Lake Sadlon

Tiffany ordered two canvases for her son's room. Lake's colors are yellow, blue, and green. She requested polka dots. I think this one is so bright and cheerful!

For the second one, she wanted something to represent her family's hobby of wakeboarding. This is something they all really like to do together. I had to do some "wakeboarding research"! I myself have never seen one, much less been on one. It really looks like fun! I may have to put that on my list of things to do.
Anyway, I had fun doing them both. Thanks, Tiffany!

Monograms Galore!

These khaki and white monograms make the perfect gift. I have especially been getting a lot of orders for them for newlyweds. I think it is because these colors go with any decor and can be left out year round.

I think these are gifts, too, so I won't say who ordered them! I will say thank you and I hope whoever is getting them will enjoy them.

Have a great Monday!

Celebrate Everything

Celebrate everything...even little, everyday things like soccer goals, the cooling weather, a date night with your husband, and an upcoming fall break. Those are the little thing I am celebrating right now.
This canvas is brightly colored and sprayed with silver sparkle to go with anything. It also features a beautiful beaded handle with a special themed bead for each month.

Candy Corn

Candy corn is my favorite Halloween candy. When I found these beautiful glass candy corn beads, I knew I had to use them. This one and more will be available October 4 at the Autumn Street Fair. I am also taking custom Halloween orders now.

The Newest Mansfield

Here is the newest addition to the Mansfield family...Cinco. He actually adopted us. He is a sweet little cat who loves to play literally with anything. The best thing is that he really doesn't seem to mind that the kids haul him around, sit on him, and so on. He also goes to bed with Carter each night and purrs him to sleep. I guess we'll keep him!

D is the only one having a hard time adjusting. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Frosty

This beautiful "Frosty" is going to Monica in Kentucky. She chose the dark khaki background and I chose the other neutral colors. It is also lightly coated with silver sparkles. I think this might be my new favorite color combination for the snowmen. I can't believe it is already "snowman season" for me again!

My TTU Art Class

I am teaching a class on using art in the classroom for Tennessee Tech's 2+2 Program. This is an excellent program to prepare new teachers. I wish this had been around when I was going back to school! Anyway, I wanted to share some of the things we have been doing. We did sponge painted mosaics with an underwater theme. The mermaid won our class contest, but they were all really good!

Next, we did the letters of the alphabet using colored string and Elmer's glue. The glue dries hard and the letters almos thave a plastic feel to them. Isn't that neat?! The "E" won this contest...but I secretly like them all!

Finally, this past Monday we made art out of our names written in cursive. This is done with folding the paper and cutting, kind of like when you make paper snowflakes. Some of them turned out to be very abstract, beautiful pieces of art.

I am enjoying teaching this class very much. I have a great group who work very hard and will someday make wonderful teachers. I am meeting a lot of new people. It makes my Mondays alot brighter! It is also alot of fun for me to plan and the participate in these activities. Some of the students are perfectionists (I can relate!) and are stressing about being our of their comfort zones. Hopefully, we are all learning that art can be fun...and even maybe a little relaxing!

A Warm Welcome

Black, white, and aqua has to be one of my favorite color combinations. It is so classy, yet clean and modern at the same time. I also like the simplicity of the colors arranged in such an intricate pattern.
This one is 11x14 and will be available at the Autumn Street fair.

Banana Caramel Pie Recipe

As requested, here is my recipe for Banana Caramel Pie. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2-3 bananas
1 9" graham cracker crust
1 Heath bar
1c whipping cream
1/4c powdered sugar

Pour condensed milk into a small oven safe dish and cover with foil. Place the dish in a baking pan and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake at 425 for 1 hour and 20 minutes. This turns the condensed milk into caramel! Set aside.
Slice bananas into the pie crust. Cover them with the caramel and cool for at least 30 minutes. Beat whipping cream till foamy. Gradually add powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over caramel layer. Sprinkle with crushed Heath bar. This pie needs to remain refrigerated.

Pretty P

This beautiful monogram is perfect for this time of the year. I was so glad Kandice requested her "P" in fall colors. I had been wanting to try one! This one has a khaki background with burnt orange lettering and hunter green accents. I used a pretty sheer ribbon with a floral pattern printed on it.

What Did I Do With My Saturday?

What did I do with my Saturday? I found myself thinking that I didn't do much. But when I sat down and started making kind of a mental list, I found that I had actually been very productive. I started the morning with a two mile walk before going to Carter's soccer game. They won 3-0!

Then I went to the grocery store and got groceries for the whole week. That is a huge timesaver in the long run!



I made a flower arrangement and a loaf of banana bread for someone at church who need a little "pick me up". Then I made another one for me! Those big bundles of sunflowers were irresistable!










I spent the rest of the afternoon painting! I got a whole bunch started, but none completely finished. I guess I'll have something to do on Sunday!





My back started hurting and I felt like moving around, so I decorated the front porch for Halloween. I love my giant candy corn! My dad brought me a box full of "baby pumpkins" so I was excited to get them out, too.







I made my dad a banana caramel pie as a "thank you" for the pumpkins. Yes, that is Heath Bar crushed up on top. Yum!

Finally, before we went to bed Lauren wanted her fingernails and toenails painted sparkly for church. This was, of course, after cooking dinner, getting clothes laid out, and giving baths. What will I do next?

Past Fall Favorites

I decided to post some fall favorites from last year. These really were three of my favorites, partly because they were fun and original and partly because of the special people I did them for.
I am working hard on some new Halloween designs, preparing for the Street Fair, and beginning to get Christmas orders. Busy, busy!

Halloween Witches

I thought and thought and thought about what to do for Halloween. I came up with these skinny little witch legs! I actually started out with the cool purple buckled boots and worked my way up from there.
The larger one is 8x24 and costs $30.00, and the smaller one is 4x12 and costs $20.00. This design definitely works best on the tall, skinny canvases.

I think they turned out pretty cute and definitely original! Happy Halloween, or should I say, "Best Witches"!

Both of these cuties are gone, but I am accepting custom orders for both sizes. More will be available at the Autumn Street Fair as well! Thanks so much for your interest and sweet comments.

Another Pretty Pumpkin

Here is another pretty pumpkin! This one is off to Kentucky to Monica Schoeneck. I like this new harvest gold satin ribbon. It looks so rich! These pumpkins are great because they can stay up all the way through Thanksgiving. This is the 10x10 size.

How about this fall weather? Awesome! I am actually volunteering for playground duty!

Darby

What do you get for a little girl who loves purple? A solid purple canvas, of course!

Words of Autumn

I finished these sweet little wooden signs over the weekend. They are intended for the Autumn Street Fair, but you all have first dibs on any of them that you would like to have. They are all painted in gorgeous fall colors and sealed to be used indoors or out. They also each have a glass lampwork beaded handle. I think one would look great in a wreath! They are $12.oo each and vary in size.

MeMaw's Scarecrow

Our MeMaw, Carolyn Morgan, has a birthday today. We all went to her favorite place, Demos', last night to celebrate. We met Mike's sister, Michelle, her husband, and their three sweet kids. It was so nice to see each other and get to visit for a while.
I painted her a scarecrow as a birthday gift. This one has a burgundy background instead of the celery green I've used in the past. It says "the Morgans" beside the face and down at the bottom on the overalls it says "Welcome". I think she liked it!