Caroline

Jennifer Brooks had a plain music stand that she had picked up along the way.  She wanted it custom painted for her daughter's room.  Caroline is really into music so this was a perfect gift for her.  I don't normally paint things that aren't on a canvas.  It's just too hard to store and I don't enjoy doing all of the prep work.

Jennifer agreed to sand it and paint it the solid cream color that she wanted if I would paint the designs to match her bedding.  Okay...I can do that!

I chose little elements from the beautiful bedding pictured below.  It's so pretty that the only hard part was what to use!  I love the little detailing around the bottom.

I continued the hot pink and gray swirls over the edge and onto the back just to give it interest all of the way around.

Here's the bedding from Pottery Barn Teen.  This beautifully patterned bedding with dark gray walls, cream trim, and, of course, the custom music stand will be so pretty!

Thank you, Jennifer!  I hope Caroline loved it!

Beautiful

Well, one day Lauren wants to be in Little Fairest of the Fair and the next day she doesn't.  I'm definitely on the fence about it, too, but we're practicing just in case!  She loves her new dress and so does Billie!

I love this sign for a new beauty salon here in town.  The pastel dots and the funky font were requests.  This will be so cute hanging on the door during spa time!

 

Finally, another pretty pink paisley canvas.  I love this design and it looks fabulous in any color combination.

"Beauty is whatever gives joy" - Edna St. Vincent Millay

School Days

I've been painting lots of teacher canvases this summer!  Now the time for back to school is here!  Today is registration day at my school.  I am looking forward to seeing all of the kids in my class again.  I think I'm going to love moving up from fifth to sixth grade along with them!
 I painted this one for Mrs. Bost at Dibrell Elementary School.  Their colors are gold and purple so she wanted those colors with some damask print.  I think this will look fabulous hanging outside her office!

Mrs. Erin asked for a colorful owl and her name.  That's it - she left the rest up to me!  I decided on a chocolate brown background with large white polka dots.  I did her name in print because she is a first grade teacher.  The dots on the ends are just made for school!

Here's a close up of that colorful owl.  I went with a palette of purples, blues, and greens.  I love that the wings are paisleys!

Here's my inspiration for the new owl design.  This is the fabric of my favorite nightgown.  It's true that inspiration comes form everywhere!  As soon as I got this order, this fabric swatch popped into my mind.  Enjoy and have a great school year, Mrs. Bost and Mrs. Erin!

Philippians 4:6

This verse and this design have become very popular.  That's okay...I'd paint it everyday if I could!  This is the first time I've done it on a smaller size.  This 8x10 was designed to sit on an easel on the kitchen counter.  That's my easel and it's not available!

I normally paint this one on a larger scale - 16x20.

Here it is in a slightly different color combination.  The background is the chocolate brown and the pale sage green has been traded out for khaki.  It looks really different, but I like it!

One more view...I love painting Bible verses and I am so happy that there are so many of you who want them displayed in your home.  Thank you all so much for your orders!

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!

Favorite Verses

Do you have a favorite Bible verse?  I certainly do.  I think we all have those special verses that we can quote, that we've read many times, that we turn to on good days and bad.

 

Camille Brown chose these two verses to give as gifts to a couple of special women in her life.  Not only do I love the colors combinations she chose, I love the verses, too.  It's wonderful to have a little reminder or inspiration when you need it most.

Thank you, Camille.  I hope they loved their gifts!

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!

Prayer

If there's one thing I need to do right now it's pray. My family is going through some pretty big changes and hitting some pretty big milestones. Nothing bad, just lots of decisions. I pray every night for help in making the right choices. It's hard to do it on your own and comforting to know that you don't have to.

We all know that worry is a wasted effort. Every time I feel like worrying, I say a little prayer instead. I think this is the perfect reminder to turn it all over to God. As simple as that sounds, it is really hard to do.
I hope this always brings you happiness, Tiffany! Thank you so much!

Paisley Family Canvas

Can you match the pillows on your couch? Sure! I happen to love those pillows!

I think this one turned out really pretty and is definitely on my new favorites list.

These paisleys are sooooo pretty! Trust me, there is a lot of detail in each one. These beautiful earth tones go with any decor any season.
What a perfect wedding gift!

One Cool Teacher!

I don't know Mrs. Dreher, but if she wants paisleys in these colors she must be one cool teacher! One of my very best customers, Rachel Harvey, ordered it for her. On top of the paisleys and the bright colors, she asked that it included some orange - her favorite color. I added the black because it is such a good accent for all of those bright shades.

Hard to believe, but I do not have a teacher canvas in my own classroom. I think I might have found my design!

It's Contest Day!

Today is my Tip Junkie featured giveaway day! Welcome all you Tip Junkie visitors (and all of my regulars, too!). I am thrilled to be giving away a $50.00 gift certificate. That's right...$50.00 worth of your choice of artwork. To enter, just visit Tip Junkie and leave a comment. She will choose the winner and let me know. Enter bunches! Best of luck to you all!

In honor of today's contest, I am posting what my last giveaway winner chose. Jessica in South Carolina won a $30.00 gift certificate and wanted paisleys in fall colors. I love paisley and I love earth tones...it was a match made in heaven! I really do like this one on my front door!

Paisley Monogram

The early Christmas shopping has begun! New customer Amanda Reed ordered this little 5x5 and was able to cross one name off her list. She wanted an "S" in browns and blues with paisley. I thought this one turned out really simple and sweet.

An Adventure and Some Paisley

I got my belated birthday present this past weekend! For my thirty-fifth birthday, I wanted to go zip lining. We just couldn't get away until after school was out. When we finally did get to go, it was so worth the wait!

I am thinking...

what did I...

get myself into?

That little speck? Yes, that's me!

It looks scarier than it really is. Actually, it really doesn't feel that high and you don't have time to look around. It's that initial jump. Like they say, "The first step is the hardest". It feels like flying and after a while you are letting go, going upside down, and trying to figure out ways to go faster. I highly recommend it!

Just because this is an art blog and I haven't posted any art for a while...here's some super cute paisley that's just perfect for summer. This one is for the Miss Tennessee silent auction gift basket. I love these hot summer colors with the black and white.

Pretty Paisley

This paisley monogram is just so pretty! When Rachel limited my color palette to brown, tan, and cream, I worried about it having enough "pop". It turned out prettier that I had ever imagined and I love the monochramatic look.

Best wishes to the Harvey family today who should be welcoming baby Weston anytime now. (That's his canvas on the new header!)

Kim Davis

Kim Davis at WCMS ordered herself a teacher canvas. She was very flexible on the design, but wanted browns and aquas. Those colors are so pretty together! I came up with the paisleys and the dotted border. I also chose this funky all lower case font for her name and topped it off with chocolate satin ribbon. It would be so cute just with "welcome" or a family name at the bottom for a front door as well.

I am a little backed up on orders and trying to get plenty of new things ready for the Autumn Street Fair on October 3rd...plus being a busy mom and teacher! I won't be taking any new orders until then. If you've given me a due date for a previous order, I will certainly have it done on time. If not, it will not be ready until after October 3rd. I hate to do that, but it is only a couple of weeks.
I have already contacted some of you about picking your order up at the street fair. I appreciate you letting me use yours as a sample and will see you there!

Bright and Cheery

Mike came through the studio and asked, "Is that one for Mrs. Tammy? It looks like her, bright and cheery." So true. I don't know anyone as bright and cheery as Mrs. Tammy. I hope she enjoys these fun paisleys in her new home.

12x24 - $40.00