beach brain 2013

yeppers...got the post vacation blues...
here are some shots of some of the things i miss...

i love, love, LOVE
the beach
so very much.

but i love coming home too.

i love coming back to mr. dan
and big kit-ten and lil miss daisy
and you too!

thanks so very much for stopping by today.

♥
erin

my computer has had issues for 7 months now...
every time i take it to the shop, it acts fine, of course!
and so i am hurrying through this post, hoping it will post, crossing my fingers and toes it will post...
looks like it is time for a new one.
oy.

garden folly

recently, my best junkin buddy and i , traveled up to kentucky, to Pelly's Farm...
i blogged about their farm here...
i always find cool junk up there and this time i came across this little green house made from old windows.
cute , right?
i just set her on an old table and filled her up with fun stuff and lots of greenery.

since i live on a golf course, where golf balls often fly into my yard, i thought i'd better keep the little green house on my deck...protected by the big arbor.
the big arbor that i have been dying to paint the same light color as my deck.
which i did...paint her that is.

here is the arbor with the old charcoal stain.
too dark!

much better now!  light and bright!
with my new garden folly underneath.
a garden folly is a piece of architecture built purely for decoration...

i filled my folly with funky things that i already had...
some white plaster garden art, galvanized pieces, wire topiary and lots of fresh greenery....

love, love, LOVE how it turned out.
hope you do too!

♥
erin

p.s.  i am off to the beach next week and will be happily disconnected...think long days sitting under a beach umbrella, with two of my best friends in the whole world, feet in the sand, cocktail in hand, watching the waves, until the sun goes down....

my booth

i thought i would share with you,
 some pictures taken of my spring booth this past April,
 at Shimai Spring Festival, behind the Loveless Cafe.

i showed some of my spring inspired paintings
and my new encaustic pieces (hanging on the green shutters).
i think the white curtains and aqua crochet piece, hanging on the line made for a cute back drop.

see the big painting there, of a field of queen annes lace? at one point, a huge gust of wind came through and knocked that painting off the easel and put 2 holes in it....
ouch.

and yes,
i even dressed the part!
too bad my tongue is sticking out in this photo (the only photo of me taken).
i am much more comfy behind the camera!

there were not many sales OR customers that day,
but it was another good learning experience for me.

i really want to start selling on line (on etsy)....
i am sure you are getting tired of hearing me say that...i am too.
but
until i get all of my gardens completely in order,
i am discovering, i can not do both...
or do them both well....
i have been receiving more and more messages from the universe...

that indeed, i am an artist

the transition
is the true challenge right now.

♥
erin

p.s.  since my show, i have sold quite a few encaustic pieces and even a small painting at Shimai Gallery!  yay!  affirmation is sweet.

bringing blues and greens inside...

inspired by the gorgeous blue hydrangeas fixin to bloom right now...
yes, we southerners say "fixin"...
i have brought in more blues and summer greens
 into my neutral based den.

i started with this awesome map of tennessee that mr. dan found for me
 (like i often tell him, he is "almost done with his training"...we will celebrate our 32nd anniversary this week)

i love this map soooo very much!
i love mr. dan too.

these vintage chalkware chickens, found recently at a tag sale,
 were a real find and i was thrilled to pay only $20 for the set of 4!!

a couple of cute shabby chic type lamps bring a subtle light to the mantle... 

cute, but not quite there.....

o.k....the addition of the old globe...

darling bee garland...

a turquoise jug collecting our wine corks...
(drinking an occasional glass of wine can contribute to a good marriage)...
and an old ice cream bucket...

filled with bishops weed flowers...

clipped from my front garden, growing right there along the side walk....

i love bishops weed...
also called snow-on-the-mountain...
it can be invasive, but my sidewalk keeps it from spreading and i love how it looks similar to queen annes lace.

now i am liking this...

a couple of old doilies...

and funky candle holders holding old aqua insulators...

vintage blankets to soften the corners of the couch in pretty blue and green...

and there are the endless summer hydrangeas,
right outside the window,
 ready to put on there show.
nature inspires!

this week, i finished the last of the big plantings for my clients (until fall)...
yippie skippie!!

and i am so very relieved and jazzed...
 i feel like joining a couple of blog parties
at
 shabby creek cottage
and
debra @ common ground
and
http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-scoop-link-party-decor-and-so-much.html

btw...this is what my winter mantel looked like before the summer blues and greens,
right after i painted the stone, with a wash of annie sloane paint..
read about that
here.
this is one of my most pinned photos ever.

have a great weekend!
♥
erin