Homemade Christmas!

Pink polka dot scrunchie for my daughter made by yours truly!

This year I wanted to step things up and create a personal and special Christmas that includes things that I made myself. I’ll share those projects with you. Maybe these ideas would work for you sometime (not necessarily for Christmas, but whenever you need a more personal touch to your gift giving).

First, the hair accessories! I got a sewing machine recently and taught myself how to make scrunchies. First I made Christmas themed ones that they could wear to class before Christmas, but I was secretly practicing to make everyday fashion ones in their favorite colors as stocking stuffers.

More of the scrunchies I made
My oldest daughter wearing one of her new scrunchies
Not sure if you can tell from this particular view, but half of it is floral, the other half gingham

They liked the ones when I combined two coordinating fabrics into one scrunchie. I was rather proud of that idea! The other handmade gifts are food related.

I used a mortar and pestle to crush candy canes. I rolled large marshmallows over them. This is a fun topping for warm beverages.

See the bag of peppermint marshmallow topping on the right, and scrunchies in the stocking
Also in their stockings: sugary coffee drink mixes in a jar (Cappuccino and Snickerdoodle)
The most delicious Christmas treat!

These are streusel coffee cake loaves, set on top of their presents. Can you see the Christmas tree imprint on the loaf on your right? There are different designs on each loaf.

I made one for myself as well, as I LOVE coffee cake. Mine had a bell imprint. I enjoyed this personal sized cake very, very much! It was a wonderful treat on Christmas afternoon when I was sleepy from a happy morning and ready for a break in the festivities.

You might be able to see that the loaf in the bottom of this photo has a candy cane imprint.

The homemade Christmas gifts were well received and were such a joyful surprise that I will do more of this in the future. I’m happy that I pushed myself to learn new things and to work harder to live richer. I started baking my coffee cake loaves at 5:30AM on Christmas morning. It was worth it! I then made Christmas doughnuts and a big breakfast. And they want to make Christmas breakfast a tradition.

It is my wish for myself and for you, to push ourselves to give more of who we are. Learn new ways to share and love those around you. Believe that you can do special things, and you are a special soul. Be loved, be of love, and be free. Enjoy the rest of your holiday season. God bless you and keep you, this day and always.


“Pumpkin Latte”

Watch Natalie paint this art in 1 minute (time lapse)

“Pumpkin Latte” is part of the 2022 collection “Seasons” (of life and nature). Paintings in this collection celebrate seasons of life (metaphorical, representational, or inspired-by-real-life scenes about milestones, rites of passage, and shared human experiences of love, aging, family, and beyond) as well as seasons of nature (literal scenes depicting autumn, summer, fall, and winter).

“Pumpkin Latte” represents autumn and celebrates family traditions. This scene was inspired by the artist’s daughters’ love of sister coffee breaks featuring their favorite sugary autumn treat. October is “Pumpkin Latte Season!” in their world. While Natalie doesn’t enjoy sugary coffees, she loves seeing her daughters’ have fun and enjoy special family time.

Oil painting “Pumpkin Latte” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas

Enjoy Natalie’s art on fun, creative, and classy gifts for you and your family!

Tip Natalie to fund art supplies to reach her lifetime goal of 1,000 finished oil paintings, a series of live events, and surprising opportunities!

New Painting

Watch this “Pumpkin Latte” oil painting come alive in 1 minute (time lapse)

Are you enjoying autumn treats? My daughters love the specialty coffee and snacks that come out this time of year. They especially love their sister breaks on campus when they meet up for a pumpkin latte between classes. I love that they have such a special relationship. No matter what’s happening in the world, family, faith, traditions and seasons bring joy to life’s journey. Happy October!

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October!

Watch this oil painting “Pumpkins and Mums” come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

This is a good one to start October with. Imagine that we’re sitting at that cafe table enjoying warm conversation, a hot mug of tea, coffee, cocoa, or cider, and enjoying the fresh autumn air. What would we talk about?

Perhaps you’d tell me about your day, and I’d tell you about mine. The theme of my day seemed to be about leaving things unfinished. I worked a painting session, but it’s too dark in the house now to finish it or get a good photo of it. It will have to keep until tomorrow. Also keeping until tomorrow is my assembly project: putting my new garden cart together that was delivered today (garden supplies are on sale, by the way, since it’s the end of the summer growing season).

My new cart is a raised planting container on wheels that I plan to grow romaine lettuce in. I got it ready to put together, but it looks a bit beyond my abilities so I’ve left the smaller pieces in an organized pile on the patio for now. Wouldn’t you know, it looks like it might storm tonight and the cardboard box containing the two heavy main pieces will likely get soaked. Oh well, it won’t matter much. I can remove the soggy cardboard later.

I’m taking this lifestyle change of growing my own food very seriously. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. It pushes me to be outside more, which always lifts my spirits (well, except when I have an encounter with fire ants or some other incident happens). At this point, I expect that our autumn visit at the pumpkin patch has evolved into me telling you my stories of comedic misadventure, and we’ve shared some great full-belly laughs. Maybe you’ve chimed in with something that’s made me laugh until I cried. I hope so!

Imaginary visits with people we’ve never met, but would like to think of as friends who “see” each other every day by dropping by our blog, video, or art space on the Internet, are pleasant to think about. When I paint inviting spaces with empty chairs, I feel wistful to be inside the painting, but not alone. I imagine being with a friend, maybe someone like you!

“Breakfast with Friends”

Watch Natalie paint this art, and all 50 oil paintings in this collection (menu below)

“Savannah is known for its love of sweet tea, but coffee drinkers will rejoice over the many cafes that cater to coffee, coffee, coffee. There are also excellent sources for brewing coffee at home, and many options for fresh breakfast foods. My husband and I ate breakfast at Savannah Coffee Roasters, sharing a plate of delicious roasted potatoes. I was surprised at the level of energy and activity on Saturday morning. It was buzzing!

Established in 1909, the historic cafe and bistro is popular with tourists and locals. I’ve used this same phrase often throughout this book ‘tourists and locals’, because it’s true. In my experience, there aren’t any ‘tourist traps’ in Savannah. Nearly anything that tourists enjoy is a regular activity for the people who reside here.

The local coffee shops offer bags of coffee to buy and brew at home, so the warm fuzzy feelings need not end. Some shops blend events, catering, and art, becoming more than a tea, coffee, and snack place, but a community hub as well. I am usually home for coffee, but I still have breakfast with friends as I work on the computer and chat with people.”

Breakfast with Friends oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas
Breakfast with Friends oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

Small Print “Breakfast with Friends”

All small prints are approximately 8 x 10. Giclee Somerset Velvet Fine Art paper. Free shipping. No frame.

$33.50

Breakfast with Friends oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

Medium Print “Breakfast with Friends”

All medium prints are approximately 16 x 20. Giclee Somerset Velvet Fine Art paper. Free shipping. No frame.

$65.50

Breakfast with Friends oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

Large Print “Breakfast with Friends”

All large prints are approximately 24 x 30. Giclee Somerset Velvet Fine Art paper. Free shipping. No frame.

$98.50

List of Oil Paintings in this Collection, linking to their pages here on the site, and also citing physical pages in the hardcover book:

  1. City of Savannah
    1.1 “City of Savannah” page 6-7
    1.2 “Natalie at the Fountain” page 8-11
    1.3 “House in Savannah” page 12-13
    1.4 “Guardian Lion” page 14-15
    1.5 “Autumn Angel” page 16-17
    1.6 “Steamship Savannah” page 18-19
    1.7 “Boiled Peanuts for Sale” page 20-21
    1.8 “Bulldog” page 22-23
    1.9 “Serenity Piano” page 24-25
    1.10 “Painting Colors” page 26-27
  2. Tybee Island
    2.1 “I Love Life” page 30-31
    2.2 “Living Sand Dollar” page 32-33
    2.3 “Matthew the Sea Turtle” page 34-35
    2.4 “Fungie the Dolphin” page36-37
    2.5 “Angel Releasing Dove” page 38-39
    2.6 “Flag on Tybee Island” page 40-41
    2.7 “My Kids at the Beach” page 42-43
    2.8 “Lighthouse near Tybee Island” page 44-45
  3. Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
    3.1 “Gator and Snake” page 48-49
    3.2 “Tree Frog” page 50-51
    3.3 “Lizard” page 52-53
    3.4 “Blue Heron” page 54-55
    3.5 “Hummingbird” page 56-57
    3.6 “Painted Bunting” page 58-59
  4. Flowers and Trees
    4.1 “Pink Flower” page 62-63
    4.2 “Porch Flowers” page 64-65
    4.3 “Clover” page 66-67
    4.4 “Butterfly Tree Flowers” page 68-69
    4.5 “Savannah Tree” page 70-71
    4.6 “Dancer in a Floral Forest” page 72-73
    4.7 “Come to the Garden” page 74-77
    4.8 “Cherokee Rose” page 78-79
  5. Faith and Food
    5.1 “Floral Cross” page 82-83
    5.2 “Lenten Flower” page 84-85
    5.3 “Celtic Cross” page 86-87
    5.4 “Mary of God’s Favor” page 88-89
    5.5 “Lion and the Lamb” page 90-91
    5.6 “Breakfast with Friends” page 92-93
    5.7 “Peaches in a Bowl” page 94-95
    5.8 “Peach Cookies” page 96-97
    5.9 “Peach Pie” page 98-99
  6. Seasons and Weather
    6.1 “Pumpkins and Mums” page 102-103
    6.2 “Autumn Cottage” page 104-105
    6.3 “Spring Lambs” page 106-107
    6.4 “Peach Tree Hurricane” page 108-109
    6.5 “Eye of the Storm” page 110-111
    6.6 “God’s Promise” page 112-113
    6.7 “We Gather Together” page 114-115
    6.8 “Savannah Snow” page 116-117
    6.9 “I Believe in Santa” page 118-119

“Come to the Garden”

Watch Natalie paint this art, and all 50 oil paintings in this collection (menu below)
Cropped section of Come to the Garden oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

“That’s me, on the swing. My real life swing is actually a rather cheap, much smaller, version of this, but I enjoy my time on the patio. The morning glory vines along the top were real, but we later yanked them out because birds were perching on it and pooping on the swing! The birds don’t usually come around all at once, but all of these do visit our patio in the places I’ve painted them. The bluebirds visit seldomly, while the cardinals and hummingbirds are here every day and I’ve begun to think of them as my friends!

The potted red roses and wisteria are real, as are the plants in the white trellis/planter combo my husband made for me (lavender and a grape vine). The pink vines I painted aren’t there, but were planned to be- ditto for the potted Gerber Daisies. The white roses in the foreground aren’t there- that’s where my patio door is. I’ll explain the rest of this painting over the next two pages (refers to physical book- here on website, just scroll down).

Right section of Come to the Garden oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

My real life patio is about half this size, and there’s no path leading off to a secondary garden (no hedges or white picket fence either). The forestry is real. It surrounds a lagoon (man-made retention pond that isn’t in this painting, but is in the Blue Heron and Savannah Snow paintings). Our yard ends very near the patio.

Years ago, we owned a hobby farm in rural Minnesota, but the company my husband worked for moved to Canada and ghosted the town. We sold our house and started a new life. It’s been a long, uncertain journey. We are finally rebuilding our lives, although it means renting a small house with a tiny yard for a few years.

While I no longer have our Babydoll Southdown sheep, hens, or other animals, the wild birds keep me company. My garden patio is full of life, and I am content to wait for our lives to take off once again. We will have our own home again one day. For now, this is my home- home is where our heart is.

More about the painting: The tree on the right is the butterfly tree that I showed you in a previous painting. The shepherd’s hook is there, with the bird feeder below it. The cardinals sometimes pose exactly like this. We’ve changed things up a bit since I did this painting. We’ve added a red tower for smaller birds, that’s supposed to attract the elusive migratory Painted Bunting I showed you earlier. We’ll see, come spring!

Bottom section of Come to the Garden oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

This type of flower is called a Cherokee Rose. I’ve been told that it can take up a lot of space, so I’ll need to wait until we have a bigger yard before adding this flower to my real life garden. It is the state flower of Georgia, so I painted it separately as well (next painting).”

Come to the Garden oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

List of Oil Paintings in this Collection, linking to their pages here on the site, and also citing physical pages in the hardcover book:

  1. City of Savannah
    1.1 “City of Savannah” page 6-7
    1.2 “Natalie at the Fountain” page 8-11
    1.3 “House in Savannah” page 12-13
    1.4 “Guardian Lion” page 14-15
    1.5 “Autumn Angel” page 16-17
    1.6 “Steamship Savannah” page 18-19
    1.7 “Boiled Peanuts for Sale” page 20-21
    1.8 “Bulldog” page 22-23
    1.9 “Serenity Piano” page 24-25
    1.10 “Painting Colors” page 26-27
  2. Tybee Island
    2.1 “I Love Life” page 30-31
    2.2 “Living Sand Dollar” page 32-33
    2.3 “Matthew the Sea Turtle” page 34-35
    2.4 “Fungie the Dolphin” page36-37
    2.5 “Angel Releasing Dove” page 38-39
    2.6 “Flag on Tybee Island” page 40-41
    2.7 “My Kids at the Beach” page 42-43
    2.8 “Lighthouse near Tybee Island” page 44-45
  3. Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
    3.1 “Gator and Snake” page 48-49
    3.2 “Tree Frog” page 50-51
    3.3 “Lizard” page 52-53
    3.4 “Blue Heron” page 54-55
    3.5 “Hummingbird” page 56-57
    3.6 “Painted Bunting” page 58-59
  4. Flowers and Trees
    4.1 “Pink Flower” page 62-63
    4.2 “Porch Flowers” page 64-65
    4.3 “Clover” page 66-67
    4.4 “Butterfly Tree Flowers” page 68-69
    4.5 “Savannah Tree” page 70-71
    4.6 “Dancer in a Floral Forest” page 72-73
    4.7 “Come to the Garden” page 74-77
    4.8 “Cherokee Rose” page 78-79
  5. Faith and Food
    5.1 “Floral Cross” page 82-83
    5.2 “Lenten Flower” page 84-85
    5.3 “Celtic Cross” page 86-87
    5.4 “Mary of God’s Favor” page 88-89
    5.5 “Lion and the Lamb” page 90-91
    5.6 “Breakfast with Friends” page 92-93
    5.7 “Peaches in a Bowl” page 94-95
    5.8 “Peach Cookies” page 96-97
    5.9 “Peach Pie” page 98-99
  6. Seasons and Weather
    6.1 “Pumpkins and Mums” page 102-103
    6.2 “Autumn Cottage” page 104-105
    6.3 “Spring Lambs” page 106-107
    6.4 “Peach Tree Hurricane” page 108-109
    6.5 “Eye of the Storm” page 110-111
    6.6 “God’s Promise” page 112-113
    6.7 “We Gather Together” page 114-115
    6.8 “Savannah Snow” page 116-117
    6.9 “I Believe in Santa” page 118-119