Sweet Fairy

Happy Halloween! Tuesday night I finished making part of her costume. I thought their needed to be some pink and extra fluff on the bottom so I made a pink tutu to go under the green one, then made the head piece, and wrapped some matching pink and green flowers with tulle. Wednesday I thought I would be able to take some pictures of her in the costume but she had an awful attitude that day and wouldn't allow the head piece to touch her head... which she usually loves headbands, hats and clips. I thought oh great who knows if she will ever want to wear the costume. Thursday though I found her trying to put everything on herself and was getting frustrated. She put on the head piece and said she was "pretty". So I knew I had to get some photos later that day. When daddy came home I figured he could help distract her to sit nice for the camera. She of course didn't want to sit still, was running around her room, sorting through her books and dancing. I just know I have to take a whole bunch so I can hopefully get a couple good ones. When she had finally had enough and was changed back to regular play clothes and I was going through the pictures on the computer, she went and got her wings!!! Her wings that I had totally forgot to put on for the pictures(shown above)!!! Wings make the whole costume, so to my great delight I knew I had to try all over again. I didn't think their would be any chance of her wanting to do any more that day but after her night sippy I asked her if she wanted to put her costume back on and she yelled "yeah!!!" so back to her room we went for more pictures. So here is the fairy with wings...

She took a second to see what she looked like. This shot showed the tutu the best. Then she was off to grab a book.

She would NOT look at mommy when she's busy looking at a book! :)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Hanging Inspiration

{Photo by DharmaLemon}

Fun and clever! Once my art room is finished I would love to hang cards of inspiration and other creative pieces in a corner or along a wall above my desk. A great way to add color, texture, depth and visual stimulation to a room. I'm sure I'll be hanging some of Kaelyn's artwork too. She's only 20 months and getting circles down and working on stars! I know I've said it plenty of times before, but I still can't believe how fast she's growing up. She's been saying so many words. Just this week she started saying thank you and love you... which just melts my heart! :)

Commissioned House Painting

my acrylic painting

photo of home

Usually my commissioned artwork pieces involve portraits or pets and are done in various drawing mediums. This was my first painting of a home. I used acrylic on a hardboard panel and was pretty happy with the result. There are different textures that can be seen on the original. I love seeing the handmade qualities up close!

This week I will be very busy trying to get Touched Creatively's winter issue finished up so it can be proofed next week. I need to finish up some wedding invitation designs and get them sent off towards the end of this week. I also need to finish Kaelyn's Halloween costume in the next couple of days. I'm in need of another month or at least a couple extra weeks to get it all done! Well, I better get to it! Happy Monday!

Talented Photographer Kevin Bierbaum

I was planning on sharing a family photo that the talented new photographer, Kevin Bierbaum, took of us but then I decided not to because it will be a better surprise for those of you family members and close friends that get a card from us every Christmas. I will be sure to share them on here later though for everyone to see. I was so impressed by Kevin's photos he took of my husband this summer riding his bike. They turned out amazing! I love the vivid colors and the beautiful South Dakota background! I was thrilled when he decided to practice with us on some family portraits! We have very few good ones of our family so I was elated when he got a few great ones of the three of us in the great outdoors. Although, portraits aren't one of his favorite photography subjects he will be glad to do it and he does an amazing job!!! Check out Kevin's website for some beautiful nature and still life photographs.

Here are some more shots he took of David...Thanks Kevin for all the photographs you took of David biking and running and of our family! They are such wonderful keepsakes! The memories will last forever through your work and will mean a lot to our children one day. Keep up the amazing work!

Butterfly Print Now Available!

My acrylic painting, "Spreading Her Wings" is now available in my Etsy shop! I was up too late last night getting it in my shop and then I couldn't get my detail print to upload. Just figured it out this morning that for some reason the file saved to CMYK unlike the other two RGB files. Not sure why that happened but at least I figured out what was wrong. So there are two options to choose from the full image above or the cropped image below. The original painting measures 16"x20" and was done on canvas. The 8"x10" prints turned out amazing and show the detailed texture of the canvas and vivid colors which just can't be captured in these pictures. You can check HERE if your interested in knowing more of the print details. It is a fun, freeing and whimsical painting.

Have a great day!

A New Week...

Photo by i.Anton

A bit of magic to lighten your heart... that's what i.Anton's photos do for me. Simply amazing photography! Hopefully this is a start to a much better week. I couldn't believe all the horrible news that kept coming last week. Since there was too much of it and I don't want this to be a depressing blog I will just say, health and family are blessings often overlooked. Don't take either for granted because in a blink of an eye everything can change!

So onto better news. I finally got outside yesterday afternoon to get some good photos of artwork to share this week. It took so long since Kaelyn and I were both sick this last week on top of everything else. I will soon share the finished commissioned painting with you and "Spreading Her Wings" print will be available in my Enduring Arts etsy shop within the next couple of days.

Baby Boy Announcement Design "Little Pilot"

With all of our not so good news lately I decided to share a joyful design with you. This is only one of my three designs that I sent the new parents to choose from. I'm sharing this one since it wasn't chosen so I'll post the other 2 later. They are using one design to send out through email and the other as a printed announcement for close family. Since Andrew's daddy is a pilot we went with a pilot theme for the designs. If your interested in having me design baby announcements (or any kind of announcement) email me at enduringarts@gmail.com.

Yesterday we spent a good part of the day at the hospital and plan on going back tomorrow for awhile. David found out yesterday his aunt has cancer so will be undergoing treatment for that, so hopefully she can beat that monster of a disease. My cousin is also having more tests/biopsies done today. She has internal problems as well and no doctor has been able to figure out her problems. Bone growths and horrible pain. Doctors don't know what to do so just throw more drugs at her which doesn't help! Lots of praying going on here and have HOPES for a brighter future for our family and others who are fighting for their health.

With God's Help...

... Anything is possible! My husband is keeping in close contact with his mother via text messaging for Kathy's updates. The latest from his mom said, "She moved both legs, wiggled toes, squeezed my hand, and tried to hold up two fingers on command! Your prayers are working!"
Thank you all so much for your prayers. We appreciate it so much. Let's keep them up and bring her out of this! To keep posted on Kathy's progress and offer words of encouragement and support you can follow her Caring Bridge site. Thank you!

Prayer Request!

Last night we found out my husband's sister was in a horrible car accident due to icy roads. Please pray for her and her family... her husband and two young children. We're praying God will give her body the strength to pull through. It really puts in perspective how important family is and how in one instant everything can change. Never take your loved ones for granted no matter what age they are!

Relax and Enjoy!

{Photo from Indigo Rain via Anthropologie}

This photo makes me think of the boat my husband built several years ago. Really it doesn't seem that long ago, but then yesterday seemed like Monday! Hopefully next year our family will get to enjoy the row boat more. Next time we go I think we should add some pillows and blankets! Looks so comfy! Although I don't think ours would look so nice because they are bound to get soaked some how. Have a great weekend!

Oh and if your interested in seeing how a special person/talented jewelry designer made my day click HERE! Some of her work can also be seen on Touched Creatively's blog.

Yellow Vintage Couch

I'm not sure why I'm drawn to couches and purses the way I am, but there are so many out there that like to call my name! Ha! Good thing purses don't take up too much space and Kaelyn likes to play with the small ones I don't use anymore. As far as the couches go, well I already have three and since I don't have any extra space for another I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with a photo of it. I love the cheerfulness of this color! If you want to grab it, head on over to The Vintage Supply Company before its sells!

"Inner Strength" featured in Treasury

The fashion designer of GEOmetricSTYLE featured my "Inner Strength" painting in her treasury! Thank you so much for picking my piece to be included in this beautiful collection! Below is one of my favorite creations from her shop. Her handmade items are made all the way in Argentina! Its amazing all the different places you can meet people from through etsy and the internet in general! Anyways, go check out her shop for creative handbags, skirts and dresses.

New Acrylic Painting! "Spreading Her Wings"

Happy Monday! This last weekend was a productive painting time for me. I finished my commissioned painting first. I'll show pictures of that one after it gets shipped off. Then I finished the above acrylic painting that I had started quite awhile ago at the once a month art studio day. Sorry the photo isn't that great of it but I couldn't wait to share it. I am waiting for a nice sunny day so I can get some good pictures of it in natural light and then soon after I will get some prints of it in my Etsy shop. I titled the painting "Spreading Her Wings" due to the fact it was inspired by my little girl who is growing and changing so quickly. Most of the time she thinks she can do everything by herself. It seems like she was born only a couple months ago and now she's literally flying around the house at full speed. I am treasuring the moments when she crawls into my lap to have a story read, or comes over to me to give me a hug and kiss 'just because'. Children can melt a parents heart so easily; it's a whole new world of love we had never known.

More info will be coming about the painting when I get a good print of it, so be sure to check back in a few days. Off to work on a new post for Touched Creatively's blog and then to work on the next kid inspired issue.

Creative Relaxation

As long as there weren't pesky bugs around, wouldn't this be a great way to relax? I can just picture laying on this beautiful hammock from Melange, reading a good book or magazine and drinking a favorite beverage with the beauty of nature surrounding me. Okay, heading out of dream land now to make a toddler happy instead. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

About the Melange Collection, "We have made a personal commitment to improve the lives and communities of these artisans as we bring their unique talents to you. Know that when you purchase Melange products you are helping to change the world." Have to love that!

Fairy Sweetness... Too CUTE!

{Photo by Tracy Joy Photography}

Its October already? I can't believe how quickly 2009 has flown by! We're to the month where little ones get to dress up and be shown off in their cute costumes. I just had to share this adorable one from Hannahs Tutus. And I just have to say this model is pure cuteness!

Yes, my little Kaelyn is going to be a fairy. Maybe not quite as cute of a costume as the one above but I can't wait to see how it turns out and to get some fun photos of her in it.