Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

R-Chee and I are so excited to hear what you are going to be this year!

 

We thought it would be FUN to share some photos that our friends just shared with us!

 

Meet Weasley above in is Harry Potter inspired Griffendor Sweater Vest!

 

 

...and this cutie patootie is Mancha from the Smushie Ranch!

 

He loves his new Fred Flintstone Sweater Vest!

 

 

His brother Macaroni loves his Sunflower Sweater Vest!

 

...and this is Mancha again posing from the top to show off the Broccoli Sweater Vest he borrowed from his pug brother Gunther!

 

Our dear friend, Tweedles, is looking for the perfect pumpkin in her patch in her Over The Rainbow Sweater Vest!

 

What a perfect way to spend Halloween!

 

Have a wonderful day & safe evening collecting candy tonight!

 

xoxoxox

Melissa & R-Chee

New FUN Collectible Pug Art and More!

 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

 

I have some fabulous new art to show you that I have added to my collection!

 

The first one is a gift from Melanie!

 

She surprised me with a needle felted pug from our favorite teacher & artist, Heide Murray of All Good Wishes!

 

Melanie and I found these 3 FUN & Festive ornaments at one of her favorite collectible sites ~ Analee Dolls!

 

They have a new pug ornament this year, a pumpkin dog that reminded of of Moe and we found these cute little waving santas with reindeer slippers on sale at TJMaxx!

 

... and finally, the most special addition to my collection are Melanie's handmade teddy bear ornaments made from wool blankets!

 

You can find her art in her etsy shop, Shop Moe Moe!

 

How FUN!

 

What things have you found lately that you love and bring you smiles?

 

Please leave us a note and let us know!

 

We cannot wait to hear all about them!

 

xoxoxo

Melissa & Archie

Cereal Box Book #2 ~ The Art Retreat!

 

Happy Monday everyone!

 

I am so excited to show you my 2nd Cereal Box Book I made to honor the art I made at the Art Camp for Women Retreat Melanie and I attended!

 

So as not to overwhelm you with photos, I will show you Melanie's art that she made this Thursday! :)

 

To decorate my book, I had FUN printing reproductions from the art I created in my watercolor blob book.

 

To stiffen each one, I glued them onto the cereal box cardboard and then cut them out.

 

Then I glued them on the cover of the cereal box book cover that I made.

 

The cereal box cover is wrapped with a paper bag painted with acrylic paint that I crinkled up after it dried to make it look like blue leather. :)

 

 

The vintage toy creatures that are helping to decorate the book cover are from the same artist, Scott, who makes the wooden butterflies I recently showed you that decorate my walls and the 1st Cereal Box Book that I made. :)

 

Like the 1st book, I glued some of the artwork onto the tops of the pages so that they would pop out in different depths of the book to show them off and give the book more dimension and interest while on display.

 

 

The binding sews in all the pages and is decorated with colorful buttons!

 

Here is my book bound and tied.

 

I love the colorful pages I created by coating cereal box cardboard in gesso and then painting over that with a wash of watercolor.

 

I used acrylic gel medium to glue in the actual drawings & doodles that I made onto these colorful pages.

 

This is a washi tape drawing that I created and you can too with Carla Sonheim's wonderful tutorial she made for all of us to enjoy.

 

Ta Da!

 

Here are my two Cereal Box Books smiling at me while I work!

 

I just love them!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at them with me!

 

xoxoxo

Melissa

 

Friday Funnies ~ Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut... Sometimes You Don't!

 

Happy Friday everyone!

 

It is me...

R-Chee!

I am on a misshun today and I need your help!

 

How exactly to you catch one of these...?

 

 He has been driving me crazy with all of his chattering and teasing!

 

He even comes up and taps on the window to wake me up from my naps and wave peanuts at me!

 

I am going to have to put a stop to this!

 

It is disturbing my beauty sleep!

 

Now where did he go?

 

You would think he would come out and see me when I am in the backyard!

 

He is not a very social little guy.

 

Maybe he just needs a friend!

Oh now I feel bad I got mad at him.

 

I know what will make us both feel good!

 

I will go and bake him some peanut butter cookies and we can share some cookies and milk!

 

It is always FUN to make new friends!

 

What are you doing this weekend?

 

Please leave me a note and let me know!

 

My momma, dad, auntie Melanie and uncle Mark are all going to the Becoming Van Gogh art exhibit at the Denver Art Museum on Sunday!

 

They are soooo excited!

 

I wish I could go too, but pugs are not currently invited!

 

Can you imagine such a thing?

 

Oh well, I will play with my new nutty friend in the backyard while they are away and we can share our adventures when they get home!

 

xoxoxo

R-Chee

 

Dog Treat Recipe ~ Wild & Crazy Rice Cakes

 

 

Happy Thursday everyone!

 

It is me...

R-Chee!

 

I have a yummy treat recipe for all of you!

 

My momma says they are good for me but I don't believe her!

 

They are just toooo deeelicious for them to be healthy! :)

 

 

Wild & Crazy Rice Cakes

 

I N G R E D I E N T S:

 

3 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce
1 small chopped apple (or fruit or veggies of your choice)
3 eggs
½ cup cooked quinoa or favorite grain
¼ lb cooked ground turkey, beef chicken or fish
¼ tsp sage
¼ tsp rosemary

 

I N S T R U C T I O N S:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together and spoon into grease muffin tins.
Bake 25 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked and cakes are solid.
Cool before serving
Store in freezer until ready to use.
Yields 20-24 mini wild & crazy rice cakes.

 

Packed with protein & fiber!

Archie loves them! 4 Paws Up!
 

 

Ooooo!  Is all for me?

 

Yummy!

 

Nom Nom Nom!

 

Ohhhhh!

 

It is all gone!

More Please momma!

 

Oh R-Chee, you are so funny!

 

I will give you another one tomorrow!

 

These are treats!  Not meal replacements!

 

Tee Hee!

 

Please let us know if you make any!

 

We would love to hear how you like them too!

 

xoxoxo

Melissa & R-Chee

Tweedles The Super Model!

 

Happy Wednesday everyone!

 

R-Chee & I cannot think of a better way to spend a Wednesday than admiring our friend Tweedles modeling her Sweater Vests, Woofie Warmers and Barkclava Hats!

 

She is a true Super Model !!!!

 

 

Archie and I had so much FUN making them!

Tweedles' moms picked the perfect colors for her!

Please let me know if you would like me to make you a Woofie Warmer, Barkclava Dog Hat or Sweater Vest too.

You can see all the possibilities anytime in :

The Sweater Vest Gallery at http://www.dogsweatervests.com/

The Woofie Warmer Gallery at http://www.woofiewarmer.com/

and The Barkclava Gallery at

 http://www.barkclava.com/

I am happy to make any color combos you would like and set up a special listing for you in my Etsy Shop.

xoxoxox

Melissa & R-Chee

New Sweater Vest Colors ~ The Gumball Collection

 

Happy Toasty Tuesday everyone!

 

I am so excited to show you the NEW Collection of Sweater Vests I just made in brand new bright & FUN colors!

 

Introducing The Gumball Collection!

 

 

 

Bubble Gum

 

Neon Fushia body / Pink bobbles / Neon Hot Pink collar

 

Cool Mint

 

Neon Blue body / Aqua bobbles / Neon Green collar

 

Juicy Fruit

Neon Purple body / Neon Fushia bobbles / Lime Green collar

 

All of these and more are available as Ready to Ship Sweater Vests in my Etsy Shop today!

 

If they are sold out or you do not find the colors and sizes you would like, No Problem!

 

I am thrilled to make you any color combination that you choose!

Please let me know if you would like me to make you a custom Woofie Warmer, Barkclava Dog Hat or Sweater Vest.

You can make up your own color combos or...

You can see all the possibilities anytime in :

The Sweater Vest Gallery at http://www.dogsweatervests.com/

The Woofie Warmer Gallery at http://www.woofiewarmer.com/

and

The Barkclava Gallery at

http://www.barkclava.com/

I am happy to make any color combos you would like and set up a special listing for you in my Etsy Shop.

 

xoxoxox

Melissa & R-Chee

Art Camp for Women Retreat 2012!

Happy Monday everyone!

 

I am sooo excited to show you what I made at my art retreat with Melanie last week.

 

We signed up for the most wonderful workshop in Winter Park, CO given by Art Camp for Women!

 

I cannot say enough fabulous things about the program generously offered by Lori & Lorri who run the camp.

 

Everything was provided down to the last pencil, paint brush, marker and anything else you could could ever imagine!

 

We did not have to bring anything ~ not even an apron to protect our clothes!

 

Melanie and I live very close to where the camp was held so we did not have to fly there but most other students did, and I know that having every detail provided with perfect organization and ease was appreciated by everyone including our amazing instructor, Carla Sonheim.

 

If you ever want to take an amazing art vacation, please check out what Lori and Lorri are offering every Spring and Fall!

 

...and if you want to take fabulous online courses, please visit Carla's website. 

 

She is amazing!

 

Melanie & I also just took her Cereal Box Doll & Book Class this Summer right before her "Mini-Deluxe Camp" in CO and they were both wonderful!

 

I also highly recommend her books & tutorials!

 

She just released two new books, The Art of Silliness & Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals.

 

I adore them both!

 

They are filled with creative projects, techniques, ideas and inspiration.

 

Her joy splashes on to every page and fills your head, heart and hands with amazing things you never thought you could do!

 

I will show you what Melanie and I made in several posts as I do not want to overwhelm you!

 

This post will feature my work from the quick morning drawing exercises we did down to the two art books we made.

 

The next post in the coming days will show the second cereal box book that I made at home to house all of these drawings and the 3rd post will show you all of Melanie's drawings and books to honor them in their very own post for you to enjoy!

 

Here are my drawings that we did every morning.

 

These are drawing we created from blobs that we drew randomly, painted, traced from the ground or saw in the sky!

 

It is a very freeing exercise!

 

All you do is create a shape and fill in some lines and dots with what it speaks to do and something magical will quickly appear before your eyes!

 

It all happens in a matter of seconds!

 

These 2 alligators were drawn quickly with the side of a piece of charcoal pencil looking at a little statue. :)

 

...and this watercolor blob book is my favorite project we did!

 

All of these exercises and art books are projects in Carla's new book, Painting & Drawing Imaginary Animals!

 

You will be amazed at what you create with ease!

 

Each creature just appears and you do is just darken the lines, color them in and add a little shading!

 

I love how the book pages are different shapes and sizes allowing the creatures to bleed over onto other overlapping pages to tie them all together.

 

See how my Hippo and Gorilla share the same bodies but are really two characters. :)

This is the second art book I made...

 

My Postcard Book

It is made up of 3 postcards painted with a coat of gesso to cover up most of the postcard text while allowing some of the color and texture to show through.  After the gesso is dry, a light wash of watercolor paint is applied to create the "blobs" to draw into animals with markers, colored pencils and ink.

Like the "watercolor blob book" above, it also has pages that are different sizes & shapes that open up to reveal 4 different animals all sharing some of the same body parts. :)

 

The bear...

 

 

opens up into a funny moose...

 

That turns into a bird and hippo on the last page!

 

I just love how it turned out!

 

I am still working on my "watercolor blob book" and will show you more of the characters as they appear in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much for looking at all the stuff I did.

 

It is so FUN to share with all of you!

 

You make my world a very special place to be!

 

xoxox

Melissa & Archie