Recent Customs

 I wanted to share some custom pieces that I've created recently for clients.  Some sweet friends of ours who we met in birthing class had twin boys a few months ago!  Their daughter was born about a month before T-man, and we were excited to celebrate their new additions!

These are 2x4 foot canvases, and I just love how they turned out!  My favorite part was that the names were entrusted to me before the boys were born! I was sworn to secrecy, and kept my lips sealed!

 This next mural was for a friend of a friend!  I fell in love with this nursery the moment I walked in!!! The beautiful lilac color was so calming and gorgeous!  Once again, since we were doing a monogram, I was entrusted with the name of this little one!!!  Now that she's here, I know sweet Nora must love her gorgeous room!

And, this is Winter's nursery!  Again, this was a friend of a friend, and her nursery totally fit this couple!!! I have gotten so many compliments on this adorable little tree, and the coordinating pink furniture!!! 

I had to hold on to a lot of these photos until the babies were born, but now that they're all here, I wanted to share!!!  Hope you enjoy!

Happi Tree

A few weeks ago I got to paint a mural for Melissa's little girl, Winter!  Their nursery was almost all set, and after the tree was up, they were ready to welcome her into the room!

 They chose the Dena Happi Tree bedding, which is absolutely adorable!!! To top everything off, the crib and dresser/changing table was a gorgeous shade of pink!!!

 I instantly fell in love with their style the moment that I walked in!  I think it helps that I love all things baby, but doing murals and customized canvases for families is one of my favorite things!

 I just loved how the room turned out!!!

Watch them grow!

 My nephew, Pax, turned 1 at the beginning of the month! We were so excited to go to his party and watch him scarf down his cake and play with all of his toys!

Since Kendall and I share a love for adorable little robots, I knew the perfect design for Pax's growth chart!

 I had so much fun painting it, and knew Kendall would love having it hang in his room one day.  I must say, it's probably my most favorite growth chart so far!!!

Happy Birthday, Pax!  We love you so much, and may just steal you and keep you at our house!

Custom Canvases

 We just got back from Louisiana, but with the business of the holidays, I haven't had a chance to show you some of my custom orders!!!

The Jolliffs are dear friends of ours who are leaving for the mission field.  Elizabeth wanted something for the boy's room (they have 3!)  Sam loves camo and he and Andrew love to be outdoors.  The stripes just matched their bedding.  This is one of my favorite canvases since I haven't done many boy's rooms...except T's ;)

 We had also seen this one on Pinterest, and she had to have it!!!  I will be so sad to not see those little faces anymore!  We'll miss you, Jolliffs!

 My friend, Erica's, mom is the one who invited me to participate in the recent art show that I did.  While we were there, she ordered a custom canvas for Eva's room!  You can see her adorable little face in the lower right hand corner!  She's an absolute doll, and Erica said she loved the art!

 I also got this custom order at the same fair.  I was pretty pumped to do this one, and had a great time with all of the John Deer paraphernalia.  I actually went in to our local John Deer store, obviously looking out of place, and asking, "Do y'all have any, like, catalogs that I could have?!" in what probably sounded to them like a Valley girl accent.  Luckily, there were some sweet guys behind the counter who were more than willing to help me, but with a slight snicker under their breath :/ I should have wore my work clothes in there :) 

Enjoy!

Flowers and Football

 Quite a combo, right?!  Not if you live with Ava and Landon!!!  My friend, Katie, from high school is an extremely talented photographer, and a wonderful mother to 2, almost 3, of the most adorable kids ever!!!

Ava is going to be sharing her room with her new little sister, Haddie, in just a few weeks now!  To help consolidate, her dad build her this awesome bed with storage underneath!

 I painted flowers in the room to match the bedding, and put the girl's names on the wall above their beds.

 Ava loved all of her flowers, and now she has a colorful space to play with her Barbies and Littlest Petshops!

 We didn't want Landon to be left out, so I made over his room, too!  First of all, let me tell you that Landon has my dream room.  He lives in the basement (which is a rough term since it's a finished space, and very nice).  It's away from the rest of the family, and feels very "Box Car Children-ish," which Landon has just started reading. 

Landon loved the ideas of turning the cut outs on his walls into "lockers," and his parents came up with the score board idea for his book cabinet.

 We continued with the sports theme above his bead.

 This is my favorite mural so far!  I think it was the lockers and score board, but the over all look was so much fun!!!

 I really liked painting at their house.  They were gone most of the time, but while we were there, we jammed out to some Tim McGraw and Justin Beiber.  The best part was when both kids were standing on either side of me on the bed and belting out "Baby!"  It was priceless, and I wanted to take them both home with me after that.

Thanks Landon and Ava for letting me adorn your walls!  I had a blast with you guys!

Etsy and such

My Etsy shop is not as empty as it used to be!!! I just posted some of my mixed media collage prints!!! I love these things-so colorful, so fun!!! I didn't put up the originals because I'm saving them for the festival this summer!

I also added a boy example to the custom silhouettes. My friend, Katie's adorable son was a GREAT little model, and that canvas is going to look perfect in his little bedroom!!!

I have also been painting like a mad woman!!! My friend Sarah will be having little Miss Marlee on the 28th, and her room just wasn't complete yet!!! I brought her this 16x20 canvas to her school shower yesterday, and she loved it!!! I've got to say, it's one of my favorites too!!! The butterflies and circles matched her bedding perfectly!!!
I've got lots more paintings to show you, but that's for another day :)

Be sure to check out my Etsy shop, and let me know what you think! Also, let me know what some of your favorite Etsy shops are. I'd love to take a look!

*Remember, if you have an Etsy shop, or just like to make stuff, contact me if you'd like to get a little free advertising and donate something for a giveaway!!! Email me at SimplySmithDesigns@comcast.net

Silhouettes

I have recently been working on a new project! Silhouettes are very big right now, and I have had a blast getting to play around with the traditional craft.

I thought I would vamp things up to modernize it a bit, and came up with these adorable canvases!

Right now, these sweet little gifts are the only item in my Etsy Shop, which is also why I haven't advertised my shop yet. It's a little too empty to be broadcasting it, but I couldn't hold this item from you any longer!!!
Now, don't think that these treasures are only for your little girls. I'd don't have an example up right now, but little boys and even DOGS look adorable captured on these canvases!

You would be ordering a fabric covered canvas, with the fabric of your choice, with the silhouette of your child(ren), or pet created in artist acrylics. They look adorable in any child's room, and will capture this moment in time!!!

Please head over to my Etsy Shop and check them out!!!

Chloe Canvas

I am so excited to finally be able to share these pictures! My friend, Susan, just had her 4th baby! She has 3 adorable little boys, and they were just blessed with a little girl!!! We were all so excited for them, and I think those little boys feel lucky to be big brothers to a baby sister!

I had made a barn yard stool for their youngest son, Caleb's, first birthday, and was so glad to get to make something else for this wonderful family!
The Jablonsky's kept Chloe's name a secret until she was born, so I was super pumped to be on the inner circle!! I LOVE finding out people's baby names, and it makes me crazy when I can't know! :D I did a great job of keeping it a secret, though, and only shared it with Big A, who would have found out anyways since he saw me making the canvas ;)
I love the design, and that I could to incorporate the scripture verse that they chose for her. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 What a great verse for her life!

This was a 16x20 canvas

The Nursery

Over the years I have done tons of murals in other people's homes. I have adorned walls with pictures that will create memories and years of fun for their children and families. I have loved painting special pictures for them, but am so excited to have now done it for myself!!!

Although Tucker's nursery has many different elements, I mostly wanted a calm and soothing atmosphere. As soon as we put the glider in the corner, I imagined a tree to hang over us as we rocked, read, and snuggled!

Then, of course, a second tree seemed appropriate on the other side of the room! I love how the leaves blow over the changing table, too!
And, lastly, is his name canvas. Big A and I used Matthew 4:12 as his verse, since it was the same verse that Big A's mom picked out for him when he was born! Plus, the fishies match the bedding!

Please pardon my works space. It looks much better finished and hanging over the crib!

I just thought I would share some of the special details of Tucker's room! Plus, I will be available this fall to once again do custom murals! If you are interested, please email me now to book me for later! :D

Murals

This weekend I was able to paint murals on two super sweet boy's walls. Little Jeremiah had adorable bedding with trucks, trains, and planes on it, so he was thrilled with his matching cement truck! :D

His big brother, Philip, got a football on his wall! His name is even hidden on the design!

As for this week, I will be finishing up a calligraphy project, painting a stool that Big A is almost finished painting, and making some necklaces for hostess gifts!

I have been a little behind at posting and really haven't been making much, but I will update with these next little projects!!!

Growth Chart

Today was my friend Megan's little girl's 1st Birthday party!!! It was cupcake themed, and super cute! Avery looked adorable in her princess cupcake dress, and really got into her presents and her first taste of cake!!! We had a great time celebrating this occasion! I can't believe it's been a year since we first met Avery Kate at the hospital!!!

I made them a growth chart so they can document all of the big steps they'll have as she grows up!!!
Happy Birthday, Miss Avery!!!

Children's art

I thought I'd put up some of previous artwork bit by bit. Since my sister is due with my first nephew in just a few weeks, I thought I'd start with children's art! Ironically, I don't have a picture of his name design that I made for his nusery! As soon as I can get my hands on one, I'll add it. So, let's get this things started!

Here is a princess castle for Mackayla's room. She hangs all of her princess outfits under it! So cute!

The next few are from my niece's nurserys! Here are Mallory's letters for her room.

And the canvas over her crib.

Here's one for Alyssa. They both matched their beddings.

This is Phoebe's frog!

Aaaaahhhh, the stools! I love the stools because they are a joint project with Big A and I. He is a master craftsman :) and loves to build! We talk about design, I draw a picture, and he whips up these bad boys! We've had the joy to make one for his best friend's son, Anthony, who's still a bit small, but has something to aspire to, and for Mallory and Alyssa.

I love the kid stuff! It's so fun to personalize things! Please feel free to email me if you are interested in pricing for a stool, or any other custom order!!!!