My Flower Garden and Another House Portrait

I truly wish I had more time to spend in my garden. It's one of my favorite pastimes, whether I'm working or just relaxing among all the wonderful fragrances. This is the first year for my thornless climbing rose bush. Also pictured are my pink knockout roses and my pink peonies. Do you think I like pink?

Click on any photo for a closer view.

I also love the tiny pink blooms on this perennial geranium.

Pink dianthus line the sidewalk and take over at times.




White campanula and purple columbine. I can't believe they aren't pink!

Another view through the campanula looking towards my weeping cherry tree. It bloomed so early this year that I didn't get photos of it. I had to keep covering it to keep the frost from killing it.

....and in the front we have red knockout roses surrounding a weeping mulberry tree.

I will share more of my garden as it progresses through summer.



Below is a house portrait I did for a family in Willington, CT. Check out their website for the family business "Millix Family Farm". They are such a lovely young family and you can order Tricia's award winning apple pie from their website.

Tyler and Tricia met in high school and became best friends. They eventually married and moved into the home where Tyler was raised. With a beautiful family of five children, three girls and two boys, the Millix family started their family business. Their small farm includes 45 laying hens, 6 Fancy Bantam chickens and the family dog Ruby. Millix Family Farm and Bakery sells the best fresh eggs, baked goods and their specialty award winning apple pie.

Click on the photos for a closer view.

House Portrait

This past Saturday we got a call that my father in law was in a motorcycle accident. Needless to say, we have been gone all week and just returned home last night. The poor man broke all his ribs on the right side and his right collar bone. One of his ribs also punctured his lung. He was in ICU until Wednesday and is now starting to show improvement. Just wanted to ask for your prayers and to let you know the reason why I may not be posting very often for a while.

I received the photo below from Devon who requested a "house portrait" as a present for her parents. Here they are standing in front of the house and holding their portrait in front of them. Aren't they cute!! It was a pleasure to do this painting of their lovely home.

John and Vicki Bushnell live in this cozy home surrounded by beautiful flowers and tall evergreens. They are a hardworking couple, but in his spare time John is a woodworker and dabbles in photography. Vicki loves to decorate cakes and their home always has the sweet scent of frosting. When she isn't busy in the kitchen, Vicki is creating something at her sewing machine. They've always worked well together as a couple doing various remodeling projects on their beautiful home.

Custom Painting

A while back I did a custom painting for a sweet customer, Laura, who wanted me to do a painting of the place where they were married as a gift for her husband. You can view that post here. This year she asked me to do a painting for her sister, Marian, and brother in law, Doug. They had recently purchased a new home and she wanted me paint a picture of them in front of the barn on their property. Doug had given Marian a dragon weathervane as a gift, so I added that to the top of the barn. She has given them their gift, so I thought I would now share it with you.

Marian & Doug's Barn:

Marian and Doug I wish you a life time of wonderful memories at your new place and with the new little one that's on the way! What a great place to raise children.

Last night I listed the painting below at the starting price of $1.00. Yes, I said $1.00! So, if you've never been able to bid on one of my originals because of the price, now is the time to try. The shipping for this painting is $32.95 (includes insurance and delivery confirmation) because it's an oversized package. They charge more for size than weight. This painting is 18 inches by 24 inches.

"Traveler's Ease at Turtle Cove"

If you're looking for that perfect place to rest your weary head, you should venture to Traveler's Ease Inn on Turtle Island. Owners, Leota Mae and Harley Thompson, will have a warm and cozy feather bed fluffed and waiting. They will greet you with a pot of herbal tea and cranberry muffins with orange frosting. Customers quickly become friends with the Thompson family and return for years to come.

Hi Gang! I'm Back!

Yes, I'm finally back. My husband and I both came down with the stomach flu the day after New Years and are finally back among the living. But, before I get carried away, I must apologize to Melissa at Sunbonnet Cottage for not getting this posted sooner. She awarded me this Christmas Spirit Award before Christmas and I'm very embarrassed that I'm just now writing about it. I was supposed to list 5 things I love about Christmas and pass it on. At the time that I received this, I was bombarded with the holidays and work. Believe me though Melissa, I truly appreciate it. You must check out here charming blog!

Before Christmas I was contacted by Sydnei from Simply Sentimental, to do a "house portrait" for her and her sister of their parent's home. She sent me this sweet photo of her parents, Sam and Becky, with the painting.

Below is a picture of the painting in color.

Here is the little story that was on the cerificate of authenticity:

Sam and Becky Frazier were married in 1970 and raised their two girls, Sydnei and Ashley, at Peckerwood Farm. They have been blessed with grandchildren, Kaden and Kase and twins, Kennedy and Kaelyn. Their 2 dogs, Baxter and Bentley, love the extra attention they get when the children visit with grandma and grandpa. Their home sits on land that has been in the family for over 130 years. Other family members also live on this nearly 500 acre farm where “love of family” is very strong.

Check out Sydnei's blog and her Etsy shop. She's a sweet gal and very talented!

I've been wanting to share this next photo for such a long time. I got this idea from Tracey at Notes from a Cottage Industry. She had a beautiful dress form covered with sheet music that I just loved! My daughter, Amber, is hoping to start her own online business with her sewing designs someday. So, I bought her the dress form via the info that I got from Tracey on eBay. Instead of sheet music, I used old dress patterns found at Grandma Chickie's farm, as per this post. The colors were the exact colors she used to paint her craft room. She loves bright colors and the orange and turquoise in the patterns worked perfectly. Click on the photos for a closer view.


Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of it in her craft room so you can see how cute it looks in there! I also made a little hang sign to place around the neck of the form which is not in this photo that says, "Hoot 'n Annie". This will be the name of her business or blog, unless she changes her mind. I was very temped to paint the wooden pieces black, but decided to wait and see if she wanted them painted. She may want them orange and turquoise!



Well, now that I'm feeling better and the Christmas decorations are put away, it's time to clean the cobwebs out of my mind and get back to work! Thanks for all your support over the pervious year and I look forward to visiting will all of you again. It's been so much fun making so many new friends this year!

Lavender Hill Studio Mosaics Painting

I was so honored when sweet Penny from Lavender Hill Studio asked me to paint her "future" studio. She sent me a photo of a barn on their property that will some day be her studio. You can check it out on her blog by clicking here.

Penny wanted me to add window boxes and landscaping. But, the one thing she really wanted was a lavender truck. It was so much fun to paint and I even added a mosaic sign to her building.

Here is the little story that Penny received along with her painting:

Penny is the artful owner of Lavender Hill Studio Mosaics. She repurposes old furniture, teapots, trays, birdhouses, old windows and much more into functional works of art. Her loving husband, Kent, is her right hand man repairing, gluing, and electrifying her flea market and antique finds. He also loves to create mirrors and birdhouses for her to apply her work to. They love each other dearly and work together like a well oiled machine.

You should should stop by Penny's website and check out her beautiful mosaics!

Coffee Shop Painting

I just wanted to share these pictures of a custom order that I recently finished. A wonderful mother wanted me to paint this for her daughter who dreams of owning her own coffee shop for teens in need.

Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful Dad's out there!

Custom House Portraits

I've had so much fun painting house portraits lately that my eBay auctions have suffered. But, I promise to get them going again this week. I have one auction ending this evening, Wild Rose Crossing , which was pictured in my last post.

Jenn and Jacqui, mother and daughter team, from The Bowers Bird Nest asked me to paint two house portraits for them and I just shipped them out today. The first one, "Woodend" was an old house that they loved that was in disrepair and they asked me to spruce it up. The beauty of the Australian countryside is quite amazing!

The second one was a quaint "Lake Cottage". You should take the time to visit with Jenn and Jacqui at their wonderful blog where they share lots and lots of wonderful photos of their life in Australia. Jacqui just celebrated her 18th birthday and the photos of her celebration are so much fun. What a great mom Jenn is! Happy Birthday Jacqui!

Chestnut Shelter Wedding Folk Art Painting

One of my blog readers, Laura, commissioned me to do this little painting. She and her husband were married in this building, Chestnut Shelter. When she sent me the photos, I couldn't believe the huge icicyles hanging from the roof. What a romantic wedding this must have been! Candles glowed in the windows, little heart wreaths on the door, and they even stood outside in the snow to have their picture taken. Believe it or not she didn't even look cold in the pictures. They even had a bagpiper at the wedding! Cute couple, don't you think!

This was painted on a tiny 5" x 7" canvas. Laura is giving the to her husband for Valentine's Day. What a lovely idea! Now I've got to come up with something in the next couple of weeks that says "romance". Send me your romantic ideas for Valentine's Day by leaving me a comment.

Custom House Portraits

I've added new "custom" house portraits in my Yessy store. The link is in the right column. They range in size from 4" x 4" like the one pictured below, to 16" x 20". I promise I will start painting again this week and adding paintings to my eBay listings. Thanks to all my customers this past year and I wish you a wonderful New Year in 2008!