New Prints!

 I just added two new prints to the shop! This Good Knight print I just finished today. Any knight can defeat his enemy with a sword. But only a good knight can win over a dragon with love.

(Cuddling with my little boys and working on the drawing last night....good times.)

And this one is available now too!

The weekend is almost here! Hope you have some lovely plans. Andrea and Tye leave for 6 months in South Africa this weekend so we'll be spending as much time with them as possible before they hop on  plane!

Gonna miss these guys!!

Have a great weekend!
Arian

Take Courage!

There's a super sweet wife in Australia who commissioned this print for her super sweet husband. They also have a super sweet baby girl who is the reason I made this "Joy" print. I love doing custom prints when I can fit them into my schedule. And, once all the Christmas craziness settles down, I'll be able to take on a few more. So if you're interested in commissioning a print, shoot me an email at arianarmstrong(at)yahoo.com for pricing and size info!

Speaking of Christmas craziness, we have about 48 hours til we head out of town for the holidays. LOTS of cleaning, shopping, packing, and fun events to head to before we go!

I'm really looking forward to the slow pace of the next two weeks...lots of lounging and movie-watching and laughing and memory-making.  I want to read (C.S. Lewis = the MAN) and journal and learn how to crochet granny squares too. Ah, vacation.

Have any fun plans or goals for your Christmas vacation?

Arian

A Blog Party!

Michelle of Scissor Quirk is hosting an amazing blog party right now that is busting at the seams with giveaways, guest posts, and interviews. She's giving away two of my prints (of your choice)! So if you'd like a chance to win, hop on over and leave a comment!

There really are a ton of super-talented artists and crafters taking part in the party and so many great things to win. So go!

Arian

"Awaited" Shirts

My rockstar sister is one of the masterminds behind Crossroad's annual Christmas show, "Awaited". It's the most artistic and creative representation of the Christmas story I've ever seen. And for the past couple years I've had the pleasure of creating the 200+ cast and crew members' special thank you gift! Two years ago they got my Christmas cards. Last year I got to create a custom art print for them. And this year I got to do t-shirts! (Hopefully they are not getting tired of me ; )

The text is a collage of phrases from the show.

Here are a few pics of "Awaited" last year....its pretty wonderful. Can't wait to see the new and improved version again this year!

(photos courtesy of Crossroads)

Off to do some Christmas shopping!! (This is the time of year each year when we realize that our hopes of making all our gifts this is again unrealistic.) ; )

Arian

Busy Little Elves

It was a busy, festive weekend. My lovely assistant, Laura, and I, fueled by coffee and Christmas music, printed and packaged and sealed and labeled all day to catch up on sales. If you won a painting in the art auction, it's on its way!

A beautiful mess : )

The weekend was also spent making snow angels (the first of the season),

celebrating Christmas at the Seabird Christmas show,

 (grabbed a few of my shirts! they are super soft and comfy)

getting our first LIVE Armstrong family Christmas tree,

and celebrating Hudson's 6th birthday at his snow-themed, DIY pizza party (his request). I got tons of photos on my real camera that need to be unloaded.

All this busyness and freezing temperatures has got me feeling pretty under the weather. Any favorite home remedies for a cold that just won't go away? I'll try 'em! I'd love to just close the bedroom door, curl up in bed, drink hot lemonade, and watch about eight hours of Christmas romantic comedies. That would cure me for sure : )

Arian

T-shirt/cd Give-Away!

I just finished another t-shirt for one of my fav bands, Seabird (sweet music video here). And I'd love to give one away along with their new Christmas EP.  With Thanksgiving over, I think it's officially okay to listen to Christmas music...very loudly.

So leave a comment here and let me know your favorite Christmas song/album (besides this one of course ; ) I'll randomly pick a winner on Thursday so check back! I'll be grabbing the shirt on Sunday evening so, if you're the winner, make sure to email me with your shirt size before then.

Sleepy, Busy Bees

We've been burnin the midnight oil over here (and the 1am oil, the 2am oil, 4am...) Geesh.  We've been wrapping up the art auction, cranking out new art and new tshirt designs and new music videos and working our tails off so we can enjoy a few days off with family for Thanksgiving. Helllloooooo, pumpkin pie!!! Hellllooooo, nap!

This crazy bunch of new prints is on its way out the door for an art show. But I also added them to the shop. So stop on in if you'd like one!!

LOTS of stuff to show you when we get back!

Whether you'll be officially celebrating Thanksgiving or not this weekend, I hope you find dozens of new reasons to be thankful!!

Arian : )

Joy! print

A new print is available in the shop! This illustration was commissioned for a beautiful baby girl. She has already brought so much joy to many despite some pretty scary times her family has had over the past year. It's a beautiful story and I'm happy they invited me to illustrate it! And I'm happy I get to share the print with you guys too!

I'll be giving one of these prints away later this week. So leave a comment here and let me know about someone in YOUR life that's brought a lot of joy.

Hope your week is off to a good start! I finally got a sweet, vintage table to replace the less-than-attractive drafting table I've been using as a desk. It was a birthday present from my mom and sister that we found at the antique mall yesterday. Really streeeeetching out my October 10th birthday celebrating ; )  Now I feel like our bedroom/my office is just a few finishing touches short of complete! I'll show you pictures soon!

Arian : )

Video Sneak Peek

Here's a little sneak peek at my desktop right now. We're hard at work on our next music video. This one's for the kiddies! I'll be sure to show you when it's done!

When Daniel and I both have to work late, we like to keep our video chat windows open so that, even though he's working in the living room and I'm working in bedroom, we can still feel like we're working together : )

I've also got a new print to show you and, as usual, I'll be giving away a free one. So stop back soon!

Arian : )

Gettin Fall-y

 I got my craft on yesterday and made this little autumnal wreath for our front door. It's just a styrofoam form, felt, ribbons from my stash, and a little tag with an "A" I stamped on it.

 It was quick and easy because that's all I really had time for. Gotta love crafty projects you can start and finish in one sitting : )

It's getting pretty fall-y around here, both inside and out...

with the beautiful fall-y flowers Daniel gave me on my birthday,

and the yummy-smells from from the electric wax warmer from Daniel's parents.

I've got several more fall crafts up my sleeves. I'll be sure to show you!

Have any links to your fall craftiness?

Arian : )

10 for 10

(click to enlarge)

So here it is--- my October To-Do list. In no particular order I plan to:

1. Make (and eat) a pumpkin pie.
2. Crochet something cozy (something rectangular because that's all I know how to do)
3. Pick a pumpkin. I've got several farms circled in the local newspaper. Just need to see which ones also offer hayrides and apple cider.
4. Watch a chick flick...wine and pants with elastic waistband required.
5. Do a new painting!
6. Make a Fall-themed centerpiece. I've been browsing Martha Stewart magazines for inspiration.
7. MORE DEEP BREATHS. I will (try to) face adversity with deep breaths and a positive attitude.  I've got a growing arsenal of yoga videos, favorite Psalms, and worship music to help me out.
8. A pumpkin spice latte. (check and check)
9. Go to bed early (this one will be the hardest of them all for this long-time night owl)
and 10. CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY ALL MONTH LONG!! It's my party, I'll make it last as long as I want to.

What are YOUR goals this month??

Arian : )

ps-- just realized I've been sitting here the the computer for the last 30 minutes with my bike helmet still on....not cool and not one of my goals for this month

Secret Painting

 I got to do some fun painting as a secret surprise for one of our friends. She loves giraffes and all things child-like so her landlord (another friend of ours) had me come in and paint her walls while she was away.

 I didn't get to be there for the big reveal. But according to witnesses, there was screaming and a few happy tears.  I'd call that a success!

It was a lot of fun to paint! Since I took a break from the theatrical set design world, it's been awhile since I've had such a big canvas to work with. I can't wait til we have a place of our own someday (or a more laid-back landlord) so I can do some painting on our walls!

Happy Monday!
Arian : )

Whole LOTTA Love! (Giveaway!)

I just added a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE to my Etsy shop... some simple prints I've been wanting to do for awhile. Finally, a couple quiet hours at the laundromat with only my sketchbook and a mouse to keep me company (true story) and I got the drawings done.

The heart speech bubble is something that started popping up in a lot of my paintings when I was working on my first big art show in Memphis last year. Like this one and this one.

Simple but deep.

There are currently 5 colors available and I'm open to suggestions if you have a special color in mind.
"God's Heart" (blue)
"Your Heart" (brown)
"God's Heart" (green)
"My Heart" (grey)
"Your Heart" (red).

And I'm giving away a set of two of your choice. Just post a comment below and let me know something/someone you love. And I mean REALLY love....not like, "I love pizza." (Although pizza does sound pretty good right now.) I'll randomly select and post a winner on Saturday so be sure to check back!