All play and no work

Over the Christmas/New Year holiday I had the fun of the flu (all of us in turn) and houseguests and the usual flurry of activity of the season. I did not get one bit of "work" done. By work I mean paintings for galleries or my website. I just did not have the energy but like most artists, I gotta paint something. Out came the acrylics and some paper and I relaxed by painting flowers.

I just sat at my kitchen table and made these while my family buzzed around me or slept. The latter worked better.

 

 

 I even worked on these while sipping champagne with Mr. Designdumonde on New Year's eve so I was surely playing, right?

They were popular on Instagram and are listed on Etsy

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and wish you a wonderful year ahead!!

A festive centerpiece

I am kind of cheating here. This is a centerpiece from 3 years ago. I am not sure my centerpiece will even be blog worthy this year. I will figure it out at the last minute. I had hoped to do something like this with a gorgeous pineapple my husband bought but it was ripe so we ate it. It was delicious!

I have a case of citrus that my father sent and I think it would be lovely with some greenery but its cold and nasty out and I can't convince the kids/teens to go and cut some in the woods.

I love fruit and greenery together at Christmas and the fruit always gets eaten after the festivities.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

My blue and white Thanksgiving

Today I am linking up to Jennifer's Blue and White Bash over on The Pink Pagoda

Each holiday I like to arrange fresh flowers or fruit or both as a centerpiece in my formal dining room. This year I chose three small ginger jars in my collection.

I bought red and peach colored roses and trimmed some boxwood from my yard.

The blue and white was so cheerful and the small ginger jars left plenty of room for things like gravy and cranberry sauce.

Hope you had a lovely holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a lovely day.

I got my table setting in place a few days early. My husband bought a 27 lb. turkey for the five of us. People keep talking to me about freezing leftovers and I just laugh. They don't know my family. My stick thin son can eat 3lbs. in one sitting.

Have a fantastic day!

Happy Memorial day

Have a wonderful Memorial Day and please remember why we observe this day.

A Matisse inspired table setting

I was playing around with table settings and my new tablecloth and was reminded of the Fauvist style work by Matisse.

The Metropolitan Museum of art defines Fauvism as "Fauvism was the first of the avant-garde movements that flourished in France in the early years of the twentieth century. The Fauve painters were the first to break with Impressionism as well as with older, traditional methods of perception. Their spontaneous, often subjective response to nature was expressed in bold, undisguised brushstrokes and high-keyed, vibrant colors directly from the tube"

This table setting is my nod to Matisse. I am loving the cheerful colors and I just don't care that its not autunmal or Puritanical but then neither am I.

 

Who is inspiring your Thanksgiving table?

fabric love

This tablecloth is happening at my house on Thanksgiving. It arrived yesterday and I am in love with it.

Way to go Target.

I hope I can come up with a picture worthy tablescape.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen one of my new fabric designs,

I had some random watercolor flowers that I painted last year just to play with the watercolors. Nothing really equaled a composition, just floating blooms. That happened to translate nicely into this floral fabric.

I would like to do more. Any ideas?

Giveaways coming next week!

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Year end review

You probably have a never ending to-do list, like me, but once in awhile its good to take stock of things already accomplished. Looking at the list of things actually crossed off as done, as well as things we had not intended to do, but surprised ourselves with, are truly satisfying.

I have not stopped appreciating this surprising year since it started. I pulled things out of my hat that I never would have considered a few short years ago.

Last year I began painting again and as an exercise in humility posted a painting on my blog and offered a few in my Etsy shop that I originally started to sell vintage finds.

I thought it would be kind of cool if I could sell a couple of paintings.

The morning of March 13th, I was sleepily browsing through my normal list of blogs, clicked on The Pink Pagoda, scrolled down ignoring the text and spit out my coffee all over the screen.

I laughed out loud in disbelief.  Jennifer's post was charming and the eye-opener I needed to instill a little confidence in myself. I still had a tough row to hoe to convince my family that my painting was a good idea.

I joined a local art association and entered work in juried shows.

Starting with "Figure 2" above, many were accepted, much to my surprise.

My blog life started to fill up too.

Linda of My Crafty Home Life  led a few of us in  Spring into Action, a series that nudged the procrastinators to finish something up. I chose a framing project to put the finishing touch on my dining room.

From this, Nancy of Powell-Brower Home and I became pals and even went on a field trip or two. She is so much fun and the connection was one of those surprise benefits of blogging that I never counted on.

I got rather sick in May but made up for things in June. Brisk painting sales and a few commissions led me to launch my website, www.KerrySteele.com.

I also paid a visit to Loi Thai at  his Bethesda shop, Tone on Tone. I posted about it HERE.

There were a few missteps.

Like this tongue in cheek tutorial of flower arranging. I couldn't get it right to save my life.

Then there was the Paint a rug party that still makes me wince when I think about it.

I think I should stick to stretching canvases and

recovering stools.

I had tons of fun designing fabrics on Spoonflower.

I was even more surprised when a few people bought them, LOL! 

That leads me to my resolution.  Why am I always so surprised when someone embraces my work? I am very unsure of my taste and talents but if 60 paintings and a few yards of fabric are any indication, I need to keep going and and not question my self so much. A little humility is a good thing but not when it becomes a roadblock to successfully doing what you love.

At the end of the year I also like to look beyond my life, consider the lives of others and the world. It is another chance to be thankful and reach out to others.

I hope you take the time to do that and remember all of the positives in your life.

Have you made a list of the highlights of this year and all of your successes?

Halloween's over time for X-mas, right?

I am done with Halloween and skipping right over turkey to Christmas. I've known that I was hosting at my house for nearly a year but I did not realize it would be 14 people and that my husband's work schedule might mean that I am on my own for everything. You could say I am in a panic trying to figure out how I can do all of this with little or no help.

World Market HERE

My first stop is World Market for some budget friendly decor. I was so pleased to see the decorations with a charming, vintage feel.

HERE

HERE

Since I will be setting a large kid's table, I want to really make it fun.

I was thinking of an old-fashioned candy display too.

HERE

A few months ago I grabbed eight of these dinner plates on sale. I am so glad I did. I'll be using them instead of my fine, hand wash only china. 

I might do a centerpiece like last year...

I still want a red tablecloth and some cute kid napkins and a sous chef and a miracle.

Sugar buzz

OK, let's be honest, who ate too much of their kid's Easter candy and vegged out with Pinterest?

I didn't steal any candy, I created a preemptive stash for myself and ate too much of that!

Then went to Pinterest.

First I pinned this...

and was certain that I had to have it... until I saw the giant gold pebble.

 They were both on One Kings Lane. There was a giant silver pebble too.

I thought they would look nice in here...

My living room

I really hate the coffee table I have and will most likely still use a lucite waterfall table in its place.

What table would you put in my living room?
Also did you notice that I changed out the painting?

before

 

painting by Kerry Steele

 Oddly enough, they are both the same size but the landscape orientation and simpler frame make this painting of mine seem smaller.
Which do you prefer in the space?
I am trying for a no candy day today, for all of us, wish me luck. I may be found twitching in a dark corner of my house at some point. LOL!
Hope you all had a lovely and relaxing weekend.

Dear Easter Bunny

In lieu of colored eggs...
I have an Easter wishlist it starts with these pink quartz bookends.

Adorable but kinda spendy for the Easter Bunny. $75 HERE

If EB is feeling generous I like this Easter basket, please. $125 HERE

and since I'm wishing...

Pretty please!! $750 HERE

No basket would be complete without these.

HERE

and

HERE

actually I'll be pleased as punch with these. What's in your basket?