Halloween Is in the Air!

I LOVE using this technique , which I hope to soon photograph and post! Each tag is different and it is fun to watch the color blend and create a "batik" appearance. This tag will be for sale in the Etsy shop as a set of six this weekend. This set was part of my second shop october pumpkin too which had only papercrafts. I will be transitioning those items to the main shop as I pare down the rubber stamp inventory. I really enjoy papercrafting and hope everyone can find some inspiration from my projects! Happy Halloween ...a little early!!! The weather here in Ohio has really changed and I now feel the fall spirit!

Just Something on Mom's Desk

I discovered this painted picture on Mom's art desk as we were sorting through the Estate in the spring. I packed many art items away for "another day" as I needed time to pass before I placed items in permanent "homes". Today, it is the day before Dad's birthday ( he also passed away very close to the time Mom died) and I was looking for another item when I came across this very cheerful and bright watercolor Mom had made as a blog sample sometime last summer. I LOVED the colors and thought how it would have been a great birthday card for Dad! Mom always made Dad's cards and this would have been fitting! Happy Birthday Dad!

Something else I created with Authentique Papers

I had a stroke of luck after I made the Baby Shower Invitations and the other

Authentique Paper selections I had chosen at Archiver's coordinated perfectly with the poster board I had wanted to make celebrating the pregnancy! I have enough scraps to start a mini album too! I will have to focus and get that done! The banners

are of Authentique Papers as are the picture corners. I used a rosette from Making Memories and added the baby duck watercolor of my mother's art. I used alot of watercolor textured cardstock by The Paper Company for lettering and the duck as it really adds texture and picks up the dye colors wonderfully! This was fun to make and my son LOVED it! It resides on his dresser. Our grandson, Vincent, was born days after the shower and is just beautiful!

Baby Shower Invitation

This is the Baby Shower invitation I made from a piece of my mother's art. It turned out very sweet and different from the typical baby blue shower invites! I used a new patterned paper I found at Archiver's called Authentique Paper and it matched perfectly!

I plan to use it for a shower banner also. I recommend this paper...it is a heavy texture like watercolor paper and in unique colors! It worked out great for my needs and I hope to use it again! This special invitation is in honor of our first "soon to be born" grandchild!

It is Dandelion Season!

Picture of the day! That is what my dad's newspaper used to title fun,

whimsical pictures from around the town! I love this one. It is actually of my brother

but did make the paper. Why don't you challenge yourself to a "Picture of the Day"

for a week...it can really be fun!

October Pumpkin Etsy Shop News

October Pumpkin Rubber Stamp news... as many of you that are fans have read in the previous posts and now in the Etsy Shop announcement...Judith Fogt was my stamp designer. I created many of the cards and did the photography and sales, but I did not draw the initial designs. Therefore, since Mother's unexpected passing, I am restructuring October Pumpkin and I am kind of not sure where I am going to go with it. In the meantime, I have remaining packaged stock, I will post for sale. What is not packaged you will see listed in a listing that states this. It will come to you in a clear cello bag or box with kraft krinkle. It will not have a printed, laminated card, but will have some sort of tag/ card enclosed. Again, the listing will tell you if the packaging is not what I was previously used. There will be a deduction in price, since some of the labor and packaging product will be eliminated for these products. I will also be combining various pieces from other sets. You are also likely to see paper products, such as tags on the site or cards made from prints of some of Mother's artwork. I have used small prints for a couple years on cards that are simple and tasteful. I also have my own style of tags I sold in an Etsy shop seperately, but will likely include them in this shop. So...all in all the appearance of the shop will be different...not all rubber stamps, but paper art related for sure! Hope you can stop by in the next few weeks and find something for yourself! A percentage of all sales will be

equally donated between The American Lung Association and Polycystic Kidney Foundation as well as donations to charity favorites of each of my parents. Thank you and please leave a comment if you have a question or see something you would like that isn't posted in the Etsy shop.

Early Days

I LOVE this picture of mom in her early days of art! Her art really transformed as I grew up and she finally decided to work mostly in watercolor. The early works here are in oil I believe. What is interesting is the portrait of the girl. The painting media was mixed with coffee grounds. Somehow that stood out to me as a young girl and the painting hung above our fireplace. I kept thinking, "What is that texture?" By then, I was about five and the portrait had hung there awhile. Many people that visited our home asked if it was a self portrait. Mom always said "No." but as you can see in this photo it does resemble her in her young twenties. Mother began her art studies at The Dayton Art Institute in Ohio.

Neil Armstrong Homecoming Parade

Later, Dad became the Chief Photographer for the Paper! I was always SOOO proud of him! He was humble and quiet about his work, though he won many awards.
I always loved his photos, though, as I have been told I was not very cooperative with being the one photographed around the house. This photo is from a series I have from the Homecoming Parade of Neil Armstrong in Wapakonata, Ohio. It is an awesome photo... this photo also was published in Time/Life Magazine. I never knew this until I was in my late 30's
that is how quiet Dad was about his career!

Very Young Dad

This is a picture of my young Dad, working for The Piqua Daily Call in late high school! He pretty much knew he wanted a career in the newspaper business I guess! Here he is handling the mats for advertising layouts, the first job he had at the Call.

Learn about First Day Covers!

Before Mom became my stamp designer, she hand drew and hand watercolored hundreds, maybe thousands of cachets. A cachet is an image drawn or stamped or silk screened etc. on an envelope that has been cancelled on the first day of issue of the stamp design. The illustration ties within the theme of the stamp. Many people enjoy collecting and exchanging FDC's. You can learn more about FDC's at the American First Day Cover Society website!

Turtle Time

I LOVE this guy! This turtle is from my father's photographic collection.

He was a photojournalist and everyday the small town newspaper had a "Picture of the Day" This great looking guy made it in the paper and you can see why! He is so cute!

In Memory

Many of you may follow my blog and my mother's, as well, and may have noticed a long absence. I have finally composed myself enough to return to my blog and update any followers of the blogs or October Pumpkin Stamps.

I will likely tell my story in pieces, as it is too sad to sit down and tell it all at once. For today I will say... I have lost two of the most wonderful people in my life!

The young photographer, photographed is my father near the age of 21.

The young lady is my mother near the age of 21.

The final picture is of our young family, around 1969.

I LOVE these pictures! All taken by my father who was a professional photographer. I have so many more that I love ,but I found these fitting for today!

This entry is in memory of my father, who unexpectedly died November 15, 2010

and in memory of my mother who died December 11, 2010.

The story is very sad and I will soon be writing about it hoping others may find strength in my story for themselves.

Mom and Dad, I LOVE you and I know you are at peace!!!

Harvest!

Ahhhh.... the long awaited day! We harvested our pumpkin yesterday and I was so excited. One would have thought I had grown a 1000 pounder, I was so proud!

So now she sits on the porch awaiting some of the smaller pumpkins, in the patch around our deck ,to finish turning orange. It has been such a thrill to watch the pumpkins grow and even my honey(in the picture) helped after he got over the shock that I had put the seeds down near the deck!

Simple Halloween Tags

I have been in a Halloween mood for about a month! Typically, I start to feel " Halloween in late July! It is crazy, but I am an October baby so I guess that is why I want to "rush" the season! Well, now it is here and it is time to start making some fun crafts and treat bags! I just LOVE to make treat bags! I made these very simple tags for my other Etsy shop www.octoberpumpkintoo.com and you can whip some out too! I used vanilla cardstock from A7 cards to punch my tags ( I can't believe how this was so similar to manila tag paper) and stamped the images from Little Yellow Bicycle stamps from last season. I used my favorite chalk inks for the images. They turned out great and it was such an easy project!

Nearly Done

Here she is...nearly done! I LOVE this pumpkin and I can't wait to take it from the vine. I am trying to be patient though, just a couple more weeks! We have had a lot of fun growing and watching the pumpkins grow this summer. The weather is changing here in Ohio and I think the pumpkins have pretty much stopped growing, so soon I can take them off the vine and move them to the porch! Can't wait!

Pumpkin Palooza!!!

Holy cow! Pumpkins galore! This is the beginning of the growth of our biggest so far! The pictures are from bloom through day seven and I have day 18 to post yet when I upload from the camera! This pumpkin actually grew while we watched it...it has been amazing!

There is a little story behind the pumpkins I planted this year. A farmer on our road is 96 y/o and he still plants and harvests pumpkins every year to sell with the help of his son. They are FANTASTIC pumpkins...some long and tall(my favorite), some squat and fat, some vanilla and all unique, not the " trucked in" variety that seems to have arrived in most of our southern Ohio markets the past few years. So I realized my sweet farmer may not be with us forever and I began to harvest my seeds from his pumpkins the past two years to carry on these "heritage pumpkins". I have tons of blooms and small tiny starts of pumpkins so I hope I get to have a sweet collection for the porch soon! I cannot believe how the fall and Halloween are creeping up on us so quickly in 2010! Amazing! I am ready for the crisp clear weather though, the sooner the better!

Kind of an experiment!

Yesterday, I was cleaning and needed a break. I plopped down and decided to try my alcohol inks on a manila tag ( I saw this in the Stampers Anonymous Demo at Stampaway USA). I had used them before on metal and even acrylic but I don't know why I skipped the manila tag. So this tag is the product of my first attempt on manila cardstock. It turned out pretty cute I think and it was definitely fun! My 17 y/o thought I was nutz and said I looked like a smurf as my hands were covered in blue ink...but it is okay the ink is nearly washed away today!

As a side note, I want to say "Hi!" to my mother who is sitting in ICU the past 3 days ( she is my design artist and co owner of october pumpkin). She is keeping up with the blog from a wifi connection. Mom is stable and making a fast recovery but it has been a scary experience! If you can, add your prayers to our family's for a swift recovery for Mom! I love you Mom! I love you to Dad, you have been very brave through this! Better days are coming!

New Trillium Set

I made this tag with our new Springtime Flowers set. The stamp I used is the Trillium. It is of course the state flower of Ohio! I liked the greens on the tag they felt so peaceful and cool. Refreshing, since it is very brown and crunchy here in southern Ohio. I used a trusty foamie for INSPIRE and watercolors for coloring my image. A glitter brad from American Crafts accents the card and ribbon from Basic Grey. It was fun to make. I don't know how I find tags so much easier to create...I will sit forever to make a card but if I make a tag it comes together super quick!

One more tag today!

This is another foamie tag! I LOVED the scary Jack...BOO for real!!!

BOO! Working from storage!

Today, I do not know what got into me! I had an urge to dig out my old foamies and play with them! I LOVE their boldness and the way they take to kraft paper! I have so many foamies and many untouched so I challenged myself to unpack a bunch and bring them upstairs to the "studio"(really the kitchen table LOL). Here are a couple tag projects I made and a clay embellishment. I was cleaning in my actual art room and saw the clay in a drawer at nearly 1 am so I got it out and made some easy simple things to use on upcoming Halloween cards and tags. Can I say how easy was that and inexpensive too? So maybe tonight you can feel inspired to drag out some of your older supplies and make something new and fresh! Have fun!

Oh yes, the tiny pumpkins on the BOO tag are of course from october pumpkin! If you want some check out the Ghost Walk set!