Snow Pictures and Billy Jacobs Art

Hello Everyone,
After several days of snow, ice and grey skies, the sun made an appearance this afternoon!  So, even though it was cold with a biting wind, I put on my coat, hat and gloves and took these photos around my neighborhood. The cute little barn and fence is at a church just down the road from me. Winter isn't my favorite season, I admit, but I do try to see the beauty of it all, and the snow certainly is beautiful on the evergreens and tree branches and everything.

 

I also want to share a few winter-themed paintings by one of my favorite artists, American Folk Artist, Billy Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs is a self-taught artist from Navarre, Ohio, where he has an art gallery/antiques shop. His paintings can also be found in galleries and specialty shops all over the country, as well as online. I think he captures the look and feeling of the midwest countryside better than any artist I've seen. He doesn't just paint winter scenes...but all seasons of the year! You can see more of his paintings at Summer Snow Gallery HERE or by visiting Billy Jacobs Art Gallery on facebook HERE. Enjoy! 

 

 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year's Eve and best wishes for a healthy, prosperous 2013 filled with joy!

 

Until next time,

Cindy

 

 This weekend over on How Sweet the Sound, Beverly is hosting her weekly Pink Saturday with posts featuring snow and snowmen. So, even though I'm late posting, I want to share these on her blog and also at The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.

 

 

 



 







Sweet October

"The sweet calm sunshine of October, now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold."

- William Cullen Bryant

 

 

 

It seems like the fall colors this year are more vibrant than ever! Or, is it as my sister says - one just forgets how beautiful it is until it comes around again? These photos were taken on a walk at one of our local nature preserves earlier this week. Perfect weather...perfect day.

 

 

 

I've also been having fun with pumpkins this year and tried some things I saw on Pinterest.

 

 

The glitter pumpkin is easy peasy. Just spread Elmers glue or Pod Modge on the top portion of the pumpkin, then sprinkle on the glitter. I used copper-colored glitter because that's what I had on hand, but orange or black would look awesome, too! If it's a tiny pumpkin, you might want to glitter the whole thing. For the other one, I painted the entire pumpkin black with acrylic paint. Let dry...then scrape it off to make the stripes. This is a little bit more difficult than it sounds - only because it's time consuming to get the stripes straight! I really like the result, though.

 

 



 

But...this is my favorite! I painted the tree and crow on the white pumpkin, using black acrylic paint. Then, I collected branches from the yard for the pitcher. I love the overall look! It's simple and doesn't scream "Halloween" so I can leave it up until Thanksgiving.

 

 

Would you believe I've found all of these white pitchers over the past year at my local Goodwill? The best part - they were just one dollar each! I love them!

 

 

 

I hope you're having an enjoyable October so far, too!

 

Until next time,

Cindy

 

Linking to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

                           Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

               Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

                              Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer



Shabby Chic Tea Party~

Hello everyone,
It's been a while since we've had a "virtual" tea party. This one has a shabby chic/pink theme, and you're all invited - so, let's go!

We'll start by decorating with antique roses, candles and pearls.

 

 

...and maybe a pretty white bird cage filled with flowers or cupcakes.

 

 

I love this idea - take "shabby chic" paper and roll into cones. Fill with tiny sweets for party favors.

 

 

Tea in lovely vintage tea cups, of course!

Finger sandwiches, fruit and cookies

 

Another great idea - an ice bowl filled with sherbet.

...and a special cupcake for everyone to end the day!

 

Thank you for stopping by...I hope you enjoyed the party!

Until next time,

Cindy

 

 

Linking to Pink Saturday on How Sweet the Sound

 

 

Pictures courtesy Pinterest from the following (in order as they appear above)

heavenlybloomsblog.com

 saddleworthshindigs

bing.com

warrengrovegardenblogspot.com

teatimemagazine.com

kathybrowngarden.blogspot.com

fashionsalade.com

 

 

Amazing Cakes!

Hello everyone,
First - I apologize for being "absent" for almost two weeks. I sometimes get so busy with my "regular" job that I get behind in my blogging.

Today I'm sharing more incredible cakes made by some pretty amazingly talented people. I admire people who can create these works of art so much!  The first two cakes were made by someone I know very well - my sister! She got the cooking (and baking) genes in our family!

This is a Barbie cake my sister made for her granddaughter's 9th birthday.

This is a cheeseburger cake she made for her grandson's 12th birthday. Yes - that's really a cake!  Isn't it awesome?  Her grandson loved it - as you can see!

These "books" are really cakes! A friend of mine that works in a library sent this photo to me. They were made for a co-worker that was retiring. I would never have known they weren't real books!

The following cakes were made by Arty Cakes in Manchester, England. I think they're just incredible! All those flowers! That's a LOT of icing, but so beautiful! Arty Cakes website can be found HERE.

Bed Cake 

Photo courtesy 1,000 Pictures on facebook

This "flower box" is actually made from cupcakes!

Photo courtesy Noga Flowers dela Cruz

...and these are a few more fabulous cakes I found on Google images.

How about you? Are you a talented baker?

Linking to Pink Saturday on How Sweet the Sound

                        A Return to Loveliness on A Delightsome Life

                           Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House

Until next time,

Cindy

A Pink & Yellow Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound! Beverly's link party, Pink Saturday, was the very first link party I joined after I started my blog. I had no idea what a link party even was until I visited her blog! Wow, have I learned a lot since then!  Beverly is having a special birthday this weekend, and her favorite colors are pink and yellow, so this post is dedicated to her. I hope you enjoy looking at these incredible pink and yellow confections! I love all of them ~ it's hard to pick a favorite. Have a good weekend, everyone!

All photos courtesy Google Images

Linking to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

Door Art ~

I have a thing for doors ~ old doors, new doors, colorful doors, ornate doors. Well, doors, windows and those old wrought iron gates and fences.  I like to imagine what or who's behind the windows and doors, but I also just appreciate the art and architectural beauty of them. In honor of Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, here's some pink doors I found online. Do you have a colorful front door? If not, what color would you like to paint your door? Would you ever consider painting it pink?

It looks like this door has shutters? I've never seen that before!

Until next time,

Cindy

Linking to Pink Saturday on How Sweet the Sound

All photos courtesy: Google Images