Adventures in Art, Product Design, Home Decor, Cooking, and Gardening
My daughter chose to paint this Girl with a Koi Fish during our fall family watercolor fest. I particularly like the color scheme she used. The original line art was a free download by CrimsonPearls available at DeviantArt.com.
This is my mom’s third painting. The improvement over her first two paintings is remarkable. She now has her own watercolor supplies and has begun painting on her own. Can we get a collective, “go mommy, go mommy?” This painting was based on a tutorial from Sherry C. Nelson’s book, “Painting Butterflies and Blooms.”
This is my sister’s second watercolor painting. Aren’t these tulips gorgeous? For this painting she combined two tutorials. The tulips are based on a tutorial in Fiona Peart’s book, “Tulips in Watercolor” and the background is based on a tutorial in Janet Whittle’s book, “Watercolor Roses.” What a great combination. You rock, sissy!
Since Frodo has become a full-fledged family member, he deserves better accommodations. So I painted this stylish Frodo-sized chair so he can be more comfy when he hangs out on the deck. Based on the big grin on his face–check that out and his rosy cheeks–I’d say he likes it! Isn’t he adorable?
I’m going to miss him when he begins his winter hibernation. His visits are already getting fewer and farther between. So I stood outside in the rain early this morning to snap these pictures. I didn’t want to miss what might be my last photo opportunity of the season.
We had such a great time. I’ll be posting the completed paintings tomorrow.
What’s a fall family gathering without a delectable fall treat? Our family watercolor fest featured lots of painting, sipping on cups of coffee or tea, and sampling of delicious treats like these heavenly pumpkin clove cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting. If you haven’t tried Warren Brown’s pumpkin clove pound cake, this is a great time of year to give it a try. Instead of baking the cake in a Bundt pan, we made cupcakes and a small loaf cake. They turned out great. Get the recipe here.
The puppies’ palette–primary colors by Winsor Newton. I thought it was best to keep things simple–and to take this project outside–but it didn’t take long for these cheery colors to turn into a muddy mess.
Dexter tried to use a paintbrush but decided that paw painting was a better solution.
So he jumped in with all four feet and got down to work.
He’s a regular Vincent Van Go-Doggie, Go-Doggie!
Little Stevie waiting for his turn to paint.
The long hair on his feet created a canine mop brush and a big mess to clean up. Catching him to wipe his feet proved to be a bit challenging. Yorkies try their hardest to be uncooperative; it’s what they do best.
The completed painting. I actually like the end result and plan on framing this painting and hanging it above their dog beds. Family activities are always more fun when you include every member of the family.
What do you get when you celebrate three of your favorite things–a beautiful fall day, spending time with family, and experimenting with watercolors? A fall family watercolor fest–that’s how my mother, sister, daughter, and I spent the day. We had a great time painting, enjoying homemade treats, and sipping on cups of coffee and tea. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. I hope your weekend was equally as sweet. Here are some photos of my fall family watercolor fest:
My kitchen table was the perfect place for a family watercolor fest. With all those windows, it offers plenty of light plus easy access to food and drinks (a must in my book) and a view of the backyard so I could watch the puppies enjoying the beautiful fall weather.
It can get challenging to paint when the late afternoon casts deep shadows on your work, but we carried on, determined to complete our paintings in one session.
Normally when we get together there’s a lot of talking involved, but things got pretty quiet when everyone was concentrating on their work. Painting can be so relaxing.
We each walked away with a completed painting to remember this special day. That makes the paintings even more precious in my book.
And here’s my German Shepherd, Mary. She laid at my feet for hours while I worked on my painting. She’s such a loving, faithful companion. I’m so blessed to have her as part of my family.
My daughter’s Yorkie, Little Stevie, preferred to watch the activities from his perch on the back of the couch. He’d a delightful little imp.
Who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? It’s comfort food at its best. But when you throw in some bite-sized sausages, colorful peas, and heavy cream, it’s not just macaroni and cheese, it’s way, way over the top macaroni and cheese. And it’s my most requested recipe. So here I am at 10:00 pm whipping up a batch for a pot luck I’ll be attending tomorrow. Instead of passing out the recipe in person (folks always ask me for it), this time I’m sharing it with all my friends online. This recipe is just too good to keep to myself.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this dish:
Ingredients:
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 of a 14-oz. package of ‘Lil Smokey cocktail sausages, cut into thirds
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 cups cream
8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
In a large saucepan, combine the hot cooked macaroni and butter. Stir to allow the butter to melt completely. Add cream, eggs, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, Velveeta cheese cubes, sausage, peas, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon into a large, ungreased baking dish. Top with remaining 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbling around the edges and the cheese is lightly browned. Serve with a salad and iced tea. Enjoy.
Here’s a picture of Dexter watching me chop the sausage and praying to the canine God that bits of sausage will fall on the floor (his prayer was answered–several times):
It was a gorgeous day today so I spent the afternoon outside doing yard work. It was exhausting work that left me with little energy or time to make dinner. So I whipped up a simple dinner of cherry Dijon chicken salad and served it on buttery croissants with slices of fresh cantaloupe on the side and home-made pickles that I bought at the farmer’s market. It was a simple but delicious meal. Here’s what you need to make this quick dinner:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Duke’s mayonnaise because it tastes closest to home-made mayo)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
Wash the chicken breasts, remove any visible fat, and cut each breast into thirds (to reduce the cooking time). In a medium saucepan bring 4-6 cups of water to a rapid boil. Reduce the heat, add the chicken, and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the centers are no longer pink. Be careful not to overcook the chicken or it will become dry and tough. Remove to a platter. Cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces. In a medium-sized bowl combine the cooled chicken, cherries, almonds, celery, mayonnaise, mustard, and sugar. Enjoy.