Golden Weekend

It has been a busy weekend. I can't believe it is already Sunday afternoon. Why doesn't the work week go by this fast? We went out to eat Friday night and enjoyed some family time. Saturday was indoor soccer and I had to get some canvas orders filled.
I love this warm welcome sign. The two tones of gold and the brown are so pretty paired with the printed ribbon.

Saturday night was a big night for us. The students who met the fourth six weeks reading challenge were honored as the ball boys and ball girls for the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. They got to sit right under the basketball goal and get a close up look and the action.

Here they are in action! I am so proud of all of my readers. Thank you so much to Mike, Ginger, Mark, Ruthie, and Carol for driving. Thank you also to those wonderful parents who help their children read. I know I need to make more time for this with my own children. It's not always easy!

Finally, I was running errands after soccer in town on Saturday and tried the Roller's BBQ Wagon for a quick lunch. I've made no secret of my love for their food. I wait each year for the Autumn Street fair highlight of BBQ nachos. They had them! Yes, I ate the whole thing. Scraped the bowl clean.
If I am ever on death row and I get to choose my last meal...this is it. That's all I'm saying!
Have a great week!

Nursery Capital Pageants

If you are interested in pageants, then here is one for all ages! This one is special to me because my sister, Emily, is the current Miss Country Sunshine and this is helping her make it to Miss Tennessee in June.
I never realized how much hard work goes into being in Miss Tennessee. It is amazing! I want to do all I can to support her! I plan to be there to help and donate prizes. If you would like to support her as well, contact information is at the bottom of this post.
Thank you!

Deadline is Monday for Nursery Capital Pageants!
The Nursery Capital Pageants are March 6th, 2010 at Hickory Creek Elementary
School Gymnasium, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Baby Miss/Mister Nursery Capital (Girls/Boys ages 6 months to 23
months~divided in two age groups)
Tiny Miss/Mister Nursery Capital (Girls/Boys ages 2-4)
Little Miss Nursery Capital (Girls ages 5-8)
Preteen Miss Nursery Capital (Girls ages 9-12)
Teen Miss Nursery Capital (Girls ages 13-16)
Miss Nursery Capital (Girls ages 17-24)

The entry fee to enter the Miss Nursery Capital Pageant is $30.00, and includes
publication in the Southern Standard Newspaper. There are no talent or swimsuit
categories. Contestants are judges on beauty, poise and personality, with the
Teen and Miss answering an on-stage question.

The winner of "Teen Miss" and "Miss" will receive a free professional photo shoot
from John Casablanca’s Modeling and Career Center along with a consultation
from National Talent Scout Sherry Rhine-Padilla and of course a crown and lots
of other great prizes!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contract Rob Farr at
refarr@blomand.net or Emily Hobbs at emh3k@mtsu.edu

You can apply online or print an application at www.misscountrysunshine.org

Winning Ways

Here are a couple of motivational quotes custom ordered to coordinate with the home decor. The details in the faint fleur-de-lis and the stitched border make these special.

I especially like the second one. Even though I am usually a very positive person, it is easy for negative thinking or one little set back to get me down. Thinking, knowing you can do something is half the battle!
Right now I am having a hard time getting back on my exercise schedule. All of the snow and cold weather got me out of my routine and now I can't get it back. Think positive!

Brothers and Sisters

My "bestest" childhood friend has moved back to McMinnville after a two year stay in Ohio. I am so happy! I love seeing her children play with my children. It's like everything has come full circle.

Allison Stiles wanted something special for her children's rooms. They are staying in an adorable little home while their dream home is being built. The girls are sharing a room, so she wanted them to match. They also match the stripes on their bedding.

I love those colors! Can't you just see those for a pretty Easter or spring monogram or welcome sign? Hmmm....

Bryson has a room of his own. He got the boy version of the same striped pattern.
Welcome back, Stiles family! I'm so glad you're home!

Little Signs

Remember the four wooden pastel signs? Here's how they turned out! Tenara King wanted the lavender one with a simple "welcome" and a few little daisies for her door. Ashley Newport wanted her last name and wedding date on the mint green one for her back door. Erika Todd got the pale yellow one with blue, white, and brown polka dots for her sweet daughter's room.

If this gave you any ideas, the pink one is still available! Claim it and customize it before I paint it for Easter...only $10.00.

Open For Business

I just finished this sign for the Red Door Salon. Bethany wanted a tin sign that could be hung outdoors on a wire mannequin. One side needed to say "open" and she wanted to be able to flip it over for when they went to lunch. What a great idea!

I found a tin sign at Hobby Lobby that had a neutral pattern on the front. I sanded the slick finish off so the paint would stick, taped off a small border and went to work. The back side of the sign was plain brown. I know they are using animal prints in the salon, so I gave them a neutral giraffe patterned background.

I sprayed with three coats of clear polyurethane since it is going to be fully exposed to the elements. I really like how it turned out! I drive by the Red Door every morning and afternoon on my way to and from work...it makes me smile to see it out there!

It's A Blizzard!

A blizzard of savings that is! In the midst of all this sunshine and warmth, Et Cetera has all of my snowmen on sale. Go by and get one before they all melt away on March 1st!

p.s. That is when all of my new spring and Easter designs appear!

My Little Princess

The pageant is over and my girl didn't win anything...but she had a great time! It was such a nice, well run pageant and everyone went out of their way to make each girl feel special. You know she wore that tiara to La Cazona!
In all the excitement, I did not get a good picture of her in her dress! I'm terrible! I am hoping that my mom or sisters managed to get a good one. That blurry picture is awful but I really wanted you all to see the dress we finally chose. I love that blue!
























A big congratulations to Mallory Shelton, Elena Holder, Hailey Woods, and all of the other winners. Thank you to Susan, Caroline, Shawna, and all of the other wonderful volunteers. We had a very special night!

Dress Shopping

It's that time of the year...pageant time! My little girl loves all things pageants from trying on dresses to hot rolling hair. I think it is a lot of fuss and muss for the ten minutes they actually spend on stage, but she enjoys it and I like spending time with her.




















We went with Emily on a dress shopping adventure. This is only her second pageant and the first time around we bought a lovely used dress. After I got over the sticker shock, we had fun and she never tired of trying them on and twirling around.
















Which one did we end up going with? It's not even pictured. I'm saving it for a surprise!
The Snow Princess Pageant is tomorrow night. I am so glad to know that every little princess gets a tiara and that all of the proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Good luck to you all!

For Music Lovers

I am so happy to announce that I now have artwork available at Highland Rim Music. Carol Neal has added an "Artisan Room" in their store and asked me to participate. It sounds like she has some really pretty things in there for sale. I want to go see the pottery!
I did four music themed canvases in a variety of sizes and color palettes. They make wonderful gifts for yourself or for the music lover in your family. All of these are immediately available at Highland Rim Music at their new location on North Chancery Street right beside Bobby Ray Elementary. Please contact me if you would like a custom order.

Lots of Dots

Polka dots never go out of style. They are so cute in just about any color combination. The top one was a Christmas gift for Ms. Tammy at Tammy's Little Tykes from little Lake Sadlon. There is a special message from Lake to Ms. Tammy in one of dots on the side.

Another Christmas gift, this time from mom to daughter. I love these colors on the black background. Marcy tells me that Jailyn loved it. Thank you!

This one in pioneer red, white, and blue is a birthday gift for assistant principal Kristie Rogers for the Wanamaker family. I hope it looks great on her office door!

Sangria and Kiwi

Sangria and kiwi sounds like some kind of exotic fruity drink but it is really the colors chosen for this 12x24 canvas. They are the wedding colors as this canvas was used on the registry table. I love that idea!

What cool wedding colors! Brides today have so many more choices. Back in my day it was all white, silver, cream, pink, powder blue, and maybe if you went really crazy, a little navy or black. I am sure this was a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Inn at Harvest Farms. Thank you for the order, Angela!

Warm Monogram

A warm monogram for a cold day. Mitzi Ramsey ordered this beautiful 8x24 M monogram for her front door. She requested warm tones of reds, browns, and golds and her favorite font.
I love this one!

Sweet Nothings

Here are a couple of sweet nothings...

I love giving and getting surprises. I gave these little Valentine surprise sweeties away this year. This one went to the Kirby family. They lost everything recently in a home fire. I just can't even imagine what they must be going through. I know they are moving into a temporary house and thought something personalized might make it feel more like a home.

This one went to Miss Cathy Smith. Cathy is my building's janitor at school and she is awesome. She works so hard and keeps every single thing shiny and good smelling - which is no small feat in an elementary school. She is still there cleaning every afternoon when I turn out my light and leave. Thank you.

My family got more of a display of affection rather than an item for Valentine's day. While Mike and I did exchange gifts, the kids have boxes and boxes of stuff from school and grandparents. I simply made their pancakes heart shaped instead of the regular circle kind.

I hope you all had a special Valentine's Day as well!

Shiloh

I love, love, love this design! I don't know why it appeals to me so much. Maybe it is the serene colors or the tone on tone dots or that cute font!

The bedding it is custom designed to match is pictured below. How cute will this one be hanging in that room?

Thank you, Tiffany, for the order. I hope the gift was enjoyed!

Hoo's Getting a Surprise?

Well, I guess it's not really a surprise since she is the one who asked me to participate! Kelly Roberts and I are exchanging artist's trading cards. She came up with this idea and I think it is just wonderful. This is the one I designed for her. I can't wait to see the one she did for me! If you would like to trade with me, just leave a comment or send an email. It's fun! For more information, visit Kelly's blog.
The cards can be done in any media, so naturally acrylics came to mind for me. But since today is a snow day and I have a little time, I decided to blow the dust off the ol' watercolor set and have some fun. Watercolors are so neat because they look all dry and crusty, but when you add a drop of water they spring to life. I sketched the owl in pencil based on a rubber stamp I have. Then I went over the pencil with a pigment liner that won't run or spread when painted over with water.
I had a great time getting my creative juices flowing with a media that I haven't used in a long time. It felt like visiting an old friend. Thank you, Kelly, for the opportunity. I hope you enjoy your owl.

Something New

This 8x24 design gives the family established canvases a new look. Kandice Patrick found a picture of something similar and wanted it tweaked a little to fit her tastes. I like the colors she chose and love the pattern around the edge.

I also like the way the date is at the bottom instead of over the top. She chose to have her and her husband's names over the top in red. Very pretty!

Team Spirit

A little team spirit for the Washington State University graduates. Jessica Stafford wanted something in the school colors of gray, crimson, and white with cute polka dots and paisleys. I think this is just right! Enjoy, Jessica, and thank you!

Mealtime Prayer

Rachel Harvey ordered this khaki 16x20 canvas with white lettering for her dining room. As I was painting it, I kept thinking about how lucky we are to have an abundance of food. My worry is always that I've eaten too much, never not enough. How would that feel? Thank you, Lord, for providing food and for giving me the security of not knowing what real hunger is like.

I did some tone-on-tone stenciling for the background. In some areas it it fairly dark and in others barely visible. My goal was to give it an antique or worn feel without taking away from the words.

Father/Daughter Date Night

Mike and Lauren attended the Father/Daughter Date Night last night and had a ball. They went last year for the first time and Lauren has been talking about it ever since. She loves everything about it...the dress, the pictures, the pecan pie, and especially the dancing!

































I snapped a few shots of my sweethearts just before they left.
So what did Carter and I do on our mother/son date night? We had plans to go bowling with friends, but I've got an awful head cold and just didn't feel up to it. We went to get take out and a RedBox movie, stayed in our pajamas, and snuggled in under the electric blanket. I asked Carter if he was disappointed that our night didn't turn out as planned. He told me it was the best date night ever. I guess that is another difference between boys and girls!

Thank you, Mike, for being such a wonderful father and making our little girl feel special. Happy birthday to my father and another great dad in our family, my brother-in-law, Adam.