some more sea love

It’s such a hot, humid day I am wishing to live a bit closer to the ocean, satisfying my craving by painting up ships and other summery things in the air conditioning. But I had to share two more things from the other day, the cutest sailor themed bathing suit from the early 1900’s. It even had bloomers in the same material! The suit must of weighed a TON, I can’t imagine what it weighed wet! And, the sweetest ship weathervan on the roof of a seaside Victorian.

Found this ship during a treasure hunt… Its a huge ship necklace!

painting, work in progress

I am working on some new paintings. For the past few days this gal has been taking up all my time (with the exception of a trip to the sea yesterday). I worked on her all afternoon, here she is on my floor (although she is much further along now but it is too dark for a photo, hopefully tomorrow!). Lots more painting is in the works!

treasures from a sea cottage…

Stumbled upon a beautiful cottage while visiting the seashore for the day in Ocean Grove, NJ. The house was open to the public for tours, so I went in. Such a collection of pretty victorian things, and the little home with its two-story rocking chair porch had such charm! Small rooms under the eaves in the prettiest muted colors appeared sunfaded, perfect for the seashore. Take a peek at my favorite things, in all my favorite colors…

Hair art, silouettes and just look at the anchor shelf! The earthy brown objects were so pretty against the muted yellow walls.

A table in the living room was littered with old books and shells.

A favorite corner in a tiny bedroom on the second floor.

Desk with old objects that I perused in my imagination (no touching anything in the house)

dream stove

love, love love these prints, in the childrens room.

delicate and dainty silk shoes.

a corner of the parlor is the smallest reminder of the long, cold winters- hand painted wintery lampshade and more hair art.

and I was so busy frolicking about that I didn’t take a photo of the exterior!
I am off to paint for the rest of the day.

wings feather lace

walked home hands cupped holding these treasures! dragonfly wings (and I am betting the body was consumed by a very hungry bird!) and a blue jay feather. Now can I find a cardinal feather? I hope someday soon!

and, I have a new print in my shop.

We Come From a Delicate Place print. The original is watercolor, gouache, acrylic and antique lace.

blue things

For now I have been collecting blue things and making little arrangements on my bookshelf. The tea set is an absolute favorite and I think I’ll take it off the shelf and use it! I tend to change my collections of found things quite often so we’ll see where the next one takes me. I find themed arrangements of favorite found treasures so inspiring.

And a textured green and pink wool high waisted skirt from the 50’s with bright blue buttons. It sits in the corner, I can’t bear to pack it away with my cold weather clothes. Stuff does pile up in room corners.

newish things

Been dreaming of wildflowers and watery spaces, and dreams manifest themselves in very pretty places…

I find myself here often…

AND, I have three new sweet, simple cameo necklaces here

Here is one.

paint box

A tag sale find of the most needed kind….someone’s big old paint box! See how quickly it was filled with my new and old paints. It’s big and wooden and has a leather handle and I LOVE it! It even came with a palette.

After a long hiatus I am back to painting. All day yesterday and this morning have been spent in my little painting room. It’s been so long, I need to get more done before I show and I don’t want to break the spell the paints have on me. Oh and tomorrow is the 4th of July, cheers!

another morning…

visiting the pretty meadow. I just can’t keep away! The clouds were surreal. Upon returning home the flower press came out of hiding. I have a few presses but this one is my favorite. Tomorrow morning will be spent searching for meadow flowers to bring home and press!

bits of inspiration, oh I love this and read it often-

meadow morning

Can you believe that tomorrow is July 1st?
Summer makes me crave open meadows and basking in the morning sun. There’s somthing so ethereal about a field full of tall grass and wildflowers in the morning. This morning I sat in the field after a long run through the woods. The way the sun shone through the dancing grass was uplifting.

Oh, and i bought a really neat big old blue book called “Birds of America”. When I got it home and was flipping through the pages a big sheet of old bird stamps flutterered to the ground. They are so pretty, and I am so tempted to taste the old peppermint glue on the back! Yuckyum!