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Snow day project.....

"Two in a Bush"
punchneedle embroidery
©teresa kogut

We had a snow storm Sunday evening.....we got about 10" of snow. I am however, thankful that the prior 10" of snow we had gotten a couple weeks ago just melted. Anyway, the kids had Monday off for President's Day but the roads were still bad enough that they had Tuesday off as well. I spent the day at the house working on this new pattern. I hadn't worked on punchneedle in quite a while and so enjoyed it. I just love how it turned out!! Punchneedle and hooked/punch rug patterns available soon.

Crackle is done :)

"Walks Securely"

12" x 18" acrylic on cradled birch wood
©teresa kogut

......what more can I possibly add?....this scripture says it all.......

Call me crazy....

......but I am starting a quilt!! I made my first one last year and my goal is to make one a year from now on. The pattern is "rail fence"....it should be much easier than the four-patch quilt I made last year. These fabrics were in my stash from years ago. I will take pics as I progress.

wip....

"Walks Securely"
©teresa kogut

I started this painting while in my booth at the Market Square show in PA. I have been so busy since coming home that I haven't finished it yet! Hopefully next week :)

a gift for my followers....

I thought this was appropriate to announce on Valentine's Day......my February give a way is open to all my followers :) You will automatically be entered in the drawing if you are a follower of my blog or if you are on my "networked blogs" list. Join either one if you'd like to have a chance to win.

The gift is the above painting as a 12x12 personalized print on wood. The winner can give the print as a wedding gift, anniversary gift or a gift to themselves. The heart between the couple states mine and Kevin's wedding date but I can personalize this to read any names and date you wish...or I can just leave the heart blank with no writing. The drawing will be Feb 28. Good Luck!

yummy colors

"Two in a Bush"

18" x 12" acrylic on cradled birchwood

©teresa kogut all rights reserved

This was the first original that sold at Market Square last Sunday. Love, love, love it!!! The colors are so yummy and warm......does anyone else find it hard to part with your original paintings? Another one that sold ....one I almost didn't take with me because I loved it so much...was USA. It was the coolest piece of antique wood. It had a scalloped "shelf" at the top of the painting. I had collaged papers on the wood then painted over top of it for texture and pattern......hard to see it go.......but that is why we create art, right? to share with the world!!

Sassy made it home........

I almost forgot to update y'all on lil' precious. The day before I left for Pennsylvania, I got an email from Sassy's family. It is a young family with small children that live a couple miles away. She had finally told the children that Sassy must have been hit by a car since she had been missing for three weeks. A family friend saw the ad I had put on Craig's List and called them with the contact info.

Here's the kicker..........while driving to Pennsylvania, I got a call from Sassy's mom. She said that she wondered if she did the right thing taking Sassy back. When they left our house, Sassy stood in the back seat looking out the window and barked all the way home. She also said that their older dog was not happy to have Sassy back home and would fight with Sassy. Her husband said if the fighting didn't stop, Sassy would have to go. She wanted to let me know what was going on and that if they couldn't keep her, she wanted to offer her to us first since we had bonded so well with Sassy. I told her I was out of town until Wednesday and to hang in there. I figured Sassy just needed to re-adjust to her environment again but if they weren't going to keep her, to call me back. Well, it is Friday and I haven't heard anything, so I guess Sassy is settling back in to her home. I hope I never come across a lost puppy again.....this has been a heart-wrenching experience :'(

We Survived Market Square.....

What a week it's been......as you know, for the past several weeks I have been working like mad preparing for the Market Square wholesale show. The Wednesday before we left, I became ill with the flu and spent the day in bed feeling miserable. My poor husband had a strange "plague" (I call it a plague because we don't know what it was.....a strange combination of cold and flu) that made him feel miserable for several days...but it really hit him hard with a high fever the same Wednesday that I was ill. So as you can imagine the following day, feeling up to it or not, we had to finish preparing for the show.....he still had to finish painting the booth and I had to price, pack, gather and load the truck. We worked Thursday until midnight getting ready. Friday morning, I was off to pick up my dear friend Renee and we hit the road to Oaks, Pennsylvania to the Market Square show. The first six hours of the trip, Renee and I didn't stop talking...it was great! We hadn't had much time together lately so we had a lot of catching up to do. Unfortunately as the day progressed I felt more and more ill....little did I know at the time I was coming down with the same "plague" Kevin had caught.

We arrived safe and sound Friday night around 8:15pm. Went straight to the room for some much needed rest. We had the entire next day to set up the booth. It was a new booth and it was also larger than any other booth I had ever set up, but we managed pretty good.....although I did miss my husband's strength when it came to using the screw gun! Renee was a God-send on this trip. She really took good care of me. After setting up, we went to Target and got some Theraflu, cough drops, and herbal tea in hopes to knock this plague out of me.

The show was a great success and I am very excited about the connections I made. I wish I would have felt better so that Renee would have had a better experience. She had never been to a show and loved every minute of it despite my being ill. We agreed she will have to go with me again (next year I am getting a flu shot!)

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me when I arrived at the show. Our booth was next to John & Cathy Schneeman's. They are friends we made way back when we did the show 13 years ago!!! They now have a beautiful 8 year old daughter that has all the charm a young girl could have. It was a delight to see them again and play catch up after all these years. Check out their amazing reproduction lighting here.

My New Fave......

"A Friend Loves"

22" x 28" acrylic on canvas

©teresa kogut

Love, love, love this one!!!! Must be the muted colors...different for me, but I am lovin' it! The dresses are scrapbooking paper and I painted a brownish-goldish wash over the top before applying the crackle finish. Takin' it to the Market Square show Friday! I am so excited about returning to "where it all started". This is the show that launched my career in 1994. I haven't been back since Ryan was born in 1998! I am looking forward to revisiting "old friends" and seeing how things have changed. Please pray for the roads to be cleared by Friday. We are expecting 12" to 16" of snow tonight. It hasn't even started snowing yet, but the schools are already closed for tomorrow. I am also praying that we don't lose electricity as I have a ton of work to do in the next two days before leaving for the show. I will take tons of pictures and tell you all about it when I return! Blessings for now.......