Climbin' Clematis

I thought I would show some photos of my Clematis in bloom. I've got all 3 colors of this climber in my back perennial garden. This lavender Clematis is quickly becoming a favorite. I planted it last year after we moved and it certainly has gotten larger this year and rewarded me with many lovely blooms.

My white Clematis was also just newly planted last year and is the smallest of the 3 climbers but it has produced some beautiful white blooms for me this year.

My dark purple clematis moved with me last year. I have had it for many years and it is a real favorite of mine. It has really doubled in size this year and I have no idea why. I have noticed a very large difference in the soil here, as compared to where I lived before. Mind you, this is just up the street from where I lived but for some reason, the garden is exploding into something bigger and better blooming then it ever was before. It is almost like there are steroids in the soil.

Enjoy the blooms!!!

Butterflies & Hydrangeas Vintage Shabby Chic Ceiling Tin

I just finished this 12" x 12" Butterflies & Hydrangeas shabby ceiling tin. I'm very pleased with the way this one turned out. I started out by antiquing the tin before laying on the design. It was only my second antiquing experiment and I have to say, I like the technique and I'm pleased with the look it gives the tin and the design.

I've been on a real butterfly kick these days. Who knows how it ever starts, I've just decided I need more butterflies in my life I suppose. You'll see what I mean when you see some of my other recent works....lots of butterflies.

I've also really been perfecting my Hydrangea technique and once again, took notes on how I did everything and what colors I used. You may think it's silly but you don't always remember what you did to achieve a certain effect so when I do something I like or use a color I like, I take notes on how I used it , when I used it and how everything came together. I actually have a notebook with ideas, techniques and colors. I find it very useful to refer back too.

So I decided to paint some of my favorite Hydrangea colors from my own garden, which are blue and lavender/purple.

Keep an eye out for more butterflies flying your way in upcoming posts. I'll be listing this piece some time today on my ETSY site.... http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

Totes & Tees.....

Over at my house I've been busy making more products from my paintings. Remember my Floxglove Seed Packet watercolor above........I've made it into........

several different kinds of shirts and.........

a cool tote bag.

I painted this little gray kitty for a very nice couple in Belgium last year, it actually was a Christmas present that was ordered for them. What do you know, I turned it into.....

a shirt for all the CAT CRAZY people out there. Actually, if I find that the cat products have a wide appeal, I will be doing more cat art that I can create fun, everyday items from.

With this design, don't ask me where the original photo is.....my husband Chris has his own wacky storage system for our photos. Sometimes I look and find things right away, other times, I might be sitting here 20 minutes and still haven't found it....I then give up in utter frustration. I spent about 10 minutes looking for this one tonight and then decided I could live without it for the moment...so here we are, without it.

Anyway, this cat and another sweet kitty were painted for a lady in CA, now here they are on a tee shirt and tote bag. I'll soon be adding these to my website but in the meantime, I'm adding them to my first ETSY site... http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

Iris Collection

My Iris collection brings me a whole lot of joy each year around this time. I've had this collection for quite sometime....they come with me wherever I go. When I moved last June, so did my beautiful Iris collection.

I actually had such a huge collection that I gave some away to a friend when I moved, I honestly had more then I realized until I started digging them up. I usually get anywhere from 4 to 6 blooms per Iris....it is quite a show of color.

This fall, I will be dividing them again and spreading out my planting area a bit. I have my Iris collection in my back garden as well as coming down the hill in the back, next to my driveway. If I divide them up a bit more, I'll certainly have enough to finish bringing them all the way down that hill.

I love them all but the Pink Bearded Iris are my very favorites. I love to go outside and stick my nose in those beautiful pink blooms. They have such a sweet smell, to me, they actually smell like Sweet Tarts.....remember those candies??? I loved those things and that is what my Iris remind me of, only they are a lot prettier then the candy, that is for sure.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Imagine my surprise this year when I realized I had a Lilac bush in the yard. When we moved up the street to where we are now, it was June of last year and the Lilacs had long stopped blooming. I was really thrilled to discover this bush and needless to say, I've been out smelling the Lilacs quite a bit.

I was also able to get some really good, close up photos of them that I will store away for possible use on a future painting.

Other exciting things are of course happening in the garden as well. This is a photo of my deep purple Clematis getting ready to bloom. I have 3 in my back garden, dark purple, lavender and white. They all have lots of blooms so I'm looking forward to them opening up.

Another favorite....a serious favorite of mine, are my bearded Iris's. I have purple and the most beautiful pink. They should also be blooming any time now and I'll post more photos again when they open up.

Enjoy Spring and the beautiful weather.

Pink Rose Shabby Chic Jewelry/Trinket Box

I've been bitten by the bug to paint some jewelry boxes as of late and for my first one I wanted to paint a soft, pink rose.

I started with a wooden box that measures 7 1/4" square and 2 1/2" in depth. I painted the box a very light green, with some touches of white and lavender added here and there for good measure.

I distressed the box very lightly and once it was all cleaned up and ready to go, I planned the layout of my large, pink rose.

When I finished adding shadow leaves and some vague flower shapes and colors in the background, all around the box, I was ready to paint the rose iteself , along with the surrounding leaves and vines.

I didn't want to ignore the inside so I painted a little surprise when you open the lid. Chris then sprayed it with a protective coating so the design will last and stay beautiful. I really enjoyed this one and I actually just finished another.....a butterfly and hydrangea jewelry box. I think I feel a collection of painted boxes coming on. This piece is available at my ETSY shop: www.artfulcreations.etsy.com .

Foxglove Seed Packet Watercolor On Masonite Board

Just this week I finished my latest 11 x 14 watercolor on masonite board. I've decided to do a whole series of seed packets in watercolor and I started the series by painting some Foxglove, a flower that I have always thought is so very beautiful.

I had some beautiful Foxglove photos from a trip we took to Mohonk last year (lots of photos of our Mohonk outings are in my Out And About section to the right) so I decided to use those as a reference for this painting.

I wanted to do a series of really unusual and fun paintings and I got the idea for seed packet paintings by looking around on line, at vintage seed packs that were for sale. I just stumbled across them one day and the idea hit me out of the blue.

I wanted to make the border of the painting very colorful as I plan to make tee shirts and tote bags from this design , as well as the other seed packets that I paint.