Here's My Story

Those who know me know I have a testimony that accompanies my artwork. I've always loved being crafty and drawing but in 2003 God presented a turning point to me. I was sitting in a dorm room trying to draw and was getting pretty frustrated. I stopped and cried out inwardly, "God, why would you give me this desire to draw if I cannot create the things I see in my mind?!". And the Lord actually answered me- I almost audibly heard a quiet voice tell me, "I will guide your hand". I was shocked, I just sat there letting it sink in that I was pretty sure God had just spoken to me. As I processed it, I decided that was cool and all but crazy. Crazy that God would really guide my hand in artwork. I mean- that's just CRAZY. So about a month later I decided to submit some artwork to an artist's guild and when I finished the ink drawings....I cried and my hands shook. Because the hand that drew them was not my own. I had never been able to draw like that. God had not lied to me, of course not. I finished the drawings with color pencil- suddenly I understood shading & shadows. I'd always struggled with it before. I was and am overwhelmed with the amount of Grace God has for us; even in my imperfectness He still gave me a deep desire of my heart. When I took my artwork to the post office, the man helping me commented on the drawings. I excitedly told him my story. He smiled a polite smile but I walked away and realized I'd just become "One of Them", one of those Christian's that talks crazy talk about miracles and wants you to believe them.

My story is true, believe if you like- here are the before and afters.

Before-Drawn fall 2002 (it's okay to laugh)

After- Spring 2003 (if you want to laugh it's okay it may hurt my feelings now)


Spring 2005

They do a great job of convincing me on days when I think God has abandoned me or I have nothing to offer. Since that prayer, I've increased my grasp in areas of art I've attempted. I am not perfect but I get better with practice, just like all artist's.
As I've grown in this I've been so thankful. As I was folding clothes this morning I thanked God for showing me, finally, who He created me to be- a creative person, creating for others.
So that's why I started Ruby Coco, it's an outlet to create for others. We'll see what the Lord does from here...

Front Door Makeover

My good friend Tara recently posted pictures of her front door makeover. Check it out, she did a phenominal job. Now this lady is a creative lady with a Can Do attitude, I love her. She attempts the things I talk about. The before and after is drastic! Thanks for asking me about my front door, I'm pretty pleased with our little rancher. No kidding- before we bought it I happened to drive past it and say to myslef " Wow, that's one ugly house"- who knew I'd own it one day??

Here's our home when we moved in:

Nasty lamp post, tired boxwoods, monkey grass (yawn), funky rust colored paint, brassy mailbox, patchy grass. Whew- needs help.

and after some paint and landscaping:

I smile when I pull into the driveway now! The rundown:

1. Door paint- Kingsport Gray by Benjamin Moore
2. Trim- Deserted Island by Benjamin Moore
3. Mail box- silver spray paint
4. Flowers on door from Tallulah Trading Co. (they are so nice and will spend a lot of time with you creating the perfect wreath, etc)
5. Flowerbox- White and pink Vinca's & asparagus ferns
6. Large Bush- Hydrangea from Lowe's
7. Plants in front of Hydrangea- Lamb's Ear (gift from the lady who did my centerpieces from our wedding) It grows anywhere you plant it! Go plant this!
8. Flower Bed- Pink and white impatiens with hostas from the nurseries in Alexandria

The Nursery

Let me just say, I am so delighted with how this room turned out! Abby is 2 months old now and I still enjoy this room while I'm rocking her. To be honest I wondered if we'd ever use it for more than changing diapers at first. And the first couple weeks this was my bedroom, I'd wake up every morning and think "Wow, I decorated a room for my self". About 3 weeks ago we finally started putting Abby in her crib like a big girl and what a treat... she's been sleeping like a champ! She goes down at 10 and wakes at 8 am! What more could we hope for? We feel extremely lucky. Soooo.... here's her room. I've included some of the details but if you have a question just ask.

We were waiting for her rug to arrive when I took this pic, imagine a round, white shag rug. From overstock.com and it is wonderfully soft. The walls are Anew Gray by Sherwin Williams.

Baskets from Target, lamp from TJMaxx last year, picture frame from Ladies in Waiting, changing table I bought from my friend Stephanie. It was her husbands funky college dresser, they had it refinished when they had their first child.
The picture tucked into the corner of the frame is Dan when he was a week old. Little precious boy.
The rocker Dan was rocked in as a baby, the teddy was Abby's first baby gift.
The lovely curtains my Aunt Linda designed and made for us! Polka dot fabric is discontinued, I bought all that was left from Fabulous Fabric in Shreveport. I'm not sure who the maker was. The coverlet is Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic for Target and the bed skirt is Ralph Lauren from TJMaxx several years ago.
Crib is Munire from here (they are so sweet, and the shop is fun to browse). And...Ta- dah! Abby's painting, I'm so happy with it- had this idea to sew flowers to a canvas for over a year and now I've actually done it. The dots and trim around the square are metallic silver paint, shimmery when walk around the room and look at it.
Close up of the silver paint and my favorite little flower. These are the same flowers I made for Stephanie's journal from the Martha Stuart tutorial
This was my dresser growing up, back then it was a funky greenish gold color, I'm not sure why I never thought to paint it back then. When Dan and I got married we repainted it with flat black which was so sharp! It looks sweet and happy now tucked into Abby's closet. The mirror is from an antique store, I hung it as a back splash behind our stove and to help our tiny kitchen look a little bigger. When we bought our home their was no place for it so I was super happy I was able to dust it off and hang it again.
Little bitty shoes from a friend, thank you Julie!
A dress to bring little bit home form the hospital
Organized drawers, I was so proud. I enjoy seeing what other people do to get their lives in order, thought you'd like to see too. The hot pink liners have been in there since the 60's, good thing we had a girl!

Homemade bibs and burp clothes from my talented friends!
Love, love, love Belle & Boo- I've mentioned her before. Mandy was kind enough to offer this free download from her website

And here she is! Abby and I home from church, wearing our matching headbands. Abby's is from here, Emily is a lovely lady with an adorable family. I'm always encouraged after her reading her thoughts and creativity, check her out!

And that about sums it up for this perfectionist...

Have created lots of beautiful things I'll be sharing soon...
And will be done with the nursery this weekend! Yahoo!

Just a smidge for now

My Aunt Linda surprised me yesterday when she called and said she'd be here a week early to deliver Abigail's nursery! Wow, I am blown away by her beautiful work and what a difference curtains can make in a room. I'm not ready for the big reveal yet but thought I'd give you a little taste of this sweet room.

Bear Bryant would Approve

Yes, I think Coach Bryant would love my homage to his houndstooth legacy that is Alabama football! Wow, I have a new appreciation for the inventor of houndstooth after studying and breaking it down for this cute painting....

Can you believe this Momma to Be sewed all of her bedding and curtains herself? I'm impressed and looove the houndstooth detail around the curtains. Great job Bethany! My other favorite part of Elliott's room is the elephant shelf to the left. Where else is an elephant shelf going to fit in like that?! Thank you so much for the picture girl, his room looks wonderful!

Here's the whole shebang up close so you can see the houndstooth better....

Now I'm not necessarily an Alabama fan, but this got me excited when I finished it, Roll Tide!!

Sneak Peek...

Hello, thought you'd enjoy a sneak peek of a project I've been working on the past couple weeks. Just a corner for now...

I'll show ya the whole shebang after the beautiful Momma-to-be picks it up this weekend!