Merry, Merry!

Holiday "Photo Shoot"

Just a few days to go before Santa comes calling, and we (especially the 6-year-old) are getting pretty excited around here. . . . 

So, as it's almost Christmas, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite pictures from our recent holiday "photo shoot." Kendra received her first pet - a baby crested Gecko - for her birthday in September so this year, "Gecky" is making his first appearance too. . . can you spot the little one in the picture? Yep, that's him . . .

On her finger

On top of the candy cane

Taking his "close up"

Cheeky Gecko! (That's something I never thought I'd say!) 

And this year's Christmas Card winner? . . . 

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

"Christmas, my child, is love in action. 

Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas."

--Dale Evans Rogers

I wish you the happiest Holiday memories and the sweetest Christmas surprises. 

Until next year,

Kristin xo

My First Swap!

8 x 8 Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I'm so excited to share this with you! Lucky Me received the most amazing package in the mail the other day - a gorgeous 8 x 8 gallery wrapped canvas - from Daniele Valois of Creating Learning Flying!

I met Daniele through The Summer of Color and was immediately attracted to her bold, whimsical style and the sense of fun, freedom, and fearlessness her art expresses. She creates beautiful pieces of heritage art as well, and has been featured in several Somerset Memories magazines. 

I don't recall exactly how it came about, but I was inspired by one of her Mixed Media / Scrap pieces to try something similar and in the process, asked if she would be interested in a trade. I would do something for her featuring a picture of her baby and she would do something for me featuring a picture of mine. She kindly agreed (yeah) and suggested that we complete them in time to give to each other for Christmas.

I sent her several photo options (okay, too many) and she happened to select one of my all-time favorites of Kendra at about a year and a half. Here is the original, followed by detail shots of what she did with it . . . .

My friend Nina took this picture of Kendra when she was about a year and a half.

Look at all that beautiful, bold color: I LOVE those cheeks!

Aren't the sides cool? There is so much to attention to detail all the way around the piece.

This is my favorite detail: The "roof!" Do you see it? 

She created a "home" with Kendra in the center of it all!

"Living A Colorful Dream"

Look at all this beauty (and glitter ;)

A front door (on the bottom left), flower boxes, a roof & chimney!

I. Am. Thrilled to have this beautiful piece of art in my home and am so grateful to Daniele for all of the love and energy she put into making it. Thank you Daniele, from the bottom of my heart. 

If you'd like to see what I made for her beautiful baby, you can pop over to Creating Learning Flying today and see what I sent to them . . . I hope she loves hers as much as I do mine!

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 40)

"Star"

5 x 5 Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Side Detail

Has anyone seen my last two weeks? I lost them right around the first of the month and haven't been able to find them since . . .  I better retrace my steps, starting with Candy Cane Lane . . . . 

Okay, truth be told, I have been arting a bit in the last few days, but haven't been able to share them here for fear of ruining any Christmas surprises. Having said that, this bitty canvas was done for a little friend of mine that'll probably not see this before it is given to her. And since I'm not naming names anyway, I hope my secret's safe with you. 

"Star" was created with pencil, water-soluble crayons and acrylic. I've been into these funky little stars lately, so they also made an appearance. Once I put one one her cheek, I was inspired to write out the word on her neck. Perfect for a pre-teen (now I've said too much) don't you think? Final touches include the use of charcoal for depth, oil pastels for a bold pop of color and Stickles glitter for the fun of it . . .

I also want to take this opportunity to send a big, huge Thank You to Denise for the following prize I recently won in her drawing. She sent along the cutest craft book along with all of the lovely, sparkly (how did she know?) things that you see below. I love them all, but I have to say, those socks are my absolute favorite! Thank you Denise, I am so very grateful.

Thank you for your visit! If you'd like to see more painted pieces, please check out the Party for yourself. 

I'll see you there,

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 38)

"Merry & Bright"

8 x 12 Moleskine Journal

Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons and Liquitex acrylic

Background stamping & Stickles glitter tree

Pencil used for text & shimmer spray for texture

Happy PPF! 

Thanks for taking a peek at my attempt to muster up some Holiday Spirit . . . now, if I can only finish that tree . . . 

To see more painterly pieces, please feel free to check out the fabulous Party below:

Christmas Kisses, 

Kristin xo

Somerset Studio Gallery!

The Grapes of Wrath 1 & 2

Page 47 

Eeeee! I was thrilled to find a contributors copy of the new Somerset Studio Gallery (Winter, 2012) in my mailbox the other day - I had no idea I would be in it, and am so grateful for the opportunity. They selected a couple of pieces that I completed last February for a call on art inspired by The Classics. I choose The Grapes of Wrath as I felt that it's words were as true today as they were at the time it was created. . . you can read more about it here or pick up a copy as of December 1st. For more information, please feel free to check out the direct link on my sidebar.

Thank you for letting me share this with you!

Kristin xo

How Cute is This?!

Mug from Bird on Her Head

Hellooo everyone! 

I hope the Holidays are treating you well and that you're enjoying the beginning of the festivities . . . since it's Cyber Monday, I thought I'd share with you the cutest ever mug that I recently bought from Joanna. A series of her little girls with big eyes (which are usually accompanied by Daisy the Dog ;) are now available on mugs for the Holidays! Truth be told, I bought this as a gift for someone else . . . but the quality was so fab and the colors were so bright, that I, well . . . I am really enjoying my new mug!  

Check out her Etsy Site when you can (she is on vacation until the weekend), I know you (or okay, someone else if you're strong enough to part with it) will love this as much as I do. . .

Have fun & Happy Shopping,

Kristin xo

Happy Thanksgiving . . .

"To succeed in life, you need three things: 

a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone."

- Reba McEntire

With much love to you & yours,

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 36)

"Her"

8 x 12 Journal Spread (Moleskine)

Hey Party People! So happy to be here: my Muse was on strike for a while, but I found that a new Moleskine was the perfect lure to bring her back . . . . 

This is the second page I've done this week and I have to say, I'm really enjoying having a journal by my side. I know this isn't a new concept, but although I've done journal entries before, I've never actually gotten to the journal part.  . . . or to be honest, the being-okay-with-it-not-being-"perfect"-part. That's what I'm working on at the moment: being free, loose and more spontaneous with my art. In other words, I purposely allowed myself to make "Her" messy. Messy strokes, rough outlines and even finger painting played a role - see, I took (really close-up) photos to prove it . . .

I also played with a new body style inspired by Manon's work (don't you just love her!) - check out her site (also on my sidebar) to read about a free class she's hosting this weekend. . . the camaraderie and creativity over there is too fun to miss.

Thank you Kristin and Eva: you always throw the best parties! 

Kristin xo

Childhood Friends . . .

(She made her own bed)

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again."

- Elizabeth Lawrence

Kristin xo

Journal Play

"You Are What You Eat"

8 x 12 Moleskine Journal

Images from Retro Cafe Art

A new Moleskine + A few hours to play . . .

Thanks for looking!

Kristin xo

Nine Years Today . . .

"Memory Jar" adorned with Swarovski crystals and beads

(made several years ago)

"A man doesn't know what happiness is until he's married. By then it's too late."

-- Frank Sinatra

Kristin xo

The Sweetest Part of Blogging

Kendra & "Dina" (The Dinosaur Girl)

In my opinion, the sweetest part of blogging is the relationships we build along the way . . . I'll never forget how - in my first foray into Blog Land - I was surprised to find that so many people seemed to know each other in "real life." I would see people comment that they loved, missed and admired each other so - they would sign off with "Hugs" or "Kisses" and I thought, "wow, this really is a small world . . ." At that time there was also a blog button that many people were sporting that read, "Blog Friends ARE Real Friends." Which back then, I thought was rather odd. 

Of course it's two years later and now I totally get it. I would even venture to say that those of us who share our art, love and life with one another in Blog Land are closer in spirit than some out there in the "real world." Our common love of this community and our heart-felt connections brings us to a place that's hard to find elsewhere . . . . 

Which brings me to my friend Tahnya and a post she recently shared called Dino Love. Being that my little one is a HUGE dinosaur fan, I couldn't wait to read what she had done . . . imagine then my surprise when she shared the cutest handmade doll that she made inspired by Kendra! It had a dinosaur fabric body, a dino button by her neck and a hand-stitched face that was the sweetest ever. I commented that I adored what she'd made and that Kendra would absolutely love her. . . . So she sent it to her all the way from Canada!

I cannot tell you how much that meant to me and how honored I was to have been given such an incredible gift. It even came with this handmade card as well:

Thank you Tahnya for all the love and care you put into this beautiful gift for my baby. Thank you for sharing your time, energy and talent with our family in this special way. I am forever grateful. 

And that connection, I think, is the sweetest part of blogging . . . .

Kristin xo

What Art Offers . . .

"What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit."

--John Updike

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 33)

"Boo."

4 x 6 Postcard

Happy Paint Party Friday!

And Happy almost Halloween . . . may your weekend be full of ghosts, goblins and plenty of chocolate . . .

Kristin xo

So What Do We Call This?

"A Single Star"

8 x 10 Altered Cardboard

Texture created with a doll comb and wet Gesso

(Bird's nest from Lisa's Altered Art and vintage girl / head from The Graphic's Fairy.)

Scrapbooking? Mixed Media? I dunno. What I do know is that I miss printing (and actually using) pictures of Kendra since I stopped scrapping, and I've been looking for a way to incorporate more of her (even if it's just her body in this case ;) into my work. 

My friend's recently published piece in Somerset Memories in which she used a photo as as the main element in her art, inspired me to try the same. . . here is what I came up with . . .

So: what do we call this?

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 32)

"You Are Here"

4 x 6 

Detail

I've been bit by the painting bug lately, thanks to the weekly art and imagination found over at Paint Party Friday. . . big hugs to Eva and Kristin for their time and dedication in hosting this beautiful community.

"You Are Here" was inspired by the directional maps often found in large malls in which a red dot shows the pedestrian (or lost shopper ;) their location. I used both Golden Acrylics and Caran D' Ache watercolor crayons in addition to a bit of Stickles glitter on the heart, er dot . . .

Thanks for stopping by: to see more painterly pieces, check out the Party for yourself . . . 

Kristin xo