Meet Ollie ...

I wanted to share my newest attempt at water color, meet Ollie the Ostrich. Why did I decide to paint an ostrich, I’m not sure, why did I decide to name him Ollie because it starts with an “o” and this bird did not look like an Oscar.

I was a little ugh yesterday afternoon. Abigail really put me through the ringer in the morning and by the time I came home from taking her to preschool I wanted to escape. She is an angel at school and at home she can be the sweetest, most loving, funny little girl you have ever met and then there are times I feel like I am dealing with a self-centered, pretentious 14 year old who acts like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the new one I hate the original, it scares me).

Actually I chose to pick an Ostrich because I was going through my collection of bird photos and came across the goofy ostriches from the zoo. Whenever we visit they come up to the fence and pretend to peck at it. It’s like they are trying to eat something that isn’t there. When I saw this one particular shot of the odd bird it made me laugh and I knew painting him was just what I needed. I finished painting him this morning at the sunny kitchen table while the princess was preoccupied playing.

I am trying to develop my own style with water colors. the last two pieces I have done I have started with a simple pen drawing and then used the water colors to complete the art. There are so many amazing water color artist and I really want to stand out with my own look. I want you to know it is mine and no one else’s.

Along with finishing this crazy bird I have come up with a few new ideas today that I am excited to start!
Have a great weekend!

Purrrrfect ...

I wanted to share a fun little piece that I created earlier in the week.

Two Smiling, Quirky, Colorful cats!

Say Cheese!

I hope everyone has a happy Friday!

Fun at Knoebels and a Sneak Peek at a New Collage …

Yesterday the kids and I joined some family and friends for a fun day at Knoebels Amusement Park. Knoebels is a cute little amusement park in Pennsylvania; it’s the largest free admittance amusement park in the United States. It has a couple roller coaster, a log flume and a lot of other fun family and kiddy rides. It’s an adorable park and a great way to spend a summer day.

Noah is now tall enough to get on all of the rides and he took advantage of that fact. We went on the wooden roller coasters together; I think I embarrassed him I have a tendency to scream a little loud!

Abbey was completely fearless. I think she would have gone on everything if she wasn’t so short. They have a kiddy roller coaster and she had a blast on it. She is an adventurous little girl!

One of my favorite rides was the log flume. The three of went on together, it was a blast and luckily we didn’t get to wet.

I also wanted to share a peek at a new collage I have almost complete. I am hoping to get all of the parts sewn into place today so I can finish it and get it into my shop. The entire collage was created with recycled materials including, vintage book pages, recycled cardboard, a fabulous vintage frame, and thread. I also tried a new technique with dying paper that I have fallen in love with. I hope to share the finished product tomorrow.

Have fun today!

MMM ...Monday, Halloween Treats ...

I love Halloween, it’s my favorite holiday. Every year I try to make it special for the kiddies. Here are some of my favorite things from this Halloween!!!

My blue wig!!! I wore it all weekend. I wish I had blue hair!





Noah’s first scary costume!!! He has wanted to be something scary for the last couple of years and this year I finally gave in. I bought his mask at Wal-Mart, stained it brown, and attached moss and a spider to it. His flashy clothes were bought at the Salvation Army. I tore the pants jacket and tie, stained everything with brown paint, glued leaves, moss, spider webs and spiders all over his clothes. I think he looked awesome.

Abbey’s pretty purple butterfly costume!!! She looked so cute with her sparkly cheeks.

My first attempt at purple cat pancakes!!! They were yummy.

Noah carved his first pumpkin!!! He did a great job.

Michael and Noah’s spooky jack-o-lanterns!!!

My jack-o-lantern!!!

My favorite Halloween decoration from my childhood!!!

Our Halloween cat Scream!!! He just celebrated his 9th birthday; he was born just before Halloween.

Our favorite Halloween book!!! Denys Cazet is one of our favorite authors.

Lots of yummy candy!!!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch …

There are two family activities I look forward to each year, going to the pumpkin patch and going to the Christmas tree farm. On Saturday we went to our favorite pumpkin patch for a hayride and to find the perfect pumpkins to carve into spooky jack-o-lanterns. It was a perfect fall day.

My little pumpkins ...

Our lucky pumpkin ...

I love this picture, our little photographer did a great job.

Beautiful fall foliage ...

"Pumpkin in Colander" painting ...