More Easter Eggs...

I finished a few of the medium sized eggs and 3, including the one above that I really quite liked, are available here in the new Etsy Shop.

A New Song... For a Bluebird..

Sing unto the Lord a new song... Isaiah 42:10...

Polka Spotted Sugar Eggs...

Medium size polka-spotted sugar eggs will be available here on Saturday.

Preen...

I love products that save time and this is one of the best. I like to garden, but I hate the daily battle with weeds. In my garden this product has cut my weeding by about %70. All you have to do is shake some over your beds once every six weeks. I put the first application on yesterday after giving the beds a good weeding. I will have to weed really well again for the ones that have come to seed and then its just here and there for the rest of the summer because of this great stuff. It even helps with field bind weed which was bothing me so much that I was having nightmares that it grew up the side of the house into my room and wrapped itself around my neck! I hate that stuff. Anyway, I felt like the last to know about this and so I want to make sure that all of you know... it's really great and they are not even paying to say so.

Look at all my gold...

Daffodils
William Wordsworth 1770-1850
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
My "host" consists of about 15, but still...

I'm sorry, I had to post the poem, but it must be done once a year and this is the time for it.
Amazing... miracles to see everywhere you look.

Double Rainbow...

Son't miss Vanessa's double rainbow. See it here! Oh gloriousness!

Thanks to everyone...

Yesterday was really fun!

And the winner is....

Lorinda!!! Many Congratulations! And, thanks to everyone for coming over for a visit. Please come again... and be watching! There will be a giveaway every couple weeks. :)

Blue Birdie is back and so it's a Giveaway Day!!!

The prize is going to be 3 little boxes...
...from my new collection of sugar eggs. They are tiny and difficult to photograph, but I think if you click on these pictures that you will be able to get the idea. I love the concept of eggs made of sugar with a tiny scene inside.
To enter this little giveaway drawing, all you need to do is comment on this post. If you are wondering if you are welcome to enter... don't ask. You are very welcome! :)
Some of these tiny egg boxes will be showing up in my shops sometime tomorrow... See them here & here. You are welcome to enter as soon as you see this post. Entries will be admitted until midnight tomorrow EST. Good Luck to one & all!!!

What a difference a day makes...

My lovely forcythia bloomed out in all it's glory. Forcythia is like the golden trumpet announcing the arrival of spring. I love it! My brother-in-law says that when you see the forcythia bloom, that is the time to put the fertilizer on the lawn. I am not an expert gardener myself, I did kill the lilac that I planted... it may have died of kindness because I worried over it so much, however this forcythia grew to be 10 feet tall in 3 years with no fuss. Maybe it has the perfect spot, I don't know. It makes me so happy.
It was a quiet afternoon around here yesterday, because everyone else went fishing and so I was able to accomplish a lot on these Easter boxes... which cross your fingers, I will be showing you tonight as part of the Wednesday giveaway. They will also be available here & here.
This was not made yesterday, but I love this painting. I think I have a little Matisse in my family.
This came in the mail. It is so lovely inside. I always look forward to the holiday issues.
So then, I was inspired and finally got all the Valentines down and most of the Easter stuff up. I really want something like this, which would really improve on all the blah paint I have going on down here, but I need the colors to be brighter, ofcourse.
If you happen to be up really late, swing by here again and you will be able to sign up for the Wednesday Giveaway that will go through tomorrow. Have a happy day.

Do not miss Mo's post ... The Politics of War...

See it here.

A few things that have captured my eye...

I was taking down the Valentine stuff yesterday... I know it's really late to be doing that, but look at my pretty flower from C... it's still so lovely.
Look at these colors! This is why I cannot resist Easter candy.
Look what is about to burst forth in glory! I love spring. I am going to be painting away today. I have this fab idea for little boxes inspired by those fun sugar eggs with the pictures inside. Have a happy spring day. It is looking like the next giveaway will probably be Wed. so be watching and if I hurray, you might be the first to get one of my new sugar egg boxes...

Tonights Winner is...

Carrie J. Congratulations!!!

Thanks so much to everyone for participating! There will be one more drawing next week... so be watching!!!

Happy Weekend!

The Friday Giveaway Drawing...

Welcome to that last giveaway post for awhile. I may possibly do one more tiny one next week just because one thing that I was expecting did not arrive in time and it's just so great that I don't want you all to miss out... so be watching.

This giveaway features one of my black lacquer boxes and one of Beth's Market Bags. Beth's Market Bags are just lovely. They are also tough and practical. They can carry a lot of weight and they wipe clean inside and out. Beth also sent along a matching belt and so the winner will have two fun pieces. Notice Beth's cute new label!My mother, grandmother and aunts love black lacquer furniture and all things Asian, which is the inspiration for these little boxes. These boxes don't really have much of an Asian feel to them, but I love how the black lacquer makes such an amazing background for color. I love these boxes and have made them part of my standard repertoire. I hope the winner will love them too. If you like this box and don't happen to win, watch my shops because the black lacquer boxes appear fairly often.

When I started painting Love Boxes, the main idea was to paint a pretty box and then add pretty words. I wanted to meld my interest in the visual arts and my love of reading and of beautiful words together. Finding the perfect quote, or writing the perfect quote to go inside is often part of the challenge of making these little boxes. But, when they are finished, I feel that they make a gift that can really have meaning to the person who receives them. And, no matter how much or how little someone has, they can always use an expression of love. The inside of this box reads..."love brings bewitching grace into the heart... Euripides..."

I really appreciate everyone for participating in my little giveaway week. I am so excited! I have always wanted to have my own little shop and I think this one is small enough that I can just manage it. I also really appreciate all of the "word of mouth" advertising that many of you have done to help out. Thanks so much! I am really grateful... so please don't keep my new little shop a secret... please tell everyone you know and visit often.

www.handpaintedloveboxes.etsy.com

As before, any little comment on this post will enter you in Fridays drawing, which will end at Midnight EST. You are welcome to enter as soon as this is posted & and everyone is welcome to enter so if you'd like to tell a friend.. no need to ask permission. I would love it!

Good Luck to Everyone!

Lindsey is the Winner of Thursday's Giveaway!

Fairies In The Making...

Paint the little fairies...
Blow on some pixie dust...
...and add wings

These will be available in the new Etsy Shop sometime Friday...

Pansies...

I planted these Crown Azure Pansies in September and they are a little rough around the edges, but with some Preen in the beds and a little fertilizer as well, these will be huge clumps in just a few weeks. I love Pansies...

Take all the sweetness of a gift unsought,

And for the pansies send me back a thought.

Sarah Doudney

Eggs...

They are finished!!! Hooray!

Morning...

The thing is ... I married a farm boy. Farm boys are morning people. They are also often not party people, homebodies, you could say. Once one of my husbands brothers came for dinner, at 9:30 P.M. he was, head back, snoring away in a chair.
If you are contemplating marrying into an agricultural family, you need to be aware that this behavior, all of this behavior... is contagious. I used to come alive at 10 o'clock, now I'm dead at that hour. I used to love parties and going out, now I love to be home.
I love to wake up before the sun and open all the shades and watch the sunlight enter the room while I blog or clean up last night's dishes. Sadly, the morning light shows how desparately the windows need washing and the furniture needs dusting and because of that I almost didn't show you these pictures, but .... look how pretty the sunshine is on the ivy and the pretty stripes it makes on my little table. Someday I am going to get the windows really clean and the dusting done... at the same time... and then it will really be amazing. Until then... I am going to enjoy and be grateful for the pretty sunshine coming in after all those cold, gray winter days. And, even with dirty windows... I am going to be very happy.

Hope you have a beautiful morning....

Granny Chic... Movie of the Week...

I actually have not seen this yet. I am going to add it to my Netflix list, but how lovely does Audrey look there... So pretty. I must see it!

A Favorite Product...

Even though I have a water softener... hard water can be a problem in the kitchen/dishwasher. If you deal with that at all, ie. spots on the glasses or even a yucky smell in the glassware or even an in-efficient dishwasher... this stuff is the solution. You won't believe it and I promise no one is paying me to say that. I just stumbled over a blog that was talking about cleaning the dishwasher and remembered how I used to think about that before I found this stuff. You can also mix it with water and make a solution that will completely clean up hard water deposits in the shower etc.. It smells great too!