A Little Zebra

A little zebra goes a long way!  All of my featured canvases today have a zebra print border.  It's so popular right now and seems to go with just about nay color.  This 10x10 zebra with lime is super bright - and super cute!

Here's some zebra with hot pink for a set of sisters.  This combination had probably been the most popular.   These are 5x5's and perfect to hang just about anywhere.

I love the initial behind the name!

I've got a long weekend of baseball in my future!  It may be Monday afternoon before I make it back to the computer again.  The weather is supposed to be nice so maybe I'll get some sun.  You all enjoy your weekend, too!

New Gift Certificates!

My new gift certificates were waiting for me in the mailbox today!  They turned out perfectly and I am so excited!  Now I have some that match my business cards, bag stickers, envelope seals, and mailing labels.  It's all about being coordinated!

Shipping is free on all gift certificates.  Order yours now for the perfect Mother's Day and teacher gifts!

Brixton

As promised, here is Brinlee's brother's canvas.  This one is also an 18x24 and just so darn cute!  It is perfect for a little boy's room, but I think it would make a fabulous teacher canvas, too!

Lindsi asked for Brixton's canvas to coordinate with the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, but not necessarily match it exactly.  That is so smart!  This primary colored canvas can be used with lots of other themes.  She's going to get so much more use out if it.

Here's a little close up so you can see all of the shading in the letters and the stripes.  You can also see the tiny border of blue dots.  

Here's the inspiration bedding.  Speaking of cute - how adorable is this?  I am sure that Brixton and Brinlee have rooms to envy.  Thank you so much for the order!  Send me pics, Lindsi!

Brinlee

Lindsi Lemons ordered this large 18x24 canvas for her daughter Brinlee's room. She sent me some beautiful fabric swatches as inspiration.

Other than the swatches and telling me that she had a creamy taupe color for the walls, the rest of the design was up to me. She did mention that the room was already pretty fuschia heavy, so it would be nice to focus on the other colors.

I do have the fuschia, but more of an accent color. I decided to focus more on the stripes and just use touches from the frilly prints. Also, there's a lot of detailing the lettering of her name. I just love how this one turned out! Even though Brinlee is a little girl, and this is perfect for her room, I can totally see this in a teenager's room.

Come back soon (maybe tomorrow!) to see her brother Brixton's companion piece!

The Great Outdoors...and Then Some!

Today I am covering several topics with one post! During busy times like this, it pays to be efficient. First off, I am terribly excited to be entering to win a week at an awesome sleep-away camp in Colorado for my daughter. This looks like an awesome, once in a lifetime kind of thing just look at that gorgeous scenery! Being from Tennessee, it would be a real treat to rock climb, kayak, and just enjoy these mountains. Click here to see more about AO Camps.

I am entering to win a session of Colorado summer camp for a child at Altogether Outdoors from The SITS Girls!

I always like to include some artwork - since this an art blog - in each post. I went the this rustic established canvas that I did a while back. I love the heavy distressing around the edges.

Here's a better look at it - so pretty! This picture make me a little sad for our old house. I still have several more pictures to share that show little snippets of the place. For all of those of you who keep asking, the boxes are not all packed. I don't think they will be until school is out! On the plus side, my husband promises to put my new art table together this weekend. Yay!

Finally, a little craft project sneak peek! It's been a while since I've shared a tutorial on anything but being crazy! I did a fancy lampshade for Miss Lauren's room. It turned out really pretty so I'll show you how to make one, too.

I think that's enough for one post! Have a great rest of the day...I'm off to Family Reading Night!

Sew Beautiful

I was perusing etsy (as I often do!) and found this outfit that I just fell in love with for Lauren. It turns out that the talented lady behind Cuddle Bug live right down the road in Murfreesboro. Yay! Not only was she close by, she was willing to make a trade. I love it when that happens!

April Voss was redoing her sewing room in aqua, pink, and brown. I had done this shabby chic tree before and she liked it. We made it more sewing room appropriate by changing the rosebuds to buttons. Talk about cute!

Here's a close up. I love this one and I love the thought of it hanging where April gets to be creative. Oh, I love the outfit, too! It was very well made and fit like a glove. If you are needing anything with ruffles, I recommend her etsy shop. She's got some really cute new summer sets up. I especially like the strawberry! Tell her I sent you!

Verses and Quotes

It's been a crazy weekend of baseball! We had so much fun and it was a beautiful couple of days to sit out in the sun. Our boys got runners up in the tournament. Whew - now it's back to the work week. TCAP is coming up and I am feeling the burn.
With all of this going on, I didn't get as much painting done as I would have liked to. Today I am showing some older quotes and verse. I love them all and am happy to finally be getting around to blogging about them!

Perfect for the new baby boy's nursery...

Perfect for the newlyweds...

Perfect for the Southern girl...

Perfect for an anniversary...I think I've got all of your milestones covered!

Pretty Girls

Kayla Young ordered a couple of canvases for her daughters, Kaegan and Kaemey, and while back. Click here to see those. I am thrilled to report that she was so happy with them that she ordered some more!

She wanted a set of three with the initials to compliment the larger pieces.

I love all of the dots, the beautiful colors, and the whimsical animals. So cute!

Here's all three together in a grouping. Don't they look fabulous?

(photo from Pottery Barn Kids)

Here's the bedding they were designed to match. Love!

Jordan

Can I even tell you how much I love this little bird? It's just to sweet and girlie and adds the perfect pop of color to this canvas.

The bird also adds balance to the off centered name. Jordan's mom, Andrea, asked for something simple and sent me a picture of the bedding to match - which I can't find. I wanted to show you all how well it matched! I love chocolate brown lettering on the pink dotted background.

Pretty cursive lettering with lots of highlights and detailing...enjoy!

Shabby Apple

When I look at my closet, dresses seem to take over. I am definitely a dress wearing person - especially in the summer! Besides the fact that I like to look like a girl, there is nothing easier or more comfortable than a dress and some cute sandals in the summer or tights and boots in the winter.

I fell in love with the Shabby Apple a long time ago. When they asked me to be an affiliate and advertise for them on my blog, I jumped at the chance! Not only do they have beautiful, well made dresses, they also have arts and crafts items {eek!} and a children's line. Did I mention that I am obsessed?

Now you can get the super cute Crosswalk Skirt 25% off by using the coupon code. Orders over $100.00 always have free shipping. You can't beat that! Happy shopping!

Easter Weekend

We've been working like crazy to get unpacked and organized. I am trying to take my time and do it right. Just take it one little project at a time! I spent some time in Lauren's room last week and am making progress. Her one request for her new room was a chandelier. There was a really big, dark ceiling fan in this room and a while ceiling. I love the painted ceiling and the dainty chandelier. The fixture, bedding, and wall decal came from Land of Nod. The handpainted trunk came from Bethany Guthrie.

I always get Lauren an Easter shirt. This is always so cute to wear to parties and egg hunts. She growing up so I let her choose this year. She went with this black and hot pink theme. She's got some black and hot pink striped ruffle capris that she wears with it. It wasn't what I would have picked, but I love it! I order most of her appliqued shirts from this etsy shop. She does awesome work and is super friendly and helpful! She's got tons of choices and boy stuff, too!

I haven't been neglecting Carter's room! His one request for his room was for it to be painted blue, and not light blue either. I don't usually choose dark colors and was sort of panicked. I went with this "stormy" shade of blue that matched the chambray in his quilt. It turned out that the dark color really made our pretty trim stand out.
His wall decal was custom made at this etsy shop and came really fast and was easy to apply. I ordered his polka dot pillow covers from this etsy shop. I was impressed with the quality of the fabric.

As you can see, I've done a lot of my home decorating through etsy! My etsy shop is currently on vacation until I can get my studio up and running again. Now that the kids' rooms are coming together, I can focus on me! I did fill one Easter order this season. Deborah in Washington wanted for little canvases to put in treat baskets for her friends. So cute!
Happy Easter to all! Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

School Days

I've been so focused on moving lately that I've just now realized how close the school year is to coming to an end. I've got a fabulous class this year and my first year at Centertown Elementary has gone so smoothly. It's just flown by!

I am constantly doing teacher canvases. They are one of my favorite things to paint and I love the idea of brightening up a classroom. With each one I paint, I try to picture it in my own room. This one is so pretty and it makes me want to do my classroom in these colors next year!
For all of those who prefer something more traditional, here's the apple. This will always be in style and it perfect for any teacher!

Carter is in the fourth grade and has had a really good year with Mrs. Self. He's adjusted to the new school, learned so much, and made some new friends. He won our whole school's Spelling Bee and earned an invitation to the state Spelling Bee in Knoxville. He didn't win, but did really good and enjoyed the experience. I am so proud of him!

Brothers and a Preview

There are so many pictures that I haven't shared with you all yet. I'm getting to them slowly but surely! This brother set was custom designed to match their super cute shower curtain. I love how they turned out!
I have a mental picture of how they look hanging together in the bathroom - so cute! Mom specifically chose the fonts and the colors to be emphasized on each one (green for Landon and orange for Ian).

I am just about to finish my first order since the move. I got a beautiful brand new painting table and studio but it's not all together yet. Actually, it is full of boxes right now! I did most of this painting in my den floor. The colors are spot on and I am so proud of them both - can't wait to share!