Monday, December 17, 2012

Teddy



Since money is tight this Christmas I asked my sister if I could paint her a picture instead. She happily said yes and here is a portrait of her dog Teddy.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

so tired.

Being a mom is the hardest and most amazing experience in the world. Here it is 1:25 am and I'm tip toeing around the house because I can finally have some me time. The trouble is I'm so tired I don't know what to do. I want to paint or make something. Instead I end up doing dishes and picking up toys. I am exhausted. Mentally, physically and somewhat spiritually.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Vinyl chalk decals!!!

Many, many months ago, maybe even last summer, I bought this spice rack at a friend's yardsale. It was brown and had all these cool glass spice bottles inside. It was very dusty and some of the bottles were stained, but I just knew I could make it the spice rack of my dreams. So, finally, many many months, maybe a year later, I painted it and found these awesome vinyl chalk labels to put on the bottles. It took a while but I filled the bottles with dried spices from my garden. Here is the result.



You can find these awesome decals at http://www.etsy.com/shop/chalkandtalk .
They are an awesome shop on etsy with tons of decals to choose from and if you purchase their chalk marker I can tell you it works wonderfully. I highly recommend going there. Another great shop to buy larger decals from is http://www.etsy.com/shop/LetsTalkChalk . I got this fridge decal from them
 
I ordered the larger chalk markers off of ebay. Whew, baby is awake so that's all I can post now, at least I got that much done...!
 

Friday, August 17, 2012

aaaahhhhh!!!!

aaahhhhh!!!!

okay, so being a stay at home mom is great. Once you get past the insanity of being with a toddler and a newborn all day it's really wonderful. Now, there are the bills. So many bills and one less income equal enormous amounts of stress. So I have been listing things on ebay like crazy and just when we make a sell and I think yay things are looking up, something happens and we are pulled back down. down, down down the spiraling debt hole, where there is no end, and there is no light. I'm particularly upset about this tonight because today I made a mommy boo boo and I paid our electric bill twice. Apparently earlier this month when I called to pay it they told me the billing department was closed on weekends and to call back monday.Yeah, because I'm so good at remembering things when I have a toddler and a baby and a husband (ladies you know what I mean). So here it is weeks later and I realize not only did I forget to pay it but I miracously find the letter telling me they will shut off our electricity on tuesday if the bill is not paid on monday. So in a panic I scheledule for my bank to pay the bill only it can'tgo through until monday. shouldn't be a problem but I'm still worried. So today I call the electric company and pay over the phone (they charged an extra five dollar pay over the phone fee added to the already late fee). but it's paid, whew, so then I go to my bank and try to cancel the payment I had scheleduled for them to make. too late. it's already in progress and can't be stopped. they tell me to call the electric company. so I do and they tell me there isnothing they can do besides credit it to my account, which means next month for once my payment will not be late. but where does that leave me now? That's over $400 gone out of what very little money we have. Now more bills won't get paid. aaaahhhhh!!!! I know that somehow we will make it. (we have very loving parents) but it just sucks for lack of a better word. so if you follow me on twitter and you are getting sick of all my attempts of trying to sell you things just bear with me. I've got diapers and formula and bills to worry about.

okay, just needed to rant. I know God will provide. He always does.

Monday, July 23, 2012

sweet peas are hard

Let me clarify, drawing the sweet pea blossom is very difficult. Have you ever studied the blossom of the sweet pea? The mixed runner sweet pea to be exact. They are very difficult to disect. Maybe if I had a real one I could figure it out but looking at photos on the web is not helping me. Let me back up...

I was so excited when I read that the Baker Creek Seed Company was looking for illustrators to illustrate seed packets. That's a job I can do from home (since I am now a stay at home mom) and they even offer to pay in seeds! (a gardener's dream) So I was so excited, I emailed them and they wrote back. The plant they want me to illustrate is the mixed runner sweet pea. Maybe it is a test to weed out lousy illustraters which apparently I am because I am having a very hard time. So far, this is what I have...




So this is what I've come up with. I like it but I don't think it is seed packet material. I'm trying to a drawing in colored pencil but it isn't turning out so well. So, I will probably end up sending this one to the Baker Creek people so at least I can say I tried. If only they had given me a sunflower or a tomato. ...sigh....

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

who's got the blues?

After months of painting brown watercolors I finally gave in and let Lukas play around with some acrylic paint. I kept the palette cool with blues and greens. I thought at least that way whatever he painted would look good in my nautical themed home.




Tuesday, July 17, 2012

painting with watercolors

Okay, I can't say I haven't gotten to paint some. Lukas, my almost three year old, loves to paint. I started him on with watercolors in which he quickly learned to blend all the colors together to get brown. And so he paints with a lot of brown. We started with GLOB watercolors but he quickly wanted more so I gave in and let him use some van gogh watercolors. (more on GLOB later) I LOVE that my little man loves to paint. I only wish I had enough frames to put them all in and hang them!


 I helped with the sun and the tree in this one. Yes, look closely you'll see them.

forget the beef, where's the peace?

It's 1:15 am and this is my free time. I haven't posted in such a long time due to the fact that I have recently given birth yet again. This pregnancy was much harder than the first one and I am just now starting to aquire some sort of normalcy. Ah...where to begin?

I spent a great deal of this pregnancy feeling very depressed and stressed out. Should I talk about that or about how it all lead up to me going into labor two weeks early and giving birth naturally in an operating room, not at all how I had planned.

Or should I focus on the now, and how strange it is to quit working to be a stay at home mom to a newborn and almost three year old. To worry about being a one income family, about being a good mom, a good wife, a good daughter, sister, friend, about losing myself completely...

Will I ever find peace again? or the time to paint?

These are the questions I torture myself with. I'm convinced if I try to start documenting them it may all become clear, or at least a bit less foggy.

Friday, January 27, 2012

craft shows got me bummed.

I'm a little bit bummed because all the spring craft shows are taking applications now and all the spring craft shows are scheleduled for one month before my due date. So I'll be eight months pregnant and if this pregnancy is anything like the last one I could deliver up to three weeks early. Sooooo....it's a little daunting to think ahead and come up with all the fees and apply when I don't even know what's going to be happening then. And if I didn't get accepted, well, I'm not sure my fragile mind could handle rejection right now. So I'm thinking I just shouldn't even try. Just wait a year or two. :( Will my dreams ever come true?

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Christmas gift.

This is a painting I did for my husband's parents for Christmas. I just haven't been able to give it to them yet. I hope they like it. :) I used acrylic paint which is not my favorite medium but I figure I shouldn't be using oils being with child and all.