Glimpses....

my pal, grace kang

my best boy, jon blair

my pal, holly becker

....oh my dear....the fun that was had....my sides hurt from laughing so much! Just the best crowd of people, and it was truly a pleasure to spend my entire evening with you all!

 The ladies were loving my man....I feel you ladies! It's hard to take your eyes off Mr Hottie Mchotterson! I'm so thankful for his support and love...wouldn't be where I am today without him, and glad he was able to be with me last night.....he makes every event moh bettah! Such goodness!

xo,

Barb

NYC is calling me.....

.....and I am on my way! I'm headed up to the city with JB for a little U.S. Open Tennis! We try to go this time every year, and my cutie husband is like a kid in a candy shop the entire time....giddy, excited, crazier than normal, tennis lovin' fool that he is! 

 I hope my boy Nadal pulls it out this year. I love watching him play, he is my favorite hands down.....love his great sportsmanship......{and his arms and abs aren't bad either!} I digress.....but seriously, I love this event and will be spending one full day and two nights at Flushing Meadows. Night tennis with the rowdy NY crowd anyone?....you just can't beat it.

The thing that is doubly cool this year is.... it just so happens, that Holly Becker is in the city tonight doing her book signing, and I will be there! I can't wait to meet her along with Anna from Door Sixteen, Melissa De La Fuente from Melissa Loves, and I have heard rumors about some others that will be there....good times. There is a small after party later in the evening for all of us to get to chat more, and I will be hitting that up with my buddy Grace Kang who owns Pink Olive. Grace has been such a source of encouragement and inspiration to me....I can't wait to spend some QT face time with her! See you soon Pals!

I hope to check in here with some photos.....but it may be hit or miss until I get back Monday night. I hope you all have a great rest of the week, and a wonderful, super duper, long weekend!

xo,

Barb

Introductions....

 Not one.....but TWO! Woo Hoo! Dude, I totally named these two "velma" and "wilma", two old girls who have been hangin together for a while now. My main reasoning is..... these gray beauties belong to my client "C", and before they were hers, they were her mother in laws.......who is 86 years old, and happens to be visiting them right now. Talk about nervous......sometimes the old school crowd curses me for painting their "fine" antiques, so I was a bit jittery. I did not want to be around when momma saw them for the first time, but I hear all went well, and all of the swear words were meant in the best way! Good news.

These were the last two commission pieces in my Summer line up, so it felt great to get them done! From here on out I will be focusing solely on my publishing project, with lots and lots of crazy good stuff going on in the studio. Wish i could give you all of the details, but I am under strict orders .....so until I can shout it from the roof tops, just know that things are rockin', and I am working my little heart out to produce something that I can be proud of and leave as a legacy for my children.......oh,  and prepare to have your socks knocked off!

 Have an awesome day!

xo,

Barb

Etcetera....

 Remember when I told you about this little project here? Well, this is a peek at how the table turned out. I hemmed and hawed about how I was going to go about adding my mark to this piece. I wanted to do gold metallic stripes, but did not want to scratch up the existing finish in any way. It was a bit of a challenge to deal with the baked on, glossy, factory finish and I did not want to mess up my one shot. So, I put a call in to the only guy I would trust with such things, my paint guru "BP" with Sherwin Williams. I explained all of the details, he talked a bunch of paint chemistry nonsense I mean smarts, {don't tell him he sounds like Charlie Brown's school teacher when he gets all smarty on me....shhhhh!},  and set me on my path! Thanks a million dude!

I'm really happy with the result, and glad that it is back on its way to NYC.

On a side note....sorry for the influx of instagram photos.....my camera bit the dust, and I am finalizing decisions on my new camera! I have felt a little more than lost without it, and I leave for NYC on Tuesday {woot!} so I have got to have some camera action by then......

....have a fantasmic weekend everyone!

xo,

Barb

Found Goodness

Scored this beauty yesterday while out hunting.....

....now to find the perfect shade.....it's always the biggest piece to this puzzle....

Have a fantastic day!

xo,

Barb

Quotage...

edped tumblr via pinterest

One more month, and we won't have to worry about the sweat mustache for awhile.

I'm sorry...I just could not let this one slip by.....it is just too good. 

xo,

Barb

Happenings....

 Today my firstborn turns 15!

Seriously, I do not know where the time has gone....I remember rocking him as a newborn, and thinking that we had forever until he would be a teenager. Forever went by in a blink and now I have a handsome, 6 ft tall, hairy man child. I also remember that it wasn't too long ago when his little voice came from the back seat of the car and said "mommy, I don't want to be a teenager... because teenagers don't think their parents know anything, and they treat them bad. I don't ever want to be that way with you and dad." He didn't see, but I had tears streaming down my face. Little stinker!

I am happy to say that he does not treat us bad, and there is much love. "C" keeps us all laughing with his super quick wit, famous movie lines at just the right moment, and all around hilarious antics..... and even though there have been times where he doesn't love what we have to say....his heart is soft and teachable and he is a pleasure to be around.

Love you "C".....so proud you're my boy.

xo,

Mom

Introductions

Today's little number is a girl I call "Rosie". My mind has been set on doing a red and white striped piece for a few months now, and it finally came out of my mind and into reality. There is a very specific reason I wanted to do a red and white stripe, based on a book cover/movie.....and the first one to guess and figure out the name will get a treat in the mail. Just for funsies......and to see if you all can figure out how my mind works! This one may be pretty easy....but I'm going easy on you since it is your first time and all! {Wink!} I left the original hardware on this piece as well.....which is rare for me, but it fit into my vision perfectly. 

Work it out peeps.......and let's see what you can come up with!

Rosie is available for purchase, and can be shipped nationwide, right to your doorstep......and my boys will even do it with a smile!

Hope you all had an awesome weekend!

Measurements:

height 29 inches

w 38 inches

depth 19 inches

Etcetera....

west elm

Well, I thought I would end this crazy but exciting week on a really fun note. I have been asked to participate in an upcoming event that includes me "doing my thing" to this piece from West Elm. I am super excited about the collaboration and will be able to give you all of the details in a couple weeks....but for now I have a plan, and I think it is a good one. Maybe they will incorporate it into their new furniture line?! {wink}

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

xo,

Barb

Found Goodness

It has been a busy week around here! My little "B" started junior high, and "C" started high school... I feel like I have been over the hill, through the woods and back again! My head is spinning with all of the "beginnings", and I feel like an ATM machine with the button stuck on "please take your cash!" I am going to have to have a chat with these peeps....especially the algebra teacher who insists that my son needs a 125.00 calculator. What the what? She doesn't know who she's messing with. Just kidding!{I love you miss algebra teacher!}

Moving on...

Many of you know that I enjoy taking pictures, and have all kinds of apps on my iphone for such things. I have several different camera apps, but the one that I find myself using the most, and the one I have been shooting all of the first day of school pictures with this week, is Instagram. 

Remember, how I challenged you all to photograph every day events, and to be inspired by the little  things that get overlooked ? This app is perfecto for just that! It is my favorite way to snap a quick photo, edit it in two seconds, and save it. You can also publish to Facebook and Twitter with the push of a button as well. Seriously it is my fave, and you can look up those that you want to follow and keep up with their photos as well. Photo sharing at its best.

If you have an iphone and do not already use Instagram, I highly suggest a download.......and then look me up.... my user name is knackstudio. {all one word.} I would love to see what captures your attention, and you feel is photo worthy.

The best part?.....It's FREE!

xo,

Barb

Don't forget:

 If you all follow me on facebook at all....I am in the process of changing over to a new page, so please "Like" this new page if you would like to keep up with me. I will be shutting down the old page as soon as the transition starts winding down.

Thanks!

Quotage

pinterest

I am down with this 100 percent. The mind is a powerful thing.

xo,

Barb

FYI

pinterest

You all know that I love paint, and color, and wood, and wooden sticks....and the such. So, when I saw this super simple, yet super fantastic display of color and awesomeness I had to share.

Check it.

xo

Introductions....part 2

Here are the finished shots of "frenchi" for ya! I hope you all enjoy her goodness....and check out the paper in her drawers.....she is so fancy and spiffy these days! 

xo,

Barb

Introductions....of sorts

Well my peeps, today we are going to see the before and after pictures in stages. I was working on three pieces at one time last week and at the last minute on Friday I finished the first piece, but had no energy {or fresh flowers} to stage it and photograph it! So, here is the before shot:

and I will have the after shot for you in a jiffy. My client "A" inherited this piece from her parents, and just absolutely hated the way that it looked "all brown and stuff"....... So, she asked if I could crank it up a notch and go a little french on it.....I obliged as you will see....shortly....

Also, I am still working on these two guys:

....for my client "C", and they are looking fine in their creamy pale gray amazingness. Should finish them up today, and they are the last of my commission jobs for a while. From here on out I will be very busy working on something huge, and special, and awesome....and that's all I'm going to say about that right now. { I know ...you love me.}

Oh, and if you all follow me on facebook at all....I am in the process of changing over to a new page, so please "Like" this new page if you would like to keep up with me. I will be shutting down the old page as soon as the transition starts winding down.

Thanks!

xo,

Barb

Etcetera

I spied this picture of me and my sis while catching up on her blog last night...{if you don't visit her already you need to get your behind over to cranny + b }...and I forgot we had taken it. It made me smile from ear to ear......now I remember it, it was take this past February, and the big grins are probably because I was making some joke about burying my double chin in my giant scarf:) or some other crazy shenanigans. Speaking of scarves, I absolutely can not wait to wear boots and scarves again! This summer heat wave has been .....naughty, plain and simple.

I love my sister so much, and wish that she did not live on the other side of the country from me....but, thank goodness for Skype! I can at least see her face, and my little "G" every now and again. I love you "Sakes"!

Have a great weekend all! It's back to school for us on Monday! Can you even believe it? It is school time people, and I have one entering 7th grade, and one entering 9th grade......nuts I tell you.

xo,

Barb

Found Goodness

Fragments of beauty found last week on the beach. 

Pure and simple goodness.

xo,

Barb

Quotage

quotes and notes

 Totally love this .......and it is perfect for all the crazy things I have going on right now.

Get out there...reach...and enjoy the fruit.

xo,

Barb

FYI

 For the past couple weeks we have been working on switching the guest bedroom and my son C's bedroom. I thought I would give you a very sneak peek of the progress we have made......there is yet to be  a new light fixture, new window treatments, artwork and found objects on the walls, etc. So far, we have painted, built a platform bed, and moved in the Union Jack.....but it was enough to make me a really happy camper, and spur me on to finish. Remember we had a week of vacation in there somewhere, so it is back to sorting and moving everything from one place to another.

Yesterday, C and JB sorted through the piles of "belongings" and organized everything into three piles: keep, goodwill, and attic. So, a big part is behind us...now, we just have to nail down artwork and placement of things and we will be in business.

I cannot believe how gorgeous and bright it is in this room now compared to the previous color, and will be painting the guest bedroom the same color. The color is called Chocolate Froth by Behr paint, and the name is completely deceiving because when I think chocolate I think brown....but this is the creamiest, frothiest, pale gray you have ever seen. Totally awesome, and the fact that "froth" is in the name ......WIN!

I promise to show whole room pics when it is all done. But for now just relish the sneaky peek!

Enjoy today!

xo,

Barb