Popsicle Stick Showdown

Another freezing cold winter day stuck inside.  With temps only in the single digits...we needed a creative family activity to spark a little fun!  So...out came the popsicle sticks!  Little did I know that my family would turn this into a competition!  We spent over 3 hours cutting, gluing, stacking, and engineering these awesome structures.  My son Noah decided to build his own version of the Twin Towers...with a bridge.  Chris, my hubby spent most of the 3 hours building walls, which he then assembled into a towering structure.  I decided on a pretty little doll house.  My roof is still drying, but will soon find it's way atop the sweet little house.  Ironically, I brought the popsicle sticks home for my son Gabe..."The Builder".  However the glue just wasn't drying quick enough for him, so he abandoned ship to play with my daughter Ruby.  They had a good old time playing with markers, crayons and Barbies!  All in all...a great afternoon with the family!

Zephyr "Art Deco" Fabric for Spoonflower

I am so excited to FINALLY get a design uploaded to Spoonflower.  It has been a dream of mine forever to design and print my own fabric!  And as luck would have it, this week the contest theme at Spoonflower is "Art Deco"!!!  Only my favorite design category of all time!!  I was actually going to skip it due to lack of time, but my wonderful husband pushed me into it!  Luckily, I have had this design sketched out since...well...FOREVER.  All I really had to do was scan it, put it into a repeat and color it.  I had a hard time picking between two different colorations, so my hubby Chris picked his favorite and that is what I submitted.  He even came up with the name which I totally LOVE!  Here are the two colorations I came up with.   I ended up submitting the 3 color design (no white).   I would love to know which one you like more.  

Have you checked out Pinterest yet? Really...you must!

Okay, I am addicted!  No if's, and's or but's about it!  I imagine somewhere, someone will start a support group for Pinterest addicts.  Well baby, I won't be attending!  I am having way to much fun roaming all of the wonderfully fabulous boards of delicious recipes, creative crafts, breath-taking pictures of nature...and so on...and so on!  Anyway, I thought I would share a link to my boards as well.  I hope you enjoy looking through some of the things that inspire my life and my creative nature!  Happy Pinning Everyone!
http://pinterest.com/hollyhelgeson/my-creative-outlet/

A Little Valentine's Day Whimsy...

With Valentine's Day knocking on my door, I decided to put some of my creative energy into designing some sweet lil whimsical cards.  So, last night I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. drawing and doodling some fun little designs that I hope you will enjoy as much as I do.  I still have some minor adjustments to make, but these are pretty much done.  I will be posting these to my Etsy site within the next day, so please stop by my store and take a look around.  You might just find something for that special person in your life!

Becoming in Christ

http://www.becominginchrist.com/

Please check out this website!  My amazing friend Tara Tollefson designed this beautiful pendant and is donating $1000 each quarter through the sales of the Becoming Collection to organizations that help young pregnant woman and teen moms.  Please read her story!  It is life changing!

Watch out 2012...Here I Come!!!

2011 was an AMAZING year of growth for me!  I set up my blog, created my artist page on Facebook, designed and FINISHED my "Mommy & Me" paper dolls, and created my Etsy page. Wow, that was a lot for me to accomplish while chasing after 3 kiddos!  I am thankful for the patience that my family has given me while I put in long hours making it all happen!  I am now looking ahead and setting goals for myself in 2012.  I have lots of ideas and look forward to sharing my journey.  Thank you so much to all of my wonderful family and friends that have encouraged and supported me along the way!  It warms my heart when people visit my blog or post on my art page!  I find such joy in designing and creating things that make people happy!  Please stop by and visit me from time to time to see what I am working on!  Check out the photo for a hint to what I have in the works.  Many blessings to all of you in 2012!

YIPPY...I'm in business!!

I am finally on Etsy!!!  Please stop by my shop and take a look!! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintedRuby?ref=seller_info

My current listings include:

These sweet paper dolls are available in several hair colors and skin tones.  

Celebration MOPS Holiday Boutique

I will have a table at Celebration MOPS Holiday Boutique.  Please join me for a day of fabulous holiday shopping...and please stop by my table and say "Hi".

More from the archives...

I found some more of my digital cards that I had done a couple of years ago.  More inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright.  It feels almost as good as finding money in the pocket of your winter jacket the first cold day of the season.  New and renewed inspiration!

Christmas Inspiration....

Here are several digital Christmas card designs that I developed a couple of years ago.  I ran across these today while I was sifting through some old files.  I was inspired by the incredible designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. Hmmm, I'm feeling inspired to create again!  

Miss Ruby Paper Dolls

In addition to the Mommy & Me paper dolls duo, I decided to offer each of the dolls individually.   I thought it might be a nice option to have the dolls available to be purchased separately.  Here is Miss Ruby all on her own.  Miss Holly will be posted in the near future.

In the Garden

I completed this outfit just in time to get out in the garden and clean out my beds before winter.  The leaves are all turning and falling from the trees.  The air has that crisp, earthy smell to it.  Ahhhh, I LOVE this time of year.  Time to dig the sweaters out, make some apple crisp, and play some board games with the kiddos!  I really do LOVE FALL!  Hope you enjoy this outfit.  Slowly but surely my paper dolls are acquiring a wardrobe!  Thanks for looking!  XOXOXO  Holly

Time and Patience = Paper Doll Progress

Slowly but surely I have been making progress on my paper dolls, fitting in my design time between homework, sporting events, work, and of course my wonderful and loving family.  I have managed to complete two outfits and have one in the works.  I have also designed several different options for hair color, skin color and race.  My plan is to have the entire "Mommy & Me" paper doll kit ready before Christmas.  Please take a look and let me know what you think.  Your comments mean so much to me.  Thank you.

Mommy & Me Paper Dolls

I have been in love with paper dolls ever since I was a little girl!  I used to beg my mom for her old JCPenney catalogs, so that I could cut out the models and design my own clothes for them.  I had tons of paper dolls growing up.  I even had the old "Barbie Fashion Plates" that let you design and pattern your own clothes for "Barbie".  I just loved creating new clothes for my models!  Now that I have a little girl of my own, I was hoping to pass on my love of paper dolls to her.  So, I created my own paper dolls specifically for my daughter Ruby.  I plan on marketing these as a kit that I can customize for each "Mommy & Daughter" that orders them.  I can easily change the hair color/ eye color/ race to suit anyone.  I know these will bring many hours of joy to me and my daughter.  I am hoping they do the same for many more mommys and daughters.  This is my first outfit that I designed for mommy and Ruby.  I have several others waiting to be colored.  I will continue to post them as I finish them.  I am also hoping to get this up on my Etsy page in the near future.  

Bobbled and Bejeweled Dangle Bangles

Creative energy + kickin' garage + cooperative kids + coffee + cool company = 

TWO WHOLE DAYS OF PRODUCTIVITY!!!  

YES!  I hope you are dazzled by my Bobbled and Bejeweled Dangle Bangles!  

Blue Bead Bliss

Say that five times fast!  My creativity was bubbling up today, but with the kids running amuck there is only so much I can manage to do between animal cracker requests, potty runs, and coffee breaks.  So, I pulled out my beads and slowly starting putting together this little bracelet.  An hour and a half later I was finally done and the kiddos were happy too.  Some days the simple things are so satisfying!  That is the way is should be!  Now, off to football practice and a little sunshine and fresh air!  AHHHH!

Floral Feet

Pretty floral shoes complete the outfit!  I just finished painting these little shoes for a friend.  She is planning on giving them to her niece along with a matching skirt/shirt set as a birthday gift.  The colors are vibrant and fun!  Her little niece will be adorable in her matching ensemble!

New Blog Name

As much as I liked my old blog name "I Me Mine Design", I thought it would be easier for people to find me if I just used my name in my blog.  So, here is my new blog address:
hollyhelgeson.blogspot.com


Thanks for checking back!  Your continued support fuels my creativity!  

Pretty Painted Shoes for a Pretty Little Girl!

What a wonderful weekend with family!  My brother, sister-in-law, and their beautiful little girls came up from the cities for a Sunday full of food, fun, and fabulous conversation!  We had a wonderful time visiting and finally got to meet our newest little niece.  Since this was the first time meeting little Zoe, I wanted to put together something special to welcome her into the family.  So, I went to Target and found the most adorable summer outfit (sized for next year).  I knew I could pull the outfit together with a perfect pair of little painted shoes.  Here is the outfit complete with matching shoes.  The colors in the shoes ended up matching the outfit perfectly.