beneath the tree

i had the wonderful experience of being part of the "beneath the tree" event in grand rapids this weekend. my mom and i were able to shop 8 of the houses on friday together. there were so many beautiful handmade items and the homes were decorated just lovely. i was able to work the home that my art was displayed in on saturday. i had the wonderful experience of meeting many people and watching people have a good time looking at all the decor. my favorite part was seeing three of my original art pieces go to their homes. i was blessed to meet the three who purchased them and i have to tell you that each of these people had the same response to the piece they bought. they each said that the moment they saw it they immediately loved it! i tell you what, that just made my heart jump for joy. the time i spend on each canvas is a lot and i pour my heart into what i create. to see someone love it as much as i do (because i could have easily kept each one but have no room) just made my heart sing! so i thank these three people for letting my share my art in your home and i pray you enjoy it as much as i did creating them. i thank my hostess for letting me display my art in her home. the possibilities are endless and i am forever grateful to my heavenly father who has given me the gift of creativity! amyjo

live...laugh...love

these canvas designs i made for a friend. it took me a while to come up with something as she only wanted to accent the words. i didn't want it to be busy with a picture or busy design so i came up with filling the canvas with the word! i love how they turned out. as soon as she gets them hung i am going to get a pic of them on the wall! there are so many possibilities with this design. i could make one with a name, a favorite word, a favorite city, a team, anything with a word that you like. contact me at artsytreasures@aol.com if you are interested! this would be a great gift for any occasion. hope you have a beautiful day:) amyjo

custom adoption canvas

i had a call to make a canvas just like my sisters adoption canvas! i was so excited that i could make another for a family to look at and always remember how much a part of adoption is in their family. of course no two can be the same as my mind is always coming up with a different way of creating. so here is my 2nd version (same colors:) enjoy! and thanks to the family i was able to make this for.

link to some of my first canvas art

before i started my art blog i was posting photos onto my personal blog. i realized they are not on here so for now here is a link to my girls, the first robots i created, and my rejoice canvas. enjoy! http://ajoosterhouse.blogspot.com/search/label/art

Tripod trouble

ok, so I couldn't fInd the clip to my tripod and in my efficient thinking I could only come up with rubberbands to hold my camera up there. not the smartest thing to do with an investment but I needed a tripod and the missing piece has yet to be found. so kids, do not try this at home!

adoption canvas

this was made for my sister and her family. they have adopted two beautiful children. i had the honor of going through the process with my sister over the phone as she lives in texas. there is so much more to adoption than i ever knew. they went through so much wondering if the person looking at their profile would choose them, home studies, meeting the birth mothers and families, meeting their new babies, and praying for the time period until they had their gotcha day so everything was finalized. during this process jeremiah 29:11 was their bible verse they came back to often. The symbol of the heart with the triangle is an adoption symbol . . . the three sides of the triangle represent the adoptive family, their children, and the birth families. Those 3 things have created this family and they are all linked by a heart (love). on this specific canvas i added and extra heart-one for each of the children and the 4 pearls on the heart are for each person in their family. this was such a privilige to make for my sister and her family. they wanted a visual reminder of the gift adoption has been in their life. this canvas captured all she wanted to remind her of. if you are interested in a personalized canvas contact me at artsytreasures@aol.com. thanks

choose joy

joy is a choice. i try my best to be full of joy but that quite often escapes me with all the demands i have coming my way. making visual art is a great reminder for me because it is beautiful and has the words i can look at to bring me back to my focus in life. this specific piece i was feeling very busy and had lots going on at the time and it came out on this canvas. i wanted to try all kinds of new stamps, new stencils, and a bright busy color for the whole thing. this is only an 8x8 canvas but my soul poured out all over it. i love my art and i hope it can speak a bit to you to!