Friday Feature

Today's Friday's Feature is one of my Designing Artists Women's Group on Etsy (DAWG Team), Elisa Chong aka SexyMermaid on Etsy. I picked her because she does faeries and Mermaids and with Halloween around the corner I thought it was appropriate. I love her  watercolors...so whimsical!  I had a hard time picking just one of them for this blog so I picked TWO!

Elisa Chong is a full time artist who loves to paint fantasy art, mostly of mermaids, faeries and other cute and fantastic creatures in vibrant, fun, colorful watercolors.She also creates illustrations, custom tattoo design and conceptual art.

Besides painting, she loves to grow and collect roses, listen to great music, cook delicious international recipes, and draws almost 24 hours a day.

So go visit Elisa's Etsy shop. Here's the link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/sexymermaid?ref=pr_shop_more

Bring on the Ghouls, Ghosts & Goblins

It will soon be Halloween...ghosts & goblins...pumpkins & halloween candy...trick or treat.

I so enjoy handing out the candy and seeing all the costumes and talking to the kids. And then watching the kids who come back for a second time, once with a mask and once without thinking you wouldn't know they were just there. LOL

If it's a pleasant evening  my neighbors and I will sit outside on folding chairs handing candy out to the kids walking by. So bring on the ghouls, ghosts and goblins and the little princesses, fairies and witches!
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The  watercolor ACEO pictured above is available in my Etsy shop...here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/32023859/aceo-miniature-watercolor-hallonight

What a couple of days!

Well what a couple of days. I went to VA Beach but before I left my kiln malfunctioned and didn't shut off. It fired so hot it burned through the fire brick. Something woke me up at 5 am. I went into the garage and everything was hot to the touch... It's a wonder my house didn't ignite. I threw open the garage door & manually shut off the kiln.  Later I went out to buy a new kiln. When I came home I thought I'd try to salvage some of the porcelain but most of it was fired so hot it stuck to the kiln & kiln furniture.

That is with 2 exceptions... .2 cross "rosary" boxes similiar to the one pictured which I had painted the Blessed Mother on!  All the other china paints were fired completely out of the other porcelain but these 2 pieces had the faint image of Mary on them.  I personally believe that she protected me & my house. My bedroom sits right over the garage.  She woke me I'm sure.  I store gasoline, paints, denatured alcohol  & other flammable chemicals in the garage and nothing ignited!

Well then in trying to save the china, I cut my hand...with only 3 hours before I left for Virginia Beach. It wouldn't stop bleeding so I went to the Urgent Care and they put 2 stitches in my left index finger.  I'm left handed! And then they gave me a tetanus shot. So for the weekend with my cousins I had a sore finger, sore arm and then from the reaction to the shot had flu like symptoms, a headache and couldn't stay awake!  We went to Mass Sunday before we left and I was getting sick in Mass & even started having a panic attack. My daughter drove home because I was so drowsy.  What a weekend!

Today I feel much better but it's so hard to type. It takes me forever. Now I have a new kiln and I'm $1500 in the hole. I have to do a hot fire to cure it and I'm a little bit nervous .  It is programmable so it will be safer than the old 25 year old kiln. But I'm still nervous.

How Lucky I Am!

Waking up early at my cousin's beach house, I can't help think how lucky I am to have the family I do. From the time we were kids to now when we have our own kids (and some grand kids) we have kept that family connection and love.  My cousins in Virginia Beach had a father who was in the Navy and so they lived many places but yet we all managed to stay close.

It's been a while since I've been here because of my parent's health problems but when we get together it is like we have never been separated and haven't aged a day. I know the mirror will argue with that but my eyes see something different.  It's wonderful to get those big hugs and spend time together up until the wee hours of the morning telling stories, laughing, eating and having cocktails. 


I know this trip will be over too soon and it will be like when I was a kid and would come with my parents to their parent's house out by Lake Smith. We will hug and cry and I will feel like there is a hole left in my heart until I get those big Polish hugs again.
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The ACEO pictured is a water color called "Waiting for Daddy". When I painted it, it was inspired by my cousins whose Dad was in the Navy...here's the link on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/57548532/aceo-watercolor-original-waiting-for

Friday Feature

DollsandBunnies is my feature today.  Ella is a member of my Old Farmhouse Gathering team.  She is  a wife and mother of 9 children and 6 grandchildren.






Ella has been a doll maker for many years making a variety of dolls and other crafts. She tries  to make each one unique with a special character.  Carefully and lovingly made by hand they will make a wonderful gift or even as  a treat for you!

Ella says, "These are dolls that will make your heart melt. They have endearing charm and are a sure treasure for young and old." So drop by Ella's shop on Etsy. Here is the link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/dollsandbunnies?ref=seller_info Pictured here is my personal favorite, Dorothy. Here's the link to Dorothy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/36192958/dorothy

Something to Crow About

Crows are fascinating little critters. There are lots of them in my yard these days.  Did you know?

Crows are considered to be one of  the most adaptable and intelligent birds in the world. They have their own little language which is very evolved and varied. They can mimic animal sounds. They are pretty smart! They can even associate the noises with distribution of food! You can find them all over north America and they will live successfully in cities or suburban areas with humans.

Night time is the favorite time for crows to roost and in the winter they'll roost in flocks of thousands. Smaller groups will fly during the day to fifty miles to find food.
Crows will eat just about anything available: insects, small amphibians and snakes, earthworms, eggs and nestling birds, and clams, mussels, and other salt-water invertebrates. They will eat carrion, garbage, and wild and cultivated fruit and vegetables.

Crows prefer coniferous trees and will build their nests of branches in twigs in woods or isolated trees at least sixty feet above ground. That's probably why there are so many in my yard....good habitat for them.


Crows have quite the good little family life going on. They lay 4-6 eggs. Both parents share in the care of the eggs. Of those hatchlings one young bird will hang around to help the parents through the next nesting season in caring for the new babies. They'll bring them food and guard the nest.
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The wooden hang tag pictured above is painted in acrylic and is available in my Etsy shop. Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/42517293/handpainted-wood-primitive-tag-black

Some facts you may not know...

..and neither did I until recently when I was watching a program which reminded me about this watercolor ACEO I painted a while ago.

Chief Sitting Bull was a fascinating person. He was Lakota chief and holy man. He also had nerves of steel & was a visionary. In the middle of a battle in1872 he led four warriors out between the battle lines, sat down & shared a pipe with them as bullets flew. He he put out the pipe and nonchalantly walked away.

Another time he was doing a dance ritual, offering prayers to the Great Spirit, and he slashed his arms one hundred times as a sacrifice.  While all this was going on he had a vision where he saw soldiers falling into the Lakota camp like grasshoppers falling from the sky. Turns out that came true when Custer...remember him....charged Sitting Bull's camp. Of course Custer was outnumbered, took his "last stand" and was slaughtered.


After a few years, he couldn't feed his people anymore. Seems the buffalo was nearly extinct so he surrendered.  he was sent to a reservation where he wasn't welcomed and as a result he was then sent to Ft. Randall to be kept like a prisoner of war for a couple years.

 In 1883, Sitting Bull was sent back to rejoined his tribe. The Indian agent in charge of the reservation,wasn't too fond of him and forced him to work in the fields. Later he was permitted to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for a few months before returning back to his home.  But that didn't end it.

He had another one of his visions  this time of  a meadowlark and heard it say, "Your own people, Lakotas, will kill you."  Sitting Bull went to join another group of Indians in some kind of dance to rid the world of white people. People were still afraid of his power and 43 lakota policeman came to put him in custody but a gunfight broke out and he was hit in the head with a bullet.

What a brave man. 

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If you are interested in the ACEO here's the link from my shop.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/14945922/watercolor-aceo-chief-sitting-bull-ooak