Blue Moon Art

Back from Turin and London!

We just took a short trip to London and Turin, Italy. The weather was sunny and perfect every single day and I finally had a working camera with me so I go some nice shots. On our last vacation I forgot the camera at home and the time before that my hubby dropped it on the first day of the trip so I was only able to take zoomed-in shots and even those were not always in focus. And no, I did not let him carry the camera this time. Notice how worried I look when he takes this picture of me.

 
 You can almost read my mind, can't you?

We are on our way to the Veneria Reale Palazzo. You can see it behind my big head. Here it is closer.

Here is a room inside called the Grande Gallerie.

It made me want to skip. In fact I did skip a bit when the guard turned her back. 

Now check out the bread in this shop window in the same town. 

Cool!

A Vintage Silk Chiffon Dress

This has been hanging in my closet since the day I bought it. It did fit me at that time (barely). It's very small at the waist, about 24 inches and I have gone up a few inches since then! I loved the fabric and the design so much that I couldn't bear to part with it. It did look so pretty hanging in my otherwise dreary closet. Being a New Yorker I have a lot of black clothes in there. Anyway, I feel that someone should really get to wear it. It's for sale in my etsy shop if you are a slender size 2. Or maybe you'd just like to hang it in your closet. . .

Decorating an Apron

I bought this plain white apron a few months ago with the intention of embroidering things on it. I finally got around to playing with it yesterday. I had such a good time, I went out to buy more aprons, but the store didn't carry the same kind anymore and I didn't like the new ones. There's a lesson learned. When you see it, buy it! Here's a photo and you'll find it in my etsy shop now.

Cat's Walk Felt Art

When I finished this piece I glued it onto a stretched canvas so it would be ready and simple to hang. Unfortunately that's when I realized I had forgotten to give the cat a tail!! I wasn't able to embroider around it because of the canvas so it's just glued on but that blue kitty is much happier now! Here are before and after shots:
  

Everything looks better in a mat or frame

This will be in my etsy shop shortly. It's so much nice in the double mat. I think it would be a cute addition in a little girl's room.

Embroidery Combined With Felt

I drew this Queen of Hearts on a piece of yellow cotton fabric with the intention of practicing my embroidery and learning new stitches. It was sitting around for almost a year and I finally picked it up a couple of days ago. The background is so yellow, I added felt pieces to a couple of the larger areas on the dress to balance it out. My stitching will probably never be perfect because I tend to sort of draw freehand with the needle and thread instead of planning out the design in advance. Ahh, if I could only learn to have more patience!

Cat and Squirrel

I did this piece in gouache. I was inspired by watching how well the squirrels in my yard were getting along with my cat. The first time I saw one eating a peanut perilously close to my cat Spider, I nearly had a heart attack! I thought I was going to have to be picking up pieces of squirrel at any moment. But instead, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized Spider had no interest in the squirrel. She even briefly shared the sunroom with one until I chased him out. It's my own fault really for feeding them Peanut butter and bread. Now they peer into the house from the tree branches waiting for more. The painting is for sale in my etsy shop!

Kitty Cell Phone Case

So you might think it's a bit impractical but for the true cat lovers out there. . .well, OK,  I suppose it's bordering on the ridiculous. And yet you are drawn to it. His gaze captures your attention. His smile beckons you to come closer. Buy me. Take me home with you and I will protect your cell phone. I will not use it as a scratching post. On the contrary, I will keep it from getting scratched with my felty fur.
Buy me. Buy me now, right here !

Beach Cat

If you are not long, I will wait here for you all my life. —Oscar Wilde

This is a little watercolor I just finished, based on one that I did for a children's book several years ago called "Tom Foolery." I gave the original piece from the book away at the time it was published. I always loved the image so I re-painted it in a slightly different format. It has just been sold from my etsy shop!! 

First Day of Spring??

What is this?? Where is the warm breeze?? When can I put the gloves and boots away??? Where is the sun???

This is what we woke up to this morning—the first day of spring. Sigh. It's beautiful but I've had enough of it already. Common Mother Nature! Send us some sandal weather!!

Another Cat and Bird

Here is smaller piece of felt art I just finished, about 8 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches. I had fun with this one! It was in my etsy shop but I took it out and now it's going to my mother!

Art for a Good Cause

My sister-in-law is a member of UNICO National, a Society for Italian-Americans. They held an auction fundraiser for a little girl with cancer this weekend. I donated my hand painted child's rocking chair and a small watercolor that I did especially for the event. They both sold and the watercolor went to a member of the little girl's family so I was very happy about that!  For some reason when I try to post it here it appears as a negative. Hmm. So you can view it here. 

Mad as a March Hare!

It's 63 degrees and the snow is gone!! This drawing is from a book I illustrated several years ago called, It's Raining Cats and Dogs and I thought it depicted very nicely how I feel today!!!

Wool Felt Kitty Case

This was made from the pocket of an old sweater. I just added the flap, a bigger button, some blanket stitching, a little kitty face on the front, and voila! It makes me want to look through my closet to see what else I can cut apart and restructure! Unfortunately, I don't have that big a wardrobe so I won't be doing this often! It is in my etsy shop along with these other cell phone and iPod cases that my mother crocheted and I embellished. Your cell phone fits snuggly in there and slips out easily enough when you need to answer the phone in a hurry. 

Girl Holding Black Cat

Here is my latest piece of felt art based on a small painting I did in college. There was something about the image that I always liked, so after finding it in the attic and dusting it off I decided to do it over in felt this time. It is presently for sale in my etsy shop.

My Pretty Spider

Spider is our lonely only cat now. She's seems pretty happy about it since she never got along with the others. We used to keep her in the sunroom where she had her own electric heat in the winter and a pet door so she could come and go as she pleased during the day. At night we would lock her in. Yes we ALWAYS remembered to lock that pet door at night after the baby raccoon got in. Poor little thing was pretty terrified as Spider cornered her. I had to open the sunroom door from outside while my husband positioned a broom between Spider and the raccoon. It quickly ran out when it saw it had the chance.