Thanks for the article, Marion Times!

Author Alyssa's adorable son in front of the wings

A great big giant smoochy thank you to Alyssa at the Marion Times for writing this FUN article about our butterfly wings!  What I love most about it is I think you captured the friendship that Gae and I share.  Gae, owner of The Chocolate Shop in Marion, and feels like a sister from another mister.  To read the full article, click HERE.  

Keep Me Safe, I'll Keep you Wild!

Hello friends!  Happy Monday!  Did you have a lovely weekend?  We sure did! We spent time with friends, got a few things done around the house, walked and snuggled with the pups.  I did some planting in the back yard.  We finally saw Finding Dory, the movie.  SO CUTE!  Baby Dory is ADORABLE!  Just look at her.......her little buggy eyes....so sweet!

 I've been sprucing around the house too...and this is a canvas that I recently completed for the fireplace mantel......

When I saw the quote, I thought it summed up Lovin' Man and I to a tee!  A tee! I am always jumping into "great ideas", and he helps to keep me from self imploding.  Ha!  I knew we needed it in our home.  The canvas is actually a recycled ugly thing from the clearance section in Hobby Lobby!  A good thing to remember....keep your eye out for old/clearance/ugly pieces of art already on a canvas, or in a frame, and RECYCLE!  Thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army are great sources for ugly art in lovely, ornate frames.  Wishing you all a lovely day!  It's HOT here today, so I'm gonna stay in and PAINT!  WOO HOO!

XOXOXO My Painted Love Piano XOXOXO

One week ago today, it was a gorgeous day in downtown Cedar Rapids, and I completed my "love piano".  Every year, the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance coordinates with local artists to provide colorful, artsy pianos up and down 3rd street, for passersby to enjoy through the summer.  This is my second year participating, and it's a blast!!!!  I give you...the "love piano."

I had trouble getting to sleep the night before, because I was running all of the ideas through my head....all the different themes/colors schemes I could use....but I kept coming back to a message of love.....and that we need more of it in this world.

It's interesting, working outside among the people in a busy downtown area. Friends stopped by to say hi....strangers meet your eye and smile.  A local homeless man told me this is the spot he likes to play, and he looked forward to seeing what I did with it.

When I told him the message I intended to put on the front of the piano, he said, "Amen to that."  

I left parts of the old beat up piano rough and dark and distressed.  It seemed the way to go this time....many people who stopped by said "how timely this message was," and "how much our world needs this message."  I couldn't agree more.    

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."  -MLK