Fall is Here

BRRRR!!!  Fall is definitely here!  It got below freezing last night and the leaves should be turning soon.  In Minnesota we go from 80 degrees last week to mid 40's this week.  This weekend was beautiful and we were able to get the yard ready for winter.  Now I just need to tackle the house! 

Since the kids have been back in school I have been so productive.  I wake up every morning ready to tackle the world.  Before my eyes even open my mind is thinking of what I will be doing that day.  What a blessing to be excited to go to work.  The only complaint that I could have is feeling like there is not enough time in the day to do all that I want to do.

I wanted to show you a painting that I created for my new friend Amy.  Her blog Bunny Rose Cottage is a delight and I invite you to visit her : )  It was so neat to meet someone who has the same passions as me.  She also told me of a wonderful blog by Heather called Pretty Petals.  She is hosting a journal making workshop.  I love her journals and the beautiful ephemera that she creates with.  Both Amy and Heather have a way of talking to you straight from the heart and inviting you into their world.

I was very pleased with my roses after not having done them for quite a long time.  I have been so busy with my sales this summer at the flea market that it left no room for painting.  Soon I will be sharing my newest painting that I am making for pendants and small prints.  It is a picture of my mom holding me when I was four months old.  I treasure that picture and I hope that I can do it justice!  My mom has no idea (unless she is reading this now lol!) and I hope to surprise her with it : ) 

Blessings ~ Nichole

Finished portraits

Hi there ~ I have been quite busy since my last post. I have been working in the studio catching up on my custom work that has been put off over the busy summer. I know so many talented women who have shops like me and they are so gifted at what they do. It always amazes me how they can create, advertise, list their products and keep up with all that a business entails! I keep myself busy and work hard but I struggle with the business part of it. When it comes to creating though, there is no problem. I could loose hours painting, drawing, cutting, glueing, glittering and bejeweling hehe! I love it and it is a true passion! Of course Iam a perfectionist to a fault and always look at something that should be changed but that is what makes a good artist, striving to do better. I have found that there is always something to learn, and mistakes do happen. Sometimes they are happy mistakes and other times you have to just scrap it and start over.

This painting below was painted for a customer of mine. She has become a very good friend, something I love about this business. It is a portrait of her sister, which will be given as a gift. The original was black and white which was a challenge for me. I had to add color where there was none. So the perfectionist that I am had to overcome painting what I saw, and what should be painted.

This painting was definetely a learning experience! I struggled with color because I had none to judge it by. In the end it turned out well and my customer was pleased. I cannot wait to hear what her sister says when she gives it to her.

Below is a portrait I completed yesterday. It is a colored pencil portrait. It was done for a wonderful talented business lady and mother of two wonderful boys. A while back I was commissioned to do her oldest son, and between busy schedules and finding the right pictures it was delayed. After the birth of her second son we decided to do a portrait of both boys. She was brave enough to let me choose a picture from a group of shots. I choose this one out of the many because it captures a moment in time. The sentiment is so precious of big brother gazing down at his new baby brother and giving him a kiss.



I wish that I was able to take a better photo, but lighting and glare from the color pencil makes it hard. The original is not as dark and the skin tones are much brighter.

So now that I have these done and one more custom painting to do today, I can begin on some of my own projects. I cannot wait to continue to make note cards, journal and tags. I love the freedom of altered art. As you can see above, portraiture is exact, and sometimes taxing. But when I am able to take my paintings and incorporate it into other forms of mixed media then it feels like playing. There is a freedom in it and I get lost in the process. I finally feel like I am becoming the artist I want to be, and what is great is that I know it will keep changing and getting better. I thank God for His blessings, and giving me this crazy creative mind. I love that I can see things differently and see potential out of something that I can create. I love taking something from the past and giving it new life.

My biggest new venture will be making pendant jewelry with my art. I have never soldered before and I will be getting a new soldering iron tomorrow. I am so excited, and I hope that I can do it well. It is the perfect artform for me because it is wearable art in a perfect little frame! I hope soon I will be able to show you some! I have a lot of new paintings to work on and some that I have to finish. Thanks for letting me share with you : )

Blessings ~ Nichole

Hi there ~ as I sit here, I am trying to draw some inspiration to write and I am struggling with how to begin. It may have something to do with an active, restless mind the last few nights. I am so excited about some new projects that I dream about creating it all night long! This desire is so strong I feel like it is bubbling up inside of me ready to explode if I cannot do it. What a blessing from God to have this passion, I am so grateful. It is not always easy, and it is long hard work sometimes, but it is very gratifying. I find it hard to tear myself away and I get lost in the process.

When I began my business, I was painting roses on vintage pieces. I love roses and making an old treasured everyday item beautiful with paint. I still love to do that but my passion for vintage has broadened. I have found a new love in altered art. It started by finding a Somerset magazine. I love all of there publications. Creating with mixed media, papers, ephemera, jewelry bits and baubles, vintage textiles, words and art....I am in love!! The fact that I can infuse my own art into these pieces is what fulfills my desire. I can express myself in so many ways, with different media.

Below are some tags that I created using my art and vintage jewelry, buttons, lace, and glass glitter etc. The possibilities are endless and no two pieces are the same.


I love this piece of altered art that I created with a print of my daughter that I painted. I could create like this all day long. I love old keys with the rust and tarnish, and to add pretty vintage lace, the juxtaposition is beautiful.

This piece is a vintage jewelry box that I embellished. I love the saying and the picture I drew of my sister as a baby with angel wings is befitting. I then painted roses to tie the image together.

I have so many plans to paint more signs like the one below. I love to paint roses. Words are beautiful too and they are inspiration and a reflection of oneself. It evokes feelings and brings joy. I am excited to get back to making more soon. With the kids in school again and my summer sales behind me I hope to have more time to devote to painting signs again.

Another new love I have found is embellishing vintage jars! These are so much fun to do!!

Lastly I wanted to share two pictures I took. The one below is a rose that I wanted to take for reference. I was trying to take a picture of the petals with the light shining through and I was happy to see how it turned out.

This is the view from my back yard. I love this time of year when the air getts cooler and the river bed behind our place has a beautiful mist every morning. The picture does not do justice for the beauty of it. One day we will build our dream house (we live in our garage) and this will be our view from our back porch.

Thanks for visiting, and I look forward to hearing from you! It brings me much joy to share and hear your comments.

Many blessings! ~ Nichole

A look back...

Hi there ~ it is hard to believe that summer is coming to an end! I love the change of seasons and the crispness in the air. The suns rays are less harsh and it casts lovely light and shadows. I always get nostolgic and reminiscent this time of year. The garden season is coming to an end and it is time to put the gardens to rest for the winter. I always have this intense desire to clean house and get ready for a long winter. It must be that nesting instinct LOL!

Well it was a full summer and I had a lot of wonderful shows, beginning with my June sale in my studio. Below are some pictures of it.

These colors are so much fun. I love greens and blues with white furniture. I change the studio for every sale and for the last two I haven't been able to repaint these walls. I love the green. I think I may keep it for a while : )

I love this picture! I love the old bike and the shadows that are cast. My daisies were in full bloom.

My latest sales have been at a wonderful flea market in Detroit Lakes. It is called Shady Hollow and we were lucky enough to rent a building for the month of August. It has been exciting and fun. My friend Tracy and I have been selling our treasures together for years and having a building at this wonderful venue has been a gift.

Below are some pictures of our shop. It changes every weekend as we sell and move things around to create a new atmosphere every time.

Our building is a wonderfully old wood structure with a neat front porch. The window boxes are fun to set up displays on. Our items for sale are shabby chic, repurposed and painted furniture, vintage clothing and antiques. I have been creating new and fun altered art. I have found a new passion for old jars, paper, ribbon, buttons, and jewelry. I have had so much fun it should be a sin! I can get lost for hours with these unique finds and creating with them. Even the tinies thing such as a gift tag or little embellished jar can be a beautiful peice of art.

Our shabby, romantic decor looks great against the dark wood walls.

I wish I could share all of the pictures with you, and better yet I wish you could come and visit in person! We have one last weekend which is Labor day and I am excited for it. It will be a three day event and the weather looks great for it.

Soon this weekend will come and go and the kids will be back in school. I am looking forward to my new ventures in creating and cannot wait to share them and add them to my online shop!! Just this week I have a new desire to create pendants with my art and I am fired up about it. I have to learn something new which is a little scary, but it is also part of the fun. I love the challenge when I have the resources to accomplish it. I just get impatient and want to do it now!! It must be the impulsive artist in me : )

I look forward to sharing more and I hope you have a wonderful Labor day weekend!

Blessings ~ Nichole

New Beginnings

Hello friends ~ It has been a while since my last post. I have experienced a loss in my life from someone who I loved to cancer. It has been a very long winter and spring and a healing process. If you have experienced this kind of loss you understand that change is inevitable. Having faith and knowing that it is not goodbye forever, and that we will be reunited in heaven brings peace. God's grace and time can heal our pain.

Unfortunately in my life and in my family's we have experienced loved ones called home too early. Along with the sadness that it brings, it has also brought out love and hope. Through our grief and pain, we find loved ones supporting each other and we celebrate their lives while they were with us.

I have found that through my art I have been able to bring healing and it has brought about new purpose in my life. I lost my sister to a genetic illness at the age of 19. After her passing I found healing in drawing her. After loosing other loved ones I have shared my gift with their families through my art. It is a blessing and gift from God that I am able to give.

I hope to continue this and give to others through my site, and offer art and gifts that celebrate life and love. Sadness and grief has given way to love and hope. Passion for life and how we touch each others lives is what life is about. I want to share that to celebrate the joys and moments of our lives.

I have been busily creating now inside my studio with my new found purpose and had my first sale of the year. It was a lovely day and had many dear friends visit me. I would like to share the day with you through my pictures. I hope you enjoy!

This is the front of my studio. We created a room within a room with the banisters and cornice. The cornice is from the 1880's and has the old square nail heads. I love color, but we went with a monochromatic theme for this sale.

These are my new creations I plan to infuse into my site. I love the mixed media, altered art form. I have long wanted to print my own art and have started to do so. By creating one of a kind peices adding yarn, vintage fabric, buttons, jewelry, keys and pretty papers with my printed art, I create something unique and beautiful. I am able to put my love for drawing and painting together with crafting from vintage finds.

The picture is of my sister who passed away. It has been over fifteen years now, and it brings me joy still to create with her in my art. I look forward to sharing more with you in my next post. I have more pictures to share with you of my sale, my gardens and my art. Thank you for visiting and I would love to hear from you!

Hugs and Blessings ~ Nichole

Finished painting

I am so grateful to all of you who visited my blog and left such wonderful comments about my painting. It was exactly what I needed to complete this painting. Since I last posted I have been working hard to finish it, and besides showing it to my family to critique it, I think it is done! I always like to set it aside for a few days and then I can look at it with "fresh" eyes, so I may change it a little.

This is a painting of my daughter Alison and her friend Alexis who is also the daughter of my friend Tracy. Tracy and I are partners in our seasonal sales that we hold in the studio. One day we hope they will participate in creating with us as they are both very artistic. I am very fortunate to have them as adorable subjects to paint!

It has long been a dream of mine to have my art in print and to be a plate artist. One day when I have a good portfolio I will send it in to Bradford Exchange...one day! For now I am happy to be creating in my studio and having my online business and seasonal sales. I cannot wait to begin another painting. It will be a companion to this one. I love to paint roses and flowers along with children. My passion for flowers and gardening carries through from the earth to my paintings. I thank God for His many blessings and giving me this gift to share through my paintings. Thank you to all of you too for letting me share it! Very soon I hope to offer this in print on my site along with my other print of Alison. I will keep you posted on that!

Blessings ~ Nichole

Please take a peak!!

As an artist it can be both a blessing and a curse. In one moment you are elated and inspired and then when things aren't working then you are tortured by insecurity and doubt. I try to explain this rollercoaster of emotion to others and they look at me kind of funny, hehe! Being creative and artistic is either a blessing that naturally flows or it is a draining and sometimes frustrating experience. To create on demand when you are not inspired is hard.

I am happy to say that as my kids have grown older my passion for creating and painting is in full force. I still have my days where I feel like pulling my hair out but for the most part it is fulfilling and rewarding. I thank God everyday for His blessings He has given me.

Years ago when my children came along and my life revolved around changing diapers and feedings I lost my desire to create. In the beginning I did not mind. I was in that"baby bubble" and I was content. About the time that my daughter turned two I started to feel something was missing. I started to dream about ideas and put them on paper. It took a few years but I now have my own online boutique where I sell my creations.

I have been painting on canvas for about a year and a half now. Between my business and family it is hard to find time to paint but I have three paintings now. One is completed and I have it for sale on my site and the other two are a work in progress. I am going to be brave and show you one of them that I am working on. I was hoping that by doing so I can get some feed back. Most of the time I don't like to show my work in progress. Sharing your work can be scary and humbling. An artist puts so much of themselves into their work and they always want to do their best.

This painting is of my daughter Alison and her friend. I have been working on this painting off and on for about a year.

As I have just uploaded this I cringe a little because I can see what I need to work on. I am also a little excited though too because it feels good to share. I sit in my studio and paint my little heart out with no one to show it to. My goal is to have this done very soon because when spring comes it will be hard to work in the studio when my gardens and the birds are calling me to be outside. I cannot wait to hear from everyone who sees this what they think!! : )

Blessing ~ Nichole