Here a bunny... there a bunny...

Dressed up bunnies!

With every snow storm I seem to become a little

more determined to rush spring~

We have enjoyed a little bunny friend all winter.

Our furry visitor lives near our garden compost...

Beneath the Forsythia shrubs~

Carrot ends, celery bases, cores... rinds...

All tasty snacks that we toss out a back window

to share while the winter winds continue to cover.

Our friendly rabbit will visit our gardens...

As long as I plant enough~ we can share!

My Etsy store is brimming with little faces!
...at least one tidy spot!
My studio has been a disaster for weeks as I have
been researching, painting, mixed media, carving...
A touch of mad-scientist in my blood~

Hope your weekend is perfect... and a bit messy, too!

Little Feathered Friends in Dresses...

These sweet little girls are in my Etsy store...

All dressed in little spring dresses!

I remember getting a new dress each Easter~

This little tomboy would clean up for one day each year!

Mom would dress my sister and I like twins.

(She is four years older than me)

Tall, thin... olive skin... hazel eyes...

My chubby cheeks are covered with freckles~

We're as opposite as they come!

The pictures look sweet... my oldest sister

made most of our Easter outfits.

I was always tickled to have a new stuffed bunny!

(Even more tickled when the dress was put away...)

These feathered friends seem to like

their little dresses~

Hope you like them, too!

Wishing you a wonderful week~

Happy Valentine's Day & Sunday Sketch...

Wishing you love, friendship... laughs and joy!

Happy Valentine's Day~

I will draw a name from the hat later this evening

for the giveaway in my previous post...

You're not too late!

Giveaway! Baby Bird & Nest Art...

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

~Sweet Springtime Bird and Nest~

Two original pen and ink illustrations on fabric!

Please leave a comment on this post to enter.

Name will be selected on February 14th!

I know our feathered friends will soon be

building cozy nests...

I feel as if our winter "nest" is getting a touch

of cabin fever... yet another snow "event" on the way.

"Event" does make it sound a bit more chipper...

...I think it's time to begin sketching nests,

songbirds and all things fresh & spring-like!

Ooodles of new sketches will be in my Etsy shop soon!

Hope you have a wonderful week~

A new sketch... a gift & planning a giveaway!

A little late with my Sunday sketch...

My Sweet 17 is a joy!

She has a way of making the young, old and

everything in between smile... with her smile~

Little Man 14... well, he gets them to belly-laugh!

I'm a bit behind because as the snow piles high,

So do my deadlines! I'm having a great time

painting several new watercolor programs!

Or as a close-artist-friend stated...

"More goodies for the lazy artists to copy?"

I keep painting because it is what I love to do.

I license my designs because art should be seen.

I have not figured out why other artist

steal ideas, designs... programs... not just mine!

I feel sorry for them.

The joy of art is in the uniqueness!

I LOVE that MY art is one of a kind~

FRESH from my mind...

From my heart...

If certain artists try it too many more times~

My lawyers will be filled with joy!

Onto happy thoughts!

This GORGEOUS TREASURE arrived as a surprise~

A mug mat made by Donna...

Please visit her creative blog Brynwood Needleworks!

I wrote a little note to Donna that I will be framing

my gift~ we have kitty cats that adore

finer things in life and they would consider

this beautiful treasure a perfect nap quilt!

They have cozy beds...

Our laps in the evening...

This mug mat is a masterpiece for my studio!

Thank you, Donna!

A GIVEAWAY!

I've been trying to figure out what to do...

We have reached over 1,000 Etsy sales, Sweet Friends!

I will announce the new giveaway tomorrow...

I'll try to make this one extra-special!

Hope your day is safe!

This has been a very...

eh, what's the word...

very...

PERSISTENT!

Winter........

(smiles!)

Sunday Sketches...

POST UPDATE:

Many of you have asked...

YES!

These have licensed and will be in stores!

As always, sweet friends~ thank you for your

sweet comments, support and for respecting

my original designs...

They are copyright protect... and published.

I will post about the cool products soon!!!

I have a sketch book for this...

A Moleskine journal for that...


This is a special diary that helps to keep me focused.
I want to hear the message~
I wish I could sit nice and make eye contact~
There is so much to see!

The gorgeous sage scarf with the pale mustard polka dots...
Three rows up~
The light patterns on the walls that begin
to look like design elements... or is that an elephant?
The sweet, rosy cheeked, baby that adores his momma
and cannot stop looking at her loving eyes!

I am visual.


When I draw...
I hear the message and learn~
because I'm not distracted.



I'm sure the top of my head is not all that fun
to look at. I try look up. I am interested in
everything the speaker has to share!
I will hear and retain more... if I draw.
I doodled in my notebooks all through
high school and college...
The teachers were not amused...
I tried to break myself of it...
I hear more this way.

So thankful our children
are able to focus better than their mum!


Thought it would be fun to share my Sunday Sketches...
Each Sunday I'll post a new scripture~

Hope you have a fantastic week!

Love banners...

I hope your weekend is filled with...

Love...


Love...

Love!

Sharing some love...

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!

Sweet 17 and I were at a friends house, helping her

sort through years of treasured collections...

As she prepares to move into a very small apartment.

We always love visiting with her...

Listening...

To where she found some of her favorite things.

How she risked life and limb at auctions!

Traveled states away to dealers...

Her visits in Shaker communities...

The most amazing, odd, rare and unique goodies!

We have purchased from her through the years...

She shares with so many~

She is finding her way through this downsize.

"These boxes for the college... this one for the antique

dealer... this one here to a brother, that one a niece...

Libraries... nursing homes..." she is a treasure!

The greatest treasure~

Her love!

We will have to find new projects in our future

visits... perhaps we will scrapbook, organize & journal!

Her heart and mind are filled with stories

we want to preserve for a very long time~

Hope your day is filled with love~

Valentine Illustrations...

Sweet little cheeks and big bright eyes...

All ready to wish someone you love...

A Happy Valentine's Day!

These are a few of my new Etsy treasures~

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Giraffes!

Thank you for your sweet comments!

Our Sweet 17 loves Owls and Giraffes...

These were fun to make~

Just to see her smile!

Hope they make you smile, too!

Birds and mice!


All these new pieces are going to be in my Etsy store!

Do hope you're warm and cozy!
Wishing you all the best~

New Art for Etsy...

Little friends with big hearts...

Feathered friends with little hearts...


Cold hands... warm heart!

Hope your weekend has been perfect~

Carved Stamps...

Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of the holidays~

I was playing.

I'm sure there was a list of things needing attention...

Maybe it was the day the roast was very dry?

Distraction is the cause of many a dry or burnt meals!

Or maybe I was playing on the day set aside to dust...

Ah, keep the lights down low if someone stops by!

Laundry piles indicate I was busy with "other" chores...


When I was in high school I enjoyed Linoleum Printing.
Carving those slippery, tough blocks...
Who needed aerobics?
By the time I had a design hacked out
I was sweatin'!

Through the years they have manufactured the
linoleum in a softer block... I prefer these new
ultra-soft carve blocks for little fun projects that
keep me from my housework.
I could however use the aerobic workout (giggle)


There are several soft products...
Some artists even use white erasers~

Tools n' such

I draw on the block with a soft pencil.

Working in negative space is fun!

Simply leave what you want to print~

Most craft stores carry a starter kit.

Many of the tips and one Speedball tool are from my

college supply box... they haven't changed much.

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

New Friends to Welcome 2011...

Happy New Year!

The morning sky was bright sherbet orange and pink...

Our home glowed for about an hour!

Unseasonably mild temperatures...

Ice jams melting all around us...

The feeder is filled with little feathered friends~

Especially this special little one!

Just before Christmas our Tiny Tim,

A Chickadee love that tried entering through a window,

...needed a little assistance.

After Tiny hit the window he flew down to a

small bush in a little L cove. He was perched/hanging

upside down like a cave bat...

I brought a hand towel out to protect him from

the whipping winds... and had him sitting upright again.

He watched me the whole time...

I pet his head, down his back... he turned and faced me...

After 3-5 minutes another Chickadee flew near my head

and began calling to the injured friend.

He took a small hop to the next bush...


Where they sat and had a pep talk...
He flew off to the feeder and then on his way...

I pet a Chickadee!
I know there are several trails nearby where they
have trained the Chickadees to perch and feed
from your hands...
I think that is very sweet... but this was special.

Wishing you sweet surprises for 2011!
Hope your year is filled with laughter, joy and
ooodles of creative moments~


Thank you for sharing your time with me~