Rainbow House & Springtime Fun

I've been in a little bit of an art funk lately. Because I'm in the midst of trying to expand myself and move in a different direction, it's a little intimidating to sit down in my studio and create. Every day, when nap-time comes, I must make the decision: Art-time or Relax-in-front-of-TV-time? I have to admit that on most days recently, the TV has been the winner. But the other day, I decided to force myself up into the studio and just create, regardless of whether I was feeling inspired or not. Well, I'm so glad I did, because I love what came out!


I'm not sure where these little pod houses and rainbows are coming from, but they just feel so "innate" to me, if that makes sense. They remind me of when I was young, and I used to draw countless little mushroom houses for little mouse families. I guess I'm all grown up now, and this is my grown-up version. As you can see in this particular painting, there's a representation of Riley and one of Noah, both asleep in their rooms. In Riley's side of the house is a semi truck and the alphabet, both current obsessions of his. And on Noah's side is his giraffe lovey and a shopping cart, again, current faves of his.


I'm not sure where this theme will lead, but for now, I think I'm content to keep doing little houses and their inhabitants!


And just for fun, here are a few photos of how we're spending this beautiful spring, before the Florida heat hits. Noah has learned how to go down the slide by himself, and he loves it! And Riley is loving playing with his bubble machine...

Yummy Goodies and a Cute Tummy!

Hi Everyone, I hope you're all having a wonderful spring thus far! It's been beautiful down here in Florida, although I can't get over feeling somewhat of a sense of dread at the hot weather that is right around the corner. I'm still learning to change my mindset about the seasons here-whereas most parts of the country are looking forward to a wonderful spring and summer, in Florida summer is the difficult season, for me at least! But I guess playing outside all winter long in shorts makes up for that!

So I participated in ArtsyMama's vintage party swap, and was lucky enough to get Kari herself as my partner! Since I don't really have a birthday party coming up until October, I told her that any non-party vintage kid's stuff would be great, too. Well, she really loaded me up! Look at all the fantastic goodies she sent! And this isn't even all of it- I forgot to take a photo before I started putting everything away, so I just pulled back out my favorite things for the photo.


This vintage doll trunk is my absolute favorite item! Can you believe she was willing to part with it? I absolutely adore it- it has got to be one of my top ten favorite possessions right now!

And this book is wonderful- I love the cover, and the text and illustrations inside are great as well!

Also love this little paper doll! He has lots of clothes, all outfits from fairy tales. It's so difficult to find nice boy paper dolls, and this guy's wonderful!

Of course I forgot to take a photo of what I sent Kari, so hopefully she'll post photos on her blog once she receives her box.

Here is the only piece of art I've had time to do lately. It's a spread in Noah's book. Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic about all the "baby-ness", since he's so quickly turning into a little boy. We haven't decided whether we'll have another baby or not, so the thought that these may be my last baby moments is a little sad.

These pages are about two of my favorite baby parts- his tummy and the small of his back. He's a fairly skinny guy in his arms and legs, but he has got this big belly that pokes out and I find so cute, since I know he'll thin out soon. And I love the small of his back, you know that spot that is just above the diaper and just below the shirt, that shows when a baby is sleeping with his butt in the air? So cute, but I know also fleeting, since he'll soon be sleeping sprawled out like his brother. Anyway, I wanted to do pages about these things just so that I myself could remember them.

Hope you all have a good weekend!