Beautiful Weekend

It's a beautiful weekend weather-wise. After all of these scary storms, it is so nice to have some calm and sunshine. The Colberts are getting married this weekend! Congratulations to you! I love this canvas that marks the special date. This is perfect for newlyweds and anniversaries. Thank you, Rachel!

I had planned to be enjoying the sunshine and some baseball today at the Warren County Tide Tournament in Murfreesboro. However, my little player is still on the couch. This pneumonia has really gotten him down. I had thought about taking him down there just to sit and watch, but he's not even ready for that. Maybe tomorrow. Good luck, Tide!

Carter and Football

My sweet boy is so sick! Mike and I have both taken days off to stay home with him this week. I was so thankful for the day off yesterday. We thought he was having a bad allergic reaction to all of the grass and pollen from Easter weekend. He is highly allergic to hay! However, we found out (after a chest x-ray in Murfreesboro this morning) that he has pneumonia in his right lung.

Now he is on a strong antibiotic. His oxygen levels are good and he is a big, strong boy. Even though I am worried sick, I know he is going to be fine. Thank you so much to all of you who have been asking about him.

I was looking for the perfect picture of him to post and I came across this one that my sister send me from her phone a long time ago. I mean a long time! Apparently she took him to TSC when he was little. This is so funny!

Look at that face! Don't you just want to eat him up? You all might not think this is as funny as I do, but I needed the laugh today.

Because I feel like I should include a canvas in every post, here is a really cute football themed canvas. Carter loves all sports and it doesn't matter which one is in season. Even though baseball is in full swin, he is obsessed with the NFL draft right now. This 8x10 is perfect for any little sports lovin' little boy's room!

Umbrella - ella - ella

I love that song! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to look up Rhianna's Umbrella.
We've got scary storms today here in Middle Tennessee. My husband woke me up at 6:30 this morning to tell me that there was no school but I needed to get in the closet. There I was with Lauren and all of her dolls, sick Carter, and an angry cat. Fun.
The good news is that we all survived, and while we are bracing for more storms today, this one has passed. I knew this would be the perfect canvas to post today. It often feels like there is a hole in my umbrella and I just gotta keep smiling!
Thank you, Hailey!

Easter Weekend

The kids had three egg hunts this year. Our kitchen is now full of plastic eggs, chocolate, jelly beans, peeps, and every other kind of Easter candy that you can think of. They had so much fun! I am so happy that the weather cooperated.

Here they are with their dad on Sunday morning. They are getting too old to match, but we all did coordinate in shades of blue. Actually, Carter and Lauren are wearing their ring bearer and flower girl clothes. It was a dry run for the wedding!

I made cupcakes to take to Sunday lunch with my parents. I used these super cute flower cups and butterfly picks from my favorite store, Michael's. Lauren did the sprinkles!

We also colored eggs this year. Yes, I can get a lot done with one free day off from work! This is the first year that I've colored eggs in a long time. Lauren and Carter wanted to do it and were old enough to really help. It takes patience, but they enjoyed the process.

Our good friends all the way from Michigan, Bill and Debbie, were able to be here for the holiday weekend.

My favorite shot of the whole weekend.

Today I am home with a sick baby. Carter is paying for hunting eggs in a hay field! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, too. It sounds like some rough weather is heading our way. Be safe!

Home Again

Many of you may be thinking that you've seen this one before. You have! I did this canvas with some of the lettering in a dark blue. Once Kayla got it home, she decided it was a little too dark for the room. No problem!

She sent me this pillow as a reference for the new color. Did I match it it or did I match it?

Thank you, Kayla! I hope that now it is perfect!

Tie Dying

As many of you know, I teach a class for Tennessee Tech University. It is through the 2+2 program which provides students with all of the classes they need to become teachers in one location. I wish this had been around when I went back to school! I drove all over the mid-state!

The class I teach is Art 3200 "Using Art in the Classroom". This semester I taught two sessions of it, one in McMinnvile and one in Tullahoma. For our final project, we tie dyed! Here are some of my students from both of the classes showing off their talents. They all turned out so well. I especially love the scarves and baby onesies!

Fifth graders don't always want to hunt eggs for Easter. I usually try to find something else fun for them to do at our Easter party. Since I already had the supplies, we tie dyed!

All of their little shirts turned out beautifully! They loved the whole process. Cutting off the rubber bands and seeing the designs inside was the best part.

My TTU students inspired me to do a scarf. This solid white scarf is $8.00 at WalMart. I used lime green, cornflower blue, and aqua. The design is so pretty and looks like watercolor. I can't wait to wear it!

I brought all 24 shirts home with me to launder. Here's my front porch yesterday afternoon. Mike said that it looks like a bunch of hippies live here!

Teacher Gift

New customer Carly in Michigan ordered a really cute canvas for her child's teacher. I love, love, love the bright colors on this one! I also added some aqua rhinestones on some of the polka dots. This 10x10 costs $25.00 and makes the perfect end of the year gift. Get your orders in now!

Spring Flowers

Today is the perfect day to share some spring flowers! It is a beautiful day here in middle Tennessee. The sun is shining and the temperature is perfect. All of these flowers and blooming trees are making me itch and sneeze!
This adorable 11x14 is currently available for just $30. Think Mother's Day!

These pretty zinnias, daisies, and roses are done on an 8x24 canvas. This long, skinny size looks great on the front door. This one is also currently available for $30. Think teacher end of the year gift!

This big, beautiful 16x20 is going home with Toni Morton. She placed an order for this one and I loved it so much that I decided to paint a few extras. Thank you, Toni! This will be so pretty on your door!

Here they are all together to get a better idea on sizes. Now get out and enjoy this day! It looks like more of those April showers are rolling in soon.

Happy and Sad...Again

Today I have two happies! First, this canvas is about as happy as it gets. I've done this one before and just love it. Click here to see more. These happy cherries are 24x24 and are being shipped off to Michigan today. Thank you, Carly!

Even though I look absolutely thrilled in this picture, my other happy is Emily's first wedding shower! Emily is my baby sister and is getting married on June 11. Lauren and I were invited to attend the shower at her church. It was so nice!

Lauren had the camera so some things are off center and chopped off, but I love this one! We've got two more showers to go to in the coming weeks. All of the wedding planning and preparations have been fun and relaxed. I am looking forward to it! Now, if only my dress would get here!

The sad is a big sad. Our sweet Riley never recovered from his infection. We had a little funeral for him Sunday afternoon. As Lauren said, "We are crying happy tears and sad tears. Happy ones because Riley doesn't hurt anymore and sad ones because we miss him so bad". So true.

A New Design

I love trying something new! I've done damask before, but this time it was requested in a lighter shade. I did the gray on the white instead of the usual black over gray. I especially like the large shape in the center. I didn't do my usual box either!

The large red letters and the small black letters are slightly off centered, one to the left and one to the right...I like that, too! You can really see all of the shading in this photo. I'm not going to lie, this one took a while! It was worth it!

Here's a sneak peek at some upcoming spring flowers. They are going to be gorgeous!

Happy and Sad

Happy first...I had a very unusual request for a clown themed canvas in hunter green. I don't have too many people asking for clowns. Plus, I don't really think of hunter green as a clown-ish color.

I decided to keep it simple (that always works best!) and go with the clown hat and some fun polka dots. I think it turned out really cute! Thank you for the order to my sweet neighbor, Regina.

Sad second...I've shed a lot of tears this week over my Riley. He's still at the vet's office with a terrible infection. I don't know how it's all going to turn out and I think that is what is hurting me so bad. Mike and I have had Riley since we were first married fourteen years ago. He's on our first Christmas card! He was my baby before I had babies.
I know it's all going to turn out for the best. You all who have beloved pets know what I am going through. I'll keep you posted.

Did You Know?

Dream Custom Artwork offers gift certificates? A gift certificate is perfect when you aren't sure what to give.

• Let the newlyweds pick something out for their house after they get settled.
  
• Let the new mom choose something for the nursery after baby gets here.
  
• Let the graduate get something new for the dorm room closer to move in time.
  
• Let that special teacher decide what they need for the classroom or home.
  

The possibilities are endless!

Eastlan

Kristin Green ordered her son's name for his nursery. She wanted to match one that I did for big brother, Anden, a while back.

They are not exactly the same, but definitely coordinate. I love the big red ribbons on the top! These are 6x9 canvases. I know they look adorable hanging above his crib.

She also wanted a coordinating sign for the door. I used the same shades of blue, red, and cream. I used a different font but kept the stitching detail. This time it's a big blue ribbon! Thank you so much for this big order, Kristin! Congratulations to you and your family!

Practice Makes Perfect

Holly Hodges ordered this quote for her son, Christian. He is in high school and wants to play basketball in college. Holly knows how much hard work is going to have to go into achieving that dream. I thought it was so sweet that she wanted something to keep him motivated.
Christian was one of my very favorite second graders waaayyyy back in the day! He's such a sweet, funny boy. I hope he gets all of that and more.

Holly asked for school colors of orange, blue, and white. I kept with the stripes and simple print font to (hopefully) keep it more masculine. I love the white glaze over the stripes in the center. This is a 16x20 and costs $40.00. Thank you, Holly!

The Easter Bunny

The Easter bunny is making his way to our house! I love putting together gift baskets for my kids. It's smaller and maybe a little more personal than Christmas. They've sort of outgrown their little wicker baskets that I've used for year. This year I splurged on new buckets! I hope they hold up because I can see me sitting these out as decorations after they are grown. This really cute website has lots of personalized stuff!

Carter's basket will mostly be Egypt Legos, books, and baseball cards...boy stuff. You don't want to see that! I think everything in Lauren's basket will have her name on it! It's a good thing she loves personalized stuff as much as I do! She is really into Olivia the Pig right now. I ordered this adorable pillowcase dress from this etsy shop. It's everything I can do not to let her wear it now.

I also found these custom crayons at this etsy shop. These are so cool! This is Lauren's name spelled out in crayons. I just notices that they also have crayon Lego blocks and little Lego men crayons. I think this would make a great party gift.

Well, no artwork is included in this post. I just had Easter on my mind and decided to share. Have a great day!

Madalyn

Gwendolyn Jones is expecting a new baby girl. She wanted something extra special for her nursery. She asked for pink with shades of blues, greens, and purples. This is slightly oversized at 12x36.

She also had this font chosen and wanted it in purple. I think she made a good choice! It looks very elegant.

Here's a close up so you can see all of the shading on each dot and letter. This one is so pretty close up and far away. I can see little miss Madalyn using this in her room for a long time to come. Thank you, Gwendolyn!

Classic Monogram

This beautiful monogram in classic colors shipped to the Gregorich family last week. I've done this design several times and it is always a favorite. Even though everyone loves it, it is a perfect wedding or anniversary gift. This one is 11x14, but it can done on just about any size to fit your budget.

Now, after a long weekend of baseball and stomach bug recovery, I am back at the painting table. It feels good. If you are waiting on the list, thank you for being so patient.