More Zebra

Kristin Green ordered this 8x10 for her niece who has recently redone her room in hot pink and zebra. She wanted done in the same design as the one I recently did for Caroline, but with the zebra instead of swirls.

I think it turned out really pretty. I haven't found a color yet that doesn't go with zebra!

Weston's Nursery

Baby Weston has a Dream Custom Artwork nursery! His mom, Rachel, sent me these photos and I just had to share them. This girl knows how to decorate a room. I love the paint job - those stripes are gorgeous!

Here's the "Where the Wild Things Are" 12x24 canvas that I posted a while back. I love it centeres over the two smaller pictures. Also notice that the "Weston" canvas from my header is on the outside of the door.

Do you see the little trio of 5x5 animals?

Here is an 8x24 favorite quote above the door.

One more...see the little tiger above the closet door? That's me! Look at that monogram centered over his crib - adorable!

Thank you, Rachel, for sending these to me. Everything looks fabulous!

Monkey Business

I haven't done any monkeys for a long time and then I had two orders in one week. Monkeys are always so fun to paint with those expressive little faces and bodies. This 12x24 was designed for new customer Janet Davis. She sent me a photo of the shower curtain in her children's bathroom. She wanted it to match with a few special touches.

A blue pacifier for little Cason...

...and a pink bow for the girl in the family, Jalynn. Caden gets a banana!

Susan Nokes wanted a monkey for her nephew, Gage. She told me that he loves everything monkey! I love the cream, tan, and chocolate brown with all of the shades of green.

Sweet and Simple

So sweet and simple for a new baby girl. Rachel Graves ordered this 11x14 for her niece, Anna. She wanted the background in the green on the burp cloth, polka dots in the lavender, and the name in the deep purple.

I love this font and it works so well with this beautiful name. Thank you, Rachel!

March Madness

You all know it's that time of the year for me...March Madness! It seems like March is always a crazy month. It's the weather, our anniversary, time for TCAP prep, Easter, and let's not even mention basketball.

While I am still kind of a newbie at this sports stuff, I do have my favorite teams and Vandy is one of them. The Wright's are die hard Vanderbilt fans. Their daughter-in-law, Ashley, ordered this team color canvas. Love it!

Many of you already know and have been asking about our trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Yes, we are going and yes, we are excited! We've been to different rounds over the past few years, usually whatever is in driving distance. There really wasn't anything closer than St. Louis, so we decided to try for the big dance.

We put our names in a lottery about a year ago and were drawn out. You have to plan ahead for these things! We are wwaaayyy up on the third deck - yikes! - but we're really just going for the experience. I don't really have any advice for you all for next year because they are changing the system. We are already planning on going to Charlotte and will be feeling our way through like everyone else.

Now let's all keep our fingers crossed that Tennessee at least makes it to Indy. I love that Bruce Pearl!

Hudson

My wonderful new customer, Kristi Slatton, ordered this 12x24 canvas as a baby gift. She sent me these photos of his bedding to match. I wanted to keep it simple and masculine. I love the font I chose and the fact that it is all lower case.

Thank you, Kristi, for the order and for them email letting me know that you loved it!

You all have a great day! I hear it's supposed to be a little warmer and sunnier. thank goodness!

Summer Lovin'

These recent canvas orders sure do get me in the mood for summer! It's hard with the weather like it is today, but these bright colors do the trick. The top one is a 10x10 wedding gift heading to Lebanon, TN. I only used shades of greens, blues, and aquas.

This 8x24 is off to Monica in Kentucky. I used the same lime green and aqua as in the one above, but Monica wanted her favorite color, orange, and some hot pink added in. This is also the same design that I did in pastels for spring and warm tones for fall.

Please tell me that some warm, sunny weather is headed our way!

For Haley...

New customer Haley Kuhn is getting married this spring. She wanted something with her new last name and established date for her home. She wanted black, white, gray, and a "touch of red". She also requested something young and fun. I came up with the above design just for her. Thank you, Haley, for letting me know that you loved it!

Haley also asked for this 10x10 canvas in her wedding colors for the favor table during the reception. I always love getting to be a tiny part of weddings!

Fire Engine Chic

Okay - no matter what I did this gorgeous fire engine red photographed more as hot pink. Oh, well! This is sort of a sneak peek for Tanya Jones. She is picking it up this afternoon. She ordered a 10x10 canvas as a baby shower gift for a friend.

The room is in a fire station theme with red and blue and dalmations. I decided to do a dalmation spot border with red on the inside. I also tried out a new font. I was looking for something more masculine since it is for a boy. I love all of the little white accents on the black letters.

The Yo-Yo Girls

I love, love, love this one! These are my colors and my favorite font, but its not just that. It's the story that goes along with it. Robin Bell ordered this sign for her mother, Kay Foster. Kay has a closeknit group of girlfriend who call themselves "The Yo-Yo's". They meet from time to time, go on trips together, and just are there for each other in good times and bad.

The place where they meet is called the Yo-Yo House. Robin thought they needed a sign for their door and I completely agree. I think it is wonderful that they do this. We all need our girlfriends!

Thank you, Robin and Kay, for letting me be a small part of the Yo-Yo's!

100 Stars Project

For Lauren's 100th day of school each child had to bring in a "100 project". Lauren loves to cut (as you all know, that includes hair!) so we decided to cut out one hundred stars. That sounds like a good idea. Actually, my hands were hurting and I thought I was done and counted. I only had 44. Plus, all of the the scrap paper is a mess!

Once we got the cutting part done, we used a 16x20 canvas and modge podge to create our 100 stars artwork. Of course I had to supervise, but Lauren was able to do a lot of the work.

After all of the modge podge completely dried, we numbered each star. Then I sprayed the whole thing with a coat of glitter and clear spray sealant. Those stars aren't going anywhere!

Here she is just before bedtime getting one more count in. She loved her project, was proud that she did it "all by herself", and counted them over and over again. We ended up giving the canvas to Mrs. Tina to hang in her classroom.

Pretty Polka Dots

Gwen McCormack ordered pretty polka dots for her daughter and as a birthday gift for a friend. She requested all of these "Springy" colors! They were so fun to paint. Both of these are 10x10's. Thanks so much, Gwen! I was so glad to hear that the girls loved them.

Thirteen Years

Has it really been that long? Yes, it has. Sometimes it seems like the blink of an eye and others I can't remember my life before him.

Here's a couple of casual wedding pictures I came across this week. Remember these were actual printed pictures before the days of digital cameras! No enhancing here! Emily is going to kill me, but look how young she was. That really puts the thirteen years in perspective.

I love these pictures from our showers. Mike's school had a "tool" shower for him. I had a girl's night at Pish-La-Ki...do you all remember that place? Our church also had a big shower for us. I look like I am loving that food table. I remember how glamorous I thought that dress was.

What's he so nervous about? Didn't he know how well things would turn out? How we would have our ups and downs, but always, always, always forgive and forget and love each other? Didn't he see our two beautiful children?

I don't think I did, either.

A New Twist...

...on an old favorite. The family canvases are the old favorite, but when Hailey Kuhn asked for one on a 10x10 canvas instead of the regular 8x24, I had to do some redesigning. She wanted turquoise and chocolate brown. I love that color combination and never thought about it for my house. When I put it on my hall table for the picture, I liked the way it picked up a bit of turquoise in my flower painting. I guess I'll be needing one of these!

The "K" initial in the background in brown on brown - a new favorite technique if you haven't noticed! I did the established date under the family name instead of over the top in turquoise. The wide satin ribbon is just the perfect finishing touch.

Khloe Reese

Stacy Campbell of Dunn, North Carolina ordered this very feminine 12x24 canvas as a baby shower gift for a friend. It is designed to match some lady bug bedding, but Stacy only wanted the first and middle name. She also requested this font.

I used the shades of pink from the bedding and picked up the dots from the lady bugs. I like this because it can be used in the nursery now, but if she changes themes, it still will go with lots of other decor. It looks adorable for a baby, but will be perfect for a big girl, too!

The outside is bubblegum pink on pink small dots and the inside is white on white large dots. The lettering is in a dark fuschia. It all looks so pretty with the blended white highlights.

Cupcake

My school is having a "Sweet Silent Auction" tonight in conjunction with the chili supper and talent show fundraiser. I haven't had time to bake anything - much less a "sweet" - but I did find time to paint one!

This is my donation complete with large green on green polka dots in the background, rhinestone sprinkles, and three strands of shimmery ribbon. It is just so cute! I hope it gets a big bid!

A Few More...

Here's just a few more family canvases that have been recently completed. The top one is in chocolate brown with khaki and cream lettering. Very pretty.

Here is the original black with khaki and white. I think it still might be my favorite color combination!

This one was an anniversary gift for Tyree and Joyce Smith. She chose burgundy with gold and black.

Lauren is feeling a little better. Her fever broke, but she is still not keeping anything down. Mike is home with her today. Thank you all for your concern!

Multitasking

It seems like I am always doing more than one thing at a time. After getting this quote from Cheryl Hyland, I've decided to try to focus more and "engage fully" in what I am doing...one thing at a time. Cheryl is a wedding coordinator in Chattanooga and wanted this for her office to help keep that in mind as well.

She wanted a mustard background with pewter print lettering. I added tone on tone fleur-de-lis for texture and interest. I think this one turned out so pretty and I love the message. Thank you, Cheryl!

I am at home with a sick baby today. Apparently there is a 24 hour stomach thing going around at the preschool. I guess that is my one thing to focus on for today!

Family Canvases

Family canvases are some of my favorite ones to do. That's a good thing because I do a lot of them! Long names, short names, early dates, recent dates, and a wide variety of color combinations...I get all kinds. However, each one is special because it represents a family and that is something to be treasured.