Spring Florals

sources:

1 ashley g, 2 free people, 3 milly, 4 anthropologie, 5  grace design  

it's spring!!!

i love spring.  

i can't ever decide which is my favorite season...it's a close one between spring, summer and fall.

sorrry winter, i just can't handle the cold.

when i think of spring i think of new growth and a fresh start.

i think of birds chirping and flowers beginning to bloom .

i am loving all of the florals this spring.

i'm not sure if i could pull it off or where i would wear it but i love this floral headdress.

it is beautiful!

i need a serious update in my wardrobe.

i really want to sew some simple spring dresses, i just can't ever find the time...or if i do, i usually sew for the kids.

i'm pretty sure last year i had the same ambition, but this year i am determined.

this pretty dress is all the inspiration i need.

Collage

 I love collages of pictures on a wall.

I have found that what I love the most is a good mix of photographs and artwork.

I put this little collage together a while back and I think I might be changing it soon so I wanted to just get a few pictures of it before I change it.

here is what is in this collage starting from the top left and going clockwise...

ella playing at a beach in Barbados on a trip we took 5 years ago
a picture I painted a while back
a cat ella drew about a year ago...I love this drawing
a hot air balloon picture from a vintage book
julian hanging in the garage with andy when he was about 2 years old.
my mom's graduation picture wig and all...love it
andy and ella from pictures we had taken when I was pregnant with julian
ella in Barbados again
another hot air balloon
and the last one is hard to see but it's a picture of my dad when he was in the navy...love this one also.

recently...according to my phone

a little home decor...

part of the painting I made for Andy-we are always longing to travel especially when we just get home from a trip

some valentines day decorations Ella and I made out of hearts cut from the Trader Joe's mailer and then we sewed them together 

 a bike ride with my boy...

he found this little hill a couple of streets over from us and he was happy to just go up and down it for the next half hour.

 some recent finds...

I found this pretty pillow at an estate sale (I get so excited when I find a pillow that has a removable cover)

we picked this old gas pump when we picked up Andy's latest project.

 laundry folding...

I'm not sure if my little helper is helping too much...

he has fun just messing around trying to hide in the clothes

 on a hike at Peter's Canyon this past weekend.

 at the top of Big Red...there is this really big hill with red dirt that people call Big Red.  last weekend the kid's and I conquered Big Red no problem.

this past weekend the kid's wanted to do it again and take daddy along for the experience. 

 the sun was just setting and the air was cooling quickly.

near the end of the hike I took a deep breath and was overwhelmed with how happy I felt.

fresh air and family time is my perfect combination

HEARTS + ARROWS

It was just my type of day yesterday.

Our day was filled with lots of love and time together mixed in with some delicious food and just the right amount of creating and photographing.

In the morning Julian and I worked on a somewhat Valentine's day shirt for him before heading over to Ella's school to help out with her Valentine's day class party.

After a sugar overload we headed home so I could finish up with my painting for Andy.

We made heart shaped pizza's and one of my favorite dishes, 

linguine with shrimp scampi, for dinner.

I used this recipe.

For dessert we enjoyed brownies a la mode...YUM!!!

Andy and I topped off the night watching a movie together after the kids were in bed.

Definitely my kind of perfect day!

pencil, pen, brush

i sketch, i doodle...
i, like most kids, filled the margins of my notes in school with doodles and sketches...filled!

some things haven't changed.
i LOVE school supplies and i think i have finally realized why...
a brand new pencil or a brand new pen with a fine tip that writes perfectly, sigh...love it!

i don't have a lot of time to just doodle away the way i used to during school, but i do find little blocks of time here and there.

these are just a couple of my recent sketches.

this is a recent painting i did for my grandparents...they celebrated their 65th anniversary!!
65 years!!
it doesn't get much better than that!

here and there

just some randoms...

swinging in trees before the death chill made it here
     daddy's workers
            making popcorn garlands
                    a little artwork
trying on a popcorn necklace
     beautiful
            tamale factory
                   damage after the gail force winds
envelope making
       wind damage clean-up
              a new painting
                    mrs. claus love
lights...a lot of lights
       a birdie cape
              nutter butter reindeer about to meet his match
                    big girl on little trike

a deer and a fish...

 last week i made a couple of fun little aprons for a custom order.  custom orders always challenge me a little because usually it is something i have never done before and also because i feel a little pressure.  i want the person ordering to receive something better than what they were expecting.  i love it though.  

this request was a fun one... a girl apron with a deer and a boy apron with a fish.   they are for twins who are turning 4. 

 julian and ella helped me decide what type of deer and fish to put on the aprons.  i did a couple of quick sketches and then i let them pick out their favorite one. 

 i just got a little note from the recipient saying she loves them.  

yeah!!

aprons and hot cakes...kind of

new little kid's apron's up in my little shop and ella is super excited about it...can't cha tell?

quick becuse they are going like hot cakes...no not really.  do hot cakes really go that fast?  just a thought...and are they the same thing as flap jacks, pancakes and johnny cakes?  who knows? 

so these little aprons are all individually hand painted and sewn.  some of them are made from vintage fabric and some just with repurposed and new fabric.  they all have 3 big pockets and can be used for whatever your little mr or miss wants to use it for.  sometimes my kids just like to wear them around the house.  a few suggestions though...painting, crafts, cooking, gardening, changing a tire, you get the picture. 

 usually these guys use them for painting.

 these pictures were taken before the haircut...see what i mean with the shaggy.  i miss it, it makes him look younger.

so there they are. 

 oh, sizewise because they tie at the neck and around the waist, they fit 2-6 year olds.  obviously on a 2 yr old it will be a little bit bigger and on a 6 yr old a little smaller.

have  a good weekend!!

Busy Little Elf

 This busy little elf has been very busy working on some Christmas gifts. I enjoyed watching her hard at work and the light playing behind her.

I finished a little project myself for a big girl who just turned one.

Self Challenge

Love this little collection by Susie Ghahremani . I have been wanting to paint a small collection of pictures for a while and so I am going to set a deadline to force myself to do it. Let's see how well this works. Nov 1st. That's my deadline. Hmmm...to do...6 paintings...5, I like odd numbers. There, that's my own little challenge.

Julian the sailor boy

I painted a picture of Ella a couple of months ago and I finally got around to painting a picture of Julian also. I found a little sailor hat that fits him perfectly a couple of weeks ago, but he wasn't too into it. Yesterday he decided he liked the hat and wore it all day. That was inspiration enough for me. The striped shirt seemed like a great idea but then when I finished I realized he looks a little like an inmate. Oh well. The little friend around his neck is supposed to be a lizard, but Julian insisted it was a frog. I agree, it does have some frog like qualities to it.

We will just call it a frizard.

I know this picture is horrible, but it is raining and the lighting is less than ideal. I ended up hanging the pictures on their doors. I also did a little tweeking on Ella's picture. I liked how Julian's eyes turned out, so I changed her's up a little.

Love when I can get a little project done.