Turning 33....show & tell..and postcard packs!!!

Well, today is my birthday! I'm actually writing this on Tuesday night but it's late and is now officially the 22nd and therefore...it's my birthday. I'm 33 and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm a bit too tired right now to give an accurate account of my emotions so I think I'll get back to you on that. Every year me and my siblings try to take off for an entire day for a big birthday get together. For a few years in a row I've chosen to go to Pennsylvania since it's so amazing in the fall. We hit a fab little town on the Jersey side of the Delaware river and then we walk right over a bridge into New Hope, PA. Great shops, antiquing, the trees are decked out in shades of fire engine red, safety orange, and school bus yellow. It's a fun time with the Heid kids and the day marks the beginning of the holiday season for me. This year, since the B-Day is on a Wednesday and we're all grown ups, and have jobs, we'll have to wait 'til the weekend or possibly next Monday. I'm totally fine with putting off any festivities because I've got so much work to do and I think that if I broke away I'd probably spend the whole day thinking about all the stuff I gotta do back at home....you know how it is...that annoying little word...responsibility. ;)

It's been more than a week since I received my big fabulous box of swap stuff and I've been dying to post it. As soon as I opened my package from my wonderful partner I instantly renamed the event to be the Sweet,Sinister, & Spoiled Swap! My partner Karen sent the kind of swap package that you're almost afraid to receive...afraid because you fear that you probably didn't send enough in return. That's the tricky thing with swaps. If you get a fab partner, you've got a lot to live up to!
But I know that's not the point...I know it's all about the making, the shopping, and the giving...and you shouldn't worry about measuring up. But still, you don't want the exchange to be overly lopsided!
So...as I was saying...just look at these pics...that sweet & sinister Karen Spoiled me! Lots of time, care, and creativity. The "Boo" banner/garland is way over the top! Totally handmade and awesome! And I love the matchbox ornament...which she also submitted as a tutorial on the Sweet & Sinister Swap Blog. And the one item that I seriously appreciate is the "thrifted" vintage black purse. First, because she hit my taste right on the button and second...the effort. She went out, found it, saw it's potential, and customized it. It's great! And that warty witch finger candle is soooo gross...but gross in a good way! When it burns it oozes green! Everything was wrapped so carefully and when I was opening the stuff I just kept thinking "wait...there's more???!!" All the stamped tags tied to each item...the perfectly tight color palette...the clean and neat presentation...I seriously couldn't have gotten a sweeter partner! I LOVE it all!! Thank you Karen!!!

And now for what I sent Karen. I like shopping for people but my fave part is definitely the making. I only wish I had time to make more. I had the most fun with the Charlotte cone...I think she just looks perfect wearing that little mask. And I'm curious to hear how that popcorn on the cob works out...apparently, all you do is pop it in the microwave as-is. I may just have to go get one for myself! Shipping this box full of stuff was a bit of the challenge because of that gnarly black tree. I had to find a box big enough to fit it but not so big that all the other stuff would be flying around all over the place in a giant box. Well, I was thrilled to hear back from Karen that she liked everything. So once again, Artsymama's Sweet & Sinister Swap was a smashing success for me and I'll undoubtedly partake next year. :) Thanks Kari!!!

One more thing with the Swap...our Crow Mobile! This is what we did for a tutorial on the S & S Blog. If you're a member of the blog you can view it in it's entirety here. Me and Aar really loved putting it together. I mentioned it last post...we just love putting kits together...giving crafty hints and tips. I read a lot of comments on the Blog and it seems like people are down with the Crow Mobile! I can't wait to see other people's interpretations!

Thanks so much for the Kit love! For you absolute sweethearts who picked up a Home Sweet Home Kit we promise that it's a fun time...and it's easy! We would LOVE to see pics of your finished projects! They'll be shipping out in 1-2 days. Thank you!! :) And for those who are interested...there are still some left...come get crafty with us!

We're getting a jump on the holiday and have some of our all time favorites listed in the shop. At Silver Bella we'll be debuting some fab new designs and for those of you who are unable to attend this year...yes...we'll be listing the new stuff in the shop as well! And you can certainly look forward to a lot more kits. A New Years kit is on the drawing board and it is so so FUN!! We have a bunch of future plans, lots of changes, revamping and re-thinking a lot of what we do. I promise to share more about it soon. For now we're just working like crazy and trying not to totally lose our minds. As we get out our orders we're chipping away at the fabulous Silver Bella Debuts. It's so so very windy outside tonight and the whipping,whirling sound outside my window is reminding me of what my nervous insides feel like!

Ok, next. When we got these made we had Silver Bella in mind...we think they'd be great take away gifts and a cinch to slip into a suitcase. But we simply couldn't wait 'til then...so here they are. Everyday is a Holiday postcards!!! We picked a trio of our favorite paintings and we're offering them individually or as a set of six (2 of each). They're excellent quality...matte finish, super sweet rounded corners...2 sided...and they come with matching cream envelopes. There's space on back for your message and you can mail as-is with a stamp or slip 'em in the provided envelopes... but besides their obvious use they're perfect for gift giving...or to tuck in the corner of a mirror etc...or you can even frame 'em...ad to a scrapbook page...in our home we totally decorate with postcards. They're wonderful in person...the soft, antiquey, faded color palette. They are listed now in the shop!!! And you will be happy to know...they are in stock..and ready to ship right away! :)

At last, I'll leave you with a Flickr mosaic. This is how I'm seeing fall this year. I'm so loving the aqua! Unexpected yet perfect.

Ok, thanks for reading again!! Love ya!! xoxo, Jenny

Home Sweet Home

(click photo to SUPERSIZE it! )

Well...after a looooong time in the making...We've got a brand new Kit available!!

And despite it's cutie pie appearance...I must admit... a whole lot of deep emotion and thought went into the creation of this. First off, me and Aaron have had the basic idea of it floating around for quite some time. But it only truly started taking shape upon moving to our new home. It was then that we gained a renewed appreciation for the importance of "place". With our life & times in such a state of disarray & unrest it's essential to find your tiny slice of personal peace... A place for you and yours to settle into and fill with warmth and smiles...Home.
Home...that was our chant, our mantra, while sitting across from each other at the drawing board. And every night (very late!) me and Aar go for long walks around our neighborhood...it's our tonic for the stressful days. Well, we happen to live in very close proximity to some of the most gorgeous shore homes you will ever see. You can't help but feel dreamy as you walk past these giant sleeping beauties...these monuments of domestic bliss.
Even when we're itty bitty kids we've got this deeply ingrained sense of "home". Think about it...one of the first images you will render with your stubby little crayons is a house. And this habit doesn't end...you'll draw house after house after house during those childhood years when each and every one of us is an artist.
Anyway...like I said...this little Home Sweet Home Kit has a lot behind it! : ) But let me move on from the abstract and talk more about all the crafty details!
Pattern...and lots of it! That's the main ingredient. And all of the patterns you see are 100% hand painted by us. We love to generate our own supplies. Even though there's a wealth of fab vintage wallpaper out there in the world we feel it's our duty to put down on paper some of the designs swirling around inside our heads! We're so inspired by the world of scrap booking and wanted to do a piece of artwork that lived somewhere in between our world of sweets & collectibles and the patchworky, cut & paste world of scrapbooking. And that's what we love so much about creating kits. Because me and Aaron are essentially "painters". But when we put a kit together our paintings get taken to another level. We get to put our paintings in the hands of others...you can then cut them up...layer them...glitter them...and then our art becomes your art!
And the mechanical challenge is fun too. We kinda design in reverse when we make a kit. We design all of the elements first and then we figure out how they'll become a finished piece of art. And we think that doing it this way probably leaves more room for each individual to get something different out of the kit. Our favorite thing to see is all the unique interpretations of a kit. At Silver Bella last year we'd walk around the classroom with our eyes nearly popping out of our heads...we couldn't believe the vast range of creative outcomes produced from a single kit! That's why we'd LOVE to get Flickr group going for this new one. We included enough pattern, space, and design elements in this one for dozens of different interpretations...or you can stick to exactly the script...(Aaron is obsessive about the instructions...I keep them simple, but he wants to explain every last detail so that even if someone never crafted a single thing in their lives they'd still be able to successfully complete our kit!)
The colors are our fave palette of pale pink, berry pink, aqua, mocha, cream, bits of pale vintage green...and everything has got the warm glow of age. The kit contains everything you need to make what you see here (and definitely some tasty left over scraps!) And most importantly...it's soooo easy!! Really easy! Trust me. The base of it is a 9" x 12" canvas and the parts that appear to be 3 dimensional are just that. The banner, cupcakes, and floral panel are "raised up" with 3-D adhesive dots. I Love how those parts stand apart from the rest of the piece.
Anyway...wow, I've rambled on and on about this! It's just that I'm truly psyched and hope that this new kit will serve as the fuel for many many more to come. And also, the basics of the design have been in my head for months and I couldn't be more thrilled to see them come to fruition...very liberating! So...if you want to liberate a kit from our Etsy shop I'd be thrilled!

They're 40.00 and they'll start to ship within a week. Fun is guaranteed! You can get your's here!

And one more thing...it's really funny how things work out. Last week I was strolling through Flickr and came across the sweetest handiwork. These amazing hand sewn hearts caught my eye...each one more adorable than the next. All done by this sweetheart of a gal named Elizabeth and each heart is an ode to her personal inspirations...many of which are my very same inspirations from here in blogland. Anyway, I was so touched when only a few days after "meeting" Elizabeth I visited her Flickr pics and found a heart with the word "cupcakes" and a caption...for me!! Too darn nice!! And now...here it is in my home...and one of the finishing touches on our brand new kit was directly inspired from this little heart...the "stitching" on my little "Home Sweet Home" banner! So the inspiration has come full circle! I LOVE that!

Ok, it's super duper late...I've got more to blog very soon...namely, my Sweet & Sinister swap stuff...After opening my box from Karen I thought the Swap deserved a name change: Sweet, Sinister & Spoiled! Man...did she give me tons of fab stuff! I'll show you next time! 'til then...xoxo, Jenny

Halloween Camp 2008

Apologies for not posting as often as I would like but.....life seems to be busy!!

Its Halloween time soon and last year we found sort of by mistake the Halloween program that is put on by a nearby state park each year that is quite fun. The campground has developed a program that fills the campground and invites local municipalities to partake in a one day and night party mostly for the kids but lots of adults partake too. The first picture below is my son and his family getting ready and cutting out the pumpkin faces.

I have attached a few pictures below of the campground (Algonac State Park, Michigan) and some of the decorations.

Lots of decorations and fun
We thought the display below was particularl good as we try to spend as much time in "Margaritaville" as we can.

Even the animals have chance to dress up

Goodies are passed out to all the goblins and there is a vote on the best decorated campsite and it is absolutely a great time .....especially with our grandkids!!