Montana 2009

These are from our trip to Montana a few years ago, just a few months before we got pregnant with Levi. And I'm just now sitting down to edit them today... Can you tell I'm a little behind on my edits? Anyways, these were taken during our long drive home, the first of which was captured right before a beautiful lightning storm hit. I wish I could have set up a tripod and shot out in it, but we were on a schedule and I am just not THAT daring - such a wimp. Lol! 

That trip, by the way, was amazing! It was my first really long road trip, I mean, the first that went further than Mexico. We had such a blast and were so blessed by some friends of the family to be able to stay in their gorgeous house up by Flathead Lake. Oh, and one of my favorite parts of that trip was discovering the Winchester Steak House. By far the best steak I've ever had in my life. EVER. I would almost make the drive just for one of those steaks, it's THAT good. Oh man, now my mouth is watering... But I digress. I hope you enjoy these - I had a ton of fun taking and editing them, and can't wait, Lord willing, to go back again some day. That house is, after all, my favorite place to paint plein air! =)

"The Meeting Place"

Yay! I just finished my sweet baby Owen's little froggy painting, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! It's so exciting to be working in series and I seriously can't wait to see where it takes me next!

For this painting in particular I went along with the theme that I started when I made the painting for Levi titled "Do I Dare...?" which was made specially for him to put in his room/nursery (or rather now, their room/nursery), which is themed with something along the lines of woodland creatures. Okay, okay, so it's very much ALL about woodland creatures. Haha, why try to deny it? Silly me. Anyways, I still have one or two (or three) more paintings up my sleeve for this series, but I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to start on them and I can hardly bear the wait.

I sure hope you like how this turned out little Owie! Mommy loves you, okay?! Someday I hope you'll appreciate this for what it is, a simple expression of love from me to you. But as for now, I just have to figure out some place to hang it where it's not going to get destroyed by you, kiddo! Lol! I love you my son! =)

"The Meeting Place"     16 x 20     Acrylic on Canvas

Detail from "The Meeting Place"

Detail from "The Meeting Place"

Starfish Cake and Henna Cake for the Royal Family Tea

Here are the cakes I did for the auction this weekend. I stayed up all night finishing them and then spent the whole day trekking around the Oakland Zoo with my favorite little guys, and boy am I tired now. I'm thinking I'm going to bed a little early tonight... =)

So I made my first cake with the theme of a starfish on the beach. The starfish and the shells are made of modeling chocolate, the sand is ground up Nilla Wafers, and the water is fondant and buttercream, with a glaze of green and blue food coloring thinned with water and applied like paint. I also used chocolate rocks, because, well, they're just fabulous!

My second cake was both more simple and more complex, if that even makes any sense. It's made with white fondant and a deep purple buttercream, applied in a unique henna pattern that I made up as I went along. I put the frosting in a homemade henna cone in order to get the fine detailing and found that it was WAY easier to use than an icing tip. After all, since that's already how I do actual henna, I figured it was worth a shot. And it worked quite well! So well in fact that I am definitely going to use henna cones for all my cake lettering and detailing.

Well, it was a lot of fun putting these together (that is, aside from the fact that fondant absolutely hates me and refuses to obey any of my commands - silly fondant!) and I am so happy with how they turned out. But now it's time for me to go to bed. Goodnight!

"Hope on the Horizon"

I feel very privileged to be able to show my latest painting to you all. I was recently asked to do a cake for an upcoming dessert auction that will be held in honor of Royal Family Kids Camps, in the hope of raising funds for their annual foster kids camp this year. I've been looking for ways to use my art for God lately, and when I found out they were doing a silent auction as well, I thought that this would be a great way to help. So here's my painting called "Hope on the Horizon," and it's honestly one of my favorites I've ever done.

I had the hardest time deciding what to paint for the auction, but after realizing how symbolic the starfish is for their program, I knew this would be the perfect painting. Tyler helped me with it a lot, seeing as how it's based off of one of the pictures he took in Tahoe on our honeymoon. We spent half our honeymoon in Monterey and the second half in Tahoe, because I simply couldn't make up my mind between the two. And even though that hotel wasn't the greatest, our room opened up to the beach and this was the view we had every night. It was so very beautiful. Good memories!

"Hope on the Horizon"    8 x 10    Acrylic on Canvas