Sweet Ila Mae's: The After

I offered a new service at Sweet Ila Mae's...personalization on the spot!  It was a big hit!  I had several canvases that I had embellished, but left off any wording.  Customers could purchase the canvas and let me fill it in while they shopped.  Here's a few...

I am so happy with how they all turned out and loved seeing all of the customer's happy faces!

Lauren sneaked a picture of me painting!  Now here's some shots of my booth...

Even though the weekend was a HUGE success, we did rain out on Sunday.  You can click here to see the rain sale album on facebook.  It will only be up until noon tomorrow!

Sweet Ila Mae's: The Before

I haven't been posting much because, honestly, I'm busier than ever!  Between getting ready for a craft show, managing regular orders, teaching summer art classes, and ball season - summer is starting to feel not so much like summer.  I do get to sleep late most mornings so I can't complain!

I am thrilled to be participating in my first ever Barn Sale!  I've been working so hard on new designs and making sure that I have plenty old favorites.  Here's the info for Sweet Ila Mae's in Quebeck, Tennessee.  I hope you all are making plans to come see us!  I'll have lots of "after pictures" on Monday.

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Show Us Your Life - What You Make or Sell

It's my favorite day on Kelly's Korner!  We all get to show what we make and sell!  Not only do I get to show my artwork, I get to browse your links and go see lots of other wonderful products.

Well, I make and sell custom painted artwork.  I love to paint and have always painted.  I am thrilled that I have found a way to do what I love for a living.  It is always a pleasure to work with new and repeat customers and come up with the perfect design for them.

Here's how it works...you just check out the size and price guide in the sidebar, choose your colors and design by browsing the blog or using your decor as inspiration, and then email me with your details and any questions (brandie_bc1@yahoo.com).  I'll get back to you with any questions of my own and maybe a few suggestions.  After we've got that all settled, I'll send you a paypal invoice that includes shipping and get you on my to do list.  Easy as that!

How long you stay on my list depends on several things...I am a teacher and mom of two, there may be several orders ahead of you, you may have a complicated design that takes more time, etc.   If you need it by a specific date, you need to let me know that when ordering.

I didn't add any pictures to today's post basically because the blog is covered with them!  There is a handy little search bow in the very top left hand corner where you can type in a keyword if you know what kind of thing you are looking for.  There's also a history by month of past posts in the sidebar.

I'd love to hear from you all...let me know what you think!  Thanks for visiting today!

Show Us Your Life - Crafts for Kids

I'm so excited to be linking up with Kelly's Korner today to show off some great crafts for kids!  I am also really excited to go and visit all of you and get tons of new ideas!  I am an elementary school teacher and love to incorporate art into my lessons whenever possible.  I am also an artist and I'm starting some art classes this summer.  I am so looking forward to it!  If you'd like to check out the schedule, here's the link to my class blog.  Now, on to some crafting...

As you can see, I am an artsy-craftsy person.  Always have been!  Although most of my projects do involve painting, I've tried to dig up some variety for you.  My daughter and I painted these wooden boards to be mini chalkboards!  They turned out so cute!  Here's the link to see step by step instructions.

This is one of my favorite projects ever!  The Pottery Barn Kids flower covered lampshade that my daughter wanted was totally out of my budget, so I  made one!  Here's the tutorial for that one.

I am teacher at an elementary school and at our local college.  I tie-dye each year with both groups!  Here's the link to see more tie dying and to get tips on products to use and folding techniques.  Go get your hippie on!

One of my favorite projects that I've recently taken on is working with buttons.  These buttons were just purchased at the craft store, but how fun would it be to work with some vintage buttons or family heirlooms?  I can see some beautiful projects with a vintage feel.

I fell in love with the plain wooden owl cut outs and bought them without really having a plan.  Turns out that they made wonderful bow hangers.  I just painted them up super cute and used the staple gun to attach grosgrain ribbon.  Don't use the silky kind for this project - the bows just slide right off!

I've been experimenting with burlap lately.  I love using it my home because I like that outdoorsy feel and it is not very expensive.  We had our church youth group over for a dinner and I whipped up this little banner for the mantle with scrap burlap, ribbon, paint, and a little stitch witch.  Perfect!

I hope you enjoyed some of my past projects!  This is by no means all of them.  Please feel free to browse the blog and check out all of the others.  Have a great day!

End of the Year Lists

My favorite thing about this time of the year is all of the lists.  My stocking was full of magazines with the top ten movies of the year, books of the year, and (my most favorite of all) best and worst dressed.  Yes, Santa knows that I love a good list!  I decided that my final post of the year should be a couple of lists.  Here's a list pf my top ten favorite canvases from the wonderful year that was 2012...

10.  K, L, and Y monograms - this made the list because I think they are so pretty together and a true complete set.  There is a lot of detail work (and dots!) in each one.  Also, the mom was so sweet and has ordered so many pretty pieces for these girls' rooms!

9. Merry Christmas from the Blacks -  this made the list because it marked a challenge overcame for me.  Getting dots, stripes, and a Santa all on the same canvas was no small feat.

8. The Meredith Prayer - this made the list because I sort of tear up every time I paint it.  I've painted it lots of times since, but this is the original.  All of the things a kid needs are right here.

7. The Bathroom Set - this made the list because it is a classic.  I don't know how many bathroom sets I've painted over the years and I know there's too many dots to count.  This one particular set was my favorite of the year because of the color combination...all of my favorites!

6. I Love You Forever - this made the list because it is an experiment that turned out beautifully.  I tried the scalloped edges and dots in varying sizes for the first time.  It turned out just like I had it pictured in my head and, trust me, that doesn't always happen!

5. Teacher's Canvases - this made the list because this is probably what I paint the most.  I also happen to love honoring teachers and creating special gifts for them.  I chose these two to represent teacher canvases because that owl and that worm in the apple are just so bright and happy.  I know the kids like to see them coming down the hall!  

4. Mary Claire - this one made the list just because I love it.  Plain and simple.  I love everything about it from the colors and the font to the stripes and little rosebuds.  Love it.

3. The New Wedding Design - this one made the list because it is the new hit of the year.  This design first showed up with the Avett Brothers song lyrics pictures above with a wedding name and date below.  It quickly look off into lots of other wedding songs and then to special Bible verses.  

2. The Pooh Quote - this made the list because it never gets old.  I've painted this super sweet Christopher Robin quote so many times and in so many different ways it's not even funny.  I even shipped one to Australia!  This one was chosen out of all of the others because it is so different.  It was meant to match the little girl's bedding and just turned out perfectly.  I love it when that happens!

1. Austie - this made the list because of the unusual color combination and challenging pattern combinations.  It moved up the list because I love "The Help" and Audrey Hepburn quotes.  It topped the list because the whole entire set works so well together.  So pretty!

Okay, that was my top ten.  Here's the top ten looked at posts by viewers like you!

10.  For A Special Aunt

9.  End of the School Year

8.  Brown Sugar Body Scrub

7.  Show Us Your Life - Favorite Beauty Products

6.  Show Us Your Life - Christmas Cards

5.  Kenny Chesney

4.  Show Us Your Life - Front Porches/Patios

3.  I Love You Forever

2.  Orange County Choppers

1.  Christopher Robin

Was you favorite on there?

Randomness...

I've got tons of Christmas orders (and before!) to share with you all.  I've got a few here and there that don't really fit in with any others to create a complete blog post.  Here's one of those "random" posts to get a few of those painting out there!  

How about something for you Alabama fans?  I personally am ready for all of this bowl nonsense to be over.  I've had my fill of football for the year!

This little 6x9 design has been very popular, especially on etsy.  I actually painted it several times, but am just sharing one.  They all looked exactly the same!

This 10x10 was ordered as a Christmas gift.  It's perfect for all of you dog lovers.  I am a cat person!

Here's some pretty pink paisleys on a lavender background.  This 10x10 is so sweet for a little girl's room.  I love the name over the initial.

Finally, a 4x12 canvas for a lake house.  The distressing and burlap ribbon add to the rustic look and make it the perfect fit for the lake.  I love this size and these colors...I might need one of these for my entryway!

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!

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!