7 things to know....

A huge thank you to Miss Maddy Rose for passing this wonderful blog award to me! Maddy is a blog friend that makes the most adorable Santa Claus figures, seriously, they are adorable
...I love them! If you have not visited her blog, yet, then please hop over here and say hello! ....We all need a little Christmas now and then!

Part of the award acceptance is passing along 7 things about me that you may not know -

The beach is one of my favorite spots!

Brownie is our adopted dog.

We adopted him at a local shelter just over a year ago!

I love all things Parisian

This is my dream house on the ocean in New England

( yes, this is taped to my computer!)

Hey, a girl has to dream!

My doppelganger?

Maggie Gyllenhall....

People always tell me I look like this actress...

even my kids said, Mommy, that's you!

(my hair might be a little lighter! :)

and my favorite season is Summer....

and....one of my favorite restaurants

 - Blue Water Grill -

So there are a few things you might not know about me!

and you already know the basics,

I love pink, Starbucks and drawing!

and all of my blog friends....thanks for all of your continued support!

Have a great day!

Thanks Maddy Rose - xo

Sunday Sketches - Patriotic Paper Dolls

It's Sunday, and it's also Memorial Day weekend, and we are feeling quite patriotic here in the studio.

I have been playing around with the idea of paper dolls, thanks to my bloggy friend, Brian!

I love the idea! ..and Madeline the Mouse, sure will look good in all of the outfits I am designing for her!

My kids love the idea, too... they have been coloring their own this morning.

I still need some tweaking here and there, but it's Sunday Sketches,

so I thought I would share what I have so far....

I hope you enjoy these...if you print them onto heavy cardstock, you can have fun coloring,  cuttng and playing around...maybe paste her inside your journal or bring her on a picnic!

Have a great weekend!

See you at Sunday Sketches

Paint Party Friday -Bookmarks

It's Memorial Day Weekend, and it's time to snuggle up in a

cozy chair, hammock, or pool float and read a good book!

Here is a bookmark for you to print and share!

You can use these bookmarks in all of your favorite books,

So what books are you reading?

It's also Paint Party Friday....I painted the butterflies with watercolors and then used my 'paint' program to make these cute bookmarks!

You can also cut these bookmarks out and paste in your journal...I did!

Have a great day!

Creative Tuesdays - Tree

Molly the Mole,

may be fast asleep now, but when she wakes up it will be time for

Creative Tuesdays with Mr. Toast.

The theme for this week's challenge is tree.

 I am looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with!

See you there!

PS- I am having blogger difficulties again? I can not comment, I will be around as soon as blogger fixes this problem, again! Am I the only one having problems with blogger?

Sunday Sketches - Positive Thinking Thought #1

Positive Thinking Thought #1

My Thoughts are Creative

It's Sunday and it's time for Sunday Sketches with Sophia and the gang....

over at The Blue Chair Diary.

Come join the fun!

Grab a pencil, sketch something -

and enter your link!

 It's that easy, and it's fun!

So today, I am sharing my positive thinking thought of the day!

Positive thinking goes along way.....you know.

So if you need a little creative boost, print her out and tape her to your journal...computer, whatever, just remember what she is saying....your thoughts ARE creative....just put them down on a piece of paper!

Sometimes just starting to draw, write, type ...whatever your creative outlet is can be the hardest part....so for today, keep this thought in mind

My Thoughts Are Creative

and have a great Sunday

Sweet Saturdays -

Sweet Saturdays

Madeline and Miss Kitty are book buddies. They just got back from the library.

They plan on reading outside today - together.

What are your plans, today?

Have a sweet Saturday!

"Book Buddies"

5" x7"

available, here

For more sweetness, hop over here, to my friend Diana's Blog!

Paint Party Friday and Illustration Friday - Soaked

It's Friday.

It's raining.

It's pouring,

little Penny is getting soaked

her pony tails have drooped and her sweater is all wet....

when will the sun come out again?

It's been raining here for just about a week now,

I do hope the sun comes out this weekend!

Paint Party Friday is here and so is Illustration Friday.

Come join the fun!

See you there!

Illustration Friday word prompt of the week is

soaked!

So I thought this would be perfect!

She's available here, if you would like to bring her home and keep her dry

 

Illustration Friday - Safari

Directions for an at home safari adventure...

Binoculars

Lion

Hat

Very TALL tree

Imagination !

For Illustration Friday  -

Word prompt of the Week - safari

Sunday Sketches - The Blog Out

I call it The Blog Out!

click picture to enlarge

For me, 2 whole days of no blogging...what went wrong? I am not really sure.

 It's too hard to understand what blogger means when it says

 ERROR BX-474549854548958

all day...

It was actually very strange, no blogging, but we are back and running just in time for

Sophia's Sunday Sketches, click here to visit her blog

I can't wait to see what you all have been up to,

during the BLOG OUT!

It's Madeline...In Real Life

We have a new friend hanging around the Studio, here...

Can you guess who it is?

It's Madeline the Mouse
and she's all dressed and ready for her first ballet class!

Pink tutu and all!

We are very excited.

Isn't she the cutest?

And guess what?

She's now available for sale, here on my Etsy shop.

 My girls love Madeline the Mouse and my illustrations of her so much, I thought it would be fun to have the gang over at Hazel Village bring Madeline to life. 

How fun?

She's 14 inches long and comes with beautiful soft pink silk duponi filled ears. Her tail is pink, too!

Her removable pink tutu has an elastic waist, perfect for plies and arabesque's...

she's made from brown organic cotton jersey- which makes her extra soft and snuggly

Her eyes and nose are handstiched with cotton thread

She's happy to have arrived here in the studio - she's constantly practicing her dance steps -

it's hard to keep up with her....

So please, visit her here at my Etsy shop...

Have a great Saturday my friends

See you at Sweet Saturdays over here....

( glad to be back in the blog world, after the Blog-Out - I missed you all! )

OOPS, seems I am still having trouble leaving comments on certain blogs...hmmm? hope all of these issues are repaired quickly!!!!

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

- Edwin Way Teale

I love the spring. We are having the most amazing weather. Blue skies. Cool temperatures. Sunshine.

Hope you are too! Have a wonderful Thursday, my friends.

and yes, anything is possible!

 

Illustration Friday - Beginner

All beginner readers need someone to tell a story to.

Illustration Friday theme of the week is

beginner

Join us at Illustration Friday for more illustrations

I am also adding this to Pop Art Minis Wednesday Buzz, hop here to visit!
Come join the fun! 

Creative Tuesdays - Purple

This week's theme over at Creative Tuesday's is

 PURPLE...

My girls suggested that Madeline the Mouse should have a friend - I agreed.

Summer thought that Madeline's best friend would be a frog, so we named her Violet, just in time for

Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday's.

Come play along with us, here, it's so much fun!
see you there

Sunday Sketches - Lily of the Valley

It's Sunday and it's time for Sunday Sketches with Sophia and the gang over at The Blue Chair Diary -

Come sketch with us!

This is a quick sketch of Madeline enjoying the beautiful Lily of the Valley on this wonderful Mother's Day -

Happy Mother's Day

to all of you!

I am off to Starbucks for coffee with my girlfriends

and lunch with my mom later!

Enjoy the day!

xo

In Case You Were Wondering....

in case you were wondering

what my favorite color is

Pink it´s my new obsession

Pink it´s not even a question

Pink on the lips of your lover, ´cause

Pink is the love you discover

Pink it´s the color of passion

Pink by Aerosmith

I don't think I will ever get tired of wearing pink.

Emma Bunton

Yesterday the girls at Paint Party Friday asked,

what our favorite color to paint with is and as you can see it's

PINK

I believe in pink.

Audrey Hepburn

I love pink, it's so girly!

Ashley Tisdale

Pink is perfect for Sweet Saturdays, I think too!

Hop over here to see more Saturday Sweetness

xoxo

Tea Time and Paint Party Friday

A Ladybug's Tea

4" x 6"

Watercolor on Bristol Vellum

I am off to an English Tea at my daughter's school today.

I am looking forward to a yummy scone and a cup of hot tea -

The gang at Paint Party Friday want to know our favorite color to paint with this week...hmm?

Can you guess what my favorite color to work with is?

Take a guess, but tune in later for the answer.

For more Paint Party Fun, pop over here - come join the fun -

And, don't forget , Inspiration Avenue's Charity Auction,

there is still time to bid on your favorite piece of art - all in the name of Charity.

Have a Great Friday my friends!
Painting available here

Chip's Favorite 7 Layer Dip

It's Cinco de Mayo 

Time for 7 Layer Dip and Chips

This is one of my favorite appetizers. My friend Cindi brings this to all of our get togethers and it's always the first appetizer to go! It's quick and easy to make. We will be making this tonight with our tacos!

Chip's Favorite 7 Layer Dip

1 Can refried beans

                                                        1 Cup Guacamole ( small container)

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Package of Taco Seasoning

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Jar black olives

In large glass dish, layer in this order,  one can of refried beans. Then guacamole. Next,  mix 1 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup mayonnaise together and add in the taco seasoning. Spread that on top of the guacamole. For the next layer chop 2 tomatoes, and place on top of sour cream mixture. Finally add the cheddar cheese - top with  black olives, if desired.

Serve with your favorite brand of chips! I like Tostitos Scoops!

HandMade Gift Guide

 The Handmade Gift Guide Blog, has featured our Taurus Birthday Card!

Happy Birthday Taurus!

Card available, here at my Etsy shop

Pop over to their blog, here,  it's lots of fun!

Thanks girls for the mention!