RetroRudolphs

Fun for everyone!

2012-01-25T16:04:00.002-05:00

My continued fascination with my graphics program... not to mention my LOVE of graphics, has forced me (haha!) to design new note cards for my Zazzle store.

I am having a really great time and chances are, it may get a bit weird. I say that because I may start out with one idea (as I did last night) and it may morph into something else entirely. An example would be the "Bumble Bot" I drew... you'll see him below. He started out as a moon and became what he is now - a moon faced bumble bee mixed with a robot.

I even have an octopus who is squeezing the life out of a balloon, while another balloon looks on (still tweaking the colour variations on that one.)

And speaking of balloons, perhaps you will find some humour in another of my designs called "Balloon Bullies", pictured below too.

Well, that's about all for now... so... it's back to the drawing board for me! ~ Lori

I just made it into "Today's Best on Zazzle!"

2012-01-18T14:18:00.003-05:00

I have been having a LOT of fun designing some new graphics for note cards on Zazzle for the past week or so (off and on) and today my newest design "Monkey with Fez" (no. 3) made it into Zazzle's "Todays Best on Zazzle" showcase.

Here's a preview of what the card looks like. It has a "word bubble" so you can customize the note card to say anything you'd like it to :)

Here's the link to my new note card section, in case you'd like to take a peek. ~ Lori
Pin It

New digs (so to speak)

2012-01-10T18:20:00.001-05:00

You may have been wondering what I have been up to lately (maybe not), but for those of you who are interested... in between being ill off and on for the past few months, I have been swapping rooms, rearranging furniture and revamping my work space with new cabinetry. The end result (although not quite finished yet) is a space I feel I can comfortably work in. New space, new dreams = new art for 2012.

I can now hide the bane of my existence (craft clutter/craft supply hoard) by shutting it out when I get sick and tired of looking at it.

This space will never be magazine beautiful... so not the point!
My goal is not to fool myself (or you for that matter) by using smoke and mirrors to show you an unrealistic "dream" studio.

I did it because clutter and not being able to find your supplies when you need them is a real pain in the arse (excuse my foul language) but there it is! MESS drives me CRAZY these days!

Because of this revamp I can now find my supplies, I can also sit comfortably and work at the dining room table and when the day is done I can simply shut the doors on the cabinets and french door to the room and then no one else in this house is bothered by my soon to be messy work space :)

Posted below are a few pics of half of this 10' x 12' space... and no, I can't show you the other half because it's still a work in progress (messy), I'm good... but not that good, sheesh!

Cheers for now!! ~ Lori

Snow "Fall" Pumpkins on STJ

2011-12-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Tonight I have two very festive pieces up for grabs on SpookyTime Jingles at midnight Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific.

They are both "dual season" candy containers and luminaries, that would be perfect for both winter and fall decorating. I hope you'll take a few minutes to check them out.

More pictures of these pieces can be viewed by clicking here. ~ Lori

I'm back (I think?!?)

2011-12-01T17:48:00.003-05:00

Firstly, I must apologize for my long delay in blog posts. I was quite ill (for a the past month or so) and am now feeling more like my normal self. Not that I was all that "normal" to begin with haha... but you get the point. I am of course playing catch up (on work) at the moment. That basically means I am still unsure what I will finish to list on STJ this month, but I better make my mind up fast because page uploads with text and pics need to be done by the 10th, yikes!!!
In the interim (which means I probably won't post again) until Dec. 12th or 13th, I thought I would share a few pics of stuff I've done around the house to try and lift my spirits.

Old putz houses... not a stunning display by any means, but it inspires me to try harder next year to improve it.

New putz houses (made by me in 2010 and 2011), pictured on three small, black curio cabinets displayed with bleached and dyed (in some cases) bottle brush trees, old plastic snowflakes (kitsch) and vintage glass ornaments to add some more sparkle.

A pic of my favourite new item(s) this year - a bronze looking resin reindeer. I love this piece and wish I has another because he looks so cool in person (not so much in my pic.) I cannot for the life of me photograph it well and in the left hand side background you'll see a faux mercury glass vase which holds one of my feather trees. Home Sense had a great selection this year of faux, silver mercury glass and I was a bit greedy and bought several new pieces, much to Brian's chagrin... oh well :)

Oh and I finally tried my hand at making spun cotton ornaments. Below you'll see a pic of what is supposed to look like mushrooms, pears, acorns sans caps - because I will use real ones, a trio of turnips, radishes and carrots... not bad for my first attempt (and all because I love vintage spun cotton fruit and veggies) I just don't want to pay for them.

Okay, that's about all for this week, chat at you again soon! ~ Lori

Additional pics of my SpookyTime Jingles items for October

2011-10-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

Large Devil

Candy container & luminary

Small Devil

Candy container & luminary

Snapshots from Halloween and Vine

2011-10-05T14:19:00.006-04:00

It was a whirlwind of activity, so much so that the four days I spent in California truly is a blur (for the most part.)

Thursday's arrival at the San Francisco airport did not go without it's challenges. I won't go into details... but there was a case of mistaken identity and car trouble that added to an otherwise perfectly gorgeous day!

Friday morning was spent at the Freemont Diner in Sonoma, enjoying delicious food and the company of good friends. All followed up by a rather sizzling, hot time unpacking boxes and getting my table set up at Halloween and Vine. Luckily, I was situated in between two of my friends, Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art (known to me as B) and Jorge de Rojas of HoHoHalloween. Jorge came well equipped with water bottles and a small fan... trust me, I stood in front of his fan just to try and get my face back to it's normal colour. It weren't a pretty sight... or rather, I weren't a pretty sight. I could see Len Bentham of Happy Holidays from my sight line, but darn it all I never really got a chance to get a good look at Len's goodies. Friday night we visited the Madonna Estate Winery, had a very informative tour which was followed up by great food and great new friends, Thank you Susan and Buck.

Saturday morning rolled around and I was still running about "fixing" things and switching on battery operated tea lights. Pat Dean stepped in to help me stick logo stickers to my bags, thank you Pat for your help! I got to meet Jack Roads... awesome and I did snag a piece :)

And at 9:00 am the show doors opened, followed by a flurry of activity... and that's when it all started to become a blur. Thankfully, Dani Nelson co-owner of SpookyTime Jingles was at the show and ready to help, because I needed it. I was a bit shaky to say the least! Then the tears almost started to flow as Ginny brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a pumpkin over to my table, they were sent by my husband... it was a surprise to say the least!

Halloween and Vine was followed up by drinks and then dinner, the only thing I can say about that is... it went by far TOO fast!

Sunday B and I went to the street/flea market, followed by a tasty breakfast at Petaluma Pie Company. Sunday afternoon Tracey, B, Len and I headed towards San Fran where we spent the afternoon shopping in Berkeley at Castle in the Air and a few other shops... needless to say I bought some cool "witch head" themed paper, awesome crepe paper and a few other goodies.

Monday came all too quickly! There was only time for a quick goodbye wave to Len, a hearty breakfast, off to the airport with Tracey and B and then it was time to fly home. Yep, more teary eyes from me... I am a sap, what can I say?

All in all I had a GREAT time!!!! The show (both experience and "feel", thank you Gin and Christy!), the collectors (both new and old), the friends (both new and old) and the ENTIRE experience was well worth every BLURRY moment... and I sincerely hope to do it all again in 2012! Cheers to all! ~ Lori

One week from today...

2011-09-16T14:58:00.000-04:00

and I will be out in California setting up my table for the Halloween and Vine show on Saturday, Sept. 24th. Just the thought of this is making me a bit nervous for a couple of reasons.

One of which is flying, I have not been in an airplane for 20 years, and secondly because I hope I can navigate my way through busy airports - both in T.O. and in San Francisco.

Time will tell.... and speaking of time - it's ticking too fast, so I best get back to work on my papier mache pieces pictured below. YIKES... they are all still works in progress.

Chat at you soon! ~ Lori

Thank you (and a little bit of alphabet soup for my peers) at the STJ Soiree

2011-09-11T21:56:00.007-04:00

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of the collectors (both new and old) who stopped by the STJ Soiree this weekend. Without your smiles, genuine interest, encouragement and support we wouldn't have fared as well as we did!

To Dani, Wendy and Lisa I want to say thanks for all of your hard work and continued efforts to make this a successful show.

And to my friends and peers (at the Soiree) I would like to give you the 26 letters of the alphabet (along with a little "soup")... I'm sure you'll all get the meaning behind what I am about to type.

A is for:
Amelia and After party!

B is for:
Brandi, Brian, Border guards, and Bunting.

C is for:
Collectors (both new and old), Carole, Cotton Candy, Cage and "Cranadians" - Pat Dean referred to Brian and I as this last year (Pattee, you were missed!!)

D is for:
Dani, Doreen, Dinner, Driving, Dancing and Dinosaurs (Dinosaurs were on my mind as we drove to the Soiree, I don't know why but they were.)

E is for:
Elaine (I missed you this year), Everyone and Enjoyable.

F is for:
FUN, Friends (who couldn't come), Frazetta's and (unfortunately) flood.

G is for:
Good times, "Grinch" and Garmin GPS.

H is for:
HALLOWEEN and HOLIDAY ART!

I is for:
Ill - because I have some sinus issues and a sore throat - not to worry I will keep on working!

J is for:
Jorge, Jenny, Jimmy and "Jacque" - Jacque is who we named the Brit voiced GPS guy.

K is for:
Kim (you were missed too Kim Hardt) and Kinship.

L is for:
LuLu, Lisa W., Lisa N. (missed you!) and lack of sleep.

M is for:
Marie (I am happy you came to the show, it was great to see you!!), Martha's, Mouse, and Masks.

N is for:
New Hope, Night life and New friends.

O is for:
Old Friends and Overalls.

P is for:
"Pink Panther", "Patrick" (the starfish from SpongeBob), "Peter Pan" and Pennsylvania.... because what happened in PA, should really stay in PA!!

Q is for:
Quick - because the past four days flew by too fast!

R is for:
"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", Retro Rudolph's and "Red Death" - something I drank last night.

S is for:
SpookyTime Jingles, Soiree, and Shots.

T is for:
Tracy!

U is for:
Umbrella and UPS.

V is for:
Van rides and Viral video.

W is for:
Wendy, William and Wigs.

X is for:
"X-rated".

Y is for:
Yearly.

Z is for:
Zzz's - something I plan to catch up on a little bit later tonight.

Again, thank you all... to my friends, collectors and family who help make doing shows a TON of FUN!!! ~ Lori

It's almost SpookyTime Jingles Soiree time...

2011-09-08T07:09:00.000-04:00

and I can't wait to get there! Looking forward to Friday's Meet and Greet and the show itself on Saturday. Not to mention the chance to catch up with friends, collectors both new and old. I hope to see you at the Soiree! ~ Lori

STJ Soiree Sneak Peek

2011-09-01T22:57:00.000-04:00

Yes, that is a whole lot of S's... BUT since it's coming up soooooo quickly, I thought I would share a little sneak peek with you.

Posted below are four goodies (that hold goodies) and will be lurking around my table come the 10th of September.

If you haven't been to the SpookyTime Jingles Soiree before you're in for a real treat!

And speaking of treats there's the "meet and greet" on the evening of September 9th.

If you're in the area please plan to stop into the show, you won't be disappointed!

For more details on the show and the "meet and greet", please follow this link.

Safe travels to those who are planning on coming to the show, I look forward to seeing you in a little over a week! ~ Lori

Zazzle ~ new goodies available now!

2011-08-25T16:39:00.001-04:00

For the past week or so I have been adding some new goodies to my Zazzle store.

There's a peek below at some of them.
p.s. Here's a couple of $$ saving coupon codes (just in case) you see something you like!

Use this code to get $5.00 off your next purchase of $20.00 or more at: http://www.zazzle.com/retro_rudolphs:
BCCLGQUXFGGRXRKXHLHG.
This code expires on 8/31/2011.

Get $10.00 off order of $50.00 or more at:
http://www.zazzle.com/retro_rudolphs:
BPHKLPEUHROMPOJTHSVS.
This code expires on 9/23/2011.

AND don't forget the STJ Holiday Soiree is right around the corner on September 10th in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

It's so much fun, I can't wait... and I hope to see many of you there!!! For more details just click here!~ Lori

Please help me decide!

2011-08-20T20:36:00.001-04:00

Which of my logo variations do you think I should get printed on a t-shirt this year? If you click the picture, it should enlarge, thanks!! ~ Lori

It's CRUNCH time!

2011-08-11T18:04:00.001-04:00

Yes, that's what I said it's now less than one month until the 2nd STJ Holiday Soiree and I am busy, busy! The majority of my pieces are completed with the exception of five. I am not sure I will get this other handful done, but we shall see.

Regardless, I do have to start tagging, pricing and inventorying what I have complete and get at least half of my pieces ready to ship to NJ next week.

I am in the midst of trying to take photos... completely forgot how long that takes... especially when I average about 6 to 10 pictures per item. That may sound super odd to many of you, but I like to shoot my pieces from every angle. The main reason for this "anal behaviour is because I am commissioned every now and then to make "past" pieces and without plenty of pictures to draw from I cannot always remember what the piece looked like from the sides or back.

In other news:

This week I have been playing around with my Silhouette digital craft cutter again - this has resulted in some fairly nice sized logo stickers to apply to my shopping bags for use at shows.

And I even went so far as to make some cat head hang tags - for those of you who may not know this cat head is part of my logo.

Oh and STJ opens its doors tomorrow night at midnight (Eastern) time... there's a sneak peek of the two items I will have for sale this month pictured below. So please stop by if you're still up to see the "full" picture.

Okay, that's all for now. Have a great weekend all! ~ Lori

A bit cryptic (and severely panicked) to be sure...

2011-07-29T14:39:00.001-04:00

It seems I have been tardy in posting to my blog lately (the "norm") these days and that's for very good reason.

I have been working away on my pieces for two upcoming shows in September. AND I have been getting a bit "ansty"... rightly so because time has snuck up on me and July flew by without me noticing it until the other day. Trust me when I say I am not the only one who is in shows who seems to have lost the month of July altogether.

But just in case you stopped by and/or are about to stop by I thought I would leave you with a few pics. That way you can (sort of) see what I have on the agenda (for the next few days.)

I have to "antique" wax my pieces, cut and adhere the paper eye, nose and mouth inserts (as pictured below), finalize the bases (in some cases) and trim up those of them who need vintage crepe paper festooning or hats or whatever I feel is appropriate to finish them.

Realistically, I hope to be finished with the 56 papier mache pieces I have on the go at the moment by the end of next week (and I sincerely hope that time is on my side) and I get them tagged, signed and safely wrapped for shipping by mid-August at the latest... so much to do and now it really, really is CRUNCH time, so I have to go!! ~ Lori

SpookyTime Jingles Sneak Peek for July

2011-07-10T15:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a little sneak peek at my upcoming SpookyTime Jingles listings this month to whet your appetite before the site goes live again at midnight (Eastern time) on July 13th.

This month I will be offering five FUN pieces that I hope you will like, so please stop by my page and check them out on the 13th.

Oh and there's a really special guest artist this month too. I am still wondering who it could be? I have my suspicions, but I won't tell!

In other news: I am still very busy making and finishing my pieces for two upcoming shows SpookyTime Jingles Holiday Soiree and Halloween and Vine. It's going very well, albeit a little bit slower than I had anticipated. Hence my absence... which you'll have to excuse for the time being. (Please see the sidebar on the left for details and links to the shows.)

p.s. I hope you are all enjoying summer thus far! I have been spending much of my time outdoors sculpting and painting... speaking of which the gesso jar is calling my name, so I best get back to work. Chat at you again soon! ~ Lori

Body parts on the work table today

2011-06-21T13:32:00.001-04:00

It may seem like it's been very slow going, but I have managed to make some progress this past week on a handful of WIP's and I thought I'd share with you what's on my table at the moment.

First up you'll see a trio of hollow body cat candy containers (only one head sculpted thus far) and a first for me, as I've never made a standing cat, let alone one that is hollow ~ so I am quite pleased with how they are coming along. They still need refining with regards to shaping/sanding, so don't judge them too harsely.

Next up are two devil head luminaries/candy containers... I can't let a year go by without sculpting a few of these guys. Again, these are still a work in progress. A devil wouldn't be a devil without horns :)

FYI: I don't think I'll be partaking in the upcoming EHAG Emporium ~ Canada Post is still on strike and unfortuntely, I am left waiting for a shipment of much needed supplies. BUMMER!! ~ Lori

WIP~itty do dah today!

2011-06-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

I must be on a roll today because I finally got my papier mache/accordion tree toppers finished up.

And am now moving on to these fellows... a small handful of gourd character candy containers.

Grab your "NET" SpookyTime Jingles update is at midnight (EST) tonight!

2011-06-12T22:35:00.003-04:00

PLEASE NOTE:

Due to a serious problem with our domain registrar, our website update will take place at www.SpookyTimeJingles.net this month.

www.SpookyTimeJingles.com is currently unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control.

We are working on the problem and hope to have it resolved soon! THANK YOU!

And don't forget that this month marks the beginning of "Celebrate America!", but remember to look for us at www.SpookyTimeJingles.net and not .com

On the workbench today...

2011-06-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

After yesterdays stress session on facebook I decided that maybe instead of feeling a bit overwhelmed I should put those stressed out feelings to good use. The result = a lot of progress on 13 pieces (must be a lucky number right?)

Anyway, I am back to working on these pieces in a few minutes, just thought you'd like to see the wip's of six mache/paper accordion tree toppers, four cat head/paper accordion ornaments and three candy balls. ~ Lori

Dust in the wind... and apparently on my blog

2011-06-07T16:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long delay in my blog posts. I have been very busy sculpting my papier mache pieces and trying to prepare for two upcoming Halloween/Holiday shows this fall. (Show dates on the left side bar.)

That being said... please be forewarned that this may not be the only time you'll visit and see what is tantamount to ghosts blowing across the blank page.

Anyway, I must get back to sculpting and sanding... a snapshot of what is in progress (so far) is posted below. ~ Lori

Cleaning out my cupboards ~ Etsy SALE now on!

2011-05-11T15:38:00.001-04:00

I decided it was high time I cleaned out my art cupboard and offered several pieces for SALE in my ETSY shop. Some of these items have never been listed online before!

So I hope you'll take a few minutes and pop by my ETSY store.

Here's some of what you'll see for sale.

In other news, STJ updates tomorrow at 12 midnight (Eastern.)
I will be offering FIVE summer themed items and don't forget there's still time to bid on the STJ Day of the Dead tree on eBay. Have a great week! ~ Lori

STJ Day Of The Dead Tree eBay Auction

2011-05-08T03:38:00.000-04:00

If you like Day of the Dead... let me re-phrase that ~ if you LOVE anything related to Day of the Dead than perhaps you should visit the eBay auction that started today for this outstanding 4 foot tall, black feather tree (made in the traditional German style.)

It's fully decorated (FULLY loaded actually) with handmade ornaments made by STJ artisans.

Who knows? ~ you may be the VERY lucky bidder who wins this one of a kind gem!

CLICK HERE to go to the auction listing now!

AND don't forget... there's still one more day (Sunday, May 8th) to get your "Spooky" on!

The STJ booth(s) at the National Halloween Convention Center is open at 9:00 am and closes at 3:00 pm. Look for the ladies in the "Artist's Alley". ~ Lori

Countdown to the National Halloween Convention

2011-05-05T01:39:00.000-04:00

Only one more day until SpookyTime Jingles is enjoying it's 3rd year of participation at the National Halloween Convention in King of Prussia, PA at the Valley Forge Convention Center.

Look for co-owners Dani Nelson and Wendy Leaumont, plus several of my fellow STJ artisans in the Artist's Alley at the convention.

This year the STJ booth and displays have been revamped. I am personally looking forward to seeing the new props, displays and all of the artwork being offered for sale.

**All pieces of art at the show/sale are one of a kind and hand made by the STJ artists.**

Sales floor hours are as follows:

Friday, May 6th ~ 10:00 am to 7:00 pm

Saturday, May 7th ~ 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Sunday, May 8th ~ 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Tickets are: $25.00 at the door (and good all weekend long!)

For those of you (who like me) are not available to attend the event in person, but may be interested in obtaining some pieces being offered for sale please keep your eyes on the SpookyTime Jingles facebook page.
Dani and Wendy will be posting pictures of the show, of the artwork for sale, plus a video or two.
If you see a piece you'd like to purchase from the show, please leave a comment on the STJ facebook page and they will contact you.

EHAG Emporium ~ "Pulp Friction" Luminary & Candy Container

2011-04-30T21:00:00.067-04:00

This months EHAG Emporium is now upon us and I have created a very special pumpkin. This fun piece is the product of many hours of hard work. A few more details about this piece are posted below:

"Pulp Friction" is a hand sculpted pumpkin that's given to bouts of crankiness. I think his expression clearly shows he's not very agreeable!

It could simply be because his wrinkles are taut that he's looking a bit fraught, so be forewarned he may be a bit ornery until you make him feel at home.

This ill-natured guy has been trimmed with vintage crepe paper (in shades of green and taupe) that's been sewn and hand cut (by me) to mimic leaves around his base.
To seal and mildly antique this cantankerous fellow I have applied two kinds of paste wax, buffed to a soft, satin/semi-sheen.
His paper eye and mouth inserts have been treated with an archival paper spray to help them last throughout the years. (The better to see you with!)

Approximate size of this piece is: 7.05" high by 9.0" wide x 26.0" in circumference.
He's plenty big enough to fill with wrapped candies and can be illuminated using a battery operated light source. * No real candles please.*

SOLD, thank you!!!

"Pulp Friction" is $175- (plus airmail shipping.)

Please email: therudolphs@sympatico.ca to purchase this piece.

Silliness du jour

2011-04-27T16:12:00.001-04:00

Here's a few little "things" I have been working on. Granted, they are a bit silly... but I have had a blast making a handful of mache/accordion lantern ornaments. Pleated paper bodies and silly little papier mache heads, hands and feet. (Then again, I am easily amused can't you tell?)

Aside from a bit of cheap entertainment I have been busy finishing up my piece for this months my EHAG Emporium. There's a sneak peek below.

The EHAG Emporium opens it's Halloween doors on Saturday night (April 30th) at 9:00 p.m. EST. I hope you'll stop by to see all the items for sale.

BUT... don't forget to pop into the EHAG Emporium now... I say NOW because there's a giveaway happening... and the prizes are really, really cool!

Have a great week, hope to see you Saturday night! ~ Lori

STJ "Sneak Peek"

2011-04-12T12:47:00.001-04:00

Here's a little sneak peek of (some) of my items available this month on SpookyTime Jingles.

Hope to see you at midnight (Eastern) tonight! ~ Lori

Let spring and the sanding commence!

2011-04-09T13:15:00.003-04:00

Today I feel somewhat akin to the groundhog who's finally seen his shadow. I finally saw mine as I stepped outdoors to a gorgeous, sun filled and pleasantly warm day.

That being said, I am proceeding outdoors in the next few minutes to sand all these Halloween/fall themed papier mache pieces I've been diligently working on the past several weeks.

Some of these pieces will be put aside to sell on online venues (STJ and EHAG Emporium), others will be put aside for two upcoming fall shows... and some have already made travel plans (hopefully) by the end of this week in anticipation of SpookyTime Jingles at the NHC in early May. Wish me luck with the sanding etc.!

Have a great weekend all! ~ Lori

Ornaments, ornaments and yes indeed... a few more ornaments

2011-03-31T17:48:00.001-04:00

A quick little "How do you do?" as we come close to the end of another work week... well, the end for those of you who work a regular 9 to 5 day job. For me, the work week is only about half done (she says while yawning and reaching for more coffee.)

To break it up a little bit I thought I'd share a peek of what I've been working steadily on for the past few weeks. Now that they are (mostly) done I was inspired to get a rack hung up in my storage cabinet so I could hang up all of these... you guessed it... ornaments.

Other items of interest today ~ The EHAG Emporium opens its cyber doors at 9:00 pm Eastern, hope you'll check out the goodies available this month. I'll be lurking to see what everyone has made, as for me... well I had a little too much on my plate this month, so I couldn't play along. ~ Lori

Adding one more Halloween show into the mix

2011-03-28T16:43:00.001-04:00

Yes, that's what I said!

I am thrilled to be able to participate in this show (though not in person), with so many of my peers by means of sending my artwork to the 3rd Annual National Halloween Convention in Philadelphia (at the Valley Forge Convention Center.)

SpookyTime Jingles member artwork will be shown and for sale in the "Artists Alley" under SpookyTime Jingles.

SpookyTime Jingles will have two booths this year to display/sell group members artwork.

The sales floor will be open from:

Friday to Sunday ~ May 6th through 8th.

... and from what I've heard this promises to be a very exciting show, so I hope you'll mark the dates and start your Halloween shopping early!

As for me, well I have to go for now... I am still working on my papier mache pieces for this show. Wish me luck! ~ Lori

I am bursting with excitement!

2011-03-25T13:37:00.001-04:00

... because this year I will be participating in Halloween and Vine!

For years now it's been a dream of mine to see the show, an even larger dream to be fortunate enough to participate in it.

I am in great company and very lucky to be alongside so many of my favourite Halloween artists... some of whom I've never met and some of whom I am proud to say are my friends.

It's going to be a busy year prepping for this show and for the second annual SpookyTime Jingles Holiday Soiree as well.

Mark the dates, I hope to see you there!

SpookyTime Jingles 2nd Annual Holiday Soiree on Saturday, September 10th

Halloween and Vine on Saturday, September 24th
Picture: Content copyright © 2010 Halloween and Vine

Retro Rudolph's Retro-spective... another trip down memory lane

2011-03-16T14:24:00.005-04:00

Every now and then I get an email from a cherished collector who sends me pictures of the pieces they've collected from me.

This week I received four pictures from Paul who I believe was my very first Halloween collector in late February of 2006. It's hard to believe it's been a little over five years now since I took the plunge and decided to make my love affair with papier mache my full time career.

It's very interesting for me to see these pieces again, especially when they are all displayed so thoughtfully en masse. The progression in my work strikes me profoundly. It brings to mind the expression "You've come a long way baby!"

Don't get me wrong here... that's not to say that I don't appreciate my art from it's humble beginnings... I do, but I think I have become a better artist/sculptor in those five years. I have learned a lot throughout these years (through hard work and experimentation) and am still learning and honing my skills to this day. I don't think I'll ever stop learning, nor do I want to... that's part of what keeps this interesting and challenging for me.

With Paul's permission I am sharing the pictures he sent me. He has most of his Retro Rudolph's pieces displayed on a 64" x 18" sofa table. He also started a Halloween tree to display some of the ornaments I have made.

A HUGE thank you Paul. For all your purchases in the past five years, for taking the time to send me email, meet me in person, post pics of my art on your own blog and for all the amazing things you have said regarding my art. It means more to me than you'll ever know to have a "cool-ector" such as you! ~ Lori

(Above) ~ A wide shot of his display.

(Above) ~ A close-up of tree, pumpkins, hag with party hat, "Sad Sack figures" (in front) and behind a masked skeleton and hag with party hat ~ two of my earlier Halloween pieces.

(Above) ~ A close-up of several pumpkins from 2008 ~ 2010.

(Below) ~ (back left of picture) A pumpkin man and pumpkin girl with party hat, both are from my "2 heads are better than 1" series of 2006/2007. (The heads swap out to a witch and a skelly.) Several pumpkins, pumpkin/veggie man containers are featured in front.

Shades of things to come in 2011

2011-03-13T16:42:00.002-04:00

As most of you know I make hollow pieces - the majority of which can hold candy or be illuminated when displayed. And every year I love to make ornaments which serve a dual purpose as lanterns/luminaries or candy containers. This year is no exception!

My inspiration this time came from the Halloween collection of one of my collectors. Her paper/paper mache lanterns really "spoke" to me and set my brain whirling. Although my inspiration is from the old (and yes, I'm often inspired by old Halloween imagery) I always like to put my own "spin" or "twist" on things.

Below you will see the wip's (works in progress) of some lantern/mache pieces for 2011.

I have great plans for these - some will be smaller (as seen at bottom of pic) to serve as ornaments for those who have Halloween themed trees. Some will be larger - accordion pleated paper lantern only ornaments, but I also plan to make larger pieces with papier mache topped/head pieces and probably some lantern shaped candy boxes too.

Who knows what these will evolve into? I don't... but I am having the time of my life bringing them to life. ~ Lori

SpookyTime Jingles ~ sneak peek

2011-03-11T12:43:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share a very cryptic sneak peek of my SpookyTime Jingles offerings this month.
Hint: They are candy containers... but that's all I'm going to post or say about them for now.
You'll have to pop into STJ as the 12th becomes the 13th to see the full picture(s).
Happy March Break everyone! ~ Lori

EHAG Emporium ~ "Knobby Jack" Luminary/Candy container SOLD

2011-02-28T21:00:00.060-05:00

This months EHAG Emporium is now upon us and I have created a very special Jack O' Lantern just for this occasion. This elaborate piece is the product of hours of hand sculpting with attention paid to refining its goose bump-like pumpkin rind and mischievous expression.

A few more details about this piece:
"Knobby Jack" is a hand sculpted pumpkin that's been turned on his side, his crooked stem is his nose.
He's been trimmed with vintage crepe paper that's been sewn and hand cut (by me) to mimic leaves around his base.
To seal and mildly antique this piece I have applied two kinds of paste wax, buffed to a soft, satin sheen.
His paper eye and mouth inserts have been treated with an archival paper spray to help them last throughout the years.

Approximate size of this piece is: 7.0 " high by 9.0" wide x 26.0" in circumference.
He's plenty big enough to fill with wrapped candies and can be illuminated using a battery operated light source. * No real candles please.*

SOLD ~ Thanks so much!!

Knobby Jack is $175- (plus airmail shipping.)

Please email: therudolphs@sympatico.ca to purchase this piece.

Now onto the pictures :)

A day late and a crone short!

2011-02-25T14:48:00.001-05:00

Firstly, I must make apologies for not having this post up yesterday. I got a bit tied up doing some other things and couldn't fit it in.

Anyway, I will show you the progress made on the Cranky Crone Challenge piece thus far. I warn you it doesn't look like much... I guess that's because it isn't. haha!

My piece is slowly evolving, that is to say that I have it all worked out in my minds eye, I just haven't had a chance to bring that vision to "life" yet so to speak. I will, and I hope in the end that it will turn out better than I expected.

Pictured below are a few of the materials and/or pieces I have progressed on so far. Let me set the scene... I say this as I truly pray that I can get this piece done by March 24th... but don't count on it!

In the picture you can spy some pumpkins... these are because my crone will be attempting to carve a pumpkin with a spoon. She will be seated on a stump, sitting in a field of sorts covered in lichen, moss and faux dirt... a few mushrooms will be scattered here and there for good measure.

The pumpkins (as seen below) will have leaves and vines trailing from them. In the background I will have two spooky-ish trees (yet to be made) from which the paper lanterns I've made (also pictured below) will be lit and hanging from the tree branches.

My crone (although just a wip head at this point) will be dressed in fabric clothing. I haven't decided what era - if any of costuming she'll be wearing, nor have I picked out the fabrics from my small stash... but I will. It all takes time... and it will take some courage on my part to motivate myself to finish this piece. I haven't made costumed figures for a couple of years now and it's become somewhat of a daunting task for me... perfection is what I strive for with every piece I make. Whether or not this piece will be perfect is another question entirely... time will tell!

Please be sure to check out the blog of Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art, my partner in this challenge (she has her post up now.) That way you can see what progress she's made on her crone... hopefully more than mine! ~ Lori

Upcoming EHAG Emporium (sneak peek)

2011-02-24T00:35:00.000-05:00

It's been over a week since my last post and I figured you may be wondering what the heck I've been doing, so I thought I would share a sneak peek of the one piece that got finished... albeit just a few hours ago.

It's the warty Jack O' Lantern (now known as "Knobby Jack") you can see it as a work in progress in the post below... so as not to spoil the surprise/reveal I will only be sharing a sneak peek.

That means you'll have to wait until the EHAG Emporium opens at 9:00 p.m. on February 28th.
For now you can hop over to the EHAG Emporium to see some other sneak peeks and please be sure to scroll down a few posts until you find this month's giveaway post... you can leave a comment and be entered to win one of three prizes!
That's all for now. ~ Lori

Warts that you said?

2011-02-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd take a few moments and share my newest papier mache piece in progress, a warty jack o' lantern. I just started sculpting this piece today, (so it's pretty rough in spots) but I am hoping to finish it up for this month's EHAG Emporium... wish me luck because I could use it with time ticking down too fast! ~ Lori

p.s. There are still plenty of goodies available on SpookyTime Jingles this month... so don't forget to pop over there too!

STJ's Easter Holiday Hootenanny is a blast!

2011-02-13T14:10:00.004-05:00

And I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stopped by my page and purchased my pieces. I am overwhelmed with your response and kindness and am pleased beyond words to say that all of my pieces have sold.

That being said, there are still many wonderful Holiday themed items being offered by so many amazing artists this month... not to mention STJ has added three talented artists to the roster and I hope you will continue to peruse and shop the pages of STJ.

I'm off to start packing goodies up... enjoy your Sunday! ~ Lori

It's almost time for SpookyTime Jingles 3rd Annual Easter Holiday Hootenanny!

2011-02-12T13:55:00.001-05:00

Are you ready? I am!! I will be offering a small assortment of Easter/Spring themed pieces, as well a few Fall items this month.

The SpookyTime Jingles website goes live tonight at 12:00 am Eastern. Please click here to go to my STJ page.

I have also uploaded plenty of pictures to my FLICKR page, so you can see some close-up views of the pieces I am offering this month. A few pics are posted below (that's pretty obvious huh?)

Happy weekend everyone! ~ Lori

Duh..duh..duh..duh...done!

2011-02-10T17:21:00.002-05:00

Whew... I am pleased to say that I just finished up my STJ pieces for February and I am thrilled with how they all turned out.

Admittedly, I don't make a lot of Spring/Easter themed pieces, but these carrot containers begged for some smaller crepe/leafy edged ornaments ~ designed for those who may have Easter trees... I know I do! I hope someone will find something from this dozen pieced assortment that strikes their fancy on the 13th.

I'm off to take a break now (after I post pics in Flickr) and then it's back to proper photos of these pieces. Cheers! ~ Lori

STJ Hootenanny... means I better move my fanny

2011-02-08T15:33:00.002-05:00

Time is a ticking away far too fast for me this week. I am still finish sanding my pieces for this months STJ Easter Holiday Hootenanny!

There's a little sneak peek below at some of the pieces (acorn candy containers, carrot containers, pumpkin, eggplant and gourd) I've been working on... mind you not all will be available for sale on my STJ page this month, so guess I better concentrate on finishing those that will be huh?

Okay... that's all my news for today. I'll post a pic of the finished pieces when they are finished. ~ Lori

A HUGE thank you for the trip down memory lane

2011-01-31T18:18:00.006-05:00

It's a great feeling when someone buys your work. It's the be all and end all when they love it enough to take pictures of it and then take the time to share them with you.

I don't think I'll ever get over the rush of selling my art or hearing compliments about it.

Six years ago I had no idea I'd be doing this for a living (I know I have stated this before) but, I am thankful that my collectors care enough about my work to not only give it a great home, but they often send me an email telling me how much they like it.

It's not every day I get to meet a collector in person, but yesterday I had the pleasure of having Brenda and her husband Rob pick up the pieces Brenda had commissioned from me. She brought me a couple of lovely gifts from her vintage Halloween collection (very beautiful treats), not only that, but she took the time to take more pics of the pieces and upload them to her Flickr stream after she returned home. I am honoured, as Brenda knows that she would choose to buy my work... not every vintage Halloween collector will put "new" with the old. And trust me she's got an amazing collection (that I drool over in her pics.)

I guess what I am really trying to say here is that... I am very grateful for having supportive collectors, a very supportive family and supportive artist friends who push me to put myself and my art out there.

Please know that I don't take any of this for granted. I appreciate you, just as much... if not more than you appreciate my art. A sincere thank you, because you help make this all possible!

p.s. Thank you to Jack, Brenda, Thomas and Kevin for sharing their pics with me (I've posted a few below)... and thank you all again for your very kind words and support! ~ Lori

My devil, bottom left and oops... I forgot about the black cat's head lantern, far right (pictured with many amazing pieces by the talented Debbie Hawkins of He-Be-Je-Bes)

Four pieces (above) made by me.

All pieces by me (except for the green cat at front by Bruce Elsass.)

Pictured below ~ all made by me.

Cranky crone challenge ~ month one

2011-01-24T13:37:00.003-05:00

How can you define a crone?

According to Wickipedia: "The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing.".... "As a character type, the crone shares characteristics with the hag."

"Hag", a word I frequently use to describe the type of witches I sculpt. I've never felt that my witches and/or hags are particularly "attractive" beings. Instead, I always seem to envision them as what I refer to as "man handed" women, and by that I mean their hands... as well as their facial features are always a tad on the masculine side. It is what it is. I don't do "pretty" and I don't/won't make apologies for it... it's not my style.

Anywho, my inspiration for my yet to be sculpted "crone" could come from movies such as Snow White or The Brothers Grimm (as pictured below.)

BUT instead my inspiration will come from myself, my own previous works (as seen below) and my want to really "push" myself to make something I have never made before.

To give you some further insight into what I plan to make I wrote a poem. Keep in mind... I am by no means a poet, but this poem of sorts may help to give you an idea as to what direction this piece will take... provided I can breathe life into it of course.

Off to the woods she ran, a large silver spoon in her hand.

Gourds and pumpkins she did spy, laying on the ground nearby.

Perfectly plump and ripe, just in time for Halloween night!

She spied a stump on which to sit, under a tree with lanterns fully lit.

A large orange Jack, was glowing in the light.

She knew he would be perfect, she knew he would be right!

Trying as she may, trying as she might.

No matter how she carved, she couldn't get it right.

Growing crankier by the minute...

I guess she should have brought a knife!

PLEASE don't forget to stop by Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art, she's my Cranky Crone Challenge partner and see where she draws her inspiration from. I know, but you don't... so check it out!

Just be sure to pop back over to our blogs again on February 24th to see how far we've progressed. ~ Lori

Quickie airbrush booth on the cheap!

2011-01-18T13:57:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's what I said. With not much else to post because I am still busy with commissions I thought I would show you my new quickie, knock down airbrush booth.

It cost me all of a few minutes of my time to assemble (= duct tape together. ) It's made from 7 sheets of foam core, bought at the local dollar store for $8.75 + tax and will quickly set up and fold down so that I can use it again.

Guess it beats covering my work bench in plastic sheeting - I tend to spray in an area far wider than I probably should, so I am hoping that this will keep the over spray/mist somewhat confined.

And if it wasn't seamed with duct tape... I imagine it would be a good photo booth too :)

Wish me luck as I am about to tackle some of those commissions :) ~ Lori

It's a Cherry Cheesecake (kind of) Birthday for me

2011-01-14T11:22:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday... and just for fun I thought I would make my own cake. It's made from a recipe I received from my brother in law a few years back and have made whenever I get the craving for cream cheese. (Okay, maybe I don't make it every time I crave cream cheese) but I have made it several times in the past few years. It's easy, it's delicious and I thought I would share his recipe with you - so here goes!

Cherry Cheesecake

Filling:

3 pkgs. cream cheese (softened)

1 cup white/granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Crust:

2 cups of graham wafer crumbs or 3 cups of Oreo crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

Topping:

1 pint sour cream

1/2 cup white/granulated sugar

Crust: Combine graham cracker or Oreo crumbs with 1/2 cup melted butter and press firmly into a 10" spring form pan or a 9" x 12" oblong pan. Set aside.

With an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla.

Turn the mixture into your pan that's been lined with the crust mixture.

Bake at 325 F for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

Beat together the sour cream and 1/2 cup of sugar and spread over cheesecake.

Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. After cooled, top with fresh fruit, cherry pie filling or pie filling of your choice and place in refrigerator. Slice, serve and enjoy! ~ Lori

Cranky, cranky... and yes it's a challenge to boot!

2011-01-12T12:30:00.007-05:00

This years' Birthday has left me wondering where the years have flown
And the thought of more housework is making me moan,
I'm beginning to feel a bit like a
CRANKY CRONE.

So worn and weary - right down to the bone,
Yes, I really am becoming a
CRANKY CRONE!

I need a new challenge to pique my interest.
Something creative - difficult to resist...

Time to create a CRONE of my own, something made.... for me alone.

A CRANKY CRONE - someone that I'd admire,
is sure to light my creative fire.

This CRONE will be three months in the making:
January's for innovation and painting.
Visit in February to measure her construction, come back in March for your introduction.

A three month

Cranky Crone Challenge
co-hosted by
Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art

and me, Lori Rudolph of Retro Rudolph's

Visit our blogs on the 24th of each month.
A prize will be offered with the grand reveal
on March 24th, 2011

My Putz Project ~ Final steps no. 6 through 9

2010-12-31T15:35:00.003-05:00

I have made you wait long enough, so I thought I would conclude this project before 2010 came to an end.

As you will see I have not designed the doors and windows for the Martha houses, but am hoping you can just tweak your houses to use some of the door and windows patterns I have previously posted.

Step no. 6: That is the step where you insert your paper windows and doors. It's obvious that you print, cut and paste them into the openings... no need to expand on that step.

Step no. 7a: This step involves cutting a base for your houses. I decided not to make a raised base for a couple of reasons. Reason (and/or excuse) 1. because I bought some vintage putz homes as my Christmas present and the majority of the raised bases (although supported underneath) still seem to fail, crush and fall apart with age. Reason no. 2, because it's more time than I want to spend making bases.

I should mention that my bases are all uniform in size. I randomly chose 5.0 inches by 3.5 inches because that looked good to me and provide enough space around each house for fencing and landscaping.

Step no. 7b: Cut and glue your fences. In order to do this I used cardboard and a Martha Stewart scalloped edge cutter. Length and height is up to you. You do not have to make scalloped edges, you can make them straight... I just thought this was prettier.

Step no. 7c: Applying DecoArt Snow-tex, as your ground cover and on your fences. Apply it with a sculpting tool or paintbrush and let dry. Make your ground area and fencing as rough or as smooth as you'd like. After they are dry give them a coat or two of paints of your choice.

Step no. 8: Adding in bottle brush trees. In my case I am still waiting for my miniature bottle brush trees to arrive, so I opted to use vintage chenille bump instead, in a pale green colour. You can find vintage chenille bump on both eBay and Etsy. This is large, lush bump, not the small stuff you can get at a local crafts store. I love buying vintage chenille bump from Cass at Paper Tales on Etsy, just click on the links to visit her store.
To insert the trees I simply poked a hole in the cardboard base, added a dab of glue around the hole and pulled a piece of bump through to the desired height with some pliers. Let the glue dry and trim off the excess chenille bump from below the base.

Step no. 9: The final stage is to add more glitter. I will be adding some to the fences (exterior only), and perhaps the trees as well. As for the snowy, glistening look on the ground, my glitter of choice this time around is again made by Martha Stewart. It's fine grade glitter, "crystal" is my colour choice because it sparkles more than the carrara marble (white) coloured glitter.

I have not taken a picture of the completed houses, because mine are not completed yet. They will be soon. Aside from that I am hoping to have my husband install some shelving in our living room where I will be able to display my houses along with my newly bought vintage ones sometime in 2011. I'll post a pic next winter to show you how my display looks. I hope this project of sorts was helpful, if not don't shoot the messenger. haha!

p.s. After "tagging" Martha Stewart in a number of these posts I received an email from them on Dec. 20th expressing their gratitude for my referring readers and linking to their website. That was sort of fun :)

Happy New Year to you all! ~ Lori

The "family" Christmas trees

2010-12-24T12:51:00.001-05:00

I thought I would share a few more Christmas tree pics, those of my sisters Tracy and Melissa.

I only wish Tracy had posted a picture of her tree this year, but I can't seem to find one (yet) on facebook, so these will have to suffice.

Three pictures (below) from 2004, 2006 and 2007.

... and a picture of Mel's tree this year (plus a closeup of vintage ornaments.)

Remember I told you about "skinny Santa", well here's hers!

Wishing you all a safe and VERY joyous holiday season!
I'll see you again in 2011. ~ Lori

My Putz Project ~ Parts no.3 and no.4

2010-12-13T19:56:00.003-05:00

Okay, onto stage number 3. That's to paint your houses. (I've painted half and glittered the other half so I could give you steps 3 and 4.)

I'd give you my colour list, but I know ultimately it's up to you to decide which colours are appropriate for your display, therefore I won't list the many colours I used.

I painted each house with one coat of acrylic paint. It seemed to be enough to cover almost 100% of the texture.

In the picture below (orange house, black roof) I tried some of the "Christmas Grass" I spoke of before on the roof. To apply it I mixed it in with the white acrylic paint and sloshed it on, easy peasy! It's the green stuff in the picture below.

Stage number 4 ~ After the 1st coat of paint was dry it was time to break out the glitter.

I painted on the second coat of paint, before it was dry I lightly sprinkled the house panels with glitter. No need to use glue or adhesive if your paint is still wet to the touch.

As for the glitters I used Martha Stewart brand: turquoise (blue), tourmaline (deep pink), golden beryl (green), fire opal (orange/red), white gold (almost silver in appearance) and carrara marble (white.) I did however mix some fine grade, pure silver glitter in with the carrara marble. I want the snow laden roofs to have speckled appearance as they age and pure silver will add that as it begins to tarnish.

p.s. Don't forget to paint inside the vestibule area - this is where some of the door panels will be glued/inserted behind - speaking of which, I am still designing my windows and doors. I have to customize them since I printed the pdf's/patterns out at different sizes. I wanted all of my houses to be approximately 3.5 inches high and that meant scaling up and scaling down the patterns accordingly.

I hope to provide you with some door and window patterns later this week, but fear that you will have to tweak them (in height and width) in a photo editing program in order to fit your homes... especially if you (like me) didn't print out the patterns (size) as is.

Until next time... keep working on your putz houses! ~ Lori

New on SpookyTime Jingles tonight!

2010-12-12T23:23:00.002-05:00

At midnight (Eastern) I will be offering my last three pieces (online) at SpookyTime Jingles until the new year.

I have two "POP" treat boxes and one very "Perturbed Pumpkin" luminary/candy container.

I hope to see you there. ~ Cheers! ~ Lori

My Putz Project ~ Part no.2

2010-12-10T19:02:00.003-05:00

The second stage - adding some texture. Why? because old putz homes had texture - be it from the addition of fine or chunky glitters, stucco, sand or the infamous "coconut" - which by the way I don't think I can reproduce with 100% accuracy as it was short strands of cellophane from what I've read online.

I may have to make a few more houses because I have a little something called "Christmas Grass" that I picked up on eBay years ago, it's basically short strands of green coloured sawdust/shavings and it may mimic the "coconut" texture somewhat.

Anyhow now onto the texturizing process. I have used two mediums.
One is called Decor rock (it's grey coloured) small nuggets of fine rock, the other is Snow-Tex, made by DecoArt.
The tools to apply them were simple - a few cheap paint brushes for the glue (this was to adhere) the Decor rock and a plastic sculpting tool (to trowel on) the Snow-Tex.

Decor rock: Easy peasy - add white glue to the body of your house and sprinkle the Decor rock on, shake off the excess.

Snow-Tex: I slathered it on the body of the houses, not being too picky about the texture and/or making sure it covered all areas - stucco houses as they age are by no means perfect!

Parts of the roofs (in the pic above - house on right hand side) as you'll see (or rather have a hard time seeing because they are white) are partially covered in Snow-Tex. I slathered it on and after covering a single roof panel I dipped my plastic sculpting tool in water and smoothed the texture out. I don't want the roofs to be too highly textured.
You may be able to see a slight texture on some of the painted house roofs in the blog post (1st picture.) I used white acrylic paint mixed with a small amount of the Decor stone sprinkled in and painted it on with a paint brush.

One word of caution: After applying any texture medium to your putz house be sure to make sure the windows and door ways are free of texture debris (on the interior of the house) - if you don't take time to do this, the printed window and door panels will not adhere flatly on the inside later on.

Now I must wait an hour or two for these four houses to dry prior to applying acrylic paint. After that you'll see part no. 3. ~ Lori

My Putz Project ~ Part no.1

2010-12-10T17:14:00.001-05:00

It all started years ago, by that I mean my love for vintage Christmas putz houses. The curiosity and want for my own was piqued by Martha Stewart's "Winter Village" article in the December 2000 issue. An issue which I did not own, but one day when I was at the dentist's office I saw/read the article. Thankfully, Mrs. Bialik let me leave the office with a new tooth brush and this issue in tow.

That being said, I have tried my hand at making putz houses off and on for the past decade. Much to my chagrin they were never quite how I imagined them to be. I wanted them to look vintage - but no matter how hard I tried they've never quite been what I wanted them to be.

Skip to this month and my expressing my desire (in an email) to own some vintage putz homes to Amelia of Sweet B Folk Art.

B, knowing a source for pretty much anything sent me a link to a website to build my own.

The site is called Little Glitter Houses, in case you are interested in making a few putz homes for yourself.

So with patterns downloaded, cut and ready to use from both Little Glitter Houses and the Martha Stewart websites I started over again.

As you'll see below I have chosen to use three basic styles to make a dozen houses for myself.

I am using the "large house" pattern from Martha (making modifications and variations), the "Bay Window" house, a (modified) "Picture Window" house and my favourite house pattern of all "The Little Charmer" all three of the latter are from the Little Glitter Houses websites. There's also a link to Papa Ted's Place to buy reproduction doors and windows - but I think I can draw/make my own in the colours I desire.

Papa Ted's Place is a wonderful resource for the history of putz houses, old catalogue pictures, repair and cleaning and he also has a few links to some serious vintage putz house collectors pictures/displays, so check it out if you have time this holiday season.

Be sure to come back again to see my progress... and keep your fingers crossed that I haven't wasted cardboard, glue and my time again this year on a putz project that gets binned. ~ Lori

One more tree and a few more Christmas pics

2010-11-30T16:10:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, I can't stop myself when it comes to decorating. I'm not sure whether it's because I love trees, feather trees in particular or whether or not it's because I discovered another tote of vintage Christmas ornaments in the basement. I guess it really doesn't matter as to why... because my love of decking the halls (literally) kicked in again this past weekend.

You may find some of the things I use a tad kitschy... but that's okay with me. I use them for purely sentimental reasons. The Moravian star is a perfect example of what some may consider "Christmas kitsch" - it arrived today YAY!!! I wanted this particular star because my Mom always used one on her tree. The "skinny Santa" from Japan (last picture) is on my tree because my paternal grandmother owned/displayed one. My sister Melissa now has grandma's and yes, she puts him on her tree too. The plastic snowflakes again are a nod to my grandmother.

The tree (pictured below) is now complete :) In the end I also opted to use some vintage tissue paper garland vs. using metal tinsel garland or tinsel because the kitten has now taken to chewing on the lower tree branches and climbing inside the tree too. Today as I was attaching the star she met me near the top. I was not pleased... but she managed to get down without breaking a single ornament.

I also replaced the small feather tree in the front hall (as seen below with a few closeups too) with a larger one bought on eBay a few years ago. I wired in micro lights a few years back, but this year they decided to burn out... much to my dismay.
Anyway, this tree is now in the hallway because I fear the kitten would climb it, thus knocking the ornaments off and they'd go crashing to the floor in the dining room. The end result would be me in tears because the entire tree is decorated in vintage, glass ornaments and metal tinsel and I would be bummed to see them break.

Pictured below are some closeups of the larger tree filled with vintage glass balls, plastic snowflakes, glitter birds (last years) "craft project" and a few of my favourite ornaments.... such as "skinny Santa" Enjoy!! ~ Lori

Christmas vignettes and losing my mind...

2010-11-23T14:07:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I decided I'd better switch gears and pack up the Halloween goodies. It's not easy packing away the stuff I enjoy looking at daily, I still have items in my dining room to enjoy, but have moved onto Christmas in the living room and front hallway.

The tree, in our living room is one we bought last year. Normally I opt for feather trees, but since this was a pre-lit umbrella style tree and the price was right... I couldn't refuse buying it. It's pictured below, but is not fully decorated (yet.)

I can't find the Moravian star I borrowed from my Mom years ago or the beaded garland. I may have to opt for vintage tinsel instead - because I am too afraid to use the synthetic stuff with the cats... Pekoe especially, because she's taken to playing under the tree and it's only been up since mid Sunday afternoon.

For years I have had a handful of resin, vintage style snowmen and some vintage bottle brush trees, so I decided that this year I would put them to use and create a display on the dresser in the front hall. After all I have them and the polyester batting that I bought, but didn't use prior to this. It makes great a snowy ground cover over a few boxes. The addition of a string of mini lights and some flakes of clear plastic didn't seem to hurt either. This morning as Bailey was about to leave for school Brian (my husband) said - "It looks like Christmas arrived overnight", to which Bailey (our son) replied "I think Mom has lost her mind!" Whether or not this it true, (about me losing my mind) I don't know... but I think this small display turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. ~ Lori

It's prettier now, but it'll never be posh!

2010-11-17T00:08:00.000-05:00

"Live and learn" I think I will have to adopt this credo as of today because I have been told that my dining room studio was not as messy as I had stated in my previous post.
I guess "mess" and/or "messy" means different things to us all.
In my case it meant cardboard boxes, papers, dog fur, cat fur and crud laying around where it shouldn't be.

Don't get me wrong here, my home will never look like a posh magazine shoot. I'm not going for that pristine look. I am however trying to make myself more comfortable in my work surroundings.
After all, I do spend roughly 6 to 8 hours seated in this room per day either working on mache, answering emails or fiddling around on the computer.

RE: what I considered to be a "mess." ~ I couldn't stand it... in fact it was starting to depress the hell out of me. Friends can attest to the fact that I often whine in my emails that my house needs an overhaul... and it does. So instead of idly chatting about what I should do, I did do... it's as simple as that! Except I didn't really clean up the interior of my display cabinet... I fudged it, and now notice the mirror looks rather iccky in the photo... oops ;)

Do I feel better now that it's "clean", yes and no truth be told. It makes me want to take more time off to clean up other rooms.
Will I take more time off to do just that? Nope, commissions and a desire to make a living are calling my name, so as of tomorrow I will get back to work. ~ Lori

p.s. A FUN fact: Last night I received some pictures from one of my collectors and spotted something in his Halloween collection that really caught my eye. Look for the Devil luminary in the 3rd pic down, mine is a burgundy/red, his is green. I emailed him back and asked if he knew who the artist was because my Devil is not signed. He doesn't know who it was either, but he did say that we have the only two ever made by this artist. I think it's sort of neat that we have brother Devils... but I still wonder who made this piece because it's one of my favourites... one of his favourites too!

It ain't pretty... and it don't look that way (yet!)

2010-11-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

By that I mean my dining room/work space/studio. It's a sight to behold... and trust me, not in a good way!

I promised myself that after the STJ Soiree I would come home and clean up my house.

I did (somewhat) but only essential rooms such as the bathroom, kitchen and living room. My dining room however got pushed to the side because I needed to start on commissions. I have started those commissions and am making progress, but staring me hard in the face (daily) is the one room I should not have neglected. I say that because mess is well... just that... mess!

And although I should be embarrassed to show you my mess (I am sort of) I feel the need to put it out there for you (my blog readers) to witness. I guess mostly because it's at the point now where I feel I can't function and/or move ahead with my art... without giving it a thorough clean and overhaul.

So here goes, three pics for you to gasp in horror at. I'll forewarn you it's not pretty, but it will be prettier in a few days... and yes, I'm not foolish enough to think it will take only one today to get it cleaned. ~ Lori

SpookyTime Jingles and the "Sad Sacks"

2010-11-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

No, not me... I'm not often sad, but these ornaments definitely are!

Am thinking that maybe it's their "Dunce" style party hats... or it could be because they are in serious need of a dental plan. Haha!

Regardless of their dental hygiene, they will be available on SpookyTime Jingles tonight @ Midnight (Eastern.) Don't look now, because last months pieces have been sold.

In other news ~ I am making progress on my commissions (YAY!) and have started sculpting a couple of vintage style Santa head ornaments... so far, so good... if I do say so myself!

Well, it's time I got back to the papier mache. Have a great weekend! ~ Lori

Candy Cane Candles and Paper/Pulp Pumpkins

2010-11-09T17:40:00.001-05:00

In case you were wondering what the heck I've been up to lately there's a little peek posted below.

For those of you who don't know, I haven't been idly twiddling my thumbs (that would be nice) but I have several commissions which are keeping me very busy, thus the lack of blogging and generally being online very much these days.

I managed to finish one commission today. That's a set of twelve candy cane inspired candles (only three of which are seen here.) I think they are a nice twist on vintage style Halloween candles and will look lovely on my collectors Christmas tree.

I have also recently purchased a couple of paper/pulp vintage (style) pumpkins from an excellent online craft shoppe I came across earlier this year. I bought two Choir boy pumpkins from them in July (still haven't had time to gesso and paint them) and now I have added two of the (two faced) style of Choir boy to my "to do" list.

They are made by a US company who buy moulds of vintage holiday themed pieces and casts new pulp ones. I am very pleased with the newly made ones because they look pretty much like the vintage Choir boy I won on eBay a few years back.

...AND no, I won't be selling them, I will be painting (just for myself) and using them as part of my Halloween display next Fall... provided that is... that I find time to paint them. haha!

Well, that's all for now... I hope you're all having a wonderful week and I hope to see you here again soon! ~ Lori

Thank you! re: My blog sale on October 31st

2010-11-02T15:23:00.001-04:00

I'd like to say thank you to those who attended my blog sale on Halloween night.

I greatly appreciate you buying my one of a kind pieces and in some cases commissioning more.

I have moved the remaining pieces over to my Etsy shop.

Thank you all for the kind words too! ~ Lori

Happy Hallowe'en! (EHAG Emporium and Blog Sale)

2010-10-31T21:00:00.023-04:00

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Happy Hallowe'en to you all!

I hope that your night has been filled

with very few TRICKS and plenty of TREATS!

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Now on with the Blog Sale!

All pieces being offered for sale are One of a Kind originals.

Pieces will be sold on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested in obtaining a piece or two, please email me at: therudolphs@sympatico.ca with the name of the piece(s) you are interested in. I will update my blog as pieces sell, marking items as sold. Thank you for stopping by! ~ Lori

Up first is my EHAG Emporium piece, please click on the pictures to enlarge and read details about each piece.

Here's a running list of pieces sold thus far. Thank you very kindly for your purchase!!

Please note: I do take commissions - if you'd like a similar piece made, please do not hesitate to ask! ~ Thank you, Lori

1.) EHAG Emporium piece - Smoldering Jack

2.) Paranoid Pumpkins

3.) Fierce Black Cat Bust

4.) Skeleton in Shocked Jack

5.) Yellow Party Hat Witch no. 1
6.) Fierce Green Cat Bust
7.) Orange Party Hat Witch
8.) Black Cat in Scared Jack

It's almost time for my Halloween Blog sale and the EHAG Emporium!

2010-10-31T14:22:00.000-04:00

For those of you who may not have had 15 minutes to sit and watch the "Sneak Peek" video of my Halloween blog sale items. I have put an album on FLICKR for your convenience, that way you can quickly look through the pictures, such as the ones below. ~ Happy Halloween! ~ Lori

Halloween Blog Sale "Sneak Peek" Slideshow

2010-10-29T01:45:00.002-04:00

I thought just for fun I would give you all a little "sneak peek" at items (excluding the EHAG Emporium piece) that will be offered for sale here on October 31st at 9:00 pm Eastern. ~ Enjoy!! ~ Lori
p.s. Don't forget there's still time to win one of four giveaways on the EHAG Emporium site.

My Haunted Halloween Tree 2010

2010-10-25T15:23:00.004-04:00

I don't normally do much in the way of Halloween decorating anymore. I guess that's because I live it 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Anyway, this year I was a bit more inspired for three reasons.

1.) I have a tree fetish (bet you already knew that - however it bears repeating ~ when I see a tree, I WANT IT!!),

2.) I could not resist snagging this tree at Lowe's of all places (it was 25% off after all) and

3.) Kristen Beason wanted to see pictures of the tree decorated. She may get the mister to go out and buy one for their lovely home... and this may entice them to do so. Kristen, if you read this and buy one or two, I do want to see pictures!

So here it is decorated (it's the best I could do on short notice.) This strikes me as funny - because although I do make a lot of Halloween ornaments every year I rarely keep many for myself. I am however very fortunate to own some stunning ornaments and goodies from Kristen Beason of Kristen Beason Designs, Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art, Len Bentham of Happy Holidays and William Bezek of William Bezek the Artist.

The "haunted tree" is 6 feet tall and since we live in a rather small home I am somewhat forced to make use of vertical space. Therefore the tree sits atop a dresser in our front hall.

I love the "spooky" glow it gives off and so does Brian, that in itself makes me think this purchase was well worth it - because he also lives Halloween 365 days a year, he rarely cares to see more "Halloween" displayed around our house.

~ Happy Halloween to you all! ~ Lori

Vintage Style Halloween Candles ~ On Etsy Now!

2010-10-22T14:39:00.001-04:00

4 sets of stubby and 4 sets of tall candles are now available in my Etsy shop! A FUN addition to your Halloween themed tree! You can see how they look on a tree as pictured below.

Party Pooped...

2010-10-21T13:26:00.000-04:00

or you would have seen a blog post from me a little earlier this week.

Alas, I am truly feeling my age this week (in all seriousness.) Unpacking, re-packing, shipping, and sleeping have been on the agenda for much of it. That being said, I decided I'd better suck it up and do something "useful!"

"Useful" means I will post some pictures of the very first SpookyTime Jingles Soiree. I will post more pics in a few days, but these will have to suffice for now.

Here's one of two of my very favourite artists Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art is on the left, that's me in the center and Jorge de Rojas of Hoho Halloween is on the right. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting B (Amelia) and Jorge in person. Frankly, I cannot begin to say enough nice things about the two of them and their art. To put it rather plainly ~ I simply adore them both to bits!

Here's a pic of Dani Nelson of Ambitions Design with the "jumbo" greeter sign for STJ. Dani is the owner/creator of SpookyTime Jingles to state it simply. To me, she's a great friend and the mastermind who makes us all look so darn good from month to month. I don't think words can ever express my gratitude for all the HARD work she does to promote all of us. I am very thankful and grateful to be part of STJ. I can't think of a group of artists that has quite the same dynamic and/or family like feel that STJ has, I was reminded of this before, during and after the show. I don't think my words do it justice ~ you'd have to be part of STJ to truly understand how it feels.

Here's one with the sweet and very talented Elaine Thomas of Alphabet Studio. I really enjoyed catching up with Elaine having met her last year at a show. I bought a couple of her pieces too... I was lucky enough to snag them before they were snapped up!

Here's a few shots of my table - I will post more STJ Soiree pics as the weeks progress, so please stay tuned for them. That's all for now! ~ Lori

Hooray!! ~ STJ's very first Soiree is today

2010-10-16T07:13:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe this day is finally here, but it is - (sleep deprived though I may be) I am also very excited to be participating alongside some of my favourite holiday artists. It's been a wonderful experience so far. This particular collective of artists are some of the nicest I've ever met in "real life" and I am proud to exhibiting my artwork alongside theirs.

More about the show later, it's almost time to head to the hall. - I hope to see many of you there. And for those of you who can't come to the show you can see a picture (albeit not the best one) of my table. ~ Lori

I'm starting to freak... STJ Holiday Soiree is in less than a week!

2010-10-11T14:55:00.000-04:00

Why you may ask??? Because the SpookyTimeJingles Holiday Soiree is less than a seven days away. To which I say "HOORAY!!" I can't wait... and yet... I do feel some trepidation knowing that this is the very first show I have ever been in.

I sure hope I can get some sleep Thursday night... because come Friday I will have the opportunity to meet several collectors who are attending the Spooky and Sweet Artist Meet and Greet. I'm willing to bet that I may just need a glass of champagne and a few sweets to calm what I'm sure will be my bundle of nerves.

If you happen to be in the New Jersey area and are looking for something AMAZING to do on Saturday, October 16th - I invite you to attend the STJ Soiree.

With 3,100 square feet of Halloween and Christmas/Winter themed collectible joy, how could you say no?... What's that??? You're right ~ you can't say no! And to prove that I'll give you a few sneak peeks ;)

In all sincerity ~ I do hope to see you there. I look forward to meeting some old friends and meeting many new ones too! ~ Wish me luck!! ~ Lori

It's that time of year again...

2010-09-27T10:29:00.007-04:00

Celebrate 365 will soon be arriving at your doorstep, if it hasn't already!

This years Fall issue looks like it will be spectacular! The front cover art features a wonderful piece by Scott Smith of Rucus Studio, Joanne Harper of Disgusted Cats designed the stunningly, spectacular cover art for the back of the magazine. The issue also features the vintage Halloween collection of Johanna Parker, and a great selection of Halloween folk art from many of today's popular folk artists.

...And if that's not enough to entice you to purchase a single copy or a yearly subscription from Connie Porcher of Celebrate 365, then perhaps a peek into the magazine will seal the deal.

Here's a peek at the pages my folk art is included on. (Please click on the pics to enlarge.) Thank you again Connie for including my work, it's very much appreciated! ~ Lori

SNEAK PEEK ~ SpookyTime Jingles Holiday Soiree

2010-09-22T14:10:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd go ahead and give you a sneak peek of my pieces before they arrive in New Jersey for the SpookyTime Jingles Holiday Soiree on October 16th.

...but as you'll see below they are a little too shy to show their faces. Facing an arduous journey they asked that they be put into the "Halloween Witness Protection Program", I complied with their wishes.

I personally feel it's best to keep these things under "wraps" until the "Meet and Greet" night on October 15th. After all, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!

We hope to see you there! ~ Lori
All images and content © Retro Rudolph's, 2010.

And the Trick or Treat Street Grand PRIZE Winner is:

2010-09-17T11:48:00.002-04:00

Drumroll please...

Mandy of Halloween 24-7
A huge thank you to Amelia (for coming up with the idea) and Len (for being so excited) about the entire concept from start to finish! I am very proud to have co-hosted this event with you both!

On a personal note, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who took time out of their day to play with us. Your comments made me laugh, some almost made me cry (tears of joy), but most of all you inspired me to keep looking forward.

I hope you had just as much fun as I did! Thanks very much to all who stopped by. ~ Lori

TRICK or TREAT STREET ~ 3 days of TRICKS, TREATS & TOMFOOLERY!

2010-09-14T03:00:00.080-04:00

Good "Trick or Treaters" are given surprises.

Follow the instructions to qualify for prizes!

Sept 14th: Leave a comment on each blog to qualify for a prize from each artist.
*For those not familiar with blogging: Comments can be left at the bottom of this post.* If you do not have a blogger acct. Please leave your name & email address with your comment. Thank you!

Sept 15th: Mention Trick or Treat Street on YOUR blog, with a link back to one of us, leave us a comment about it and you qualify for the days prizes.

Sept 16th: Visit one last time and leave each of us a comment to qualify for yet another prize from each artist.

Sept 17th: One lucky trick or treater will have their name drawn (at random) from all of the comments and will receive the GRAND PRIZE - An original art piece from each artist.

(Randomly selected Winners will be announced on Each blog, Each day! - check to see if your name is a winner and email us to collect your prize.)
IF YOU WIN, CLICK HERE TO SEND ME AN EMAIL

You've come all this way, its a shame you can't stay... but there's two other artists who want you to play.
They have prizes too and treats galore,
click on a link to see what's in store!

Amelia Schaefer of

SWEET B FOLK ART
and

Len Bentham of

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

My 31 giveaway prizes are pictured below.
* Please note they are not shown at actual size.*
All images © 2010 Retro Rudolph's ~ Lori Rudolph

It's almost time for... TRICK or TREAT STREET

2010-09-13T18:14:00.001-04:00

I'll make this short and sweet!

Trick or Treat Street begins at Midnight tonight (Pacific time.)
So please - if you are still awake, don't forget to pop by and leave a comment!

I hope to see you early this a.m. (3:00 am, my time - Eastern time.)
For those of you who aren't of the "night owl" persuasion (like me) - please feel free to pop in during the day. This event runs until September 16th at Midnight (Pacific) so you've got plenty of time!

SpookyTime Jingles TONIGHT @ Midnight ~ Trick or Treat Street Begins TOMORROW night @ Midnight

2010-09-12T21:59:00.000-04:00

SpookyTime Jingles opens tonight at 12 a.m. Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific time.
This month I will be offering a trio of tiny teapots, perfect for those who have Halloween trees, and a large teacup ornament (I say large, because it's larger) than the others I have offered in the past. Here's the link to my STJ page.

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"TRICK or TREAT STREET"
begins tomorrow at Midnight PACIFIC time
For those of you who are unsure, this is an "online" Halloween blogging event it is FREE to attend.

It begins on Midnight on September 14 and runs daily, through to Midnight on September 16th.

It's 3 days filled with Halloween Tricks, Treats and Tomfoolery! PLUS a shocking amount of prizes are being given away!

There are 93 prizes in total being given out by the three of us.
In order to be eligible to win our daily prizes and the GRAND PRIZE you must pop by our blogs daily and leave a comment below our "TRICK or TREAT STREET" blog post.

Winners will be drawn at random and announced daily. Winners names will be posted on the sidebar of each of our blogs.

On September 17th the GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be announced.
The GRAND PRIZE is a one of a kind art piece made by each of us (that's 3 amazing prizes for 1 person!!)

Amelia Schaefer of Sweet B Folk Art
Len Bentham of Happy Holidays
Lori Rudolph of Retro Rudolph's

We hope you'll stop by daily and join in the FUN!!! ~ Lori
All images and content are © 2010 ~ Retro Rudolph's