Monday Love: A cupcake & tea party!








Eat me!
Oh yes, sweet little cupcake, who could resisit you, looking so darling in these in these pretts photos of talented blogger and photographer Hana Lynch from the mom tog diaries. Such a cute and creative party idea for her little girl who just turned 5 - with vintage china cups and Alice in wonderland setting. I often spend time looking around for pictures suited for our parenting magazine KidsLife, and these really appeal to me. Have a nice start into the new week my friends, try to catch time before it flies away! And don't forget to have a cupcake in between ;) 

Photos: Hana Lynch

Friday Pretties: Small tree paintings



Happy weekend dear friends!
When i look out of my windows, i see a lot of trees - a walnut tree, a cherry tree, a plum tree, lilac, elderberry - all bare at the moment, in their winter-outfit which makes them look so graphic. A structure that has a rythme - quite some inspiration for painting. In the case of these, i painted the sky bright cherry blossom pink, for there is this a little spring in the air already - or is it just my mind and wishful thinking? 

More Friday Pretties to visit at Joyce's here! 
Paintings: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Monday Love: Vintage picnic and giveaway winners





Come to the park with me?

I recently stumbled over these beautiful pictures at thoughtfully simple, and thought they are just right to get our week of to a delicious start. Spring is just around the corner now, and it's time to plan and think about all the pleasures that await us, once dreaded winter packs his icy wardrobe to move on to some place else on the planet.
Lisa Pearson from Simply ... this, that & the other and her daughter (2nd photo), enjoyed  a lovely vintage picnic lunch in the park, in pretty vintage styling that combined pastel colored, girly touches and elegant elements. Be sure to check out Lisa’s photos. She has great ideas inspiration for a vintage party theme, in case you have an event coming up in spring.

The photos were taken by Lisa’s friend Kim (see her work at blubelstudio.com).

 And now, Ladies (no gentlemen around this time): 
The winners of my "Art of heart" cards are: 

Libbie from the Middlest sister 
 Congrats, dear ones! Please, tell me your postal adress, so that your presents can reach you. i I'm sending the cards out towards the end of the week, for a new bunch hast to be printed - just to let you know. I'll be happy to hear from you. 

And last but not least i want to show you something cute i found in my mail last week. A gorgeous Valentine card, drawn personally from my dear friend Anita, from Castles Crowns and Cottages.Her blog is full of magic, kindness and beauty - go and have a look!

Friday Pretties: A studio, a crepe and a birthday boy!




A sneek peek into my studio
where i hope to be working this weekend, and start catching up with all my unfinished paintings there. I can't wait to have more creative time again and will start scheduling that from next week on. Time to set "Bloom" (my Motto for 2011)  in motion, as the first green buds are visible in the garden now!

Yesterday, we had cherry crepes with vanilla cream cheese for tea - a little celebration for my youngest boy Marin, who turned eighteen and happens to love pancakes and sweet treats of all kinds! He will be going out to town with friends tonight, but yesterday, since it was a normal school-day, we had a family afternoon at home and it was lovely. There is something about having big boys, i thought. As much as i miss having small kids sometimes, i adore having more space for myself again, and, since my kids are both creative people themselves, it's great to be able to talk to them as friends. We still are very close, but now, they (almost) stand on their own feet and occasionally even try to fly a few meters!

 The last picture, that's Marin, seen by Robin, his older brother who takes a lot of photos and does fashion shoots for our magazine. He looks like a pianist there, which he really is for he got so good on the piano lately. But the thoughtful posture is only one side of him - he can be awfully funny and witty.

Have a lovely weekend, with everything you like and a special treat
 just for yourself. See you very soon!

Photos: 1st: Martina Voigt-Schmid, 2nd: Aquired taste, 3rd: Robin Benito
Recipe here,  more Friday Pretties here!

Monday Love: Win my heart(s)!



 
Little Presents are so important sometimes ...
to show someone how much you care, to make someones heart sing, to make a normal monday special, or just because life is beautiful and should be celebrated.

In this case, dear friends, i have a little present for you, because you are bringing so much joy to my heart every day. I'm giving away 3 sets of my "Art of heart" cards, with matching envelopes. If you'd like to get one of them, just follow my blog (in case you are not a follower yet), and leave a comment on this post (If you are a follower, tell me so.). Winners will be announced monday next week.


Photos: 1.: Country Living 2./3.: Martina Voigt Schmid

Friday Pretties: You are loved!



And how sweet is it, 
to wrap the nicest of feelings in a cute, creative idea,
like a Popcorn-box, filled with little items and an invitation for a movie night at home, or a collection of post-it notes that can be left in unexpected locations to bring a smile to your honeys face - not just on Valentines day.

Valentines, this year, will be on a monday. And i think, mondays, no matter what time of year, deserve a little extra attention and fun to get the week to a great start. I've forgotten about my "monday love posts" and will continue with them in the week to come. Have a super nice, warm and loving weekend and treat yourself and your loved one to something nice. The best time for a relaxed Valentines breakfast is propably this sunday. See you soon!

More Friday Pretties here!

A lemon, a painting and some kidsfashion




Another peek ...
into the new fashion shoot for KidsLife, with children of lovely people i know, who did their job so well . We even had a lot of fun together, ignoring the weather with a painted blue sky.




In the last picture, you see the whole painting. The photo is taken with my i-phone, so the quality is not great. But it gives you an idea of the size. Many people think, small rooms  call for small paintings on the walls - not always true. Sometimes, a big painting gives space to a small room, like adding a window. Blue skies here in real life as well today, YAY! I can't wait for spring to start, how about you?

Photos: Robin Benito, painting: Martina Voigt-Schmid

Friday Pretties: Weekend trip to Venice ...






... in my dreams i can travel, 
wherever fantasie takes me!
 Even in my coffee break and bathe my eyes in the waters of the laguna!
In real life, i have to hurry to get the new issue of our magazine KidsLife finished, but i'd love you to come with me for some minutes and revel in the beauty of ancient palazzi, of turquoise waters and golden sprinkles of mosaic and sunlight. And then we'll have a drink at the famous "Harrys Bar", near San Marco.
The gorgeous pictures above are available as prints at Seratoni designs on Etsy.

Photos: Seratoni Designs, Ross Warner 
More Friday Pretties here!




Make spring happen - now!




Let the sunshine in!
Some pictures from a new KidsLife-fashion shoot from last sunday. We had planned to go outside and do something with a big tractor. But it was just simply too cold, So we stayed inside and played in my studio  with colors, flowers and fruit, using some of my big paintings as a colorful background.

Photos: Robin Benito, Paintings: Martina Voigt Schmid