Thank you Christine …

Last night was frustrating, my husband is out of town, my son and I had a battle, I found out we are due for at least another foot of snow and I sat struggling to edit the pictures of my latest painting. I was a little more beastly than usually. I took a break from editing and I stopped by my Etsy shop. Woo hoo I had a convo, I get excited when I receive messages and hearts, it doesn’t take much to please me. The convo was from another seller, she was letting me know that I was featured on her blog with a few other great Etsians. My art has never been featured on another blog before, I was so excited. She wrote such nice descriptions about all the artist’s pieces and was so complimentary, it was really sweet. As an aspiring artist I truly value and take to heart compliments from talented artist, like Christine. Christine creates beautiful vibrant mosaics. Here is a link to her lovely Etsy shop, memoriesinmosaics and one to her beautiful blog, CHRIS' COMMENTS . She was on a lovely cruise a few months ago and was kind enough to rub our noses; I mean share her beautiful pictures with us. Thank you Christine you made me a little less irritable.
Now if I could only figure out how to deal with a seven year old boy who knows everything and thinks everyone else is clueless I would be even happier. If anyone has some good advice I would love to hear it. I have a two year old who treats me that way all day long I could use a break when Noah comes home from school.

What Inspires You ???

I started a little series of paintings this week which feature my usual muses, flowers and vintage décor. When I start painting I like to have everything mapped out ahead of time from the colors to the placement. I can picture the finished product in my head before I ever pick up a brush. I was unsure how I wanted to decorate the little cracked eggs. I couldn’t leave them white but I wanted to keep them simple. Then I remember my great-grandmothers Easter eggs, she used onion peels to dye her eggs. They were a beautiful copper color.
My great-grandmother Bertha was an amazing lady. I have so many wonderful childhood memories because of her. She had a beautiful front porch lined with old green rocking chairs, hanging baskets and wind chimes. She would set up little tea parties on her porch for me and my sister featuring cheese balls and fresh iced tea. I would sit on the porch for hours and draw, it was so peaceful and the sounds of the wind chimes were so pretty. She always had her fridge stocked with mini Snicker bars, glass bottles of soda and she made the best spaghetti sauce ever. We usually slept over at her house on Saturday nights. My sister and I would play Barbies on her living room floor while the three of us would watch the Golden Girls ( I love the girls). When you would wake up in the morning she would have breakfast started and everything smelled so good. Every Christmas my sister and I would help her decorate. I think that is when I first fell in love with antiques. She had a beautiful silver tree and ornaments. Her decorations were the inspiration behind many of my holiday paintings.
My great-grandmother has inspired me in so many ways, my love of flowers, antiques, art and life. Who or what inspires you?

Tag Your It! (photo tagged that is) …

One of my favorite blogs that I read is Cole + Josephine : art + life , her watercolors are both beautiful and interesting and everyone has an intriguing story behind them, she is great, plus she is really funny. Well she photo tagged me here are the rules.

Photo Tag Rules:
1. Open your 1st Photo folder.

2. Scroll to the 10th photo.

3. Post the photo and the story behind it.

4. Tag 5 or more people.

I had to cheat a little my first folder only contains my Etsy banner. I was lucky with my second folder “family pictures” this particular photo features my three favorite people Michael, Noah, and Abbey. We were on a hayride heading for the pumpkin patch. I love going to the pumpkin patch Halloween is my favorite holiday, fall is my favorite season and orange is my favorite color, plus the kids have a blast. Each of us pick out our own pumpkins, Michael picks a perfect one, Noah picks a huge one, I pick an odd one and well this was the first time Abbey could walk at the pumpkin patch, she just liked to roam without me hovering. I am sure next year she will want Noah’s pumpkin. Here are a few great blogs I am tagging.
Tag Your It!
Leigh vs. Laundry

Foxes and Robbers

Liz Revit Art Blog

Sea Willow Herbs

Treasures of the heart, mind and soul

Finally, A New Painting ...

I finally completed a painting! Woo hoo! After two consecutive large snow events I was not only home with one of my rays of sunshine but both. It has been very difficult to fit in time to paint. I have a little studio in our basement, there is a play area and art area for the kiddies and it is a fun place to be on a hot summer afternoon. It is not a fun place to be when it is 20 degrees outside I have to wear my winter gear if I want to paint down there. I have been painting at the kitchen table for the last few months, there are positives and negatives to the switch but when there is a full house it is just an inconvenience. Acrylic dries super fast and when you are interrupted every five minutes it is tough to get anything accomplished. Noah finally went back to school yesterday and my in-laws came home early from a trip and wanted to spend time with Abbey. I was home all alone it was so weird, I was able to paint for four uninterrupted hours. I had a glimpse of what it will be like in three years when Abbey is in school fulltime. I am not looking forward to my baby going to kindergarten or preschool for that matter, I will miss her so, but I will enjoy getting to paint everyday uninterrupted. I finished the painting after the kiddies went to bed; it only took two weeks to finish.

These are a few of my favorite images from my newest creation. I am having a blast painting the things that I love. I love old colanders, I have one that in the summer I use as a planter and in the winter I fill with Christmas lights and seasonal greens. They are so simple and pretty. I modeled this particular colander after one I saw on Etsy, it’s featured in my favorites. The colander has been decorated with Christmas ornaments, Easter décor, and spring accents.

Thank you for visiting and I wanted to say hi to all of my new followers and a big thank you to everyone for all their great comments.

Valentine's Day ...

Yesterday my Valentine gave me the most wonderful surprise. After our little sweethearts opened their valentine gifts my husband handed me a card and a little box of candy. I took my time and read the card it was lovely, it made my eyes weld up with tears. Then I opened up the little box of candy, in the box among the raspberry filled chocolates was a little jewelry bag. I have to mention we very rarely exchange gifts, so I was a little taken back by the surprise in the box. I opened the bag and there was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen, my wedding band. I sat there shocked, tears rolling down my cheeks, I could not hug or kiss him enough to let him know how special he made me feel. He slid the ring back onto my finger, it was much prettier than I remembered and everything it stands for means much more now than it did the first time he placed it on my finger six years ago.

About six months ago I had happened to look down at my wedding band and realized that two of my sapphires were missing. I was crushed, I love my ring and what it symbolizes, it’s my connection to my husband when we are apart. At that time we could not afford to have it fixed and I thought it was tucked safely away in my jewelry box. My husband took the ring to the jewelers in the beginning of January without me knowing to get it fixed in time for Valentine’s Day.

I think what touched me the most was that he took the time to plan something so romantic. After the mundane routine of everyday life sometimes the romance gets left out. He made me feel so special, so loved, so important, as I write this I am tearing up. He is my best friend, soul mate, and lover and there is no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you Michael, thank you.

Valentine Thief…

This year Noah and I worked together to create his Valentines for his friends at school. He came up with and drew a basic plan for me to follow. After I got the design up to his standards I painted the artwork under his watchful eye, he is a tough costumer. Once the painting was completed Noah wrote his Valentine message for his cards and drew a little heart shaped skull cartoon to put on the back of each one. We finished off his handmade Valentines with glitter and little packets of Sweetheart candy.

I placed the cards in front of the fire place so the glitter could dry while we went sledding. I wanted to check the time so I popped my head in the front door and I saw a horrifying scene, our pooch Isabel got into the Valentines. The living room floor was covered with Noah’s cards, packets of Sweethearts were torn open missing their multicolored candy. Luckily Isabel was delicate and lady like in her removal of the sweet treats and didn’t rip any of the cards. She devoured nine packets of Sweethearts and I know if I would not have looked in the door she would have eaten them all. Yuk, I can’t imagine eating one packet of those hearts, but nine she really must have had a sweet tooth.

More Snow ...

I know if you live in the mid -Atlantic or the northeast you have seen your share of snow in the last week and you might be tired of it but I am not. I love the snow. It is just so beautiful. It makes everything look so fresh and new. It gives the stark winter landscape a face lift and with it comes a beautiful calmness. Today we received an additional 22” of snow. Noah has another snow day tomorrow and I am excited to go sledding, build a snow family, have snowball fights and just enjoy being out in the fresh air with my kiddies. I am planning on enjoying every inch of the white stuff.

Let it Snow …

We didn’t get the 30 plus inches some people got but we were ecstatic with the foot we did receive. I get as excited as the kids do about snow. I think that is because when I was little snow equaled plowing, getting up at three in the morning, bundling up and hopping into my father’s jeep. The four of us my father, mother, little sister, and myself would enjoy the back and forth, the fumes, and that annoying noise the plow made every time it would lift up. Now the only noises I hear are my abominable snow monsters laughter and pooch’s barking as we play in the snow. Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend. We are now anxiously awaiting our second chance in a week to receive and additional foot of snow, Noah is looking forward to his first snow day of the year!

Patiently waiting to go out ... Abbey was working so hard to catch me ... Our pooch Izzy had a blast playing with the kids, she kept steeling Noah's gloves ... Noah was having a blast ...
It took Abbey a little while to get used to walking in such deep snow ...

Vintage Hat on an Antique Potato Masher …

In the midst of being sick this week I was able to finish one painting. Of course it has taken me two days to edit the pictures and write a description, I hate functioning so slowly.
I have a sweet spot for antiques and vintage items. You will not see me buying décor for my home at IKEA or the Pottery Barn, I love flea and antique markets. I love walking around and daydreaming about the things I wish I could buy and getting excited over the little cracked floral vases that I can buy.
In this particular painting I have taken one of those little cracked vases and set it in the bottom of a potato masher. In the pale blue vase are two daffodils. I love the green color paint that is found on so many of the vintage kitchen accessories, I have painted this masher to mimic the color. Hanging off the masher is a vintage orange hat. The hat has been decorated with a deep magenta peony highlighted with gold, a pretty butterfly tag held on with a daffodil hat pin, an iridescent mint green plume and light blue netting. The background of the painting was done to resemble weathered wallpaper featuring pink flowers.
I wanted to say welcome to all my new blogger friends, I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs. It’s so nice having someone other than me, my husband and my best friend reading my blog. Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Is It Over ???

One of the nicest things about having a family is being able to share anything and everything with the people you love. Unfortunately there are those times you prefer not to take part in the sharing. About two weeks ago I took Abbey for her thirty month check up at the pediatrician. A few days later the poor thing came down with the flu, she was so sick last week. Finally Sunday she seemed back to her old self and lucky for me she was kind enough to share the stomach bug. I could barely move Sunday and Monday, then my son Noah woke up with our family visitor on Tuesday. He was the luckiest one he was only sick Tuesday and actually by the end of the day I had to tell him to sit and relax and remind him he was sick earlier, I think his flu shot worked. Wednesday my husband got up in the middle of the night and joined the club, he is by far the biggest baby of us all, I think it’s a man thing, I truly believe that is why women have babies and men do not, they would be laid up for months. It is now Friday and I just can’t shake feeling exhausted. All I want to do is sleep and that unfortunately is not an option. I just can’t wait until this is over.