Memphis Blues

We are safely back from our weekend adventure and all of the fun and late nights are catching up with me. I feel worn out today! I am going to try to go to bed early tonight. We'll see how that goes! Here are a few of my favorite shots from Memphis...

I am thinking about trying to spell out "Mansfield" in neon.


Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease...what else does one really need?


Touches of Egypt everywhere.











I don't know about their kitchen, but my kitchen closes real early!
We ate ourselves silly on Beale Street. This is a pretty shot with blue skies and colorful banners. We all love cajun food, BBQ, and fried chicken. I even had pork BBQ ravioli! Yum!


We stopped in Jackson to eat and stretch our legs at Casey Jones' General Store. The kids made a beeline for the statues.
One more funny picture of Carter in front of a largest bird skeleton (ostrich) and the smallest (hummingbird). It is so tiny that you can barely see it in the picture. It is parallel to his hairline on the right side of the picture. This was at the Pink Palace, which was chock full of interesting oddities!

An Apple A Day...

Pam Shelton ordered this sweet little 5x5 apple with a beatiful beaded handle as a gift for Mallory's teacher. I thought that was a wonderful way to say "thank you for all you do". You don't have to wait for a holiday or the end of the year to express your appreciation. Trust me, tachers need positive feedback all year round!

Mileah Knowles also wanted an apple, but not for a teacher. This one is for a kitchen door!

Pineapple Dreams

After doing this canvas, I am dreaming of somewhere tropical. Maybe it is just all of this TCAP review that is making me wish I was somewhere else!

Right now, I am not off to somewhere warm and sunny, but to Memphis for the NCAA tourney. The "Madness" continues!

All In the Family

Love it on the cream background.


Love it on the chocolate background with a little touch of lime.


I've always loved the original with the black bacground and it is still the most popular. No matter how many of these I do, they never get old. With dates ranging from 1959 to 1983 to just last week, I think about all of the old and new families that are being honored.
If you would like to honor a family, they make wonderful wedding and anniversary gifts, but are perfect for anyone at anytime. The large 8x24 is $30.00. I also do a smaller 4x12 for $20.00. They can be done in any color combination.

Elegant Eggs

I have these five wooden eggs available for Easter. The are each handpainted in robin's egg blue with paisleys in shades of chocolate, taupe, cream, and white. The set is $25.00 and comes gift wrapped. They are a one of a kind!

For Annie

For a very special young lady...I was more than happy to do this one for you.

March Madness

I don't know what March means at your house, but at our house it means one thing...basketball! Mike used to be on his own in his love for the game and it wasn't so bad. Now, he has Carter to egg him on and March madness is on like Donkey Kong! They ordered a "Fathead" of the brackets and have that all filled out. They submitted their brackets online I don't know how many times. I am getting a little break today because Mike is at the High School Basketball State Tournament with his buddies. Carter is out helping Adam with farm stuff. The TV is off! Whew!
In the midst of all the madness, I've already told you all that I got a surprise getaway for our anniversary. Why I got married during the month of March I do not know, but that is another story! The photo above is of a bed and breakfast in Monterey called The Garden Inn at Bee Rock. We spent the night there, went to the movies and dinner, and then up to Knoxville for some shopping. This man knows me so well!

When I got back from delivering the pets to the groomer's this morning, there was a box on the porch. I have never, ever, ever in my life had flowers or Godiva delivered. When I saw that it was an FTD box, I was like, "Lauren, get back! It's a bomb!" My husband lives and dies by his budget (and I love him for it!) and has never done this before. This is way out of character for him. Needless to say, I was blown away...and not by a bomb.

Lazy Daisy

These two daisy canvases are now available for immediate delivery. They are also a little peek into some of the new things {{excited!}} I am getting together for the craft show on May 2nd at Bobby Ray. The top one is a very simple welcome. The bottom one is one of my favorite Bible verses that I feel is very appropriate for this time of the year:
"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 3:3

Made to Match

I bought this lime and aqua flag at Kathy's the other day. I loved it and thought it would be perfect for spring and summer. I wanted something to put on my door that matched. I am sort of caught up on orders so I squeezed in a little time to do something for myself.
This is a 16x16 canvas...a good size to really show up on your door. I liked it so much that I am going to keep this size in stock from now on. Do you need something to match your new flag?

Riley wouldn't get out of the picture! Can you tell that he needs to go to the "beauty shop" over the break?

Happy Anniversary

Today is our twelve year anniversary. Every year when I see the Bradford Pears in bloom it makes me think back to that day. It was chilly, but I wanted our pictures made outdoors in front of those fluffy white flowers. Mr. Mansfield let me wear his tuxedo jacket in between pictures. We had big silver buckets of Bradford Pear cuttings sitting around everywhere as really the only decoration. It was a small wedding, but I loved it. This is my favorite shot. It looks like a postcard and I always have it in the house somewhere.
Tomorrow I am being whisked away on a surprise overnight trip sans kids. My sweet husband has planned it all. I'll let you know more later...

Workin' With What I've Got

As the official first day of my break, I made the executive decision not to leave my house today. The only problem is that we are running low on groceries.
I. do. not. want. to. go. to. the. store.
Going to the grocery store every single week is a dreaded errand for me. This morning I made do by making breakfast burritos. We didn't have the stuff for biscuits or pancakes, but I did have fresh tortilla shells. The kids loved the ham, scrambled eggs, and cheese wrapped in a warm little blanket. For lunch, I cleaned out the freezer and found mini cheese pizzas. I am going to have to be really creative for dinner!
I've also got my first Easter decorations up on my mantle. I used my old window pane that my mom rescued from a house that being torn down. She also got me this pretty metal "Happy Easter" at the clearance, clearance sale at Pier 1 last season. Yea! A surprise gift for me!

Easter Bunny

I adore this aqua and hot pink bunny. The colors just pop right off of the canvas. Doesn't he look dignified with his little bow tie? I hope Leann enjoys this one as much as I did. All of these pretty paint colors I've had on my palette lately sure are spirit lifters.

I am starting to get my Easter decorations out and getting "in the mood". I am hoping that with spring break coming and hopefully more consistant warmer weather and sunshine, I will be out of my winter funk. Those couple of days this week were just a tease.

I saw on Holly's blog that the Easter Bunny is going to be visiting the Harvest Farms Inn on April 4th. I may have to sign the kiddos up for that!

Sneak Peak...

A tiny {{sneak peek}} of good things to come...

Pretty Spring Monograms

Here are two pretty monograms in spring colors. I love the little touch of robin's egg blue on the H monogram. The pale yellow and bright red S is sure to stand out on any front door. I hope both of these ladies enjoy their new artwork!

Student Teachers

Mrs. Basham and Mrs. Powers at Eastside Elementary ordered these two brightly colored 6x9 canvases as parting gifts for their student teachers. They wanted something that would work in any classroom. I thought the primary polka dots were really cute and would go with just about anything!

My student teacher ended up getting one as well. I wanted to do something a little more masculine for him so I went with all blue and some block lettering. Lauren woke up this morning with a 101 degree temp so I had to call in at the last minute and run in and do lesson plans. I sure am missing Mr. Denning today!

Happy Spring!

This one says it all!

Baby Addyson

Congratulations to the Anderson family! Wendy ordered this 16x20 canvas to match her beautiful nursery decor way before Addyson made her appearance. I was so happy to be able to do something for such a sweet little family, even if I did have to keep a big secret!

Spring Bunny

I am so excited to get started posting all of my spring stuff. I've done lots of bunnies and daisies! They are too cute! Now that I've gotten my "snow fix" I am ready to move on to warmer weather, especially with spring break just around the corner. This cheery orange and lime bunny is heading off to Kentucky.

What A Beautiful Snow

We were a part of the lucky 4-5 inch crowd. It was the most snow my children have ever seen. They were beyond excited. We went sledding, built a snowman, made snow angels, and even made snow cream. It really was a beautiful snow that hung to the tree branches. Our world was outlined in white.

Possum's Hill

A canvas perfectly made for a hunting cabin. Katie ordered this one for Slayden for Valentine's Day. How sweet!

Tip Junkie Mom-Prenuer

I've added a new button about the mom-preneurs shop on Tip Junkie. I know a lot of you already visit this really creative, smart, and funny site. Laurie has set up an area for moms who have a business to advertise and she calls us "mom-prenuers"! Cute! Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet...click the button and check her out.

Beautiful Monogram

A beautiful soft green and pink monogram designed to grow with little miss Abigail Faith Johnson. I love this girly-girl one! Thank you, Cheryl.

"Sink-O"

I don't know if the cats are liking the snow day as much as we are. They keep looking at us like we aren't supposed to be here and that we are inconveniencing them. They are most certainly creatures of habit. They have both taken to finding hiding places where the kids can't reach them. Cinco in the sink is my personal favorite.