Infused Olive Oil bottles

The other day I decided to mess around with a few empty olive oil bottles.

I have been wanting to make infused olive oil for awhile as well.

Since we are in the holiday season I thought they would make great gifts if I painted the herbs used on the bottle..

I decided to make two kinds of infused olive oil - 

rosemary, garlic and hot pepper

and

basil, garlic and hot pepper.

On the front I painted an olive branch.

On one side I painted a sprig of rosemary.

On the other a bulb of garlic with a few cloves broken off.

Turned out better than expected.

This is a picture of the basil, garlic and hot pepper Infused Oil.

The Aquarium

A friend wanted an aquarium but her apartment is small and there wasn't a ton of room to place a large aquarium. 

She ended up with something much smaller.

 We knew that we wouldn't be able to buy many fish to put inside because of the size.

My Solution!

Paint a couple shells and a few sea creatures on the front.

Something bright...

Add a sand dollar, nautilus shell, blue crab, sea horse and miscellaneous shells to the mix.

Turned out great - don't ya think?

Margarita Mayham

I just love Mexican food and nothing goes better with it than a Margarita.
Now you just have to pick the flavor to put in the glass!  

I bought plain margarita glasses at a local shop - very inexpensive.

Next the idea

 At first I was going to paint a maraca band on each glass - all in silver and black - but that seemed a bit boring. 

Then I thought of cactus's holding instruments - not bad - I like Prickly Pear Cactus Margaritas.

Somehow, I wasn't liking the idea...

So, my favourite Mexican dish is stuffed poblano peppers or Chiles Rellenos.

Spicy, cheesy - just yummy!

  My thoughts were coming together - little peppers.

I began sketching and came up with four members to my band.

One pepper had to hold maracas with a blanket over his shoulder.  

I gave him a bright blue sombrero with silver applique.

Another strumming the ever popular guitar.

He is supposed to be a bit chubby - not all peppers are slim and trim.

I could just hear him belting out the tunes.

I had to throw in a jazzy character playing the horn.

I gave him shades with a tilt to his head and an orange sombrero with silver trim.

He is tilted back to give the effect of seduction and showmanship.

Last but not least a fiddle to spice it up.

He is the sweetie of the group - smirking like he has a secret.

I gave his red sombrero tassel's.

 Each had to have the ever present sombrero, a red sash and a lengthy black moustache.
I gave each pepper character by changing up their faces; two are singing with gusto while another is just smirking.  Their eyes tell a story as well - either looking off to the side or closed in concentration.

Hope you enjoyed the party!

Those Tenacious Sea Turtles

set of  6 Tenacious Sea Turtle glasses

Since I moved to Cyprus two months ago I have heard about the hatching of the sea turtles.  It is one of the "must see" events.

  The turtles have such a hard start hatching and then making it out to the sea that the only word that suited them was tenacious hence Those Tenacious Sea Turtles.



The Loggerhead Turtle and the Green Turtle both lay their eggs in nests that can be found along the Cyprus coast.  Specifically in the soft sand of the Alagadi Beach and Golden beach on the northern side of Cyprus and the Akamas peninsula on the south side.

Alagadi Turtle Beach - A cataloged nest

Supplies for the nests

I was so excited about the hatching that I decided to paint a set of glasses - note that each glass has a different base.  I like to do this so that my guests know which glass is theirs.

Base is a red lobster

Base is a red octopus

Base is a hermit crab and sea urchin

Sand dollar, sea horse and assorted shells

Starfish and assorted shells

Blue crab

I hope you enjoyed the post - coming soon are my impression of the Mexican margarita glass.

Mardi Gras Madness

Mardi Gras is a "Big" holiday in New Orleans!

Excitement, parades, parties and just alot of fun.

My daughter lives the life there and as a gift I painted her this set of glasses

 knowing she would enjoy them year after year.

Green, gold and purple was a must.  

Bright masks, a crown and a couple of fleur de les adorn these glasses  

as music notes dance around the glasses.

Notice the beads on the bottom of the glass - I gave each glass in the set a different color beads.

The perfect glass to enjoy your margarita!

Woodland Dance

What to do next after mermaids - I wanted to do something fun and imaginative and above all I wanted to use color.  

I honestly do not know how this painting began but I like how it turned out.

I began with my three fairies and slowly added more and more to the picture.

Three fairies in different positions.

I added more details to fairies blocked in the mushroom and used ferns as background.

Added varying heights of flowers.

Yellow cinquefoil, purple violets, red poppies and two woodland lady slippers.

Yellow cinquefoil and a bright red poppy.

I began to add leaves.

Finally I added a red ribbon to complete the picture.