Owls

Holly Ressel ordered this cute little 5x7 owl canvas.  She snapped a picture of a greeting card to use as inspiration - great idea!  I think it turned out so cute!

Holly also ordered an owl bow hanger for her new baby's room.  She snapped a picture of the owl bedding in the store and sent me that.  Don't you just love technology?

Here's a close up of Holly's owl - so cute and a perfect match to the bedding!

This owl bow hanger was done as a big sister gift for Kara Best.  Her mom ordered a canvas for the new baby brother's nursery and I decided to fix something special up for Miss Kara.  I am now officially out of owl plaques!

Girls...

While I do love painting for boys, I just have way more orders for girls.  The hot pink and black dots are so cute and so popular right now.  This sweet little 5x7 shipped out to Miss Annsley last week.

This pastel striped 6x9 shipped out to Indiana a while back.  I love the color choices and all of the shading on the stripes.

Finally, one for a set of sisters.  This will hang in their shared bathroom.  I love those big dots in all of those bright, happy colors.  That's a really sweet quote, too, and so true!  Wouldn't this design be cute with a monogram in the center?

Show Us Your Life - Displaying Pictures

It's time for the Show Us Your Life Series at Kelly's Korner.  I can't wait to do some research on displaying pictures.  We've been in our house for a few months now and I am still hanging pictures.  I love the nice clean spaces on our newly painted walls, but pictures make a house a home.  

I had this photo (sorry about the glare!) from my sister's wedding printed on a canvas.  I had it done at Wal-Mart for a great price!  It is very light weight and you don't need a frame.  Plus, it wasn't very expensive so you can change it pretty often.

I bought a calendar of antique travel posters years ago with the plan to have them framed someday.  I found them when we were moving and my husband let me pick out a few to get framed as an anniversary gift.  I measured using the steps as a guide to be sure they were hung level.  I really like them and hope to get more of them framed soon!

I hung my daughter's collection of artwork in this little space in the bonus room.  It's an odd shaped wall that you can't really do a lot with.  It is also in the area where she plays house.  She likes seeing her creations!

Sometimes I like to get the tickets, pins, or other mementos from special occasions framed with the photographs.  I had this NCAA Final Four collage framed for my husband for one Father's Day gift.

Finally, we have a large framed movie poster hanging in our bathroom.  They are usually not expensive (unless you get into some of those rare vintage ones!) and are often beautiful or hold a special memory for you.

As our wall are reflects, we love family time, sports, traveling, and the movies.  Whatever it is that's on your walls should be a reflection of the things you love.  Thanks for stopping by today!  I can't wait to go get some new ideas!

Matchy Patchy

One of my fabulous fellow teachers, Lori Padgett, had this adorable flag for her front yard.  She wanted something to go with it for the front door.  Great idea!

Since her door is the same color as the flag background, she asked me to switch it out and make the background of the canvas cream.  I kept the zig zag across the top and used the exact same letter.  I also topped it off with a wide black satin ribbon.  I love how it turned out!  Thanks, Lori!

Nighttime Prayer

Katherine Innskeep has this special little nighttime prayer that she says with her daughter.  She wanted it painted on a canvas for her room.  She requested aqua, hot pink, and yellow.  She pretty much left the rest up to me!

I just thought this was so sweet and really wanted to make it special.  I used lots of dots, some stripes in the center, and scalloped edges.  I think those edges are my new favorite thing!  I loved painting this.  Thank you so much, Katherine!

Show us Your Life - Foyers

Today I am participating the Show Us Your Life Series on Kelly's Korner.  Welcome to my foyer!  Here's the front door with my cute little mail basket and initial wreath.

Off to this side of the foyer is my office/studio.  I love that I can see everything that is going on in the front yard front my spot at my desk.  It also gets great light.  These beautiful columns separate my space and I am crazy about them!

 

We didn't build this house, but if we had I would have wanted those columns and this light fixture.  It's huge but it just makes the space complete.

 

The entire foyer standing in the den...

 

...and standing in the front door.  The kids' rooms and bathroom are on the other side of the foyer.  I've never had a foyer before and am really enjoying this space!  I do need something to hang on that blank wall.

This is the secretary desk and chair passed down to us from my husband's grandmother.  It's filled with special books, scrapbooks, and photos.  I recovered the seat and am having a pillow made and monogrammed to match.  I can't wait!

 

This is the only foyer art I have up so far.  This collage of our trip to the NCAA Final Four hangs right by the front door.

 

The little zebra stool is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the whole house.   It's in the corner right by the front door.  It's the perfect spot to toss your purse on when you are just running in.  The cat also likes to sit her so she can see out the front door.

That's my foyer...now I'm off to see yours!  Leave me a comment and let me know that you stopped by!

New Teacher Design

I'm totally not ready to start thinking about back to school yet!  This one was actually painted a while back and am just now getting around to blogging about it.  The colors requested were red, black, and white.  Also, lots of polka dots!

I love the new apple design with the cute little worm!  The black and white dotted ribbon just tops it off perfectly!

On another teacher note, Kelley is getting married and wanted her new last name to hang in her classroom.  The hot pink and zebra is the theme I used in my room last year and the kids loved it!  I can't wait to show you all my new theme!!

 Teachers, get your orders for the new school year in soon!

 

Paisley and Peace Signs

Need to squeeze in a little more summer?  How about this beautiful, summery color combination?  This 8x10 peace sign with paisley is ready and waiting for personalization.  It's priced to move at $15.00 and makes a great gift!  There's only one!

Kristin Green ordered just paisley in the lime, orange, and aqua for her new home.  I think it turned out so pretty!

Random...But Special!

Lots of times I can make a good post from one order or find a few orders with a common theme.  I've got these great pieces sort of stored up that I haven't found the right time to share.  I decided to combine them into one random post.  No, they don't have anything in common!  

First, I did a baby boy canvas.  I love the colors and the name.  I had this name picked for for Lauren if she happened to be a boy!

Pretty paisleys in shades of pink with the initial and name over the top.  

Business signs are always fun to do!

For the ultimate George Strait fan!

Erica Knowles, teacher, got married and wanted a special section reserved for her students.  What a great idea!

Finally, who is ready for fall?!

Pretty Pineapples

There's nothing more perfect for summer than pineapples!  The great thing about this design is that is also looks great all year round...especially if you are a beach lover like me!

 

I typically do these on an 11x14 canvas, but can work it for just about any size you'd like.  I also usually use this khaki background with brown or green accents.  I am working on a purple version right now!  I can't wait to share that one!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer and staying cool!

Show Us Your Life Series - Bathrooms

It's bathroom day at Kelly's Korner!  Today I am participating the Show Us Your Life Series.  I love looking at all of the links, so I joined in the fun.  First up is the kids' bathroom.  Let me start by saying that red is not my favorite color.  When you buy a house and it has a red countertop, what are you going to do?

Well, I made the best of it and had the walls painted a toasty taupe color.  I found this antique looking shower curtain with red and lots of taupes and creams - so pretty!  I also used bronze accents all through to match the fixtures.  I know this is a little grown up looking for a kids' bathroom, but this is also our guest bathroom if we have people over.

To make it just right for my son and daughter, I added this artwork about baseball players and ballerinas.  Love it!  I can put some nice sepia tinted photos in there when they outgrow these cute prints.

 

The master bathroom is a little more tucked away and not as accessible for guests.  I love the french doors with frosted glass that connect our bedroom to our bathroom.  It makes me feel like it's a spa!

Where I get ready every morning!

Yes, Robert Redford hangs above the toilet!  It's in it's own little room and my husband's baseball movie poster just fit perfectly and was the perfect colors!

Our tub...it was a nice day when I took the pictures so I opened the plantation shutters and windows.  Beautiful!

Finally, the shower.  I am still getting used that "showering in the open" feeling and this thing is so hard to clean!  I'm glad I got a bit of the ceiling in one of the photos.  I absolutely loved the recessed lighting in the bathroom.  I also wanted to show that the walls are a soft aqua, but the ceiling is brown.  I think it makes the lighting and nice trim show up better.

Well, thanks for taking the tour and stopping by my house for a bit.  Now I'm off to see some of yours!

Fourth Of July Sale!

I've got three red, white, and blue cuties that are available and marked way down for the fourth!  They are patriotic, but would be perfect for all you Pioneer fans, too!  

All three are $10 each and available for personalization and delivery.  If you are not local, shipping is included.  Snatch one up before they are gone!

Happy Fourth of July to you all!

Patterns

Ann-Alan Callahan sent me three gorgeous photographs.  She wanted me to use the patterns to create a trio of 5x5's.  

At first I was really intimidated because the photos are so nice and artsy.  The patterns in the photos are also very intricate.  I knew I could do it, but I wanted to do it really well.

I am so happy with how they turned out.  They were first painted very carefully.  Then they were fairly heavily distressed.   Finally, they were sealed with two coats of a gloss sealer.  I wanted them to look like polished stone.  They do, but it is hard to capture on film!

Look at that amazing floor!

The pattern continues around the side.  They will be great to hang or they are thick enough just to stand alone.

My personal favorite - the surfboards!  I hope I did all of this amazing artwork justice.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to be creative and try something different.  Thank you, Ann-Alan!  Enjoy!