This and that....

Hello! Good morning! It's a rainy Saturday morning and for some reason - this kind of weather is making me happy today! I hope that it will be cold enough so that we can light the fire place. Isn't that a strange wish - I hope it will be cold enough? lol

I enjoyed reading your coffee comments. Eight big coffee drinkers and two non-drinkers (I'm not completely sure about Julie - she mentioned 2 weeks, so it might be temporary). Jacqueline asked do we have coffee pads here in USA, and I don't know... I know that there are little plastic individual coffee thingies (and whenever I see them I think about millions of them polluting the Earth), but I don't know about the pads. If you know the answer - please write it in the comments.

I never dressed up for Halloween as an adult. I've also never, ever been on a party where people are masked. How about you? Do you enjoy dressing up as something/someone different? I really loved what Alica Burke did. Check this link to see her creative idea. 

I wanted to thank everyone that purchased a painting or two from my etsy shop this month. My October sale is coming to an end. On Monday I will be changing the prices for some paintings, and removing some from the shop. So, if you had your eye on one, there are two more sale days left so take advantage of it.

I'm going to blend a frozen banana, couple of tablespoons of pumpkin, almond milk, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and maple syrup and enjoy a pumpkin-pie smoothie for breakfast. Sounds good? I can't wait!

xo

Have a very happy weekend! 

I miss it....

Can you guess what am I missing?

Coffee..... I miss my morning coffee. I stopped drinking coffee a month ago, and most of the days I don't even think about it. Today, for some reason, I couldn't stop... so I painted it in my journal.

I stopped because I was adding more and more of the fake creamer things (Belgian Chocolate Toffee was a favorite).... and then I read the ingredient list and was horrified. Definitely not something that I would like to consume every day. So I stopped drinking coffee altogether. All or nothing... sigh....

How about you? Do you drink coffee?

Dreamer

Fun journals

Hidden journal.

A place where you can:

It's also a place where you should:

A place to feel safe.

Hidden journal. Journal with a secret.

What's hidden?

 Where is the secret?

Remove the spine and reveal another journal.

Isn't that fun? Two journals in one?
I plan on playing in one of them. I'll show you the results.

I didn't have time to edit all the photos. If you are interested in one of the journals not listed in my shop, just send me an email.

Angel in blue

 This is the only thing that wanted to be painted today. It had to be an angel and she had to be in blue, surrounded with blue and with some purple-is tones around. Weird how it sometimes happen... most of the time I start painting not knowing what will show up. Today I knew. It had to be an angel in blue. Hope you like her. xo

Wish Birds

I wish for:

16" x 6" on wood

Give yourself love and patience

Some paintings don't look the same in life and on the screen. I tried photographing this one in many different locations and levels of light and I just can't get it to look the way it really does.

Oh well..... try to imagine it as like what you see but much yummier (not blotchy and washed out).

It goes really well with the fall colors, I think. Weekend is here... so there is my message for you is:

"Give yourself as much love and patience as you need."

Happy weekend!

Good way to start a day

It is unusually warm for this time of the year (over 90) so I started the morning with an amazing breakfast - home made banana/strawberry ice-cream. YUM!

This is so easy to make! If you have a food processor - you have to try it! 

Place one frozen banana and a handful of frozen strawberries (cherries, peaches...) in a food processor. Add a splash of almond milk to thin it down a bit, and let it process for a minute or two. Nothing else! I topped mine with some coconut nectar, but it was more for a photo-effect, it was sweet enough without it.

Pure bliss in a form of a healthy soft serve ice cream. 

As I was finishing my breakfast I saw a squirrel in our neighbor's flowers. The photo is completely out of focus, I wasn't prepared, but makes me smile anyway.

And when the squirrel saw me, this is what happened:

 I guess she thought I looked scary and didn't like me. Luckily, someone else did like me. 123Sunshine123 added my painting to her etsy treasury. That was a nice surprise. 

I think it's a good way to start at day! 

I wish you a happy day too! xo

Here, now...

I have been repeating these words almost like a mantra. And it works. And it's true. Between where we think we should be and where we want to be is - here, now... and it's just right. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. You too.

I started with a sketch and some collage. Then added first layers of paint and stenciled circles.

 More layers of transparent color building up, stamping with gesso. 

I was trying to get a watercolor effect on the face and a richly painted background.

xo

She loved roses

 I'm still playing with texture. This time I used tissue paper and other textured paper as my base.

 Just to add a bit of interest I finished this part with crackle.

If you are interested to see how many times did I change my mind about her hair and background color take a look at the video:

The painting is available in my etsy. 

I love texture

Renewal, cleanse and reopening!

“Sorrow is the mere rust of the soul. Activity will cleanse and brighten it.” - Samuel Johnson

What a wonderful quote! And so meaningful to me right now. I am all wrapped up in different types of cleanses... I am cleaning the house like it's spring (and it's not in this part of the world). Opening all drawers, closets, boxes, hidden places.... rearranging things, making them look interesting and organized.

I'm also doing Master Cleanse, which for me is a life saver. It cleanses both my body and mind and allows me to reset and come back to myself.

On the list is my studio too. Cleaning and organizing, finding buried treasures and reconnecting with my paintings.... which brings me to the following announcement:

I re-opened my Etsy shop!

I started listing things today and the whole month of October will be a sale month. Not one paintings is priced more than $50.00!!! I also changed the shipping policy - purchase one painting or 10, big or small the shipping charge will be the same - only $5.00. Does that sound good? I hope it does.

Here are fragments of the paintings I listed today:

I hope you'll visit and take a look (click HERE). There might be something that will cheer you up, some words that will feel like you just said them or some eyes that look friendly and comforting. Feel free to ask me any question about any painting.