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Lettered Family Names--Completed
Remember this project? This past weekend, I was able to dot the i's on the last of the 12 names, and the finished pieces were delivered to our friends. The idea for this special project has been a long time in planning, so I'm thankful for the strength to have gotten it completed!
Here are some samples of the artwork on a few of the children's names. (Click on the above photo to see them all.)
Each family member's name is written in burgundy brush-lettering with accents of green. I calligraphed the meanings of their names and a Bible verse that corresponds with each person's name meaning and character.
I mounted each name and custom cut the navy blue matting for the final touch.
Having the artwork hanging on their walls will help remind their family of God's gift of each of their children! I really enjoyed being part of working on this for them.
12/365: Special Project
A friend requested me to complete a special project for her. She found some beautiful artwork that features verse 4 from 3 John: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." She wants me to create companion pieces including each of her 12 family members' names. I will be brush-lettering their first and middle names as well as calligraphing the meanings of the names and appropriate Scripture references. Progress is being made, and I hope to post pictures of some of my finished work soon!
9/365: Horse and Buggy
Project 365 continues....
Believe it or not, the above image is a photo, not an unfinished watercolor pencil drawing. Today as Mom, Sarah, and I were driving up to the quilt shop in Dayton, VA, Mom suddenly yelled, "HANNAH, CAMERA!!" The reason being there was a horse and buggy crossing the intersection as we were sitting at a stoplight. I grabbed my camera from my lap, turned it on, and snapped a picture through the windshield.
Unfortunately, the camera was set on a slow shutter speed, and in the broad daylight, I knew the photo would turn out to be no good. Viewing the picture later, however, revealed that the overexposure had frozen the horse and buggy in time, capturing this soft painterly effect. Pretty neat?
Project 365
This year I will be participating in Project 365, which means I will be taking one photo every day (at least), documenting life during 2010. I'll be posting them to this photo album, and occasionally highlighting random days here on my blog.
Today's image:
Each year on January 1st as I review the past year's happenings, I transfer all the important dates and birthdays over to my brand new calendar.
Hopefully, I will be able to keep this up each day, and it will be a little bit of motivation to develop creativity in my photography. Feel free to add your comments on days you enjoy seeing!
Free Shipping Week
Receive FREE shipping on your purchase from Graceful Designs, now through December 19th! All U.S. orders of any size are eligible.
Get your last minute stocking stuffers just in time for Christmas! Add a dash of spring to your winter days! Make sure you have thank-you notes ready for a new year's correspondence!
Feel free to grab the above button to advertise this offer on your own blog!
Winter Watercoloring
My friend Madeline came over to spend some time learning more about watercolor painting. We looked through my watercolor books to get some ideas of what to work on first. Madeline chose to paint a colorful basket of fruit for her mom.
She enjoyed mixing the paints and watching her picture take shape as I showed her different tricks and techniques such as using plastic wrap or sea salt for texture.
Below is an example of the salt effect, perfect for suggesting snowy or starry skies:
Madeline was a creative student and inspired me to get back to practicing more of my own painting. Here is her finished masterpiece:
Great job, Madeline!
First Day of Fall Sale--and a Giveaway
It's September 22nd: fall is officially here! To celebrate, there will be a special sale for a limited time! Receive 25% off your entire purchase of any size, today through the end of this month.
After you place your order as usual, I will send you a refund through Paypal for 25% of the total cost of your items before shipping.
For those of you who might prefer to pay by check, simply email me as usual with your selected products, and I'll send you an invoice with the final discounted total.
That's not all! An extra advantage for everyone who places an order by Sept 30th is that your name will be eligible for a giveaway!
These autumn-themed stamped cards come in sets of 5, with one of each of the above designs, and include kraft paper envelopes. One winner will receive this variety set of 5 notecards. I will draw a name on the 1st of October.
This set of notecards is newly being made available for purchase, but in limited quantity. Hurry while they last! And don't forget these leafy stamped sets:
Happy Fall!
Child and Daddy shots
A camera and a baby make for lots of fun shooting! I love experimenting with turning portraits to black and white. The contrast in tones can be striking, but the contrast in size between these pairs of hands and feet is endearing! Thanks to my sister-in-law for the posing ideas. :)
Happy Scrappy Quilt Giveaway!
The ladies at Marie-Madeline Studio are giving away this colorful handmade quilt, created from some of the fun fabrics they use for their custom-sewn products! This twin-size "scrappy" quilt includes material from the Jennifer Paganelli collection. I have enjoyed the fabric I purchased from Marie-Madeline Studio for my red, white, and blue quilt that is still in progress. They are very pleasant to deal with as well.
The Long ladies have a great business going. Go enter their giveaway through August 8th and browse their store!
