Spring Wedding

"Spring Wedding"

What can I say, I am ready for spring. We've had some good days where she's shown us her face and whispered sweet promises, but then there are days...like today...when its so gray and cold and spitting snow that you fear it won't ever truly get here.

That is not the case in the art room though! I just finished this painting and its all about love, weddings, riots of spring flowers, and clear sunny days. This painting is set up a little different than I usually do, because the people are more recessed into the background and the background itself takes more of a center stage.

If you're in need for a special gift for a spring bride this season, or if you yourself were a spring bride....this will make such a pretty keepsake (if I say so myself!)

I was an autumn bride, but I can definitely appreciate the loveliness of the spring season. New beginnings and fresh starts. Our hyacinths and daffodils are peeking up finally. And on sunny days you can almost feel things starting to think about greening up. But not today.

Ah well, it will get here soon enough! Until then there's always plenty to dream up and plan out in anticipation of spring....

~H

Rabbits & Roses

I love pretty and girly clothes. Clothes with an old timey vibe and soft well-worn fabrics. It is also very true that I have anthropologie tastes and a Target budget ;) it's been on my to-do list ever since I got my fancier sewing machine a few months back that I learn how to sew. So yesterday the yearning got to a bit of a fever pitch and lo and behold, I made my little gal a skirt!

The fabric was left over from curtains I made for her bedroom (How very Sound of Music, right?) and the pattern I found online HERE at this amazing site that I am little bit in love with at the moment. The pattern is free and it's also very easy to complete. It's got me feeling brave and much more confident in what the possibilities are with creating clothes for my little one and even myself.

Of course she had to pose with a bunny--- our time with these sweeties is nearing its end and its both a little sad and a little exciting. We're going to keep one, the only girl, so that she can stay with her mama. Mr. Darcy has an appointment tomorrow morning to, ahem, adjust his daddy parts, so that this will be our first and last litter. It's a little sad, but something I decided to do for everyone's happiness. He just misses his Lizzie terribly and until I know that putting them together wont result in unplanned babies, he has to stay in his own little hutch.

We have friends that are going to take two of our boys and buy our old outdoor hutch so that means just two other little ones will be needing homes. I'm hoping that will be easily done, especially with Easter coming up. I'm not necessarily an advocate in buying a living creature just for the sake of a holiday, but easter was when I got my first rabbit as a child, and ironically we got Lizzie and Mr. Darcy just a few days after last easter. So it's a good a time as any :)
Here's a current picture of our growing babies as of this morning. The white and spotted boy on the far left is available, as are the brown ones. It has been amazing to watch these little ones grow so quickly from wiggly ugly little naked things that looked, honestly, like little baby mice into the fluffy and hoppy adorably little sweethearts. I hope wherever they find a home, they will be loved and adored. Things are looking good in that direction :)

~H

Food for thought and reading

Yesterday I went on a baking bend and so this morning we had left over coffee cake for breakfast. Not just any coffee cake though, it was Tasha Tudor's recipe. I swear, there is nothing I don't like out of that cookbook. That's pretty amazing.

And as you can see, I've spent my winter dreaming about food. Obviously, I'm getting quite the foodie collection. Some I've been given, some I've even won in a blog giveaway. Others are just more food for my obsession. Come on, spring time!

Headed to the post office and the library today. I always feel like I'm getting away with something when I get a big armful of books at the library without spending a single dime. And maybe we'll stop by the antique mall too. Just stop. No harm in looking, right? I can do that, can't I? ;)

Oh and don't forget! I've got some new painted ceramics in my shop! You can find them HERE.

~H

A Springtime Interlude

The strangest weather has been happening out here. Two weeks ago we were peering out our windows at a swirling blizzard and feet of snow. This past week found us gallivanting around in tank tops soaking up weather more suited for May than February. What can I say, it's been marvelous!

Of course with spring-like weather thoughts turn to spring. And as soon as all that pesky snow melted off I started plotting about gardening. Because this year.... I am so ready to get my hands dirty and start growing some pretty and delicious things :)

I've always loved the idea and philosophy behind homesteading--- doing it yourself, growing your own. Embracing handmade and supporting your own culture and arts community. But this year I want to make even more of an effort to get behind these ideas.

Sure, I have been reading a lot of Micheal Pollan lately (everyone should) and day dreaming about the day when I'll have my own farm (or even just a solid acre!) but I've also decided that its no good to wait for the perfect scenario or perfect time to start becoming more self-reliant. Now should be as good a time as any.

I just started reading another book about a family that takes up the challenge to live and eat locally for a solid year. Its a fascinating prospect and one I'm excited to read about. However, the whole premise of the story revolves around the fact that oh, they just happened to own this entire farm in Appalachia that was just sitting around waiting to be lived in and harvested. Um, well, the rest of us really don't have that luxury.

I live in an agricultural area, but I do live in a neighborhood and my house sits on a little plot that measures somewhere like .00000000001 of an acre (give or take a zero, lol) And guess what, it slopes! But after reading about savvy urban homesteaders who make do with the likes of apartment balconies and rooftops, I'm a little more motivated that I can do some homesteading around here too :)

I went back and forth about whether writing about this sort of thing was appropriate for this blog. I've been a part of Mama Says Vintage which, you may have noticed, has been a little dusty just because lots of life got in the way for both me and Miss Holly. I wondered if topics like real food and gardening and old timey living would be better left there, but after consulting a few readers and searching my own mind, I've decided that I'll just lump it all here. Because I think everything--- the art, the garden, the Little House mindset--- it will all make much more sense when it's taken as a whole. So you've been warned :)

Of course I'll keep on painting. I even finished some more mugs! (see them here) and keep doing shows and the like. But I think this blog is about to blossom in more ways than one, and I hope you'll enjoy reading about it.

I have great hopes that 2011 will be a year of lots of possibilities and growth. Goodness, this will be the fourth year of this blogs rambling existance, can you believe it?

So here's to brand new things, and some good old things as well....

~H

Things get dishy

I've been busy. What else is new? But this is something really new. I'm dabbling in painted ceramics!

I love coffee and tea. And that only leads to an infatuation with and pursuit of the perfect cup. Because we all know that when you drink something out of a pretty cup it tastes better ;) right?

Well after doing some reading I decided to try a new medium! Painting on ceramics. I've been playing around with Pebeo paints. There's a freedom to doing line drawings and more simple color combinations. Playing with pattern and line instead of the line just being the backbone for a larger more complex painting. With this, the line takes center stage.

I'm excited to debut these at upcoming shows. It's always interesting to see how customers will respond to new products. You never know. But I'm hopeful these will be a hit. And who doesnt love useful art?

A note about the paints though-- in France, where these paints are made, they are considered nontoxic and food safe. However they haven't received this official stamp of being food safe in a direct contact context in the US by the USDA. Because of this, I'm promoting my plates as decorative only. However, the mugs are safe to use since the paint never comes into direct contact with what you're ingesting. Another handy dandy aspect of these paints are that they are dishwasher safe, which is important to me as a consumer, and I'm sure to you too.

And so! I've listed some new mugs and this place in my shop. Go check it out! Hope you like it :)

WWMID? Weathering a Storm

Laura stood at the window. She had cleared a peephole through the frost but she saw only blank whiteness. She could not see Pa at the door nor tell when he left it. She went slowly back to the heater. Mary sat silently rocking Grace. Laura and Carrie just sat.

"Now girls!" Ma said. "A storm outdoors is no reason for gloom in the house."

"What good is it to be in town?" Laura said. "We're just as much by ourselves as if there wasn't any town."

"I hope you don't expect to depend on anybody else, Laura." Ma was shocked. "A body can't do that."

- The Long Winter

Chapter 13 "We'll Weather the Blast"

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Many times over the last two weeks I've been thinking about this little family and this book in particular as the snow fell and fell on our little prairie home and left us literally stranded inside for days at a time. For the first day or two we were content just to be. We laid around and watched movies, made cookies, stoked a fire. And then more snow fell. And we started climbing the walls a bit. As news channels broadcast footage of bare grocery store shelves and pleaded with citizens to stay in their homes and not even attempt to get out and about, my worrisome nature, like Laura, started to get the better of me.

"What time is it? I mean what month is it?" Laura asked stupidly.

"It is the middle of February," Ma answered

Then spring was nearer than Laura had thought. February was a short month and March would be spring. The train would come again and they would have white bread and meat.

"I am so tired of brown bread with nothing on it," Laura said.

"Don't complain, Laura!" Ma told her quickly. "Never complain of what you have. Always remember you are fortunate to have it."

-- The Long Winter

Chapter 23 The Wheat in the Wall

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

I must admit that peeking into a book like The Long Winter while trapped by a blizzard myself was a bit of a comfort. Because if anyone had it worse that I did, with my nice heater on full blast, electricity and plenty of food, it was definitely the Ingalls family. They were living in a little wooden structure with 1) no insulation 2) no heat source outside of a stove running off of twisted hay and 3) doh! No trains could get through for months and so they had a severely limited food supply.

As an adult to go back and read these Little House books, and The Long Winter in particular, I am continuously amazed at Ma's fortitude, ingenuity and positive attitude. As much as Pa was the family star, Ma was the family glue. She made these stories into what they are--- happy tales of a family pulling together and making it--- instead of tales of the loneliness, isolation and severe poverty of rural pioneer life.

It's amazing and comforting to know that something as simple as your attitude when approaching a task can make or break a situation. Caroline Ingalls, during this long and hard winter, was looking around this tiny room at her children who were living off of a potato a day and having to grind raw wheat in a coffee grinder in order to have a little bread at the end of the day and decided to have a good attitude about it all. I wouldn't have blamed the woman if she'd had a hissy, ranted about being dragged from her pretty little home in Minnesota to the God-forsaken wilderness, and demanded to be put on the first train out of town. But she never did. She always seemed to know that they'd make it through whatever was going on, and it was best done cheerfully.

This is a real lesson for me and one that is a real struggle some times. But I realize that if these people could get through those sort of struggles, then by golly I can get through mine. And I have a feeling that spring will be as sweet for me this year as it was for the Ingalls family so long ago.

And with that, I wish you a happy Valentine's Day! And may your spring come quickly as well!~

April Flowers

Well here she is, my first painting of the season in cool spring colors. I do like how she turned out :) she's in sort of a 1920s style but also timeless, surrounded by pretty stylized flowers. This is April Flowers.

I've got lots of plans for some new things this coming spring :) I'm in the mood to start some dolls....wont that be fun??? I've missed that a bit. And don't worry, I'm still working on the book illustrations. But the luxury of doing it on my own, is doing it on my own time :) I do have the third illustration on the board right now though.
If you're interested in pretty little April Flowers, you can find it for sale HERE.

Oh, and last night I looked all the baby buns over closely and it appears we have FOUR boys and ONE girl! So I guess it's obvious who we're keeping--- and she's the spitting image of her mama. Now, what Austen-esque names shall we give them until they're in their forever homes? Willoughby? Mr. Bingley? Oh that sounds like a good bouncy name for a bunny ;) What else....hmmm.....

Spring cleaning

I don't know if you ever do this, but a few days ago I moved one piece of furniture in my house and then ended up destroying half my house trying to rearrange things to accomodate the move ;) and the real kicker is--- I'd moved the furniture in anticipation of buying a new piece, and then when it came down to it, I didn't even buy it! Oy!

Something good did come out of the massive shuffle though. I reorganized my entire art room, something that I'm fairly sure I would have never tackled otherwise. And I have to say, I love the results! Already I feel more organized and 'official.' This is a real productive creating center now, now just a room with a massive amount of clutter stacked everywhere ;)

The reorganizing has also got me rethinking my thoughts on color and theme as we prepare to head into another season. I have been very comfortable painting in the dark and earthy tones of autumn and winter for many months now, but its time to shake things up. I dont want any of my paintings to look like the same old thing. So I've switching to a lighter color palette, and here is my new inspiration board to keep me going:

I'm working on this small painting now done in earthy pastels that will be finished soon :) and its all about spring colors and spring flowers! It's been a long time since I've painted a flower. It's been more snow covered pine trees around here, but it's time for a change! We may have a foot of snow on the ground at the moment, but warmer days are ahead! It's supposed to be 60* out by Tuesday. Suddenly Oklahoma's schizophrenic temperatures don't seem so crazy now that I'm longing for another season :)

Oh, and on the bunny front-- they are getting so big and so adorable. Their little personalities are coming through now and they are precious. When I enter the room they clamor for my attention (I'd like to think it's because they love me so much, but I'm pretty sure they're looking for snacks, haha) by March 1 I will officially be placing them in their forever homes. Although I think I may keep one baby...I just couldn't stand to take them all from their mama. She would be so upset! She really is a great mom.

If you want to see how they're doing now, I have a new video HERE. But be warned, they are so cute it hurts a bit ;)

Ok, off to start a new day!~

h

WWMID?

Once upon a time there was a young woman. She had three little girls and a handsome bearded husband. She packed up all her special things and practical things and put them in a wagon and headed off to a far away land. There was no one else but her little family and little house for miles. Everything that was made or done was by her hands. Because she was Ma.

Being positively snowbound for nearly a week has made me think many times about those people long ago who were stuck for weeks and months on end on desolate land claims. On lonely wagon trails or making homes in dug-outs, tiny wooden cabins or shacks made of sod. Really, I don't have it so bad when I think of this situation that way ;)

I do, after all, have a truck with 4-wheel drive ;) I have access to a grocery store when the going gets tough, central heat and air and a telephone.

When I start feeling mopey and climbing the walls, wishing desperately to go to the antique mall (ok, I did have my husband drive me there yesterday. How good it felt to get out into the clutter again, haha!) I am determined to remember that others were in much more dire straits and they made it through with flair and imagination.

So I've decided to start a new segment here on my blog! I've pretty much retired "Tasha Tuesdays" and now I have decided to do something a little fun and old timey minded :) I've decided to call the new segment for 2011 "WWMID?" Or: What Would Ma Ingalls Do?"

For so long Ma Ingalls played second fiddle to Pa (ha ha) and was a quiet supporting character of all the Little House books. But as I reread the books as an adult, I am amazed at her ingenuity and fortitude. It was often her presence and intelligence that turned many situations that the characters in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books encountered from being nightmarish into easily overcome.

And so! This year I've decided to renew my interest in urban homesteading, home made living and sharpening or gaining skills that our great-grandmas and beyond used every day. What better role model and teacher than the ultimate-- Ma! So I hope you join me for WWMID here on the blog. I'm sure she's got a lot of wisdom to share with us :)

Til then,

~H

Another Illustration~

Good morning friends! The sky is blue here this morning and I can see ice sicles on the eaves of the house next door. That must mean we're having a little bit of a melt! Hurray! Not going to get too excited though, because I've heard more snow is coming. And I'm not trying to think too terribly much about The Long Winter ;)

But one thing I am going to do is show you my latest illustration!:

This painting actually pleasantly surprised me. It's a scene from the middle of the story, I've decided not to follow the storyline but to just paint whatever scene I'm in the mood for at the moment. I love how the mom turned out, and the feel of the cabin and the snow scene outside. I think when I get the book all done up I'll offer prints of each illustration individually, in case there's one you like in particular. It's an exciting but very slow process. I'm sure I could go faster if, oh, my child's school hadn't been closed for a week and I could get myself into a regular routine ;) but with snow in the forecast next week and mounds of it still on the ground, I'm thinking we'll be in for week two of "stuck in the house with mama." Sorta like the children in this painting, I guess ;)

In particular I like how the mother in the painting came out. She's making decorations to fancy up the little cabin. And speaking of people who lived in little cabins in the rural far-off, the other day I found this photo in a little old wallet among some family things. I didn't even realize I had it, but it made me smile. Not sure who it is, but it seems to be a relation of my great-great grandfather George Elbert Reid, if it isn't truly him himself:

Don't you just love those boots? And looks like my love for rabbits may be a family thing! But, er, I think we show our "love" in slightly different ways ;) I can't even count how many rabbits he's got here. And it looks like he may have some slung over his back. He's standing in a few inches of snow and there's a wagon and team of horses behind him. I'm sure someone would be able to date this by looking at his clothes and hat, but I'm not sure. This side of the family was from rural Missouri, Laclede County to be specific. It's so funny how these past people and things can be so far gone and yet so present. Just the other day I made snow ice cream for my daughter for the first time. I learned how to make it from George Elbert's daughter, who was my great-grandma. She was in her eighties.

Well, speaking of little ones, mine is up and ready for the day. Her first words to me, as usual, were "where are we going today?" lol, not far! Maybe we'll go out in the snow for a bit....

~H

Hello there! Let me peek out from this snowdrift and greet you! Hope you are safe and warm. We are snowed in, and it just keeps falling! This morning my parents came to get Audrey and I and take us to the grocery store. As we waited for them fat little flakes began to fall....and they're still falling....

I'm relieved to have a good stock of food again and I'm making no plans to peep my little head out of the neighborhood for a good long while. It is just....epic. This is like, Minnesota snow. Arctic Canadian tundra snow. Oh dear, my library books will be late. I'm sure they'll understand ;) I've got plenty of stock to make enough baked goods to keep us fat and happy though. And coffee. And hot cocoa. We'll get through this now!

This is a little piece of the illustration I'm working on this week. I really like how its coming along. It's so funny to be painting a picture of a family snug in a little cabin while snow falls outside....while being snug in our little house while snow is truly falling outside. Life is imitating art, or vice versa around here.

What are you working on this early February? Are you snowed in as well? Be safe and hope all is well in your part of the big woods~

~h

Little House in the Blizzard

Goodness gracious! Our world has turned white. Looking out my kitchen window this morning, the sun is rising peach and pristine over a landscape of sparkling white. A snowdrift has waved up to the back porch and stand hip-high to me. It's an amazing scene to behold. Especially here, on the southern prairie, where we might get 6 or so inches a year. Yesterday we got a little more than 12" (at least! Nearing 20" in some places) we broke our all-time snowfall record and the outside world has come to a standstill. Luckily, we're safe and warm in the little house...

This is me shoveling out a path for poor Henry yesterday. However, he was totally uninterested even after all this work. Can you tell that my hair was fixed really cute? ;)

The snow started falling in the night and didn't stop until the middle of the afternoon. I've promised a certain little someone that we'll get out and play in it today. Who knows when something like this will happen again? I'm feeling very Tasha Tudor locked in my little house under mounds of snow ;) And like Tasha, I decided it was time to get some good snowed-in painting done:
We kept a fire going most of the day so I spread out a quilt and my paints and turned on a movie (or two!) and painted away. The illustrations are going nicely :) it's nice to be working on a new one. It's handy that my story is set on a Christmas Eve snowstorm, the current landscape is very inspiring!

Something else that I busied myself with as the snow swirled down, was cooking! I made vegan orange scones to munch on (I'm not vegan myself, but I do love to try some recipes from time to time! I got the recipe out of THIS book) and can you believe there wasn't a crumb left by sundown?

I also accidentally invented a new recipe for dinner that turned out rather good! I thought I'd share it with you. I've named it....

Snopocolype Fiesta Pie

Hehe, pretty catchy, dontcha think? It started out with me trying to make chili for dinner and then realizing after I'd cooked my meat that I didn't have all the core ingredients for it. So I turned it into a chili/mexican hybrid (because I could eat mexican food everyday, love it...) and added some veggies for good measure (I did, after all, eat near my body weight in scones! They were vegan though, lol....)

Here's the recipe:

(Snopocolypse) Fiesta Pie

Ingredients

1 lb. ground turkey (or you could use beef)

Mexican meat seasoning

1 can black beans

1 small can tomato paste

handful of grated cheese (mexican blend, cheddar, pepper jack, whatever)

1 pack Jiffy cornbread mix

handful shredded lettuce

chopped tomato or Pico style salsa

Sour cream (optional)

To start I browned my turkey meat in my dutch over. When it was cooked through I added the mexican spice with a little water and let it simmer for a while. Then I added my can of black beans and tomato paste, stirred together and let simmer for a while.

Meanwhile, mix up your package of corn bread mix (or make your own, if you're so inclined. I made this with a box of Jiffy corn bread) when the meat mixture has simmered together, sprinkle the meat with a layer of cheese and then pour the cornbread mix over the top and spread evenly like a pie top. Put the lid on the dutch oven (leaving a slight crack for steam) and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Check pie periodically and when the cornbread top seems cooked through, take dutch oven off of heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then cut up the 'pie' and put on plate. Top with shredded lettuce and some tomatoes. Add a dollop of sour cream if you're so inclined (and I always am!)

Serve!~

***********************

And so....we're just eating and painting and hanging out over here! Trying not to think about what it will take to get this frozen world going again. It will melt. Eventually! No matter that we're having such bone chilling temperatures (-7 tomorrow morning?!) and perhaps more snow next week. No....we will just continue our hibernation and dreaming of spring.

Hope you are safe and warm on this winter's day.

Til next time...

H