This painting was created especially for my dear friend, MaryJane who is adopting her 2nd little girl from China. MJ and her husband felt the tug of a child in need sooner than expected after their first adoption and lots of us are feeling blessed to help with some of the financials by donating to a silent auction.

Her sweet Talia Mei will need some medical attention once she comes home. The auction will help the family defray some costs and give a beautiful start to a beautiful girl.

This painting is 18×24 x 1.5″ deep and is ready for hanging and signed on the side.

Check out the auction from tonight at 8EST thru next week ( i think my painting debuts in its auction spot tomorrow though several items are posted already!)Info can be found here and here.

Just for fun….make some reversible face pillows. Cute for a little girl, or quirky for a big girl who likes a bit of whimsy. Some of my Facebook buddies suggested the cases would be great slumber party crafts/favors or even a nice gift to mail to your little girl if she is at sleep away camp.

Use fabric paint to wing it and give it your own spin or download my full size printables to trace or transfer. i’d highly recommend Super Soft Transfer Paper from Dharma Trading if you go the iron-on route. It cannot be beat.

If you want to trace, use a lightbox or sunny window and tape the template pieces inside the case. Then trace and fill in with soft fabric paint. i like this kind from Tulip.

Piece of cake!!

i’ve been dreaming of a little girl’s room inspired by my Mermaid’s Waterfall painting ever since the last stroke of paint had dried.

Here is a little collection of decor items found on etsy and the web that i’d love to use in my fictitious room. The metallic gold swooshes in the painting are my favorite bit to pull out!

i’m also envisioning loosely woven linen type curtains with a bit of coral fisherman’s net swag at the top and some driftwood inspired, weathered furnishings with a touch of white paint. ahhh…girls. a whole different kind of inspiration than my boys (who are cool too!) – just different. : ) (click the collage to enlarge)

1. ombré ruffle bedspread by urban outfitters

2. sandcastle pillow by gypseanurse on etsy

3. sea urchin candleholder (flameless candle for a kiddo of course!) by beautifuldetailswed on etsy

4. capiz shell chandelier by Lou Lou & Company on etsy

5. ocean plait nautical manila rope mat by mystic knotwork on etsy

6. starfish drawer pulls by juxtapositionsc on etsy

7. sea coral in aqua pillow by gypseanurse on etsy

8. Nate Berkus gold sequin throw pillow – sadly, a discontinued product from HSN, but possibly DIY?

9. cast iron round mermaid mirror by carol & andrew on etsy (choose your own color!)

i will continue to build inspiration boards around my paintings to give ya’ll my insight and vision for how the art might fit into or inspire a room!

Two craigslist acquisitions have joined the party in the form of a GINORMOUS easel and a much smaller, but still cool drafting table…more on the table later bc it is being all kinds of gussied up right now.

Can you believe the size of this easel? haha. its much, much more than i set out to find…but it was such a great deal, i couldn’t help myself. Its 4 feet wide with 2 masts and a stinkin pulley and crank system to hoist the main sail, me hearties! argh! i feel like a pirate when i turn the crank.

We will definitely need to blow out the ceiling to make it vaulted now, because what you’re seeing is the full height of the UN-extended masts nearly hitting the ceiling already?! : ) i love to work large…but i do paint small on occasion and my husband and i were cracking up at how a 12×12 canvas will look on this behemoth. We are getting hardwoods in this space…but we actually HAD to put the easel together IN the room even with the carpet still down, because 1) its the only place we could fit it, and 2) it won’t make it through the door assembled.

aaaaaanywhoooo….just marking the progress! onward we go!

Sorry guys…i couldn’t resist. i’m not expecting. i just mean literally….our family is growing.

And now we have physical documentation of the fact!

i’ve made so many growth charts in my day. Always for customers. And my son always asks for one when i do. i’m such a slacker when it comes to creating for our own house though. Soooo, he’s six. He’s just over 4 feet tall and we finally have a growth chart in place. Sort of.

Coop and Nick found this cool, twisted branch that had fallen in a storm a few years ago when we first moved to this house. They wanted to keep it, but i was afraid of buggies. So it lived in the garage for a year. No bugs. Then it lived in the basement for a year. Still bug free. Then it migrated to a corner of my office…..you get the picture. Since i’m satisfied no bugs are inhabiting the cool twisty stick, we decided to make it a permanent memory.

We mounted it to the wall with some leather and i marked each foot with a white pencil. For our first measuring session, i notched the boys’ heights into the stick and then tied tags with some hemp that sits nicely in the notch and documented their name, height, and date. i added a drop of crazy glue under the knot to make sure the tags will stay in place over the years.

i may change out the tags to something smaller and maybe even color code the tags for each child. Coop actually wants nick and i to mark OUR heights. Great. i can watch myself shrink! haha!

But we finally have a growth chart!! yay! i’m only about 6 years late getting that going. : ) Not too shabby.

All kinds of changes going down here lately. But the biggest is more than a little bit scary.

I’m cutting down my safety net and giving my art business my full attention….cutting back my graphic design clients and workload by about 60%. its terrifying. we have a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed after all. But after a lot of conversation with my husband and a lot of soul searching, i know the time is now or never.

Did you ever imagine your life in a year? 5 years? 10? i do it all the time and i just can’t believe i will be happy doing anything besides making art and other beautiful things, plus having the time to really enjoy my family. its the only vision i see. And i figure, if i’m not moving TOWARD that goal today, right this second….then how in the heck will i ever get there?

The pendant shown above, by My Bella on etsy, bears a quote that i always think of when i consider taking a risk: “to reach the horizon, you must first lose sight of the shore.” i think that i’ve been keeping my eye on the beach too much lately, when everything i really want is off on the horizon in the sunset. Time for my family not chained to the office, time to rest more instead of burning the candle at both ends every day and time to be creative when i’m not too wiped out to actually create.

i hope that being a little bit scared will be good for me. i hope i rise to the occasion and set a good example for my kids. i want them to be happy, and see ME happy in what i do each day. That alone is a goal worth swimming toward.

Imagine what you could create in a dedicated studio like this! Well, its NOT mine….but it sure is part of my inspiration for a new creative space we are working on for me here in our home : )

admittedly, i am one of those people who needs to walk the walk, fake it til i make it, dress for the job/life i WANT. soooooo, having a workspace that makes me feel inspired and in the zone is high on my wish list. that said, my husband and i have been having many conversations about how to reconfigure my workspaces in our home since i am busting at the seams lately and finding it harder with the kiddos to get enough time in my current painting studio.

the decision is made. i’ll be taking over the master bedroom!! ha!

now before you start thinking i’m kicking out the king size and making my poor, sweet husband sleep on the couch in the name of art, let me explain. our house is an old cape cod with a first floor master that we’ve never used as such. its on the far left of the house, has access to a sink (you know, for rinsing brushes!) and also a great view of the backyard. this will be useful in these warmer months when my 6 year old wants to play out back instead of twiddle his thumbs in a corner while i paint for 6 or 7 hours. the space also has the potential for us to blow out the ceiling to the roofline, leave some exposed beams, and give me some skylights and other such dreaminess. (and it will have to be dreaminess for now as the changes we have in mind will come s.l.o.w.l.y. as our budget will allow. : )) OH! and did i also mention that the walk-in closet that is a nice big square room will be a delightful place for canvas storage and packing supplies?! that is right up there with my favorite features since right now i feel like i am constantly tripping over cardboard and bubble wrap and boxes.

when we’re done, i will have more natural light and more of a feeling of being a part of the family’s comings and goings as i work. BONUS? my basement studio space will become the new playroom and my former office will become a den/homework room for the boys. seriously, its almost silly how excited i am at the plans we are making and the way it will change my daily routine.

SO now i am shopping for deals online and tearing inspiration from many decorating magazines. i’m kind of addicted to decorating magazines. i will try to be UNlike my typical self and post photos as we transform the space.

how bout all of you guys? have you found a great way to make your creative space at home work perfectly for your family?

nighty night!

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photo via willowfrank.com ~ found on cloth and patina on facebook

i wanted to share some guest post content from a while back where i gave my thoughts on tweaking nursery and kids room decor. This one was featured on urban infant.

Do you want to create a modern baby room – something that is full of style and isn’t your typical “blue or pink?”

Here are some tips to help you create a beautiful room for your baby that also has a lot of style:

Try Pale Lilac, Instead Of Pink – I think a pale lilac is uber-feminine and fragile/dainty without being the standard requisite pink.

Grey Is An Awesome Neutral – Greys look sophisticated and “intelligent” to me. Greys are a beautifully soft, and a chic alternative to cream or tan in a modern kids room. Plus, bold colors look fantastic on a sea of grey.

Go With An Inky Blue – I think inky, violet-blue is a rich alternative to standard navy. It’s impossible for that color to look saccharine. It is serene and full of power at the same time. An inky room, with all soft pastels and frothy textures layered in, is like the baby room version of a power suit with a soft silk blouse underneath!

Make A Statement- I always like to choose one truly spectacular centerpiece for a space. That could be a great textile, a pillow, a family heirloom or toy. Its your “wow” moment. Every room can benefit from a “wow” moment and it has to be something you and your child LOVE.

Add Some Artwork – Adding a piece of artwork is a very simple and easy way to transform a room. Choose the biggest piece you can afford for the scale of the room, and you won’t have to do much else, as far as decorating goes.

Finish With A Personal Touch – Your finishing touch should be something personal. Add a family photo or a piece with your child’s name or initials.

This past weekend, we celebrated my little baby’s 1st birthday. That’s right. He’s my little baby. Do not call him a big kid. i will have to hurt you.

We had a brunch at the same greenhouse café where i had been given a little shower by my family and close girlfriends before G was born. There is a 5 year gap between my boys, so i think they figured i needed a few new things that hadn’t expired or been recalled!

Party day was sunny and bright. i made the desserts, and favors, and table decorations based on the very garden-y look of the book, Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith. The illustrations in the book are super lovely and the story is poignant and sweet.

i LOVE you my precious little guy. Can’t wait to see how you grow this next year.