Strawberry Roses and a sweet goodbye.....

Today my friend Jen and I spent the day arranging flowers for her grandmother's service which will be held tomorrow. She passed away last week which was sad but also a relief knowing that she was no longer suffering. She was lucky to live such a full life and will be missed by her friends and family.
To celebrate her, Jen wanted to pick flowers that she would love that also defined her. She was both elegant and classy with a clear outlook on life and strong sense of self. (seriously.....one tough cookie)

Plantings

Here are a few containers that needed to be refreshed in my front walkway.
The beauty of succulents is that you can propagate them so easily.

The window screen was rescued from the old beach house that I harvested the vintage hutch from. I tied different tillandsia plants (air plants) with fishing line and was thinking of hanging them from the eves outside my art studio.

Sorry, I'd love to write a more exciting post here but I've been painting all day and my brain is fried. I'll have some new pieces to show you soon! Till then, have a great day. Karin

Easter Lowlights

My family likes to play hard which usually means there will be casualties.

FYI--Ugg boots.....not good for baseball, especially on asphalt. I learned the hard way.
All I can remember is that my feet stopped abruptly .......and I was flying. My family was either laughing their heads off or rushing to see if I was okay. Anica may have soiled herself. After some cleaning and bandaging, I was back in the game.
Then cute little Ethan who was having such a great time retrieving fly balls from the neighbors juniper bushes......ate it on the asphalt.
We are now on the same team called "winners"

Next gathering will be at Cat/Zuri's who live across the street from on a real baseball field.

Hope you had a great Easter!

Happy Eeeeester!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter. I'm looking forward to a relaxing afternoon brunch with my family.

The Creatives gather again!

This time we met at my place on a Thursday for some pre-Easter needle felting.
Check out the brunch!
Seriously, it's so nice to have friends that know how to make pretty food that is also delicious.

The menu-
-Italian style grilled cheese sandwiches
-zucchini and goat cheese pizza
-fruit salad with mint and cinnamon
-banana bread (still warm from the oven)
-prosciutto wrapped dates, stuffed with walnuts and manchego cheese


Pictured above is Greta, Michelle, Alexis and Jennie with her beautiful new baby Stella.

Easter at the Pannikin

Here are some highlight shots from tuesdays Easter Craft Day. It was crazy how many kids showed up. The evening called for a giant glass of wine just to recoup.

Pannikin Easter Craft Day!

In case you haven't heard, the Pannikin is having their Easter Craft Day tomorrow from 1-4pm. Rosie Daley, Carol Holder and I have all come up with different crafts for kids/adults to make.
I decided to make these Easter Bunny Chia-pets with their to-go cups and stir sticks for the ears to stand up on. Totally cheesy I know, but I was short on time....and hey, you get to take home some rad plants!
I've been propagating many succulents starters to share with everyone, plus I have a couple extra party favors to pass out. (for the cutest little people that come) Carol is in charge of making fabric baskets and Rosie is molding bird nests with plaster etc. Should be a fun event.......and it's free for everyone.
One of the beautiful things about the Pannikin is that they love to encourage and support budding artists in our community. We are so lucky!

Art class, yard overhaul ......and a Fiesta!

This weekend was buzzing with activities. Bright and early Saturday morning...my art students were working hard on their paintings. When the room gets nice and quiet, I know they are deep in concentration. It's pure heaven.

Then Art and I spent several hours pulling a seasons accumulation of weeds. This is the time of year when we try to get the yard cleaned up so we can enjoy planting vegetables and of course giant sunflowers. After three waste cans full my fingers were raw and the backs of my legs were done.

After cleaning up, it was time to meet up with the local creatives for a super fabulous cooking party hosted by Melissa and Bianca. Melissa's house is so amazing I didn't want to leave. Actually, I think I was one of the last to go.
Bianca had fresh tortilla chips, two kinds of salsa and margaritas ready when we arrived. She then showed us how to make her families favorite dishes. Mexican rice, beans, guacamole and homemade flour tortillas. Go here for the recipes and more pictures. Seriously, the best salsa verde ever!


More great pictures are posted on Grace's blog right here. And if that's not enough for you, Alexis will for sure have some beautiful shots as well. It's so nice to see everyones take on the evening.
This cute "toro" pinata was stuffed with some amazing notions and handmade gifts! I'm loving all my goodies and party favors! Geez, this party will be hard to top.


Oh, I almost forgot....

Brandi made the best tres leches cake for dessert! I'm sure she'll be posting her recipe soon. Definitely want to write that down.

To all the girls......thank you for such a fun night and I can't wait to see you all again soon.

Deadline For Stealing Was Yesterday

Although I'm not a big fan of watermarking my artwork, I've come to realize that it is necessary. It's just not enough to resize my images. (only makes them a perfect size for cheesy scrabble pendants and other jewelers to use)

What kills me the most is when these lower than life creatures pretend to be something they're not...posting quotes from Buddha or religious scripture in their profiles.

Maybe they think this is just a hobby for me?
Being a full time artist means I have to work hard to make a living and pay my bills just like everybody else.

So I'll leave you with this little reminder..... It's NOT okay to steal artwork..... and it's illegal.

Sending a big thank you to my peeps in Florida who brought this to my attention.

You know, the internet is so huge, but it's also a very small community and we artists look out for eachother.

Goodbye Orange-Hello Citron!

It was time for a new color in the dining room. I loved the orange for many years but wanted something bright and fresh to compliment all the other greens that were in the room. I searched and searched for the right color until I came across an article on Design Sponge. When I saw the images of amazing New York designer and stylist Raina Kettelson....I was sold. It's so nice to find a designer who loves vintage and color as much as I do. She was nice enough to dig the paint can from her stash in the basement so I could match it. Thank you so much Raina! It's exactly what I wanted.