Mosaic Cottage Happenings

New Blog!

2007-11-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's Official!! New Blog is Up!!! Come and Visit ME!!!!
www.mosaicqueen.typepad.com
xoxo!!!!
Michelle

AND MORE Cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-11-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hello, Hello, Hello!!! Yep, More Cupcakes! This group of Yummy Mosaic Confections can be found at Firefly Gallery in Paso Robles, California.
Remember way back when........when I said I was working on a new blog??? Well, I'm gonna share it with you this coming weekend! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm soooooo excited!!!!
See you then!! xoxo! Michelle

Today is My Birthday.....and more mosaics

2007-11-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Today is My Birthday!! lalalalalala!! Look at this YUMMY cake that I'm going to dive into tonight!!! I get one of these cakes every year for my birthday. Isn't it soooo COOL??!! It is a white chocolate with black raspberries and the best fondant frosting that I've ever tasted!
This is where I get the cakes. Tammie Coe is pretty well known around the valley. She even has a waiting list for her wedding cakes. She's a big supporter of the Arts and because she's an independent business, I try to support her as much as I can.
Here's my newest cake. It is on its way to Dori, owner of Dreaming Bear Designs Boutique in Iowa. Her store looks pretty fun and colorful, so I wanted to send a cake that would compliment her style.
These cupcakes and some cuppies (that I forgot to take a pic of) are also on their way to Dreaming Bear Designs. Again, lots of color for Dori.
Well, I still have cupcakes to finish for another order, so I'd better get to work. I'm about caught up, so I'm hoping that I will have some time to make some of the ideas that are trying to crack my head apart!!! Ha! I just referred to myself as a crack-head! It must be the new age! ;-)

Halloween Party part 7

2007-10-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

The headhunter Cajun in his canoe. The fog machine was going off behind him and the alligator was on the other side of the walkway. It looks bright from the flash, but it was only lit by purple lights.
Drunkin Cajuns in the boat in the driveway.
My special Swamp Juice!!! Tasty, but dangerous! :-)
The scary walkway. It was hard to get a good pic in the dark.
My neighbor Janice's costume. She said that she got her mardi gras beads by showing these old lady boobs. I can't even tell you what happened when she removed these. Some people had way too much fun with them. I think it was the swamp juice. If you'd like to see more party pics, keep scrolling down.

Halloween Party part 6

2007-10-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

Here's me and the hubby! We came as alligators!! The hats turned out really cool! I need to take a closer pic of them. I was wearing a swamp queen wig. I made these costumes 2 days before the party!!!
Here's what the entrace looked like in the day light.
And then at night! We had a fog machine at the end. My swamps didn't turn out too well, so we just put the gators in the pond and in the pool and across from the fog machine.
Here's a gator in the pool
We had these set up in the driveway. I forgot to take a pic of them set up. I was too busy getting ready for everyones arrival.

Halloween Party part 5

2007-10-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

My sweet friend Annette
Ms. Lynda, the tarot card reader that I hired for the party. As you can see behind her, we set up a tent and added the sign.
My friend Paula
My friends Paula and Gail.....they took 2nd place in the Halloween costume contest.
New friend Angel

Halloween Party part 4

2007-10-30T19:55:00.001-07:00

Friends Joe T. and his lovely wife Nora (she loved my Swamp Juice!)
My neighbors Janice and Dan. Her costume was a hoot!! I'll show another pic later.
My friend Kat........she was a lot of fun at the party!!
Friends, Mark and Shelly
Friends, Stephanie and Jerome

Halloween Party part 3

2007-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

My friend and hairdresser, Vanessa
My friends, the Melo family
My friend Dan
My friend Ann and her hubby Mike

My hubby's co-worker Pete and his wife Jennifer

Halloween Party part 2

2007-10-30T17:54:00.001-07:00

My friend Lori and her hubby Brit
My friend Brigitte (yep, that's how it's spelled)
My friend DeAnn and her hubby Bobby. I laughed so hard when I saw them, as they are the whitest people I know.
My hubby's co-worker Kritter and his wife (oops! can't remember her name!)
My hubby's co-worker Diane and her boyfriend (I don't even know his name)

Hallowen party pics part 1

2007-10-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

Daughter #4 and #3 and some party attendees at the buffet table. We served gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice and appetizers and desserts.
The winners of our Halloween costume contest. They were crawfish!!!! Too FUNNY!!! They are voted on by their peers (other party attendees). Each year we give a trophy and a gift card to a restaurant.
Here's a pic from one side of the party
My friend Mary and her boyfriend Dan
My friend Ann
More to come.....

Halloween FUN!!!

2007-10-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

This should be really FUN!!!!!!!!! I'm going to share my party pics!

Halloween Party Updates

2007-10-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone! Well, I'm still working like a crazy person trying to get ready for this party.......every year it's like this! :-) Anyway, I found 3 blow-up gators. One of them was the store display that they had to cut down from the ceiling to sell to me. It was the summer close-out clearance at the pool store, so I got them for only $5.95 each! Score!! Miss Emma, one of my pugs, decided that this was one cozy spot for her to get comfortable. We finally had to put the gator away, as she started digging on it like she does her bed when she's trying to fluff it up. No popping of the gators allowed Miss Emma!
Oooooooh! Scary!!!!!!!!!! This is one of the swamp pirates we made that is along the pathway that leads to the festivities.
We strung my husbands camo net above the walkway. I'm going to hang moss and snakes and whatever else I can think of from it.
This is on the patio. I think I'm going to put Frankie's head on a platter with chips. He plugs in and light comes from his mouth. My husband stuck that eyeball in his mouth. yuck!
Here's my hubby. We worked hard all weekend getting ready and we still have lots to do. The wind blew like crazy, which is not normal. I think it must be coming from California.......or could it be something haunting?????????? muahahahaha
More pics soon.

Halloween Party and a little orange

2007-10-18T08:15:00.001-07:00

Well, what do you know.....my pics actually loaded today. I don't care, I'm still switching to Typepad. I'm waiting for pricing from the guru Heather on banner design.
Anyhooooooooooo, take a look at my crazy voodoo dolls. These went out with the invitations. My Halloween party is just around the corner and I'm scrambling around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. I have about a week and a half, so hopefully, I'll be able to pull it off. We are having a bayou theme this year, hence the voodoo dolls. We go all out! I'm even building swamps! Still looking for blow-up alligators......anyone?? Oh, and I I've got to find a tape with swamp sounds. I'll share more as it comes together.

Okay, I said no orange for Halloween this year, but silver and black pumpkins just wouldn't work in the yard. These are actually faux pumpkins, oh, and the sunflowers are faux too. It's still too warm to put real pumpkins out, as they would turn to mush quickly. Maybe next week. While everyone else in other states are starting to prepare for cold weather, we in Arizona are starting to head outside for cooler temps. It's when we start to plant our vegetable gardens and our spring gardens and we put in flowers and plant trees and winter grass AND we thank God that the 100 degree temps are gone! :-) This is a Potato Bush formed into a small tree. I have several of these in the yard. Some as bushes and some as trees. I love the small purple flowers on them and these plants LOVE the heat and do pretty well in the cold.....unless it freezes and then you have to cut them way back and baby them throughout the Spring.
I picked these Mums up at Lowes for only $15. What a wonderful burst of color! I can put them in the ground after they are done blooming and they'll come back again in the Spring and again in the Fall.

Well, that's all for now. I've got cupcake orders out the ying-yang and much to do for the party so I'd better get a move on.

Peace out! :-)

Blogs Suck! (sometimes) :-)

2007-10-17T13:13:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't seem to upload pics to this blog and I'm having problems with my banner on my new blog. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I know that there was someone out there that was creating blog banners for other peeps. Does anyone know who???

Help!!!!!!!!!!

Boutique Updates

2007-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

On my list of too many things to do, is listing the boutiques that are carrying my mosaics.
First, I must mention White Trash Boutique in Fayetteville, North Carolina. When Molly, the owner, placed her order, she requested a cupcake that read Queen of White Trash and this is what I came up with. I tried to make it really special, since it is the name of her store. Well, now she has folks wanting to buy it, so I'm going to be making her some that are similar, but not the same, as it depends on the availability of vintage jewelry that I can find, and this particular cupcake will be sold exclusively through her boutique. So, if you're interested in one, give her a holler! :-)

Next, I would like to mention Firefly Gallery in Paso Robles, California. I just sent them a really nice order of cupcakes and a new cake design that I came up with and guess what??????
I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggg! @%#&*%@!!!
I can't tell you the number of times that I have done this! I was doing too many things at one time and forgot until I handed my boxes to the FedEx person. So now, I'm hoping that I can get them to take a snapshot of their display once they receive the order, so that I can share it with everyone. (please?)

And, of course, there is American Harvest. FABULOUS, FABULOUS Boutique!!!! And I've only seen it through pictures!!! Sharon and Rodger are just Awesome and I LOVE talking to Sharon on the phone. We could talk for hours!

Then, of course, there are all of you wonderful folks that have ordered cupcakes and more, directly. I am so Thankful and feel truly blessed. I made over a 100 cupcakes in just the month of September and I THANK ALL OF YOU!! (and so does my massage therapist!) :-)

Another thing that I'm working on is a new blog.......and it is taking me FOREVER!!!! I had hoped to have it up a couple of weeks ago, but orders come first, so there's my excuse.

Okay, back to work. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

p.s. I forgot to mention that the pumpkin in the previous post went to Daphne's Cottage.

Pumpkin

2007-10-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all! It's 5:30 a.m and I have lots of work to do, so here's a quick post of one of the things I've been up to. Yep, a Mosaic Pumpkin. Like I said in an earlier post, no orange this year.
I love the typewriter keys at the top. It was not an easy job getting those babies wired on to that curly wire! Whew! Then there's the old watch face where I inserted an old vintage calender and a witch hat. I seem to have a thing with witch hats this year.
There's bits and pieces of old vintage paper throughout. I actually cut that "H" out with scissors. It was not fun and I do believe that a lot of cuss words were used. Anyhoo, that's all for now. I've got a lot to finish up today. The hubby has been gone for over a week on a hunting trip and he returns this weekend. I get so much more done when he's gone! I'm not sure why, but I do. Anybody else have this same problem??
Have a good weekend everyone! I'll be making visits this weekend to you all. :-)

Little Miss Charlotte

2007-10-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Lookie, Lookie what came in the mail a few days ago!! This adorable painting is the creation of the very talented Jenny and Aaron from Everyday is a Holiday. When I first saw it, I gasped with delight and then when I saw that her name was Little Miss Charlotte, which was my grandmother's name, well I did not hesitate at getting my credit card out and promptly ordering her. I absolutely adore her and every time I look at her, it makes me think of my grandma......even though my grandma was a red-head. Just FABULOUS guys!!! I will treasure forever!!!!!!!!
I hung her in one of my favorite spots. I think she fits in perfect here with my other little treasures. There's my mixed-media box from the very talented Lisa Kaus, a very cute paper button made from vintage paper from the very popular Artsy Mama, candlestick holders from the Queen of Cute, Miss Mary Engelbreit, a heart with wings from indigo passage, the old typewriter was a gift to myself last year, an old chair purchased from Goodwill and repainted, a jar with old locks and doorknobs, the Believe sign from Kathy's Primitives, a cheap lamp that I'm going to do something with, the letter "Y" that I purchased at a junk store, a family picture from a few years ago in an antique tin frame, an old frame that I painted and added the scrapbook map to the inside, and my Christmas present of last year, the aqua hutch.
A closeup of my goodies. I have more locks and doorknobs, I just need to knock them out of the old wood that they're in. Someday soon I hope!
My plan is to make the word "You" with this "Y" and the button that Artsy Mama made.
I bought this chair for $6 at Goodwill!!!! I made the heart sachet hanging from the chair. It's filled with lavender. The pillow is wrapped in an old vintage pillowcase that I will someday make into a real pillow with trim. I added the aqua brooch, as no one ever sits on this chair. It's just for decoration.
I'm still making cupcakes like a crazy woman and waiting for marching orders from Miss Daphne .

And..................................I've got something else up my sleeve that I hope to have finished soon, so I can share it with you!

Please forgive me for not visiting everyone lately! :-( I promise that I'm about to change that!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love to you All!!!

I'm Looking For a Pink "P"

2007-09-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

I'm looking for a pink "P". Do you see one??? (LOL) This is what I'm up to toay :-)
Have a Good One!!!!!!!!!!!

No Orange this year

2007-09-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

I've started doing a little Halloween decorating. I decided that I do not want any orange this year. I'm swaying more towards the dark colors like black, pewter, old brown and silver. Actually, I think I'm just wanting an "Old" look. I haven't gotten much done, (too busy with orders) but I'll share what I've done so far. This hutch is in my dining room and as I was (finally) dusting it this past weekend, I started gathering things from different rooms in the house to change things up a bit. I'm sure I'll tweak some more, but here is how it looks this morning.
When my Father-in-Law was alive, it would drive him crazy to see my silver tea set all dingy and unpolished. I couldn't get him to understand that I liked it that way.
Here's a couple of cakes that I made that actually aren't mosaic.
I like to add little surprises in my displays.
I like the look of the old buttons thrown here and there. I painted one of those orange Styrofoam pumpkins silver. I really like it! I need to buy some bigger ones and paint them too, for the rest of the house. I'm thinking a black pumpkin with silver accents would be cool.
I'll share more later. :-)

New stuff

2007-09-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

This little cupcake is going to a special birthday girl(woman). A few of her coworkers got together and ordered this cupcake for her. There's a certain little phrase that she repeats a lot. Can you guess what it is?? :-)
Here are a some new Halloween items. The idea for the slice of cake has been rolling around in my head for some time now. I'm glad that I was finally able to put the idea into action. The piece is mosaiced with broken glass with several different pieces of vintage text. I LOVE it!!!
My mind is spinning with ideas of other ways I could use this same process. Wouldn't a large clock look really cool??!!! Yep, I gotta try that!
Here's a closeup. How fitting this text is for Halloween! These and a couple other cupcakes are heading to Miss Elizabeth at Daphne's Cottage. Oh, and Miss Dayle, I have your cupcakes done too.

More garden pics

2007-09-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

More pics from the garden. This view is from my studio door.
I love adding old junk to the garden. I think it adds character.
The outside entrance to my studio.

Garden Pics

2007-09-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

While I'm working on mosaic orders, I don't want you to get bored with my blog, so I'm posting some pics of my backyard that were taken in June. Since these pics were taken, some of the plants have died due to the heat and some have really flourished as they heat lovers. The Cosmos are gone, but the Honeysuckle that grows over the arch on the pond has filled in nicely. I'll have to take some now pics......as soon as I get a moment.
I had a few patches of sunflowers throughout the yard, but sadly, they are all gone too. :-(
We grow artichokes in our vegetable garden every year. They are Yummy!! I like to leave some behind, as I love that they turn into these Beautiful purple flowers. This one hasn't quite opened up yet.
I have GREAT plans for this chair and this old door. I just need the time to make it come together. I think I have a yellow theme happening in this area. The Nasturiums are yellow and orange and that little bush in the middle (which is much bigger now) is a yellow Trumpet Bush. I want to secure that door to a post and put the chair in front of it. I may add some mosaic to the door and I want to add chicken wire to the chair, so that I can plant some kind of trailing purple flower in it. I have to make sure the door is up and away from the house so that the hubby doesn't panic over the possibility of termites.
Okay, that's all for now. I must get back to work!

Mosaic Confections Galore!!

2007-09-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

Hello Peeps!!! Long time no see!!!!!!!!! As you can see, I've been working like a D O G! Yep, whipping out mosaic confections and some other stuff too.........that I'm not quite done with. There's new slices of cakes.....
and new cuppies.......
and new cupcakes. Whew!!! That's a lot of work! Creating mosaics is a very time consuming endeavor. There are many steps in the process, not to mention, searching for the "just right" materials (that's the hardest part). It's a good thing I enjoy it soooo much!! My husband is always telling me that I'm working for pennies......and he's right, but if you love what you do, that's important too. Right???? However, if he weren't supporting me financially, I would probably have to get a desk job to supplement my income. That's the price you pay when the art medium you choose, is the most time consuming one.
All of these new confections will be on their way to boutiques, but if anyone is feeling the need for a mosaic confection of their very own, feel free to email me. I'd LOVE to create something for you!! Well, back to the studio......I've got more orders to fill and some other stuff that needs finished. Hopefully, I can take a break this week and visit blogland. I want to know what you're all up to! Hugs and Kisses!!
Michelle

Working, Working, Working..........

2007-08-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

New! Halloween Cupcake and Daphne's Cottage

2007-08-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm working like a maniac right now with orders, but I squeezed in time to make this Halloween cupcake. I made the little witch hat with vintage papers (some from France!) and dusted it with silver glass glitter. There is also a silver little chain from an old necklace and little black beads on it.....oh! and that cute lil' scrabble letter! Love that! Boo! Did I scare you?? Just kidding. Halloween is my most favorite holiday! Every year, we throw a HUGE Halloween/Costume party. It is a Blast and everyone looks forward to it. Last year, we had about 65 people come! Soooooo Fun!! (and Exhausting!) My birthday falls just 5 days after Halloween, so it seems that we are celebrating for days! Anyway, I'll be making a few of these cupcakes, so if you want one, email me. The price is the same as my other cupcakes. Also, if you retailers want one, let me know. I'll try to get it added to my website too.........I am WAY behind on updating the website!

NOW, I must tell you about DAPHNE'S COTTAGE! Remember that name, as you are going to be hearing and seeing it a lot real soon!!! The Lovely Elizabeth is the owner of Daphne's Cottage and she is just a doll.....and FUNNY too!!!!! The first time I read her blog, I almost wet myself while laughing! I LOVE someone who can make me laugh! Anyway, Daphne's Cottage is a new online boutique. Elizabeth is just getting started, but I believe that she is going to make Daphne's Cottage, a household name. This girl has drive and determination and she doesn't waste anytime making decisions. She's very respectful of artists that are working with her, as well as, potential artists. I believe this, in itself, will make her go far! I just started working with Elizabeth and you will soon see some of my mosaics at Daphne's Cottage. I am VERY EXCITED and Honored to be working with Elizabeth........Can you tell????? :-) Sooooo please do me a favor and visit Elizabeth's blog. Leave her a comment and tell her Michelle sent you.

Hugs to you all!!!