Love – mamasbrush

Christmas Wall Art – Mistletoe Let’s Stay Home

Do you decorate your master bedroom for Christmas? I’ll be honest… I don’t. At least not yet.

(Warning: Tangent ahead. If you don’t want the story, scroll down for the details on the Mistletoe print!)

For the past 8 years we’ve been sleeping in our beautiful wood 4 post bed in one of the smaller children’s rooms while the real master bedroom awaits renovation. It’s no one’s fault. When we moved into this room 8 years ago, it was because the “good” bed had been moved in there after our 5th was born and Husband’s parents came to visit. The bed had been waiting in a storage unit. After they left, we were like, “ummm… yeah!”

Later that year, we demolished the floor in the master (it was bad!) and removed the closets and bathroom to prepare it for renovation. After the floor was replaced, the kids slept in there on mattresses for a while, so we could work on the room they were sharing. Then it acted as storage for a time. The next winter, Husband was trugging his large construction equipment out into the snow to get the kitchen project done. When the weather was really bad, he couldn’t work at all. Since that time, the large master bedroom has been our upstairs workshop! Several years ago, he got a team and surprised me by moving everything out and finishing the demo while I was away for the weekend. The plan was to finish the space next, but we ran into some problems and realized a couple other projects needed to be done before we could get to it… and those depended on still others. It goes on and on until now… we are still in a bright yellow bedroom with one wall missing and another waiting for drywall.

That said… I don’t really decorate that room… I barely spend time in it at all. But I dream of the dark grey walls our future room will have with the dark wood accents and furniture. I see the beautiful bed with it’s white comforter and picture how I will decorate it for the seasons… especially Christmas.

***Re-enter here if you skipped to the bottom!***

I love the cozy, romantic feeling I get when I see all those “let’s stay home” signs all over the internet. That was just the feeling I was going for when I came up with this design.

I love the way the mistletoe adds a bit of whimsy and a touch more of the romance I was looking for! I can see this hanging above our bed in December (once our renovation is complete) with white lights draped around the room. I smile just thinking about it.

You can find this in several sizes in my Etsy shop for 50% off through the end of July!

Grab it now to add some extra romance to your spaces this Christmas!

You can find me gathering here.

Snowman Verse for Valentine’s Decor

Snowman Verse Art - Joshua 23:11 | mamasbrush #snowman #verseart #Bibleverse #valentinesdecor #valentinesbibleverse #februarydecor

It all started with a toothbrush holder… a broken toothbrush holder. We’ve been gimping along for weeks (months?) with this thing. Usually toothbrushes are everywhere (remember, there are 8 of us!) and today when I knocked a bunch onto the floor I decided to revamp our situation.

I ripped the broken toothbrush holder off the wall. Unfortunately, I actually did rip it off… and some of the wall with it. Ugh. I wasn’t mad, I just wasn’t careful. Sigh. The bathroom is bound for a remodel shortly anyway, but still, this look was taking us in the wrong direction. I needed something to cover this up.

Enter “Valentine’s” Bible verse. 🙂 I had already illustrated the cute snowman with the snowflakes for another project, so I just grabbed him and added some hearts (from yet another project).

To be completely honest, the verse print was one I was creating for the upcoming women’s retreat I’m decorating for. I just switched out the artwork and made a couple tweaks.

Perfect solution to covering a couple bad spots on the bathroom wall!

Please pin this if you like it…

You can find me gathering here.

Customize your Rae Dunn for Valentine’s Day

I got my very first piece of Rae Dunn pottery for Christmas this year. I’ve been looking at how to DIY Rae Dunn type things for a while and pinning everything Rae Dunn before that, but now I have one. Trouble is, what can I do with one piece?

I got the “faith” mug. Isn’t it cute??? But when I think Rae Dunn, I think of all the ways I can use it to decorate seasonally. And don’t you need a dozen or more pieces to be able to do that? Actually, no. You don’t!

Last month I shared with you how I used my one Rae Dunn mug in a winter vignette. When February was approaching, though, I took some pictures of the process for you. (Just meant to share them earlier in the month!)

In the pictures above, you see the word “Faith” on the right. It’s a great word, but I was looking for something else for Valentine’s decor. The left picture shows you something else… a blank canvas!

Customize your Rae Dunn | mamasbrush #RaeDunn #mug #diy #tutorial #decor #valentine'sday

So I grabbed some masking tape and my water based Sharpie paint pen and got to work. (***Note: water based will wash off, oil based may not. Make sure you have the water based paint pen!!!) You could measure, but I just eye-balled the taping to get mostly strait and just far enough apart.

Then I used my most Rae Dunn like writing (notice it isn’t the exact same, but it’s good enough for me) and wrote “kiss me” on the cup. If you mess up, just get a paper towel damp and clean it off to start over.

I did notice that it bled when the paint pen touched the tape, so I tried to be careful not to get so close the second time. But even then, I just folded up a paper towel, dipped it in a bit of water and cleaned up the edges after pulling the tape off.

And I was done (or should I say “Dunn”?) Not sure yet what it will say with spring around the corner, but you can be sure it will be something.

Okay, so I wasn’t completely done…

While I still had my supplies out and was still itching to decorate (I don’t have much Valentine stuff) I pulled out a couple of my little white bowls. I stuck a piece of masking tape around the bottom to give me a straight line and I added words to them too.

They make me smile! 🙂

Gathering here.

Tweet Hearts | Art Journal Prompts from February

I never did finish my February Art Journal Prompts from February. I joined in with Awesome Alice during the month and had a lot of fun. But, as is the case most years, things get busy around here from the last week of February through the third week of March with several family birthdays. I decided to finish them up though, so here they are .

I have to admit, they aren’t my favorite work. A couple are cute, but I think my first few weeks turned out better. Still, I’m not here to make myself look like a great artist, but to share what I do as I grow. 🙂 I hope you will give it a try knowing perfection is not the goal.

The Tweet Hearts (promot: “sweet hearts”) were my favorite this time around.

Followed by the “XOXO” prompt…

And then the “chocolate” prompt”.

I think I’ll do another month sometime. For April, if I have time, I think I’ll just pick a few of my favorite ideas to do. Thanks Awesome Alice for making those lists!

Gathering here.

February Art Journal Prompts – Week 3

I had a lot of fun with week three of the February Prompts from Awesome Alice. Let’s get to them…

Chocolate Chip Cookie in Watercolor — Prompt: Cookie

Watercolor Flowers - Journal Prompt — Prompt: Flowers

I did these flowers without a sketch. I just jumped in with the watercolors and added the lines later. I don’t do a lot of these, so they were outside my comfort zone a little. I could have done a simple flower (what I would normally do), but I wanted to use this opportunity to push myself. That is what this exercise is all about for me after all. 🙂

Forever and Ever - Hand lettered — Prompt: Forever and Ever

Oh My Darlin' Clemintine Hand lettered - Prompt: Darling — Prompt: Darling

My children keep asking if this is a peach. I’ll admit, it does have a bit of a peach look to it, but it’s totally a clementine. 🙂 The clementines we buy each winter are “Oh my Darlin'” Clementines, so I had to try this. Plus, it pushed me again. 🙂

Art Journal Prompt: Sweet Hearts — Prompt: Sweet hearts

Art Journal Prompt: you make me happy (hand lettered) — Prompt: You make me happy

Art Journal Prompt: My heart is yours — Prompt: My heart is yours

I actually really love this one, but I don’t love the way it turned out. I did some more working with it on paper after this was done and have come up with something I’m excited to debut in next Valentine’s printables., so if you like my stuff, you may want to subscribe so you don’t miss it. 🙂 (shameless plug)

Have you seen week one and week two?

Gathering here.

100 Posts and What to do when you Mess up

I haven’t been watching for this, but the other day I stumbled on the fact that I had posted 99 posts so far. That makes this one #100. I thought maybe I’d do something special to celebrate (because I’m all about celebrating small things to keep life interesting), but, like Valentine’s this year (Happy Valentine’s Day by the way!), sometimes life dictates that we keep things simple. Instead of some big plan, this year we are putting heart sprinkles on cinnamon rolls out of a tube and eating heart shaped bacon for breakfast… done. Valentine’s Day celebrated.

Likewise, keeping “100 posts” simple… Thanks for joining me for 100 posts!! There. We celebrated! (I don’t know how to find my top posts anyway.)

On an artsy note, I wanted to share this weeks February prompts. I’m still using the February Prompts from Awesome Alice. I’ll admit, this week was harder for me. And I wasn’t as happy with them as last week. Some more than others. But God rarely uses the perfect things in this world.

February Art Journal Week 2 - I am the Lord — Prompt: One of a Kind

Love Letters - February Art Journal Week 2 — Prompt: Love letters

February Art Journal Week 2 - Conversation Hearts — Prompt: Candy

This is a great example of things not going according to plan. I had already filled in several of the hearts when I got pulled away. When I returned and started back at the lettering, I had the black pen in my hand instead of the red. Oops. I had a few choices… tear out the page and start over, give up the whole thing, or leave it as a demonstration that I’m not perfect and that we can press on even when things don’t go our way.

I picked that one. 🙂 I’m not perfect, but Jesus redeemed me. Hopefully He will still use my artwork… even when it’s not perfect (because it rarely is.)

You and Me - February Art Journal Week 2 — Prompt: You and Me

Hopelessly in Love - February Art Journal Week 2 — Prompt: Hopelessly in Love

Hugs and Kisses - February Art Journal Week 2 — Prompt: Hugs and Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day - February Art Journal Week 2 — Prompt: Happy Valentine’s Day

Like I said, these aren’t perfect. I was tempted to get frustrated and embarrassed, and even to keep them to myself. But in the end, I knew I wanted to share them with you. Because God loves to use the imperfect to bring Himself glory. And I hope He is glorified in these!

It’s true for you too, you can be used by God, no matter how flawed you are, if you surrender yourself to Him! 🙂

Gathering here.

My Shelves Done up for Valentine’s Day

I love these shelves! My husband made them for me out of American Chestnut (Okay, maybe they aren’t American Chestnut. Turns out they are probably something that looks like it, but they are still beautiful and I still love them!) beams from our house. The holes you see there are nail holes that held the lath on. And the little bit of striping is from the spaces between the lath. No stain applied, if I remember correctly.

I love these shelves. They give me a place to add some seasonal fun to my kitchen. It’s just another opportunity for me to be creative. Which, for this month, includes a few ice cream dishes, some sprinkles and cookie cutters. The pink piece of wood with the xo on it was made by my 12 year old son several years ago. On the top shelf is one of my Conversation Hearts and a heart garland my 10 year old daughter made several years ago. That one is one of the things the kids are trying to sell here locally to pay their own way to camp. The jar of candy in the back is sort of just stored there. I’m thankful it’s color scheme works. 🙂

Do you have any little spots for seasonal decor??

Gathering here.

My February Art Journal Prompts

This month, I decided to join in with Awesome Alice and her February Hand Lettering Prompts. That said, I’m doing it my way. 🙂 (I almost never follow a recipe exactly.)

What are my tweaks? First, I’m doing a combination of hand lettering and illustration, depending on my inspiration. Second, I’m not necessarily doing one each day (obviously, since I have the first 7 done already.) But for me, it’s more something to push me out of my comfort zone. I joke with people that if I just painted what I was comfortable all the time, I’d only ever paint pumpkins. But there is some truth to it. 🙂 But I do intend to do all 28… whether I want to or not.

Below, I’m including the original prompt with the pic.

Rose - hand lettered February prompt — 1. “Red Roses”

A love note from God - hand lettered February prompt — 2. “Be Mine”

This is one of my favorites. Isaiah 43:1 says, “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (emphasis mine.

Jesus, You are enough - hand lettered February prompt — 3. “You are enough”

Hearts - hand lettered February prompt — 4. “Heart”

Romantic Bunnies - hand lettered February prompt — 5. “Romance”

This is my first attempt at bunnies. I never would have tried them without the prompt.

I love you - hand lettered February prompt — 6. “I love you”

Cupid's Bow - hand lettered February prompt — 7. “Cupid”

Okay, so it’s cupid’s bow. I decided it was close enough.

It has been a super fun challenge for me so far, but I am pretty sure it’s just going to get harder. 🙂

Gathering here.

Valentine Tags in Watercolor

I posted about these tags last year, so there isn’t much to say. I covered the fact that I do indeed know how to spell “delivery”, but something about the phrase “special deLOVery” just makes me smile.

These were a handful of tags I made my first Valentine’s day painting. Just 6 months in. I believe they are inspired by the beautiful works over at Elvie Studio.

I picture them tied to a gift. Maybe a box of chocolate, or bacon roses, or jerkie. Maybe in a care package for a daughter in college, or tucked in a bunch of flowers.

Where would you use them? Here is a printable sheet of them all for you to use. I hope you like them. (Click the link below the image.)

Valentine Tags Printable — Download this 8.5×11 sheet of Valentine Tags here.

I found that they printed better on card stock than on regular paper, but maybe your printer is better than mine. 🙂

***Official legal stuff: Copyright remains my own. Please only use them personally or in your classroom. Print them and give them as gifts. But please don’t distribute them online or claim them as your own. If you want to share them on your own blog, please be sure to give me credit and include a link back here. Thanks! They are my original work and I’d like to be able to continue sharing what I create with you all.

Gathering here.

Conversation Hearts with Bible Truth for Valentine’s Day

It’s a message that everyone needs to hear! That God is love, that Jesus loves you, and that we are to love one another.

Christian Conversation Hearts with Scripture | mamasbrush designs

Valentine’s Day is either looked forward to or dreaded by most. Good relationship with lots of romantic feelings? Good day. Not in a relationship, hurt by someone, alone? Worst day ever.

But it occurred to me a a number of years ago, when I was trying to decide what I wanted to teach my children about this day, that it can be one more opportunity to point them to Jesus.

And so when I started painting a couple years ago, I created these sweet (lol… see what I did there?) little cards, a set of six, that I have framed to display in my home. I don’t know yet where I’ll put them this year (our home is ever being renovated, so each year my set up is different), but that’s not really the question you need to ask yourself. The question you need to ask is where will YOU put them?

I made them smaller for giving out too! The kids at school or church? Perfect! A way to encourage others or tell them about Jesus! I love to put a little Valentine on the breakfast plate for each of my kids on Valentine’s Day. It’s a great start to our homeschool day!

UPDATE: As of 2022, I’ve started an Etsy shop. I’ve updated these cards a bit and cleaned them up. They are available now! Click over for clipart, prints, and cards!

***Also: More Valentine Printables here and here!

Speaking of spreading the message, will you help me? I haven’t found much of this sort of Valentine decor and cards around and I’d like as many people as possible to have access to them. Would you please share this post on social media? Pin it, tweet it, post it somewhere. Do it yourself or click on the share it buttons at the bottom of the post. I’d really appreciate it!

And if you print anything for yourself? Please leave me a comment! I’d love to know what you plan to do with them! 🙂

Go forth and share the message of God’s love with those around you!

Gathering here.