Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2011

Hats and Happy New Year!

Hello!  It has been an interesting year for this creative person that is for sure!  Jobless, then worked at a call center (ugh) and now working at a fabric store.  Definitely a transition year for me.  I am hopeful for the new year because I see it as a blank canvas ready for life to paint it's picture.  Endless possibilities are out there.  There are a few goals that are being set but no 'resolutions.'  Goals are better :) My creativity has really blossomed over the past year and am looking to see what is next.  Last year after being let go from a job without notice it really got me down for a while but generally I'm happy so it didn't last long, besides, with love and support from family and friends, you can't go wrong no matter the situation.  On with the creative part...for Christmas this year I sewed, crocheted, latch hooked, painted and made many gifts as usual.  On Friday and Saturday last week for whatever reason, I decided that after being 'done

Let's Go WILD!!!

Christmas came early this year for part of my family.  We celebrated this past weekend and this is what I gave my nephew.  He is a huge fan of the Minnesota Wild so I thought it was appropriate to paint a chair for him.  He is almost seventeen so being able to give him a gift instead of a gift card is always a challenge.  Wish I would have taken a picture of his face when he saw it!  My nephew is a great kid and he makes me proud so it is great to give him something like this.  

Super fast, super easy Infinity Scarf

Here is a much better photo from the display I made at work :) The hot fashion item that everyone has to have right now is a fun scarf.  Here is my super easy scarf  'pattern' if you could even call it that.  This fabric was purchased from Hancock fabrics and is 9.99 a yard.  Basically you need a quarter of a yard to make this which means it cost about 2.50.  It's a great bargain and you will get a ton of compliments on it.  The fabric is already ruffled so you just need to sew the two ends together and cut if you would like too.  I gathered mine just a bit for a flower looking detail.  At this point your basic scarf is finished.  I decided to cut between the ruffles with a pinking shears for added interest.  You can use regular scissors also, this fabric won't fray.  There are great colors to choose from too!  Hot pink, black, turquoise, a few shades of grey and white to just list a few. This is the ruffle fabric in a dark grey Put right or wrong sides toge

Coffee Notecards

Hey it's me!  One of my teacher from High School is on FB and also Pinterest.  She posts some really cool stuff and loves coffee/tea related things as well as doodle like designs.  I decided to make her a small gift and send it to her.  I drew 8 cool coffee notecards for her and dropped them in the mail.  Teachers don't get enought thanks and she was someone that influenced me and many other.  I am glad to call her friend!  

Fish & Knits

I am such a slacker!  Now that my posts aren't everyday, I tend to get sidetracked and forget to share my creativity.  So, here finally is the second calendar page, it is similar to a post of note cards from August 7, 2011.  So far the theme seems to be animals for the calendar.  We will have to see what other ideas come about and just follow the inspiration, you never know where it will end up. Since my posts have been few and far between this is a second fun project.  These necklaces were made from a kids knit kit.  (say that three times fast)  I bought three of these kits one for me and the others for two of my nieces.  At my work they were on clearance and cost 1.50 each!  The projects on the box are for cute little creatures so the girls will love them, but the critters are not really my taste.  After a while of 'playing' with the kit, creativity kicked in and these two fun necklaces were made.  The loom is fun and fast so there will definitely be more grown-up p

Too many ideas!

When is comes to this time of year, my mind goes into creative overdrive.  I realize my posting is much less now that my original goal has been met, but believe me, I am still making stuff.  There are about ten Christmas gifts in the works as well as my calender drawings.  Current projects involve sewing, crafting, drawing and crocheting.  I am proud to say that a good chunk of gifts are already done or close to being done, yeah!  Working in a fabric store has definitely boosted my creativity and some days too many ideas are crowding my mind.  Because funds are still low for us, I have been buying things bit by bit every payday.  It helps to not have to blow an entire paycheck all at once.  This also is good because with my discount on top of sale price, I have gotten some incredible deals. Add caption Today, my post will be the first of my calender pages.  There are two finished so only ten to go!

Caddyshack Painting

Hello!  So, my mom's husband is a golf nut.  He recently had a putting green installed in his backyard and right next to it he has a storage shed that he wanted me to paint.  He requested "Caddyshack" painted on the front so I obliged.  As a bonus I made a small sign with the rules that the caddies in the movie had to follow.  For inspiration I HAD to watch the movie again for like the fiftieth time, oh darn!  If you are ever having one of those days, pop in Caddyshack and you will laugh your butt off!  There are so many of those quotable moments in it.  Can you really go to a golf course and not think about Chevy Chase or the hilarious Bill Murray?  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080487/quotes?qt=qt0484905

Peacock Drawing

I'm back!!!  It has been nice to take a break from the daily posting but I am always working on new creative endeavors.  Here is the peacock drawing that was mentioned on one of my later posts.  I was browsing the Internet the other day looking for inspiration and had forgotten that peacocks are so incredibly gorgeous!  WOW!  My drawing is stylized and interesting but nothing compares to the beauty of the real thing.  Trust me, if you have a chance, look up pictures of this majestic bird, it is worth your time.

Art is my LIFE!

Here it is the last of my daily posting.  Nothing fancy today just a simple drawing to sum up this year.  My life has changed a lot since last August.  John Lennon wrote a wonderful song with this line, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."  It is so true, you never know what will happen when you wake up in the morning, each day is a new adventure. I will continue to create and post but it will be nice to be able to focus on larger projects and spend more time on them.  In this past year, my style and interests have grown so much and I am very proud of this accomplishment.  Please continue to check back with me!  

Funky Little House

Way last October I got two little houses at the Goodwill.  The first one was painted like a haunted house for Halloween and this one was going to be a gingerbread house for Christmas.  Well, it just didn't look right even after painting it a few different ways.  It was set aside until an idea struck which was in the past few days, just as my blog is winding down.  I decided to paint it in fun colors and just randomly make designs.  It is what my style is really all about, crazy patterns adorn mostly everything and color is the key.  This house is a DVD holder but we own too many to fit in here.  There is a shelf inside so it could be used for many things, I'll think about it and figure it out later.  One more day to meet my goal!  It is such an accomplishment for me to have been able to do this blog.  As mentioned a few times before, the blog will continue I just won't be posting daily.  Still not sure what to do tomorrow, but thats OK, there have been many days like that.

Mismatched Wings

Earlier today I decided that butterflies would be my drawing for the day.  After a small shopping trip on my lunch break, I knew that it was meant to be.  There was a calendar for next year filled with pictures of gorgeous butterflies and it was only a dollar.  This was my inspiration!  Once I got home, the doodling started.  For whatever reason making the wings mismatched seemed like a good idea.  The results were definitely to my liking.  Being an artist always gets interesting responses from people.  The most common thing that is asked is can you draw me something.  Well, at work tonight I was chatting with one of the other employees and she loves peacocks so she asked me to draw one for her to hang in her room.  That is a request that is possible!  So not in the next few days but in the future you can look for that drawing.  It could be a really fun thing to draw especially with my style.  The designs on the feathers will be something that I could totally immerse myself into.  Ye

Art Togo

I don't even remember how long ago this was purchased or from where, but it has been collecting dust for quite a while.  When this blog was first started I dug it out to paint, but the inspiration never came.  A few days ago an idea FINALLY came to me.  Instead of painting the outside of this wooden briefcase, why not paint the inside.  It is all wood and the interior isn't as glossy so it would take to painting very well.  This design is one that just popped into my head, it is very random but I like it.  There is no need to attach a hanger to this because the handle will be perfect.  

Heartthrob Cafe Memories

The best job ever and the coolest friends that I ever had were when I worked at a restaurant called the Heartthrob Cafe.  It was in downtown St Paul, Minnesota and was so fun!  Today we had a get together to catch up and reminisce.  This is one of the many good things about facebook, finding people that you wished you never lost contact with.  So, today my post is the buttons that I made for this event.  We had 'flair' that was a lot more fun and cool than a restaurant chain that I will not name here.  We danced and sang birthday songs.  The girls wore poodle skirts and we did all of this while wearing in line skates.  We were a crazy family and honestly this was one of the best times in my life.  Ahhh...memories. In the time spent there somehow the button machine came into my possession.  In honor of our gathering, of course I had to make pins.  Here are also two murals that I painted at the restaurant.  Let me tell you they were tricky!  The murals are on glass and when

A Passion for Fashion

I love to look at fashion magazines and briefly attended FIDM in Los Angeles to study design.  One of my absolute favorite shows is Project Runway, I may have mentioned this in some past post.  Every season I am inspired by the designers and would love to be on a show like that but, I sew like crap!  OK not that bad but my sewing ability would get me eliminated right away.  My talent more so lies in the designing part not the execution.  This is a drawing that I did last night, gowns are my favorite to sketch.   Here is also a cool display that was created by me at work.  This is entirely draped and pinned on the mannequins and my boss really liked it so that is a good thing.  Actually, the latest addition to my responsibilities at work has been the displays.  No one else likes to do it which is great for me! 

Funky Lamp Pattern

I couldn't wait to post for today!  This is my super cool new painted lamp.  As stated yesterday, it was a Goodwill find and cost 1.49.  I almost bought a few more but there isn't enough room in my home for more lamps.  A few ideas were bouncing around in my head but this was the final result.  The design that I wanted to do was a leopard print and you can see a bit of that in the finished piece but it also looks like a floral pattern.  No matter what it is still awesome!  Lamps are so fun to paint, you have a lot of area to cover and the possibilities are endless. My husband isn't really a fan of this one but the decoration of the house is my area not his so as long as I like it that is all that matters!

Art Tray

It was an awesome relaxing day off.  A bit of laundry was a nesseccity but after that it was veg out time.  My husband and I took a wonderful walk at the little park and lake by our home and afterwards we sat outside for a while.  Because it was such a beautiful afternoon I brought my painting stuff outside as well.  Two projects got finished today which was great.  The hard part was deciding which one to post today.  In the end the tray won.  Both tomorrows and todays items were purchased at the Goodwill.  That is truly one of my favorite places to shop.  You never know what you will find! OK, so this tray had a nice sunflower design on it.  I debated whether or not to just keep it as is but in the end my creative juices started to flow and this is the idea that came of it.  Just a side note, last night I was dreaming colors and patterns, my head is full of designs so hopefully the last week of the 365 days will be a awesome. This is going on my wall and will not be used as a tra

Flowers, Felt & Beads

Tomorrow I get to sleep in and relax, YEAH!  It is a well earned day off after the business of this past weekend.  My plan is to get up late, watch some guilty pleasure TV, paint and maybe make dinner if the mood strikes me.  Oh, and weather permitting have few beers outside.  What bliss! For today I sewed up this little felt creation.  The flowers are black felt and the beads are brown.  This to me is a great color combination although I know a few people that would disagree with me.  But if you have been paying any sort of attention to this blog you will know that my style is a mix of colors.  Besides, there are no rules in art.  This contradicts what my high school art teacher said, but the teacher was wrong! Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun.   ---Mary Lou Cook

Grandpa's Chair

I always remember this chair in my Grandpa's apartment.  When he originally had it, it was upholstered in yellow vinyl.  It became mine after he past away many years ago.  The vinyl had seen better days but I still really liked the chair and wanted to recover it.  The fabric had to be just right and it took a while to find the perfect design.  This awesome art design was THE one, the only problem was the price.  Luckily it wasn't a popular pattern and it eventually got marked down to a price that was affordable.  It was easy to redo, a little sewing and a lot of tacks.  Now it is more of a decorative chair but it always brings back happy childhood memories when I look at it.  

Bean Frame

Yeah!  I am finally home!  It was a good buy busy few days and now I can relax a bit.  An ice cold frosty beer sounds so good right now.  But first, the blog.  It has been a while since there has been a frame post so here is another idea.  In my recent trip to the dollar store I found this frame for you guessed it, a dollar, but when it came time to checkout, it rang up .25, what a deal.  Now, the story on the beans, originally they were purchased for a bingo game for my class reunion.  The bingo was too much work but I still had the leftover pinto beans.  Solution, the beans have a nice pattern and they matched the frame so they got hot glued on it for a very unique look.  This is a smaller frame and the picture areas are very little so it may end up just as is but when you have such an interesting frame who needs pictures.

Cupcakes and a Card

Wow!  What a day!  Worked over 10 hours, came home and my husband made dinner, yeah!  Then had to bake cupcakes for my stepson's grad party tomorrow and make a card and work on a few other things.  I am sooo tired now.  Tomorrow, I work at 6 am then come home pack up the truck and head to the party 45 minutes away.  What that means is a soon as we get home, it is bed time for me.  Right now my eyelids are getting heavy.  So, here are the pictures for today.  A card to go with the gift made yesterday and many cupcakes. Sleep tight y'all!

Fleece Tied Blanket and Pillow

This is NOT an original idea but it is the first time that I have ever made one of these very popular blankets.  If it were not for the fact that at my work this particular fleece was marked down to practically nothing I may not have ever made a tied blanket.  They are not bad, just not an interest of mine.  As luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time.  This fleece was marked down to $1.00 a yard and my stepson loves the Minnesota Timberwolves so it was perfect.  I spent less than $6.00 and got him something that he will enjoy and that is a tough thing to do for a teenage boy!  It took me a few hours to cut and tie both a pillow and blanket.  In my stockpile of stuff  there was an extra pillow form so it all worked out great for me.  It was very easy to do, this is something that anyone could do.  Now fleece in general it can be expensive so if you are going to make a blanket like this, watch for the sales and mark downs to get the best bargains.  Remember, this

Skull Cards

There is a benefit for a of mine this weekend and he loves hard rock music.  I have been trying to think of what to make that would work with his favorite genre but my style isn't really conducive to that.  This is what I came up with.  These cards would also work for Halloween.  My idea was to give this along with the skull pillow from a few posts ago but am not sure right now.  The cards are very unique and hopefully someone would appreciate them.  It can be difficult to come up with an idea when the persons interest isn't a specialty of yours.  We'll see what happens and I will post what my final decision was in a few days.

Profile with Dots

This is an idea that I had and it turned out pretty much the way it was in my head.  It is simple with just a black outlined profile and lots of dots surrounding it.  It is all acrylic paints on white canvas.  Something that I have noticed is that drawing or painting profiles is preference of mine.  All of the projects that are in this blog of faces are profiles.  It probably has something to do with the simple lines of the side of the face.  If you draw someone head on the design takes on different qualities.  This was a very enjoyable thing to paint, hope you like it!

Modern Flower Painting

Guess where this was purchased from!  You are correct it was the Goodwill.  It was an Easter decoration on a wooden board.  It measures about 8 x 24, so it worked out well for a design like this.  For a week it sat on my todo pile until this idea for some styalized flowers came to me.  It is like a really modern still life vase painting.  This is one of those things that I couldn't stop adding details to.  Some dots, some squiggles, and a few more vines, the more I painted the more interesting it became.