Enjoy Spring Fling-ing in Beaufort! Our next First Friday will include ART WALK, plus entertainment, artists in action, and even pets available for adoption. Mark your calendar for April 5 from 5 pm to 8 pm, and come say hello in my artsyletters studio at 811 Bay Street #3 (upstairs).
The street will be closed, so it will be a great outing for the whole family. See you there!
Kick off March with a “Stop and Shop” evening in downtown Beaufort this week. Thanks to the hard work of many, spearheaded by Mary and Eric at Thibault Gallery, FIRST FRIDAY is celebrating its 5th anniversary. (Thibault Gallery is, too – go by and give them some love!)
I’ll be hanging out at the clock downtown with Rhonda and Bernadette from the City of Beaufort. Come by and say hello! And then go check on Jeff, who will be minding the store at my studio at 811 Bay Street upstairs, with help from the wonderful Kim Poovey. Need some “literary art with a vintage vibe”? We’ve got you covered with my handcrafted gifts for readers and writers. Many of my items are also available at The Beaufort Emporium – be sure to enjoy the unique gifts and treats you can find there, seven days a week!
Enjoy an evening of strolling, entertainment, refreshments, catching up with old friends and making new ones – and maybe a little local shopping and dining! (If it sprinkles, we won’t let it dampen our spirits. It will just help green up our beautiful town for March.) See you Friday evening!
Happy New Year!
Bundles of thanks to so many wonderful artsyletters patrons for making 2018 the best year ever. Join me for creative adventuring in 2019!
For the month of January, my Etsy shop will be open 24/7, but my shop hours in downtown Beaufort will be limited to appointments only. (You should see the organizing I need to do! ;0) ) I have regular freelance writing and art deadlines this month, as well as travel plans to see family and friends, so my actual studio will be doing a wee bit of hibernating.
In February, I’ll be open for First Friday and across all channels in time for Valentine’s gifting! Hmmm…. now what would your Literary Loves love the most? I’m restocking and creating new, fun items for you to choose from!
Wishing you and yours a new year full of blessings and wonder. XO
Greetings from the New Year side of the holidays! Thanks to all my wonderful customers who’ve filled a stocking or two with artsyletters wares in recent years. It’s an honor to be a part of gift-giving traditions.
I look forward to creating all kinds of new items this year, and more of the offerings which need restocking. My studio is my happy place. :0) I’ll resume more “open” hours in February here in Beaufort on Bay Street (this month I’m hibernating with multiple creative writing projects and traveling some, too). In the meantime, my Etsy shop is open 24-7.
Wishing you and yours an inspiring and creative 2017!
It’s almost mid-December!
The artsyletters elves say they’ll need orders by the end of the week (Dec. 18) to get them shipped in the US in time for Christmas, according to USPS posted estimates.
Readers, writers, or letter lovers on your list? Find the perfect gift or stocking stuffer to bring a smile to their literary lips. Use Coupon Code TAKE5 at checkout for 5 percent off your order.
Thanks for coming by, and wishing you and yours a warm & wonderful holiday. :0)
If you’re in Beaufort this busy holiday weekend, come on up to the Studio on Saturday afternoon between 2 pm and 4:30 pm! Browse handmade gifts for the bookish folks on your gift list and enjoy some refreshments.
An elf has told me Santa will be at the Clock on Bay Street from 11 to 2, and you’ll want to enjoy the Light Up the Night Boat Parade at 5:30. (The Parris Island Marine Corps Band concludes the festivities at 7 p.m.) What to do in the afternoon? Visit downtown’s shops and galleries, and come say hello! We are at 811 Bay Street, above Modern Jewelers. The stairs are steep, but the welcome is warm. (Note – we won’t be open during Night on the Town this year, but do come by Saturday afternoon!) See you then!
Greetings, Black Friday – Small Business Saturday – Cyber Monday art shoppers! To thank you for your business, I’m offering a special Coupon Code this long weekend in my Etsy shop. (Click the pic above to visit.) Spend a minimum of $25, and I’ll ship your order anywhere in the US for free! Be sure to enter this code at check-out: FREESHIP25
Many thanks for visiting. Jingle jingle!
I hear them in the distance… jingle bells! Do you hear them, too?
The artsyletters elves (okay, I wish I had some elves!) are busy, busy adding new items in ye olde Etsy shop. I’ve matting the fronts of some of the note cards to make great little ready-to-frame mini prints – just $4.75! And I’m always adding new vintage typewriter key jewelry and such.
Keep checking back as we steer the sleigh toward Black Friday and Cyber Monday and beyond. And if you need some stocking stuffers before we all stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving… :0)
If you’re in the Beaufort area, I’ll be hosting a Holiday Open House in my studio on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. – stop by before the boat parade!
Miniature “Writer Mouse” Christmas ornament. Click to learn more!
I’ve been busy getting ready for Christmas In Central Park in Cumming, Georgia this weekend. (Nearly 100 juried arts and crafts vendors, plus holiday family fun and food!) 
My little basket full of holiday promotional postcards 
went to the post office yesterday, too – all dressed up with holiday stickers.
(If you don’t receive one and would like a Coupon Code for my Etsy shop this season, please send an email!)
Do you have any book lovers, teachers, librarians, writers or poets on your holiday list? I hope you’ll check my Etsy shop, where I’m continuing to add items each week. Maybe some art for a literary type?
Or typewriter key earrings?
Note cards perhaps, or bookmarks, magnets, fancy matted initials… Feel free to browse around the shop and ask me any questions!
I really do love creating items that others will enjoy. In fact, here’s a sneak peek at my version of a manicure this week- ink under the fingernails, paint on top. Just the way I like it!
Oh – and I’m always happy to provide FREE GIFT WRAP with a hand-lettered tag. 
Raising a cup of cocoa with wishes for lots of happy jingles in your corner of the world. Now… break’s over – I’ve got to get back to work!
Seems an appropriate season (and time – it’s coming up on midnight!) to share another recent mixed media adventure. As my daughter, Morgan, was helping me enter items into my Square inventory on my mini iPad, she asked, “What do I call this? Gothic Shakespeare?”
I liked the name.
This 6 in. by 8 in. shadow box features an embellished experiment. I printed my fairy door relief print design on a page from a vintage reader, and the result was rather ethereal and dreamy – but gritty, too. I loved its mysterious “air” and pondered using it as the backdrop for an altered page collage. Pondering turned to pasting…
Somehow a vintage typewriter key seemed perfect to place near the top – the numeral 0 with a parenthesis which looks quite like a moon. Then, the “Floating Shift” key, featured in a copper tray and attached to a mini canvas on light green paper and a 
painted black background, floated itself up in a corner.
In another vintage book, I found a wonderful snippet from Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” – this seemed just right:
Hermione. Pray you sit by us,
And tell’s a tale.
Mamilius. Merry or sad shall ‘t be?
Hermione. As merry as you will.
Mamilius. A sad tale’s best for winter.
I have one of sprites and goblins.
Hermione. Let’s have that, sir.
Beside this text I added an old clock hand (the reverse side – the lighter color contrasts with the black frame), and a small vintage metal rectangle graces the bottom edge. On the top right, I placed this luscious little embellished metal door hardware. (This was a find from my favorite antique dealer at the monthly Flowery Branch (Ga.) Antiques Market – I was able to get a few!)
Here’s hoping a little haunted art makes you smile. Wishing you ghoulish inspirations as the month carries on… Bwa haaa ha ha ha.