Spring is in the air.....after a few snow storms

It has been a while but all is well.

I have been finishing up a few pieces and

took the time to make a piece I have

been wanting to do for a couple years now.

"PICKED FRESH"

is a piece that I will be keeping. It is one of my

German style Tramp Art automobiles with

the addition of some hand painted farm stand signs

to hang off the sides.

I have asked a small group of my artist friends to make 

a German style veggie person to ride in the

passenger area and then another artist friend volunteered

to make the driver for this piece.

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A walk around the garden has revealed

the beginnings of some pears,

peaches, cherries and some flowers.

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Of course, Mr. Rabbit has started tending his garden...

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As some of you may know,

I have designed a collection of paper patterns

for hooked rugs, punch needle, 

wool appliqué and will be having some charted

for cross stitch as well.

All these designs are taken from my 

originalTramp Art designs. 

I am calling these patterns the "HOOKER collection!

They are all available in my Etsy Shop.

Please take a moment to visit the shop and 

I hope you enjoy these designs.

www.etsy.com/shop/TheArtTramp

One of my friends (Renee Bowen) took one of my designs and

made it in to a 1/12 scale miniature "hooked rug"

using nothing but french knots.

and another friend (Colleen McDonald) took 

one of my patterns and converted it to 

a wool appliqué pattern that can be used to make 

a wonderful pouch to hold your tablet 

or a needlework project you are working on.

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I have been gathering up some small 

vintage/antique pièces to pair up with some new

Tramp Art designs I am working on.

I have over 50 new pieces designed so far.

Now all I need are the funds for the supplies. 

I trust this will happen as I know

that I have found my true calling creating each of

the pieces as The Art Tramp!

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I am also working on weaving some

full size and miniature Shaker baskets. This is something

I decided to do again. It has been many years

but I think they will be a nice addition to some of my

Tramp Art pieces. I also have a few friends 

who will be getting some of them in trade for pieces

I love of their work. And, if I make enough, 

they will also be sold at a miniature show at the end 

of the summer! Just trying to stay 

busy and creative at the same time!!!!

I am hoping to attend two shows this year.

I will be returning to the Wilton Historical Society's 

American Artisan Show on November 4, 5 & 6.

And, I am waiting to hear if I have gotten

in to another amazing show that is held in Pennsylvania

around the middle of September. I will keep you posted

on these here and through Facebook.

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I hope your Spring is off to a good start!

Enjoy.

Everything your HEART desires...

I wanted to share with you

some of the Hearts in my personal collection...

you got have heart!

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A new piece that is going to be a Valentine

for someone very special....

I call her "Sew Sweet".

She is a thread holder, scissor holder and a pin keep.

The inspiration for this piece came from a

wonderful old Fraktur Angel and a sweet, very worn

antique pin keep. I used an antique German

porcelain doll's head, some hand-dyed velvet, silk ribbon,

some vintage German milliner's flowers and 

a wool paisley from the 1800's to make the pin keep.

It is filled with sawdust and a small amount

of cherry tobacco for a wonderful faint aroma.

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Here is a selection of pieces from my website

that may tug at your heartstrings or

be the perfect thing for your sweetheart...

"Fruitful Sewing"

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Scissor Holders with Heart Handled Scissors

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Heart In Hand Thread Holder & Pin Cushion

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Courting Mirros and a box entitled "L.M.A."

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"Hearts Desire", 5" x 7" picture frame 

awaiting a photo of that special someone.

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And a piece that I recently saw and loved....

designed and made by a new friend of mine,

Lori Rippey.

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I have some exciting news that I will be sharing VERY soon!

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine!

Giving thanks.....

I have so many things to be thankful for...

a loving husband and our furry 

four footed family, friends, the gifts

I have been given and the ability

to share those gifts.

It has always been my belief

that the gifts or talents I have are not

inherently mine, rather, I am  their

caretaker and as such it is my duty, my 

responsibility to nurture, grow

and share those gifts with others.

I am so thankful to all the friends,

family members and fellow artists who have

been so generous with their support

and encouragement as I pursue my dream of

The Art Tramp.

GOOD NEWS!

I have almost reached my first goal

with my Go Fund Me campaign.

I just need a few hundred more to be able to 

securely get to and from my first show,

The American Artisan Show

November, 6-8 in Wilton, Connecticut

I invite you to come join us 

and enjoy a truly wonderful event with some 

of the most amazing artisans.

Please stop by and say hello and I look forward 

to meeting you!

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I just wanted to take a moment

and share some of the pieces I am creating

for The American Artisan Show.

Most of these images are "works in progress"

but you will be able to see the 

finished pieces when you come to the show!

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One of my extremely gifted friends,

Tammy Black, had a wonderful give-a-way

on her blog recently.

It seems I never win these give-a-ways

BUT when it is something that

is truly unique and wonderful and makes

my heart sing (like Tammy's work)

I feel compelled to enter

and guess what.....I WON!

I have always loved acorns and

have an affection for Squirrels, Ravens 

and Crows. So, I was thrilled to 

discover that I will be the caretaker 

for this sweet little Acorn! 

It and Tammy's friendship are a 

treasure to me, worth more then gold.

For any of you who are stitchers

or simply appreciate exceptional design,

please take a moment to visit

Scattered Seed Samplers by Tammy Black.

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Last but not least,

if you would like to contribute to my

Go Fund Me campaign

any donation would be most gratefully 

accepted and be put to good use.

I am almost a third of the way to my goal

and am feeling very thankful and 

very blessed for all of your love and support!

THANK YOU!

David A. Schump a.k.a. The Art Tramp

A little birdie told me...

I woke up this morning and it

finally feels like fall....

there is a cool breeze coming through

the kitchen window and I can

hear the birds off in the garden as a

lite drizzle falls to the ground.

I want to take a moment to thank

all those fellow artist, friends and family

for the contributions you have made

to my Go Fund Me campaign.

Your encouragement and support are

a real blessing.

I am still hoping to get enough to 

cover the costs of getting to and from my 

first show in November and if possible 

enough supplies to make some wonderful 

new pieces to make their debut at 

the American Artisan Show.

If you would like to contribute to 

this effort any amount would be 

such a gift and much appreciated...

just click on the link above.

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I wanted to take a moment and share

some of the new pieces as well as some special

pieces I have made for some of my fellow

artists and friends recently.

A dear friend and a most exceptionally gifted

needlework artist, Tammy Black, ordered

a Heart In Hand Thread Holder & Pin Cushion

about 6-8 weeks ago and she received it 

in the mail yesterday!

"I will cherish this very special piece

with all my heart, it will sit on a table beside my

stitching chair...I'll think of you and

your amazing talent every time I look at it.

So beautiful..."

I am so happy that she is so thrilled with it!!!

If you are a stitcher or simply love good design

I would suggest you check out her work and 

take a moment to read her blog.

Scattered Seed Samplers

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A wonderful doll and Santa maker, 

Bonnie Jones, ordered one of my small 

1800's German style sleighs. 

I can't wait to see what glorious Santa

she creates to ride in this sleigh!

If you don't know her work 

you should really look her up on the web!

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Another friend, Benjamin William Bradley, makes 

stunningly beautiful cotton batting ornaments.

These treasures are made using vintage materials and

are truly heirloom quality pieces to treasure.

This little treasure is in my collection.

I made some miniature sleighs for Benjamin

so that he can play around and see 

what he comes up with to accompany them.

If these sleighs work then I may

just have to make some more or even create

a custom sleigh just for his use.

The smallest sleigh is 3"l x 1.25" h x 1"w

and the largest sleigh shown is

6"l x 2.5"h x 2"w.

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As for the "little birdie"....

well, one of the new pieces I hope to have

ready for the American Artisan Show

is a series of Limited Edition ornaments.

I plan on making 9 different ornaments

and the editions will be limited to 12 of each.

Two of the ornaments will be clip-on birds....

a Dove and a Raven.

I started working on these this week. 

So far  the Dove is chip-carved and assembled. 

I hope to chip-carve and assemble the 

Raven today. By the end of the weekend both

should be painted and ready to photograph.

Then once I have the supplies I can

beging to make the other 7 ornaments.

Once that is done I will start on making all

12 of each design.

Here are some "work-in-progress" photos

for you to enjoy...

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REMEBER MARTHA!

I am proud to be among those fine artists 

nominated on the Martha Stewart AMERICAN MADE

 website. I would appreciate you taking a 

moment to read my profile and write a comment.

The voting will begin on September 21st.

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Thank you for spending some time with me today.

I hope you all have a good day today

and a wonderful weekend. Enjoy yourselves!