Merry Christmas!

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year! My kids were in the spirit of the season today and decided to paint some Christmas scenes.

I just love it when they paint.

The Christmas Tree Farm

This was my first trip to a real live Christmas tree farm. Love, love, loved it! Look at that pond just trying to ice up but not quite there yet. We took a hay ride through the trees and drooled over which one we would love to take home. One little girl sitting next to me decided she was going to take all of them. I don't blame her. But get this...there were 45,000 (yes...thousand) Christmas trees at this farm!

Now, you have to close your eyes and imagine all of these trees are covered with soft, white, fluffy snow. Their branches are heavy and the air is crisp with a blue crystal sky. Ahhh...now that's a beautiful Winter wonderland scene.

Tesoro Fino Great Giveaway

This is an awesome giveaway that my friend at Tesoro Fino is currently having! You have to check it out at http://tesorofino.blogspot.com/ and enter. She's great at taking beautiful objects and changing them into something even more beautiful. I know I would love to hang these in my kitchen to give it that extra touch it needs. Or at least I didn't realize my kitchen needed that extra touch until I saw these dazzling silver spoons!

Yes, this is my husband...talking to a camel.

He does that sometimes....

Whoa!

I can't believe I'm posting this picture but it was just too funny that I couldn't resist. My kids got out all of the ornaments, put them on the tree and it was wonderful. I stand and gaze at the Christmas tree...red and gold beaded garland, white twinkly lights, ornaments of bygone Christmases dangling from the branches, golden ribbon draped from the tip top and then I turn around and see this...the aftermath of a tornado. I mean really, what else could it be from?

But seriously, I hope my mom doesn't see this photo....

New! Downloadable Gift Tags

A couple weeks before Christmas 2008 I wrapped a few gifts and rummaged through my stash of ribbons and packaging, looking for my gift tags. It's one of those things you run out of one year and you're convinced you'll remember to buy more before the next Christmas comes, but at some point throughout that 365 days it just escapes you.


I had an image in my head of a pear dangling from a limb and decided right then to paint it and print out my own gift tags. This year I've made that same tag and a few others available to you as a downloadable PDF file through my website, Wallflowers. You can click here to view them all or each one separately on the pictures above. These images are Michelle Meyer original designs and only available through my website. They look nice printed on card stock with either a matte or a glossy finish. They can even be dressed up by punching a hole and adding a ribbon.

Wallflowers Handpainted "Believe" Giveaway

Momma In Flip Flops 2 is hosting a giveaway for my Christmas "Believe" original hand painted canvas. It will arrive just in time for the holiday season. This sweet little 5" by 5" wraparound canvas fits anywhere on your wall or displays nicely on a desk or shelf.

To enter, click here and this will connect you to the blog post with the directions to enter. If you sign up as a follower of her blog then you can catch ALL of her giveaways as soon as she posts them. A winner for the "Believe" painting will be randomly chosen December 2, 2009. Good Luck!

It's a Zoo Around Here

Here it is, late November and we actually got to go to the zoo! I was a little surprised that the peacocks were one of the highlights. I can remember in the past feeling lucky if we found one peacock strolling around. But this time there were about a dozen of those colorful birds...walking, sleeping, keeping guard over their sanctuary.

We discovered that if you really want to see the big cats, right before feeding time is the best. I don't know how many times I stood and stared into empty cages, hoping for a glimpse of a panther or tiger. But when they're hungry, they're out there!

I went a little crazy with the framing of these photos. After playing around with the colors I just couldn't bear to take them off again!


This mother giraffe was fun to watch. She knew it was time to eat and could hear something just behind the doors. She would run to one door, then hear something at door number two and run there. Then run around a big circle pathway and back to door number one again. Every now and then she would chase the ostrich that shared her home but then it was back to door number one to start all over again.

My Gift To You! Recipe Card Download

Click on the card for the downloadable pdf file

I created a new recipe card for you in a downloadable pdf file! You can print out as many of these as you want...print them on card stock, tie them up with a ribbon (I'm really startin' to LOVE ribbons) and give as a gift. Or keep them for yourself. Or both! You decide.
A little background about this bowl...this is the antique bowl (and a very heavy one!) that my grandma used to use. She's the same grandma that stitched the "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" picture from a prior post. Now I have this bowl because I LOVE to bake chocolate chip cookies (also see my recipe for those yummy things here). Why that entitles me to have the bowl I'm not sure, but it somehow made sense at some point along the way. I actually DO mix up my cookies in that bowl and I use that same wooden spoon that I looked at to paint the border spoons on the recipe card. I don't know why, but there's just something about a wooden spoon that helps it all mix up just a little bit better. I suppose it's just like anything worth doing, the process of getting there is just as important as the end result.

Wallflowers Is Having A Giveaway!

Wallflowers by Michelle Meyer Studio is having a giveaway! Frugal Mommy of Two Girls is hosting a giveaway for my Christmas "Believe" painting! Simply visit her blog at http://frugalmommyof2girls.blogspot.com/ and follow her instructions on how to enter. Easy! If you sign up as a follower of her blog then you can catch ALL of her giveaways as soon as she posts them.

This Christmas "Believe" wall design is new this season. The moon gently sleeps while snowflakes quietly fall around him, all while awaiting for that magical day. This charming design is hand painted with acrylics on a 5" by 5" by 1 1/2" wraparound canvas. No frame is needed and can be hung on a nail or can sit on a shelf or any flat surface. Comes ready to hang.

Shabby Lane Shops November Treasure Box Giveaway

Another Treasure Box will be given away for the month of November! This is an awesome collection of items from several of the shop owners from Shabby Lane Shops. Just click here to go to the Shabby Lane Shops Blog to sign up to win.

This Christmas "Believe" 5" x 5" painting is my contribution to the giveaway!


Doesn't this look like it would be SO much fun to open up and find what treasures are inside?

Shabby Lane Shops Holiday Decorating Contest!

Several of the Shabby Lane Shops members have had a lot of fun decorating our websites for the holidays! I think of my little pink cottage (above) as my art studio, so it was kind of like decorating my own house. It was SO much fun! I went through old photos and found this snowman that my kids made, and the sled they use for sailing down the hills. The ornaments hanging above the door and window are from my vintage stash. Even the presents under the trees are from Christmas' past! It's like a part of me went into this sweet little picture. Just like decorating for the holidays at home.

So don't forget to vote for your favorite Shabby Lane Shops holiday website design (Wallflowers!). Just go to the link on the right sidebar and vote for your favorite (Wallflowers!) through the end of November. Oh yeah, did I mention if you want to vote for me, just go to that link and click on Wallflowers. Thank you!

More Inspiration...

My family and I spent the day at the Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places ever! I could visit there every day and always find something new. These first four photos are in the "Japanese Garden". It's so peaceful there. The sun decided to hide and we even had a few sprinkles here and there but I didn't mind, it was still gorgeous!

Have you ever seen mums cascading over a wall like this?

I took this photo simply because I love pillars!

What a great idea. Peppers for some fall color!

My Grandmother's Talent Is So Inspiring

I glanced up over my bed every night when I was a little girl and read this prayer that my grandma stitched o so many years ago. Isn't it lovely? So vintage. I wanted to create a painted design that reminded me of this happy, sleepy image. One that would be both modern and nostalgic at the same time.




This new design is destined to be a part of a child's happy memory.

Fall Birthday Party!

Fall birthday parties are so much fun! It's so exciting to see lots of little pumpkins start out all orange and quiet, just minding their own business. And after a flurry of excitement involving buttons, google eyes, sequins and feathers, they're given new life and transformed into happy little faces all in a row. Whew!

Happy Fall!

Shabby Lane Shops October Treasure Box Giveaway

Shabby Lane Shops presents a wonderful October Treasure Box Giveaway. This box of treasures is full of delightful items donated by it's vendors listed below.

Visit http://shabbylaneshops.blogspot.com/2009/10/october-treasure-box-giveaway.html to enter!

Participating Vendors:

http://www.wallflowersart.com
http://www.shabbylaneshops.com/
http://www.anticatreasures.com/
http://www.bagsbyannieg.com/
http://www.gracefulrose.com/
http://www.kberenzin.avonrepresentative.com/
http://www.marionberrycottage.com/
http://www.rubyjunescottage.com/
http://www.rmeboutique.com/
http://www.shabbyroseboutique.com/
http://www.shabbydenimrose.com/
http://www.sweet-kathleens.com/
http://www.someplaceinthyme.com/
http://www.thevintagenest.com/
http://www.theoddsparrow.com/
http://www.teacupsandtwigs.com/

New Wallflowers Design

Yay! It's freshly finished today!

It's here! I completed my new "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" design today and wanted to share it with you. This one's 16 x 20 on a wraparound canvas and you can view it on my website here.

The Autumn Painting

I absolutely love it when children create art. It's so fun to see kids really get into making their artwork and then I'm amazed to see how unique each creation is.


This pumpkin painting has set the mood in our house that fall is in the air. My daughter painted it and I (of course!) displayed it on the mantel. She has discovered painting on canvas and so far it seems she likes to paint as much as I do (woohoo!). Luckily for her, we have a studio set up and ready to go!

The September Garden...

Juicy, juicy red cherry tomatoes. Oh how I don't want them to end! I don't think they know they're supposed to, since we're still finding more than we could possibly eat. But every September we know the garden tomato will soon fade away. We don't talk about it much, of course, hoping that our silence will fool those big bushy plants into growing more and more of those little gems until we say goodbye until next year.

These tiny little pumpkins were new to the garden this year. We've been having fun decorating the house with real pumpkins that we actually grew! (Okay, I think they might technically be called gourds but they look like baby pumpkins!)


The rhubarb was HUGE this year. This was a tiny, sad little thing two years ago that I found in my back yard at our new house. I wasn't even sure it was rhubarb so we transplanted it to my mother's garden and...voila! The biggest rhubarb plant I've ever seen. It's just too bad I don't like to eat it...


but it sure is fun to grow it!

Okay, the Treasure Box giveaway has officially started! All you need to do is click on the link above and it will take you to the page to enter the contest. You'll find the instructions and list of shops that are participating. I counted over 20 different shops that are part of this giveaway! They're all members of ShabbyLaneShops.com and they've included great things like coupons, samples and a $50.00 gift certificate (towards one of the participating shops of the winner's choice).

You can check out my rose painting below (from Aug. 31st post) to see what I've donated to the Treasure Box. I've also included a 20% off coupon towards the next purchase at WallflowersArt.com for the winner.

These are photos of some of the items included in the box. Hmmm. Looks like fun! Kind-of like an early Christmas present...

Treasure Box at Shabby Lane Shops

The creative women at ShabbyLaneShops.com are in the process of putting together a Treasure Box to give away! This box will be filled with lots of fun things: There will be a gift certificate worth $50.00 to be used at one of the participating shops that contributed to the Treasure Box. Some shops will include coupons and some are also sending sample items. I've included the painting you see above. It's 4" by 5" and is a little smaller than the one I offer on my website (WallflowersArt.com). I'm also including a 20% off coupon towards the next purchase to the winner of the Box.

I'll include more details of how to enter and what the link is as soon as I get the word!

Mid August

Don't you love this time of year? Mid August. I didn't realize how much I liked it until last week when we drove by the sunflower field that somehow appeared a few years ago near our town. It's always a happy surprise to see the yellow blooms between fields of tall green corn stalks.

I just couldn't help myself and had to sit down to paint one of those sun-loving beauties today. This is a small, 5" x 5" wrap-around painting that will fit just about anywhere in the house.

The only thing I'm not really looking forward to is the kids going back to school again. I know, it's time and they need to, but I absolutely love it when they're home in the summer. It's never long enough (as my son would quickly agree) but I do have to admit that more work will be done by all when school's back in session!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone! And welcome to my blog. I would love to share with you some of the everyday little things (and big things) that inspire me in my art studio.

When you get a chance, check out my WallflowersArt.com website. This is where I hand paint personalized artwork for children, and sometimes I include grown-up art as well. I'll keep you posted as I add new designs to the website.