John Deere 4020

A watercolor and ink drawing of a John Deere tractor. My parent's asked me to do this painting for their friends. Their friend was a farmer and owned one of these tractors many years ago. This was commissioned when I was raising money for the "Keep Pounding 5K" I did in the spring. 

A is for... Airplane, Apple, and of course Alex.

A family at church adopted a baby boy. It was time for the shower and I wanted to do something special. my "go to" handmade gift for a new baby are hairbows. This didn't quite work. Then I remember, "Hello, I can do a picture." I tried to keep it simple and something that could fit in his room in the future too. At the shower today the painting received lots of Oh's and Ah's. Sometimes I think people are just being polite with their reactions. The best thing is when the mom really likes it and she did. 

"Mature" Hairbows

A few weeks ago my friend called wanting to know if I could make her some bows. Her problem was she wore a white shirt to work everyday and needed a splash of color. Looking at the cost of bows, she thought she would rather pay me to do them then give her money to the stores. So I gladly helped her out. 

I was really happy with the way the collection turned out. But it doesn't hurt when you have a great friend in mind when you are making the bows. 

 These are the satin burned edges that are oh so popular. And I must say, fun to make.

Here is the link for the tutorial for these roses. I pulled them tighter which made them more ruffly.

http://asewingodyssey.blogspot.com/2010/06/felt-rose-tutorial.html

 Who doesn't love a good flower?

These are gathered by pulling the existing wire or from a running stitch.

And of course an adorable model. 

freezer paper ballerina stencil

Custom tote. This is the silhouette that the dance studio uses. I drew it on freezer paper and cut it out. Although the image the studio uses doesn't have the tutu, I used my artistic license to embellish. 

Keep Pounding 5K fundraiser artwork

Every time I put paint on my brush it is as if I am taking a deep breath. I do get painter's block as I stare at a blank canvas, but as soon as the color touches the page the magic begins. Some pieces are stronger then other, but the joy is in the process. 

These paintings were for a purpose. To raise money for the Levine Children's Hospital Cancer Center. They are using the money to bring the best treatments and trails here to Charlotte. This will allow patients to get the newest and best treatment here at home. 

The 5K was great. I ran the entire race with my 9 year old niece. She set the pace in the beginning. I don't think she slowed down till the 2nd mile for the water table. I was a great experience and one that I won't forget. And what a great way to finish the race than to run across the football field.

 For a Clemson fan for their Clemson room!

For my friend and her three daughters.

A Hibiscus flower painting with added texture.

An underwater scene for a girl's room.

Thanks patrons for all your support in this great cause! 

Little Girl Peasant Dresses from T-shirt

This is an old t-shirt of my Mother-in-law. I really liked the lady bugs even though the shirt isn't my favorite. I wanted to made dresses from the ladybugs from my daughter and two nieces. Now remember- I am new to sewing! 

This was the first attempt. I liked the red and the yellow together. But this one was too short for my daughter. I did like the "pillow case dress style," but I would probably add a shirt underneath. I decided to try sleeves for the next one. There was a great tutorial for a peasant dress I saw on pinterest. It didn't require button holes or a zipper, so it was safe for me to try. 

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/01/infant-peasant-dress-free-pattern-and.html

http://www.sew-much-ado.com

Here is my model. Cutie huh. Still a little too short. Luckily the other two dress are for girls a year younger then my daughter. I did the last one with the white background butterflies. I really liked the baseball tee look to the dress. 

There were a few boo boos and changes I made on the way. Well, it was mostly to the first dress which is shown here in the middle. First I redid the seams on the side. I had the edges exposed like when I sewed the stripes on. That made it look like she had two poster boards sewn together. The next thing was the sleeves. I put red sleeves on it. But I didn't make the sleeves wide enough. they were really tight on her arms and shoulders. Since I didn't have any red jersey left, I did the sleeves in white. Which ironically for that dress I like better. Since it had both red and yellow stripes I think it would have been too busy with the red sleeves. Or- maybe I'm just saying that because that was my only choice. 

All in all- I am really pleased with the way the dresses turned out. And now I know I can make a dress! Oh, and bows that match to come soon. 

Sweet Owl and Darling Dino

These are my recent custom children's artwork. 

The owl painting matched this Pottery Barn set. The color is off on the screen. But I had the sheet as I painted it to make sure the colors matched perfectly.

And I think this little dinosaur needed one more post. He kinda got lost in the last one.

This is another example of a 16x20 canvas painting that I can do for those that would like to support 

"Keep pounding 5K Stadium Run"

http://events.carolinashealthcarefoundation.org/site/TR/Events/PoundthePavement?fr_id=1280&pg=pfind

Art for a cause

As some of you may already know, my mother-in-law passed away last April from a brain tumor. My sister-in-law said she was running this race in memory of her mom and asked if we wanted to join. 

Miriam, my mother-in-law had a very tender spot in her heart for children. Hearing her tell stories of her own five kids growing up and witnessing how she loved and interacted with her 12 grandkids it was quite evident.   As I am sure that she would love cancer research to progress as much as possible for everyone, I know that she will be even more greatful for the help that we can help little ones in our area that are going through the tough illness that she did. 

This is the race...

The Keep Pounding 5K Stadium Run, 

presented by North Highland Consulting, is Charlotte's first "stadium run" that will take runners up all five levels of the Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, with a finish through the players' tunnel onto the field. 

This is a fundraising event that benefits pediatric cancer research at Levine Children's Hospital.  When a family is faced with a diagnosis of cancer, their entire world gets turned upside down as they face an extreme fight.  One of the most important resources that is vital to beating cancer is a strong local support network of family and friends.  Thanks to Phase I and Phase II clinical trials now offered at Levine Children's Hospital, familes have access to the most advanced treatments available where it matters most - close to home. 

I added the link on the previous post.

I am selling children's room decor paintings to raise money. All the proceeds will go to this charity.

A 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas is $30. 

An 8x10 Watercolor and Ink on watercolor paper is $15 (unmatted and unframed).

If you are interested please leave a comment below with contact information and we will work out the details. Thanks for your support!

To get a sense the style here are some examples on canvas.

This is the most recent painting I did. It is for the sweetest little boy. His mom said that when he wakes up he says, "Hello Dinosaur." 

Watercolor and Ink examples:

http://events.carolinashealthcarefoundation.org/site/TR/Events/PoundthePavement?fr_id=1280&pg=entry

http://events.carolinashealthcarefoundation.org/site/TR/Events/PoundthePavement?fr_id=1280&pg=entry

Flip Flops!!! the best accessory of summer

Who doesn't love a good pair of flip flops? 

 I think I have found my new obsession. Rather then hairbows that my girls wear, I can wear these too! The pink and blue flops I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. So, happy birthday Connie! And here is how I did it...

Cut the original plastic straps off. Then I added four strips of fabric about an inch wide to the sandal. Pulled all four through the center hole and tied them so the knot fit in the hole, then glued, then trimmed. 

After that I twisted two stands of fabric per side. Then threaded it through the side hole. There are your straps.

I made a fabric flower in the same manner I make my flower rose hairbows. 

Added bling because I know my sister-in-law would like that. Hot glued that sucker on the top.

And Voila! 

(please don't look at my toes which are in desperate need of a pedi). 

On to the pink sparkle. I left the existing straps and simply hot glued glitter ribbon.

 Added one of my favorite hairbow flowers...

And there you have diva flip flop #2. 

Next go round I think I will use a black sole. I think it would make the additions pop more. Oh, there is nothing I love more then a fun pair of flip flops. I will post more when I make them. At least one pair per swimsuit! Summer here we come!

Farmall Tractor

This is a painting of a tractor for a little boy's room. My client's father made the wood fame. A great idea, but since neither I nor my husband own a saw, it was impossible for me to make. Thank goodness for dad's, right!

I asked for a few scraps of wood to get familiar with the surface. That makes big difference. Knowing how the material takes paint is very important. I was pleased with the wood. It still allowed for me to maintain my "watercolorish" style. The main thing I had to remember was to keep the brush as dry as possible. If the brush was too saturated with water the colors would bleed in the wood. No one wants runny lines!

The family will add the painted wood frame. I hope they will send pictures. I asked if they could wait to add the frame until after I was finished. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of space for the painting. Now that it is complete I don't think it would have been a problem. It is best to play it safe.

Here is the inspiration for the wood painting. My client found these and asked if I could do the Farmall tractor. And of course my answer was "I can paint anything on anything!" Okay, that might be a stretch. I doubt I could do the Mona Lisa on wood. Thankfully there aren't too many requests for things like that.