bloggy break

hi friends!
well, my main computer has crashed, just as i was getting ready to open my brand new etsy store...."mouse calls" is running diagnostics on it now.   :0(

my dishwasher won't close properly,  most likely due to the extra weight of the slip cover i made for it....yes, i slip covered my dishwasher....you can read more about that here (.http://erin-artandgardens.blogspot.com/2012/06/call-me-crazy-but-i-slip-covered-my.html)

and i took a hard fall onto my knees, 2/3 of the way, on a 5 mile hike through the woods....knees and pride, bruised and battered, but nothing serious.

i am also gearing up for my super fun trip to chicago in a couple of days to see my friend, anna.....did i tell you she is throwing a college reunion party?  i have not seen some of those people for over 30 years....i wonder if i can loose 10 lbs. in the next 2 days....hmmmmm.

so....
something tells me that this is the time for a bloggy break.
i hope to be back with you shortly.
hopefully i have not lost all of my photos!
oh boy.
wish me luck with that.
i am worried.

my goal is to open my etsy store on my birthday in early march....
i am so excited to share lots of beautiful art and vintage items with the world!

see you soon,
 my dears.

erin

painted stone fireplace before and after

above is the "before" shot of my fireplace.
i have been dying to change the brown stone on my dated 1970's fireplace...we have lived in our house for over 11 years ...the longest i have ever lived in one home...
last week i mentioned to mr. dan that i would like to try painting over the stone and he immediately said "go for it, i have never liked the brown anyway"!!
what? huh?
  say no more...i was on it!

and here is the "after" shot.
love, love, LOVE it!!

i started by simply washing on a very diluted  mixture of annie sloan chalk paint in  paris grey...
in this shot you can see that i have painted about 2/3 of the stone (the grout too).....
already seeing a huge difference.

here you can see one layer of the wash...but some brown tones were still showing through.

so i added another layer of wash...at this point the brown tones were gone but the stones looked too flat.

so i dry brushed lighter shades of the gray
(just added some white house paint to the grey wash)
 until i liked the effect.

so much better!!

yay!
this easy peasy project took just a few hours and very, very little paint.
what a difference!
what do you think?

♥
erin

please click here
for an updated post about my fireplace where i have answered some questions about this painting technique.

snow in tennessee

we woke up to our first real snowfall in two winters....

right in our own backyard...

my house is at the  bottom of one of the best sledding hills around...

walk right out to the golf course behind my house
 and this is what we see...

the snow barely covered the grass....but us southerners dig a rare play day like this!

our white carpet melted by noon...
but
sure was fun while it lasted.

♥
erin

~i hope you are enjoying your winter~

"hi friend!"

string art that i created for one of my besties for christmas.
now that was a fun project for a super fun friend!

"hi friend!"

~my latest painting~
inspired by another bestie...
~anna~

~my winter palette~
having so much fun with textures and the addition of lil hydrangea petals...

~fairy lights in my studio~

~i love painting angel wings~

~love~

not sure this piece is finished?
working on it...

but i am totally digging the heavy textures and the dimension it gives...

does the image seem familiar?  inspired by my friend anna and the photos we took one snowy winters day at the park...i shared some of those photos over christmas.

this painting ....yep, inspired by her too and her messy bun and the tilt of her head.

do you have friends in your life that inspire you?
i am so lucky to have a few.....
another one of my besties (friends for over twenty years) and i power walked over 6 miles through the woods this weekend.
she is one of the best moms i know.
her motto is "keep movin"
she inspires me!

i can't wait to create more of these little mixed media pieces.....so fun!!

"love"
my friends!

i am over the moon excited...
i just booked a trip to chicago to see this gorgeous friend anna!  friends for over 30 years!
  hi friend!
perhaps we will catch snow flakes on our tongues and have magical walks through the snow.... for sure we will giggle a lot and talk a lot and have a big ol' time....and i will come home inspired and refreshed and love her even more.

hi anna.
hi friend.

♥
erin


p.s.   making art takes time... photography takes time...gardening....power walking...a happy marriage and dear friendships they all take time too....i struggle with balancing all of those things with sitting in front of the computer...let's face it...being on-line can turn into a total time suck!
been there!

i just want to gently encourage you, to try spending some quality time away from the computer...go take a walk out in the fresh air...even if it is around the block...take yourself on a fieldtrip...visit your library or an art gallery....it's free....i do it all the time....go into the city OR out in the country...change things up a bit....you will feel refreshed and alive!
don't get me wrong...i love my blog, your blogs too....i find tons of inspiration on-line and spend lots of time processing my photos on the computer (i call it "playing" with my photos).....my computer is an important tool and i love being connected...it has changed my life....
....but please know, that if i seem absent or don't post regularly or don't come round to comment at your blog or reply to your e-mail....
 i just might be off striving for that
 "balance".
♥