Flashback Friday

I painted this in 2005 and sold the original. I was so happy to find that I had saved a file for it. The poem I wrote on it says this:

When I look within

I see something growing

I'm not sure what it is

but it turns my tears into diamonds

my hope into flowers.

Now I am growing into myself

and the years fall off

like leaves on a tree.

I'm offering 5 x7" prints on my etsy shop for $7.50 if you're interested.
Happy Friday! I'm going to take some time off blogging this weekend to enjoy Easter with my family. I hope all of you have a safe and lovely Easter weekend making precious memories with your loved ones.
xo
Chrissie

The Grace Factory

Good morning! I started this post about 7:45 this morning. We're on Spring Break so my kids were sleeping in. It is now 11:15 and I'm just hitting post. Does it take anyone else 4-5 hours to write one little blog entry?:)
Anyhoo...

Welcome to the Grace Factory...

I've had lots of orders for these initial plaques lately. Yesterday my neighbor walked in and dubbed my kitchen "The Grace Factory". These guys were everywhere! They measure 8 x 8" and include an initial and name of your choice. I sell them off of my website but I listed them in my etsy shop today too.

I also wanted to show you some trades I've received lately.

I emailed both of these ladies because I loved their work. I was hoping maybe they would be up for a trade and I got lucky! You can find Aimee's work here...
And Jennifer's work here...

Ok, I'm off to open up all the windows in my house and bring out the lysol. We just had a throwing up episode. Just when I thought everyone was better!!

Have a wonderful day friends...:)

xo

Chrissie

Hope

Thanks for all the encouragement and uplifting words from yesterday. It's so nice to know that you guys relate, and understand. And it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who plays the comparison game. I'm feeling much better today! I'm feeling so blessed and full of hope...Thank you again.

I've been working diligently on a book deadline, which unfortunately, I can't share with you.:( Not yet anyway...But I found this picture in my archive above. I wish I had some close-up shots of it. It was a 16 x 20 canvas that I painted and collaged on, then went back in with embroidery thread and beads and spent a lot of time embellishing.

Happy Wednesday!

**Oh, and I just got an email that this post was on Tip Junkie last night. Awesome!:)

You are an Original

I had one of "those days" yesterday. You know, where you go to bed in tears because it was just so long...and you feel kind of like a failure. Your mind starts racing about all that you did wrong. I could've been kinder, I could've been more patient, I should've gotten more done, I should've finished that project. And I got on the computer right before bed to unwind with my blogs, but it put me in a different place. My place of inspiration put me in a place of comparison.
Does it ever seem to you that everyone else but you has it "all together"?

I'm feeling much better this morning after reading Crystal's thoughts...and I realize how much I need to let go of all this expectation I have on myself.
I love the inspiration and excitement I get from reading other people's blogs, but I'm never going to measure up to anyone else. And that's good-right? It makes me ME, and my life MINE.
Here's a couple of quotes I thought I'd share with you, just in case you can relate a teeny tiny bit...

Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.
-Katherine Mansfield

O God Help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is! -Macrina Wiederkehr

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. I'll be back soon with some new art:)

Cupcake Party

Happy Birthday to our sweet, spunky, precious Princess. We love you Sissy!

It was a lovely weekend and a perfect party for our new three year old. The day started out with her ballet class.

Ava wanted to make the cupcakes. She stirred the batter, spread the icing, and put the sprinkles on. She was so proud!

I told you about her cupcake dress here and her matching cupcake barrette here. I found cupcake sandals at Target last week and of course we had to get them!

Everything was decorated with cupcakes for her special party.

This is Ava with her Mimi.

Lots of pink, lots of sweet presents, lots of fun, and of course, lots of cupcakes. ;)

I found these cute wooden cut outs at Michael's for 15 cents a piece. The kids had a great time painting them, but I think their favorite part was playing freeze dance and limbo. Who would've thought?

Thanks for looking at her party. She told me last night, "Momma, when I'm 4, I want a ballerina party..." Hmmm...good thing we've got a whole year to plan!:)

Flashback Friday and a Winner

It's time for Flashback Friday again. How do these weeks go by so fast?

This is an "ArtyGator" I did for the city of Sanford two years ago. It was 7 feet tall! I know I complained about the bunny taking a long time, but this guy took me a full month working 40-50 hours a week. Every single piece of glass that I mosaic-ed on him was handcut.

Annheiser Busch sponsored for me to complete this guy. So I painted the eagle on his arm...

Here's a close-up of the back.

A view from behind...

And a frontal view. Lots and lots of stained glass, mirror, and gold paint.

It was a city project and I think about 20 artists painted theirs. There were some really beautiful ones. Mine was the only mosaic one. I loved how he turned out but it was hard work!

Thanks for looking at my Flashback Friday!

And I guess you are wondering who the winner of the cupcake barrette is...

...it is Frugal Jen!!

Congratulations Jen! Please email me your address so I can get this out to you!

And many thanks to all of you who played and gave me your honest feedback about the pieces. I am definitely going to put some things together and list them on my etsy shop soon. Thank you also for the recent Etsy orders...:)
I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. We have a Cupcake themed birthday party tomorrow for our little princess. I'll be back on Monday with some pictures:)

xo,

Chrissie

Star Wars Room

Did anyone else get the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog this week?

I never thought my boys would be interested, until I casually mentioned the Star Wars Room. I showed it to them and Ashton carried the catalog around for days, asking, "Mommy, please, can we have this room?"

Well, friends, I couldn't give them the Pottery Barn Star Wars Room.

But I gave them the "Chrissie Grace" version.

Welcome to Logan and Ashton's (sort-of) Star Wars room.

They do share the room, and it's only 10 x 10. So we can't have a lot of clutter. It drives them, oops, I mean, me, crazy. We cleaned and decluttered like crazy in there before we started.

The Star Wars sheets at Pottery Barn are $59 for a twin set. I bought ours at Target for $15.

The Galaxy Wall Art in the catalog is listed for $299. I know the one I painted isn't that great (I'm sorry, I've never drawn Star Wars characters before), but it is a 3 foot mural in their room. And it was free. Plus, they love it.

Ok, so keeping it real here folks. It's not my favorite room in the house. But it's clean. It's pretty organized. Most importantly, my boys are happy and feel like their Mom did something special for them. And that makes us all happy:)