Back from some downtime

Hello everyone!  It’s been a while since I’ve been active with my blog and Etsy shop.  As many may understand, the disruptions of life, including a couple of hurricanes and several serious family illnesses, make keeping up-to-date a huge challenge.   In fact, I’ve tried  keeping in touch through my iPod and it’s ITSY-BITSY keypad among its other limitations.  Ugh.  I’m sure I’ve almost faded away to some but am resolved now that my own health is improving to  re-establish those contacts.

2012 ended on a very strange note, with the Newtown incident being so close to home (literally 30 miles away), and the horrible and long-lasting effects of the monster named Sandy (also so close to home).  My future mother-in-law went into a coma while the storm raged outside the hospital, and then my mother was surprised to be laid-off on New Year‘s Eve.  Meanwhile, I’m suffering that nasty flu that has been in the headlines on the local news channels.  Just before Hurricane Sandy I had a terrifying automobile accident that resulted from a stuck accelerator with a loss of brakes and steering.

Except for the larger picture of the Newtown and Sandy aftermath, all of my personal crisis’ have worked out for the best with everyone’s health returned to  normal and everyday life on an even keel.  Even my own car accident resulted in only minimal damage and no injuries, so I am thankful that we are all well and together and safe.

The picture you see here is from one of my trips south for a wedding on Fripp Island, S.C.  It’s a lovely and exclusive location where the deer walk up to you and alligators bask in the sun while you golf.  In fact the only way to really experience the island is by golf cart.  I was lucky to have been on the invitation list, or this would probably never have been a place I would ever have seen.

2012 had its great moments for me and my family – and this was one of them.

Please Join Me at RAWards- RAW Hartford

Sunrise Daisy Snowman

I’m currently working on a new project for an organization that supports and promotes artists of all kinds-painters, singers, bands, fashion designers, hair stylists, etc.  RAW:natural born artists  will be hosting a party at the Russian Lady, 191 Ann Uccello St, Hartford, CT.  I will have a booth featuring my own artwork and I will be helping promote other Connecticut artists.  The Russian Lady is a venue that has featured artists in the past such as Train, and Adam Lambert.

There will be an ugliest sweater contest, several local hand-picked bands by RAW, art displays, food trucks, all types of artists, and lots of people 🙂  If you want to buy tickets to see my exhibit, please click on this link http://www.rawartists.org/janepurcell.  Tickets are only $10.00 if purchased from the site- $15.00 at the door.  I am delighted to take part in this event and hope to see as many of you as possible!

Thanksgiving Anticipation

Setting the table…

With storms devastating the eastern seaboard as of late, time seems to have slipped away from me.  I’ve just realized that it’s time to update my Pinterest  page for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  In giving thanks our thoughts should be with those who have lost their homes or have been displaced somehow by Sandy and this early winter storm.

I am very thankful myself that even though I was in the same storm path as everyone else here in the Northeast, my home and surrounding areas suffered only slight inconveniences and hiccups in the power.  Sandy swirled around my town, and trees came down, (none on my house) but all in all,  I was incredibly lucky.  So many of us have friends and family directly affected by Sandy that we will all need to reach out to them and be there for them.

I hope you enjoy my page.  My goal is to create the feelings associated with family and home, and to remember the things we should be sincerely thankful for.   https://pinterest.com/janepurcell/

Halloween and Pinterest- Very Nice Indeed

Candy Corn Kitty

So a long, long time ago I said I would add a new theme every two weeks or so to my Pinterest page.  For all my friends who follow this blog, the last theme I created was a shell and sand theme in honor of the last days of summer.  After a few weeks I did create a theme using my favorite color–  brown.  To me, September is a tough one to theme.  Mostly it’s all about back-to-school.  But if anyone was like me as a kid I used to cringe at back-to-school sales commercials and felt very forlorn at the first sign of leaf change here in Connecticut.

I paid close attention, and realized that the first change (no matter how small) was always by Aug. 10th.  Ugh.  We had lots of time left for swimming and biking but those last few weeks really feel like a rainy Sunday and tomorrow it’s back to school (or work).  Except that feeling lasts the whole few weeks.

Anyway, to get back to my point, I created a theme that had nothing to do with school at all, but evoked those cozy feelings of tucking in and reading in a comfy chair with a cup of tea.  But, due to some travelling and a backlog of work on my return, I never posted it here for my friends to see.  Don’t worry, it’s my favorite theme so I will revisit it often.

Halloween House

But to zoom back into the present, I have recently created a Halloween page that I’m very pleased with.  It’s really about the colors associated with this fun holiday.  If you remember, my challenge was to create a theme from all the wonderful pictures that me and my Pinterest friends have pinned.  Sometimes the pictures will be directly related to my theme, or the colors will create those feelings.

Happy Pinning!  And Happy Halloween!

End of Summer Pinterest Theme

Seashell Lamp

This time around my Pinterest theme is seashells, sand, sea glass, and pearls.  It’s all about things you you can find on the beach.  Happy hunting!      www.pinterest.com/janepurcell

Urchins!

www.janepurcell.wordpress.com

www.etsy.com/shop/underthenumnumtree

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My Floral Silhouettes

I call this one Skim-Milk Cow

This week’s Pinterest Theme- Summer’s Bounty

Fruits and Vegetables Collage

To all Pinterest fans!  Some of you may be aware that I have recently put myself up to the challenge of creating pictorial/color themes on my page https://pinterest.com/janepurcell/.  This is my 2nd official challenge- although I had created several beforehand.  The goal is to follow a color palette and current theme throughout the top 4-5 (if not more) lines of my boards.  If I do not have pictures to match the theme, I try to get at least as close a match with the colorsI have chosen.  The end result should be a cohesive and appealing first impression of my page- sort of like coordinating an outfit and accessories.

Fruits and vegetables canes

Last week’s challenge was based on the recent color trend orange and the height of the season’s pick- melons.  My goal here was to use the colors of the wide range in melons- particularly the pale oranges, greens, and pinks.

This week continues with a seasonal theme- summer’s bounty.  My intentions here are to include the deeper greens of the height of summertime, with the deeper richer colors of the flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  Picture a table overflowing with these things…

Earlier I had dabbled with other colors like the pink/purple/blue hues of early summer sunsets.  After that, I had a pastel page, and then the idea started to form of doing this weekly.  I tested the waters with an aqua/beach theme.

Fruit popsicles

I welcome any ideas and feedback as always.  If you have your own Pinterest page and personal challenge I’d love to share it with you!

Related articles

• My Own Pinterest Challange (janepurcell.wordpress.com)
• Design Seeds – a great source for color inspiration (affairewithinteriors.wordpress.com)
• 28 Creative Pinboard Ideas From Real Brands on Pinterest (hubspot.com)
• Real Trends – The Color Palette of 2012 (redoitdesign.wordpress.com)

My Own Pinterest Challange

Pinboard “Health

Pinboard Art

Lately, I’m sure, some of my friends have noticed an unusual amount of activity from me on Pinterest.  Once I was invited to join the site I started pinning right away and looking for my friends to join or connect with me.

The appeal of using a social site like Pinterest is the complete freedom of artistic expression for absolutely anyone.  Everyone is a designer of what I what I would call their own “magazine” by creating boards on topics they like.  It can be a solo activity in which the pinner keeps his/her boards private to enjoy alone, but the real fun is sharing with people with similar interests.  It is also special in that friends can see in a click what you want to share.  There is no special language or the frustration from a lack of understanding how the site works.  It’s genius is it’s simplicity.

Sometimes it’s easier to show than to write.

So now, I’ve come up with a challenge for myself.  I have been creating “themes”  in which I try to make at least the first 4 or 5 rows on my site a cohesive blend of specific colors and subjects.  My first attempt was a lavender/pink mix.  I loved the look it gave my site.  So next, in honor of the beginning of summer, I tried to create blue-greens with a beach theme.  That worked out nicely.  This time around, a friend on Pinterest from Ebay pointed out that orange is a current color trend.  It inspired me to create a theme on melons.  I am very pleased with results.  You can see it currently on my Pinterest site:  www.pinterest.com/janepurcell.

I welcome any questions or suggestions on colors and/or themes!

Pinboard “Huh?”

Wedding Reception Blessings Card

Kristina Law Treasury on Design and Style Guide