Finished putting in the plants and moss. Try to imagine it when four of the five plants are 10″ tall. Hope they all survive. I will keep it inside for a few more weeks until temperatures won’t drop below 50. I am pleased with it. It cost less than $100.
Here is the first peak at how my fairy garden is coming along. I ordered five minature plants today and they should arrive early next week. They are in 2″ pots if that gives you an idea on size. Also ordered some green moss to cover the dirt. I don’t know if it will look like grass or not. Either way, brown or green is fine. I will keep moving stuff around as I continue to look at it. I had to assemble the little fairy house. See the swing with the bluebird? I will wait a few more weeks before putting it outside. Not sure if I will stay with that fairy house or have Bob build me one.
Here are some photos of my latest paintings. I really like the blue winter scene. It has lots of texture and some sparkles for the snow. The rocks turned out better than expected. It is a very calming peaceful painting.
The hummingbird has sort of a playful quality with the dancing leaves. Coloring turned out better than I expected.
The chickadee is very simple, that’s the way it was supposed to be. If you look close you can kind of see brush stokes that look like feathers. She has a little texture too and is perched on a sprig of rosemary.
The butterfly in the hydrangea was A LOT OF WORK! It has sparkles in it too. Definitely more fantasy feeling. Enjoy.
The same instructor will be doing four landscape pictures in June so plan on taking that class. Will probably do a few others this spring at the White Rabbit Gallery.
The butterfly in the hydrangea was A LOT OF WORK! It has sparkles in it too. Definitely more fantasy feeling. Enjoy.
My dad Harold “Randy” Randen served in the army and was part of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. He brought back quite a few artifacts of the war both German and American and I have been trying to figure out what to do with them since he died 40 years ago. I decided I didn’t want to sell them and wanted them to go to someone who would appreciate their historic value.
My patience paid off and yesterday I took all of the items to the new Greenville Military Museum. It is in an old hanger at the downtown airport across from the Runway Restaurant and playground. It is open on Sat. afternoon and some Sundays. They are still remodeling but I was quite surprised to see all the exhibits they have. Admission is Free. They will focus on military action from the Spanish American War to now.
Their curator with loving care went through every item. What I gave them will go in their permanent collection and all things were items they did not have so no duplication. Bob and I learned quite a bit about the items so that was pretty interesting. I am 110% sure these special military items could not have gone to a better home. My dad would be very happy to know how they will be shared with the public. We might even get one whole display case for his things. Whatever they decide, I know I made the right decision. Enjoy a few photos. They have much more and will feature people bringing in their special collections too. The hospital unit complete with an ambulance is pretty neat.
They also have as part of their mission to do education especially for 5th grade students. They have “hands on” items that the kids and adults can interact with. They have a ways to go to finish the place but it is already well worth a visit. http://www.greenvilledowntownairport.com/MHCCMilitaryMuseum…
I am having lots of fun thinking of what else to put in the garden. Of course I need plants and there are many companies that have them. Here is one possibility. I want to wait until it gets a little warmer to order something.
Years ago Bob’s mom gave me a bag of agates that she had polished when he was a kid and I have hung on to these all these years. I can see these as a path or glued together as a wall or even to decorate the house.
These Siamese cats I have had since I was a little girl so definitely think my fairy would like the kitties.
Also, when I was little I had a rock collection, see rock behind the cat, and have quite a few of them so I can see rocks as boulders in the garden.
My friend Kris gave me this fairy years ago so she will now have a new home. Each of the eggs were gifts, Bob’s mom painted the blue one, so maybe there will be a place for at least one of them. I like the fairy cat but I think she will be too big.
This ballerina was also something Bob’s mom had and she is pretty tiny so perhaps she would like to play with my fairy? What do you think?
There is an endless amount of stuff you can find for fairy gardens on line so will see how things come together. Many are made of wood and twigs and oh so cute.
When I was cleaning out drawers I also found a couple heart shaped rocks so they might be a part of it too. I don’t have much room but everything is small. I am having fun.
I’m still doing my painting classes and enjoying it more and more. Here are three I have done the last 6 weeks or so.
This one I did on Wednesday. The pineapple is the symbol of friendship and hospitality so a nice one to have in the house. This was with a new instructor, Kynm Easter, at the White Rabbit Gallery in Travelers Rest. It is 16″ by 20″ and acrylic and done with a stencil. First time I have used a stencil. Took 2 1/2 hours. I like it.
This is the first oil from my OLLI class. Took about 4 hours over two classes. It has just the smallest amount of glitter in it to make it really sparkle. Also 16″ by 20″. I am happy with this one too.
This is another 16″ 20 oil. I like some parts but not others. This one was hard. It was all done with a pallet knife and took 3 hours. This was a lot of canvas to cover with a pallet knife. I like the wreath and the door but not the color of the door. I wish I had done the door in light brown tones. I think the wreath would show up more. I have had a couple visitors to the house and they said they liked it. Anyway, as always I learned a few things. Not sure that pallet knife is my favorite painting instrument but I am surprised how much you can do with just one tool. I wouldn’t have thought I could do the stuff on the wreath. Lots of texture in this one.
Have three more paintings coming up at OLLI this term. There are about 20 of us in the class. I also have a couple Sunday afternoon classes with Cheryl at the White Rabbit. I have accomplished my dream of having my own original art work on my walls. Would not have thought that possible.
I got the stand and it is even better than I expected. I thought it would be 1 3/4″ deep but it is more like 4″ deep. Can get plenty of dirt in there for my plants to grow.
The Fairy house I was less impressed with. I like the accessories but the house itself I don’t like. Packaging was really cute.
Also a Fairy house needs a door because fairies like to hide and there is no door so that got me thinking about what I could make a door out of. We have tons of veneer wood from Bob’s marquetry hobby so that would work. As Bob and I talked and I showed him what the house was, basically a piece of birch bark made into a circle and tied with twine, we decided that he could build me a beautiful fairy house with balsa wood and veneer. We are really excited.
