Life's A Party!

Life is a party if that's how you look at it.  This has been one of my busiest weeks ever with one thing popping up after another.  I've been expected to be in more that one place at a time.  As a teacher, I am also expected to always have a smile on my face and a positive attitude.  I have to admit that I've had to enlist the help of my husband, my sisters, and my mom to get it all done.  There were also some things that just didn't get done.  I've had to let that go!  There are mornings when I've had to sit in the car for just a minute and ask God to give me what I need to be what my students need.

Today for us is pageant day.  I was worn out and slept in this morning.  When I got up, I found Lauren already practicing in the den.  I'm not stressing at all about this pageant like I usually do.  She's beautiful and happy and we're just going to have fun with it!  Her daddy is taking her to dinner and a play this evening for their father/daughter date night.  No matter what happens at the pageant, today is going to be a party!

Even with all of this going on,  I still wanted to make my daughter's birthday a special day.  I think it is important to celebrate the milestones, not just for the kids but for the adults as well.  We just had a family dinner at our house and it was so nice!  I got this frame at Kathy's here in town and my husband sent me these roses.  I've had my Degas statue for a very long time!

Our party had a French theme and was just so lovely!  I don't know how I threw a party before etsy.  I bought the frame from this shop and the miniature Eiffel Tower from this one.  My burlap table runners came from here and the "Bonne Fete" banner was made here.  My dad sent Lauren these flowers.  How sweet was that?

My two nephews were the only children there so I had Eiffel Tower crayons made here.  They were out on the silver tray with bags and ribbon so they could choose the colors they wanted.  I think some adults took a few, too!

This beautiful pink and black cake with an edible Eiffel Tower came from The Sweet Shop in Smithville.  The little ballerina cupcakes are from Wal-Mart and were leftovers from the ones we took to school.  I had not planned for them to match so well!

Here's the birthday girl looking so grown up.  When your busy life is a party, time flies!  I am going to make more of an effort to slow down and really enjoy it...starting with this nice long weekend!

Lauren

Happy birthday, Baby Girl!

We were a family of three until Valentine's Day eight years ago when a little girl came into our lives.  She made our family complete and we all fell in love with her immediately.

 

She's sassy and smart, girly-girl and athletic, compassionate and competitive - she's just all that.  Everything you could want in a daughter.

Now look at her...eight years old today.  I stare at her and I can't believe she's mine.  The best Valentine I've ever gotten.

Happy birthday, Lauren Elizabeth Mansfield!

Ransom

Lacey Jones ordered this set for her new son's nursery before he was born and before she shared the name.  I've had to keep this one a secret for a while!  It was hard because I love this set so much!  She asked for the larger canvas that I do all of the time, but added the two accent pieces.  Great idea!

She sent m a sample piece from her bedding so I could get the colors just right.  I wish I would have included it in the pictures so you could see how well it matches.  She used all of these pretty earth tones.

I know he's here because I saw all of those beautiful new baby photos on facebook!  He's an absolute doll.  Congratulations to the Jones family!

Show Us Your Life - DIY Projects

Hi there and welcome to Dream Custom Artwork!  Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner to show you some of my favorite DIY projects.  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.  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!

The Classics

The classics - a nice font, cream, khaki, black, brown, satin ribbon - they just never go out of style.  These canvases will look just as on trend ten years from now as they do right now.

There are those few designs that I just keep coming back to and painting over and over again.  The initial in the background, the polite remove your shoes sign, and a beautiful Bible verse are just a few of the classics.

They are perfect for any age in any situation - newlyweds or the 40th wedding anniversary, a brand new starter house or a retirement dream home.

 

I hope I never stop taking orders for these!  Thank you all so much for your business and repeat orders.  I love being a little part of your lives.

Smart Kids

Camille Brown wanted this Albert Einstein quote done in "poppy colors" for the kids' playroom.  I've seen this quote many times before, but this is the first time I've had the opportunity to paint it.  It's such a wonderful thought put into words by a brilliant man.

 

There are lots of times that I feel stupid.  I am not stupid, but we all do stupid things and we are sometimes put in situations where we are not totally confident in ourselves or our abilities.  We all have our weak and strong areas.  There are too many times when I focus too much on the weak and take the strong for granted.  Even though I think this is an awesome choice for a kids' area, how great would this be in the classroom?

Thank you so much for the order, Camille.  I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as I did!

Mrs. Feagley's Class

One of my very best customers, Mary Feagley, ordered this awesome set of rules for her classroom.  She asked for me to use the school colors - burgundy and white - and to include a paw print.  She also sent me a few custom rules to work into the painting.

I think it turned out so neat and will get lots of attention in the classroom!  Class rules are 8x24 and cost $30.00.  How great would this be for an end of the year teacher gift?  Thank you so much, Mary!