Happy Birthday.......

To TDIPT!! The online market, To Dwell in Primitive Thymes is celebrating it's 3rd birthday.

Please click on the banner and visit the blog to sign up for the giveaway!

To Dwell in Primitive Thymes Birthday Giveaway

(on Early Work Mercantile, just click photo to view)

And Happy Birthday to the 19th century English illustrator, Sir John Tenniel. Sir John is most remembered for his illustrations that brought the characters of Lewis Carroll's book, "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland" to life. In honor of his birthday, I've drawn my own interpretation of his White Rabbit. This little fellow is the one that started the "adventures" for Alice as she followed him down the rabbit hole!

For updates this month, it seems I was on a "multiplying bunny" kick. I've painted two "early-style" bunnies in silhouette and a running rabbit in sepia for the update on TDIPT.
And I'm offering the white rabbit illustration as well as a set of painted cabinet cards and photo holder on Early Work Mercantile:

Just click on the photos to view:

(on TDIPT, just click the photo)



(on TDIPT, just click photo)

(on Early Work Mercantile, just click photo)

Thanks for peeking! And don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!

Collection....or Addiction?

"Ah, Miss Harriet, it would do us no harm to remember oftener than we do, that vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!" Dombey and Son~Charles Dickens




" . . our pleasures in this world are always to be paid for . . " Northanger Abbey~Jane Austen

~*~*~*~*~

Every Thursday my boys attend a social group through our school. So this means for about two hours every Thursday I drop them off and either paint in the car (see a few posts below), or run around town and go to thrift shops! (if my budget allows)

(the beginnings of a miniature frame collection)

There are at least three thrift shops (four, if I get all green traffic lights) fairly close to the school and I have my little route planned out for maximum "thrifting" time! In each shop, the first place I head to is the picture frames. I sift through piles and piles for sturdy wood frames, preferably with glass fronts. (My husband will cut glass for the ones that don't have any....but it isn't his favorite thing to do!)

I look for ones that have unique moldings or beveled edges that will look nice painted. I use them for my silhouettes or watercolor paintings, and some portraits that I may frame. So I feel as if I can "justify" a frame or two or three (or more) now and again.


Somedays I "hit the jackpot" and find a ton, while other days I may not find anything. So, I guess I didn't realize I had a "problem" until I couldn't find space to store them!



I decided to organize my addiction, it made me feel better....plus, now I can at least see what sizes I have when I start a painting!

Do you have any "addictions", uh, I mean "collections" you care to confess?? :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Sweet vintage postcards courtesy of my mother-in-law.)

Hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones....
Happy Valentine's Day!

Ode to a Computer

With saddened heart and weary soul,
not sure if you've been friend or foe,
the last decade of your life has been one of work and of strife
and now it may be that your time has come,
"Farewell, and "thank you" for a job well done."

(sorry, that's the best I can do on one cup of coffee this morning!)

It wasn't my intention to leave the last post up for almost two weeks, but my computer had other ideas. It would die a quick death each time I tried to open it, and if I did get to stay on for any length of time, it didn't want to get on the internet. So, I had to take it in to see what the problem was. The Mac team gave me their diagnosis, and it isn't good, :(

The logic board is about to go out.....it isn't connecting with the power source (unless I precariously prop it up with a novel!). I can get it powered up for a bit and then it loses power quickly. So, it looks as if a new computer may be in my future. This makes me a little sad, 'cause I do think my computer has served me well...but, I realize that they don't last forever. Now I have to start saving money for a new Mac laptop, and these are not cheap!

In the meantime, Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" is keeping my power cord connected and while I have some power I'm going to try and visit some friend's blogs!

A Snowy Day and Chicken Soup

Avery~ A Primitive Portrait on Early Work Mercantile

Pear Tree on Early Work

We had another snowfall yesterday. It was the "perfect snowfall"; for me at least. The big fat flakes fell from the sky and mounded on the grass, but not the streets...it was too warm to stick there. And then, after a few hours the rains came and washed most of the snow away. So we had all the "prettiness" without all the mess! :)

Vintage-Style Postcard Bunny on Stand on TDIPT
(Sold, but I may be able to talk my husband into making another :-)
Pear Tree on TDIPT

"Update days" ( ie, the 1st of every month for me) are usually long and take me quite awhile! Editing, cropping photos, putting watermarks on photos, writing somewhat coherent descriptions of my items, then hoping the internet cooperates so I can upload everything. So, after church, it was nice to sit and watch the snowfall while I updated my website, and online markets.
I sat by the window with my computer in my lap watching the snow fall while my husband made homemade chicken soup...from scratch! So yummy, and the house smelled wonderful!
(I'll admit it, I'm a little spoiled when it comes to not having to cook...not my favorite thing to do! But I love to eat whatever HE makes! :)

John and Abigail Adams (the older years!) on TDIPT
(Sold- thank you!)

Pear Tree on TDIPT

Valentine Bouquet on Early Work Mercantile

Pear Tree on Early Work