One Petal, 2 petals, 3 Petals, 4!

Why would I ever agree to try to duplicate something!

Good grief.

Once you do it, it is a one of a kind.

But my friend asked for tips, so tips I shall give. Well, I will share pictures. 

Nope, the second one was not like the first one and the third was like neither the first  nor the second.

My background insisted on being darker and richer, so I just went with it!

The technique is the same, just don't add as much paint!

I have painted flowers for years,  but started enjoying the whimsicals more and more, so I had not painted a flower in several years.

I have a college friend that likes hydrangeas, so I planned to paint her this bowl before Christmas. Yes, I finally did last weekend, and she FINALLY got it as a RAK on Wednesday.

Yep, I am nothing if not the world's best procrastinator!  
Mother said that whatever you do, do the best you CAN!
I am an expert.  Of course, we all know that an expert is only a drip under pressure!  ;)

I learned to paint flowers mostly from Donna Dewberry books and books by Ross Stallcup. I changed them to suit my taste, as most painters should. I was AMAZED to find that some designers do NOT like people adding their own touches to designs.  I won't give my opinion on that, but you can probably tell! Lol

I feel kinda silly adding my tips for painting a hydrangea, since there are TONS of patterns out there. I recently bought a video from Maureen Baker, and discovered I had been doing it right, all along, not that I am certain there IS a right way.

There probably are lots of videos on YOUTUBE,  also.

But here I am...sharing that YOU can do this.

I will put a "pattern" in my etsy shop, so click on this link to go  To my etsy shop.  The price is $5 for those who wish to have this in pattern form.

Hey, visit my shop and see what I do.  ;)

I use filberts to paint most all of my flowers.  Use the appropriate size for the surface you are painting

The background was created using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics: Cobalt Turquoise Hue, Dioxazine Purple, Yellow Green Light.

I flecked it with my choice of  Dazzling Metallics.

You may chose any color to paint your flowers.  Choose a dark (pretty dark), medium and a Light Color--most any of the whites would work.

Hydrangeas come in many different colors.

For the stems/leaves, use your favorite greens. Again, choose a Dark, medium and light green.

Here are the step by step pictures.

Enjoy and I hope you will give it a try!

sorry, this is out of order, but I didn't want to have to move it...

This was the original piece

These are the 2 that
I did trying to duplicate
the first one...heavy sigh...LOL

Here is the link to buy the pattern for the hydrangea

I hope you will try different things.
Learning is fun!
I am simply blessed to create ~ charlotte♡

On the Tenth day of Christmas...

On the Tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...LOL

How fast have the days gone by since Christmas?

I just logged on to do my WORD for 2017, and mercy, I found this post I did on the 28th, and never finished it, so, being one not to WASTE things, I am going to share this.

Our Team on Etsy, FAAP is having an after Christmas Sale.  I have been blessed to sell 4 items and I am grinning from ear to ear!  I thought I would share the 20 items that I still have listed at a discounted price.

Remember, that Holiday items make GREAT Wedding Gifts!  One of the best wedding showers I ever attended, was a Holiday Shower.  Most people get every day items, but when the holidays roll around, they have to go shopping, which, isn't a REAL problem, but just something to think about.

I sure do love that I get to create things with my hands.  All those days that Mother did her best to keep our hands busy, I never had any idea the seed she was planting for the direction of my life.
I KNOW, she was doing her best to keep me and Brian from fighting, but what great skills she was also implanting in my world.

IF you have children, PLEASE teach them to love the arts, and the joy of doing work with their hands.  Yes, game playing does teach them skills, but to CREATE something is a gift.  Teach them BASIC skills they will need for life--to cook, to repair things, to grow things (yes, I guess mold on food in the fridge is a lesson, too), to organize their toys/books/possessions, to HELP with chores--not EVERYTHING we do deserves MONEY to get it done, because service is a vital part of living.

I am so thankful for the lessons my Parents taught me, even when I didn't know they were teaching me!  WOW--what a blessed child I was.

Check out my teammates items, also.  

I am surrounded by talented artists!

Click here to magically pop into my etsy shop!

Thank you to each of you that has encouraged me.

You have no idea how much it means!

BUT you have ONLY yourself to blame 

for seeing more of me--LOL

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

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 ♡