Peek a Boo Giraffe

Peek a Boo Giraffe.

A fun monochromatic painting I recently did using all Sepia watercolor for this “peek-a-booing” giraffe.

Did it make you tilt your head?

Peek a Boo!

P.S.  I am pretty excited to be the “Artist of the Month” at a sweet, fun and delicious coffee shop near me – Wunderbar Coffee & Crepes.

Wunderbar serves Italian inspired coffees, French crepes and American grilled cheese sandwiches in a historic German town north of Pittsburgh named Harmony, PA.

If you are anywhere nearby, I hope you will check it out and  experience the wonder of Wunderbar.  It is not  your run of the mill cafe. Their focus is “to provide a fun and unique space where everyone is welcome to gather, connect and create relationships, for a moment or a lifetime. Where the collision of senses and caffeine fueled inspiration explode and splatter. An open minded destination where transcending concepts and ideas are explored in depth and shared with everyone to experience together and by themselves. A refuge from empty promises and meaningless stories. An escape from a suffocating environment full of pre-existing notions that condition us to be the soul-less product of our over commercialized world. A breathing, living, self sustaining space that is an embracing work of art in itself. A place you can’t wait to return to!”

Here I am Saturday after hanging up my art.  Thanks Wunderbar!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

McKinneyX2Designs
BerryVineGifts

Pumpkin it up around the House

Pumpkin it up around the House.

The heat wave finally broke yesterday around here, and it is beginning to feel like Fall!

This year I added a few new pumpkins to my collection in the form of pillows with my watercolor artwork on.

I decided to add a few of my art pieces to a McKinneyX2Designs Society6 shop to see how it would turn out.  I’m pretty thrilled with the quality of the pillows and pouches I ordered.

Besides that are some of my collection through the years, including signs and rustic pumpkins made by my DIL for our McKinneyX2 Etsy Shop and on display at Berry Vine Gifts in Bradford Woods (which by the way is holding a Fall Festival this weekend where I will be working this afternoon!)

I have pumpkins at the front door…

and at the back door.

There are pumpkins here..

and there…

and everywhere!

I’m hoping to add a few more to my collection today at the Fall Festival,

because I still have some pumpkin-less spaces!

If you would like to see more of my art on pillows and pouches and cups and mugs and notebooks and iPhone cases, and even furniture, check it out here:  Mx2 Society6.   There’s even a great Fall sale going on.  We also have some super new stuff added to our ETSY shop so you can Pumpkin it up around the house!

Happy Fall Y’All!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

A Blue Pineapple for a Baby Girl Nursery

Blue Pineapple Watercolor 11X14

A Blue Pineapple for a Baby Girl Nursery.

I had a commissioned request to do a turquoisey-blue pineapple to go with a pink flamingo for a baby girl’s nursery.

Pink Flamingo Watercolor 11×14

Sweet new mommy-to-be, Sarah, reached out to me through our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop and asked if I could do my pineapple in blues and paint her an original pink flamingo – with a couple dabs of gold in each if possible.

I have been having so much fun pouring acrylic abstracts lately, it was a mind-shift to gently and neatly “splash” in watercolor, but it came back like riding a bike, and I truly enjoyed creating these original pieces in 11×14 for a sweet baby girl’s nursery.

I love the fun, creative ways new parents are decorating nurseries now, and this nursery is sure to be adorable.

Wishing you a day that is colored with turquoisey-blue pineapples, bright pink flamingoes, and dabs of gold!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Creating a Nursery at Grandma’s House

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I am having so much fun creating a nursery at “Grandma’s house” for our new granddaughter.

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A sweet little haven for her to rest if I ever decide to let her out of my arms when she is at our home!

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I promised I’d show you how I turned bumper pads into a window treatment valance.  Didn’t it turn out great?!

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Almost everything in this room was a passed on from a friend, was given as a gift, is something I made, or something I re-purposed.

Thanks to our friends Sue and Rodney for “gifting” us with this beautiful crib they had outgrown from their two beautiful granddaughters.

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And thanks to our BFFs Jill and Todd who gifted us with this beautiful rocking chair when we learned we were going to become grandparents.  (Hope you don’t mind I painted and distressed it!)

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And thanks to our sweet Joyce and “Oh Rob” for this darling antique child’s art desk with paper roll that will be so fun in coming years!

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And a dear friend, Diane, who sent this sweet little hanging pillow months before our granddaughter arrived, but made me wait until her birth to open (and I really did!).  What truth there is in this message!  What joy!

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I’m looking forward to reading many, many books – over and over and over – in the years to come.

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And playing with the basket of toys generously passed down from a sweet friend and incredible young Mom, Stefanie.

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Sometimes I just walk into this room and smile… thinking of the memories that are going to be created and the love that is already there from the sharing of so many.

I remember the days when this was a little boy’s room with blue marbled walls and baseball trophies.  I reminisce about the two boys who shared a wall between their rooms and secrets I still don’t know about…  Two boys who were best buddies when they were little, didn’t like each other very much when they were teenagers, and are back to being each other’s “bests” as young adults.

Creating a nursery at Grandma’s house…
It is so very much
home sweet home.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Rustic Barn Weddings

Gable farm Matted

Gable Farm in Watercolor – 10×14

It’s June, and wedding season is in full swing!

Rustic barn weddings have become very popular in our area.  As a matter of fact, our son and daughter-in-law had a barn wedding three years ago next month.   I had fun creating this watercolor version of Gable Farm, which was their wedding site and a place they have now turned into a venue for others to hold their weddings and receptions.

Colleen has been busy stocking our McKinneyx2Designs Etsy Shop with fun rustic wedding signs made from reclaimed pallet wood.  They are super reasonably priced from $10-14.

Wouldn’t these be great little accents for a rustic barn wedding?

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If you or someone you know is looking for rustic wedding signs, hope you will check out our ETSY shop.

We have lots of other great rustic home and nursery decor, as well as some of my watercolor art, prints and greeting cards.

Happy Wedding Season and Happy Weekend!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

What’s NEW at McKinneyX2Designs?

I’m excited to share some of the new things Colleen and I have been creating for our new Etsy shop!  We are having so much fun with this, and we are pleased to have had over 25 sales already in our first month!Mx2 logTo show our appreciation to our friends here at LifeinBetween, we want to offer a little gift to you.  If you refer someone to our shop who makes a purchase, we would like to thank them AND YOU with a free card of their and your choice. Each of you can choose one of any of the cards offered in our ETSY shop for FREE!  (Simply have your friend let us know when they order that they came here from LifeinBetween and mention your name.)

Have fun perusing the photo gallery of our newest Spring things.

You can visit our shop here:  McKinneyx2Designs on ETSY and follow us on Facebook and Instagram too if you like.

Happy Spring Thinking!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi