Art Deco Style

I've always loved watching the movies from the 1930's.  They have great screwball comedies like, "My Man Godfrey", "Bringing Up Baby", and "It Happened One Night".  Not only are they funny, but they had such great style.




Art Deco emphasizes geometric forms like spheres, rectangles, chevrons, and sunbursts motifs.  These elements are arranged in symmetrical patterns using modern materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, and chrome.

During the 1930's Art Deco was used for public works projects: railway stations, ocean liners, movie palaces and amusement parks.  It was also widely used in consumer products such as radios, telephones, textiles and furniture etc.

Although it lost popularity during World War II (it was deemed too luxurious for the times) it experienced a resurgence in the 1960's.

The most recent appearance of this style can be seen in the remake of "The Great Gatsby".

Art Deco by debralynn5 featuring wall mirrors

Summer Is Coming, Better Get New Flip Flops!

I know in a lot of places, the weather has not warmed up yet.  But here in California, it is expected to be 84 degrees on Easter Sunday.  So it is definitely sandal weather.  

Last week I was running late to pick up my daughter from school and just reached for some flip flops, and recoiled in horror.  All of my flip flops were mangled and dirty.  Only fit for gardening!  So I am taking a page out of my friends' book.   I have two friends (both named Lisa) who live in flip flops year round.  All cute flip flops.  

I hit The Citadel, an outlet shopping mall in Los Angeles, and found an entire wall of really adorable flip flops at Pac Sun!  It was difficult to choose just one pair, but we had a lot of things on our list to get that day, and not much time.

I finally settled on this pair to be my first for the season.

Here are some others on my list.  Now I just have to get a pedicure!!

Untitled #48 by debralynn5 featuring anchor shoes

Making a Fairy Garden for Kids!

I found the most adorable little place in Old Town, near the Orange Circle, Ca. called the Dragonfly Shops and Gardens.  They give a Kid's Fairy Garden Workshop that I finally had a chance to take my daughter to.  

And yes, she wears her cat ears everywhere!

First they painted their flower pots with bright colors (because the fairies are drawn to bright colors).

Then they decorated little wooden fences and flowers with some bling, because you can't go wrong with bling.

Then they planted some cute little plants and covered the dirt with pretty rocks and stepping stones.  The fairies don't want to get their feet dirty!  The final touches were some butterflies, ladybugs, and 10 shakes of fairy dust.  The kids all loved it.

Sandra is showing you her tiny little wooden ladybug.

We brought Babs the wolf to the workshop.  She was dressed up in her fairy costume, wings and all.

Here's the front of the shop.

Here's their little Ladybug Garden, planted in a couple of chest of drawers.  Very cute.

The finished Fairy Gardens!

My New Print, Le Cirque, Appears in Somerset Studio Magazine!

I wanted to share with all of you, that my newest print has appeared in the March/April 2014 issue of Somerset Studio Magazine!  When the call went out for artwork about the old fashioned circus, I was happy to oblige.  This has always been a favorite subject of mine to paint, since way back in my university days.  I've only recently revisited this theme.  I hope to make a couple more paintings with this same theme in the near future.

Cover of the March/April 2014 issue of Somerset Studio Magazine.

My new print "Le Cirque" is available in my Etsy shop.

I first sketched everything out for size.  I then painted the puppets on white watercolor paper with gouache and a little colored pencil for definition, then cut them out.  I painted the lady puppeteer on the tan paper with gouache, Dr. Martin’s Bleed Proof White Paint and then went in with a little colored pencil.  I glued the puppets on and came in at the end with more foliage at the bottom.

The tan paper used for the background is Cartiera Magnani - Annigoni (100% cotton)

The white paper for the puppets is Cartiera Magnani - Aquerello (100% cotton)

I used gouache and Dr Martin’s Bleed Proof White Paint as well as some Prisma colored pencils.

Revisiting The Dream World Of Putfolia

Last year my daughter wanted to share her Dream World of Putfolia with you in the post Imagination.  This year trouble has come to Putfolia and she wants to type out the story all on her own for all of you.

Putfolia used to be a magical place. USED to be. But now the '' Evil Queen of Nightmares '' or so she calls herself (she is really Bluestar's friend Firestar) has taken Queen Bluestar's place!!! Come help all of the Putfolians ( and Bluestar ) save Putfolia! All you have to do is print this sheet and fill in the blank in the MEMBERSHIP card and give enough love points and Putfolia will be saved!!! - Sandra

A Week Of Herbs - Grilled Rosemary Chicken

I've always told myself, if I plant some herbs I've got to cook with them!  So I have been looking through some recipes that use the herbs I've planted.  My first attempt is Grilled Rosemary Chicken.  It seemed easy enough.

Ingredients:

2 skinless, chicken breast halves

1 tsp. finely shredded lime peel

1/2 cup lime juice

1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

For marinade stir together lime peel, lime juice, rosemary, oil, sugar, garlic, and salt.

In a large ziplock bag place chicken and marinade.  Seal bag and turn to coat chicken.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally.  Grill chicken uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender and no longer pink.  

We had our Rosemary chicken with baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.  It was yummy!

A Week Of Herbs - Cute Herb Markers

Now that I have finally planted my herbs, I need some really cute herb markers!  I've found some good options on Etsy, but haven't decided which ones yet.  Here's my short list:

These Chalkboard Signs from sierrametaldesign are really cute.  They come in a set of 15 for $65.

I really like this Vintage Silverware Garden Marker from WoodenHive and it is only $7.00

This is a custom set of 8 wood garden sticks for $12.00 from Shanesbirdhouses.  Also cute.  I'm having a hard time making up my mind!

I know this isn't a garden marker, but I liked it so much, I included it in this post.  It could go in the garden or the kitchen!  This vintage rustic hand painted wood herb sign is by kspeddler for $75.

A Week Of Herbs - Sweet Basil, Rosemary and Lemon Thyme

We finally got around to planting some herbs!  We bought them a couple of weeks ago and only just now had the time to plant them.  Just in time, they were starting to wilt in those little plastic pots from the nursery.

I wanted to start out with herbs I use the most.  Sweet basil, rosemary and cilantro.  I found the first two, but the few cilantro plants around were really sad looking, so I bought a lemon thyme instead.  Even though I've never cooked anything with lemon thyme before, it smelled so good so I bought it.  Now I have to look up some recipes to use herbs in, so I will put these little guys to good use!

I also planted some little pansies, just because they were so pretty.  I know they will die out soon, it just gets way too hot here during the summer for them to survive.

I like to use them to decorate cakes or cupcakes.