Sugar Camp Cottage

I think the last time I updated you on Norma Decamp she was living in the Dominican Republic working in her son's mission.  She gave up her thriving Santa making business to labor hard physical...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2011/09/norma-decamp-santa-artist-dvd-slideshow.html

   For too many years I've lived with all white walls.  Too much moving from here to there and living in rented condos, apartments, houses, duplexes, all sharing all white walls.  Now that...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2011/09/if-not-now-when.html

                                                                                          I've been doi...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/whats-new-at-sugar-camp-cottage.html

 The Sacrifices We Make         Norma DeCamp could have spent the rest of her life comfortably in her North Carolina Cottage.  If you haven't heard of her, she is a Santa  maker.�...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/11/sacrifices-we-make-norma-decamp-could.html

About this time of year my local hobby store starts clearing the aisles to make way for Christmas ribbons and ornaments.   I used to groan, it's way too early for this sort of thing.  But...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/08/pink-holidays.html

 I thought I had seen everything.  At least everything available in an antique store or antique mall.  Not so.  I came across Walter Dworkin a year or so ago and found that he had not only...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/07/walter-dworkin-and-pursuit-of-pixieware.html

I was reading Inc. magazine the other day and came across some of the best ideas for a business now.  One was for a cupcake shop.  The premise being that in a down economy we may put the big p...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/little-luxuries.html

How marvelous would it be to reach into your refrigerator for cream for your coffee and pull out this bottle? Or the 3 in the next photo?  These are cream pots from England and Scotland from 18...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/ginger-beer-cream-pots-and-estonian.html

Imagine a life where a business trip involves going to France and Germany and perusing chocolate shops and antique stores!  It really is true that if you follow your dreams you never know where ...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/easter-bunny-santa-claus-and-wendy.html

I want to thank everyone that stopped by and left a quote for me.  I love to see what get's other people motivated.  The winner in the random drawing is Leann.

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/pink-saturday-glitter-winner.html

   Today I'm trading a little something pink for some inspiration.  I have six 2 ounce packets of German glass glitter and micro beads (all pink of course!) to give away.  In the comment s...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/pink-inspiration.html

  I was familiar with making chalkware rabbits and St. Nicholases, but not paper mache.  So I got in touch with a paper mache artist for some pictures and tricks of the trade.   Jackie Wil...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/made-in-maine-paper-mache-by-jackie.html

     I noticed the other day that all the mountains in the paintings I own were pink.  Am I attracted to pink mountains?  Or do many artists paint their mountains pink?   Here in north ...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/pink-mountains-scouring-powder-and.html

                                                                                     I still remember  the ...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-make-chalkware-santa.html

The  latest work from Santa Claus maker Norma Decamp and her son David Decamp.  Accompanied by a bit of prose that Norma writes about each piece that she makes. Benjamin has been carving bir...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-santa-claus-does-in-summer.html

Imagine a caveman at work on his cave paintings, he mixes together a little iron oxide and lime and makes pink.  Does he think "hmm, this go in daughter's cave".  Do we grow up learning that p...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/which-came-first.html

     If you collect Santa Claus figures, chances are you've heard of Norma Decamp.   For 35 years she's been making Santas.  Her style is instantly recognizable, faces full of expressi...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/santa-claus-samana-bay-and-cat-named.html

Looking at this charming vignette I wonder if it's not a portrait of the doll collector, Dorothea, as a young girl.  A time more innocent, before WWII.  Yesterday we met the doll collector an...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-lies-beneath-doll-collection-part.html

         How could you help but be absolutely charmed by this pair?  Dorothea in a striking red cape by the sea and Manfred on vacation in Texas looking the perfect rancher.  Perhaps...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-lies-beneath-doll-collector-part-1.html

Consider the Common Lilac, Syringa vulgaris. Syringa stands for tube (like a syringe) and refers to a young state of the twigs of the plant and vulgaris just means common. Isn't it funny how so...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/words-mean-things.html

Some of you are waiting for a cd of Norma Decamp's work. If you're not familiar with her she's an artist primarily known for her Santa Claus figures. Her work can be found in collections around...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/norma-decamp-update.html

I've always been a lover of deep colors. Jewel tones and spices. My favorite is Chinese red. Pastels just seemed too insipid. Today these pink foil German Dresden papers arrived for my store...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/pretty-or-painfully-pink.html

Today was a good day. I thought a smile would be appropriate. It's not my smile but it certainly captures the way I feel. Not that anything spectacular happened. I didn't win the lotto, magical...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/smiling-face.html

What a lovely little image this is from The Graphics Fairy. I just love antique advertising. Imagine how long it would take to shop if we had labels like these to pore over when buying cosmeti...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/pretty-white-dove.html

How would you like to have this on your menu for today? I love designing and painting signs and this one was done for a bakery. The chalkboard part isn't chalkboard and the lettering isn't ch...

http://sugarcampcottage.blogspot.com/2010/04/faux-french-chalkboard.html