Mother's Day

If you would have told me when I worked full time that I would have more to do and less time to do it in being a stay at home mom I don't think I would have believed you. Not that I thought moms did nothing, I knew it would be hard work, it just didn't seem that hard- more kind of like vacation hard. I know all the moms are laughing right now. I'm laughing at me right now.

As an example I had my blogerversary last week and forgot about it. That would be such a big deal except I picked a date I thought there was no way I could forget it, Cinco de Mayo. Not that we celebrate the holiday other than sipping some coronas maybe, but it's the birthday we gave ALL our animals. That makes it seem like we have a zoo here and although it does feel that way most of the time it's really a normalish number. One dog and two cats, but the point is I figured I would remember that day because of the birthdays. Well I remembered the birthdays but forgot the anniversary. Not really a big deal again because no one reads this but really, how forgetful am I going to get.

Anyway I have been busy with lots of projects and cleaning- which isn't so exciting but sooo necessary. The only things I have been posting lately are my paintings. While I am beyond grateful to have commissions coming in I am feeling overwhelmed because I have to eek the time for these out of my already pretty full day. Here is my latest, it is going to be someones Mothers day present, I hope they like it!

My first Harley!

No, I didn't go out and buy a bike. It's my first painting of a Harley. I was alittle nervous when I got this commission because I don't really know anything about bikes or cars- in fact when I need a new one I just send my husband and tell him to pick! I'm very pleased with how it turned out though and so is the bikes owner, which is what really matters.

What I've learned from pinterest

This is my photo from the mason jar soap dispenser I made here.

I still love it just as much, the lid has gotten a little rusty so I would make sure to paint the lid HEAVILY. Other than that it worked as expected. I have also made a cornstarch filled mason jar using the pour spout from an old salt container. This works Okay, I still have to unscrew the lid for some things and it is better than the box I used to use that somehow made a huge mess EVERY time I opened it.

The fake febreeze however isn't working as well. It seems to be fine when I can actually get it to spray- it could just be the spray bottle I used but I think the baking soda is not fully dissolved and little pieces are clogging up the tube. Reconstituting your broken make up using rubbing alcohol also has mixed results. It did form a pancake again but has since cracked apart, I think maybe I used too much alcohol?

I have also made homemade laundry soap and this seems to work very well. There is a little bit of money layout in the beginning because of the large sizes of washing soda and borax but it has been lasting for a long time. Next time I make a batch I'll just need to purchase a bar of soap- I used fels naptha.

Overall I'm very pleased that I was able to make and use all these things that I had pinned. I just realized that all of these are from my thrifty board- I guess that says something about me! Pinterest has been helpful to me in another way too, it finally got me to get rid of all the old decorating magazines that I've been hoarding for years ( I'm donating them to my daughters school). That makes me Happy.

New Portraits

I've been busy working on a couple new commissions, they might be from my sister but I can still call them commissions if I get paid. Right?



My sisters two babies, Tay and Bella. I'm not sure which one she loves most sometimes, after all her human daughter is almost a teenager. Enough said.

Jumping on the Ombre bandwagon

I decided to dye my hair red. How's that for completely off topic? Actually it does have something to do with my sweater, honest. I have been a blond, brunette and a sort of redhead all before and I knew that when I changed my hair color there would be certain items of clothing that just wouldn't look right anymore so I decided to weed out my closet. None of my pinks or reds look right but blues and purple work great!

I came across this sweater that I think I've had for maybe 15 years? I NEVER wore it- because it was white. If you knew me I wouldn't have to explain any further. I'm messy, and clumsy, and pretty absentminded, like leaning into a painting that's still wet and getting it all over my shirt, not that I just did this YESTERDAY or anything!

Anyway I'm pretty happy with this although the top portion was supposed to stay white and it bled when I washed it. I think it should get more wear this way and then I won't have to feel guilty about it taking up drawer space.

It doesn't have to be perfect

The weather here , like many other places, was beautiful. Warm and sunny, and completely fooling us that it was only barely spring. We found ourselves going to parks and working outside more. Then reality crashed down and it has been getting colder and colder - only 38 today! I knew better but still got fooled, that mother nature is such a sneaky ________!

I've also been working on setting up a portrait website- hence the title of this post. I researched and designed a website and business cards while working on a four piece commission that was turning out to be more time consuming than I had originally guessed. In the end I got them all done. Am I completely happy about everything? No. In fact my sister said to me " you didn't put on the website what it is you do" Oops! Kind of a big mistake! Anyway it is up and running and I can always tweak it as I go right?

I've been putting off posting until I had something to show but I realizes that something is better than nothing, and I have something.

Happy Birhtday Kelsey!

 So exactly one week separates the birthdays of my babies. My family is no stranger to clusters of birthdays together, in fact I have four birthdays alone on September first! Right now it isn't really a problem because they enjoy sharing their party, but I can foresee a day in the future where I will not get off so easy.

Since we had already did the party thing  and the weather was spectacular ( many of my flowers are coming up) we spent most of the day at a park. She is definitely her Daddy's daughter and loves the slides and swinging high. She really has no fear, which scares the crap out of me! A great time was had by all, and for now I'll be grateful that spending the day at a park is the most fun we can have.