Finished at last!!! Summertime Globe

Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to finish this globe and to use a fireworks theme. I had a terrible time locating a pattern to use for the central theme and finally wrote to Terrye French, asking for help. I cannot begin to tell you what a nice lady she is! She sent me the pattern I needed immediately with the sweetest note. Isn't it wonderful to know that someone who's artwork you have admired for so long is a lovely person? So here is the finished globe.... Terrye's design of saltbox houses and fireworks, and my additions of the prim American flag on top of the globe and the watermelon border on the bottom. I hand lettered a few lines from "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on the opposite side from the little village scene. This was so much fun to paint!!!

Loving Easter Wishes

The warmest and best of Easter wishes to all my blogging friends. When I count my blessings I include each one of you.

Sweet Spring Globe

I finally finished the springtime globe. Although I have always included a church and a variety of prim houses, this is the first time I have tucked a school into the landscape. I don't know why I haven't painted one before now. It seems it would be the natural thing to do after teaching for so many years. My parents, all my aunts and uncles and many cousins were all educators so I guess it was in my genes! Anyway, I am happy with the finished piece and already beginning to plan a summer globe. I am thinking it will be a night scene with fireworks..... what do you think???

Globe Trotter!

I suppose you have guessed by now that I love painting on unusual things. The more of a challenge, the better I say. Globes are a favorite (but wait, I say that about suitcases, coffee pots, baby shoes, kerosene cans and the list goes on and on....). Yes, the globes like your teacher had in her classroom, or the kind that gathered dust on the top shelf in the library. I have been lucky to find all sizes and shapes but I really like the old fashioned, regular kind. I have a series of seasonal globes going.... Autumn and Winter are already complete and living with a great artist friend in North Carolina. Today I started on Spring. Hopefully, I will have it finished in a day or two if nothing major comes my way to disrupt me. Stay tuned...

Bliss Baby Shoe Light

Here is another project from my treasure trove of lovely junk I posted the other day. I chose one of the baby shoes and used it to make a candle light. The music decoupaged on the toe is vintage ephemera. All the buttons are antique and made from shell. I love forget-me-nots (pink of course!) and I used them to encircle the base of the light. The old key hanging from the ribbon shoe lace has a rusty heart affixed to it. This was so much fun to make.

pRiM aUTuMN cAKe cOvER

Here is the first project from the collection of "good stuff" I acquired a couple of days ago. The cake cover, with its acorn knob and acorn and oak leaf border, just begged for an autumn scene. This is a broad interpretation of a pattern I got from Debbie Richey at The Sugar Bucket. I love everything about it, especially that big sunflower! I rubbed the acorn boarder with a metallic copper stamp ink to highlight it. The knob was perfect as it came --- I like to think of all the times it was used to lift the cover off a baker's delight inside.

LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!

I am beside myself with excitement over the great things I found this morning!!! I have been looking for an old cake cover to paint for ages and when I found this beauty I could have jumped for joy!!!! It has an acorn for a handle on top and acorns with leaves are embossed all around it. I already know what I am going to paint on it and can't wait to prime it and get started!!!

I found two great old pot lids, a pair a sweet baby shoes and an ice cream scoop (it will be a snowman!). The little wagon is in pretty sad shape but it had two wonderful wheels that I know I will be able to use some way or another. I am off to prime and paint on this beautiful April Fool's Day.