My Fall Lake View - Maxfield Parrish Colors, Giant Rainbows, and More!

My view is always pretty, even when its gray and drab or stormy. I'm incredibly grateful. However, last week the view was exceptional - three days in a row! We've been having record amounts of rain for the month of October and we had one day last week of sunny skies and no rain.

Wednesday: Just look at it!!!! These photos are early morning, just after sunrise. There is still a mist and fog on the lake. The sky was such a bright blue and the clouds were fluffy and soooo white!

I threw open the back door and started taking pictures with such excitement. I mean, look at those colors! I felt like I had stepped into the middle of a Maxfield Parrish painting!

 It was so beautiful, I never wanted that day to end!

Finally, I went upstairs to my little studio to work and this is the scene from my desk. Aww... the colors and beauty were both inspiring and distracting.

Thursday: Thursday was so rainy and windy and gray and drab that I didn't take any pictures during the day, However, that evening, around sunset, as we were watching our favorite football team on TV (GO GREENBAY!) I noticed that the sky was turning an odd sort of yellow. Then a pink glow...

And quite suddenly, a huge, brilliant double rainbow appeared!

I ran outside to get these photos. It was so huge, that from my place on the porch, I could not capture all of it.

The clouds behind the hills across the lake were lit up and glowing. As the rainbow started to fade, the sky turned all kinds of pink, blue, and purple!

Friday Morning: Friday was more of a classic, foggy, misty, October Day-

with hints of gray, brown, yellow and orange. 

It rained all day.

Friday Evening: More fog and low clouds. The air smelled crisp with hints of wet leaves and a campfire - so peaceful. 

I LOVE FALL!!!!

Be Still and Know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Be Still

and know that I am God.

~Psalm 46:10

I find I need to be reminded of this many, many times - every single day! As I struggle with my own personal difficulties and suffering and feel sadness and compassion for others - sometimes I feel like I can't handle another thing. It can be overwhelming. So, drawing nearer to Jesus always brings me a sense of peace and helps me to carry on and to be grateful. 

I snapped this picture of one of my Scripture Cubes and posted it on my Instagram two days ago. It was early morning and I was spending the first hour of the day sitting in my studio, in Prayer, as I always do. I find it absolutely essential to have quiet time first thing in the morning with Jesus.

In quietness and trust

is your strength.

~Isaiah 30:15

Add a cup of delicious coffee, an open window with a fresh-scented breeze, birds chirping and sunlight streaming through - it's the makings of a gratitude-filled day and just what I needed.

For more Inspiring images with quotes please visit my Colorful Quotes page.

Follow Debbie's board Faith on Pinterest.

Bear - My Cozy, Cute Puppy

Bear is so snuggly. He sleeps with my husband and me and would be content to lay there well into the morning hours. Sometimes he needs to go outside to potty, but he runs back in and jumps back in bed! I get up early and come into my studio to work and usually Bear drags his sleepy self in too and snuggles on the little bed near my desk. Sometimes I carry him. I have a pile of pillows on the bed but the heart pillow is his favorite. I often catch him sleeping with it.

Follow Debbie's board I Love Dogs! on Pinterest.

A Peek in My Studio

It's a cozy, foggy Saturday morning here on my lovely little lake. I am enjoying this day so much! It feels good to sit here in my jammies with my coffee, Madeleine Peyroux playing on my Pandora Station, and both my dog and cat snuggled up together on the bed in my studio. I feel a day full of creating coming on!

My daughter made me this lovely daisy mug in pottery class.

This is the little scene I look at while writing or working on the computer.
I love vintage florals and angel pictures. Oh, and pixies too.

Up close of the above scene. The picture is me as a little girl.

It was early morning in the summer after sleeping on my deck.

The monkey's name is Chippy and she was my LOVE! I still have her.

Another little scene on top of my glue cabinet.

The lamp was my Grandma's and the little

patent leather shoes were my first dress-up baby shoes.

Bear and Janie sleeping in a pile of blankets. Content for now...

I love a peek into other peoples studios and homes. Do you have a special creative space for yourself in your home? If you know of a blogger I should visit, please leave me a comment! 

For more peeks into my home visit my My Vintage Home page.

Follow Debbie's board Color My Bliss, My Blog on Pinterest.

My Best Friends, Bear and Janie

These two sweet things love to hang out on the little bed in my studio while I work or create. Usually, Janie prefers to be up on top of my painting cabinet if Bear is on the bed, but today she snuggled in pretty darn close to him. He was sooooooooooo excited!

Follow Debbie's board Color My Bliss, My Blog on Pinterest.

Creating and Feeling Grateful!

My studio is messy, but in a good way,  because creativity is flowing!

Janie is cozy and content sleeping on the bed 

It is a beautiful, sunny October day and I am loving everything about it! the sun is shining brightly in my studio window. The view of the lake is amazing! My kitty is snoring next to me and I am playing my favorite artists on Pandora. I have been on a creative roll the last couple of weeks. I love it when that happens! I get an idea and then, boom!!! I have another! I'm thinking it could be because of the craziness of Pinterest- so much inspiration and all at your fingertips! I have been painting, re-purposing, collaging, and blogging here and on my other blog, Mermaids of the Lake.

Loving the sunny view today!

She is a unique little girl, happy with her uniquely beautiful self!

I am crazy for owls! Colorful, wise owls.

And sweet, big-eyed brown owls on rocks!

I'm also doing a bit of dreaming of The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I do love snow! (even though I am sooooo not ready for it)

Next I am off to pull all of my fall decorations out and have some fun decorating my home. What a great day!

A Peek in My Studio

Dancing sunbeams in my studio. Such a beautiful, sunny, fall morning.

 love the way the light is making all the colors glow.

Should I write, paint, 

peruse Pinterest for creative inspiration,

 or nap?

I think if she will join me I may choose to nap! (or maybe I should read)

With a day like this, I think hanging on the porch

 with this guy sounds perfect too.

OH, the choices!!!

Paint Your Chandelier Colorful with Fingernail Polish!

I bought this sweet little chandelier a couple of years ago to add a little touch of something-something to my Art Studio/Mermaids of the Lake office. I loved it, but the more looked at it the more I knew it really needed a little something-something itself! As you may have noticed by the title of this blog... I LOVE COLOR!

Taking inspiration from the rather large collection of fingernail polish that my teenage daughter and I share, I jumped right into this project and had it finished in no time! Okay, maybe it took a bit of time, rather tediously painting each pendant twice, but... I did it in a couple of hours, with no breaks in between, so it felt like instant gratification!

Before - Boring!

After - I Love it!

Brilliant, beautiful, and vibrant - after!

You Can Do It Too!

All you need is a step ladder and your favorite fingernail polish colors. Some of mine were higher-end OPI polishes, but some were the $1.99 version from Walgreens and they all worked great!

I chose these vibrant colors...

and climbed up on my awesome, sturdy step ladder and got to work!

I love it!!!! It makes me happy every time I see it and feeling happy makes me smile and smiling and being happy are GOOD!

For more creative household projects visit my - Around Home page.

Follow Debbie's board Let's Get Creative on Pinterest.

Smile and Choose Happiness

Sometimes you have to fake it till you make it!

When I feel worried and depressed,

I consciously form a smile on my face

and act upbeat until the happy feeling

becomes genuine.

~Jonathan Lockwood Huie

This little flower girl sits on my desk, reminding me to smile and choose happiness! Every time I look at her, I do!