Holidays and Traditions Shabby Lane Shops Magazine

Another wonderful Shabby Lane Shops magazine just hit the news stands! This "Holidays and Traditions" issue includes my short story, titled The Christmas Tree Farm.

You can find "Holidays and Traditions" in select Barnes & Noble, Bookworld and Hancock Fabric stores! And of course, you can also order this issue, a subscription and back issues at this link.

The Making of a Mural

I recently finished a mural at a friend's house and luckily took a few pictures along the way! She wanted a tranquil ocean with a palm tree on each side and a few flowers.

It didn't look like much when I first started...

Okay, a little peaceful looking now...

I love this, the floating coconut stage. It made me laugh. (Notice how my client wanted fluffy looking clouds, so I changed them for her.)

We labeled these "the aliens". Unfortunately I had to leave it like this overnight and my client woke up during the night thinking aliens had landed!

What a difference a few leaves make!

Here's the left side...

and now the right side...

and ta da! It's finished!

Back to the Missouri Botanical Gardens

I was lucky enough to find this heart shaped hydrangea at the gardens. How perfect!

The climatron and water lilies look so beautiful together. It was great to be there on a sunny day, a little hot of course (in St. Louis, what do you expect?) but that's okay, we were just happy to be there!

Chihuly created these glass sculptures a few years ago and they add so much color. Those lily pads are so large, we had to resist walking on them like stepping stones.

These guys were just asking me to come over and take their picture. I couldn't say no.

Still green, but finding these gourds was a subtle reminder that fall is just up ahead. (Yay!)

The New Veggie Garden

Freshly picked radishes! Unfortunately I don't really like radishes but still, we have radishes in our new garden. Yay! We put our garden in a little late so I'm thrilled to get anything to grow in the 90+ heat.

The baby carrots are up in the corner and are slow growin'. But that's okay, I'm just happy to see them there, alive and happy. And now I can say..."oh yes, we have carrots in our garden this year."

The first tomato is just turning red. I have big plans for this little guy. Oh yes. Hopefully there will be many (many) more to follow.

Introducing Lucy

I couldn't help myself but post these photos of our kitty, Lucy. She just turned a year old in April and I have to admit, she's a sweetie. She likes to lay on her back a lot, super surprising for a cat.

I have no idea what she was thinking here.

I couldn't believe she could still fit in a soda box. This used to be one of her favorite toys when she was...umm, smaller. We used to push her around the house like riding in a little kitty car.

Now Lucy's a member of the family and it's getting hard to remember what it was like before she was here.

My New Hand Painted Pendants

I wanted to share a few of my new hand painted pendants I recently listed on Etsy. These are teeny little paintings where I use teeny little brushes and lots and lots of patience!

I'm having so much fun creating these little paintings, I'm in the middle of making more and I can't wait to add them to my new Etsy site next week!

Oh by the way, if you want to check it out I'm at www.HandPaintedJewelry.Etsy.com.

Shabby Lane Shops Giveaway and Latest Magazine

Click here to enter to win this Spring Shabby Lane Shops Boutique Bag giveaway! That link will take you to the Shabby Lane Shops blog where the entries are being accepted. There are 32 shops that contributed to this giveaway, so this would be a great one to win! If you can see it, my mini blackboard tag is right in the center of the picture.

Four of the last Shabby Lane Shops magazine are included, along with the recent Spring & Summer issue that will hit newstands April 6th! My latest short story is included in this new issue. It's titled "The Unexpected Garden" and it's very much a spring and Mother's Day story. If you don't see it in your Barnes & Noble or other local bookstore, you can always order it here.