College Bound Canvases & Boots

Happy Hump Day, blogging world!

The orders have been coming in by the numbers, and I am so grateful. Summer is my favorite season for paintings and such because it is the time when I receive a surplus of orders for college bound individuals. This gives me a chance to learn more about other schools' traditions and even learn about new colleges that I never researched when I was applying. Last year I am pretty sure Arkansas took the cake for most orders, so I am looking forward to seeing who comes out on top this summer. So far, we have a tie for first!

LSU canvas for Kristen, and a soccer pattern for Sarah, who is going to school to play soccer. How exciting!

University of Oklahoma chevron canvas for these two roomies, Paige and Rachael.

These upcycled, refurbished books were custom painted with the colors of Cornell University. Because these babies were my first Cornell piece, I'm going to do a follow up post on them. How fun of an idea is that though? Turning an old pair of boots into your gameday boots? Yes, just yes.

That's all for now, but keep checking the blog and Instagram for new canvases and giveaways!

Father's Day Fun

Hi, y'all!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Father's Day- I know my family did. My dad and I got to go watch his alma mater, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, play their first ever game in the College World Series. If you're not a sports fan, just know that this is a huge deal. Also, you should rethink your life choices. 

On the Bkrafty side, I had a busy week completing these spirited coolers for some awesome dads. First up, we have a University of Texas cooler - right up my alley. 

I wanted to make sure there were some unique elements on this cooler. Having done a few Texas themed coolers in my day, I love making them unique and special so that whoever receives it knows that they have something truly special. Wendy, a Texas gal herself, collaborated ideas with me and sent me ideas for her husband's Father's Day cooler, which was really fun for me. I got a great sense of what to design, and I was really happy with the way it turned out.

Let's have a look!

On the front, we have the famous words from our old coach, Mack Brown: "Come early. Be loud. Stay late. Wear orange." I've been trying out this new font (not an official font, just one of my own) and am really loving the way it looks on coolers. The letters can be crunched and stretched to fit perfectly around whatever space, and I thought - what better to be in the middle than Bevo? I have to admit, this version of Bevo. Look how happy he looks!

Because the front and top have a lot of detail, I thought the sides should be sharp and clean, especially with "The Eyes of Texas" wrapping around the top of the cooler. 

And last but not least, the back. No Texas cooler is complete without the state of Texas or the Texas flag. That's my motto! 

Not only did I get to make a University of Texas themed cooler for Father's Day, but I also was asked to paint one for a dad who loves the Kansas City Chiefs. 

My favorite side of the cooler is definitely the front. I experimented with a lot of new fonts and styles, and the colors really popped against the red background. It's always fun to learn new traditions from different teams, and I researched a lot about the Chiefs and what some of their famous staples that should be incorporated in this spirited subway art styled side.

On the top, I painted the Chiefs logo with a butter yellow background. The arrowhead is outlined in black, then metallic gold around the black. The top is also complete with two red stripes to bring a little inspiration from the Chiefs' uniforms.

I loved the look of the metallic gold on the back and decided to use a spray paint to add an airbrush look. The gold wasn't getting enough love on the cooler yet, so I was really excited when I found a chrome finish metallic gold color that I could use. I thought it gave it an element of toughness (and coolness.)

Happy Father's Day!

Hot Prints for Summer

Listen up, y'all! To kick off the sizzlin' summer, all prints in my Etsy shop are now only $10 - get 'em while their HOT. Haven't seen the prints, yet? Let's take a look at some of them, shall we?

So far this summer, I have been able to go to on a few adventures already. I wanted to channel that adventurous spirit and tap into that creative zone that traveling gives me, so I created a few new prints inspired by my summer so far. I used a lot of bright, warm colors that reminded me of this magnificent West Texas sunset my friends and I experienced on our road trip; seriously it was so stunning that we had to stop and pull over to take in its beauty.

Many of my close friends are studying abroad, on mission trips, or off to new cities for the summer to work or travel, and it has inspired me to look into the happiness that comes with new adventures. I've made it my personal mission to embark on some adventures of my own this summer, and with that, some goals as well (one of which was to start posting more again on the blog.) So this is my first showing of the new things I have been working on. I hope y'all enjoy! I want to remake this blog into something a little different, so that might just have to happen, too. In the meantine, if you want to keep up with what Bkrafty Designs is doing behind the scenes, the best way to follow is through my Instagram account. 

I have recently been going through my old quote book and highlighting which ones I wanted to make into prints. Here's my favorite out of the bunch so far:

A highlight of my summer (yes already) is the fact that my friends Kaitlin, Leslie, and I happened to snag BEYONCE AND JAY Z tickets. In the spirit of Queen Bey, and the biggest #powercouple we have ever seen, I made this *flawless* print. 

In case this is your first time on my blog or if you haven't seen any of my prints before, here are a few of the ones for sale in my Etsy shop. They are black and white, but you can request colors as well. Happy shopping! 

I will be adding new prints throughout the week - so keep checking in on my shop and blog to stay in the loop. Have a quote you you want but don't see? Send me and email or comment below!

Mother's Day

A little post to all of you incredible moms out there! We love you for all that you do and more. Need a last minute craft idea for mom? Check out these SUPER cute ideas from spoonful.com! My personal fave? Definitely the Minnie and Daisy Queen for a Day Kit. What can I say? I'm a Disney Princess at heart.

Head over to my Etsy shop if you need a little inspiration for cards - this print is one of my favorites if you're wanting to channel some girl power. See for yourself here: Girl On Fire Print

I thought I would share some of my favorite canvases and verses that my mom loves. She is always my number one fan, and I am grateful for all of her love and support.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Philippians 4:13 -  "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." This is a big one for us. When my mom and I run together, we remind each other of this verse.

My sweet mum helping me send out an order. Couldn't do it without you, mom! 

Proverbs 31:25 - "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." 

Love you mom!

Cooler Weather

It's formal season! I recently had the pleasure of painting this a cooler for a lovely friend of mine for the Texas Delt Spring Formal. She requested Texas and beer themes, which was such a perfect theme for that almost summer almost time for the beach feel. Want to see the final product? 

Cooler Divided 2.0

Happy Friday! For today's post I am featuring the latest cooler I painted. This cooler was customized for a couple getting married this month, so I had to wait a little bit to post it. My amazing hair stylist Shara recently ordered a cooler during the holidays, and her friend Cortni (who also works with her and is wonderful!) decided it would be a great gift for a wedding!  The bride went to LSU and is a huge Saint fan, and the groom went to Texas (Hook 'em!) and is big Dallas Cowboys fan. I decided to split the cooler right down the middle with the bride's teams on one side and the groom's on the other. Here's  a snapshot of the front: 

 

I have painted a few Saints themed coolers, and I always love the way their colors look together. The metallic gold really pops against the black background.

I wanted to include more of the bride and groom's college traditions in the cooler design, so on the back I painted one side with slogans from each school: "Love Purple Live Gold" for LSU and "Hook 'Em" for Texas complete with a little tribute to the happy couple in the middle!

Here's a closer look at the LSU side; Geaux Tigers!

Below is a picture groom's side dedicated to the Dallas Cowboys; I was really happy with the way the lettering outlined in metallic silver looked against the bold blue. 

Cheers to the happy couple. If you are interested in ordering a cooler, please send an email to bkraftydesigns@yahoo.com. Happy Friday!