Happy New Year

 I hope you have all made it through the holidays with your health and sense of humor intact.  It is a stressful time for sure.  We had great fun with the grandkids.  At 4 and 2, they radiate the joy of the season.  Sickness reared it’s ugly head so that our son could not make it here for Christmas.  Luckily he was better and able to join us for New Year’s. 

So now that all the excitement is over, it is time to settle into a routine.  The kids got to school 3 days a week so I hope to use those days for some creative fun.  

Audrey Shantz Art on Instagram is having a daily art challenge.  There is a list of topics. 

I have not done every day but am working on them as I can 

I am making small paintings on scraps of papers. So far I have only had a few minutes here and there todo this.  Maybe next week I can venture to a larger size.  

Adding this to PaintPartyFriday-http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Wishing you a healthy and happy weekend. Thank you for stopping by!

Last minute cards for friends

 I decided to make a few last minute cards for online friends. Each one is different and I had fun with them. 

I should be packing as we leave Sunday to head out west for the winter. Maybe I will get to that later today. 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy weekend! 

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind words! They mean the world to me. 

Adding this to Paintpartyfriday !

All Caught Up?

 The barn sale where I have my cards and ornaments starts today. She hosted a preview party Wednesday. I was there and enjoyed seeing a few people buying my cards and ornaments! I am hoping to do well today and tomorrow. 

I have cleaned the house and addressed all of my cards. The annual Christmas letter is almost done. I only need to buy gifts for my son. He has not given me a list so he may just get gift cards:):) 

All of this means, I am caught up:):) 

So why not get out some paints and make a new mess on the desk. I had an idea in my head, something I have seen in a lot of watercolors. I have lots of acrylic paints I never use, so I got them out. I put a generous coat of greens on the background and then used a cut off fan brush to paint the trees. While it isn't a masterpiece, I had fun. I am trying to explore and see what else I can do:) 

I might just get out more paints this weekend and keep playing! 

Wishing you a healthy and happy weekend! 
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words! 

I appreciate the artists at PaintPartyFriday who inspire me! 

The day after

 It is the day after Thanksgiving. It was just the two of us so I didn't overload on food. We just had a repeat for lunch:) Tonight is pizza. 

I have all of my wood ornaments, canvas ornaments and card finished for next week's sale. Fingers crossed it is a good one. 

I did play with acrylic paint instead of watercolors. I followed You tube tutorials from SurajFine Arts. 

He uses palette knives for much of the work instead of brushes. I also only had liquid paint which is more difficult for this technique. 

But, i had fun and will definitely try this again! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful relaxing and healthy weekend. 

Good Friday morning

 Here we are at the end of another week. 

This week has been all about cards:) Winter/holiday cards for the upcoming show. 

I have learned to work on many cards at once. That way they can be drying and I tend to get better layers. 

I still have many more to make but I have until the end of November. 

Adding this to PaintPArtyFriday. Please visit all the wonderful artists who share their works there. 

 We will be heading north to the cottage to finish putting everything away for the season. My sister had 6 inches of snow up there earlier this week. 

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend!

Rainy Friday

My husband is off visiting the grandkids for the week so I am having lots of time to paint! I am still working on ornaments. I bought a second batch as the show I am in wanted even more:) I also worked on a few cards. 

This is a card I did. I like how it turned out and might do a few more.

And a few more ornaments. I will have 60 when I am finished. 

It is a rainy day which means I cannot get out for a walk as I hoped. So, in the meantime, back to painting!

Adding this to PaintpartyFriday. Please stop over there and visit the many talented artists blogs! 

Thank you for stopping by here. Wishing you all a happy and healthy weekend! 

Fall is here

 Where we are in Michigan, we have gone from summer to fall. Earlier this week it was in the 80s. Today it barley made 50. The leaves have not been changing as they normally do and the rain and wind have already knocked a lot off. 

It is good weather to stay in and create! This week I was working on mixed media canvas ornaments. Here is a sampling of them. I have more blank canvases arriving tomorrow so hope to get even more done. 

We had dinner with friends last weekend, and she bought pumpkins for all of us to carve. I went with an art  theme -- The Scream. 

Some of the changes happening to the trees on our street. 

Adding this to PaintPartyfriday! Please visit all of the wonderful and inspiring artists who post there. 

Thank you for visiting and for your kind words. I wish everyone a safe and healthy weekend!