Old Beach Cottage painting + Siren Nation show

So, I've finally placed the finishing touches on The Old Beach Cottage, inspired by the beautiful Oregon coast! It will be on display in 'Paths to the Pacific Northwest' Thursday, November 5 (more on this below).

I started this small piece (6" x 8") a few years ago, but then put it aside in favor of larger pieces. Finally, our trip to Newport this past summer moved me to finish it. At the coast, you can feel the pure essence of nature and its vastness- the power of the ocean, the majesty of overhanging cliffs, the longevity of weather-beaten trees and rooftops which have been there for generations. Kites fly in the sky, and dogs run and play gleefully. Cozy cottages are nestled next to one another in the hills. My vision was to capture this warm feeling of timelessness, nature's beauty and joyful moments.

Old Beach Cottage and Coyotes Under the Moon will be available for sale in 'Paths to the Pacific Northwest', and I'm excited to be part of this group show featuring 30 local women artists.  The show opens Thursday November 5,  6-8 PM at Albina Press, 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR.

'Old Beach Cottage' prints are also now available in the RPS shop!
Plus check out the special value print set - 'Old Beach Cottage' + 'Joyful Spirit'. These two pieces would look beautiful together in a beach-themed room, don't you think? Save $5 on the set. :)

Old Beach Cottage + Joyful Spirit print set

Every year we rent a charming old beach cottage in Newport for a family weekend (If you're looking for rentals one of our favorites is bayshore-rentals.com). Here are some of the scenes that inspired me  the most....

Is anything happier than dogs (or little ones) playing in the ocean? Phantom and Kiva are in dog heaven- especially when grandad brings frisbees!

Yaquina Head lighthouse with prairie in full bloom.

 Endless water and sky ♥

"Smell the sea, and feel the sky,
 Let your soul and spirit fly,
 Into the mystic...”
― Van Morrison

♥ Robin

Crafty Design Ideas: Wedding Scrapbook

Album: K & Company

In honor of our anniversary, I put the finishing touches on our wedding scrapbook album this past weekend! Jeff and I were married two yrs ago on the Oregon coast and it was a magical day.  ♥

My vision for our album was to combine elements in nature with a touch of elegance and romance. Since we were married at the ocean, I used a combination of sheer and embossed wedding papers, shell and sand papers, hand-cut flourishes, stamps and embellishments.

I chose ocean blue as our wedding color along with a spiral motif to symbolize eternity...

I arranged the book chronologically, and created a unique border for the page spread in each section.
Thanks to the lovely Sarah McAllister Photography, we have so many gorgeous photos from our special day. On each page, I combined three to four photos in collage style.

Of course, I had to make my dress! I based the design on Simplicity 1909...

To create scalloped edges on many of the page elements, I used a variety of Fiskars paper edgers. Love these scissors. I've had them a long time and I use them for everything!

For the ceremony pages, I used the ocean paper with rhinestone spirals and hearts. I printed a verse from our ceremony for each page in this section which we wrote together...

I chose Jolee's Boutique sticker embellishments (bells, birds and flowers) as accents throughout the album.

And the trim around the photos are hand-stamped flourish motifs accented with Holbein silver glitter paint at the points. The bottle has a super-fine tip, and their paint is saturated with glitter which is nice for fine detail.

Leave it to Iko cat to help me too.... :)

Photo corners and flourishes were made with a stamp set using Brilliance Dew Drops silver ink pad to create an old-fashioned look.

Added sheer ribbon edging on a few photos for a romantic effect...

 

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