Handmade Christmas Gift Tags

Christmas gift tags measuring 2 ½ by 4 ½ .


I had so much fun creating these; I used the beautiful K & Company Christmas papers and I altered regular shipping tags added for weight. For even more festive fun I added wonderful embellishments, like dimensional holly and vintage clippings. If you like them they’re available at my Etsy store Claraism.etsy.com

Retro ACEO cards

My retro ACEO cards


These were so much fun to make. "ACEO" stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They can be original art, print editions or photographs. These ACEOs measure the standard 2.5 x 3.5 with a black border it adds ¼ inch around.

I had left over pieces of felt and didn’t want to throw them away so I glued them onto a sheet of card stock; I thought well maybe I’ll just turn them into a nice abstract painting and started adding fun bright colors, soon the piece started taking on a 70’s neon feel. I liked it, but I knew deep down that this sheet was destined to be more. I decided to start cutting and the cards just started to take over. Now I love them! And not one is exactly the same as the other! There are 7 in this series. They are numbered and signed on the backs. available in my etsy shop claraism.etsy.com

Surprise In The Mail

It's Time To come out

gentlemen Please! do you you really know what the hell you want? seriously, I mean every time I get a chance to sit down and talk to a man the conversation always goes the way of SEX. like it's the only thing that matters, not hey you think maybe to ask stuff about loyalty, respect, and future goals? nope it's always like heey you look so sweet how'd you taste? eww, gross! don't get me wrong I like sex, mmm I like it just as much as any man on this planet, but when I look for a date I do not DO NOT zero in on "package size" or "whats in your wallet" I want to know you...the real you.  so tell me ...tell me about you...

Life's a Picnic Mini Album

so cute, one of the best mini albums that i've seen. so creative, so simple yet so detailed...gosh i'm inspired to not only get out some cookout photos but to throw a cookout! happy summer!

Blog Bloggdy Blog

I hate blogging! I hate blogging!! I HATE BLOGGING!!! So why do I come here and blog? Because, it’s a cool way to vent, express my “likes” and “dislikes”, and well to connect with others who have similar feelings, “likes” and “dislikes”. I mean really, if you don’t have a blog, you mine as well just be dead!


I’ve had this blog for so long and at first I thought well maybe I’ll just make it about my Art and link all my online stores so I could make millions of dollars and never have to work another day in my life…yeah right!...NOT! I still think that If I write [it] someone will come, but sadly no one does, no one ever does, and so I write …and write …and write; for me and me alone. By chance if you (someone other than me) read this; Please let me know, just say “hey your blog sucks”, at least then I would know that someone is reading this crap.

Let me re re restart this by just listing some things that I like, I’ll call it my happy list. YAY- Happy!

1) My 3 daughters [ages 19,20,22]

2) My boyfriend of 14 years and still kickin 

3) My love for Art

4) English accents

5) Irish accents

6) Frootloops

7) Dunkin Donuts coffee

8) YouTube

9) Facebook

10) Flirting

I met a Beatles Fan. I never met one before and really didn’t think they were any different than any other fan, but they are. They live a Beatle’s life…they dress a Beatles dress; they even speak in Beatle lyrics. If you want to see for yourself check out beatlesrockband. Com. Visit their forums and you’ll see some of my art. I watched the BRB trailer and loved it .

this scene (one with the sun and moons with all the characters floating around) is my first attempt. (Many to follow) I sold it and within minutes it was on the BRB site for all to see.

My name is Clara and I live in, Putnam CT. Putnam is a small town, with not too much to do or see. Although we do have a theater, two Art galleries and several fine restaurants, it can lack the luster of some bigger cities and towns.


Arts and crafts have always played a role in my thirty something years; From my earliest memories of my parents creating elaborate costumes for the local Boy Scouts, which my father was a den father as well as his ability to take found objects and create magical pieces of art for his kids; to my mother sewing, crocheting, and creating wonderful mementos for her family and friends.

My style is some where between contemporary folk art and outsider art. I have no formal fine art training or education, although through books magazines and how to videos, I manage to come up with some unique and fun art.
Claraism and Dollz are ongoing mostly on-growing shops that I created in 2007 so I could contribute to the “hand made” revolution. Sadly shortly after opening my shops, my father passed away and I settled in for a long bout of depression. After a few years of counseling, I was diagnosed Bi-polar and clinically depressed. With the help of family, friends, and medications I can concentrate on my arts and crafts again, but still have a long way to go before reaching that place of mind where everything makes sense. Please take a look at my paintings and whimsical offerings. I hope that they can bring you as much joy as they bring me.

Some of my materials that I use are Acrylic, oil, pencils both color and graphite, mixed media including fabric, paper, tape, card board, wax, and too much to list just Take a look around, I’ll be adding more to my shop weekly, so you’ll never know what you’ll find at Claraism.etsy.com I also have another account called Dollz (dollz.etsy.com) where I create art dolls from paper, fabric, wood, beads, metal findings, and any found objects that fancy me.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I love to get emails! ccostabile@gmail.com

I also accept commissions and custom orders, so ask away.

A little over a month ago I joined a Journaling group on yahoo. this group shares such great enthusiasm for Art and Journaling. the groups moderator Sarah Whitmire, offers unique, stimulating, and expressive journal prompt unlike other journaling groups that I have seen.

one such prompt was a "Shared Experience" the objective is to write a hand written letter about an experience or experiences that effected your life for the better or worse. then send it to "Fellow Soul Journaler" via snail mail. addresses provided by the Moderator. to protect identities of senders.

I received my letter and immediately was touched by the senders sincerity. the "Soul Journaler" wrote about her husbands addiction to pornography and the struggles that tried their marriage due to it, but not her love nor devotion to him.

my job was to take all that I read and create a Journal page then post it to the groups "Shared Experience" Album. to my surprise I received an email congratulating me on being the new Homepage artist...how cool is that?! they used my "Shared Experience" page as their homepage artwork.

Please visit Souljournaling@yahoo.com and become a member. share your most precious experiences with us. enjoy the hundreds of photos as well as the always positive feedback offered by the wonderful, artful, soulful jornalers.

ATC Cards

My ATC cards are cut out of heavy card stock. I painted the cards with acrylics, colored pencils and sealed with a clear varnish.
A little history on ATC s Information found on Wikipedia.org
Art trading cards can be seen as the modern incarnation of several much older artistic forms. Because of their small size and usually modest price they have been linked to portrait miniatures, which flourished in the 14th century, and were often used as advertisements by wealthy merchant families in arranging marriages for their daughters. Until this time art collecting was mainly the hobby of the Noble and Royal classes.
In later centuries artist trading cards were used throughout Europe and America as art training tools. Artists would trade the cards between themselves to study each others techniques and explore new art movements. The cards paid a particularly important role in the Impressionists art movement. The Impressionists utilized both sides of their artist trading cards, art on one side and a kind of brief resume on the other. The Impressionists were the first known artists to use the cards in trade for anything other than more art. Impressionists often traded the cards with art collectors in exchange for room, board, and art supplies. –wikipedia
Now that I have started to explore this format for showing and sharing my art; I feel privileged to be part of history.

New Year perspective

I am an artist. I enjoy my artsy ramblings and doings.
I just started to understand myself and what I really want out of my life. I am finally doing what I have always wanted to do…creating art, selling art and spreading Joy through my art and crafts to the world. I have sold my arts and crafts in the US and abroad. I’m excited because I am growing each day and have greater and greater awareness of all that I have to offer. I look forward to sharing my Art and crafts here with you.