TinkerDot Designs

Working on new art!

2011-02-05T23:32:00.002-05:00

I just had to post to tell you that I really am here ! I've been TERRIBLE about utilizing my blog. If you ever wonder what I'm up to, head over to my facebook page. I am constantly updating my page and posting about sales, new art, etc.

I can't wait to show you a few new pieces this month. I know you will LOVE them!

Talk soon and don't forget to always check out my Etsy site and FB page to see what's new!

xoxo - Jenni

And the WINNER is......

2010-08-24T00:40:00.003-04:00

$50 TDD Gift Certificate giveaway2nd drawing held by TinkerDot DesignsCompleted on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 at 04:36:00 UTC85 entrants, 1 winner

Winners (1)
3mom3

Above is the exact screen that the drawing site, random.org, showed to reveal the WINNER of the giveaway!!

Congratulations to '3mom3'...YOU are the lucky winner of a $50 credit toward a TDD purchase of your choice.

Thank you so much to EVERYONE for entering!! I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and truly appreciate all of your posts to FB as well :)

'3mom3' - contact me via e-mail at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com to claim your prize! :)

Would you like to win $50 worth of TDD art?!!

2010-08-21T13:23:00.005-04:00

I am sooo excited to have hit over 750 fans on my FB page, that I am offering a GIVEAWAY of a $50 gift certifcate to my Etsy shop!!! WOO HOO!!

So, HOW DO YOU ENTER?

#1. Leave a comment here telling me how you would use a $50 gift cetificate

OPPORTUNITY FOR AN EXTRA ENTRY:

#2. Post about this giveaway on FB and include a link to my blog. (http://www.tinkerdotdesigns.blogspot.com/)

You MUST do #1 to be considered in the drawing. You can choose to do #2 for an extra entry. If you do #2, come back here and add a SEPERATE comment saying that you posted it to your FB.

(I just realized it sounds a bit like I'm referring to bathroom terms my girls use.. lol. I'm not. haha.)

This giveaway ends MONDAY night at 9:00 p.m. Pass it on and best wishes!

XOXO - JENNI (and my sweet Lydia :) )

*The winner will receive a $50 CREDIT to TinkerDot Designs. It is not an actual gift certificate that gets mailed to you, but rather a credit toward a purchase.

*Credit expires September 30, 2010

A NEW magnet!

2010-07-09T11:00:00.005-04:00

I am working hard on creating new art so that you will soon see a lot of new options in magnets and prints, but for now I have at least one NEW magnet for all of you Etsy addicts out there! (You know who you are!!)

"I used to be normal, then Etsy happened. Normal is overrated anyway."

Also, it's a SALE! Buy 3 magnets, get one FREE!! woot woot!

Happy Friday everyone. My girls are going up north for the weekend with Grandma and Papa so Dave and I have the weekend to ourselves. HOLY COW! I'm doing a little dance right now. I will miss them, but 2 nights is just perfect, and I know they will have a BLAST.

Hope your weekend is awesome!

xoxo Jenni

Finally...I'm blogging ;)

2010-06-02T13:48:00.017-04:00

Okay, really....I am embarrassed at my lack of blog upkeep....so, I'm just getting that out there. I realize it has been ages. Anyway, lots of things going on in my life!

In my TinkerDot Designs world:

I have been plugging away at orders and trying to keep up. I decided to be crazy and in honor of Mother's Day offered a BOGO sale...and woah...did I get a response!! It was awesome!! However, I am sorry to say it put my behind in my timeline. So, thank you ...thank you..for your patience :)

I have NEW items...MAGNETS!! So far, I have only had 2 of my pieces printed in magnet form. They are for sale in my Etsy shop NOW and ready to ship. YAY!

I do plan on offering other pieces in magnet form..so stay tuned to see what they will be!

In my Mommy, wife, sister, daughter, etc. etc. etc. world

Just this Memorial Day weekend, we went up north to visit my sister, brother in-law and adorable niece for her ONE year birthday!! Can't believe she's already that big :

It was wonderful to spend time away from home and actually take a break from painting every night. I honestly love it, but like everyone else, need some down time every now and then.

My sister, who is an AMAZING photographer, did a random photo shoot with my girls at 8:30 pm ..in.a.field. lol. They were crazy (per usual), but it was fun and I am always amazed at the shots she gets when you think there is no way anything fabulous could come out of it!

There are plenty more, and if you want to see them...check out my sister's FB fan page of Melinda Ann Photography. If you live in MI, be sure to become a fan...she posts giveaways and other awesome things there first!

I do have another world that consumes probably the most of my time, which is my full-time career at the American Cancer Society. Lots of things happening here, including a promotion to Associate Director, which I am excited about!

Also, my family and I have a team for the Relay For Life of Davison. I have lost many family members, namely my wonderful Aunt K-K. It is her birthday today and I sure wish she was here to celebrate it....

I will do another post soon about this event and how you can help give back, either to my team, or by getting involved in a local event near you. If you are interested in donating, please visit my website. Every dollar counts!! Thank you so much :)

ALSO....I am listing some NEW prints of my 'Best Place on Earth' piece by tomorrow on Etsy!! To be the first to know, be sure to become a fan of TinkerDot Designs on FB!!

xoxo

~Jenni

'I'm going to the DERBY' special gift certificate offer!

2010-04-19T19:53:00.004-04:00

Okay, so if you can't tell from the title...I am off to the Kentucky Derby next weekend!! woot woot! I still need to shop for a dress and all that is in my head is the fabulous Julia Roberts sporting the timeless brown w/white polka dot dress. What do you think?!! The funny thing is that it would seriously look cute!

I decided today that it would be super fun to do a special discount in honor of this fabulous occasion :) So, here it is....

For a LIMITED TIME (from now until April 25th- SUNDAY) I am offering a discount on TinkerDot Designs gift certificates!

Get a $100 gift certificate for $75!!
Get a $75 gift certificate for $50!!!

A super awesome deal, hey???!!! Here are the terms of use for the gift certificate:

Gift certificate can be used for yourself or given away to someone as gift!
Must be used between June 1st and Sept. 1st, 2010.

To act on this offer, and purchase a gift certicate, please E-MAIL ME at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com and I will set up an invoice for you.

Thank you, and happy shopping!!!

xoxox ~Jenni

We have a WINNER!

2010-04-19T19:00:00.000-04:00

Thank you sooo much for everyone who participated...giveaways are so fun!!!

The winner of a CUSTOM 'Family Name' canvas is....(insert drumroll please)

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 35 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Comment #35 came from: KRISTA LAWTON!!!!

Congratulations, Krista!

Email me at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com and we can talk about details of what you want your canvas to look like :)

Thanks again everyone!

~Jenni

500 FB Fan GIVEAWAY!!

2010-04-15T22:06:00.004-04:00

Thank you so much to all of you Facebook fans for suggesting TinkerDot Designs to your friends and helping me reach over 500 fans so far!!! YAHOO!!

Because I am so very thankful, and for fun...I am giving away a CUSTOM 'Family Name' canvas to some lucky fan :)

So, HOW DO YOU ENTER?

Visit my Etsy Shop and come back here to leave a comment telling me what your favorite TDD item is :)
(Please include an e-mail address if it's not in your profile, "non-bloggers" are welcome to enter!)

Extra Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):
1. Publicly follow my blog (or tell me you already do)
2. Become a TinkerDot Designs Facebook Fan (or tell me you already are)
3. Post about this giveaway on FB and include a link to my blog. (http://www.tinkerdotdesigns.blogspot.com/)
4. Follow TinkerDot Designs on Twitter (or tell me if you already follow)
5. Tweet about this giveaway and include @tinkerdot (include link in your comment)

This giveaway ends MONDAY night at 9:00 p.m. Pass it on and best wishes!

Thank you, again, for all fo your support in my creative adventures. I am so blessed.

xoxo~ Jenni

My 'art studio' revealed...

2010-03-22T22:52:00.003-04:00

Ever wonder what my 'art studio' looks like?!?! Well....TADA!!! And this, ladies and gentleman, is what you call a well-used kitchen ;) Who needs it for cooking? psshhhh...

Take note of the Mt. Dew and 2 Sunkist cans. No worries..this was not all in one night. I totally left this mess there for at least three. I'm a busy lady!

Is it bad that my girls think that all mom's paint? lol They seriously do. They think that's what you do when you are an adult and a mommy. Oh dear...

Also to note, there is an 'art room' in our unfinished basement that was drywalled for me for as an xmas present so that I could finish it the way I want. What do you think that looks like right now? Yeah...you're right.

xoxo ~Jenni

NEW mixed media canvases!

2010-03-09T07:19:00.009-05:00

I have been having fun creating some new pieces for the art shows! These original canvases will be at my upcoming show at BlueHouse Ann Arbor on March 20th. Check out the FB page for the event HERE. Come to the show for the first chance to purchase these pieces. I will list them after the show if they are still around ;)

I LOVE this fun 12x12 gallery wrapped canvas that says "Dear possibilties, I'm listening..." Price is $60 and I will take custom orders as well!

I introduced this one a week ago, but now have MUCH better pics of it! This is a 16x20 gallery wrapped (1.5"thick) mixed media canvas created with acrylics, papers, distressed ink and lots of love.

I am taking orders for your own custom 'Best place on Earth' canvas :) Check the listing on my Etsy site HERE.

I also created this 15x30 Gallery wrapped canvas that says 'Life is but a Dream'. It also says 'merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily' very small in the wave :) This canvas is $160 and will be available at the BlueHouse show as well. I will have it available on my site after the show if it still here!

Also, stay tuned for PRINTS of the first 2 canvas as well as pillows!! Yes..pillows!! I am super excited :)

Hope you love them!
xoxo Jenni

*Special THANK YOU to my sister, Melinda Ann Photography, for taking such great pics and creating storyboards for me. You are the BEST!!*

A NEW look...finding my way and feeling inspired.

2010-02-17T13:07:00.007-05:00

The last two years I have been blesssed with great support in starting this business, and sort of flying by the seat of my pants with figuring out how to balance an outside career, 2 daughters, a husband, and painting. TinkerDot Designs all started and is still primarily based on custom orders, which I LOVE, however, I have also realized that it leaves little time for me to spread my wings and create the art I really want to create and to really play with different techniques, textures, etc. ...sort of explore myself as an artist.

So, be prepared for a few changes in 2010!!! :) (I'm also telling myself this...) Nothing changing with the things I offer as of this moment...but soon.

One thing I am going to try this year is a few gallery shows. In preparation for these shows, I am creating some NEW pieces. I am showing you a sneak preview of one of my newest.
TA-DA!!!

While these pics aren't the best (my photog sister isn't in town until next weekend...eek!), the mixed media, busy type of art you see here is EXACTLY the kind of art that makes me want to paint everyday.

While this canvas only touches the surface of what I plan to explore, I hope you love it.

I am hoping and praying that my fans will support me as I continue to venture toward a more mixed-media collage type art. My art will be directed toward all ages as well as lots of 'kid-oriented' art still. I will strive to create art that has a positive, inspirational and fun message. I want to create art that you really want to stare at...that you want to touch...that leaves you inspired and smiling.

Thank you, again, for your support. I hope you love this new style. I CANNOT wait to show you what else I have up my sleeve!!!!!! :)

*ps..this canvas will be at the Leon & Lulu show on Feb. 28th and March 2nd.* I will let you know if I will be creating more :)

xoxo,
Jenni

Custom order hiatus & a getaway weekend :)

2010-02-12T09:57:00.009-05:00

To start, I want to let everyone know that I will not be taking any new custom orders until at least March1st. I am busy playing catch-up on current orders as well as working on some SUPER FUN NEW pieces for the upcoming shows I will be at!!

Leon & Lulu
Artists Market
Clawson, MI
Feb. 28 & March 2

Blue House Ann Arbor
Handmade @ BlueHouse
Ann Arbor, MI
March 20th
*I will also have art in the store full-time..it opens March 1st!*

When I say, SUPER FUN NEW pieces....I mean it! I will be starting a 'gallery' line (I guess you could call it). These paintings will not just be for kids rooms, but pieces you will hopefully love for your home. They will be larger, gallery wrapped original canvases and I will be using much more of the mixed media, collage style. I'M PUMPED!

Now, on to a much more important topic, a getaway weekend!! Yes, my DH and I will be going on a weekend retreat for Valentine's Day. Alright..I won't kid myself and say that it's for Valentine's Day..it's really because he is a teacher and this is 'mid-winter break', so it's the only time he gets the long weekend. lol. This is an annual outing for the Davison Basketball coaches and their significant others. There are about 7 other couples, all wonderful people and great friends...I am SOOO excited. Here is a pic of where we are going (picture snow on ground).

NORTHERN SHORE LODGE

Dave and I long are overdue on 'couple' time, and it's probably not because of our crazy, awesome daughters...but more because of my crazy, awesome, obsession with art, creating, and my business. So, for one weekend, I will PUT DOWN THE BRUSHES and put in some serious fun with wonderful friends and my super handsome, funny, caring, best friend...Dave :) I love you babe, even more than art...Happy Valentine's Day!! (he better still get me a card... ) xoxoxo

Hope you take some time to love on the one's you love this weekend.

xox ~ Jenni

WE HAVE ANOTHER WINNER!!!

2010-02-06T09:40:00.004-05:00

Congratulations ot the NEW winner of the 'Mothers & Daugthers' canvas!!! Drumroll please......

KELLY SATHER!!!

*Winner # 63 was drawn from random number generator on random.org. *

Thank you, again, to all those who participated! Don't forget to enter yourself in the drawing going on RIGHT NOW at Sweet Harper for my 'Especially on Sundays' fine art print. ENDS TUESDAY!

Kelly, please contact me at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com to claim your fun, new canvas! :)

A 'sweet' shop and a GIVEAWAY!!

2010-02-05T15:40:00.005-05:00

YES, you heard me right...it's another giveaway!!!

I am honored and excited to be featured as a 'sweet' shop on Sweet Harper's blog. You should check it out for 2 reasons.

1) Because I am doing a giveaway of my 'Especially on Sundays' print, and
2) because Sweet Harper has her own etsy shop of adorable hand-made hair bows and accessories!

Hurry...the giveaway ends this SUNDAY!!

*Also..I still haven't heard from Marci, and you know what that means??? Check my site tomorrow morning to see if there is a new winner of the 'Mother's & Daugthers' canvas :)

Best wishes!
~Jenni

Marci, can you hear me?

2010-02-02T21:57:00.003-05:00

The winner of the 'Mother's & Daugthers' canvas giveaway, Marci, has not yet contacted me to claim her wonderful prize :) Unfortunately, she did not leave an e-mail address in her comment and I have no way of contacting her. If anyone knows who Marci is and could pass the info. on to her that SHE WON!!, that would be great :)

So, good news for all others who participated, is that if I do no hear from the winner (Marci) by this Friday, February 5th at midnight, I will do another random drawing from those that participated in the giveaway.

I will keep you updated! Marci, I hope to hear from you! :)

*Also..psst...I will be featured on 2 other blogs this month and might just be giving away some other super cooool pieces! Woo hoo!

~Jenni

AND THE WINNER IS......

2010-02-01T00:07:00.003-05:00

MARCI !!!

Congratulations!!! Here is a snapshot of exactly what random.org showed me.

Step 6: Drawing Completed
The winner of your drawing is...
1st
Marci

Congratulations on the drawing! It was completed on Monday, 1 February 2010 at 05:05:59 UTC The winner was drawn from a list of 68 entrants using true randomness.

Thank you so much to my fans for all of your entries. It was great fun being able to see what your favorites are and see your sweet, sweet comments :) I am truly appreciative of your support and love!

Marci - please contact me at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com so we can talk about what you want your custom 'Mother's & Daugthers' canvas to look like :)

Also..psst...stay on the lookout because I am actually going to be featured on 2 other blogs this month and will be doing giveaways there too!! YES, 2 more in one month!!

Thanks again, everyone, and CONGRATULATIONS MARCI!

IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-01-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

Because my fans ROCK, I am offering a giveaway!!!

I will be giving away my original 'Mothers & Daugthers' 11x14 canvas. This canvas will be CUSTOM created for the winner. This means they will be able to choose the hair color, skirt color, etc. YAY! :)

So, HOW DO YOU ENTER?

Visit my Etsy shop and then come back to the blog and leave a comment telling me what your favorite TinkerDot piece is.
(Please include an e-mail address if it's not in your profile, "non-bloggers" are welcome to enter!)

Extra Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):
1. Publicly follow my blog (or tell me you already do)
2. Become a TinkerDot Designs Facebook Fan (or tell me you already are)
3. Post about this giveaway on FB and include a link to my blog. (http://www.tinkerdotdesigns.blogspot.com/)
4. Follow TinkerDot Designs on Twitter (or tell me if you already follow)
5. Tweet about this giveaway and include @tinkerdot (include link in your comment)
5. Write a blog post about this giveaway on your blog

The giveaway will start on Wednesday, January 27th and end at midnight on SUNDAY, JANUARY 31ST!

Best wishes to all, and thank you for continuing to support me in my quest to feed my creative soul, and yours :)

xoxo ~Jenni

Come check out these fabulous shows I will be at!

2010-01-22T14:26:00.003-05:00

Nothing on the 'books' as of yet, but keep checking!

Best way to be up to date on where you can score some TinkerDot art live in person....follow me on Facebook :)

Commissioned Art

2010-01-22T13:35:00.008-05:00

***I am not taking commissioned orders at this time. Please check back or e-mail me at tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thank you!*** I happily take and welcome commissionsed art orders! A commissioned order would be any order for a new piece of art that is not on my site. For example, you may want something to match your living room, a child's bedroom, etc. Another example would be a re-creation of my art but in different colors or with a different quote. The following is a list of prices. For this, you are getting a complete original painted by hand on canvas. Stretched Canvas Art *Gallery Style - 1.5" thick* 30x40=$500 24x36 = $300 24x24 = $225 22x28 = $225 20x24 = $175 15x30=$175 18x24 = $160 16x20 = $120 11x14 = $80 12x12 = $80 8x10 = $65 Have questions, don't hesitate to contact me!! I am more than happy to talk with you about ideas, etc. Thank you so much! Jenni tinkerdotdesigns@gmail.com *prices are subject to change at any time*

Fine art PRINTS now available!!

2010-01-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

I am so excited to start offering PRINTS of some of my art! I currently only have a few prints availble, but will start offering them of more of my orginal art in the future.

All prints are printed from a professional art printer. They fit in an 8x10 frame and are printed on Somerset Velvet paper using Epson Ultrachrome archival inks. The paper has a matte finish and a bit of texture to it. It looks great!!

The first print is my 'Especially on Sundays' piece. It is pictured here in just the print form.

Here is what the print looks like in a frame.

I am also offering my 'I Love Me' piece in a print. Here is a picture of it with an 11x14 artic white matte.

Both prints are available in my Etsy shop and are READY TO SHIP! Prints are $20 and you can add a matte for $5 more.

I would love to hear what you think! Thank you, and have a great day :)

My cousin is funny

2010-01-14T21:36:00.004-05:00

My lovely cousin, Summer, is seriously, hands down, the funniest person I know. Her witt, sense of comedic timing, and sarcasm are the best! She is also a great writer and mother of 2 crazy boys who I never get to see (we live a town over and still don't make time to get together. boo).

This is why I was happy to see that she has started a blog! So, if you would like to laugh and get an inside look at someone you likely don't even know...follow her blog!! You know you want to. Check it out at Sum of this, Sum of that.

Cheers to you, Summer! Now hopefully soon you will not just be writing to me, your only devoted follower :)

xoxo

About Me!

2010-01-10T23:08:00.002-05:00

*My beautiful little girls and I*

*My husband and I*

Welcome to TinkerDot Designs! My name is Jenni Beamer. I am a wife (to my HS sweetheart!), mother of 2 awesome girls (6 and 4), full-time career woman for the American Cancer Society, and artist/business owner of TinkerDot Designs! The name was an idea from my mom, who is an amazing seamstress, who always wanted to open her own shop and TinkerDot Designs is what she wanted to call it. She loves me enough to let me steal the name from her ;) I have always loved creating, although I didn't necessarily start creating mixed media art until about 3 years ago. Now I am coming into my own style, having fun with new techniques and trying to unload my thoughts onto canvas every night (after tucking in my lovelies). I am your average 30yr old woman, who is just trying to live my best life and stay sane and balanced by nurturing the creative soul within and hoping I am helping my girls to do the same. I hope my art makes you smile and feel inspired as much as it does me.

Thank you for your continued support!

Portfolio

2010-01-01T14:28:00.000-05:00

*This page will be updated shortly*

In the meantime, check my 'Blog Archives'. Thank you!

I love the Holidays!

2009-12-29T11:38:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy month for TinkerDot Designs and for the Beamer Family :) We had an awesome Christmas!!! I am so happy that we all got to enjoy time together. Unfortunately, I don't have many pics because I was video taping every moment. I'm super excited about that though.
So, here are some fun pics of some Christmas memories from the Beamer's.
We got a REAL tree this year! Dave and Grace went out to get it. He cut the top of a tree off...it is HUGE! Also, Grace changes her clothes at least 5 x a day, and she apparently thinks we live in California. lol

Lydia is a seriously goofy kid. Seriously.

Aunt Aleece (my sis on the right) and Suzie came over to make cookies with the girls whild Daddy struggles with the tree some more :) Love them :)

On Christmas Eve, we had a visitor at our house!!!! The kids were SOOO excited and in awe. Pictured here: Leighton (my niece), Lydia, Gavin (my bro), Hannah (cousin), Grace, and Ella (cousin).

I love that Leighton is sitting like a big girl!

Me and my girls Christmas Day at Grandpa Duane's house

Daddy and Grace baking cupcakes with her new cupcake/brownie maker. She was SOOO excited that Santa brought this for her because she surely recalls her mommy telling her she couldn't have it because it was for 8+. haha. Gotta pull out all the moves on Target shopping trips :)

I hope you all had a fabulous Holiday!! I am truly looking forward to 2010...every year just keeps getting better. I could not be more blessed :)

Recent custom canvases

2009-12-08T15:39:00.007-05:00

Wow..it's been a long time since I have posted! I've been hard at work creating custom art and I also took part in my first art/craft show!! I will post pics and talk about that soon :)

These cute canvases were made for someone on Etsy whose daughters share a room. I hope they look great on their walls!

I will update more soon. For now, have to get back to painting :) Have a great day!

I love me, I love me not, I LOVE ME

2009-11-05T15:13:00.005-05:00

I've been playing more with mixed media and different techniques. This fun canvas is proof of that :) It was created on an 8x10 canvas using acrylic paints, paper, alcohol inks and charcoal shading pencil. I am excited to continue to get creative using these materials and more in the months to come!

I love the saying and simplicity in this piece. It's a better of way of reminding one to 'love yourself first'. I hope you enjoy it!!

If you are interested in this piece, I will have a few of these at my show on December 5th at St. Roberts Catholic Church in Flushing. I will also be offering prints of this as well!!! SOOO exciting! I'll keep you updated.

Especially on Sundays

2009-10-31T22:27:00.008-04:00

I was so excited to bring this canvas to life!! I think this saying came to me on a night when I was stressed out with feeling like I was never going to be able to be 100% in every aspect of my life (career, mother, wife, business owner). It's usually at these times that art helps me. It helps me to remember the things that matter in life, and allows me to create something that can remind me, as well as others, when it's needed most:) I hope you love this piece as much as I do.

'When her children ask her
how she did it ALL
She will tell them, she didn't
She learned to listen to her smiles
and let the rest get a little messy,
especially on Sundays'
~J. Beamer

This canvas is a 16x20 mixed media canvas using acrylics as well as paper. It is available for purchase on my Etsy site as well as my web site for $75.
*ALSO...EXCITING NEWS!! I will soon have fine art prints available in this design!! Keep checking my blog for updates on those, which will be available in the next week or so.
Enjoy and hope you had a safe and happy halloween!

LOVE is all you need...in pink and black!

2009-10-26T16:06:00.004-04:00

You may remember my orginal 'LOVE is all you need' canvas, shown here....

I was happy to receive a custom order for a pink/black/white version of this canvas from a custmer on Etsy. I think it turned out wonderfully, and I hope you do too! Looking forward to creating other versions of this canvas in the future :)

NEW letters now available!

2009-10-22T22:40:00.008-04:00

NEW, bigger letters are now available!! Here is an example that I created for my fabulous niece, Leighton.

Letters are paper mache and about 12" high by about 7.5" wide. They can easily hang on wall or stand on their own on a desk or shelf.

Letters are partially customizeable in that the design will be the same for all, however, you will be able to choose your colors as well as name. A boy version will be available soon!
Letters are $35 each, and can be found on my etsy boutique as well as my website.

Custom letters for college student

2009-10-05T21:09:00.008-04:00

Majority of the letters I create are for babies or young children, so it was a fun change to create letters for a college student (an MSU college student at that...GO GREEN!). It was also fun because I have never painted a Lily before. I was pretty happy with the way they turned out ;)

Hope you enjoy!

'The Life of a Frog'

2009-10-02T11:49:00.007-04:00

I wish I had better pics of these, but I don't want to wait any longer to post pics because I have a NEW, super cute (imo) canvas and a NEW, super cute (again imo) 'letter' to show you as well!

Here are some custom canvases I created on 'The Life of a Frog'! It starts with the eggs (Not all frog eggs have to grow in the water. These are Red-eyed tree frog eggs to be exact. I GOOGLED it. hello! lol), which transform into tadpoles, and alas..you have Mr. Frog :)

I can't wait to visit baby Gus's room this weekend to see these canvases on the wall, and to see how cute they look with the turtle and snail canvases I painted for him a while back.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Also, GO GREEN! (Going tailgating at the MSU/UM game tomorrow) Rain or shine! I'm hoping for shine :)

It's hard to explain. this love for a child

2009-09-18T14:17:00.007-04:00

'It's hard to explain. this love for a child.
It's like if I stare too long my heart might just burst.
I can't believe you are part of me. This tiny miracle.
I want to show you the world, but I'm scared.
I want you to do it all, feel it all, love it all.
I want to keep you in a bubble.
Your tiny little feet, your angel eyes, your innocence.
I can't wait to watch you grow.
No. No. I want to hold you like this forever.
Butterly kisses and bear hugs.
I love you too much.
It's hard to explain. this love for a child.'

~J. Beamer

I hope you enjoy my latest piece as much as I do. I will be creating these as custom orders in custom colors, as well as some that will be 'ready to ship'! Size is 12x12 and will be selling for $45.

Happy Sunday funday :)

NEW family name canvases!

2009-09-14T20:16:00.006-04:00

While up too late one night, I decided to create this cute canvas for our entry room, and of course have to now share it as a custom item through TinkerDot Designs!

It could make a great bridal shower/wedding gift!

Canvas is 8x24, stretched, and ready to hang. Cost of canvas is $35. You tell me the color scheme and I will create the canvas to match! Would you like more birdies to represent # of family members? I can do that. I hope you enjoy :)

Interested? Send me a message or purchase now on my Etsy site.

More examples to come!

Smiles~
Jenni

Happy New Year!!

2009-09-02T12:55:00.004-04:00

Well, okay..it's not really the 'new year', but at work (my full-time job), our fiscal year started over Sept. 1st, so...Happy New year to me! :)

Okay, fine. It was my lame attempt to think of a good title for this blog post.

Anyway, just wanted to post a few pics of what I've been up to these past weeks in the world of TinkerDot Designs. Lots of custom letters and I also painted bricks for the CRIM race dinner. I hand - painted the Crim 'C' on 50 different bricks! I should have taken a picture of my kitchen countertop. lol

Of course, I'm working on more all the time....so I'll update again soon!

Cheers!
Jenni

*I finally started my TDD page on Facebook. Check me out and 'fan' me!

TinkerDot Giveaway!!!!

2009-08-01T17:27:00.002-04:00

I am giving away my 'BE YOU' canvas to one lucky person! All you have to do is visit a fellow Etsian's blog, Designs by Vanessa to see the rules for the giveaway and take part.

Check it out...good luck! :)

Cheers ~ Jenni

How boring would life be?.....

2009-07-31T15:25:00.005-04:00

...If I did not have these little crazies to share it with. WOW...I am over the moon, so deeply in love with them. I wasn't even going to blog about them, but it's Friday, and not like any other Friday...because THIS Friday is the start of a weekend without them. Holy cow! What am I to do with myself?!
They left today to go up north with their Grandma, Papa and Aunt Mari. They are going to have the best time and probably not want to come home, but...they MUST because by Sunday I will be missing my girls.
On the agenda this evening....a date with my living room floor, my easel and a good movie. YES!!!!!!!!! (my husband will even be gone. sorry hunny..i'm happy to be alone :))

Finally! A canvas about BROTHERS!

2009-07-23T10:09:00.007-04:00

I created this custom canvas for a friend, Rachel, who has 2 boys and due to have the third in the coming months. I was excited to create something for boys since, as you can see, most of my items and inspiration comes from girls :) She hasn't even seen it in person yet since I just finished it last night...but I couldn't wait...I had to blog about it!

You will notice the tree has their initials carved in it, but because the third boy's names has not been decided... I will 'carve' the third later.

Also, the quote was actually created by Rachel herself! It says "He is your biggest fan, your greatest admirer. He picks you up and would never let you down. He is someone to lean on, someone to count on, and will forever be your wingman. He knows everything about you and loves you for who you are. He is your best friend, he is your brother."

I couldn't have said it better myself...thank you, Rachel!

I hope the boys love it and will treasure it forever.

A custom version of this canvas will also be available on my website and Etsy site. You can choose however many children you want, and the color of their shirts (the ones shown here are the O'Mara boys favorite colors). If it is all girls, I will make it a bit more 'girly' and the quote will be the same as my original 'Sister' canvas. You could also choose boys and girls to be in the same canvas, and I will come up with a gender nuetral quote for it.

Thank you, again! I hope everyone enjoys it :)

'BE YOU!' ..baby Ella living up to the canvas I created for her

2009-07-20T11:47:00.014-04:00

Woo hoo!! I finally was able to find time to create this piece that was sitting in my head for quite a while waiting to find a home on canvas :)
My sister-in-law, Jody, was due to have baby Ella on August 20th and I ended up creating this to go with her room because it happened to be a perfect fit since her room is these colors and has birdies in it.
I had it all set and ready to give to her at her baby shower that was to take place at my house this past saturday, July 18th. However, much to our SURPRISE!!, baby Ella made her debut into this world 5 weeks early on Friday evening, the 17th. WOW!
Baby Ella James was only 4lbs. 11oz and 17.5 in. long. She is doing so well..breathing on her own and all! I hope to post pics in next few weeks. How exciting to have 2 nieces in 7 weeks!!!

While this canvas is already spoken for, I will be listing it on my Etsy site as well as my website as a custom design that will always be available. Of course, I can create it in any color. The size shown is 16x20 and is $75, 11x14 would be $45..and of course it can be done bigger as well. Check my custom prices on my website or email me.

Hopefully you notice that is says 'Be You' because there is only one bird that looks different and is going the other way :) I think it's a great reminder in life.

Hope you love it baby Ella! We love you little peanut :) I hope you all love the canvas as well.

Family Fun :)

2009-07-09T14:51:00.007-04:00

I've had lots of 'family fun' events recently, but two to mention are Relay For Life and 4th of July.

My family and a few friends participated again in the Relay For Life event in our hometown. It was such a great time! We started our Relay team in memory of my wonderful Aunt K-K, who passed away 7 years ago of cervical cancer. We miss her dearly and will continue to fight in her honor, as well as the countless others we know and love who have fought this disease. Our little team raised $2,500! woo hoo!Most of you may also know that fighting cancer is what I do every day, as I work full-time for the American Cancer Society.

I didn't get many pics, but it was also my brother's birthday on the day of the event, so we threw him the biggest party ever and invited everyone in the community! haha. He had fun :) Here is a pic of him riding the purple toilet around the track. He's 8!

Here is an adorable pic of my little Lydia. She is 2 and getting so big!

On another note,to celebrate the 4th of July, we went up north to visit my sister, Melinda (and Don and Leighton), in Elk Rapids. It was such a great time. I love spending time with sweet baby Leighton who is only 5 weeks old. She is SUCH a good baby; I hope she keeps it up for mommy and daddy! There were so many other friends that came up and I'm pretty sure the kids overpowered us.

*Jackson, Finleigh, Autumn, Grace, Leighton, Lydia, Aubrey and Gus*

Of course we enjoyed time at Honcho Rest Campground (my brother in law, aka Melinda's husband, aka Don, owns this AWESOME campground in Elk Rapids, MI).

We also took time to head over to Traverse City for the Cherry Festival! Lydia and I gave it a thumbs up :)

I've been painting like a fool and I have the cutest new canvas to show you!!!! But I can't because it's for my sister in law's baby shower next weekend and I can't let her see it. Can't wait to show you!!

Have a super day ;)

Mackinac Island wedding

2009-06-18T16:28:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, we enjoyed attending our friend's, Brian and Katie, wedding. As you can see from the heading, it was on Mackinac Island. It was absolutely gorgeous!! Alhtough I don't have any pics of the bride and groom, you can check out my friend Rachel's blog to see them because she was there too!
Here are some pics of Dave and I looking great in our wedding gear :) PS. I was in love with my dress and shoes (you can't see them in the pic though!), and can't wait to wear them again to a different function. Also, I think my hubby looks super hip and studly. haha

This is my dear friend, Elizabeth. We spent way too long shopping for our dresses and planning for this weekend. haha.. But, we had a great time!

Here we are getting ready to catch the ferry home. Dave is smiling, but really...he wants to be sleeping cause he had a bad case of the brown bottle flu :)

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails..

2009-06-03T15:58:00.004-04:00

I painted these months ago for my dear friend, Elizabeth, who had baby Gus back in February. I just keep forgetting to post the pics, so here they are!

On a seperate note, my sister had her baby and I'm officially the aunt of a BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Leighton Elyse. Melinda (mommy) is taking her one week pictures today and will post them to her site soon hopefully so I can send a link and show you!

Enjoy the day! :)

Finally...I'm back!! (cheering ensues)

2009-05-05T00:07:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been a long 'break' and of course I didn't get nearly the ideas on canvas that I wanted to. I did, however, get some well spent children and hubby time. I have to admit..I'm a little hesitant to give my evenings back to painting completely, but at the same time..excited :)

Michelle, my sister, has been asking me to create her a canvas for.ev.er and I finally got it done! woo hoo! She gave me free reign and I ran with it. I hope she loves it and I hope you do too! While this one is clearly 'taken', I will be painting more and taking custom order requests for this canvas because I loved creating it so much. It is a mixed medium piece made with acrylic paints and scrapbook papers that are decoupaged on. There will be a tough sealant over top as well. This exact size is 16x20, which is $75. The rest of my custom prices can be found on my site, under 'custom orders'.

On another exciting note, my sister, Melinda, is due to give birth to a baby girl on May 21st! She is already dialated to 1 and having some contractions, so I am betting she will be having her by Mother's Day. I CANNOT wait to meet you little L!

Birthday pics of my girls!! and..I'm taking a 'break'.:)

2009-03-11T00:56:00.004-04:00

So, my camera is going crazy..hence the reason I have not blogged lately. I have been working like a mad woman though! ;)
Speaking of that, I have decided to temporary close my shops until April 30th due to an extremely busy time of year at work (my real job), a big amount of custom orders right now, and I REALLY want to work on some ideas that have been taking up space in this brain of mine.
If you would like to be notified when I am back, send me an email, or fill out the store contact form on my site and I will gladly let you know. Thank you for your patience and support :)

ALSO....my girls are so big! Grace turned 4 on January 15th and Lydia will be 2 this Friday, March 13th..wow! Of course, lucky me, my sister already came over to take pics of them. I haven't seen all of them yet, but there is a sneak peek up on her website. Check it out!! They are FABULOUS and show the true essence of Grace and Lydia...2 of the silliest little beings I know. I love you girls...you make my heart smile :)

I'm featured on a blog! yay! and..there's a giveaway !

2009-02-20T01:06:00.005-05:00

Have I ever told you how much I love Etsy ?!! I am completely addicted to it all...searching, buying, selling, the forums.

Anyway, another Etsy seller has a blog that she has featured me on...it's called From Athena's Desk. Check it out! Also, the great news is that you will see I am doing a giveaway of a $25 gift certificate as well as offering a discount to those who comment through her site.

What are you waiting for? I said..check it out! :)

A big thank you to Rachel for featuring my shop, and writing up a great little article.

Sadly, that's all for now. I know I haven't updated in ages, but I do have some cute pics to post, so I promise I'll be back very soon. (you care..right?) plus it's 1:30 a.m. and that is ridiculous. nighty night :)

Knee deep in letters...

2009-01-19T22:58:00.004-05:00

As I sit here on my living room floor at this moment painting letters, I decided to take a quick break to post about letters as well :) Side note: I'm also watching the movie 'Capote'...hmm..interesting, odd..the kind of movie I can't stop wathing, but also can't decide if I really like it.
Anyway, back to letters!
Here are some I did to match the John Lennon's 'musical parade' bedding set.

Here is a set for a precious baby Brynn who surprised mom and dad and came 7 weeks early! She is still in hospital, but doing well from what I hear :)

These two are the first of their kind because they are a much larger letter than my normal sets. Perfect for an initial as you see here! I will sart offering these larger letters on my site soon.

Hope you enjoy! Back to painting and Capote! :)

Lydia's a big girl!

2008-12-29T16:25:00.006-05:00

Our baby is getting so big! We have officially transformed her room into a big girl room. I would have loved to do more to it already, and changed a lot more, but It was already purple and I had painted her letters to match her crib and I just didn't really want to change it. So, instead, I just found a comforter to go with it for now and I'll decide what else to change later. I'm a big fan of using what you have so that it costs less and that way if you change your mind later, you didn't spend a bunch of money the first time.
So, although there is a lot more to do and lots more fun art for me to create for her walls..I think it is fun and bright for now. And, we know I love bright :)

Check out how I caught Lydia in action of throwing the ball!

How cute is the butterfly/fairy tent that Aunt Aleece got them?!

I'll post more as I create it. But, I do go back to work tomorrow after over a week off...

Blessed

2008-12-28T19:22:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous Holiday!

We had such a blessed Christmas this year. The girls had so much fun and were so excited about everything (although our house is overflowing)! Daddy was mostly excited about their MSU warm-ups that Santa brought along with the basketball hoop. As always, Go State!

It was a little sad though because my mom, who lives in Arizona, was not able to come home to MI for Christmas. We haven't seen her since September. I hope she can find a job here and move home soon :) We also missed sharing Christmas with my sisters Aleece and Michelle. But I'm excited to see them soon and have lots of fun!

Another big jump..Lydia has a new big girl twin bed already..woah! And..she has slept in it since Christmas night. I will take pics of her room soon and put them up.
But, first I have to clean the remains from the toy tornado that went through it...

Hope everyone has a fabulous New Year's Eve!
I'll post again soon :)

When 'Toys R' Us' explodes in your household...

2008-12-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Recently, a wonderful customer purchased a Toy Storage chest from me on Etsy. I happened to find a much larger unfinished toy chest from an online vendor and sent her a message to let her know that there was an option for a larger version. She responded with a resounding YES because she said 'Toys R' Us was exploding in her house'..lol (Obviously I stole that for my title here, hey).

She gave me all creative freedom (she did tell me colors of the room of course) and this is what I came up with! It is being shipped today and I am excited for her little one to get it!

You will notice it has a chalkboard top. Kids love it!

I loved Mr. Owl, and so did Grace..she kept commenting on it. haha

For anyone interested this toy chest is 34 3/4"W x 18 1/2"D x 18 1/2"H. It is made of solid alder and birch hardwoods. It is a great piece and will fit a great amount of toys, blankets, etc.

I am almost finished with a fabulous Table/Chair set as well and will be posting pics of that in a few days!

Hope you have a smiley day :)
Also, Toys R' Us totally explodes in our house on a daily basis and I'm a little nervous for Santa to come and dump another load.

~Jenni

"Jump, and you will...

2008-12-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

learn to unfold your wings on the way down."

Yay!! I finally am able to blog about the canvas I created for my sister's house (thank you, Melinda, for FINALLY sending me pics! They are fabulous btw) This is the first time I have created a canvas that is not child oriented. A very different step for me...and it was so much fun!!

So much fun that I even think I'm going to start a 'big kids' line for TinkerDot Designs with all my spare time. hah! Well..I guess I'll wait and see.

I hope you enjoy this canvas. I would love to hear your thoughts :)

Decemeber Specials! Who doesn't love a gift certificate?!

2008-12-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

Gift certificates are always fun to receive and hey, they're the easiest gift to give too!

For the month of December, I am offering a FREE handpainted frame ($15 value) with any gift certificate purchase of $25 or more. BUT WAIT...There's MORE!! If you purchase a $50 gift certificate, you will get it for only $40 PLUS the free frame. This offer doubles when you purchase $100 certificate..get it for only $80!

Know anyone who would love to have a new piece of art for their children's room or perhaps a toy box, table/chair set, etc.? This would be the perfect idea for them!

Great gift for a baby shower you might have coming up too.

To purchase, you can visit the listings on my Etsy site.

I'M ALIVE! to bring you the cutest pics ever

2008-11-16T09:44:00.001-05:00

Wow...It's not like I'm a daily or weekly blogger for that matter, but months?! months?! I am a little lame.
I will actually be posting a few times this week..next will be with things I have been busy at TinkerDot with.
But, for now, I have the most beautiful pics to share!!! (Okay, so I'm a little biased because they are MY kids and MY sister took them). But, i'm sure you will agree they are amazing. My sister's site is Melinda Ann Photography, and it's a new and improved 'blogsite'. very cool.
Also, the red hat in the photos is made by Nuxiemade on Etsy...head over there and check out all the amazing colors, sizes and varieties. These pics are even used on Nuxie's website to sell the hats. Grace is officially a model! (or that's what I say. hehe).
Enjoy and I'll be back this week with some pics of a canvas I did for Melinda's dining room. We trade talents. She does my pics and I paint things for her...it's perfect :) So, I am excited to share this canvas with you since it is very different from anything I do considering it is not for a child's room. Check back soon!

Awww, isn't she....what?!

2008-09-30T22:41:00.001-04:00

So, I haven't posted in forever. I know. And..this one is going to be quick. My princess, stinker, smarty, drama queen, girl called Grace is sooo cute when she hugs her sister and helps her, and actually smiles for the camera with a real smile. Like this picture for example.

But most of the time, she goes and does things like this...

Oh boy do I love my Gracie. I am excited and scared to see what her future brings!

My newest creations, and my Gracie's not so exciting first day of preschool.

2008-09-09T22:57:00.002-04:00

I will start with the creations I have been working on these past couple weeks. First, a custom canvas I did for a mom of 3 little girls. This is for their new playroom...what fun! I hope it looks great in there!

Next is the "Sisters Canvas" but I changed the clothing to pink and brown for the customer. This is a gift for twin girls. The gifter sent the giftee (are those real words?) a picture of the canvas and she cried. I'm going to make myself feel good and believe it was because she loved the canvas so much. I mean...it couldn't have anything to do with hormones...

Next - letters...weird. I know. hehe. This pic is not the best, but the name was so long I couldn't get a great pic of them. It is Ann-Claire and made to match the hip hop circle bedding at Babies R' Us. Hope she loves them!

Now for the exciting first day of Preschool for Grace! Well....we went to "check out" the school and sign her up last Friday. She loved it! She skipped up to the door and looked all around the room. Overall, I was thinking Monday was going to be very smooth. not. so. much. I should know better than to think that anything with miss Grace is smooth. The problem is that she is NOT a morning person. I have to wake her up every morning (before all you moms go gettting jealous on me...she is up for a good 2 hours in the middle of every night). So, when I woke her up..she immediately starting whining and crying that she didn't want to go to school. Once I got her up, she didn't want to brush her teeth (I forced it..it was not pretty), she refused to let me brush her hair (see pic for evidence), and of course her pants were too tight so we had to change them. wow! needless to say, we barely made it there and then she was pretty good. She was being nice and walked in okay. She wanted me to stay for "three minutes" (who knows?). So, I did..then I gave her kiss and hug and just walked out...it was so hard, but I had to or else she was going to ask me to stay for three more minutes until it was the end of the day. She wimpered a bit, but then turns out she had a great day! She goes again tomorrow morning, and the night before the first morning is replaying itself tonight..yikes. hope it turns out better than Monday morning!

She was not happy that I was taking picture of her. lol Too bad..I'm the mommy and even if you are a stinker, I still have to take pictures of my little girl going off to preschool and growing up way too fast! I love you Gracie :)

Dave wants to be a mountain man, and I want to get married again.

2008-08-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

haha...to him. to him. I want to get married again to Dave, geeze... lol

Finally!!! I am posting pics from our trip to Colorado this past weekend. We went there for our friends, Joe and Jodi's wedding. I have known Joe since kindergarten and we met Jodi in college at MSU (Go State!). This is also where Joe met her :)
Anyway, the wedding was in Keystone at a resort, and it was more perfect than perfect. I am certain it made every married person there want to get married again, and those that are not married now know exactly how they want their wedding to be. yep. that good.

One of the days we were there, we took a lift up the mountain. Dave and I were both a little nervous because the elevation change of Keystone is 9,300 ft. above sea level, which is a ridiculous change from MI. Let me tell you. Elevation does not like me. or dave. Makes you nautious, my legs and feet lost feeling, dizzy, headache. ..killer. So, the idea of going up further to 11,500 ft. was not appealing at first. But...we did it. It wasnt' that bad, and it was a great view..even though it was about to storm.

These are friends, Micki and Marissa. We had so much fun!

Here is a shot of Dave and I before we caught the bus to the wedding. Yay for my new black dress!

Another great thing about the trip was that other friends from college live in Denver and we were able to go spend a day and night with them as well. Great fun!

So, as I have said before...Dave and I have been completely spoiled this summer. We have really spent a lot of time together, taken trips, and had great fun. We are definitely feeling like bad parents though because we haven't taken many trips or done a lot of fun things with the girls. However, for our last trip of the summer...we are going up north for Labor Day weekend with the girls. I'm so excited! The girls are going to have so much fun! I will be sure to post pics as soon as we return.
ahh...then it's back to total reality. Dave's back to school and work is getting busier and busier for me. yay! (ughh.) i mean..yay! hehe

Oh yeah..and Dave wants to move to Colorado now..hence the wanting to be a mountain man thing.

YAY! I'm featured on another blog!

2008-08-25T15:07:00.000-04:00

Oh come on....you would be excited too and you know it. hehe

So, just got home at about 2 pm today from Colorado. We were supposed to get in last night, but after our arrival in Dallas for our layover...we found out our flight to MI was cancelled! ahh! oh well...complaining over.
We stayed at a resort in Keyston for a friends wedding, and also visited Denver for a night to visit friends from college. It was soooo much fun and just absolutely beautiful. I will post pics very soon and talk in more detail about it.

For now, I wanted to quickly post about an e-mail I received while I was away. Debbie, a fabulous person, who ordered the "Sister Canvas" from me a while back wrote me to tell me she and some creative friends of hers who publish a blog site featured my canvas on their site! yay! yay! yay! How exciting. Read about it at The Girlfriends Manor, and please be sure to leave a comment! Thank you :)

I also LOVE this canvas and obviously, sisters, as well. They are the best!

Off to play with Grace...I missed them SOOOO much! Lydia would not let go of me, it was just precious. She is napping now, and I really need to wake her up if I ever want to go to bed tonight :)

Until later....

"How's the art easel?" "Well, haven't used it...been painting wall letters out my ears" yay!

2008-08-18T11:36:00.000-04:00

Hehe....well, that little convo. was with my friend, Elizabeth who was so nice to let me use her art easel that her dad gave her. yay! I can't wait to use it...when I get a chance to paint something other than wall letters...
Don't get me wrong, LOVE painting letters..they are fun, always different, and make great gifts. I need to take a picture of me painting them. every .night...on my floor, on my counter, on my table. All over my house! Then I have to put them all up high every night, or in Lydia's "room" and close the door, because let's face it..Lydia does not use her room. She sleeps with me, like, umm..every night. Please no parenting lectures. I know. I know.
Oh yeah, the reason I put them up high or in a closed room is so that Lydia doesn't think they are toys and start throwing them around. or use them as "coloring books". ahh! happened once. had to start over. nice.

So, here is one set I just got done for a soon to be born, Alexandria "Alex". It was made to match the Nautica Kids Lola set from Babies R' Us. Hope mom loves them!

This set was created for a girl's room, and she obviously loves pink. who doesn't?!! Mom wanted to break up the pink in the room so we created these pink and brown letters to help her with just that! They will be hung with silky brown ribbon (yet to be added) and she also bought a matching picture frame, which I am painting tonight..will post soon.

Thank you for the wonderful orders of wall letters..I really do love creating them. But next, guess what?!! I get to use the easel because I have 2 canvases to paint in the next week..oh yeah..and more wall letters. hehe

My baby has a "boyfriend"!! ..and my other baby is growing like a weed..

2008-08-07T15:19:00.001-04:00

So, we attended miss Jenna's 1st birthday party this past weekend, and our friends, The O'Mara's were there as well. My Grace decided that Blake (The O'Mara's oldest boy) was more than just a friend....he's her "boyfriend" as she proclaimed to me on the way home. Here is our conversation on the way home from the party:

G: "Mommy, Blake is my boyfriend" (with a HUGE smile)

M: "Oh really, and what does that mean?"

G: "It means...it means, I love him"

M: "Oh, okay." (trying to hold back my laughter and my OMGMY3YROLDKNOWSWAYTOOMUCH face)

G: "Yeah, and I'm going to his house next week to visit him"

G: "He's my boyfriend. my boyfriend. my boyfriend.".....over and over again as she looks out the window smiling.

M: what the? is she 15!??

See her little crush smile in this pic taken at the party:

So, needless to say, daddy Beamer isn't that excited about it and since he was home with her the next day, I'm sure he had a little talk with her because when I returned home she told me "Mommy, we are just friends. He is definitely NOT my boyfriend"
lol lol lol oh good lord...she is 15.

Here is a pic of all of the kids. They are so cute! I can't wait to hopefully re-inact this photo op in 5 and 10 years from now.

Now...onto my baby baby who is growing so big!! She is 16 months already and almost 17! Here is a pic of her on daddy's lap (sorry about that bad pic daddy), but I just had to show it because you can see how long and big she is getting. And how much of a twin she is to him!

That's all for now folks!

For the business side of things, TinkerDot Designs is busy and great...handpainted letters are hugely popular right now and seem to be the only thing I have been painting lately. I will post pics as soon as I get all of those orders done. I am also working another custom canvas that I am excited about. It's about sisters..yay!

Peach out :) (yes..i said peach)

A few new custom pieces

2008-07-26T15:01:00.000-04:00

I'm always busy working on orders, but here are a few custom pieces I recently finished.
The fairy canavs is 24x36 and was created to match the bedding line Pixie Chix. The parents wanted to buy this for her birthday. I hope she loves it! Her party is today, so we'll see :)

These next canvases are for a family here in my area that I am helping to re-design his entire room. I have refinished his headboard and footboard to match his desk and nightstand, created these canvases to go above his bed, and created a photo wall which includes some refinished photo cubes that match the furniture. I will be delivering them on Aug. 8 and will post pics of the entire room after that. Check back! If you can't see it, the dots on the monogram canvas are little soccer balls and baseballs (it's obvious that is what he plays :)

Wow 2 posts in 2 days!! I'm on a serious roll!

I have been so spoiled this summer...

2008-07-26T00:04:00.001-04:00

So, we went on our first "Boat Trip" with 10 other couples. Most of them have been going for the last 4 years (but we have just been busy having babies!). Anyway, it was the best vacation ever!! There is nothing more relaxing than being on a house boat for 3 days and 3 nights and doing nothing but floating in a raft all day (with a floating cooler.duh), hanging in the hot tub on the boat (yeah..i said hot tub. on a boat!), and playing games with friends. While floating in the raft on the first day I remember saying to my friend next to me "So, what do you want to do tomorrow? NOTHING! fabulous!"
Here is a group pic and one of my hubby and I. btw...our 6 yr. wedding anniversary is tomorrow! yay for us! No presents...we are broke after the boat trip. lol We are going to the Tigers game because of free tickets we got from mom's boyfriend. thanks! and a BIG thank you to my in-laws for watching the girls while we were on the trip. They are amazing!

I'm a little incognito in the hat (go State!).

What a beautiful break :)

2008-07-03T19:31:00.001-04:00

Haven't blogged in a while (what's new. i know). i have been off work since Monday and what a fabulous week it has been :) I am currently writing from my deck (just built last week) sitting in the sun with my husband while he sips on his new drink (a silver sunset), which he seems to think is the new big summer drink. haha. he is so funny. we are going on a boat trip on July 17th and he is trying a bunch of drink recipes so that he can bring the best and most fun summer drink to the boat trip. He's always trying (usually successfully) to be the life of the party and the guy who everyone has fun with. He usually is too...love ya babe :) I like the drink, but I think I'd rather kick back with a cold beer. mmmm...yeah. a cold beer.
Our kiddos went up north for 3 days with my in-laws (god bless them). We feel like we are newlyweds again with noone and nothing to worry about but whatever we want to do. It is so wonderful. Not that we don't love the kids. By Saturday, we will be missing them terribly.
Let me set the mood some more..we are listening to Jack Johnson. nice. i love this day :)
No pics to put up. I am excited to paint a new canvas that has been in my head for months and months. it's about lydia and having enough love for a second child. i think i will paint it tonight or tomorrow. since, hey. i can do what i want right now. when did i say my kids were coming back again?

also. i am jealous of my sister because she is going to chicago this weekend for a wedding and while she is there she is visiting the apple store to buy a new laptop. so cool.
oh, another update. i found a great woman named Renee on etsy (www.thompsondesigns.etsy.com) who is creating a whole new image for TinkerDot Designs. she created the banner you see above, and is currently working on a logo and biz card for me. yay!!!

Have a fabulous Holiday weekend folks! I'll be living it up in my childless, no responsibility world, ....until saturday :)

Father's Day Weekend...with not many pics of the "father". oops

2008-06-16T13:17:00.001-04:00

We took a short trip up north to my dad's cabin for Father's Day weekend and did have a lot of fun. Even though Lydia is only 15 months old and it was a 3.5 hour drive. we left saturday and came back sunday. wow.
Oh well, all in the love of Fathers :) plus a bonus. it was my dad's bday too :) As soon as my sister sends me pics that she took of Dave (husband) and my dad..i will post them. Until then, I had to post these cutie pics of the girls.

How cute are these hats?!! Want one? You can get them at NuxieMade on Etsy. Great item!

Of course I had to put this in because all Grace does is pose for pictures these days. Wow. I really don't know where she comes from sometimes. hehe

Custom baby shower gifts are so fun!

2008-06-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

I have recently finished a few custom orders for customers who are giving these as gifts to friends with new babies (or expecting). As you may know, I specialize in custom creations, and do love them because it means not doing the same thing all the time. I love creating new things and I also really love when I get to have creative freedom....and so far, so good. I have never had a customer not love what I did for them. (Wow..i better knock on wood right now..)
So, the first pic is of wall letters in a vintage airplane theme. I only received an internet picture to go from with these, so I was a little nervous to make sure the colors and everything were right. Plus, I have never done this sort of theme before. The great news is that the recipient received them, and they matched wonderfully and she loved them. Yay!

This next custom creation is a 12x12 canvas and wall letters to match a pink and brown ladybug themed room (from JC Penney). They are being given as a gift at a baby shower and haven't actually been given yet, so I'm anxious to see what the mommy to be thinks :)

I really loved creating this canvas. I was inspired by a piece of scrapbook paper that I saw. I use scrapbook papers as inspiration a lot...
Well, that's all for now! I really need to get to bed...
The husband is away at a bachelor party (darn him!) and I'm hoping both girls don't get up in the middle of the night. not.fun.at.all
*BTW...these pics are updated on my website under handpainted letters and custom canvas.
~Jenni

Lydia loves summertime....and ....dirt :)

2008-06-04T19:34:00.000-04:00

Quick post, but i just had to put some updated pics of my little Lydia..who is..growing up!! She is getting so big. Her newest word is "Wow!" and she says it for everything. It is too cute. She is saying it in the picture below.
Yes, the other pictures..she.is.eating.dirt. You may say "you let your child eat dirt!" Well...yes.yes I did. just for the moment so that I could take the picture and then I promise I wiped it out of her mouth and took her in to get a drink. lol
I have to get back to painting, but I will post again in a few days of the new creations I have been working on..yay!
Until then, keep smiling :)

A funny story and cute chair...

2008-05-14T22:56:00.002-04:00

Hahaha....so, Sunday night Grace and daddy were snuggling on the couch watching Narnia, which proved to be a little scary for a 3 year old...although she held out and just had to keep watching. Anyway, they are under the covers and here is the conversation:

Grace - "Daddy, did you toot?
Daddy- "Yes, I did. Excuse me"
Grace- "That stinks"
Daddy- "No, it doesn't. It smells like flowers"
Grace - Immediately looks at daddy with a completely serious and awstruck face and says in sort of a whispered, questionable tone ....."You ATE flowers?"

hahahaha.....oh, Grace. you are too funny sometimes. of course, after we all laughed..the scene had to be completely reinacted with every line being said the same exact way as it was the first. She always does this. I swear she really is going to be an actress.

Also, I finished the rocking chair a few weeks ago actually, but forgot to put it up. It was custom to match her room. turned out cute I thought :) Someday I really am going to make my own girls a chair...geeze.

Some news that is also worthy of mentioning is that I will not be taking any new orders until July 1, 2008. I have enough orders right now to keep me very busy, and there are lots of family things going on in June, so I need to be realistic and make sure that I am not rushing things..especially for the sake of my customers. If you are interested in something in early July or even very late June...get in touch with me ASAP and I can see if I am able to fulfill.

Thank you, and have a fabulous day!

For those of you that may be reading this because I sent you a Relay For Life fundraising letter from Grace and Lydia....welcome! Please leave a comment or e-mail me. I would love to know that you stopped by.

"It is never too late to be what you might have been!" - anonymous

My sister is amazing!

2008-05-02T16:07:00.002-04:00

Okay, so for those that don't know...my sister, Melinda, is a photographer. And, in case you didn't see my title for this blog...she is AMAZING!
So, last week, she was on a trip home (she lives 3 hours away) and she called me to say "I'm stopping at your house and I have this great idea for a pic of the girls...get them ready...they are going to take a bath in the sink!" What?!! umm...okay.

yep! That's my kitchen folks! I love it, but let me tell you...if she would have taken a pic of the what the rest looked like..you would have laughed. pretty loud.

I love this one! She had written somewhere that she hopes this is a pic they both have in their houses when they are older and I couldn't agree more. I'm sure they will (I will frame it for them and give it to them...just to make sure :)).
I also had to put in some pics she took of Grace while Grace was visiting her a few weekends ago.

So....if you live in Michigan...look her up! It is so worth it! Melinda Ann Photography. my sister. pure talent. love her :)

Diamonds are a girls best friend you know...

2008-04-23T22:07:00.000-04:00

Wow! Where has the time gone! it's been over a week since i have blogged. has anyone even noticed? lol ...oh well..

i also decided (just now) that i am going to write in all lowercase this time because it is a heck of a lot faster and more fun right now..k? great. thanks.

well, the title of my blog is dedicated to wendy who purchased a custom mirror from me on my etsy site , and asked that it be painted in purple diamonds instead of stripes. i thought that was a great idea...so this is what i ended up coming up with for her. i think it turned out very cute and i sure hope she loves it (just shipped yesterday).

thank you, wendy, for the new idea on the mirror. it was fun and you were wonderful to work with!

Also, if you haven't looked at it yet, please visit my sister's blog, Melinda Ann Photography, because my Grace went to stay with her this past weekend (she lives 3 hours away) and there is a great story on her blog about something she said. leave it to Grace (and most kids) to say the most hilarious thing, but be completely straight faced and serious about it. they have no shame...i love it.

So, while she was gone ALL weekend...we were really missing her by sunday. however, dave, lydia and i had a great weekend together. it was soo cute because dave and lydia don't get much one on one time, but they did this weekend. he took her outside to play and there was a moment when i saw her head walk by the window...i looked out and she was riding on his shoulders with the biggest smile ever. she was in daddy daughter heaven, and so was i. my heart skipped and i was reminded at how blessed i am to have a wonderful husband and 2 happy, healthy little girls. i love my life :)

have a stupendous rest of the week (because lord knows i won't be blogging again until at least friday...)
~jenni

"Sweet" birdie...

2008-04-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to show a new canvas that I custom created to match the Migi "Sweet" bedding line. I made it for a baby shower gift and was excited at how it turned out. I may offer this in my store..haven't actually decided yet. I do know that I will be creating a canvas that will be similar to this....I have had it in my head for a while now. It involves the bird being a little bigger and a patchwork print. I'll post when I get it done! For now, enjoy this "sweet" birdie :)
Have a fabulous day!

Should I bring this canvas back??

2008-04-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

So, I created this canvas a long time ago, before TinkerDot Designs was even official. It was actually my very first piece sold when I started Ebay. Very exciting...and for way too cheap. Anyway, I simply LOVED it.....but have not painted another one since. My question is...should I bring this back and make it an "always available" item through TinkerDot Designs? I think I will try some different colors and more detail next time...also make one for one of my girls' rooms so I can keep it! Thank you ahead of time for your input on this:)

Also......
Here are pics of a few wall letter orders I finished this past week. They both turned out very cute, however, my camera just doesn't capture the best of them. Humm...I'm thinking I really need to get my sister, Melinda, to take pics of all of my items before I ship them out since she is a photograper. Melinda....can I just snap my fingers and you can come over whenever I need you? Great. Thanks.
PS. I'll be snapping them next week sometime so get ready.

I should mention that all of my wall letters are custom created to match a room, so if you are looking for a great gift...check out my site for more examples!

Oh, the day I need a fax machine...

2008-04-04T13:59:00.000-04:00

The title of the blog is named so because of a conversation my sister, Melinda, and I had yesterday regarding fax machines.
She called me back and said "When you left a message for me, it just beeped like a fax machine in my ear. Do you have a fax machine?"
Me: "Uh, no..that's weird"
Her: "Oh well, I wish I had a fax machine"
Me: "Why?"
Her: "I don't know...they're just cool"
Me: "Yeah, I guess that means your bigtime or something...I can't even get a fax machine because I don't have a land line"
Me: "Actually, if TinkerDot needed a fax line, I would be able to pay to get a darn phone line out to my house (it will cost me $2,000..crazy!). Actually, if TinkerDot needed a fax line...I better not even be living in this house!"
Her: "Yeah, that would be cool."
Her: "Uh..I meant about the fax line, not about the house."

Then we both just laughed and said "That was funny..." and we said some more random things that I do not need to continue to blabber about.
So, the point of that conversation on this blog was not much, however, I felt the need to blog it. Two things you can learn from it:
1) My sister and I have random conversations like that all the time. I love it.
2) If TinkerDot ever gets a fax machine, you will be the first to know and ....I will never be able to blog because I won't have any time. So...I'm sure you don't want it to get a fax because you like to read my blog, right? right?

....I can't believe I just took time out of the day to blog this.

Exclusive 'Gotcha Day' Canvas!

2008-03-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while...but I've been hard at work! A new canvas I have just finished is a OOAK handpainted design by your's truly, and it will available exclusively at CCC Gifts, an online children's boutique. This canvas is created in honor of 'Gotcha Day', which is known as the day adoptive parents are united with their adopted child. It will be offered in a boy version as well..whenever I am able to get that going :) Of course, there will be choices for hair and skin color as well.
The quote says "An invisible red thread connects those that are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or cirumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break" - ancient Chinese belief

If you know of anyone looking for a great gift for adoptive parents, please pass this on!
*Please note the name and date at the top of canvas is computer generated for this photo, and will be handpainted when ordering*

Enjoy! I'll be back soon to talk about life, but in the meantime...I'll be living it....:)

The 25th hour..

2008-03-18T22:34:00.000-04:00

As I end this evening, I am feeling more tired and worn down than usual. I am finding myself thinking about what a lot of working mother's likely think about..."How on earth do I get it all done? I need another hour in the day, but if I had it...would it really make a difference? Am I a spending enough time with my children?"
So many questions...and there is never really an answer. I suppose the answer is different for everyone and it completely depends on the day, week, month..time of month..lol

Anyway, the grass is always greener on the other side..or so they say...

*BTW...I love my life,I am blessed...just having a moment....:)

Goodnight all:)

Birthday fun day!

2008-03-15T23:28:00.000-04:00

Well, Lydia's birthday party was yesterday and it was lots of fun! I promised in my last post that I would show pics, so here ya go! She looked way too cute in her outfit. Thank you to Michele of Bonghi Vestiti for making the skirt and headband to help my little cutie look even cuter. Michele is an outstanding and talented person...check her out!

But wait....the cutest and funniest pic of all....she was sooooo tired by the time we did cake, that she stopped using her hands and just used her mouth. I caught her cross eyed!! lol I love this pic!

Okay....well this is all I have time for right now. Husband sleeping on the couch, Grace playing a keyboard extra loud, Lydia is taking all the sandwich baggies out of the cupboard, and I am trying to do this and make scrambled eggs at the same time....see ya!

March is a crazy and exciting month!

2008-03-04T15:56:00.001-05:00

So..I am already wishing I would update this more, but then I got to thinking...it's probably going to end up being my own personal journal because I'm not quite sure how many people are actually going to read this! haha! But, that's okay...I like to talk myself through things anyway. I do it at work (my 'real' job...aka...the one I make real money at) all the time!

March has just started, but I'm already feeling short of breath....
my hubby's 30th birthday is this weekend (SURPRISE! )...don't worry..i'm not ruining anything..he is not reading this. He hears me talk enough..:)
Then the very next weekend is my little Lydee's 1st birthday party! I can't believe she is one already..wow how time flies.
The next weekend is grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party. I am putting together a Shutterfly book for them titled "All because two people fell in love"...can't wait!
Needless to say, this month is busy!
Another busy part, but yet so nice...is that Daffodil Days (a fundraiser I manage) is this month. It brings such a great sign of spring and HOPE for a world free of cancer..I just love it! Visit http://www.cancer.org for more info.!

Back to Lydia's birthday party...I orderd the most adorable little skirt from a seller on Etsy.com and I can't wait to get it!! It has me so inpsired to create more art. It is paisley print, which If I haven't mentioned..is one of my favorites!! I will post pics of her wearing it after her party (March 15).

Well, have to get to work. Happy early March everyone!

"It's never too late to be what you might have been" -unknown

~Jenni

My first blog!

2008-02-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Well, I'm new to this, but very excited about it!
I have very little time with 2 beautiful girls (3 and 1), a full time career, and my passion...TinkerDot Designs, however, I am on the computer often and love to "talk", so I'll keep up on this as much as I can.
While there are many artists out there who are very talented and can create a great product, I want your experience with TinkerDot Designs to be personal. I want you to know the person who is creating your unique and special piece for your child,niece, nephew, friend, loved child, etc. I put my whole heart into each piece I create, and in order to let your personal touch come through...I want to get to know you too!
I'll probably update my random thoughts on here....randomly....
I also LOVE quotes, so I'll try to post those frequently. I will be incorporating a lot more quotes and fun saying from my oldest daughter, Grace, into my art very soon. I love the ideas in my head...I just need to get them out!
"Life doesn't always turn out the way we expected, it turns out the way it was intended" -unknown

Have a fabulous day!
~Jenni