A Day of House Cleaning

What a wonderful Friday. I would love to be painting but unless I get this house cleaned, I won't be able to start my Christmas decorating. By the way, did anyone notice that Hank really got around in that last post. Hank was the mayor, the hardware store owner, he was married to Ellie, and his sister Letha. Now there's a nice little Christmas story for you. Hank, the mayor, is now Frank. Hopefully I'll get my head cleared out today too!

Oh Christmas Tree

I've been busy painting night and day and my eyes are beginning to get a little weary as well as my back. I listed this painting tonight on eBay. You can click on the above title to link directly to this auction and you can click on either photo to get a closer view.
Frank, the mayor of Richmond, owns the Hungry Mule Cafe where he and his wife Ellie make the most wonderful food in the county. His sister Letha owns the Blue Moon Trading Company and has been dating Hank from the hardware store for 5 years. They are going to be married in front of the Christmas tree in the center of town on Christmas Eve and everyone is invited. This will be the biggest event of the year and people were beginning to think it would never happen. Everyone has done an extra special job of spiffing up the town with evergreen and red bows to help them celebrate this momentous occasion!

Christmas in Candy Cane Cove

I'm sure I should get off the Christmas kick and start painting something else, but I just can't help myself! I listed this one on eBay this evening and you can click on the above title to go directly to this auction. You can also click on these photos for a closer view.
Mr. McDonnagal is the lighthouse keeper in this quaint little village. He hands out candy canes to everyone he meets during the month of December and greets them with a "Merry Christmas". He and his family have lived in the light house for 35 years. His father was the previous owner who inherited it from his grandfather. The candy cane tradition has been going on for many years and thus the name "Candy Cane Cove." Children for miles around have always thought that the lighthouse beam was meant to guide Santa and his reindeer to the families of the village.

Christmas in Crystal Cove

Yeahhh!!! Orrick High School Football State Champs! What a weekend! We went to St. Louis this weekend to watch a local town win the State Championship and what a great time we had! I want to say a special congratulations to Turner and the team for showing such great sportsmanship and a job well done.

Before we left for the game I got this little painting done and scheduled to go on eBay this evening.

This quaint little cove is named after Crystal the snowlady who has arrived every year at Christmas to delight the children and share in the magic. Warm fires burn inside the homes as tufts of smoke drift from the chimneys into the brisk air. Snowflakes, gentle in their unique designs, sway towards the earth forming a beautiful white blanket covering everything in sight. Crystal loves the way they tickle her nose and drape on her arms to make her appear that she's wearing elbow length white gloves. She can't wait for the children to come out and see how fanciful she looks with her white atire that glitters in the daylight.

Snowman Painting

Well, here I sit stuffed to the gills and busting at the seams after an amazing Thanksgiving dinner with family. I'm moving rather slow, but did manage to get this little painting listed on eBay this evening. You can click on the above title to go directly to this auction or you can click on the photos for a closer view.

School was closed today in the village of Noel due to snow. Noel is a small village in Missouri where you can send your Christmas cards to have them postmarked with their Christmas City stamp and then sent on to friends and family. The children of this little village have started a snowman contest and have spent the day creating their unique snow people. Crystal and Bobbie have dressed their snowman with one of the Christmas sweaters that Aunt Pearl sent via the mail. She loves to knit and wanted to help the cause.

Christmas Nativity Painting

This painting was added to my eBay auctions this evening. You can click on the above title to go directly to this auction or click on any of the photos for a closer view.
The Hermann family live in the house at the top of the hill with 5 children, two cats, and a dog. They finished decorating their home for Christmas and have now retired to sit by the fire reading "The Night Before Christmas" and reading about the birth of baby Jesus from the Bible. Each year they put a nativity in front yard to remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas.

Down Home Christmas Folk Art Painting

If you had previously subscribed to my blog, you probably need to do it again because there was a glitch (the glitch is human error: me!) in the system that I had to correct. It should be working properly now. Sorry for the error. If you haven't subscribed, you can do so by going to the link in the right column and provide your email address.

Snow gently falls in this Christmas folk art painting. I will be adding this one to my eBay auctions this evening. It measures 9 inches x 12 inches. Click on any picture for a closeup view. You may also click on the above title to go directly to this auction.
Christmas has arrived in this winter wonderland! Visitors to the village are rooming at the Four Corners Inn before heading out for the "Christmas Pagent" at the local church. A young man sits on a bench by the pond watching a young lady skate and wishing he had the nerve to ask her out for a date. Letters swing in the gentle breeze from a banner between two trees wishing one and all a "Merry Christmas" as they enter the village. Snow gently falls creating a blanket of white everywhere. Christmas decorations adorn all the homes and businesses.
I wish all my readers and customers a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Whoa Frosty!

Here is another little snowman painting that I added to my eBay auctions. You can click on the photos for a closer view. To go directly to this eBay auction, click on the above title.
Lila wasn't thinking clearly when she built her snowman on the side of the hill. She's been holding Frosty up for quite a while now and no one has checked on her yet.

Assembling Frosty Painting

This is a little 4 inch x 4 inch painting that I added to my eBay auctions this morning. I've been painting day and night so there will be more added tomorrow and again on Monday evening. Click on the title above to link directly to this auction. You may also click on these photos for a closer view.John, Joe, and Jim Nolker are three very active brothers. As soon as they woke up they could sense something different in the air. They ran to the window and screamed in unison, "No school today!" After a hearty breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, they quickly donned their coats, hats, and scarves and ran outside to play in the snow. While buiding their snowman they quickly realized that a ladder was needed in order to finish assembling Frosty and then placing his hat on his head and a scarf around his neck. They'll soon be ready to head back inside for a steaming cup of hot cocoa.

Johnnie's One Stop Shop

I'm getting back into the swing of painting again. This little painting will be listed on eBay this evening. I can't add the link to this title until the listing starts, so I will do that this evening.
Remember the good 'ole days when you could buy pop from a chest type cooler on the porch of the store. One stop shopping wasn't like Wal-Mart is today. It was a place where people got together in front of a pot bellied stove to get warm and chat with friends. A general store stocked all kinds of items from groceries to hunting gear.
Johnnie's is the "One Stop Shop" in the small town of Melville. It houses a general store, post office, gas station, and gossip corner. Johnnie O'Brien is also the town's mayor, head of the decorating committee, and the postmaster. He and his wife Clarissa live in the red farmhouse just a hop skip and a jump, (with snow shoes on) from the little store. Thelma Clemens has sent her husband Frank Jr. to pick up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread from the store. He has not been seen since before sunset and she is sure that he and Johnnie have gotten involved in a checkers tournament. Thelma can see his old blue pickup parked in front of the store from her window. Looks like she'll have to put the oldest child Betty Lou in charge of the other children as she heads out to corral him back home.

Christmas in Holly Ridge Painting

Yes! It's finally finished. This one took a while to paint because ideas just kept coming and I couldn't stop painting. Christmas paintings are just so much fun to paint. They bring back memories of special times with family and friends.

The Dooley family own the Christmas Tree Farm in Holly Ridge. Mr. Dooley is bringing more trees up from the valley in his blue pickup to sell in the barn. A fire is always going in the metal barrel so customers can warm up after trapsing through the trees trying to find just the right one. Mr. Nickels arrives in his red truck with his faithful dog Cocoa to search for a tree for his 95 year old mother. She lives in the yellow house at the top of the hill and still decorates her farmhouse for the holidays. In the village all the shops are open late for last minute shoppers. The Moose Tracks Chocolate shop offers the most delectable candy and deserts in the county. Otter Creek is an outfitters clothing store which is also owned by the Duncan family who own the Tea 'n Whimsy tea room. Silhouettes of a couple sharing a cup of tea can be seen through the bay window. Izzie Bloom owns the local gift shop and people come from miles around to buy their Christmas gifts and decorations there. Street lights cast a soft glow on the snow covered street where a Ford Sedan is parked along the curb.

You can link directly to this auction by clicking on the above title. Click on the pictures for a closer view.

A big thanks to everyone who have left comments on my blog!

Four Season Cabinet

This is a cabinet that I painted to sell at our local Old English Garden Shoppe. A different season is painted on each door panel. At the top, below the crown molding I painted gold roping and a tassel which continue around the sides. The lower drawer has a ragged finish and black and white diamond border painted on the panel. You can barely see a painted hutch to the right of this cabinet which has already sold. Click on the picture to get a closer view.

Rose Medallion

What a wonderful morning! While browsing my email I got a message from Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage telling me that I had won this award. If you haven't visited this blog, you need to hop on over there. I'm sure by now you know my love of painting old cottages and villages so, I'm sure you'll love her blog as well. Thanks again Cindy!

Christmas Homes Tour Part 5

Think of groupings when decorating for Christmas. A Santa collection looks better as a group. If you spread them throughout the house they won't have as much impact. The winter scene painted on the tray is a project I did for my Christmas instruction book. Click on any picture for a closeup view.
This is a very rustic room so, I kept my Christmas decorations in the same theme. The stockings were made from a table cloth that I purchased at Target several years ago.
As promised, here's a peek at my next painting to be listed on eBay. The pictures aren't the greatest because I took them late at night after a hard day of painting.

Christmas Homes Tour Part 4

I spent the day yesterday painting my staircase. It's been quite the job and it's been keeping me from my art. For the moment I don't have any paintings on eBay. But, I promise one is coming soon. I may share a peek at the newest one tomorrow.

I always unload this old cabinet at Christmas so I can fill it with my Santa collection.

Most of these are Santa's that I painted and some were gifts.This room is decorated in just about every corner.
This is my favorite room in the house. It's very rustic and comfortable. The massive stone fireplace has a huge stone mantle. It makes it a little difficult to hang stockings from it since there is no way to tack them up. The result was to tie them to the garland. A "Canoe Rental" sign hangs above a garland draped doorway to the left of the fireplace.
This is a closeup of the garland around the doorway to the right of the fireplace.
Tucked in the corner is our cabin theme Christmas tree. A pair of snowshoes decorated with white jingle bells and a little greenery hangs on the wall.

Christmas Homes Tour Part 3

It only takes a little time to make your dining room festive since this is where everyone will be eating that wonderful Christmas dinner. This room houses my "fairy" collection. A fairy sits on the buffet with a gold ribbon tied around her slim neck. My fairy tree, which is made by Hallmark and given to me by my brother and sister, sits in the corner at the end of the buffet. Fairies also perch on top of the corner cabinet.

Click on any photo to enlarge.The tin chandelier is decorated with evergreen and ornaments.
The Christmas tree sparkles in front of the window. A sleigh near the tree holds presents and a santa stands guard nearby. An old antique cabinet from our grandmother's home is decorated and lit with candles hanging from the side. Take an old object and give it a new life, like this Red Wing crock. Fill it with evergreen, pinecones, and apples for that extra holiday touch.
In the foreground a rabbit holds a candle on his little serving tray. Beaded trees, garland, and snowflakes decorate the fireplace hearth. This is another view of the same room. I love the warmth that candle light and white Christmas lights add to a room.

Christmas Homes Tour Part Two

This is our upstair landing where we decorated the railing with evergreen and gold bows. This was the first year that I put a tree on the landing. I wasn't sure if it would fit, but it really made all the difference.
I love to add evergreen everywhere even on the white iron bed. I put a small tree in all the bedrooms. Each room should have a little festive touch and the red toile always looks great with Christmas decorations.
A small tree is added to the quest bedroom. See what a nice glow just one small tree can give a room. My daughter, Amber, was able to find purple beads to work with my color scheme in this room.
You can see the small tree reflected in the window in this picture. A touch of evergreen has been added to the antique dresser and above each window. The little candles are in the windows year round throughout the house. Looks like a cat has been sneaking into this room. They always seem to leave their little paw indentations on the bed. They aren't supposed to be in the guest room but they are just so sneaky.

Christmas Tour

Since I haven't finished my Christmas painting that I'm working on I'm going to share a few photos of our house when we were on the city's Christmas Homes Tour. I'll add more photos each day but for today I'll share pictures of our entrance. I've placed glass garden gazing balls in flower pots and stuck evergreen around the edges. A gold wire ribbon is tied around the ball and tied in a large bow at the top then placed on some columns that are painted gold. A wooden pineapple, apple, and pear are surrounded by leaves and eucalyptus to form a welcoming arrangement on the stairway wall. The railing is decorated with evergreen, gold beads, and ribbons. This is the carpet that I recently removed from the stairs. I'm still refinishing them.
The door is surrounded by evergreen and dried orange slices.
A wire urn is filled with beaded fruit and a wreath hangs on the wall.

As you go up the stairs from the entrance there is an antique white mantel shelf hanging on the wall loaded with family pictures. The pictures are draped with evergreen and gold beads.

Lazy Autumn Days

Since cooler weather has arrived my cats and I have gotten extremely lazy. I can't seem to get any painting done and the cats spend the entire day sleeping. This is Bailey's favorite spot. She loves the warm sun coming through the window in our bedroom and can be found here anytime of the day. Notice the changing leaves on the Dogwood tree outside this window.
This is a view from the same window. I raised the screen and stuck my head out the window for this shot. I'm sure the neighbors wandered what I was doing. I'm lucky I didn't fall out the window but, I had to get one last picture of my roses that surround the Weeping Mulberry tree on the corner of the front yard. The Dogwood trees turned a beautiful dark red this year which really compliment my red roses. This is the only red in my yard. The backyard is landscaped with pinks, yellows, blue, and lavender.

I promise a new large Christmas painting for eBay this week. I'm just having so much fun taking my time!