Inspiration

Not too long ago I had posted the question "What inspires you to create?" here on my blog, and also on my My Space page. I'd like to share the answers and artwork by two of the creative souls that took a minute to respond. A big thank you to all of you who answered. I'll be featuring answers once a month.

If you would like to share what it is that inspires you, just leave a comment here or contact me. I would love to hear from you!

What inspires you to create?

Retro Long Doxie by chloejessica

Chloejessica said: "I am inspired by my dachshund Chloe and love! I am also inspired by other creative talented people! There are many! But mostly I am inspired by my doxie, love, and of course sunny days! :)"

You can see more of cholejessica's work in her Etsy Shop. Her love for her cute doggy sure does come through in her work. So cute! And be sure to have a look at chloejessica's blog too.

Flower Bag by Firefly Moon Creations

firefly★moon creations said: "~..*.::inspired by nature, & fairies, mythology & stories, the moon & magickal things::.*..~ ~always with my head in the clouds♥~"

I met Anne of Firefly Moon Creations on My Space a few months ago. Anne is a friendly, kind and talented soul. Her earth friendly creations are truly made with love. From beautiful handbags to unique jewelry and hand sewn pretties, even lip balm.

Thank you both for your response and for sharing. :o)

Out for a Walk

If you go back a handful of blog posts, you'll see that we were still getting snow not that long ago. Luckily the cold weather has begun to fade and we had a warm sunny Saturday to play outside this weekend. We headed to Black Rock State Park which is very close by to our house. Even though the flowers haven't exactly begun to bloom here yet, the scenery was still beautiful. It was also a great opportunity to take my new camera outside and test it out.


It was a beautiful day!

ReTRo Cookbook Classics ~ An Ode to Molds

Last month I shared a story about a trip to the thrift store and the fantastic vintage cookbooks I purchased. I was so mesmerized by what I found, the decision was made to do a monthly series on the forgotten recipes hidden in the pages of these circa 1970 cookbooks. Originally I had planned to share one recipe a month. That idea quickly went out the window as I flipped through the pages today. I could not help but notice there was an underlying theme, a connection between many of the recipes. It was evident in the titles and of course the pictures. If you don't plan on using a mold to shape the food you cook, then you should not bother to cook at all.

From the meat loaf seen above cleverly filled with fries to the elaborate mini molds of gelatin based treats with assorted vegetables and fruits trapped inside seen below, it seems that using a mold to perfect presentation and impress your guests was all the rage.


This "Spaghetti Catherine" from the 1967, Good Housekeeping- Cooking for the Family can be created by cooking the spaghetti according to package directions then "winding layers of spaghetti around the inside of a greased 3-quart ring mold". Just let it stand 5 minutes then unmold it onto a cookie sheet. Broil at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Then "transfer ring carefully with the help of two broad spatulas to serving platter."

In case you couldn't tell, those are meat strips (canned lunch meat... aka:Spam) and sausage in the center. Don't forget to pour on the sauce. And they say it slices nicely and can feed 12 guests. Apparently it will float on the surface of a pond or lake too.... or is that a tablecloth?


This last selection is from another 1967 Good Housekeeping book. This one focuses on soups, salads and sandwiches. This absolutely dreadful molded creation is called "Asparagus Mold with Cottage-Cheese Sauce." Had they simply used some type of fruity jello to act as the host to the asparagus it might not be so bad. But this my friends is actually unflavored gelatin with a little bit of sugar, lemon juice and vinegar in it. And this recipe is not for a beginner. It would even give Martha a run for her money. It takes serious skill to encircle those pimentos around the stalks of the asparagus inside the gelatin.

As someone who is baking challenged and can barely get a cake out of a pan in one piece, I have to say I am quite thankful that this is no longer a trend in cooking. The pressure to keep it in one piece must have been intense. Especially knowing that your guests on their way. Oh the horror!

Thanks to Ebay, you can get a hold of one of these now vintage jello molds and give one of these tasty recipes a try. So if you are feeling up to the challenge and want to see the full recipe of any one of these molded treasures, or if you have a cookbook that features some spectacular molded recipes and want to share, feel free to contact me. GMmosaics@aol.com

✿✿✿ABOUT MY FRiDGE ArT CoLLaGE MaGNeTs✿✿✿

All of my art magnets are handcrafted with LoVE and with the belief that your fridge deserves more than a plastic palm tree or some hot glued sea shells.

They are carefully crafted on 2 inch square (or round) by 1/4 inch thick wood pieces and have a heavy duty round magnet Weldbonded to the back. They are extremely strong magnets and are functional AND fabulous.

All FRiDGE ArT CoLLaGE MaGNeTs:

✱ Will arrive packaged as seen in the center photo.

✱ Are PERFECT for quick gifts!

✱ Always ship for free with any other item in my shop.

Have a look at the full collection here. And stop back soon because I will be adding new magnets daily.

Painting Again

Even though I have been making mosaics for almost 10 years now, my paint brush has never been far from me. My recent inspiration to begin painting again began over the winter. Little by little I have been working on some small pieces. They are almost ready to be listed in my other shop Assorted Olives.


I am very excited about these hand painted coaster sets. Each one is an original painting. They were so much fun to work on. I've also got some ACEO's, collage art pendants and a few surprises too.


So keep an eye out here on my blog for the announcement of the grand re-opening of Assorted Olives!

Featured Artist ☮ RachelLovesPeace ☮

I have been wanting to do a continuing series of featured artists on my blog for a long time. After posting last week with the question *what inspires you to create?* with the intention of just sharing some of the answers I had received and posting a little write up about the artist that participated, my idea has changed a bit. There were other questions I wondered about. How did these creative souls begin their journey as artists? What do they love the most about creating? I begin my series of featured artists today with Rachel, of RachelLovesPeace.etsy.com.

Rachel is a fellow member of the Etsy PeaceNiks. She is an upbeat, talented and inspiring artist that truly creates from her heart and her paintings will brighten up even the cloudiest of days. Here is my Q&A with Rachel.


Q. Tell us a little about yourself.

A. My name is Rachel. I live in South Florida with my twin sister Jessica and her doxie Chloe. I have one of those 8 to 5 Monday to Friday stuck in side office jobs that i never pictured myself with. But i am here for now and making the best of it. On my free time I love to paint and create things, I love bike rides, going to the beach, going to thrift stores, and dancing around to the sounds from my record player. I do believe I belonged in the 60s or 70s and I am now living them but I don't really belong in these times. I'd love to be in that Love Era. I am a dreamer I am always thinking of other places I should be like in a field of flowers or atop of a waterfall ready to leap in. I am still a kid at heart and I don't plan on ever really growing up even though I am now in the middle years of my 20s.

Q. How would you describe your art?

A. I sell original unique paintings that I hope will spread peace and love wherever they are set free. I often paint a friendly Peace Owl. He loves spreading peace and love.

Q. When and how did you start creating your art?

A. I have been painting and creating things since I was little either coloring the bars of my crib or the walls of my room. Me and my sister were always coloring together. I officially started selling my art on Etsy in January this year- it was actually my new years resolution and I actually did it haha. It actually all just started happening at once. I found out about a Art & Music Festival (Open Grass) that was local to me that was looking for artists to paint live and display there art. I decided to go for it and for the first time I got to see how others enjoyed my art. I have always made handmade gifts for my friends and family and always love the feeling of giving something to someone that you put all your love into. So I decided to start creating for strangers also because why not try and make just one more person smile because of my art. I painted at Open Grass and loved it. A couple of the paintings I did went to some friendly faces at the festival and all the other paintings I painted at that festival all went into my Etsy shop and that is how it all started. Now I am adding more and more.


Q. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration?

A. Inspiration for me comes from how I view life and how I want to see things change for the better. I paint things that make me happy and I hope will make you happy as well. I use the friendly Peace Owl as a role model I guess just doing fun things like riding his bike, dancing to a record player, and blowing bubbles. While he does anything fun he always remembers to spread peace and love. Inspiration really just comes from inside me. I get the most inspiration when I am feeling free: just really happy, being on a road trip, or with friends, or family, or friends that are family, or even strangers that make you smile, people that inspire you just for being themselves.

Q. What is your favorite thing about making your art/craft?

A. I just love to put a smile on someones face. It makes me so happy to be able to create something that can brighten someones day. I think getting something handmade from someone is the greatest feeling- just knowing how much love goes into something. I hope my paintings make you happy when you see them and that they give you a feeling of being free and that they spread peace and love.

To learn more about Rachel and her desire to spread peace and love through her art, visit her blog. www.RachelLovesPeace.blogspot.com

Her beautiful paintings and prints can be purchased in her Etsy Shop. Thank you so much Rachel!

Soul Pancake Challenge 3/18

Today's challenge on www.SoulPancake.com was centered around the idea that if you write something down, "you have a seven-times-better chance of actually making it happen." They challenged people to take out their Sharpie markers, write what they really want to happen on their hand and take a picture. (See the actual post here.) By the time I submitted my photo, there were 80 other posts before me. It was very cool to take a minute and look through what others had written and the artistic ways they chose to capture the words in their photos.

I wrote "always choose peace". I have been striving to take a breath and not react in situations where it is easy to choose negativity, harsh words or hate. Whether it is driving in my car, (probably the biggest challenge for me is to remain calm when dealing with other drivers) someone sneaking ahead of me in line the grocery store or helping to diffuse a situation between two individuals... anywhere that I can choose peace I will. The change have all been praying for has begun. The time is now to keep that change in motion.

So what do you want to see really happen?

New Work Headed Out

This piece titled "Feelin' Groovy" is one of several new colorful mirrors just completed today. These new works will be available at Center Framing and Art in West Hartford, CT. I also have some smaller pieces just about ready to go into my Etsy shop . Stop in and take a look for some beautiful gift ideas for Spring birthdays and don't forget Mother's Day too!

Looking for Creative Minds to Feature on My Blog

*What inspires you to create?*

Is it nature? Music? other artists? What is your source of inspiration? As part of a new monthly feature on my blog, I am looking to shine the spotlight on some of my fellow creative souls and talk about the motivation behind their craft. (ANY art/craft is welcome!)

Share a few lines here by leaving a comment here. There will be 3 people featured each month. I will share your response to the question, write a little bit about your work and of course put up a link to your site, Etsy shop or other place folks can learn more about you.

Looking forward to your responses! Have a wonderful day.
Peace, Love & Tile
Jeanine

Mosaic Chaos

Productive days rock. It's the aftermath that can be difficult to deal with. Today I found myself surrounded by tiny bits of stained glass, shards, ripped zip lock bags, plastic containers, glue spills and just a huge mess. I knew I was losing control of my work space around noon, and despite my best efforts I could not get a handle on it.

Aside from the chaos I did accomplish quite a few things today and in the past week. But my bad habit of letting projects pile up and not grouting a few at a time is one that I don't think I will break. One reason being it is still very much winter here. Not conducive to grouting outside at all. In fact at the rate we are going here, I may not get to grout outside until June. The idea of grouting in the house is scary, especially with this much to do. But later this week I am planning on setting up the folding table in my kitchen and just going for it.


Hopefully I will get all of these things finished and listed by next week. My shop is in desperate need of some new mosaics. On the collage and mixed media side... I have got some very cool new pendants that I have been working on. They are going to be part of the re-launch of my other shop. So much going on here! Better get back to work.

18 Days Until Spring

And here we are just wrapping up another snow storm. I tried to go out for a walk with my new camera to get some pictures.

Didn't get very far. It is so cold!