Raspberry Coconut Bars, dig out the fat pants!

Hello everybody! 
It is that time of year. 

Yep, that time of year…..
when we toss our skinny jeans out.
Why do I say that????

Because it is baking season.
When everyone is whipping up the most delicious treats. 
With shorter and darker days of winter our bodies crave more carbs.
Not the good for you complex carbs,
of course,


but the add an inch or two to the thighs,
      melt in your mouth,
                     oh so sinfully delicious type carbs.
So dig out your bulky sweaters and yoga pants cause I am leading the way.


If you wish the recipe, click on over...Raspberry Coconut Bars

Basic Painting Strokes Tutorial

This is part of a series of painting lessons to help you learn to paint decoratively.

You can make gifts for family and friends you can be proud of, and if you wish you can sell your work at craft fairs, online with your own website and in consignment shops.

The best advice I can give is, be patient and practice, practice, practice. 

Now on with this lesson! 

Now that you have collected your supplies lets get started. (If you missed that post go Click this link SUPPLIES)

Load the Brush

First squeeze out two dime sized puddles of paint on your pallet (aka: Styrofoam plate) The puddles do not have to be close to each other. 
Dip a corner of a 12 inch flat brush into the white puddle then the opposite corner in the green.  The brush should now look somewhat like this.

(note: your brush size is relative to the size you wish your painted subject to be, I am using a 12 flat for the demo but it is not the only size to be used)

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Paint an even easier Sunflower One Stroke at a Time

I have been under the weather for the past few days.

A throat infection so far, but I go to the Dr. today to get an official diagnosis.

Being idle is completely foreign to me and sitting around, though that is all I feel like doing,

is so BORING!

while cuddled up under my fleece blanket Saturday morning,

 I did watch the new Masterpiece Classis series that has begun called Paradise,

and LOVED it.

I can’t wait to watch the next episode, which should’ve been recorded by my DVR. 

Then Sunday I had had enough of being so unproductive and decided to paint a bit. 

I thought I would share how I paint smaller stroke Sunflowers as opposed to the larger one I shared a couple weeks ago.

You need your surface to paint,

different shades of yellow acrylic craft paint, (I used Empire Gold, School Bus Yellow and Medium Yellow)

Burnt Umber acrylic craft paint and some black craft paint.

I used a medium sized scruffy brush and a #12 flat brush for this demo but you can use what fits the size of your painting.

You can sketch out an oval or circle for the center

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Clear the Air with Beautiful Houseplants

Back in the late 80’s NASA did a study on the benefits of houseplants on purifying air on the space station.

I remember reading it in Better Homes and Gardens, my one and only magazine subscription back then and being impressed with the results.

Since then even more evidence shows how beneficial house plants are.

Why Purify Your Air

Did you know that typically indoor air is much more polluted than outdoor air?

As cold weather approaches and we spend more time indoors with our windows shut tight we need to think about the air quality in our homes.

 

To read the rest of this post just click HERE

Overwintering your Favorite Plants

I love my Pelargoniums (zonal geraniums)

and my Ivy Geraniums

but they are not hardy outside in our climate.

Winter freezes and snow are not their friends. 

But you can bring them in for the winter and even get a bloom or two from them,

if given the correct conditions.

This is a photo of one of my zonal geraniums blooming inside my studio last winter. 

click on over to read the rest of this post…