Nothin' But Love

These 11x14 song lyric canvases have become very popular.  I can see why - aren't they just the sweetest things?

They are perfect hanging with a collage of wedding photos.  They are also great for the husband (or wife's!) office.  They can also be done in any color combination.

I can do other songs - the lyrics just can't be too long.  I also love painting special Bible verses.  This one has always been one of my personal favorites.  It turned out beautifully for this couple's anniversary.

The Sparkmans

I do snowmen families a lot this time of the year.  This design is a little different from the one that I normally do.  I love it on the round canvas!

Also, all of the snowmen are in shades of gray.  This was done on purpose to match a snowman figurine that Katherine Sparkman already had.  She wanted me to use that as inspiration for her family's piece.

I know it is hard to tell, but there is a coating of teal glitter in the sky.  The whole thing really just sparkles!  Perfect for winter!

Families

I've been doing lots of really pretty family canvases lately.  I used to do the last name in print all of the time.  Now I just love it in cursive!  It's funny how your taste changes over time.   Francesca Hale ordered this one as a wedding gift and wanted the colors of purple and silver.  I was worried it wouldn't show up on the black, but it looks great!

This one was ordered a while back and I've been saving it to share with these others in one big post.  The gray and aqua color combination is one of my all time favorites and they just pop on the white background.

Below if the black, khaki, and white color scheme that is just like the original that I did several years ago.  I guess it never goes out of style!  Joy Tubb ordered this one for her son who is getting married next year.

Here's a picture of my family from our Christmas card session last month.  Every time I look at it I am amazed by how much my children have grown.  I know I say that every year, but it is one hundred percent true!  

We've had a recent tragedy in our hometown and four teenagers lost their lives in a car wreck.  My heart goes out to their mothers and fathers.  Every parent should have the privilege and honor of seeing their children grow.  Instead of being sad when I see my babies not look so much like babies, I will just be happy, content, and ever thankful.

Recently...

Things are always busy for everyone, but it seems like things have been busier than usual.  School is crazy.  Lauren has started playing basketball, dances, and was in a pageant.  She didn't win anything, but she is gorgeous inside and out.  I love this picture of her!  Carter's basketball games and practices are keeping us on the road, too.

My mother had rotator cuff surgery.  She did really well and is recovering.  All four of us in the Mansfield house have had some kind of sickness.  Carter is just getting over the flu right now.  With some of my home time, I took on a project that had been sitting in my garage for a while.  This is my paint chest that was just plain wood.  I bought the little dresser for $45.  It was a different color of wood.

I painted them both cream, distressed them with sandpaper, and used a light brown wax.  I also replaced the brass drawer pull on the dresser with some colorful porcelain ones from World Market.  It not sits in my office and holds all of my art supplies.  I love it!

I've gotten most of my previous orders completed so I can focus on getting all of those Christmas ornament canvases started.  If you ordered one, they will all be finished and delivered by December 18 as promised.

If you are still wanting to place a Christmas order of any type, please get them in by December 5.  Thanks so much!!

Back To Reality...

We've been thoroughly enjoying our fall break!  It's so nice to have the week off with the kids.  We have gone to Perdido Key, Florida for the past few years and love it.  It's a really small town and there's nothing to do but go to the beach and relax.  Just what the doctor ordered!

I have a few paintings that I just haven't gotten around to sharing.  This one was shipped out a few weeks ago to one of my favorite customers!  I remember this song.  She asked for neutrals with a touch of crimson.  I think it turned out really pretty.

The masterpiece painting is the matching one to a sister piece that I did a long time ago.  I think it's sweet that little brother wanted one, too!

This zebra and hot pink print is a teacher canvas that went all the way to Texas!

This orange, white, and light blue canvas was ordered by a teacher friend for her niece's birthday.  She the ultimate Tennessee Vols fan!  I think the chevron background with the circle center is so cute!

While I am home from Florida, I am preparing for Pumpkinfest.  It is this coming Saturday!!!  That's soon and I've got a ton to do.  I'll be taking orders again on October 27.  Be getting those holiday lists ready!

Fair Week!

It's fair week here in Warren County, Tennessee!  I have to confess that I am not a really big fair person.  I'll go and see the kids' art entries, eat a yummy cheeseburger and a candy apple, and go to Lauren's pageant.  That's about it.  However, it is a huge event in this town!

Lauren was in the Little Miss Fairest of the Fair pageant.  She did so good and made the Top Ten.

My sister, Emily, came in from Franklin to do her makeup and help us get ready.  It's nice having a pageant pro in the family!

Carter hung around for a little while.  It didn't take long for him to find some friends to run around with!  He's qualified for several of the Fair Day sports events.  That's going to be fun to go watch!

My princess!  I'm so proud of her!

Today we are post pageant chillin'!

The Cabbage Patch

Lauren got a Cabbage Patch Kid for her birthday back in February.  She loves dolls and has a Bitty Baby that has always been a favorite.  She has gotten really attached to Belle Erica, her Asian Cabbage Patch Baby.  Over the summer I was looking for safe website for her to play games on, and we came across the Cabbage Patch site.  

It did have some cute stuff to do, but she was fascinated with the Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia.  We promised to take her over the summer and just got too busy.  We had a Marriot coupon for a free night that expired soon, so we decided to take off on the four hour drive after school last Friday.

Babyland General is no where near an interstate.  You exit just past Chattanooga and the rest of the way is winding little backroads.  Cleveland is a very small town.  We ate lunch at the little pharmacy/diner on the town square.  However, everyone was very nice and the actual hospital is a neat place.  If you love Cabbage Patch dolls, then this is the place to go!

Lauren had to sign "official" adoption papers and take a pledge to be a good mommy.  

Here she is in the patch.  She chose the baby right beside her with blond hair, green eyes, and the pink striped pajamas.  It was neat to walk through the patch and choose the perfect baby!

The "doctor" tells the story of the cabbage patch and how the babies grow and wait to be adopted.  It was fantasy and fun...you definitely had to use your imagination!

 

She was so happy to bring little Mary Jane home!  Carter decided that this trip was not for him and stayed home with the grandparents.  It was really nice to have some special daughter time, and I think she enjoyed being the only child for a little while!

Random...But Cute!

I've got a few canvases that I've done this summer that I've been waiting to post thinking that I'll do some others sort of like them for a theme post.  It hasn't worked out so far!  The result is one of those random posts that gets them all in at once!

This 11x14 aunt canvas is the quote that I do quite often for aunts.  This one is different because of the background.  Instead of a neutral animal print or just plain yellow, this one has yellow on yellow chevron - love it!

My fellow teacher, Caleb Shehane, and his wife, Heather, have built a beautiful new house.  Like my house, the back door enters through the laundry room.  Heather wanted a sign to hang back there to politely let guests know to use the front door.  I really like the colors she chose and the twine for hanging.

The 11x14 pineapple canvas is another popular design with just a little change.  This one has the "please remove your shoes" under the welcome.

I'm spending a lot of time this week getting ready to go back to school.  I was thinking about how fast my summer has gone by.  I was looking back through our pictures and realized that these were taken on the first day of summer vacation back at the end of May.  It seems like forever ago that we took that little day trip to Chattanooga!

Funny how time works.  However long it was or seemed to be, I've enjoyed it and I needed it.  Even though I am a little sad that it is almost over, I am ready to get back to work, plan my science lessons, and love a whole new group of kiddos!

Family Reunion

These two canvases were ordered by a friend, Ashley Wright, to give to some family members that came into town for a family reunion.  I thought that was such a sweet idea!  They have something to take back home with them as a reminder of the time with their relatives.

These are both 8x16's - a little shorter than my usual 8x24.  Ashley requested that one be done in an olive green with earth tones and the other in UT orange with an accent color of my choice.  I went with the light blue.

I did one in print and other in cursive.  I don't usually highlight my background letters but gave it a try this time.  I am so happy with how they both turned out!

Thank you, Ashley!!

Cincinnati Love

It seems like we always travel to the southeast for vacations even when we are not going to the beach.  We go to Florida tons, but we've also been to Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and even a road trip up the coast to Maryland.

We are going to the beach for fall break so we decided to try something new.  We went in the opposite direction and ended up in Ohio.  It was something different and we really had a good time!  After a stop at the bat factory in Louisville, Kentucky, we headed to the Great Wolf Lodge just outside of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio.

It was a really neat place that had one of those HUGE indoor water parks, outdoor pools, bowling alley, arcade, several restaurants, and mini golf.  Lauren even made a special treat visit to the Scoops Spa!  Here she is participating in the one of the pool side children's activities.

Carter loved the pools and they had a wide variety of things to do.  I liked that I could set up camp in a nice lawn chair and just let them check in every once in a while.  The room was super cute and kids had their own little area with bunk beds!

The Great Wolf Lodge is right next to King's Island amusement park.  I didn't take my camera with me because we like to ride all of the roller coasters!  It was a big park with lots of different types of rides so everyone was happy.

On our final day, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.  It is one of the biggest zoos that I've ever visited.  They had the little birds that drink nectar out of your hand.  I love those!  They had a great cheetah show where you actually got to see them run rather than just lying around.

There were tons of unusual animals.  I loved the night hunters exhibit and the river otters.  they also had the huge fruit bats that were just out in the open - awesome!  The kids liked all of the crazy monkeys.

There was also several cool play areas.  They hung out on the giant spider webs for a while!

Mike also took Carter to a Cincinnati Reds game while Lauren and I rested in the hotel so I don't have any pictures from that either.  They do have a brand new stadium that is so nice.

It was fun to do something new and see a different part of the United States.  I'm still looking forward to heading to the beach in October!

Faithe

This promise from the parents to the child is one of the sweetest and most important things that I paint.  I am blessed enough to be able to paint it over and over again.  Children need all of these things, and they need to hear it.  What better way to remind them, and yourself, of the promises you make to them.

More Weddings

I told you I'd been painting a lot for weddings lately!  I wasn't kidding...here's a few more!  Here's a really pretty set of wedding song lyrics.  This one is a little different because of it's square size and that it has the hand stamping all in the background.

This is a large 16x20 size.  I love the huge initial in the background with the couples' name over the top.  It's very simple and clean.  They gave me the ribbon to use on the top and to match the colors.

Here's a couple of the established canvases.  This one features some really pretty earth tones with just a hint of red.  I also like the swirls in the background.

This one is a little plainer, but still just as beautiful.  If features a truly earth tone palette with the cream, khaki, and chocolate brown all topped off with a chocolate satin ribbon.

Here's my favorite verse for any couple, new or old!

 

I thought this was a great idea for a wedding...a thumbprint tree!  I left it unsealed so guests could put their thumbprints as the leaves when they signed in.  What a fabulous keepsake for the bride and groom!