Soon to be 2018!

Can you believe that it is Thanksgiving next week? 

And Christmas is only 5 1/2 weeks away! I was finally awakened to this fact as I was jotting down appointments on my soon-to-be outdated planner. 

front of calendar

I just received calendars from Legacy with my artwork and wanted to pass on that, if you are looking for a faith-filled calendar with uplifting verses from the Bible that match my watercolor art, here is one place you can buy the 2018 calendar, "Faithful Heart and Home."  There are more places to buy it, too; just google.

back of calendar which shows the 12 months of illustrations/verses

There is also a smaller magnetic version, but this large wall calendar is of high quality textured paper with beautifully printed pages of my original watercolor art that is nice enough to frame!

Meanwhile, enjoy the last days of autumn and have a blessed, joyful Thanksgiving!

Summer Goodbyes

Cool breezes in the morning and evening have the smell of change. Windows are open and the air is invigorating. Autumn is near!

I'm enjoying the sweet scents and flush of color on most every flowering bush in our yard.  

It's time to pick hydrangeas to dry for autumn decorations. 

And oh, yes, time to pick pumpkins to set out. Well, I will do that right after Labor Day...the unofficial end to summer.

I hope all of you are enjoying these last days of summer. It has been glorious for me in many ways, and I'm sad to see it go. Thankfully we have autumn to take its place!

Happy Birthday to the United States

It's a beautiful Pacific Northwest Independence Day. It's a nice morning to have coffee on our porch, watch our flag wave and think of all of the blessings of being an American. 

May the USA always be one country under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Magnificent June Days

So far, June has been cool and somewhat cloudy. From the bird songs and multiple visits from deer and other creatures, it is just what the animal kingdom enjoys. 

Daytimes are filled with painting flowers for new art collections, while the evenings are cool enough for a sweater and hot chocolate at the outdoor fire pit. 

Here's a short video of me painting a hummingbird.

(You may enjoy the sound on)

My only wish is that the summer doesn't fly by too quickly!

Christmas Comes Early

On this first day of June, I welcome you to "Christmas in the Wildwood" with cardinals, wild roses, pine cones, & holly. From house and garden flags to floor coverings, pillows and pillowcases to quilts, tabletop to decorative storage boxes, this art collection is just hitting the shops.

Wilmington Prints just released this beautiful fabric collection. Their 100% cotton quilt fabric is the highest quality and MADE IN AMERICA! (something highly unusual these days!) Their quilt batiks are produced in the South Pacific (an area known as Batavia during colonial days.)

It's not too early to start sewing projects for Christmas. This beautiful collection has a large wreath panel, placemats, & WIDE tree skirt panels. The projects can be made in a weekend and are perfect for gift giving. I intend to make many of them to decorate my sunroom this Christmas. I think it will be elegant with baskets of pine cones, plants and holiday bouquets.

prefab quilt panel (also would make a nice wall hanging!)

printed placemats are ready to sew

You can also purchase Wilmington Crystals, 5 Karat Minis or 10 Karat Minis depending on the project. These pre-cuts are great for quilts!

Click this link to the Wilmington Prints blog regarding my collection for the full line of fabric designs, a couple of quilt patterns and even a video of how to make a "simplish" quilt with this collection.

New sets of beautiful holiday gift/storage boxes have just arrived on my doorstep which is manufactured by Enchante. They will be in various department stores in a few short months. They are heavy duty with beautifully coordinated linings and perfect to display throughout the winter with your botanicals.

House flag by Evergreen Enterprises

I hope that you enjoy all of the products with this art as much as I do. I like that it is elegant and traditional, yet updated with roses and ephemera backgrounds. 

Enjoy your own merry little Christmas this summer!

Sweet Valentine

We've had quite a rainy fall and winter; record breaking at times. But today we have glorious sunshine and even a few daffodils showing color. It's hard to stay inside to work, but the sun is deceiving and it's too chilly to stay out for long. I'm happy to peer out my studio windows at the dogwood trees soon to erupt into bloom with towering pines behind them. I take heart...only 5 weeks till spring!

I hope that your Valentine's day is filled with sunshine, too; if not in your sky, then in your heart.

Delightful Winter Day

Gate at our rose arbor.

I woke to a dream world of a gentle snow falling on lacy white maple branches.

Lacy Japanese Maples and Pink Dogwood

Here's one of our paths that meanders through large conifers and maples. Isn't this soft snowfall mesmerizing?

It was going to be another hectic day at work. With calendar pages scattered about (for 2019 already!) I thought I'd grab a cup of tea and paint furiously in my comfy flannels by the fire. But I couldn't resist taking a walk in this winter wonderland.
Looks like I'm not the only one. This hummingbird chattered at me from the Japanese Maple next to our pond.

I wrapped a seed warming mat and wool sock around our hummingbird feeder. It keeps it fluid to around 20 degrees. We can get into the low teens sometimes; then we let it quickly defrost by the fire while the little hummers sit on the hanger on our porch and scold us.

Meet "Biscuit."  He follows us around the

property. Lately, he enjoys sitting on the feeder
for long spells, mesmerized by the snow, too.

It's no secret that we get a lot of rain in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. But, it's a little known fact that we get our share of snow, too, since we are part of the north Oregon coast range. 

Our weather can be quite different than Portland, the nearest city that is an hour away on the other side of a small mountain. While Portland gets ice and snow from the gorge, we get a lot of rain and snow incoming from Alaska over the Pacific Ocean.

Glen and Cotton headed out early this morning to feed the birds. 

An avid swimmer and lover of all things summer, Cotton is not a fan of so much snow.

Looks like it will be hard to get much work done today. It's wonderful snowman snow, and relatively warm (around 30 degrees.) If I decide to play hooky, I'll update with a snowman picture. Hope that this ordinary middle-of-the-week day is a surprisingly delightful one for you, too.