Southern Belle Adoration…and More

So many things going on right now and I can’t seem to focus. I always follow my passion…or I try to do that. I don’t do things because they are trending. Maybe if I did, I’d be more successful lol! I seem to walk my own unbeaten country path and that’s okay by me

I created several new things since I wrote last. A couple of owl pendants were something I was super excited about. I found the “dog tag” style pendants and am head over heels for them. After I made myself one, then I turned the task to making a couple to sell, to test the proverbial selling waters so to speak, as I couldn’t find anything like them available.

Here’s one of them:

You can see more photos of it and where I have it for sale by clicking here.   Edited: This item has sold, thank you! 

Also, I think y’all know I’m a country girl from Tennessee so I’m a lifelong Southern Belle of course! That heritage brought this painting out of me:

I’m so in love with my little Southern Belle painting. She delights me to no end. I offered her up for Christmas cards at this time. I’m not sure if I can actually part with the painting yet. We’ll see but for now, she’s listed here in a set of holiday greetings. Edited: this item has sold, but upon request for note cards, thank you cards, etc, I’ll be happy to create them for you.

And, then, another new one I just finished tonight which stemmed from my Mama’s love of red and white…and strawberries:

It’s listed on ebay in an auction and you can see it by clicking here. Edited: This item has sold and I’ve unlinked it as it no longer shows. Thank you!

I’ve completed several more things but these were ones I definitely wanted to show y’all. I’m getting a little better about figuring this limited internet usage thing out, so hopefully I’ll be able to get back to regular posting. Like anything else, there’s a learning curve. I can never seem to find the straight roads lol!

Path + Cottage Ornament

What a beautiful day here at the loft! I had a very rare and appreciated day off my “day job” and I think I’ve made good use of it!

I started out by sleeping in an hour or so, which was nice. Then I just let myself be lazy and felt all kinds of creativity washing over me. For several hours, I actually spent some time planning and creating, which is so therapeutic for me! It’s been a really long time since I’ve had the opportunity to create Cottage types of items. I kinda blame this on my previous attempt to purchase a house which was a vintage cottage style house…that turned out to be a disaster of a money pit and structural issues…that led me to have to move out very quickly and give up that dream….after I’d put everything I had both money-wise and energy-wise into it. I had such big dreams for it, I could see it finished. In the end, though, it wasn’t meant to be.

(photo by C.N.K credit)

Now, I’m not saying I’ve turned my back on all things cottage and rustic, because nothing could be further from the truth. Those styles are ingrained in me and they are who I am. As I was mentioning yesterday on here, it’s just a matter of figuring out a direction of which I want to go. Where my thoughts are right now, is just to always follow my heart. Life takes twists and turns that puts up on different paths or makes us stray from the one where we started. Either way, though, it’s our path. Our life. And, we need to find joy in our lives…and peace…and hope…and love.

With that in mind, I have been enjoying myself today and decided to work on a little Cottage Christmas ornament. This little oval frame received a complete transformation. I painted it a cottage white, then painted some of my pink cottage rosebuds and soft green foliage and vines around the frame. Then, I cut an oval of Cansen art paper to use inside the frame. I decided a sweet little snow lady in the center surrounding by pink was perfect for this frame. Next, I covered the frame in sparkly glitter, then sealed it all with acrylic sealer. The finishing touch was some pink and white satin ribbon so it can be hung from a tree, knob, hook or other hanger. The look of the sparkles on it? Well I just can’t capture them like I’d like with the camera but hopefully this gives you some idea:

 

I just got it listed in my etsy shop. You can click here to go to the listing. More to come very soon, I’m having so much fun and I hope it shows!

Alliecatbeads + Owl Silhouette

Thanks to a super sweet new friend on the etsy website, I had a perfect subject to paint for the owl contest starting tomorrow over on ebay! She found out I was doing an owl contest and asking for opinions on what type of owl painting and she began telling me about the great picture she snapped. Imagine this…it’s sunset and you are looking outside…you see an owl swoop up and land on a wire…the owl, pole and trees are in silhouette. Well, that’s the scene as she captured on film!

Here’s the finished piece, which be an entry in the contest:

If you are interested in some lovely bookmarks, jewelry, cards and other adorable items, please check out her shop by clicking here: alliecatbeads

Thanks so much Gina for the inspiring piece! I absolutely loved recreating that scene!!

Spooky Hauntings

Those are just a few of my latest paintings that are currently for sale. See all of them, or available prints of these:

Click here to see my current listings on ebay

Click here to see my etsy shop

Just in time for the hauntings of the Halloween season…that just makes me fill with delight.

Sachet Giveaway!

Etsy is one of the most wonderful places to me. People are friendly and the community is so full of creative and wonderful artists!

One such artist contacted me recently and we have exchanged several emails back and forth. Her name is Dev and she has this super sweet blog called “Dev’s Favorite Giveaways”.

She is doing a feature on my shop “The Cozy Loft” and I’ve offered one of my sachets as a prize! Please click here to go by and leave a comment if you would like to enter to win. Plus, you will probably want to bookmark this lovely blog as she does so many nice things on there!

Remember to read her instructions because you can enter in different ways.

I feel so special that I am featured there and the kind things she said about me and my little cottage industry. Thank you so much Dev!! ♥