Oh my! Oh my! Oh Dinosaurs!

So Eli moved to a "big boy" bed almost a year ago. But, it was just a mattress on rails. So my dad built him a bed and we got new bedding. Out with the previous theme: planes, trains & cars, and in with the dinosaurs.

Eli & Campbell jumping on the new bed. Poor picture quality- taken with my cell phone.

 Here are three out of four of my favorite men at the dinosaur exhibit at the Memphis Zoo.

So we got the bedding from Pottery barn kids. Don't you just LOVE the dinosaur painting!?!?! Yeah, me too. But I don't love the price tag. So I had to make one.

Here is my version. It is smaller than the one above.  

Click on images for a larger view and to see more detail.

 No particular reason for choosing dinosaurs except I love the way Eli says "Rawr!" 

  And by the way, every animal says "Rawr". Dogs- "Rawr!" Cats- "Rawr!"  Birds- "Rawr!"  

Hope we can get that straightened out by kindergarten. 

22"x24".  Handpainted and colors are hand mixed.

I have plans for another dinosaur piece for his room. Hopefully, I'll start working on that soon!

A surprise gift

I met a new friend at my MOPS group.  Her family moved to Memphis from California almost a year ago (very brave). She is the mom of two boys and wants four boys!

I told her to hang out with me and she will be on her way to a quiver full of boys. So she came over to hang out about a month ago.  Our boys played together and she helped me design her signs.

She asked me to make her two signs. The first will hang in her living room above her collection of crosses.

Sign measures 30" by 5.5". Font is Gabriola. Font color is dark umber brown. Board color is custom distressed barn wood paint.

Her second sign is a birthday present for her husband.

Sign measures 22" by 11". Font is Monotype Corvisa and Garamond. Font color is off-white. Board color is dark umber brown.

To the moon

When I drive down the road, slam on brakes and turn the car quickly around, my four year old immediately says "Are we getting some wood?".  Yes, I am that crazy person that will go through your trash.

But, by doing this, I found some pretty awesome old wood. Someone tore down an old fence and I picked up 2 boards. No matter how you try, you cannot make new boards look as awesome as old weathered ones.

I am still kicking myself for not getting all of it. But two things stopped me. First, I didn't want to look too crazy going through someone's trash.  Second, I would have had to leave one of my kids behind in order to put all that old fence in my van.  I couldn't decide which kid to leave behind... that makes me a good mom right?

So with my two boards I made this sign. I kept one and hung it in our playroom. The other sign if for sale at High Cotton. Go buy it! Because there are only two in the whole world :)

Sign measures 55" x 7.5". Font is Arial. Font color is maize. Board color weathered fence wood.

Oh! It's been a while...

It's been a while since I have last posted pictures of my signs. No particular reason for lack of posts. I am still working on signs. I have just been.... busy.
But aren't we all.

So here is a sign I made today. I LOVE it. I want to keep it because it matches Grayson's nursery so well. But I won't... (*sniff, sniff*)

It is for sale at High Cotton for $75. So go buy it.
Because it is A.W.E.S.O.M.E!

It is painted on old barn wood from the early 1900s. (At least that is what I was told by the man who I got the wood from. He tears down old houses and barns.... what a cool job)

I took LOTS of pictures. Photo bomb starts... now.

My sister (she has a lot of opinions) told me what to do for this sign. (90% of the time her opinion is spot on). If she got paid for her opinions, then we'd probably be on a beach right now, sipping margaritas, while a nanny changed dirty diapers.

Sign measures 53 1/2" by 5.5". Font Happy Serif. Font color- white. Board color- 1900s old barn wood blue.

Be the person your dog thinks you are.

Thanksgiving 1995 (I think?)

Holly and Daisy were the two dogs I grew up with. Holly was a Springer Spaniel and Daisy was a German Shepard/ Golden Retriever mix.

Holly would go and get the newspaper in the mornings. She LOVED to hunt Easter Eggs. And she knew how to roll up the windows in our mini-van.

Daisy was the athlete. She could catch a Frisbee from any angle. When she was younger she could even do back flips and catch the Frisbee. She worshiped my brother, as you can see in the picture.

Without getting too sentimental, I LOVED my dogs. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED them. I can't wait to see them again. Because All Dogs go to Heaven.

So in memory of the worlds best dogs, here is a sign I made. Available at High Cotton Gifts & Art.

Sign measures 17"x3". Hand painted & distressed in Blue and Maize. Custom font.

There are these boys...

My husband is an only child.  So our three boys are the only grandkids for my in-laws.  I made this sign for my mother-in-law as a belated Christmas gift.

This sign measures 15 inches wide and 9 inches tall.  Fonts are Maiandra GD & Monotype Corsiva.  Painted with chocolate brown and cream vinyl lettering.

Bless Our Nest- Grayson is here

I made and sold this sign a while back, but wanted to share it on this special Christmas Day.

Grayson Isaac was born on Friday 12-23-11 at 10:16pm.  After a quick labor and succesful VBA2C! He weighed 8bs 5oz, 22 inches long (that explains him being in my ribs!).

We had to stay just 24 hrs so we were home by midnight Christmas Eve and Santa was able to surprise our older boys with lots of presents.

Giving birth to a baby at Christmas, puts a whole new spin on what Mary and Joseph must have been thinking/ doing so long ago. I could not imagine giving birth (natural!) in a barn, in the cold, with just my husband. She is a remarkable woman!

Christ is born! Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Family Name Signs

My friend Angela just recently got married, to a pilot like me.  Since both of our hubbies were out of town working last Saturday, she came over for a girls night.  We sat on the couch in our sweatpants, watched my boys wrestle each other and just talked girl talk. So nice and so needed!

Eventually we got around to the real reason why she came over.  She wanted to order some signs! One for herself and one for her new sister-in-law.  She ordered another sign, which I'll post about later.

Here are two that she order and she came up with the design.  I love them so much I am going to make myself one!

Life begins at Retirement

Here is a custom handpainted sign.  This will hang on the back porch of the family's retirement home.  I hope the McIntyre family enjoys their retirement to the fullest!!

My Aunt Janice

This is my Aunt Janice

Seriously... this is really her.

This is her sign.

Fitting... right?  

She is one of the most fun, hilarious people I have ever known. Her husband ,children and even grandchildren are just as fun and hilarious.  

Love her. Wish I could see her more.

7000 days

I made this sign quite a while ago. The man and his two sons remind me of my husband and our two boys Campbell & Eli.  The silhouette is cut out of metal (it really cramped my hand cutting that metal.  I haven't cut any metal since... haha!)

The sign was inspired by one of the best sermon series at my church called 7000 days. Why 7000 days?  Because there is roughly 7000 days from birth till your children go off to college.  7000. That is it.

Please watch the promo video.  I also encourage every parent to take time to watch the videos of the the sermon online. "Change your family forever".

In this House

Every house needs "House Rules". Not the "put your dishes in the sink" type of rules, but just general rules about your family. Here are our "House Rules"

This sign measures 22 inches tall and 11 inches wide.  Font is called MarkerFelt. 

Bless Our Nest

I feel very fortunate that I have a great husband, two adorable kids and one blessing coming this Christmas.  This sign is a sweet reminder that all things good come from above.