Pretty Initial Wall Art

I've been busy over the last week!  Between refinishing a table & chairs (which is becoming a chore rather than something fun because I keep running into snags...) and four different wall art projects I've barely had time to take pictures along the way let alone tell you about it :)

I promised myself that I would get some, hopefully all, of them posted over the next week.

Here's the first one, a pretty initial for Avery's room.

I was inspired by this - it's made with quarters and I LOVE it: 

justinesmith.net

I thought about replicating it with the letter A for an 'art wall' that I'm working on in her room.  Unfortunately, lack of time got the upper hand and I resorted to creating something sparkly and simple instead.  I also thought the block letter might be a little too modern for her very pretty room that has a slightly vintage feel to it.

Adventures in Baking: Peach & Strawberry Shortcakes

For Mother's Day I asked for a subscription to a couple magazines.  DH is Australian and is kind of a 'go big or go home' kind of guy and he ended up getting me four, one of which is Fine Cooking.   It's an incredible magazine and I've been really impressed because it's very accessible (for non-cooking people like myself) but still focuses on more 'refined' recipes with fresh seasonal ingredients.

In this month's issue I found a recipe for Strawberry Shortcakes.  I don't know if I've actually ever had one before but it sounds so lovely and summery (and we have a family dinner tonight to which I'm bringing desert) so I thought I'd give it a try!

Conversations with a 2 Year Old: No Frills

Pulling into the grocery store parking lot.

2 Year Old: Mommy, what's name's this store?

Me:  No Frills

2 Year Old: No Mommy, YES FRILLS!!!

Father's Day Present: We {love} You

I've been trying to get this project done for 2 weeks now :s  Part of the delay was due to some experimentation...  I seem to be having some difficulty getting ideas out of my head and, in this case, onto canvas.  And the other part is that I've started a handful of other projects and am feeling a little scattered about what to do next.  Good thing I have a deadline (Father's Day) for this one!

Originally I wanted to do a series of kid-bit foot/hand prints shaped like hearts that could be framed for Daddy's office inspired  by a friend who did something similar as a craft with her kids for Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately, I wasn't overly impressed with my creations and felt that they'd look pretty silly - plus I know that DH is more inclined to like pictures of the kids rather than imprints of their bits.  So I moved onto the next option, try a tutorial I'd bookmarked a while ago that shows how to use tissue paper to create photo-printed canvases.

Conversations with a 2 Year Old: Superheroes

My daughter pushed her plate off her high chair tray tonight at dinner.  The loud crash made her a little upset and my little guy came flying over to the rescue with his box of action figures.

2 Year Old:  It's ok Avery, here's lots of toys.  This is a monster (pulls out Mr. Incredible)
Me:  Who is that?
2 Year Old:  Mistah Inkedubuh
Me:  That's right, but he's not a monster he's a superhero
2 Year Old:  He not a superhero, him not have a cape to fly in the air!  Superheroes have capes to fly in the air.

You can't beat that logic!

Lamb Wall Art

My lovely friend M recently announced that she and her husband are pregnant with their second child.

With an invitation to dinner last night, I wanted to bring something with me to celebrate this new addition to their family. For good reasons, they have an affinity for lambs and so I knew this would be my starting point.