In a Land Far Far Away.....

Remember in my last post how I said that I was taking a computer break and doing a little "day dreaming" to renew my creativity..... Well, we decided to take a little trip

to visit this good looking guy.....
My hubby and I took a trip to Spain to visit with our son, Eric.


Instead of gardening at home we visited Madrid and went to an indoor market where they sold ....

beautiful produce like this....

and this.....

just had to throw this in.....

Can you believe that with all the beautiful sights to see in Madrid, that this was one of my favorite places to visit.....

I would like some of those cashews please....

and even though I'm a chocoholic this is a little too much chocolate even for me, but isn't this so creative!

I will share more later, but promise not to go overboard with all our vacation photos. I've got some jet lag to get over!

Taking a Computer Break

I'm taking a long needed break from work and my computer. Both my Etsy and Ebay Stores will be closed too. I need to energize and get myself inspired so I can get those creative thoughts moving once again in the right direction. Maybe I need to put on my gardening hat and get outside to soak up a little sun....Sure hope the weather cooperates!

I'll dream about planting some of these to hang on my garden gate again this spring....

These are my favorite garden gloves. I bought two extra pair at the end of the season last year.


I'll dream about painting my old yellow chairs this color......

I painted two of these for my daughter last year. Until the next post, I'll be doing a lot of fanciful day dreaming!

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!

Caitlin's Cakery & Cafe Folk Art Painting

My hubby and I have been busy making travel arrangements for a trip to visit with our son in Spain. My concentration seems to be shot since we've been busy with passports and trying to get everything organized.

I wanted to paint a village scene but one little shop is as close as I could conjure up. I will be listing this 9 x 12 painting on eBay this evening.

"Caitlin's Cakery & Cafe"

Bright and early Monday through Friday, Caitlin arrives at her cakery where she whips up some magic with secret ingredients to enticing confections. She turns on her favorite 40's music station and sways around the kitchen in her red dotted apron mixing gooey goodness as she waits for the ring of the bell announcing her first customer of the day. She greets each patron with a smile and sugary samples as she pours steaming cups of coffee while they make their choices reading from the huge menu written daily on the chalk board behind the counter. Desserts are displayed like exquisite jewelry in the windows and the scent of baked goods greets each hungry soul who enters this little cakery heaven at 209 Main Street.
Since my mind has run amuck, I will be painting little cupcakes, for a while until the fog clears.

Don't you wish you could step through the door of this shop and order a coffee and dessert then sit down at a table while you browse through a recipe book on cupcakes!

Craft Night and a Snowflake Cupcake

Wednesday nights my daughter, Amber, my SIL Paula, and I get together and craft. Right now we are busy crocheting projects and will try other crafts soon. Paula is a crochet genius and can make anything even without a pattern. She makes up a lot of her own designs. Here are some items I worked on during the evenings last week. The spiral pot holder is mine and the checkerboard pot holder and crocheted envelope I did for my daughter for Valentine's Day. Last night during craft night I took it easy and simply worked on my afghan that I started about 3 weeks ago.

Paula worked on these very cute and extremely tiny pieces for Amber to make into ear rings. The tiny granny squares are approx. 1 inch in size. Amber will starch these to stiffen them and then add the wires for the ear rings. Amber made some a couple of weeks ago with Paula's guidance. She's a great instructor!
I wish I had photographed the cute hat that Amber made, but I forgot. I will share it with you or link to her blog when she posts about it.
If you've never done craft night give it a try. It's a great way to complete those unfinished pieces and visit with each other.

I finished this little painting that I mentioned in my pervious post. It is now listed on eBay.

A scrumptious dark chocolate cupcake is topped with turquoise piped frosting and accented with delicate white snowflakes and tiny white sprinkles. This whimsical creation is displayed on a turquoise cupcake stand and covered with a glass cloche. A turquoise and brown dotted grosgrain ribbon wraps around the edges of the canvas and is tied in a bow at the top.

I hope you are all safe and warm! There's nothing like record snowfall!

Giveaway Winner and the Beginning of a New Cupcake Painting

Amy is the winner of the Valentine Cupcake print giveaway. Congrats Amy! Send me your address and I'll get it in the mail right away.

I started this little painting today and should have it finished in the morning. You'll see it finished in my next post. I must get back to my folk art villages next. Any ideas? I seem to have a block for some reason. I think I've been painting too many cupcakes and can't get my mind around something more involved. I also need to decide if it will be painted on a large 24" x 30" canvas or a small one. I would like to get rid of this last large canvas that's taking up space in my studio.

Also, I know that most of you thought I should keep the "Sweet and Irresistible" painting, but I've listed it on eBay. I'm having a hard time deciding what I want on that wall above the shelf, but I'll know it when I see it. Above the stove is really not a good place for a painting since it would have to be cleaned all the time.

What do you think winter, spring, summer, or fall for this next village scene? Is everyone tired of winter yet? We're still getting snow.

Gigantic Retro Style Cupcake Painting

I've had two gigantic canvas's sitting in my art room waiting for me to get creative. I may have to keep this one (I think I've said this before). Then again if I got a good enough offer, who knows! I'll sell anything that's not nailed down. That's why I don't have very much of my own artwork. Do you think it's too big for this area?

Click on the photos for a closer view.

This gal has my posture after sitting at my drafting table all day. I saw this stance on a lady from a vintage sewing pattern. On the pattern the ladies apron was sheer so you could tell she was slim and trim even though her transparent apron flared out over her straight black skirt. My mother thinks she looks "in the family way". So, I could have put "Hot from the Oven", but didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I thought it would be nicer to use "Sweet and Irresistible". Do you think she needs a tea towel over her arm or a pearl bracelet? Every woman in the 50's dressed up to bake didn't they? A towel might take away too much from her cute apron though. Let me know what your ideas are.
This is kind of like having the lady from that movie "the 50 foot woman" above my stove. Hope she doesn't kick those cups off!

Don't forget to sign up for my Valentine's Day giveaway in my previous post.

Valentine Print Giveaway

This weekend we celebrated this "sweet" gal's birthday. She's my pride and joy and my first born angel. Amber has a knack for lighting up a room with her smile and her enthusiasm. She was pretty surprised when she got a gift from our two dogs, Annie and Jersey, and our cat, Bailey. They are very thoughtful animals and thought she might like some gluten free crackers to snack on. Happy birthday Amber!

Amber loves tradition and every year she has chocolate pie instead of cake for her birthday. She also likes pot roast for dinner on her special day.


I should have had this giveaway a few posts back when I hit my 300th post, but instead I'm doing a Valentine Giveaway. Leave a comment on this post by Monday at 6pm to be entered to pick a Valentine print of your choice from my Etsy store. You can view my Valentine prints at my store by clicking here. Come back to this post and leave a comment telling which Valentine cupcake print you would choose if you win. I will need to be able to contact the winner so make sure to leave a link or an email address.

Celebrate With a Valentine Cupcake

My momma always taught me not to lie. I don't think this is a lie though as much as it is a change of heart. Remember in my last post where I said this is my last Valentine cupcake painting for this year......well I just never know when my mind will take a completely different direction as I put my brush in my hand. It all started when I took a short trip to Hobby Lobby after leaving the doctor's office. I came across some cute harlequin ribbon and made my purchase along with a few other cute items that were 50 percent off.

After taking down all my Christmas decorations, I needed something to put on the shelf above my kitchen stove.
....and I found this cute pillow for about $4.00 for my new computer chair.


I found some cute black and white harlequin ribbon that I decided to grab to use for a cupcake painting in the future. I love to keep lots of ribbon on hand. Now, this is where I had a change of mind. As I was getting ready to paint, somewhere in the back of mind a little voice said, "You still have time for another little Valentine cupcake painting using your new ribbon." With a complete reversal now I switched directions and this little painting appeared....



"I Love You Cupcake"


I listed this one last night on eBay.




This very rich dark chocolate fudge cupcake is topped with fluffy white frosting. Tiny red hearts are an extra little touch and a red, "I ♥ You" ribbon is tied around the base of the cupcake. A small white heart hangs from the red ribbon with the word "Cupcake" in the center. So, when read all together you are saying to your sweet Valentine, "I ♥ You Cupcake"! A black and white harlequin grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the edges of the canvas and tied in a bow at the top.





Doesn't it look cute on my shelf in the kitchen along with my other purchases? I may have to paint one for myself!



If you are looking for a gift for that special someone for Valentine's Day the following two prints are available in both my eBay and Etsy Stores.


"Love Valentine"


"Be Mine Valentine"

Valentine Cupcake Painting

I finished this 9 x 12 inch Valentine Cupcake painting today and got it listed on eBay this evening. You can check out the auction here. If you want a Valentine cupcake painting, this is the last one I'm doing this year. I just finished a cake painting for a customer who owns a cake decorating business in Australia. I will share that with you soon. I really wanted to keep that one for myself!

A sweet cupcake for your special Valentine! This yellow cupcake is piled high with fluffy pink frosting and accented with heart shaped candy and white pearl sprinkles. This whimsical creation is displayed on a turquoise cake stand and covered with a glass cloche with a pink heart shaped knob. Tiny pink hearts hang from the edge of the cake plate.

Love Valentine Cupcake Painting

I listed this little 6 inch x 6 inch Valentine painting on eBay today. You can view it here. I have some good news that I would like to share. I now have a licensing agent and my very first contract to license a couple of my designs. This is a journey that I've long wanted to take. Sometimes it's hard to take that next step, but that was my one and only New Year's Eve resolution. Now I can check that off my list! You can view my artwork on their website "Next Day Art".

This very rich dark chocolate fudge cupcake is topped with milk chocolate frosting and a bright red rose. Tiny white sprinkles are an extra little touch and a red, "Be Mine" ribbon is tied around the base of the cupcake. Love is spelled out in red at the top and accented with tiny white dots. A red and white dotted grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the edges of the canvas and tied in a bow at the top.

Party Time!!!

I've been a little slow on the draw since Christmas. I just got all the decorations put away and now the house looks completely undressed. It always looks like something is missing at this point. Does anyone but me usually find some little Christmas item that you forget to take down like two or three weeks after you've put everything away?

After New Years we move right along to my sweet hubbie's birthday. We went out to eat with our son in law, Scott, and daughter, Amber. Happy Birthday honey!

We then returned to Amber and Scott's house for a little cake and some fun....

Aren't we too old for this big guy.....show the little lady how it's done! This was our first experience at playing Wii. Notice I didn't share any pictures of me doing this!
Amber had the sweetest post on her blog for her daddy. It almost made me cry. You can check it out here.

Also, our son Eric, spent several day with his friend Cody, traipsing throughout Rome and you can check out his photos and post here.