Art & Design of Kelli Murray

Avery, Spring Daydream – 8 X 10

Poppy Print – 8X 10

Succulent Print – 8 X 10 (also available as an iphone case)

Wildflowers Print – 8 X 10

All of these new 8 X 10 prints are now available in my SHOP!  Flower overload for you, just in time for spring!

I am running an instagram giveaway for Avery (first image)….now through Saturday, so head on over to read the rules and enter to win that print plus any other single print from my shop.  (sorry, this one is for IG users only)

And if you don’t feel like taking a gamble, well,  you can purchase any one of them at any time!

Thanks for the support!

Pants – Earnest Sewn // Boots – Sam Edelman // Sweater  - c/o PacSun // Shirt – H&M // Hat – Anthropologie // Bag – Urban Outfitters (similar)

I’m ashamed to say these photos were taken a long time ago.  A really long time ago.  I think, dare I say it, January!?  Hence, my boots and layers.  This is considered cold weather dressing for San Diego friends!  But I figured….better late than never right? As I am sitting here anticipating the arrival of summer, these photos are reminding me what I love about winter.

My sister and I took Rylee down to the Oceanside Pier the other day to let her watch the waves and run after the birds (starting to do that more often these days).  It’s the prime spot to people watch because it’s such a mash up.  All different ages and nationalities…and a whole lot of tourists.  We began laughing as we started to compare everyone’s attire.  Mind you, it’s a beautiful, sunny, but slightly chilly, day in March.  But you can ALWAYS spot the tourists.  Always.  They are the ones that are barely dressed, in the bikini’s and shorts, enjoying the sun and sand the the fullest.  While we are sitting there bundled in our sweaters thinking “aren’t they freeeeezing”!!?  But then you think about the places they might be coming from, and it all makes sense.  I think if my typical March still consisted of snow, i’d rip off my clothes at 70 degree’s too.  Not literally, but you know what I mean.  I guess we don’t have a whole lot to complain about here.  But still…I’m waiting on you summer sun.

And did I mention, we have a Palm Springs vaca all planned for Mother’s Day in May!!? A getaway to PS once a year is starting to look like a family tradition….and i’m not mad about it!

Photos by Erica Schneider

 The 52 Project – a portrait series of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2013 

It was a beautiful weekend.  One of those you wish could last forever.  Rylee wore her new dress from her Grandma, and of course…a flower crown for Easter.  It was the first time at church that we were able to drop her off at child care and not have her break down in tears.  We counted that a big success!  Hopefully we are turning a corner there because seeing her horrified face as we are leaving breaks my heart every time.

After church we spent the afternoon back at my moms for an egg hunt with the kids and a family dinner.  Rylee ate more chocolate in one day than I think she has in her entire life.  Come to find out, she has a sweet tooth just like her mom! Yikes. And I still have a big basket full of candy sitting on my kitchen table that will be taunting me for the rest of this week.

Trying my best to welcome Monday, but really wishing I could re-wind the weekend!

Happy Easter!!  I illustrated this little rabbit the other day and decided to make it available as a free download for you all before Easter sunday rolled around.  Print it out, give it to a friend, hang it on the wall….whatever your heart desires!  My hope is to offer more of these freebies for you as time goes on, just as a thank you for following along and always making me feel so loved.  There are two download options, both sized at 5X7 with a 1/8″ border.  The only difference between the two is that one says “Happy Easter” and the other does not!  I figured you might want to make it relevant for more than a day!

**Free for personal use only

Obviously, for me, Easter is about a whole lot more than cute bunnies and flowers (it’s just what I like to draw!).  Easter is a reminder of the incredible sacrifice God made for us on the cross.  It’s a story of ultimate love and redemption.  Him dying, so that we might live. It’s humbling and overwhelming and sometimes hard to even comprehend.  And all I can say is that I am ever thankful.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones.  If you live in SD, I will be selling some of my art at ‘The Night Before‘ event on Saturday where Jon Foreman will be playing a free (yes, free!) concert.  Anyone is welcome, and I’d love to meet / see you!  Rylee girl will be there and so will the hubs.  I’m looking forward to it.  And i’m also looking forward to the family easter egg hunt that will ensue on Sunday afternoon.  (For the kiddos, that is).  And the thanksgiving style dinner my mom is preparing.   I can’t believe it’s been one whole year since these photos were taken!  I need to try to dig up those ears again!

What are your easter plans!!?

So, I went a little overboard…I know.  I just had the hardest time choosing what photos to feature here of this shoot I did with Nicole Daniels.  When she asked to photograph me and my girl a few weeks back, I couldn’t say yes quick enough.  Ry and I have never taken photos together, just the two of us.  Well, other than the spur of the moment day to day one’s, usually in the form of an instagram (you know the kind!)  So you can imagine how excited I was to get these back.  They are photos i’ll cherish forever.  I’m always thinking about how fleeting life is.  I know it sounds depressing, but it’s true, right?  The special thing about photography to me is that it allows you freeze a moment in time….a moment you will never get back, but that you’ll forever remember because you can hold it in your hands and  look at it tomorrow, and every day after that.  It’s a memory that can be put in a book, and looked back upon when your kids are all big and grown.

When I look back at these photos, I’ll remember you at one and a half.  I’ll remember picking out our outfits and attempting to coordinate.  I’ll remember putting a bow in your hair and wishing you had a bit more of it by now!  But still kind of loving that fuzzy blonde head I’ve grown so used to.  I’ll remember your fascination with nature walks, and finding everything along the way a new brilliant discovery.  The way you gasp when you hear an airplane and the way to squeeze my leg when something frightens you.  I’ll remember your cute little strut and your goofy crooked smile. Your chunky legs and your petite little feet. I’ll remember the way you laugh (I live for your laugh), sometimes so hard it isn’t even audible.    And I’ll remember the way your sweet voice sounds when you tell me “i love you”.  Incomprehensible to most, but clear as day to me.  Oh one and a half, sometimes I wish you’d stick around forever.

Thank you for this gift Nicole!