Snowflake Button Ornaments

Funny how even our mistakes can turn in to something beautiful... 

I was making a Christmas card last evening ~ getting frustrated

because it wasn't turning out as well as I'd hoped.  

Instead of scrapping the entire mess, 

I decided to cut out what I liked most...

a little snowflake made of buttons.

I used the other side of the card to make a second.  

Now that I've got the process down, I'll gladly share it with you...

Supplies:
white or off-white card stock (I used a plain greeting card)
fine-tipped permanent black marker
metallic pearl white acrylic paint
small paintbrush
various buttons
flat-backed clear acrylic gems
craft glue
scissors
white or off-white glitter


Write... Let it Snow in cursive, in somewhat straight lines down the paper.  The best sections are where I didn't write very well... they're more interesting.

Paint... a thin layer of the pearly white over the words.

Buttons...  I used 12 small buttons and 1 med/lg button for the center.  I played around with different combinations until I found something I liked.  If you've got buttons that are the right size but too bright, you can lightly paint them with the pearly white to tone down the color.

Glue... an acrylic gem in to the center of the large button.  Glue that down on the paper, making sure to leave plenty of room for the rest of the buttons.  Glue the small buttons down in their rows, then let everything dry for a few minutes.

Cut... around the buttons in a hexagon shape.  Cut out small triangles from between the button rows to reveal your snowflake.

Glitter... Place a few dots of glue here and there, and sprinkle glitter over your beautiful creation... done!

Here's a card I made with one of the snowflakes:

"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven."

 ~ Author Unknown ~

Little Red House

Yesterday I stumbled upon a cute little freebie... a printable wintry house at twelve22.  I thought it was so cute that I printed one out for both of my kids (ages 4 & 6).

As luck would have it, there was also a blank version... so I printed that one out for myself.

My little boy colored his with blue and green crayons and a red ink pen.  We worked on it together while his sister was still at school.  When my daughter got home she got busy on her own.  She's in to details, and had me cut the door and gate so they could swing open and closed.

This morning I grabbed my copy.  I penciled in details first and then added watercolors.  I lightly coated it with clear acrylic spray to protect the paint.  I love the result!  I may just make a few more for around the house... what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy PPF!!

Printable gift tags

I've been looking for free images 

I could combine to create Christmas gift tags.  

There are so many beautiful graphics out there,

it can be hard to decide what to use!

Just click on the picture you want.

Next select 'view image.'

Click again to enlarge the picture.

Select 'save image as' to save to your computer.

The images should print out on a full page.

I found this Victorian Santa with little girl here, 

and the circular frame here.

I created this set of tags using a simple watercolor I painted. 

I like the slightly intertwined look of the branches.

I'll be posting more sets as I finish them.  

I printed these out on card stock, and plan on embellishing them 

with a little gold glitter and a gold leaf pen...

Hope everyone's having a great Friday!!

Happy PPF!

An Old Acquaintance

 

This painting reminds me of a tree from my childhood.  I'm not sure what kind it was... an apple or cherry I think... but it stood all alone in the middle of a field near our home.  It was a very beautiful tree, with a naturally pleasing shape, which made it stand out even more.  We used to take walks there as a family, sit in the shade, and play around its branches.  As a little girl I always felt good after 'visiting' the tree... as if it were another being who benefited from my company.  

 

 

When we moved to another home, one of the last things we had to say goodbye to, was the tree.  That was about 16 years ago.  I've taken that dead-end, dirt road by my childhood home a handful of times since then.  Every time I check on our tree, and you know what?  

There are now homes in that once empty field.  

The tree is still there, only it doesn't seem as lonely anymore.

And that makes me happy.  

Hope you enjoyed my tribute to an old friend,

in words and watercolor...

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines."

 

~ Henry David Thoreau ~ 

 

Hope you're having a great day!!
Happy PPF!

October Sketches

 Fall is officially here in Ohio!

The weather is cooler and leaves are changing... and the sun is shining! 

Before long farmers will be in the fields reaping the harvest 

and families will be picking out pumpkins to carve...

Here's a sketch I did Wednesday evening in the spirit of the season...

...and here it is after I added watercolors this morning.

Much better!

Here's my work-in-progress...

I envisioned this as a home added on to over time.  

The Saltbox could've been built in the 1800's, 

but the front porch added some time in the Victorian era.

I'm happy with the house itself, but now I think it needs something going on it the background... or does it?  What are your thoughts?

I had to share this pencil drawing by my daughter 

for her Kindergarten teacher.

 

She brought the drawing up to me and asked,

"Can you just help me write the words?" 

So we sat down together, and she carefully wrote every letter, 

and then gave them extra beauty with curls or feathers.

It took awhile to finish it ~ but she was so proud 

to give this drawing to her teacher!

I know that was a lot, but it's been a busy week!

Happy PPF!

Little Red Riding Hood

I started sketching this girl in the woods yesterday afternoon.  It didn't take long before she started looking like Little Red Riding Hood.  I'm not sure what season she went to her grandmother's house in the story, but doesn't Autumn seem to fit?  

I love the wind blowing her hood and cape, 

and the leaves twirling down around her.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Go ahead and visit

Paint Party Friday... 

see what other artists 

have been up to this week!

Happy PPF everyone!

Timeless Beauty

You never know when inspiration will strike... as I was visiting everyone else's blogs & checking out their art last week, I stopped at Faye's Adventures in Art.  Seeing her lovely lady reminded me I hadn't done any sketches of women in quite some time.  Here's some of my work leading up to this week...

~ Collage of a few high school sketches from about 10 years ago ~

~ Christmas card angel from 7 years ago ~

 

~ ... and here is my sketch from this week ~

I titled this post after her.  

She's acquired a few wrinkles over time, but is still beautiful.  

It looks like she's thinking about something amusing... 

or maybe she just knows something we don't know.

Thanks for visiting!
Happy PPF!

  

Also have to add...  

my brother is getting married Saturday!  

It's also his birthday ~ how cool is that?

Congratulations Evan & April!!

Love is... patient and kind; 
love is not jealous or boastful;
it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things ~ believes all things ~ hopes all things.

~Paul (A.D. First Century) 1 Corinthians 13:4-7~

Wintertime Cabins

With dropping temperatures come thoughts of preparation for the holidays... they'll be upon us before we know it.  So... this week I've been working on a few Christmas cards.  I like to give them directly to the recipient if I can... that way I'm sure it arrives safely.  It's also fun to tell them what inspired the artwork.

I love creating a 'feeling' such as in this card... I can sense the warmth from a fire burning inside, and candles flickering in the windows.  Wouldn't you love coming home to this?

As my friends and family could tell you, I love including cabins in winter scenes.  I just found a stash of cards my mom insisted I keep instead of handing out.  I'm glad I listened, as it's nice to reflect on some of my earlier work.  (Thanks Mom!) 

The card below is from 2004.  I can remember drawing this one because I spent so long getting it just right.  With this one, it feels as if I'm looking down at a home where everyone's nestled in for a long winter's nap...

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home."  

~ Edith Sitwell

Hope everyone's enjoying their day!  

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy PPF!

Summer & Winter

These watercolors were painted on the same day.  Six days before I had my first child, I woke up early with the idea in my head to paint something special for my daughter.  I think part of me knew soon I'd have little time to pull out paints & brushes.  The entire day was pure bliss, sitting there painting and dreaming...

Summer scene... I feel happy studying this one.  

I also find myself wanting to see what's just around the bend.

Winter scene... so peaceful.  

It took some time to paint the sky, but I think it was worth it.

The original idea was to paint all four seasons, but I just never got back to paint 'Spring' or 'Autumn'.  For now ~ I like the pair and the memory behind them ~ I'll save the other seasons for another day...

That beautiful season... Summer

I fell in love with these summertime quotes.  I couldn't decide on just one or two, so I thought I'd share them instead, with all of you...  Hope you enjoy, and have a beautiful day!

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."  ~Bern Williams

Oh, the summer night
Has a smile of light
And she sits on a sapphire throne.
~Barry Cornwall

 "What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade."  ~Gertrude Jekyll

No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer.
~James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal, 1848

"In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day.  No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them."  ~Aldo Leopold

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the 

clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."

~John Lubbock

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."  ~Henry James

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; 

and the landscape lay as if new...

Created in all the freshness of childhood.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

A life without love is like a year without summer.  
~Swedish Proverb