Art journaling by Candylei Yap

Drawing, designing and painting are each in themselves a beautiful process. We are not limited in any way, yet we tend to limit ourselves. We are our own worst critic, right after our children. They in innocence point out what they like and don't like. First we need to remember that not every drawing or sketch is meant to be sold. Each sketch is a learning process.  The more we wield the pencil the more it frees our mind and opens our heart. Freedom is what gives us confidence in the art world and what a beautiful world it is.

Often when cooking if we don't have an ingredient in the recipe we improvise according to our taste and substitute a different ingredient. This is slightly where I am at adding a little more abstract backgrounds to my aceos. Different, but overall reads the same!

Stop by my little aceo shop called Dictionary Reader  

Alice in Wonderland Art

Every day we choose a path to take. Often we cross paths with others which are not confrontational, but a new acquaintance is made. We are so happy for those we meet that open up new ideas and cultures. It adds a little more wonder to our world.

A sweet aceo painting a day is one of my new challenges. When I put myself to a commitment it cultivates the mind like a farmer who tills the soil. I am surprised what is in my mind and heart and how the art and ideas shoot forth like a fresh spring. So much is hidden away in each heart waiting to grow! When I get a pencil and start sketching it frees me and lets me dream as well. And sketching is an art form we can do anywhere. As the weather cools outside, my drawing table inside is filled with sunshine.

View more art if interested here. Candylei Illustrations   

Love Note Letters and Poem

The little details can speak the loudest.

"A little note of cheer
right from eye to heart
no one can hear it
but one can feel it
lighten our step
bring a smile
lift our head
messages are powerful "

Candylei

I made these tiny letter muslin letters and this little love-line, not to be confused with clothes line, travels about the house. No sewing needed.


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Mercury Glass Style White Decor

Vintage Mercury glass you can just order online! The sparkle and glow adds cheer to any white decor or farmhouse! This gorgeous vintage mercury glass lamp is from Pottery Barn. You can order online or walk into store. The burlap lampshade adds just the right shabby touch.




Look at this duvet cover! Maybe I need this to complete the look. Yes, absolutely.




These votive mercury glass candle holders are only 5.00 each and there are many different styles.





Sweet canisters. Wouldn't these look great for the holidays? From West Elm.




Candles add a romantic touch to any room. Food seems to taste better by candlelight. They bring blood pressure down, and bring a calm.

Sweet mercury glass napkin rings. I want to buy some of these and take them off of the napkin rings and put some on a curtain rod. I could sew them onto the top of my curtain panel? I noticed some companies call mercury glass "mirror glass".

Now that it has turned cold we are looking around the rooms here and thinking we need to decorate and rearrange.

Vintage Dolls

Can you imagine how these sweet dolls carried on with tea parties and catwalk fashion shows, although I don't think they called them that back in the early 1900's. Such smiling faces and bright eyes...they look as though they are still reminiscing.






This doll still has her original hat.




Each doll is waiting to be adopted at Lucketts Store in Virginia! Such a fun place to visit and each room is loaded with charm. On the very top level which is the tippy top of the attic are shelves of vintage lace, shams, tablecloths and more. The vendor told me that most of the linen is from Germany and they are so nice!

Inside and outside Lucketts' makes an impression!

Boxwood Swirls and Twirls Art

I tilled our vegetable garden today and it looks like a blank brown canvas. There is something about the smell of freshly tilled soil that jolts your gardening dreams into high gear. Something tells you that seeds or cuttings need to go into it.I have always wanted to look out a high window onto a knot garden. This week I'm going for it.

My outdoor pots are all of a sudden barren since the frosts took the annuals. Now is when I poke cuttings down into them and wait to see how many take root and find new homes next spring.

Frida Kahlo Altered Art Painting

Paper, scissors, glue and paint made Frida Kahlo soft and romantic looking. Pink always makes us smile! It's true. Frida sleeps with her smile pillow and always wakes up with a smile even though sometimes she hurts. We don't always need to be reminded to do things but often when we look at art it makes us smile. Over and over again.

Some ask why I paint Frida. When I was younger we moved from rainy Oregon to sunny California my first year of high school. They were like two different poles. California is so rich in spanish history, spanish food, spanish music, spanish architecture, spanish clothes, all with the beautiful warm sun shining down on it all. How could anyone not be touched? (I might also mention earthquakes here with sunny California.)

PINK SMILES is up for sale. Details here.

Sushi Girl Mixed Media Folk Art

We've eaten sushi twice in the last few days and it was delicious. Last night after salmon and avocado rolls I came home and with my recylced paper made this 5 x 7 altered art painting. (I painted her as full as I felt.)

Around here we have quite a few sushi bars and they are all doing well, none have had to close down due to lack of business. Do you like the wasabi sauce? I do because it heats it up a few notches and clears up anything that is wrong with your head. The thin ginger is tangy too for a treat.

Up for sale on ebay now.

Westie Dog and Ground Hog Day

The other day our westie dog boy started barking ...the kind of bark that says "I can bark straight for 2 minutes without taking a breath." I ran to the window and this is what I saw. The groundhogs here in the countryside are rather large and plump. (And this one might now be slightly deaf from Sir Salty's warning barks.) I went outside and let the ground hog run back down to his home underground. Our westie thought he won and rolled around in the grass and raced back and forth to me in a happy craziness.

Westie dog grooming. I've bought our own electric dog shears and I'm letting his skirt grow out long, but trimmed his back, sides and neck, which I think looks lovely in this picture. Now to keep brushing vigorously and keep the tangles away.

French White Doll Furniture Painting Art

I purchased a doll bench at a tag sale for 1.00 and immediately wanted to paint it a french white. My french white colors mixed are beige, white, green and blue.



All winter we will dream about roses so I painted on an oval surrounded by roses and buds. I'm not sure I am finshed yet as I want to age it a bit more. Do I want to add something to the two bench tops like balls? or birds?




This is the before picture. It is cute, but it doesn't match our decor. I always worry about putting the before picture in case someone likes it better.

One idea always produces another...so these are going to be book plates! I could put them in all of my cookbooks.

Thank you for stopping by. Be sure to see all of the other white wednesday posts at the Faded Charm Cottage.

Back to Westie Art & Garden.

Primitive Dolls and Boat Folk Art

I am in love with both soft, subdued colors and vibrant colors. I like it all. But these two paintings I did for shabby white decorating. (I've still got chairs and tables to strip and paint white, but one day hopefully everything will come together beautifully.) My youngest son always wants me to paint more boy paintings.

This one I had all of us girls in mind as a "do it yourself-er" type of girl. She made her own costume and boat for halloween. Everywhere we go outside our little furry friends tag along. So all of my paintings usually have wee animal friends in them.

All are for sale on ebay with super low start bidding prices. Yay!

Westie Dog Halloween Art Costume Painting

Here is my westie dog boy dressed as the SUPER DOG (that he is). His friend is dressed like a princess (that she is!) and wide eyed puppy looking out the front door, "Ahhhh, is that my parents?" The title of this original painting is "PARENT TRICKSTERS". Lots of lovely vibrant colors with a mysterious air about it.

I'm starting all of my paintings out at 9.99 this week on ebay....Scarey low prices for Halloween, but I'm happy. Be happy, don't worry or so the song goes.

This week I am working on some FUN, special projects. I do hope they turn out nice, if they do I'll be posting pictures!

Original paintings and art sold here.

Scarlett Johannson and Westie Dog

I missed seeing this, westie art, published in print of Scarlett Johannson and this sweet westie! I'm posting it here for all of us westie lovers. It reminds me how my westie boy needs the perfect trimming soon.

I was in a car accident earlier this month and have not been able to post or paint like before. Today I'm working on catching up here and my paintings. The house can wait. Thank you to all who have sent well wishes!

Primitive Doll Clothes and Brown Transferware

I found three small collector dolls for 1.32 each at a thrift shop. They make wonderful styling props. The very first thing I did was take off their hats, their coats, their dresses right down to their whites. Doesn't she look beautiful, cool and carefree? It's hard looking at dolls bundled up in coats in 100 degree weather.









She helps hold a brown transferware teacup for me to photograph. So helpful. This tea cup is from the Royal Staffordshire group.






A little pinch of red for spice. Ruby slippers or red mary janes? Just cute!

I also found another metal plate from England. Vintage. I gave it a white wash with paint and love the change it gives the plate. It looks so peaceful, calm and shabby. The gentleman is buying flowers for his love. He seems to be having a hard time letting go of the money. Just kidding.






Happy White Wednesday. Be sure to go to Faded Charm Cottagefor all of the lovely White Wednesday posts and blog party.

Christmas Westie Dog in Cool Holiday Colors

Christmas colors in cool tones. While I was weeding amongst august moon (lime green) hostas and african hibiscus (red/plum) the other day I marveled at the colors. It was Christmas colors in warm tones and 98 degree weather. I came in and used those colors in this painting but in totally cool tones. You don't see any yellows in westie, just cool shadows. Red colors can either be warm reds or cool reds. We gardeners work with colors all of the time. Sometimes to amazing achievements and other times a few disappointments, but we learn from each combination we try. Too much fertilizer can almost change a flower color from warm to cool or vice versa. Amazing. (Really gardening is the hardest art of all.)

Westie's other eye is hid from view because of the lush hair and head turned just so. Plus all westies love to roll around and fluff up their facial hair to the max!

We love to dress westies in red for the holidays. The great part about red is it's for both boys and girl westies dogs. And it stands for L_O_V_E.

For sale on ebay titled, HAPPY IN RED.

Sweet Looking Westie Dog-Not Looking

Westies are bright spots on a rainy days. Radar ears up and listening to every chirp, cricket, and squirrel chatter. Our westie, Sir Salty, is a bit camera shy. He does not like to look directly at the camera. I'll whistle, jump a bit, call his name and sometimes in desperation pretend to fall down to get him to look. (They could have a tv series called Desperate Photographers.) I can't get all black and blue just trying to get a good photograph that is for sure. I can see myself twisting my ankle and having to go to the doctor and it would go like this:

Doctor: You said you twisted your ankle taking a picture of your dog?
Me: Yes, I do it all of the time.
Doctor: Take pictures or fall down?
Me: Both.
Doctor: I'm confused.
Me: Now you're sounding like me. I think I'll go for a second opinion.

This could be downright embarrassing.

You are probably saying, "Call his name." I do that too. The problem is that there are alot of beauty and animal/bird sounds outside so Sir Salty looks quickly and then turns his attention elsewhere where he thinks its needed most. All the while my camera is still focusing.

I have a new trick though. Put the treat on top of your camera. A no-fail way to get his complete attention for a few minutes! And while I'm focusing to remember if I left the iron on or the water running in the sink.

New original oil painting aceo titled "Rain Gear" up for sale on ebay.

Dog Clothes Can Be Cute

Girly girl dogs always catch our attention. I've seen lots of ribbons and lace on girly girls. What I want to know is where do they get the cute sweaters and clothes from in a size medium? Every where I look for my boy doggy clothes they never have a size medium. It's the most popular size in America! I don't believe it could be a discontinued size...no, just plain sold out! Which is why I now have some dog clothes patterns from Simplicity, Butterick and McCalls. Tomorrow maybe Vogue. Think of me this week as I sew up a little wardrobe and prick my fingers.


Here is a sweetheart westie dog oil painting up on ebay, titled, DRESS UP. This west highlander westie even wears a hat with roses on it. So sweet!