Restocked at Closet Collectibles with new Display!

Over the weekend I did another art drop off/pickup at Closet Collectibles (Crete IL)! I was pleasantly surprised to find that they gave me a new display spot in the store and I could not be happier.

It has nothing to do with my love of built-ins (well maybe that’s part of it) but it has everything to do with it being a prime spot in the store that really showcases and protects my work! I really love it! 💜 

While I was there I picked up my Undead Doll Betty who was adopted on Etsy. Holly has now taken her place on display and is waiting for someone to adopt her and Teddy.

My “The Lovers. The Dreamers. And Me.” (of Jim Henson and Kermit) portrait prints also made their debut. While I was there I also re-stocked my sold out giclee art prints of my other Spitting Image portraits (which are now on the 3rd shelf pictured).

I am so grateful to Chris and Michelle for always thinking of and supporting me as their resident local artist at Closet Collectibles. Mother’s Day weekend is always a rough time for me so this really lifted my spirits. So blessed to be a part of such an incredible store ran by such incredible people. I can not recommend shopping there enough. And when you do, be sure to tell them..”Living Dead Girl Nicole sent me!”

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Back Bone: Team Rosie Lives On In All Of Us

As some of you may know, we lost my Uncle Randy unexpectedly this year. What you may or may not know is he was incredibly passionate about supporting Down in the Southland on behalf of his daughter Rosemary. A few years ago he started Team Rosie to help raise money for their Annual Fundraiser Walk.

This is the last thing he posted on Facebook before he passed away…

I am walking again this year to keep his legacy going strong for my cousin and to help raise money for this wonderful foundation he wholeheartedly believed in!

How can you help?

Donate: Simply make a donation on my fundraising page at https://give.classy.org/nicatnight to support Down in the Southland on behalf of Team Rosie. No amount is too small and every dollar helps us to reach our goal. The process is fast, easy, and secure. I truly appreciate any support you can provide and it will benefit a great cause that means so much to my family!

Share: Help me reach my fundraising goal by sharing this page on social media and emailing it to your connections to help raise awareness!

Let’s make my Uncle proud! GO TEAM ROSIE!

Stay Spooky & Supportive!

LDG Nicole

316

It sucks when a day turns into a milestone that makes you flashback to so much loss. An annual reminder of how long you have lived your life without someone in it. A day you flashback to when you were a child and felt the worse pain imaginable. For 27 years, March 16th has been a day of mourning,  a day of feeling incomplete, a day of “why her?”,  a day of confusion, a day or feeling alone, a day of tears you can’t hold back even in public, a constant reminder of when my entire world got turned upside down. The day the world lost an incredible woman. My mother.

Every year on this day I go to the cemetery in her memory and it’s never easy. This year I decided to make a special bouquet for her. I am hoping it might help to use symbolism and to honor her instead of focusing so much on the loss of her not being here. I used flowers in some of the bright colors I know she would like. My goal was “let’s brighten such a sad and shitty day…….somehow.” Yes, the pink ribbon symbolizes breast cancer but to me, it also symbolizes that she was a fighter!  The owl represents who she was as a person. She loved owls and they remind me of the happier times of my childhood as they decorated the house we lived in. But they are also very wise, strong and beautiful creatures…… just like her.

As another step of trying to focus this creation post in her memory. I want to end it with a photo of her and I that always makes me smile. My Mom was a funny lady and my brother and I  get a lot of my personality from her. As you can also see in this photo 🙂 This one’s for you Mom! You may not be here physically, but your spirit will always live on within us. Thank you for giving us the foundation that helps to keep us strong.  For the signs, you send to Mike and I that let us know you’re with us or that you know what we are facing. For bringing random people into our lives at just the right times that help to keep us going. Your love shines through them. Thank you for being the woman you were to help me become the woman I am.

Never Forgotten,
LDG Nicole

Happy Birthday To My Biggest Inspiration!

It’s Throwback Thursday but, more importantly, it’s my Daddio’s Birthday! So this post is in tribute to the man who has supported and believed in me and my craft since I was a young batling.

I know I say I am inspired by so many famous artists, but my Dad has been my biggest inspiration since I picked up my first crayon. He taught me so many of the art skills I use today and I continually grow as an artist and a person because of him. When I doubt myself he pushes me not to give up and even has his own sketch pad full of suggestions ready to help me out.

He never fails to amaze me with his talent and he has also inspired and introduced me to so many things that I still love today which in their own way have shaped me not only into the artist I am today but the woman I am today as well. It was him who had the giant cardboard cut out of Elvira that perked my interest into who she was and started my realization that you don’t have to look like Barbie to be stunning! It was him who took me to the video store every weekend to literally overuse their copy of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. It was him who took me at a young age to see my first Tim Burton movie. It was him who took me to see the Little Mermaid and then afterward when we got home sat down with me and drew all the characters together. It was him who took me to the store to buy all the art supplies I needed to enter every art contest imaginable. It was him who let me listen to his Tom Petty and Aerosmith albums and fall in love with classic rock. I could go on and on.. but to sum it up, you can all thank my Dad for the weirdo I have become and am so proud to be.

Happy Birthday Daddio!  Thank you for teaching me to “Fink Differently!”

“You belong among the wildflowers”

With Love,
Nic