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!).