Adorable Serena and Lily James sheets & a painting to boot!

Serena and Lily must have had a Baltimore baby in mind when they came up with their sweet James Bedding Collection.  A girlfriend of mine is expecting her first, a boy, and I couldn't be more excited for her!  Born and bred in Baltimore, she too will start this little one's life off in Charm City.

I caught wind that she had picked out the James Collection for the nursery.  So sweet, right?!

photo via serenaandlily.com

So, with her shower over the weekend (and a major storm Friday night which made getting to it on Saturday a wee bit difficult....trees down, power out everywhere....crazy!) I decided to make something special for her and was putting on the finishing touches the night before when I thought our roof was going to cave in.

Anyhoo, if you haven't caught on, I love me a hand made gift.  And I think it is always special to receive something completely, 100% custom.  Especially when you have been preggers for many months and well, you deserve it!

Not knowing what the little man's name is, I decided to make something for the nursery.  But, also something the family can have down the line to use in any room. 

So their last name it was....and the crab :)

I used an 11" x 11" piece of wood and re-created the crab.  I used multiple layers of paint...sanded and distressed....using a hammer, I went to town!

Maybe Elmo inspired me, he gives me his 2 cents every now and then (me and elmo...we're tight!)

So I decided on a chalky red for the last name...

The edges are painted a light yellow (which you can't tell from this pic unfortunately)

There are 2 hanging brackets on the back or it can be propped up...........

PS....do you know why B-more is known as the "Charm City"?  Here's some trivia for you:

During the 1970’s, in an effort to promote Baltimore, the city developed an advertising campaign called "CHARM CITY". Visitors to Baltimore were given a charm bracelet and encouraged to purchase charms at the many Baltimore area attractions. As a result, Baltimore became known as the "Charm City", a nickname still used to this day.


Looking to have something special created?  Drop me a line!  erinsullivanartanddesign@gmail.com



Happy July, everyone!

Hats with a Past: Bonnie's Knitting

                  for the gent

Stumbled upon this sweet Etsy shop featuring great, no fabulous!, vintage style handmade hats.  Must start saving my pennies now if I want my favorite pick for each season...

(or maybe I will just settle with one, sigh...which shall it be?)

spring

winter

summer

fall

All photos courtesy: Hats with a Past: Bonnie's Knitting via Etsy

This is what she has to say on her shop:

"I collect vintage wool fabric and buckles and use them to create the hats you see. The fabulous quality of vintage fabrics really inspires me. I hope you are as impressed with that quality as I am.

For spring and summer hats I use high quality linens and cottons - many I import from Japan.

I've been a Costume Properties Artisan and made accessories for the stage for over ten years. I've worked with a variety of designers from around the world and have created everything from foul-mouthed puppets to leather gorgets to spats, crowns and sword belts. I enjoy it all but I absolutely LOVE making hats and hope you enjoy them too!

Check out my Facebook Fan page for the occasional discount code and a link to a Flickr pool of my available wools!"


What do you think....aren't they lovely?

Chevron. Funktified.

My girl Jenny is expecting her second baby in just a few short weeks!  She definitely needed a little sprinkle...and a lot of love after the last 8 months she has had.

Months ago, via pinterest , she subtly mentioned she wanted something kinda like this for the little man's nursery (she is going with grays, yellows, oranges, turquoise...yummy!)

via pinterest...flickr/rikizarris:

And, she LOVES old doors, shutters, hardware, vintage finds....etc.  Here is what I came up with:

16" x  24"

I combined two pieces of wood

in process

Sanded and distressed

Jenny...you are almost there!  Can't wait to meet little Wyatt...

I'm now offering custom, made to order pieces just like this!  Visit my Etsy shop here or contact me with any questions:  erinsullivanartanddesign@gmail.com

I heart this town

Every other Sunday, through July, we can walk the 5 minutes from our house to Wildwood Park and listen to a live band.  While we resembled the Beverly Hillbillies (stroller style) with blanket, fruit, cheese, chairs, etc. in tow, and were by far the youngest people there since the park is surrounded by a retirement community, it was completely fun and totally worth watching this girl eat dinner and shake her shoulders to Que Sera, Sera (one of my faves!) and other classics from the likes of Ella Fitzgerald.

Yup, I love it.....so fun!

what's not to love when you get to top it off with strawberries and cool whip?!

PS....I haven't shared my yard sale score for Leila from a few weeks ago.  Now, I have not "yard saled" probably since I was in 5th grade and would walk a few houses down with a few dollars in hand to a neighbor's yard sale and buy a toy.

So, when I got up at 6:30 am a few Saturdays ago, I didn't expect to come home with my trunk door strapped down and this inside:

$25 bucks baby!  I talked her down from $30 AND it comes with everything to go inside, including a roof top grill and table & umbrella...check it out!  I gave it a serious hose, oxyclean, 4-09 down but it's just like new. 

Leila (and her friend Claire) have gotten stuck trying to fit their whole bodies through the front door...here you can see I have pulled out all of her little figurines to show her that these are the toys you use.

I will be posting a new painting tomorrow that will be a sample for those interested in "made to order" one of a kind pieces for the home or for gifts....can't wait to share it with you :)

Have a great day,

love one another

A few months ago, my sister's friend lost someone very close to them, very suddenly. "Love one another" is one of the first things she said after her loss. This struck a chord with me and in the months that have followed I keep seeing "love one another" on signs, cards, whatever it might be. Such a simple statement and so easy to do but often we forget as we rush through our days.

I felt the urge to create a painting that celebrates life based on this statement and wanted to incorporate water, land and air. The #2 represents "it takes two" and the houses are numbered going up until they end with the lone #7 house on the hill behind the fence.

I used acrylic, gauche, plaster and there are also 3 yellow cabochons as flowers next to the #7 house

This painting is available on Etsy.



Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

sleepless

and can't put my brush down..........had to post a few pics of this current piece before I hit the sack.  So much more to do.  But I love it so far!

Night....

working on

a new painting that incorporates:

fish

the #2

and a whole heck of alot of texture.  Among other things......more to come!

PS....hope all you daddies out there had a great day on Sunday.  Pretty sure this one did..........