for show & tell this week (hosted by bloggy pals,  analise & cerri),

the theme is fittingly, “mother”. 

we’re to post pix of our mothers and/or with our children. 

 since i don’t have any kids, i will share a couple of pix of my mom. 

i looked through my archives,

and found these posts here & here…they seemed a propos. 

i love you mom, always & forever.

xoxo, your firstborn

 on the way home from school the other day, i came upon a road block & so was rerouted to a different area.  what a pleasant surprise to come across this wonderful allee!  the pinks, greens & blues just made my heart sing as i drove by.  i have always driven through this little border town, but never on this quaint main street.  & i spotted some interesting ANTIQUE shops too!  hmmm, perhaps the detour wasn’t such an inconvenience after all, hehehe!

funny how life has this uncanny way of throwing some pretty nice curve balls.

& also, i might add, some very special, lovely people!

  in the mail this week i received another unexpected, but very much appreciated surprise!  it was from my very dear blog sista, melanie (aka melba).  & i just actually spoke to her just the other day too!  that melanie, she never even mentioned this in our convo!  what a wicked generous sweetheart! brought tears to my eyes!!!    a while back, i had mentioned the above book on the blog & how it was something i was meaning to purchase at a later date.  & here it is, in my hands!  melanie, i have devoured this book already from cover to cover!  it is fantastic read.  LOVE YOU TO BITS melanie!!! xoxo

 this came from the amazing teresa (aka “eye candy poprietress,” hehehe)…what another dearheart!!  i chatted on the phone with her earlier in the week & i cannot stop telling her what a FAB time i had taking sweet catherine’s workshops at her shop & studio last month!  i signed up my sis looney & myself to another one of her fantastic workshops!  am wicked looking forward to that!  look out teresa, it’s gonna be insanely & artfully out of control, lol!! xoxo

 & another A*MA*ZING blog sista girl, lia!!  seriously, my sis jo & i consider her a LONG-LOST sister!  for real!!  did you happen to catch lia’s blogtalk radio show yesterday?  if you hadn’t, not to worry…you can listen to us whooping it up here.  it was a bit challenging to behave, hehehe…usually, lia & i are cracking each other up!  i think a couple of “OMGs” & “hel*s” slipped out during the show, but at least i didn’t pull a gordon, lol! thank you for having me on your awesome shoW…& when is the next one going to be?!   LOVE YOU TO BITS TOO lia!!!! xoxo

why is it that all my dear sistas are so FAR AWAY from me?!!!!!  waaah!  i wish we all lived near each other!  wouldn’t that be just absolutely wicked INCREDIBLE?!  OMG!

remember the other day, i stopped by my local public gardens? well, i also stopped by this antique mall that my sis & i had gone a few years ago.   they had just opened at the time & were still kind of unpacking.  i hadn’t gone back there since.  i was talking to my sis when i drove by the place & she told me to go scope it out.  so, i did & it was bigger & better organized than i remembered.  the shopowner said that they have expanded & opened up new rooms.  wow, how fun!  looks like my sis & her kids will be up here in a week to peruse this place too,lol! 

because this detour was unplanned, i did a quick run-through & found some little things i picked up for this week’s friday’s finds (which btw, i am doing a drawing in the group to commemorate our anniversary!). 

 an antique alpha stamp set from the 1900s…tho the date stamper in the lower righthand corner is from the 1960s.  i got this for a mere $1.50 usd!

 aren’t these old kindergarten pix too charming to pass up?  they are from 1956 & 57 & were 50 cents each. 

 & what a nifty buy at 6/$1.00…these vintage 1940s greeting cards.  too wicked cute to pass up!

oooh, this is just a warm up…this time next week, we will be heading here for the flea season opener!  i cannot wait!  it’ll be my sister’s first time…& won’t she be in for a REAL TREAT!  i can’t wait! 

until next time, have a super weekend!  xoxo mary ann

at 12:30 cst TODAY, lia is going to interview me on her blogtalk radio show here.   there’s a call-in number, where you can join in on what’s sure to be a fun time!  hope to hear from you then!  

visiting my local public gardens

 to just be…

then later getting back in the studio to finish up these atcs for a swap in flickr, hosted by the lovely lisa. 

 2 for the swap

 & 2 for lisa, my little token of appreciation.

xoxo mary ann

been busy today in the studio…couldn’t find my darn glazing medium.  where the devil did that go?  anyway, i made do & i finally completed my spring inchies for the swap (hosted by wanda aka crafty mule on flickr) over in the faerie zine (which btw was created by my lovely pal, lisa).  i had to make 50 of them!  but it wasn’t so bad…i took a 9×12 piece of watercolor paper & created a background using acrylic paints (while talking to this sista girl, hehehe!) & then over stamping with rubber stamp swirls & polka dots. 

i also made this atc for wanda as a little thank you… 

 i used the same painted background as i had with the inchies.  the femme image is from mata art.

i meant to post these pieces i made for the zne design team april product review.  it’s just been so busy around here.  we were given some collage sheets from charming sam to try out.  here’s what i made with some of the images.  it’s a darker palette than what i’m used to, but i made it work (to borrow a phrase). 

this was a challenge for me, but i think i did alright.  the collage sheets were fun to use.  & the heavy cardstock that the images were printed on took wet media well, as i used glazes & washes.  the paper did not warp or fade.  that’s a huge selling point. 

also, i finally, finally got my marie pages done for lisa’s book collaborative, which she wants to publish through quarry.  i am grateful & honored to have been invited to be a part of this exciting project!  having done research on marie for this other art collaborative  i’m participating in has really helped me with creating my pages for lisa.  i hope she approves.

welp, that’s all the art for now…i’ve got some others waiting in the wings.  until next time, have a great nite! xoxo mary ann

as promised, here’s a slide show (because my sis took a ton of  pix!) of  our little escapades last week.  to view more of my sister jo’s amazing photos, pls. visit her here.  enjoy & happy cinco de mayo!!! xoxo mary ann

the fun gals over at show ‘n’ tell sundays are back at again!  the theme this week is FAVE SHOPS!  a topic near & dear to my <3

this post is a “two-parter” as my sis looney took some awesome pix of our escapades last monday, but she has been sooooo wicked busy that she hasn’t uploaded them onto her flickr.  so, i’ll show you mine, tho…

~HOMETOWN SHOPS~

last monday, i drove down to my hometown & met up with my folks (who were getting ready for their vacation) & also my sister loon.  my sis, her 6 y.o. daughter & i went on an adventure, despite the fact that it rained cats & dogs that day!  we had so many places we wanted to go to, but the torrential rain showers, lol, curtailed our mischief-making! 

but we managed to go to a couple of places that day: here & here.  they were located right by my alma mater.   gosh, that area has majorily built up since i last tooled around there as a college student!  the neighborhood is largely unrecognizable….so many SHOPS, eateries & condos!!!  it wasn’t anywhere like that back in the day, let me tell ya.  anyway, we got in from out of the rain, somewhat drenched, but otherwise giddy when we went into this place:  elizabeth & wallis, the two gals working that day, were so pleasantly friendly & they graciously indulged my sis on an impromtu photo shoot (that’ll have to wait as my sis has yet to load on her flickr).  we were the only customers in the store at that time & it was ever so nice to look (& drool) at everything without bumping into crowds. so nice to have the whole store to ourselves, heehee!   the vintage prom dress, which you see in the above photo collage,  was really the inspiration for another itty bitty book swap i’ll be hosting.

after chatting & taking pix, we headed toward ethel’s chocolate lounge.  we had wanted to go to a bunch of other shops, but the rain (plus a little 6 y.o. girl) held us back (oh well, that just means more adventures to come!!).  chilled from the two-block walk in the rain, ethel’s looked pretty inviting.  it was pouring buckets & i didn’t want to get my camera wet…so no pix of this shop.  however, my sis took some afterwards, which i hope to share in “part two” later.  ethel’s, if you have never been to the lincoln park location, is a darling little place, all decked out in pink & brown.  when you walk in, you are welcomed with a very pleasant aroma of chocolates & coffee.  YUM!  for first-timers to the shop, they give you free samples of one of their signature truffle chocs…oooh, i had the one called “chocolate mousse” & it was delectable!  that & a spot of blackberry tea, absolutely heaven!  we will definitely come back to this place for sure.

then the next day, i serendipituously heard about this hottie  (hehehe) being in town & got to go to his book signing (blogged a couple of posts ago).  to kill some time, i went here  (my fav source for wicked cheap, cool stuff when i was a young, single city gal)

here  this is located in fulton market, right by the el tracks… this is literally a warehouse of the most amazing salvaged architecture & antiques that i have ever had the pleasure of visiting!  sadly, after searching for about 45 minutes for a parking spot (parking is such a b-tch there!), the place was not OPEN!  oh well, i can always come back (with my sister in tow) next time!  anyway, this area used to be a HUGE open air market back in the day.  there are some meat/fish/food markets still in the area, but it is now largely rehabbed with converted old warehouses turned lux condos & upscale shops. i remember when this neighborhood used to STINK, literally, from all the fish & meat being sold in the markets.  didn’t smell too badly the day i came by. 

& here  when i lived in chicago, this was my fav source for gardening.  at the time, i lived in a 3rd floor apartment, which had a small deck overlooking the inner courtyard.  i container gardened at that time & often went to smith & hawken for some cute ideas & inspiration.  it has expanded considerably since those early days…but it is just as glorious as i remembered. 

~LOCAL FAVES~

here are some local places that i frequent>>>

  wicked cheap vintage stuff here!  i am always having all sorts of luck!

 aka the antique barn.   this is my new BFF, hehehe…this is that “junky” antique mall that i mentioned a while ago.  this is the one i wrote about that is a mixed media artist’s nirvana?  yeh…loads of goodies & dirt cheap too!  i recently came away with a very nice bookcase & box…all for under $50 usd.  SWEET!

  okay, this is one of 2 local indie shops that i go to on a regular basis.  this place, cranberry moon for its wonderful seasonal offerings…

 & this place for ooh la la, whenever i need a boost to my “inner girly divaness”, heehee.  would you just look at this place?  it is oozing with all kinds of something wonderful!  kelly, the very sweet proprietress, was kind enough to let me snap away.  i told her that her shop has to be featured in country living or something! 

& in a couple of weeks the flea market season officially opens here>>>

  i CANNOT WAIT!!!  my dh & also my sis & her kids will be trekking with me to their opener.  WOOT WOOT!  last year was so much fun…i am waiting with eager anticipation!

~MY FINDS~

well, that concludes “part one” of my show ‘n’ tell…as soon as my sis gets her pix up on flickr, i will post “part two” pronto! 

thanks for bopping by & enjoy your sunday!! xoxo mary ann

********* SIGN UPs for THE VINTAGE PROM DRESS SWAP is NOW CLOSED ********** 

 sign-ups for this swap is officially closed.  we made our 30 artist limit already & house construction will begin! yay!

feeling a little bit left out?  well, don’t fret…good ol’ mary ann has dreamed up ANOTHER fab swap theme!  i was inspired by a newsletter that i received from here as well as paying a recent visit to her chicago store with my sis & her daughter (aka my li’l niece)…PLUS, may is prom season too, isn’t it?  so i thought…

why not do an itty bitty book swap on this theme?

 sound like a good idea to you? 

if it is, then please sign up in the “official” flickr group.  but don’t wait too long, because i have a feeling that this one will fill up WICKED FAST!    

just as in my last swap, the robin’s egg blue one, the swap is limited to 30 artists & page requirements will be the same as before (2.75 inches x 3.5 inches). also, the same nominal shipping fee will apply in this swap ($6 usd for domestic participants & $8 usd for international).   DEADLINE (& i am FIRM on this, so kindly respect this) will be JULY 26.   that is more than ENOUGH time to get your set of pages done! 

have a bunch more to share, but it is getting late & i am tie-tie…until next post, sweet dreams! xoxo mar 

(photo taken by me at gage park, chicago)

xoxo mary ann

****SIGN-UPs NOW CLOSED*****

 now that my swap is officially over & was a huge success, bridget aka callieflower girl on flickr has stepped up to host a new swap in the group called>>>

for more 411, head over here. 

spaces are filling up fast!  she’s accepting the first THIRTY names & then swap sign-up will close.  deadline for book pages will be JUNE 15th.  hope to see you there!