10 Things I Love!

I just received a "10 Things I Love Award" from a very dear blogger friend, Kolleen of HeartWing Sisters! She has a happy, youthful outlook on life and it shows in her art! I have to tell you, Kolleen, how happy I was to see that you named your son's aides in your list of things you love! I am a teacher's aide who works with special needs kiddos too and it is nice to feel appreciated~~but believe me, I am sure those wonderful ladies you mentioned feel the same way about your son! It is challenging work at times, but the rewards are many! Those children can bring so much to our lives if you are lucky enough to get to know them! Now, on to my 10 Things I Love!

1. My Family--Always XO
2. Old Photos and Candles as shown on my photo!
3. Curling up by the Fireplace with a glass of wine, goodies, and a great Indie flick or
documentary! (I know, kind of nerdy--Love stories aren't my thing)
4. All the rooms in my house clean at once (not sure if it has ever happened yet).
5. Snow Days (I work at school) so I can paint more!
6. My first walk through a gardening center in the spring--the smell of fertilizer excites me!
7. The sound of children laughing.
8. Shopping clearance racks and finding unbelievable deals! Those bird candle holders
pictured above were $1 each because they were with the after Christmas sale stuff!
9. Seeing my three grown kids, (17, 20, and 21) all home together at once and acting like
kids again! They played board games and built puzzles together last weekend!
10. Watching one of the special needs kids I work with meet a major goal of some sort--
and seeing the pride in their face when they know they did!

Although I would like to pass this on to more blogging friends, I am unable to copy and paste the award picture so I can't. Darn Computer! For some reason my "paste" key doesn't work anymore. I love reading all of your blogs and seeing what everyone is up to! Thank you for your friendship!

New Paintings!

I go back to work tomorrow so I spent the weekend painting while I have a chance. I have so many ideas since I took a short break for the holidays! The first one is St. Catherine of Bologna, the patron saint of artists. I am also working on another saint--Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Do you like the patron saints on paintings? This one has metallic gold accents and crackle for a primitive look. All of my children had to study up on the saints before they got confirmed into the Catholic Church. Laura had chosen St. Catherine for her confirmation name.




The second painting is Bunny Moon. It has the same colors as Owl Moon and they look really cute sitting on my shelf together. Lots of crackle on this one and metallic pearl white snow. Both of these will be listed on Ebay tonight! Have a great week everyone~

Best Wishes in 2010!

I am wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010! We spent last night eating snacks and playing games with our kids. I don't really like worrying about driving with all the crazies on New Year's Eve. I was happy that my grown children all opted to stay put here with me! We toasted with champagne at midnight at gazed at the beautiful full moon! Did you all get to see it? It was awesome, and made me even more anxious to finish this painting today.

I have had this painting in my mind for several weeks. Actually I thought about it when I lost my dear sweet Aunt Alice at the age of 87 about 3 weeks ago. She adored all creatures and collected owls. She was so much fun and loved to laugh. She quit high school when my mom and her twin were born to help take care of them. She was the 2nd oldest of 8 children, had red hair and a forever smile! I love and miss you, Aunt Alice.

This painting has lots of crackle and antiquing for a very primitive look. I will be listing it on Ebay tonight. My first painting of 2010!

Have a Peaceful, Joyous Christmas!

For Christmas I would like to send you a beautiful song played by my sweet son, Jordan. It is called Variations On The Kanon by Johann Pachelbel. I think it is on George Winston's December CD, but I also hear a version of it in weddings. He is not happy that I am putting this up because he says he "messed up a lot", but I think it is nice anyway.

I am taking a little break from painting and creating to spend quality time with my family. I feel very blessed that we are all home together, happy, and healthy. I hope that all of my "art friends" are enjoying the same blessings. Take time to snuggle with your loved ones and soak up the season!

New Paintings!

This is such a hustle bustle time of year! I hope everyone is able to at least take a few minutes to enjoy the splendor of the season~We have just about every old classic Christmas movie there is and that is our time to relax and take it all in. We like to watch a couple a week with candles, Christmas lights and snacks. Sometimes I sneak in a little wrapping while we watch! We all laugh at the same old silly or corny things each year. Most recently we watched our VHS of a 1963-64 Judy Garland Christmas Special with Mel Torme and Jack Jones. It was filmed shortly before she died. I love Judy Garland, but it is sad to see how messed up she was during the filming of this show. When she sings The Christmas Song with Mel Torme, she sings, "and every Mother's child is gonna spy...to see if rainbows really know how to fly.." It is sad how Mel tries to cover up for her. My kids especially enjoy the commercials that aired then, particularly the cigarette commercial about how Pal Mals are like a "breath of fresh air and satisfaction"! My how times have changed! What are your favorites?

Here are a couple of paintings that I just listed. If you have a kitty, you can relate to the first painting, "Guilty Kitty". The second painting is another Saint Lucia one. I love that tradition! I wonder if I could get my 21 year old daughter to get up early and serve me coffee and buns like that soon! Have a great week!

Give-Away Winner and New Critter!

Congratulations to Kelly of Thom's Daughter. She is a wonderful artist and her blog is lots of fun! Your name was drawn from a hat to win one of my Art Chunks! All you have to do is go to my Etsy Store and pick which Art Chunk you would like to have and then convo (contact me through Etsy) to tell me which one you like, along with your mailing address. If it hasn't been sold when I get the message, your chosen piece will be on the way! Thanks to everyone who entered. Oh, and in my Etsy Shop if you buy three or more items, the shipping is FREE!

Now, about this little Calico Kitty. I didn't have time to paint this weekend because we had lots of fun family activities, but I did manage to needle felt this little cutie. This time I used a couple pieces of pipe cleaners inside so it is somewhat movable. She (all true calicos with all three colors on the face are supposedly females) is made of hand dyed 100% wool. She will be listed on Ebay tonight if you would like to check her out. I worked on her while I watched the Natalie Wood version of Miracle on 34th Street and the old Little Women with my daughters. We love those old movies this time of year. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. I know I did.

Art Chunk Give-Away!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! To ring in the Holiday shopping season I am having a promotion in my Etsy Shop. If you purchase three or more items, the shipping will be FREE! Everything in the shop is under $10 and I just added several new ART CHUNKS! They are fun little pieces of art featuring high quality CANVAS prints of my work mounted on chunks of pine, painted and be-ribboned! I also have several ornaments, note card sets, and framed canvas art prints.

I will be giving away one Art Chunk of your choice (the one featured here is an example)! All you have to do is comment on this post telling me where you might like to tuck a little piece of art. I will put your name in a hat and pick one Sunday evening at 5:00 CST. Good Luck--and have a very Blessed Thanksgiving with you families and friends. XO