Hello Friends!
For these many years I have enjoyed using Typepad for my mixed media art blog. But I am finding it more challenging to keep it up, along with my Halloween blog. So I will no longer be posting here on Typepad. Instead, please follow me on my new blogger blog:
Easy to remember, right? I hope you continue to follow along as we journey on this creative road together!
My new blog:
Thank you and I'll see you on blogger!
I am getting ready for two Halloween shows this fall:
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In the meantime, we have had weddings to attend, summer dinner parties to enjoy and strolls on the beach amid sand castles. Plus, we are putting in our backyard, which is no easy task with all the sand we have here! The North Florida summer months are heating up and so are the afternoon thunderstorms, which make a great backdrop when I am painting a haunted house or creating a witch. I hope to see you at one of these shows! Enjoy your summer, it is passing by much too fast!
The gardening season in north Florida is short, since we really can't grow much during the hot months of June, July and August. So I started early and decided to share some of the photos of our side yard, container garden. Fresh herbs are so much better, don't you think? Parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme...hmmm...I've heard that somewhere before!
I love this little thoughtful cherub. I think of our daughter when I walk past.
Tomatoes, lettuce, turnips and spaghetti squash are all planted in containers.
I planted these nasturtiums from seed! The flowers are edible too. Thankfully the squirrels haven't gotten them.
Our gargoyles stand watch out front amidst the azeleas. I am inspired each time I glance out the window and see the beauty of these plants. Enjoy the sights of late spring.
January is flying by and before we know it spring will be here with it's beautiful flowers and of course Easter. The weather here in north eastern Florida has finally turned cold. In fact it was a chilly 39 degrees this morning! So I will be ready for warmer days once the vernal equinox hits on March 23.
In the meantime, I have been busy in my studio creating Valentine and Easter whimsies. The spun cotton bunny and chick pictured above are currently being offered on eBay.
I am just loving spun cotton, and I have been in love with the craft for some time. I am trying to hone my skills and have created a sweet Valentine's Cupid as part of the PFATT Valentine's art challenge, now going on via eBay.
Merry Christmas! Thank you for supporting handmade art during the past year and for your continued enthusiasm. I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!
~ Iva
There is nothing like a Christmas tour of homes to get you into the holiday spirit!
I belong to the Las Adelphas Garden circle, one of 10 circles made up of about 30 members each, and part of the greater, 300-member St. Augustine Garden Club. Each year, the club puts on the Christmas Tour of Homes, in which six historic homes in the downtown are decorated with fresh flowers and all sorts of Christmas cheer. A tea and boutique are also part of the tour - in fact I had to bake some four dozen cookies for it! About 1500 tickets are sold each year and it sells out early, this year was no exception.
Being a new member, this was my first year taking part in the tour. Not only did I help decorate a beautiful renovated 1920's home, I also got to tour the other five and even enjoy some cookies and tea!
It was a lot of work, taking about three full days to decorate and then another couple hours on the day of the tour working a two-hour shift at the house and directing people from room to room. But what a great experience!
The top photo is the moss wreath our circle created for the front door of the Gowen home, a beautiful historic house right on the Intercoastal and in view of the Bridge of Lions downtown. Here it is with all the decorations in place outside. I personally wired the greenery on the fresh cut wreaths that adorn the front windows. Actually, there was a group of us working on them.
Not only did we add the fresh greenery to the square wire forms, we added large pinecones to the backs - so they'd be beautiful from inside the house as well as the outside - but we also added pepper berries, little gem magnolia leaves, a green apple and a large, purchased sugar pinecone hanging in the middle. They were a lot of work, but so worth it!
Here are more pictures of the house our club decorated. I'll share some of the photos of the other homes in a second post. Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the home tour!
The family room...
A close-up of the coffe table arrangement. Don't you just love those horse-tail pine needles!
The beautiful living room fireplace. You can barely see the stairs in the background, also adorned with fresh greenery thanks to our club members handy work.
This is their entry, pink roses and pink poinsettias, magnolia leaves and curly willow. Need I say more?
Wouldn't you just love this view for coffee in the morning?
Their breakfast nook...again a gorgeous view! And check out the neat jellyfish glass lights in the upper left corner. They are stunning!
The back door was decorated with all sorts of dried fruits, cinnamon sticks and small pinecones. One of our members dried the oranges, star fruit and orange peel. Just lovely!
I hope you are in the Christmas spirit now!
So have you been naughty or nice?
Original watercolor now in my etsy shop: http://ivascreations.etsy.com
I am an artist, mother and wife.
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