Bilingual Animal Painting for Escuela Montessori
Union Square Vet’s Summer Window
Holy Rainbow Unicorn, Batman!
Clearly Tayla is going to have the best birthday everrrrrrr this year.
Toomey A Favor: Hand Painted Sign
My friend Danielle can’t draw. I tell you this because, while she can’t physically draw anything herself, it doesn’t stop her from needing things drawn constantly. Get Well signs, Birthday cards, kitchen placards…you name it. And most of the time, when she needs one of these graduation/bar mitzvah/baby shower signs made she comes to me and says, “hey Mandee, do me a favor?” and after hearing that phrase over and over ad naseaum, she earned herself the nickname “Toomey a favor”. (Her last name being, of course, Toomey…in case you didn’t get that.)
Her most recent request to “Toomey a Favor” was one of my favorite projects of the Summer so far. Her family has a little lake house with a dock that needed replacing and when the old dock was torn up, Danielle, never one to miss out on a project, saved some of the weathered chunks of it and brought them to me. And they are awesome!
They are perfect and raw and full of stories never told. I wanted to keep the integrity of the wood but make it more weather-resistant so I whitewashed the front planks and secured them together with some twine to add to the just-off-the-boat, nautical look of it. Then I painted a gigantic anchor on it, symbolizing the Toomey family’s anchoring down and establishing roots, their name & wedding date and I’m really happy with the results.
Now I just need to figure out the perfect thing to paint on my section of the dock. Maybe something in a giant serpent lady with wings and an American flag halter top? You know, something classy. Ideas welcomed.
"Oh my God you guys, the ocean is so major!"
Dogs & Cats Christmas Window at Union Square Veterinary Clinic
  |
| Union Square Veterinary Clinic Christmas Window |
The Snowman Family window painting
Winter window in the EU at Beth Israel:
a snowman family celebrating the upcoming Winter Solstice!
We’re celebrating the winter solstice in our house too
because it’s our baby snowgirl’s first birthday on the 21st.
I can’t believe it’s already been a year and at the same time that it’s ONLY been a year. What a whirlwind!
Happy Birthday little snowgirl! Mama loves you!!
First Christmas Window of the Season: Monkey Claus & the Missus
I did my first Christmas window of the Season yesterday at Two Little Monkeys in Union Square, Somerville, MA!!
The store is at the intersection of Somerville Ave & Bow Street. Go check it out in person and get all Christmas-y.
Here’s a link to the Christmas countdown clock in case you need to check it every 3-4 minutes like I do:
36 days ’til Santa comes!!!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…CRAFTING!
It snowed the other morning.
For me that means it’s Christmas time.
So even though it only snowed for 3 minutes and it was mixed with rain and none of it stuck to the ground…it still snowed. And now it’s Christmas time!!!
More specifically, it’s Christmas CRAFTING time!! Here are some of my favorite Christmas crafts from years past to keep you busy while I stretch out my glitter coating, wreath making, snowflake cutting muscles. It’s important to ease into these things lest you pull something and have to sit out the rest of the season.
I’d love to see any projects you make following my tutorials or any projects you’ve made on your own!
Merry Christmas Crafting season!!
Sadie the Incredible Mermaid Girl: D.I.Y. Traveling Side Show Mermaid Baby Costume
This year was my baby girl’s first halloween as a dress-up-able-human and it was imperative that she have the perfect first Halloween costume. I had originally had my heart set on her being the bearded lady in a side show but when she wouldn’t leave the beard on I decided to take advantage of the fact that she’s not walking yet and put her in some sort of a sack costume which also meant that I would need to decorate her stroller…which naturally led me to make her the Incredible Mermaid Girl in a traveling side show!
I created her stroller cover using foam core as the fish tank frame; blue fabric, glitter tulle & clear plastic Christmas ornaments for the water; and foam core for the signage & held it all together using a glue gun. I attached the whole contraption to the stroller (a Britax B-agile) using Velcro Garland Tie and all that was missing was a fat little mermaid to go inside.
Enter one fat little mermaid.
I have a tutorial on how to make the shell top for the costume here
& the mermaid tail tutorial is in the works!
I’d love to see pictures of your home-made Halloween costumes. Happy Be-lated Halloween!!
Christmas here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mandeemade.wordpress.com 
