Baby Face

"Baby Face"

6 x 6 Chunky Cavas

I know. I know. Looks familiar, right? Actually, it's the third in what has become a series for me. Okay, so if you don't recall, I started with this piece in response to a prompt from Sunday Postcard Art. That turned in to this which I made as a gift for my childhood friend's baby shower. Now, for the shower piece, I used colors that were specific to that family's needs (their eye color surrounded by the colors found in the baby-to-be's nursery) and included her name in crystals on the side of the canvas.

Well, as art would have it, those pieces inspired this - a  6 x 6 chunky canvas version of the same in which I was able to use all of my favorite colors. I found myself using bolder strokes and brighter hues this time - and fussing less with the subtleties. This one is "rougher" and more whimsical and truth be told, I think I like it the best so far . . . Now . . . I think I need a green-eyed version . . . Oh! How about lavender eyes . . . or . . .

This one's for you Leslie - good luck with your event for Lizzy. I know that it will be a tremendous success.

Kristin xo

The Splendor of the Rose

"The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it's scent nor the daisy of it's simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, Spring would loose it's loveliness."

- Therese of Lisieux

Easter Images for You!

Vintage birthday card with adorable bunny

"Sweet Girl" Easter card from 1956

I found some sweet images from my collection of vintage children's cards that I wanted to share with you. They (or portions of them) would be great for Easter cards, place cards for your Easter table or afterwards for your Easter journaling or scrapbooking. . . 

Have fun!

Kristin xo

Woo Hoo! (The Winner)

Thanks to all who participated in the Woo Hoo! Giveaway. Your kind comments were so appreciated and although it's always tough to choose just one winner, I'm so happy for the girlie who will be getting these to play with. . . So without further adieu, I put the Random Number Generator to work and she came up with the following choice . . . 

If you haven't yet had the pleasure, you must check out this talented artist's work. I've been a fan for a long time now - and I know that the bright colors here will find a perfect home along side her bold and whimsical art . . . Have you guessed yet? Okay, the winner is  . . . YOU!

Now, because I hate to leave the rest of you empty handed, I have scanned the cutest vintage children's card for you to enjoy. A lot of greeting cards in the 50's had images on both the front and back, so I've included both of them for you. 

Vintage image from my personal collection

Yours for the taking ;)

Have fun and thank you once again for all of your sweet support!

Kristin xo

Lookie, Lookie . . .

Something sweet from Joanna

So you may remember the illustration of Kendra that I recently made inspired by Joanna from Bird on her Head? She encouraged me to create something in my daughter's likeness and from that suggestion, "Future Paleontologist" was born. Well, what you did not know was that Joanna then asked for our address so that she could send a necklace to her! How sweet is that?! Kendra got her package (all the way from Greece - which added to the excitement ;) this weekend and. was. thrilled! Is this not the cutest thing ever? Joanna creates the most charming, whimsical pieces - many of which are based upon her poodle Daisy - and she was kind enough to send one to us. And I bet she didn't even know that Kendra loves dogs and that orange is her favorite color . . . Thank you so much Joanna, that was so sweet of you!

Which brings me to a note about blogging: how cool is it that we can inspire and support each other in this way? I mean, one comment from a friend in another part of the world put a fire under me to create something that Kendra will always have from her Mommy. And in addition to that, she got to learn about Greece and a talented artist there that happened to send her something special that she will always cherish. Talk about full circle. We are lucky to bring our worlds a little closer here in Blog Land . . . 

Speaking of which, today is the last day to sign up for my Woo Hoo! Giveaway. Please feel free to add your name to the list if you have not already done so. I will pull the winning name via Random Number Generator in the morning and announce it here. Thank you and Good Luck! 

Kristin xo

Sweet Quote

"The standard of success in life isn't the things. 

It isn't the money or the stuff - it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel."

- Abraham

SPA: Dance

"Dancing Feet"

6 x 4 Postcard

I had a lot of fun with this week's prompt, Dance at Sunday Postcard Art . . . I started with the cutest image of dancing children from The Graphics Fairy which I enhanced with colored pencils, pen and Stickles glitter. I then placed them on a background of blue and white acrylic with painted drapes (to represent a stage), some charcoal for a bit of distressing and an image of a chandelier. Final touches included outlining the dancers in black ink and the addition of more glitter on their shoes to underline the sentiment, "Dancing Feet." 

Thanks for looking! I look forward to seeing all your beautiful Dance pieces this week . . . 

Kristin xo

Woo Hoo! (A Giveaway)

Farb-Riese Color-Giant pencils & Anthropology goodies

I've had an exciting day in Blog Land and want share it with you! I. am. thrilled to have just received my 200th Follower, so to thank you properly, I took a trip to my fav store Anthropology so that I could offer you some pretty little things to go along with the set of 12 Farb-Riese Color-Giant Lyra pencils I've been saving for just this occasion. . .

If you've never tried these pencils before, let me tell you, you're in for a treat! They're bright, soft and easy to work with. They're fabulous for collage work, journals and for anything else you'd use colored pencils for. In addition, they can be both sharpened or cut with a craft knife to get just the edge you want for your arty projects. And because they work so much better when displayed in a pretty cup, I got one of those for you too. That was going to be it, but then I saw the most adorable kitchen towel with soft blues and a whimsical list of wedding anniversary gifts, so I picked that up as well. After all, if we use a pretty mug for our pencils, then we should also have a pretty towel in our studio to go with it . . .

So here's the deal: if you're interested in having these in your home, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before Monday the 18th (midnight, PST) to be entered. I will select the one winner via Random Number Generator and announce it here the next day. If you would like to be entered and do not have a blog that I can link back to, please just leave your email so that I can contact you when you win.

That's it! Good Luck and Thank You for your support. It really means the world to me.

Kristin xo

Practice Kindness

La Quinta Resort and Spa, CA

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do . . . but how much love we put into that action."

-- Mother Teresa

Baby Audrey

"Baby Audrey"

6 x 6 gallery-wrapped canvas

Front facing

Detail of crystal letters

My childhood friend is having a little girl. She and baby-to-be were given a beautiful shower yesterday and I wanted to share with you this petit canvas that I made for the occasion. I heard from her sister that the nursery is decorated in "pistachio and sea shell pink" (and I thought I was the only one who spoke in paint chips ;) and it's safe to assume that Baby Audrey's eyes will be the color of the rest of their family, a beautiful amber. With that in mind, I created this 6 x 6 piece that I hope she and baby will love.  

The tiny face was made using pencil, acrylic, water-soluble crayons, ink and Stickles glitter (on the whites of the eye) and the sides were painted in the colors of the room (the green looks more pistachio in person, I promise). Finally, I added her name on the right side of the canvas with whimsical iron-on crystal letters.

Fingers crossed that she does end up looking like the canvas - or else I'll be doing another version once the little bundle is home . . .

Kristin xo

In The House!

"Joy"

Altered Journal card with Alpha Masking

I have sad news to report. Unfortunately, The House of Art will soon be closing it's doors. Although we had a good run, sweet Emme could just not do it all on her own. You can read more about that here but in the meantime, the April content is now live and will be available until the end of the month. There you will find several artist's take on the subject of Being Aware (my article is entitled "Stories your art wants to tell") as well as my latest video on Alpha Masking. 

Thank you Emme for all of your love and support. I wish you the very best. . . 

Kristin xo