paperwhites...

plant bulbs now and you may have blooms for christmas.
(i am reposting this, as a reminder to plant now!)

i just potted these sweeties up a week and a half ago!
so much fun to watch grow.

it's refreshing to have something alive and growing in the house.

don't forget the amaryllis too!

have you planted yours yet?

btw...paperwhites are pungent and if you are sensitive like me, you may have to keep your distance when they bloom.

still worth it though, that is if you love little white clusters of sweet dainty flowers.

who doesn't?



i am off to the flea market today, to get away from holiday decorating for a while..........i need the fresh air!

fall on the farm

 last friday, i enjoyed a gorgeous autumn day of junking,

  with one of my besties, anna....

we headed up to the tiny town of smith's grove, kentucky....

we came home with a truck full of treasures and these gorgeous images of 

pelly farm....

 is he smiling

or what!

thank you esli (love her name!) and david pelly           

 for letting us poke around your gorgeous farm!

♥

erin

thankful....so full.

it's november!
 and my thoughts have turned to putting the gardens to bed and nesting and to holiday decorating....i usually decorate the house, of one of my client's, starting before thanksgiving...which means next week...but this year, she wants me to start decorating after thanksgiving...at 10,000 square fee, it is a big project.....so, having a few weeks off, well i almost don't know what to do with myself?  almost.

 november is a month to be thankful...yes of course....and to start nesting.....i decided to rearrange a few things in my own sun room....and removed almost all color except for whites and winter whites... a blank canvas for christmas decorating....with so many visual things that go on in my life (gardening, photography, art and such)  this neutral blank canvas is totally calming and inviting to me.
easy on the eyes.

i am so thankful for every piece in this room... and as i look around, i realize every single thing in here has lived another life....from the furniture to the curtains (curtain rods too, they used to be garden stakes)...the blankets and pillows...

tables
lamps
mccoy pots
gene the snowgoose

garden trellis'
re purposed cabinets

even the chandy

everything had a previous life.
and owner.

and soul.

and story.

november is a time to give thanks...yes.
and i am so very thankful, for this room and this sheltering nest and the comfort it gives me and for all of the interesting things that are in it.
but these are just things....
and i can easily do without them.
but
i could never
 ever
do without the people in my life.
my family and friends...of course...goes without saying...
but
YOU
you bloggy followers of mine
you blow me away!

and i am so thankful for y'all!  you come here... out of your busy day and leave me the nicest, most encouraging comments and some of you keep coming back...even when i am so late with getting back to you....and maybe don't get back to you at all...i am guilty of that for sure....but it is y'all...YOU....who have made it possible for little ol me to come out of her artistic shell and show her stuff and feel good about it...and comfortable... YOU have made me comfy cozy, i tell ya....and i feel you and i am full....and now i am starting to sell my art and let it out into the world....and YOU...y'all have been there with your kind words and inspiring reassurance....after  300+ posts and 5200+ comments left by you lovely bloggy followers, only 1 negative comment has been left...and that one negative comment was, "erin, your paintings, really?"  and the answer is YES, anne marie MY paintings, REALLY....even that one comment has helped me... you have made me push myself and better myself into something that i did not even know i could be....perhaps i knew...but had forgotten....you reminded me...
you.
remind.
me.

and i
thank you

♥
erin

my art at franklin's pumpkinfest

 HI THERE!

well, i did it!  my very first outdoor festival!  selling my wares....and i DID!  sell some stuff, that is!  to my delight and surprise, i sold 8 paintings and a stack of doily items!!  WOW....and the very best part of the whole day...listening to the wonderful compliments to my artwork and really hearing those compliments...

 i don't take compliments well and i was fearful of hearing some kind of criticism...fearful of so many things .....but yunno what...not one negative comment all day!  and oh!  to have someone like my work...get my work and to buy my work!!  wow...that was fun indeedy!

 the weather was not good.  my partner, mark porter of mark alan artisan woods and i started setting up at 5:30 a.m. in the dark, cold, damp air....the sun never showed itself....  mark was so easy to work with....he designed and built the wood framing just so that i could hang my art....i could never had done this without him...thank you, mark!!  he sells wonderful handcrafted wooden bowls, jewelry boxes, frames, cutting boards, and trays...his rustic barn wood frames really compliment my paintings.....and his easy going style put me at ease (some what).

 it was lots of fun to see my paintings all hanging together in one place as a collection...i know the importance of having a cohesive collection and so i displayed mostly fall and wintery types of paintings...people seemed to truly gravitate to my ball jar paintings and cows and horses.

 it is important for me to keep my paintings authentic and these images are what i see around me everyday....it is what i know.... living here, in quaint franklin, tn.

that's me and my friend mark..

in our booth, at the beginning of the day...
you can't tell by the picture, but i was apprehensive about what was to come...oh boy...i am always really nervous trying something brand new...i was super cold too....by 2:30 in the afternoon, with a nervous tummy, no food or water, most likely dehydrated and the cold damp air creeping into my bones, i had started to shiver.....my hero hubby, mr. dan rescued me with a cup of hot chocolate, my Uggs boots and "hot hands" to put in my pockets....he made me eat a sandwich too and i started to feel much better....being out in the elements with my art may not be for me....not sure i'll do it again...i am still absorbing it all...but my biggest fear....fear of people liking my art...liking me...well, that fear is gone.

~poof~

like actress sally field said while accepting her academy award, using a very surprised tone,

"wow, you like me, you really like me".

♥

erin