I Love These Little Canvases!

This is a sample painting of a 5x5x1 canvas size that I am considering beginning to offer. This is actually a sample for a give-a-way that I will be offering over at agiveawayaday.blogspot.com (should be sometime next week). I have to admit, though, I was too scared to try to paint on this size canvas until I got the courage from a fellow artist, Kim Tate-Wheeler (Thanks, Kim!). I have wanted to try to paint on a smaller size for a long time, but the canvases, ironically, are way more expensive than the medium and larger-sized ones! And since I mess up quite a bit, I have stuck to the larger ones. This one, in particular, is to match my son's Pooh bedding. "Pooh" has been my nickname from my "dad" since I was a kid, so when we found out we were having a baby, I liked the idea of having it for the room. We were not going to find out what were having, but as that week approached, I gave in!!! I had already decided to go with Pooh since it was kind of neutral, but after seeing all the other cute beddings for boys, I'm wishing I had waited to decide instead of being so hasty! I think 3 would be cute for initals and I could make a deal on a set, but one single one would actually have to be $25 just to break even on them! Anyhow, tell me what you think and look for the giveaway over there next week!

"E" is Off to Her New Home!

Here is the "E" for my new friend, Bethany, in GA. I hope her little sis and her niece, due later this year/early next year, love it!

LeeLou's Launch Party

My new blog friend, LeeLou, that I made the "Yeehaw" painting for is having a launch party over at her blog. Just follow the link by clicking on the enclosed button and go over and leave a comment to be entered for some really GREAT prizes! She is the one I got my FREE, yes FREE blog design from. She also does custom blog designs and has some new hook-ups on digital scrapbooking. I need to get into that because I am terrible about keeping up on Preston's 5 books! I need to just condense it all into ONE and do it here on the computer where I spend a lot of time anyways! She says there is a new program that makes it fun and quick! So go check it out and get entered for some great stuff! Thanks again LeeLou!

Ellie and Kaysie turn 1...and love their paintings!

I just HAD to add these two pictures...Kaysie looks happy with her painting and Ellie...not so much! Maybe she is crying because they were about to take it away from her! Yeah, yeah, that's it! LOL! They are about to get a room of their own; their mom tells me they are about to turn the garage into a room for them. So maybe these might match?? We'll see!

Gift Certificates Now Available!

After thinking about the last few posts, I figured introducing the availability of Gift Certificates would be appropriate. A gift certificate from Initial Designs is unique and thoughtful yet the person can still choose exactly what they want. You can order and pay online without stepping out the door and I will send the gift certificate to you or directly to your loved one. I know all too well that with the economy being in a crunch that everyone is trying to shop early while still trying to find special and affordable gifts. A custom, hand-painted piece of letter/name art is perfect for anyone for any occasion; birthday, baby shower, or even a wedding. I can do almost anything to match any style, decor, or bedding. Gift certificates are available starting at $20 and going up increments of $5. I am personally designing the gift certificates and will post a picture soon. Call me for details about a discount for gift certificate purchases-I can explain it better in person.

Inspired to Give-a-way!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.......Sorry. Sign up to receive an email when I post to be alerted of other giveaways in the future!

After "Becoming a Tip Junkie" and reading all around Laurie's blog, I was feeling inspired to do a give-a-way! I really just enjoy painting and getting some practice, so if figured what other way to do that besides give away a painting. So, here's the deal...since I only have a few readers, I am going to leave the give-a-way open for 3 weeks, until Friday, November 14th. The random winner will be entitled to a custom, handmade piece of name art of their choice valued up to $50. This really would include a painting from almost any of my lines, it would just limit the size of the canvas. Also, the "certificate" can be given as a gift and if a larger piece of art is desired, the $50 can be applied to that piece of art. So, leave a comment to be entered and tell a friend to tell a friend! Who knows, I may even pick 2 numbers. Maybe my 2 current readers will win! Hehe he he he... :)

This really is to say thanks for your support of my business and to celebrate the ONE YEAR anniversary of Initial Designs! I started this business on October 10th, 2007! (So, I'm about 2 weeks late-go figure!)

**Don't forget to leave me your email address in the comment so if you win I can contact you**

Support Mom-preneurs this Holiday Season!

What is a mom-preneur you ask? Well, click on the enclosed link button to see an enormous list of mom-preneurs and you'll get the idea! Well, okay, I'll go ahead and explain...a mom-preneur is a mother who helps support their family by making handmade items. Laurie over at Tip Junkie has compiled a great list of women in blog land who are mom-preneurs and is encouraging the support of these women during holiday shopping. I think it is a great idea and have emailed Laurie to try to get on the list. When you are shopping for Christmas or really for any gift, don't you always want to find something great that is unique yet affordable? The answer is HANDMADE!!!! I love to be able to paint art for children's rooms and other items to assist in my staying at home with Preston. It's like the perfect combination-doing what you love to stay with the one you love most! So, go out there and support these women and, in turn, help support their families!

New Pics!

Here is the painting from the last post-it is not quite finished, but you can get the idea from this one. The dots that touch the edges wrap around-that is what the 2nd two pictures are... I need to do a few more coats on the "E" and then clean it up around the edges and then off to be varnished!

Also, here is a similar painting for my niece, Kaysie-actually twin nieces, Kaysie and Ellie-the "E" with the pink and brown polka dots will be for her. I've got to do the same steps as above to finish this one up, but this is almost what it will look like; I think I will extend the front of the bottom of the "K" a little bit. Their birthday is this weekend on Saturday-they turn the big ONE! They are adorable! I added a pic of one of them (they are identical and I didn't have one of the other one by herself).

My First...

...order for a painting from someone I have never met and who is also from out of state. She came to my blog from LeeLou (my new blog friend that I got my great blog design(s) from). We have talked back and forth by email and she is a very sweet person and she wanted to order a painting for her sister who is 7 months pregnant. Here is a preliminary picture of the painting and a picture of the bedding from JC Penney called Pink Paisley Splash. You can barely see the in cursive "E" in the background that still needs to be painted. I was just so excited, I had to do a post! I really like this bedding and the colors. She also emailed me pictures of the nursery and they are incorporating a dotty caterpillar theme which is very cute, so the polka dots coordinate very well actually. More pictures will follow soon.

On a separate, but somewhat related note, I finally signed up with PayPal so I can actually take credit/debit cards now and bank information for paintings. I got motivated from the above order. It's very cool actually; I just create an invoice at PayPal and email it to the customer and they can pay right through a link in the email without even having to be a PayPal member. I'm feeling kind of legitimate now!

"Driving" Me Crazy!

Ok, so here is a painting that I had been working on for the past week for a little boy I keep that turned 4 yesterday. The reason for the title of the post is...I tried time and time again to get the sports car on the painting to look like a Corvette. He LOVES cars and it was only appropriate for his painting to contain them. I thought, ok cool, this will be fun. I drew out the Escalade from a toy car and it turned out pretty good from the get go. The Corvette (also drawn from a toy car), on the other hand, started out looking like a Fiero then changed to a Probe and then after about 3 more drawings and many adjustments after I painted it on, finally looks like a sportscar, but not exactly like a Corvette. I think I didn't have enough space for it there, so I was doomed from the beginning. Also, maybe I should have looked at larger pictures instead of Matchbox cars. Anyhow, his mom said they both loved it and that's all that matters, right?!

'Yeehaw'...It's Done!

So, here are the final pictures on this painting. Keep in mind, I am a "painter" not a photographer. I am debating on whether or not the letters looked better before they were turned into "rope" letters, but the person it is for says she "loves it", so they will stay. I also added some fringe on the ends of the rope as well as some details to the horseshoe. The person this is for is the designer/owner of LeeLou Blogs and we have become "blog friends" over the last few weeks. She is such a sweet person and says she wants to blog about her piece of art. I am not saying this to brag, but I just thought that was so very nice of her that I just wanted to say "Thank You" to her here on my blog.

I already delivered 'CRC' to it's owner last weekend and she says she "LOVED IT" as well. I was relieved to find out that her husband was the designer of the linking CRC and I wasn't infringing on anyone's rights! Whew!