Fat Froggie

My college friend, Amy, asked me to share my mother's Big Mouth frog joke.

Click here to go to THE BIG MOUTH FROG

Most of you know why I paint so many frogs, but maybe a few of you still wonder.

I have been taking a blog break.
I do that with stuff to refresh.

It has been a hot summer, and we still have August to go! Yikes...🤤

Time is going so quickly.

I have stayed busy.

Charcoal doesn't like this hot weather, either.  I almost have to push him out the door to go potty--he must have an iron bladder.

Just like many of you, life has been challenging for me, but everything will somehow work out.

At the same time, some areas of my life have been going really well, and I pray they just keep getting better.

That is life.

I just pray that God's Will be done in my life, and that I will Keep listening for His still small voice.

Here is a little something for you.
He can be drawn on cards, embroidered,  inked, watercolored, painted...use your imagination...

Link to free Fat Froggie

I hope you are happy.

I hope you love yourself.

I hope you feel loved.

I hope you know that YOU MATTER
And you are needed.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world and for your love, support and encouragement of me.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Scraps

I found myself picking up a scrap of wood to paint as a RAK.

A Facebook friend said, "waste not, want not."

It got me to thinking...

STOP IT--I know that is nothing new.🤤🙄😛

Are you giving scraps or keeping Scraps?

When we were young, Mother always took the "heels" of the bread, and gave us the good pieces--that is what good mothers do.

She would do without, so we could have better--that is what good mothers do.

Daddy always went the extra mile, so we wouldn't have it so tough--that's what good Daddys do.

He always "walked backwards" and climbed to the top of the tobacco barn, where it was dangerous, so we would be safe. He ate the "heels" of the bread, too--that's what good Daddys do.

We go through life, meeting all kinds of people.

Some people will always keep the best and give others the scraps.

Then we encounter those who keep the scraps and give the best they have to others.

A few years ago, I met a man who collected clothes for others. He told me he went through each piece, checking them, taking only the best to the poor. He told of the trash that was given, with people saying that it was better than nothing for them. He didn't believe this. He felt the poor deserved the best he could find.  He touched my heart by teaching me that scraps shouldn't be what we give away, especially to those with less than us.

We spend this week remembering the events of Holy week. The week where we see Jesus welcomed into the city, riding on a donkey, greeted by singing and the waving of palms.

We then remember the horrible cries of "crucify Him...crucify Him" 

The sounds of nails being driven into his hands, his feet, his side wounded...

We watch as He hangs on the cross...as His Mother and friends watch...as He offers pardon to a thief.

We wait as He battles death so we might live.

It is Friday, BUT Sunday is coming!

God kept the scraps of a broken heart, while He gave us the best --That is what our Father did for us. 

What will you do for Him.

Will you reflect His love in your thoughts and deeds.

Will you give Him your heart.

Or will you give what is left of your time, of things you don't want...the scraps of your life?

God didn't send Jesus to condemn us. He sent Him to save us...to teach us how to live.To give us a new commandment to "love one another as I (Christ) have loved you.."

Love yourself, too.

Only then, can you love others.

The good news is that God can take your scraps and make them beautiful and useful.

Give Him your heart. You will never want to be the same as you were. 

He will make you into a new creation! 

Hey, don't forget that YOU ARE LOVED! 

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Here is the link to the "ladybug scrap" if you would like to paint it.
Of course, it is created with
Decoart Products.😄😁

Ladybug Kindness PDF Click Here

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♡

Lisa's Blocks

It is the time of year where busy doesn't begin to explain how busy we are!

I thought I would share blocks that I did last year that were inspired by Lisa Wells.

I asked if I could share on my blog, and she said YES!
She was so excited, because, that is the girl that she is--happy!

I am sharing again, this year.

I created a pdf that you can download at the end of this post that has some pictures and line drawings.

Create until your heart is content.
I ask, only, that if you share them, PLEASE give Lisa Wells credit, because, it is the nice thing to do!

I bought my blocks at the Dollar General store in the toy department.

I used, of course, DecoArt Americana paints, and when finished, I put Ice Crystal DecoArt Glamour Dust on them to sparkle. You may add gems, also.

Last year, I gave away at least 30 to those who served me. I placed them in a bag with a fun sized candy bar and a note saying THANK YOU FOR THE JOB YOU DO. I tied the top of the bag with Bakers twine.

I was more blessed by the smiles and hugs that I got!

Sunday, I started giving away some more RAKs. It does my heart good.

 I can't change the world, but I can brighter my little corner of the world, one smile at a time.

People don't need a piece of my mind, but, instead, a piece of my heart.

Thank you, Lisa,  for making my world a better place!
I love you and admire you.

I am simply blessed to create AND to have creative friends~charlotte♡

These are the pictures of one's

 that Lisa painted.

Oh, my, goodness...
Aren't they adorable!!

Click here to download the pdf

Tole Town Trick or Treat

The winner of the Bat Pumpkin Painting is

Lisa Paints

Thanks for playing! 😁😂🤣

Trick or Treat 

You Decide!

Welcome to my little corner
 of the world,

My little pretties

cue: evil laugh

Good things come in 3's 

So

Number 1

I have over 100 patterns 
and 100 finished items 
in my etsy store.

Click here to visit my etsy shop

Number 2

A fun and new pattern

Created just for YOU

But

It is too cute to make you go BOO! 

Click here to purchase the pattern

Number 3

CLOSED
WINNER HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

Leave a comment below of your favorite Halloween Candy to be entered to win the bat pumpkin featured in the above pattern.

Remember that I will need to find you if you win, so check back here on November 3rd to see if you won!

Happy Halloween

October is the BESTEST!

Thanks for stopping by.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡
😊

Tutorial Thursday

The elves have been at it again…

I just looked and saw Charlie inside the printer and Chester was sitting on top, grinning his silly grin.  Again, the green power light is ON.

WHAT are these guys up to?

Oh, look…Charlie was scanning his face so you could have a free line drawing!!

The original size is 4.5 inches wide and about 5.25 inches tall.  To get this drawing, right click on your computer and SAVE to your computer.  You can then print it and resize it as you wish.

AWWWWWW…so sweet!

Sometimes, it is tough to know what to do with a line drawing without having instructions.

Thinking outside of the box is tough for lots of us.  I shake my head at what I do NOT think about.  Once someone posted a piece of wood turned another way than I envisioned.  It didn’t dawn on me to turn the piece of wood that way…WHY would I not see that? 

I keep telling you~~the whiter my hair gets the more Lucy moments I have!

SO now, when I pick up a surface, I turn it different ways to see if it will inspire me.

I cut my own wood, and love to design easy cut outs…it never dawned on me that some people don’t have someone to cut wood for them, so I have started using surfaces that can easily be bought.

IF you cannot cut wood, then paint the design onto a surface~~a plate, teapots, coffee pots, old trays, recycled wood.

Also, you can paint simple designs onto cardstock.  Seal it with DecouPage (Mod Podge) or DecoArt All Purpose Sealer and paint it.

Mixed Media Paper is even better to paint on than cardstock, or watercolor paper~~you can usually purchase these at Walmart, but most definitely at craft/art stores.  Give them more body by painting them with Gesso, paint as you normally would, and seal with several coats of varnish.  Just a note~~it is easier to cut them out AFTER you paint them.

If you don’t paint, there are so many markers, colored pencils and crayons out there…

You can even stich the designs~~a simple running stitch would be a great way to teach the young ones how to sew.

I believe in getting children involved in the arts and it doesn’t have to be painting and sketching~~acting, music, writing~~just make sure they have good teachers so they can develop good habits.

This would make an adorable tag for your Christmas Gifts, and then can be used to hang on the tree~~two purposes! 

SO, I hope this will help to get those creative juices flowing…If you make one, please share it with me.  I would love to see it!

We will be watching YOU…

Create with a Happy heart~~I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

 Click here for the link to purchase the Painted Clipboard from yesterday...This is for the finished product

Click here for the link to purchase the PAINTING PATTERN from yesterday