fresh picked whimsy

on why i haven't blogged for a while...

Hello, my sweet friends!  Here i am.  i'm still here.  i've missed you.  December has been a blur.  I am just now coming up for air.  I've had a wonderful Christmas weekend with my family.  The kids and hubby still have another week home and we are loving every minute of it.  I'll post highlights from our festivities tomorrow, but thought i would show you some of the homemade goodies that i made for clients and family this month. 

 
I have lost count of how many of these family portraits i painted this month...here's a small sampling:

 

Some custom pet portraits, a custom child portrait, and this darling memorial angel portrait...

several Christmas plates for Jill's clients...

a handful of these fun door knob signs...

a new Christmas village custom made for Dee, my client from Texas who has ordered a village for every single holiday of the year...

 

 

and finally, several custom collage illustrations inspired by my original Lake Lovers illustration.  This first one was for a client who sent me photos of her family's farm to create this for her family...

and these for my parents, Mark's parents and Mark's brother, inspired by them!...

 

 
 See, i have been a busy little elf, not ignoring you!  I promise!  i have to say that it was quite a thrill to think about all of the people {around the world...gasp!} who opened my art as a gift on Christmas morning!  I am so very blessed.  Thank you, one and all who bought my art this year. 

Christmas highlights tomorrow, friends. xo

Art at the dinner table...

G went to a birthday party today and he gave his friend one of my all-time favorite gifts for a kid...a Make-a-Plate! 

Inside is a special piece of paper in the shape of a plate and some special markers.  Your child draws on the paper and you send it to the Make a Plate people in a pre-paid envelope that it comes with.  In a couple of weeks, they will send your child their finished plate!

My kids have each made their own, too.  We still have the ones that Mark made when he was a little boy.  We use them every day...they are just too cute!  And considering the fact that Mark made them over 30 years ago, they are the gift that keeps on giving.  I wash them in the dishwasher and they are still in awesome shape. 

Awww...this one is so sweet:

Mark and his brother Ed, worked together on this one:

And...my favorite...nothing says, "Enjoy your dinner" like an Army tank engaged in warfare:

I am so grateful that Mark's mom hung on to these over the years.  I fully intend to serve dinner to my grandchildren on these and the plates that my kids have made, too.  If you are looking for a fun Christmas present for a child, i found the one for G's friend at Hobby Lobby for $5.95 !  They would make great gifts for grandparents, too!

It's snow fair!

Well, so much for a snow day.  Not only didn't we get a winter storm, we didn't get any snow.  A pitiful dusting is what we got.  It was a gloomy morning at our house.  Our teenager, K, wanted to know if the weathermen could get fired for this. 

Today I filled some plate orders.  Another item that i sell at my girlfriend's store. 

Happy Birthday, Dad...67 years old today!  This is him as a teenager.  He was a hottie, wasn't he?