Deck of Me- Week 17: My Bedroom

Big dilemma this week... make a painting of my room now or as a kid for Emily's Art Challenge? The reason I would want to paint it now is the ridiculously large pirate ship on our dresser that my husband put as a "decoration". I suppose it's to off-set my girly things in there. (I actually really like pirate stuff- but don't tell him that- he thinks he's getting away with something.) I even had a pirate ship on my list of what I wanted to paint at some point, so I thought it would be perfect. Then as I read about other people's bedrooms from their childhoods I had a new idea of what I wanted to paint equally as bad- a Strawberry Shortcake card!

Growing up, my room was completely Strawberry Shortcake. I had strawberry wallpaper, pink walls, bedspreads, toys, puffy sewn material cut out things of Strawberry Shortcake characters hanging on my wall, the list goes on and on. My mom sewed a life size Ragedy Anne doll in Strawberry Shortcakes dress and made me a matching dress to wear when ever I wanted. I use to wear that thing all the time. (I still have my doll and extra dress and it's been fun to dress my girls up in it). My doll, dress up clothes, and room were my pride and joy until I was about 7 years old. After that I began to shift to other interests.

Around 11 or 12 I began to beg my parents if I could re-wallpaper my walls and repaint them. They never let me. So I covered them in posters of 90210, New Kids on the Block, and Michael Jordan. My posters switched to other interests and increased throughout the years. By the time I left for college I don't think there was a spot on my wall that showed pink or strawberries. (funny enough- when ever I go back home for a visit, I still find it pink and strawberry filled). :)

So my solution to my dilemma of what I would paint you ask?... I sat down with my husband and we drew and painted side-by-side. I made a Strawberry Shortcake card and he made a pirate painting- ArrRRrrrr. It was a fun couple of hours.

Seth really only paints his drawings that he's scanned in the computer using Photoshop and Painter. It was wonderful to see him using my brushes and paints and coming up with something so beautiful and fun to me. I hope we do this more often. It was great fun. You may be wondering what the pirate in the crow's nest is searching for. Well I think I know exactly what he is searching for and it's not land!

This pirate ship on our dresser is so big that the long part that pokes out of the front of it (sorry I don't know the correct term) that usually holds a mermaid or a lady holds a skeleton body on ours. It juts out more than a half a foot and early in the morning I have to manuver my way around that without bumping into my bed. Well sometimes I'm a little more sleepy and tipsy when I first wake up and am trying to rush for my morning business. Several times a week I bump right into that stick part which is at the level of my chest if you know what I mean.

Seth has come up with a story that they look out for me and move the ship slightly to the left so they can poke my left breast as I walk past. Without fail whenever I bump into it (knocking the pirate figures over in the crows nest and hanging on the mast- how they keep getting back up there I don't know) Seth will shout out an, "Aaarrrgg, we got 'er men," in his pirate voice supposidly coming from the pirates and somehow I feel angry at those dirty pirates. hahahaha

You can check out his blog at http://www.flippinhippenstudios.blogspot.com . I recommend spending a chunk of time enjoying his stuff and especially during the end of August through October drawings. They are fun and Halloweenish. I just love those.

For kicks, here is a photo of me in Kindergarten on picture day. I insisted on wearing my Strawberry Shortcake dress my mom made. It's fun to see a little me and see that I still have those round circle cheeks.