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!!!

splatter paint!!!

I teach 7th and 8th graders. I never thought that I would, it just happened that way, but these little people are far more entertaining than I ever could have imagined! They just make me laugh! (Yes, sometimes they make me want to go home early, but I think that happens with any job :).

I was approached by a student a few weeks ago asking if I would participate in the "What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar" segment that they were doing on their CTV show. I said yes, and I agreed to being splatter painted after school.

Now, when I agreed to this, my idea of splatter paint was the "confetti" version that I use in class. It is a very mild version of splatter paint.

That is not what went down.

We recorded our begining segment of the show, I changed and we headed outside. On the count of three, they splattered.

One.

Two.

Three...

And this is what happened!!! They had a BLAST!!!! I finally had to yell, "OK, we're done!" And as I'm talking, paint is entering my mouth :p

Here are the crazy kids who did it!!! These are also the same kids who helped me get my paint soaked clothes into trash bags, cleaned up the mess, and even helped me into my car, putting trash bags down first so I didn't ruin the seats!!! I teach fabulous kids.

In other news, here is some of what I accomplished over fall break. You can see a current project in the background :)
My friend Rhonda asked me to make a name painting for her adorable 3 year old daughter. Big A and I LOVE Ashlyn, and love talking and playing with her at church. She is extremely articulate, and just super cute!!!
Ashlyn was very pleased with her painting, and when asked what it said, she replied, "I love Shelb." (who is her older sister!)
Tonight I'm teaching another class at Gallery 116. I might have to go down to just 1 class per month because class sizes have been so small, so if you're close, PLEASE come to the class!!!!

Apron Complete!

Ta-Da! Today was my first day of Fall break, and this was one of my finished projects! I LOVE this apron! It's so fall and festive! I'll be making some half aprons as well, but this was a great start!
And, again, I'm working on Etsy. It's a little confusing, so in the mean time, if you're interested in an apron, or anything else, just email me!!!

Aprons

I've been working on this...
and this...
And she has been helping me with these... (This is Ellie. She is my sister's dog, who is just staying with us for a while...I need to post a pic of Sookie, who DOES live with us) :)
And I've made this...
Here is my apron with zip off towel! Makes it easy to dry your hands while cooking, cleaning, or just doing house stuff!
I bought some fall fabric, and will hopefully have some cute aprons up on Etsy by the end of my fall break! If you're interested, send me an email to be at the top of my list! :)

Dog Portraits

So, I'm currently making a cake for a baby shower this weekend, but I'll have to show pics later! Big A and I are heading out of town for a wedding reception, and are trying to make a little weekend out of it! I'm super excited!

In the mean time, I'll share more work! When I was in college, I made custom dog portraits and payed for my living expenses with the money! I started it by making one of Daisy, our family dog from growing up, and the ball just got rolling from there! I have recently spoken to some people who are interested in them as well, and they will actually make great Christmas presents! Just email me if you are interested!

The Story of the Scarves

Once upon a time there was girl who fell in love with a scarf. She loved the way it felt around her neck, kept her warm on blustery days, and could be tied in so many adorable ways! The girl loved her scarf so much that she decided to share her wealth with her sisters and mom for Christmas. As the girls adorned their necks with their scarves it became a Kodak moment which perfectly captured their joy and beauty.

Since the picture of the closer-than-close group sat above the fireplace, and soon became a photo enjoyed by all, the girl decided that it must be recreated into a masterpiece!!! And so the process began...
After much hard work, the finished product was complete! A perfect commemoration of love, friendship, joy, and scarves :)

The picture was hopefully to be hung and sold for others to experience the closeness of family brought together by scarves.

The End.

Oil Paintings

Whew! What a week! The gloomy weather, dreary days, and insane amount of rain has really taken a toll on me! I am a sunshine person. I feel blissfull in the rays, and am energized by the brightness. As fall is arriving, I am still waiting for the gorgeous stained glasses-esq leaves that will transform into vibrant beauty. In the mean time, the cloudy days are making it hard to get out of bed!
School is about to get busy as we are entering into the 2nd 9 weeks of school. I have 1 week left with my current kiddos, and I must say, I am really going to miss them when they leave!!!!

In keeping with showing off more of my work, here are a few of my oil paintings. Most of these were done through college, grad school, and somewhat recently.

I love. Love. LOVE Mini Coopers! They are just so cute and sassy!!! I adore this painting, and will find it hard to part with it!
This is my parent's 25th wedding anniversary gift. Yes, it is not supposed to have faces. That's the beauty of it! It's also a theme you might continue to see... :)

This next one is hanging at the top of our stairs! THIS is the fall that I am looking forward to!

I painted this portrait of my Grandpa and he bought it from me! For an artist in college, that was a HUGE deal to me, plus the honor of painting my Grandpa and him acknowledging me as a "real" artist! It's called "Joy," which completely sums up my Grandpa. And yes, he really does have that much hair. He's where I get my curls from! :D

And the dominos. A still life project, and a reflection of my family's love for games!

In other news, I'm hopefully going to be hanging some stuff in a local cafe. If you've never been to Tulip Noir for brunch, you need to go!!! They have amazing Eggs Benedict!

I also had another class at Gallery 116 this week, and Maria, Megan and I had a great time creating! Please come check us out!