Cat Studies

 watercolor, micron pen studies of cats 

Red and Blue

Pine Tree Landscape

watercolor wash for the sky . blue shadows on the snow . triangle trees

A Well Deserved Rest

From My Home to Yours...

Christmas Angel

Heavy watercolor paper, cut out, soaked in water, bent and molded to create dimension, 

painted with watercolor paint, white acrylic details, small punch, added beads on a jump ring, 

glued together and hung with a string...

these are a few of my favorite things. 

Dancing Santa's

Baking Cookies

Sugar cookies ready for Christmas.

Red and Green 2

micron pen . flair pens . water

Happy 16th Birthday

Sixteen years ago, Aaron was born on December 21st at 2:00 in the afternoon. 

We brought him home on Christmas Eve in a raging snowstorm.

Aaron then                                                                     Aaron now

Aaron's shoes then                             Aaron's shoes now (size 14 - wow!)

He was the best gift then and he's the best gift now.

Happy 16th  birthday, Aaron. 

Love you.

Mom

Anyone Seen a Sleigh?

Wishing You Joy

Wishing You Peace

May Your Days be Merry and Bright

Christmas Kitty

Red and Green

small red and green

micron pen . water soluble colored pencils

Snowy Pine Branch

Snowy day in Illinois

5 Sparkly Ornaments

micron pen . watercolor . chalk pastel

My 3 Santas

I try to make time for art whenever I can. I drew these 3 guys in my car while stopped at stop lights and I painted them while I was waiting for my dinner to cook. If I have 3"x5" cards and a micron pen or sharpie available, I'm never bored. 

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa portrait in watercolor. 

 To purchase this card visit greetingcarduniverse.com/carolcards. 

Painted Poinsettias

I made painted paper (I used paint and scrapers to create textured and colored paper) that I cut up and made into double sided poinsettia ornaments. I finished them off with gold paint, white acrylic ink details and sparkle mod podge. A festive and easy holiday project.

Let the Jingle Begin!

Painted Trees

I went to a sale and found these triangle trees that were begging to be painted. 

I used acrylic to paint the base coat.

Then I used this cool brush to add pine needles.

Next I decorated the trees with Puffy Paint. That stuff is fun!!

And here they are - all decorated and ready to hang!

Painted Patterned Leaves

Large beautiful leaves get patterned accents with oil based sharpies.

Jewelry

I've been making jewelry lately. Chunky beads strung on silver chains or stretchy cord.

Chicago Bears colors

Black and gold for my son's high school colors. Hornet Nation!

And birds nests. 

Thanks to Kathleen for showing me sarahortega.com with the great tutorial on how to make these. 

A Row of Cactus

What a Difference a Week Makes

Last week the maple tree behind our house was a blazing red and gold. In the afternoon the sun would warm the tree and it would pour it's lovely golden-red color into our family room. It was glorious.

This week, it's dark an hour earlier because of the time change. It rained and most the leaves fell off the tree and all the color is on the ground. What a difference a week makes. 

The Boxed Set

My Hallmark card is part of this boxed set of cards being sold in the 

Hallmark stores benefiting UNICEF. 

Artist Trading Cards

The theme for the October Artist Trading Card is "My Cup of Tea". 

My artist friends and I create a small card and trade them. Here is my card in progress. 

I start by stamping teapots with a rubber stamp and then color them with chalk. 

I choose patterned papers and textured ribbons.

Next I start to layer the papers, add the texture and cut out the teapots. 

The design starts to come together.

I added more color to the teapot and attached a tea bag to the back with a ribbon. 

You're my cup of tea!