Life is an adventure

I showed my latest painting to my husband, who by the way is a big supporter of what I do and critiques pretty much every piece..Sometimes I take his advice and other times not so much:) I will usually show my daughters my artwork as well, but they love it all so it's hard to get a good critique.
Anyways, back to the painting...Here's one of my latest pieces...

I love it!! He was like, "I don't get it?" A house on top of a cow's head? That doesn't make sense! Well, this is one time I didn't take his advice...I'm trying to stretch my imagination and make it even more whimsical. What do you think?

Art Birthday Party

I hosted another birthday party today and it was so cute. The theme was fairies so I thought flowers and a whimsical fairy on canvas would be perfect...Take a look at my day.  Email me at sunshinegirldesigns09@gmail.com for prices.

The setup at my new location! 

Getting started!!

The Birthday girl's canvas!! She did an adorable job...

Goals from 2012 update!!

These were my top ten goals for 2012! Thought I would update you all on where I am..to hold myself accountable:)

1)getting published in magazine(somerset studio or cloth, paper, scissors)-haven't submitted one thing...BUT I still have time! Will submit before Dec.31st...wish me luck!!
2) grow my workshops and fine tune them- keep working on fresh new ideas to teach the kids- Check!! I feel pleased with how my camps turned out this past summer.. & I am doing a holiday workshop in December which I think will be cute and FUN.
3)write a blog post everyday- definitely did not accomplish this...but I recently got back into it, so I will improve on this...
4)work on growing my twitter and fb fan page- mission accomplished! I have gained many new fans and work on this daily:) still don't understand twitter, but have followers..so I guess that's good?
5)keep learning new techniques in my art- YES! always working, always learning.
6)being more balanced(not focusing on my business 24/7)-getting there! I have stopped working most nights and have enjoyed a few movies or reading at night and have even planned more dinners with girlfriends!!
7)thinking more carefully before I launch new things into my business( I get too excited sometimes and don't think!!)- trying to get there...but probably won't accomplish this!
8)learning how to make my blog look more like I want it to look(which means I must learn alot!)- definitely have been attempting to figure this out and am pleased with my new banner:)
9)work on my tent "look" for when I sell at the Chatt market or art festivals- yes! been working on this and have gained many new ideas from the art show I participated in Atlanta!
10) work on my ETSY store- yes! been working on this and have over 100 listings..

All in all, I feel like I accomplished and have worked on many of my goals from 2012 and I even have some time left to still work on them..yay..now I must be thinking of new goals for 2013!!

Christmas in October

So it's the end of October and I'm thinking ornaments! As an artist you have to stay 2 steps ahead...Last year I came up with my bird ornaments, which I love still and will be making these again.

These birdies can say just about anything...A bird on a tree brings good luck!

Dream BIG...always.

The newest ornament on the block are my original Owlies! Each one comes with a tag that says various things, such as I am loved, I am fearless, I am brave, etc. Great gift...

Snowman are here! Each one will come with a scarf..Add to your snowman collection....






All ornaments are $15 each and can be ordered in my Etsy Store!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunshinegirldesigns?ref=si_shop

Halloween mantle

I had alot of fun decorating my halloween mantle. Meg my youngest daughter(aged 8) helped me. Here's the details...

The "Boo" letters were done on old barnwood. I painted the background in black and white and then I just free handed the letters with  a paintbrush. 

The spider was purchased at Target

.I found the tin jack o lanterns at the world's longest yard sale that happens every year in August. I think they were $10 each. 

I used paper bags and then realized they were not sturdy enough so I stuck them to an adhesive backed card stock which you can find at any craft store. I then simply used clothespins to hang them from a black & orange ribbon.

gotta have candy corn! I actually love to eat it.

small white pumpkins found at the farmer's market

New things always being added to the biz...

A few of my best sellers have come my way via customer request. I have been very successful with my lake house signs ( check them out on my etsy page..sunshine girl designs) and anyways I had a customer contact me wanting an anniversary gift for her husband..This is what she wanted on the sign, which I think turned out wonderfully. I think I'm gonna make one for our house:)

Messiest studio in the world?

OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!! I'm gonna show you the messiest studio in the world...yep, it's all mine. Today I spent 4 straight hours cleaning it, and I'm off to a good start BUT I need to organize even more and throw more stuff away...I threw 2 huge garbage bags away of trash, and I'm not even gonna show you the closet!! We built this house not even a year ago, so I can't even say that this mess has been building up for years:( When I get involved in a project or painting, I just get alittle crazy and don't put things back where they go...hence the mess! But it was starting to drive me bonkers to not know where anything is! Imagine that!! Anyways, I'm pleased with my progress and am going to continue to organize and I'm gonna TRY to keep it somewhat looking decent and not like a tornado occurred. Please tell me your studio can get messy...

messiest studio EVER!!

My office section of studio

I organized each of the bins, still looks messy but it is organized:)

Threw away TONS of old paints, markers that didn't work, etc...

MUCH BETTER!!! but still needs work!!

P.S. I know it's CRAAAZY to have carpet in an art studio, but the workers had put it in before I could tell them to leave it with just the wood:( and I am not being careful to not keep paint off the floor. When we sell the house, we will just rip it out and replace:)


P.S.S. The rest of my house is neat and clean, promise:)

My summer (better late than never post)

So as most of you know, I offered 7 (3 day) weeks of summer camp this past summer, and boy was it a lot of F.U.N!!!

I admit there were many days I came home with a pounding headache and had to take a 2 hour nap BUT it was soo worth it. Here are some pictures of my summer. I was lucky enough to have rented an amazing space that used to be a restaurant and I had a huge open space for the kids to paint, 2 restrooms, all of my supplies in a storage bin, a full kitchen and a roomy porch for us to play games and eat our lunch! Mostly I had girls sign up...but I got lucky enough to snag a few boys in a few of my sessions. It was cute to see them act as though the camp was gonna be boring with all those girls but believe me, by the end of the day they were really enjoying themselves. I hope to draw a bigger boy crowd next summer. I had a ton of fun getting to hang out with these talented artists and we really worked together in making the camp a place for them to experiment, create, make new friends, & most importantly be themselves. I can't wait to plan next summer's camps! Until then, I am hosting my 2nd annual holiday workshop for grades K-7th. It will be held at my new location, Bachman Community Center on Dec 21st (k-2nd) and 22nd (3-7)from 10-2.  The cost is $65 and lunch is included. A $25 deposit holds your spot!

Enjoy the pictures!