Cupcake Party Pictures

Wow!  What a crowd we had for our 8th birthday at The Dreaming Bear!  It was very busy, and so much fun!  Thanks to all of our friends, neighbors and customers who came out and congratulated us on EIGHT WHOLE YEARS!  Wowza!  Where has the time gone? 

Our very own sweet Emily made the cupcakes for our event, and they were FABULOUS.  We had three flavors:  yellow cake with chocolate frosting (my personal fave), s'mores, and peanut butter cup!  They were to die for!  If you are a local, and you need cakes/cupcakes, I can put you in touch with Miss Emily....you won't regret it!  Served alongside sparkling pink lemonade, we made sure everyone was well refreshed!

Dawny and I wore our cupcake head decor for the party!

In the studio, we offered a free make and take project!  Everyone made a cute little cupcake magnet to take home.

My friend Ollie devoured his cupcake, while wearing quite a bit of it on his face.  Look at that expression....I think he's disappointed that someone wasn't handing him a second one.

Henry was sneaking a treat in the corner of the studio.

Two of our favorite people...the Gettys stopped by to say hi!

And some silliness occured in the front of the store.....

Grace's cupcake has a smiley face.  Too cute!

This was the crowd favorite:  s'mores!  Chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting and graham cracker!  Yay Emily!

Lovin' Man spent the day with us too.  He always makes us laugh.  I put him in charge of the door prize drawings, and general merriment. 

Some pretty girls creating in the studio.....

Cupcakes and smiles all around! 

Sweet boy, Bosco passed out at the end of the party!  What a wonderful day!

Thanks again to everyone for your constant love and support!

We have many happy years ahead!

Puppy Play Time.

This is what's happening in our living room these days.....two streaks....one golden and one chocolate....bumbling through the house. 

Wrestling.......

Nibbling.......

 
Boxing.......

Finally......resting......

Contemplating......

Making sweet puppy eyes at Mama.......

Snuggling......

And passing out.......

Hope your day is swell!

Working away in the studio!

I've been really trying to whittle down my "stash" up in the studio, which includes lots of odds and ends...furniture pieces, canvases, decorative bobbles, and a strange assortment of mannequin ladies.  I love and HOARD mannequin ladies....it's an illness....I'm not kidding.

I'm still painting hearts on things...haven't stopped since before Valentine's Day! 

This is a little bench that I finished up today!

Bosco spent the day with Mama in the studio.  He is a good helper....and he kisses my toes, which makes me giggle.

This is one of my "painted ladies."  These peony-like flowers are a blast for me to paint.  Easy and free.
And it almost looks like they have little faces smiling back at me.

Check out the glorious light filtering in through my windows!  Love it!

And here is her sister....a work in progress.....with candlesticks looking on.  I don't think blue peonies exist....except here.  :-)

Happy April to you!

I received all of my postcards!

Hi again!  As of yesterday, I received all ten of the postcards sent to me for the annual iHanna postcard swap!  Thought you might enjoy a little peek!  Aren't they pretty?  I have enjoyed gazing at them over and over again, and love thinking about the far off (and not so far off) places they came from.  Cheers to you, stay creative!!!

Postcard Swap 2012!

Howdy!  I've had a blast (yet again) participating in iHanna's annual postcard swap!  This year, I made the theme "It is within you." This is the message I included on each card, with some wild paper collage faces.  I used mostly my own hand painted papers, but included just a couple of scrapbooking papers too.  WHAT FUN! 

I used posterboard as the base....and after creating the art, glued another piece of posterboard to the back, for sturdiness.  Their long noses and crooked lips make me smile.  This one looks like he is sneering....but he's much nicer than he looks.  :)

These little darlins are going out to places like California, Arkansas, Sweden, Canada, South Africa and North Carolina!  And one is going to a fellow artist right here in Iowa!  How did that happen?!  Love it!

I highly recommend doing a swap like this, if you've never tried it before.  It really does help to get the creative juices flowing, and it's so nice to reach out to other creative souls.  I love the thought of the postman catching a glimpse of one of these little guys in his mailbag, and wondering....hmmmmm......

Soon, I'll be back to show you what I received from my fellow participants.  They are still coming in from around the globe!  A big THANK YOU to iHanna for organizing the swap! 

Happy Spring!

Yippee!  It's spring!  Shine your light.  Free your soul.  Unburden your heart.  Let your flag fly.

Art Rocks is Rockin' Again!

Last Friday, we were visited by the cool kids from Prairiewood Transition Center!  They were such a fun, joyful group of artists!  Each student painted a wooden hand cutout that we provided for them.  We discussed briefly how important our hands are, and the many things we can do with them, such as eating, painting, waving at our friends, and picking things up.
 

Here are some pics of the artists at work.....almost always with a smile on their face....simply delightful!

Sarah was really fast, so I had to provide some paper and markers to keep her busy while everyone else finished up!  :)

When asked whether they preferred listening to music while they painted, they wholeheartedly agreed that music is a MUST when creating...so we rocked out to a little Rolling Stones and Tom Petty.  Does it get any better than that?  I think not.

They were really happy to be here with us in the studio....and we were happy to see them.





I have to give their creations a nice shiny coat to protect them, and the hands will be going up on display in the store by this weekend.  If there's one that tickles your fancy, come in and purchase it!  All "Art Rocks" purchases made allow us to reinvest in more projects for these lovely souls to work on!  Next meeting is mid April, and I can't wait!

AWAKEN.

Here's a recent canvas I've completed....inspired by thoughts of spring, renewal, and shaking off the gray of winter.  YES!