Christmas Cottage Garden

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.  The recent rains and cold weather really helped our gardens in Southern California and Christmas flowers are now in full bloom.  Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, in the garden to show you some of the plants and flowers we are growing and ideas for simple and inexpensive Christmas gifts for our garden friends as well as fun ways to add pops of color to your winter garden.

The white Campanula's make wonderful little gifts for a teacher or neighbor and bloom for a month or so in a pot - add a cute gift tag and red bow for an instant little gift from the garden.

The living Christmas tree made it through our drought and is ready to be taken inside for a few weeks.

I love to use ladders in the garden for display and to add height .

The little snowmen paintings are a fun way to add a touch of Christmas whimsy to the garden and also made fun little gifts.  There are lots of instructions on how to paint them under Art 101 that can be found on my blog header.

Bulbs planted in cute containers make great gifts and the containers can be reused.  The Asparagus Ferns are so pretty and fluffy and look so festive with a cute pick, Christmas tag or red bow tied around the pot - they are one of my favorite gifts to give and I grow lots of them this time of year. Primroses are starting to bloom and they are fun little gifts to tuck in a basket of goodies.

Vintage boxes are great to use as containers to hold potted gifts.

Containers of herbs also make great gifts.

A cute tea pot with a missing lid makes an adorable container for a small ivy plant - this one is for a teacher friend.

I bring out the red and white check indoor/outdoor cushions for Christmas.  The reindeer cushions are new and I purchased them at a discount store.

The wooden sleigh purchased from a discount store  with several pots makes an adorable gift for a garden friend

A burlap bag makes a fun container for Christmas greens - wrap greens with damp paper towel and put in a plastic baggie to keep them fresh.

Another ladder adds interest and height to a corner in the garden.  The old funnel makes a fun planter for a pot of winter Primroses.

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I found the vintage bird house welcome sign at a flea market for $5.00.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Holiday Blessings,  Erin

                              "Let your good spirit lead me on a level path."  Psalm  143:10

Paint Along with New Snowman Paintings

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My studio is always open for you to come in and sit and relax for a few minutes with a cup of tea while I share with you the inspirations for my art.  One of my customers asked me to paint little snowmen canvases using burlap or burlap trim/ribbon etc.  that she could use as favors on the table at a Christmas luncheon.  She is using burlap table runners - tiny red and green apples, red berries and bright green leaves for decorations and wanted the base color on the canvases to be a bright green.

I thought it would be fun to share the process with you in the event you want to make your own.  Bentley. my Studio Assistant, is waiting to welcome you into the studio.

I have two snowmen with the reds and apple greens similar to the colors she  wants for her Christmas luncheon

The indoor/outdoor chair cushions on the wicker rockers are the perfect colors.

I used 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 gallery wrapped canvases as you can see by the photo below that the gallery wrapped canvases stand on their own and are perfect for a table setting.  You can paint yours on any size - they would be cute on blocks of wood or traditional canvas.  

I used the reds and greens on the burlap to echo the colors the hostess is using.

The little canvases stand well on their own and make charming little table decorations.

I found 5x5 burlap canvases at Aaron Brother for 50% off.  The burlap canvas is a little difficult to paint on as it does not take the paint as well as the cotton canvas.  I used white gesso to paint the burlap canvas snowmen bodies and 2 coats of heavy body liquitex to paint the hats, scarf and details.  

I used liquitex heavy body in a bright green to base coat the cotton canvas snowmen and painted the bodies and details with liquitex heavy body paint.  You can use craft paint - it is much thinner and will take 2-3 coats - however - it will work just as well.

I bought squares of burlap made by Mat Stack and found the sheets were easier to use than actual burlap material off a blot.  I was able to fringe the edges before gluing to the canvas and thought it gave it a nice look.

Below is a sample snowman drawing  - you can also find other  snowmen and snowlady drawings and instructions under Art 101 on the navigation bar at the top of my blog.

I added  a small screw eye hook on top of the square gallery wrapped canvas to add a little ribbon for decoration. Use caution in adding decorations or details to your paintings that small children or pets  may put in their mouth. 

For this one I attached  a piece of burlap cloth to the painted canvas using Liquitex gel medium to the top and bottom - you can also use mod podge to attach the burlap to the canvas.  The white body was painted with white gesso and the details painted with heavy body liquitex.  A small screw eye hook was attached to the top of the canvas to use to attach the ribbon and burlap.  The one below was painted on the mat stack sheet and I like the way the paint looks better on the square than on the actual canvas burlap - it reminds me of an old fashion sampler.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those who follow my blog.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

'Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin


                                         "Always be full of joy in the Lord."  Philippians 4:4

Let's Paint a Whimsical Fall Owl Together

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.  Today we are going to paint a very simple and whimsical  Owl together.Our beautiful Fall weather is still holding in Southern California and it is a perfect day for us to be in the garden looking for inspiration for our Owl.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, to look for inspiration. He has been patiently waiting for you to come into the garden.

Last week I mentioned in my post that it would be fun to paint a whimsical Owl inspired by my new garden pillows with Owls. I received a flood of e-mails from readers saying "yes" to painting a simple Owl.

I painted my Owl on a 6x6 canvas.  You can also paint yours on a wood plaque that can be purchased at your local craft store.  First, base coat in a color of your choice - I used a light green.  I also use Liquiex heavy body paint.  Next draw the outline of the Owl - the whimsical Owl is a simple U shape with little ears.  Next draw two large circles and then the eyes.  I originally planned to paint a tree branch for the Owl to stand on and changed my mind and decided to paint a Sunflower branch.

PI painted my Owl in several shades of brown.  Owl eyes are yellow with  dark pupils and the beak is an orange.

After you paint the entire Owl - add small lines around the circle of the eyes and little brush strokes to give the feel of feathers.  I also added Sunflowers as they remind me of Fall and added an eye hook on top and threaded burlap ribbon through to give  a finished look.

The new Owl has taken his place in the garden along with the other little whimsical Fall paintings.

Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your comments, e-mails, visits and those who follow my blog.   Please let me know if you have any questions about painting your Owl.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin

                     "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go".  Psalm 32:8