Two shows this year!

Come on out to The Growing Place for another chance to grab a colorful watering can, chair or something else for yourself or a gift! I’m excited to be doing two shows this year. Should be a beautiful fall day.

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Holiday shopping: More watering cans!

You won’t want to miss the Holiday Open House at The Growing Place. It’s this Saturday, Nov. 17 and Sunday, Nov. 18 at both locations. I was just over to the Naperville location this week to drop off some more watering cans for sale.

Check out how nice the cans look nested in with the birds! (Aren’t the birds supposed to nest? Anyway…) Pick up a couple birds with a coordinating watering can for a holiday gift. (Click on the photos for larger images.)

Happy holidays! Stay warm and safe.

jen (by jennifer)

Medium black with bronze sprinkle spout

Bright red medium with matching spout

Large galvanized can with bronze handle

93 degrees was pretty darn hot!

Thank you for coming out to the Naperville Growing Place last Saturday for the Art in the Garden festival. As usual, it was a wonderful (although H O T!) day. It was very nice to visit with those of you who already own a “jen” and came back for another or just to say hello… and to those of you who purchased an item for the first time this year, I look forward to seeing you again!

Remember to contact me if you have an item of your own you’d like freshened up or to check on my inventory to paint you something I have.

Enjoy the upcoming holiday weekend. Happy Fourth!

jen by jennifer

When will I see you next?

The annual Growing Place Gardener’s Art Festival is coming up fast. Saturday, June 25, the doors will open at 9 a.m. at the 25w471 Plank Road, Naperville, Illinois, IL location.

I will be located on the east side of the front lawn. I’m very excited to be back this year and hope to see you there. I’ll have my always-popular assortment of garden-inspired goods including watering cans, stools, chairs and more. There’s also a good chance I may have some additional India-inspired items, so be sure to come and say hello.

Watch here for updates and photos of what I’ll be bringing to the show.

See you soon!

jen by jennifer

Merry Christmas my Buddhist friend

This was my project to finish this weekend. Success! Delivered to my friend Hiede Saturday as a Christmas-non-Christmas gift. The model in the painting is Lilly my dog friend who lives with Hiede and her family. (I don’t have many dog friends… a good thing because Archie does NOT appreciate it!)

Merry Christmas!  Season’s Greetings!  Happy Holidays!

Cheers

jen (by jennifer)

Looking forward to a long weekend here…

Growing Place Art in the Garden Festival 2014

I received the information in the mail yesterday for the Growing Place Art in the Garden Festival 2014 on June 21 in Naperville!  Mark your calendar.  I already requested my usual couple of days before the event off from work this morning so I can be ready, ready – ready!  And I will start sourcing watering cans right away.  I sold all the cans I had painted last season.

Let me know if you have requests!

Spring will come!!  Hang in there.

jen by jennifer

Happy New Year 2014!!

Hello!  It’s been WAY too long.  But … at the least I’m back.  Most importantly I want to wish everyone (fan or foe) who is reading this a very Happy New Year!  It’s a time to forget the past (unless it propels you forward IN A GOOD WAY) and to realize that life is beyond too short to hold on to baggage.

I had intentions of posting a photo of my outdoor Christmas decor (that I received many compliments on this year) next to my New Year’s day transformation photo only to find when I went on my phone to transfer the pictures that I hadn’t taken any of the holiday porch!  Oh well.

In short, I still have things to do tonight before I rest for another day at my new job tomorrow.  So I’ll leave you with a photo of where I’m starting outside this year.  AND my thoughts that despite some great loss (my dear friend Lisa – and for John, his dear friend Austin), searching for a new job (SO glad that I found one where I think I can really contribute and thrive) and all the bumps in the road of life, I had a really pretty fantastic 2013.

Cheers friends!  Peace, love and happiness.

jen (Archie and John Cook)

There’s always more to do …

Well – I didn’t do too badly yesterday on the productivity front and considering I was up at 3:45 a.m. and stayed up until around midnight, I was able to relax and spend some quality time with my honey too.  I did the yard work I wanted for the most part although I have a few other things I want to do this morning before we head out with friends who are meeting here around 2 p.m.  I did the dishes, organized the kitchen a little, picked up all the clothes in my dressing room, the laundry is finished … still more to do so I’ve got to run.

It’s a BEAUtiful day!!  More tomorrow.

Cheers!

Friday! Again …

Where does the time go?  I can’t believe it’s Friday again.  I’m currently “not going to the office” – Um, yes, I’m unemployed.

Maybe I’m the only one who imagines this, but I don’t think so – you think you will do every project you’ve daydreamed about while at work, your house will be immaculate, the yard and flowers will look better than ever, you’ll exercise every day in a way you’ve never done before, there will be lunches with friends and in my case, you’ll blog, paint and create, and post something new to Etsy daily.  Well … I can’t say I haven’t done SOME things, but if that list is the norm I’m failing horribly.

SO … today I’ve been up since 4.  Job search is first (my Wii check in was actually first) then I WILL scour the bathroom, finish the laundry, wash the dishes, organize the kitchen, paint the outdoor benches, mow the lawn and do at the least one creative project.

I’ll check in tomorrow to let you know how I did. 😉

How do you get and stay motivated?  What do you have going on for the weekend?

Oh … and I stripped the bed already, too.

Cheers!

Elmhurst – woo hoo!

It’s hard to believe that a week ago I was doing my usual final push to paint for the Elmhurst Garden Faire and Walk on July 14, and that it’s already come and gone.  What a great day it was!  A beautiful setting and near perfect weather set the stage that morning and I sold the stool shown below before the faire even officially began.   THANK YOU to everyone who came by to check things out – particularly, of course, those of you who purchased some of my favorite things.  I love seeing items go to happy homes.  Although Archie the Cat was disappointed that the toolbox didn’t come back with me, he’s moved on already and found alternative places to nap.

I’ll keep you posted on my next stop.  Meanwhile, I’ll be playing with new color combinations and seeking out unique items.  Every watering can I painted sold this season, so I’ll be focusing on more of them.  Let me know what else you’d like to see!

Have a great weekend.

jen (by jennifer)

3… 2…1… The Last Push

There is a 30 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms predicted for Naperville tomorrow.  I guess I’ll pack my umbrella among the other items for the show.  As you can see here, I’m stacking and packing product.

I’ll continue to paint a little today to finish the few items I started yesterday.

And to give you an idea of  the additional product I’ve been painting the past couple of days – watering cans!

 

Have a great day all – hope to see you tomorrow.

jen by jennifer

$28 Flower Buckets – 10 Days and Counting Down

If a yellow-orange background with white, orange and red flowers isn’t your thing … not a big deal.  I have another one of that color you can choose your flower palette to finish.

Also pictured below you can choose from (left to right) dark green (2), light greenish-blue, dark cocoa brown (2), red, and light cocoa brown.   The dark cocoa behind the yellow-orange might be difficult to see because only the top is peeking over in the picture but it’s very pretty I can assure you.  Bright colors on dark really pop if that’s of interest to ya.

$28 Hand-Painted Flower Buckets

I’m going to be painting, painting and PAINTING the next week or so, so if you’d like a certain color combo, call me or email me as soon as possible so that your color isn’t taken.  You can fill out a contact sheet at www.jenbyjennifer.com or email jen@jenbyjennifer.com or call me at 815.685.9610.  The best way to get your items quickly will be to come by the Growing Place on Saturday, June 22,  where I’ll be participating in the Art in the Garden Festival again this year.  Believe me, you will not be disappointed in this show.

Super nice artist disclaimer:  If you order ahead and are disappointed in your chosen “jen” flower bucket, we’ll talk.  I don’t want anyone to be unhappy. (If you ask for crazy colors, I may make you stick to it! Just sayin’… but I guess you can just not show up and well there ya go… )

Well here it is … Day 10 and counting … $28 flower buckets that serve many purposes!

Watch tomorrow for more items.  Hope  to see you soon!

jen by jennifer

 

Happy Friday!

Have a great weekend. Have some FUN!

HOT! But hopefully happy …

I hope you’re all enjoying the holiday with family and friends … or just your air conditioner or someone else’s!  Current temp in Plainfield, Illinois, is 93.4 degrees aiming for an even 100.  Yikes!  Glad we got outside and had fun this past weekend before it got to be so oppressively hot. Sigh.

Cheers!  Jen (by jennifer)

Opening Day Doesn’t Just Refer to Baseball …

Well, I did it.  I had my first opening in “the shop” – Jen by Jennifer.  Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me and supported my dream to make this a reality.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a visit.  And thanks for the feedback on the shop and house and for the purchases, of course, too! 

I was very pleased to see that Sh… cards (adorable hand-crafted cards created by Sarah Hunt) sold right from the start and that there are a handful of stained glass fireflies out there flitting around thanks to The Glass Ceiling (Bob Anderson).

Keep watching for featured items and the next official shop hours.