Browsing Tags painting

May days

Rain, rain, and more rain. There hasn’t been much else going on in the month of May besides trudging through the wet weather we seem to be inundated with every day. Weeks are busy with work and school. Weekends are time to relax and get to those projects we’re too tired to get to during the week.

A couple of weeks ago, Myla posted a link to Pinterest. I put in a request to join and when my invitation came, I became instantly addicted. It’s been an amazing source of inspiration and to-do ideas for the girls and me. We haven’t stopped coming up with craft ideas since, and now that things are being created in the house again, I became inspired to pick up my camera and document them again.

birthday card from Emma

sunflower pot

fluffy peep plush that Lex gave to me for easter

skateboard deck hanging on my wall

sweet little bunny that came to munch clover in my empty flowerbed

polka dotted throw pillow fabric

radiator that I've been using in my sunroom due to unusually cold weather

some little figures that Lex created. they live below her computer monitor

lovely octopus-lady painting Lex gave to me, knowing how much I loved it when she first painted it

another Lex painting... this one a dragon riding into a castle in the sky

another Lex creation, this one a girl standing on a green hill and looking up into the rainy sky

sneak peek of a quilt I made for my cousin's baby-to-be

close up of the baby quilt's binding, which I'm particularly proud of

piglet girl, made by Lex

Lex's most recent painting... I think you know who they are?

violin playing "Star Wars" for me on her violin ♥

celebratory chocotini, celebrating the finishing of the baby quilt

gosling babies & parents

The great bedroom shuffle of 2010

Posted on 26 Sep ’10 by Nikki Murray

This can all be blamed on Emma. She asked if she could move into the guest room for her birthday present. Actually, she’s been asking me for that room since I put up the pretty bookcase full of colorful yarn. I tried to talk her out of it, since it was quite a downsize from her own room and it is the second smallest room in the house. But since she couldn’t be swayed, we carried on with the request.

There were a couple of benefits, not the least of which included the other members of the house gaining bigger rooms themselves. It did, however, require the painting of three bedrooms and disassembling, moving, and reassembling a lot of furniture. In the end, everyone seems to be extremely pleased with the change. It’s always good to have happy kids in the house.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy a beer.

Lex’s latest painting

Posted on 5 Aug ’10 by Nikki Murray

She gave the “weird” paints I bought her another try, even though I promised to pick up more of her regular paints tomorrow. I try to leave her alone while she’s painting and not get too nosy so I vacuumed around the house a little while she worked. While on the phone with a friend, I happened to walk by her easel and see her finished piece. It’s another automatic favorite.

Paint and canvas

Posted on 12 Jul ’10 by Nikki Murray

When Lex was two years old, I bought her some watercolor paints, a paintbrush with a plastic handle and a plastic toddler easel. She painted a series of paintings for me, most of which I still have and some that I framed. A few months ago, I upgraded her to a set of paint brushes, acrylic paints, some canvases and easel.

paints and palette

She didn’t know what to paint at first, or what techniques to use and asked for my suggestion. My reply was that the best art is about expression, free of rules or pre-planning. I told her just to put some paint on her brush and put the brush on the canvas and then just see where things go.

hands at work

her first finished painting, an abstract (my favorites)

her second abstract painting - painted specially for a counselor/friend at school

this one she painted for me (♥)

the most recent, painted yesterday evening

I am loving her artwork. She thinks it’s kind of funny that the ones I like the most are the ones she doesn’t think are that great. In the end, the finished results are great, but I’m really just grateful she finds this as a helpful creative outlet.