LARGE door hanging

When I say LARGE, I mean large. Well, for a normal 36", 32" or 28" interior door. Most bedroom doors are the latter, right? Anyway, I had a friend ask me if I could paint one, and after seeing an example of what she wanted, I bought the supplies I needed, and finished in just a couple of days! Would have been sooner, but I have to drive 45 minutes to the closest Hobby Lobby..... anyway, here are the pictures! It turned out great, if I do say so myself. ;-) It matches the little girls' bedding and room theme. Yay!

Woo Pig Sooie!

For those of you visiting the blog from the other 49 states (or countries! Woo! I'm international, baby!).... there is a saying down here in Arkansas.....that is ingrained in every Arkansan, natural or transfer. They stop you at the state border and teach you how to call the Hogs, you know? ;-) Anyway, this famous saying is how to root for the Razorbacks. "Wooooooooo.....PIG SOOIE! Woooooooo......PIG SOOIE! Wooooooooooo......PIG SOOIE! RAZORBACKS!" That's how it's done. While I've only lived in the Natural State for 5 years, I've quickly picked up on the hype that is the Razorbacks. Those frightening hogs are displayed all over this state! I've started crafting Razorback stuff, and will be venturing into some painting of the spiked hogs soon.

These were all client orders or gifts that I gave. I am not a graduate of the University of Arkansas, or any (Arkansas) state college for that matter..... I'm a proud graduate of (now) Missouri State University (then Southwest Missouri State University) and then Webster University for my master's. Although with my master's, I didn't attend any sporting events. Just did my work, attended class, made my As, and got outta there! I will say however, those Razorback fans are something special... they make everyone feel welcome! WPS!

Teacher Appreciation

Have you seen the e-card going around on facebook.... the one where it says "no, son.... your teacher doesn't want a letter made out of crayons for Teacher Appreciation week.... she wants a gift card to......(it goes on but I will stop...). Anyway, I had to laugh at that one. I haven't made one of those initial crayon art things, (yet!!!!) but I do make my own stuff for people. Being a teacher, I know and understand how important those handmade gifts are. Sure, gift cards are nice, but something made from the heart is even better. This year I let the kids pick out gifts for their teachers, and then I am making a crafty something and a yummy something for them. These crafty things aren't "teacher-y" but they will match their personalities. My kids have been extremely fortunate to get GREAT teachers, I am so thankful for them. I just want them to know how much they are appreciated....not just this week.... but forever.

So here is what I made for B's preschool teacher. This fits in with her backyard pool and decor. :)

This is the LARGEST wreath I've ever made. That is a 36" door, and the wreath is 46" at it's widest point. Good thing it's "smooshable" if it doesn't fit her door! :)

E's first grade teacher's gift will be posted later. I haven't started it yet. LOL!

Inner Beauty

Our church is having a Ladies' Tea and Brunch this coming Saturday as a fundraiser for the youth's trip to Guatemala. They've asked for "crafty" people to make donations for a silent auction, and I knew instantly I'd make something. I knew what I wanted to make by that evening, just didn't know how I'd do it. A couple of days later, I had the vision. I knew what I was going to paint. Here it is!

Now, I had some inner conflict going on while creating this. Do I leave it plain, or do I jazz it up a bit? Add some flowers and sparkle? Even though the verse talks about inner beauty being worth so much to God, I chose to add the bling. Creatively, it pulled the whole painting together. I probably should have left it plain. But I know deep down it was beautiful without the bling as well. ;-)

Door Signs

Signs. All kinds of signs. Big signs, little signs, name signs, mascot signs, cheer signs, you name it! I've been pumping these door decorations out fairly frequently, but often forget to take pictures of my creations. (Must remember to do that!) I have made signs for babies rooms that match their bedding, signs with tons o' glitter, tweenager signs, little girl signs, little boy signs... I think you get the drift. These are all created on canvas, sometimes wrapped, sometimes board. Just whichever the client prefers. :-) I hand paint ALL of them, so no two are ever alike. EVER. Even when I try to re-create one someone saw a picture of.... I do my best, but often the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. are even better than the first!

These are just a few of the signs. I'm certainly glad I *did* take pictures of some of them, because I'd already forgotten about a few of these beauties!

Wood Signs

Remember those growth charts I made? Well, DS's, the orange painted one, turned out AMAZINGLY beautiful. I mean, beeeee-uuuuuu-tiful. So here is how my mind works. (We live in a very small town, where there are two seasons. Scrapper Football (high school) season, and the off season. Very similar to the show/movie "Friday Night Lights.") So I *love* this rustic look, and my mind is reeling. I could make signs! Scrapper signs! Wow! They would be awesome! So out of my idea, here is what I created.

(Nice popcorn ceiling, right?)

This sign is 5' long. I made the first one for my house, but my DH stole really liked it, and took it to his classroom thought I made it for his classroom. He was wrong. Although it did turn out to be a good thing he has it displayed in his room, because two people he works with placed an order for their own! What the WHAT? Whoo hoooo!!! So I started out just making one, and in less than a month, I've made 5, with an order for one more!

Growth Charts

When DD was 3 and DS was 1, I went to Michael's and bought those little wooden animals for a "project" I was going to make. A growth chart for each of them. Sure, I had measured how much they'd grown on the door trim, BUT, since we were already in the second house since they'd been born, and I knew we wouldn't be in that house forever, I needed to make a "portable" growth chart. So I purchased all the parts needed except for the lumber, and they sat in a bag for 3 years. Fast forward to now, a new house under our belts, DBS in our lives, and a Pinterest addiction, where I saw a growth chart that I liked..... "Hey! Wait a minute! I have those shapes.....somewhere....." Guess what?!?!! I found them! So a quick trip to the lumber store, a quick pick up of soccer and baseballs....and BOOM! I was ready to start. Here are my first growth charts.

Princess, Trucks and Sports....

Which I posted on Facebook, and then a friend contact me to make some for her! Even though I had to ship them out of state. Whoo hoo!

Two matching charts for boy cousins!

Guess what? I had another friend contact me to make one for her son, too! I am so excited! (I love the way this one turned out. It will match his nursery, which is "woodland" themed. I love the original rustic look of the wood, enhanced by the painting!)

Rustic Woodland

That same friend saw some signs in a store and asked me to make some like it...

"I can at ____" signs!

These signs are both 5 feet long. She told me the colors, and away I went! I'm having so much fun with all this stuff!