Upcoming Shows + New Products

I have two shows coming up in the very near future.  I'd love to see you or meet you and share my work with you in person!

Saturday, July 26th 10-5 (Historic Valley Junction)

This will be a smaller show behind Vintage No. 35 in Valley Junction.  There will be a mix of "junk" and handmade goods.  I went last year and am looking forward to being a vendor this year!  

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The following weekend, I will be at my first Market Day!  If you are already going to be at the Downtown Farmer's Market, please come visit me at Market Day in the Kirkwood Hotel lobby (just down the street from Java Joe's)

Saturday, August 2nd, 8-1 (Downtown Des Moines)

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Alright, now that we have your calendar filled out for the next few weekends, I wanted to show you my latest creations.  I'm really excited about both of these!  As an artist, it's so neat to grow and evolve over time.  I love thinking about what I was designing a year ago vs. what I am doing now.  I hope I am always getting better!  

First up, I was inspired to do some more chalkboard lettering.  I wanted to create a "Give Thanks" print that was versatile for all year round. I always want to be someone who is thankful, no matter what my circumstances are. 

 Located in my shop here.

I have been wanting to do watercolor designs for months now.  I tried it one day, wasn't feeling in the groove, and didn't go back to it for months.  This time, I was determined to make it work!  

I painted two watercolor backgrounds with this exact brush and paint palette. I also drew the "Be Still" phrase with sharpie and scanned them both.  In the computer, I put the files together and voila! 

I printed them for the first time today and am so encouraged by how they turned out.  The peacefulness speaks to my soul.  

These prints can be found in my shop here.

I'm now brainstorming other words I could do with a watercolor background.  "Abide", "Rest" & "You are Loved" come to mind.  What would you want to see in watercolor?

Xoxo,

Rachel

An eclectic bathroom collage

One of the things I had on my to-do list before my pregnancy went into full-swing-sick-mode was putting up some fun art in our downstairs bathroom.  I picked out what I wanted to hang, set it in the bathroom corner and there it sat for close to 3 months while it waited for me to get off the couch and hang some nails. Well this weekend came and I was ready to hang those babies! 

I was inspired by the bathroom collage in Jeanne Oliver's main floor bath (halfway through her post).   Her style is just slightly more rustic than mine but in a lot of ways her house reminds me of mine or ideas I've had for mine.  It was funny because my bathroom was already painted the same color and the tall ceilings are perfect for some art.  I felt like we had the same bathroom!

In our house, this is the bathroom most people use when they come over.  It was already a fun room due to the adorable bowl sink placed on an old sewing table and the unique industrial faucet put in by the previous owner but I wanted to add some of my own touch.  It feels eclectic and old and I hoped to reflect that in the art I hung.  

I chose a mix of textures, colors, shapes and images.  I didn't want it to look matchy-matchy but like it had evolved over time.  Most of the prints and frames I already had.  A few things I was given recently and the mint metal medallion and old wooden clipboard are from my favorite vintage shop in town-- Vintage No. 35 (though I might be a little biased on this).  

The bathroom is teeny-tiny so it was super hard to get in a place where I could take photos.  I think I was curled up on the sink at this point.  But I contorted my body in an effort to be able to show you the corner half of the room.

There's a floral tapestry I bought at Goodwill, a photo of a French garden found in a recent issue of Southern Living Magazine, a spring bike printable from my Etsy shop and a jar of button flowers I placed inside a blue shadow box and secured with a dab of glue from my glue gun. 

The little shelf is from a friend and is a cute fit for the room and my mini-succulent. The butterfly print was a gift from Jared and is just sitting there until I find a frame for it.

I wanted one more thing and ran to my art room for some ideas. I ended up framing some vintage key burlap in a mint hoop I bought at Goodwill last year. 

The egg print is a reprint from a vintage textbook and the frame is one I found at Goodwill and painted.  The wooden "JOY" sign I have had for awhile and next to that is a little stitching that says "Bless your Heart" done by my friend Jayme's mom.  The white frame on top is from IKEA and has a photograph of a potting station from a recent Better Homes and Gardens issue. 

My friend Maggie (made?) the chalkboard tags and mailed them to me in a pretty package with a bunch of other adorable things while I was sick.  I liked the idea of something in the bathroom other than frames and this was the perfect "something".  

I'm still looking for something cute to hang on the clipboard.  Maybe something with writing.  Not sure.  

I hope to add to this wall over time.  There's a lot more space I could hang things on.  But for now, it looks fine and as I see things that will go, I may hang them.  I also love that I can change out some of the art for the different seasons.  I had a whole different set of prints and photographs to hang when I thought I was going to be doing this in the winter.  Oh well, winter will always come again!

Until next time,
Rachel