First show of the season...

This weekend was the first Arts and Craft show we've participated in this year. It was not planned, the invite came a bit late so it was rather thrown together at the last minute. It took place at the Apple Jack Festival in Nebraska City.

We didn't really get to enjoy the festivities but heard that they were quite nice, apple picking, cider tasting and what-have-you.

However, we did debuted a few new products...
Scrabble tile Pendants.

(Which will only be available through the shows)

Magnetic interchangeable magnet Pendants.
These come with three interchangeable buttons that fit on top of a magnetic backing.

Hand-Painted Checkbook Covers
Each is made of 100% Cotton Duck Primed Canvas, stitched across each size to form pockets inside to secure a checkbook. An original painting graces each side of the cover and the inside is painted to match the colors of the painting. Only the finest quality acrylic paints were used and two coats of high gloss varnish protect both the inside and outside of the cover.

Hand-Painted Notebook Covers

Like the checkbook covers each of these notebooks is made of 100% cotton canvas and painted with the finest quality acrylic paints. The sides are sewn to make pockets to secure the notebook.

Each is an original one of a kind painting to wrap around others thought or sketches.
I am offering two different sizes, the Moleskine 5" X 8.5" and the Composition 7 1/2" X 9 3/4". I have chosen these sizes for ease of replacement notebooks.

These products as well as several of our Original Paintings, Prints, Mini Prints and Bookmarks will be available at the other four shows we will be doing this year... Check us out at the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln Nebraska...

October 9th,
November 6th and 7th,
November 20
and December 4th and 5th.

Treasury Tales Tuesday...

"Snow White"

"The Bad Apple" by ceramicmatt

Okay, so not that snow white.
This Story is by The Brothers Grimm
Translated by D. L. Ashliman

Once upon a time, as a queen sits sewing at her window, she pricks her finger on her needle and three drops of blood fall on the snow that had fallen on her ebony window frame. As she looks at the blood on the snow, she says to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony". Soon after that, the queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her Princess Snow White. As soon as the child is born, the queen dies.

"Blood Drops" by stacysdesigns88

Soon after, the king takes a new wife, who is beautiful but also very vain. The Queen possesses a magical mirror that answers any question, to whom she often asks: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in the land is fairest of all?" to which the mirror always replies "You, my queen, are fairest of all." But when Snow White reaches the age of sixteen, she becomes as beautiful as the day, and when the queen asks her mirror, it responds: "Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true, but Snow White is fairer than you."

"Mirror, mirror on the wall" by Danae777

The queen becomes jealous, and orders a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods to be killed. She demands that the huntsman, as proof of killing Snow White, return with her heart. The huntsman takes Snow White into the forest, but after raising his knife to stab her, he finds himself unable to kill her. Instead, he lets her go, telling her to flee and hide from the Queen. He then brings the queen the heart of a young deer, which is prepared by the cook and eaten by the queen.


"The Queen" by Maddhatterslab

In the forest, Snow White discovers a tiny cottage belonging to a group of seven dwarfs, where she rests. There, the dwarfs take pity on her, saying "If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want." They warn her to take care and let no one in when they are away delving in the mountains. Meanwhile, the Queen asks her mirror once again "Who's the fairest of them all?", and is horrified to learn that Snow White is not only alive and well and living with the dwarfs, but is still the fairest of them all.


"Fairytale Forest" by Madewithlovebyhannah

Three times the Queen disguises herself and visits the dwarfs' cottage while they are away during the day, trying to kill Snow White. First, disguised as a peddler, the Queen offers colorful stay-laces and laces Snow White up so tight that she faints, causing the Queen to leave her for dead. However, Snow White is revived by the dwarfs when they loosen the laces. Next, the Queen dresses as a different old woman and brushes Snow White's hair with a poisoned comb. Snow White again collapses, but again is saved by the dwarfs. Finally, the Queen makes a poisoned apple, and in the disguise of a farmer's wife, offers it to Snow White. When she is hesitant to accept it, the Queen cuts the apple in half, eats the white part and gives the poisoned red part to Snow White. She eats the apple eagerly and immediately falls into a deep stupor. When the dwarfs find her, they cannot revive her, and they place her in a glass coffin, assuming that she is dead.


"Snow White" by ellemoss

Time passes, and a prince traveling through the land sees Snow White. He strides to her coffin. The prince is enchanted by her beauty and instantly falls in love with her. He begs the dwarfs to let him have the coffin. The prince's servants carry the coffin away. While doing so, they stumble on some bushes and the movement causes the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The prince then declares his love for her and soon a wedding is planned.


"The Romantic Kiss" by maclancy

The vain Queen, still believing that Snow White is dead, once again asks her mirror who is the fairest in the land, and yet again the mirror disappoints her by responding that "You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you."

Not knowing that this new queen was indeed her stepdaughter, she arrives at the wedding, and her heart fills with the deepest of dread when she realizes the truth. As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes are brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She is then forced to step into the iron shoes and dance until she falls down dead.

...The End

Snow, glass, apples
A collection of Handmade items and Fine Art found on Etsy.com
that collectively tells the story of "Snow White"
Curated by Jaime Best of Best Art Studios2

Show & Tale Saturday...

Our First Ever...
Show & Tale Saturday

The Show...
Books & Zine


Poets Hand stitched leather journal cover by PennyFarrow
This attractive hand stitched journal cover is constructed out of embossed kangaroo skin and glossy olive leather. Hand stitched with natural and black waxed thread.


357 Magnum Revolver Gun Book by Strikebooks
Is made to scale, with 84 pages of blank white handmade paper from St-Armands Papermakers in Montreal.


Gothik Virtues Art Bookmark By RusticGoth
'Temperance' is 2.5 X 8.5 inches and is Hand Printed and Professionally Laminated.


Limited Edition Hand-Bound Coffee Haiku Book By CreativeMiscellany
Hand bound in a cover made from a recycled coffee sleeve. Limited Edition of 40.


Vanilla Sandwich Cookie with Tea Bookmark
By glamasaurus
Do you love cookies and a good book? Or maybe you know a cookie loving bookworm.Well they are sure to love this adorable cookie bookmark. Each cookie is handmade!
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Those are just a few of the wonderful items found on Zibbet, each is handmade and fabulous for us book lovers.


********************

The Tale...
Fantastic leather covers, handmade paper, gothic bookmarks, cookies and coffee are just a few of the reasons that I love books. I can't help but love the feel of paper between my fingers, the smell of a brand new book and the journey that awaits me inside.
I am currently reading Elizabeth Haydon's 'Prophecy' the sequel to her Bestselling Rhapsody...



Prophecy continues the stories of Rhapsody, the Namer who uses song, herb-lore, and affinities with fire and starlight to heal and protect, and her adoptive family: Achmed the Snake, an obnoxious former assassin and King of the savage Firbolg race, and Grunthor, his huge, cheerfully cannibalistic sidekick.

Marking the pages is my very own 'Beautiful Disaster' Bookmark.
Thanks for reading
-Jaime

Featured Seller....

Zibbet is a market place that connects buyers and sellers
of Handmake, Fine Art, Vintage and Crafting Supplies.

This week I am the featured seller on Zibbet!
You can read the interview here...

I am currently having a 25% off Spring Sale...
Plus, get an additional 25% off all Fine Art Prints
by entering the code...
LN17KY
during checkout.

So, head on over and check it out...
A Melancholy Dwelling!

Thanks,
Jaime

A Thousand Sales Giveaway...

Right now our Shop has 994 sales!!! When this number reaches 1000 the person who purchased the 1000th item will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to our shop...

The gift certificate will be emailed to the purchaser of the 1000th item and is valid only at BestArtStudios2.etsy.com. Instructions to redeem the Gift Certificate will be sent with the email.

By your side

Oh...
and Jaime's painting "By your side" was featured on Etsy's Front Page this morning.

Here is a link to the painting.

and the archived Front page...

Our Offical Website

After many weeks of hard work our website is now up....
You can view it here!

Art Bookmarks in the Heartache and Poetry Series

I have been working on a line of bookmarks for some time now.

Perfecting the designs, finding the best lamination available and printing out samples in a variety
of sizes until I was happy with the product.

And I can now say that I am.

Bookmarks in the Heartache and Poetry Series are now available in our Etsy Shop!

The displays above were created using resources made available fellow artists...

Villa-Arts

and

JavierZhx

Etsy's Front Page

In a 24 hour period my Print 'Because I love you' and my mother's (Rusticgoth) bookmark
'All in the moment' were featured on Etsy's Front page.

Because it had been a while since either of us had made it there I was extra excited that our items were chosen so close together.

If you want to check them out...
Here is a link to the Front page my print was on,
and a link to the Front page my mother's bookmark was on.

Mikey and his modding of the Heroclix

Mike Best has been playing heroclox for 6 years, and is always modding the figures.
Here is his latest...

The Aviator

" The Aviator"

One of the many wonderful new pieces in the Melancholy Girls series by Rusticgoth

Here are a few more...

"The Red Room"

"Gloomy Sunday"

"Steampuck Bibliophie"

"Ides of March"

"All in the Moment"