A Special Dog Portrait....

I decided to have a very special birthday present created for myself this year and I contacted my friend Linda O'Neill over at Abby Creek Art: http://www.abbycreek-art.blogspot.com/ to create the above custom portrait for me. Linda is an extremely talented pet portrait artist and she has just launched a new etsy site for dog portraits and prints: http://www.abbycreekdogs.etsy.com/ .

Linda created the above portrait of Snuggles from this photo that I sent her. This picture was taken 14 years ago in 1995, just after Snuggles had his Halloween grooming and was looking quite dapper in his orange bow.

Chris and I had Snuggles from a puppy and he holds the destinction of being the first dog we ever owned together. When we were getting married my parents asked us what we would like as a wedding present and I knew beyond a doubt, we wanted a Shih Tzu. Weeks later, my parents arrived at our house holding a cardboard box which contained the sweetest little gold and white Shih Tzu puppy. From that day on, he shared our lives with us and brought us so much joy. Snugs is no longer with us, he passed away 9 years ago but to this day, he is never far from our minds or hearts. I have photos of him all over our house and because of that, every day I still get to look into that sweet little face. This portrait is a most special birthday present to myself...one Chris and I will both treasure forever.

In case you missed the portrait of my little Dudley that Linda painted for me back in May.....here he is. I hope you will stop by and visit her blog, etsy shop and website....she is a most talented lady. Thank you Linda!!!!!!!!

Summer Inspired Jewelry.....

I'm back from vacation and I had a really wonderful and relaxing 2 weeks off, taking day trips and doing fun things with Chris. I still have to organize my photos from that time as well as take pictures of the orchids I purchased when we went to my favorite orchid nursery last week so I'll save that post for another day.

In the mean time, here are some new and I think, summery style pendants that I just completed. I've gotten into painting double sided fued glass pendants. The design on the backside, creating a lovely backdrop for the garden growing up the front.

Daisies and Poppies seem to be a popular design motif these days.

Abstract sand dollar and fused glass pendants continue to be a lot of fun for me. I love painting in miniature so this is something I truly enjoy.

These pieces can be found in my ETSY shop at: www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

Some of the pendants have already sold but if you see something you like, I'm always happy to create something just for you, feel free to ask.

Abstract Glass And Sand Dollar Pendants....

Yes, I'm still on vacation and having a great time running around enjoying myself. We've gone into the city a few times for shows and visits and this week I have a trip planned to my favorite Orchid nursery in PA to spend some of my birthday money from last week. I couldn't stay away from blog land though for a whole two weeks so this morning I've been visiting my blogging friends and also decided to list some of my new pendants that I finished before my vacation.

The pendant in the top photo is called: Nighttime Daisy and the one directly above is: Spirit Dancer. All of the pendants in this post are abstract and contemporary either on glass or sand dollars. All the glass pendants were first hand painted and then the paint was fused onto the glass so that the design would never come off.

Two sand dollars with abstract designs.... Twilight Silhouette above and Kaleidoscope below.

This pendant is Abstract Rose Garden and the one below is Floating Hearts. You can click any photo for a larger view. Before my vacation started I was also working on some double sided fused glass pendants. They are still waiting for bails to be attached and photographs to be taken so they will have to wait until after I return to my studio to make their appearance.

I've taken some nice photos over my vacation that I will be showing upon my return next week. In the mean time, I hope everyone is enjoying summer. The above art pendants are all available on my new ETSY site: www.artfulcreations.etsy.com .

A Garden Visit.......

These next two weeks I'm on VACATION....Yah!!! I'll be leaving my painting studio to spend some time relaxing and taking some great trips along the way. I'll be bringing my trusty camera along to share photos with you of my adventures.

I thought we could take a little garden visit before I leave.....the theme with this post is entryways, which I think are so important to welcoming your guests and helping to create spaces you can enjoy. The above photos are from my front yard....that funny little sign in the first photo is an honor I just received last week. In my community, they give out yard of the month awards and I'm thrilled to say that I received this award for the month of July. The planter boxes were made by Chris from old fence posts. The planters are filled with Impatiens and other assorted annuals. Alongside the boxes I'm growing a Flower Carpet Rose and two Knockout Roses.

This equisite mosaic birdhouse was created for me by the extremely talented Michelle Legler over at : http://www.mosaicqueen.typepad.com/ . It is no wonder her name is Mosaic Queen because her work stands alone in its beauty and creative design.

My front entryway has two beautiful Flower Carpet Roses surrounding a cart full of Impatiens.

The stairs are lined with pots and window boxes full of Impatiens that cascade over the sides.

My backyard perennial garden is producing lots of beautiful blooms after all the rain we've been having. The tall plants in the back are my perennial Hibiscus and come late July, they will be full of dinner plate sized blooms in all colors.

My back entryway is lined with a row of Hydrangeas and pots full of Geraniums, one of my favorite summer flowers.

I hope you've enjoyed the entryway tour. I'll be taking a little blogging break over these two weeks to enjoy my vacation and take lots of photos to share upon my return.

Garden Blooms

While I've been painting in the studio it appears that flowers have been continuing to bloom on my back porch. I have this beautiful, full blooming pink Dahlia to walk past each time I come into my back door.

It would appear I am not the only one smitten with this beautiful plant. At least this little bee stayed very still and allowed me to snap some really good photos of him. I actually think the below photo would make an excellent painting some day. Hmm.....food for thought.

On my front porch I have Impatiens growing up all over the place, from pots as well as very large planters made from old fence posts that now sit in my front yard. Impatiens are one of my favorite annuals, I love how their beautiful and colorful blooms continue throughout the summer and fall and how they spill over the pots and planters they are in.

I cannot forget about the Coleus, I love these plants.......I have some on my front porch at the moment and snapped quite a few close up shots of their leaves....I have to admit, I think Coleus leaves would make a wonderful abstract painting at some point. That is what I had in mind anyway, when I took the below photo.

Next time I'll show the new Hummingbird painting I just finished. Right now it is drying and taking a bit of a rest before it gets photographed for my website. Happy holidays to everyone!!!!!