Special Order~Gramma Loves you THIS much...Sunday, September 12, 2014

Hey Sweet People...I've been busy doing Special Orders and I am VERY thankful for them.  Since people live all over the country and don't get to see what I am doing, I THOUGHT it might be fun to show some of the steps in making a design come to life!

This is a design for a Grandmother's 4 year old Granddaughter.  She will be getting this for a Christmas present~~I LOVE people who plan AHEAD...I am taking note and MIGHT try that myself one day...(let's not hold our breath too long for THAT to happen!)

The customer didn't really know WHAT she wanted, but gave me an idea and it was pretty easy from there on.  I have this WONDERFUL surface that my friend, Mindy, cut for me at the Woodshop in WV (the link is on the right side of the blog under my Favorite Places).  The surface is 10 x 11 inches and I ABSOLUTELY love this design, so it is often the FIRST thing I think of When someone wants a sign that isn't too big!

 

Of course, I used DecoArt Americana Paints and I based it in one of my FAVORITE colors, Marigold, since the little girl's room is decorated in Brown, Pink and Yellow.  Marigold is a very nice neutral color that isn't too dark or too light, and, as Goldilocks said~~JUST RIGHT.  DecoArt products are made in the USA, and for me, that would be ENOUGH to try them, but I have to admit, I started using them LONG before I knew this and these paints are wonderful~~consistent and in a GREAT variety of Popular and modern colors.  (commercial over...do NOT change the station, please)

I used a stencil by Laurie Spletz, to add some subtle details in the background.  I used Moon yellow to make it lighter, but not TOO BUSY and distracting.  The stencil has little hearts in it and I thought that was very appropriate. 

 

I then used the little girl from a pattern that I designed, that is available in my etsy shop, as the little girl.  I had designed the original pattern in HONOR/memory of my mother who LOVED to tell her grandbabies that she loved them THIS MUCH...I am SO happy that I was able to put THIS DESIGN onto this project...Mother would be the FIRST to grin from ear-to-ear.

After everything was based and shaded, I added the details~~eyes, nose, mouth, hearts on the dress, hearts on the background, gold around the edge (because LOVE is PRICELESS) and then finished by adding shading/highlights to the heart...It all came together pretty easily SINCE I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do!

This is headed to a little girl in Georgia, from her Gramma in Florida...I PRAY this will be a meaningful reminder of JUST how MUCH she is loved and that she will be blessed to have a WONDERFULLY creative life FILLED with Faith, Hope and JOY...

I am honored that I was asked to do this and I hope they KNOW that every brush stroke was done in LOVE and with Pride...Blessings to YOU...~charlotte♥