Gingerbread Baker Lightbulb Ornie

Been a busy bee and this is one of my latest creations...one of a kind, designed and painted by lil' ol' me! I have added this gingie to my Etsy shop etsy.com/shop/cyndimacsnickknacks. One can't get enough gingerbread men in their collection now can they? Enjoy!

Patriotic Ornaments

I don't know if I just have Olympic fever or what but here are a few of my patriotic ornies I painted last week. These can be bought from my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CyndiMacsNickKnacks Such fun! Enjoy!

One Job Lost, Another Born!

Two weeks ago I lost my job as a legal assistant that I had for 8 years due to my boss retiring. There just wasn't enough work for me. I had been expecting the "ax" for about a year and now am quite relieved that it is over with. Although I expected it, it still was a bit of a shock. You see my husband lost his job in February due to restructuring and although he could have taken another job at his place of employment he chose to take a 6 month severance package and get the heck out of Dodge as he had been unhappy for some time. Needless to say, this year is a year of change. We both traveled 30 miles or 45 minutes to and from work every day and we both want something closer to home. He has found a job selling boats here at the lake and is very happy doing that. Don't know what it will be like once the boat sales stop for the season but we aren't worrying about that quite yet. Luckily, my hubby had planned ahead for the winter season and we are sitting fairly pretty financial wise. Could be alot worse but we aren't the kind to use credit cards and owe alot of people. Sooo...I now have a chance to try to make a living painting my ornaments and other crafts. I don't even know if this is feasible but I'm giving it my all. I am determined to paint at least $400 worth of merchandise per week so that when the Christmas season rolls around, I can hopefully make enough money to take care of my salary I have lost. To say I am having a BLAST is an understatement. I don't think there is a word that can describe how I am feeling. I am feeling confident which really shocks me that I will sell some of my things soon. I have my Etsy shop pretty full with 32 ornaments in it and I have signed up to participate in a huge craft show on October 13th. I'm glad I have lots of time to paint my heart out until then so that I will have a full booth. There are several opportunities to sell my things. If you are looking for unique ornaments please take a look at my Etsy shop at this link. Thank you! http://www.etsy.com/shop/CyndiMacsNickKnacks I will be posting more pics of the ornaments I am offering in my shop!

Hand Painted Terra Cotta Pots

I rarely paint myself anything but just HAD to paint some terra pots for myself to enjoy this summer. Here is the result. They were really fun to paint and since then I have painted four more large ones to give to my sisters, sister-in-law and a friend. I painted them the personalized one with the initial. I tried different colors with the black, two are melon, one is a turquoise blue and I painted another pistachio one like mine. I am just in love with the pistachio color this year...such happy colors!

In the Kitchen with Trisha Yearwood

I have forever been a big fan of Trisha Yearwood and if ever there was a singing voice I would love to have it would be hers. She has a really good show on the Food Network that airs on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. She usually has someone in the kitchen with her and it is like hanging out with her. She seems so down to earth and she makes "normal" food which I love. If you haven't checked her out, do so. If you don't get a chance, they share her recipes on the Food Network website. http://www.foodnetwork.com/trishas-southern-kitchen/index.html

I have gotten a few tips from her already that I didn't know. The neatest one is that when you want to make deviled eggs, turn your eggs over the night before and you will get a perfect centered yolk after they are cooked. Perfect tip for deviled eggs. The other tip is that when you are making any gravy, the ratio is 4-4-2. That is 4 tablespoons of oil, 4 tablespoons of flour and then 2 cups of milk. I was always taught by mom that the ratio is 2-3-2, 2 tablespoons of oil, 3 tablespoons of flour and 2 cups of milk...that has always worked out perfectly for me but I'm gonna try Trisha's and see how that works too. Either one and I'm sure you will have a "no fail" gravy. I even taught my brother how to make gravy using mom's ratio. Go ahead...try it! Whenever the flour sizzles in the oil, then it is ready to be added.

Keep on keepin' on...

I have managed to keep up my pace lately getting several different ornaments painted. It is so time consuming painting up a new pattern I've created as I have no clue what colors I am going to use until I actually sit down to make one. I'm constantly changing them up. Once I get one finished it is alot easier to mass produce them. Teachers have forever been my best customers when I used to participate in craft shows so I have wanted to create an ornament for them. I also managed to take myself away from painting lightbulbs long enough to paint this simple santa on a clothespin. Was fun for a change. I will paint a santa on just about anything...look out! LOL

Been Playing...

Anytime I can find time to paint I call it playing as I love it so much. For the past month or so I've been painting on 3 new lightbulb ornament designs. I have forever wanted to make a Harley santa and then decided to just not make any one brand of motorcycle so he is a "generic" motorcycle ridin' santa. I have also wanted to paint a santa ornament with a long coat so I finally did that too. I always have to throw in a snowman ornament as there are alot of snowmen collectors out there. Funny how ornament ideas are always running through my head. I have so many I want to get painted up. I hope you enjoy these! I will get there one day although I doubt my ideas will ever stop from flowing...hope not anyway. I love designing as much as I do painting them.