The Ice Storm

Every single twig and blade of grass was covered today. It was beautiful but I have to admit, I enjoyed its awesomeness much more from the inside of the warm house as I watched through the window.

My lavender is trying desperately to hang in there.

And this is all before the sleet hit. We had so much sleet it looked like snow.

But the kids played in it anyway.

Which means, of course, these icicles were demolished.

Hang in there lavender. Spring will be here soon....

I Just Finished My Chalkboard!

I don't know what it is, but I have a thing for chalkboards. I found this cabinet door at a yard sale and, for some reason unknown, had it sitting in my basement unused. It's so fun to give something new life, to change it into something totally unexpected. I should really do that more often.

I have the perfect spot in my kitchen for this freshly painted 'Menu' but the thing is, I still have more chalkboard paint. And I still have more cabinet doors from that yard sale. Where will I go with all of them when I'm finished?

It's voting time! I've decorated my website once again for Valentine's Day. I even have falling pink hearts this year! Click here to see how it looks. But then come back and remember to vote for me (by clicking on the button below) for this year's Valentine's Day contest! Thank you!!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm sharing a link to the new Shabby Lane Shops magazine on sale now either through this link or at book stores across the country, including select Barnes & Noble stores. I have a short story included in this magazine titled "Romance in Bloom".

This magazine is called New Year Romance and is the New Year/Valentine issue. Just like the past issues, this magazine has great articles and beautiful photos, so don't miss it! Subscriptions are also available.

This is a sweet, sweet little robin from Scotland. My husband just returned from a trip overseas to visit his grandma and was able to snap this photo before he flew away. (I hear it wasn't easy.) Oh, I wish we had these over here! I might have to paint him on something...

These two photos are from a town in Scotland called Moffat. There's the Moffat Post Office and gift shops looking all Christmassy with their Christmas trees hanging off the buildings.

I was in this town before and ate at The Rumblin' Tum. What a great name. I've also been to this James Pringle Weavers gift shop and bought a porridge stirrer. I'd never seen one of those and had to get it to hang in my kitchen!

I had to include this pic of the beautiful scenery in Scotland. It's a litle hard to see but little houses are dotted all along the water.

Bed & Breakfasts are lined up in a row and so colorful in Blackpool, England. More inspiration to paint!

Nest Clock

Well, here it is. My new studio clock that I've promised to post. I searched for the perfect clock to "match" my studio and could never find it. I noticed this round wood one day and something clicked.

It hit me that I could make my own clock! I painted the bird's nest and 3 blue eggs, added the hardware and there you go, new clock! I have no blue in my studio so I'm not sure why the eggs had to be blue. But in my mind, it worked.

I hung it over my Susan Branch calendar. I have to have one of those in my studio every year also, just to make the room complete.

acorns?....seriously??

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love our two oak trees but...c'mon. We're swimming in acorns. Some years one tree explodes with acorns, some years the other but this year both have dropped so many it's like a carpet.

I'm still trying to find the best way to pick them up. So far we've raked them in piles and loaded them into buckets. And then what do we do with them?

Thanks to the folks at Country Living magazine I found a new option for our overflowing bounty. My daughter will love making these acorn necklaces sprayed with gold paint. I wonder how long these will last? We could make thousands of them!

I couldn't let fall pass by without including a photo of the burst of color in our backyard. We have two of these burning bushes and they're so large, it's all you can do to not notice them. If only we could find a way to preserve these gorgeous leaves for the rest of the year.