giveaway from Area Fare Kids...

There's still time left to enter the contest to win any 8x10 print from my Etsy shop Area Fare Kids. Just head over to Sarah's lovely blog~Just the Bee's Knee's to enter until Thursday March 7th (psst that's tomorrow so don't wait) Don't forget to check out her blog too-she has great little DIY tutorials regarding decorating and sewing-you'll love it!

Jen

MLB LA ANGELS ABC...CUSTOM TEAMS ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE!

HOCKEY ABC'S...

DECORATE YOUR NURSERY WITH YOUR FAVORITE NHL TEAM FOR YOUR FAVORITE LITTLE FAN! CUSTOMIZE YOUR ABC FREE!

NHL ABC'S FROM AREA FARE KIDS

A Little Construction ABC...

Here's a little construction abc I'm adding to my Etsy shop...it was a custom piece for a client and I thought other moms and dads would dig the big boy designs!

Check it out...

 

 

I haven't quite started my construction and demo project at the AFK house down the hill. We have so much to do up here on top of the hill that I've been too busy! Right now all of the kitchen cabinets have no doors and they are strategically placed around the kitchen in what I like to call an organized mess. I've sanded them and they are ready to prime...I'll keep you posted! :)

 

Jen

snuggle friends...

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Just a quick pic today of this cute little pet~around here they're called "snuggle friends" lol When all the plushies are piled up together the boys call it a "snuggle pit"...isn't that the best? xo




buy one of these cuties or a custom piece from the modern and indie threads site...here



 

new logo and other stuff...

I've been getting back into the game lately. Letting my brain dream about things I haven't even thought about in what seems like forever! We moved over the summer and I'm still settling in. Everyone tells you it takes a year to really get your stuff into position-lol. I believe it because I'm still organizing and reorganizing and cleaning out closets etc etc... The upside is that this is finally our "forever" home. You know what that means-I am never, ever, moving again! You don't know what it means for a home loving Taurus like me to be able to say that! It is a large home with tons of possibilities and ample space indoors and out. We bought the gorgeous 16 wooded acres next door and behind us. Seriously ~I walk through the property and I can't believe it's ours-it's hilly and beautiful. Part of the acreage deal were 2 more houses. One was trailer (it was newer and pretty decent) that we sold and they're coming for it in the spring. The other is an old 2 bedroom home with a large 2 car garage, old barn and various sheds. The older house sits right on a main highway almost at an intersection with a good amount of traffic (and tourists) Do you see where my mind is going here? So, my new project is setting up Area Fare as a home/art/kids stuff/accessories shop filled with new modern pieces, updated furniture treasures I find and rehab and of course canvas and art prints! Wish me luck! I'm kicking off this adventure in retail beginning January 1 and I'll be blogging lightly about everything I'm up to so be back to check that out!

Here's a look at the new logo...

Wow-I came to visit my blog today and it's all different! lol I've been totally out of it lately. We have so many people looking at our house (it's for sale) that it's getting crazy! Don't get me wrong I'm thankful we have alot of interest but I'm constantly fussing about keeping it clean and ready for anything!

I've been busy in my Etsy shop too, which I love! I can't even tell you how gratifying it has been to sell my artwork. I've been selling lots of baseball ABC's lately-tis the season I suppose! My 5-year old started t-ball this year and he doesn't really want to do it. Well, he says he wants to then gets nervous about doing new things and starts acting up a bit! Meanwhile I've been reading like crazy about self esteem and getting kids to try new things and whether or not to force them-hahaha Jeez-we are such a crazy generation of people! Kids used to WANT to go play all day and parents used to let them. Oh well, it'll all work out right?

I've been trying to find time for a collection of animal art with letters. So far I've completed a giraffe and zebra. I've really enjoyed the process involved in creating them. They are completely digital. I don't know if I should leave the backgrounds white or add color or add a background design-I really kind of like the simplicity of the white. It seems to showcase the art of the animal itself better. I'm getting some use out of my graphics tablet and have been experimenting with all kinds of stuff. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts...

cute and colorful idea for mini storage...

I just love this and had to share...

captured from Cush and Nooks

You know you can find these little animals all over- I just spied bins and bins of them at Toys R Us-but even places like Tractor Supply carry these cute critters. Glue them on, give em a coat of glossy spray paint and you're done! Super Cute!

Back to the blogosphere..

Wow-I haven't written on here since March 5th? Sorry-guess I needed a little vacation. Well I wouldn't say it was all that vacation like. Just wanted to update anyone who was wondering about our little guy who had surgery down at U of M in February-he is doing fabulous! He has two long scars on each side of his lower abdomen and a barely noticeable one above his belly button. The one good thing that came of this experience was that with all the laying around he had to do-he got totally sick of video games-lol. Now I'm like "you better do your gaming while your brother takes a nap buddy" and he says "No mom, I'm not really into that right now." He is 5 so this conversation makes me laugh.

Well-we put our house on the market officially on Thursday. I will miss this little place, but it's time to move on. It's a cute, cottage style, city home with lots of charm and character. We've outgrown it though and I can't park in the garage. It's not such a big deal until you have to scoop a foot of snow off your car and start it 30 minutes before you leave! lol that sucks right? We did so many (long overdue) projects last week. Why is it always like that? We've lived here for 2 and half years now and did every single thing I've wanted to do in here to improve the aesthetic quality of the overall space, in one week! I guess it's nothing new-that's what I did for every single paper I ever wrote in college! ahhh but alas, it feels good to have it all done. 

I painted every piece of trim and every door in this entire house a glossy coat of BM Atrium White. It's my go to white for everything- I love it! And the old door handles (original to the house) I painted those with an awesome product from Martha Stewart I picked up at Home Depot. It's part of her textured collection and it's called-Vintage Gold Metallic-you gotta try this stuff-it's amazing!Of course I'm including pics of the staircase I've finally-kind of have finished-it needs retouching now-I'll tell you why some other time-haha...here's a few pics...

remember my year long staircase project? It needs retouching now but that is another blog post all together! :)

doors and trim before- painting with BM Atrium White semi gloss with primer added...

After- most of the white trim and doors you see around the house, I painted in the last week-whew!

still a work in progress in here...

roo needs a haircut, but mama is toooo busy! lol-he's happy about it believe me...

before the beat-up door handles...

painted with Martha Stewart Metallics in Vintage Gold

Another project we completed (in a day) was replacing the old crappy, peeling, perma-dirty floor in the kitchen with those groutable vinyl tiles. Have you seen these? I was slightly skeptical at first. I was like "whatever, just get something and lets go-anything is better than the ghetto stuff we've got going on in there now!" But I have to say-I really like it. It looks really good, it's warmer than ceramic tile, was super easy to install, you can lay it over existing vinyl as long as it's clean and flat, and it was cheap ($85) for the entire project!  Have a look it if you are in the market for a quick and easy fix that you can live with.

Wow-I was long winded today. Making up for lost time I guess! Talk to you soon....

a little pause...

I've been feeling a bit under-inspired lately. That's my term for uninspired and under the weather. I think this happens every year about this time-I'm thinking it's the weather outside that has me feeling yucky on the inside. How have you all been feeling? Any winter blues and blahs?

 We are talking about moving to a different house-same area just into the country. The prospect makes me happy actually because we've outgrown this house and the lack of garage space has my husband grumbling constantly! The house we like has a beautiful setting and wonderful spaces that need some love. There seems so much to do around here before that actually happens and none of the projects are crafty and fun, wow-ish makeovers. It's more like painting trim and touch-up stuff. Don't get me wrong painting trim makes a huge impact on your space-but I really dislike doing it. Plus, doing projects in a house you know your not staying in seems futile.

In this down time, I'm going to continue the AF blog on a limited basis, a little pause if you will. Here's a bit of digital artwork I did of my 2 boys..Ezzie  and Emm aka "Lucky and Roo"...

the ever stylish barcart...

Don't you love bar carts? I don't know if it would be a disaster in our house or not-kids, you know. Can you just imagine a diapered boy on the run with a bottle of booze? Maybe in a few years I could pull it off.

I used to bartend a million years ago and I really like the idea of small, dinner/cocktail parties with a stylish little bar cart on hand. It would be filled with simple bottles with good looking labels and variety of fresh looking mixers and accoutrement's to garnish a yummy something. It sounds more like vacation than real life right? hahaha. Maybe that's what got me about these stylish offerings from Society Social. I like the gilded faux bamboo one. It's so cool and I'm really loving gold right now-that's not usually my thing. The colorful Chinese Chippendale look Hostess carts are super fun too! Some designs will also be available at Ada and Darcy (love this shop!)

 I've been plotting a separate Etsy shop for grown-up things and bar related prints are always great paired up with some pretty glassware and a well stocked bar-hmmm-Maybe I need a drink to get inspired? :)

what do you think?

The Sedgewick -Society Social $439

the Tipple Trolley-Society Social $439

The Hostess Cart from Society Social $549