Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Are you lovin' my sweet Nellie? I think she's the bomb. If you're not a primitive lover, you probably won't understand the love of primitive portraits. The little kids with the small bodies, thick necks and big heads are not for everyone but I tell you, I have a soft spot for these cuties For the longest time I have wanted to add one to my home but as you probably know by now, my house is tiny (and yes, I do mean that literally). When you have such a little house you have to be very picky with what you put in it, lest you end up on one of next season's episodes of Hoarders. I had looked and looked and had not found one that I loved so it was put on my home's "wish list". Then, in late Winter Cynthia Ereksen posted a Saturday workshop for a "Primitive Portrait" and sight unseen, I signed up.
I've never been disappointed in any of the pieces I have painted with Cynthia and this one was no exception. As soon as I saw her I knew it was just meant to be. Notice she is learning to stitch... coincidence? Nah. Destiny! She was meant for me to paint and was well worth the wait.Isn't she the cutest thing ever? Look at that sweet little face, and her fancy little dress. Oh, I just love her. Now I just have to find her a spot in my tiny little love shack; I know there's bound to be a spot for her... I just have to find it, LOL!

Hope you're month is on a roll too. Is it really the ninth already? Wow! Time does fly when you're having fun...

Floorcloth, Done!

This Winter has been so hard. It really has. I feel like my poor heart has taken a beating, along with my little house. We are both recovering from a long hard season and I am sooo happy that it is behind us. Spring is playing tricks on us but this weekend it actually made an appearance and for that I am grateful.

I drove to the seacoast this weekend to paint a wonderful floorcloth at a seminar with Cynthia Erekson. It was a day of shared love and appreciation for painting. It was a little challenging to try a new surface (canvas) , and even more challenging to paint with folks that have so many more years of painting experience than I have, but all in all, I held my own and walked away with a beautiful piece for my home.

I will be framing it behind a window that still needs to be painted but having finished the main part, I feel that the rest is a breeze (famous last words!)

I hope your weekend was filled with fun and that you too are dreaming of warmer days when your spirits will soar by just standing outside in the sun without a jacket. I can't wait! Have fun this week!

A Day at JB Woods

JB Woods is a company that makes one of my favorite things in the world, unfinished wood painting surfaces. Oh, I could hear my heart thumping as I walked the isles of their warehouse and thought of all the hours I could spend in painting bliss if someone would just lock me up there with some paint (and jelly belly beans). Oh, the treasures in the making that they had on their shelves...

Ahhh, I was in heaven. And, I was in good company, as you can see.I spent the day painting with Cynthia Erekson and a group of ladies who shared my love for her work. We painted her Lazy Lamb Farm design on a Workbench Widget Box. My box is still a work in progress (just call me Chatty Brenda, OK?), but you can see how cool it's going to look in the pic above. Cynthia is holding her sample, the pic doesn't do it justice. It was amazing.

Here is what I have done so far:and here is a close up of my little guy fishing. The coolest thing about painting with Cynthia is that her designs are fast, fun and easy. All her patterns have a story and this one was that the little man was fixing the fence (see the toolbox and all the broken fence parts in the scene???) but he was taking a break and decided he was going to spend it fishing. I never think of a painting as being a story but when I paint with her she always has one and I think that's part of what makes her work so wonderful. It's storytelling at its finest.

I'll post a pic of the box as soon as it's done. Hopefully later today.

Gotta finish it before it becomes an UFO or worse, I lose one of the parts... not that THAT's ever happened to me, LOL!

Hope your weekend is full of fun too.

Holiday Santa, Done!

The sun did not shine but the rain stopped long enough for me to rush outside and snap a few pictures of my wonderful Holiday Santa.
This is a Cynthia Erekson Design. The pattern has not yet been released but she taught it at weekend workshop I was fortunate enough to have attended.
The face looks bright because of the glare but it is not that bright. The other colors are true. He measures 31" high by 11" wide at the widest poing. Isn't he the cutest guy ever?

Update: The pattern for this Santa has been released it is called Snowflake Santa.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

at The Mercado's house. Are you lovin' my Santa? He is almost ready to be "revealed" but it's too dark to take a good pic so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this little sneak peek of what I painted today.

I spent the day painting with Cynthia Erickson and a group of very happy ladies who all had a crush on Santa Baby... Oh he is a cutie, eh? Nothing soothes the soul like a day of painting fun.

Hope your day was filled with wonderful crafty things. If not, there's always tomorrow. Make the most of the weekend by sneaking in a little holiday project of your own; you can do it!!!

Painting Makes My Heart Happy!

If there is one thing, just one thing you could do for yourself... what would it be?
I would spend the day painting. That's what I would do, and that is exactly what I did yesterday. I spent the day painting this gorgeous cabinet. Mind you, this is a photo taken with my Blackberry so it's kind of blurry and dull but I thought I'd take the pic while I wait for the varnish to dry... multitasking, it's my new thing, LOL~!
This design by Cynthia Erickson. She is an amazing primitive folk artist. I am never disappointed in her Seminars. The actual projects we will work on are revealed the day of the workshop. When you sign up for the class it will say something like "jelly cupboard with maritime scene", and you either take it or leave it. Which is great fun for those of us who can't be bothered with the details like what color is it? What size is it? In the end I have decided that it doesn't matter. It's a day of painting fun. No phones,. no laundry, no cooking...no drama. You go, you paint, come home with a wonderful piece that will blend in somehow, somewhere, in your home. It's just awesome.
So yesterday I drove to the seacoast (Newburyport, MA) for one of the two seminars I signed up for months ago. Oh, I was giddy with excitement and when I walked in and saw this piece I was in heaven. So I spent the day painting and woke up to varnish this baby and later tonight to find it a "spot" in the little love nest.
I gotta tell you, sometimes a day of "ME" time is just what you need to get over the challenges of everyday life. Hope your weekend was fun and that you did something that made your heart happy. If not, we're painting a Santa Dummy Board in December, wanna come? It'll be great fun and I KNOW it will make your heart happy! =)

With A Little Paint

You can fix anything! This is the back of the pot... (well you didn't expect me to put that great big chip in the front , did you? LOL!) Oh dear, but there was a chip on the other side...so I "fixed" that with another little saltbox.

And in true trash to treasure style I put the unscathed part forward and added my favorite, the barn...in the apple orchard. Note the cows, the chickens and the cute little weathervane...

If farms were not so much work I would live on one. HAHAHA.

And my little chipped pot sits happily in the Pumpkin Patch holding patterns.

Can you spot it in the picture? I bet you can't see the chips! =)Hope you day is filled with wonder. Give those old chipped pots a chance...

with a little paint.

Repurposing

What would you do with a wonderful clay pot that bit the dirt??? Would you say, "Oh well" and turn it to the other side? Would you pretend you can't see the chip? Please don't tell me you would toss that baby. At the very least you could pull out your kids' stamps and stamp on some stars... right?

As soon as you tell me what else you would do to your broken pot I'll show you what I did with mine. And if you don't tell me, I wont tell you...'cause I'm like that; I'm into blogger participation, LOL!

Seasonal Sightings

It's hard to imagine anything better than a day at the beach when you spend months upon months digging yourself (and your car, and your driveway,

and the grass for your puppy to poop!) out of the snow.
But sometimes you just have to look past the pool and think of the cool Fall breeze to find the inspiration for something wonderful.
In looking for inspiration for some Frightfully Fun projects
I went into in my stash of completed works and thought I'd share this picture of a board I painted last Fall.This was from a pattern by
Terrye French of The Painted Pear Basket
Isn't it cute? I just love it...