I wonder where those heart shaped tubs are now?

Earlier this week was Aaron's birthday and I've got no pictures to prove it! He always teases me and my sister and brothers about HIS day receiving no special attention while the rest of us usually get a full day or night of events. But he's the one who downplays the day and insists on working just as much or more than any other day. And that's what we did...Valentine's nutcups of course, and boxes, bubble wrap, tape, tissue, tags, rush to the post office, then rush from there to Walt's hockey game (and we thought we'd be right on time except that we went to the wrong rink!)...get to Walt's game a little late...watch his team lose...feel crummy about it on the drive home...frost Aaron's carrot cake...meet my family at Bertucci's for brick oven pizza...go home, blow out the candles, eat the cake, open the cards, go back home and finally inhale at like 2:30 am. Definitely not a relaxed birthday for Aar. But we'll make it up to him and go into the city when the weather warms up. That way, we can all take a two hour walk while he pores over the miles of books at Strand. He's crazy with the books. If he has errands to run, which is ALWAYS, he'll somehow manage to squeeze in a brief visit to Borders or Barnes and Noble. He doesn't buy the books...he just makes lists of the books he will eventually buy.

  Well his b-day was the 29th, I believe the same day as Oprah and maybe Tom Selleck, well that's what Aaron says all the time.

 

 

 

We're very excited to now offer ready to frame (read: affordable to all) prints of some of our favorite paintings. We're starting with a handful and will be adding more and more, day by day (over at Etsy). We're being selective about whichof our existing paintings we'll make into prints because we feel that some are just meant to come in the form of a wooden plaque. So of course we're really motivated to crank out some new frame worthy paintings and have one in the works that we absolutely love. It should be done by tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Check out these super cute and cozy scrap hearts. They're made by Rachel Moorman aka Vintage Songbird, and she's earning extra credit because she's able to create and keep her Etsy shop in full swing while caring for her brand new baby at home! They're made of  like a million bits of vintage fabric in perfect colors and patterns. We've got one of her Valentine hearts and she was sweet enough to do a custom heart for us in our fave color scheme. You must visit her Etsy shop to see all her stuff...pillows, mini wreaths, etc...And Cozy is the perfect adjective to describe her wares. Pop in and see her...and be sure to tell her Jenny Sentcha! :)

 

Walt's hockey season is winding down to the all important Mayor's Cup and hopefully the playoffs. He's been having some back trouble once again...lot's ofpost game spasms. During games he works through the pain but his play is definitely affected. So he's sitting out of tomorrow night's game so his back is well rested for the following game. He's taking his mid-terms this week and I guess this is the time of year when kids start to talk about their after prom plans. I was surprised to hear that his school has a tradition of going to the Poconos after the prom. Now, I'm talking kinda geographically specific. I doubt anyone outside of the New York/ New Jersey area has any idea what the Poconos are. Well, it's the Pocono Mountains and back in the day it was THE honeymoon destination. (My parents included.) All I can think of is an aggressively advertised place called Mount Airy Lodge. In the 80's  they ran the commercials constantly. I'll know the song forever, and I know exactly what the honeymoon cabins look like, and the champagne glass & heart shaped hot tubs!! And the 70's and 80's hairstyles of the couples in love! Ask anyone from Jersey in my age range to sing the Mount Airy Lodge jingle and I'll bet they can.

   Since the commercials are now extinct I had to go on  

YouTube to see if I could find them...and of course, there they are...check them out for laughs.

   Well, after some googling I see now that Mount Airy Lodge is also extinct...knocked down and replaced by a huge casino!

 

  I owe you guys an update on my brother Jay. All of you were so nice to send so many well wishes when he needed it most. Right now he's looking and acting as healthy as can be so it's been hard for him to subject himself to any further tests. I mean, it's the natural thing to go to a hospital when you're ill, but when you feel alright it's the last place you want to put yourself. He's back to work full time and really feeling totally ok but some issues are unresolved. So after a lot of urging and nudging he's made an appointment for a liver biopsy. Seeing a liver specialist should be the last stop in the search for what's wrong with him. So he's got an appointment forFebruary 14th, so I told Jay that me and him have a date for Valentine's. I told him I'll bring the chocolates. He's super scared about doing the test. He's a tough kid but doctor stuff drives him crazy. I mean it drives all of us crazy but he reaches a manic point. The procedure sounds similar to the bone marrow test but the recovery time is longer. He'll have to lie on his side for two hours and he'll stay under observation for another 4 hours to watch for bleeding...poor kid. But I'll be there and if you guys would in spirit that would be so great!

 

 

Ok, to totally and completely switch gears....LOST! Tonight was the season premier and for the next eight weeks or so I can tell you exactly where I'll be on Thursday nights between 9 and 10 0'clock. I won't talk much about LOST because I know it's one of those love it or hate it shows. If you haven't been in on it since the beginning you loathe the idea of playing catch up. But I strongly advise you to get caught up if you are not. All the dvd's are at Blockbuster/Netflix. Anyway, LOST is known for it's flashbacks and this season they're flipping the script and it looks like we're gonna see lots of flash forwards! Ok,that's it on the LOST talk.

 

 

 

 I hope to show you the new painting within the next 48 hours or so. Til then, feast your eyes on my current faves from Flickr! I could stare at this all day!

 xoxo, Jenny 

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football and feminine frills

When we're home working, which is all the time, we always have a soundtrack. On weekdays it's a local, commercial free talk radio station, WNYC. We paint and we glue and we cut all while listening to their whole daily line-up of shows: BBC world news in the morning leads into The Brian Lehrer show, which is usually politics and New York issues. Then comes the unparalleled Leonard Lopate Show...he's the smartest, most informed interviewer you will hear...after his show is Sound Check, which delves deep into all sorts of music. Then comes the legendary Terry Gross, her guests are always amazing and her questions are sooooo spot on. And then after Terry, the news comes on and it's dinner time. All those voices, all the information, a giant buffet of topics and subjects floating on soundwaves around the apartment. We just work and work and either consciously listen or just let the radio serve as background chatter to break up the monotony of the day. Of course the night belongs to Letterman and Conan. (Aaron was teary eyed when they both came back on the air amid the writers strike.) On Saturdays we'll rotate in some loud music and if it's raining, we'll put on the TV and listen to the deliciously cheezy Lifetime movies. So the whole week is filled with electric sound...all but Sunday.  Sundays are mostly quiet...except this past Sunday. Blasting all day and night was NFL football. I like the game of football plenty but I'm certainly not a TV football fan, and Aaron, who was a football and wrestling captain in highschool, wishes he could rekindle an interest but he just can't seem to follow more than a couple of games per season. But this Sunday was a must see. The Giants vs. The Packers for the NFC championship, in sub zero Wisconsin. I told Aaron, "Our apartment sounds like a real apartment." Well, it sounded like the other apartments we've overheard every football season: The roaring TV, the guy yelling back at the TV, the girl laughing at the guy who's yelling at the TV. I guess it felt... American. : )

  In our case the contrast was the interesting part. See, while watching the game we were working on an all new painting, and when we do this we surround ourselves with a ton of reference and inspiration. We'll fill a whole folding table top with cake stands, doilies, cupcake wrappers, fake cakes, porcelain dolls, floral fabrics, nonpareils, wall paper clippings. Let's just say it's not a very manly atmosphere...so the unrelenting din of the Giants beating the Packers in overtime makes for a humorous juxtaposition with all that sweet grandma stuff.

  I'm bringing all this up because I'm now looking at all that sweet grandma stuff, and I'm holding the new painting that came out of the loooooong Sunday of football and feminine frills. It's a painting we've been plotting for a while and it's the long awaited third in our new collection. The other two, Charlotte and The Well Read Raven, were just the start, and we planned all along on creatively circling back around to tie in some of our beloved classic cupcakes. The color palette is the same, pale turquoise, antiqued aqua, perfect pinks, chocolate, tan, mocha...and of course, a dash of classic black. And besides color, the real tie that binds this collection together is pattern. We love finding great vintage wall papers, but what we love more than finding them is creating and painting our very own. Same goes for these adorable porcelain doll busts. We see our paintings as tributes to the stuff we love.  This is the first new work of the new year so we're excited about that! It's titled Cupcake Girls, and it measures 11" x 14" (the smaller size will also be available soon.) We've got this little cupcake trio listed on Etsy and Ebay and also hanging on our very own wall beside Charlotte and Raven. Me and Aar are our happiest when a new painting is complete...for a moment we feel worthy...but then the moment passes and we say "when can we get to work on these other ideas?"... We get so tangled in the day to day and never find the long spans of time necessary for giving our full focus to a painting. Who knows, maybe Super Bowl Sunday will produce the fourth in the collection! ; )

I received a wonderful package from the famed Connie Govea Stuart. There are artists whose work is identifiable at the mere hint of a glance. They possess a visual signature and you just can't sum it up simply. You can't put them in a box and say, "oh yeah, they always do pink stuff...they always use buttons...etc...", no, they have a signature that's not so easily deciphered. It's a natural thing that can't be artificially reproduced. Simply put, they have "the eye". It sounds corny, and the term is overused (and lots of times misused.) But Connie has "the eye". You'll repeatedly see her work in Somerset and always, your eyes will find her work first. She has "the eye", and therefore she has "a look". Anyway, I love her stuff and I'm honored to be able to hold a package from her in MY hands! The little Scottie is soooo cute and the altered dolly suitcase is beautiful! (Thanks Connie, I love everything...and since breaking the air travel ice for Silver Bella I just may take a trip to Northern California and pop in to see you!) 

  Well, it's cold and we're neck deep, not in snow, but in Valentine's nutcups. Every flat surface is teeming with crepe and ribbon and cupcakes. Working the fingers to the bone. But it really is a thrill. So many of these orders are for annual Valentine's tea parties and luncheons. Events that gals throw year after year... and this year our nutcups will grace table tops and place settings everywhere. Valentine's day is such a sweet, whimsical, and stress free holiday. (well, not stress free if you plan on eating out and haven't made reservations!) I love all the pink, the chocolate, the hearts...it's all so pleasing to the eye and palette. We owe a huge thanks to Romantic Homes for including us this year. And an enormous thanks to all you guys who've been a constant source of creative encouragement.

 xoxo, Jenny

(ps. I hope no Packers fans were offended. Your boys played an excellent game.) 

A Month of Birthdays

 

 

This past weekend we celebrated both my Dad's and Aaron's Mom's birthdays. Their b-days are within 2 days of each other and same goes for Aar's Dad and my Mom, but theirs are in the month of March. It's just a weird coincidence.

  My Dad loves cake. Sometimes, just on a random visit, we'll be driving over to my parent's house and our cell phone will ring, it's my dad, and he's curious to see how close we are and if it's not too much trouble.."could you stop and pick up a piece of cake?"...and by "piece of cake" he means a whole cake, but that's just the way he likes to say it..."piece of cake". Anyway, for his birthday he goes for tradition. Heck, for his entire day-to-day life he goes for tradition...he used to eat a whole bowl of Haagen Dazs every night while watching the eleven o'clock Seinfeld. (he's since become more health conscious and has switched to King of Queens since exhausting every Seinfeld ever filmed.)

  So every year on his big day he wants his favorite meal: Sauerbraten, followed by his favorite cake: The Brown Derby. So I'm voluntary and designated cake maker for all family birthdays, and I have to say that The Brown Derby is one of the simplest cakes to make yet earns the greatest praise. You start with your favorite Devils Food cake recipe...go for rich and moist. I suggest two, 9 inch cake pans . Cut the two layers so that you have four layers. Layer with fresh whipped cream sweetened with confectioners sugar and a little vanilla extract. Then layer with thinly sliced bananas, strawberries, and peaches, (canned peaches in syrup work great). Then frost the entire cake with whipped cream and sprinkle with Oreo cookie crumbs! It's super easy and super good!

  In fact, so much so that I decided to do the exact same cake for Aaron's mom, aka Barb. She expressed interest in the description of my Dad's cake last year so I made sure to bring her one this year. I have her cake pictured here, and her still wrapped bottle of Vera Wang's perfume Princess. It's real good and soooo Barb!

 

  Since being in Romantic Homes our phone has been ringing all day with readers inquiring about and ordering our Valentine's stuff. Over the phone we tell them that they should go check out our other stuff online and we're always surprised to hear when someone says "Oh, I don't go on the internet." And I know that there is definitely an age factor that goes along with that but sometimes age isn't the issue. Some people simply say "hmmm the internet?...no thanks." Well, different strokes....

  But we don't mind doing phone orders, it's just that printing up a color catalog is way too costly and we'd love for these callers to see what else we have to offer. Anyway, we are running around like nuts trying to get orders out the door. We're actually a bit backed up but making fast headway...our apologies to anyone reading this who's waiting on a box from us...it'll be there very soon!

 

 

  I put this cute little gal up on Etsy, Ebay, and Flickr a few days ago. It's our little Charlotte all done up for Valentine's Day. I thought she just went so well with the coloring and just had to do it. LOVE black with red!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month also holds Aaron's birthday and I just thought about this little collection Aar has that I've been meaning to put up on the blog. I've given them to him one by one on birthdays and Christmas.  They're Amazing little collage books of some of his favorite authors: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Nabokov, and Bukowski. He's dying for an Updike one and I hope I can get it for him later this month. I found the artist on Ebay and commissioned each one. She is really meticulous with her handiwork and her research into each author. She seems to find the right quotes and the best images. Aar keeps them displayed on this little prim feather tree...the pink base isn't exactly masculine but it's a good balance. When you walk past them and they catch your eye, you can't help picking one up and letting the little Jacob's ladder drop out, and examining allthe tiny details on front and back. The artist isn't available at all times so I'm always checkingfor her on Ebay to see if she's actively making stuff.

 

  I wish I could blog more but there's always something eating up my time. The current culprit is Hockey season. Walt has been playing awesome and the games have been nail biters.  His team is constantly coming back from a two goal deficit, and they stress us fans out! I'm there for all the games, obnoxious cowbell in hand.

 Ok, that's it for now...xoxo, Jenny

and the winner is.....

 

....Howdy Holly!

 

so Holly, please email your mailing info! :)

 

And to the rest of you, thank you so so much for participating and for all of your super duper sweet comments!! Old friends and brand new ones! (see, it wasn't so hard to crack into the AOL blog comment vault!)

 

 

Also, we were a bit delayed in listing our 8 x 10 Valentine's Cupcakes. For some strange reason the photo vanished and we had just shipped out our last one. Well now we made more so here they are and listed on Etsy and Ebay.

 

 

 

This is just a shorty post so I could announce the give away winner but I definitely wanted to mention this stuff I got from Art-e-ology. First off, the packaging is toooo good...It's the kind that's too good to open! I got a set of individually wrapped, flat backed chandelier crystals, some amazing handmade tags with a spool of chocolate ribbon, and a set of vintage metal bathroom tiles. The creative uses for the crystals and tiles are endless. The tiles would make great backdrops for collages and the crystals would make fab pendants, and I heard so much about Diamond Glaze, which I'm psyched to use and I think would work great with these crystals and some vintage photos. You must go check out Art-e-ology for lots and lots of stuff like this.

 

 

I've got tons to do and a hockey game to attend in Princeton tonight. I'll be back soon with hopefully some new creations of ours to show. In Jersey we got a blast of warm weather...64 degrees!...and I think it shot both me and Aar into hyper creative mode. Both of us started pushing ideas back and forth to each other across the drawing board and we're acting like the room is on fire...and it's not the caffeine (I gave it up over a year ago.)...It's definitely this weather, which we know is only a tease and we fully expect at least two months of harsh gray cold! But we're gonna milk it for what it's worth and try to ride out these artistic waves. I'll keep you posted on the progress!

 

Have a fab day everyone!!

xoxo Jenny

Tags: valentine's day, art, cupcakes, holiday, etsy, ebay,

Romantic Homes..and some bday prezzies

 

 

 

 

 

So I finally got the new Romantic Homes the other night. I was NOT expecting to be shown so prominently. I mean, the full page pic of our stuff all wrapped as gifts came as a big surprise.  Front and center there's the attached moo card of Charlotte and the one with the old painting of me and Aar! I wrapped all our stuff up in tissue and bakery string because that's just the way we mail our things...I didn't think they'd be photographed like that! I woulda stepped up my game a bit! But it looks great. They shot everything so well and it's a fabulous spread overall. We are super happy. Now we've got phone orders coming in for the stuff...they're also listed on Etsy and Ebay.

  Also featured in this issue are the fabulous hand painted cherub cards by our friend Angelina Mast. I'm kicking myself for not scanning in that page at my parents last night. If you own the issue then take a peek at page 26 to check out Angelina's handiwork. She is one of the kindest gals around and that's merely a bonus, because her cards speak for themselves. Great stuff for every occasion...single or in sets. And for any of you shop owners...she does wholesale! Pop over to her site and tell her Jenny sentcha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can flash back to October right? My friend Laurie Duncan's birthday was just on Jan. 4th and it got me thinking about the stuff she sent me for my birthday back in October. I never blogged the stuff and I'd like to now. It's such a well thought out and magical assortment! I mean, look at my lil' ballerina party hat! Laurie was my first online friend...way before blogland was even a glimmer on the horizon. We met through Ebay...I found an auction for a set of her handmade, vintage crepe paper Halloween "ornies" and have been collecting her stuff ever since. I've seen her super cute daughter grow up, start school, try on hats...I've seen little Sabrina picking and carving pumpkins for three years straight! They're such a great family. I so wish we could hang out for a day. If Laurie, Rob and little Sabrina could plan a trip to NYC some time in the near future...we're there. And if it happens to be wintery, and big coats are the order of the day, then my dream is for Laurie, Rob, and Sabrina to bust out their best breakdancer poses for the camera! :)

 

 Hey, the drawing for the Valentine nutcups give-away is at the end of Sunday the 6th, so if you haven't yet...please leave a comment on the previous post so you can be entered! And don't forget to add a link to your blog and or email!

Ok, I'll be back soon with the name of the winner!

 

Enjoy your weekend!!

xoxo, Jenny

First entry of the year..and a GIVEAWAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been so negligent with updates and therefore I have to stretch way back into 2007 and recap our night in the city for my sister Missy's birthday. We have fun pics and I couldn't stand to let them rot! Our tradition as Heid kids is for all of us to get together and make a whole day of each other's birthdays. This year for Missy we did NYC at Christmastime. We started out at the famous Vincent's restaurant in Little Italy. You may know Vincent's from their sauce on your super market shelves. It's one of the oldest restaurants in Little Italy and it's probably no different than it was 40 years ago. Black and white tile floors, older Italian waiters, autographed photos on the walls, pasta with sauce on basic white dinner plates, bread and oil. We got STUFFED. After that we did Rockefeller Center. The tree was gigantic and noticeably different looking because of the new LED, energy saving lights. None of us skated because there was very little time left but we did all pose like break dancers. You can tell it was COLD by how bundled up we are in the pics. We looked at the amazing department store window displays...of which I have no photos...And then we went to Yaffa Cafe for dessert. It's this open all night place on St. Marks that we've been going to for a decade. Wild decor, leopard print, garish floral patterns, kitschy bric-a-brac, beads, candles, exaggerated victorian style. Way back when we used to decorate similarly but without the irony. We actually tried to pull it off right...and I think we did...now all that stuff is in the closet.  Anyway, just so you know who's in the pics: that's Missy with the blue streaked hair, her boyfriend Charley with the mop top hairstyle, my little bro Walt in the leather (his current purpose in life is to attain the perfect wardrobe),  and the other handsome devil is my other little bro Jay. We had a blast and we kept Walt out way too late on a school night. Ok, recap over, must press on!

 

 

 

 

I'd mentioned previously that I was in a Vintage Stocking Swap and here's my contribution. My partner Mary Ann had the patience of a saint. I was super late but she was so gracious all the way. See, I do not sew. So my handmade stocking had to made from a material I deal with very often...paper. Lot's of glue, mod podge, a vintage photo, sheet music, patterned papers, glitter, and frilly goodness. And it's equipped with a small pocket. The previous pic is the assortment of extra holiday cheer I sent her way. The Charlotte ornie fit perfectly in the stocking pocket, so she had to be included. The glass glittered WISH is so lovely. I got myself one too.

 

 

 

 

 

I guess our new wall color inspired this year's gift wrap. We generally tied in more aqua and turquoise in all areas of our life. And gift wrap ain't gift wrap without custom tags. This year I got 'em from my two favorite tag making gals: Amy Elise Designs and One Ripe Peach. I love them both! I will not do Christmas without getting tags from these fab fabricators.

 

Pop over and visit these lovely ladies...they are already in Valentine's mode! Be sure to tell them that Jenny sentcha! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ok, this is our tree with the new walls. I mean, it's the same tree with almost the same ornaments, but to me it looks waaaayyy different. This year's new additions: the Charlotte ornie, some glittery gold stars, that fab piano ornie I showed a few posts back, glittery lolli pops from Pink Rose Pastries ,Cari Kraft  goodness, Betsy ornaments from Sadie Lou ,beaded satin balls from  Snowflakes on eyelashes and probably more stuff than I even realize. Aar says it looks fuller than last year but I'm not too sure. Overall, we love the new wall color and do not foresee a change anytime soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some other Christmas decor around the apartment. The mantel shot this year is so much more blue.

  And this JOY banner I fashioned from old and new papers and bits.

  We needed to change some things in the apartment and our parents helped with some generous gift giving. Aar's parents got us the faux wood blinds we'd been coveting, as well as a new curtain rod and some balloon shades (the apartment now glows in the daytime!) And my parents got us some new slip covers for the couch and chair (they so desperately needed a makeover!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  And that leads me to the parade of fabulous gifts: That big gigantic Betsey Johnson Bag is from Missy. The amazing Betsey Johnson necklaces are from Aaron. And those turquoise Cody Foster Mercury Glass candlesticks as well as that fab cake platter are also from Aar...He snuck off to this beyond amazing little shop in our very own Red Bank called Bodega Shoppe and picked those up! Bodega is too perfect to sum up here in a blurb. I promise to give this shop it's very own post with lots of photos. Me and Aar never get out during business hours, so we often window shop very late at night. When I first spied Bodega I thought that someone secretly took the contents of my brain and built a store.  The owner is a dazzler of a guy named Michael Buess  and I just can't wait 'til all the magazines splash him and his shop all over their pages. Ok, back to the gifts...You see that big jar with the most perfectly colored lid? well, that's from Martha's line at Macys...I also got her recipe card holder in that same perfect color. Hmmmm. what else?...a Kitchen Aid blender from Missy (but you don't need to see a pic of that) and a whole workout wear set-up, sneakers and all...I think someone is sending me very unsubtle hints!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Years Eve was a blast. We did the Weird New Jersey trip which took us to an abandoned insane asylum  (ewwwwww) and way down into some reeeeally scary dirt roads in the south Jersey pine barrens. Nothing real scary happened because the most scary part of the legendary road was inaccessible due to the combination of deep mud and the tiny non-four wheel drive Nissan we were in. But a creepy/fun night nonetheless. I think next Year we'll set out earlier and do Weird New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the Valentines issue of Romantic Homes magazine is out, with our stuff in it, but we do not yet own a copy! I buy most decor mags from the newsstand because I found that when I subscribed I'd end up with very ragged and torn magazines in my mailbox. Aar's New Yorker's seem to show up unscathed but all my decor mags were beat to heck so I stopped subscribing. But now all you subscribers out there are getting to see the spread that I so desperately need to see and I'm stuck calling Barnes and Nobel every day asking if the new RH arrived yet. Anyway, can't wait to see. And while I'm on the topic...I promised a give-away! And so in celebration of their magazine debut...I'm giving away a set of four of our Valentines Cupcake Nutcups! Just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner at random this Sunday.  And for those of you who want these and aren't gamblers, or feel generally unlucky, you can get them over on Etsy and eBay !

  Ok, that's it for now. Glad to be back and hope to post doubly in 2008! Good luck with the give-away...and thanks for visiting! xoxo, Jenny

Love you!

Be sure to leave your email, and/or blog link!! :)

 

Ooh Ohh ohh.....before I go...Would you get a load of this AMAZING garland that I received from the over the top, ridiculously cool Kimberlee Edgar??? Vintage cigar labels, mercury glass beads, and seam binding in the most perfect shade of red?? Is she genius or what?? LOOOVE it!