Creating Christmas Ornaments with Eastside

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  We are having beautiful cold weather this week in California and it is beginning to feel like Christmas. Come inside and have a cup of tea and freshly baked gingerbread and relax for a few minutes while I share with you the beautiful Christmas ornaments Marilyn taught our Eastside Art Group to make.

Let's join Bentley. my Studio Assistant, to look at the ornaments that we made in my studio.

Marilyn showed us how to pour special glue inside the ornaments and swirl it around and then add glitter, mica and various materials - she even showed us how to add floor wax - yes floor wax to the ones with glitter!

Every time we create together - each artist's individual style shows through.

Linda is very creative and whimsical and  used Epsom salts in hers to look like snow and made "melting snowmen".

Jacki loves the color orange and she created orange ornaments.  Libby likes turquoise and she used a lot of turquoise in hers,

I wanted mine to have a cottage look and used red check ribbons, added Epsom salts in the bottom with red berries and a sprig of pine.

I like to start decorating for Christmas after Thanksgiving and this year plan to keep things very simple using greenery and seashells with touches of red check.  I used the star shape basket filled with sea shells as a base for my new ornaments.

I love to use the red and white check cushions for Christmas and  how festive they look this time of year.

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

We are so thankful for the rain we have had recently- our Iceberg Roses love it and are making up for lost time by blooming one more time before the end of the year.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,
Erin

                      "Let  the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice."  1 Chronicles 16:31

Fall Gathering

Welcome. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and rest with a cup of hot spiced tea. I am so happy that you stopped by.  This is the time of year that I try and slow down from art and gallery shows and take time to count my blessings and say Thank You to everyone who takes time out of their busy days to visit my blog, leave  me lovely comments and send me e-mails.  I am so grateful  to you and all of my blog friends for brightening my days all through the year.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, to go on a little garden tour to gather our pumpkins to take them to the Soup kitchen to use for pumpkin pies and look for flowers to take to my church to decorate the tables for our  Thanksgiving annual community gathering to feed the homeless and those in need.

Thank you for stopping by.  Wishing you and your family a Peaceful, Happy and Joyful Thanksgiving.

Blessings,  Erin
                                               

                                 "To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."  Romans 8:6

Painting Fall Pansies

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 with you the inspirations for my art.  The weather is perfect to plant Fall Pansies - cool nights and warm days.  I have been extra busy getting ready for another art show next week and have missed posting for you.  Let's join Bentley, My Studio Assistant. to look for Pansies to paint for the show.

I love using one of my ladders to display the Pansies when the start trailing down the sides of their post.

I came up with a new line of small 3x3 paintings called "Joyful Greetings"  for the art show and used the Pansy blooms as inspirations for the first test ones.

Thank you for sopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.  I hope to start back with my weekly posts in a few weeks as I will be done with art shows for the year.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin

                   "Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates."  Proverbs 8:34

Whimsical "Yarn Bombing" at Sherman Gardens

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  Today I am taking you with me to the Sherman Library and Gardens where we will have a glass of ice tea in their beautiful Tea Garden shown in the photo above.  I am participating in their first Artisan Fair and Art Show in November and my space will be located in the Tea Garden.  I went to take photos of my space so I can start working on my booth and it turned out they are having a fun and whimsical "yarn bombing" exhibit throughout the garden and I knew that you would enjoy going with me.


The library and gardens are located on 2.2 acres in Newport Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway a short distance from the Pacific Ocean.

The yarn bombed wheelbarrow greets visitors and was created by volunteers in the community and the exhibit represents hundreds of hours of labor and miles of yarn.

There are gardens filled with native, exotic, and desert plants with patios, conservatories and shade structures.They serve delicious food at the lovely Cafe Jardin and Tea Garden Creperie, and afternoon tea  in the gardens by reservations only.

             The entrance to one of the shade structures was the beginning of the yarn bombing.

          One of the whimsical Pelicans made from drift wood and shells greets you.

                                Tropical Palm trees grow through the shade structures.

The volunteers call themselves "Yarn Bombing Bandits" and their agenda is to bridge the generational divide, support community art and remind the world that without plants, we cannot knit, breathe, eat, or live!  Their  charming "bandit" photos are posted throughout the garden.

Humor is a major component of yarn bombing, which by its nature embodies contradictory idiosyncrasies within itself.

Thank you for stopping by.   I hope you enjoyed your little whimsical yarn bomb tour. I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.

I am busy painting lots of new small paintings to show at the Artisan Fair in November and will be poping in from time to time to share some of my new small works.

Have a lovely week.   Blessings, Erin

"When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you."  Proverbs 6:22