Blessing the Bees

I'm the first to admit for most of my life, I've had a love-hate relationship with bees. OK, maybe hate is too strong a word. A love-fear relationship is more accurate.

They're truly magical creatures, beautiful and hard working, pollinating our fruits, flowers and vegetables and providing the planet with about 1/3 of our food. Pretty impressive for such a small insect...


But there's that sting thing. And that allergy thing. Having experienced both, I've developed shall we say, a healthy respect for bees. So why would I want to attract them to my garden? Because it's important we all do our part, and because there are times when a small risk (the odds of getting stung are actually pretty small - the bees are just looking for food and nectar, not human flesh) is nothing compared to the magic that happens when we give Mother Nature a little encouragement.

By now we've all read about colony collapse disorder - scary stuff - and I've been reading lately that our harsh winter didn't help matters either. So what to do?

Plant a bee garden! Make a bee house! Welcome and bless these magical creatures. Thank them for their hard work, their honey, and the food they provide. Learn to fear them less, and love them more. Give them a home. Make a difference.

With all this in mind, I have to share a peek at my latest honeybee homage, this large sign or door crown. I'm picturing it bringing a little enchantment to someone's bee friendly garden. :)

I'm off to have a cup of tea now (sweetened with wildflower honey of course) and begin another painting...I'll be back very soon with new work, and a hint at things to come with EHAG's "Black and White Fright" challenge.

Until then, I'll leave you with a book recommendation, one of my all time favorites, and a "must-read", Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bees". Truly amazing - a quick read, but one that stays with you long after you've finished it.

Wishing you a *magical* and productive day!
♥ Carolee

Spinning and Spinning and Spinning...

Life is such a whirlwind sometimes....but in a good way. :) Ideas and inspiration spinning around, faster than it could ever be possible to execute them all. Orders and commissions pending, and more coming in - almost daily, it seems. Ebay and Etsy. A big show for which to prepare. Emails, blogging, art groups, facebook....It's enough to make a body dizzy....

And that's just the King of Mice stuff. There's also home and family, the fur-children, friends...Never, as they say, a dull moment. A good thing, as I'm not really big on dull moments. ;)

So here's what's been keeping me busy these last few days - the bench is finally finished! I've already received an email about purchase, so I'm not sure if it will be listing on eBay or not, but stay tuned....Here's the front view....

Here's the back....

The side....

And the interior...

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. :) (Oh, and excuse the older than old background - this house was built in 1892 and it's the original floor).

I've been busy around the house too...

Last evening, around twilight, I finally finished planting the herb garden and salsa garden. I can hardly wait! There's nothing like walking out the back door for supper ingredients, and it's quite a savings too.

And at the risk of boring you to tears with a weather report, I have to tell you that being only a few days before the summer solstice, it's been downright chilly here. 59 degrees at the moment, which is making me think prematurely of autumn....I mean, summer has barely started, and here I am thinking sweaters and pumpkins and hot apple cider, hehe....Of course, it's NEVER too early to be thinking of autumn. ;)

John's been a huge help as I try to juggle everything around here. He's in the kitchen as I write this, making spaghetti sauce and garlic bread - yummmm.

So, that's about it for today. I'll be back soon, with photos of a candle box, and some wonderful links to share. In the meantime, I'm going to slow down for just a couple of hours, pour myself a glass of sangria, enjoy a delicious supper, and catch up on some reading.

♥ Carolee

Spring Fever!

One of the things I missed most when we lived on the west coast was the change of seasons. Days like today - cold and damp, a dusting of snow on the ground and thin layer of ice on the pond, yet with the first tiny green spears of spring daffodils reaching up at the side of the house - spark anticipation in me. This is the time of year we've had just about enough of winter and thoughts turn to spring planting, to flowers and herbs and garden art (Can't get enough garden art!)

This is also the time of year spring fever makes itself apparent in the painting....Can you tell?

I'm picturing this one hanging on porch, shed or garden fence, perhaps near a little faerie garden or faerie house.

More spring offerings coming soon, and more Halloween too (because Halloween anticipation is year-round!)...In the meantime, I'm doing a bit of commission work - and watching the snowflakes fall as I long for the next season, the next cycle....

~ Carolee

Signs of Spring

I know, I know....I'm a Halloween artist. And it's February.

But we're having a bit of a warm spell this week! Well, warm for February in Pennsylvania anyway. And although there are no signs of crocuses or daffodils yet, no tiny green spears pushing up through the dirt, no robin sightings and no frog songs, the thick layer of ice which has covered the pond for weeks now has all but disappered, and that's enough to turn my thoughts to warmer weather and longer days!

Can you tell I have spring on the brain?

This little guy made his debut on the PFATT Marketplace this morning. I think the lavender blossoms and black and white checks give him a tres chic country French look...


And this is my beautiful Merlin (soooooooooooo tempted to keep this one!) Isn't he a handsome fellow? The real Merlin is strictly an indoor kitty, but this is how I imagine him in a field of lavender (I also apparently have lavender on the brain this week, hehe!) He's listed on eBay now.

And finally, St Gertrude of Nivelles. If you've been reading here a while, you may remember I painted her last year on a framed panel. She is the patron saint of cats and gardeners (yes, there really is a patron saint for everything, and how cool is that?!) Her feast Day is actually the same as St Patrick - March 17th. :) This piece is a bit smaller than the last one, and could easily be mounted on a garden fencepost, although I think she'd look wonderful indoors too and would weather a little longer. The sparkling pieces in her halo are Swarovski crystals....Look for her this evening on eBay at 9PM eastern.

The "Cafe Chat Noir" painting I promised is still in progress, along with several commissions and a few other goodies I have up my paint spattered sleeve for next week.

In the meantime, there are the daily doings around the house, the cooking and cleaning and errand running and phone calls and million other things to fill the days.....

Speaking of which, it's time to brew a pot of tea, answer the morning correspondence and get to work!

Until next time, warm and magical *springtime* wishes!
~ Carolee

Of Cats and Gardens

One of my favorite subjects recently, St. Gertrude of Nivelles was a 7th century abbess of the monestary at Nivelles, in present Day Belgium. She was a mystic and visionary and is known as the patron saint of cats and gardeners - and I believe also travelers. Painted here on solid wood, with fourteen Swarovski crystals added to her halo, I think she would make a wonderful addition to home, patio or garden. She's listed now on the PFATT Marketplace.:)

Look for another garden piece later this evening (this one faerie themed) and more Halloween work coming very soon....There are more ideas spinning around in my brain than time to create them all, but I'm certainly trying, hehe!

Right now I'm off to light some candles, brew a pot of tea, and paint those faeries - the perfect way to spend a snowy Saturday, yes?

Until next time, wishing everyone a happy and creative weekend!

~ Carolee
*Almost forgot - there's some very cool medievalish music added to the playlist to go with St. Gertrude, so if you like that kinda thing, do scroll down on the right and click play. :)