The painting bug is back!

It’s been a while since I posted pictures of my art. Between our foster puppies and not feeling inspired, I just wasn’t in the mood to get my paint on. I did have a moment of inspiration back in September, though – this amazing sunset at Cap Rouge on Cape Breton.

I knew right away how I wanted to capture it in a painting. And this is how it turned out:

“Cap Rouge Sunset”

I’ve changed up the gallery wall in our hallway, and this baby is now a part of it :-) Pics of that project coming soon!

Then there’s this painting that had been sitting on a shelf half-done for months because I just wasn’t feeling it. I bought some new foil and decided to try it out on this painting, seeing as I figured if it didn’t work out, no great loss. And I liked it! I added some sparkly crystals to it, and voila…

“Be Dazzled  “

And I just finished this painting on the weekend. I tried something new, and to be honest, I was really surprised that it worked!

“Molten Metallics”

I guess the painting bug is back, because now I have five more paintings in the go :-) One of them is using my new technique, and it’s looking pretty cool so far. I just hope I don’t mess it up! But like Bob Ross says, we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents :-)

The dog days of winter

It’s been a while since I shared our foster dogs with you. And I also don’t think I told you that we added a new dog to our crew! We officially adopted our foster Gizmo last August :-) There really wasn’t much choice, hubby and Gizmo obviously have a little somethin’ somethin’ goin’ on ;-)

I call Jackson and Gizmo our Brothers From Another Mother ;-) Here they are celebrating their birthdays in style :-)

Our foster puppies Cane and Chloe were adopted in September, and they’re both in great new forever homes :-) Cane and his new mom stopped by for a visit last week – our cute little boy is growing up to be a very handsome dude :-)

Chloe loves to hold paws with her big sister :-)

Wally stayed with us for a few days in October till he hitched a ride to his foster home near Toronto.

And then we had two fosters arrive in mid-October, Jazzy…

…and Boo…

Jazzy was adopted after just two weeks, and then a few weeks later Sparkles arrived.

Boo was adopted in mid-December, and the same day that he went to his new forever home, Henry the honourary Catahoula arrived!

Sparkles went to her forever home a couple of weeks ago, and Henry will be going to his forever home this coming weekend. And then hubby and I are planning to take a break from fostering for a bit! But I have a feeling that isn’t going to happen, because there are always dogs that need to be saved, and I just can’t not help! So I’m sure I’ll have another foster to show you soon… stay tuned!

Elephant love

Way back in April, I told you about an awesome item that I won in a blog giveaway at Mix And Chic – a wall mural from Murals Wallpaper in the UK. Well, it took hubby and me FOREVER to decide which mural we wanted. I, of course wanted something coastal and beachy. But hubby wanted trees or a landscape. What to do, what to do… why, an elephant, of course! This is the mural we finally agreed on:

Last year, I was totally blown away by a kitchen on The Block that included a huge rhino photo on the wall in the eating area:

Images via The Block Shop

So the elephant caught my attention because it has the same sort of vibe of a really big cool animal waling towards you :-) And hubby likes that it’s also got landscape, which kind of makes you feel like you’re right there. All in all, a great compromise that we’re both really happy with :-)

We’re going to hang the mural on a wall in the basement, and the whole space is going to be designed around it. No, it won’t be an African safari ;-) What I really love about the elephant is that it lends itself to any kind of design…

Image via Pinterest

 

Image via Pinterest

 

Image via Pies & Pints

 

Image via art.com

 

Image via photowall

At the speed we get renos done around here, it’ll probably be three years before our elephant makes it out of the shipping tube and onto the wall! But as soon as we’re got him up, I’ll post some pics.

Thank you Mix And Chic and Murals Wallpaper!

Happy Exclusive Plum Year!

I’m not the kind of person who follows trends. When it comes to fashion and music and home decorating, I march to the beat of my own drummer. But purple is one trend that I’m all over! Pantone recently announced that Radiant Orchid is their 2014 colour of the year. And soon after after, Sherwin Williams announced that its colour for 2014 is Exclusive Plum.

“This dusky, filtered violet is refined without being stuffy, elegant yet easy, and layered with romantic potential.”

Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing.

It just so happened that I had been thinking of repainting the ocean-inspired gallery wall in our hallway purple. The perfect spot to try out Exclusive Plum! What was charcoal grey…

…is now pretty in purple :-)

Oh yeah, feelin’ the purple love! In fact, I was so in love with the colour, I needed more of it! But where… no way was I painting the whole hallway. I did that a few years ago and just about peed myself painting the front entry on wobbly scaffolding with only the chandelier to grab onto if I went down. Nope, not happening. Hmmmmm… there’s no reason why I couldn’t paint one end of the hallway purple…

And now all dramatic and sexy in Exclusive Plum :-)

I love how the purple works with the dark brown doors and the flooring and the colour at the other end of the hallway. And it’s totally satisfied my need to have more purple in my life :-)

What’s your colour of the year for 2014?

Sock Snow People

Some of the dog rescue people that I know got together to make adorable sock snow people to auction off and raise money for a variety of local rescue groups. They’ve been given the name Breenie Babies in honour of a wonderful lady who does the most amazing things to help animals in need.

Please say hello to my three Breenie Babies – from left to right are Jaunty Janna, Seductive Samantha, and Thoughtful Theodore. With a colourful penguin tossed in for good measure :-)

These are a few of the other fun sock snow people that this creative team came up with :-)

 

Don’t ask ;-)

There are lots of tutorials online – click each image below to go to the web site and see how these sock snow people were made.

I’m totally making some of these next year!

Ravishing Radiant Orchid

Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2014 is Radiant Orchid.

“While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination. An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”

“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”

You know me, I love my purple! In fact, I happen to be wearing this sweater as I type this…

And as soon as I saw it, I thought of my favourite colourful designer, Jamie Drake.

Image via New York Social Diary (Table is painted BM Mulberry 2075-20)

He was way ahead of the forecast with these rooms!

 
Images via Drake Design Associates

Eileen Kathryn Boyd has also used this gorgeous colour…

 

And another one of my favourite designers, Amanda Nisbet…

Do you like Radiant Orchid? Would you use it in your home? Yes on both counts here!