DECK THE HALLS

This has been a busy week! We "decked our halls", shopped, spent time with family and made things. My family is all a bit sad that this long weekend has come to an end. Back to the old grind. Tara will be heading back to University of Missouri this week and not be back till Christmas. Boo Hoo We miss each other so much when she is away. Yesterday I helped her make her purse out of the wool she purchased. Well...it was mostly me saying, "oh give it here, I'll do it!" My sewing machine is old and very temperamental and it seems to only work right for me. ugh! Laura was sewing something for her boyfriend's Christmas gift too. (poor Zack! ha ha) I didn't get to work much on my own projects. Anyway, we had fun together.

Here are some pictures of my house all decked for the holidays. Just the sun room, dining room and parlor. That's where the trees are. I just noticed that I forgot to put my tree skirt on the sun room tree--ooops! As you can see I am fond of antiques. Have a wonderful week everyone!

In our family, the day after Thanksgiving is just as much fun as Thanksgiving! My Mom, sisters, daughters and older nieces all go to the same quaint little town to visit antique and craft shops. We have coffee and goodies to eat in the shops and we all have lunch together. In the first picture is one of my nieces, Kelsey, and one of my daughters, Tara, holding up some of the wool they purchased with plans of making purses and scarves. In the other picture is my sister, Jennifer (Hot Tamale Art Studio) and I dividing up a bag of really cool little felted wool balls we bought. They were so colorful, we couldn't resist! We thought of a couple ideas for them. That new shop had all kinds of wool fabrics, felted wool items, and rug hooking stuff. Jennifer and I kept saying, "oh, this store is so "Jenny Carter"! lol~We all had a fun time!

I have two pictures to share! First of all, I was so excited to receive my package from Jennifer of Crooked Needle Primitives today. I won her blog give-away drawing and got this beautiful primitive kitty doll. She is so pretty with her festive polka dot dress and hat. I was decorating for Christmas when she arrived and I promptly displayed her on a little chair. Doesn't she look sweet there? Thank you so much, Jennifer! I love it!

The other picture is my newest painting. Of course this is what my gray tabby, Snickers, was doing today! He loves the sniffing around all the boxes from the shed and playing with the ornaments. Don't all kitties? I will be listing this on Ebay soon. Well, back to my decorating. My daughters' boyfriends are here tonight helping as well. The house is full of laughter right now, gotta go!

ANGEL OF 4

Can you tell that I like painting kitties? Here is an 8"X10" stretched canvas I worked on today. The little angel is trying hard to give attention to each of the little kitties, but they are getting a bit impatient! The calico is playing with the angel's long hair and the gray tiger and doing that rub and purr thing they do! This one could be used for a Christmas decoration or left out all year if you like angels! There is some sparkle on the angel's gown and pearl and metallic on her wings and halo.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ours was busy, but nice. I only have 2 days of school this week, so I am looking forward to the break! Lots of family time, eating, sleeping and decorating. Jordan will be marching and playing his drum in the St. Louis Thanksgiving Day Parade so we may glimpse him on TV.

COZY COUCH

I thought of this painting as I was vegging on the couch after work one day. Is there anything cozier than a kitty lounging on you on a cold winter evening? This little girl in her footie pajamas is kind of stuck here, but she doesn't seem to mind.

This has been a busy weekend. I went to my niece's 17th birthday party last night and tonight I am going to my nephew's 16th birthday party. Tara is home too, so I haven't been painting much. We are getting ready to decorate the downstairs family room for Christmas. We do the main floor next weekend. It takes a couple of weekends to get it all done. We decorate 4 trees here. Perhaps I will share some pictures in a couple of weeks! Have a great weekend, friends!

BLOG AWARD

Blog Award

I received a nice award from my dear friend, Jenny of Wonders of Whimsy. Marie Antionette was quite a lady and so are these!


I am passing this to the following ladies:

Jennifer of Crooked Needle Primitives
Tracy of The Vintage Sister Studio
Amy of Heart of a Seed
Azul Valentina
Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives
Leticia Regalo
Traci Marvel

Rules to Play:

1. Please put the Marie Antoinette picture on your blog.2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog.5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

I dreamed about this idea the other night, so as soon as I got up I had to paint it. There is something kind of peaceful about it, if that makes sense. I'm sure we all pray for the safe return of our military personnel and think of them often, especially during the holiday season.

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I guess we are all ready for the holiday "crunch" with our calendars overflowing with school and church concerts, banquets, and fund raisers, and family and work functions as well! The hustle and bustle is upon us, so brace yourself--and try to take time to appreciate the simple things, like family, friends and simple togetherness.

A Winter Memory

I have been working on this painting for a while and it evokes such nostalgic memories for me. When I was growing up there was a pond down the hill from where we lived and I remember ice skating on it in the winter. I can still feel my heart drop when cracking sounds could be heard as the ice shifted under your feet! It was kind of scary, but worth the feeling of soaring across the ice (in actuality, I was probably scuffling along, ha ha). We only had a couple of pair of skates between us, so we had to take turns. When the moon was fully upon us we would make the dreaded trudge up the hill toward home. Our fingers and toes were numb from the cold and we were anxious for the hot cocoa Mom surely had awaiting us!

This is a medium sized, primitive landscape, 12" X 12". It has lots of detail and shading for a melancholy feel. There is some subtle glittering where the moon hits the snow and ice. I really like how this one turned out, but I will be listing it on eBay soon. I think it would make a fun Christmas gift for someone.

Here are some sweet little "minis" I have been working on. They are 4"X4" original canvas paintings. My husband drilled holes in them so I could weave some festive ribbon through them! They would make special one of a kind gifts. Their small size makes them easy to find a place to hang, even on the tree! They would also make neat "package tie ons". This is an affordable way to give the gift of art, (even to yourself). I will be listing them on Ebay soon. Remember I am offering free shipping on my artwork through December. Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone!

There is nothing more shocking than going outside to find your best snowman melted! Even the kitty looks a little disappointed! I just listed this cutie on Ebay.

I hope everyone is starting out the week well. I am back at school (work) after being sick a couple days last week. We have two more new boys in our class now! One of them is autistic and they are both cuties. Such interesting little characters all of my students are. They certainly keep me hopping-- and laughing--they say the funniest things! Last week, one of the kiddos had his dad come in and the kid pointed to his dad and said to me, "I'd like you to meet my friend....Dad!" It was so cute.

Well here is the painting I have been working so hard on. If you have cats, well...you know all about "Tree Action"! This is a very primitive painting with lots of antiquing. I just listed it on Ebay. I have a cute little snowman and kitty flying painting too.

I am going to try listing my paintings with free shipping from now until Christmas and see how that works out. Hopefully it will generate a little more interest. Lots of online stores offer free shipping at Christmas, so I am getting into the holiday spirit too!

It is quite nippy here in Missouri today, but I like it. We have a cozy fire in the wood stove and I am busy sketching more painting ideas. Tonight I am going Christmas shopping, yes I said Christmas shopping-- at Kohls because I got one of those 30% off everything stickers in my mailer--Yippeee! That's on top of their sales--yay! Jordan will probably go with me, he is my little shopping buddy. Have a great weekend!

Tagging Some New Friends

Tagged

I have been tagged by the very talented Leticia and here are the official rules…Link to the person who tagged you. Mention the rules. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them. Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they have been tagged.
Here you go:

1. I have some weird organization quirks; I pick out all my outfits for the work week and iron them and hang them on Sunday night and when I make my grocery list, it is a big production because I use the sale ads, my coupons and coordinate my menu for the whole week. It's no wonder two of my three children have been diagnosed with OCD.

2. I am the oldest of four sisters.

3. I am afraid of heights, especially when Jordan is involved, probably because he has had many broken bones.

4. My mom is an identical twin and I used to not be able to tell them apart and it freaked me out as a child.

5. I love to go all out when I entertain, my family used to call me "Martha".

6. My three sisters and I are very close and never tire of one another--weird, I know!

I tried to tag people that I have not seen tagged in awhile, but if you are too busy don't worry about. :)

The lovely and very talented Di from Duda Daze , Amy from Heart of A Seed , Lisa from llCreations, The Vintage Sister ,Shay from Olde Country Peddler
So tag!!! You're it!

Oh, and thank you everyone for your well wishes! I am starting to feel better now that I got some new medicine, just worn out. I am working on a really cute 12" X 12" painting of naughty kitties playing on a Christmas Tree. I had a couple of people ask for bigger pieces, so I am trying this size to see how it works out.

I painted this a couple of days ago, but I have trouble getting to photograph my stuff. Now that the time has changed it is pretty dark when I get home from work and I can't take pictures very well. This is a very primitive piece with lots of crackle and antiquing. It is listed on Ebay today.

I am home from work today because I still haven't fully re-cooperated from the hay ride I went on during a field trip last week. I am extremely allergic to hay, duh! Anyway, I have had a "headfull" and trouble with asthma ever since. I will be getting a new puffer from the Dr. today. Have a great day, friends.

One of my favorite Christmas stories as a child was The Little Match Girl. Although it was very sad when my mom told it, it made me so grateful for my nice warm bed. This painting is accented with pages from an antique book and given an antique finish. Look for it on Ebay tonight. (link at top of page). I am also working on a larger angel painting on wood with lots of crackle.

A while back Jenny from Wonders of Whimsy gave us a look at how she cleaned out her office and organized it for her doll making. I was inspired and finally got around to carving out a little niche for myself in my home. My "studio" is all of 3' X 4', but I usually take my sketching or painting outside or wherever my family is. At least I have my things organized, there are baskets beneath the table too. I hope everyone got out and voted. Have a nice evening.

Here is an Autumn view from Mommy's Midwest Mountain. The trees on the next hillside are beginning to show color. What a beautiful weekend it has been! Unfortunately I haven't been feeling well, so I haven't been very creative. Either I have some sort of bug or my allergies are getting the better of me.

I had my family over for Halloween and we had a great time! Lots of laughs, food and spooks. It is always loud and fun when we gather. What a mess the next day though! I still haven't had the energy to take down the decorations yet. Maybe tomorrow!

I hope to get back to my painting as well. Have a great week!