Halloween Cupcakes Folk Art Painting

I'm like a little kid in a candy shop when my new canvas order arrives. I got some 8 inch x 12 inch canvas with the 1 1/2 inch edges and had to work one up right away. Tonight I listed my new "Halloween Cupcakes" painting on eBay. I'm calling it an early evening tonight after a long day of painting. Tomorrow night I will be listing my final Halloween painting for the year on eBay and will share it with you then. Good night all!

You can click on the photos for a closer view.

Decorate you home for Halloween with this colorful cupcake painting. Three yellow cupcakes are topped with creamy orange butter cream frosting decorated with green piped decorations. A piece of candy corn sits on top of the yummy frosting and tags attached to the sides of the cupcakes spell out "Boo". Green Halloween letters are dripping with orange frosting and a black and white checkerboard border is painted around the scene.

The photo below gives you more of an idea of the size. These box type canvas are great for sitting on a shelf or hanging on a wall.

Martha Stewart Features Blogs

Check out Martha Stewart's blog. She is featuring different blogs on her show. If you leave her a comment and link to her blog, you might be one of several blogs to be featured on her show. It's worth a shot!

Check out these cute little bookends. I got them from Linens, Lace, and Lattes blog. She was selling them on eBay and suggested using them in a child's room for Little Golden books. If and when I ever get any grandchildren that is where they will go, but for now they are holding my little gardening books.

"Pumpkin Harvest is a new little print that I just added to my stores. You can check it out here.

Henrietta painted her house blue this week before the weather got too cold to get finished. Her sweet neighbors, Daniel and Misty, helped her making the job much easier. The couple think she would be the perfect match for their cousin who lives on a farm nearby. They've decided to invite both of them to dinner on Saturday evenin' to see if they can't get the ball rollin'.

Staplehill Autumn Folk Art Painting

I finished this little 8 inch x 10 inch painting and listed it on eBay this week. My creative energy needs a boost lately. I'm always afraid that the ideas will dry up and go away. I think I need some renewal time.

"Staplehill"

Families in the little village of Staplehill have been participating in the “Autumn Traveling Dinner” for several years. The anticipation builds each year to see if anyone can out do the families from the year before. Appetizers will be served at the Henderson home where Edith and Edward have been preparing their newest version of “Corn Fritters” and a “Maple Nut Carrot Salad.” Then, it’s on to the Ritter family who has prepared the main course: Roasted turkey with stuffing, potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, homemade dinner rolls, and roasted vegetables. Once they loosen their belts, they will travel on to the Meehan household for coffee and a wide range of desserts including pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, and pumpkin rolls. They end the same way they started asking God for his blessings on their families, friends, community, country, and those who serve our country.

I received this "Hooked on Your Blog" award from Pat at Back Porch Musings.
I am definitely hooked on Pat's blog, so please check it out. Thanks Pat! This award was designed by Julia at Hooked on Houses. I'm passing this award onto my first three favorite blogs. I have many, many favorites!

Kim at Daisy Cottage (cheerful and colorful design)

Penny at Lavender Hill Studio (sweet, lovely creative mosaics)

Tracey at Notes From a Cottage Industry (decorating ideas galore)

and then two more of my favorite newer discoveries:

Liz at Mabel's House (simply charming)

Malphi at Malphi (sells her own clothing designs)

This was a very difficult decision as you can tell from the length of my favorites list. Check these blogs out and tell them I sent you.

New Beginnings

It looks like summer is coming to an end. My flowers need to be seriously dead headed and some of them need to be cut all the way back. Cleome are one of my favorites. They remind me of fireworks. Soon their seeds will appear and I will safely them tuck them into an envelope to save for spring. It's amazing to me how fast the seasons seem to come and go. Each season is a time of new beginnings. Fall is when I begin to clean up my gardens, start painting for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It's time for comfort foods like soup, turkey, baked ham, stuffing, and seasonal desserts.

As much as I hate to see the end of my flowers, I do love sleeping in later because I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to water and pull weeds. Around February I will miss this chore.
It's almost time to hang up my gardening hat for the year. My daughter made that cute fabric pen on my straw hat.
We still might need these umbrellas for a while.
I would love to thank all of you who are leaving such kind comments on my posts. I feel terrible about not visiting and getting the chance to comment on your blogs. This is my busiest time of year for painting and I don't get as much computer time as I would like. So, if I don't get back to you, it's not because I don't care. I will be cleaning up the garden and painting my little heart out. I should have a new painting ready to share tomorrow.

A Sweet Surprise, Yummy Soup Recipe, and Log Cabins

Today in the mail I received the sweetest surprise from Cindy at Rosehaven. She does the most beautiful photography and sells them as notecards. That is not the flash from my camera on this scene; it is the sun shining through the tree. I love the lilac bush, weathervane, and the white picket fence! You must check out her blog and let her know that I sent you. Cindy has a another blog called Dusting In Pearls that is simply charming. Thanks so much Cindy!

The item to the right of the notecards is an envelope that she made from what looks like a garden magazine page. What a great idea!

Below shows the back side of the envelope. She has so much talent!

I just wanted to let Shelley at Building a Log Cabin know that I have painted log cabins in the past. Please check out her blog. They have built the most amazing cabin in the woods. My husband and I always wanted a cabin, but I guess our lodge room is about as close as we will get. The picture below is a log cabin autumn scene that I painted on a small twig table.

In the next photo I painted our favorite vacation spot "Mt. Elbert Lodge", which is in Twin Lakes, Colorado. This little table sits beside my husband's chair so it's seen a lot of use and needs to be touched up. You can click on the photo to see a closer view, but be warned, it's seen better days.

You can also check out the blog for Mount Elbert Lodge here. We haven't been for a few years and need to get back.

Now here is a recipe for those of you who are experiencing cooler weather:

"Santa Fe Soup"

16 oz. can red beans

16 oz. can black beans

16 oz. can corn

1 large onion chopped

1 lb. of ground round

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies

1 can diced tomatoes

Cook ground beef and onion. Stir in taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix. Add remaining ingredients and heat through.

I usually double it and cook in a large pan. This will definitely warm you up!

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Designing for your Life

Kari & Kijsa's blog is inviting bloggers to share their favorite space in their home and share three things:

1. Where it is in your home

2.Your favorite style

3. A favorite item in the room

My dining room is my favorite space in our home because this is where we live and where our friends always gather. This is where I have coffee with my girl friends, where we share our meals, where my daughter learned to sew her first apron, etc. I designed this room around my blue and white dishes. The blue and white stripe wall paper was already here when we bought the house 7 years ago. I had this floor length white frame for several years before deciding if it was going to be a mirror, bulletin board, or a frame for one of my paintings. I decided I liked it with my plates in the center. The cabinet holds my china teacup collection and is one of the first pieces I painted for our new home. I painted it and the top of my dining table to match. My fairy collection has also found a home in this area. You can click on the pictures for a larger view.

The picture below is an older picture of this room minus the frame around the plates. You can see the stenciling I did on the ceiling.

For question #2, "cottage" is my favorite decorating style.
....and here is my daughter, Amber, (she's my favorite item in the room or any other family member or friend who happens to be there) making her first apron from some pink cowgirl fabric on our much used painted dining room table. If you antique and crackle your table, you'll never have to worry about any scratches showing up!

.....and last but not least, this is "Callie's" favorite place in the house. She loves to sit here and watch us eat.

One Thing Leads To Another

This week "Grandma Chickie" gave me a box of apron patterns (22 to be exact)and some scrap fabric....

and then she gave me this box of over 130 old vintage patterns. They were mostly dress patterns, but there were a few patterns for children's clothing. I had so much fun going through these and checking out the clothing styles. I would actually like to make some of these. My daughter, Amber, will have fun with them too. There was also an old card with a hanger on the back of it (you can see it in the next photo.) I was having so much fun looking at these and sorting them that I was shocked at what I found in the bottom. I could see fabric and thought it was more scrap material.

s.
I kept digging and I hit the jackpot in the bottom.....
I found this....
and this....
and this! I was so tickled! These had never been worn. Grandma must have made them, folded them very neatly and stored them for later use then forgot about them. They were neatly pressed and ready to wear. There was an older used one that was ripped, but must have been saved for a pattern. All this leads to....Making pumpkin bread! I have already posted this recipe here. Remember I told you it makes a bundt cake and a loaf.
Wrapped tightly in foil this lasts and stays very moist. See that end piece? That's mine.

Halloween in Fallbrook Folk Art Print & a Hearty Autumn Soup Recipe

I've added many new prints to my shops including

"Halloween in Fallbrook".

Emily and Everett love to entertain their friends and family during the Halloween season by having a costume party at their farm in Fallbrook. Jack-o-lanterns line the railing of their porch ready to greet costumed vistors for a night of fun, food, games, and good times. Hot spiced cider, Spiced Lentil and Barley Soup, caramel apples, and a vast assortment of pumpkin desserts will line a harvest table decorated for the season.

With all the rain we are getting, a good hearty bowl of Emily's soup is just what I need.

"Spiced Lentil & Barley Soup"

2 chicken breast halves

1 tables. olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/3 cup barley

2 quarts chicken broth

1/2 cup minced parsley

1 cup lentils

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 (12 ounce) jar salsa

1 pound spinach, rinsed well, stems removed, leaves chopped

Rinse chicken, pat dry and set aside. In large pan, heat olive oil. Add onion, garlic, and barley; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft and barley is toasted, about 5 minutes. Add broth, parsley, chicken and lentils. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat in thickest part of chicken is no longer pink, about 30 minutes; cut to test. Barley should also be cooked.

Remove chicken from pan and let cool briefly. Discard skin and bones; shred meat and return to pan. Add beans and salsa. Bring to a simmer; stir in spinach.

Yummy!

A Day of Remembrance

Remember all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. We also lost my dear mother in law, Ruby, to cancer that same day. That was a day we will not soon forget.

I want to thank all the wonderful men and women who have served our country and kept it safe for the past 7 years.

New Cupcake Painting and Benefit Auction for Blogging Family

Kim from Today's Creative Blog is having a silent auction on her site to help a fellow blogger. She and her husband were badly burned in a plane accident. Her name is Nie, you may have already heard about her. You can read more about them here. There is a donation button in my sidebar if you would like to donate money to the family for their recovery. I've also added a button with a direct link to "Nie Recovery" in my sidebar. Two of my prints, "Chocolate Cake" and "Dreamy Cupcake", have been donated for the silent auction and you can check them out at Kim's blog. It may take a few days before my prints are auctioned because there has been a generous turnout of bloggers donating for this devastating cause. Please keep this loving family in your prayers.

I added the cupcake painting below to my eBay auctions this evening.

This moist yellow cupcake is topped with fluffy pink, piped frosting. Green butter cream dots are applied as a finishing touch. This cute little cupcake sits atop it's own little ornate green hobnail cake stand and is covered with a glass cloche. A pink and white check bow is woven around the edge of the cake stand and tied in a bow. The letters "Creamy" are dripping with frosting.

Chalk One Up

While decorating my house for fall I almost forgot to change my chalk boards. This was a quick and easy fix! Can you tell that food is on my mind?

For all of you who voted with my husband on leaving the bike rusty, did you notice the pink bike in the print in one of my previous posts? Pretty cute color for the garden don't you think? Anyone want to change their mind?

This week I got two awards from two great bloggers. Fannie gave me the award below and she's also a very creative blogger so check out her blog here.I got the award below from Fannie as well and then got it once again from Donna's Art. You'll definitely enjoy Donna's blog too so check these two ladies out and leave them a comment!
I'm supposed to pass these two awards on, but due to a very crazy schedule, I pass this on to all my favorite blogs in the sidebar. There are so many creative blogs to chose from that it's impossible for me to pick just 5.

Two New Dessert Prints

I promise a better post tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you with these new desserts prints for your kitchen. These are now for sale in my etsy, yessy and ebay shops listed in the right sidebar. It's supposed to be in the 40's tonight! Get out the quilts!

More Junk From Grandma's House & Halloween Print

A ghostly pirate ship glides through the water with sails billowing near Ghost Island. This is part of the Halloween festivies every year for the local villagers organized by Hazel, the mayor of the island. Hazel lives on the opposite side of the bay from her dear friend Morris who is her right hand man, helping her with this event each year. They visit so often that they decided to build a small foot bridge to shorten the distance between them. This year the two of them decided to add a pumpkin carving contest to the list of events including a costume party, apple bobbing, and barn dance.

I added this print to all my shops today. It will be on eBay Saturday morning.

Grandma Chickie had us cleaning out more cabinets this week and below is more of what she considered junk and didn't want. Most of the stuff was truly junk and did get put in the trash, but these few items we saved.

Old Folgers coffee can ....
Green percolator....(I'm sure my daughter will take this.)
I loved these glass storage dishes. Not sure how old these are.

A very pretty amber colored butter dish.

I made the most beautiful cake to take out to Grandma's. It was so pretty that even my husband said that I should photograph it for my blog. Notice you don't see it here. It was the most bland cake I've ever eaten. The name, Brown Sugar Pound Cake with a Brown Sugar Glaze, sounded delicious and looked spectacular, but to me it wasn't really worth the trouble. Even Grandma didn't give it a thumbs up. How can something be so pretty and taste so dull? The glaze was good so I might use it on a different cake sometime.

YUM... Cupcake Painting

I would like to thank everyone for voting for my husband's choice to leave the bike in it's original rusty condition from a prior post. I may have to sneak out in the dark with a can of spray paint some evening when no one is looking. I really thought I was going to win this one. It's very hard for me not to paint everything in sight! My hubby just loves it that most of you voted with him.

Please check out Melissa's lovely home at her blog Sunbonnet Cottage. She was so sweet to mention me in her post yesterday. Like me, I'm sure she'd love it if you stopped by and left a comment.

I finished a new cupcake painting today and listed it this evening on eBay and you can check out the auction here.

These yummy cupcakes are topped with fluffy, mocha chocolate, piped frosting. Colorful sprinkles add a very pretty touch to these decorative cakes. Sitting on a yellow cake stand woven with brown and pink dotted ribbon, the cupcakes are embellished with decorative letters which spell out "YUM".

Cup of Cake Folk Art Print

Please go over and check out Heather's blog, Art Girl ATL. She has featured me in her post today. I'm sure you will love her artwork and her creativity. I loved her Halloween post with the pumpkin heads! Her acrylic pie paintings look delicious.

I've added this new print to all of my stores:

A lovely robin's egg blue teacup with pink roses makes the perfect receptacle for a cup of cake with luscious pink buttercream frosting sprinkled with sugar!

Fall Nesting

Melissa over at the Inspired Room has inspired bloggers to do a post about "Autumn Nesting." So in an attempt to get this done I ran to the basement and pulled out my tubs of autumn decorations. I'm always amazed at how warm autumn's rich hues make a home feel. Below I decorated my "faux painted" fireplace with leaves, grapes, and pumpkins. The large book is a box that I got a couple of years ago from Hallmark Cards to hold halloween treats. When you open the box a witch cackles. The kids love it!

The little doll sitting beside the pumpkin was made by my daughter, Amber. Her name is Gertrude.
On the dining room buffet I wrapped autumn leaves around old photos of my Dad with his twin brother and an old photo of my mother.
Faux pears are placed in an iron urn near my favorite redware plate from Eldreth Pottery in Pennsylvania . The little pumpkin with the lid is for my husbands favorite treat this time of year, a mixture of dry roasted peanuts and candy corn, which tastes like a PayDay candy bar.

More leaves and a pumpkin decorate the top of this antique cabinet.
I replaced the ivy in the basket on the front door to greet visitors. Don't forget your front door; it's your first impression. I generally buy my fall decorations at the end of the season when they are on sale which makes me ahead of the game the following year.
You can link to Melissa's blog below:

Melissa at "The Inspired Room"