A BIG SIGH!!

We are down to 23 hours and counting until our daughter and two grandsons arrive. I think I might be a bit of a procrastinator cause I ended up with way too many things to take care of today before their arrival. I even had to cut out a trip to my favorite glass store for a big sale they were having in order to try to get everything done. I just have to clean out the toy box and the outside water toy box and then I think we are really ready!
Any how, my favorite decor store (and the same place that sells my canvas art and headbands), Designer Blvd. in Gilbert, was having a 40% off your entire purchase today. So in the middle of my trillion chores, I stopped to run over to check it out. I came home with a car full of wonderful purchases for my house and picked up some Christmas and birthday presents too! Their sale goes through tomorrow. So if you live in the area I would suggest that you RUN, not walk, to their store first thing tomorrow as they have the absolute most wonderul home decor and accessories.
The big surprise came when they told me that they had already sold ALL my canvas art pieces except one and four of the ten headbands. Wonderful, but there goes my inventory!! So guess I will be working while the kids are here after all.
The top black and white canvas is a brand new one that I created. I just love it. Well, why wouldn't I since my whole house is decorated in black and white. But I took it along with the ones below and my stash of new headbands for Designer Blvd. to pick from. They were so busy that I just left them and will catch up with them next week.

I am going to be doing Special Orders for personal photo canvas'. So took this one of Sofia for a sample.
Then I rushed home and started working on four more. CRAZY!!

So I got a wild hair and decided to do something with the bare wall above our TV. I had a large old fashion key up there for the past few years and it just wasn't doing it for me. After I took the black shelves down from my studio I got this idea.....
Designer Blvd. carries some really cool black and white items so I knew I could find just the right things for the shelf.......and I did! What do you think?
I still need to get a picture in the frame. The one in there is facing the wrong way or I could probably just leave it in there and say it was a long lost relative! There are endless decorating possibilities with this shelf....especially at Christmas time.
I've been looking for a little bench for our guest bedroom and after walking around their store for a 1/2 hour I discovered this one under a table. I think I may paint it white and make a cute cushion for the top.
Okay, I think I already told you that I worked for 2 1/2 days on my studio (and my daughter, Jami helped me one of those days). I even decided to take down my two nice black shelves and put up 18 feet of white ugly shelving. But I NEED the storage space. Here are the before and after pics.
BEFORE... two days into the cleaning and reorganizing!

AFTER..........



SIGH!!!!!!! DONE!! Boy does it feel good to have a neat, organized studio again. Gee, I wonder how long it will take me to mess it up again!
Tomorrow is our granddaughter, Hanna's big dance recital. She has the cutest little glittery outfit to wear. We will all attend that and then head to the airport to pick up the gang. I'm sure we will have to stop at In-And-Out Burger for dinner. Since they don't have those in WA. it's a favorite for them when they come down. Afterward we will head for a dip in our pool. Sounds like a wonderful day to me.
If I'm not too tired I will be up very early to hit Domestic Bliss Bohemian Soiree at 7 AM tomorrow in Mesa. So many talented artists will be there I really would love to meet them and see their work in person.
So that's all I have the energy for tonight. My tank is near empty and I still need to take care of a couple more things. As I sign off for tonight, I'm feeling a thrill of excitement run through my tired body in anticipation of seeing my daughter and grandsons tomorrow. I just love my family. They are what makes me who I am today. Sending prayers of safety to Kyle in Iraq.
Have a great evening everyone! XOXO Nancy

AN EXTRA SPECIAL MOTHER'S DAY

My Mother's Day had a special twist to it this year. Our little granddaughter, Sofia, was dedicated to the Lord at church on Sunday. So both girls got all dressed up in their fancy dresses for this special occasion. Sofia even sported one of my new headbands. Hanna was so excited to "get dedicated" (even though she was dedicated as an infant) and get to stand up on stage. Her good friend, Moira, and her family were up there too. They have a sweet new adopted infant daughter, Mada, who was also being dedicated.
Both girls did great and Sofia stayed happy and no "spit-up" on her dress!
Hanna even got to speak into the microphone....big day!
Since Sofia's dress was as big as her she got to get changed into something more comfortable when we all went out for breakfast. As you can see she was happy about that!
So my Mother's Day was wonderful (with the exception of missing my daughter, Bre and her family in WA). It was great to relax and enjoy being with the family.
Yesterday and today I worked in my studio finishing up some canvas art pieces and starting the re-organization and cleaning. I ended up taking down my pretty 2 black shelves cause I had so much stuff packed onto them that they were coming away from the wall. So I had to patch and paint before I could even put the new ones up. I hated to put up the plain old white ones, but they allow me the most room for storage. Thank goodness Jami is coming over in the morning to help me finish up. I have been in there for hours and you sure wouldn't know it if you saw it.
Today is my son-in-law, Kyle's birthday! Unfortunately he is flying in and out of Germany right now so we can't talk to him. So had to leave my birthday message on Facebook in hopes that he will get it soon. We love and miss him. Pray for his safety.
Now I am pooped and need to head to the shower and then off to bed. Tomorrow I hope to have this house put back together and clean for our company....cause I want to go enjoy the Bohemian Soiree that Domestic Bliss is putting on this weekend in downtown Mesa. There will be tons of incredible artists there selling their creations. Such Fun!!! Nighty-Night! XOXO Nancy

FLOWER POWER

Sofia stopped over to our house yesterday and was so excited to see all the new headbands that I had made and she insisted on trying a couple on. She really liked this great big pink one. She thinks she looks quit Springy in it. Mommy and I thought she had the cutest little baby face with it on.
But then she came across this new one with the feathers and she just had to have it. Sofia said that she loves the bling on the flower petals and the way the feather floats up and down when she moves her head. Now she needs to go shopping for just the right outfit to match it!

She is hoping I won't sell all of them since there are several more that she needs. But she has to ask mommy first!





Today I decorated the edges of these flowers that Hanna and I will use to decorate her straw hat that her pre-school teacher gave each of the girls in her class. They are to decorate their hats which they will wear at their pre-school graduation ceremony next week.


I have spent the whole week working in my studio filling orders. It is a total disaster in there as you can see by these pictures.

I only have a few more days to work in there and then I HAVE to get it cleaned up and organized as it will be transformed into our grandson's bedroom on Saturday for a month's visit. I think I am going to have to be a magician in order to find places for all of the new stuff I have acquired.

This morning our WA son-in-law, Kyle, flew to Germany for two months for a mission for the Air Force. He will be flying in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Please pray for his safety. We are thrilled that Bre and the boys will get to spend a month of his abscence with us.

I want to wish all of the wonderful MOMS out there a very special Mother's Day. I hope all of you get to be surrounded by the ones you love. I will be going to church with my family, then out to breakfast and then all of us will be in the pool for the rest of the afternoon. I plan on relaxing and letting my husband and son-in-law take care of BBQ'ing dinner. So no blogging tomorrow!

I think these next pictures are a perfect tribute to motherhood. Just goes to show that it doesn't matter what species you are.....A Mom Is A Mom No Matter What!




God's blessings to all of you Mom's and your families. Rest, Relax and Refresh!
XOXO Nancy

Pretty Petals

My kitchen counter looks like a flower garden! That's what happens when I run out of room in my studio and have to find another surface to create on. My headband supply had diminished to almost "nil" so I figured I better get on the stick and build up my reserve. Tomorrow I will attach the 100's of teeny little crystals to all the petals. Boy, will it feel good to get all done.
Meanwhile, my poor studio looks like a tornado hit it. I just seem to make the biggest messes when I am in the middle of projects. Seriously, I wish I could afford to hire an organizer who would come in every evening and clean up the studio, putting all my supplies neatly away. My daughter and grandsons arrive in 10 days for a month and I promised myself I will be all done with my special orders and even be a little ahead.
I delivered a couple more canvas to Designer Blvd. this morning and below are two other large canvas that I am starting to create for their store.

Tonight I drug this old tired body up to Frank's Balance and Flexibility exercise class. I found out I am fairly flexible but I am sure I am going to be sore tomorrow. My favorite part was when we got to lay down on our mats! I HATE exercising!!!! Always have and probably always will. The problem is that I know I need it and I am doing something good for my body. But what I would give for a magic pill that took care of it!
So with that said, I think I will go have some desert! That would be a NutriSystem desert! Ha!
Good night all, have a great Thursday. XOXO

BUSY AS A BEE!

Spent this morning at Art Group. Just love this group and the relaxing time I get to spend with them...just painting. Today I tried something new. This paper is called Upo and is so cool. You use watercolor on it but you can wipe off what you don't like, let it dry and work on it some more and still wipe it off. I like being able to get rid of my mistakes so easily. The only problem is that I'm not sure when I have made a mistake....it all looks pretty "beginner" to me. This is my 4th attempt at painting and first on Upo and I am really happy with the outcome. I love this paper cause it makes your painting look more abstract so I don't have to work so hard to be so precise.

I just ran a copy of a picture of this dog off on my printer and copied it in paint. The original was a black and white. I think everyone should try painting on Upo....you would surprise yourself at how great your picture will look. Try it sometime.


Yesterday I spent all day in my studio working on filling canvas art orders. I still have more to do, but here is what I finished up this morning before going to paint. Good thing my phone alarm went off at 5:30 (by accidcent) or I would not have gotten all this done! I really meant it when I say I was busy as a bee.

Had to run 40 minutes away to get more supplies for the rest of my orders..UGH! On the way I got a voicemail from my niece in WA ordering 2 headbands. Now I am out of headbands and need to make more of them!
Meanwhile, Jami and Mike dropped of Sofia for Frank to babysit while they took Hanna bowling. I was home for about a 1/2 hour and was able to get a few pics of her. She is changing so quickly. Now she can roll from her stomach to her back, laughs at everything and tries to talk to us. She just melts my heart!

Hanna popped in for some pics too!
Check out those tattoos. Hope they rub off before her dance recital next week.

I was even able to get a ton of ironing done this afternoon and now we are getting ready to go to a Cinco de Mayo party at the neighbors. Our house smells yummy as I just baked a cake to take to the party. Gosh, I haven't baked a cake in forever. Boy, does it look good. I won't be resisting it tonight! Man, I have NO discipline!!!
Haircut tomorrow...HURRAY!!! And back into the studio for more work.
HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO EVERYONE......I will be sure to drink a margarita in your honor tonight! XOXO

TEA TIME

This morning Jami and I headed to Cornerstone Christian to set-up our table for the Women's Spring Tea. Our table turned out really nice and we even won "most elegant table" award. All the table were beautiful and it was fun to see how different all 25 tables were decorated. One lady's table had china that was over 80 years old! We were entertained by "Crimson Bridge" who is a female duet with absolutely beautiful voices and incredible life stories. It was a really great way to spend our morning.
Here's a few more pic's from our day:
Jami is helping me get everything set on the table. We got half way through our set-up when I realized I had forgotten two of the clear plates at my house and Jami had forgotten the canvas art which I donated for a door prize at her house! So we called Frank and asked a big favor of him to drive everything over to the church......he wasn't real happy about having to drive all the way in to church, but being the kind man he is, he did it anyway. Thankgoodness!!
This is our pretty lavender bird with her glitter highlights that was perched on the very top of our May pole centerpiece.
Some more tables...............


A grand time was had by all and I am now home with my feet up and relaxing with my husband. Since Frank injured his back he has been laying around the house for the past couple days. I like it cause he keeps me company.
Oh, and my BIG NEWS is that Designer Blvd (a lovely home decor store on our corner) just bought a ton of my canvas art and headbands and placed and order for more! All because my daughter, Jami, who could sell ice to Eskimos, was having a tizzy over the idea that I was making all this stuff and not going out and selling it. So she took it over to them and the owner loved it and wanted it all!!! I am very excited about it and sure hope it sells well for her.
SOOOOoooooo, with that said I am signing off for the night and going to see if my hubby wants to go out for dinner (since I have nothing prepared). Have a good Sunday! Adios~XOXO