8 days left...

every morning when i hop out of bed, i'm told a new number....after all, school is almost at it's end....

and every morning i am made to realize that my little one is a 'pre-teen' now...how can that be - it's a mix of happy (for him) and a sadness for me. i realize i have a long way to go until i have the deep seated feelings of an empty nest - but i think having one son way ahead of eli makes me even sadder along the way - for i see just how fast time has gone by...

and as he counts down the days i too am counting down the number of days where i still have a studio to pick and choose what my day will be...that will change and more chaos will sit in, but it will be a welcomed chaos, for i count how many summers i have him still with me...

in the studio there's a mad hustle and bustle going on - the constants of drawing, painting, sawing and staining to the beat of my own drum - generally that beat is a hustle and bustle for me...

as my young one is in need of me less and less a baby has made a grand appearance into my days...certainly this must be part of a 'great plan' for it seems that a baby shows up in our lives just when they are needed...so i'm enjoying cooing and rocking my friends little one at every chance that i can get...there is just something about that lower lip starting to quiver just before the cry escapes that i can't stand to miss out on...

the weather has been a scare for weeks with endless rain and storms long into the night, leaving my plans of baseball games or studio work up in the air right along with the wind...

i look forward to summer - looser schedules, late nights outside with the fireflies, baseball games and NO RULES, so to speak -

it's time as my mom says, to put my tiki torch outside...(referencing the last of "the middle" show of the season - all of my families favorite... )

hope these last days of school for you and your kids, and for all the teachers that follow my blog bring you lots of laughs, hopes of things to come and a delightful summer season...

Summer: Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate, culture, and tradition, but when it is summer in the southern hemisphere it is winter in the northern hemisphere, and vice versa.

happy mother's day...

i hope that each and everyone of you have a wonderful mother's day....i was lucky enough to have the best mom in the whole wide world...happy mother's day mom!

vacation photos....run!

florida to eli is a place of danger....he's always on high alert....for every creature of his nightmares is certainly lurking down there evidently in search of 11 year old boys....on the way down he saw this sign and later asked me has grandpa ever had alligators go through his yard? well of course he has, he backs up to a swamp - thinking back to last year when we were watching the bobcat chase the bird by the porch...yes, it is a bit different down there - we really only have to be on the look out for bears...

with only a few days with mom and dad, there is so much to do and so little time! (probably not their thinking)....family gatherings, an Easter celebration with those old family recipes, table set with china and crystal (a treat for me), and of course, hitting the beach....now to me, the gulf is the ONLY beach in the world....i've been to others, not impressed, for the gulf is my home, it's where my barefoot brown childhood was spent...you can't change my mind...

and where i can find pelicans....the last of the flying dinosaur in my mind...i have loved them since the first time i saw them, dive bombing into the gulf and then lifting their heads up and back to swallow their fish....what a life, floating and bobbing on the water, taking in a snack and flying through the air...

so we are at the beach, with all of the other white legged 'northerners'....and i saw a pelican fly by....now usually they aren't hard to find, but they probably hang down more by the pier or it was the time of day...so as time goes by i shoot up a little prayer: God, just let one of those pelicans fly by me so i can get a picture, you know how i love them so....well as the saying goes, be careful what you pray for...

so here he comes...out of nowhere....right at me, i am so not kidding! i was so excited and was trying to get my camera in view...well being that the sun is behind me i can't see a darn thing in these new cameras, you know the ones without the view finders? so then i get the giggles, because he's coming straight at me (and i'm thinking, they sure are a lot bigger than i thought, so my giggle was sounding somewhat terrorized), but i can't focus or shoot....so at this point i'm just laughing out loud standing all alone (looking like a crazy person) and just shooting randomly into the air where i think he might be....

i do believe God does have a good sense of humor...

finally after being cold for the past 7 months my bones were warm and toasty and it was time to leave....the smile on my parents face is just minutes before we left...hmmmm, wonder what they were thinking...thanks mom and dad for putting up with us again!

and off we went...

and yes, we are THOSE kind of people....

as i drove up my driveway the lilacs and dogwood trees were blooming along with all of my bleeding hearts.....leaves are now coming onto the trees and the birds are building their nests in every nook and cranny...including my wreath on the front door...

i just love spring...

if you are working on your own nests....and you need to browse some game boards, here's my link:

www.dallison.squarespace.com/

it was a mad success...

i feel, days later that my feet can actually start touching the ground again, for my very 1st web show was a great success and filled me with glee, shock, 'no, it can't be trues....for i was sold out of my #1 pieces by noon...with many orders of game boards to paint for so many of you.

what can i say to all of you other than a big big thank you for supporting me, my family and my craft....i am looking forward to the snows ending and spring springing while sitting outside painting in these appalachian mountains during the month of may....











after a very hard winter and the overwhelming beginnings of the spring snows and floods, i'm going home - to mom and dad's....i want to play with my sisters, eat double scooped ice cream cones and jump into the gulf of mexico.....









but i will be checking my email just to make sure that you received all of your new pieces from the web show and that they arrived safely! in the meantime, if you would like to check out all the new designs on my web site, here's my link:

www.dallison.squarespace.com/

i'll be back to the mountain when my lilacs are blooming.....enjoy your spring blooming

welcome to the show!

shhhh, private web show just for YOU....

Thursday, April 14th - Midnight (EST)

through

Sunday, April 17th - 12:00 Noon (EST)

i'm filled with excitement, to see what you will say...

for i am introducing 6 new reproduction game boards

bringing 1 out of retirement for a short time &

1 gee's bend "arcola" piece is available

since i'm a newbie at web shows, i'm searching my mind for an 'easy' way for you to buy or order a piece or two...

so here's the info:

1st come, 1st served - (via email) just email me the name of the piece that you would like - emails will be time stamped so i will be able to go over them in order...

(but if you are not 1st you have the option to order the same piece so you don't miss out...)

i will ship your pieces out on tuesday or after i receive your payment...

discounted shipping of $10.00 on your first board, $0 on any additional boards...

show ends: 12:00 Noon on Sunday, April 17th - i'll contact you to let you know if you 'won' your piece!

here's my email: dianeallison@charter.net

(it is also posted on the left column of this blog)

now....let the show begin...

"the farmhouse"

i loved this piece the instant i saw it...it is a reproduction of a piece from the late 1800's...i do not know the area that it came from, information was long ago lost... eli named this piece "the farmhouse", which i thought was just the perfect name. for it has that 'farmhouse' look that i have in my mind; blue, red, off white, golden brown and green...just seem like farmhouse colors to me....maybe he remembers the time when his dad and i were determined to buy an old farmhouse, fix-it-up and call it home...we visited many old houses when he was small where he was able to run through pastures, climb into barns looking for treasures and imagining himself what it would be like to have a farm....

"the farmhouse" #1 in an edition of 10

19" x 19" - $220.00

(colors: blue, golden brown, barn red, dark green and off white)

"dad's irish eyes"

ode to my dad - an irishman who has raised irish daughters, need i say more? when my own irish eyes saw this piece i just knew that i had to make it, after all, we ARE irish! this is a reproduction parcheesi board that is based on a piece that was a bit smaller, 24" x 20", but in my mind i could only see it on a larger scale, so i did what was in my mind and stretched it out to a longer piece. the date on the original piece is the 1900's, but i have no idea when in the 1900's...it sold for $3,950.

"dad's irish eyes" #1 in an edition of 10

19" x 28" - $245.00

(colors: dark green, soft yellow and off white)

"capture the flag"

I found the photo of this piece on line - but was not ever able to find a date or the area that it originally came from...so when this happens, i play it on the 'safe' side and have to say the original is from the early 1900's, it may have been older than that, but it is at least 100 years old... i especially love this piece because it is so graphic which makes it able to stand on it's own making a bold statement or be mixed in with other pieces, still adding a touch of drama... it is a little pricier than other pieces for it took 7 coats of white paint alone....it has a black base coat, so covering black with another color can take endless hours...but i still feel that the price is very reasonable...

"capture the flag" #1 in an edition of 10

19" x 28" - $295.00

(named by eli, his favorite school game)

(colors: green, straw, white, olive yellow and a orangish brown)

"cops and robbers"

This is a reproduction game board - the original was dated back to the late 1800's and sold for $18,560. I chose the name 'cops and robbers' for it reminded me of kids playing outside, hiding behind objects with the sheriff in the center. I found being the mother of boys, no matter if you let them play with toy guns or not, they will take sticks or other found objects to make their own...

"cops and robbers"

#1 in an edition of 10

19" x 19" - $225.00

(colors: "wow" red, terracotta, choch./grey (charcoal), tans, soft yellow and golden brown....(this piece is way yummier in person)

"arcola"

gee's bend based design - as you know those quilts have grabbed my heart and move me to create game boards using the colors from these quilts...this is #6 in an edition of 20 pieces that will be made of this design...i thought it would be fun to have one done and ready to send out to you!

"arcola"

"19" x 19"

#6 in edition of 20 - $220.00

(colors: red, blue, latte, brown, golden brown and latte)

please keep scrolling down for "part 2" of the web show on the blog below...

show continued....

part 2 of my offerings...

"ruby slippers"

oh how this piece makes my eyes dance....i have so many favorites, but i think "ruby slippers" tops my list. I was not able to find a date for the original design that this was based on, for mine is a reproduction, but it is known that it came from Massachusetts. when i choose new designs to show i of course choose them by their appearance, and do i love it?, i have to ask myself...for if i don't, i will tire of making it....i also have to consider the amount of time i am investing in a piece...if i spend several days painting a piece, i will have to keep it for myself, for the cost to sell it would be prohibitive... and that is what i found with this piece - unaware when i went into the design, that it would take me days to paint...the stars alone took more than 3 hours...so that is why this piece is on the 'highest' end of the game boards that i have painted...but i did want to give you the opportunity to have it for your collection and not keep for myself...

"ruby slippers" #1 in edition of 10

19" x 19"

$325.00

(colors: a "WOW" red, santa fe rose, dark blue, forest green, gold, light yellow just to name a few)

"mi casa, su casa"

brought out of retirement (for a little bit) - This piece is a reproduction dart board that was dated to the early 1900's. Years ago i made 3 of these dart boards and then soon after retired it. I am bringing this piece back for a limited # of 10 pieces (7available). The difficulty of drawing this piece is far more difficult than the painting and finishing put together, but it is such a pretty shade of green, blue and white, that i just couldn't resist it for the spring...

"mi casa, su casa"

#4 in an edition of 10

19" x 19"

$245.00

(named by eli)

(colors: soft green, a somewhat bright blue (but not to bright), black and off white)

"kids play"

This is a reproduction game board that was dated back to the early 1900's. It is a variation of the game "skully", (a street game). I really love the look of letters and numbers, so i was drawn right to this piece. I especially like the added wood pieces that were attached giving it outward texture...just HAD to make this piece for myself!

kid's play

#1 in an edition of 10

16 1/2" x 18" - $175.00

(colors: this piece has dark blue underneath the darker green, but it's hardly noticeable, so i'm just going to list dark green, ivory and a red (not to bright of a red though))

I hope you have found a piece that you would like to add to your collection, or a piece to begin a collection with...

if you see a piece that you must have, just email me....i'll be going by the 'time stamp' on all of the emails...

if for some reason you were not 1st in requesting the piece, i am more than happy to make one for you....just allow me 6 weeks to create your special piece....

here's my email: dianeallison@charter.net

good luck to all of you!

tick tock, tick tock...

12:00 Midnight...the fun will begin...

latest news...

boy oh boy have i been running around like a mad hatter....i didn't think i would ever escape my falling down that rabbit hole weeks ago...but finally....

Web Show - Friday

phew....i wondered for some time would i have the 'time' to do all that was needed in making the pieces themselves for my 1st web show...

today i have finally finished, the finality of it all is leaving me somewhat confused...i think, maybe i should paint a bit, maybe i should start sanding some wood...maybe maybe...

so i'll head out of the studio today and enjoy this spring season that is poking it's head out and try to clear my head a bit...

but here's a little information on when and where the web show will take place;

friday on my blog -

i will drop you an email on thursday to give you the times....if you aren't on my email list, you might want to go ahead and sign-up now using the column on the left of the blog...

there will be 7 new game board designs introduced and 1 "arcola" gee's bend piece....these will all be ready to send to you the following tuesday....yep, no waiting!

so keep your eyes open to see the likes of 'ruby slippers', 'farmhouse' and 'capture the flag' to name a few...

see you then!

www.dallison.squarespace.com/