A New Day, A New Season

Good morning everyone.  Hoping today is finding you in a good place.  Winter is peaking around the corner and one of my FAVORITE holidays is with it.  I love fall with the changing of the leaves and the chill in the air.   Its an envelopment of warm colors that just wrap you up in warmth and coziness.  The smell of fresh raked leaves, the beauty of the fall mums and the reds, greens, yellows and oranges in the leaf colors.  The time to reap what you sowed is in the air and then oh so quickly the dark grey skies creep in with an even chillier feel.  Causing you to ease in the fire wood, pull out jackets, and blankets to snuggle up in.  You start making chilly, bean soup and cornbread, chicken and dumplins, and one of my favorites home made breads.  The smell in the house is the smell of comfort and a spot of joy from the past.  Winter can be daunting and dark but when we find the good in the slowing down and taking the time to create memories we find ourselves full of joy and thankfulness.  I love the 4 seasons because with each one comes something unique and different to appreciate each one is a beginning to something new.  So find your something new and embrace it.  Find a hobby, or pick up something you use to create, whatever the case enjoy this season of your life.  Grab hold of it and run with it there is beauty in everything.  Look for it. 

Ecclestiastes 3:1-8
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

As you know I paint.  Well I have ventured off into something new but kind of the same.  Here are some of the things I have been painting.  I have tried my hand at a little mixed media using paper and sheet music.  I am learning as I go along.  But I am loving it.  I have been painting on metal spoons and that seemed a challenge at first because I had the spoons for a few years now, but I tried again.  I really enjoy painting on the spoons.  Here is a sample of some of the metal spoons that I have painted. 
You can find these for sale in my Etsy shop.  The link is in the side bar. 

Next blog I will do a tutorial on how to paint them and post a pattern.

Sues having a GIVE AWAY!!! Love her work!

Guess what One of my favorite artists is having a give away.  But that is not the only reason to check out her blog.  If you love to create and you love things that inspire the soul that's the place to go.

I haven't blogged in a while but I love to share a give away and awesome talent.  So check it out

Sue Allemand is very talented and is quite an inspiration. 

http://sueallemand.blogspot.com/2014/09/giveaway-i-just-like-to-make-things-book.html

Enjoying the Spring Finally and Getting Some Painting Done

Well good evening fellow artists.  I come in here on occasion to share what I am doing.  I need to get back here more frequently.  I have been painting on soaps as of lately.  It is a lot of fun.  I have painted anything from ladybugs to sheep.  It is such a fun way to express creativity.
I will give the basics on painting on soap.
You will need to get soap that has a smooth surface on at least one side.  Some of them require a little sanding due to the fact that there are some rough edges.  Once your soap is sanded go ahead and apply a coat of DecoArts Decou-Page.  Allow this to dry then do your favorite DecoArt Americana color to base coat your soap.  (Have a specif pattern ready for your soap)  Allow that to dry then transfer your pattern.  And follow pattern instructions.  Once soap is painted completely and dry then you seal with DecoArt indoor/outdoor matte varnish.  I do a couple of coats for good measure.  Allow them to dry and you are ready to go.  Cute gifts, and you can actually use them.  I recommend using the soap from the bottom up.  Never allow to stand in water this will dissolve your soap and remove your design.  Enjoy.  Have a great rest of the day.  Here is a pic of the sheep I designed and painted.  You can find them in my Etsy shop.  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/150637857/hand-painted-primitive-sheep-soap-lakin?ref=shop_home_active

Good evening fellow artist and bloggers. I am painting up gourds. I have been working on Fall Ghost Luminaries as featured in Create & Decorate. I am about ghosted out you could say. I am running out of places to find gourds close. I live in Ohio now so if anyone out there knows of a great gourd escape please comment me a note of where. I have been featured 2 times this year in Create & Decorate will post pics. Every time I get in the magazine I feel like a little kid. It is so exciting to me. I love the magazine even if I am not in it. They have so many great ideas and the gals are such a hoot. You can try your hand at punch needle, needle felting, cross stitching, all kinds of fun things to do and learn. You should find them on Facebook. Also there is a link to the sneak peak of the upcoming Holiday Issue...you will find some fall gourd egg ornaments in there ;) They also have a blog that is fun as well. And here is a link to that also. I would like to know if everyone is ready for this HOT, DRY summer to be done with. Today was a crisp 67 degrees and it felt wonderful. I had the windows open and the Browns vs. The Eagles on....oh what a nice nap that turned out to be. I love crisp chilly days....Let's me know it's almost time to slow down a bit and bring out the soup pot. Tasty soup beans, home made chilly, potato soup. The change of the leaves. It is one of my favorite times of the year. Well hope everyone is doing well keep creating and learning to create new things. Have a blessed day.

http://www.createanddecorate.com/issues/2012/holiday/index.shtml  Sneak peak

https://www.facebook.com/CreateDecorate  Create & Decorate on Facebook

http://createanddecorate.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/did-you-seize-the-summer/  Blog

Photo Courtesy of Sean O'Brien  (Thanks Sean)  The only thing that belongs to me is the gourd :)

Guess what I found! Another GIVE AWAY!!! And ANOTHER!!!!

What a talented artists it is my pleasure to share their give aways and their work. Peek in on them and sign up. Tolen Treasures has alot of great tutorials as well to check out. The Rusty Thimble shares many wonderful hand made items on her blog so check her out! Where to sign up for both is listed below good luck to all!

http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-american-apron-pocket-giveaway.html

http://tolentreasures.blogspot.com/2012/01/february-giveaway.html

Someone's having a Giveaway! The Rusty Thimble

Okay ladies and bloggers you need to get on over to the Rusty Thimble if you love primitives.
She is having a give away of a wonderful Patriotic Rabbit! The deadline is TOMORROW!!! January 31st so hurry hurry! There will be one maybe MORE given away! So hurry hurry hurry and sign up! She is a very talented artist and I would love to win this but I am willing to share if necessary. Thank you for peaking in my blog now get over there and sign up:) I hope you like the pic of the prize you might get or I might get hehe!

http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-first-giveaway-of-2012.html

Sorry I cannot direct link, it never works for me. So you will have to copy and paste then put it in your browser. Good Luck! :)

Have a blessed day!

Linda Akin