White and Soft Pink Calla Lilies with Black Background Acrylic Art Painting

I think I mentioned that I attempted to do the One Stroke method for Calla Lily flowers. The results were awful, three wasted papers of awful, lol. So, I sat down to try again, except this time I drew all the flowers, leaves and stems, then painted it with acrylics. This is done on nice thick acid free art paper, and is available in my Etsy shop. I actually will be doing white Calla Lilies on black flip flops, soon. So, be sure to watch for them. I bought three pairs of flip flops, so I can get a lot done on Monday. I think I will do a pair in honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday, also. I did not get any crocheting done this week, but I will be starting a stuffed animal holder next week, for my daughter. Then I will be starting on a toddler pull up 1st birthday diaper cake. That one should be fun to make. Some jewelry, hopefully, in the line up as well.

Red and Black Newborn Baby Shower Diaper Cake with Rompers Beanies Blanket and Kitty Lovey Plus Others

I need to take another picture, this one came out too dark. But, anyways, I used to sell the cocoon, blanket, and lovey separate, but I decided to add a few more pieces, and sell them all together. All items are crocheted, hence handmade by me. It is not assembled as a diaper cake yet, for two reasons. 1- I don't want all those diapers lying around my house, and 2- I want the buyer to be able to select the size diapers they want. In this complete red and black set, you will receive: 1- 30 diapers of the size of your choosing, 2- Two button up the back rompers one red one black. 3- Two beanie hats one red one black 4- two baby washcloths one red one black 5- one red and black infant blanket 6- one red and black baby sleep cocoon great for photo props too 7- one red and black kitty snuggle buddy lovey which is a blanket with an animal friend to sleep with or drag around to play with. That is 39 items all for one great price. I offer free USA shipping, and if you want to make a custom request for colors, contact me through my Etsy shop. I think I am going to do a toddler one next. This would be a great baby shower gift. If you want custom colors, it does take a while to make the items, and you can ask about other items as well, so be sure to plan ahead. I can not whip one of these out in a week. Be sure and check out my orange and white one, also listed in my Etsy store. 

New Bracelet Silver Tone Swirl Beads with Multi Colored Faux Pearls

Before I get to the bracelet, an update on the turtle flip flops. They are holding up awesome, and the sealer is working great! So, I will hopefully be listing them soon, with custom requests.

I finally got to sit down and play around with some jewelry. Bracelets are by far my most favorite type of jewelry to wear. The one shown is made with silver tone swirl beads, that are big and bold, but not heavy. I used multi colored faux pearls to finish the piece,and a lobster claw clasp. It will fit a 8 1/2 inch wrist, or smaller.   It is available to purchase in my Etsy store. Don't forget I offer free shipping, and a free layaway service.

Hand Painted Sea Turtle Flip Flops Summer Sandals

A couple of years ago, I attempted to paint on a pair of pink flip flops. I am a Buffalo Bills fan, so I painted the logo on said flip flops. They came out pretty good too. Except for one small problem, the sealer I use all the time was not strong enough to keep the paint on the flip flop when they got wet from sweat, or water. So, I didn't do anymore. Well I came across a sealer that I think will keep the image on the flip flops. So, tonight I sat down and painted some sea turtles on flip flops. This particular pair of flip flops, was not the cheap kind, and I had to use several layers of paint, because it kept absorbing into the flip flop. You see the results below. Now, I have to seal them, and wear them for a while, and get them wet, to see if my new sealer will work. If it does, then I will be painting flip flops, and selling them in my Etsy store. I will not be doing any football team logos, however, that is a copyright issue and I can not sell them. I could use team colors, I suppose. I also finished another painting for men, great for Father's Day, with a religious theme. I will share that shortly. The red, and black, diaper cake is just about finished. Hopefully by the end of this week I will have it all assembled and ready to list.

Making A Painting From A Photograph: Honeymoon Island State Park

On Mother's Day, we visited a new state park, new to us, here in Florida. Honeymoon Island State Park is a beautiful park. I love to take photos, it is just so much fun. Then I like to turn the photos into pieces of art work. I haven't done this with all my photos, but some of my favorites. This is a picture of a sailboat at Honeymoon Island. It is all done in acrylics. It is available to purchase in my Etsy shop. This would be a great Father's Day gift, for any Dad that loves boats, the ocean, or just the lovely blue hues.

Evening Hike Father and Son Acrylic Painting for Father's Day

So, I was looking around my Etsy shop, and I realized I really don't have any gifts for a Dad, or a man period. So, now until Father's Day, my art, and hopefully some crochet and jewelry too, will be centered around things a man might like. I just finished this painting last night. I am so pleased with how it came out. The colors are still vivid, and bright, even though the sun is setting. My dad was not as big as I would have liked him, then my son pointed out he looked almost too big. LOL, oh well. Moms are awesome but Dads, especially active Dads in their kids lives, are awesome too. Visit my Etsy shop, to check out all my items. I offer layaway, and free USA shipping, all year, all the time.

A Simple and Fun Gift Idea for Using Pictures

Before Instagram, Picasa, Cloud, and a million other online photo storing options, you took pics of your kids, had them developed and saved them all. If you are anything like me, you also toted them off to Walmart, JC Penny, or some other mass produced photo studio, and ended up with way more pictures than anyone would need. This easy, diy, gift idea will work great for Mother's Day, Grandparent's Day, Christmas or just to get rid of some pictures. Because, I was not sure if it would damage the photo, I picked a pic I already had a duplicate of. I used an already empty pump soap dispenser, filled it a quarter of the way with refill liquid hand soap, rolled the picture up, and plopped it into the bottle. I then filled the bottle the rest of the way. The force of the soap being squeezed in helped roll out the picture. It just naturally found its way to the front of the bottle, and stayed there. I am sure this would work on a new, full bottle. You just probably need a pencil or posicle stick to encourage it to where it needs to be. As you can see this is an adorable gift idea. These could even be wedding favors, or for a graduation. Use hand sanitizer, instead of liquid soap, though again, try it with a duplicate to see how it effects the picture.

You Can Update and Improve Your Home Without Spending A Fortune By Painting

Last year we saved a lot of money for the boys to take a trip to NY, for the holidays. This year we have dedicated savings to paying off the car, and doing home updates, and repairs. There is so much to keep up with when you own your own home. I am not working right now, so money is much tighter, but you can be frugal, and still make your home beautiful. Back in Feb we had our plumbing all redone under the house. That was a huge undertaking, but needed to be done. The new plumbing should last the rest of our lives. Then we put in a new tub, faucets, floor, and fixtures in the boys bathroom. I got a new sink, and faucet in my bathroom. I still need a tub, and floor, but I decided to paint the vanity and shower walls, rather than replacing them. That saved a lot of money. You can paint your shower walls! Just make sure when you are done painting you put at least one coating of polyurethane over the walls. I did two coats, and did all the walls just because bathrooms hold so much moisture. I painted a Cherry Blossom tree on the shower wall. My tree trunk isn't exactly wide enough, but I wasn't concentrating on that. The vanity also got smaller cherry blossoms too. Now, my daughter's room has been painted. This is her 11th birthday gift. She loves to watch, Flipping Vegas, with her dad. Though we do not have any where near the budget of Goliath Construction, we have learned a bit of tips on doing a home over. She wanted an accent wall, like Amy always does. Since green is her favorite color, she picked a very light green, and a darker green for her accent wall. My husband surprised her with some chalkboard paint on her closets door. She wasn't excited about that at all. I also painted the laundry room, the old ugly furnace that is more of a pain to remove then just paint over it, and the fuse box. If you live in a double wide you know what I am talking about. The laundry room was painted with left over red paint, and black for the furnace and fuse box. What an improvement. Next up, will be another biggie, replacing the floors and tiles. I am not sure we will get that done before the end of this year, but that is what I am shooting for.

Painted Keepsake Box Rosebuds and Berries

So, I was all excited to paint this wooden keepsake box. I had all intentions to give it to my daughter, no matter how it turned out. It was kind of a practice box. I intended to paint white cala lilies on a black background. So, I painted the whole box black. Then, I practiced the lilies. They looked decent on white paper. Later in the evening I sat down to paint the lilies on the box. Argh, it wouldn't look right. I repainted it three times,and wasted a lot of paint, just to discover it was a waste of time. So I painted red and white rose buds, with blue berries. I am not 100 percent pleased, but she loved it, and it isn't awful, so that is all that matters. I did try the lilies again, on a piece of my art paper, that I painted black, with the same unsatisfactory results. So, I have to do the Cala Lilies first, then paint in the black background, backwards from what I am used to. I think I need a new set of brushes as well. That will help with the stroke needed.

I finished one of the rompers to go with my next diaper cake. So far I have the blanket, a romper, and a toy all crocheted out. I will do one more romper, some beanie hats, and maybe a couple of wash cloths. Then I just need the diapers.

I have been on a sort of crafting, listing, and store editing blitz.  I want to be in school by Fall, so I am trying to get as much done with my free time, now as I can. 

How to Paint Cala Lilies

I do not love all Lilies, but I do love Cala Lilies. I planted some this year, and they should be blooming soon. Yesterday, I was at Walmart, and I bought a wooden keepsake box. I think I am going to paint Cala Lilies on it. I have never tried the stroke shown below, in the video, so I will have to practice before I attempt it on the box. I will share when it is completed. I am still working on the red and black diaper cake. It probably won't be complete for another week. I really need to sit down and make some new jewelry pieces too. What have you been up to?

Garden Angel Fairy Acrylic Abstract Painting

I decided to go ahead and list my Garden Angel Fairy, just the way it was. I looked at it again, and decided I was satisfied. She is done in acrylics, and available to purchase in my Etsy store. A lot of people ask me why I don't paint on canvas. Well, for one I don't care for canvas, and I find it exceptionally hard to keep dust and dirt free. A framed piece is so much easier to keep clean, and move around. Plus canvas is a pain, and very expensive to ship. Those are my reasons.