Guess WHO?...GIVEAWAY...

TODAY...is nearly 9 years to the day that I have been married to my sweet, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, respectful, loving, ingenious and Handsome Husband.
We were married on Canada Day in 2000. Easy day to remember...and we will always get to spend it together because it's a Holiday here is Canada! Did I say he was thoughtful??
Our Wedding was such a special day...our wedding Party dressed up in 18th Century dress, the Sun was out and it all took place at Parkwood Estate in the gardens...
We had only lived with each other for maybe 10 weeks...we had been engaged for one year...and before that had known each other in person for only 8 days before my husband proposed to me. It's a story to be illustrated and read by millions...it was meant to be.
I was in Spain...and he swept me off my feet...and brought me to Canada.
I have pictures to show you of where I used to live...but I'll save them for another post.
Four years after we were married...little Ash (on the right) came along...and two years later Jordi (on the left)...Now we are the above...a family of 4.
CANADA DAY GIVEAWAY::
The photos are resting on a watercolour ready to be painted...
Tell me below::
WHAT is the animal in this picture...and what colour should it be?
The winner will be picked randomly...and will be given a custom Once Upon a Time watercolour.
All entries must be in before 11.59pm July 4th.
All entrants must be a Fabulous Follower of our blog already.
Extra Entry::
Post about the Giveaway on your Blog!

Thanks for visiting...HAPPY CANADA DAY to all of you wonderful Canadians!
To my DH- I love you MUCHO!
Charlotte, Ontario

Strawberries with no cream

Here is a picture of Jack with his chicken pox... Beth now has caught it too.. although she has it so mildly - only 10 spots! Bless her none on her face, Jack really did get it properly, and I only hope that her's isn't so mild that she gets it again!

We've had the paddling pool out today and a picnic in the 'Dell' with some friends where the boys played hide and seek and hunted for 'treasure'! So it's been a great day but here it's been pretty hot too although not as sweltering as you Char, I think we probably topped 30, I still managed to get a bit too much colour on my shoulders, how is it I always remember to put factor 50+ on the children but nothing on me!

I've been making a version of ice-cream I can recommend we have been to pick strawberries and raspberries at our local PYO - no cream in it actually, but just fruit sugar and an egg white added at the end, which makes it taste creamy just like ice cream! Todays blend was Strawberries, Raspberries and banana. It was delicious! 70grams sugar ground to icing sugar, 500grams fruit that has been frozen overnight, blended up with a couple of tablespoons fruit juice and when it is smooth add in an egg white then beat it up, of course all this can be done in an ice-cream maker I'm sure, but I just use my whizzywig blender and it seems to do the trick! Happy days!
Tam, UK

A domino effect...

Today both my posts have been a domino effect of others who blog...their posts have lead me to remember what's important NOW and to Thank those around you who deserve thanks and appreciation.
This watercolour is my little Ashley's Teacher's gift. We'll give it to her tomorrow.
I will, when I get around to it post it in my Etsy Shop as I will be selling 25 Limited Edition prints of it as I do with all the others.
I hope she likes it...they have a cat just like this and a daughter who resembles the girl hugging her cat.
It was a hard call to know what to do as a little "Thank you"...but seeing as funds are low...a little thanks from the bottom of our hearts is what she'll receive.
I remember when I was 5, I had the best and most dedicated Elementary Teacher ever. Her name was (she passed away just a couple of years ago) Mrs. May and her school was called "Apple Tree Cottage".We had to walk through her ever so manicured garden to get to a large shed at the very end of the garden. Inside were 2 class rooms and about 17 children ranging from 3-8 years old. I have some wonderful memories from her little School. She was strict, but such a master at engaging her students...
Our Ash has a teacher very similar to her...wonderful...just wonderful. Thank you Mrs.E.
What do you do for the Teachers in your Life?
Char,Ontario

Right Now...

2 minutes ago:
A & J watching Disney's Hunchback of Notradame...our eldest loves Disney movies...our youngest won't sit still for any movie,unless we're at a movie theatre and she has a bucket of popcorn in front of her.
it's 35 degrees outside and we still haven't put our AirCon on...any reason? No, just holding out...but in the middle of the day it's pretty hot out there...and IN here too. So our girls are resorting to less clothing around the house.

If they didn't have so much hair they could pass for little boys...sometimes I think our youngest is a boy in a girls body! Loud and rambunctious, cheeky and very determined...(sigh...3 yr olds are very testing)

I am ready to get some work done...I'm about to finish my daughter's Teacher's Gift. Will post when I finish it.

This post was inspired by Ali Edwards from the AE BLOG...a daily inspiration to me, thanks Ali.

Why not shoot your own "Right Now" if you have YOUR camera handy.

Have a lovely day,

Char,Ontario

UPDATE:: 35 degrees Celcius is 95 degrees Farenheit.

Any colour???

not quite yet...I've been working on finishing the idea for this bathroom mural and I think I have it now...
Frogs, Blue Heron, butterflies, a bunny who crept in from the meadow bedroom, snails, dragonflies and flowers,reeds,birches and lots of long grasses...

There's a large mirror which pretty much covers the sink area in length...so I really can't do too much on that side...but here is where I can place butterflies and snails on grasses, I'll put long reeds behind the toilet and perhaps a couple of lotus flowers...

The wall which was illustrated in my previous post will be reflected in the mirror as it's the wall directly opposite to the sinks.

There's a slight bit of wall above the bath, where I can always place either a couple of butterflies, or a few insects.

I wish I had come colour to show you...maybe if I wake up early I can dip my paint brush into some paint for you to give you all a better idea of tones of the colours I'd like to use.

It's been a really long day...so on that note...I'm going to the land of Dreams.

Still quietness here in the house...

Good night all....come back tomorrow for some colour!

Char,Ontario

Work and play....

Well...it took 2 hours to complete...but I'm really happy with how the overall idea for that wall came out,(hope YOU like it LA)...I'll be adding frogs,Lilly flowers,crickets,ducks and other flowers in other sketches.
I'm looking forward to start adding colours,although it probably won't happen until Saturday...tomorrow the girls have their Ballet Recital Rehearsal.
Here's a goofy photo of them...have a wonderful weekend...if I don't get around to posting.
Thanks for stopping by...are you up to anything special this weekend?
All is quite here at home...for those of you who had read my post earlier this week, will know what I'm referring to...IT's a GOOD thing:-)
smiles...
Char,Ontario.

Fairy and Meadow Murals...

This is the final idea I have draughted for the Fairy Mural. There's no other place to put their daughter's Bed, so I am planning around it. It's almost like a scene seen through windows of a castle bedroom...lots of meadows with animals and fairies, rainbows and butterflies...dragonflies and bunnies...

Sketch 1:: Bunny hoping away...about to tell the others(of the meadow) that there are Big people watching them!

Bunny Sketch 2:: Big Bunny soaking in the Sunny Rays amongst the blades of new grasses...

This is the style of Fairy which will be used throughout the Mural...

And this one too...

A few little Fairy details...friends of all animals and flora...

I'm still deciding on the actual size of the fairies...I'd like to be able to give enough facial detail to them all, giving them each a unique look...

The frogs will be more for the Meadow Mural which I posted pics of in a previous blog...but I may add one on a toadstool in the Fairy Mural too...

Dragonflies and Butterflies for both murals...

This was one idea for the Fairy Mural...we had to work around the bed not being able to move around and the wall spaces which are encompassing it. I like the ideas of the trees being the homes for some of the fairies...and the meadows in the distance with the castles...so I'll use some features from this sketch...

Here was another idea, I like the trees how they become the homes of some of the fairies and I love the meadows and the castles, so I'll take some elements and incorporate them in the designs I create for the end sketch.

It's raining here today...I love rainy days in the Summer...fresh air to follow...natural methods of watering the lawns and flowers, curly hair and clean windows!

Have a lovely Thursday...

Char, Ontario

Children's murals...have I shown you these?

Jordi had to be in every shot....I finished both of these murals for my girls as a 2nd Birthday gift...Jordan's was the last I did, which was last Summer...I have been concentrating more on World wide sales and marketing...my murals are usually word of mouth, which at the moment suits me just fine.

This was just when I finished, now she has curtains like in Ashley's room(the one with the Panda bear)

Apple trees to feed the animals in her room...of course:-)

Her 2 favourite horses...Hammi and CB(Christian Bendix-named after my Grandfather from Denmark)

No moving over to Ashley's room...cuddly animals and beautiful flowers...she adores her room..

The colourful song bird...as she calls him. Bright in colour and sitting high and proud.

This is her favourite wall in her room...Gigi Giraffe and the Polly Panda Bear, hugging it's cub.

And last but not least, Molly Monkey...with such kind eyes, watching over her when she sleeps.

Well, it's still a work in progress...I'm excited I have 2 projects to work on this Summer...2 children's murals(fairies and meadows)...last night I started my research into the animals which have been requested...the Blue Heron was a must because it reminded the client of where she spent her Summers up at the cottage...I'll be making pencil sketches of all the flowers and animals first before painting on the wall...it helps with composition, perspective and size comparisons between animals and plants.

I'll keep posting the progress of both future murals...

Have a wonderful day...all is quiet here which is a GREAT thing.

Char,Ontario.

School projects...they start so young.

We're slowly finishing the School year...Ash will be moving to Senior Kindergarten in the Autumn...it always amazes me at the fact they have projects to do at home...this was one we worked on together...she chose the photos she wished to have on the page and I arranged it all.
Their Teacher has put together a Superstar Book...each of the kindergartens in her class had a week of being Superstar and had to input a page all about themselves in the book.
We had fun, but it took a good 3 hours!
That's why I don't get around to scrap booking...even though I would love to....do you have time to scrapbook? And do you have any favourite Scrapbook Artists? I have a few...which I will mention in my next post.
Have a wonderful day...only a few more days of Spring!!!
Char,Ontario

Surviving Old Age...

As most have been probably thinking that I have disappeared off the face of this Earth...this is not true, although my mind had been so preoccupied with things other than Art/Sketching or blogging,we are experiencing a change of scene here at home everyday.

My mother in-law and father in-law live with us for 6 months of the year...and have been since I moved over here to Canada...the other half of the year they leave for Jamaica...as everyone knows our Winters are extremely fridged and if you're not on the ski slopes or skating around an ice rink...then it can become rather miserable. Hence many elderly folk head south...a little like our Tree Swallows...but that's another post.

You'll probably have seen, this month and last month have been pretty slim on regular posts...I have slowed down on painting, but have 2 projects which could possibly be occupying my Summer-which would be awesome!

One being a fairy bedroom and the other murals in a bathroom and bedroom...here are the sketches for the bathroom and bedroom...very exciting.

Back to life at home:: My mother in-Law has basically been in and out of Hospital these past few weeks since she came home...reasons...being...cursing and shouting uncontrollably, falling in bathroom and unable to move, convulsing in her bed and unable to speak, hallucinating, accusing,swaying in and out of realities and time frames...and to top it all off...throwing a glass water jug over the banister (8ft drop to hardwood floors below) at my husband(because he turned the breaker off which turns off electricity to her room due to the unimaginable noise her TV was blasting at 5am in the morning(the girls were still sleeping...as was most of the house)

We're very concerned...are having problems trying to figure out our Health System over here, because she needs to give consent to any help
which we could get for her here in our home...so my father in-law doesn't have to be a full-time nurse...because some days she can't walk for 3 days and so is Bed-bound.

Is this Hysteria? Is this Dementia or Alzheimer's setting in....????

This is not an easy situation to be in...we have to make a new Plan for our future's...there's been much disappointment throughout the family and we're hoping that the days cool down a little...it's hard to keep the little ones out of the drama...but I think we've been doing as best we can....all they know is Grandma is not very well.

The last trip to the Hospital ended with some potent meds which have left a calm in the house...but for how long...we do not know????

Sounds like a crazy place to live doesn't it?

Yup...and we've been SO trying to get on with the normal everyday things we do...like work and looking after the girls...dance classes, work appointments...

We'll get through it...and I hope soon...because it consumes your everyday life.

I take my hat off to caregivers of anyone who has a mental health disorder...you're brilliant and patient!

I will update and blog more soon...

We're going to Windsor,Ontario for the Red Bull Air Races tomorrow....which will be great to connect with my dear husband....we love our day trips...a great way to catch up.

Take care...until next...thanks for listening and reading.

Char, Ontario

Cordial capers

All around us at the moment the Elderflowers are blooming lovely! I am tempted to try making Elderflower cordial, a real taste of summer that my mum has made for years and is a delicious nectar that I love... there's something so special about homemade Elderflower cordial. Maybe it's the picking of all the blooms as the sun shines on them so that they are fully open or is it the steeping process to suck all the flavour out of them and trap it in this delicious syrup?! Well whatever it is I think this is the year for me to try it myself! So here is a recipe I found for you all to share (my mum's on holiday so I can't get her version, I wonder if it's the same!) - any tips or tricks if you have done it yourself would be most welcome for this novice!

1.75kg granulated sugar
1.5 litres water
3 large lemons (4 if they aren't too sharply acidic)
25 large Elderflower heads in full bloom (shake to remove dust and bugs!)
50g citric acid

Put the sugar and 1 litre of the water into a saucepan and heat until all the sugar has dissolved
Pour out some of the syrup and set to one side
Add the final 500 ml into the pan and stir
Slice the lemons thinly by hand and place in a large glass bowl or stainless steel saucepan evenly covering the bottom. Place the elderflower heads on the lemon slices with the flowers down, stems up.
Sprinkle the citric acid over the flower heads and lemons, then pour the syrup over it all. Remember to add the reserved syrup as well. cover and leave overnight.
Strain the cordial through a fine sieve or muslin into sterilised jars/bottles. Label and date, Store in the fridge, covered with a sterilised lid.

Enjoy!

Tam, UK

Once Upon a Time...Hedgehog.

I finished a commission for an Original Watercolour from one of our Fabulous Readers...thanks so much to the lovely lady from
Hedgehog Studio

Hope you love it Julie!

Have a great day everyone...am finishing the Zebra and Unicorn at lunch today...

Tam, thanks for the Birthday cards for the girls!

.x.

Char, Ontario

Once Upon a Time...there were 2 girls...

Once Upon a time there were 2 girls...
And at the time of their 5th Birthday...they were gifted an Original Once Upon a Time watercolour...
Julia was given the Unicorn(as she is strong and very independent)...and Mya the Koala(she's so cute and cuddly).
Julia and Mya are twins which were born 3 days before our eldest(Ash).We celebrate their birthdays every year and try to see them at least twice a month.
I am working on our girls watercolours as I seem to gift or sell them to everyone else(isn't this always the way)...but never get around to painting anything for our own girls.Ash is getting a Unicorn and Jordi a Zebra...
If you or anyone would like an original watercolour...please contact me, I'll be happy to customize it any which way they or you'd like.

This is our eldest and as you can tell...she just turned 5.

I can't believe how the time has flown by.She's turning into such a lovely girl who loves books and playing outside. She also loves downtime watching her favourite movies...some of them being::

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Inspector Gadget

Wizard of Oz

Mary Poppins

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Such great CLASSICS!

Ash couldn't have been happier to be 5...why do we love getting older as kids?

I love this Sun dress we got Jordan for a gift.I think they received about 5 dresses each...yes, they are very spoilt...so how can you hold back when they look so sweet all dressed up in bright colours with flowers and pretty patterns...I love our girls.

Have a wonderful day...

Char,Ontario