A Beautiful Birthday Memory

Birthdays come and birthdays go.  In the blink of an eye we are another year older.  With so many memories stored up like treasures that I can look back on, I can smile and be reminded  how very blessed I am.

Yesterday was my birthday but I still wanted to share this photo of my dad giving his little girl a Birthday smooch.  Dad was always big on kisses up until he left us for his home in heaven.  Miss those kisses Dad and look forward to getting another one when we are together again.  

Acrylic Paint Storage and the Storm Continues....

This is not an attractive view of this corner of my paint room, but a few readers have asked about the wood piece that I store all my acrylic paints in.  I purchased this several years ago from "A Cut Above Woodworks".  It rotates like a lazy susan and I can simply spin it when I'm searching for a color.  Please ignore the mess in the background.

Last Thursday it started to snow and snow and more snow....

By the time it had finished, we had close to a foot of snow.

Luckily, it was a dry snow.  

Today, however, we woke up this morning and the power was off for about 4 1/2 hours and we had several more inches of very wet snow on top of all the other snow.  We were very blessed to have lots of firewood to keep us warm though.

Our poor dog Lady has long hair and when she goes outside it sticks to her like snowballs and she looks like a minature Clydesdale.  

Tonight it is snowing once again.  

A couple days ago I got up early made myself my usual bowl of oatmeal, walked to the pantry in my big fluffy pink slippers, grabbed what appeared to be my cinnamon,  sprinkled it on my oatmeal, and then realized it was my husband's "Hog Rub".  It was the same color and size container as the cinnamon, but not all that great on oatmeal.  How's your week going?

Winter Storm

Hey mom!  We're done!

What's it like where you're at?  

I'm staying inside today trying to finish my painting.  

These two furry critters will be snuggling up by the fire.

Folk Art Christmas Painting Continued...

A few changes are being made to this painting so that it fits the canvas better.  I still have the neighbor's home to finish and the old 

Woodie that will be passing by in the front and anything else that my imagination can come up with.  You can see the car in a previous post here.  Hopefully the next time I share this painting it will be finished.  Stay tuned.....maybe a snowman, carolers...

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Creative Mess

The room that I paint in can only be described as a chaotic mess...

Who would believe you could fit this much stuff on one small table....

This room is not something you would find on Pinterest under "Adorable Studio" or "Dream Craft Room".

It may be a mess, but I'm having fun!

That counts for something doesn't it?

Side Table Makeover Transformation

Today I finally, after procrastinating for a few weeks, have finished my table makeover.  The chair is almost finished and I'll share it soon.

Sorry for this blurry photo, but I didn't have my tripod within easy reach.  I used Polyvine Create Paint Effects glaze.  This is an old standby from my wall finishing days.  It's sold through Benjamin Moore (hopefully it still is) and is my favorite because of the very slow dry time.  I mixed 6 parts glaze with 1 part acrylic gray paint.  You can use wall paint with this glaze too.  I mixed a very small amount in this tiny plastic tub that I can seal up when I'm finished.  You will also need a small chip brush or a sponge brush.

I prefer the chip brush for getting into all the grooves of the carving.

The table and chair before painting....

One coat of primer....  

 Two coats of Seashell in my all time favorite paint, Benjamin Moore Advance Satin... 

Apply the glaze with a chip brush and make sure to get in all the crevices.  I worked the glaze into this section between the legs and then with a cotton rag (husband's old t-shirt works great) rubbed off the excess, leaving the glaze in the crevices.  Only work a small section at a time.  If you apply glaze to the entire piece it will be too tacky to work with and to rub off.   I then took an artist's mop brush or you can use a small Purdy paint brush to gently stroke and soften the glaze that clings in the recessed areas.  Don't brush hard or you'll pull all the glaze out.  Once again lightly buff with a cotton rag.  If you rub too much glaze off, just reapply and repeat until you are happy.

I wanted just a very subtle glazing to bring out the detailing on this table.  

Very subtle...

By the way, notice the vinyl table cloth under my table?  These are cheap and make great drop cloths for projects like this.

I'm linking up with Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday...

Winter Folk Art Painting

Remember in a previous post that I mentioned an older painting that I had done on a round tray and how I wanted to paint it on a canvas?  I started it before Christmas and have finally gotten back to it.  I'll share a couple photos of the stages that it's going through.

This is my least favorite stage of a painting.  It doesn't look like much, but I have to get through this point to get to the fun part.

Life in general is kind of like that too don't you think?  We can't start at the top.  Every year I go through this with my artwork.  It seems like I've been working on the basics for years and slowly and painstakingly working my way up.  So, each year I have to reassess where I am and set goals.  That's what I've been doing and why I haven't been blogging much lately.  

I'm now at the fun part of the painting and will be making some changes here and there to make it fit the canvas.  Which is much like making some changes to my business and making it fit into my life at this stage of the game.  I'm ready for new challenges how about you?  

Below is the original painting that I did on a tray years ago.  This painting, Home For the Holidays, was on the front cover of my Christmas instruction book several years ago.  I'll keep you posted on how this painting is evolving.

This past weekend was our sweet daughter, Amber's, birthday.  

Happy Birthday sweetie!