• Peace in a Quiet Moment

    Some of the most delightful moments in life are the simple ones. Personally, my favorite part of being a Mom is when I am spending time with my young son, outside, with no scheduled agenda or interruptions. This girl is in that moment in time when there is peace and joy in caring for her beloved animal.

    Painted in watercolor..an original, one-of-a-kind piece would look great in a cozy cottage core style home, cute rustic farmhouse, eclectic bohemian flat, a child’s room or nursery, or perhaps as part of a collection of unique pieces collaged together on the wall. It would make a lovely housewarming gift for you or someone you love <3

    Click here to Purchase.

    Follow along with me on Instagram: @amydecaussin

    Click here to Purchase.

  • Handmade Baby Boy

    This special little boy is 5 Months Old! I recently did a little photo shoot with him highlighting a few handmade items that were made just for him. As we love all things handmade, these are not the only gifts he has received, but they are particularly special. You can find more handmade items in my blog post about our nursery.

    1. Grandma Made His Baptism Outfit

    Shown in these photos are his adorable white romper and bonnet handmade for his baptism day. My Mother, Kay Hofacker and I went to our favorite store in Phoenix, SAS, a local fabric store and selected the white fabric with pinstripes. Mom took to her sewing machine and made this amazing outfit. Needless to say, this outfit will be treasured forever!

    Marcel is laying on my baby blanket that my Grandma Great made me!

    2. Baptismal Baby Blanket

    On Marcel’s Baptism day at Saint Barnabas, we received this gorgeous blanket made by a group of ladies who get together every Tuesday morning at church to craft and socialize. A special thank you to Shirley Adelmann <3

    3. Great Aunt Hazel’s Time Capsule

    When we shared the news of our new baby’s forthcoming, my Mother pulled a gift box out of the back of the closet. It had been wrapped and ready for gifting for twenty years and came with a note inside. Around the mid-1990s, my Great Aunt Hazel came to realize that she was losing her sight. Even though I was only a kid, she wanted to plan ahead for the future. So she secretly made this sweater and booties for when I have a baby and asked my Mom to give to me when the time comes. Aunt Hazel passed away in 2006 at the age of 97. My Mom kept her promise throughout the years. In the summer of 2018, she gave me the box. It was like opening a time capsule. There was a special note from Aunt Hazel and these precious heirlooms still wrapped in tissue paper. I was so touched that she thought of me, and so long ago too! Like connecting with someone across space and time, I couldn’t wait to dress my baby up in these sweet items and introduce him to his Great Great Aunt Hazel Braal. She was an amazing person.

    And like all proud Mothers, I had to share a few more photos below from our special photoshoot. My husband Cam and I will be married 7 years this fall. It was so wonderful to place Marcel with our wedding photo and marvel at how our lives have grown <3

    He is holding a special cross necklace from his God Mother, Sarah Petersen, and her children.
  • Formal Request to the Tooth Fairy

    July 13, 2019

    Dear Ms. Tooth Fairy,

    I am writing to inform you that on this day, at the age of (nearly) 5 months old, Marcel Frances DeCaussin has two teeth which have appeared.

    I request that you add him to the Registry of Children with Teeth for future consideration.

    Cordially,

    Mother DeCaussin

  • The Fascinator

    Marcel was baptized at Saint Barnabas this past month. It was a very special day. For the occasion, I made the fascinator to go with my dress and I wanted to share this handmade item with you.

    I started by creating a base out of felt. I took my wedding veil apart and added the lace from it. (My maid of honor and I made my wedding veil, so it wasn’t too scary to take it apart!) I added hand-sewn flowers I created from fabric scraps. This pink broach was my Grandma’s.

    I added pearls from my Mother and some flowers that I painted in watercolor and cut out. We live in Phoenix, so we don’t usually have to worry about the rain too much.

    We had many loving family and friends present with us. Rev. Robert Berra even gave a special sermon. We had a gathering afterward and I made my Grandma’s special sugar cookie recipe with little white chocolate boats on them. Everything was water-themed to go with the idea of water baptism.

    The fascinator was perfect, and the day was perfect.

    Read about Marcel’s handmade Baptism outfit <3

  • Nursery Adventure

    With the completion of our nursery, Cam DeCaussin and I are feeling more prepared to welcome our new baby home in the coming days or weeks. We decided to take the opportunity to make this project a collaboration and treat it like an art project. So we brought our two styles together and each contributed our creativity to make the nursery a special place for baby. We had a lot of help from my parents, Kay and George Hofacker (who came to visit from Michigan) putting the space together and tons and tons of contributions from friends and family. Our community at Saint Barnabas has especially played a huge role in supporting us. Most of the furniture was given to us by other parents and almost everything in the space was either a gift, or something we made.
    My Mother made this rabbit and bear special for baby. We picked out the patterns and fabric together. Our favorite place to shop whenever she comes to visit is SAS Fabrics in Central Phoenix. Love and support from far and wide–the fox was made by Jo Gage, a friend from the arts community in Grand Rapids, MI where we used to live who shipped a bundle of stuffies to us.
    This original illustration was created just for our baby by one of my closest friends, Clarissa Krajewski. She used pen and watercolor to draw a scene of adventure.
    The changing station was given to us by a family at church. My Dad stripped the wood and together with Cam, it was painted and treated with tongue oil and new feet were added to the bottom of it to give it a more modern look. My Mom made several covers for the changing pad and I layered them with changing pads in between, so when they need to be changed, the top layer can just be removed and another one is already on it.
    We were on a road trip when, in Yosemite, we discovered that we were expecting. Along with our theme of adventure, we have illustrated posters from Yosemite (where he was “discovered”), King’s Canyon, Sequoia and Grand Canyon National Park, all places we have enjoyed traveling to. We had a lot more need for storage, so we purchased this credenza on Craigslist. Cam added the legs to give it a more modern feel and he painted the drawers tiffany blue. The nursery is shared with our bedroom, so I needed a place for my jewelry box too. The lace under the jewelry box was made by my Great Grandma. We added the plant to help soften the lines in the space.
    This blanket is oh so special by Wildship Studio, designed by our close friend Bree who we went to art school with. This is such a special gift to us. The crib was given to us by another family at church and Cam transformed it from black to yellow.
    I created this illustration diorama special for my baby. All of the parts in the picture are drawn, painted, cut out and placed in a three dimensional space. Then it was photographed and finessed in Photoshop. This large print was then placed in a frame and hangs above the crib. You can view this illustration in full detail here.
    As the midwives at Babymoon Inn, (where we receive our care and plan to give birth) requires the first 5 days to be spent in bed, having our bedroom and nursery in one seems like a great set up. Having a new baby is all new to me, but the best adventures are had in unexplored territory 😉
    Speaking of adventures, Cam and I have had a lot of opportunities to travel. We’ve been to the Rockies, Patagonia, the Mogollon Rim, and even whale watching just to name a few. We printed photos from many of our trips to hang near the bed–I feel this will be so nice to have to look at during recovery. The wood frame was given to us by a friend who was cleaning out her house. We tore off the very worn canvas and weaved twine across it. I’m happy with how the photo collage turned out. We added a shelf above our bed and slid our wedding photos over to make room for our new maternity photo taken by my Mom on South Mountain in Phoenix. You can view our maternity photos here.
    Cam built the light himself using parts from Ikea and the shade is a basket that he flipped over and modified.
    Inspired by a piece I created for Saint Barnabas for Community of Hope, (a program that provides lay led pastoral care to those who need it) we added delicate wood embroidery hoops to the walls. I drew leaves with micron pens and painted them with watercolor. Then I cut them out and glued them to the hoops to compliment the straight lines and embellish the “green natural” feel in the room.
    Who knows what adventures we will have with the addition of Baby!
    Cam built this hanging blanket ladder using wood dowels and twine. There are so many special blankets hanging on it. One is made by Cam’s sister Kris, one is by a close friend and professional seamstress Wendy Raisanen, my baby blanket made by my Great Grandma and one made by my cousin Sara. The table is a basket with a boppy pillow inside. I added the fabric weaved into it to brighten it up. The glider was also given to us by a family at Saint Barnabas and I sewed the yellow and red flap over for some color. The hot air balloon in the top left corner was a centerpiece at our baby shower handmade by Cam’s crafty sister Kris 🙂
    Here is a close up of Wendy’s adorable “Bear Lake” blanket.
    I put together a nursing station with snacks and burp clothes hand sewn by my Mom. I wanted something that could easy be removed so I could get inside our basket of pillows easily, but I didn’t seem to have the ideal thing. The next day, I walked into work and on my desk was a gift box from a family at Saint Barnabas. It had an adorable outfit in it and a baby book. This box seemed like just the perfect container!
    So here is a great story: I asked my Dad to raise the glider stool up a few inches and he thought it would be great if it had wheels on it so it could be moved out of the way even if I had my arms full with Baby. So he went for a walk through the neighborhood and came across an old bed frame in a back alley. Within an hour of his absence from the house, he walked back into the house with four perfect wheels in his hands. We were all in awe of his resourcefulness, even though this type of inventiveness is so typical of his character. The wheels work perfectly.
    This Cuddle + Kind stuffy was another gift from a family friend. What is so cool about these little critters is that with every purchase, 10 meals are provided for children around the world who are in need!
    We got one of those hi tech baby monitors with a camera and our big plant makes a great hiding place!
    Ok ya’ll–the due date is February 7th, 2019. We’ll see how it all goes! And we can’t wait to announce his name 😉
  • Maternity Photos

    I didn’t think I wanted maternity photos, because they didn’t seem necessary to me, but toward the end of my pregnancy, I started to realize that this is a special stage in my life and that it might be nice to capture it. Still set on not making it a big deal, I asked my Mom if she wouldn’t mind taking a few photos when she came to visit from Michigan. So one night my Mom, Dad, and my husband Cam and I drove up to the summit of South Mountain. It was a very cloudy day and had been raining–unusual weather for desert-set Phoenix, but we were determined to make the best of it. Both Mom and Dad took some snapshots and while the light wasn’t great, we were grateful to have the photos. We were about to call an end to it when suddenly, the sky opened up and this amazing sunset appeared right at the very end. The whole sky turned pink and the rain over the valley caused a great rainbow over Phoenix. Yes, the rainbow was completely real and not Photoshopped as I was later asked. We were so pleased with the results and had a really great time enjoying a special family moment. All photos are by Kay Hofacker.
    Choosing from our photos, we created this New Year postcard to send out to family and friends.
  • Why Stories Matter – John Green

    In this talk, John Green touches on an idea that is close to my heart:  Using stories to escape mental illness.  I completely understand what he is talking about and I think it is a wonderful technique.  It may seem like it is a way to avoid problems you are having, however I viewing life through different characters is a way to get out of your head and gain new perspectives.  A new point of view can inform other parts of your life, including difficult challenges you might face–like OCD or anxiety.  The magic of storytelling–it is an important tool to living life to the fullest.

     

    Amy DeCaussin specializes in cut paper art and animation.  View her work here,amydecaussin.com.

    For animation, image licensing, agent representation,

    and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.

    ©Amy DeCaussin All Rights Reserved.

     

  • Behind the Scenes of Cactus Living

    A few months ago, I devoted some time to a project called “Cactus Living.”  This is a behind the scenes look.

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    The inspiration behind the project stemmed from my constant desire to be out in the middle of the wilderness.  I love being on a trail (or off the trail) in the mountains, or on a boat in the water, soaking up my surroundings and filling my soul with creation.  I especially like to be as far away and secluded from civilization as possible.  There, I can clear my head and find peace.  I also wanted to do a project that took advantage of the Arizona landscape.  This project included nature and macro photography–which I LOVE.  Ever since I was a young child, I’ve loved the idea of creating tiny fictional worlds deep within the woods.  I used to write stories on that theme, climb trees, play with dollhouses and day dream. What fun to revisit this!

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    The process began in the studio.  I created the house out of paper was painted with watercolor and embellished with colored pencil.  I added scraps of paper to it, glued and sewed different parts to make the whole piece.  The colors were chosen based on what I thought would contrast well with the colors in the mountainous landscape.  The house took multiple days to create, but once it was complete, it was time for the adventure to begin.

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    I drove to South Mountain with enough time before sunset to scout for a good location.  I parked the car on the side of the road and went walking onto the terrain.  Once I found the place I wanted to shoot, I went back to my car to get all of the equipment.  This included my camera pack, the fragile paper house in a box and a big bottle of water.  As predicted in Phoenix, it was hot.

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    A shot of the scene. (Note that this is not a finished photograph in the series, just a behind the scenes look.)

    A big challenge was realized as I began to settle into the location.  I wanted the house to sit on a cliff with spectacular views of the sky at sunset.  I ended up working literally on the side of a mountain.  I easily slid down the rocks.  I would grab onto a rock only for it to break lose from the ground and fall.  The way down was about 40 feet to the road below.  Trying to prop myself up while holding the camera took all of muscles and energy.  I had no idea that the task was going to be so physical.  I appreciated the flexibility I have from my background in dance when, at one point I laid backwards a rock backwards, shooting the scene upside down.  Since I am not native to the southwest, I had no understanding of the danger the cactus can pose.  I brushed up against the cactus several times only to learn just how damaging they can be.  At one point I panicked, afraid I wasn’t going to be able to pull the barbs out that were deep into my skin.  Everything worked out, but it definitely caught me by surprise!

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    I think it was about 40 feet down to the road.

    On top of the physical challenge, shooting at sunset is working against time.  The color changes with every second and there are many angles to consider.  As I packed up “camp” and left, I felt exhausted, but accomplished.  I was able to capture what I set out to get.  I walked back to my car only to find a ticket on the windshield.  Apparently I didn’t park in a designated area.  Note that there are no parking areas on South Mountain that have signs designating them as such.  Unfortunately, I had to pay the fine.  The price you pay for adventure.

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    Although it was a big challenge, I’m proud of this project.  I learned a lot too.  I learned that I may not want to create something quite as three dimensional in the future, but allow the watercolor to be the central focus.  I still think that any excuse to go and enjoy the natural landscape is a good excuse. Through all of the challenges, it is so rewarding to look at the images and perhaps be transported to a little fantasy world.

    You can see all of the final pieces in the series by clicking here.

    If you would like to order a print of this illustration, please contact me at amydecaussin@gmail.com

    Amy DeCaussin specializes in cut paper art and animation.  View her work here,amydecaussin.com.

    For animation, image licensing, agent representation,

    and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.

    ©Amy DeCaussin All Rights Reserved.

  • Life: Love & Collaboration – John Green

    Life is about love and collaboration.  John Green says it so well.

    “Everything will be easier, if you see yourself not as the protagonist in your own heroic journey, but instead as a collaborator in a massive sprawling humane epic.”

    “In the end we’re making humanness up together.  It’s a collaboration.  All of these so called horrors of adulthood emerge from living in a world where you are inextricably connected to a world where you must listen.  Those conversations are how we are going to get through together.”

    And getting through together is what life is all about.  Life is about building relationships.

    Amy DeCaussin specializes in cut paper art and animation.  View her work here,amydecaussin.com.

    For animation, image licensing, agent representation,

    and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.

    ©Amy DeCaussin All Rights Reserved.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Joy in the Rain

    For this illustration, I painted individual patterns along the same color theme to create the different papers that make up the umbrella.

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    The different patterned papers were cut out and collaged together. Some parts were hand sewn.  This piece was created on masonite.  I also used plastic wrap and embroider floss, ink and acrylic paint.

    joy-umbrella-web

    Amy DeCaussin specializes in cut paper art and animation.  View her work here, amydecaussin.com.

    For animation, image licensing, agent representation,

    and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.

    ©Amy DeCaussin All Rights Reserved.