Grandma's Treasure

 Like most of you I have been swamped lately with projects and ideas that just couldn't wait so I missed last Tuesday. This week I just couldn't find the time to rummage in my storage boxes that house all the china so I decided rather than miss this week I would post a photo of a favorite piece of china that belonged to my grandma Bouchard. 

It hung on her bedroom wall for as long as I knew her and then when it came to my mother she put it on her bedroom wall. So now ta da it is hanging on mine!

I have always thought it was just the prettiest thing with it's naive depiction of courting and flirting. I love the sweet dress and hat on the young lady in the swing although I have to admit the short knickers on the gentleman bring a smile to my face.                              

The back has no markings of any kind so the maker is unknown to me. It is heavy and has 2 small holes that a wire runs through for hanging.

Even though it may not be of any significant monetary value, it is priceless in my heart!

Thanks Terri and Martha for the opportunity to share this with everyone today!

Purple/Lavender Painting

It has been a really busy week and I love it, I get way more ideas when I am under pressure and they are ideas I honestly WANT to remember.

As an artist the one thing that always wears me out is "composition".  I so envy people who can see the finished image clear as day in their mind's eye and then execute that image with zero angst. I am trying to adopt the motto 
"not for me the furrowed brow" but I find my brow furrowed enough to plant potatoes some days.

Well in this case it kind of came together nicely I thought and I was happy with it after only 2 days of work (a miracle)!



I had started it a year ago in completely different colors and I was not happy with it and had no idea why. It was hanging in the spare room where I wouldn't see it too often and so the other day in browsing around in there I spotted it and thought "purple/lavender"!

 It already had the black background, which I liked so no hassles there. I find working in oil has been really rewarding and so far I am finding it a lot more interesting than acrylics. I guess everything has it's place!


Well off it goes to Ebay! Have a great creative day!

Faith Today in the Answer

First I want to say thank you to Angie at Free Spirit Haven, one of the Lord's angels on earth and the hostess of  "Fearless Fridays"  A sweet soul she is!

Today as I lay in bed trying to get up and start the day, I happened to look over to the wall and there as always is a picture of Jesus that belonged to my grandmother. I thought of all the prayers I have said over the last few months for people I know and many I have never had the opportunity to meet and wondered how they were doing.
I think of all the prayers I have said on my own behalf over the years, those answered "my" way and those uhhh not so much! I kept hearing in my mind the words, "Get out of your own way". What does that mean I wondered?
   
Like a light coming on I suddenly had the answer...so often I blocked Heavenly Father's plan for me with "my" little plan for me. I answered my own prayers and in effect shoved Him out of the way. "He's just not moving fast enough for my tastes" or "Hey I have a better idea so move over Jesus".
I prayed but I wasn't willing to wait for "HIS" answer. I realize now that in learning to wait on Him we acquire peace and certainty. When we wait quietly and patiently we have no fear for His spirit sustains us.
As a "control freak" this is a hard lesson to learn. But if we take the time to ask our Heavenly Father for guidance what sense does it make to then walk away and start making lists and notes for ourselves.

So today I vow, no more plan lists, no more second guessing, today I will court peace and today I will listen for the Lord's voice and turn mine off!
Love and prayers to all
Tina xo
    

Yellow Roses in Oil

Well I finally got the darned oil paint out and had a go at painting with it over the last few days and I am satisfied with the results. Although I had painted with oils when I was younger it had been years and I was a little worried about the smell and the cleanup, but it was fine and I have found a new love..
Getting the photos this morning was a whole other story as it is bright and windy out doors and I just had a heck of a time trying to get a picture that didn't have too much
glare as this baby is going to Ebay!

This is the best I could do for now and hey things never look as good as they do in person and this is no exception.
Next I have another lovely floral to finish that I had started last year that will be done on a black background so it should be quite dramatic.
Have a wonderful creative day! Tina xo             

Is It Tuesday Already?

 

Wow hard to believe that a whole week has gone by! 
First off thank you Terri and Martha for hosting such a lovely event each Tuesday!

Because the week was hectic with many projects in the works I ended up having to go with something simple today if I wanted to participate and I did so here she is....
A sweet little thing from China that was given to me as a gift by a friend who knows I love pink and thought maybe I could plant a violet in her or make a pin cushion out of her, but I like her just the way she was, sitting on my shelf just looking pretty and .....pink!
I love the raised pattern and even the fact that she is a sturdy girl, not fragile at all, but from good solid stock! Now being from China I would not actually drink hot tea from her (lead in the coloring is a possibility) but I think she is pleasant to look at even so. I displayed her on a vintage embroidered doily that was found at a garage sale in sad shape but it cleaned up adequately and I thought they made a lovely match!

Have a wonderful week everybody, you are always in my thoughts.......

Gene Simmons Military Tribute

 

I know it isn't a military holiday or anything like that, but this was just sent to me by a retired Marine who thought I would like to see it.

I thought of all the military ladies whose blogs I visit and who visit my blog and I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

Thank you for your sacrifice and for your family's sacrifice to make this world, my world a safer place.

A place where I can blog about whatever I want and not risk my life for doing it. A place where I am free to paint, to go to church, walk out alone in public and not have to hide my face to do it.

If you have family members in the military please let them know that today I thought of them and prayed for them and I said thank you!

Special Post

                If you haven't heard of Abi Monroe the renowned doll artist then you are missing something very special!
Her blog is located at:

http://abimonroe.blogspot.com/2010/07/etsy-treasury-art-doll-giveaway-with.html

Recently she decided to hold a Giveaway of 2 of her fabulous dolls (pictured here) to benefit her local SPCA.
This Giveaway is available until the 12th of July when the winning number will be drawn by Abi's local chapter of the SPCA. Please go have a look at her wonderful work and please do try to get a ticket or 2 or ...well you get the idea, it's for sweet homeless pets and that's enough for me to know. The tickets are $2 each and all the details are on her blog. Her work is amazing so enjoy your visit with her!

Jack Has It Right

It has been scorching hot here for days now and I don't know about anyone else but this weather makes me "panicky". I can't explain it but I feel claustrophobic, have trouble getting my breath and generally feel like a limp dishrag with hormone troubles.
Anyway as I was walking around and moaning about the outrageousness of these temps in upstate New York I happened to see this little guy, just relaxing and taking it easy....hmmmm.
Maybe the cat is right.
Maybe I am approaching this all wrong. Life and Mother Nature has just handed me the perfect excuse for sitting on my duff and doing....*gasp* ...nothing!!!
So Jack, my esteemed friend, and I are going to be lounging on the sofa today in front of the A/C and fan and just doing.....NOTHING!
Have a lovely "nothing" moment wherever you are today!

Happy Teacup Tuesday!
Today I chose what my grandmother Marianne Bouchard-VanDette thought of as one of her everyday cups.                                                
She loved pale yellow and this cup shows that love perfectly. 

It has a small rose cluster inside the rim and some gold trim around the edges. But the charm I believe lies in the way the white and yellow shading is arranged in scalloped or fluted edges.

I have arranged the cup and saucer on a bought doily that came from grandmere's stash, and the stamp on the back reads: 

Royal Stewart
Spencer Stevenson
England
 

Have a wonderful Tuesday and try to stay cool with a lovely cup of tea!

I have always been a huge fan of painted furniture and a few years ago in a fit of boredom in the evenings after work, I decided to just go wild on an old teacher's side table I had gotten out of the dumpster at a local school. It was still sturdy and sound so with a little sanding it was ready to paint.
I started by making sketches of whatever design floated through my work-weary mind and then getting out all the little bottles of craft paint I had collected over the years.

I wanted something that would make a real statement, in colors that would sing and cheer me up after a long day crunching numbers and this is what developed over the next 6 weeks.
At the time I didn't know about reds and yellows being "transparent" colors, so having to add multiple layers of those colors to get the look I wanted was frustrating. But in the end I was happy with the results and after several coats of varnish it now sits in a corner of my bedroom. So if you have a little old wooden something sitting around and paints hmmmm!

Project Genesis

First I want to shout out a quick thank you to OldGreyMare for coming up with this great idea and also to SeaWitch for posting the link so I could read about it and participate.
Ok today I have just a simple thing to share and you all probably think about this anyway but I almost blew it yesterday. I am one of those people who chew through electronics especially wireless phones.
They don't last more than a year for me and then the battery just won't hold a charge anymore. I had decided to get a new one and was about to throw this miserable hunk of junk in the trash when it occurred to me that it contained a re-chargeable battery. Now I am careful about all the other batteries I have but when a battery is hidden like this one it is easy in the rush of the day to just chuck the whole thing in the trash bag. Well because of this Project I have been a little more aware about what I am doing the last few days and just as I was aiming for the trash bin I stopped and a light bulb went off in my head! The Battery!!! It's easy to unhitch from it's mooring and now it can go in the box I keep for old batteries. Luckily for me a number of local stores do have bins for old batteries so disposal is not a problem.  Have a great Styrofoam-free day...:)

Happy Canada Day!

I know there are many bloggers I follow who are Canadian and I was born and raised in Canada, Montreal Quebec to be exact. I spent half my life in Canada and half my life here in the U.S.
I feel very fortunate to have experienced the best that both sides of the border have to offer!
Today is Canada's special day and it gives me immense pleasure to shout it out around the world....HAPPY CANADA DAY...I LOVE YOU!

First Order of Business Today

First today I want to take this time to thank all the lovely ladies who were kind enough to take time out of their very busy day and visit my blog for tea on Tuesday! I so enjoyed looking at all your posts and reading all the wonderful comments you all left for me on my tea set!

To say that you are all such an inspiration to me is an understatement! Your blogs are so filled with the most creative and artistic arrangements it is hard not to spend days just going through all your older posts as well as the current one. I was and am a huge fan of "Victoria" magazine and any of you wonderful ladies could have worked designing "Victoria's" photo shoots.
I look forward to getting to know you all better through future Tuesday Teas and continuing to be inspired to make my home as cozy as yours!

Photo credit:
Three ladies taking tea outside, [between 1898 and 1920]
Marsden Kemp fonds
Reference Code: C 130-5-0-0-187
Archives of Ontario, I0013298