Holiday Advent making madness!

What do you do when you're in the midst of getting ready for Holiday Craft shows, Christmas, and Etsy orders? Well if you're totally crazy like me you hand paint and decoupage wooden advent calendars for both your kids!!
They did come out pretty cute.... Im only 8 days late!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I love this holiday, and I love to go to Disneyland this time of year. It's all decorated with pumpkins and Jack Skellington, and I could go on and on... I'm a big kid again whenever I go to Disneyland and I love just being with my kids there and watching them have fun. It's a great way to spend time together. Yes - the lines can  be long and it can be crazy crowded- but that aside, I still love it. I grew up going to Disney a lot and it brings back so many memories while I watch my kids experience it all over again.

Catching Butterflies Girl

Hi everyone,
It's been a while! But I've been busy creating and living and being a Mom.

This new piece I finished I'm excited about because it's my first trying out a darker skin tone. I made it for my neighbor's daughter (and she is a super cutie pie , by the way. ). She's redecorating her room, and this will be in it!

What are you up to...Wednesdays!

With both girls in school today I got busy creating! Reworking some old things and creating new things... I love a productive day!

Mean girls no longer mean! : )

Hahaha. I'm pleased to say my Friendship painting is finished and my girls faces are sweet and happy now!

Summer is just the best.

So I'm not getting a lot of art done right now because my children are pretty much glued to me, but we are having the best Summer! The weather is glorious and everyday we are at the beach or pool. Life is good!!

I hope you are all out there enjoying your Summer while it lasts. 

Mean Girls....: )

Something funny happened while I was working on this painting. Something was just not right about the faces on this girl and mermaid. It was really bugging me. So I showed my hubby and asked "what's wrong with this painting?" He said, "they look mean". That was it !

I realized I had been in a stressed mood as I was painting them - and I guess it showed up on their faces. Too funny..... so needless to say I'm starting over on their faces, hence the blank white ovals!

What are you up to...Wednesdays!

I got up very early and put the finishing touches on this while the kids were still asleep. : P   A couple of garden Fairies having a spot of tea.

 Well now I have to get my kids out to the beach before we all go stir crazy!

Keepsake boxes are finished and in my shop!

For those of you who expressed an interest in my keepsake boxes, this is to let you know they are in my shop now. : ) Thanks to those who like them! I can customize them too if you have a particular print you want made into a box, just let me know.

Oh and P.S. Hope all of you had a nice Fathers Day. We did! The girls and I spoiled their Daddy and he got to watch the US Open all day.

What are u up to today? Wednesdays!

I'm creating keepsake boxes with prints of my artwork on the lid. Fun and also time consuming!

Dance in the Rain

Hello all!  Here's my newest creation. I've had this image in my head for a while, and a little inspirational quote to go along with it!

Oh yes, and Happy Wednesday everyone. If it's raining where you are, go out and splash and dance in it!

Queen Bee and Tea

Another newbie! I'm happy to have some new finished pieces. This one was so much fun for me because I love tea and I just went all girly with it. Pink and sparkle with no apologies! I worked happily until late in the night on this one...

I'm linking this up to the Melange Team challenge this month because the theme is Royalty. Hop over and check out all the cool artwork. 

Here's the link...http://www.melangeonetsy.blogspot.com/

New Painting...finally!

It feels so good to have a new painting completed! This one is about childhood, sweetness, innocence, the amazing dreams we all had as children, and snuggling under a warm quilt.

Making the quilt was fun, but very time consuming! Kind of like a real quilt. Except with tiny pieces of paper!

hrushton art's photostream

hrushton art's photostream on Flickr.

The ABCs...M is for Mermaid!

I like to play this ABC game with my friend at Tatterbeans, and I can't believe we are on M already! Each week we pick an image that starts with the letter we are on. Anyone can play along. Just leave a link up to your page in my comments.

So here is my new Mermaid!! Yeah! This was an easy one for me! : )
And if you'd like to pop on over to see what Tatterbeans did for her letter of the week , here it is
http://tatterbean.blogspot.com/2011/04/abc-l-is-for-light.html

Blog Party 2011

Welcome all from the Ultimate Blog Party 2011! Here is my little art blog.♥ This is where I post new things I'm creating and promote my art shop on etsy. I'm also a sahm, so I have some mommy ramblings in here too...
I just started this blog in December, so I'm still new to blogging and having fun with it.
If you want to follow along my journey as an Artist/Mom I will try and follow you back.
Have fun everyone!

!

Beach girl is now listed in my shop

Here she is... it's titled                       "A Gift From The Sea".

                                                                    Here for you,
                                                                          a gift
                                                            I found it on the beach
                                                                 where it was left.

My Creative Space

So here is where I create. It's actually...our dining room table! Maybe one day we'll have a place where I can have a studio to work in, but until then...this is it. It gets a little old cleaning up every time we need to eat!  Oh well.

I'm working on a series of girls, fairies, mermaids and the like. They've been inspired by a book of poetry my hubby wrote for our girls. Once I've done all the art we hope to self-publish it as a children's book. At the very least, it will be an amazing thing to give our daughters.  In the meantime, I'm posting each piece of art in my etsy shop.

Here's what the piece looked like when I finished... More are on the way. It's so great having something like the poetry to inspire me. Love it!

ABC...H is for Heart

Mondays here! Time for some ABC action. I play along with Tatterbeans....http://tatterbean.blogspot.com/
Anyone can join in. Just post an image of something beginning with the letter of the week. It can be a photo, craft, or color.
So for me this week it's Heart. I have a lot of hearts in my artwork. I love the heart as a graphic symbol, and we can all use a little heart right?

Today I'm grateful for just being safe and alive!

Simply just being safe and the safety of my family. The Japan earthquake and Tsunami are a wake up call. I live on the Cali. coast, and we are under a not very serious Tsunami warning right now.
My prayers go out to the poor people in Tokyo. It's just unbelievable, the images of the destruction.
Life can change in an instant. I am grateful for peace and being safe right this minute!

Here's the link up to Maxabella's blog http://maxabellaloves.blogspot.com/2011/03/this-week-im-grateful-for-being.html

ABC... . G is for girl.

This week on the ABC game its G. And that's pretty easy for me because I paint a lot of folk art style girls. Here she is...

Remember, anyone can play. Just post an image of your art, or photography, or craft that begins with the letter G. You can link it up here in my comments.
I play the game every week with Tatterbeans. http://tatterbeans.blogspot.com

The ABCs...F is for Feathers!

Ok - I'm a day late playing the ABC game with http://tatterbeans.blogspot.com  but better late than never, right?
So - F is for feathers! This mixed media piece I did has real feathers in it, adds a nice texture.

Anyone is welcome to play along. Next week is G - obviously.
Until then!

The ABCs. E is for...Electric Blue

I'm playing the ABC game along with Tatterbeans. http://tatterbean.blogspot.com/
So this week it's E. Any image that starts with E. It can be a photograph, a piece of art, craft, anything.
I have to admit, E was a challenge for me, until I realized I had titled this abstract painting of mine Electric Blue.

I painted this one on masonite board with acrylics. I also used crayons and pencils for added texture. I like the feel of painting on masonite - it's so solid and different from canvas.

Anyway, anyone  is welcome to play along on this ABC game. Have fun with it!
I'll see you next week with F. Hmmm. Another tricky one...

Hearts and Flowers

That's what it's all about this month right? I belong to a team of mixed media artists on etsy called Melange.  They like to do a theme or challenge each month, and this month's theme is Hearts and Flowers.
This piece is titled "You Hold the Key".
I've been doing a lot of art this past month or so with hearts in it, so I had a lot to choose from. I love the simplicity of a heart as a graphic symbol. Maybe that's why I was inspired to make so much art with hearts.
I hope all of you readers have a wonderful Valentines day, whether you have a Valentine or not!
If you want to visit Melange's blog, here is the link:http://melangeonetsy.blogspot.com/

ABC. C is for....collage!

...and Cerulean Blue. One of my favorite colors to paint with.  I'm playing the ABC blog game along with Tatter Beans Photography~ http://tatterbean.blogspot.com 

Every week we find a new image to post with a letter of the alphabet.  C was a bit of a challenge for me until I really thought about it for a minute. If you want to play along, just link up your C image below in comments.

And now I'd like to add one more image to this...C is for Chair. I absolutely love this photo. It was taken by my Dad who is also an artist. Gary Max Norton. He doesn't have a blog yet...he's learning. If we didn't live all the way across the country from each other I'd help him set one up!

Anyway...here is his photograph...

Begin

I finished painting this  on the last day of January, and January is a time of new beginnings. The idea came from etsy's Team Melange's Challenge of the month - Begin.
Lets all dare to begin, start what we've been dreaming of doing. Here's to following your bliss everyone..and having the courage to do it.
And here is the link to the Melange team Blog and the" Beginning " Challenge...
http://melangeonetsy.blogspot.com/2011/01/mix-it-up-with-melange-challenge.html

Sweetheart Girl is finished. Just in time for Valentine's.

Here's my latest. She was fun to create.I really enjoyed layering the papers and paints on this one.
I'd say more, but for now I'm too sleepy and full of pizza! Goodnight Irene!

New Art for Valentine's Day

Hello bloggers!
Just thought I'd share the first of my series for Valentine's Day. This one is a cute wall hanging, and I used steel wire for the hanger embellished with beads and pearls. A nice three dimensional Valentine for someone's sweetheart.
I'm going to post two more pictures of it quickly. My three year old is begging me to go play with playdough!!!

It's Pounce Day!

Hi everyone! It's Pounc Day and I've discovered a gem of a shop that has had no sales yet. Hard to believe! I think her work is awesome.
Here is her shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DianaDiMaggioStudio

She is a New orleans based Mixed Media and Encaustic artist. New Orleans is one of my absolute favorite cities, and the vibe and feel of it shows through her work.
Please visit her shop and show her some love!

I've been awarded the famous Stylish Blogger award...twice!

Happy Happy New Year everyone! Hope yours is getting off to a great start. I have good feelings about this year- I like the odd numbered years.
So anyway, I have just received the prestigious Stylish Blogger award for the second time the other day - ha! So I think I need to do something about it.
First of all, I want to thank http://beansproutschildrenswear.com  and
                                           http://tatterbean.blogspot.com
For giving me this award!They are fabulous, creative ladies and everyone should visit their blogs if they haven't done so already.

Now I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself, so here goes:

1. I'm a Southern girl, raised on the West coast ( or "left coast" as my Southern family calls it! ) I'm proud of my rich heritage, and love my family dearly. I  love grits and my Grandmas cornbread, and I also love living in California. It's the perfect place for me.
2. I have 2 adorable kids ages 3 and 8 that keep me busy and juggling my life as a Mom and an Artist!
3. I guess I'm really more of a night owl. I like to create art when the house is quiet and the kids are asleep. ; ) But I still have to get up early with them every morning! Ugh!
4. My favorite color fluctuates between light seafoam green and turquoise.
5. I'm going to teach myself guitar this year on garageband. It's one of my resolutions!
6. I love the beach, and traveling to the UK when I have the $$ ( which isn't often! )
7.To sum me up, I love all my family, my LOML hubby, my life, living near the ocean, and creating my art. I try to remember to grateful everyday for the blessings I have.

Now I want to pay it forward to 15 recently discovered bloggers, contact them, and tell them about the award.
1. http://asiabateav.blogspot.com   She knits and crochets cute things!!
2. http://alifeunrehearsed2.blogspot.com She isn't new, but her blog is interesting and very creative.
3. http://poxiecraft.blogspot.com  CUTE accessories and jewelry. Great photos too. : )
4. http://30daysetsychallenge.blogspot.com Extremely useful info. for anyone new to etsy and setting up shop.
5. http://justfeltlike.blogspot.com The cutest little felted creations ever!
6. http://mateoandtobias.blogspot.com Well designed blog. Cute stuff!
7. http://shellyorvis.blogspot.com A fun and interesting blog.
8. http://pinkglitterfae.blogspot.com She's not new, but her art is fun and beautiful.
9. http://alignboutique.blogspot.com Really cute stuff! A beautifully designed blog too.
10. http://danabarbieri.blogspot.com She's not new, but her blog is great to read. And she's very creative.

Whew! I tried to get to 15... bear with me, I'm new to blogging!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this and will explore some new blogs because of it!