But mmm, I love onions

Do you remember that song by Susan Christie, "I Love Onions"?  I used to have a Looney Tunes album (not the cartoon) when I was a kid, and that song was on there.  I loved that album!  My  favorites on that album were "They're Coming to Take Me Away",  "Hellow Mudduh, Hellow Fadduh", "Shaving Cream", "The Witch Doctor" and my all time favorite was "The Streak" by Ray Stevens!




For some crazy reason I had this image of an onion in my head and I really wanted to paint it, so that's what I did!  Through much of this painting though, that silly little onion song kept playing over
and over in my head and I kept thinking about that album.  I would love to listen to that again!

"I don't like shoes that pinch your toes,
Or people who squirt you with a garden hose,
But, mmm, I love onions."

"Onions, onions, la la la. Onions, onions, ha ha ha.
Root toot doodle-ee-oot doot doo doot.
Onions, onions, la la la. Onions, onions, ha ha ha.
Root toot doodle-ee-oot doot doo doot. Yeah!"


 

Up and Away

Have you ever wished you could just float away in a hot air balloon?  Leave behind all you worries and stress?  Even if it was just for a few moments?

  

I'm still not feeling 100% here, so when I was working on the hot air balloon I kept wishing I could just float away on this little balloon, maybe to a fun little dream land where meals never had to be cooked, bills were non-existent and no one had ever heard of cancer or global warming!  One can dream right?  When I look at this painting, I am taken away to that magical place, even if it is just for one small moment.

Hope you find some magic in your weekend!

Sick Day(s)

Our family has been whallopped this week with some nasty cold bug.  My husband went down Sunday evening, I went down on Monday,  Fischer started today, and time will tell if Amelia will get it too, she's starting with the cough, so my guess is the fever, headache and body aches will start tomorrow.  My husband is feeling better today, so I hope I will follow soon.



Nothing soothes a sick body quite like homemade chicken noodle soup, thank you Grandma Joanne!




Fischer had some quiet time on the couch with a nice cool washcloth on his forehead,




while Amelia made a huge mess in their playroom!



How could such a sweet little face make such a big mess?

On my table

I was hoping to finish this sweet little fairy painting last evening, but I'm not quite sure what I want to do with the background.  The fairy is closed to being finished except attaching her wings and a little line work.  I had went up into our attic the other day and saw this wood panel that I had started last fall.  The colors jumped out at me and I knew it would work well for a little fairy.  The original painting had bleeding heart flowers on it, but wasn't working and that's why it ended up in the attic.



Overall I like the background, but it just needs a little something yet.  Maybe a few butterflies?   It's definitely a very springy color palette with the nice robin egg blue.  Which by the way I saw my first robins on Wednesday!  Yeah, spring is on the way and the days are getting longer and warmer!

I've seen a few pictures of hot air balloons lately and can't seem to get them out of my head, so I started a new painting with one in it.  Not sure what direction it is going to go, but I'm excited.  My husband won a raffle for a hot air balloon ride this past year, so this spring or summer we are going to go on our first ever hot air balloon ride.  I'm excited, but definitely a little bit nervous and scared to go. 

We're headed to Madison today for Fischer's last hockey tournament of the season.  It's been a long season and he's definitely ready to be finished (and so are his parents!)but the weekend will be filled with fun, grandparents and friends!

Have a lovely weekend filled with your own kind of fun!

Some quick fixes

I love, love, love my new studio.  I find myself spending more time in it then I ever thought I would.  It's amazing how taking out the carpet and refinishing the floors can add so much to a room, both in look and in feel.  I was a little sad about moving everything out of our sunny kitchen, but I'm so much happier now that I don't spend almost my whole day in there!  At times I felt  like I never left that room, between cooking, eating and painting in there, yikes.  I didn't realize how much I really needed my own space.  It is so refreshing for me!

I just got back from my parents on Sunday afternoon, so yesterday was a day of laundry, unpacking and trying to get back into our rhythm.  After the kids were all tucked in, I was tired, but felt like I should do something with my time, but wasn't quite ready to dive into a new painting.  So instead I decided to do a few things to help spruce up my little space.

I keep my packaging and printing supplies in this beautiful hutch, and thought it was about time to put some fabric on the doors so everyone doesn't have to see all that stuff.  When I stepped back and had a look afterwards, I couldn't believe how something so simple made such a difference.  It really made me feel more calm and almost a sense of relief.




So with one simple task completed, I moved onto the ugly throw pillows that we have had for years.  They are a wonderful size, but not very attractive.  It's been on my to-do list for years to sew some covers for them.   Lately sewing has not been my favorite thing to do, so I really had to sweet talk myself into doing this last night.  It took a lot of convincing, but I got it done.




Much happier pillows don't you think?  The fabric choice isn't my favorite, but it was what I had in my stash.  I wanted a thicker fabric and lots of it, plus I already had it so I didn't have to buy anything.  There definitely not very fancy pillow covers, but they do the job.

Fischer said the most perfect thing this morning, while checking out the pillows in their reading corner, "These pillows look really comfy now, even though I know they are the same pillows."   

That was all that I needed to hear!