One's Woman's Trash...

... is another woman's treasure!

Ok, so these items aren't really trash, but I do need to clear out a bunch of stuff

and make a little spending money for my trip to the Country Living Fair in Georgia next weekend! :)

That's why I'm going through boxes in the closets and my workroom and the basement and listing them on my website.

 

I've got several things listed and will have more listed by tomorrow night.

 

Come on over and browse when you have time and feel free to share the sale with your friends! :)

Thanks! Lana

~*~

Red and Yellow Make...

... this fun Etsy treasury! You can visit the Etsy page and leave a comment here if you wish.

Once in a while I get in the mood to put together treasury collections from my favorites. I guess recently was one of those times.

Here's another one I made called October's Party:

It can be found here.

I hope to be back later this evening, or perhaps tomorrow to share part 3 of the World's Longest Yard Sale.

See you then! :)

This 'n That

 

I've been a bit under the weather recently, and although I've not felt very well, I still can't stand to sit and have idle hands. I feel a little better if I sit still, so I have been getting up in the mornings, making the coffee, getting laundry started, and then gathering supplies that I will use during the day and sitting at the dining table to work for the biggest part of the day.

I've been making paper whimsies for fall decor (as seen above)

and

I've been painting more HOMES (as seen below).

As of today, I have 29 tall skinny whimsical homes painted. I just can't stop. When I don't feel well, I can still sit at the table and work on these. I ran out of the Aquarelle Arches watercolor block that I had purchased some time ago and need to get more when I feel like traveling out of town to the art store.

I'm not quite sure what I will do with these, but I want to do more... maybe a series of 100. Since they are an odd size, I'm sure I will have to have them custom matted before offering them for sale. I wonder if that's something I could do myself?

They are all painted ... I can't think of the correct term ... but they are all painted without sketching them first. They are similar in shape and size, but each one has its own quirky personality with different color combinations and details.

I also painted a few larger house watercolors. This one is framed and now listed at TDIPT Mercantile. It is inspired by one of my favorite verses found in Joshua 24:15 ~ "... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

I also managed to make one of my black cats. It tired me more though, since I had to go back and forth to my workroom to use the sewing machine, find the stuffing and paint and buttons. He is also available at TDIPT.

And as long as Sam sees me through the French doors in the dining room, he sits on the porch, just hoping I'll feel sorry for him and let him in. You can't make eye contact with him, for if you do, he starts quietly meowing and tumbling onto his back, wanting you to come rub his tummy. This photo was taken when he spotted me through the screen door. It's so hard to resist that gaze!

Sigh... he's my sweetheart, and if I can get my workroom in order before winter, I may succumb to his pleadings and let him and Scooter take up residence there till spring.

Thank you for stopping by. Hopefully I'll have more things to share when I'm feeling better. I didn't get to go to the pumpkin festival over the weekend, but my daughter did and maybe she'll share a few photos with me to post soon.

Take care and God bless,
Lana
~*~

HOME Multiplied with Koi Watercolors

Welcome to my home, and my other home, and my other one, and another and .... yes, I got carried away painting whimsical homes! :)

I had been reading about Koi watercolors for a while. Some of the artist bloggers that I visit use Koi watercolors, such as Lori Vliegen and Alisa Burke, and I was anxious to try them.

At first I wasn't so sure about them ~ a little plastic tube of water and a cheap looking synthetic brush that screws on the end? Hmmm, I decided to at least try them out before passing {more} judgement.

I scribbled a little on some scrap watercolor paper to get the feel of the tube and brush and then painted this tall skinny house (also seen in my last post here):

I must say, I am impressed! I really like the vibrant colors and once you get used to not sloshing your brush in a jar of water (which I enjoy doing!) it is fun to paint with the water brush. It was so much fun that I did a whole set of more tall, skinny, whimsical houses...

... and cut them out individually. I think they'd be sweet matted and framed as a set, either in 4 separate mats and frames, or in one large mat as I showed in the photo at the top of this post.

I would LOVE to create beautiful, soft, flowery, romantic paintings, but for some reason I always end up going back to the fun and whimsical art. Oh well.... maybe next time!

Now that I've tried and like them, I'd like a larger set and a larger brush! :)
Any one out there reading this blog that uses Koi watercolors or another brand? I'd love to hear your preferences. Feel free to leave a link to your art in the comments!

Take care and God bless,
Lana
~*~

P.S. Visit this link to see more of my Koi watercolor homes.

A Seed Has Sprouted

The girl from the toppling tower of too much has been busy...
busy going through boxes of all of her bits and bobs,
checking what she has in her stash,
making note of what she might put to use,
and what she can let go of and only keep in her heart.

For she has found an extraordinary* joy
in digging through old things forgotten
and new things hidden,
knowing that some will stay and some will go
and all will serve their purpose in one way
or another.

As she sorts and sorts
and divides into this box and that
something feels different within her.
It's as if a little seed that was planted long, long ago
has finally sprouted and has begun to grow...
growing higher and higher...
branching this way and that...
searching...
stretching...
reaching for the daylight that was once hidden
by the toppling tower of too much...



Please come back for another visit as the girl shares more of her heart and home.


What bits and bobs do you have that need to be cleared out
so that daylight and creativity can burst through?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
these snippets of
The Toppling Tower of Too Much
are light-heartedly written and whimsically illustrated by
Lana Manis (c)2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* extraordinary ~ thank you to Minnie the maid for providing us with her amusing enunciation of the word.