Rose Bouquet Carry All Pouch at Society6

I love these new carry all pouches Society6 has added to the store.  I've updated my store - there are now lots of flowery carry all pouches available...

What is the Surprising Taste of this Peony Tea?

This post is a little different than the usual post.  I'm still painting flowers and I've been lucky enough to have the house full of peonies all summer long.  I love to have the real thing in the house for inspiration, and I admit I don't always throw out a bunch of flowers just because they begin to fade and drop their petals.  I love the soft colors of wilting blooms and often leave them until only the bare stems are left in the vase. All those petals just seem too pretty to throw away. So what to do with all the faded petals?

I remember making rose petal tea as a kid.  I loved making lotions and potions with things I found in the garden, but I had no idea if peonies were edible or not.  A quick Google search told me peony petals and leaves are safe to ingest and have been used for centuries in China in teas and salads.

I put about twelve dried petals into a cup and poured hot but not boiling water over the top and let them seep for a minute or so.  I can't say my cup of peony tea was too flavorful. but after reading about it's antioxidant properties I'm keen to try a store brought, professionally made, peony tea.

I noticed the teas contain both the leaves and the petals so I'm guessing it's the leaves that make the stronger taste and the petals that add the fragrance which would be why my cup of petals were rather bland.

Below are the top three peony teas that made my list.  Has anyone tried these brands?  If you have I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Drop me a comment in the section below and I will respond.

Oh and the surprising taste?  Davidson's suggest their white peony tea tastes of chocolate...

Davidson's: White Peony Tea

Davidson's white peony tea - Wonderfully light with "chocolate" undertones, picked at its peak for ultimate flavor.  Chocolate?  I must put this one on my shopping list.

Higher Tea: White Peony

White peony tea by Higher Tea is made with unopened tea buds to give a sweeter taste.

Steven Smith Teamaker: White Petal

This small batch tea is made from chamomile petals and Chinese Osman thus flowers.

"Hey, you should know that this post contains affiliate links which means that I will receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase using a link here."

Focus on Fall: Donna Downey's Abstract Florals

Summer is well and truly over and all the visitors for this year have gone.  Now I just need all the back to school activities to calm down so that I can find some painting time.
I signed up for Donna Downey's Abstract Florals class to help me get back into a painting rhythm.

Color Theory: How to Mix Pink with Acrylic Paint

I thought it was easy to mix pink - it's red and white, right?

But then I tried it.  I took Cadmium red and mixed it with Titanium white and got more of a peach than a pink.

So how do we mix a bright pink?

Will Kemp explains below how to mix a bright pink with acrylic paint.



Watching Will's mini color mixing lesson taught me not only how to create different pinks but also the importance of good color theory.

If you are like me and jumped straight into painting without any basic color theory and need to go back to basics I've found some color theory classes that have been very helpful.

The first is Will Kemp's Simple Color Mixing Course.  If you liked his pink explanation above you may want to sign up for his class.

The next class is for watercolor called Luminous Watercolor Mixing by Kateri Ewing, but I found it really easy to apply the information to acrylic paint and at the end of the lesson I had a really good color map of my split primary palette.

The third class is also by Craftsy called Acrylic Color Mixing Made Easy by Carol McIntyre.  I've still got to sit through this one but I have already got lots of useful tips from Carol's blog so I've got high hopes for it.

If you have some good color theory links let me know below.

Blog Resources: Creative Market Free Font

Have you signed up with Creative Market?  It's free AND they offer weekly freebies.

I've just downloaded this beautiful font...

If you want this font and other freebies head over to Creative Market to sign up.  This particular font is free for one week only.

Inspiration: Alisa Burke Flower Power

I love painting flowers and although I'm trying to concentrate on realism my eyes popped out of my head when I saw Alisa Burke's floral wall on InstaGram.

Beautiful, right?

I went and signed up for Alisa's online Flower Power class right away.  If you too are inspired you can take a look at her class here 'Alisa Burke - Flower Power'.

FUNDRAISING FOR SOUTH BAY HANDS ON ART

I was the vendor at our fifth workshop of the year to help raise funds for South Bay Hands on Art.  It was exciting to see my art displayed in one place.  Thank you to everyone who showed an interest.