Autumn

Watercolor Landscaping

/ Jodi / 59 Comments
monochromatic-fall-landscape-raw-and-burnt-sienna-quin-gold-10x12-300lb-fabriano-artistico

monochromatic-fall-landscape-raw-and-burnt-sienna-quin-gold-10×12-300lb-fabriano-artistico

I have really grown to have great respect for landscape, seascape, naturescape, and plein air watercolor artists!  I find these scenes very challenging, but often get the itch to try.

Most attempts have been less than stellar, but I keep trying.

One of my favorite watercolor artist bloggers, Debi Riley, recently shared a simple monochromatic landscape that was so striking in a blog post she called, “Start Easy (and don’t poke the bear).  I had to give it a try.

I mainly used Raw Sienna in various tones using the simple design Debi created.  I couldn’t resist adding a bit of Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Gold and having it resemble Autumn (with some falling leaves made from my unavoidable “Jodi splatters,” but this was a great step  in building landscape confidence.

Doing this one gave me the confidence to give landscape another try.

This time I followed the style and tutelage of Terry Harrison, an amazing watercolor artist from the UK I recently discovered through the ArtistNetwork.tv site.

Country Lane Late Summer Landscape Watercolor 11x14 Artistico

Country Lane Late Summer Landscape Watercolor 11×14 Artistico

I had fun painting the rolling hills and trying a different way with trees using more of a stippling effect.  I really didn’t have the right  brush and subbed a scrubber instead – not quite the effect I wanted, but confidence-building nonetheless.  I am fascinated with what a difference adding shadows makes too.

I may not be a pro at this yet, but I am up for the challenge, and I am going to keep on landscaping!  Watercolor that is.  I’ll leave the tree pruning, mulching, and grass-cutting to hubby.  As long as I provide a cold iced tea every once in a while, there are cookies in the freezer, and I bake a pie now and then, I think I can get away with it…

Happy Landscaping – whichever kind you prefer!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

Foreseeable Fall Frolicking

/ Jodi / 55 Comments

orange-chrysanthanum

Chrysanthemums in shades of orange and yellow.
Snuggly flannel shirts and cozy hooded sweatshirts.

Snapping and crackling of well-dried wood in the fireplace.
Sipping warm cinnamon apple cider spiked with bourbon.

Spongey pumpkin bread slathered with honey butter.
Crisp, tart apples with slivers of sharp cheddar cheese.

Brightly colored leaves swirling in the breeze.
Gingerbread and gingersnaps and ginger beer in Moscow mules.

High school and College and National and Fantasy football.
Soft socks, comfy crocs, and fuzzy slippers.

Roasted steaming cubes of butternut and acorn squash.
Popcorn munching during binge watching movie marathons.

Fleece blankets, tight hugs, and doggie snuggles.
Foreseeable Fall Frolicking.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

It’s That Time of Year

/ Jodi / 55 Comments
abstract fern watercolor 5x7

Abstract Fern Watercolor 5×7

It’s that time of year
when the colors and smells and heat of summer

with lush greens and fragrant flowers
and thick, heavy air

are making way for
the colors and smells and chill of autumn

with vibrant reds and scorching oranges and deep hues of yellow
and a refreshing “nip” in the air.

It’s that time of year –
a change in seasons

A time for new beginnings
and a time for sweet endings.

It’s that time of year
that wonderful, lovely, sweet time of year.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Autumn’s Final Act

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

Autumns final act

Dancing in the Autumn sunlight
amidst coffee-colored trunks and wispy branches
with marshmallow fluff and smoky gray clouds floating
in an azure blue sky
above a carpet of fading green grass…

A few bright leaves hang on to life
in bold and brilliant bursts
of crimson and honey and marmalade.

Autumn’s Final Act.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Photo taken 11/21/15 from my front porch (my blog cover photo) of the weeping cherry tree that has the only leaves left in the front yard.  

The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind

/ Jodi / 22 Comments

autumn leaves in sunshine

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?
A random song you haven’t thought about in a long time?

For days, I have had this one in my head – a classic I never tire of – and that withstands the test of time and ages: The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind (written by Bob Dylan 1962 – sung by Peter, Paul and Mary).

“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?
How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”

My thoughts today:

Let’s not turn our heads.
Let’s look up and really SEE the sky.
Let’s truly listen to and respond to people’s cries.

Let’s listen.
Let us realize that we can make a difference…
One person at a time
by turning towards instead of away,
by looking at head on.

Let us be present.
Let us not turn our heads and pretend we just don’t see.

The answer lies within each of us.
We can make a difference – one person – one act – at a time.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

A friend who reads my blog asked me a few weeks ago to post a yummy warm drink recipe.  Well – when I recently tasted a warm caramel apple cider drink at a restaurant with my buddy, Janet after our Autumn Weekend Wandering trip, I knew it is what I would be trying.  And try we did, again!

Warm Caramel Apple Cider 2

You could certainly make this with fresh apple cider, but I had a box of Alpine Sugar-Free Spiced Apple Cider packets in the pantry that I thought would work great, and they did!

When there is a nip in the air and you have time to sit under a warm blanket by a crackling fire with a good book or while watching a favorite movie in your fuzzy slippers or enjoying some catch up time on the phone or in person with a good friend, make a mug or two of this warm cocktail that tastes like drinking warm apple pie or a gooey caramel apple.  (sigh…)

Here’s your yummy warm drink recipe, Melissa! Hope you enjoy!

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

Combine 1 packet Alpine Sugar-Free Spiced Apple Cider with 1 cup of hot water.

Add 1 shot (or as much as you like) Buttershots Butterscotch Schnapps.

If you want to “fancy it up” and make it special, you can garnish with a cinnamon sugar rim on your mug (simply dampen the rim of your mug with water and dip in cinnamon sugar), add a cinnamon stick and a fresh slice of apple.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

And the WINNER is…..

/ Jodi / 11 Comments

Ann Coleman!

Congratulations Ann!  You are the winner of the card give-away from Sunday’s post.

PP269 Let us Give Thanks Fall Theme Card

I asked hubby to choose a random number from all the lovely comments you left on my post, and he picked Number 37.

So Ann, if you will email me your address to mckinneyjodi@gmail.com, I have a package ready to send with this card and a few more goodies.

Thanks ever so much to all of you, and I’m sure we will do it again soon.

Happy Weekend!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Golden Glow of Indian Summer

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

golden glow indian summer

A gift to be cherished
like a rare and perfect gem

the glow of Autumn’s
final exhibition

against a backdrop
of molten sapphire

Glistening in the sunshine
the tree beckoned me

Breathing in deeply
I savored the golden glow

An Indian Summer afternoon
walk and respite
to warm my heart and soul.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Thanks ever so much and a Card Giveaway!

/ Jodi / 73 Comments

PP269 Let us Give Thanks Fall Theme Card

How did it get to be November already?!  (And as hubby reminded me yesterday, only a little over seven weeks until Christmas!)

I do enjoy this time of year with all of the holidays and preparations and family time.

November reminds me to be thankful, and our theme for this week’s Paper Players Challenge seems so fitting:  Let Us Give Thanks – Fall Thank You Cards (PP269).

So on this first day of November, I want to say Thank YOU ever so much my “lifeinbetweener” friends.  I so enjoy sharing this journey with you and appreciate your comments and kind words whether in the form of a like or comment here, on Facebook, Twitter, an email or card, or in person.  Thank you for sharing lifeinbetween.me with your family and friends.  I am always amazed when someones comes up to me and says something like, “My friend told me about your blog, and I read it every day,”  And then I love when they tell me what they like best – whether it’s the recipes or stories or photos or DIY cards or watercolor art or crafts or chuckles with Charlie – all the stuff I love to do “in between.”

I would like to send this card to one of you to use to send to someone you want to thank.  Simply leave a comment –  a simple hello or anything that is on your mind, and I will do a random drawing on Friday to choose someone to send this too.  I may even add another bonus card or two!

PP269 Let us Give Thanks Fall Theme Card flat

For my stamping and papercrafting friends, here is how I made this card:

  • I masked off an oval in the center of a piece of very vanilla card stock and stamped it with the Penny Black Script Letter Background stamp in Memento Black ink.
  • I then randomly stamped on top of the edges with the Inkadinkado Maple Leaf stamp.
  • This was followed by sponging the edges in three layers of color beginning with StampinUp Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, and finally Cajun Craze inks.
  • I cut out two ovals with StampinUp Oval Framelits using #2 and #3 from the smallest – #2 in very vanilla and #3 in black.
  • Same sponging was done on the small oval as the larger piece, and then I stamped the Thanks ever so much Sentiment on using the Paper Smooches Pretty Phrases stamp set.
  • To put it all together, I matted with another piece of black onto a Crushed Curry Base.
  • Embellishments to finish it off included some dark brown candy dots, a bow of linen thread, and a ribbon of burlap.

Be sure to check out the other design inspiration cards by our amazing design team at The Paper Players and play along with us.

Thanks again friends, and be sure to leave a comment for the drawing!  I can’t wait to share this with someone.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Awesomely Autumn

/ Jodi / 56 Comments

Fence and Autumn Tree Watercolor Card

It is awesomely Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, and I can’t remember the last time I have enjoyed this season so much!

Is it a more beautiful than ever one this year?  

It seems to be peaking a bit later or lasting a bit longer this year…

The sky seems bluer…

the sun warmer and brighter…

the air fresher…

the colors more vibrant.

Or has it always been like this and I am just learning to appreciate it?

Charlie and I try to talk a walk every day, and there is a beautiful yard we walk by that has this fence that has often attracted me and I have photographed before.  The colors of the trees around it yesterday were so amazing! They inspired me to come back and paint late afternoon.

I have been struggling with my watercolor painting lately… I keep thinking that I should be doing much better at this point, but then I don’t do it as much as I would like.

This little painting just felt good to do.  I was relaxed and just took a half hour to unwind and enjoy.  It is surely not a work of art, but it is a work of heART, and I’m okay with that.

Some wise artist friends have been offering great advice, and I am learning that sometimes trying too hard or not just enjoying what we are doing can stifle our creativity.  I am trying to worry less about what the end result will be and let the art speak for itself, so this is what I ended up with.

My “Mom 2,” Carole, has been an inspiration to me in the journey to learn to love Fall.  She chooses a special tree each day to appreciate, and has influenced me think about it too.

This was my tree yesterday, and I am going to send her this card to let her know how much I appreciate and think of her.

Hope you are having an awesomely amazing Autumn (or Spring for those in the Southern Hemi!).  Happy Weekend!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi