Treasuries

I love when some of my art or my knitting is included in a treasury, because through that I get to see so many new and beautiful pieces on Etsy and meet new artists!

Just click here to check out these treasures in gray/green colors, curated by soozo from South Korea (click here to visit her beautiful shop).

And then you must click here to see all the dragon- and butterflies in this sweet collection of pretties, put together by Silver Beach Sea Glass (click here to visit her shop).

And then, as some of you are thinking about Mother's Day, take a peak at these selections (click here), all "Gifts She Will Love...," beautifully put together by the talented and generous Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations (click here to visit her shop).

Thank you all for including my pieces!!

If you have a few minutes, make sure to visit them - you'll be inspired by all the great creations on Etsy! It amazes me every day that we never seem to run out of creativity...how great is that?!?

Altered Painting, Treasury & Blog Love

First of all THANK YOU for all your wonderfully supportive comments on my last two posts - you all are THE BEST!!

Well, I worked on my dancer (I decided he looks like a dancer or a swimmer) a little more. First I just deepened the shadows and brought out his eyes a little more. Then, I scanned the painting one more time before adding the Permanent Maroon drippings, lest I ruin it in the process...

Daniel said: "It looks a little like blood." Well, maybe, but somehow it reminds me of the web of life we are all part of, that connects us all on some level. This boy certainly tugs at my heartstrings. There's something about him - he stands proud and firm in his own reality! He knows his place in the universe. He expresses what I aspire to...

Web of Life, 8 x 10" acrylic painting

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Now on to something different, prettier and less intense! A treasury I curated not long ago...and a fantastic blog!

My dear blogging friend, Debbie of The Wug's Backyard BlogSpot, recently wrote two very fun posts. The first (click here to see it) was much about another friend who curated a beautiful treasury, about me with this "Dragonfly Dreams" treasury I put together not long ago, and some of her favorite pieces from the treasuries. Thank you so much, Debbie, for the feature and all the kind things you said about me!!

The second post (click here to see it) will definitely awaken the travel bug in you and make you want to go see the world immediately -- even if only as an armchair traveler...

Now, let me tell you a little about Debbie's creative work and her blog. Debbie is a crochet artist - she creates the most fun flowers, jewelry, scarves, mittens, hats, slippers, and more for her Etsy shop - all with colorful yarn and her crochet hook. And every piece she makes has her personal flair. Simply beautiful!!

And ... she is a wonderful poet and every one of her blog posts features one of her original poems at the end. I love it!!

Debbie also is one of the best at highlighting other artists' work. She will accentuate her sometimes funny, often inspiring and always heartfelt posts with photos of fellow artists' works and links to their blogs and etsy shops. With that she creates a wonderful community of like minded people, and I am so grateful to be part of that!!

I was going to write this post earlier. However, I decided to go into school and work on my still life for class some more. It went really well!! When I got back, the temperatures had gotten up to 91℉ (33℃), which just made feel like taking a nap.

But seriously, whatever happened to our spring?! I hope it's visiting you all who have been waiting for it so patiently...

Beautiful Things!!

I am so dreadfully behind in posting this! While my family was visiting, I received this gorgeous package from the most lovely Rachel (Mozart's Girl) in England! I had won her giveaway!! A package by Royal Mail - did I feel special or what?!?

And when I opened it, out spilled the most wonderful things: A book about a family in the restaurant business in New York, a little cup making me homesick for England, a little pad of paper that makes me smile every time I look at it, a fun little button and a CD with some of my favorite Mozart piano music! Thank you so much, Rachel! You all can click here to go visit her blog!

I am also late in posting about this gorgeous treasury my friend Theresa (Faerie Moon Creations) curated and included my bird print. Click here to see the treasury and leave a comment if you'd like, and here to visit Theresa's beautiful blog! I so appreciate that you always think of me, Theresa!!

Then, yesterday, I received this beautiful package from my dear friend, Kelly (Kelly Berkey Designs).  I just couldn't resist the new rings she is making!!! Just look at that gorgeous packaging (I have to admit that I put it back together to take pictures - I had opened it so fast in my haste to see the rings that I forgot about photographing it!)

Inside the box were butterflies and gold stars and two most gorgeous rings!

One reads "live.laugh.love" and the other "I am ... enough." Both things I need to remember all the time!!

I just love the way they look! Kelly, you do such a great job!!

And ... staying with Kelly for a moment longer, I took one more photo of her recent (well, it's been a few months) sketch challenge she hosted on her blog and did another 10 minute sketch - last week, before my drawing class had started. I think it turned out pretty nicely for being a quick sketch. I have to say though, hands are hard to draw!

We woke up this morning to a band of strong storms coming through. Now the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out. It's still windy though and we are expecting a big drop in temperatures. Tonight it's supposed to get down into the 30's! I'm thinking here at the coast we'll stay in the 40's though.

I hope you are all having a fantastic day!!

Checking in and a Thank You!

We've been having a great time sightseeing with my family here in Savannah. The weather has sort of cooperated although it's been much cooler than we thought it would be. 

It's been a whirlwind trip for them. My aunt and uncle are heading out and south along the coast toward Florida today, but my cousin, Britta, is staying until Friday. Daniel and Britta went kayaking on Saturday. If you want to see pictures, click here to go to my cousin's blog. 

Tomorrow, construction is starting on our back deck, which will add another element of excitement at our house... It'll be nice to have it done. I'll have to be sure to take before and after pictures. 

And last, but definitely not least, a big THANK YOU to Theresa for this amazing package I received after winning one of her OWOH giveaways. What I won were the gorgeous heart-shaped earrings, but what arrived was so much more!! 

Plus, she also generously included my egret print in this beautiful "Just Because..." treasury sporting some of my most favorite colors. Click here to see it larger and maybe even leave a comment!

Thank you so much Theresa! You are wonderful!! 

I am sure you already know about this talented artist, but if you by chance haven't visited Theresa's blog, Faerie Moon Creations, do so by clicking here! You'll be amazed!!

I hope you've all been doing well. I haven't had much computer time at all, but am looking forward to checking in with you again soon. It's amazing to me how much I miss you all and my blog during these times, especially since two years ago I didn't even know what a blog was... 

Wishing you a joyous Fat Tuesday!!

Some exciting things...

Do you remember my art journal bird from a while back? Well, I recently joined the Brave Girls Club and subscribed to their very inspiring daily truth e-mails. Each e-mail starts out with "a little bird told me..." and we artists can submit our birds and they may be featured one day. 

Imagine my surprise when my bird was featured today! Yeah!!! If you want to see it and also check out the Brave Girls Club website (well worth it), just click here.

While I am on the topic of exciting news, I thought I'd share with you two beautiful treasuries, in which my knitting and art were included. West Coast Glass put together the above gorgeous collection of aqua and blue treasures. Doesn't it remind you of ocean and summer and blue skies?!

And then Bella Rennie Designs delighted me by putting my hope bookmark into her hope treasury! I love how she named it "I can't live without it." Isn't that the truth?! Simply click on all the colored links to visit the treasuries and etsy shops.

Tomorrow, I have some more knitting to share with you and then also some glimpses of spring we are seeing around here. It's going to be in the 70's today and we can hardly believe it!!

Wishing you a delightful and creative Friday!

Kindnesses - Treasuries

Some time ago, a couple of my art prints were included in two treasuries, which I wanted to share with you! 

The first one was curated so beautifully by Theresa and you can see it (and leave a comment) here. She was so kind to include my preening egret print. Thank you, Theresa!! If you haven't yet visited Theresa's blog, Fairie Moon Creations, make sure you do so by clicking here. 

Don't you love her sweet pendant made from her own artwork and this snow flake necklace? You can find those and much more of her gorgeous jewelry and artwork in her Etsy shop! I have to tell you that I have never met anyone who promotes other people's art and creations like Theresa does. I have found more new blogs and Etsy shops through her than any other way. And on many occasions I have been the lucky recipient of her kindness! Thank you, Theresa!!!

My "Fear Not" print was included in this beautiful butterfly treasury. I was thrilled - you all probably know by now that I love butterflies... Please click here to see the treasury and leave a comment if you wish!

Make sure you visit Lolailo's Etsy shop.

She is a winemaker in California and makes her creations from materials she finds around herself. Click here to see more. Just beautiful!! Thank you so much!!

I hope you are all doing well and are taking a few moments between busy moments to truly enjoy this special season. We are doing well here. Daniel was dealing with a pesky stomach bug yesterday but is feeling good as new today.

I've actually been painting again! I can hardly believe it and will show you my latest creation tomorrow. It's rather different for me and I love it! See you then...

Treasury in Purple

Another treasury!! This time, my purple/rose scarf {sold} was included in this delicate treasury curated by Sofinos. Click here to visit and leave a comment if you so wish! Thank you!!

We are at the Savannah Children's Book Festival all day today, and I hope I'll have some fun photos of the event for you tomorrow or Monday! Happy Saturday!!

Treasury in White...

Joya Jewelry Designs included my sparkly white scarf {sold} in their beautifully delicate treasury. Click here to visit and leave a comment if you wish!

Wishing you a sparkly day! We are steeped in book festival preparations over here...

Keeping with the Autumn Theme...

Two of my fall-colored scarves were recently included in a couple of gorgeous treasuries!! Click here to visit the first treasury (and leave a comment if you like),

and here to see the second one (and maybe leave a comment if you feel so inspired)! Thank you mmclan and my dear friend Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations.

I have so much new knitting to show you and an award to pass on, but for today, I thank you for your visit and wish you a happy Thursday!!

Four Great Things...

...on this cool(ish) Tuesday morning.

1. Beautiful new yarn from Germany and Italy! And look! One of them is called Georgia - how appropriate.

 2. Open windows!! Finally - it's cooling down and all of us are happy, especially Ramses and Winslow! This morning it actually was cooler outside than in the house!

 3. Two delicious, crunchy, chewy and oh, so good for you loaves of bread hot out of the oven! You can find the recipe in this post.

 4. My soft and fluffy purple scarf in a beautiful purple treasury. Ok, so this happened a while ago, but I just remembered it today. Go visit by clicking here and leave a comment if you feel inspired.

I was going to take pictures of some new scarves this morning, but the rain soaked everything outside so nicely yesterday that I have to wait until later this afternoon when the sun has dried things out a little. Pictures taken outside are always so much nicer.

Yesterday, I started painting again and maybe I'll have something to show you soon. We'll see how it goes. It feels strange after all these weeks. I was a little afraid that I might have forgotten how...

In the meantime, my lovely friends, I hope your Tuesday is off to a most auspicious start!!

Treasures in Treasuries!

Yesterday, the incredibly talented Marie Segal of Art from my Heart (click here to visit her blog) sent me a message letting me know that she included one of my paintings in an Etsy treasury she curated. I was so excited and when I took a peek, I saw that she had included Daniel as well.

Click here to take a look for yourself and leave a comment! Thank you Marie!!

Marie actually inspired me to try putting together my own treasury. I'd only curated one a long time ago and had lots of fun with this one. And, of course, I simply had to include one of Marie's amazing "unzipped hearts"! As you can tell, I was in a pastelly mood...

If you feel like leaving a comment (please, please, please!!), click here (don't click on the photo - I am not able to make it into a link). 

Wishing you all a most wonderful Friday!

Fitting in

I've been participating in Summer Colours Week over at the beautiful Poppytalk blog. They have set up a Flickr Group where you can upload your photos (a certain color every day) and in the evening they highlight their favorites on their blog. On pink day, my good friend Beth's photo was included (click here to see it on her blog). She is quite the photographer!

When I look at the photos uploaded to the Flickr group, I think that my photos don't fit in. Most photos taken are so dreamy and have that look that's all so popular now - slightly faded, more pastel than clear color, and a little aged. That just isn't me. I like clear colors and bright colors. So, last night I thought I'd just give up and not upload anything else for the rest of the colors.

But then, this morning, 123cabezas included one of my very colorful scarves in a very bright Etsy treasury.

If you click here, you can leave a comment if you want to! Such a nice boost this morning. So, now, I'm going to go upload my green images to the Summer Colours Flickr group!

Maybe I don't take photos that fit the most popular look, but I like them! And isn't that way more important than fitting in?!

P.S. Thank you all so much on your very enthusiastic comments on my latest painting. I am having so much fun with this and your support makes it even better!!

Odds and Ends

A few exciting things have been happening in the last couple of days, so you are getting a mishmash of things today. Today, I found out through a comment someone left me on my last post that my entry into Illustration Friday was chosen as the Pick of the Week for this week. How did this happen?! Totally unexpected and making me feel so proud! Thanks for all the congratulatory comments I've already received from you!!

Then, yesterday, I received my first commission for one of my women portraits adding a cat to the mix. I am soooooo excited (and proud again) and also a little nervous! I want it to be wonderful!
The other day there was so much talk about Etsy treasuries on Twitter that I decided to try to put one together. You can click on the picture to see it larger. I really love the color combination, but I didn't realize I included two pieces from the same seller and forgot to include one of my own. Made me laugh! It was great fun though and I can't wait to try it again! I'd include the link, except that it will be expired by the time I post this...

And now for some pictures from the last few days! I was trying just now to take a photo of a butterfly flitting about our garden and the camera did something strange that makes it look like it's foggy and dark here...kind of a cool picture though.
This is how it really looked - bright and sunny and colorful. I loved the underside of the butterfly.
No words needed on this one!
When I went outside the other day I saw that our gardenia bush had two flowers on it! I cut one off and made a little bouquet I could enjoy inside. Our flowers are starting to look pretty tired and hot these days, but I was still able to find a few nice ones!
These were leftover from my birthday flowers our friend and neighbor brought over. I love zinnias and even like them when they already look slightly worn.
I pulled off the petals at the end and am drying them for seeds for next year. As I was looking at the petals, I noticed the pretty plate I have them on and thought I'd take a couple of pictures to show you. It reminds me of the plates I used to have as a kid. I was a very finicky eater when I was little (wouldn't know it now...) and my mom would get me plates with pictures on them that I could uncover as I ate what was on them. I don't know if it worked, but I always liked the plates...
Another plate we are using to dry a few shallots from our garden.
And last but not least a picture of Winslow and Ramses having a sweet moment.
Wishing you many sweet moments today and going into the weekend! I love how you visit my blog and keep visiting and commenting even if I don't make it to your blogs for a couple of days. You are just wonderful, and I promise I'll visit you all in the next couple of days!!