Hippity Hop, It's Easter Time Again!

No idea why we sisters can't keep up with this blog!   Time for us girls to start sharing again!  Spring is in the air… we've had the first 70 degree day. WOO HOO!  Makes you want to dance!  Easter is coming. A nod to Mom who used to indulge our love of Potato Chips & Lawson's Chip Dip… our Easter baskets often had a bag of chips and a tub o' dip tucked into the grass among chocolate eggs and toys.  Thanks Mom, Hippity, Hop. Love You. 

26.2 Miles is Just Amazing!

Wow!  Another New York City Marathon!  I am so in awe of the folks that run, walk and wheel their way to the finish line.  

Congrats to all! 

Normal Mess

Snip, Snip Here, Snip, Snip There....

Yes, I said Normal Mess. This is proof that our silhouettes really are cut by us. I make such a mess, and then I leave it. Makes me feel like I have accomplished something. 

This latest mess is from our new custom personalized dog prints. They really are a lot of fun, like having our own kennel, so much fun naming them...and the best part is we don't have to go on "scoop" patrol....if you know what I mean.

Rainy Days... Don't get me down!

Call me crazy, but I love a good rainy day!  Something about the pitter patter of rain drops on the window makes me me want to cozy up at home.  That's today, my friends.  A lovely, summer, rainy day.  I clean,  I cook,  I snuggle.  SNUGGLE - Whaaaat!?  Yes I do!  Nothing like two sweet, cute as can be Shiba Inus at my side.  So cuddly.  So cute.  Shop Sister Lesley has designed a new line of Dog Prints, and she started with my beloved Shibas.  They are loyal, they are fierce, they love to cuddle.  How about your dog?? Check them out at the Shop Sister's etsy shop!

Mother's Day

Yep, Mother's Day is coming! Boy, time is flying by this year. April is almost over. We've been cleaning in our "shop"  (you know...the etsy shop) and have some new items stocked on the shelves. Wee sister made some awesome Karate/Tae Kwon Do prints with her silhouettes. How great to frame these and hang them in your child's room, each one printed with the color belt they have achieved, and their name with the date. Sooo cool.
 
Oops, already off the Mother subject. Our Mother isn't around anymore, but is certainly with us in spirit.  In her honor, I still peel the outer layer off of a stalk of celery before using...she had a a thing about that, I can still hear her scolding me..believe me, I don't want to make her mad now!! You also couldn't use the same kitchen towel to dry your hands and then use it for dishes...whoa Nellie, you could be in the doghouse for that one.  If you got her a cup of coffee, be sure you only gave her the yellow cup, even tho the white cups were exactly the same. I always thought she was a little eccentric about these things, but oddly enough, I find I have developed some odd ball rules myself. Couldn't possible be an age thing...could it?!?

You may find some of your parents habits annoying, but trust us, you will miss those scoldings when they are gone, so give your Mama a big hug and make sure you let her know how much you love her (even if she just wacked you on the back of the head for doing something stupid).    



American Jeans

A brief rant from a normally patient and happy Shop Sister: Is it really so much to ask for somebody to sell a pair of nice looking American made jeans?  Wow, I mean... Levis, Lucky Brand, llBeans, Lands End.... on and on.  I used to buy Lucky Brand because they were made in America.  Bought a couple pairs the other day... by the end of the day I had a red rash... husband said, "look at the label, maybe they don't make them in the USA anymore".  Sure enough... made in China.  Then I washed them, and those wrinkles they show where your leg bends... turned into puffs.  Yes, puffs... a half an inch high.  Really?  Oh so expensive jeans just got pitched.  I just don't get it. So I've been searching online for made in America women's jeans.  Well, first of all, if they aren't $300, they're still styled either for a teenager, or for the woman that belts her jeans just under her breasts... oiy.  I thought... of course... llBeans... made in Maine right?  Not so, not so.  I found a site (Diamond Gusset ) that bragged about their made in America jeans... Tennessee made... well, yes, but when I tried to buy my size, I got a message box that said: "Your chosen quantity is not available for ordering. Please come back and order later." So either they sell out quickly... or they were just taunting me!  What's a girl raised on jeans... supposed to do???? OK done ranting.  Don't worry, be happy! 

I Got the Blues...bla bla bla

Boy, I hate when I get into a funk like this.  What is my problem???? I am feeling bored, so I need to start a new project.  So, what I started this morning was really really really cleaning my bedroom,  I am tired of living with the dust bunnies, they are taking over my space and it is time for them to go to outside.
So, that helped my mood a tad.  Now you will never guess what my next project is to brighten my mood, this is a strange one...buy new underwear!!  TA DA!!  How funny is that.  So, tomorrow, when my hubby goes out of town, I am off to the mall, life is looking better;  have the house to myself, have a clean bedroom, have new underwear...and oh yes, one more thing.  New pencil/pen from the office store.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, lightens your load like a new pen/pencil and pad of paper.  True bliss.

And then I am off to my art room to paint, yes, I need to paint...in my new underwear... 

Here is what the Shop Sisters look like when wearing new underwear...HA!! See, we are happy happy happy happy!!

The Little World...

What is this fascination my family has with the little world? My mother's initials were E.L.F., our niece has the same initials, and she just had a baby with name of Aubrey, whose meaning translates to "Elf."  Our father made gorgeous doll furniture - now in the homes of many miniature collectors, and our parents helped establish the Cleveland Miniature society.  My mother had a ceramic elf collection, which she displayed on the mantle every Christmas, they are now divided amongst us siblings.
When I was a child, I made tiny houses, barns, horses, clothes and paper dolls, all out of cardboard. Was our family really pixies in a different life?!?!?
Our etsy shop has many prints of our silhouette cuttings, and now the latest is a wee smaller version of them, 2.5" x 3.5". They look so sweet, you can't stop touching them. Some are inspirational, and need to be on your desk, so you can be reminded of their message every day.

So, I was wondering...do mice really have beds made out of match box holders? You know, hidden behind the walls thru their mice hole...like you see in the cartoons? Who knows? I bet they do...    

Dads-gotta love 'em.

They come in all shapes and sizes, different temperments, different hobbies. Although our Dad never gave us horsey-back-rides, he had a great imagination and was great at making things for us to play with.  He actually made us a merry-go-round and a sliding board when we were kids, our sandbox was really a big old wooden row boat. And he made doll furniture, such beautiful doll furniture.  He wasn't a huggy-kissy kind of Dad, didn't like physical gestures of love, but we knew he loved us.  Funny, you pick and choose the parts of your parents habits and personalities that you want to be a part of who you are. My mother was always so crabby in the morning...no talking to her until she had a truck load of coffee in her. But good old Dad, he would come down the stairs in the morning and give her a loud "Good morning apple pie dumpling", with a big smile on his face, just to get her goat (and believe me...it got her goat.) Anyway, I decided at an early age, I was going to be like my father in the morning, ready for the day and not crabby!!!   We miss both our parents dearly, so be sure to make lots of good memories and give Dad a real big hug and kiss on Father's Day...whether he is a huggy-kissy kind of dad or not!!

Check out our shop for some sweet prints for Father's Day...The Shop Sisters



 School Days, school days, good old golden rule days...la la la

Well, they are almost over for this year. Don't forget your teacher! This pretty print would make them feel soooo good if you presented it to your child's teacher, or your own teacher for that matter. I have thought of going to school in my later years so many times. Just seems like so much effort to me now! Hmm, what would I take? I imagine it would be art courses, I never had any formal art training, nor did my sister for that matter, we are self taught, and have good artistic genes too, that always helps. We go into an art store, and if we could, would purchase practically everything, but not have a clue as to what to do with it.  That is why we need to thank our teachers, because they steer us in the right direction and help us find the right path.  



Where have we been?!?!

I am clueless as to where we have been...time flies by so quickly.  Was it really Christmas the last time we spoke?  And here we are on the heels of Mother's Day.

You would think we would be better at this blog writing thing...well...me not so much, but I can blame my "little" sister - she is the English major. (It is why God created little sisters...you know...to blame stuff on.)

 In fact she has taken to putting her creative-English-major pen to paper in a new print we have up on Etsy...Boy and His Dog...Friends

We have lots of new prints  up on Etsy TheShopSisters, They are so colorful and inspirational. That is what we need...inspiration to stay current on this blog!

Actually, we shop sisters live in two different states, but we are having a meeting of the minds in one city this Saturday, we will probably spend more time eating and chatting than taking care of business! Eh...I think better on a full stomach.

 It is fun having your own online "shop" to play with, but haven't you ever gone into a neat little store somewhere with lots of fascinating things to look at and touch? And haven't you dreamed that you would one day have a shop of your own to play with? I bet you have. Well, I guess Etsy is the closest store most of us will ever have.

Ok, I am off to dust off the prints in our "shop"...really just going to check if little sister is there too, better have a cup of coffee ready for me - 'cause you know - that is why He created little sisters - to wait on you.

Merry Christmas to all, 

and to all a Good Night.

"Here Comes Suzy Snowflake...."

Oh the weather outside's been frightful... holy snow Batman!  What a weekend it was.  The wee sister, that would be me... was without power for most of the weekend... so, sadly she was away from the the shop! But I had time to start making my list... and I checked it twice... to see just who's been naughty and nice.  Geez, I'm full of Christmas, and Halloween was only just yesterday... and we haven't had Thanksgiving yet... maybe I should sing "over the river and through the woods", instead!  Anyway - check out The Shop Sister's etsy shop for Thanksgiving products... and keep your eye out as Christmas starts showing up... word has it that a few elves snuck into the mix when we weren't looking!

Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing.

"Oh look! Over there! I see one! Oh no, you missed them again."

Ha, this is what my mother would say to us in the car to keep us awake, she had us looking for elves everywhere. She was a firm believer in the wee little folk. You see, her initials are "E.L.F." 

And we believe that set the tone for her love of fantasy, teaching we sisters to have a special affection for elves, yes...Mom was quite the imaginative play lady.


We grew up believing in elves, fairies, Jack Frost and Suzy Snowflake, although we never saw them, our mother always prompted us to keep the faith. I even remember setting my dolls up at night in certain positions, so that I could check them the next morning...to see if they moved during the night when they played!!


Come over to the Sisters Shop on etsy and see our silhouettes, we have started creating some fun items for the holidays. The Shop Sisters 

Oh no, don't go yet! Wait...I see one...look over there!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh rats, you just missed them, there were elves over there... really.

    

Well, we Shop Sisters, contrary to popular belief, do not just draw and snip away all day.  No, in fact we two "hate to exercise" girls are still at it - huffing and puffing our way through the early days of Fall. Though -- the lovely Lesley is sidelined for a day or two after stretching too far while measuring for window shades - I'm sure she'll be off and running... walking any day now.  And me... well... what was I thinking training for a half marathon... oh my.  I have 11 miles to do this weekend and several small runs starting with today's... and yet... ha, ha... I lied...  here I sit.. drawing and snipping away... hard not to play with these silhouette creations in The Shop Sisters "lab".    Stop by our etsy store and see how things are going.  We are very excited to have been open for two months now and have just hit a landmark for ourselves... our shop has been visited more than 1,000 times.  Halloween has always been our favorite holiday and we've had a blast filling the shop with witches and cats... bats and all manner of scary friends. On to Thanksgiving and Christmas... oh my, careful what you wish for... the leaves have yet to fall, and we're thinking about over the river and through the woods already!  Let's just stick with Happy Haunting for now! 

Well.  Here we are the day after 9/11.  How to be light and airy on a blog, I ask?  Well... it came to me as I walked up our street and saw the Statue of Liberty framed between buildings and flags... I do what I do every day... because I can.  That has been my motto since my first ferry ride back to work in Manhattan after that fateful day.  Because I can.  So here I sit, with my unfinished "Patriot Gang" of saluting kids.  I'm ready to seize the day and be lighthearted, ready to snip, snip here, snip, snip there and offer a couple of tra la la's... because I can.  

Too early for Halloween? NO!!!

Love, love, love Halloween colors and all the spooky characters.  We have been busy loading up the shop with our spooky silhouettes, having so much fun.  We have more ideas in the works.  This picture is one of my favorite silhouettes we have in our shop.  It is actually cut from a photo taken years ago of the wee younger half of this sisterhood.  This was taken when she truly was a wee one. Funny, she thought she was sooooooo scary, when really she just looked so sweet.  The pumpkins shown (they were in the photo too) were carved by my father, and the costume was made by my mother.  I am so pleased we can share it with you...if you aren't too afraid to look at her scary self.  Gee, I hope she doesn't read what I wrote, it will destroy her memory of being a frightful wicked witch.  Click here to see her really scary (ya...right) witch silhouette in the shop.  SCARY SISTER WITCH

Shop is Open

Finally, the shop is open, hear the bell ring when you walk in? It has been a slow start, but the shop is filling up with Halloween goodies...I know, I know, it is early, but you have to keep up with the Joneses.
Lots of cute tags, so fun to make, the best part is cutting out the silhouettes. The wee young sister has been off on a vacation...go figure, she leaves me here to clean the shop. Everyone knows that is why you have little sisters...they do the cleaning, right?!?  But, she is back now and will be filling the shop with more of her creations. More to come, not just tags. Our shop on Zazzle has a variety of things to see. Check it out!! ETSY SHOP

Mountains and Bridges

It's a family thing... heights.  So why we Sisters thought meeting in the middle of Mountainous Pennsylvania was a good idea, I'll never know!  You may have seen us going 40 miles an hour on the highway, or with a magazine held to the side of our face so we couldn't see the edge of the drop on the roadside.  Ha!  Scary as it was... we managed to have a great weekend!  We laughed, we cried, we hugged... ah sisterly love... nothing like it on the planet!  Saturday found us at the Central Pennsylvania Art Festival - what an amazing event!  We shopped and we crafted!  Sunday - hang on to your hats... we did a 5K!  We wore t-shirts emblazoned with one of Dad's WWII jacket art paintings (courtesy of our wonderbar nephew, JD).  A sight to behold we were... 90 degrees out... I'll leave it to your imagination.  Topping off the weekend was a visit with the Rutkowskis, our oldest neighbors from back in the day when we really were wee ones, living in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.  Great friends, great times.  Back to reality now.... we continue slaving at The Shop Sisters.... now affectionately referred to as SisterCo!

Birthday Adventure Eve

Well, here it is, Adventure Eve, wee young sister and I are meeting in the middle of the state to participate in a 5k race and to tweak our tweaks for the new Shopsister store. Our parents would be so proud of our new shop, even though it is online. We have so much planned for our 3 day get-a-way, but knowing us, we may just sit around and do nothing but play with our shop! We are also celerating our birthdays together, wee young one is the 27th and mine is the 28th...different years, of course. We are bringing our creations to the table, pooling our ideas and hope we can prepare a date for our grand opening. We will be wearing our shirts shown in the picture, the picture on the front is a copy of a painting our father painted on one of the World War II planes Dad maintained during the war. Some of our cutting tools we bring to the table were our mother's. They are our support system for now, although it is just in spirit. Well, of course, our husbands support us too, but they just look at the creative mess we make and shake their heads...I don't think they quite get what it is to be a creative freaking weird starving artist.   (well..forget the starving part, no problem there..but that is another story.)

So, we are off to the races!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!