AN UPDATE: Scott Wade - Dirty Car Art spotted!!

This morning over coffee I was feeling pretty motivated and a little daring so I sent out a few e-mails that I normally would shy away from.  None of which I regret at 11:30 at night so I am happy about that.  One that I am SUPER excited that I wrote, because I got a response from Scott Wade himself!!! 

To sum up my e-mail it went like this:

"OMG! Giddy, giddy, giddy! What a surprise!! OMG...freak out."

(well, not really, but it WAS enthusiastic with lots of exclamation points.)

I asked him 3 questions:

1. Do you spot cars and create? or do you prep them? 
2. Was this your truck or someone else's?
3. Do you have a hidden camera inside to watch reactions? (because ours were probably pretty funny)

He took time out of his day to write me back and answered all of these!!  So, I thought I would share.

#2 - This truck was his friend's who lives in Texas.  It was done for Killeen's "Take 190 West" art festival that was on March 2nd.

#1 - He prepped the side window to do another one but the weather won and he only got the back done.

#1 - For events, (yes, you can hire him...DO IT and invite me, k?) he has a special method for preparing vehicles but claimed he still loves the "natural canvas" of a really dirty car.  (I LOVE THAT!!!)  He also confessed to drawing a silly face on a car at his work building because he couldn't resist.  (LOVE THAT TOOOO!)  He respects people's property and doesn't want to do too much on a car without permission but sometimes can't help it.  (Who wouldn't love to walk to their car and see something??)

I give you permission!!

and now....#3 - no camera but he did say he loved the idea!  (awesome! I think Sandi gets credit for the camera idea - def something she would think of..haha) He talked about a show with his ideas but I will keep those his secret and not ruin anything and keep my fingers crossed it happens.  It would be so fun to watch!

 I borrowed this image from a www.neatorama.com story because I like to see faces of people I read/write about. 

Kind e-mail, kind smile, awesome art, awesome day!

The Austin Flea is right around the corner!!

Become a Facebook fan and learn how you can get an extra discount at the event!

(Valid in person only - discount offered after updated inventory is listed online)

Love.

Scott Wade - Dirty Car Art Spotting!!!

During my trip to Fort Worth we visited the modern art museum and when we pulled into the lot to park, THIS is what we saw!!!! 

Every once in a while, these e-mails get circulated with some amazing art made out of mud and dirt.  Artist Scott Wade creates these masterpieces and we saw an ORIGINAL Dirty Car Art!!!!!!

This piece was signed by Scott Wade and dated with a time of 3:45 PM.  Awesome. 

Look at the detail!!!!!!  This picture doesn't do it justice.  

We have no idea if this was HIS car or if he just finds dirty cars and draws on them.  I kind of like the mystery behind it.

The side of this truck had a window that looked like it was prepped for another one.

We even thought that maybe he had a camera inside to watch the reactions of people.  If that was the case, he would be entertained because we were totally excited to see this! 

Check out more of Scott Wade's work HERE!

The perfect surprise for an art day at the museum!!!!!

Hale House Vintage - A mini tour in Fort Worth, TX

This LARGE turquoise plane would catch your eye too, right?  Well, not only was it this huge plane that had me U-turn my car around in a city that in my opinion, is REALLY scary to drive in.  Maybe it has something to do with me being super protective of the newest car I have ever owned, or maybe it was the time I tried to switch lanes (with my blinker on) and had a horn honked at me for literally 10 seconds. 

I speak of Fort Worth, TX. 

A city otherwise full of hospitality and friendly folks.  Each place we ate at had amazing service with a smile and they were all curious where the ladies with the orange bags came from.  The National Art Education Association convention took place in Fort Worth this year.  A city filled with our large orange bags to snag all of the free swag from art supply vendors covered the town along with free cowboy hats from Michaels that were decorated with Texas glitz and glam.  With the colorful rhinestones decorating these hats, you could see the teachers from a mile away. 

The morning we found this awesome little shop we were on our way to find a cafe to finish up our last minute presentations.  Yes, even teachers are sometimes unprepared.  (sshhhhhh!!!) The night before we rolled in to our hotel late and unpacked the car and ding dong me left the interior light on so AAA got a silly phone call from me in the morning.  Ooopsie.  After the jump we had to drive around for an hr to charge it up again and came across Hale House Vintage. 

A cute and tiny little shop that jumps out at you. 

When you live in Texas, you see these beauties all over the place.  You can't help but stop to take a peek inside and then all of your gypsy blood starts boiling and you want to hop in and travel the US tucked in this cozy little slice of heaven.  Shiny.  SO shiny. (Also, not for sale...boo)

 Oh look what we found inside!!

One of my life goals is to own a sign like this. Not sure if I want it to say something snarky or simple.  I just LOVE these!!!!

Love this color.  Love the memories these chairs bring back.  Love the rust.

If you are in Fort Worth, stop by Hale House Vintage and say hi to Bekah Hale, the owner.  

She will greet you with a lovely smile and share some amazing spots to see in the city.

(you will see where we ended up in the next blog post)

The shop also carries a few little Fartsy Arts pieces!!  

I am proud to be a part of such an amazing store!

Hale House Vintage - WEBSITE

Hale House Vintage - FACEBOOK

 or visit them at

1800 Montgomery Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Have a great day!!

Time for a re-cap and to get back to blogging!

Hello world!

I feel like it's been forever, but it's really only been a couple weeks since I last posted. I feel guilty for missing my Monday Featured Favorites last week but with all the Halloween excitement, who was really sitting at home reading a blog, right??

As you may, or may not, know..I have relocated to Austin, TX! I am officially settled in. Peanut is loving his new room {that has LOTS of sunlight}, I am surrounded by furry creatures in my new home, {the good kind..like dogs and bunnies...and chickens, and birds. Not like gross rats or anything.}

I would love to share some of the excitement with you!!!

This is Peanut traveling halfway across the country.
He is a tough little dude who is well traveled.

This is Mr. {Meeeester} Bunny.
He lives in the backyard along with Mama bunny. {not pictured}
He has the most velvety fur. EVER.

We stayed at the landmark Austin Motel on Halloween Night.
{not my photo} but this is EXACTLY what it looked like.
It was a funky, and cheap, little place but they don't have beds for big people.

This little funky joint is one of mine and the beau's favorite places for breakfast and yummy food.
Don't forget the scrumptious coffee too!!

THE MIGHTY CONE!!!! Food Cart style.
It is definitely Mighty and YUMMY!
This little cone is an Asian crusted chicken with Asian slaw and fried avocado in a tortilla.
Fabulous root beer too!

The view of downtown right along the river walk that just happens to be MINUTES from my home.

I was lucky to find a pretty sweet living situation. I am in a home that previously served as a Bed and Breakfast called the Summit House. Owned by an outgoing, friendly, and very welcoming guy named David {who seems to know everything Austin} the place is filled with eclectic nicknacks from around the world, local artwork, pictures of Dali and Frida Khalo, a huge world map that has pins in places that his guests came from, 3 adorable pups, and a cute little bird.

He calls himself the "Well Traveled Chef" and makes things like this regularly.....

Find more about his food on my new Tasty Tuesday's blog posts.

This past Friday he hosted a small gathering he likes to call Pasta Party Friday's. This is where he plans a dish and dessert and invites his friends over. For a mere $10 {to help cover cost of ingredients} he cooks a gourmet meal for you. You can't beat that!!!

This dinner consisted of a Thai influenced pasta dish with carrots and spinach accompanied by an asparagus soup, fresh bread from the farmers market, and this DELICIOUS pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. I got to smell it from start to finish..... a bit of a teaser if you ask me.

I am looking forward to seeing what else he has up his sleeve. I am trying to get him started on a blog.... fingers crossed he shares his wisdom of food with you!!!

Hope you enjoyed my little re-cap. As the days go by and I have new adventures in this city, more pictures will be posted.

Tomorrow I will be announcing some new and exciting changes that are happening to the blog in order to offer you some wonderful information about food, events, artists, musicians, the latest finds, and much, much more!!!

Have a wonderful Sunday evening!

That's right you're not from Texas But Texas wants you anyway

This morning's post deserves a great big "Howdy Y'all!"

Last night I went to bed pretty early, I must have needed some extra sleep and I must say, it was worth it!

This morning I woke up to an e-mail from a fella in Austin that I wrote about a rental for Austin City Limits weekend, which also happens to be my birthday weekend. We truly wanted to spend it there with friends but I don't think it is going to work out. Oh ACL.. you really put a damper on things!!!

But, there was some good that came out of things. I may have found a potential dwelling!! I think that the moving date will be the end of October to arrive in Austin on November 1st!! I am about to burst at the seems with excitement.







In honor of this day, I am posting my Cowboy and Cowgirl picture frame on Etsy. Isn't it darling??

Find it here!

starting anew.

Hello faithful fartsy arts fans, friends, and new followers.

Today is a new day..a new blog and a new outlook on the biz and about things in general.


It's a gloomy day out today in my 'hood but thats O.K.! I am feeling motivated, while that may not last everyday, today it is here and it's going to work.

My last year:
It's been a bit of a struggle. A year ago I graduated grad school. I moved from South Carolina back to Michigan. I was more educated, jobless, and broke. Needless to say I was a bit lost after having devoted 15 months to writing papers, teaching, going to class, and every once in a while enjoy a bit 'o fun with my friends.

The last year has been hard for me to find my place. When I was about to graduate, I had ambitions to relocate to Texas, transfer my certification, get a job, and start a career. My dream bubble was popped when my last loan from school didn't go through. I had to juggle a summer class and a job to pay my last couple months of rent, get food assistance, sell my stuff, and accept the fact I was moving back to the mitten.

Coming back to the mitten had its perks. My other half was here but so was the snow. I have always felt in a funk in this state and have tried to hold my chin up, but when you have a feeling something is not right, it's hard to swallow it and keep on truckin' after a while. But I did. I completed training to be a sub in the schools. I hated it. It made me realize how much I had to have my own classroom. While I met some AMAZING art teachers that helped me along the way, the kids showed no respect and walking into a new situation every day was less than desirable. I don't know how people make careers of being a sub!

I don't even know what I did during the winter months. I think my brain blocked it out but eventually I had to find something. I now work for a wonderful local family where I watch two little boys. They are funny, energetic, and very artistic. As much as I love this work, I can't help but become eager to move forward with my ambitions.

My certification is now complete it Texas and I am off to search for that perfect position where I change the world!!! Watch out!! Mama is on the move!!

In the meantime, I am fully motivated to really become successful with my little biz. There are two books I am ready to cuddle with and get things going.

I love the illustrations in this little book. While there are no tabs, there are pages and pages of valuable information. This book definitely calls for fun post-it notes, but I guess I can deal with that...who doesn't love a new pack of post-its?!


Craft Inc. is great! It is a Virgo's dream planner. With cute little tabs that separate sections, it includes pricing worksheets, plan-o-grams, a show packing list, and SOOOO many other goodies. I am excited to grab my pencil (yes, pencil - change is good!!) and start from the beginning!


It is now time to begin but not before I share one more tid bit o' info I got in my inbox today.

Crissy Herron of Indie Biz Chicks is offering a fantastic deal to attend a VIRTUAL conference to learn about:

• WordPress Websites For Indie Businesses
• PR 101 For Small Businesses
• How To Use Twitter To Engage Journalists & Reporters (and get press!)
• Working With Brands (learn how to partner with national companies)
• Show Me The Money! Connect With The Modern Bride And Get More Business
• How To Make Money With Your Blog
• Write Your Book In 90 Days
• How To Brand (And Re-Brand) Your Biz
• Blog Evolution: Turning your blog into a live medium
• How To Get 3 New Clients In 30 Days
• Skip The Multi-tasking: Learn How To REALLY Be Productive
• Streamlining Your Marketing

Register here... I know I will be there!!