Exciting News!

So I have a bit of exciting news to share today... I was contacted by a production company working on the Smurfs 2 and they want to have my hand painted cigar boxes as part of the set again! Yay!! I had no idea they were even doing a second movie. So the release form is signed and it's a done deal! The movie will be out next Fall I do believe. :)

Other than that I've been hard at work on custom orders. I have about 8 projects lined up, 5 of which are quilts needing to be quilted on my long arm. Busy busy!

 I hope you are enjoying your week!

New Baby Quilts

I managed to whip up these 2 baby quilts yesterday. I just can't get enough of these little baby rag quilts. They're just so cute!

 Little Red Riding Hood Quilt

Scoot Baby Quilt

I intend to make several more of these soon! Some different sizes too.

Have a great afternoon!

Baby Rag Quilt With Embroidery

I'm in love with this new baby quilt! I've been trying to figure out how I can work more embroidery into my quilts and this was my first creation. I combined "Farm Fresh" fabrics from Riley Blake with embroidered farm animals. I think it's just too cute. It was time consuming, I must say. Each embroidery design took about 1 hour to complete (and there are a total of 8). I have ideas for some similar baby quilts with different embroidery themes and I can't wait to get started! :)

For anyone who might be interested, this quilt is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Have a great day!



My Sewing Room

 

 

 

I thought I would post some photos of my sewing room today. I'm lucky to have not only an art studio in my home, but a sewing room as well. I have a very understanding husband. :)

 I spent my morning doing some organizing today. As my business grows I accumulate more and more stuff and I have to be pretty creative with storing it. My sewing room takes up half of the second floor of our house. It's a very large room, but the slanted ceiling makes it an unusual space to work with. I seem to make it work though. I really enjoy spending time in there, especially when it's raining or snowing outside because the room has a very cozy feel to it.

Well I hope you've enjoyed seeing my sewing space. I know I'm always curious about others creative spaces.

Have a lovely afternoon!

Blush Baby Quilt

This cute blush baby quilt is my new sale item of the week on Etsy. It's marked down $5 and will also ship for free. Of all my tied baby quilts this one is my favorite. I just love the fabric colors and how soft and cozy this blanket is too. :)

I have a very busy school week this week as the end of the quarter is near. Two big projects will be due and a test, plus more homework and final exams next week. I'm giving myself today to do whatever but tomorrow I'm hitting the books! Unfortunately I probably will not be making or listing anything new this week.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Charitable Item for March

"Tennessee Rose" 5 by 7, Watercolor

Well it's that time again and I have selected a new Charitable Item of the Month on Etsy. This month the item is this original watercolor painting. 100% of the sale will be donated to the American Red Cross. As you know the Red Cross does a great deal of different things from blood donation, recovery after a natural disaster, to helping military families. When you donate to the American Red Cross you know that your money will go where it is most needed at that moment.

My charitable item for last month sold and I was able to make a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I was so happy to do it and to be able to give something back. I hope this one sells too!

Have a great day!!

Sphinx - Custom Pet Portrait

"Sphinx" - Custom Pet Portrait

I've been working on this pet portrait for the past few days and it's finally complete. I have to say that I'm very pleased with the way that it turned out. I was a bit more loose with the cat than I would normally be. I applied the pastel to the face and then blended it. I really liked the effect that I achieved in doing that. I think the cat looks more soft than other portraits that I've done.

"Sphinx" is a surprise birthday gift and I hope the recipient is pleased. :)

Have a great day!

Bed Size Rag Quilts

I just completed my first queen size rag quilt. It's quite a jump going from little baby quilts to this big queen. It took me over 13 hours to assemble!

I have created a custom listing on Etsy for a queen size rag quilt and I will be creating listings for twin and king size as well (once I make some samples).

This particular quilt was made with fabric from the Fiona's Fancy line from Riley Blake. It's also backed with natural muslin.

I have all kinds of embroidery/quilt projects in the works too.

Have a great weekend!

Sale Item of The Week on Etsy

This week's sale item in my Etsy shop is this beautiful quilt set (includes twin/throw size quilt, throw pillow and two shams) for $265 (marked down from $295). I cannot take credit for these beautiful pieces as my friend Cathy Lee made them. She owns a quilt shop in town and has asked me to help her sell some of her shop samples.

This set is made from Moda's Origins line. I think the colors are so fun and it would look great draped over a couch, chair or bed.

Good news, my charitable item of the month sold yesterday!! I'm so happy to be making that donation to St. Jude's tomorrow. Thank you to Sarah who purchased that item!

I hope you have a great week!

Berenstain Bears Quilt

Remember the Berenstain Bears? I used to love the books when I was a kid. Moda just released their Berenstain Bears themed fabric line and it's called "Welcome To Bear Country." I couldn't resist creating a little rag quilt with the fabric. It's absolutely adorable!

I've been quilting away this week and I'm currently working on a queen size rag quilt. It will be a sample for a custom listing on Etsy. I will be working on more rag quilts and some fun embroidery items too!

Have a great weekend!

Custom Memory Rag Quilt With Photos

I've been working hard on this custom rag quilt with photos and it's finally finished. I made one using my own photos and I think it turned out really well!

I have created a listing on Etsy for a custom quilt with photos, and I think it would make such a wonderful gift! I think it would be great for students going off to college, moms, grandparents, and pet lovers. I also think they would be a neat way to remember a special occasion such as a wedding, birthday or vacation.

Creating a quilt like this is a very lengthy process but the end result is worth it. This quilt is just an absolute treasure. :)

Have a nice evening!

Etsy Sale Item of the Week

This week's item-of-the-week on Etsy is this little Lily & Will rag baby quilt. It's the first baby rag quilt I ever made and I just adore it! It's being offered at a special price of $40 with free shipping. This offer will expire this Sunday at midnight. 

This week I have a huge pile of quilts to do and a custom pet portrait in the line up as well. Going to be busy! :)

I hope you have a lovely Monday!

First Long Arm Customer

Yesterday I worked on some quilt tops for my first long arm customer! It was a lot of fun and a learning experience as well! Note to self: never try to do 3 quilts in one day, it's a killer on the back! :)

I started offering long arm quilting services on Etsy a couple weeks ago, but as it turns out I'm not allowed to offer such services on Etsy. Their policies state that services can only be provided if the end product results in a new tangible item and even though quilting meets these requirments, it's still not allowed, at least for now. I was really disappointed by this because there was so much interest in my quilting. So hopefully they can change their policy at some point or business will come from somewhere else.

If you have a quilting need please feel free to e-mail me or contact me through Etsy or Facebook.

Today I will continue working on these quilts as the customer has asked me to sew binding for her as well.

I hope you have a great day!

Charitable Item Of The Month

This adorable baby rag quilt is my charitable item-of-the-month for February. 100% of this sale will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This offer is good until February 29th at which point I will select a new item and a new charity.

This cute little quilt is made using fabric from the Fox Trails line by Riley Blake. It measures about 23 by 30 and is backed with a soft yellow cotton flannel. And it's also very reasonably priced at $45. :)

Giving Back

"Bleeding Hearts"

In an effort to give back I will now be offering a "charitable item-of-the-month." I will choose one item from my shop (most likely an original painting or quilt) each month and offer to donate 100% of the sale to a selected charity.

Some of the charities that I have selected are: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, American Red Cross, Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding American, ASPCA, UNICEF, Susan G. Komen and the American Cancer Society.

I have been trying to figure out how I can make a difference with my art and this is what I have come up with. I think the reason we're here is to not only help ourselves but others as well. We can all be a blessing to someone else, in some way.

Tomorrow I will choose my item for the month of February.

Etsy Item of The Week

"Shades of Pink" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

This small watercolor painting is my item-of-the-week on Etsy this week. I'm offering it at the sale price of $55 with free shipping. It's the only tulip painting I have left! It's actually the first one I ever did. I like it a lot and it makes me long for spring! :)

Along with my "items of the week" I've decided to offer an item of the month to donate to charity. I'm working on a list of charities and I will post more about this tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

Bear & Lee

"Bear & Lee" 5 by 7, Pastel

I was working on this custom pet portrait today. It was a lot of fun to do, especially that little kitty in the background. The photo given to me for reference was not ideal and I had a little trouble working out the lighting. Unfortunately it was the only photo of Bear that the customer had. I tried to make it work and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I just love these pet portraits. I might try some wildlife in watercolor this week. :)

Looking Back

Taking a look back today at some of my first pastel paintings. It's hard to believe that only 2 years have gone by since I began painting in pastel. I was quite intimidated by the medium when I first began but I'm pretty comfortable with it now.

"End of Day" - My first pastel painting
"A Day Away" - My second pastel painting

It's kind of fun to look back and see how far you've come. I haven't been working on my painting skills nearly as much as I'd like, because the sewing part of my business has been growing. But growing as an artist is still very important to me. I tend to be very hard on myself, but I can honestly say that I'm happy with my growth so far.

I can't wait to see where I'm at in 10 years! :)

Baby Rag Quilts

I have been having so much fun making these baby quilts! Now come on, if you were a child wouldn't you just LOVE one of these? I would!

This quilt is made from the Dessert Party line by Robert Kaufman fabrics.
This quilt is made from the Meadow Friends line by Moda.
This quilt is made from the Fox Trails line by Riley Blake.

I title these "baby quilts" but they're perfectly large enough to be cuddle quilts, or throw quilts for older children. I have plans to make some rag quilts for adults as well.

Have a great weekend!

Dance Of Shadows

"Dance of Shadows" 8 by 10, Pastel Painting

Available Here

If you're thinking that this scene looks familiar, you would be correct. I painted it about 3 years ago in watercolor. In fact it was one of the first watercolor paintings I ever did, and it now hangs in my kitchen. Well, I had been wanting to try the scene in pastel so I finally did. It was great fun to do, and a lot more work in pastel, that's for sure. But the color pay off was worth it.

Scanning this painting certainly did not do it justice. The painting is so much prettier in person. I'm quite happy with it and it's available for purchase on Etsy.

I hope you have a nice night!