Whats been keeping me busy....

Sooooo much to say...It has been a busy busy spring and now summer has finally arrived and I am still going going going!

I'm not sure where I left off or even where to begin. I wanted to share a few things that have been keeping me busy and at least give you the excuse as to why I am horrible at updating my blog. : (

Last month Steve and I traveled to Chattanooga Tn for a folk art show which was so much fun. Since then I have been selling some of my work here or there with full profit going to Jude's recovery.

I started selling my work at Bell's Handcrafts and now I am selling at Corner Arts Gallery downtown Newnan. I have sold two pieces so far and that just puts a smile on my face and I hope whom ever has bought too!

We went to the beach the last week of May and had a great time just being a family. Got to soak up the sun at one of our favorite beaches Steve and I used to go to when we lived in Florida. Now we get to take our girls there.

We had swimming lessons two weeks ago and last week was VBS! Me and my good friend Jodi always teach the crafts.....exhausting but so much fun! I claim her every year cause she is a real teacher and knows how to run a class. LOL

We are still homeschooling but because we go through the year we are doing four days a week right now. So excited about starting 1st grade soon. Emma amazes me and makes me laugh everyday.....not all days are perfect though. : )

Well just a few tidbits about what has been happening at the Smith's house! We are having a blast and excited about the future. I will post new work as I make it.

Happy Summer my friends!

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Bell's Handcrafts

Well my friends I have exciting news. One of our local stores here in Historical downtown Newnan is selling some of my work.

I haven't sold my work in a store in a few years. Actually about 5. I have changed so much as an artist and there have been so many changes in our lives that I've stayed pretty busy. However, I am finally at a place to give this a try again and see how I do.

Go check out their Bell's Handcrafts website and find their facebook fan page and click 'LIKE"!!!

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Who-fest 2012

OK, so I am really late on posting any pictures from Who-fest this year but I got tons of excuses.....just maybe not good enough ones. So here are a few pics of our fun weekend. Unfortunately we had to leave Sunday morning due to the rain so I did not get to visit or take as many pictures of my friends as I normally do. Bummer!!!! We did have a great time and appreciated all the hard work involved in making this a successful show. Looks like a Who-fest too is coming this September and if all goes well I plan on being there.

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Some of my new work

A few of  my favorite new pieces I made for Who-fest that sold. We had such a good time and I just love seeing people walk away with my work and a smile! : )

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Precious Hands

A few years ago I decided to make over our bedroom. I needed it to be a place where I could get away. Everything I do and anywhere I go involves my babies. I am not complaining, but in the evening when they go to bed I don't want to look at toys and the product of our day. I just felt like making my room a get away with calm tranquil colors would be awesome! However I wanted to incorporate something of theirs that tied my theme and design together. So I took a few old frames. I painted them a dark umber brown and distressed them. Then I made three separate collages to put in each frame to hang above our bed. The far left one is a cut out of Emma's hand with her name and the word "faith" on it. The middle one is two birds with the word "Love" on it. The one on the right is a cut out of Abbie's hand with her name and the word "Hope" on it. I love these pieces dearly and will always cherish them! Just wanted to share!

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Easter Egg project with acrylic paint

Easter Project

We are going to make paper Easter eggs to decorate our front living room window.

 My sweet girls precious hands after our project. We had such a great time!

This is how we did this project.

supplies needed; acrylic paint, cut out paper eggs about 2 inches in length, Styrofoam plate, clear plastic wrap

First thing you do is let your child pick out their favorite colors and squirt them around the edges of the plate in a circle. Then squirt white in the middle. Place a sheet of clear plastic wrap across the top of the plate with enough to tuck under the bottom.

Then you let your child take their finger and stir it around and around in the plate over the clear plastic wrap. Sometimes you may have to push the paint more to the center but it should begin to look like this. Don't mix too much or it will blend too much and not be pretty.

Then take the clear plastic wrap off the plate and lay it aside. Take your egg and lay it into the paint and tap your fingers all along the backside of the egg. (Yes you will get messy so be prepared and HAVE FUN!!!)

Pull the egg up and lay it out to dry and VIOLA you have beautiful looking eggs. Emma and Abbie had so much fun doing this project. I am thinking of making a paper tree and letting the eggs hang on it for a pretty decoration for Easter. Dern, I love this kind of mess.

A shot of the eggs drying.....I will post pics of the end result another day.

If you want to see where I got this idea from and see some other fun projects to work on click HERE.

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Key to my Heart

My good friend text me a few nights ago about a folk song she knew I would love. I fell in love with it. I am going to teach it to my little birds. Here is the link if you are interested in hearing it. It is by Elizabeth Mitchell called Little Bird.

I painted this piece the other day. I'm thinking it is my favorite. At least until my next one is my favorite. I had such a good time working on it. It was a peaceful, beautiful first day of spring and I will always remember it when I look at it. The hard part about being an artist is selling a piece of my soul and memory to someone who wasn't there the moment I created it. Sometimes I give myself permission to keep them.

I remember when Emma would cry and get upset that I was packing my art to go to a show. She didn't want anyone to have them. I can relate to how she felt. Sometimes when a piece has sold I get so excited knowing it is going to be hung in someone else's nest and they will smile every time they look at it and yet I am saying goodbye to something that I created from my heart.

My sweet little baby birds do have the key to my heart. They are 2 reasons why I  take a breath each morning.

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XOXO owls mixed media

While Emma worked on her math and writing I painted. That is one reason I LOVE homeschooling. I haven't painted owls lately and so I wanted to do something with owls. My supplies were scrap paper, acrylic paint, felt, buttons, and some stamps to add texture and more layers.

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chirplove shared an Instagram photo with you

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"I am so excited about this piece. It is a functional piece. All I did was buy an old frame from a thrift store, decoupage over it with scraps of scrapbook paper. Then my handy dandy dad cut a piece of chicken wire and a piece of wood to fit on the back. By the way I used scrap book paper as the background. Then screwed all the pieces together and it was ready to hang. Fun part about this is I collected all my favorite earrings and hung them on the chicken wire. Now I have a fantastic piece of interesting art hanging in my bathroom and it functions as a way to hang my earrings! Viola!!!!"

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chirplove shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,
chirplove just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"It is official. With much thought and somewhat turmoil I have closed citygirlstudios.com. I have evolved and grown so much as an artist from when I first started city girl studios in 2004. It is a chapter closed, but with that a new one begins. I am so excited to be starting my new, fresh chapter. I will be updating my blog as best I can. I am a stay at home mom and stay busy with keeping up with my home, homeschooling my 6yr old and my art. I hope to keep you coming back to see what I am doing. I hope we can grow as kindred spirits. xoxo"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

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Well February is about over and I am sorry to say I wished it away since it has been such a rough month with kids being sick.  I am ready to free my mind of the clutter, let go and get my PAINT ON!!!!

Today I got all my supplies out on my kitchen counter and started going through scraps of paper, materials, buttons, and paints. There is just something about sitting and looking through my treasures that kick starts my creative button. These are the two pieces I did today.

My first piece for Spring.....sigh!!!!

"Stay Calm, Chirp On"

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Work in progress

Golly gee, I am not finishing any projects but keep starting on new ones....lol that is how I roll. I like to have several going at one time.

This is a "masterpiece" in progress. No literally. I plan on hanging this in my kitchen so I can display the girls latest artwork on it weekly. I am having the letters "Masterpieces" in a whimsical font designed to put above the work. I am so excited. I will have to post a picture when it is finished. I am still trying to figure out how I want to hang each piece of their art.

Starting to paint the frame, which by the way is a recycled frame from the door entry to my closet my dad and Steve took out a few weeks ago. My dad made this for me to go around an old bulletin board.

Frame painted

This is not done. I am waiting on vinyl letters and still trying to decide on how to hang the art.

Keep checking back to see how it turns out. I am so excited to be able to see my girls work but displayed in a stylish frame. Cuts down the clutter on the fridge.

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