Thursday, March 29, 2012

Portraits

So, lately I have been thinking about commissioning portraits. This blog may take a turn down art-nerd lane, but bear with me. If you are an artist, you know that although you can draw just about anything better than the average person, every artist has their knack. Their thing that they are more exceptional at. What they love to draw because it amazes even them when they are finished. For some people it is nature, for some it is architecture, and for me it is people. In a high school art class we had a project to draw human hands in various positions. I was fascinated. Paying attention to the curves and shadows, the tiny details of creases and texture. This turned into drawing more portraits. In my spare time I would draw the models on the Abercombie and Fitch shopping bags, or people in magazines. I would draw pictures of family for presents or projects. I am definitely my worst critic, and finally after more than ten previous tries, in my senior year of high school I drew a self-portrait that I was pleased with.

After I set up my art nook I sat down one night to draw and figured I would try things out with drawing a picture from Jake and my wedding album.

We ended up hanging this in our bedroom. We have a little "nook" where our door is, so this is the first thing you see when you walk in. A nice way to start and end the day :)


I have also drawn a couple of other portraits but I have to wait to post pictures. I also need to fix something and take a picture of one that I drew for Jake of him and Reece. I drew it a couple of years ago and it now hangs in our man cave.

So back to commissioning portraits. I have thought about starting an Etsy page or something for it. All I would need is a photo, which people could send by email. I could include the price of the frame and matting.



That's all for my random ramblings of the evening....

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Couponing!

So, life has been pretty much the same as usual...great and semi-busy! We are looking forward to our Vegas trip getting closer and closer. We will be getting on the plane before we know it! I can not remember the last time I was on such a long vacation (8 days/7 nights)...I will be great! I just hope the jet lag isn't too bad...but we are getting home around 10 (I think) Saturday night and we plan to sleep lots on Sunday to get ourselves back to normal before Monday.

Here is an update on some couponing today! I am very excited, we hadn't gone on a good grocery shopping trip in a while, and it is always a rush to see how much we save from our coupons!

CVS (#1)
(3) Coca Cola 12-pack
(2) Wheat Thins
(1) Triscuits
(1) Colgate Optic White Tooth Paste
(2) Playtex Tampons
Total Before Coupons: $51.85
Total Paid: $28.92
*Plus, this gave me $10 in ECB's to use on my next purchase. So, we put those items in the car and then went back in for round 2...

CVS (#2)
(4) Pringles Chips
(1) Aussie Shampoo 13.5oz
(2) Aussie Conditioner 13.5oz
(2) Sunchips
(2) Suave Pro Shampoo 12.6oz
(2) Suave Pro Conditioner 12.6oz
(2) Xtra laundry detergent 32 loads
(1) Swiffer Wet Jet cleaner
(1) Kellogg's Apple Jacks
(1) Kellogg's Raisin Brand
(1) Airwick Warmer
(1) Single Airwick Scent Refill
(1) Double Pack Airwick Refill
Total Before Coupons: $74.82
Total Paid: $33.21

KMart
(1) All laundry detergent
Total Before Coupons: $4.80
Total Paid: $2.18

Chik-Fil-A Lunch
(1) 8-count Nugget
(1) Small Sweet Tea
(1) Small Fruit Cup
Total before discount: $7.00ish??
Total after discount: $3.28
*Today, Chik-Fil-A was giving a free 8-count nugget to anyone wearing a college t-shirt in support of March Madness.

BiLo
(2) Kraft Salad Dressing
(2) Velveeta Shells
(2) Quaker Oatmeal
(2) Quaker Granola Bars
(1) Quaker Fresh Baked Breakfast bars
(1) Dole Pineapple Parfait 4-pack
(2) Knorr Rice Sides
(2) Flavored Breadcrumbs
(1) Minute Rice box
(2) Prego pasta sauce
(1) Greek Seasoning
(1) KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce
(1) Texas Pete 1gal (this was for Will!)
(1) Caribou Coffee K-Cups 12 pack
(1) Hefty Kitchen trash bags 45 pack
(1) Angel Soft Toilet Tissue 12 pack
(1) Tide Washing Machine Cleaner (this is great for when the boys forget a load of laundry in the washer....)
(1) Gain fabric softener crystals
(1) Busy Bones 2 pack dog bones
(1) Easter card
(1) Birthday card
(2) V05 shampoo
(1) Hair gel
(2) Pilsbury Pizza Crust
(1) Pilsbury Crescent Rolls
(2) Pilsbury Chocolate Chip cookie dough
(1) Philadelphia Cooking Cream
(1) Dannon Yogurt 4-pack
(1) Sargento Provolone slices
(1) Yoplait Yogurt and granola 2-pack
(1) Eggs
(1) Gallon Skim Milk
(4) Birdseye Vegetable Steamers
(1) Freschetta Pizza
(6) Healthy Choice Frozen Entree (great for a healthy lunch at work!)
(5) Boneless Chicken Breast packages
(1) Ground Beef
(2) Pork Chop packages
(1) Turkey Ballpark Franks
(3) Johnsonville Lean Italian Sausage with chicken
(1) Celery
(1) Bag of Apples
(1) Bag of Potatoes
(1) Corn Cob 5 pack
(1) Baby Carrots 2lb bag
(1) Fresh Salad bag
(1) Bananas
(1) White Grapes bag
(2) Tribe Hummus
Total Before Coupons: $294.58
Total Paid: $212.41
*Plus, 20 cents per gallon of fuel perks!


So, today was a total shopping trip of $433.05, and with a savings of $153.05, we paid $280.

I <3 Couponing :)


That is all...now off to clean a bit and get ready for Jenna's birthday cook out and celebration!