Herb plate and napkin

I am enjoying the fact that manufacturers and, in turn, customers are requesting lots of color, color, color! It makes my job a lot more enjoyable. This design featuring silhouettes of herbs is not shy when it comes to color.

Fruit Patterns

A fabric company is interested in producing my fruit designs. I put them into repeats to show them how they might look and wanted to share them with you too! They have a subtle country vibe with some crafty touches too such as the stitched linework. Id love to see them all produced in a variety of color ways.

First Dog, Bo Obama

I was approached to do a sample painting of the "first dog" Bo Obama for a possible children's book project. I wanted him to be sitting at an official looking desk with some of his favorite things around him. Not sure what the story will be as of yet and if I will get the project. There are probably several other artists doing samples for it as well.

Tote Bags

A tote bag manufacturer approached me recently to take a few of my existing designs that they liked and redesign them to fit onto their bags. It was a quick little project, but I always enjoy seeing how a design can be utilized onto different kinds of products. I am still waiting to hear whether they will be licensing them, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Finally, Kitchen Nirvana!

The journey was long and filled with plenty of bumps along the way, but we now have a kitchen we can both work in together and enjoy for years to come! We went from an '80's outdated builder's grade space full of bad planning and poor use of space to an open and airy room that flows nicely into the living and dining rooms with a slightly modern esthetic. And, "Hello counterspace!" Don't get me started on the beautiful new restaurant quality stainless steel sink and the faucet with the pull-out spray (probably something the rest of you take for granted.) The before and after pictures really help to show just how different it really is. The before pics were taken when we first bought the house almost four years ago. I just love before and after pics, don't you?

We love the rippled waves in our backsplash tile.

The quartz countertop is shiny and smooth unlike our old cracked and chipped tile counters.

The handblown glass pendant lights add light and definition to the counter area.

We added the open display shelves where a built-in cabinet was prior. It's a great place to display old pottery.

We tiled the area under the bar and the new stools fit snugly under the counter so they are out of the way.

This new stainless steel sink is deep and roomy. I love the new faucet!

It's easy to have organized drawers when they are so roomy!

Spice heaven!!

We want to fill these with something.

I love the angles in this picture.

The dreaded post we had to make room for in the design.

This peninsula makes for a great place to prepare food.

I love the large stainless handles we used for the cabinets.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our new kitchen. I think this weekend would be a great time to make some Barefoot Contessa Coconut Cupcakes. Actually, if you like cupcakes you should check out my friend Jimmy's blog here. He is dreaming up some amazing flavors and they are so amazingly beautiful too!

More Pet Portraits

I have enjoyed painting portraits of my own dogs as well as some family and friends' pets over the last year or so. Capturing the uniqueness and personality of each one is so gratifying. If you would like to commission a portrait of your little four legged friend, just let me know and I will give you all the details.

Ruby and Olive

I painted this portrait of our dogs, Ruby and Olive, for my partner's birthday last year. I used a photo taken at the beach as my reference. They love going to the beach, although they are not big swimmers at all. They just enjoy playing with all of their other four legged friends who are there and Olive enjoys the smelly stuff that washes ashore. That's what dogs do.