Our dog, Annie, was a little freaked out by our daughter, Amber's, "Halloween" wig. She thought it was one of her stuffed animal toys.
This is an old painting that I sold last year. I love painting for Halloween, but can't seem to get enough of them done each year. 
This little angel is Bailey. I'm highly allergic to my cats but there is no way I can resist them! She loves to hide under the covers even though she knows that she isn't allowed on the bed. She thought I wouldn't be able to find her I'm sure.
This little 4 inch x 4 inch painting was added to my eBay listings last night. I've taken a couple of days off and now have to play catch-up.
I painted these rooms for two sweet young ladies. In Megan's room the walls were painted a light cream color. I painted a wide border at the top of the wall and then lightly sanded it to give a distressed look. The verse was painted pink and I added bows and pink flowers around the doors and windows.
Looks like my daughter was sneeking through the door as I took this picture.
There are also tiny little pink roses painted between the words.
Megan's room is painted a light pink with pink striped ribbons and roses.
For a closer view, click on the individual photos
My daughter, Amber, and I did the wall finish and stenciling above the mirror for this designer home a few years ago. We taped off and ragged stripes in the bedroom, and then stenciled the tassels and added some extra freehand details to the stenciling. This stencil is available from Royal Design Studio. 
This is a photo of the sink area where we taped off and wragged painted these faux panels.
You may click on any of the photos to get a larger view.
Good morning! I finished this painting and listed it last night on eBay. You can click on the above title to go directly to this auction.
In a previous post I showed you a verse that I had painted in my kitchen. In this photo which is shot from inside my living room looking through the entrance and into the dining room, you can see a verse that is painted above the doorway. I asked my son, who is great at writing to help me come up with a saying and this is what we came up with: "Like the vines in a vineyard the ties of family grow." This coordinates great with the grapevines that I stenciled in this room. The stencil is available through Royal Design Studios. Click on the photo for a closeup view.
Be creative with your lettering. Here I've painted a verse on the stairway risers leading to my son's room on the third floor. His room is decorated in a beach theme and the verse leads you there.
This is my newest painting featuring the playful cats. Autumn is here full speed now and the leaves are changing and falling off the trees. It won't be long now till winter is here. 
This painting has a lot more detail than the others that I usually sell on eBay. I got a little carried away and had a great time painting it! Simply click on the above title to go directly to this auction. The Christmas decorating committee have outdone themselves this year in the Village of Fox Creek. Everyone including the surrounding community have decked the halls, houses, bridges, etc. with evergreen boughs, wreaths, and bright red ribbons. A large wreath on each end of the covered bridge invites people into the village. Families, tired from shopping, have stopped in at Jake's Fine Dining. You can see the silhouettes of customers through the windows. Next door at the "Knit Wit Yarn Shoppe", students have gone home after an evening knitting and socializing. Note the large knitting needles and yarn attached to the top of the sign. Guests at Fox Creek Inn are enjoying hot apple cider and cookies before a roaring fire. Outside streetlights create a warm glow as a couple pass arm in arm over the bridge. A snowman behind the village waves happily with his red mittens.
If you have any questions, feel welcome to ask them through the comment link below.
Want to add a little something special to a room that is inexpensive? Paint a verse around the walls near the ceiling. You can type the verse on your computer and enlarge the letters. If you have a banner program you can use that. Find the center of the wall that you are putting the lettering on and mark it with a watercolor pencil or chalk. Lay out your verse and tape it all together. Fold the verse in half to find the center. Tape the center of the verse to the mark on the wall using blue painter's tape. Slide graphite paper (comes in white or black) under the verse and trace with a stylus or empty pen. I use calligraphy strokes with paint, but if you don't have that training you can fill the letters in with flat or round brushes and craft paint. Mine happens to run around the corner of the room, but you can center it on one wall only if you want. Just play around with the size of the lettering to make it fit the area you want. Next time I'll share a photo of some lettering in my living room that is centered over a doorway. 
The painted pieces on the shelf are from some of my instructions books. The large painting above the shelf was a gift from my children on Mother's Day a few years ago.
In this corner I've painted a scene from my husband's grandparent's farm in Missouri on this wood clock. The cabinet was a project that I painted for a seminar. There is a verse that I wrote and painted around the border on the door that says, "Enter through the garden gate, where minds can dream, while hands create."
I've been having such a good time working on this painting this week that I got a little carried away and spent all my time on it. I love painting Christmas scenes and adding all the little decorations here and there. It's like decorating the house for the holidays without having to get out the mess and put the boxes away! I will finish this painting today and list it Sunday evening on eBay. 
I'm currently working on a 16 x 20 Christmas village painting, but in the meantime I thought I would share with you one of my wall finishes. This is a textured wall that I did for a friend that also has an embossed stencil at the top of the wall. We did this in a small powder room and it really gave a Tuscan feel to the room.
I absolutely love autumn! The colorful crunching leaves, pumpkins, mums, etc. Beauty is everywhere, even in the air we breath during this time of year. This is a very simple painting. This is how I want to live my life; simple and uncluttered. This painting is listed on eBay and by "simply" clicking on the title, you can go directly to this auction. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 100:1
I added this little painting to my eBay auctions last night. I know it's early for Christmas but, it is my most requested subject. I will have more autumn paintings as well. 
And that's about all I have to say about this trip! Just kidding. Isn't this rain suit just a lovely shade of shocking blue? One thing is for sure, people couldn't miss us coming! Rick didn't keep his on long enough for me to get his picture. He did wear the pants though. The weather changed overnight from nice dry weather in the 60's to very wet weather in the 50's.
We somehow managed to avoid all the rain and had a great though chilly trip. Clarksville and Louisiana, MO were my favorite little towns and we hope to return again next year when the weather is better. 
I am blogging tonight because my husband and I will be leaving for Hannibal, MO early in the morning for our last motorcycle trip of the year. It will be in the low 40's in the morning, so it's going to be a pretty cooooool ride. You will be able to directly link to this auction by clicking on the above title.
This sweet little village is ready for Christmas. An old home sits high on a hill looking down on the peaceful little village below. Lydia owns the boarding house and Daphne owns the art gallery. Take a better look at this auction on eBay. The scene wraps around the 1.5 inch edges. There are more photos of this piece in the listing.
This is another view of the faux painted rug and slippers with the furniture now in the room. This is the guest room that I fixed for my inlaws when they would visit from Rockaway Beach. At the time I was painting this floor my mother in law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I thought this would help cheer her up on her visits to our home. She got to stay in this room once it was completed only a 2 or 3 times. But, she really enjoyed the slippers on the floor. We dearly miss her.
My daughter Amber wants a sewing machine. She came over yesterday and we spent the day making an apron. We used my paint splattered apron as a template.
Days like this are such a treasure! 
Here is my favorite painting apron and Amber's new pink cowgirl print apron!
I love the way the back of these are made! What could be better than a mother/daughter day spent learning to sew a very valuable piece of clothing. Aprons are passed down from generations. A great book to read is "The Apron Book" by EllynAnne Geisel which celebrates the apron. An apron was, and should be, the work horse of every woman's home. Amber has been collecting aprons from garage sales and has her own nice little collection. 
I added this painting to by eBay auctions last night. I'm getting a lot of requests for large autumn paintings. This one is a 16 x 20. Simply click on the above title to go directly to this auction.
No it's not Christmas yet. I just wanted to share a photo of the floorcloth that I painted for my entrance. Also, you can see the stairs as they looked before I removed the carpet and started refinishing them. I'll continue to update you with photos of the stairs as I decide what to do with them. It was quite a disappointment when I removed the carpet and saw the paint spots that where there. There was blue paint, white paint, and drywall mud all over them. The main stairs were just pine boards, not oak as I had invisioned. Last night when I removed the carpet from the landing at the top, guess what? No oak hardwood flooring, just plywood! Then the last two steps above the landing, believe it or not, actual oak treads! 
This is the beginning of a wall mural that I painted at our local Old English Garden Shoppe. You can click on each picture to get a larger view. Note in the next photo that this plaque is painted above the door.
This is an actual door that I painted green and then painted a flower basket on the door.
This is an overall view of the mural. It's hard to see the topiaries that are painted on each side of the door. Guess I should have take pictures before they put their merchandise in the store.
This is a closeup of the cat painted on the stone wall. I tried to disguise the lightswitch plate by painting the ivy down onto it.
I won't have another painting done until the first of next week so I thought I'd share a photo of the faux rug and slippers that I painted on the floor of our guest bedroom. The floors where in pretty rough condition in this room so I thought this would help disguise the defects. 
Here are my latest eBay additions. Seven stairs done and five more to go! When they are finished, I'll post some before and after pictures.
