THE OLYMPICS!!

First off, I am the biggest GEEK when it comes to the Olympics. I love them. Since the opening ceremony was last night, I just had to share some of my favorite pics from them.

Mr. Bean. Kev and I cheered and instantly busted out laughing when we saw he was "playing" in Chariots of Fire. He's hilarious!

It was a very beautiful event. I'm really happy I got to watch it and that the Olympics have officially begun!

***Jess

Wedded bliss & artsiness

In the month of July some of my best friends got married. First up was Krystle & Josh Goodman. Krystle, who is one of my "co-ladies" in Hello Ladies, had one of the most unique and awesome weddings I've ever been to. Her groom, Josh, wanted to give his guys something different than the usual boutonnieres guys have at weddings, so Krystle and I put our heads together and came up with an idea that would be unique as well as funny. I made badges for them! Since they all play MW3 (that's Modern Warfare 3 for the layperson), we decided to make the badges look like gun scope crosshairs and incorporated the wedding colors of yellow & grey. I think they turned out quite nicely!

I had just the right colors of felt in my menagerie!

This was Josh's - I thought it was pretty cool that the "G" could stand for Groom or his last name, Goodman.

Here's the lot of them. Sorry for the sideways pic, I couldn't get it to turn no matter what I tried.

It was a beautiful wedding, and I'm so glad that Krystle asked me to be a part, as well as a guest! Congrats you two!

Next up, was Jenna & Josh Rodgers' wedding. I was the matron of honor in this wedding, which made me waaaay busier! LOL Jenna (also a previous Hello Lady), had a few ideas as far as decor, but mostly she just wanted to get married. Since their wedding was outside in the middle of July in Arkansas (albeit in the evening after sunset), it was still hot so her mom had an idea to make fans for all the guests to use. She asked if I could do something artsy to put on the fans and so this is what I came up with:

Their wedding ended up being so beautiful and I was so honored to be a part of it as well. I'm so happy for them!

It's been a wonderful month of L-O-V-E. :) Now hopefully, I can get some paintings done!!

***Jess

Surprise... I love you!

Back the end of May, one of my good friends, Jody, called me wanting to surprise his wifey with a personalized anniversary gift.  He wanted a script painting of the lyrics to the song she walked down the aisle to in their wedding.  (So sweet!)  He said he knew she wanted neutral colors, wanted a triptych, and she wanted it to be cursive script, but that was about all the info he had. I got to work, and this is what I came up with: 

This was before I added the glittery words and swirls, but you get the idea. (Excuse the messy art room!)

She LOVED it! Jody said she immediately hung them up over their fireplace when they got home and started taking pictures. This one and the one that follows is one she took that night. She is a blogger too, and she blogged about it. Check her out at ambervues.blogspot.com ! She's got such a sweet perspective on life, love, and her family. You'll love it!

It was an honor to paint this piece for my good friends' big day. Thanks to Jody and Amber for letting me do this for you!

***Jess

T-minus 3 days...

Well, in just 3 short days, I will be no longer "working for the man", I will be self-employed which is very exciting! That's pretty much it. I just wanted to exclaim my excitement!

***Jess

1, 2, 3... JUMP!

"I quit my '9-5 career' four years ago today...walked away from a life of comfort into a life of passion. Only regret? Not jumping sooner." -Veronica Benton, White Collar Sideshow

My good friend, Roni tweeted this earlier today, and it is exactly what I needed to hear. As I transition from that "9-5 career" into that "life of passion", I've had plenty of opportunites to change my mind, stay where it's "comfortable", and let nerves get the better of me. I'm the type of person who naturally enjoys change, but this time, it's been weird to say the least. The phrase, "hurry up and wait" fits perfectly on this scenario. I've had to wait, wait, wait... and then wait some more for the day to finally come where I can put in my notice, and then transition out of a world of paperwork & stress into a world of creativity and peace. Even though there are lots of changes to go through, and steps to take, and things to learn, this new direction is where the peace is ultimately, and that is the direction I always want to choose. I know God placed creative things in me, and He has called me to put my hand to things, so I know that it will prosper... now's the time for me to step out, and not look back.

***Jess

Nurseries... In the woods!

A couple of months ago, Mandy and I, along with some wonderful helpers (you know who you are), painted and freshened up the nursery/toddler rooms at the CPC:Benton campus! They were super fun to do, and we caught ourselves giggling and clapping our hands together, Grandma Green style, as the lil critters came to life. Along the way, I snapped a few pics, but this is only two rooms and the hallway. I'll hafta to do a "part 2" later after I've gotten shots of the other rooms too! It's gonna be so cute!

***Jess

Wow.

It. Has. Been. Busy. -- My life has been a whirlwind of youth events, church events, family events, wedding planning (for friends), and whatever else can get crammed in! I haven't even had time to paint! Something that I hate to admit because I LOVE painting, its quite therapeutic for me, and the fact that I haven't done anything creative in such a long time has me twitching. The most creative thing I have done was back in April when we worked on the church nurseries, making them a woodland theme. That was back before Easter tho, and that's waaaaay too long for me to go sans artsiness!

Soooo, all that being said, I have determined to begin painting again, but also blogging again. Even if it's just to say hi, I need to get in the mode of it. I'm wanting this to be my business venture, so I need to get on it! I also will soon be posting about our nursery painting adventures, and with two of my best friends each getting hitched this summer, I'm sure I'll have LOTS to post on those as well. Thanks for enduring with me through my lack of blogging, and hopefully as my life transitions, I'll be better at this!

***Jess

Coming soon!

I know it's been forever since my last post! I've been BUSY... to say the least. I've actually completed a couple of paintings lately, one of which is for sale, and I'll be posting it this weekend. I promise you'll like it. ;-)

***Jess

Sketchy Super Bowl Sunday

Well, tonight our Church had a big Super Bowl shindig and since I wasn't interested in either team that was playing, I made sure to bring my sketchbook so I could doodle if I got bored. Amongst all the visiting, eating, and activities, I managed to draw something random with a little help!

Jessie & Josie (mostly Jessie) picked the colored pencils for me that they thought I should use and I pretty much just doodled away!

A big shout out to my helpers! It's so colorful, and I love it! Have a great Monday!

***Jess

Trees for the babies!

You may or may not know, but my best friend in the whole wide world is the children's Pastor at our Conway campus. She is so stinkin' awesome at it too! You can tell God has called her to it, because she has been able to "tame" kids that other people have given up on. It's so cool! 

 

Anyway, about a year ago, when we were starting at the new campus, she asked me to paint the nursery and of course I was so down for that! She had a woodlands theme in mind, and it came off quite cute! Here's the nursery/toddler room tree she had me paint:

She picked the white tree and I LOVE IT! We've had parents comment on it, and I think it's way cool because it's not the typical "baby decor".  We had a lot of fun doing this one. We're about to tackle the Benton campus' nursery & toddler rooms w/ a similar theme. It's gonna be SO FUN! I can't wait to get my hands dirty doing it!

As usual, if you need any custom painting done, including nursery walls, playrooms, or anything in between I would love to be able to help you out with that! foxfirehalo@gmail.com.

***Jess

New layout!

Hello all! Just a quick update tonight, I'm in the middle of housework & painting, so I'll keep it brief. I have changed my layout a hair and I'm pretty pleased with the results! I should have something to post later on tonight, but if I don't, my goal is to have something new tomorrow night! Check back guys, and until then, if you need anything customized, just holla: foxfirehalo@gmail.com

***Jess

Fab Foods: Southwestern Cheese Ball

Recently, I was asked to make a cheese ball for a ladies event at our Church's Conway campus. Since I had never made one before, I got online to see what all it included. After all my research, I put together a cheese ball of my own creation and it turned out to be pretty dang good! Since I like sharing good things, here's the recipe:

2-8oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 pkg (1/4c) taco seasoning
1/3c black bean & corn salsa
1 c shredded cheese
Nuts (pieces)

In a large bowl, mix softened cream cheese, melted butter, salsa, & taco seasoning w/ electric mixer. Once blended, add in shredded cheese & mix. Form into a ball (mixture will be very soft), and roll in nuts. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve w/ crackers or tortilla chips!

It makes a pretty big cheese ball, so there's plenty to share. It's really good! Enjoy!

***Jess

Workin' hard!

Hey everybody! I promise I haven't fallen into a deep, dark hole! I'm working hard and getting some more pieces done so hopefully I will have something new very, very soon!! Keep checking back!

***Jess

Artist Spotlight: Leonetto Cappiello

Like a lot of people, I don't always know an artist by name. I know them by their art and THEN I figure out who they are. That's the same story with today's featured artist, Leonetto Cappiello. I actually have several of his posters (reprints, of course) in my office/art room because I love the vibrant colors he uses.

He has a very distinct, scrolly signature, and that's actually how I found him! You can always identify a Cappiello poster by that signature.

This is the first Cappiello I remember noticing. It's a very famous print and since I've become familiar with his stuff, I've seen this guy everywhere!

So who was Cappiello? Well, I did a little digging and found out a few things about him:

* He is often called "the father of modern advertising".

* He was the first artist to move away from the pale colored backgrounds of his day and use black for a background, which is what makes the colors pop like they do.

* He had no formal training. He started out as a caricaturist and eventually moved away from caricatures to the advertizing circuit.

* He was born in Italy in 1875 & died in France in 1942.

I've acutally never seen this one before, but I think I need to find it... It's lovely!

I have this one too!

Anyway, I could post pics all day, there's a TON of them on the internet. I'm very inspired by his work and also his innovation back in his day. I like it when people stretch their abilities outside the box and beyond what is the "going thing" at the time. Go check him out!

***Jess

Soul Window

Please welcome my newest "eye-catching" piece! 

This 12" x 12" acrylic is entitled "Soul Window" and is available for purchase! If you're interested, please email me at foxfirehalo@gmail.com, and as always, if you would like to order a custom painting, email me!

***Jess