Mather Water Color II on a new platform.

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 Mather Water Color II on a new platform.

Monday I began my second round of Water Color classes on the Mather site.

Mather is a senior platform for enrichment courses that are basically free. 

If you are over 55, by all means take a peek at their offerings. The classes are taught by Art Therapists, the sites are safe places to learn and interact with seniors from all over the country and a few overseas.

Mather Senior Classes

I was so excited to begin Water Color II...and I was all ready to work. We received a 4 page handout to print out, with the same info on supplies and basics of color theory, which is excellent reference for a beginner or advanced person. It's nice to have the basics eeked down to four pages.

The new platform, Fireworks instead of Zoom...really wasn't working well for me.

I sent info in and Mather, as well as Fireworks responded quickly. Hopefully they will have the kinks worked out, next week.

I chose a small palette, and some pan water colors I got in my easel kit with all sorts of 'student' grade supplies in it. 

I had used a couple of these colors on my Creative Mindfulness projects and thought they were better than just student grade. I especially like the mustard gold, so I planned to use that today.

The lesson for today was on a technique.  We were using was Flat wash/(wet paint on dry paper) as well as 

Flat washes on top/over existing painting layers. Building colors in layers.

We were encouraged to do some swooping lines and abstract spaces, simply painted with layers of color.  Flat wash / Wet on Dry...meaning a full wet brush of pigment on dry paper. and then criss-cross layering of the same application in different colors. 

I chose the (adjoining colors on the color wheel) analogous colors: orange, yellow orange, and yellow.  And, the (opposites on the color wheel) complementaries of Yellows and Purple.  The idea being, when using these colors, how do you get shading when painting a lemon. Purple mixed with yellow produces some of the colors you see in the earthy tones..perfect for shading on a lemon.

To me, using black is mudding, and I often use Paynes Gray (a blue/brown) based color mixed for shading. So I was anxious to try these complementary shading techniques.

I'm really liking that straight line of orange over/under the purple wash...and the mustard gold on the edge. Not having a subject was freeing to just explore the lines and swaths of color. 

One thing about watercolors is they always dry lighter and less intense. The yellow here, held it's strength, but I'm really tempted to continue playing with this page and bringing up the contrasts.

I'm loving all the tones here...you can see all the swipes I did in this yellow orange/mustard, purple arch I did here...I tend to work very wet with large brushes, I think I will try some line work on top of all this...again free to play 

and learn the medium and how it reacts to different applications.

I hope they get all the performance kinks out of the system by next Monday, but I can't wait.

Hope this leads to some Happy Watercoloring.

I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. Please don't use my photos without my permission.

 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo

Fall Kitchen Tour!!

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It's Still Fall in our HOME!

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We didn't decorate much for Halloween this year. I started Fall in early October because of having surgery in the middle of the month. I didn't want to have a huge change to make.

I pulled this thrifted tray out to set this vignette on my counter. Basically all I use this counter for is to unload the dishwasher. I'm blessed with tons of counter space and a large island where all the prep and cooking goes on.

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I'm still dealing with plants that haven't found their homes yet from outside. The long enameled pot is a French Fish Poacher. The pumpkins and gourds are a mixture of Faux and real, can you tell which is which...lol.  A blue jar filled with dried Dill and a stack of heavy stoneware plates,  and a Fall towel hide the empty banana rack. Gourds dried or Faux.

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Our everyday dishes are in this cabinet. I still have to rearrange the top shelf when I am comfortable on a ladder. And I have to wait until Hubby is home.

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The cabinet is a bit messy, but this is what works for us. This photo tells me this cabinet needs some attention. Many of the dishes are thrifted and I see my Tulip plates (center back) are still up from Spring. Hmmmm? 

Normally I add a few color pieces for seasons...I still haven't found my Fall ceramics tote???

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Our little white buffet is covered in a thrift store woven tablecloth. It has a 70" round  Hearth and Home tag, and still had folds in it from the original packaging. A steal at $2.00. I gravitate towards plaids for the Fall and winter holidays.

The long squash is one of 6 we grew, very delicious---was some sort of Illinois variety that my friend gave me seeds for. 

The white pot holds a lemon grass plant from outside. We will see if it sprouts again or not. It was so dry outside for 8weeks and now we have had 3 days of rain.

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This is quite a mess, as I have a large pot of Rosemary, a Hummingbird plant. 

On the far end is my curly willow plant from the pond. The frogs disappeared soon after I removed this, I think they liked hiding under there.

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Pigs and mushrooms and gourds, and even a gnome are here and there. Way too much, but it will change a lot as  I get more organinzed. These plants take up so much space and the kitchen has the best light.

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Curly willow, an Oxalis (left), a spider plant designated for my bedroom, soon. 

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Fall is sparse here, but i mixed our German flasks with a Danish brass (drinkers) plate (the noses are rubbed off from so much polishing), my Grandmother's Friar Tuck Cookie Jar, and one lonely pumpkin. LOL. A few bits of fall toned dishes and pots.

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Here's the main kitchen problem...Herbs and all my Mandilla plants that are still blooming like crazy.  I set up a temporary plant stand to give them all the light they demand.

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This kitchen window is a southern exposure and gets the best light in the home for plants.

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With the rain the third day...I actually turned on the lights above the windows. They are woven in a Eucalyptus vine and I haven't needed to use it. But, with daylights savings done and the rain, it's been so dark in the afternoon the warm lights are welcoming.

My dining table has a Walmart plastic table cloth on right now..I have lots of messy projects to do...and this is perfect for right now. 75% off, so $2.00, and I love that their seasonal cloths are wide enough for my large table. 

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Our large Enamel platter holds one of our garden pumpkins and some squash the rest is Faux. I elevated the pumpkin on a bean pot.

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The other side has faux cabbage, a real pinecone, and faux Tomato, mixed with gourds, real dried and faux

On the back end is my favorite Fall candle.

WELL, that is unplanned Fall in our home...a bit of this and that from one tub of Fall stuff. It's taken me 6 weeks to get this far...I can't even imagine doing Christmas.

I'm not sure we are even doing Thanksgiving.

Do You Use Real or Faux

 Decor in your Home?

If You enjoyed this post please FOLLOW IT in the upper right hand corner, to get just one email of each AD-Free post.

I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

Fluster's Creative Muster

Whimsy Home Wednesday
Vintage Charm

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. Please don't use my photos without my permission.

 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo

Everything has a Season: Turkeys in the Yard!

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Happy Sunday to All.

   Friday and yesterday we removed all the 'Halloween and Spooky' stuff from the yard, cut the grass and cleaned up. Saturday I came home from a thrifting trip to see this in the front yard. 

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They do make me smile....a bit of color in this November year which can be quite dreary here in Chicagoland. I swear you can hear them gobbling...!

That will be it for decorating until November 29th.

We DON'T DO....

HALLOW THANKMAS

in this HOME

ONE precious holiday at a time. That doesn't mean I don't think about it. Don't be silly.

But, this time of year, I always think of this song by the BYRDS from the 60's. 

At the time, I thought it was actually a war protest song, but in my old age, it is also a guide from 

(Ecclesiastes 3) on how to live.

 Working retail/wholesale most of my life has cured me from starting Christmas in JUNE,..UGH! There is time for EVERY SEASON.

PLEASE, Take time to enjoy what you have

 Right NOW!

Seasonal Side NOTE....

Last weekend Sunday our kids were here helping with the yard. 

Always---they leave things behind....Son the hat, Grandgirl her earphones. Glasses are mine that have already lost a lens ($ store readers). So this is what I did, to send a photo to remind them..

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He looks a bit like my son this way, without his signature 'smirking grin'. I bought this pumpkin to bake pies  for Thanksgiving.

I must say the Living Room pumpkin wears it well!

LOL...makes me smile, AGAIN.

Does your family leave a 

trail of possessions when they Visit? 

If You enjoyed this post please FOLLOW IT in the upper right hand corner, to get just one email of each AD-Free post.

I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

Metamorphosis Monday

Love Your Creativity

You're the Star

Flusters Creative Muster

Whimsy Home Wednesday

Vintage Charm

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. Please don't use my photos without my permission.

 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo

NOT AD-FREE once a year

 

NOT AD-FREE once a year

I know I don't promote ads...in fact I find them extremely annoying. Nothing turns me off more than a blog post with 5 photos and a few lines and 30 ads bombarding my sensees, three videos and then ...well I leave.

So treat this post  as informational only. 

My Etsy shop lurks over there on the side, and I don't usually even mention it.

But we are approaching the Holiday season where you might be looking for something different, something unique, antique, handmade---just like me---LOL different.

I'm proud to promote my shop

BARBERRYLANE on Etsy

I've made over 800 sale over the years and this month, like many months before, I am a STAR SELLER.

Star Seller means Stellar service with speedy replies, smooth shipping, and Rave Reviews.

So, for this one time, 

FOR YOU

I'm promoting this reader's discount for the next two weeks. 

Good until NOVEMBER 10

BarberryLane link

then enter this code at checkout

READERDISCOUNT20

Thanks so much for your support, and enjoy my Etsy Shop. You are welcome to share this blog post with your friends.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us through Blogger. Or, Follow It--which is found at the upper right corner of the blog page. 


Thanks always for visiting. 
I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.


All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.


Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi





Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Midwest Gardening 2024: Last of the Garden!

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Quick Post this morning!

Sunday, my son and family came to help us with the yard. We got the backyard pretty well cleaned up and the Caladium and Dahlia bulbs dug up to store. All the smaller pots cleaned and emptied and stored. Most of the dirt from the pots went into the bin in the greenhouse, and the pots that I use to start things are there also. 

Since I still can't bend over or exert more than 10# lifting or pushing, my D-in Love dug up all the beets and Carrots and Parsnips.  I knew they would be pretty good if slugs didn't get at them. All the greens have been rich and lustrous.

I made Beet Soup in August when I did the last thinning and had lots of small beets, and the soup was delicious.

The Carrot patch was going to be a mystery, because when I thinned twice they were very tiny.

I watered heavily two days before, so they came up pretty easy except for the really long parsnips.

Here is what I planted last Spring. Dates I have are 5/16-18 into the ground. This was the last area of the garden to be planted besides transplanting peppers and tomatoes.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Parsnips...

wait unti you see. 

New variety I tried, Danver by Ferry Morris. Normally I do Chantenay but they are really small. The Danvers An incredibly sweet, stubby, carrot for mass planting.

I tried this blend, thinking of roasted carrots for the Holidays.

I tried a bit of old seeds ..these are Faxil Rainbow Carrots. All the areas of carrots came up thick!

I planted two kinds of beets...

Detroit Beets are the workhorse of home gardens. We always get beets from them, but the critters and bugs loved them too. So this year I planted all my roots in semi-shade in a different area.

This is roughly a Gallon of Beets. YUM and all a pretty nice size. I will get maybe two jars of small beets for pickled beets.

The others were those tape strips-not sharing the package (Burpee)---which performed Very poorly...compared to everything else---and only 6" away from all the wonderful beets and carrots we did GET!

Here's Our Haul!

Lots of CARROTS, there are some other small carrots in here besides the Danvers. 

We sorted according to size. My D-in-Love took a big bag of everything home. These photos are after she got paid in produce...lol.

This bowl is  18" wide for scale! 

These are our large Carrots and Parsnips.

This is a HUGE Bowl -18 inches, 

WOW!

We did a hose scrub. I'm storing them like this in our porch fridge, instead of scrubbing them so clean they spoil fast. I can always scrub them before cooking.

I have lots of recipe's planned. 

I'm a little disappointed that there weren't more of the different colors, and it is hard to tell which are parsnips and which are carrots. But, we love both so it won't matter when they are being eaten.

This is the area that I blocked off with fine mesh over our normal fencing.

 Clearly the bunnies didn't get in here....
YAY! 

HOW WAS YOUR HARVEST?

If You enjoyed this post please FOLLOW IT in the upper right hand corner, to get just one email of each AD-Free post.

I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

Flusters Creative Muster

Funtastic Friday

Farmhouse Friday

Metamorphosis Monday

Love Your Creativity

Handmade Monday

You're the Star

Whimsy Home Wednesday

Vintage Charm

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. Please don't use my photos without my permission.

 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo