Hats with a Past: Bonnie's Knitting

                  for the gent

Stumbled upon this sweet Etsy shop featuring great, no fabulous!, vintage style handmade hats.  Must start saving my pennies now if I want my favorite pick for each season...

(or maybe I will just settle with one, sigh...which shall it be?)

spring

winter

summer

fall

All photos courtesy: Hats with a Past: Bonnie's Knitting via Etsy

This is what she has to say on her shop:

"I collect vintage wool fabric and buckles and use them to create the hats you see. The fabulous quality of vintage fabrics really inspires me. I hope you are as impressed with that quality as I am.

For spring and summer hats I use high quality linens and cottons - many I import from Japan.

I've been a Costume Properties Artisan and made accessories for the stage for over ten years. I've worked with a variety of designers from around the world and have created everything from foul-mouthed puppets to leather gorgets to spats, crowns and sword belts. I enjoy it all but I absolutely LOVE making hats and hope you enjoy them too!

Check out my Facebook Fan page for the occasional discount code and a link to a Flickr pool of my available wools!"


What do you think....aren't they lovely?

Chevron. Funktified.

My girl Jenny is expecting her second baby in just a few short weeks!  She definitely needed a little sprinkle...and a lot of love after the last 8 months she has had.

Months ago, via pinterest , she subtly mentioned she wanted something kinda like this for the little man's nursery (she is going with grays, yellows, oranges, turquoise...yummy!)

via pinterest...flickr/rikizarris:

And, she LOVES old doors, shutters, hardware, vintage finds....etc.  Here is what I came up with:

16" x  24"

I combined two pieces of wood

in process

Sanded and distressed

Jenny...you are almost there!  Can't wait to meet little Wyatt...

I'm now offering custom, made to order pieces just like this!  Visit my Etsy shop here or contact me with any questions:  erinsullivanartanddesign@gmail.com

I heart this town

Every other Sunday, through July, we can walk the 5 minutes from our house to Wildwood Park and listen to a live band.  While we resembled the Beverly Hillbillies (stroller style) with blanket, fruit, cheese, chairs, etc. in tow, and were by far the youngest people there since the park is surrounded by a retirement community, it was completely fun and totally worth watching this girl eat dinner and shake her shoulders to Que Sera, Sera (one of my faves!) and other classics from the likes of Ella Fitzgerald.

Yup, I love it.....so fun!

what's not to love when you get to top it off with strawberries and cool whip?!

PS....I haven't shared my yard sale score for Leila from a few weeks ago.  Now, I have not "yard saled" probably since I was in 5th grade and would walk a few houses down with a few dollars in hand to a neighbor's yard sale and buy a toy.

So, when I got up at 6:30 am a few Saturdays ago, I didn't expect to come home with my trunk door strapped down and this inside:

$25 bucks baby!  I talked her down from $30 AND it comes with everything to go inside, including a roof top grill and table & umbrella...check it out!  I gave it a serious hose, oxyclean, 4-09 down but it's just like new. 

Leila (and her friend Claire) have gotten stuck trying to fit their whole bodies through the front door...here you can see I have pulled out all of her little figurines to show her that these are the toys you use.

I will be posting a new painting tomorrow that will be a sample for those interested in "made to order" one of a kind pieces for the home or for gifts....can't wait to share it with you :)

Have a great day,

love one another

A few months ago, my sister's friend lost someone very close to them, very suddenly. "Love one another" is one of the first things she said after her loss. This struck a chord with me and in the months that have followed I keep seeing "love one another" on signs, cards, whatever it might be. Such a simple statement and so easy to do but often we forget as we rush through our days.

I felt the urge to create a painting that celebrates life based on this statement and wanted to incorporate water, land and air. The #2 represents "it takes two" and the houses are numbered going up until they end with the lone #7 house on the hill behind the fence.

I used acrylic, gauche, plaster and there are also 3 yellow cabochons as flowers next to the #7 house

This painting is available on Etsy.



Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

sleepless

and can't put my brush down..........had to post a few pics of this current piece before I hit the sack.  So much more to do.  But I love it so far!

Night....

working on

a new painting that incorporates:

fish

the #2

and a whole heck of alot of texture.  Among other things......more to come!

PS....hope all you daddies out there had a great day on Sunday.  Pretty sure this one did..........

Newport, Rhode Island

I really dislike flying.  I think I have been permanently scarred from a trip to Florida in high school where the passenger next to me and I held hands and said the Lord's prayer while flying through a storm.  When we landed, she asked if I had a connection and when I said "Yes" she looked more fearful for me than I already was.  And, it wasn't until I started boarding my connection did I realize it was an 8 seater prop plane.  I thought that was it.

So, last Saturday my hubby, daughter and I made a flight to Newport, Rhode Island to visit my sister and her family.  It was only an hour flight and I was ok the first twenty minutes.  Then the turbulence began and my window seat no longer had a pleasant view of farmland and swimming pools in people's back yard but now fog, dark clouds and nothingness.  I pretty much lost it. I plugged my ears and started singing (what I thought was quiet enough to be to myself) Christmas songs (the first thing that came to mind)...and squeezed my husband's hand until it was white.  While he laughed at me.  When he asked what the heck I was doing, in between laughing at me,...I told him I was trying to find my "happy place"....you know, those of you who have a fear of flying...it helps to zone out.

Anyway, enough of that....we made it and all was well. I have decided I am going to find a book on overcoming this fear because I can't handle it and I enjoy traveling.  My fear was worth the trip....here are some pics:

We took a tour of The Elms, one of eleven stunning mansions in Newport

The fog remained along with lots of rain but it made for a cozy trip....

Chateu-Sur-Mer....another mansion

Someone recommended we check out Flo's Clam Shack on the water...and we did.  While my sister took care of Leila, we got a few hours to ourselves to explore....and eat!

After lunch we poked around downtown and got caught in the rain....so darn fun!

don't you just love this color combo?

While running through the rain we stumbled across the Spring Bull Studio & Gallery where I found two artists that caught my eye:

Anne Winthrop Cordin

photo courtesy of Anne Winthrop blog

I just love the way she captures light and her use of color

And, Johanna W. McKenzie

"After the Summer Folk are Gone"

Oil on Panel

10" x 15"

Don't you just want to go there?!

So, it was a week of fun...family time well spent...

lots of laughing, dancing, hide and seek playing, cooking, driving (we also drove to Sudbury, Mass to see our old house from when we were little), movie watching, eating, swinging, cool whip eating etc...

our old house in Sudbury which looks 100% different...to say it was red with black shutters would just be the beginning.  So strange how different your perspective is as an adult vs child...

Our first family airplane ride...so excited :)

Have a great week!