The Excitement Is Building!

I just now confirmed a new giveaway! Can you feel the excitement building?! I also just got this picture from another giveaway participant and couldn't wait! How cute is this? The very talented Kelly Roberts is giving away this cupcake themed set and you can have it personalized. Love it!!!

Remember that all of the fabulous giveaways start bright and early January 1st. Check back every day for a new prize and opportunity to win. All you have to do is comment and you are entered. Woo hoo!

Triplets

Three babies, oh my! Kristin Pruitt is beyond blessed with her healthy babies. Avery, Jaxon, and Kinsley share a nursery. Orange is the color that ties all of their bedding together.

Kristin liked the dots and stripes design that I had done before. She also found this font. Her order was so easy to put together! As I was finishing them, her friend, Wesley Hillis, asked about getting for her as a baby gift. What a wonderful surprise!

Thank you so much Kristin and Wesley! I hope they look absolutely perfect in the nursery.

Bailey's Quotes

Five canvases in five different sizes.

All done in red, black and white with a request for some zebra.

All with wonderful messages of self confidence and positive thinking.

What a great idea! Thank you Tina and Bailey Walker. I hope they match your bedding and look just perfect in your room.

Ten Days of Giveaways

The "Ten Days of Giveaways" promotion is really taking off. I am excited to say that I am going to have to change it to the "Thirteen Days of Giveaways"! It's a wonderful problem to have! So many of my talented friends jumped right in and agreed to participate. Thank you all so much!
I do have several from last year who are back and better than ever. I also have some newcomers that you all are going to love.

My Duck Duck Goose is on etsy. Wendy and I have talked quite a bit lately because I am always ordering custom "Lauren" shirts, invitations, and cards from her. I absolutely love all of her stuff! Here is the card (with matching stickers, of course!) that I ordered for Lauren's Valentines this year. Wendy is participating in the promotion this year!

Check back all week to get sneak peeks at all of the giveaways!

Avery

Holly Kurzrock in Mufreesboro ordered this 12x24 canvas what feels like forever ago! I knew she was giving it as a gift and that I needed to wait to share it. It's been killing me! I love this girly girl design, the colors, and especially the font.

It is planned for a baby nursery, but I think it would look pretty in a little girl's room or even a teen's room. I would also love to see it in other colors or with an antiquing glaze. Oooohhh...so many ideas for the new year!

Oh, The Food!

There's no doubt about it... I love Christmas! I love the family, the presents, the general good feeling in the air. But my favorite thing is the food. There are several treats the I really only get at Christmas and sometimes Thanksgiving. Believe me, I made the most of it. There is so much salt in my system from the country ham that its not even funny. That stuff is like crack. One little taste and you just can't stop. I will be paying for this and I am seriously considering some kind of "cleanse". It was totally worth it.
Lyndsay Neal way out in Missouri has a family member that feels about macaroni and cheese the way I feel about country ham. It has become sort of a family inside joke. Lyndsay ordered this little surprise. I would love to see the reaction when it was unwrapped!

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday, that you got everything you wished for, and toasted your family and loved ones. Merry Christmas!

Families

I just got to spend some quality time with Mike's family. The cousins got to play together all day yesterday. We all sat down to dinner together. We gave each other gifts, most of them one at a time. The kids all got to spend the night together at MeMaw's house. Then we all had breakfast together at our house.

We don't get to see other but a few times through the year. I know it is so important for and especially the kids to be together and really got to know one another. We do this every year and it is one of the things I look forward to the most.
We miss you, Michelle and Jamon!

I did bunches and bunches of family canvases. Most of these are Christmas gifts for special family members. There are so many different colors, fonts, and designs to these. All of them look great and are custom designed for that family. Thank you all so much for the orders! Enjoy this time with your family.
Happy Holidays!

Sabrina

Ashley Musculus down in Kissimmee, Florida is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her canvas and her new baby. I thought I'd dedicate today's post to her. I know how hard it is to wait!

Her baby girl, Sabrina, is due in the next couple of weeks. Ashley is spending this time getting the nursery ready. I don't know what I did with the picture she sent me of the bedding. I wanted you all to see how cute it is, but also how well this canvas matches.

It's not really pink. It's all of these shades of more of a coral with little touches of light blue. It is very unusual, but beautiful, and the monkeys are just too cute.

The walls are a pale shade and the furniture will be white. I thought the rich chocolate brown would really stand out. Ashley asked for a few rhinestones. I almost forgot about them (even though I had already planned where to put them!) and added them after this picture was taken. They are the perfect finishing touch!


Thank you, Ashley! Best wishes and happy holidays to you and your growing family!

Monogram Magic

This big cursive L is so pretty. It's one of my favorite letters to do - right up there with H! Isn't it funny that I have favorite letters? This 11x14 cream, taupe and black monogram is off to new customer Renee Lively.

Robin Bell wanted to same style of monogram but in earth tones instead of black. I used my favorite shade of green called Avocado Dip. I also added a burlap ribbon instead of the usual satin. Love it!

Bridgett Crouch saved me from a mistake! I painted this C on a 5x5 canvas before I realized the customer wanted it on a different size. I offered up this extra canvas and Bridgett snatched it right up. It turned out really pretty. Thank you, Bridgett!

Just this morning I confirmed another new participant. She's a talented old friend and you guys are going to love her. My excitement is building and I hope yours is as well! Check back soon for the giveaway schedule and more details.

Footprints

I did one of these super cute "warnings" a while back and got a request to do another. This is one is a favorite of mine because it is so true at our house.

Faith McGee wanted a polite warning sign for her home. It took us a while to come up with a cute way to say it, but I think it worked out!

Caroline's Owl

(photo by Pottery Barn Teen)

Caroline Scott is getting her room redecorated! That's always fun! Her mom, Tonya, sent me this picture of the owl pillow that goes with her bedding.

I already had this 12x36 sign I had bought. I painted it pale pink and added the white dots...and it sat in the back of my closet. I loved it, but really didn't have a plan for it. I knew the right project would come along. As soon as Tonya and I started talking, this sign popped into my mind.

I think it turned out so pretty and the owl just matches perfectly. It will be so cute hanging over Caroline's bed. I'll be happy to do more like this one on a canvas, but the sign is one of a kind.
Thank you, Tonya!

12x36 - $50.00

Ringing In The New Year Right 2011

It's almost that time of the year again! No, not Christmas...but pretty close! Last year I did the first "Ringing in the New Year Right" series of giveaways. It was so much fun! I had wonderful artists and businesspeople to participate and give some really cool things away. I also had all you commenting like crazy!
I've decided to do it again this year. So far I can say that I've two from last year who are for sure coming back. I've also got one for sure new one...I'm so excited! I am getting all of the other surprises lined up so be sure to check back.
I'd love for you to help me promote this very special promotion. Please post on your blog or facebook or tweet to help spread the word. You are welcome to grab the graphic and use it as well.
Thank you! Giveaways start January 1, 2011!

Ho Ho Ho!

I love these! I have done several in the red, but Tammy Young ordered one in red and one in green. The green looks pretty stinkin' cute, too!

I did add red gingham ribbon to the green for a "Christmas-y" touch.

These are all 4x12 and cost $20.00. Thank you, Miss Tammy! I hope they make the perfect gifts.

Joy

I did this set a while back for the Autumn Street Fair where Melody Brock snatched it up. I loved it, but had not had the opportunity to do another set. Gretchen Jones just recently ordered a set for the holidays, so I was excited to get to paint them again.

These are 5x5, the small size that I usually use, but they are extra deep. That means they have a very thick frame and can stand on their own. I have these pictured on an entry hall table or mantle.

Show Us Your Life Series - Christmas Decorations

It's better late than never! Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life Series was actually yesterday. With the whole family home because of the snow, there was not a quiet minute for me to sit down and get this together. I am making it happen today!
As it turns out, this is more of a tour of trees. Our house is for sale so I decided to keep things really clean and simple. I did go all out on the trees, but there is not much in the way of decorating and knick-knack sitting around. I didn't even get out my Snow Village houses!

This is our main tree in the den. It is sort of a hodgepodge of all of our favorite things. I do try to stick with a red and white theme, but every color is on there! Anytime we travel, I pick up an ornament as a souvenir. There are palm trees, Monticello, lighthouses, and a hand painted ball from Mexico. The kids like getting them out each year and remembering the trip.

These are Lauren's trees in her room. Pink trees and a pink wall make a hard photograph to take! This year I added the lime green touches since she got new pink and green bedding. It was a good way to use what we already had.

Her little ornaments are so sweet!

This is the small tree in the kitchen. It is decorated in candy, cookies, and kitchen things. The vintage candy garland was what my mom used on our tree when we were kids. I loved it then and I love it now.

This little tree might be my favorite!

Carter and Lauren were bound and determined to make a gingerbread house this year. I bought one of those kits and put it away. It made for a perfect snow day activity.

The first few steps were slow going and they almost lost their patience. After that, they really got into it! The counter and floor were an awful, sticky mess...but I let it go and had fun!

The finished product!

Happy holidays from me and my family. Thank you all for stopping by! Now I am off to enjoy the rest of the tour...

It's Beginning To Look...

...a lot like Christmas...

...and winter. Let it snow!

Angela Cargile and Gwen McCormack are getting into the spirit of the season with this adorable polka dot Santa and snowman. Angela came up with this Santa design and it is just too cute. Gwen wanted a snowman with pink - I added the dots and shimmery ribbon!