It's All About The WHIMSY!

Playing in the cold

Goodness but it has been cold this week!

Wind chill factor well below

zero.  This morning it was -11 when I let Miss Maggie out at 6!  

BRRR....

The birds, squirrels, rabbits and deer have been busy

emptying the feeding stations daily.  

I happily watch them from the studio window.

Early morning ice crystals in the sunroom..

I've been busy amusing myself making more ice orbs in balloons.  

The last batch melted away in our brief warm up.

 It is so cold "they" hatched themselves!

Spectacular ice formations!

  I think this happened because the temperatures are so extreme.  

This batch froze solid in 8 hours!  

It took days to freeze when the temperatures were less extreme.

Have a grand weekend!

Winter Wonderland in the Clouds...

Learning to watercolor clouds in Winter Wonderland this week.

As we know, watercolor has a mind all it's own.

 This is actually a plus when coloring the sky,

but tricky none the less.

Practice, practice, practice.

That's my mantra this week..

This can be quite addicting!

Loving clouds!!

52 Pick Up

 

Stay inspired...Stay focused...Stay on track...

52 Pickup with Leslie Riley

Artist success

 

A weekly e-mail to" orient your compass" and move you forward!

in my daily journal

Thank you Leslie for the "push" forward.

Winter Wonderland Mash Up!

Winter Wonderland is whooshing by!  

Our fearless leader,

Gina Armfield,

has provided a wealth of varied ideas on a weekly theme

to fill loads of journal pages.

 

 

This Mash up of pages is from several weeks

and in no particular order.

 

 

color palette play

 

 

black and white

 

 

shadows

 

 

light to dark collage

 

 

vintage books

 

Just loving this class!

Part of a whole

 

Working BIG!

 

No More Excuses 2013!

                         
   No More Excuses 2013 is underway!  

Here's a glimpse inside January's pages.

And in honor of today's surprise snowfall!

Hello Friday!

Friday is studio day, and for that I am happy!

The one day of the week where the schedule is clear

and I can play without time constrains.

 I love Friday!

And since the weather is so mild here in the Northeast,

I am painting in a "springy mood".

Enjoy your weekend!

Finds of the week!

 

Roaming the aisles at Barnes and Noble

I stumbled upon this fabulous book!

 Have you seen it?  

A wonderful alphabet book for young and old.  

Loads of drawings, sketches and watercolors.  

Love it!!

Found this tiny note "pad" while looking for stocking stuffers

over the holidays..and yes, of course, I bought one

for myself as well..

Inspiration this morning!

I always loose track of what colors I have in my palettes and when the time comes to place an order,

well you know how it works...

What do I "need"?

 What do I have?  

I will admit I have ordered tubes I already have...

This I hope will make it much easier.

Each color recorded, placed in color wheel order

in the nifty little binder!  

It will live in my art journaling bag which follows me

throughout the house and I hope make my life simpler!

A productive day!

Winter Wonderland journaling

Playing catch up in my "other" journals...

sometimes the time just flies away!

 

 

And these are some very wise words.

New Beginnings...

Happy New Year!  

A toast to new beginnings

and all the wonderfulness of a brand new year!

 

 

Why is it so much fun to decorate for the holidays and

such a chore to put it all away?

 Miss Maggie is confused by the chaos and not much help at all...

I think she's looking for stray treats that might be hidden in the piles.

This is a fraction of the Christmas totes....I admit it, I love to deck the halls.

 

A new year begins with a new No More Excuses journal.

 I do love this morning routine-coffee and art!

Not familiar with NME?

 Go here!  

http://sweetsistergina.typepad.com/joyful_purpose/2012/12/no-excuses-2013.html

Trust me you will love it!

Do you live in a place where winter is freezing?  

This is your WHIMSY assignment for the day.

Find a few stray balloons, I know you have them...check the junk drawer..

add a few drops of food coloring to each one.  Just like a watercolor palette, you can mix colors for variety..

fill with water, tie off and place outside in the cold.

Let freeze for a few days...cut off the balloons and you have

Magic!

Lovely glowing orbs of colored ice.  

These beauties will line my front walk once my fingers thaw !

And a thank you to sister Lisa for the inspiration!!

She's been known to exude whimsy!