the picture ledge is up....

The other weekend, Kinsey and I finally got around to putting something on the space above our bed.  We have two fabric panels on each side of our bed for a few reasons.  The previous owners' had a floor to ceiling curtain along this entire wall and they left that massive curtain hook in place.   I didn't like the whole wall being covered, but it did bring a major focus of the otherwise large and long room to the bed wall.  We also have a built in air conditioner unit to the right hand side of the bed.  We both hate how this looks and haven't used it in the 2.5 years we've been here.  I suppose we have either a high tolerance for heat or it hasn't really been super hot.  Or we might be crazy.  (It has gotten rather uncomfortable upstairs a few nights a year and we opted instead to set up camp downstairs in the living room.  This might seem crazy to some, but it's actually a fun change.  And our cooling bill in the summer is quite low.  We aren't full on crazy though, we do have a portable tower fan and a ceiling fan in the living room.)

Anyhow, the curtain panels serve mainly to block the unsightly air conditioner unit.  The large empty space in the middle has always bothered me a little.  

We purchased two of the Ribba picture ledges probably over 6 months ago or longer.  They just sat to the side of the bedroom waiting to be used.  We initially wanted to have them stacked two high behind our bed, but realized that we didn't have enough room to do that.  So we opted for just one.  (The second Ribba ledge still sits, waiting for its turn.)

This took all of about three minutes to hang.  Of course, it made us wonder why we've waited so long.

I just randomly threw some objects up on the ledge for now and will probably frequently change things out.  I was thrilled to finally have somewhere to properly display my fabric plush trees I got for Christmas a few years back from Kinsey.  The print beside the trees, is of Maymont Park in Richmond (one of our favorite places!)  by Art Shark.  

The lion/man/eskimo type print is from the wonderful company, Sukie.  The little bear card is from laura george.

you + me...things for valentine's day

Here's a quick sampling of a few things in my shop and Kinsey's that would be perfect gifts for Valentine's Day (if you're into giving gifts on that day and everything).

#1: Jellys in Love Embroidered Wall Art Hoop

They're holding tentacles and seem to like each other quite a bit!

#2- My Wife is the Best Giclee Print

What more can you say?

#3- We Are Better Together Giclee Print

Great colors and very fun.

best prints you've ever seen....

I'm very excited to share some of my husband's newest work.  Kinsey has been drawing for quite some time and is super creative.  He made his younger sister's wedding invitations this past summer and has been playing around with hand drawn text for a while.  A few weeks ago, he opened his own  hand drawn illustration shop on etsy.  His shop is called eager illustration.  

Currently, he's been working on a lot of animal portraits.  I love all of them, but the owl is my favorite.  I really need to have him print one for my craft room.

They all feature an original animal drawing and below is a banner with hand drawn text.  All the prints are hand drawn and then digitally colored.  Most of the prints feature a wonderfully textured paper canvas which gives a nice dimension to the artwork. 

He also is doing portraits of people.  Lincoln, anyone?

Just this past weekend, we did a craft show together and his prints got a really good response from customers!  Check out his shop and blog for more information!   

the gift of art prints

A few weeks ago was Kinsey's birthday.  One of the gifts I got for him was this great print from etsy by laurageorge.

The very top has the heading "things I'm thankful for" and includes just about everything we love.  

Here's a fun little card, too.  Also from laurageorge.  They kind of look like potato people.

This one I got for Kinsey last September for our anniversary.  It's from etsy by artsharkdesigns.

The print is actually of Maymont Park in Richmond, Virginia.  Ever since we went to Richmond in 2007 to sell our crafts at Spring Bada Bing we've loved going to Maymont.  It is a huge outdoor area/mansion/educational center and has some really amazingly large trees, too! (In fact, I called it the "land of huge trees" in an old blog post about the park here .)  I was thrilled to find a print of this wonderful place and loved the couple with umbrellas image.