Happenings in June 2020

WOW! Lots happening in this country and around the world. Sad to see so many badly affected by Covid 19 and hoping things will start looking up very soon.
I've been busy in the studio, masks have been a popular item and custom fabric has been printed exclusively for Kick the Moon Studio. All masks can be viewed and

are available in my Easy shop. These are all printed on 100% cotton fabric, lined with a moisture-resistant, non-woven filter material, have a filter pocket opening and are sized for adults. I do have a few smaller sizes available also. Most of these have ties but I am working on some with elastic ear bands and hope to have them listed very soon.

Of course the mugs and bowls are still being added in my shop as well as the old standby Felting Stones. Head on over to the shop or web site and check out the listings. www.kickthemoonstudio.com or www.KickTheMoonStudio.etsy.com

I hope you see something that will make you smile.

Take care.

https://thecosycaninecompany.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-enjoy-a-walk-when-your-dog-loves-muddy-puddles-and-rolling-in-fox-poo?fbclid=IwAR0hI8M5Q8zI56oSX0rRXSgYAw-jLjfpI9MkHZZcdGivjWNtmjtjFlGBQPo

This is the link to Lottie's blog. I got a huge kick out of it. Her dog, Pickle, is the cutest dog and gets into the biggest, well, pickles! Just go read the blog and you'll see. Then check out her stuff, she is amazing and wonderful. <3 p="">
Oh, and I have a few new pieces in my Etsy shop. Coloring pages and prints. I may be transitioning over to only 2 D work. Or mostly anyway. I may be phasing out pottery all together. Stay posted, Oh the suspense!

I continue in my pursuit of the art nouveau style of drawing. I love the detail and line lines. Of course I've adapted it to MY style so it can't really be called art nouveau any longer. But I'll take it.

I've been busy at the studio! Some new coloring pages in my Etsy shop KicktheMoonStudio.etsy.com, new animal portraits coming online to a pet lover near you and a fabric line of original designs, are just a part of what I've been up to. 

I spent a portion of the year in Europe and got my inspiration tanks refilled. I highly recommend Paris,  the Black Forest and Ireland, wow. I saw so much my head spun. I hope to return and spend even more time in Ireland and visit Scotland, Greece, Portugal and GB. GB is high on my list because of the lovely Lottie Clements, who makes the MOST adorable products for dog lovers. head on over there and check out her shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCosyCanineCompany?ref=ss_profile

Her dog Pickle will love you for it. <3 div="">

Take care and I hope to see you back here again, very soon. Love and hugs.

Look who has a fork and a cupcake! Ready, set, ENJOY!!!

Patient Lavender

Lavender is enjoying a cup of tea with her cupcake while she awaits her permanent setting. Patiently, she waits.

Scenes are my scene, these days. LOL

A Quiet Moment

Sweet as honey and twice as cute. This figure is among my newest creations. I love Spring and felt the mother and child theme was appropriate. 

This needle felted figure is made of wool and wire. Her dress is cotton flannel and she is holding her baby and sitting on a wooden chair. Overall height is approx. 13 cm.

A sweet face to greet you in the morning

Charm and practicality in the palm of your hand and SO darned CUTE. Get ready to fall in love with this incredibly sweet, expertly crafted, stoneware mug and diffuser set. This set brings a touch of fresh whimsy directly to your table.

This little cutie can be found in my Etsy shop:
kickthemoonstudio.etsy.com

Lots of new cups and bowls are listed. Head on over and check them out. (pst, we've got roosters!)

New Designs on Original Felting Stones

I'm loving the new additions to my line of Original Felting Stones. These friendly cats are so sweet.

Chick-chick-CHICKEN! Happy, feisty and fun. These feathered friends are newly represented on my Original Felting Stones. I love them.

Roosters are hatching all over the place! I have them on the brain. Colorful and fun, they just make me happy.

Oh, Did We Frolic!

Miss Mouse Came to Call and we all had a lovely time. These sweet mice are the result of my needle felting class today at the Maine Fiber Frolic. We laughed and felted and were amazed at the work of our hands. Just look at these adorable friends. They look like they are on their way to a party, well, maybe they are!

If you are ever in the market for laughter, fun and a new found happy hobby, needle felting is a wonderful way to make some fabulous friends, even if they are the long tailed, four legged, furry kind. 

My next figurative needle felting class is at Pleasant Mountain Fiber Arts Summer Workshop

http://www.pleasantmtfiber.com/Workshop_descriptions_2017.htm

We will be making a Charming Woods Gnome. For more information you may follow the above link.

Do You Frolic?!?

Have you been to Maine? Have you frolicked? Well, BY GEORGE, the Maine Fiber Frolic is THIS weekend in Windsor Maine!

You better get ready for a FIBER and FUN filled weekend! Two days of great food, workshops galore, used equipment, fiberlicious vendors and FIBER FIBER FIBER!

I'll be up there with a few thousand of my best friends, enjoying a fiber spectacular. I'm teaching Silk Painting and Needle Felting and hoping to get out and enjoy the offerings that make life worth living.  I'll be keeping my eye out for a unique piece of equipment to add to the pile at the studio and hoping to meet some new friends while I'm at it.

Don't miss out! This only comes about once a year and the time is ripe. You don't want to just hear about the fun we had, come and make it real.
Here's the link to the workshop page:

http://www.fiberfrolic.com/workshops.shtml

We'll be there from 9 to 4 both days and having more fun that a pig in shaded mud!

I guarantee it.
Yessuh!

Miss Mouse Comes to Call. Sunday.

Silk Painting a Scarf. Saturday.

Just a Lump of Clay

Another drizzly, cool day here in the Mount Washington valley. I love these quiet days, sitting peacefully watching the birds dodge the raindrops as they go about their birdy business.

The quiet helps me to concentrate on my work. I imagine the future of each lump of clay that I am working. I get to decide what it will become what it will inevitably be. A cup? A bowl? Or something else.

Using slow, methodical movements, I coax the wet, plastic earth into pleasing, graceful shapes that someday will be held, used and enjoyed by someone next door or maybe on the other side of the planet.

My pottery ships all over the world and I wonder what the lives of those people are like. How do they go about their days and are they enjoying my pottery? I would love a glimpse into their routine to see if they are just regular folk, like me.

I often see my pottery in the homes of friends and neighbors and it is a humbling experience. To know the work of my hands is a valued part of someone’s daily life, fills my heart with incredible joy and humility.  Because I strive to create pieces that speak of joy and grace to the heart of the user. This is my goal, you see, to bring a smile to their lips as they sip their coffee, reflect upon the vagaries of life and watch the birds flutter past, dodging raindrops, on their way about their birdy business.

My New Coloring Book!

It is DONE and looks amazing! My coloring book is available on Amazon.com!
So great.https://www.amazon.com/Dances-Wools-fantasy-original-coloring/dp/0692740414/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478710747&sr=1-1&keywords=dances+with+wools

So, after loads of hard work (not really really hard but you know, just intense) my COLORING BOOK (!!!) is almost ready for release. I found one more, tiny typo and being OCD, I HAVE to fix it. This is the "drudge" part of publishing, I'm sorry to say. But it has to be done and hopefully in a week or so I will have the finished books in hand and they will be available on Amazon.com! WOOT

SNOW! AAACK!

We have had the mildest and most snow free December that I have ever witnessed here in SouthWestern Maine. But, today, December 29, that winning streak has ended.
I did not cry, I did not pout, I did not dance or act happy, either. It is just the first of a winter's full of white crappola that will plague us until May. Oh well, it was nice pretending that we would have a warmish, snow free winter, sigh.

Yay! My last big show of the year is DONE! I have been enjoying the newfound extra time by spinning. I got the spinning bug last summer but couldn't indulg, self discipline and all that. But NOW...
These crisp fall days and cold nights are spurring me on to spin more and more. When I get a pile of skeins I'm going to be knitting fingerless gloves, hats, neck warmers, etc. I'll keep you posted. #spinningwool

SOLD

One of my newest pieces...This will make a lovely addition to your collection or serve as a stand alone piece.



"King of Mice" $125.00 shipping included.

This lovely hand-made pin cozy is so darling I'm not sure how to even start. The whole idea of creating something from something else has taken over my whole head. I have been scouring antique stores etc looking for bases for these little works of whimsy. This little guy started with wool scraps and became king of the mice. Since making him so high and mighty I have found some delightful items with which to start some future pieces. But for now, he is a stand alone mouse.

King of Mice is listed here and will go to the one who loves him best. Lovely as a helper in the sewing room. Incredible as a delightful delight. And welcomed far and wide as a gift for any occasion.

Mastercard/Visa, American Express, Discover Card and Pay Pal accepted. Thank you for looking.

I like purple. I like bears. So I guess I will LOVE purple bears, right?
These little guys are just so cute, they remind me of grapes. Grape bears...that's just wrong.
Anyhoo, I keep thinking of all my fellow CNA students in their purple scrubs when I look at these bears.

So, now that you've seen him, what do you think. I plan to make them in a rainbow of colors so hold onto your hat, ma'am cuz things is getting crazy. : )

So, here's the thing: we have a BUNCH of new baby chicks that were hatched here on the farm this summer. Some were hatched really early and are almost full grown now. Some of the others were hatched later and are still itty bitty. ALL are so cute and fun to watch. But as always with the sweet comes the bitter. Two of the momma hens were taken by predators. When a predator attacks the babies the moms fly into the face of the attacker...I guess a smart fox knew just how to get a big old chicken dinner. : (

This is one of the little guys. I found four in the barn where they had fallen between some hay bales. The mom will go to look for chicks when they peep but has no way of getting them out of a hole etc. These little guys are almost big enough to go outside with all the others that are running around.

Yep, it has been a fun and productive summer here on the farm, at least for the chickens.

See ya soon,

julie

So, finally, RAIN. We have had two rains this week. The grass was so crunchy and dry but I think this will fix it. Hopefully we will have a little overcast for a couple of days and that should help the plants to suck up some of the water. The last storm went right down and was gone.

We have had a lot of heat and humidity these last few weeks, it is a true summer, alright. We had one cool night but all the others we have had the AC on. Can't sleep otherwise. It feels like living in the South. Been there,done that.

Hey, if anyone is in or around Portland, Maine tomorrow go check out Shakespeare in the park. It is happening at 6:30 in Deering Oaks Park. And its FREE! An amazing visual production of old Willie Shakes work. The acting is superb and the costuming is great too. So go check it out if you love theater.

News from the Moon Kicker

Crap on a cracker! I keep forgetting that I even have this blog. Sorry. So what's new? I am taking a CNA class. Have dropped the idea of finishing the Art degree for now. I needed a marketable skill that will get me some benefits if it comes to that. Almost done, just three weeks left of a 16 week course that I was told was 11 weeks when I signed up. LOL, the joke's on ME. Still making art, getting ready for Fryeburg Fair week. And hoping to see many old fair friends when it gets here. Too much to do right now to even think too far ahead. Great orders coming in on a regular basis and pretty good Etsy sales. The wholesale orders are great bread and butter money and pretty much pay the daily bills for the studio. I will keep it up as long as I can do so. I'm enjoying every day and have a new commitment to paint every morning when I get up. Not a hard one to keep, I must say. lol Anyhoo, I'll try to be back sooner, take care.