Time to Declutter

Sandy Scales — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:43:10 +0000

It seems that each time I begin this blog, I start out talking about the weather. I cannot help myself. These past few weeks have been absolutely wonderful. It seems like in these past few years, we can count how many times we actually have spring weather. We usually go from winter right into the heat of summer. It has been a joy to have the windows open. So far, I am not bothered with sever allergies as many of my family and friends are. I am loving every single day.Since moving over two years ago, I have been planning to rid myself of wood clutter that has kept me from painting. Every time I pick up my paint brush, I think to myself that I should be going through the last of my boxes and sorting through all of the excess wood that I have. I know that I will never paint on these pieces in my lifetime. I am finally starting to do go through this maze. What a good feeling! I will let you know when the big sale will be.Last month, I taught a 3-day seminar at The Tole Patch in Camden, Delaware. What a wonderful little shop. It is bursting at the seams with lots of surfaces, books, pattern packets, and brushes. I always come away really motivated to start on something new to paint. The first day of teaching, we painted Maureen McNaughton’s Sunflowers on Red; and for the 2nd and 3rd days, I taught Hickory Ridge by Betty Caithness. This piece was just released to the public a few weeks ago. You can view it on my Gallery Page (under construction). Owner Gavin Standish is so easy going and fun to work with. You can visit her website and shop at www.thetolepatch.com. I will return to the Tole Patch the first weekend in November 2012 for yet another unpublished Betty Caithness design called, “Off to Grandma’s.

“In a couple of weeks, I will travel to the Wilmington, NC coast to teach at Azalea Coast Decorative Painters. The seminar will be held June 5-7, 2012 in Oak Island, North Carolina. I will be teaching Maureen’s Butterfly collection. This is such a fun piece. I have taught it at least 6-7 times. In my opinion, this piece is, by far, the most successful piece she has designed. See my Schedule and Gallery for photos. If you have been planning a trip to the East Coast, why not join us. See contact information on my “Schedule” page. This will be my last seminar until I start up again in September at Pampered Palette for another Caithness design called Winter Haven. I will have a photo on my schedule soon. You can also see it at www.pamperedpalette.com. Click on “Educational Seminars” to see.

A LIMITED NUMBER OF ZIM’S NUTCRACKERS AND SMOKERS

An acquaintance recently moved to a retirement home. She had a large amount of wood and other surfaces like many of us and wondered what to do with all of this stuff. She was able to donate the majority of her wood. However, I convinced her to let me attempt to recoup some of her costs by selling her nutcrackers and smokers. As a result, I took possession of some 80 Zim’s Nutcrackers and Smokers. I have just today added them to my website. I am sure that many of you are familiar with Zims’ as one of the most popular vendors at HOOT and SDP Conventions a few years ago. Unfortunately, they are not in business any longer. These nutcrackers are not being made anymore. The last catalog that I have is from 2005. If you are interested in purchasing any of these, please contact me by email as soon as possible as I do not have large quantities of any these. I will sell these on a first com first served basis. To see these, click on the “Nutcrackers” tab at the top of the page. You can contact me by clicking on the “Contact” tab at the top of the page, as well.

Please pay close attention to the dimensions so that you will not be surprised upon delivery.

I pray that you all will have a healthy happy Summer!

Many more hugs,
Sandy

I think that Spring is Here!

Sandy Scales — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:35:11 +0000

As I write this post today, it is quite difficult to sit still as the weather is so delicious. It is currently about 70 degrees and temperatures are expected to remain in this range for the next week or so. I am sure that many of you are experiencing much the same.My last seminar took me to Pampered Palette in Gainesville, Virginia. I taught Maureen’s Jacobean Delight on a large Mirror frame (pictured below). My students were a wonderful group of ladies who came from as far south as Raleigh/Durham, NC and as far north as Scranton, PA. They all did a great job on their pieces. If you are interested in this piece, please check with Pampered Palette and they may have extra patterns from the seminar. If not, they can certainly order it for you. Keep in mind that Pampered Palette is a distributor of Maureen McNaughton products which includes Maureen’s brushes, wet palettes, palette paper, yellow mechanical pencils, chamois and palette paper, etc.

David Vernon and his partner Mark Greynolds, owners of Pampered Palette, have a wonderful studio loaded with three of the latest 42? TV monitors, excellent lighting, a fantastic speaker system, the most comfortable seating, and great food. Every seat is a great seat. Seminar times at Pampered Palette are a lot of fun. If you have not had the opportunity to visit or take a seminar there, you are in for a real treat. Check out their website at pamperedpalette.com.

My next teaching engagement will take me to Steph’s Folk Art Studio in Strasburg, PA,, March 23-25, 2012. Steph’s has always been dear and near to my heart. For many years, several of us would travel to Pennsylvania to paint with Maureen when the original Steph’s was located in Smoketown, PA. On the morning of class, we would get to the shop as early as possible, line up outside the classroom door, in the cold, so that we could grab that special seat in class for this fabulous 5-day seminar. I can remember it as if it were yesterday. I really miss those friends and fun times.

This time, I will be teaching three of Maureen’s designs. Check out my “Schedule” to see these lovely pieces. I hope that you will be able to join me there. The classroom has a wall of windows on the outside wall which overlooks a pond with occasional visitors of Canadian Geese. What a beautiful site!

I have also been certified by Betty Caithness to teach any of her designs. I will be teaching one of Betty’s unpublished designs (Hickory Ridge) at The Tole Patch in Camden, Delaware. You can see a photo of this piece by visiting thetolepatch.com. So, be on the lookout for other Caithness classes to appear on my schedule in the near future.

Before leaving this page, you may want to subscribe to my blog so that you will get the latest news of what and where I am teaching.

Hope to see you in one of my classes soon!
Sandy

Happy New Year!!

Sandy Scales — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:57:27 +0000

I certainly hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season with your friends, family and loved ones. I had a great time spending time with my family here in Virginia and a quick trip to North Carolina to visit with my sister and brothers and many other family members. We always spend a lot of time getting ready for these special days, but they come and go so quickly. However, we are left with treasured memories that will last a life time! I love it.I had a great time teaching for Painters At The Lake (PATL) in Palmyra, Virginia (Lake Monticello) this past Saturday, January 7, 2012. What a beautiful area! If I was looking for a retirement home, this area would be at the top of my list. This area is located in Central Virginia, not too far from Charlottesville, VA and west of Richmond. These ladies painted Maureen’s Russian Musical Doll. Thanks to all of the ladies there for a wonderful time. This project was recently released to the general public for purchase. You can order it through Maureen’s website at www.maureenmcnaughton.com.

My next teaching engagement will take me to Pampered Palette in Gainesville, Virginia. David Vernon and his partner Mark Greynolds, owners of Pampered Palette, have a wonderful studio loaded with three of the latest 42″ TV monitors, excellent lighting, a fantastic speaker system, comfortable seating, and great food. Every seat is a great seat. Seminar times at Pampered Palette are a lot of fun. I will be teaching Maureen’s Jacobean Delight. This is an awesome piece which is also available in fabric. This design is painted on a large frame which measures approximately 18.4″ X 28.8″. The frame is for a mirror which sets in the center of the frame. The mirror is a 12-inch square. The painted portion is in two panels and sets directly on the mirror. The space in between the panels is larger than it appears on the photo below. Once I get it completed, I will post it here on my Blog. Check out my “Schedule” for contact information for this 2-day seminar. You don’t want to miss this one!

Keep in mind that Maureen’s Russian designs have been licensed to decorate fabric in the quilting market under the name of Maureen Calvert Kiev Collection 1 and 2. You can see this fabric collection at http://elizabethsstudio.wordpress.com.

Before leaving this page, you may want to subscribe to my blog so that you will get the latest news of what I am teaching and where I am teaching.

I have been given permission by my friend, Betty Caithness, to teach any of her unpublished designs. So, be on the lookout for these to appear on my schedule in the near future.

Hope to see you in one of my classes soon!

Sandy

A Fabulous Seminar week with Maureen McNaughton

Sandy Scales — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:02:13 +0000

As I write this information for my blog, my good friend, Sally McAloon, and I, have just completed and are recovering from hosting a wonderful seminar with Maureen McNaughton in Annapolis, Maryland from Nov 16-20, 2011. This is the fourth seminar that we have hosted with teacher Maureen since February 2007. We have her for five days, usually from Wednesday thru Sunday. Our students just love our location. One of the most popular features of our seminar is that we leave the classroom open in the evenings. Students can go out and have dinner and return to the classroom for as long as they like. It is a great opportunity for students to complete their projects or get pretty close to completion. We have great food and every student gets a welcome gift as well as a favor each day that is made with pure love by our hands. The painted projects that were taught by Maureen can be seen on our website at http://ssbrushstrokes.com. Keep in mind that these are new projects and have not been released to the public yet. If you are interested in any of these projects, consider having me come teach any of these at your location. Our next Annapolis seminar with Maureen will be in November 2013. We have not finalized any of the details as of this date. However, if you would like to be added to our mail list, please contact Sally or me. Details are on our website under the “Contact” tab.

Also, keep in mind that Maureen’s Russian designs have been licensed to decorate fabric in the quilting market under the name of Maureen Calvert Kiev Collection 1 and 2. You can see more of this fabric collection at http://elizabethsstudio.wordpress.com.

Before leaving this page, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so that you’ll get the latest news of what I am teaching and where I am teaching.

I have been given permission by my friend, Betty Caithness, to teach any of her unpublished designs. So, be on the lookout for these to come on my schedule in the near future.

Hope to see you in one of my classes soon!

Sandy