travel journal workshop
I’ll give you fair warning that my posts will be all over the place for a few weeks. We’ll be bouncing around between Christmas decorating, gifting, and crafting, to early October in Italy, and then whatever else I’m working on. Welcome to my life. Today, we’re back in Tuscany at the La Dolce Vita Retreat. […]
miss mustard seed tees & hoodies
Do you remember Miss Mustard Seed tees and hoodies? We’re going almost ten years back when I used to sell in retail spaces, at markets, and regularly added products to an online store. I loved designing and wearing my own tees and hoodies, and they were my uniform for many years. I finally let go […]
your creative super power
A question I received when I shared one of my paintings on Instagram earlier this week stuck with me. I posted a picture of a cat painting as an example when someone asked if I only paint dogs. It was this painting… Here was her question… Two of the questions are about method and technique, […]
Arezzo Antique Market
After our day-and-a-half delay in London, we arrived in Florence late at night and sleepily went through customs and connected with the driver who would take us to the Prone to Wander retreat in Sovicelle. He was a kind gentleman who spoke a little English, so we exchanged the usual pleasantries, then sat quietly for […]
salt-dough season | traditional salt-dough ornament recipe
One of my favorite holiday projects over all my years of Christmas crafting is making things with salt dough. It started with an impulsive purchase from an Instagram ad. I bought two wooden cookie molds, not really even sure what I was going to do with them. I just thought they were pretty and had […]
four things | fifty-three
I’ve spent a lot of time at the easel this week, painting every day. I am pushing through to get as many pet commissions done for Christmas presents before it’s too late for oils to dry in time. I used to sit in front of old pieces of furniture, and now I sit in front […]
my favorite realistic faux evergreens
I really loved my Christmas decorating last year, so I will probably do something very similar this year. It felt classic and beautiful, and looking back over the pictures makes me excited to pull out the bins and deck the halls. Well, almost. But, while I’m thinking about it and while you might be planning […]
Chawton House & Delightful Delays
The afternoon was fading into the evening as we finished touring the garden of Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, and we decided to walk down the road to visit Chawton House, home of Jane’s brother, Edward. He inherited the estate, including the house where Jane lived, from the Knight family, who named him their heir. […]