A $20 room makeover- the challenge

I am all about a challenge, a way to be creative and lately stretch a dollar as far as it can go! Enter in my personal challenge to spend $20 and decorate a room. I decided my boys room would be the best for this they had most of the furniture it would be mainly cosmetic I also decided I wasn't going to include the cost of paint in this challenge.

With visions of my Pinterest board floating in my mind ( See my board here )
I headed out this past weekend with my mom and a few of my aunts who came to visit, I left the kiddos with hubby and we hit the garage sales.

Only problem? What was suppose to be a few early morning showers turned into downpours at points until about four in the afternoon so I think many sales shutdown earlier than normal.

So needless to say my decorate a room in a weekend for $20 didn't happen....what did happen was some great deals including all three of these vintage books for $1 and a pretty solid elephant that my aunt picked up for the cause!





Am I defeated!?!? Heck no! I'm gonna shop the house find a few pieces and hit up a few more garage sales. It just means it will be a summer project versus the weekend project I was hoping for!

So with that friends, to be continued....

My Sunday

I love Sunday mornings! They always seem to be calm and relaxing and give my the optimistic view of, in the words of my daughter, " the best day ever!"

Slowly the day gets going but soon after morning the afternoons fly by and before I know it, it's dinner and I'm missing and longing for the feeling of a Sunday morning because I know the sun is setting and my rush/grind of a week begins again.

So for now I'm going to take an extra cup of coffee sit in the porch enjoy listening to the birds and my kiddos playing together sweetly and hope it lasts more than a few minutes. Happy Sundays my sweets, hope you get a Sunday morning feel all day!

Random Thoughts

Lots goes on around here on a daily basis, my random thoughts..... just a chance for me to dump out thoughts I have had:


{ I have a green thumb in weed growing *sigh* my cottage-esque garden with flowers all over did not happen this year so far.  I am finding this gardening thing is a process and will probably take years for me, living in Wisconsin has its drawbacks when it comes to gardening, too short of a season!}

{I love to bake and cook, I hate that it creates twice the amount dishes I want to deal with in a normal day!}

{I dont know why I thought it would be a good idea to cloth diaper all three boys, laundry, lots of laundry!}

{Potty training..... ugh}

{I had no idea radishes if left to grow will get really tall stalks with really pretty flowers, I have a new flower arrangement in the house, make lemonade out of lemons right?}

{If I do my hair or makeup my kids wonder where we are going, tells you I dont do my hair or makeup often if ever!}

{I love the summer nights, fireflies make such a dreamy ambiance in the backyard}

{the mantra in our house lately: talk in kindness}

{I love Cleo but boy is she like an old man when she is sleeping..... stinky toots}

And on that note..... I will call it a post!  :D

Our family just got a bit bigger

Everyone meet Cleo, our newest member a 7 years young rescue dog.  

I have had a lot of fun introducing her to friends and family via email and Facebook mainly because we were vague and made it sound like we were having another baby, when you have four kids people tend to get nervous thinking we announcing another baby.  And we may in the future but for right now we have a fur baby in our home and we couldn't be happier.

She is sweet calm and collected, until she sees a squirrel, chipmunk or other dog.  So we have obedience training in our future.  More to teach us how to deter her from some of her behaviors as well as get her a little bit more leash trained.  She is great with the kids though still a bit nervous around Valen, though I cant blame the gal, he is a ball full of energy and is as stable as a two year old can be *smile*  But Val has learned about gentle petting we are still working on him to stop following her everywhere, she isnt thrilled about having a two year old shadow but she tolerates him!

We have had her just under a week now but just like any new baby we can't imagine our life without her and it feels like she has always been part of our family!

  

What's this blog about?

When I first started this blog it was about my adventure into momma hood. My creative endeavors changed as time went on but a constant was life with the kiddos and apparently my complaining of vacuuming, dishes and laundry *smile*. A few nights ago I went through a few years of my blog. And what I realized was this was my "baby book" of sorts for my kids it documented their lives and lately that has pretty much stopped thanks to my updating on Facebook, only problem with that... I can't go back on my timeline and read all my posts. I want my kids to be able to read about their childhood easily so I made a decision my blog is still going to be about my art but its going to be much more about my adventures in momma hood again I hope you all stick around (you are still here right?) as I go back to my "roots" so to speak!

Around the art table

I took a quick video of my kiddos painting, holy cow does a mess ensue but they love it so much!  (baths were given after we finished up Valen had paint up all the way to his elbows) Hope you enjoy the video, can you believe how big the kids are getting?!?!!? I went through my blog and got all weepy seeing my kids basically grow up in blog posts!  Man these 7 years of being a momma have flown by!

The wedding gift

It started with this photo. A few months ago I asked a friend of mine to send me her favorite engagement photo. Her wedding was coming up and I had an idea for a gift.




First I blocked in the background




Then started working on the lovely couple.




Kept working on the sky.




Picked up a helper along the way (good thing I only one hand/arm to paint!)



Decided to add in the tree to ground the painting.




Foliage added.



The final painting (of course I left it to the last minute to wrap and forgot to get a decent natural light photo of the finished painting!)







Congrats you two hope nothing but love and happiness on your journey together!

Hope for Oklahoma

Besides doing my teddy bear collection I have also donated 5 of my inspired art gals to help raise money for the families in Oklahoma. There is over 170 items amazing stuff from all over. So head on over to www.facebook.com/hopeforok

Bid often and generously if you can!!!

Be the good

Is it just me or does it feel like lately we go from one tragedy to another?  The recent devastating tornado in Moore, OK has left me with a heavy heart.  I am a weepy mess and felt like I wanted no NEEDED to do something.  It was while I was driving my kids that the thought of teddy bears came to me and I knew it wasnt just a silly thought, I had to do this, I needed to collect as many teddy bears as possible and so I created a FB page and a blog.  I told my family and friends and sent the information out into the world with a prayer that this would be huge that we would comfort as many kids as we could.  

I am in the very early stages but I know in my heart and soul this is only the beginning!  I would love your support of my calling, here is the blog:  teddybearsforkids.blogspot.com and the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teddy-Bears-for-Kids/317264511737405

Please share and like the facebook page, lets have this journey together!

Finding the time to paint

The #1 question I get (especially once someone finds out I have four kids under the age of 6) is when do I find the time to paint. Some of its late nights but honestly lately I'm so tired after I get all the kids down for the night I'm pretty quick to have my own head to hit the pillow. So instead I'm creative with my time.



I put the baby in a sling. I pull out the paint during quiet time. And today since the weather is getting nice I take the paints with me to our different appointments we have during the week. I get about 30 -45 minutes a day just by doing that.

So there you go, no excuses if you want to be creative carve out the time!

The (ugly) truth about painting

I am very much so a novice painter. I only started to dip my fingers/brushes in paint a few years ago. And more value based painting? I think we are approaching a month :D.

Here is what I'm learning its all about layers. Some really ugly "will this ever look pretty?" layers.

Here is the current painting I have up on my easel. No pretty picture here (yet)!




Layer one the outline/foundation of the darkest spots




Getting some flesh tones laid in




Put in her irises.




Hated her irises so whited them out again!




And this is where ugly stage really comes in! I looked back at my reference photo and her eyes had gotten really low while I kept packing on the shading areas. Solution? Never be afraid to gesso out and start over? And her hands? Not feeling confident on such a detailed hand so gessoed that out and re-drafted her pose.

And that is where she is right now on my easel! Back to work I go, more updates soon!

Now go paint, draw, sew, write.... Whatever makes your crafty heart sing, and don't be afraid of "mistakes" think of them as just another layer of the finished product!

Newsletter..... wha?!?!?!?

This photo has nothing to do with the post I just figured a cute photo will prompt you to sign up!

Yep, I did it I finally got my butt in gear and got a link over there on the right for you to sign up for my newsletter.  Why sign up for my newsletter, well I promise I will only send it out once a month unless I have something fun and up my sleeve for my newsletter subscribers like coupons, promotions, and what the heck even some free stuff!  So if you want to hear a bit more from me on a casual basis sign up buddy!

a moment in time

I recently read a silly quote on facebook, something along the lines of: my house was clean last night, then the kids woke up this morning, the end.  

his favorite silly face currently

That sums up my life pretty well, I am trying really hard to embrace the mess and all that comes with a houseful of kiddos (if you are keeping track we are now up to four!)  I know that one day they will all be grown up and the only messes I will have will be mine (most likely from paint tubes).  So instead of focusing on the mess I will focus on the kiddos that make the mess because boy oh boy do they make my heart swell!

the mess seems to come back everyday

What is making your heart swell lately?  Lets chat in the comments!

Pay what you can, no really!

So as some of you may (or may not know)  I have been pushing my art for awhile, and as I have been pushing my art has taken some twists and turns really changing even from what I was doing less than 6 months ago.  Because of that I am ready to move on and find permanent homes for the art I have made over the last few years.  There is a big mix of items (some only a few months old others 3 years old!) I am ready to part with and I thought a fun way to do this would be to give those that have always wanted some of my art but didnt have the funds to be able to name your own price.  No really, I am asking that minimally the price is $5 plus shipping.  Want to pay more, great, cant, no biggie leave the price at $5 at the time of check out.  

So here is how this will work, see the link on the top of my blog that says, shop?  (Those using a feed reader, you need to click over to my site) click on that link and it will take you to all the pieces up for grabs, there are a lot of different series and as new pieces come back into inventory (I have some stores sending over some pieces to get a new rotation going) I will put them up as well.  (also those that were hoping for inspired art gals, I have a HUGE amount in inventory but I am waiting to hear back from a consignment store first before I list these, if they dont want them, they are all yours folks!)  Sorry back to the details, when you find a piece you love and must have add it to your shopping cart, if you feel the piece is worth more than the $5 minimum you can adjust the price right there in the shopping cart and then click update cart.  Now shipping, I have set it up that each piece is $10 shipping for US customers, now if the shipping is less I will refund you the cost after it is mailed back to your paypal account, so please dont let the shipping cost sway you.  International customers, please contact me for a quote and I can send you a paypal invoice.  I have set up the cart to not let you add a piece if it has already sold, but I am new with some of this html coding so if a piece has already sold, please dont get mad if I have to refund you your offer, I will also try my best to delete art pieces as they are sold but I cant guarantee how quick I will be able to do that, such is life with four kiddos running around.  

So if you got through all the fine print, yay!  Now get to shopping!

Progression of a painting

We are going to focus on the top right painting (sorry I didn't take a picture of the sketch on its own). So first I sketch out my drawing. Then I lay down a glaze where flesh tones will be seen.

Shading begins, when I work on a face I almost always wait to paint the eyes until I'm almost done with the face.


Background is laid in.

And here she is. I'm thinking about doing a few videos of my paintings but not sure if there is interest and there is a good chance there will be lots of seeing my kiddos popping their heads in and out throughout the whole thing!
Not sure anyone is still out there but if you are, hi and thanks for sticking out all the silence, I'm really hoping that this time I'm really back for good!!!

A curve down the path

Life has been rolling around here lately, it has really been paint central as I have been prepping and going to different indie craft shows this holiday season. While I love my girls and their whimsy I have been having this tug that maybe it is time to get a little bit more technical with my paintings. I had asked a few months ago on my fan facebook page what art people are drawn to and an overwhelming response was nature. So I gave it a go but nothing was clicking until a crafty friend of mine posted this picture on her facebook wall:

(Photo by: Vanessa of Baily Belle she is an amazing accessories designer and hurry she is having a great sale on her etsy shop through tomorrow!) 

 Everything about this photo spoke to me the colors the feel just everything and the spark was found. Around this time I had learned a new technique (for me not in the world of art) with wet paint and plastic wrap. I was ready to play and push myself out of my comfort zone. And this is what appeared:

And since then I havent been able to stop painting birch trees! I have a group of them that I plan to mix in with my girls at the upcoming Craftacular in Madison, WI on Dec 14 & 15th. And who knows next year at this time it will be more about nature and less about whimsy, we will have to see or maybe just maybe I will find my own way to combine the two! So there you go, still here, still painting, still growing. Hope you are too!

 (Want to see more art that I will have at the upcoming show? I created a pintrest board of sneak peeks feel free to take a look, and give me some feedback!)

My long boring family room is in a need of an EPIC makeover!

Hey guys, whoa summer is already up and I havent posted a darn thing.... shame on me between the new house, becoming a first time gardener, canning like crazy, and keeping three kiddos busy so they didnt go stir crazy these summer months have flown! And to top it all off baby #4 is going to make a debut at the end of January!

 Now that we are caught up lets get down to business....

 Our new home is a 60's style ranch we have had a lot of fun adding our personality to each room on our budget but we have come up blank and have no good idea/plan for the room we have deemed our family room. In comes Mandi from Vintage Revivals she has an Epic Room Makeover Giveaway and I would be crazy not to enter! That girl has my style down to a T and I know she could make some serious magic out of my very long pretty bland family room. So without further ado lets take a tour of the place shall we?

(no judging the amounts of so's, um's or how much I go on about having too many green things in our house!)

 


So there it is in all its glory, like I have said probably one too many times its a really long room at 22.5 feet long and only 10.5 feet wide. It has little wall space thanks to the very wonderful large picture window (which we love) and the cut out window to the kitchen (which flusters us as to what to exactly do with it!) along with two doorways (one being a double entrance- put doors in or not that is the question)

(this is the only time I actually dressed up the fireplace thanks to my abundance of peony bushes)

 While I know I gushed about my couch ( I really do love it) everything and anything in the room can be relocated, painted, upholstered, or donated everything is flexible and the more change the better for us! The dream for us is to have a room that our kids can grow into and enjoy every season in there!

 So here is my plead, besides the three little ones running around (6, 3, 1) our fourth will be making their debut by the end of January. Without Mandi's help this poor example of a family room will stay a hodge podge at least until next summer when I get out of the newborn haze!

 Mandi please help guide me to make my room dreams come true, I am a hard worker with lots of creative gusto that is fearless when it comes to paint, color, and fabric but lacks the putting of it all together. (I can give you a picture resume of all my projects if that will nudge me to the top *wink*)  With your help I know we can make all my home decor magazine and pinterest board dreams come true!

 Now friends, voting for my entry will be in about a week (sept 7-14th), dont worry I'll let you know I'd love to get your votes! And for getting through this semi-long post here is a quick video keeping it real and how messy the room is when the kids take over the room....

Broken Promises

So this month just didnt work out as getting a list done a day, oh well I gave it a good effort at times! So to wrap it up I am just going to do a Link Love Friday. With all of our lives in boxes I havent painted much and for awhile there wasnt even thinking about painting canvases it was more about painting walls and home decor. I think the thrill of that has passed (we still have about a month before we are moving in to our house) so now that most of my art stuff is in storage I am missing painting so much and am squirreling away information for when I can get all my art stuff out and make some messes! Here are some things that I am inspired by! Enjoy!

Im a HUGE fan of this artist. I love that she shared a glimpse into her changing styles as her art evolved. Really left me inspired and not so alone that sometimes my style is pulling me into a COMPLETELY different direction.

Hello beautiful statment wall! I am thinking of doing this in one space in my "art" area. First though I am going to try it as a background for a painting. Practice makes perfect right?!?!?

Not only does the above designer paint her home in bold amazing ways (take a look at her DIY tab, SO much fun stuff) she also has a pretty genius business that is a DIY dream! Dont know how I didnt find her stuff sooner!

I have been inspired lately by more structured backgrounds/artwork. This post wanted me to brush up on drawing straight lines, and get away from the throw the paint down and see what emerges process I have lately.

And finally I just found this artist late last night in an interview she had done on a PBS show I saw late last night (thanks insomnia I have had lately!) Isnt she amazing?!?! Makes me want to get out my paper and start tearing it up and making something RIGHT NOW.....

Now I have to fight the urge to bust into my art supply boxes! Have a great weekend friends!!!

Favorite days of the year

1) thanksgiving - hands down my favorite holiday

2) my birthday - a day all about me and only me? Yes please!

3) the rest of the families birthdays- its fun to celebrate each person in the family on their own special day

4) mothers day- I normally can guilt hubby into taking me to my favorite antique store

5) Sundays- favorite day of the week (except late Sunday evenings those I always wish go slow but normally fly by into Monday morning)

Pet Peeves

1) My kids not eating what I made for dinner because its "yucky" (even though last week they ate it and LOVED it!)

2) Mean people. Nuff said

3) The "stink eye" face Leila makes when she is grumpy at someone. Drives me batty!

4) the crumbs that magically appear on my carpet RIGHT AFTER I VACUUMED! (all caps folks hate it!)

5) my kids enjoy emptying every tissue box and baby wipe container they can find. I have literally walked into a room where you can no longer see the floor since it is covered in tissues *sigh*

What about you? What drives you batty?