Serendipity Sunday

Ah, Serendipity Sunday!!  My favorite thing to write about!

I love looking for that one moment that is unexpected and just makes me feel so blessed.

Sweet Charcoal sitting at my feet...

I have found that I usually find more than one…funny how that happens, huh?!

Do you ever wonder if what you do makes a difference in the world?

Do you ever wonder why you even try…

Do you just want to throw up your hands and give up because you don’t think anyone is paying attention, and believe me, I get it!

Ah, don't they look sweet.  These two would NEVER get into any trouble!!

We are so busy trying to do our own thing, that we don’t take time to see what others are doing.  We want people to SEE what I DID, and HEAR what I say, and LOOK what I am doing, and HERE, take my idea and make it yours, oh, and look what I am eating at this fancy smansy restaurant…ROFL

We ALL do it, and NOBODY throws a better pity party than me...I even provide refreshments and decorations!!

Chester!!  What are you doing??

I had decided a few years ago, that I was ONLY going to do my own thing. No longer would I buy someone elses pattern or paint the work of someone else...Baby, it is gonna just be ME and ME!

Chester...WHAT did you do to my sign??

Oh, you silly, silly girl...You NEVER for one moment considered WHAT you would be missing...the lessons you would not learn, the JOY you would miss in sharing with others, the FUN in painting something that your friend designed...

I can STILL see you, even with your eyes covered...Don't look surprised...Charlie KNOWS you did it, TOO!

Well, I got over that really fast.  I have probably learned more in the last three years that I have in a long time.  It has felt so good, and NOW, I also have gotten to know the blissful feeling of having someone to paint something that I designed...I have found that it is I that has gotten the most out of this by seeing my vision through the eyes of someone else.  Again, it has taught me that WE have so much to offer each other, and TOGETHER, we are unstoppable!!

The other night, a friend shared one of my blog ideas with me on fb...I cannot begin to really TELL you how happy it made me, and this is not the first time!

This is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!!  Oh my...What an imagination...

To see those little lightening bugs appear on a cookie, moved the corners of my mouth all the way up to my eyeballs!

Little Cookies by Cheryl Jones....oh, so yummy, too!

BUT then, there was more.

I received a message telling me to get to the Postie on Friday...HEY, you don't have to tell me more than two or three or four times!! (cause I forget...)

I DID not hide your sign...quit telling people that...I was Asleep...See me guarding it for YOU?!

I also re-found a gift that another friend had sent me, that got brought into the house, and promptly, he-who-shall-remain-nameless, pushed it under the couch~~out of sight, out of mind!

I love my snowman sign from Crystal...it really does pay to be up early, sometimes.  Charcoal gave his lick and sniff of approval!

On top of all of this, my elves were all acting like BOYS...mischief and mayhem all around...

I KNOW, some think that I am only bragging, and YES, well, I AM...

It finally dawned on me that receiving the many gifts I get from friends, literally, all over the world, has never been because of something I have done...

Um, Chester, I don't think that is the kind of umbrella one puts in their drinks...Another goodie from Cheryl

OH, NO...it is BECAUSE of WHO these people are...They are kind, thoughtful, loving, generous, talented and WELL, I am honored to call them friends...

So, Today, I thank Cheryl of Under the Lemon Tree and Crystal of Backwoods Artists.  You both have brought me more "warm fuzzies" than you will ever know.  Thank you, for well, being YOU!

Cheryl never forgets Charcoal, either...She is a good Auntie...

Please, everybody, go SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS...buy their products...buy their patterns...give them encouragement...Love them...share them...it is NOT about any of us, individually, but about us collectively...we NEED each other.

AND, by all means, ALWAYS pay it Forward and BLOOM!

I LOVE my new sign made by Cheryl and the awesome jar and candy!!

I am simply blessed to create...and I am blessed to feel the love of so many of you...THANK YOU, Thank you, Thank you~~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 

Whacky Wednesday

Two of my special friends appeared this week...it has been a long time since they stopped by to say HEY to all of you.  

Some of you have NO IDEA who they are, so let me introduce you to them...

The larger guy is named Prince Charlie, the fairest in all the land...

The little guy is Chester the Jester Elf...

They are funny...

I guess I need to also give a little bit of history on them.

One of my favorite FB people, Lynn, had an elf that another FB friend, Miss Brenda, had made.  Lynn has put some of the cutest posts with her elf and it is always fun to see him make an appearance.  

Lynn's first elf perished in a fire at her house, but soon, she got another one....Let me be clear, you can NEVER replace someone that you loved, but sometimes, we just have to go on, and go on, she has...

Before too long, most all of my friends had gotten an elf.  OF COURSE, I was not going to miss out, either.  We have had lots of fun sharing our elf capades,  and it is time to start sharing again.

My two little mischief-makers probably took a vacation when the big dinosaur appeared (Charcoal)...

BUT, the other night, I went to the computer to type a pattern, and WHO was sitting above it, starring a hole through me...

Then, the next night, Chester was on my computer...

To the left, Prince Charlie, was sitting on top of the printer with the green light beaming...

WELL, I got them away from the computer, but when I opened the lap top, a line drawing appeared!!

I did ONLY what I knew what to do, I decided to paint it!...

NOW, to find a surface... 

 

 I have to admit, when I see these clipboards, I have mixed feelings.  Maybe that is why I haven’t painted them very much.  I know, it is silly, but that is what feelings do~~confuse you!   

I was in the Dollar Tree, buying several of these.  It was the winter, around Christmas.  The line was long, but that was ok, because it usually goes quickly.  Behind me was a man and his son, or grandson~~it is hard to tell with a man~~ROFL…Anyway, he was loud, and yes, I am loud, so I am not being mean.  

 Somehow, this loud man said to me something about me having so many of the clipboards.  I think I had about 8 or 10. I  told him I was an ARTIST and was going to paint them.

Let me tell you, I have been practicing being PROUD when I say I am an artist, because EVERYBODY has an opinion about WHO is an Artist and what kind of ART is called ART and not a craft…sigh…Gosh, we all want the world to see EVERYTHING though our eyes, don’t we…

Ok, sorry, I got distracted.  In my telling the man that I was an Artist, he said, “You sure aren’t a STARVING ARTIST.”  

 My entire soul wanted to cry.  The man was proud of his humor in front of the young man and the group of people and smiled and laughed, while I simply wanted to cry.   

Let’s be clear~~I KNOW I am FAT…I have a mirror and I have done this to my body and no one else is to blame for what I have done to me, but I feel like my life STILL has worth, just as much as anyone else’s life.   

I WISH I could have, at that moment, come up with one of my witty sayings, but I honestly wanted to crawl under something BIG to cover my BIG body.  I said, not out of love, “I KNOW I am fat, but at least I don’t say mean things to people out loud in public in front of a young man and show him how NOT to act…at least I TRY to be a good example.”  

The rest of the night is a blur…I went home feeling really crappy….

SO, I have decided to start painting HAPPY things on these clipboards, and This "found line drawing" is being called: 
                                 I LOVE ME…

IF I don’t learn to love ME, then why should anyone else?  I hope it will make YOU smile…it did me!  Hey, just in case somebody hasn’t told YOU, You are pretty AWESOME!  AND YOU ARE LOVED.

Being Kind sure is hard sometimes, BUT it is so important.  Always remember how you felt when someone was unkind to you, and try your best to NOT spread that feeling to anyone else.  We never know the pain that someone hides behind their smiles.

 Of Course, this was painted with my favorite paints~~

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

I KNOW, you will all be knocking yourselves over trying to get to etsy to buy this pattern...ROFL...I am being silly, but IF you are interested, this is the link to the pattern in my etsy shop.

OR if you would like to purchase the original clipboard, click here to go to my etsy shop where you can purchase this!

OR, if you would like to see what patterns and finished products I have available, click here to go to my etsy shop.

 

Have a wonderful day, and take every chance you get to SMILE and LAUGH...spread sunshine and find all those blessings that are around, just for you~~I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte ♡