PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT...

Good Morning ...Hope everyone is staying warm and is well . Today I thought I would take the time to sneak in the studio and catch you up on what our youngest member of this collaborative is currently working on . 

Kaylee ...aka "Princess"  recently turned 13 and has NOT quite found "her niche" just yet , so like many budding artists she's often found dabbling in MANY things at once ! Usually quite chaotically , unlike my OCD neat freak self , Kaylee is quite the messy crafter and her space always looks as if there "APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A STRUGGLE" , but it is how she likes it and somehow it works for her ! 

For Christmas she received two really nice art/paint sets as gifts , so she has been doing a LOT of acrylic paintings , teaching herself as she goes by watching Pinterest / YouTube videos and experimenting with whatever tickles her fancy .

 Sadly, even though they still offer an "ART" program in her school , it's merely the fundamentals and no self expression , nor experimentation is permitted  or at least not at the 7th grade level . So , until High School , we will just hone what we can at home . 

Though very unsure of herself and the quality of her works , Kaylee has agreed to allow us to start offering some of her works for purchase on OUR FB PAGE , she plans to take any funds she would make and put it back into more supplies, taking her friends to experience new fun things(she plans to go glow snow tubing in a few weeks )  , and give some to charity and maybe , just maybe she will save some for college !

 As her Mom , I hope that any sales she might have ,will boost her confidence and  encourage her to continue practicing at something she seems to do fairly well at naturally and what seems to bring her joy .

She is also currently working on many Perler Bead creations , beautiful magic wands , and dabbling in making her own hand stitched / hand painted sketch/note books. I hope to get more of her creations photographed in the next week so that her items may be listed . 

 That concludes my update on Kaylee . Sorry folks , it isn't much... however it's  hard to concentrate when you have a needy house cat that won't stay off your keyboard , apparently someone needs LOVE  & attention !

  This afternoon , I'll be in the studio working on a few new designs for OOAK's for Spring , and daydreaming of warmer weather . I'll return tomorrow to share a story about a strange online connection and some local history. Have a great day . ~Angela

REALLY MOM ????

CAUGHT FOCUSING ON HER LEARNING VIDEO

NIGHT SKY - ACRYLIC ON CARDSTOCK 

ONE OF THE REALLY NICE ART SETS SHE GOT FOR CHRISTMAS 

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS FRAMED UP ...SORRY FOLKS IT HAS ALREADY BEEN SOLD 

IS THAT A TREE OR AN EXTENSION OF SELF ?

A few of her handstitched sketch/note books 

ANYONE WANT A NEEDY BUT CRABBY HOUSE CAT????

KAYLEES FINISHED WORKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON OUR FB PAGE 

Drip , Drop , and a Bunny Hop ...

Mr. Fox in the super cramped crawl space trying to restore our water 

 Good Morning , How was your weekend?
It was a good , somewhat relaxing one here  .
 Friday evening /Saturday morning like many of you we had a little winter weather move in bringing a nice coating of ice and snow , followed by rain, blustery winds and wind chills in the single digits so most of Saturday was spent inside , staying warm while Mr. Fox was at work . Saturday evening we met my Mom and Step Dad for dinner at a local mexican restaurant and to drop off Kaylee for a sleepover at their house . Mr. Fox and I spent the evening binge watching British cooking challenge shows on Netflix , snuggled up , trying to stay warm .

We got new furniture for Christmas , and absolutely LOVE being able to snuggle up as a family 

Sunday morning , I woke up and was about to fix breakfast when I discovered that our water pipes had partially frozen , yes we let the water drip but this old house and it's plumbing doesn't fair well to those single digit temps. So after several hours of portable heaters cranked in the bath and kitchen cabinets ,and inside the crawl space opening , we still had no water , which meant poor Mr. Fox had to do the heroic but unthinkable ...he had to brave those single digit temps for several hours , crawling around in the very cramped crawl space ( thank goodness he's a slim fella )  under the house to install heat tape on the pipes in hopes of defrosting them without them bursting. After 6.5 very long , cold hours we finally had our water restored without further issue . So today as I made my morning brew , I was smiling , lost in thought , realizing just how grateful I am ,  that I have been  Blessed with such a talented , hard working man in my life who is able and willing to take care of those trivial household tasks , that I am not able to do .

So, by now you are probably trying to figure out 1. Why I shared a photo of our new furniture ? 2. What is has to do with this blog post? lol 
You see part of our "entertainment " as of late , are the adventures of house bunny Violet ! Having a house bunny most days is like having any other house pet , A LOT OF WORK , however Ms. Violet is quite the character, not your average BUN you might say .
Violet is blue dutch bunny  and was adopted/rescued from a local breeder as she was not "show quality "  and was destined to end up on a dinner plate somewhere  ( shhhh we don't like to talk about that in front of her) . She was not "show quality " because her markings are not perfectly straight , and she was born handicapped , she is missing a toe ! So , 2 years ago at 8 weeks of age , she came to live with us , a Christmas gift for Kaylee .So, why the name Violet ? 1. she is a truly blue gray color 2. in the sunlight her eyes are the most beautiful violet color 3. from day one she has had the sweetest demeanor , "almost as sweet as Violet in Spring , poking through the snow".  Though slightly ornery and disruptive on ocassion  , she has been the sweetest pet a family could ask for , she snuggles and grooms her humans and her evil fur brother Fudge . She does NOT like to be held but LOVES to sit on you and have her nose rubbed for LONG periods of time,her favorite treat is a banana,  she uses her litter box like a good girl , and gives kisses and chin nudges regularly .
Now about that couch ...she has always enjoyed time out of her 2 story enclosure whether it be in Kaylee's room with door closed , on my bed ,or on the couch. She loves to run and jump and waller her humans ...but this new couch is a BUNNY GAME CHANGER !! It's twice as long as our old couch , softer and wider and like the new Bunny super highway !!! She loves to run and binky jump from one end of the couch to the other.  This crazy critter , has been around fur brother cat Fudge far too long because now her fave new trick is to run and perch on the back of the couch just like a cat , overseeing all that goes on and if you try to catch her to put her back in her cage she runs ! She clearly knows she is family and doesn't understand why that mean old cat can roam free and sleep where he likes but she cannot !

Perched atop the back of the couch , in the cat's fave resting spot of course !

Making a run for it , I refuse to go back in my cage 

Thank goodness for that white stripe , because Violet is the same color as the new couch 

Last but certainly not least , what  have I  been working on ???? Gnomes !!! The gnome craze is exploding , seems you either LOVE them , or HATE them, and  there is no in between . I did some research on them and found that Centuries ago, Scandanavian people believed that elves were house gnomes who guarded their homes against evil and misfortune . Also known as a tomte,or nisse , they make a great , thoughtful gift . So , I thought I would try my hand at a few . I have to say they amuse me , there is just something "FUN " and sweet about a hairy little gnome .Are you a gnome fan ??? These are the two , I made thus far and they will be available for purchase later today on our  Henhouse Fox Folk Art Facebook Page. I hope your week is off to a great start and would like to Thank You for visiting with us ,I shall return tomorrow with an update from Kaylee on her current works in progress , hope to see you then. ~ Angela

THRILL OF THE HUNT ...

Happy Friday to all , sorry for the delay in posting , it's been a busy creative week here at the homestead . 

This past weekend we took a family outing to the local thrift store and managed to find a few treasures to re-purpose ,which in turn occupied quite a bit of our free time organizing and creating with those items . 

We absolutely LOVE the thrill of the hunt for new "old treasures " and the promise of giving those items a new life . 

Are you a thrifter? What's your favorite things to search for ?

OUR PILE OF THRIFTED TREASURES

Out of the three of us , Mr. Fox was the only one without a dedicated " work space " , and this particular trip to the thrift store yielded a resolution for this dilemma . A rather nice vintage desk , though in need of a small amount of love and refinishing , still quite usable and for a mere $22 quite a bargain  . Hopefully once warmer Spring weather arrives , this will become one of Mr. Fox's first major refinishing projects.

However after a little discussing and a lot of  re-arranging, it quickly found a home in the master bedroom , because unfortunately there just wasn't enough spare space in the "studio" to add yet another work space .

Mr. Fox's new work space 

We also scored a beautiful soft wool blend sweater in the sweetest pale pink , which Angela decided would make an adorable  OOAK Valentine-esq bear. 

Our Thrifted Sweet Pink Sweater Before

Thrifted sweater after ...Sorry Folks this cutie has already been Sold 

What would you have done with the above treasures ???

We will include the rest of our treasures in future posts as we finish creating with them as we have several works currently in process. We hope you enjoyed seeing our treasures and what we have done with them  and look forward to visiting with you again soon .Have an Amazing Weekend ~ Angela

Stop In For a Visit ...Get To Know Us

Hello , Welcome to The Henhouse Fox Folk Art blog. Since this is a newly created blog and our first blog post ,we thought we should take the time for some introductions and explanations.  

This blog was created as an extension of our newly formed family folk art collaborative venture , in other words we not only live together , we live and love to create  together .  

 This is our story ...We , " being the adults of this family " , Jeff   and Angela. 

How we met ... We knew of each other as kids , as Jeff worked for Angela's grandmother in her furniture upholstery business. However early on ,in our adult lives our paths once again crossed , we were both married to other people and Angela became the daycare provider for Jeff and his then wife, after that employment ended , we wouldn't see each other again for 20 plus years . 

In mid 2019 , for whatever reason , life happened and  the  " Powers that be " made our paths cross once again , after 3 months of talking and  texting ...every day ...all day ...all night , we decided we should try going out on a date ! Well folks , that's all she wrote !!!! We became fast friends , and have been inseparable ever since, and they say when the right person for you comes along you will know and well ...WE KNEW !! Our Fairytale has begun !

 Christmas Eve , Jeff ( also to be referred to as Mr. Fox ) , proposed to Angela and she accepted !!!

 No date, has been set yet , but we hope to be married sometime in the next year ! 

We have a bond , " a love " like neither of us has ever experienced , a deep soulful connection, a huge sense of " home & peace " when we are together , you know the stuff movies and dreams are made of ???

 After a life of stressful, hurtful, failed relationships our  respect, patience, strong shared love of family , creativity , music ,books, history and just living, loving and sharing  a very simple , fun peaceful life together is so greatly appreciated .

 We currently reside in a small farming community in rural Ohio . 

Angela is  home bakery owner , as well as an experienced primitive folk artist specializing in creating with re-purposed textiles,the fiber arts, and sculpting with paper clay . Though she dabbles in anything that catches her eye , she loves the challenge of trying something new . Giving back to  Service &  Veterans Organizations is also one of her passions .

Jeff is a United States Army Veteran, this blogs owner and is currently working  in the construction trade , specifically specializing in blown insulation ...Yes folks, he's " GOT A DIRTY JOB ! " . He is an AVID reader , and thoroughly enjoys working with wood whether it be , new builds, re-purposing wood furniture, wood burning , wood carving . He also enjoys making stained glass works, cross stitch , gardening and is currently learning to needle felt . 

  

The Mr. & Future Mrs. Fox 

The youngest member of this soon  to be formally blended family is Angela's youngest child , 13 year old daughter Kaylee , and quite  possibly the true "star" of this collaborative .Kaylee enjoys working with all types of media and trying new ideas . But she excels at painting landscapes with acrylic, sculpting and handpainting air dry clay and making magic wands .  She is actively involved in her schools choir and the only girl on her robotics team where she is the programmer . She loves all things  Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, most things mystical and magical. She is a friend to Most, Modest, Sensitive,  Strong , Compassionate, Thoughtful,  A great student, A voice for classmates with Disabilities, always standing up and speaking up for what is morally right . All this and  her beaming smile and strong personality make her a girl to " be Proud of ". 

Kaylee 

 As a blended family we are the Proud parents & bonus parents collectively to 6 children ( 5 grown) , grandparents to 9 grandchildren . We have 2 fur babies currently in the home a  2 yr old pampered house bunny Violet and 8 yr old fiesty house cat named Fudge.

So why did we choose the name for this blog that we did ???
Well it  really started out as a joke ....you see Angela & Kaylee  live on the first floor of a converted   100+ yr old , 3 story barn that used to be a hatchery once upon a time !  Well when Mr. Fox moved in there was then a " FOX" in the HENHOUSE with the " Girls " !!! And well it just STUCK !

Advertisement for the Hatchery that used to Occupy our Home

SWEET HOUSE BUNNY VIOLET 

OUR KITTY FUDGE 

 Beginning a new relationship together, blending families and the routines  of day to day life aren't always easy but ...  we have found that as we spend quality  time together creating art, it  makes all those challenges seem so trivial .

 Creating works of art not only allows us to be creative and imaginative but  allows us a space to  focus on what's truly important ... ONE ANOTHER and the time we spend together, it is a fun, truly loving and caring , peaceful environment  . and  it somehow silences the noise of everyday life and allows us to GROW as individuals as well as a family .

 We intend to use this blog to share our creations, our life and our journey with you and hope that you will enjoy following along with us as we grow our life  together !   

Thank you for visiting with us today , We  hope you enjoyed your visit and now feel like you know each of us a little bit better. If there is anything additional you would like to know please feel free to leave us a comment and ask . 

Sincerely , The Fox Family