Welcome to the middle of the week, and a great offer from Erika Jessop Design. These deals are for today only, so book now or contact me if you have questions. The links below go to PayPal where you’ll make your complete payment (no deposit)!

Please email me for a booking to be entered in this fabulous drawing!

Visit Erika Jessop Studios!

I had a very nice Mother’s Day visit in Nebraska. Brandon and I were only able to stay for a day, but we packed in lots of fun, and most importantly, I got to hug my lovely Mom!

photo 1 – a gorgeous sunset, like only the plains can offer

photo 2 – nothin’ says Mother’s Day lovin’ like baked beans

photo 3 – my sister and I present Mom with her gift; a ring with our birth stones

photo 4 – my Dad and my cousins rifle through a giant box of jewelry for goodies

photo 5 – getting ready to the long drive back home to Denver…feeling tired

photo 6 – a peace sign drawn in the concrete outside our building

photo 7 – best travel companion ever: my husband

photo 8 – lilacs from Pintail Point that we brought to my Grandma

Have a good weekend, everyone! We are headed back to Nebraska…see you again soon with another week in photos.

Love, Erika

As many of you know, I’m addicted to (one) my iPhone, (two) taking photos with it, and (three) buying apps to process photos! I am doing a 365 project on my facebook; it’s one iPhone snapshot per day of something I’m grateful for. I’m about 1/3 through and it’s been a ball!

I’ve decided to share some faves from each week here as well. This is week #2…a very busy one!

photo 1 – the Gaupers made a stop in Denver for their “Break Free” workshop and we scouted out an awesome Tim Burton wall downtown

photo 2 – a painted sky as a storm rolled in Wednesday night

photo 3 – fresh strawberries…mmm!

photo 4 - prepping our workshop model for the shoot. It was so fun to watch her perk up and get sassy as Holly added makeup and accessories.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week! Now…have an even better weekend…

love, erika

As Friday approaches, I wanted to look back on the week and celebrate my favorite parts…

photo 1 – Tuesday morning walk in Washington Park with my friend, Patrina

photo 2 – My buddy, Gunther giving me a few sniffs and smooches before church Tuesday night

photo 3 – My mid-week visit to the beauty shop. It felt so good to get me “hair did.”

photo 4 – A beautiful tree with its thick roots exposed along a stream in Wash Park

photo 5 – Brandon’s camping buddies in Ruston, Louisiana. Quack! (I think they wanna move into his tent)

photo 6 – Blossoms on a tree in my neighborhood

I hope you had a great week too! Lots of love,

Erika

Along with the launch of my painting site, Erika Jessop Studios it was time for some new marketing pieces. This 5 x 5 inch hang card will be tied to custom painting orders with colorful ribbon! It features a few of my favorite things; lawn flamingos, beautiful VW buses, little yard trailers, and monsters!! I can’t wait to send the first orders out with this new card.

To book a custom painting of your own, visit erikajessopstudio.com and contact me or simply email me at erikaj[dot]art[at]gmail[dot]com

Michigan photographers Ryan and Holly Gauper of Gauper Photo will be traveling the country over the next few months, bringing their exciting Break Free Workshop to a city near you!

These two are approachable and fun to work with, making them great photography teachers. Here is some of their beautiful work…

Visit Ryan and Holly’s Break Free site for all the details. The duo will make stops in Dallas, Oklahoma, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver. They are willing to make a special stop in your city too. So contact them today and be on your way to taking better photos!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

After our trip to North Carolina, Brandon and I were looking forward to a few days of respite at home. But then we learned of a giant storm (the one that plagued most of America Christmas week) rolling through the Midwest. We would need to leave that day or miss out on the holidays with our families. So we hit the road!

Most of our annual Christmas traditions were postponed due to illness and nasty winter driving. We began to refer to the storm as the Blizzard of 2009. We were snowed in for a few days and Christmas Eve candlelight service at my hometown church was canceled.

When the snow and ice let up a bit, we gathered together on Saturday at my grandparents’ home.

They make THE BEST soups every Christmas Eve. Clam chowder has become a family tradition and the hamburger soup is so yummy too. It’s hard to choose, so I usually have a few spoonfuls of both!

Then we convened in the living room and tore into our gifts. Here’s Brandon with my cousin, Elliot.

We were thrilled when my sister Aubrey and her fiance Josh arrived. Their wedding will take place in just ONE WEEK!

Here we are at mom and dad’s!

Emma sure enjoyed her Christmas present too! She wore her festive red holiday bandana to chew her new bone. I love how puppy-ish she looks here.

We also enjoyed two editions of “White Elephant Gift Exchange”, one at my grandma’s and one at Brandon’s mom’s house. The white elephant involves bringing small gifts that are homemade, found, and generally not very valuable. Then each participant chooses a gift in order. Brandon spent several days creating the white elephant trophy for the exchange at his mom’s since it was our first year. The result is a colorful circus-themed work of art. He is so creative!

The glass cylinder is filled will peanuts, the white elephant’s favorite snack. His sister Rhonda, also a creative artist, sculpted this cute clay mouse to guard the door of the tent.

Isn’t he cute? I love his little worried expression.

The gift exchange was wonderful. Here I am opening my first gift choice…some lovely arrowheads and deer “scent” (pee).

Luckily, my nephew Brandon wanted the collection of hunting goods, and I ended up with this adorable pipe cleaner flower made by my niece Liz. Yay! It’s so pretty.

Brandon also opened a bag of lego candy from grandma that he LOVED!

And Brandon made my Christmas even sweeter by stealing this snowgirl that Rhonda made. She is whimsical, glittery, and even has a tiny flower in her hat!

Rhonda’s husband Wade was the lucky one who ended up with the trophy, so he will wrap it up for Christmas 2010! And there’s Rhonda documenting the fun evening in photos. You can read all about Rhonda’s creative adventures in her blog: http://rhonda4kids.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, everyone!

xoxo

Erika

P.S. Just a couple of photos from the gingerbread house competition at Grove Park Inn in Asheville! Thanks again for sharing with us, Chris and Rayna!

Brandon and I were lucky enough to make a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We visited his sister, Rayna and her husband Chris at their home near Cameron the week before Christmas. It was a four hour drive from Cameron to Asheville and as usual, we filled the car time with Rayna’s stories of my husband as a kid (those are my favorites) and jokes.

Biltmore House is the fruition of George Vanderbilt’s state of the art dreams. Mr. Vanderbilt opened the doors to his mansion in 1895 for his lavish Christmas party. The interior space occupies 43 acres and boasts over 250 rooms. Many walls are covered in silk, silver, and gold. Today, Biltmore remains the largest privately-owned home in the United States and employs nearly 1,800 employees.

Touring the house at Christmas was a sight to behold. Here are some glimpses of the exterior (no photography allowed inside). I would have easily filled ten memory cards on each floor…

We walked around the grounds right before sunset and the giant greenhouse was a real treat! Each wing supports a unique climate for its plants.

I loved the patterns and textures. Brandon took the photos in the cactus section. Beautiful!

And the pineapple was so tempting!

There was even a large Koi pond in the center with Oriental plants all around.

Chris and Rayna enjoyed some time together in the courtyard as we sipped hot cocoa from one of the on-site shops.

That was some yummmmmmy hot cocoa.

Of course, Brandon called ahead to color coordinate with the vegetation : )

Not really sure what the funny face was all about.

Biltmore has several gift shops, each with their own specialty. This one had ornaments similar to those adorning the trees inside the mansion. These little flocked and feathered birds were so cute!

As we left, we enjoyed one last magical view of Biltmore’s majesty.

Peace and love,

Erika

Here is Nicole Shelaine’s new business card design. Please visit her site and say hello!

Have a great week, friends.