Horse Feathers

I have been really awful about blogging regularly. I'm going to TRY to make sure I blog every day for the rest of the month.

It has been a crazy weekend! Saturday I completed two personalized letters for a friend's daughters. They turned out nice. Just as I was wrapping them in gift wrap for a party I got a call from my mom. My fourteen year old sister had fallen from a horse and there was concern that she could have broken her back. After a visit to the ER, all turned out okay. Her back will be sore for a few days, but thankfully it is not broken and a healthy dose of pain killers and muscle relaxants have taken effect. She's been staying with me so I can monitor her meds, but will be returning home tomorrow.

It's starting to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

So, I am preparing for all the festivals leading up to Christmas. I began working on ornaments today. I'll post pictures when I'm finished (which should be tomorrow *fingers crossed*). To display my many ornaments I decided I needed a Christmas tree. So, I headed over to the neighborhood Waly World (okay, it's actually one town over) and fetched myself a 4 ft. White Tree. I haven't unwrapped it yet, but I'm sure it's magnificent! Pictures coming soon!!!

Personalized Letters

Today I put the finishing touches on a personalized letter for a customer's daughter. We decided to use green for her name to contrast with the pink flowers. I enjoyed creating the personalized letter and am now considering including some samples at craft shows. I also just started work on a customized jewelry box for another customer with a little girl. She also would like her child's name including in the piece.

NaNoBlogMo

So, I've decided instead of attempting NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) this year, I'm going to do NaNoBlogMo. I'll be updating my blog daily the entire month of November. Since I missed yesterday, I'll blog twice today. I think this will be an interesting way to show everyone what I'm making in the studio, and keep my writing skill finely tuned. I plan to attend a number of arts festivals and markets this month. I'll make sure to keep everyone informed on where lilybillydesigns will be each week! Thanks for visiting!

Cypress Trees and Fairy Dust

A few months ago I decided it was time to give Lily's room a makeover. I pulled out my Art History text and found one of my favorite paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. I always loved how Van Gogh used cypress trees to add height to his paintings. Additionally, he created a unique texture for his sky that gave his paintings their most memorable attribute- movement. So, with this in mind I began working on Lily's largest wall. It took two days to complete this mural, but when I was done it was nice to be able to sit back and see the effect of my efforts.

From there I decided to fill Van Gogh's world with flower fairies. Since Lily is named from a flower, I've been fascinated with flower fairies. On the remaining walls I interspersed paintings of flowers (mostly Lilies, of course) with fairies found in Lily's baby book. Now, when I put Lily to bed I know she is watched over.

The Truth about Bamboo

I love the idea of creating something that has multiple uses. When I found unfinished boxes with bamboo handles I fell in love. They can be used as a purse, a trinket box or a place to hide love notes. Bamboo's a funny thing, though. I love it in art, fashion and it makes a wonderful handle for a paint brush. Photographs of it are amazingly relaxing- I have one as a screen saver. But I tell you what, if I could find a way to eradicate the bamboo stand in our backyard, I'd do it in a heart beat.

Painting Children's Furniture

I've recently ventured into working with children's furniture. I painted a children's rocker in pink toile and a step stool in blue toile. They were fun to make, but more importantly Lily was very interested in them. Children love to have furniture that is made especially for them. Not only is it more comfortable to be sitting in a seat where their feet can touch the ground, but to also know that this chair or stool is just for them.