JUst FoR ToDaY....

I absolutely love reading blogs, love seeing all the pictures too. Every time I read blogs, I get inspired, promise to blog more, but then when I start to try and figure out what to blog about, I get overwhelmed....art, life, emotion, work...what to blog. Well, JUst FoR ToDaY, I will not freak out, not stress...just share a random picture and babble about a little of it all, because, JUst FoR ToDaY, I don't have to be PERFECT!!!
Today is Wednesday, middle of the week and I have an exciting day ahead. I am attending a luncheon for the Dallas Interior Design Society, that is being hosted by La Montage. La Montage is the gallery where I sell my artwork. I am attending not as a designer...but as an artist! I am changing hats and can not wait to wear this one!!! I and several of the other artist that are represented at the gallery, will be on hand to discuss our art, promote our art and just welcome the designers to the gallery. I stayed up really late last night, deciding what to wear (need to look artsy!), even painted my toenails and fingernails! My son came home and said to me...Mom, most women go get their nails done!. Well, not if you decide at 10:00 that it needs to be done! I never plan that far in advance. But nails are done, outfit and accessories are chosen! I am about to hit the shower and get ready....so excited. I will try to remember to take my camera and take some pictures...especially of the other artist and the designers there. I am excited to meet two of the other artist that I have never met. Butterflies in the tummy kind of day, but in a good way. And reminding myself all the way...I do not have to be PERFECT, if JUst FoR ToDay!!!

Tickled Pink and Pleased As Punch!

How could you not be tickled pink when you get to spend the day painting at a fabulous Children's Boutique! I have just completed the dressing room and the castle at Heaven Sent Children's Boutique in Lewisville! What a fun project! I could not help but be inspired by all the darling girlie things at this adorable shop! Tutu's and hairbows, cute, cute clothes and the most precious baby things you could ever want to see! They even have Vera Bradley bags and purses!!! It is a good think I do not have a little girl to dress, but even though I do not, I managed to come home with some of their treasures!!! A tutu for my big dog, the cutest pink stockings for the studio and the sudden urge to paint everything PINK!!! My next project there is to paint a carriage fit for a princess on one of the walls....can't wait to begin!!!!

New Adventures...just a beginning!

As most of you know my first love is painting...I have been know to say that if I could stay home in my pajamas and paint all day, I would be oh so happy!
Well, God must have heard me say it so much, that he began to make that a reality! I have along with my friend Jill Collins, begun an new adventure...we are creating a line of children's art work! We are selling thru a local gallery and loving this new adventure. Beginning in November, they will be marketed to Children's Boutiques and Specialty Stores. Available in prints and originals.
This is so much darn fun that it does not even feel like work!!! So excited to be doing this! So I really do get to spend days in my leopard and rose jammies with paint all over my hands and in my hair...creating whimsical fun!!! This all started and then my friend Shawnee that owns Heaven Sent Children's Boutique in Lewisville, called to say that she was moving her shop to a new location...and then Stride Rite called to ask me to help on there new location too. So that opened the door to two commercial jobs that were so open to creative thinking...I got to let my imagination soar on these! Next post will be some of that work! I am so blessed in my work, I truly love what I am doing and look forward to each new day!!!

Oh Where Do I Begin.....

Where do I even begin to tell you all the places I have been or the things I have done since last I blogged!?! It truly is frightening to recount them all. There are so many things happening, so many things in the works, so many events attended, so much still to do! I have been painting till my fingers have about fallen off, but so happy to be doing that! Filled to overflowing with the joy of constant creating! Well...I guess I will start at the beginning or at least a few months back...Starting in August, we closed the warehouse out....for those of you that had attended our monthly sales, thank you so much for your following! But it truly was becoming a full time job for me...my design work and art making were taking a back seat to it....and it was a mutual agreement from all the Warehouse Artchix involved that it was time for each of us to put our energy into something new. I moved my office and art supplies back home to Irving...creating a home office in one of the spare bedrooms and also creating a larger studio. I now have a seperate studio from my house, but also a studio inside my house as well. And I am still overflowing with art supplies and projects! I love having it all back home and readily available to get to at any time...day or night. I learned so much by having the warehouse, business lessons, creative lessons and lessons in dealing with people and different personalities. I learned to let God take control, to let him lead and to follow. I am glad to turn a page and begin in a new direction too.
So stay tuned and I will fill you in on that new direction and where it is taking me! Have a great weekend!~Sandra

Happy Saturday !

Happy Saturday everyone!!! Hope you are finding this rainy day to be as inspiring as I have.....when it is rainy and overcast, it makes me feel like I need to stay home and work on projects...and that is a good thing. I have been home these last few rainy days working on some new things...do you want a peek? ~~~hint...look at the above photos!

I love painting roses, and the "smooshier" the better! I painted these into a paper cone, the only thing missing is the vintage jeweled piece I am adding to it later today.

I have decided that this piece will be my next class subject to teach. I will be sending out class information this weekend, so stay tuned for the dates and time. I loved teaching at Paper Cowgirl and want to teach more painting classes...or shall I say creative workshops. The girls that took the class at PC were so inspring, I loved interacting with them and seeing what they created!! It just makes me so happy, so why not add more of it to my life!! I am into creating HAPPY, aren't you?

Yes, One Thing Leads to Another and Another...

Now, back to the story.....

if you read the post below (in my backward kind of way!) :)

here are some pics of the monster furniture....see it is so big I could not get it all in the camera lens!

It started out a pale murky green color, but not for long...as I took the brush that already had the brown paint on it from the walls and began painting it, dipping in a can of white paint as I went, so it gave it a kinda vintage whitewashed look. Then for the final coat, I dry brushed a whiter white on top and added some iron pieced to the top and on the table front...painted those white too! THEN the fun began!!!!

I grabbed all the brown transfer ware I could find in my house, some ironstone pieces that I had from my dad's collections and began arranging. I am still working on it some, it changes daily....now I have added my red glass plates behind the brown transferware and love that! Who knew brown and red looked so cool together (yes, I do have the Country Living magazine with it on the cover, thanks to Cindy over at Yapping Cat!!!)

And do you see the cute little sconce hanging on the wall beside it??? I got those years ago at Golightley's in North Richland Hills...they were in my hall bath....but they got updated shades and moved to a better locale! They even came with muslin tea stained cord covers!

Hopefully by the end of the weekend (hear my kids snickering at this!!! and maybe even my sweet mom!) the dining room will be finished.......well it will be done in time for Christmas!!! I promise ...really! ~~~Sandra

Well, there are more things to lead to here...but that's another post~stay tuned for more!

One Thing Leads to Another!!

Yep, I told you in my last post that this would be the title of my next post! It all started when I returned home from the Paper Cowgirl (see pics below). I was so full of inspiration of the creating type and full of ideas I saw at The Dove's Nest, that I promptly began painting. Some on canvas and some on walls and some on furniture! I had work to do when I got home, four paintings for the gallery that a designer had ordered (really she only ordered two, but hey now you gotta give a girl some choices! ...so I painted four). Here are the four paintings~~~above...spa like with umber brown backgrounds and layers of tan, cream, beige and whites....can't wait to see which ones she pics! THEN...I decided I loved the umber back ground color and seeing that I had a huge treasure of a piece of furniture that a friend dropped off on my driveway.....the alternative was the trash (YIKES!!!! who would do that!!!) I decided to paint my dining room walls in the umber color...or at least two of the walls. My kids will testify to the fact that I can get very distracted when painting and sometimes it may be months before I finish the walls. You see, I have to decorate the walls as I finish painting them....working around the room. It is all a creative process to me and finishing the decor on each wall makes me eager to plan the next wall....doesn't everyone do it this way? So after painting the two walls, I had my son help me drag in the big furniture....did I mention that it was a hutch like kinda thing that was a long narrow table and then a shelved piece on top...almost 8 ft tall! Really, I had just three inches to spare to the ceiling! Now lets see if I can get a pic or two of the piece...don't want you to get bored with all the text! Darn it, I can never seem to get the pics right in blogger....it gets me all confused since I also have a typepad blog...and not to mention my ability to forget minor details!!! Lets blame it on ADD, and adult ADD at that! Sooooooo, let me publish this post and I will start a new one so the pics are in order....I know, a crazy way to do things, but hey that is just he way it is! ~~~~~Sandra