Blessings of the Season

For the last four or five years, I've been asked to provide the cover artwork for our church's Christmas Eve program. This year, I decided to paint a silhouette. Truth be told, it was getting down to the deadline and painting in just two colors is a lot faster than a full color painting!

Usually the church staff hands me some photos of ideas they would like for the program, but this year they said, "just do whatever you like." So there was freedom in color choice and in design. I kept thinking of the line in the song, "Mary Did You Know", by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene.© 1984

"When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God."

So I drew a simple profile drawing of Mary holding the baby Jesus and painted it in silhouette.

We are now two days into our Christmas break from school and another snow storm blew through this weekend. If it remains cold, the snow just might stay on the ground for a white Christmas.

Wishing you a Wonderful Christmas with family and friends. May your time together be a Blessed time of celebration. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Winter Wonderland

And it has just about snowed us in...literally, at least for my car! We've had record snowfall here in Boise the last few days. The boughs of my neighbor's pine tree became so heavy with snow that they've bent and are now blocking our driveway and resting on my car.


Thank goodness my husband's truck was not blocked. He is able to get to work and do the shopping for us.

(Our helper making a pathway to Dad's truck.)

And even if my car wasn't blocked, I really don't think I want to be driving out in this mess anyway! It is beautiful from inside our warm home just looking at it through the window, so says the Southern girl. :)

(The bird bath turned into a cake stand!)

(Love how our maple tree's branches look when they are covered in snow!)

Thank you for stopping by and wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving. This past month has been filled with family business and lots of home school work. Now that two research papers have been submitted, and we are coasting into the Christmas Break (woo-hoo!), I'm hoping to blog once again!

(Icicles hanging from our neighbor's house.)

And my apologies for not emailing my list about the first of the month's TDIPT update.....(if you are on my email list for updates and reading this). I did paint a few snowmen for the update and they have sold. (Thank you!) I do have two more wood ovals I'd like to paint with snowmen and will put those in my Etsy shop soon.

Here is a link to my TDIPT update if you'd like to peek at the snowpeople:

Me on TDIPT

I'll post again when I have more snowmen finished~

Happy December, and Stay warm!

Online Friends

Lana and I met a few years ago in an Ebay group. It was my first experience of being in a selling group online, and Lana was my mentor, still is! We became friends and starting IMing online as well....and we still do.....just about everyday.

About a year and a half ago, I had the pleasure of meeting her in person. I flew to her home in Tennessee from my home in Idaho! She is such a sweet and dear person and staying with her family was like being at home.....or at least like visiting family. Since we are both "starving artist" that trip was a gift from my parents, but I hope someday she will come to visit me. Until then, we do have our daily IMing!

Lana has invited me to share on her blog as a guest this week. She is featuring guest bloggers as well as guest artist in weekly updates. Please visit her blog for my guest post about all the houses we've lived in, and check out her first guest artist too!

Honeysuckle Lane Blog

Have a great weekend~

Give Away

Lana (Honeysuckle Lane) is having a giveaway on her blog:

Giveaway on Lana's Blog

She is giving away a $55 CSN Store gift certificate!!
Just in time for the holidays.

You have until Nov. 15th to visit and sign up....and there are several ways to enter and win!,
so be sure to visit!

Tea anyone??

(photo of tea plant from Julia's own garden)

Julia, my sister-in-law and the proprietor of Turner Hill Teas (formally Turner Hill Studios) is now offering a new line with a new website!

Turner Hill Teas is officially open online, as well as for scheduled cuppings. If you live in her area of the Northwest, you can contact her through her website.
Julia has a passion for tea and has dedicated herself to learning the art of tea making, blending ...and just about everything you might want to know about teas. She has become a Certified Tea Specialist and in her own words, "Her mission is to educate people on the wonders and complexities of tea, infusing their lives with one of the simplest and most beautiful pleasures in the world."

Please visit Julia on her new blog: Turner Hill Tea- Blog

And be sure to stop by for some tea at her new website: Turner Hill Tea- Website

I've already placed my order and am anxious to try her blends....the weather is perfect for a cup of tea!

Colonial Christmas

Sorry for the blog absence. (Is that a phrase?!) :) Suffice it to say, it has been a crazy few weeks.....home school, (in particular Speech~ ugh!, I didn't like Speech in High School or college), teenagers, house cleaning, dishes (by hand....I'd really love a dishwasher some day), loads of laundry, bathroom cleaning/sanitization (believe me, it is a daily thing!), and well, the list could go on and on, but I won't bore you......you probably have a long one of your own.

However, I did manage to fit a little painting time in there...plus get some special orders finished and shipped. (I still have some to complete and continue to work on, so if you are waiting patiently and happen to read this, please know you are on the list!)

The talented group of artisans over on TDIPT (To Dwell in Primitive Thymes) is hosting a Christmas Open House for the month of November (starting Oct. 31st-Nov 20th). This is our 3rd Open House, and many artists have donated give away gifts for the drawing. Please check our blog to read how you can enter for your chance to win.

To Dwell in Primitive Thymes Blog


Along with the Christmas Open House, we are celebrating in the month of November with a Colonial Christmas theme.

I've painted a few offerings for the theme:


Colonial Christmas Morning~ an original painting I did for my submission into EAL's 2010 Holiday Directory.



Christmas Angel~ she is inspired by a vintage postcard. I've painted her on canvas a few times for customers, but I thought this year she should be a little more 3-D! :) This is in collaboration with my husband.....I drew her, he cut her out of sturdy oak plywood and then I painted her. Her wings are removable, so she can be "just a girl in a red caped robe" instead of an angel.



Victoria~ she is an original design and as I drew her, I wasn't sure if she just stepped out of a Dickens' novel, (I have Dickens on the brain lately....with the PPPP update of "The Old Curiosity Shop", and my son and I are reading another of his novels, "Hard Times", which, by the way, is really difficult to read aloud!) or, if she is just a Scottish lass with her tartan cape and tam. She is also hand cut by my husband and painted by me.



Christmas Candles~ another hand cut and hand painted offering. Candles that don't need to be attended, and won't burn the house down! :) There are four creamy white candles of varying lengths with glowing flames and holly leaves and berries are also part of the design.

Here is a link to my TDIPT page if you'd like to take a peek:

Pear Tree on TDIPT

Okay, now to finish those special orders....oh, and clean the bathroom.....again! :)

Have a safe Halloween~

Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past

UPDATE: 12 (EST): Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past is now updated, and the Curiosity Shop is now open!

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Lana and I have updated our Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past selling blog today. Our update will feature some curiosities,....

.................trinkets, treasures, baubles, and bits.....and even some oddities!
Well, that describes my offerings...Lana could never make anything "odd"!

Charles Dickens', The Old Curiosity Shop, is our inspiration for this update. So please visit to see what we've created.

Poppets, Portraits, and Playthings of the Past

One fun trinket you'll find is a thaumatrope. This was a 19th century toy that entertained children and adults alike. Here it is in "action": (Hopefully you can see the video of the thaumatrope I've painted.....please let me know if you have any trouble viewing it.)






Thanks for visiting~ Have a wonderful weekend~

Signs of Fall and other Curiosities

Wow, sorry for being absent for so long. October came and is now almost halfway over! Fall finally arrived here in our part of the Northwest. The leaves of the trees are just now starting to turn and the air is a little crisper...still warm for this time of the year, but maybe that means a milder winter?!

Signs of Fall at our home~


This past week an intrepid squirrel couldn't wait for us to refill the feeder. He saw the bag of squirrel food on our back porch table and decided to help himself! He didn't even run away when I stood at the back door to take his photo!

Hey, why don't these people put food in the feeder?

Trying to open the bag with his little paws and teeth.

Diving in!

This year's pumpkin patch in the garden. Just two this year......one for each son to carve.

Sniffle......doesn't the change of seasons always seem to bring on a cold? Ugh! We are all passing some sort of cold around, and like a hot potato no one wants it! :)

Oh, and we did put some food in the feeder AND in a pie tin. Here is one of them sitting in it!

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This Friday, October 15th, Poppets, Portraits, and Playthings of the Past will update at noon (EST). That means 10 my time, so I'd better get my things ready! :)

Lana and I have a "curious" theme prepared, so please join us to see some interesting, unusual, and beautiful! offerings. (I don't want you to be too concerned though. By the word "unusual", I just mean different than our "usual", and well, a little "unique"....hopefully, it just makes you CURIOUS!).

In the meantime...please click on over to join us in a game! (I hope this works out....I've never played an "online" game of hangman before, but we'll see how it goes!).

Before and After

Paint doesn't always stay on paper or canvas here at our home. Before I stayed home with the boys, I painted on walls for a living. (You can read about that here:~My Past Life, and evidently, I didn't know how to post photos on blogger three years ago, lol, so you'll have to click to enlarge them!)

And I guess I still like doing that....just a little bit. But instead of stenciling, or murals or faux finishes, I like a more neutral palette in our small cottage. (Well, except when teens want certain colors in their rooms. You can read that post here~ Stripes)

This summer I decided our bedroom needed a little sprucing and some fresh paint. The color change wasn't dramatic. We had a color called "Antique White" on there originally. But after five years and several holes in the wall from "redecorating", it needed a fresh coat. So I went with a softer, lighter white called "Cottage White" by Behr.

(Thanks to June for recommending the color.....if you haven't visited June's beautiful blog, treat yourself to a lovely respite. And on the occasional Wednesday, she participates in "White Wednesday" by posting photos of "white" in her gorgeous home~Laughing With Angels).

(The 'make-do' vanity "Before)



(Dresser we found on Craig's List)



(Dresser drawers.....we are still searching for some Queen Anne- style pulls)



(Dresser in its new "spot")

After the paint was on the walls, the furniture looked too heavy and dark. So I mixed some paint~ (all the little sample jars of the whites I had purchased before I asked for June's recommendation!), and painted the wardrobe, and a few other pieces white.

When we moved into the house, there was an area by our closet that had a sink, which might have been a good idea, but I didn't really like it.
So, we took it out, plumbing and all, and put in a "make-d0" vanity, (ie, a piece of table top, a shelf and a mirror). I used it occasionally, but not enough to keep it (I'm not much of a "make-up" girl.) My husband came up with a great idea for the area.....it was the perfect spot for a dresser! Yeah, and that would mean extra storage too!

We shopped around and found a few we liked, but the prices were too high for our "budget".
So, I popped on Craig's List one day...and there it was! I didn't have to do anything to it, just a little cleaning.



The wardrobe "Before"....actually it is only about 2 years old. My husband made it and I painted it an antiqued red. I have a feeling that it will eventually be many other colors in years to come, lol!)

(The wardrobe "After", and the "new" mirror...my husband put trim around the old one)

After painting the walls and furniture, the "white" did take some getting used to, especially for my husband! When I was done and he looked around the room, all he could say was, "It's really white." :)

Well, after I put a few things back on the walls, (and by the way, silhouettes look very nice against the Cottage White!), it wasn't too white, and I think it makes everything fresh and clean, and restful...which is a good thing for a bedroom!

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Lana has a new website! Please visit by clicking this link: Simple Joys Paperie
You'll see some beautiful paper art as well as a beautiful website! Love the colors she has chosen.

The Belle of the Fall

Do you ever have an idea....and maybe it seems like a silly idea in your head, but it stays there awhile until you have to do something about it?? (Maybe I'm the only crazy person who lets ideas roll around in her head until they drive me crazy and have to come out?!)

Well, Pumpkin Princess was one of "those ideas"....I WAS working on specials orders and she just kept coming to mind. (Yes, I will finish the promised special orders this coming week and send them out...sorry for the interruption; but it really is all HER fault).



She wouldn't go away.....so I gave in and I got out my drawing paper and pencils. I put her down on paper and thought she would be happy there....not so!



She HAD to be painted. And now she is in my Etsy (and my website) if you would like to visit her, please follow either of these links:

Pumpkin Princess on Etsy

Pumpkin Princess on my website
(just click "Gallery" at the top of the page)

Just be warned, she is very persuasive and strong-headed, as well as strong-handed....she can hold up a pumpkin with one hand!

Now back to painting what I SHOULD have been painting all along...........
(oh, and I'll post pics of the bedroom sometime this week)

Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past

We've set a date.....please join us for some curiosities, oddities and perhaps a peculiarity or two.

Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past
(just click on the link above....blogger isn't letting me change the color)

What We Did This Summer

School has started and we are in full home school swing here at the Davis household. And, yes, it is beginning to feel like fall here, but........I'm still catching up with summer posts, so please bear with me!

And in honor of the start of the school year, here is my "Back to School" photo essay:

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This summer we took a trip to see family and attend our niece's wedding. We were close to the Pacific Ocean, so we stopped to put our toes in the sand and water. On the way back, we met a blogging friend and artist: Christine LeFever and her husband, Greg. They live in a lovely home in a beautiful part of town. So that was a treat!
Before we left Oregon, we stopped for a picnic at Multnomah Falls.

Here are a few photos of our trip (at least those I have permission from family members to post!)


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(The happy couple.....waiting to make their escape!)
(Oops, forgot to ask permission....but they are such a handsome couple I had to share.)

(Pretty bridesmaids all in a row.....most in the group are our nieces)

(Hanging out on the dock: the boys, and grandparents) It was one of those: "Hey, turn around I'm taking a picture." photos. (Sometimes it's a good thing to be in charge of the camera! :)
(Didn't get permission from the grandparents to post their pic, so they may disown me!)

(the pathway to the Pacific....it was a gorgeous day!)

(All of "my boys" on the shore....it was a great day for kite flying!)

(Christine's Studio.....a peek from the doorway. My photos don't do it justice. But you can see more photos of Christine's beautiful work and home on her blog:
Christine's Blog)

(Christine's home.....she graciously showed us her beautiful dolls)

(a glimpse of the beautiful Multnomah Falls)

It was a fun trip and it was good to see the family as well.

Next post I'll share photos of my bedroom redo....that was another week (or two) in our summer happenings.

Kindness Matters

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa

I want to thank each of you for your comments, emails, and cards regarding our loss of Roscoe. Your kindness to our family has been a blessing during this past week. I can't thank you enough.

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Home school starts tomorrow for us, and the routine and schedule will be a good thing. I'll have a Senior and a Sophomore.... it is amazing how the day-to-day turns into a year here and a year there, and then they are graduating from high school!

Tomorrow also means update time on TDIPT and Early Work Merc. In light of all that our summer has held, I'm glad I started on new offerings for this month back in July.


Please visit Eldon (the elf who turns paints leaves the colors of fall) on TDIPT:

Eldon on TDIPT

and my husband helped with the two offerings for Early Work Mercantile: Thank you honey for helping this month. :)



Wise Ol' Owl~ He made a frame within a frame (I really love this), and I painted an owl on an oak branch and a poem around the outer frame.


Personal Keepsake Box~ He used a frame for the lid and made a box to fit. (It is very sweet), and I painted a design around the outside and will paint an initial on watercolor paper for the new owner.

Owl and Box on EWM

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Thank you again. I hope to be blog hopping and catching up with everyone this week.....it has been awhile and I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to this summer.

Life, Love, and Loss

Well, it's been awhile, huh? About a month actually, and during that time our family has experienced birthday celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, travel, visits to see family, and family visits to see us, a state fair, and yesterday we experienced loss.



Yesterday was a difficult day for us. I'm typing through my tears as I tell you that we had to say goodbye to our Roscoe. If you haven't visited my blog before, let me tell you a little about our sweet pup. He was a miniature schnauzer who was the "runt" of the litter.

As he grew, it was evident he would surpass his "runtness", we say it was because he was so loved that he grew past the normal mini size of a schnauzer (just like Clifford the "Big Red Dog", remember that book/show?).

Roscoe was a part of our family. He was with us for almost 12 years. My aunt and uncle gave him to us when he was 8 weeks old and he took a plane ride from TX to AZ (where we were living at the time), to come and live with us. He was such a cute puppy and had a beautiful face.....still kept his good looks throughout his life too. :) Our boys were thrilled to have a new puppy those many years ago. Our youngest was 3 and our oldest was almost 6 when Roscoe became a family member. They are now 15 and 18, so the boys have grown up with him.

(one of his favorite sleeping positions!)

So, when we took him into the vet on Monday because he was having difficulty breathing....(we were thinking he had a cold or bronchitis, etc.), after many tests and blood work, the doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure . We had to make a very difficult decision....what was best for Roscoe? The prognosis wasn't good. What would be his quality of life on oxygen and medication for the short time they predicted his life expectancy? It was a hard life lesson for our boys and for the parents as well.

(taken about 5 years ago~both boys are almost as tall as my husband now....Roscoe loved to travel with us.)

We said our goodbyes to our sweet puppy, and now we will have to adjust to life without Roscoe....it is especially difficult for my boys who both have different ways of processing their grief because of their developmental disabilities. So, if you've ever loved a pet, I'm sure you understand our sadness.


Thank you Roscoe for loving us, and letting us love you. You were a precious part of our family. We will miss you. As my husband said yesterday, "You were a gift."

Roscoe Davis
1999-2010

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If you want to read more posts about Roscoe, click HERE