It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas in our Kitchen

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  Today my door is open to welcome you into my cozy kitchen that smells like gingerbread to have a cup of tea and relax from the Thanksgiving festivities.  I like to relax on the day after Thanksgiving and stay away from the shopping crowds and start decorating my kitchen and bake gingerbread men.

Bentley, my Studio Assistant, is waiting at the front door to welcome you into our kitchen.

Have a seat in the old blue chair and relax with your tea and gingerbread.

The English book "The Flower Shop Christmas"  is one of my favorite books for natural inspirations 

I like to keep the Christmas decorations simple and use greens, berries, and pots of herbs to decorate.  The potted herbs will later be used as gifts for family and friends.

I use the red rooster plates at Christmas and use my blue and white plates as chargers for them.

I use old chipped cups and tea pots to plant bulbs and herbs in. I found several of the adorable plaid tea pots at the Goodwill - they were only a dollar since the lids were missing - I use them every year in the kitchen.

This group of bulbs were planted in mugs that can be re-used for tea or coffee as they will be favors at one of my Holiday luncheons.  The parsley containers are for a friend who loves to cook.

The herbs love the morning light in the kitchen.

Bentley loves hanging out in the kitchen waiting for the gingerbread men and women to come out of the oven in hopes of getting a treat.

Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments, e-mails and those who follow my blog.  

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin

For those of you asking about my little ETSY shop - I am happy to let you know that it is open now and  I am having a 15% off sale until 12-30-14 - the discount code is:  Sale15off.  I will be adding new small works often so you may want to check back for the new paintings. A few samples of the art are shown below.

"May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance."  Jude 1:2

Painting Sunflowers and Fall Gatherings

Welcome I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of tea while I share the inspirations for my art. My church hosts an annual Thanksgiving dinner for anyone in need the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  I volunteer to make floral arrangements for the 20 plus tables and gather flowers, leaves, berries, pumpkins and vintage containers from my garden to use for the decorations - I call it my "fall gatherings"  and it is a joyful occasion to be able to share my bounty. After the meal we take the pumpkins to the food bank so they can be used to make pies.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, in the garden to start our fall gatherings and look for Sunflowers to paint

I take this sign to use with pumpkins and flowers at the entrance of the dining hall.

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After the dinner I donate the flowers to our church to use for Thanksgiving decorations.

I picked up a bunch of lovely Sunflowers from the farmers market to use  and could not resist painting them before making the floral arrangements.

                                                    A little "art in the garden".

This is the perfect time of the year to express my gratitude to all of my blog readers and to thank you for your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.
  
                        Wishing you and your family a Joyful Thanksgiving.  Blessings, Erin



"And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love". Corinthians 13:13

Let's Visit Blue Denim Design Studio

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  Today you are invited to go with me to visit Libby Williamson and her magical design studio,Blue Denim Design,located in a charming old cottage in Old Town Orange, California.  She is hosting our monthly Eastside Art Group and the perfect time to give you a tour.

Libby is an artist, teacher and designer and her main focus is working with fabric.Her work is happy, uplifting and whimsical and features subjects from nature like birds, butterflies and plants to whimsical little houses. It is always a treat when she teaches one of our art group's monthly classes and today she will be teaching us to work with clay and alcohol inks.

Libby teaches a class called " Romancing Your Flag" where her students are able to embellish their old flags rather than have them destroyed.  The flag is not defaced or destroyed - the students bring sentimental family items such as old pieces of lace, watches, belts, bits of fabric or quilts, military metals, neck ties, etc. and attach the items to the flag.  It becomes a beautiful  memory that will last for many years.

Libby is waiting for us to give us a little tour.

The cottage is filled with light and joy.  Libby covered her work desk with old vintage sewing patterns.

  
                                        Cheerful colors are every where!

                                    Libby's sewing area is as colorful as her art.

                       Her fiber art is lovely and this is one of my favorite flower pieces.

Her color scheme leans towards clear and bright colors - teal-blue - greens - pinks - mixed with neutrals.

        Some of the paintings she created at on of our Eastside Art Group' s classes at my studio.

                               She also does reverse glass painting as seen below.

                            I love this piece that she reverse painted on an old vintage window

Libby also teaches classes for children - this is one of the summer projects she taught her students to sew to decorate their bedrooms with.

                           Her miniature fabric canvases are adorable!

Libby is a big supporter of other artists and has a wonderful collection of whimsical art mixed in with art she has created at various work shops over the years. 

In addition to art, teaching and design Libby has been involved in community service teaching art to women in transition at Isaiah House in Santa Ana, and is presently raising funds for a co-worker at Dragonfly Shops and Gardens recently diagnosed with ALS.


Her art can be viewed at her  studio  located in the yellow cottage next to the popular Dragonfly Shops and Gardens at 260 N. Glassell St., Old Town Orange, Ca - phone - 714 289-4689 or contact her at 714 904-9432 for information about her classes and art work.  She will also be at the "A Holiday Affaire" show on December 6-7th from 10-4 located at 345 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627 along with some of the other artists in our Eastside Art Group and a number of fabulous artists.

Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.  Please let me know if you have any questions or would lie to see me paint something special.


Have a joyful week.  Blessings, Erin


                                 "May mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance."  Jude 12