Handmade Painting from Vintage Inspired Invitation

I started my personal blog, Under A Shady Tree a little more than three years ago when my son had just turned one.


I was very new to Blogland, and was stumbling around reading blogs and trying to figure out who to put on my Blogroll. Within days of my first post, I found a kindred spirit, and her name was Kim. Kim had a new blog too, called "Small Words." Her blog was an offshoot of her business, in which she was creating customized nursery paintings, often based on the bedding that had been chosen for the new arrival.

I enjoy visiting Kim's blog because she has a crazy life--she has had four--count 'em FOUR little ones in 35 months. With the schedule that you can imagine that comes with all of those children, she was often up and painting and blogging at 2am. When I was pregnant with my second child, Ella, I would often be wide awake at the same hours that Kim was painting. She unkowingly provided me with many moments of laughter and sweetness and inspiration during those long and sleepless nights!


I always knew that I wanted to buy one of her paintings--but things, and life, and stuff just kept pushing it out of my brain. Until one day when I got a message from Kim on Facebook that said she would love to have one of my new ruffle t shirts. I INSTANTLY came up with the idea of a trade.

The deal was that I would custom sew a shirt for Kim and she would paint a canvas for Ella. I finished Kim's shirt:


And she began Ella's painting. I told her to do whatever she liked--knowing that I love a vintage look.

Well, the other day she put up this post. Lo and behold she had completed Ella's canvas, and had based her design on the invite that I created for Ella's Lemonade and Sunshine Birthday Social!


Here is what Kim calls a "Sneaky Peeky" . . .


And here is a profile of this GORGEOUS painting!! I mean, look at the colors!! And what Kim doesn't even know yet is that I backed Ella's invites on SCALLOPED CARD STOCK from Martha' Stewart and they are the same color!!!


The burnished gold polka dots have such an antique feel to them! The painting is just so inspired. It is perfect, in every way. I love it. Kim isn't taking orders right now--she is playing catch up. But I encourage you to go and visit her--and be on the look out for when she begins taking new orders again! (Never mind the fact that her website is FANTASTIC.)


But what do I love most? That even though Kim and I haven't met--we have shared the joys and the trials of parenting, of blogging, of being work-at-home moms, and now we have shared a creative piece of ourselves as a gift for one another. Thanks Kim!