A Special Drawing

I had the privilege to draw this sweet girl who recently passed away. I was commissioned by a member of her family, and while I didn't know her, my heart breaks for her parents and siblings.

Vertical Gallery Wall

OK....ignore the giant TV and just look at my new gallery wall arrangement. I used a mix of stuff I already owned, including the big red clock from Hobby Lobby, and my favorite picture of our kids.

I have a serious weakness for gallery walls.

First Day of School-2015

Here they are. The obligatory 1st day of school pictures. I've taken pics of my kids in front of our door since Joshua started kindergarten. One day I'll need to gather them all in one place to see how far they've come!

So anywho....... here they are:

Joshua is a Senior, which is just crazy.

Emily is a Sophomore.

Abby's an eighth grader.

 And Mackenzie is in 5th.

Love these cute kids.

2015 Summer Art Camp

Summer is in full swing around here. It's been a blast so far, but I've been crazy busy. I'm teaching art classes all summer long, and it's keeping me running. I have two classes a week for younger kids, and one class for teens. I love seeing kids enjoy the process of creating art.

 

 

I have so many kids coming each week that I have to move my furniture out during the classes.

We've done 3 projects so far: colored pencil, watercolor, and acrylic. 5 more weeks of fun to go!

Front Room Update

So this is finally happening.

I'm having the ceilings in my front room retextured and repainted. I've put off doing this for so long and I'm beyond excited that today is the day!

Stay tuned for finished pictures!

 

Chippy Window

I've drooled over antique farmhouse windows for years, and last month, I finally got myself one. I'm loving the contrast between the old chipped paint and my modern high gloss entryway table.

 

Two Small Paintings

 I'm still trying to do more drawing and painting this year- even though the last couple of weeks have been so busy I haven't done much. I did however, finish these two small paintings a few weeks ago.

(Forgive my poor photography skills, they look much better in person.)

 

 

Mirror and Salvaged Wood

Sometimes I just need to change things up in my house. Previously on my stair wall I had a family photo gallery. I loved it, but I was ready for something new. I took down the assorted photos and frames and added them to another gallery wall I had upstairs. I replaced them with a simple mirror and a super cool piece of salvaged wood.

 

 

The stripes on this frame are what drew me to it. LOVE!

 

 The piece of salvaged wood is totally random, but works so well above the mirror.

It's a much cleaner look than before, which I completely dig.

Four Person Workstation

About a year and a half ago I bought a big desk for our laptops. It was kind of ugly, so I painted it, changed out the pulls, and even lined the drawers with cute paper. I really loved the desk. The problem? Only one person fit at it. So after school and on weekends when kids and the hubby were doing work, or playing games, we'd have one person at the desk, and three people on laptops at the kitchen table. I finally got tired of that arrangement, and so did Lee, so we ditched the cute desk, and chair, and headed to Ikea for a better solution.

 

 

We bought two of the white Micke desks, and four new chairs. It's a little more "Ikea" than I like, but it's so much more practical!

Four people can work at a time and I have my kitchen table back!

 

 

 

Do I think it's as pretty as the old set up? Nope. But sometimes function trumps form.

Keep Left

I bought an old "Keep Left" street sign from a vintage market a couple months ago. I love how it looks in my laundry room!

I'm acquiring a rather large collection of old metal signs. I may have a bit of an addiction to them.

 

 

 

 

A Few More Drawings

I'm still trying to keep up with my "52 Weeks of Art" challenge, even if it just mean a quick sketch a few times a week. Here are a few more from my current sketchbook.

 

 

 

 

Bookshelves

Holy cow! I'm blogging!!!

For those of you that still read this blog, I'm sorry I've been so lame at posting. In some ways it feels like Instagram ate my blog- I post over there instead of here. But I don't plan on quitting this blog, hopefully I'll get my grove back.

So anyway...... I bought these bookshelves from a friend about a month ago, which gave me the opportunity to do one of my favorite things: merchandise shelves! I bought a couple new tchotchkes , but everything else I already owned. I love having more space to display pretty things!

 

The modern gray and white sphere is new- it's from West Elm. I love how it contrasts with the more rustic items.

 

The red arrow is also new. I picked it up at Sweet Salvage last month. I have a thing for rusty signs and arrows.

 

The octopus is from Z Gallerie. Love him!

My map jar also got a bit of an update with some new vinyl. I love having a place to put travel paraphernalia: maps, subway tickets, museum passes, etc.

 

More home projects coming soon!