Christmas and New Year are done and dusted and thoughts are turning to the fun ahead
but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that was wonderful in the last few weeks
I found the greatest candle ever to exist... a giant pink flamingo candle
I mean come on people this is the very definition of kitsch genius
this is closely followed by the joy of now owning a fart whistle
yep.. my life is now almost complete
well close to it... a blow up donut floaty thing for the pool would complete it
My mum came out with the quote of the season when she declared
It isn't Christmas until Grandma is flashing
not touching that one... will just leave you with that image lol
Jigsaw madness ensued as is the norm at this time of the year
we even had to set up outside for meals over Christmas as we couldn't use the dining table
as we had one in progress and it wasn't done yet so it took table precedence
this was finally finished and promptly followed by setting up a new one
with Phants and I spending New Year's eve on an epic quest to complete a 1500 piecer
in record time in a 12 hour window... we party hard here I tell you
sadly it took us until 1.20 am so we fell short of our midnight deadline
but it was impressive none the less...
and an honorable mention must go out to my MIL Loretta for her early help
a dishonourable mention to Sinus Man who was bloody useless in our quest and did not contribute one stinking piece
we appear to have been adopted by a cat who we have called Barry
he gave us a test run last year for a time but he appears to be back full time
downside is that he loves to sleep on the shade cloth on the pergola outside the back door
and every time we use the door he drop bears us
my nerves are shot I tell you
plus he is unexpectedly dumb and uncoordinated
we are talking tripping up stairs, trying to hide behind a single spindly branch and having a meow that is like a whole song of woah
some light painting has recommenced with some sketchbooks dragged out
and the palette and pens are at the ready
I even managed to do the first prompt for the Colour Me Positive Challenge
which means I am sitting on a 100% strike rate for that challenge so far which I call a win
we have also commenced the declutter of the century
the studio is almost done and a few rooms are finished which is truly fabulous
loads have been going to the tip and charity shops and the cull continues with abandon
of course the only reason I have embarked on such a venture is that I want to get a book on decluttering when I am done and then be smugly read that sucker knowing there are like three extraneous things left in the house, one of which is the book itself
nothing like a smug self help reading to make you feel good about yourself
happy painting all...xx
PS... my first newsletter will be going out next week with all the details on when online classes are starting for this year... if you haven't signed up head up to the top of the page and sign up...
24 comments:
Happy New Year to you and your lovely family, Trace!
Love your sketch and, as usual, you had me giggling away while reading your post.
We've been in the process of doing some decluttering too. Our main focus of attention was the garage where all things have gone over the past two years when there wasn't a place inside the house for them. It feels SO good to know where everything is now although I'm not looking forward to the tip run later today.
Newsletter?! I can't remember if I'm signed up or not. The past eight months in particular have been a huge blur for me....chaos ruled. Are you able to check and let me know if I'm on your mailing list please? I don't want to be missing out.
Have a great weekend! xx
Must. Have. Falmingo. Candle. (And a palm tree to go with it.) Heading to Amazon NOW...
Oh yeah. Nice colorful drawings too. This is what happens when I see s flamingo thangie -- I forget everything else. We have flamingo lights with RV lights and palm tree lights. Damn I should paint THOSE!
Love your illustrations, as always, Trace. Especially the pink flamingo! I enjoyed the story about the puzzle. Love to work them myself, just not on the dining room table. Hope you have a very artful 2016.
I loved this blog the minute I saw the tea! Great post :)
A puzzle, oh how I miss that. We used to do it as well. Our goal was to get it done till New Years eve, because we needed the table and in my neck of the woods there's no such things as dining outdoors this time of year.
So bold and beautiful!
Happy PPF xx
Super art. Happy PPF
Ahh, pink flamingos! In my parents neighborhood, there was a running joke of planting plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments in front yards late at night when folks were sleeping. When one woke up, you discovered you got "tagged" and had a dozen of them decorating your yard! Great art this week!
Christmas already seems like a lifetime ago doesn't it? I get to use my new Studio for the first time properly tomorrow... and by properly I mean actually pick up my brush! Love your Flamingo and also love hearing about the madness that descends upon the Fletcher King household! I actually miss all of that now the kids have grown. Still, maybe I should make the most of the peace before they both start popping out more sprogs left right and centre... then it'll be me blurting out statements like that, haha! ;0)
Happy New Year Tracey, it sounds like you had a perfect time over the festive period and I am so delighted that Barry the cat has decided you worthy of adoption!
The pink flamingo is seriously kitsch but will it be one of the things to go in the great declutter of 2016? I got a book called the life changing magic of tidying which promises to help you tidy in a whole new way so that things don't start piling up on every surface (not sure it's working yet as the book is one of the things piled up on the sideboard!!)
That's the second time I've heard about colour me positive so I guess I should go and check it out - I like the sound of it!
Love all your artwork and your descriptions are totally wonderful. I am old enough to know exactly what Grandma means and I agree. :) Blessings, Janet PPF
Fun post this week. I love the idea of doing a puzzle over new years eve...I think I may try that next year! Great sketches, great candle...that is a lot of fun!
Happy New Year Tracey! Sounds like a perfectly wonderful holiday with your family. Your sketches are just brilliant! Good luck with Barry. Love your idea of decluttering and THEN reading a book about it:):)
fabulous sketches happy new year
Loved your story about the jigsaw puzzle. My grandson and I worked on one over the Christmas break. Only 1,000 pieces and we grumbled about it the whole time! Still we kept at it and finally finished it. It's a mix of a great sense of accomplishment and a complete waste of time. Ah, well...
I haven't worked on a jig saw puzzle in years! They are fun...but I don't think I have any spare room for one at the moment. Sounds like a fun New Year's Eve to me. Great sketch for the challenge. :)
Grandma flashing, ha ha. Sounds like a great Christmas. We had one too, my grown kiddo stayed for 4 days with his girl and dog and we had the best time. Galavanting to and fro. xox
There is nothing wrong with kitch flamingos! Infact I want one! Btw Barry is such a cool name for a cat! :)
How can you NOT have a flamingo candle.LOL Love art and a great post. Wishing you the best of 2016
Happy New Year again dear lady....now that's what I call improving...wow...Good for you on the purge thing...we are on the same mission...we have diminished lots, but boy so much more could see the front door!! Of course Cupcake insists on selling so much of it on the facebook marketing site...so it's a slightly slower process on this end!! Love the new quote with a cup of tea...that is awesome and so marketable!! Who wouldn't love that illustrated quote!! Thanks for sharing more of your awesomeness...I think I signed up for the Newsletter so I am scared to put my name in again...check and see, if I haven't, I will... I can see myself getting 4 newsletters....
Hugs Giggles
The topic of farting has always been a ribald of conversation in our house over the years so i can well relate to that one. i always find your illustrations/paintings so inspiring especially now that i am this year trying to illustrate my life- not just document it. when i sit down to sketch and add color i think maybe someday mine will look as awesome as yours.
I always enjoy when you paint the paintbox, and when you paint teacups! Well actually, everything you paint is pretty excellent. But those seem to be some of your favorite themes.
Happy New Year, Tracey, sounds like you had a great time over the holidays. That flamingo looks great! I've been doing some serious decluttering too last year, so good when all that stuff you now longer need is gone. I'm still putting off the studio decluttering though. That challenge sounds interesting. Looking forward to your newsletter!
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