L'Esprit de Noel 2009

Sunday is the last day of the 2009 L'Esprit de Noel Holiday Home Tour and Boutique at Lowry. Hours are 10-4:30 and the boutique is located at 350 Quebec Street. A portion of sales will go to the Central City Opera Guild. Hope to see you there.


Some of my Tissue Box Cover Designs

Christmas in Colorado

The annual Christmas in Colorado Holiday Show is this upcoming Friday and Saturday at the historic Grant Humphreys Mansion at 770 Pennsylvania Street in downtown Denver. More than 40 artisans will be selling their unique wares throughout the rooms of this Denver landmark. Once inside, don't forget to look for the beautiful stained glass windows, the grand staircase, a bowling alley and a small stage in the basement. The show hours are November 13th 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and November 14th 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Here is a sneak peak at a few of my latest items made specially for the show. Hope to see you there.

Cardinals on Tissue Box Cover

Father Christmas Canvas

Chicken Family Tissue Box Cover

Bird on Branch Round Box

*Photo by Dian McGown. Additional information on the Grant Humphreys Mansion from the Colorado Historical Society: http://www.coloradohistory.org/ghm/rentals_ghm_1.htm

A Gem Named Ruby

Just a few weeks ago, my 98-year old grandmother fell and broke her hip. She is now in rehab and having a very hard time. She will not be able to go back to her room in the assisted living home, but instead will to be transferred to a nursing home next week. Although she is 98, her mind is as sharp as a tack, her body is just getting weaker.


She has been called Ruby her whole life, but her given name is Robina. Born in Scotland, her family moved to Canada and then to the United States. She still has the small flag she received when passing her United States Citizen test.

Ruby (right) and her sister Martha

My sisters and I were to call her "Nana" (we were never to call her grandmother, after all, that was a name for old people she would say).

Having been very healthy, she lived on her own until she was 94. She would tend to her roses, paint beautiful oil paintings, make her own clothes, knit dramatic scarves and eat healthy homemade meals. As I sat beside her as the representatives from the nursing home interviewed her, I could not help but think of all I had learned from her. She taught me about God and the importance of having a personal relationship with Him. She also taught me about art, how to cook, knit and sew. Throughout her life, she has loved stylish clothes, singing, playing the piano, redecorating her house, politics, music and beautiful things. I would like to share with you a few pictures she has painted.

Ruby would paint in her kitchen because that is where she said the light was light best. When we moved her out of her condo, I found paint brushes, tubes of paint and little paint mixing bowls throughout the kitchen. There were daubs of different color paint here and there on the cupbards, the floor and counters. Now, when my husband lets me know that I have manged to get paint on almost all of our glasses and cups, I tell him it's Nana's fault. Afer all, she is the one who showed me how to live as an artist.

Hopeless Romantic

I must be a hopeless romantic. Lately, I have been collecting and creating artwork of couples. I love the couple in the frame, very romantic and to be honest, the original artwork was so damaged that at times I was hopeless that I would be able to make the necessary repairs. But I wanted the picture to work, so I worked and worked on it and am so happy with the results.

The second picture shows a number of combined old pieces of artwork that I combined to create the romantic couple collage on a wooden cigar box. I think it's very romantic.

I am wondering if this obsession with romantic couples is because I need to have a Pride and Prejudice fix (the A&E version) or maybe it is because our 20th wedding anniversary is next year, or maybe I am truly a hopeless romantic. I hope so.

A Little Shopping Spree

Many of my posts about the Paris Street Market in Littleton, CO have been about my booth display, people I have met and my new designs. Well, for this post about the Market, I decided to show you what treasures I found for myself when I went on a little shopping spree. Below are pictures of my great finds. ( I really must get out of my booth more often)

Great matching pillows, a beautiful vintage handmade ivory blanket with crocheted roses, a very old box with a painting of a woman and a dog and my favorite item of the day was the necklace.

The box has cracked down the front, but I think it still is a great find, such a sweet picture. The necklace was created by one of my favorite local artist who redesigns vintage jewelery.

I bought a pair of these pillows complete with down-inserts. I love the ball fringe made from the matching pillow fabric.

This is the back of the pillow, I hope you can see the detail.

Just a Hare

This blog post is just about hares and rabbits. I have many clients who collect rabbit art and one of them is attending my show at The Paris Street Market Saturday, October 3rd. She wanted a sneak peak of the rabbit canvas art I will have on hand. The above picture shows Rabbits on canvas sizes from 5 by 7 inches up to 11 by 14 inches. All images are from my antique ephemera collection. I also have a few more pictures below.

Rabbit with carrots on 8 by 10 inch canvas

Grouping of 5 by 7 Rabbit canvases

The October 3rd Paris Street Market is the last one until next May. Please stop by and say hello.

Big Ideas

Usually this time of year until year-end, my business completely takes over my life and the lives of my family. Thankfully, due to my clients and stores, this is true again this year. Thank you all! So, I decided to clear out space in my studio for a clutter-free desk loaded with paper, rulers, colored pencils and no computer. My big idea was that I could sit and work on organizing my notes, keep up with paperwork, make plans and come up with new ideas. Ideas are always important, but sometimes are not given the time they deserve. So as a reminder, I decoupaged large wooden letters spelling out "IDEAS", added small vintage plastic birds, hung one of my favorite new canvas designs underneath and completed the space with a pair of beautiful antique french sconces my sister just gave to me. It's a great little space to sit and think about big ideas.