A Friend is a Special Blessing

I shared this picture on my social media accounts and someone asked for the pattern...so, here it is! 

Click here to get the pdf...Enjoy

I will leave this here until 5/30/18
Ok...so maybe a bit longer...lol

I hope this will put some
 SPRING in your life.

I am, sitting here, cold, from
our cold weather.

It is nothing new to have cold weather in the Spring, but to see Snowflakes!

🤤😁😂🤣😃

I am most thankful for a
warm heater, and being able
to sit next to my warm puppy.

This cold weather day
is simply another day
that I have been gifted.
It just happens to fall
in the season of Spring,
and doesn't meet
our expectations of what
we envision a
Spring day to be.

You know what--
I Don't always live up
 to what I claim to be.

I am grateful for this day.
I have ways to get warm.
No biggie.

I find myself shaking my head
over what irritates us.

I get tired of stuff, too
BUT good grief,
why do we complain so?

(She types with a complaining question...😉😊😁)

What will it take to share our JOYS?

Today, our area of Middle Tennessee  mourns the murder of a 5 year old, non-verbal, autistic little boy, committed by his father.

For 3 days, people came from near and far to help search.

I can't understand such evil, but then, I Don't think we are supposed to understand, because, most of us are built to love and to nurture.

What  are YOU are putting out
 in this world.

What are you contributing?

What are you posting?

What are little eyes seeing in you?

For the life of me, I Don't understand how we grumble so much, when we are so blessed!

Today, I offer you an
Act of Kindness and ask,
only, that you
pay it forward in some way.

The purpose of my art is to
make you smile.

I hope I have done that.

Let's share our joys.

Let's pray for others.

Let's meet the expectations of a loving, caring, kind, compassionate person.

Celebrate life and all that is good!

I am simply blessed
to create~charlotte♡

Easter

Happy Easter!

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

May you live the message of Easter and of Christmas in your life, each day.

We serve a living Savior, who is very much in the world, today.

God does NOT cause our problems, nor does He lead us to problems to teach us.

God does allow us to reap what we sow, because we have been given free will.

We make bad decisions, but NEVER does God tempt us with evil.

We are given mercy, and grace by a loving Father, who more often, than not, gives us far better than we deserve.

We MUST extend this grace to others, and, yes, to ourselves.

The blood of Christ made us worthy.

Eternal life is offered to everyone.

Please ask Christ to live in your heart --to make you a new creation.

Yes, you will still make mistakes, and this doesn't exempt you from the troubles of the world, but living for Christ offers you better decisions when following His words of truth.

Easter marks a new commandment to love as He (Christ) loved you.

Let's truly love each other.

May our lives reflect the eyes, ears, hands, feet, and heart of God.

I pray to help with the harvest~~That I will be willing to go where He sends me, and to follow His plan for my life.

I pray the path will be plainly laid in front of me.

I ask forgiveness for my sins and short comings and for the times I was harsh and unkind, and responded with anger.

I ask that my life will be a better reflection of my many blessings.
I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Click here to download the pattern

It is well...

I have been having fun learning different styles and using different supplies.

I have learned palette knife painting. It is fun, but it will never replace my traditional style of painting.

I started these canvases with the intent of painting my home church on them for a childhood friend, but cancer took her life, too soon, and I tossed them aside.

I recently reached a little window of being caught up, so I drug these out, again, and wanted to finish them.

I wanted them to be primitive, and similar to all the palette knife churches that are all over pinterest so I think that I was successful.  I simply used a #12 Flat, and using the dirty brush method, and by George, I liked it!

This is similar to my home church.

I have shared this before, but Mother was a Southern Baptist and Daddy was a Christian, until he met Momma!
😁😂🤣😃

When Mother and Daddy got married,  they agreed to find a church where they both could attend each Sunday, together.

They found Mt. Denson Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

It was a small white wooden country church that had added a basement and a brick wing of 4 rooms.

There was a slab of concrete in front that held 3 beautiful maple trees.

I would play "1,2,3 Red light" AND "Simon Says" with my friends.

The people would gather there, after church and fellowship and share. The left top corner was jokingly called "Amen Corner."

Fast forward about 50 years, and 2 new renovations have been made...the elders are dead, and so, pretty much, is the church. It is a sad thing to watch.

I hold special memories of this church. I try not to reflect on the many hurts.

Mother and Daddy served faithfully, and so did I. I taught many classes, sang many songs, played numerous hymns and designed many a floral arrangement to share on the altar.

I did my best to share the gifts God gave me.  I was taught about service, the Bible, our Denomination, and our heritage.

I made mistakes. Got angry. Said hurtful things. Acted like a brat.

I learned about forgiveness,
mercy and grace.

I wish I had never grown up to see the ugliness of churches. 😔

So, today marks 6 years
since we buried Momma.

It was truly a celebration of her life. We sang hymns, and our former pastor spoke of God's invitation of love.

Mother shared John 3: 16, 17 with people around the world.

She lived Love.

She was my greatest supporter.
Every time I showed her a new creation, she always told of someone that she would like to give it to. 😁😂🤣😃

I have found myself developing her giving spirit. I think she would be proud!

So in her memory, you may have this pattern. I will leave it here until the end of the month.

Click here to download the Free Pattern

If you have trouble downloading it, just send me a message and I will email it to You!
romaland2.1@juno.com

Each day, I am reminded of how blessed I was. I hope you have known that kind of love. If not, let me tell you about my Heavenly Father, who loves you unconditionally.

Make time to create!
It will fuel your soul.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Give me Jesus

This has been hanging out in my head for awhile, so those that think my head is empty- na na na na na.😁😂🤣😃

I love my regular decorative painting, but I have to admit, Mixed Media calls loudly for me to #create! 😉

I have shared so many times that I think anyone can learn to paint, if they are willing to put in the practice.

To me, Mixed Media makes art accessible for anyone to create. I am not saying it takes no skills, but it is so wide open, that one can bring their own special talents to it, without having to know the basic strokes of Decorative Painting, or tole painting.

I continue to share my process, in the hope that it will inspire you to pick up your supplies.

Again, I encourage you to USE WHAT YOU HAVE.

I am a DecoArt girl, but that doesn't mean you can't use other things--I just don't want to think about it, though.😉😊😂🤣

To begin, I used DecoArt Decoupage to glue on a piece of tissue paper to a 6 inch wooden canvas.

I used my catalyst to smear Prussian Blue onto the piece.

Now--my catalyst. A fun silicon wedge to move paint around.  Don't have one? Then use: an old cash card, palette knife, finger, or spatula (yep, artists often raid their kitchen!😉)

I repeated the process with Aqua Sky.

I printed a map from The Graphics fairy and painted a "sun". The butterflies that were added, also came from The Graphics Fairy.

If you have an ink jet printer, spray them with a clear varnish before adding paint to them, or the ink will smear.

I glued it onto the bottom with my Matte Decoupage.

I grabbed a sheet of deli paper --yes, it is what they use to wrap sandwiches-- and stamped my saying. I hand-wrote the word "Jesus".

I used stencils by Decoart to add texture to the background.  That is my favorite thing about Mixed Media--texture! 😁😊

The above stencil was used to create the sun rays, using the 4 colors below.

Another stencil I used. My thought with this was direction. That no matter what road we travel in our journey, Jesus is with us. I think the journey is better, and much easier, when we Rise with Jesus.

Now, a lot of what we do to build layers isn't often seen in the final design, but each element plays a part.

It is just like life --we each carry scars and tear-stained lives, but we get an opportunity to heal...to become a new creation. The old is past, and needs to stay there, but we must learn from each encounter. It is part of life to be hurt, but we have the choice to forgive, freeing us from the chains that bind us. We get to SHINE...to bloom into a new and improved version of us!

How cool is that!

Maybe that is why Mixed Media calls for me...maybe...

I used oil pastel around the edges and around the sun.

I also used my charcoal pencil to shade, too.

For some reason, I glued the square of the graphics, instead of cutting around it. Ok, I was lazy, but no problem, I added the elements of the background, and they melded together--oh, a cure for the lazies! 😁😂🤣😃

I hope that you make room and time to create! It will feed your soul and make you a happier, yes, easier person to be around.😉

I am simply blessed
to create~charlotte ♡

My Italian Girl

Hey y'all...

I have been a busy girl, so far, this year. I have created 14 new patterns that I will start sharing soon.

I am working on my last immediate project, due this weekend, so while waiting for paint to dry--yes, it is a reality in my little corner of the world--I created this sweet little girl.

I forgot to take pictures of step by step...sorry...

I told you about my friend from Italy, Franca Marzi, sending me her stencil.

I could not wait to use it.

I used all Deco Art products.

I attached the paper with Decoupage.
I added some drips and then used Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber mixed with Glazing Medium to "stain" the piece and to make it grungy.

I added dictionary pages on the side.
I cut strips into scallops.
I also put a scalloped strip across the top.

I stenciled the design with black.

 Here she is...

I lightly painted around the design with thinned Antique White.

Layers and layers of paint on her face--at one point,  she looked like Groucho Marx! 🤤

Whew, I am glad it is JUST PAINT!

I used my new Stencil Girl stencil to add a few words...

An Americana stencil to add daisies..

A stabilo pencil to add shading...

A stabilo pencil is so much fun. It is activated with water, so if you use it, you have to spray your piece with a fixative! You can get the pencils at Dick Blicks, or probably anywhere that sells art supplies.  The one I have is 8008.

This was fun!

Hey, if you are a painter, go buy my friends pattern. It is her first one. It is a cutie. Show her some LOVE.

I don't do a lot of things right, and I make more mistakes than I should, but I am pretty good at encouraging my friends, so help me encourage her.

Here is the link to go buy her pattern

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!

I wish you friendship...blessings...peace...wonder...
hope.

I am simply blessed
to create~charlotte ♡

A Bookmark of Love

I have met some of the sweetest people on Facebook.

I met Franca Marzi when I left a message on her Piccole Passioni page. Not knowing if she spoke English or not, I left a message for her, anyway. 😉😊😋

It was the start of a loving friendship.

I got this awesome Gift from Franca in the mail, all the way from Italy.

I cannot wait to use this stencil. 

I also got one of her mixed media bookmarks.

It made me go get the tags I had ordered in December with hopes of creating some tags.

Franca's Gift has inspired me to share this process with you.

These tags were purchased from my favorite Amazon Prime. Search AVERY 11005 and it should come up.

They can be picked up at office supply places, also. 

Or find something similar at your local craft shop.

Gather some supplies
DecoArt Stencils
Punchinello
Dry Wall Tape

I can't say this enough--use what you have! Crash your stash!!😁😂🤣

White Gelly Role Pen
Extra Soft Charcoal Pencil
Dictionary Page
Alphabet stamps

Of course, DecoArt Americana Paints
Use your favorite colors!

I began by painting both sides of my tags with Black Gesso because I could not find the white Gesso. I did find an empty bottle.😕

I brushed on some pink, some blue, some green, some pink, some blue some pink...lol

I just started adding stencils with different colors. There was no method to my madness. I just had fun.

For the middle tag, I drew a heart and then painted a very thin coat of pink around the heart. I wanted the stenciled work to show, but also wanted to emphasize the heart.

I finished everything by outlining it with my extra soft charcoal pencil.

Be sure to SPRAY the tags if you use charcoal or a brush-on varnish will smear it, and it won't be pretty.

I did this set using my fingers to add the paint.  It made me feel like a true mixed media artist! Lol😉

I painted my dictionary page with red and pink and then cut out my hearts.
I glued them on with DecoArt Decoupage Matte. I love that stuff!

I covered all my tags with 2 coats of Decoupage on both sides before I did my charcoal work.

After the charcoal work, I sprayed them with Matte Varnish.

I will add ribbon and they can be either bookmarks or tags

Do not forget to finish your backs!

For more tag ideas, visit an earlier post to refresh your idea memory! 😁😂🤣😃

Click here to magically appear! 😁

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world.

I am simply 

blessed to create~charlotte♡