Hug print

I just added a new print to the shop. It's the piece I did for the art show at our home last week. The show was such a hit! Our little house was busting at the seams with friends,family, and people we've never met who came to listen to the music and check out the artwork that the 8 of us created. We'll definitely do this again soon as there are lots more musicians we'd love to feature and lots more local artists we'd love to host!

Good music, good food, good art, good people, and good weather made for such a great night!

Arian : )

Best Job Ever

I am LOVING the current music video project we are working on.  The musician is one of my FAVS so collaborating with him like this is so fun and such an honor!! Plus I love, love, love working with Daniel. And now we've got a new team member, our illustrating/animating friend, Luke!

(Sidenote: Check out this music video Luke created. He wrote the song, performed it, illustrated and and animated the video. Talk about multi-talented!)

We had our first team meeting via skype (Daniel and Luke at their office and me at home) to work out the details of the main two characters. Here's a shot of my screen during the meeting. It's truly a collaborative process with all three of us contributing sketches and ideas. Fuuuuun stuff!!

And Daniel and I spent our weekend evenings nestled in our cozy bedroom, listening to the song on repeat and painting/drawing away!

 And here are the stars of the video! I won't show you too much along the way so as not to ruin any fun surprises when the video comes out in June, but I thought it'd be fun to introduce you to our father/son duo.

I think we're gonna really enjoy working in this style....it's a fun combination of real painted textures and digital color. So I'll get to wear my paint smock and get messy with paint and big sheets of paper and all kinds of brushes.

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Arian

And the winner is...

 Kim said...

I have two-one is crochet kids-it's similar to this one but kids in impoverished countries make hats and sell them and my other is 140 million orphans. Both great causes! Kim(who Andrea used to live with ;)

So, Kim, head to Sperantsa's site to pick your hat and then drop me an email at arianarmstrong[at]yahoo[dot]com to let me know which one you'd like and where to send it!!

The rest of you should head there too and get a hat or bookmark it for later! I think I might have to add a hat for myself into the order...can't decide between these two though...hmmm

Happy shopping!

Hats for Hope--GIVEAWAY!!

 I pretty much wear hats as long as I can...anything less than 85 degrees is still hat weather to me. A tank top, breezy skirt, flip flops, and a hat is pretty much my fav outfit to wear. And I LOVE products that help people so I 100% support my young friend, Arthur's, attempts to sell 400 Dece hats made by impoverished moms in Romania in the convenience of their own homes. Yay for "work at home moms"! His shop is called Sperantsa.

The hats are awesome, high-quality, and come in tons of styles and colors and I'm GIVING ONE AWAY!! Leave a comment below letting me know your favorite fair trade/non-profit type business. I'll randomly pick a winner on Monday and the winner can pick ANY HAT THEY'D LIKE!!

Here are a few pics from Sperantsa's website...

 (awww, Arthur) ; )

 Crazy cute, right?! So leave a comment, spread the word, and get yourself (and a friend!) a sweet hat!!

Arian : )

Lovely Easter.

 We had such a wonderful Easter with friends then family! I hope yours was lovely too!! We started the day with brunch and worship with a house full of some of our favorite people.  I'm borrowing the following photos from my photo-talented friend Andrew. I was too busy monitoring Jude's donut intake to take many photos. : )

 Lovely ladies, lovely dresses, lovely babies, lovely instruments.

 We love the McMurrays!

(me)  : )

 a sitar, banjo, and several guitars....now THATS some great worship!

 and, of course, an amazing spread of Easter carbs : )

 Yay! Our family on Easter!! (Thanks for the pics, Andrew!)

After the brunch we headed to the country to be with family for more good food, handmade ice creams, egg hunting, and conversation on the front porch.

 Love my boys!

I hope the weekend gave you time to slow down and enjoy spring!

Arian

Just Around the Corner

Sometimes making art is more restful than sleep for me. So I traded in a couple hours or so of sleep and ignored the packing boxes tonight for the chance to do a little "just for fun" sketching. It's just a little scene from our busy day.... a moment when we stopped to smell the newly blossomed flowers.

I came across this video about a month ago (I'm probably the LAST person to see it, it's been around for awhile!)  But it reminded me to take heart! I love winter but this one has been a particularly hard one. My heart is ready for a new season, new growth, fresh air!

Well I guess it's finally time to crawl in bed with sleeping beauty back there ; ) Shhhh...

Good night!

Arian : )

Crochet Victory!

 Yessssss.  After 2 "how to crochet" ipod apps, multiple you tube tutorial videos, and roughly 37 failed attempts, I finally figured out the "granny square". Victory!  I know it's one small step in the world of crocheting but I can finally check that off my Christmas vacation to-do list. : )

So now I just need to decide what to do with this new power of mine. Granny square garland?

(here)

Granny square afghan?

(probably a granny square baby blanket is more realistic)

Or do I venture into new territory? I looove this pillow!

and this one...

and this hat is pretty sweet too. So many color combo possibilities!

I'm just looking forward to having a reason to make frequent runs to this little yarn shop Jude and I recently discovered within walking distance from our house.

Soooo pretty : )

Are you guys crocheters? I'd love to see what you've made. Post links in the comments and I will be sure to check them out!

You know what else I'm excited about??....WARMER WEATHER!!! I know it's probably just temporary and there's probably another snow storm in our future. But driving with the windows down and the sun roof open has been gloooorious! Hope the weather is lovely in your neck of the woods!

Arian : )