Happy Halloween...

{ black and orange color scheme }

Amazing sunset view of San Clemente Island totally visible from the backyard of Summerland Cottage this evening !

San Clemente Island is the sourthernmost of eight channel islands in the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast. Located about 75 miles northwest of San Diego, the island is about 21 miles long and 56 square miles in size.

We often see Catalina Island as it is much closer and considerably larger

so this was a special treat !

Rachel's persimmons and blue willow jug

Rachel is an accomplished artist living here in Laguna Beach

she works full time on her oil paintings and

many are done plein air as our weather is usually fab.

When it's not, she has a wonderful large studio on the lower level of her

home overlooking her amazing yard and gardens, to play in.

Treasuring the simple joys in life, I have learned to make an appointment for creative play time, so when she phoned last week inviting me over that is what I did,

and it was so worth it.

This photo is of the still life we reassembled in her studio today to paint from.

The persimmons picked right out of her yard, styled with her vintage ceramics,

and the old tapestry rug with its underside as a backdrop.

I love the old world feel.

I'm disappointed I wasn't able to capture that feeling,

a little rusty, but I had fun playing in oils again.

Besides the catch up conversation and camaraderie,

& delicious picnic lunch shared in the gazebo

the added bonus was this beauty that she sent home with me...

one of her original oils recently completed !

She'll be by next week to peruse my studio and select a few lovelies

to take home for herself.

Bartering with fellow artists is so much fun!

Pink sweatshirt weather

The past 2 weeks it has been raining and drizzling in So. California

a nice change from the intense heat a few weeks ago.

I decided I needed a classic pink hoodie for early evening cardio along the beach

( pink being a favorite color )

and fortunately, I found this simple cotton Nike number

( perfect except the inside lining next to the zipper

kept flapping out by the collar and bugging )

The solution was to re purpose a sweet pink paisley cotton shirt

as the new lining

After lining the front of the sweatshirt

I used the collar cut in 1/2 for the new hood ties,

and the cuffs were gathered and used as embellishment on the pockets

a pretty pink button added to the zipper

and I am thrilled with how girly it turned out !

and another bonus, it washes beautifully !!!

LoVe It !

The gift of a letter

lasts forever...

I came across a photo I had taken years ago of my dear friends writing desk.

It was styled and featured in a photo shoot for Romantic Homes Magazine.

I had created a fresh floral arrangement to set next to the photo of her Mother.

There was her antique writing box and a stack of treasured letters tied up with ribbon.

This snapshot holds good memories and much has changed in her life.

I made color and black and white copies of the photo in varying sizes

and created personal stationary using watercolor paper and envelopes,

vintage tags and paper doilies.

Then packaged them in an embellished box and sent them through the post,

snail mail to her temporary home, as a sweet surprise.

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Homage to

Louis Comfort Tiffany

with peacock design on my latest ceramic serving piece


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A pink post

in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month

just a snippet of one of the crammed shelves found in the studio

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Embroidered ribbon purse

and belt created with 2 1/2" wide fabric ribbon.

I lined the existing width of the ribbon with a black fabric and added Velcro to fasten it closed for the belt.

The clutch was created by sewing 3 widths together before lining and adding a cord loop and button closure.

These adorable ballet style Rocket dog's are all dressed up

with the addition of clip on earrings in a gold tone.

preparation for the holidays begins...

Calligraphy case

originally intended as a jewelry travel case

It has been re purposed as my calligraphy case

the fold out trays perfect for storing colored inks

and the side pull out drawer and snap case

store the pens and nibs perfectly

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For the birds

another ceramic creation

they seem to like it

.

hello !

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Inspired after returning from Glitterfest

and having previously been gifted with a smattering of glittering crystals

I return to the cottage studio to create in a new genre...

included in the photo is a ceramic key ring,

bottle stoppers & drawer pull,

Now I am thinking how fun to continue

by creating some ceramic accent tiles with this look !

Fun & camaraderie

sharing talents with each other

{ hand made goodie bag gifts }

Last Saturday I hosted a workshop with Julie Nutting here at Summerland Cottage.

Since the studio is a bit messy we enjoyed the fun alfresco in the courtyard.

Julie taught us how to create the mermaid decoupage you see above.

Always in art classes you will find each piece is as uniquely different as the individual,

and though I share it in this photo I still have work to finish on mine.

After a delightful lunch I had the opportunity to demonstrate painting on a bisque dish

and encouraged adding values to give it depth and add interest.

sample dish

Every one had such a great time, the weather was perfect,

and all have creative seashore inspired tokens from our day spent together.

Sweet Beth's creative writing talent and telling of the day we shared surpasses mine,

and she took the time to take photos,

so enjoy reading and viewing much more on her blog couture over coffee

and the WINNER is...

Congratulations to Cheryl Waters

and thank you to all that participated

Seashells and Teapots...

My latest concoction created with clay...

the view from the front,

and the other side with the lid removed.

You can see it before glazing process here!

1st Time Give away

I had to go inland for work this morning and

Oh My Goodness

108 degrees just 1/2 a mile inland from my cottage.

So thankful to be home and in the shaded court yard.

It is just past noon and here at Summerland Cottage in Laguna Beach the temperature is 78 degrees with cool ocean breezes.

I am so grateful !

Having empathy for all the local inlanders in this crazy heat,

I have come up with an unusual blog give away,

A one night stay in the guest cottage for this Saturday October 2nd 2010.

Check in @ 11 a.m. check out Sunday October 3rd @ 5 p.m.

The cost (is $1.00 to the winner only ), see details of the cottage on site below.

To enter leave a post under comments.

The winner will be selected and notified on Friday October 1st by 8:00 p.m.

You can view more photos and details of the guest cottage here.

http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/69505.html

Description below and stories of Summerland Cottage by Julie Nutting can be viewed at

http://julienuttingdesigns.blogspot.com/

One day last week I went to Laguna Beach to spend the day playing with my friend Paulette.

I can't even begin to describe her home. This historical seaside cottage is just a few blocks from the charming village of Laguna. Paulette's talents as an interior designer are very apparent as you walk through this delightful home but it's her gift as an artist that just makes my jaw drop. Her cottage is like a candy shop. You don't know if you want to look at the pink candy or the green candy. You don't know if you want to taste cherry, lemon or lime. There are so many flavors you just simply don't know which way to turn. One thing is for certain, you are filled with inspiration and you want to go back for seconds and thirds.

Still life

mini collection under glass...

with one of my seashell ceramic boxes included

A quiet Sunday

the weather overcast and cool

makes you want to curl up and contemplate

the mysteries of life

tucked under the eaves

the loft seat becomes the perfect perch above

the sparkling Pacific Ocean

to stay warm and cozy with a good read.

Creative Organization

a wooden box intended for ornaments

becomes the perfect home for a collection of vintage laces and trims

Cozy factor...

a comfy old chair

a collection of design books

tucked in an intimate lamp lit corner

invites one to cozy in and stay a while,

maybe pore over a few books,

and listen to the rain on the roof.

A little library with inspiration galore !

Fall nesting...

comes with the turn in the weather...

an assortment of favorite teas

and french cacao en poudre,

( a favorite treat in my coffee )

grouped in front of a vintage serving tray,

displayed in easy reach

on top of the antique Hoosier cabinet

It's beginning to feel like fall

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Happy nesting...

Visual snippets of artful curiosities

and sweet mementos

that create ambiance in the sitting room

of Summerland Cottage

Daydreaming and doodling...

a new ceramic pedestal dish design...

while listening to a lecture

Playing with pink

polka dots prevail ...

on my new ceramic creations

A tiny corner of my world...

Where I have vignetted some of my seashore inspired creations

The lamp began as a vase,

then evolved into a lamp

( funny how that happens )

It was the perfect addition to the corner of the sitting room,

my favorite place to curl up in the evening hours

to read, and write in my journal.

Assemblage in a box

I painted the background paper

and pulled out a tray full of beauties,

then...

It's almost as if the little hand crafted ceramic jewels climbed in and assembled themselves.

I love when that happens !

It's titled Twin hearts

in memory of my twin brother

Summertime entertaining

.Super simple and quick,

delicious and healthy !

Here are the ingredients, all found at Trader Joe's.

Organics baby spinach

Seasoned mahi mahi fillets

Organics mixed medley cherry tomatoes

Hawaiian sweet onions

Fresh Garlic

Olive oil

Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper

Fire up the grill and while it is preheating

wash the spinach and spin dry

slice the tomatoes, onions and garlic

place the fillets on the grill for 4 minutes per side

Drizzle the salad ingredients with olive oil

sea salt and course ground pepper

add the grilled fillets on top.

I love how this recipe can be served hot or cold

If for some reason you have leftovers,

just slide them into a warmed skillet for a few moments

until heated thru, this is great served on a bed of pasta,

Bon appetit !

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