Snippets of August and Things to Come

I could not have started my blog at a more hectic time of the year. It has been one of the busiest wedding seasons to date. I feel like I have been buried under envelopes for a month now.

Since I cannot show you most of my work until after the “big days” happen, I wanted to show you some of the things I have been working on this past month. I am working on several other pieces that I will share with you when I can.

In addition, I am so excited about a class I am taking next week. I will tell you all about it when I return, this time, I promise! I have been keeping my goal of a sketch/painting a day. I am learning so much and having a blast.

With fall in the air and my work very seasonal, I am beginning to switch gears and slow down with a change of scenery on the horizon. I am looking forward to starting some holiday projects and activities I have pushed to the back burner.

More to come soon ...

Sketchy Thursday

I haven't forgotten I promised to share details from my workshop a few weeks ago - but the truth is, I didn't produce anything I want to show! ;0

The class was held at Cheap Joe's in Boone, NC. I do not know why I have not taken more classes there, but have already signed up for 3 more! I will tell you all about those when the time comes. In the meantime, I have been keeping my goal of a sketch a day.

I had signed up for this workshop, entitled "Sketching with Watercolor" with Brenda Swenson, to try and loosen my style. I have painted detailed botanicals and house portraits many times, but nothing loose and free ... like I want to produce ... but I am changing my ways! Brenda commented that I drew a lot of detail and very tiny things and reminded me "not to paint the fleas before the dog"! I am so used to producing "small pieces of art" in my stationery and do love tiny little drawings, so I guess that is why I am having problem with large still life objects.

The class was a lot of fun. I did not get to attend all of it due to my dog starting her chemo and working out work schedules with my husband, but what I was able attend was very insightful.

Brenda is taking a small group to France in the spring of 2010 and I had just talked my husband into taking me, had all the plans worked out with the tour group, when she informed me it was full already. I have to say, I was very disappointed but have something else in the works.

I promise to show you some things soon, but in the meantime, I will show you my overworked urn. I am so drawn to urns and have so many as an antique lover and gardener, I am sketching and painting them all...on paper that is. I DO love this Twinrocker paper I am using. I have sold their stationery for years and only in the last couple of months started using their watercolor paper and really enjoy it. I think this piece, and its color, has the same patina as the urn.

Gigi Update

So many of you have expressed concern and asked that I keep you posted on how our little dog Gigi is doing, so I wanted to bring you up to date.

She has been taking chemotherapy for almost a month now and is doing remarkably well. Her doctors are very pleased with her progress thus far. As of now, we have seen no side effects except for a little fatigue. For a Miniature Pinscher, that is not saying much as they are very hyper little dogs…even at 13 years old! She is still so full of energy and life. She always is ready to go for her evening walk as soon as she finishes her dinner and is relentless until we take her. She also does not let us forget that she expects her morning ride on the weekends! Another thing that amazes us is that her hearing has improved dramatically! We thought she was going deaf due to “old age”…, which part of it is, but as it turns out, was a symptom of the brain tumor.

Having thought her last day was over a month ago, with the veterinarian giving us little hope, we feel so blessed and grateful to have had another month to spoil her even more…and she is loving every minute of it!

Gigi seems to be the million-dollar dog! She had a stroke 5 years ago that left her back legs so weak she had to put all her weight on her front legs for months...she recovered from that, has had two eye surgeries, part of her colon removed and been hospitalized three times for pancreatitis…so hopefully she will bounce back from this too.

My mother is very superstitious and has always warned us "not to brag too soon", that it might jinx things, so I hate to become too optimistic. On the other hand, my husband, who is so positive about everything, says we should remain encouraged and not let ourselves think negatively. I think I am somewhere in between and will remain cautiously optimistic. We will not know if the brain tumor is shrinking for another month, when we take her back to the oncologist for a CT scan.

Thank you so much for your kind notes and thoughts. They have really meant a lot to me this past month.

Real Wedding Weekend: Ellen & Alan

Ellen and Alan planned a destination wedding at Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. Pawley’s Island is one of the oldest summer resorts on the East Coast. It is a very special place to Ellen’s family, as it is a vacation spot her family has been gathering at for over 60 years. Her grandparents spent every summer there even before Ellen’s mother was born.

Litchfield Plantation is an extraordinary resort, in South Carolina, located on 600 acres of a 1750s coastal rice plantation. The plantation has been meticulously transformed into an exquisite country inn.

The lovely ceremony took place under an umbrella of majestic live oak trees draped in Spanish moss.

The stationery suite, I designed, was hand-lettered and engraved in charcoal on Italian paper. The envelopes were lined in a beautiful hydrangea blue, a color that was repeated throughout the ceremony and reception.

The family has a tradition of making a trip to The Pawley’s Island Hammock Shop where children and adults select their favorite fudge. Each guest could select from one of the family’s favorite varieties as a gift.

Instead of a groom's cake, cupcakes were offered in four different varieties identified by different designs on top - SC flag, Davidson College, Gamecocks and New York.

The wedding cake was layered with Key Lime filling and signature Mojitos were served.

Ellen and Alan's charming southern wedding ended perfectly, as the sun set on this special day.

Invitations and Calligraphy - A Fine Line, Asheville

Photography - Sandra and Greg Scott, Atlanta