Funky Chandelier Painting for Avery

My niece Avery who just turned 11(she is exactly 11 days older than my son) is re-doing her room with a more "grown up" theme so I thought she needed some new art. The chandelier painting is part of her Christmas and she absolutely loved it. She is so much like her Aunt Sherri.....bless her heart :-) I hope you enjoy your new painting chickie doodle. Love ya bunches!!
I plan to have some similar paintings in my etsy shop after the first of 2009 along with a few other new designs I have planned. So stay tuned...hehe.

Rockin' Awesome Handbag

I hope you've all had a very blessed and Merry Christmas! I took a few days off from blogging to spend precious time with our family. We also celebrated my son's 11th birthday on Saturday. It's hard to believe my little baby is 11 already. I have loads of pictures to share once I get them all uploaded and edited. Until then, I will leave you with a couple of my new rockin' awesome bag my husband and son gave me for Christmas...they did good!! I love it! It is so perfect for me. Thank you both so very much :-)
They know how much I love zebra print AND tattoo style art (even though I have NO tattoos...haha)

This reminds me of the style of Ed Hardy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!!

Black, White and Silver Christmas

I hope you are all having a great weekend. We had play rehearsal today and later fought our way through the crowds at Wal-Mart. We plan to hunker down for the night and enjoy family time with Christmas movies, games and some yummy cheesy Rotel dip.

I thought I would share photos of my dining room decorated in Black, white and silver for Christmas. I absolutely love those colors together along with my green walls.


Silver tree featuring clear lights, black, white and silver ornaments and velvet flocked ribbon. I attached matching ribbon to the white feather wreath.
I handpainted most of my ornaments. Last year Wal-mart had gorgeous black and white ornaments which I bought only one of and of course they don't carry that collection this year.

My favorite Christmas plates.....I bought these the year that Steve and I married.

Our Christmas table.

Ornaments hanging from the chandelier over the dining room table. I love the snowflakes.

Until next time, BE BLESSED! ~Sherri~

Painted Ornaments, Spelling Bee and Christmas Dinner at Lupo's

The past two days have basically been a whirlwind of activities for our household. I've had to really pray to stay sane and have kept my notebook and lists handy. It's pure satisfaction to mark things off my to do list...haha. We've had snow days, tons of orders to ship and deliver, gallery orders to personalize, a spelling bee, Christmas leadership dinner, laundry, a school party to attend, Christmas pageant set to build, etc., etc. Whew, just typing that makes me tired. It's so easy to get off track and away from the Lord during the hustle and bustle of the season that's ultimately supposed to be ALL about him. I just pray that this Christmas season I can honor the Lord with my time and my heart. I pray that you can do the same. Finding that quiet time with HIM is crucial to my well being. He is my rock, my anchor...my stronghold. Without him I am nothing. He gives me peace and a calm spirit in the midst of stress and storms. He is my joy. Thank you Lord for your joy!!! May he be your peace and joy this Christmas.

Wedding ornament hand painted for a client's first Christmas together.

Tree ornaments personalized on the back in gold. These are beautiful in person.

I painted this tray for my best friend Rita. She is snowman crazy and has been threatened not to bring anymore snowmen into her home. So, I had to help a sista' out...haha. I personalized the tray with her name and the names of her 3 wonderful boys.

Personalized snowflake ornament painted for a precious repeat client. She and her Mom are just a joy to work with.

Hand painted Relay for Life ornament for RLF director in a neighboring county.

Personalized frosted ornament.

The mound of orders ready and waiting to be delivered and hauled to the post office. I can happily say that they are all either on their way or in the hands of the recipients...woohoo!

This was one of my favorite orders to paint this week. I painted this for the niece of an old high school friend. The canvas was painted to match a pillow sham. I love how it turned out...so happy and bright.

This canvas is for the sister of the Chloe painting above and was also painted to match her pillow sham. I love the funky and modern design and the pink and brown. Thanks Rhonda for your order!!

This hand painted plate was a special request from a client who wants her children to know the "real" meaning of Christmas while celebrating the tradition of Santa Claus.

The Happy Holidays ornaments were painted for a sweet long time customer who works at the University of Memphis. She had these done for her dear friends and co-workers. Thanks Brittney!!

Baby's First Christmas ornament hand painted and personalized with name and year.

Snowgirl ornament painted for my niece Avery who just turned 11.

Avery's painted penguin ornament for her birthday.

Oh my goodness.....this was the yummiest Chicken Parmesan I've ever put in my mouth. It was amazing. We had our annual church leaders Christmas dinner at Lupo's Italian Restaurante in Dyersburg last night. I think I could devour this dish on a daily basis...ha. If you are in Dyersburg or passing through, Lupo's is worth your time to check it out. We had a great time.

Dessert was equally as yummy....although I did have my heart set on the cheesecake which they had run out of at the time. They did have several large parties simultaneously so it's understandable.

My son Reed stepping up to spell his words. He did so awesome. He missed going to county by 3 people. He was a little disappointed but we are SO very proud of him for making it as far as he did. WAY TO GO REED! YOU ARE AWESOME!

Reed waiting his turn along with the other finalists.

The finalists had dwindled down and his last word was absurd which he spelled obsurd. He was more upset that he actually knew the word. We'll just try again in 6th grade. Good job,Reed!

I think that's all I have for now. Time to haul myself to bed to rest up for tomorrow's dress rehearsal and last minute errands.

Have a blessed and stressFREE weekend!

Happy Birthday Avery

I just want to take a minute to wish a very Happy 11th Birthday to my sweet niece Avery today. She actually got a snow day for her birthday...woohoo! It's hard to believe that she is 11 today..wow. She and my son Reed are 11 days apart and share a very special bond. Avery has bragging rights for 11 days..ha. Reed asked her to go easy on him.

I hope your day has been simply perfect dahling.' I will see you tomorrow...with presents..hehe. One of which is the ornament in the photo above that I painted for ya.

We love you!

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ Boomama.net

I'm a few hours late on posting this but better late than never I suppose. As I type this post, I'm listening to the sound of heavy sleet and freezing rain. It was 62 degrees here yesterday and today we are in the 20s...go figure. Tennessee weather is so strange that way. We are under some sort of winter weather advisory and schools are closed again tomorrow. Thankfully, I have lots of Christmas projects to keep my big guy busy. He is really enjoying his "snow days."

This is one of my favorite ornaments. It is a miniature nativity scene enclosed in glass. I won this in a contest at a church Christmas party several years ago.
Another favorite ornament from one of my former art students. She gave me a beautiful ornament every year. Merry Christmas Briah!!!
One of my Department 56 Billy Buttons snowmen. I've collected the figures and ornaments since the mid-90s. They are since retired and much harder to find but occasionally I will luck up on one at a garage sale or thrift store. I love them so much!!!
Snowmen and Stockings among clear lights on our Mantel. I never really had a clear vision of how I wanted to decorate the mantel. I've seen some very elaborate mantel decorations but went with simple and easy and used what I already had on hand.
I've posted this picture just for my sweet niece Avery who is one of my most faithful and regular blog readers. I thought you would like a sneak peek of one of your presents under my tree....betcha' wish you knew what's in there!!!

Under Cover

He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust, His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4

I just love this passage of scripture and knew it was "the one" for my latest painting. The wings were inspired by Angie of AGD....scroll down to see her custom painting.

This is a large 16x20 gallery wrapped canvas done in acrylics and features fabulous grungy wings and a glazed background. If you are needing a last minute Christmas gift this painting is completed and ready to ship.
16x20 Acrylic on Gallery wrapped canvas~ "Under Cover"~ 65.00 plus shipping.

Under the Weather

If you happen upon this blog post, please say a quick prayer for me. I've been "under the weather" since Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning with a sore throat but went on to church. As the day progressed, I developed ear aches on both sides, chest congestion, fever, chills, body aches, cough, hoarseness, etc.

I took what antibiotics I had and here I am 4 days later feeling worse than ever. I have literally been in bed for the last 3 days and feel horrible. It hurts to talk and my throat feels raw and I sound like a frog when I do try to talk. I'm heading out to see our family doctor first thing in the morning. I haven't felt this bad since I had the flu back in February.

Of course everything is always worse at night time. It's the middle of the night here and everyone is sound asleep. I'm here with the persistent and loud ringing and swishing sound in my ear and the cat by my feet and I'm really feeling sorry for myself. I'm thinking of the church Christmas play set that I have to paint, the last few Christmas orders that need completed this week and the pile of laundry that just keeps growing with each day that I'm down.

In the midst of it all I am SO incredibly blessed. I know it could always be worse. I know the Lord is with me and has heard every prayer I've prayed for healing this week. I know that this too shall pass. I know that I am loved. Thank you Lord that by your stripes I am healed. Thank you for your love that surpasses anything I could imagine. And...thank you for sending your precious son to be born into this world so many years ago. Thank you that your truth is just as real today as it was then. Thank you that I AM BLESSED!!

Jump ~ Commissioned painting for Angelica Grace Designs

I was commissioned by a dear sweet friend in Indy to do this painting for her design studio. She is the owner of Angelica Grace Designs and Angie Seaman Photography. She is incredibly talented and has an amazing "style" and eye for design. We first met in an ebay design group many years ago and have kept in touch through the years. She has a heart of gold and openly shares her heart and love for the Lord and others on her blog. She has such a gift for inspiring everyone she comes in contact with. I just LOVE her!!!
Angie came up with the idea of the harlequin background with the turquoise splatters, grungy wings and cool quote and we just ran with it. I love how it turned out. It is "so" AGD.

Jump and you shall find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.
This is me holding the finished painting. This baby is massive!! Angie's vision for the grungy painted wings has inspired a new painting......I will post when it's completed. I can't wait to see it come together. Often, I will see the completed painting in my mind before I begin and just have to flow with it. Art is weird that way for me. I can't tell you how many times I've awakened with a painting in my head. I usually keep a sketch book or notebook close by for those occasions. The ideas I don't really have to over think usually end up being some of my best work.

Thank you Angie for entrusting me with your vision for the painting!! I hope you enjoy it and that it helps to inspire you as you have inspired me. Love ya' sista'!!!