Tag: Christmas

Something Fancy

On By ResaIn Book Reviews354 Comments

by: Robbie Cheadle

In Robbie’s words:

"but I have moved on to drawing and painting,
which now dominate my artistic life."

"This book is a celebration of my cake and fondant art phase of life"

And what a fantastic phase it was! Just check out her “Jack Frost” cake above! I was so inspired, I drew the “Jacquie Frost” Art Gown below.

I’m just learning how to do white, so did a rendition of icy-blue white with window frost effect.

Of course there’s more to the book than cakes! There’s recipes and background history of both how fancy desserts and their recipes came to be, with a focus on:

Christmas Cakes

Okay, so that’s another kind of cake, but it is Christmas soon, and I just had to show off Robbie’s Tiered Rainbow Fairies Christmas Cake!

Which leads me to another Art Gown drawing inspired by the above cake; The Rainbow Fairies’ Art Gown.

Robbie says – “The ice cream fairies cake is a very happy one for me.”

Well, I can add more happy!

More! There’s poetry. There’s photos. There’s fondant art. There’s heart.

And there’s Gingerbread!

If there is anything that could be constructed out of gingerbread, Robbie has engineered it.

To the left is her gingerbread Chapel.

To our right, is her gingerbread Windmill.

There are a lot of gingerbread creations in the book, but these two are the inspiration for my Gingerbread Art Gown, below.

Ginger models the Gingerbread Art Gown.

This lovely 100+ page book can set you up nicely for the oncoming holiday season, or any celebration that comes your way.

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated four poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies. .

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

OR – Just click on Something Fancy above, and go directly to its Amazon page!

Something Fancy is available in book or ebook formats!

You can find her books on Amazon sites around the globe. Just search “Robbie Cheadle” for children and youth books – “Roberta Eaton Cheadle” for adult books.

Visit Robbie on her blogs! Roberta Writes and Robbies Inspiration

Visit Robbie on her YouTube Channel to watch her bake, and get some tips! 


Peace 🕊 on Earth

On By ResaIn Holidays

It’s the Only Thing on My Holiday Wish List

As the year draws to a close, I’m excited because days are getting longer, and I have a new Art Gown to share. She’s super special, so pop by Art Gowns on December 27th. It’s a holiday feast for the eyes.

In the meantime I wish all the very best, no matter what you celebrate this December!

Christmas

Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis (1578- oil on canvas) – Lavinia Fontana (1552 – 1614) Italian

Hanukkah

As I don’t have a photo of a Menorah, here’s one from Pexels. However, I have a photo of a Tora binder, rimmonim and yad. (below)

Torah binder (1696/97) – Simcha, wife of Levi of Buttrio – silk embroidered with silk thread

Kwanza

Kwanzaa – an annual celebration of  African-American culture, culminating in Karamu, a communal feast. (December 26 to January 1)

Yule

Yule is one of the oldest winter solstice festivals, with origins among the ancient Norse thousands of years ago. That would be what the Vikings celebrated.

Well, I don’t have any Vikings, but I just happen to have some VI-QUEENS.

Big thank you’s to my models – Holly, Gigi, Dale, Shey, Marina & Rebecca

There are probably other celebrations/or respects. Best wishes to all! For all here’s Holly’s Tangle-Heart in a magic sky. It’s from © Timothy Price. Thank you for letting me use your photos dear Tim!

Comments are closed, so I can yet again attempt to catch up on visiting blogs.

However, comments will be open on December 27th, on Art Gowns.

Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis (1578- oil on canvas) – Lavinia Fontana and Tora binder (Simcha, wife of Levi of Buttrio ) , rimmonim and yad – from Making Her Mark exhibition, Toronto, Canada, 2024. Photos © Resa McConaghy

Kwanza street art pic, VI-QUEENS art & pics, Art Gown & photo © Resa McConaghy.

A Winter’s Solstice in Summer

On By ResaIn Alley Gallery, GALA140 Comments

Ecila looked up at the hot summer’s sun.

She was on her way to Teagan’s Christmas in July blog party, in a beautiful new gown. Blinded by the light, she accidentally turned left into a mural. Ecila looked around at the black and white world, and saw no way out.

Suddenly there was a black and white cat looming before her. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Why I’m Tac Tac the Water Cat,” he replied, “and you can’t get out the way you came in. You’ll have to go through the Purple Pink Rabbits’ door, in the pink alley.”

“Take this!” said Tac Tac, and he handed Ecila a gold rabbit coin. “Use it wisely. It’s your one chance to get out of here.”

Ecila wandered black and white curves until she saw a pink alley. In the alley was a Purple Pink Rabbit. “Hello! What’s your name, and can you please show me the door out of here?”

“I’m Tibbar,” the rabbit replied, “and yes, the door is at the top of the stairs.”

Ecila looked up some stairs guarded by three Purple Pink Rabbits. The door was there!

“But first you’ll have to get past Bugsy, Mugsy and Thugsy. Bugsy and Mugsy charge 5 gold rabbit coins each. Thugsy gets seven.”

“But I have only one gold rabbit coin,” Ecila said looking up at Bugsy.

“Not my problem,” replied Bugsy.

“There’s only one way to make gold rabbit coins here,” offered Mugsy. “You’ll have to play poker with the dogs! The game’s around the corner on an old red wood sliding door.”

Ecila found the dog’s game, draped her tail up to look like a gambler’s cape and threw her gold rabbit coin on the table.

“Chips please!” she demanded cooly.

The dogs howled. They figured she was just a human, and they would relieve her of her gold rabbit coin faster than the first day of winter. A chick in a bolero hat put a small stack of chips on the table for her.

Ecila thought of the wise words from her non uncle Kenny.

After many hours of holding, folding and not counting her chips, Ecila cashed in for 17 gold rabbit coins. She left the extra chips on the table, let down her tail and walked away.

Once out of sight of the dogs, she began running to the Purple Pink Rabbits’ door.

Ecila ran up the stairs tossing gold coins to the rabbits.

She threw the last 7 coins to Thugsy, and fled out the door. Elica ran all the way toTeagan’s blog hop party, where she made a grand entrance in her new Winter Solstice gown.

“Sorry I’m late everyone! My hair is mess and well, I can’t even begin to tell you what I’ve been through,” Ecila lightly panted. “Let me just say some cats are water cats, there’s such a thing as Purple Pink Rabbits and the the dog days of summer really are dog days.”

Teagan is holding a Christmas in Summer blog hop party. It doesn’t have to be Christmas, just a winter celebration around that time. Click on her badge above, and read the guidelines!

Outtakes

Winter Solstice gown created © by Resa – July, 2024

Pics of gown and street art © Resa McConaghy- June & July 2024

Story © Resa McConaghy – July 2024

Street Artists:

&

When Math Meets Art 2023 by Sasha Q

Twas the Night Before Chickmas

On By ResaIn Original Art, Thank You's62 Comments

BY Georgiann Carlson

It’s lots of fun celebrating CHICKMAS at The Coop! Gigi has made this in 3 posts, so here I have put them all together. Thank you Gigi! Adore you!

Twas’ the night before Chickmas

Twas’ the night before Chickmas
and all through The Coop
the chicklets were playing
with their hula hoops

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
in hopes that St. Chicklaus soon would be there

the chicklets were sleeping
all snug in their beds
while visions of corn bread
danced fast in their heads

the hens in their kerchiefs
the roosters in caps
didn’t have time
for a long
winter’s nap

when out on the lawn
there arose such a clatter
they ran to the window
to see what was the matter

and what to their wondering eyes
did appear
but a miniature sleigh
and one tiny reindeer

as they drew in their heads
they heard a new sound
and there was St. Chicklaus
when they turned around

There were gifts for the chicklets
the hens and the cats
the dogs and the roosters
the horses and bats
the cows and the goats
the birds and the ducks
even the pigs and the squirrels were in luck
all were included
it’s always that way
so everyone there
had the very best day

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY WP PALS!

Two years ago I put all the Twelve Days of Chickmas (also by Gigi) into 1 post. It’s lots of fun to read. Just click on the card below, to go there!

Gather Around the Chickmas Tree

On By ResaIn Original Art106 Comments

The holidays are upon us, and this is one sweet Chickmas Tree!

I’m not good at waiting to open presents, so I opened my gift from the Chicklets! OMG! It’s a new Art Gown!

HOLLY opened hers, too! This hat is the best hat, ever. Holly is trying to NOT eat the candy cane!

Wow, look at BETH‘S new reading chair! It’s waiting by the Chickmas Tree for Beth, and here she comes now! I know let’s all sit around Beth and her chair, and sing “The Twelve Days of Chickmas”!

The Best Chickmas song ever! “The Twelve Days of Chickmas” – by Georgiann Carlson

Let’s pretend we sang the whole song, and now it’s the Twelfth Day of Chickmas. Let’s sing it out loud!!

🎵 On the twelfth day of Chickmas 🎶 my true love sent to me 🎵

🎵 TWELVE BAUBLES HANGING 🎵

🎵 ELEVEN CHICKLETS PIPING 🎵

🎵 TEN CHICKLETS LEAPING 🎵

🎵 NINE CHICKLETS DANCING 🎵

🎵 EIGHT CANES OF CANDY 🎵

🎵 SEVEN CHICKLETS SWINGING 🎵

🎵 SIX HENS A LAYING 🎵

🎵 🎵 🎵 FIVE GOLD RINGS 🎵 🎵 🎵

🎵 FOUR CALLING BIRDS 🎵

🎵 THREE FRENCH HENS 🎵

🎵 TWO TURTLE LOVES 🎵

🎵 🎶 🎵 and a CHICKLET IN A PEAR TREEEEEEEE 🎵 🎵 🎵🎵

This is one of the sweetest, cutest, smartest and creative 12 days…ever!

To see many more Chicklets (© Georgiann Carlson) posts go the the category link CHICKMAS

🌹💙🌹 Thank you, Gigi 🌹💙🌹