What Makes Me Happy.

On the radio this morning they were interviewing some comedian. The host mentioned his website and his "happy list". I thought about it on the ride home and decided what a great blog idea! This list was fun to make, and there are tons more on the written side, but here are some shots of my top 7 in no particular order (you know blogger won't let you re-arrange)! So what makes you happy? Have you ever sat down and really thought about that? 1. My sweet cottage home. When it's clean, I am definately happiest!
2. My man, Billy. He's so very handsome to me, especially in his cowboy boots and suit. 3. Cutie Mailey painting. Oh that is such a happy little painting...where did you get the idea?
4. My baby Lily...yes I know she is a dog.
5. A bucket full of paints...oh the fun we have together!
6. The handsome #2 man in my life, William.
7. A finished painting that I can't part with.

Some other things...

eating cookie dough out of the bowl with Mailey

roasting marshmallows in our witches pot

swinging the kids on the swingset my Daddy and Husband built

going to baseball games to watch William play

taking pictures with my super camera

quiet time

hearing Mailey and William giggle

Billy calling in the middle of the day for no reason (very rare)

call from a friend to go play somewhere

an Etsy sale

a good Blog read

shaved legs

freshly painted toes

playing guitar and singing LOUD when no one is around

doodling

painting of course

cards in the mail

Christmas morning...especially the stockings

hearing the kids yell,"Daddy's home!"

Lilly's, well everything about Lily

finding Ellie the cat on my art desk snoozing

teaching my art classes

helping in my kids classrooms at school

eating school lunch on the tables outside with M & W

listening to Mailey read

listening to William read

hearing the kids sing along to my favorite CDS (Like Allison Krauss- Oh, Atlanta)

walking with Ellie around Lake Peacthree

going to the capitol to see Billy in action...maybe that goes under the proud list?

butterflies on my bushes outside the window here

Mailey's to-do list drawn on a paper towel

the laundry done

a clean house

the beach

a good night's sleep

junkin' with Valerie

being a stay at home Mommy and artist

Okay, I could probably keep going, but that's it for now. It'll be fun to go back and look at this list a couple of months from now. I challenge you to make a brainstorm list like this. I literally just took 5 minutes and wrote as many down as I could. I realized after writing them that not only do these things make me happy, but most are people and things that I am so very thankful that I have in my life. They are also little blessings. And I count them everyday.

Oh, I wanna win!

I just found out that my framed tile below was picked in the top 40 for the Handmade Kids Sweepstakes. Way cool! So, please go here to cast your vote! I am under the Handmade Kids Art section (I think there are 5 categories to vote in). If you don't have an etsy account already, it's super easy to sign-up, and free. It's a contest for you as well. One lucky vote caster will get a $350 shopping spree from etsy. Now that's alot of fun buying money. So go online now! And thanks for your vote! Oh I wanna win.....

On the Line

Oh those little tricksters Mattie and Sally are at it again. Playing on the family's wash line today!
This painting was made for Melanie's laundry room. What a fun thing to look at while folding all those boy clothes! (She's got 2 boys and a husband's worth of clothes to fold these days!)

Melanie's Painting

It's been about 2 weeks since I last departed the Flea. I've yet to develop a good routine of working (painting that is). I have been very good at a weekly to do list, but the goal of 5 paintings a week has not been met yet! I finished this painting up for a good friend Melanie before a big party she was having last week. It's a whopping 40" x 60". You know I prefer a square canvas, so this rectangle in itself was a challenge especially the size! But I think it turned out beautifully.
Close-up of the birdie and flowers.

This is the painting in its' home now. I've never been able to take a picture of a piece hung like this. Glad I had my camera handy! I also did a piece for her laundry room which I'll post tomorrow. For now, I hope you are having a lovely afternoon. We are wringing ourselves out down here in Newnan from the days on end of rain!

Happy Mail Day!

A normal mail day has the following in our #64 green box covered in lantana:
1. junk mail- which gets tossed out immediately
2. bills that get paid....eventually
3. Envelopes addressed to the "The Honorable William Horne"- I just have to giggle a bit as I write that. My husband's title that will go with him forever. He's a State Representative by the way. Pretty cool job, that gets TONS of mail.

Then yesterday, I pulled out the stack, placed it on the corner of the counter as usual, right by the trash. I chunk the junk, make Billy's pile and then I see it. And I start jumping up and down. And Lily is jumping too. This is the happy mail: Why you say? Well, because in April I submitted a little 3-D Mattie dressed in her costume for the gallery section of this awesome publication. And she got accepted! The editor e-mailed me that I'd be receiving my copy prior to the stores, so I knew it was coming soon. But still, it was a happy moment.
She looks so cute in her witch costume with vintage paper hat and handmade broom. So, my first publication, pretty exciting day in the life of my artyness. It's hard to read, but basically I tell why I made her and then give step by step instructions on how to make her. It also lists my website, blog and e-mail. This is an annual publication for Somerset. If you are looking for a copy, check the big box book stores. It's got great ideas for all the seasons! And Mattie!

Saying Good-bye

Today was the last day of a journey I've been on for almost 5 years now. In the fall of 2003 I opened the Bubble Gum Ice Cream Art Studio. I had been teaching after school art for 3 years and decided that broadening my audience would be a great experience and was needed in our little community. I did tons of Birthday parties, taught after school everyday, started a Ladies Night out program, and taught some adult painting. After a year on Washington Street I moved the studio to a community called Summergrove. Quickly I found that a pricier rent was not a smart move. I'd become friends with one of my students Mommy's, Valerie, over the past year and knew that she had always wanted to own a fun French inspired store front. I called her up one day in October of 2004, and the next week The Vintage-Flea was born! It was not even a year later that we packed it all up again and moved to downtown Newnan to the Greenville Street location. The picture above was the original space I rented for the art studio.
This is Mailey and me at Halloween outside the Flea.

So today I packed the art studio up for the third time in five years. It's all in the back of my pick-up truck right now waiting to be transferred to the storage unit. I am a bit sad today, of course this feeling is only natural. I don't think of my leaving the studio behind as a sign of failure because the path I've taken has led me to the most amazing doors that keep opening up! I am so excited about this new journey as full-time artist. I've known now for awhile that being an artist and art teacher was my true calling. I am so happy that I've gotten to be a part of a successful business, especially with Valerie. We've had the most amazing life experiences. And I'll admit, being a studio and store owner is super fun. But now the time has come for me to follow my dream. I found a new quote that I'll end this post with. It is my new inspiration:

"First it begins inside your heart. Something moves, then opens. Then frees itself. And now you feel a rhythm breaking its long silence. This is going to be good. It is here where you must begin to tell you story."

Corelle Design Contest

I don't know where I've been lately, man it's been awhile since my last post! My children are back in school giving me a little more time to paint. There will be several more posts soon to show just what. This is is my latest little creation. It's called "A Happy Evening with Birthday Cake." In last months issue of Domino they advertised a Corelle plate design contest. If you look here you can see all the rules and view some samples of their current dishware. You've all seen it, by the piece at Wal-mart. You know the stuff...not glass...not plastic... not really sure what it is! Well, one of the criteria was to make the design to embody the Corelle "style". Have you looked lately at their dishes? Okay, some are fabulous, others I question. One thing I did notice is that there is always a ton of white plate showing. I guess so you see what you are eating? Here is my design for this contest: It's a birthday plate. Maybe not what you'd want to eat on everyday, but fun enough for those happy birthday's! Besides, I don't think they have a birthday plate on the racks. Maybe, just maybe, they'll think it's cute and cool and pick it as the winner! I so want to be flown to LA for the Domino party!

New Mini Paintings

"Mason Jar Friends" I just love Creative Thursday's little mini paintings, I even bought one recently! It makes me so happy seeing Teddy sitting on the flat file to my right. So I thought I'd give these little guys a whirl. First, let me say, that they take longer than one might think, even though the one above is only 3 1/2" x 8" and below is 3 1/2 x 3 3/4". You probably thought at first glance that I just whipped it out. In fact, the smaller one I had to keep re-painting the composition to get it just right. And I am also thinking my favorite green brush is going to have to be replaced with a much smaller green brush! I had Lowe's cut me a dozen though, so I have plenty to practice! These are off to Naked Art Gallery next week. Vero said it's time to send more her way!
"3 Friends in Bottles"

Most of the time my "Friends" aka flowers are in the ground, with my favorite outside colors. It was time to bring the flowers inside and give you a slice of newness in my art. New color palettes are always an adventure for me. I get in such a routine or shall I say, I get "comfortable" with my color palette. Recently someone asked me if blue was my favorite color. Actually it's orange! Be on the look out for 10 more mini's soon!

Oh Little Sweetie Pie!

This is Sweetie Pie hanging out in some lovely cherry blossoms. My daughter Mailey has been giving all my birds names lately, and this yellow cutie is now Sweetie Pie. I love the innocence of my paintings, and having my 6 year old help with naming the birds just makes them all the happier to paint for me! I found these fabulous super deep canvases at Sam Flaxx last Atlanta trip. I just had to try one out. The only problem I found for the first painting was what to do with those sides? They really become a part of the image when viewing form the side.
So I bees waxed and collaged the sides, added more paint and oil sticks. I really like the depth these canvases create on the wall. This painting is a lovely combination of sewing pattern, acrylic paints, oil sticks, beeswax and charcoal pencil. This painting is now available at The Naked Art Gallery in Birmingham.