Transportation Party - M is 4!!!

Mr. M is 4!!!

This year his party was at the Texas Transportation Museum here in San Antonio, TX. 

A small but amazing place for the little ones to explore and imagine what it would be like to be a train conductor and learn about all things Transportation.  

The Invitation and Thank You card is from Lovely Little Party via ETSY.

image from LovelyLittleParty

The Decorations:

I made all of the transportation signs out of poster board and craft paint.  I added a creative touch by including M's name and age on a few of the signs.  The signs were attached to wooden dowels and put into small galvanized buckets filled with rocks to weigh them down.  Blue table clothes were accented with red paper confetti, cloth train hats, and bandannas. 

What the kids did:

A REAL train Ride,  a large train tour, lots of exploring small trains, old cars, horse drawn carriages, etc.  Basically,  a perfectly magical place for my 4 year old and his buddies!

The Party Food:

Sack lunches filled with PBJs ,Turkey sandwiches, applesauce and sunchips.  I clipped a 'FUEL' tag on to each bag with a wooden clothes pin.  The chugga choo choo round label on the fuel cards is a FREE PRINTABLE from Poofy Cheeks.

The Cupcakes:

The adorable Train cupcake toppers are FREE PRINTABLES from Poofy Cheeks.  I LOVE free printables, especially cute ones!  Thanks Poofy Cheeks!

 The FAVORS:

Each child was given a cloth train hat (find them HERE) and bandanna at the beginning of the party. (To make the bandannas go farther I cut one in half at a diagonal. 1 bandanna=2 kids).  Train Track Trail Mix (pretzel sticks, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows = Tracks, coal, and steam) was handed out at the end of the party. The round train track label was a FREE PRINTABLE from Poofy Cheeks.

 Our little Family

The party was a blast even in the Texas heat. Happy 4th Birthday to our little guy!!!

 With whimsy~

HIP HOP Hooray

I can't believe how fast the years fly by.  The Cutie Patootie recently turned 7!!!

This year she had a HIP HOP party at her dance studio.  The girls loved it and had a blast learning some new moves.  

Here are a few of the cute details:

THE INVITATION:  As usual, Jane from BugLuv via Etsy created these adorable custom invitations for us.  

Find this invite at BugLuv's Etsy Shop HERE.

THE PARTY: The girls were taught a Hip Hop routine and then performed it to all of us at the end.  Pretty impressive for a short class!

THE HIP HOP POPS:  These were a fun play on the traditional cupcakes or cake.  Cake pops are typically 

quite a process to make, but with a little research I found the easiest and most time efficient way to make them was by using the cake pop baking tray made by Nordic Ware . I found it at our local HEB.  (Target, Hobby Lobby and Michaels carry it as well.)  You can also find the cute cake pop tags at BugLuv.

I used these 'how to make fool proof cake pops' tips from HOMEMAKER CHIC.  Great tutorial!!!

THE FAVORS:  BugLuv created this coordinating CD case cover.  The girls were given a track of a few hip hop songs, including the one that they learned there routine too.  C thought this was totally cool.  

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL:

There you have it!

With whimsy~

Teacher Appreciation

We have been truly blessed this year by having an amazing first grade experience for C.  Her teacher could not have been better!  She is so dedicated and  loves each and every one of her students.  It has been such a treat working with her and watching her teaching efforts really kick in with C's continued progress in reading and math.  As a token of our appreciation I painted Mrs. G this sign.  I love the heartfelt quote and I know for the Cutie Patootie this couldn't be more true. 

Find this sign in my Etsy Shop HERE!

Taeli's Custom Order

This custom order is a  spin off of one of my very first nursery art paintings, the Erin Olivia.

30x40

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Sealed with a clear matte varnish

Love it?!

Contact me HERE to get started on your custom order.

With whimsy~

Majestic Elephants; 2

These Majestic Elephants coordinate beautifully with Pottery Barn Kids' Vienna Bedding collection

Find them in my Etsy Shop HERE!

My original Majestic Elephants (seen HERE) where is a soft blue and yellow color combination.  I recently had a custom color request of the vibrant green elephant seen in PBK's Vienna sheets.  I love them both.

image from HERE

Details:

12x12 (set of 2)

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Sealed with a clear matte varnish

image from PBK

image from HERE

image from PBK

Find this set in my Etsy Shop HERE!!!

With whimsy~

Owls

These little Owls are new to my Etsy Shop!

Details:

11x14 (set of 2)

Acrylic of gallery wrapped canvas

All four sides of canvas are decoratively finished with coordinating dot detail.

No framing necessary

Sealed with a clear matte varnish

Find these in my Etsy Shop HERE!!!

Love these paintings but need them in a different color palette and/or size?  Contact me HERE to get started on you custom order!

With whimsy~

Little Lions

Hi everyone!!!

Well, I have taken a bit of a break from blogging these past few months and it feels good to be back!
I have been painting away as usual and have a lot of cute new paintings to share with you.

To start, these 'Little Lions' are new to the Etsy shop!  They are inspired by Pottery Barn Kids' Brady nursery collection.  I LOVE the trendy geo print along side the sweet little lions.  The color combination takes a fresh spin on traditional navy by adding a splash of tangerine paired with soft gray.  It is one of my favorite PBK beddings at the moment.

Details:

Little Lions

11x14(set of 3)

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Sealed with a clear matte varnish

image from PBK

image from PBK

Find this set in my Etsy shop:  HERE

With whimsy~

Ballet Class

These sweet ballerinas are new to my etsy shop.

Perfect for sisters!

Details:

16x20

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Adorable tulle tutus

Find them in my Etsy Shop HERE!!!

With whimsy~

dream, love, giggle

New to the Etsy Shop!!!

11x14 (set of 3)

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Love this set but need it with  a different color palette ,size, or words?

All Elizabeth Lauren artwork can be customized to fit your unique space.

Contact me here to get started on your custom order or find this set READY TO SHIP in my etsy shop HERE.

With whimsy~

How does your garden GROW

New to my Etsy Shop!!!

16x20

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Find this painting in my Esy Shop HERE

With whimsy~

M's 1st day in PreK!

We have had a big week in our house!  C started 1st grade and M had his very first day of school EVER. 

He started PreK yesterday and LOVED every minute of it.  I knew he would, he has always been so envious of his big sister's adventures in the classroom.  He woke up this morning disappointed and upset to find out that he only gets to go to school 2 days a week.  :)

When I picked him up yesterday afternoon his two teacher's were giggling so hard when they were telling me what Mr. Mischievous had been up to.  Apparently, they found him with a stash of 7 play cell phones and 30 large googly eyes in his nap mat under his body.    (His nap mat is located near the craft baskets and imagination station).  When I picked him up to give him a hug googly eyes were falling out of his clothes.  It was hilarious.... and typical.  ha!

His nap mat is being moved next week.

I know he will have a GREAT year.  He is such a funny, loving, sneaky, and sweet little guy. I love him so.  Bless his sweet teachers.  

With whimsy~

C is a 1st Grader!!!

Each year I am amazed at how fast the time goes by.  How could the Cutie Patootie be in 1st grade already!?  She had an awesome (and early) morning.  

I am so excited for what this year will hold for her.  C's teacher is amazing... We met her a few nights ago and to ease her students' 1st day jitters she gave them each a tiny bag filled with "magic" confetti to sprinkle under their pillows the night before the first day of school. Attached to the bag was this adorable poem:

The night before school is exciting and fun.

There are always so many things to be done.

Your clothes are ready, your backpack is too.

Your classroom is full of fun things you can do.

Lots of questions go through your mind,

All types of thoughts of every kind.

But sometimes we all get the jitters down deep

And that makes it hard to fall fast asleep.

So I've made this magic confetti for you,

Full of promises for the whole year through.

On Sunday night when you lay down your head,

Just sprinkle some under your pillow in bed.

The confetti will help you sleep through the night,

And wake up in the morning fresh and bright.

I'll sprinkle the confetti under my pillow too

Because I am so super excited to see you!

Sweet Dreams First Grader!

This MADE Caroline's 1st day of school eve.  Her eyes twinkled as I read it to her and she slept like a baby.

As some of you may already know, we are complete Gymboree nuts in our home. 

C's back to school outfit was, of course, from there.

However, I did find her amazing cherry hair bow on Etsy from a fabulous shop

.....Bowtowne.....

The owner Kathy is wonderful.

If you love Gymboree like we do check out her shop !!!

 She specializes in hair bows that coordinate with almost every Gymboree line that is out there.  Shipping is super fast and her prices are great.

I can't wait to hear how the Cutie Patootie's day went!

With whimsy~

Pretty Flowers

New to the Etsy shop!

Details:

12x12 (set of 2)

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Sealed with a clear matte varnish

Love these but need them in a different color palette and/or size?

All Elizabeth Lauren artwork can be customized to fit your unique space.

Contact me HERE to get started on your custom order.

With whimsy~

Princess Paintings

These Princesses were recently created as a custom order to coordinate with Pottery Barn Kids' Katie Patchwork bedding.  They were inspired by my original La Ballerina paintings and are now available in my Etsy Shop!

Details:

11x14 (set of 3)

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Tulle skirts 

Pottery Barn Kids Katie Patchwork Bedding

Love these Princesses but need them in a different color pallet or size?

All of my artwork can be customized to fit your unique space!  Contact me HERE to get started on your custom princess canvases.

Find this set in my Etsy Shop HERE!!!

With whimsy~

Peter Rabbit

This set was recently created as a custom order to coordinate with Pottery Barn Kids' Peter Rabbit bedding set. Peter Rabbit is one of my all time favorites.  Growing up, my favorite stuffed animal was a Cottontail bunny (red cape and all).  So, I was very excited to make these sweet paintings.  On a random side note... did you know that Peter Rabbit will be 110 this year?!  

With whimsy~