This week’s Flosstube video is a fairly quick and uneventful. I’ve recovered from strep throat that I had the week between Christmas and New Years and now preparing for our trip to Florida to visit Mom and Jerry.
Even though 2020 was a strange year and full of uncertainty, our business grew leaps and bounds! I believe stitching was a comfort for many during the pandemic. Not to mention retail therapy is a real thing! I mean who doesn’t love getting something new delivered to their home? Kevin and I are grateful to everyone who supported our business by purchasing our patterns.
We not only kept busy shipping orders but we did several things to improve our business.
In March after the Nashville market, we rented a dumpster and purged the other side of the studio to make room for the pattern business.
Kevin hired someone to insulate & finish the workshop side of the studio which was being used for storage since 2001.
A window put in (there was no natural light on that side)
New entry door…I’d wanted one for YEARS….the old one was ugly and had rust on it.
Several trees removed around the studio.
A new roof and eavestroughs.
Kevin moved all the patterns to the other side of the studio which is way more efficient for packing and shipping orders. There’s also room to have more inventory.
Kevin was laid off in July and is now retired from the sheet metal building trades and is working full time helping me run the business. Kevin’s responsibilities include building inventory, pulling, processing and shipping orders which has freed up 1-4 hours a day for me.
I released a total of 104 charts and patterns in 2020!!
Plans moving forward for 2021 are as follows:
Whimsy365 – about 4 years ago I challenged myself to do a sketch every day for a year. I’m still pulling from those sketches to create art, punchneedle and cross stitch designs. Well, I decided to challenge myself to do it again in 2021.
Now that Mr Whims has taken over the processing and shipping orders, it will allow me more time to create art and tutorials.
Create LARGE paintings and sell them.
We plan to have a pattern release the end of Jan/first of Feb, March, May, July and September. We are flirting with the idea of having a small release each month from July thru December…..we’ll see.
That’s it for this week. When we return from Florida, we’ll get back on a weekly Flosstube schedule.
I hope you had a blessed Christmas and were able to spend time with your family. The past two weeks have flown by as I work on designing a fabric line in the midst of all the Christmas shopping, wrapping, cooking etc.
Creative Whims Live
We had our last CW Live (Creative Whims Live) class this past Tuesday. The new session starts January 5th. If you’re interested in painting with me live in a private Facebook group, please do! I supply the PDF for each lesson so no previous drawing or painting skills needed. Pictured below is the last lesson of Session 3. Learn more about CW Live here.
Whatcha Paintin Wednesday
I started a new angel painting and here is the progress…
Week 1-
Week 2-
NEW CRADLED BOARDS ARRIVED!! Large circles for painting angels.
Thursdays with Ellery & Easton
The Thursday before Christmas…..
We had the grandkids on Christmas Eve and exchanged gifts with Bri and Eric when they came over after work. It was so fun! Little ones make Christmas magical.
Christmas morning after mass we exchanged gifts with the boys.
Christmas Day
Top to bottom: Ryan, our youngest (22), Kyle (27) and Mr Whims (aka Kevin)
Your Finishes
Here are a couple of finishes from some amazing stitchers:
“Happy Birthday Jesus” is a Patreon chart stitched by Cristi Wiley Vanderslice
“Happy Birthday Jesus” stitched by Mendy Russell
“Pet all the Dogs” / “Hug all the Cats” was beautifully stitched by Žydrė Stankūnaitė
I finished another punchneedle from my “Celebrate” punchneedle book. I plan to make it into a pillow. The book is available at my Etsy Shop.
If you’re like me, you like physical photos, not just on your phone. I purchased this Kodak photo printer and I really like it. I downloaded the app to my phone and can print that way or I can hook my phone to it. It makes 4×6 color photos. You can find it on Amazon here.
STREET TACOS
We made street tacos last week and I can seriously say I could eat them every day! So delicious. I have the recipe here on my blog.
I have my order in the queue. She’s embroidering one of my angels! Should be done in March 2021
Whims of the Past
The past two Flosstube videos, I’ve shared my watercolor paintings. The next video I should finish them up. I’m curious how many I have. I may have to count them and let you know in the next post. Lots….let’s just say that!
“Madonna and Child” Acrylic Painting. Thank you Jesus for coming to save all humanity! Happy Birthday ❤️
My goal from here on out is to update my blog at least every time I post a Flosstube video. It’s a way to share in more detail what I’ve talked about on Flosstube and also make any corrections or add stories that I may have forgot to mention.
This week’s Flosstube video started off with a video of my small Christmas tree that we have on the main level of our house right next to my chair where I sit and work on my laptop designing new patterns, work on punchneedle and now do a little cross stitch.
Can you believe it’s been two years of making weekly Flosstube videos?!?!? It was also my 100th episode. Woohoo! Thank you to all of you who support my channel.
In case you haven’t heard of Flosstube, here’s a brief description. It’s an online community of women and men (but mostly women) who love to cross stitch. There are also designers and needlework shop owners who do Flosstube videos. Many cross stitchers also do other needlework projects and share them too. Basically, the videos start with a “life update”, then we show what we’re working on, any finished projects and more. It’s a fun, kind and very generous community within YouTube. Warning….it’s addictive. I love having Flosstube videos playing as I work on punchneedle. My channel can be found here: www.youtube.com/c/teresakogutscreativewhims
I also love to share photos, videos and funny stories of our sweet grandkids, Easton and Ellery.
This week’s announcements:
Newcastle Bouquet SAL (stitch a long) with Lisa Smith – Kindred Stitcher. If you join the SAL use #ncbouquetsal on Instagram. Follow Lisa on Instagram here and Flosstube here.
Our Live Christmas Party has been moved to January. Stitching with the Sisterlies and Niecie Lynn and I will host a LIVE Holiday party on YouTube in January so watch for that. It’s a total blast and we’ll have lots of give aways.
The Vitrine and the Berkley Library virtual art show is now available to watch and you can also purchase any of the paintings you see in the video by contacting The Vitrine Gifts and Gallery at (248) 629-7329.
Patreon is going strong!! I think of Patreon as a fabric/floss of the month club. Each month I design 3 cross stitch patterns that are exclusive to Patreon members (patrons). I also give three coloring book pages that can be used for needlework of any kind; wool appliqué, embroidery, rug hooking etc. There are different tiers you can join. You can move from one tier to another and you can leave any time. The patterns and coloring book pages are available for three months at a time and then will be taken off Patreon. You can learn more about it here.
WIPS (works in progress)
“Americans” has been a work in progress for nine weeks. I painted it during Whatcha Paintin Wednesday with my soul sister Kristin. We go live every Wednesday at 2pm eastern (1 pm central) and paint together. She’s in Tennessee and I’m in Michigan so it’s a fun way to spend time together and chat with folks as we paint. You can catch our live video on my YouTube channel or my Facebook page.
Cover photo of Kristin and I from this week’s Whatcha Paintin Wednesday
2. “Merry Christmas Whimsy” – this punchneedle design is in my newly released punchneedle book which features 15 designs. Available at your local needlework shop or my Etsy shop.
This Week’s Finishes
In CW Live, we finished our “Joy” painting project. We only have one more project this year. We’ll be starting Session 4 January 5th. If you want to join Creative Whims Live and paint with me LIVE on Tuesday nights at 7pm eastern in a private Facebook group, please do. It’s a lot of fun and the ladies in the group are so supportive and kind. Go here to learn more.
2. My next finish is “Gentleman Crow” which is also from my punchneedle book. I plan to make it into a pillow. Although in this photo it’s not quite finished but I didn’t have a photo of it completed.
3. Last but not least! I finally finished “This is the Day” punchneedle. I’ve ordered a beautiful frame for it and can’t wait to see it all put together.
Your Finishes
Newcastle Bouquet stitched by Cynthia Harding
“Tis the Season” punchneedle by Charlotte Pender
“Merry Christmas” freebie chart stitched by Mendy Russell (Missouri Stitcher on IG)
“Candy Cane Snowman” punched by Jo Wick.
If you would like to have your “Teresa Kogut” finish featured in my Flosstube video and blog, please email photos to teresakogut3@gmail.com. Also let me know the fabric and floss you used and how you finished it so I can share that with everyone on the video.
In closing, I just want to share some Christmas eye candy with you. This small tree has a collection of mostly handmade ornaments that I’ve collected over 26ish years. Each one is so unique and special. I hope you enjoy!
At the bottom of the post is the Flosstube video. If you like the video, please go to my Flosstube channel, like and subscribe and click the bell so you’ll be notified when I have a new video. Thank you in advance.
Easton loves the ornaments too!
Briahnna gets the best shirts for the kids. So funny!
Ellery in her Elsa dress checking out the ornaments. She loves the Grinch ornaments.
Blackened Beeswax Angel Ornament
“Jesus is the Reason” cross stitch ornament. Stitched by Amy Loves Toads, finished by Vonna-The Twisted Stitcher and designed by me :)
“Santa Star-Shaped Ornament” cross stitch. Stitched by Amy Love Toads, Finished by Vonna – The Twisted Stitcher and Designed by me.
“Dec 25 Star-Shaped Ornament” cross stitch. Stitched by Amy Love Toads, Finished by Vonna – The Twisted Stitcher and Designed by me.
Schneeman Folk Art handmade folk bird ornament
My favorite folk artist is Debbee Thibault. This is her blown glass ornament. It clips on the tree…..just love it!
Flosstube 101 – recorded Sat, Dec 12th 2020
My next Flosstube will show my big tree we have downstairs and will be sharing my Christmas art from my licensing days.
Hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season and staying healthy!
I’ve been a little behind on keeping my blog updated. I want to share with you the two angel paintings I’ve recently finished.
I’m doing something a little different than you are use to seeing from me. Most of my angel paintings start with a thought in my head, then I sketch it in my sketchbook, transfer to canvas and then paint it from my imagination. No photo references are used in those paintings.
However, for the past couple of years, I’ve been collecting images of models in interesting poses that I think would be great for angel paintings. The photos are used for reference but I don’t necessarily try to make the painting look like the person in the photo, but the paintings do look more realistic than my earlier stylized angel paintings.
Here are two I recently painted using a photo reference.
First is “Amour”
Acrylic on 18×24 stretched canvas
Next is “Serenity”
Acrylic on 18×24 stretched canvas
I had an absolute blast painting these angels! Hoping to create one a week.
What do you think? Do you like these paintings better than my stylized angels?
Blessings, Teresa
PS – You can watch speed painting videos of both of the above angels at my YouTube channel here.
I share my favorite recipes on my Flosstube channel and put the recipe in the description box for you to make and enjoy with your family. However, it makes it very difficult for y’all to find the recipes because you have to remember which Flosstube episode I mentioned it in…..a chore nobody has time for.
The solution was to put them all in one place! I’ve added “recipes” to the menu bar at the top of my blog so I can share with you our family’s favorite recipes. Hover your curser over recipes and a drop-down menu will appear. I have drinks, main dishes, appetizers, side dishes, instant pot deliciousness, breakfast, polish dishes and sweets.
Some of the recipes our handed down for generations in our family and some we’ve gotten from Pinterest or elsewhere on the interwebs. I give credit if the recipe is from another website.
I hope you’ll try our family’s favorites and incorporate them into your family’s meals as well.
I added a new tab to the menu bar above “Finishing Tutorials” where I will post photos and videos showing different finishing techniques. I decided to do this instead of changing my patterns to show the fully finished item on the cover. With much feedback from my customers, the overwhelming response was to keep my pattern covers as they are because they are easy to see and the color is accurate to how the finished piece will look.
Soooo…..when I fully finish my punchneedle and cross stitch, I plan to record myself doing it and posting it here on my blog under the Finishing Tutorials tab. There will be a web address on the patterns that have a finishing tutorial available. I can’t promise every finish will be posted but I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop.
Pictured above is the first finishing tutorial posted. These four punchneedle ornaments come in two patterns and will be released Jan 2020. Click here to go directly to the finishing tutorial or hover over the tab in the menu bar.
I hope you like this addition to my blog. Let me know in the comments your thoughts.
Be sure to subscribe to my Youtube / Flosstube channel for weekly studio updates where I share an inside look at the goings-on in the studio…art, needlework and otherwise, hence the name “Creative Whims”. Also click the bell so you’ll get a notification when I have a new video or I go live.
It’s always good for an artist to try new products and techniques and then implement them in to their art. That’s exactly what I did for this painting, “Glory Be Angel Wings”. I started with Golden Molding Paste and used tools to create groves and texture in the paste. I let it dry completely. Then I layered Golden acrylic paints using brushes, a palette knife and a brayer. Here is a list of the colors I used:
titan buff
titanium white
carbon black
raw sienna
burnt sienna
raw umber
iridescent gold
The words “Glory Be” were typed on my computer using My Underwood font and printed on a heavy cream colored paper. I tore the paper around the words and used black paint to grungy up the edges.
I learned a lot painting in this way and plan to implement some of these techniques into my angel paintings so stay tuned.
Tell me, what tools do you use to create texture in your paintings? If you’re not an artist, would you like to learn to paint online? Would you like to paint this particular painting?
Hey y’all….long time no post! I plan to change that though. Promise.
I wanted to let you know that my soul sister, Kristin of Shabby Perceptions, and I go live every Wednesday night at 8pm est to visit with folks while we paint. It has been so much fun even among the trials and tribulations of trying to do split-screen live video.
We started on Facebook, which is where we hope to get back to as soon as FB gets it working again….but while FB is out of commission for live split-screen videos, we are over on Instagram.
Kristin and I met in 6th grade… I believe in guitar 101. We became fast friends and shared many school-time memories. We remained close friends but lost touch a bit after she moved to Tennessee. We were busy raising kids and I was busy building my business. We reconnected at one of our class reunions and I’d say we’re closer friends now than ever.
Kristin is a furniture artist and recently started Shabby Perceptions. She purchases antique furniture and re-finishes them to be works of art! She layers paint with putty knives and wet sands the piece to get a layered, textured, yummy finish. Below are photos of her work.
About a month ago, she suggested that we paint together live on Facebook and, of course, I was all in! What a perfect way for her and I to “see” each other and visit each week but also to interact with the friends we’ve made through social media.
You can watch Kristin paint her furniture pieces while at the same time watch me paint and acrylic piece of art…whether it be an acrylic mix-media angel, a Early American folkart piece or a textured, grungy abstract-ish painting. Tune in each week to see the progression of our work.
Follow Kristin Alexander of Shabby Perceptions on Facebook and Instagram.
Here is the angel I worked on for our first 3 Whatcha Paintin’ Wednesdays (WPW). The only thing left to do after our 3 WPW was to crackle and antique it which takes hours between the drying times in the layers of varnish and crackle medium so I didn’t show that in the live video but you can see the finished painting at the bottom of this post.
All Finished
Please give me a follow on Facebook and Instagram so you know when we go live on Whatcha Paintin’ Wednesdays.
Hey friends! It’s been a long time coming! I’ve finished and delivered to Karen her two life size angel paintings. Back in July 2018, Karen, a Sanford Michigan resident, commissioned me to paint two very large angels with an ocean theme for her to hang in her new beach house in Florida. She said time was of no concern, just paint them at my leisure – which was really the only way I could say yes to such a project since my schedule is so busy.
She’s going to hang them in a large entry hallway. One on each side of the hallway facing each other so you’ll notice I made sure to keep that in mind when I designed the angels so their hair would be blowing in the right direction.
Below are photos of the area they will be hanging. Notice the amazing glass-blown chandeliers that will accompany Abundant Sea and True Blue. So beautiful!
In the above photo you can see the two sides of the hallway under the first chandelier where the paintings will hang across from each other. (This view is facing the entryway)
This view is facing the end of the hallway going into the living room. One painting will hang in that space between the two “columns”.
And this view is facing the end of the hallway going into the living room as well, the second painting will hang in that space between the two “columns”.
Our granddaughter was trying to kiss the angels. So precious!
I had the pleasure of helping Karen pick out the frames! Won’t this moulding be amazing! The framer is going to paint the gold part of the frame silver to match the silver metallic paint in the paintings.
Here’s Karen (right) and I at Birds Custom Framing in Bay City, Michigan.
I hope you enjoyed seeing these paintings. It was bittersweet seeing them go but they’ve found a good home watch over.
A huge thank you to Karen for commissioning me to paint these. I was working outside my comfort zone bc these are the largest angel paintings I’ve done for someone. Can’t wait to see them in her home.
Welcome! The vision for my blog is to share my life & creativity, give a more in depth look into my YouTube videos, show my creative process, announce new products & patterns and hopefully inspire you to live a creative life.
ALL ART, SKETCHES, PATTERNS & PHOTOS ARE THE PROPERTY OF TERESA KOGUT AND ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. ANY USE OF IMAGES FROM THIS BLOG IS PROHIBITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF ARTISTS.
