Looking For A Home...

UPDATED JULY 20th:

Don't worry, I'm not begging you to take a stray puppy or kitten, though I'm sure there are numerous softies out there who couldn't resist!

Actually, things are winding down for me for the summer. Orders are getting finished this week and I will be packing up the contents of my garage... finally! I will have to be willing to sort and separate and purge. It's definitely going to hurt, but I have to let go of some things I've collected and saved for so long. I've got to get down to business and decide what to keep and what to pass on to someone else to enjoy or dream up a creation for a particular treasure. I also have to get the rest of my inventory out the door so I can start with a clean slate the end of summer. I'll have a new workroom (or studio if you want to call it that), new ideas, new creations... I can hardly wait! Of course I will be working on my old tried and true designs for the holidays as well. I will have enough trouble storing all my supplies, props, and tools without trying to keep my hand made items handy in case someone wants something while I'm remodeling. I wouldn't turn away a sale, but I might have a little difficulty finding a needle in a haystack!

I will post photos and prices of items that are here with me and need a home. If you see something you would like to have or something that would be just the thing for a friend, please email me (my address is in my profile at the left of this page) and I'll get back with you on shipping and the total. You may also find these on my website, Honeysuckle Lane, and contact me through the link there.
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Autumn Bouquet Wall Hanging: I designed this wall hanging and sold patterns to quilt shops across the US. This is the original and was shown at a couple of Quilt Markets by National Nonwovens, a wool felt company. $60

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Vintage Baby Shoe Pincushion: How sweet and spring-like this piece is! This make-do pincushion is made from an old ... planter possibly? Just look at all the little crazing under the glaze. There is one very old chip that is visible, but in my opinion it just lends to the vintage charm of the piece. The pincushion is made from a cotton damask tablecloth and stuffed with wool scraps. I've added a few old buttons and pins ~ all of which are vintage ~ faux pearl, faceted bead, purple glass... all kinds of tops on the pins. For a touch of vintage whimsy, I added a piece of old-fashioned tinsel around the base of the pincushion. 5" tall. Signed and dated on the bottom, Lana Manis 2007.
$25
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Fraktur Bird with Folk Art Frame: Inspired by early-American folk art motifs. Hand painted on aged watercolor paper; detailed with sepia India ink. Signed Lana Manis 2007. Frame: custom-made, pine with walnut block corners; painted brown and blue with blue watercolor flowers on the walnut blocks; combed waves, dabbed circles; distressed; hand rubbed beeswax finish; brown paper dust cover; saw tooth hanger.
One-of-a-kind ~ 12" x 14" including frame

$75

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Fraktur Bird Watercolor: Inspired by early-American folk art motifs. Hand painted on aged watercolor paper; detailed with sepia India ink. Signed Lana Manis 2007. Frame: Painted black, sanded and distressed with hand rubbed beeswax finish; Brown paper dust cover with saw tooth hanger. This piece is behind glass (added after photo was taken).
One-of-a-kind ~ 10 1/2" x 12 1/2" including frame

$50
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The following items are no longer available:

Thank You & God Bless! Lana
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Looking Back

I am chomping at the bit to get started on some spring whimsies! I've had the flu this week (seems to happen every February during or just after my birthday) and I haven't felt like making anything, but today I finally brought my laptop in the living room so I could stay snuggled on the couch with my flannel quilt, in front of the fire, drink hot hazelnut coffee, and look through my past designs for inspiration ~ if I can stay awake, lol!

I think I'll do more rabbits and bird in the hand pieces with curlicue wire embellishments for March. I hope my customers aren't tired of them.

So... here's what was going on in 2008:

Birds, Bees, & Bunnies, Too!

That is the theme of a TDIPT group launch currently underway on eBay. For the auction, I made one of my Bird in Hand whimsical folk art pieces (two photos shown). A few years ago I had been thinking of old fashioned phrases to coordinate with my designs and when I thought of "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" I had to make my first Bird in Hand.... even if it was at midnight! I traced my hand on paper, drew a basic bird shape that I thought would be about the right size, and went from there. They may be used as a pincushion, or to just sit among your collections of birds, handmade whimsies, or bird nests. You may see my auction here ~ it ends Sunday night!

And be sure to visit Suzanne's auction. {2011 update: obviously the auction is over, but you may find Suzanne's work here: Pear Tree Primitives.} She has painted an early style silhouette of two sisters with a bird and a birdcage. As I have mentioned before, I have some of her artwork and she is a wonderful artist!

{2011 update: I'm happy to say I own this piece and absolutely love it! :) }

I haven't made any bees or bunnies for the ebay auction, so I thought I'd share a photo I took a few years ago of a bee and wisteria. I have taken lots and lots.... and lots of photos of flowers, bees, butterflies, birds, bark and moss.... the list goes on and on. I'll share some with you from time to time.

I don't have a photo of a live bunny, but this is a rabbit I designed and made last year. I was inspired by the lithographed fabric rabbits of the late 1800s. Mine is sewn, stuffed and handpainted. I'll have a few of these to offer later in Spring.

Have a blessed weekend!

Lana

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Birds, Bees, & Bunnies, Too!

That is the theme of a TDIPT group launch currently underway on eBay. For the auction, I made one of my Bird in Hand whimsical folk art pieces (two photos shown). A few years ago I had been thinking of old fashioned phrases to coordinate with my designs and when I thought of "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" I had to make my first Bird in Hand.... even if it was at midnight! I traced my hand on paper, drew a basic bird shape that I thought would be about the right size, and went from there. They may be used as a pincushion, or to just sit among your collections of birds, handmade whimsies, or bird nests. You may see my auction here ~ it ends Sunday night!

And be sure to visit Suzanne's auction. She has painted an early style silhouette of two sisters with a bird and a birdcage. As I have mentioned before, I have some of her artwork and she is a wonderful artist!

I haven't made any bees or bunnies for the ebay auction, so I thought I'd share a photo I took a few years ago of a bee and wisteria. I have taken lots and lots.... and lots of photos of flowers, bees, butterflies, birds, bark and moss.... the list goes on and on. I'll share some with you from time to time.

I don't have a photo of a live bunny, but this is a rabbit I designed and made last year. I was inspired by the lithographed fabric rabbits of the late 1800s. Mine is sewn, stuffed and handpainted. I'll have a few of these to offer later in Spring.

Have a blessed weekend!

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A Mohair Bird on an Antique French Ticking Mattress Pincushion

Birds are a favorite subject of mine. I've often included them in my paintings and folk art pieces. This one was inspired by antique Steiff toys and the arrival of spring.

Even though the bird is a golden brown, I still see it as a robin... just in time for spring! The fabrics are vintage sparse mohair and recycled red wool.

The underside of the wings are lined with a recycled brown wool. If you notice in the photos, the end of the tail has a reddish tint to the mohair... the fabric was shaded like that, so I made sure to cut that part to add a bit more color to the tail.

I drew a bird pattern (free-hand) on the back of the fabric, cut it out, and hand-stitched it. No patterns were used. Now I wish I had made a pattern... I really like the shape of the bird. Hopefully I can sketch around a bit and come up with a very similar design.

As I've mentioned many times before, my husband is a carpenter / woodworker, so I used a tiny scrap of walnut wood from his shop for the beak. I carved it by hand with an exacto knife.

That wonderful old looking pincushion is made from beautiful antique French ticking that I purchased directly from a dealer in France several years ago.

When I received it in the mail, I couldn't bring myself to cut into the fabric... and so it sat in a box.

And I forgot about it until a while back when I was looking for a specific fabric for some projects and found it in my stash.

Again, I used no pattern, cutting the pincushion design to fit under the bird, and then hand-stitching to make a tufted mattress. It is filled with snippets and scraps of 100% wool.

This one of a kind piece is currently in my Honeysuckle Lane shop. Click this link to visit and make a purchase if you are interested.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Have a blessed weekend,
Lana

Simply Miscellaneous

I tried to write a title for this post, but it was going to end up looking like an entire paragraph!

There's several things to share so I'll jump right in:

Update: Since I don't want to use my 200th post yet, I'm adding this bit of news here:

Thank you to Chris of Shop Indie Online for featuring my Vintage French Text Paper Wreath today! You may see it and all the other features here: http://www.shopindieonline.com/blog/archives/2390.

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I wanted to share with you my birthday gift from Suzanne / Painter of the Past / Pear Tree Primitives. First of all, she painted this WONDERFUL early American style portrait in colors that I love! It's perfect and matches my decor to a T! She also added some pretty cards made from prints of the portrait, a lovely old tarnished silver platter / tray, and a old, soft leather sewing kit / manicure kit that still has some tools and needles in it! It's great to have a friend who "gets" you, isn't it?

Next, I was going to tell you about the May Apple theme that's going on at American Folk Art right now and show you what I had for sale. I painted a folk art style botanical of the May Apple plant. They grow in abundance here on the plateau in the spring. After listing this watercolor yesterday, it sold last night (thank you dear customer!) but be sure to visit the link to see all the other offerings. Suzanne has some new items listed there too!

Another item I recently made is one of my Bird in Hand pieces. This one is made of linen, cotton, velvet, and paper. Everything has been aged with a coffee / vanilla mixture and smells delicious! If you'd like to purchase it, there's a link at the top left of this page.

And last, but not least, I am very close to my 200th post AND I think I just passed my 2nd year blog anniversary, so....... I'll be having a giveaway in a few days. My next (200th) post will be to announce the details of the giveaway, and my 201st post will be to announce the winner.

Thanks for visiting today!

Take Care & God Bless,
Lana
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Through Virtual Doors...

When I walked through the virtual doors of internet groups a few years ago, I was a bit apprehensive. I was cautious and decided to join a moderated craft group that was open only to members. I soon found that it was a group filled with delightful ladies who shared with others their love of crafting and of early American history.

It was in that first group that I heard of online market groups. I eventually joined a few of those and began selling my handmade items in craft co-ops.

As a member of those groups, I became acquainted with more and more kind, caring, and thoughtful women. Many of us have been on groups together for quite some time; long enough for me to learn that these women are as thoughtful and generous and gifted as anyone a person could ever meet.

Today I came home and found a package in my mailbox. I recognized the sender, but hadn't ordered anything from her. It was from Barb of thimblefolk ~ we have been in a few online markets together for a few years now. When I opened the package I couldn't have been more excited! It was a bird on a pincushion that I had admired.

And it was MY COLORS!

Just look at this sweet bird. Barb's work is always adorable; always whimsical.


I love the feather stitches and Fench knots all around the pincushion.

And look ~ Barb even added a little teapot charm! One of the groups that we are on together is The Eclectic Artisans, or TEA.

She combined so many of my favorite things: birds, sewing (pincushion and spool of thread), and that gorgeous color! Barb included a card of her adorable Mr. Whipplestitch and a note about why she sent me the gift. She is such a kind and giving person.

Pictured below, along with my gift from Barb, is a wonderfully rustic birdhouse from Jen of Country Rustic Primitives. She makes the best birdhouses, and if you get one from her, you are very lucky. I don't think she makes them as often since she is busy with her fantastic stitcheries.

The gorgeous hooked rug / mat in the foreground was designed and hooked by Barb's sister, Sarah of The Paisley Studio. It looks perfect in my workroom and I love the folk art design!

Jen and Sarah are also on our TEA group.

Now, let's back-track a little... About a week and a half ago, I received a package in the mail, from a name I recognized, Cheri, but I wasn't expecting anything for her.

I opened it and I cried. Just out of the blue, I was given this touching piece of art from a friend that I met in the first online group I had ever joined.

This painting was inspired by a photo I took of a rambling rosebush that belonged to my Mom. Cheri knew of the relationship I had with my Mom and she knew how much I loved her and how much I miss her. And she painted this for me.

Cheri designs and cuts her own stencils, and then hand paints the theorems with oils. Look at all the detail and shading! Her work is always perfection.

Cheri has so many talents: painting, papercutting, basket weaving, quilting, and much, much more. She generously gives many of her quilts to foster kids and to families of stillborn babies. I got to meet Cheri and her husband, Matt, a couple of years ago when they were on vacation. It was too short a visit, but long enough for me to know she is a wonderful person.

I am so blessed to have met so many kind and caring people through blogging and online craft groups. You do have to use caution when online, but for the most part, it is a rewarding experience in more ways than one!

A Bird in the Hand, or Two, or Three...

"Better one byrde in hande than ten in the wood." John Heywood -1546.

I'd been wanting to try a few of my old patterns and made a trio of Bird in Hand pieces recently. I had more cut out and ready to sew, but by the time I had these made, my left hand was getting numb again and I had to stop. The ones I did manage to complete are now in my Honeysuckle Lane Etsy shop if you'd like one for yourself or for a gift. You can set them on a shelf or cupboard with other folk art items, or put it to use as a primitive pincushion! :)

Have a lovely weekend!
Lana