Ahhh, Friends.

 We spent this wonderfully chilly, fall morning with lots of friends...

 a delicious, outdoor brunch

 a toasty fire

 lots of catching up and story-telling

 It was so peaceful and quiet and warm despite it being a bit crazy, crowded, and cold : )

 And our friends have some of the cutest kids in the world.

 Fueled by fresh air and doughnuts, they ran and played and climbed and laughed and made up games.

Jude's doughnut dance. He was one happy boy : )

Hope your weekend was full of friends and good times!

Arian : )

Party!

Yesterday's bridal shower was in one of the coolest spaces around--The Speckled Bird. Unfortunately, it's currently not open to the public, it's just available for special events. But it's such a creative treasure of a place full of amazing art, vintage pieces, and great lattes. I want to live there.

I love how the artist who decorated the space used a lot of up-cycled materials

like soda bottle caps

and wine bottle corks

and mirror glass

And I love all the great vintage pieces through out

like this amazing lamp.

and these chairs

and this mirror.

It's across the street from this beautiful church building (maybe you recognize it from this post or this one).

So it was pretty much the best situation a girl could ask for. A wonderfully artsy and vintage space, endless lattes...

my grandma's vintage dress,

lovely friends,

piles of markers for coloring with,

and more desserts then a girl should be exposed to.

THAT's a party : )

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Arian : )

And The Winner Is...

Sarah said...

I love my little family so much sometimes I feel too full. I love tea in the morning, and peaches with cream.

These paintings are great! I love art! Way more than pizza.

So, Sarah, shoot me an email at arianarmstrong[at]yahoo.com and let me know which two heart prints you'd like (My Heart, Your Heart, God's Heart), which color(s), and where to send them.

Thanks!!

Hope you're having a great weekend. Ours has been really busy. But there have been several really sweet moments where I had to just stop and grab a photo. Don't want to miss stuff like this...

Jude "working" with daddy and listening to a little of Holst's "The Planets"


Our friend napping with his daughter on the front porch (I sat in my car charging my iphone for 5 minutes just so I could sneak this picture. I'm like a ninja...ooor a stalker)



And kisses in the park! (Dece hats...first hat day of the season!)

Have a good one!!
Arian

A Winner!

Geez, you guys are a beautifully hopeful bunch! Thanks for all your lovely comments. I hope all your hopes are fulfilled!

The winner is:

Jordan said... Hope. I Hope in something more. That one day I will be united with my God and Savior. That one day all of the battles in this life will be won. The Hope that all will be made new and all my scars will be healed. Living without Hope... what's living worth? Hope gets me through each Monday morning, each routine, and over each rising hurtle. This poster is just another reason to push forward. Thanks for your work... it is beautifully brilliant!

So, Jordan, shoot me an email at ArianArmstrong[at]yahoo.com and let me know where to send your print.



Hope you had an amazing weekend!

My weekend was...
homegrown tomatoes
a sweet thrifted top
back to (or rather first day of) school shoe shopping
a new bike!!
a bike date downtown
a bike ride along the Ohio River
along side good friends,
by big boats, slow trains
just taking it all in.

Arian : )

Emergency Tree Factory

Yesterday the Armstrong household was taken over by a whirlwind of cardboard scraps, paint, play dough, duct tape, and creativity. Our lovely musician friends, Ellery, called in a last-minute favor-- they needed some sort of stage decor for their cd release show and we only had one day and $0 to pull it off. Crazy, last-minute design challenges are like my crack and I love love love getting all MacGyver-like, using the few random supplies I have around to create an EXPLOSION of art.
I called in my good friend, Laura, and using the Ellery album art as our inspiration, we spent the morning whipping up a mini grove of cardboard trees and tiny houses (thanks for the cardboard boxes, Dan!) . Then I grabbed a stack of notebook paper, some frames I bought at a salvage place a while back, a couple wooden crates we use as storage, a ball of string, and some duct tape and Daniel and I dashed off to the theatre.

(Denison Witmer)

We added a few strings of lights and some paper lanterns borrowed from a friend to the mix and TADA!, a cozy, night time setting for what turned out to be a greeeat show.

(Ellery)

And speaking of crazy last-minute design challenges, we just got called in for a super fun little project related to this super fun project. Apparently the O.C. folks like our stuff. Woohoo!! But we only have 8 days to pull it off. Madness.

Have a great weekend!

Arian : )

For Lindsey

Sorry to be m.i.a.! I was away on our father/daughter trip with my dad and sis and then I came home sick and then our talented artist friend, Richard Fudge, came into town to spend the weekend with us. So it's taken me awhile to get back in the game. But I've got big plans for both of my Etsy stores coming up and two music videos to start working on so there are lots of fun things and special deals on the horizon (wink, wink)
And I wanted to show you this custom print I made for my youngest step-sister as a little high school graduation present-- it was lots of fun!

Have a great Tuesday!

Arian

It's HERE!!

We just got our advance copies of the book and it looks great!! They will be ready to ship in just a couple weeks so, if you're interested, you can pre-order a copy for a discounted price here.

Man, looking through this book reminded me how HARD we worked on this over the past year! Seriously, it is jam PACKED with how-to's, illustrations, photos, funny stories...the most efficient $12.92 you'll ever spend ; )


And pretty much every thing you learn in this book can be used at home, not just when staging theatrical productions or shows-- paint tricks, lighting tips, DIY projects, drawing lessons, decorating ideas, organizing inspiration...




And, like I mentioned before, this was such a family affair-- a fitting tribute to Granny and the creativity, hard work, and resourcefulness she poured into her kids, grand kids, and great-grand kids.
I hope you'll grab a copy and be inspired!!

Arian

MOTHERS DAY FREE GIVEAWAY!

Yay! It has arrived!

I was SUPER pleased to do the album art for my beautifully-talented friend's new lullaby album. Best. Lullaby. Album. Ever. If you know me and you invite me to a baby shower any time in the next 5, 10, 20 years, this is what you will get ; )

(cover)

I love collaborating with musicians on album art, ESPECIALLY when the musicians are friends, ESPECIALLY when they've got great photography to go along with it, ESPECIALLY when the great photographer is a friend too!


(inside left)

My fav song on the album is definitely "A Heavenly Lullaby". I listened to the rough mix of it on repeat while working on the art...for, like, hours. : )

(inside right)

(back)

And in honor of Mother's Day, I'm going to grab a copy of the cd (still warm from the printers, I believe), and give it away! Just leave a comment on this post about why you love your mom or why you love BEING a mom!

AAAAAND I will throw in an 8x10 print from my shop of your choosing! We're heading out of town for the weekend. So I will close the comments at midnight on Sunday and let you know the winner on Monday!

I have three mothers to celebrate but only one who endured 52 hours of labor to bring me into this world, wiped my countless runny noses, taught me how to sew in 1st grade when I was laid up in a body cast for 6 weeks with a broken femur, and taught me how to be an artist mom by BEING an artist mom.





Thank you, mom (grammy) : )