These are last week’s photos…Enjoy! Stay tuned for some great features this week…A new Lemony Fresh Etsy Seller…A DIY Bride post…Lots of stuff to come!

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 | Shot outside of Tupelo, MS

Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 | A wide shot of a little photo shoot for the blog

Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 | Self-portrait

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 | Heavy rains hinder a road trip

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 | A new view on an everyday item

Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 | Helping a friend

Hi lemonheads! Today I am sharing a little business card that I designed for a local hair salon. The owner, Kelli, wanted to have something that is client-friendly in that it had a removable appointment reminder that could easily be stuck in a date book.




I think it turned out great and the client really liked them. What do you think?

Belinda of Shooting for a $3,000 Wedding! Congrats!

Silver Bow Tie Pendant | limegreenmodern

Belinda said, “I really love the modern silver wire bow tie pendant necklace! =)” I didn’t even show you guys this lovely piece…Isn’t it wonderful?

So congrats to Belinda. Tracy will be contacting you shortly!

Good day all you lovely lemonheads! I wanted to toot my horn a little today (let’s face it, if I’m not going to do it, who is?). My stamp and note card designs have been featured on Invitation Buzz, a new blog/source for stationery and all the lovelies that go with it.

Read all about it on Invitation Buzz’s Buzzworthy Blog. I am super excited about this feature…Thanks so much Invitation Buzz!

Another week is upon us lemonheads…Help me reflect on my week in pictures…



Monday, January 25th | My workbench

Tuesday, January 26th | The progress on my afghan

Friday, January 29th | It was snowing pretty hard before the ice hit

Saturday, January 30th | Just a weird pic thrown in...I liked how the pepper looked in the view finder.

Sunday, January 31st | I love the way the ice on the trees looks in the sunshine.

Hope this week has lots of sunshine and little rain (both literally and figuratively) for you all.

XOXO,

Kelly

Today’s post is a new wallpaper upload! Yay! I needed something new for desktop, so that means you get a freebie! It is a design I used for some Valentine’s printable stationery. If you want to take a look at the cards, you can find them in my Etsy shop.


To make this your desktop, just click the correct size for your monitor below, let the calendar download completely and save it as your desktop wallpaper. If you don’t know the size of your monitor, don’t worry. Try the 1600 x 1200 and if that is too tall, try the 1440 x 900. It isn’t too complicated to try a few different sizes.

1600 x 1200
1440 x 900
1280 x 1024
1024 x 768
800 x 600

Today I am so excited to feature a fabulous modern jewelry creator, Tracy of limegreenmodern on Etsy. She creates simple and modern jewelry. It is so gorgeous. I am sure you will agree.

modern silver earrings | limegreenmodern

What is even better is that Tracy has graciously offered to give one of our lucky readers a chance to win a pair of her super fab earrings! What?!? Isn’t that cool? Details are at the bottom of the post.

modern fine silver necklace | limegreenmodern

Kelly: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started making jewelry?

Tracy: My name is Tracy and I am a big mix of different things…mom, artist, wife, taxi driver, preschool assistant, former OR nurse…the list goes on and on. I really feel that all of these different parts of me have lead up to where I am today with my shop.

I have had a bit of an obsession with jewelry for a long time, literally starting when I bought (with my own money) a clay pendant necklace way back in first grade (circa 1976). Funny childhood memory, huh?! I still have it too.

I started making jewelry in college as a hobby, mostly making things for myself and friends. After college, the practical side of me prevailed for years with a regular day job in the hospital, though I liked to paint, draw, and make jewelry on the side. I found over time that I really loved creating jewelry the best.

Packaging from limegreenmodern | How fab is this?

Kelly: Can you tell us how about your modern style and why you are drawn to it?

Tracy: I really can’t explain it….it’s just something I have always been drawn to. My mom says I was never one for frills and frou frou, so I know it started pretty early.

I have always gravitated toward the clean, simple, minimalist aesthetic, whether it be in jewelry, home furnishings, even clothing (my usual MO is black and comfortable). I do like that occasional pop of color though.

modern silver earrings | limegreenmodern

Kelly: What are your favorite things about creating your pieces?

Tracy: I carry a little sketch book with me, because I never know when something I see will inspire me. This works great, so then when I’m in my studio, I can take that out and get to work.

I have two favorite parts…the first is just playing around with copper wire (less expensive and great for trying out ideas) and that moment you see a sketch come to life and really work (because they don’t always!).

My second favorite part is that moment I take a new design (now created in silver) out of the tumbler and see it completely finished, buffed, and shined…ready for photographs. It is just really cool to see your idea come to fruition.

modern fine silver necklace | limegreenmodern

Kelly: What made you want to turn your art into a business?

Tracy: Well, the short answer is the fact that I can only have so many pairs of earrings myself and really needed a reason to legitimately buy more tools.

In all seriousness, I’m at the point now where my kids are getting past that toddler phase and I have the opportunity to see where this goes.

I’ve found this artistic drive in me to make this work…really turn it into my dream “practical” job. I consider myself so lucky to be able to do what I really enjoy.

modern silver earrings | limegreenmodern

So, are these pieces wonderful? I am loving them. If you are loving them too, and you want to have a chance to get your hands on a pair of Tracy’s beautiful earrings then enter the giveaway by doing one (or all) of the following things:

1. Check out the limegreenmodern Etsy shop and post in the comments about which one is your favorite.

2. Tweet about the giveaway or about limegreenmodern. Make sure to come back here and leave a comment about your tweet.

3. Blog about the giveaway or about limegreenmodern. Make sure to come back here and leave a comment with a link to your post.

The giveaway will end Saturday, January 30th at 5pm CST. The winner will be announced here next week. So get commenting!

Limegreenmodern:

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/limegreenmodern

Twitter: http://twitter.com/limegreenmodern

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/lime-green-modern/53000291945

Blog: http://www.limegreenmodern.blogspot.com

So here are this week’s pics…Enjoy!

Tuesday, Jan. 19 | A bronze sculpture at the Civil War Interpretive Center

Wednesday, Jan 20

Thursday, Jan 21 | My painted canvas!

Friday, Jan 22 | Bye Bye Conan.

Saturday, Jan 23 | I think he looks like he is smiling at me...

Sunday, Jan. 24

Don’t miss an Etsy Wedding Team giveaway over on our team blog at http://etsyweddingteam.blogspot.com. You can win a medium custom wedding stamp from my shop or some super cute starfish hair pins from Shell Scapes.




There are lots of ways to enter, so take a peek. Don’t wait…The giveaway ends 01/27/10 @ 6:00pm EST.

Hi Lemonheads! I am back and am on my way to a creative renaissance in my life. I wanted to try my hand at painting on canvases, so I picked one up the other day. I wanted to create something to put on my door at home, so I grabbed my acrylic paints and the canvas and this is what I did:

To create this canvas, first I collected my supplies…paints, brushes, a canvas, etc.

I wanted to put a monogram on my canvas (you know how I love a good monogram!), so I found some inspiration for my “R” in my font collections. Then I just free-handed my design in pencil. If you don’t feel comfortable drawing on your canvas, you could blow a letter up on a copier, cut it out and trace it on your canvas.

Next, I mixed water into the color I wanted to use as my background.

Then I started painting. I would paint a coat and then another…

I also wiped the excess off for an irregular finish. I wanted it to vary in color a bit.

After I was happy with the background, I painted the interior of the “R” in a toffee brown.

Next, I outlined the R in a darker brown. An angled brush made this a snap.

Then for the fun stuff…I took the paint bottles and just dribbled the paint around the outline of the letter. If I was going to do this again, I would probably use a bottle with a tiny nozzle that would let me control the flow of paint better. I really liked how it turned out though.

To hang it I used some super cute ribbon I had been holding on to for a few months. I just tacked a long piece to hang it from and then added a fluffy bow.

This was super fun and I would like to do it again…What do you think?

Any ideas on what to paint next?

Do you think you could do this too? I think you could! Give it a try.