Baking, Decorating for Fall, and Camping or How to Overcome the Isolation Blues

 Rick and I may not come out of 2020 without having gained a few pounds, but baking this time of year is one of my favorite things to do.  We are enjoying each and every bite too!

Yesterday I made these Candied Pecans from Lauren's recipe that you can print from her blog. 

"Tastes Better From Scratch"

I quarantee you it's fabulous and tastes exactly like the warm Candied Pecans you purchase from vendors at festivals!  It says to let them cool completely and store them in a tight container, but they were extra good while they were warm.

I also made some very yummy gluten free pumpkin bread the week before.  I used my regular recipe but substituted Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 flour.  I've used this recipe for years and it makes one bundt cake and a loaf.  It's perfect if you want to gift one!  I don't think this happended this time though, Ha!

A rather large crack developed in the center of the loaf, but tasted great!  

My only fall decor has been limited to my crocheted items and a few other pieces.  This black and white plaid pumpkin I crocheted a few years ago goes perfectly in my kitchen with my new curtains, therefore I placed it on this old scale.

My living room had a few more pumpkins made with yarn wrapped over cheap pumpkins from 

The Dollar Store.  Simply cut a hole in the top and bottom of the pumpkins removing the stem.  Wrap the thick chenille like yarn through the top and bottom all the way around and add a stick for the stem.  

 I did crochet a Halloween pillow for myself and my daughter, Amber.  You can find the pattern for the pillow here at TLB Patterns.

This cute plaid garland came from either Michael's or JoAnn's.  Isolation is messing with my memory!

These little wine cozies were crocheted using a pattern from 

The Midnight Stitcher.  I got the leather "Wine O'Clock" and "Whine Not" tags from

Angie & Britt.

To keep us from losing our minds this summer we got out and went camping at local state parks every month.  Even though the last trip this fall was rather rainy, it was still good to get out of the house and into  nature.  Get creative, bake, or get out and enjoy the beautiful parks around you.  You'll be amazed how much better you'll feel.    

We like everyone else have had some tough things to go through lately and I won't dwell on that here, but how are you doing and what are you doing to overcome the Isolation Blues?

Plaid Crochet Pumpkin

I finished this plaid pumpkin this morning and these are my only autumn decor so far.

Plain and simple decorating has become my style now and I'm not sure if it's age related or pure laziness.

But if I were truly lazy, I would just go and buy some pumpkins.

A Love For Color

As one can tell from the title of my at home business, "Pigment of Your Imagination", I have a love for color.  Whether it is painting or my new love, quilting, color plays a big part in the design.  Neutral or white backgrounds with pops of color make my heart sing.  The only color I'm not in love with is that pink countertop beneath all that wonderful color in the image below.  You can read about those countertops at my blog post "Living With Pink Kitchen Countertops".

In that post I was amazed at the people who loved my pink countertops as you can see from the comments.    I've learned to deal  love them and simply tie them in with other colors.  One thing I've learned over the years is don't be afraid of color.  Color is generally easy to fix and inexpensive to change (except when it comes to countertops with a built-in hutch sitting on top of them).

These pinwheels are so fun and easy to make using precut charm packs.  Simply sew a solid color and a printed five inch square with right sides together around all four sides.  Then using a rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat, cut them on the diagonal both ways (like a big "X"). Press the seams to the dark side.  Arrange the four sections into a pinwheel and sew together.  I plan to sew all these pinwheels into another lap quilt and will share as I go along.  

On another thought, we survived another horrible storm yesterday with tornado sirens blasting their warning.  I'm thinking fall looks pretty good right now.  I don't want to sound like a whiner so I will thank the good Lord for seeing us through this wild ride this summer.  What are you thankful for today?  Oh, and I'm also thankful for all this beautiful color in my life!

Make a Friendship Braid Quilt

Normally this time of year I would be sharing pictures of my garden and flowers shining in all their glory, but this year I felt like I should be standing side by side with Noah and his family building an ark.  Needless to say we have lost several plants as well as new grass due to several flash floods in our area this spring and summer.  We sit high on a hill, but the ground can only take so much water in such a short amount of time.  I will stop complaining right here because so many people have had it so much worse.

Therefore, since there is no point in trying to garden, I have spent more time painting and sewing.  I'll share my paintings soon, but today since the sun was shining for a few hours, I decided to photograph my "Friendship Braid" quilt that I just got back from our local quilt shop.  I had them machine quilt it for me and I put the binding on myself.  

I love the name of this quilt as well as the design.  I think of great friendships woven together when I look at this design and the title seems so fitting.  

I love bright colors combined with crisp white and have decided to use this lap quilt at the foot of my bed ready to grab for a quick power nap.

I've added the video instructions to this post in case you want to give this quilt a try.  

It's sink or swim here and I decided to get my act together and get some things done despite the weather!  What do you do when the weather keeps you inside?  Keep your chin up and your nose above water!

Fun Filled Pinterest Day by the Lake

My dear friend, Lana, invited us to her new lake home for a Pinterest day with the girls.  Lana is on the left and Suzette, another dear friend, and my daughter, Amber had a great time crafting all day.  These gals really are family and a blast to be with!    We were having way to much fun and working too hard for me to mess with my camera, so I shot these images with my iPad.  I  apologize for the poor photos.  

We started off the day with a salad for lunch followed by this wonderful gluten free dessert that Lana made.  Chocolate is my favorite and it was so good!

We made terrariums with instructions from Suzette…..

I love Lana's collection of breadboards on her light blue walls.

This island was the perfect spot to do all our crafting!  If I'd had a better camera you would be able to see the lake view through the windows.

Lana had chalkboards for us to decorate with chalk makers….

Amber had mugs for us to ink and bake...

I was lazy and brought canvas and white stickers to create with….

Before we went home we made bracelets (the one at the top of Amber's wrist)...

We also decorated canvas pillow slip covers, sea glass bottles, and a glass vase painting.

Love you gals!  If you're looking for a great weekend with friends, try this out!  

I spent the following day looking up new ideas to try next time.

Yarn Shoppe and Cupcake Paintings

I've had a few requests for a yarn shop painting and here it is! 

"Knit Wit Yarn Shoppe"

Stella and her sister Delores own the yarn shoppe in the center of town. New friendships have formed with the wonderful customers who sign up for their classes. You could say they are a close knit group. The two sister's spent the day decorating the shop for autumn and whipped up a batch of pumpkin bread to serve in their classes along with a mug of hot spiced cider.

For those who don't want the expense of an original painting, it will soon be available as a print which can be personalized.  This painting is listed on eBay and you can click on the title above if you are interested.   The auction ends tomorrow night. 

I also have a little cupcake painting that I finished yesterday and listed on eBay.

"Acorn Caramel Cupcake"

A caramel surprise is tucked in the center of this dark chocolate cupcake with turquoise frosting. This treat is topped with a caramel acorn dipped in melted chocolate and then in chocolate sprinkles. A turquoise and brown dotted ribbon is wrapped around the edges of the canvas and tied in a bow at the top.

I saw these little acorns on another website and they are simply made with caramels.  You place 5 or 6 in the microwave at a time for about 5 seconds.  Roll between you hands to shape like an egg.  Dip one end into melted chocolate frosting (from a can) and then into chocolate sprinkles.  I can't wait to try this perfect treat for Autumn!

Crocheted Bag

Last Wednesday evening during craft night, this is what I worked on:

You can find the complete instructions for this bag at Lucy's blog Attic24 (my favorite new blog find).  I actually like her colors better, but couldn't find them when I went shopping at Michaels.  I will have to make another one with her vibrant color combination.  I haven't had this much fun crocheting in a long time!   You'll not only like Lucy's crochet patterns, but also her cute way with words. I feel like I'm in the UK sitting there visiting with her over a cup of her tea while we chat about yarn.

This bag is great for toting my yarn around.  I think I'll make me a scarf with the remainder of these colors.

Cupcake Paintings in Stock

Just a quick note to let you know that I have four original paintings still in stock in my Etsty Store.  Check them out here.

Crocheted Cupcake Booties and a New Cupcake Painting

Hot off the press!  I just finished, photographed, and listed this painting on eBay.  To view the auction, just click on the title:

"Cupcake Masterpiece"

A dark chocolate cupcake with blue buttercream frosting is painted on top of an old worn and wrinkled recipe decoupaged to the top of a canvas. Tiny orange confetti is sprinkled on top of the fluffy frosting and scatters below the cupcake. Globs of blue frosting leak from the piping bag tempting the taste buds. A decorative black and white cupcake liner adds even more appeal to this yummy cupcake. A wide black and white dotted ribbon wraps around the edges of the canvas and ties in a bow at the top.

Recently on facebook I mentioned to someone that I had crocheted some "cupcake booties" (of course) and she wanted to know where I got the pattern.  Needless to say I couldn't find that message again so that I could share that information with her.  Hopefully she will see this post.  I made these cute booties on craft night using the directions from one of my favorite Etsy stores.  If you like to crochet, this store is a dream and her instructions are easy to follow.  I've used many of her patterns to make slippers for myself too.  I'll try to remember to share those soon.  Check out Holland Designs for the best patterns ever!

Doesn't everyone know some charming little lady who's cute little pink toes would love these! 

Happy Birthday!!

Sorry about the length of time between posts, but I've been sick with a terrible cold for three weeks and now the medicine that I'm taking makes my hands shake so I can't paint. I do feel better though.

Today is not my birthday. My birthday is at the end of February. My cold kept me from posting this until now because not only was it hard to paint it was very hard to type with shaky hands. I wanted to share what my crafty daughter, Amber, made me for my special day.

She made this little crochet hook case:

This cute little wreath:



This is the cover for some music she recorded on a cd for me. It's made with pictures from old Anthropology catalogs:




Isn't it cute!!!





She puts so much thought and love into everything she makes....




She also made me these adorable earring......

Please check out this post from her blog here. Also, if you like a real tear jerker check out her post here too.

Not responsible for any mistakes in the post. Ha!