Spoonflower wants designers to enter themes that are plays on words and have original  hand lettering.

I came up with a vibrant green and yellow color scheme for A-V-O-C-A-T-O.  

I also added "purrr-fectly yum yum," to add another little pun.  

It's a whole lot better to paint than worry about the hurricane damage in North Carolina.

Voting begins September 20 and ends September 25 at 3 pm EDT.  You can vote here when you choose "Punderful life" challenge.  Be sure to activate the checkmark, not just click the heart.  I appreciate your support!

Melanie Troutman Williams works out of her studio in downtown Winston-Salem.  It's a fun visit to see her because you can check out the Art-o-mat machine and lovely artwork at Delurk Gallery and grab a bite to eat at 6th and Vine restaurant.

Melanie painted a Golden Retriever named Charlie for my friend, Denise.  

Charlie was a very happy and sweet dog who lived a great life.  

This painting honors Denise's memories of Charlie and keeps him with her every day.

Earlier this year, Melanie also painted Benji (from the movie) for my best friend Julie's birthday.

I remember watching Benji when I was a kid.  

I wonder if Benji will ever come to Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Here is one of Allison's large wire sculptures.  

Photo courtesy of Allison's Instagram account.

I recently vended a small sculpture for a co-worker who has lost her husband.

I appreciate these meaningful gifts so much, and 

I know they made a positive impact in the lives of my friends.

Have you given the gift of personalized art recently?  

Drop me a line if you need recommendations!

I finally have finished these bad boys!

This is my third pair of hand painted canvas shoes.  This is my first pair of Vans.

The front of the shoes say, "Love" and "Life" to remind folks that there's a lot to love about their lives.  (Be grateful for the little things!)  The hand lettering emanates from the cassette tape.

The back says, "Side 1" and "Side 2."  Remember how we used to have to turn the tapes over?

The sides say, "Play" and "Record."

Does anyone remember how hard it was to scroll back the loose tape back into the cassette?  

See if you can find at least one mistake (there are 2) in this picture from my drawings.

Earlier this week, I had the privilege to visit Emerge Gallery at the Pitt County Arts Council in beautiful downtown Greenville, North Carolina.  

Please forgive the low light photo.  I visited in the late evening with my friend, Elaine Anderson.

Here is the lovely Art-o-mat machine at the Arts Council.

Elaine is an amazing REALTOR(R) and wonderful leader in civic and charitable organizations locally and all over our state.  She was a wonderful host to me and took me on a tour of downtown Greenville, which has undergone a Renaissance of revitalization.  The home of state-of-the-art medical facilities and East Carolina University, Greenville has become a favored relocation destination in our state.

I don't know what's in the mystery column.

I bought a Sarah Whittington original painting, which comes with a lovely acrylic frame to prop up my original work.  Sarah is the mother of Art-o-mat founder Clark Whittington.

Rae Brown is Elaine's daughter, and I really enjoyed meeting her during one of her pottery classes at Emerge.

Just another happy art adventure on the books!

Recently I had the good fortune to travel to Nags Head, NC, on business.

Of course I made a point to stop in to the Dare County Arts Council and purchase an Art-o-mat original during my short stay.

This Art-o-mat resides in the Arts Council gallery on Roanoke Island on the corner of Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Sir Walter Raleigh Street in Manteo, NC.  If this sounds familiar, it should:  this is the site of the Lost Colony.

Although it was pouring the rain and the Outer Banks were flooding, I still managed to grab some photos on the porch of the Arts Council historic building.  "Only through service can one be great," read this Clerk of Court honorary marker.

Inside I found the machine.

It is always so hard to decide what to vend.

I think they have a "Mystery" pull because there are a miscellaneous few artists left don't have enough art at the time to devote to an entire column.

After assuring the staff that I did not have the skills to fix the light or service the machine in any way, they gave me a token.

I settled on a pair of lovely rose stud earrings by Crystal Miyake.  Very happy with this purchase.

If you ever have the opportunity to make a trip to Nags Head, Manteo, or Roanoke Island when it's not flash flooding, then enrich your mind with its mysterious history first.  You may really enjoy the conundrum that's baffled archaeologists and historians for ages:  the legend of the Lost Colony and the Dare Stones.

If you are looking for some excellent summer reading, then any or all of the North Carolina Outer Banks collection by Justice Charles Harry Whedbee make excellent reads.  "Legend Writ on Rocke" is a chapter in his book entitled The Flaming Ship of Ocracoke.  I was very glad I read this book before traveling to the OBX.