases anyway.

  But....I did come home with some pretty cool stuff : )

New Doll Family

As promised, I finished up the new assemblage dolls and have them listed now in my etsy shop.

 This one is called Bean Town Sweetie.  A vintage VFW medal adorns her front.

I use a distressed wood block base for the bodies on these dolls and then play around with embellishing them.  I dug out the Annie Sloan chalk paints to create some really great layered colors.  I finish the wood off with dark wax and it gives them a beautiful sheen.

This one has a brass tool check tag for a head and rusted keys for arms.... a doll with a more masculine appearance.

And this girlie-girlie is encrusted all over with rhinestones.

and probably my favorite so far is this cutie.

I like the simplicity of her design.  She doesn't need to be overly embellished,  just a few cool parts are needed....like the skeleton key and the copper number tags.  Sometimes less is more.

I've really had fun making these dolls.  I feel like I can bring a new perspective to these, as they are different in construction from the ones I've made in the past, yet similar as well.

I've been pretty hard at work for the past week, so today I gave myself the day off to do a bit of shopping.  We have a (very) small flea market here in town and sometimes I'll swing by on a Saturday morning just to see if anything good shows up.

I found these candlesticks this morning.  I don't know how old they really are, but the crystals are glass, so I went ahead and got them.  They have potential as a future project, I can feel it in my bones.  

Then I stopped by TJ Maxx and got this cool journal.

It's from that line of Tim Holtz vintage reproduction items which I usually don't like (because they are new and made in China) but for the purpose of this, it's probably best that it's not really old.   

I like having a journal setting next to my computer.  I jot down ideas, to-do lists, directions to places and anything else that I want to remember.  It's a great reference guide and helps me to stay organized.  

That's all I have for now....hope you are having a good weekend!

 

Read a good book lately?

For some reason, I seem to enjoy reading more as the days get cooler.  Maybe it's because I'm a little bit more housebound than I am during the summer.  With the junk that is on TV these days, I find myself reaching for a book more often than not.  Is it just me or have commercials and reality shows taken over the airwaves?  I've asked myself more than once why I am throwing my money away on cable tv service.  

This book was wonderful.  A real story of courage and resilience during tough times.  I'm not so much into war stories, but I couldn't put this one down.

I discovered Gillian Flynn awhile back and really love her work.  I read this:

and thought it was great.  I am in the middle of this one:

and really love it, too.

Those have been the hits.  I've had a few misses, too.  I hate giving up on a book, but when it's a chore to get through, I'll only give it so long before I can't take anymore.

This looked interesting and since it was JK Rowling, it just had to be good, right?  I gave it the old college try, but didn't get that far into it before I put it aside.   For me, she may be going the route of Stephen King.  I loved his early stuff, but can't read any of his new books.  

I know there's probably some others that I should be mentioning, but my mind is blank right now.  Reading is what I do before I go to bed at night or when I have some free time during the day.  I've been pretty busy lately, though, on creating new art work and keeping the supply shop stocked.   

I have some new assemblage dolls coming to my etsy shop in a day or two.  They are whimsical junk dolls made with the salvage supplies that I love to collect.

More about them soon...and don't forget... I always love book recommendations, so if you have a favorite, I'd love to hear about it!

 

Trophies and Angels

In my last post, I was writing about all the cool things I find at auctions.  Well, one thing I've never been able to find is those cool old trophies that are so popular right now.  I always have my eyes peeled for a glimmer of tarnished silver in the bottom of a box, but a silver plated tray or pewter mug usually ends up fooling me.

Love these

I can always dream....or pay an arm and a leg for them on ebay, but it will be more fun if I happen across some at an auction or flea market.  I have a board set up on Pinterst if you want to check out more of these beauties.

Distractions aside....I've been busy in the studio working on more Charlotte ornaments.

This is the latest batch I've completed and most of them are listed in my etsy shop now.

I am partial to the ones with rhinestones and dangly keys.  They would be charming as Christmas ornaments or perfect as a little gift for a friend.  I tried to capture the spirit of Christmas by collaging "Wonder" on this angel.  She is HERE.  The words on the front of the dolls come from vintage hymnals.

A few of them have halos made from brass furniture hardware.  This one also has a typewriter key charm hanging below.

"Nest" has a lace train and a vintage key attached.

I don't know how many more of these angels I will make.  Sometimes I go on artful binges on things like this and then I won't make them again for a year.  I may have a few more in me before the holiday season is over.

Well, I have another auction coming up this weekend that I want to go to.  Maybe this will be the one where I see a moldy box off in the corner of the garage with a glimmer of silver peaking out at me and it ends up being a whole box of old trophy cups.  I guess that would be like winning the lottery, but one can always hope!