Snowman

The New Neighbors – A Charlie Guest Post

/ Jodi / 63 Comments

The New Neighbors – A Charlie Guest Post.

Some new neighbors moved in a few doors down.
So Mom and I decided to visit on one of our recent walks.

I tried to introduce myself,
but this guy was just a bit “cold.”

His eyes kinda said,
“Leaf” me alone.

I really tried
to make him smile.

I just couldn’t help but sense
a nose as cool as a cucumber.

But his arm was outstretched
displaying a sign of peace.

So I bid him a welcome,
and thanked him for the Christmas cookies.

I sure hope
he will warm up a bit!

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends.  Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model.  Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house.   If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com.   If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.

Wisdom from a Snowman

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

Wisdom from a Snowman.

It’s okay to be a little bottom heavy.
Don’t get too much sun.
Everyone nose carrots are good for you.
Be a jolly happy soul.
It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection.
It’s fun to hang out in the front yard.
Remember, we are all a little bit flaky.
White is always appropriate.
Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!

(author unknown)

 

The Christmas decorations are down, but my snowies stay out until Spring.  It has been so cold here lately, I thought it would be fun to share this wisdom from a snowman/person (aka snowies).

If you are somewhere cold, may you find warmth.
Wishing you comfort and contentment.
Happy Sunday!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Cozy Cabin Winter Wonderland

/ Jodi / 89 Comments
Cozy Cabin Winter Wonderland Watercolor 11x14 140lb cold press

Cozy Cabin Winter Wonderland Watercolor 11×14 140lb cold press

Cozy Cabin Winter Wonderland.

I stole away early Saturday morning before the day got too busy and allowed myself some time to paint.

Everything seems to get so busy and stressful this time of year.  Work schedule… holiday shopping and preparations…   All wonderful things, but busy nonetheless.

And it seems my painting is one of the things that takes a back seat in times like this.  Understandably so – but still something I miss.

So I’m trying to allow myself at least once a week to stow away in my art room for an hour to relax and do what I enjoy so much – watercolor painting – something – anything – as long as I can put some paint and water to paper.

This week, I painted this cozy little cabin in the wintry woods…  maybe wishing for the coziness and relaxation that it evokes.

When finished, I thought it would make a lovely Christmas or Holiday Card or even thank you note for holiday gifts, so I’ve added this painting and prints and cards to our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop.

We were away this past weekend and awoke Sunday morning to a beautiful blanket of snow.  When we returned home, however…. no snow.

So I’ll just pretend, for a while, that I’m snuggled under a fleece blanket by a fire in this cozy cabin while the snow is falling outside, and then I’ll go about my busy work and holiday schedule – feeling thankful for it all!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Baby It’s Cold Outside

/ Jodi / 42 Comments
Seymour Snowie - Watercolor Holiday Snowman with Cardinal - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Seymour Snowie – Watercolor Holiday Snowman with Cardinal – 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

I swear everything reminds me of some song.

No matter the discussion, I typically can break out into song about it…

or at least have a song running through my head at the same time.
(If you are anywhere nearby, you will likely hope it only runs through my head as carrying a tune is not one of my stronger talents!)

This time of year,
everything brings to mind a Christmas Carol.

It started snowing yesterday!
And turned C O L D!

I really can’t stay…. but Baby, it’s cold outside….
I’ve got to go away…. but Baby, it’s cold outside….

December snow is the best snow.  It is when most of us actually get excited to see snow – as opposed to March snow – when we are usually soooo over it!

So I was inspired to paint this chilly little guy – Seymour Snowie.

He is a holiday snowman, and he is chatting with his little friend Cameron the Cardinal.  I think they are so GLAD it’s cold outside!  At least Seymour is.

Wishing you cold, snowy fun outside, and warm comfort inside!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

(PS – I thought this might make a cute Holiday Greeting Card or Holiday Thank You Note, so I made these little cuties into cards for our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop.  You can check them out here!)

snowy-snowman-holiday-greeting-card

Winter Wonderland:  World Watercolor Group

Hand Painted Snowman Mugs

/ Jodi / 34 Comments

painted snowman mug 2

One of our Christmas celebrations last week was our annual McHendy Christmas get-together.

For this celebration, I painted some snowmen mugs and filled them with Rolo chocolate caramel candies, mini marshmallows, and the recipe for Rolo Hot Chocolate that I featured here a few weeks ago to give to everyone.

painted snowman mug

On white ceramic mugs purchased from the Dollar Store, I painted little snowman coal eyes and carrot noses with Sharpie Oil Based Paint Markers on one side, and wrote McHendy Mug and the year on the other.

painted snowman mug 3

After painting them all, I let them cure for 24 hours.  I then placed them in a cold oven, set the temperature for 350 degrees F and “baked” for 30 minutes.  I turned the oven off after 30 minutes and let them cool completely in the oven without opening it.  I hope this works as it is the first time I tried.  They are supposed to be able to go through the dishwasher.

Wondering what a McHendy Christmas Celebration is?

Well – when you take two besties and their families that have so much love they actually form one big family, you combine their last names to create a new one.

jill and jodi mchendy christmas 2015

And you celebrate every year watching the “kids” grow, marry and add to the family, and count your blessings dearly!

Mchendy family 2015

My BFF Jill not only had these shirts printed for all the McHendys this year, she even created the McHendy family crest, which is full of love and meaning to both of our families.

McHendy crest

We can be born into families, and we can be loved into families.  No matter which way it happens, celebrate it, and cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Wooden Log Snowmen

/ Jodi / 41 Comments

Wooden log snowmen christmas 2015

I love making and giving handmade DIY Christmas and holiday gifts, so when I saw a similar snowman project created from logs, I fell in love with the idea and convinced hubby we should make these.

He was a real trooper and really did the hard work.  He gathered, cut, and sanded the logs, drilled holes and assembled them with dowel rods and glue.

I broke out the sewing machine and created little fleece hats and scarves.

And Voila!

Stinking cute primitive wooden log snowmen!

Wooden log snowmen christmas 2015 2

We were thrilled with how they turned out, made about 15 of them, and had so much fun giving them away.

Handmade with love from both of us and sharing a little piece of our woods.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

 

Winter Wonderland

/ Jodi / 34 Comments

PP271 winter wonderland

I’m not pushing for this white stuff just yet!  But….

Our challenge this week at The Paper Players is just that:  Winter Wonderland, so I had a lot of fun creating this blustery scene for my Design Team Inspiration Card.

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For this card, I simply stamped the images from Recollections Winter Wonderland Clear Stamp Set onto watercolor paper.  I then painted some blustery cold snow with turquoise blue watercolor paint and some other small details like the scarf, carrot nose, stars and a teensy bit of shading.  While the blue paint was still a bit wet, I sprinkled on some silver embossing powder and heat set it.   I then added a little silver bow and matted it in matching SU Tempting Turquoise card stock and adhered all to SU Pumpkin Pie orange card stock. I added a few turquoise snowflakes to the inside also. I love how blue and orange look together, and now I have a card ready to send to someone soon.

Hope you will join in on the Winter Wonderland cardmaking fun at The Paper Players this week!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Spring Ahead

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

snowie

Yesterday was Spring Ahead day for the annual Daylight Savings Time (DST) change ritual.  For those clocks that don’t adjust automatically, we advanced them ahead one hour when we went to bed Saturday night (or Sunday morning for those we forgot).

So now for days, people will be saying, “It’s 5:00, but it really feels like 4:00.”  People (including me) will have a harder time getting out of bed for work in the morning all week.  Some (including me) will stay up later, because our bodies don’t feel like it is 11:00 pm like is was last week.  Babies will be all off schedule.  People will be late for work, sleepy during early meetings, and maybe a little grumpy…   But the same ones will be delighted to drive home in daylight and have what feels like a longer day.

Basically, we will all be screwed up for a while.

But we will eventually adjust.

The BEST part about yesterday’s Spring Ahead day (at least here in Mars) was it really felt like Spring!  On my morning walk with Mikey, the birds were chirping, the air had a fresh smell to it, joggers were out, everyone had a new “spring” in their step, and the day reached near 50 degrees F!  That’s about 50 degrees higher than it has been in the past few weeks!

I put all my snowie winter decorations away, and brought out some Springy decor.

And after dinner, in my BARE feet on the sun-warmed deck, I found a little bit of snow in the corner and made an itty bitty snowman and placed it on the railing.  He had black jelly bean eyes and a mini carrot nose.  He didn’t last long…

I think this may be the end of the snow for this season.  It is melting fast!  You can hear the water rushing through the downspouts and the driveway that was a sheet of ice when I headed out on my walk, had muddy puddles on my way back an hour later.

Spring is on it’s way!

Do you have a hard time adjusting to Daylight Savings Time?  Do we even need to be changing the clocks ahead and back any more?

Whatever the case, I hope you are enjoying whatever season you are in right now – of weather – and of life.

Reporting in from lifeinbetween…

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi