Artwork & My Current Obsession

Here's the cover of Noah's second journal. I love the way it came out! This journal covered his life from 5 months to 15 months, so I chose a photo from when he was about 11 months, right in the middle. So, soon I'll start his third book. I'm sort of at a turning point with the kids' journals. I'm finding it difficult to keep up, yet I want to keep doing them. I'm thinking that with the beginning of Noah's next book, I'll start doing single page spreads instead of double, which may make it easier to keep up... I'm almost at the end of Riley's current journal as well, so I'll do the same with his next one.

Speaking of Riley's book, this is his latest spread. Here's the story. Somewhere, somehow, Riley's come up with the expression of excitement, "Hoo-ha! Giddy-up, giddy-up!". I have no idea where it came from, but I suspect it may have been derived somehow from the character Woody in Toy Story. We hear it every time he's excited about something, and it's pretty cute.

The page came out sort of strange-I'm not sure if I like it or not. I put Riley's face on a cowboy image from a vintage book. My husband said the page was "scary", but I don't know about that- just a little strange. Oh well, I'm happy enough with it not to fiddle around with it any more!

So I wanted to tell you guys about my latest obsession. I have become obsessed with the dollhouse that I blogged about in the last post! Thanks to Moniqui, I've learned that it's a Lundby dollhouse, and I've spent countless hours researching the brand, furniture, dolls, and vintage dollhouses in general. I just cannot get it all out of my mind! What's the perfect furniture for my house, the perfect dolls, etc., etc.?

Needless to say, I think it is maybe becoming too important for me to allow it to be destroyed by the boys. So I think it will be moving out of Riley's room and into my studio soon. Jenelle had a neat idea about hanging it on the wall as a shelf, which I may try. But I really like the idea of finding furniture for it, too. Anyway, if I make any progress with it, I'll let you all know.

Have a great week!

Art & Thrifting- Who Could Ask for Anything More?

I did these pages about Noah's recent love for books, and more importantly, his love for sitting in my lap while I read to him. As a second child, he's learned that if he wants attention, he needs to demand it. So any time I happen to be sitting on the floor, it's not long before he's there with a book, plopping down in my lap before I've even realized it! It doesn't matter what else I was doing, I'm now supposed to read to him! Of course I can't deny him, since he gets so little one-on-one time as it is. I'm just glad that he's learned an effective way of asking for it!

My next step with Noah's book will be to do the cover, since this was the last spread in this book! I always love doing the covers, so that will be fun.

And here are a couple of my latest thrifted finds. The first I am so excited about. It's a handmade wooden truck/toybox. Riley absolutely loves semi trucks (spurred by Mack from the movie Cars, no doubt), so I knew he would be wild about this. I love the graphics on it- I have no idea who A.M. Hall & Co. are, but it looks cool! It's really large (about 2 1/2 feet long), and the fact that it serves as a toybox is a huge bonus. And it was half price, so I got it for only $8!

The second I have a feeling is going to be a big disappointment to me, but I love it nonetheless. It's a wonderful dollhouse from the 70's/early 80's (my guess from the decor) for only $5.

The reason I think it will be a disappointment is that I'm sure the boys will not play with it as I wish they would. Why oh why was I not blessed with a girl to share in my joy of these sorts of toys??? Oh well, maybe someday... And maybe they boys will surprise me and be really into it.

One of the reasons I liked this particular house so much is the way the side is opened up to two other rooms. It just makes for a more unique play experience, I think. Two children can more easily play at the same time. And as outdated as all the wallpaper is, that's one its charms, I think.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions for kid-friendly furniture and dolls that would fit with this style/size of house? The ceilings are 5 1/2" tall, so I think that's a touch smaller scale than most dollhouses. I wonder what was sold with it originally?

Okay, that's it for now....hope everyone's enjoying their summer!

Treehouse

Just a quickie post to show my latest piece. I've been relaxing in front of the tube a little too much lately during the magic "naptime hours", so a couple days ago I forced myself up into the studio to do some art. I'm always happy in the end when I do that, but sometimes it's just hard to muster the motivation when my DVR is calling me with all the shows I've recorded (So You Think You Can Dance, Legally Blonde: The Musical, to name a couple- you know, those ones that my husband just can't stomach, which is why I've recorded them!)

Anyway, this piece was a hard one- it took my three days worth of naptimes to finish, whereas most I can finish in one naptime plus a little time in the evening. It's because of the tree, which just gave me problems for some reason. In the end, I'm pretty happy, although there are still some things that bother me about it.

As always is the case, I used images that relate to my life. There are the two boys at the bottom, representing my boys, and the "rooms" in the house each illustrate something which is pertinent to our lives right now. Both boys are into elephants lately- Noah likes raising his arm to mimic the trunk, and Riley is in love with the movie "Dumbo". Much of our time is spent on our lanai playing with water toys and being in and out of the kiddie pool, thus the watering cans and the word "bottoms". I just let the kids play naked vs. taking diapers on and off, so I get to see lots and lots of two little bottoms! The face drawing is obviously from Riley's recent drawings, and the little book is because Noah is obsessed with looking at books recently.

The rainbows and clouds keep showing up in my pieces, which is odd because those really aren't images I'd ever see myself using, but they just always seem to feel right as I'm working. It's something I'll have to explore...

Well, my "quickie" post turned into a longer one, but that's okay! Hope you're all having a good week so far!

Ebay Stuff!

Hi, just a quick pop-in to let you all know that I'm selling a few things on Ebay. A huge bunch of ephemera (really good stuff here!), some clip-art books, and some back issues of Teesha's Art & Life. Check them out if you're interested-they end in just a couple days!

Also, just so I don't leave you without a photo, I'll show you my latest favorite find. I picked him up at a children's consignment shop, and I love him!