{ Me and My Monogram }

These canvases have a special place in my *favorites* category. Love the graphic rings of color and bold initials. Make it your own by changing things up a bit! Let me know what color and/or size would work for you, and then see just how much it brightens up a room.

Loving Fall...

Fuzzy pumpkins...

A sweet little nest full of spooky eggs...

A perfectly happy Halloween party...

and last, but most definitely not least, this tiny guy...

{ many thanks, Martha }

Another fun graphic design project! Thrilled to be helping the Elizabethtown Heritage Council with their LIGHT UP DOWNTOWN event next month. The historic state theater will be hosting breakfast with Santa, a showing of classic Christmas movies throughout the day (free popcorn, anyone?!), and a Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair. The annual parade will take place as well, with a reading of The Night Before Christmas to follow.

So many festive things to do in one day...very excited!

Where to begin?!

I loved visiting shops for littles way before I had any of my own, and I enjoy it even more now that there are two boys in my life to buy clothes, toys, and books for. Fiddlesticks is my favorite spot to wander through. Its creative owner (and coincidentally, my sweet sister), Neeley Hacker, puts so much thought into every nook and cranny. From the barn wood plaques where superhero capes happily hang to the spring green bookshelves where gifts and games call home...Fiddlesticks is the best. There are unique finds in every bucket and basket throughout the store, and you can find my art there, too. It's a great honor to be a part of such an amazing business. Just lovely.

The photos above were taken by Kirstie Goodman Photography during the start of last year's holiday season, and coming across them the other day put me a bit in the mood for all the excitement that's unbelievably right around the corner. Looking forward to lots of packages and bows in the months to come! Visit Fiddlesticks Children's Store on facebook and watch for a website soon...

{ Glendale Crossing Festival }

Thought I'd share a few photos from my fun-filled weekend. I could add a dozen more, but these were some of my favorites. A clock (something magical about that one), a scrap iron bird (had to bring her home with me), and a perfectly broken in wire basket (love it). Just a few of the treasures my youngest son, Jack, and I came across while wandering through the streets of Glendale, Kentucky...those and maybe a cork gun or two. The festival began in 1976 and was part of the United States celebration of its 200th birthday. Always held on the third Saturday in October, the Crossing Festival hosts roughly 500 art, craft, and food vendors. I highly recommend the kettle corn and freshly squeezed lemonade. So much fun.

Looking forward to this one! In The Exquisite Book, one hundred indie artists each adorn a page with artwork—having seen only the page of the artist immediately prior and using a single horizon line to connect the two. Some continue the story quite literally while others build on the previous page in more fanciful ways. This astonishing volume's format is as unique as its content, with each of the book's ten chapters residing on a ten-page accordion pull-out, allowing readers to view the art continuously. Love to be inspired, and I'm pretty sure this book will do the trick.

Mason

{4 years old}

This sweet little hoot makes my day.

The kids at SPROUT STUDIO created torn paper owls,

and the results couldn't have been cuter.

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

- George Cooper

Vera Neumann...artist, mother, wife, designer, and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of her time. I love everything about who she was and what she stood for. Vera believed that artwork should not be relegated to walls. Rather, people should surround themselves with art - wear it, eat off of it, and sleep under it. Why not?! Great art endures. It lifts your spirit and makes you feel better. Vera's art certainly does...for me and for millions of others. It's bright, happy and inspirational.

"As a child drawing wildflowers, ferns, and butterflies along the banks of the Rippowam River in Stamford, Connecticut, I dreamed that someday I would be an artist." -Vera Neumann

Cheers to making dreams come true.