Creative Dawn

This is a cool drawing of pencils, a design of writing utensils.  You know by now my love of patterns.  I think that there should be a name for the looping style that is in almost every design.  What do you think?  Any suggestions? Here are a few ideas:  Swirling swoops, looped curves, curling flourishes.  Too silly, I know but there needs to be a name for it.  Think about it, let me know.

I was having trouble coming up with something today.  This is a felt project that I have been playing with but really don't know what the end result will be.  The main purpose was to use up a lot of felt bits and this is what it turned into.  In a way it looks like a millefiori design at least that's what came to my mind while trying to figure out a use for it.  If some beads were added, it would definitely have that kind of look to it.  Most likely it will become a small pillow but who knows!  Short and sweet again tonight, just like me :)

I didn't originally buy this wall hanging for two posts, but that is what happened.  I used the small wooden heart from this Goodwill find to make a fun necklace on 6/14/11.  Today, I painted the other part in black and cream design. Sometimes after things are painted or drawn, I wonder how the design would look as fabric or wallpaper patterns.  It would be interesting to be able to see them in that way.  Remember the post about dream jobs?  That was a listed idea and it is still something I think about.  What if? It's good to have dreams and ambitions no matter what.  To quote John Lennon, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"...    

Yesterday I posted the larger of the two wooden plates painted in a stained glass style.  This is the smaller of the two.  The same technique was used but the design is different and so is the color scheme.  When painting these I used three different main colors and then added white to get the lighter shades of each of them.  This has inspired a few more ideas for future projects.  It would be fun to paint a window sized piece in this fashion.  It would probably take at least a week to do something like that, but the results would be awesome!

I bought two wooden plates at the Goodwill recently.  This is the larger of the set, tomorrow the other one will be posted.  Sometimes when I get an idea it gets stuck in my head I feel the need to create a few items in that style or design.  That is probably true with most artists and creative people.  Picasso had his blue period and if you look at a lot of artists they do seem to have times when certain styles or themes dominate their work.  So, both plates are painted in a stained glass style and both are flowers.  I remember mentioning way back when this blog was started that flowery designs were not a preference of mine and now there are many posts with flowers.  Maybe I should clarify, the girly pastels and foo foo floral do not appeal to me.  The ones in this blog are more stylized. It's a rambling kind of day, sorry!  Hope you like the post for today.  Have a great Friday!

These two were too cute to pass up at the Goodwill and only .49 each.  What a bargain!  The teapot is about two inches tall and the coffee is about four.  The original design was a decal of a poinsettia so it must have been a Christmas decoration.  The idea for the design was just random.  The green was the first color and I was going to do red or orange as the second color but ended up with the turquoise instead.  I am really not sure if they were intended only for decoration or some other use.  The lids are removable on both and have tiny wooden dowels to keep them in place.  The sure are adorable and should go nicely with the other coffee inspired art that is in my kitchen.

I thought this was a fun title for my post today.  I have never watched the painting show, but know the gist of it.  I was admiring all of the blossoming trees on a recent drive home and that was my inspiration. The tree is cut out of a patterned scrapbook paper because the design is fun.  It was then placed against a blue patterned background.  This is one that took way longer to cut out than it did to draw.  The swirling style is definitely a trademark element of mine if you haven't noticed by now. 

 BEFORE AFTER This was a Goodwill find for 3.99 and I love the size and shape of the picture.  Of coarse I had to paint over it, but it was not an original anyways.  The frame is not changed because the white really looked good with the colors of the painting.  It started with a coat of green paint and then once it was dry I taped off two different 'borders'.   The outer design is just dots that were created by dipping the end of a brush into the paint and then adding the dots in a random design.  The next design is a pretty shade of moss green and has kind of a mosaic quality to it.  The inner most design is just lines and for some reason reminds me of Eddie Van Halen's guitar.  This painting is about 12x36 and fits perfect on a small side wall in my dining area.  It is so fun adding things to the decor of my home at a fraction of the cost most people pay and also not needing to shop around for a specific design, I jus...

I was looking at a magazine and started to doodle because of a picture that inspired me.  It was a peacock design with a seventies style and it was really cool.  I tried different techniques but ended up using some of my standby design element.  The green paper really enhanced the picture and after adding the white then paisley borders it stood out even more.  It is in a way complex but so simple.  In the back of my mind there are a few more ideas involving this type of bird design.  Maybe in felt...hmm...  Just kidding about the felt, but I just had to mention it.  LOL Side note for the day, being in the state of hockey, Minnesota, it was sad when I heard the news about Derek Boogaard.  It was fun to watch him when he was with the Wild and will be greatly missed.  Thanks for the memories.

I have been slow at adding things to my wall of D's.  This one is a cut out design and very different.  It reminds me of a picture that I made in college of an atomizer.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is an old style perfume dispenser and some of them were very ornate.  I am kind of on a cut out design kick right now because it is a new challenge for me to master.  There are actually artists out there that make much more intricate paper designs than I do.  Browse the Internet sometime and check them out.  Many of them use a surgical scissors for more precision in their cuts.  My designs are simple compared to them but it is still a medium that I am enjoying and growing more comfortable with.  I am posting two pictures for you, the first is the design from college and the second the letter D.  It has been a while since I looked at this picture, but now that it's posted, they really are very similar.  Let me know...

I love the fun hot pink frame for this!  It was originally made to look like bamboo, but needed a fresh look and it looks great paired with my flower design.  This is what I call doodling with scissors.  Last night, I was at a loss as to what to do so I just started cutting out different shapes.  There were different colored papers and a lot of scraps on the floor.  The final design ended up as a tulip with a lot of leaves.  A regular tulip has longer leaves but for this project the smaller ones were a better fit.  Believe me I tried the longer leaves and have the bits of paper to prove it.  Tulips to me say spring so that is why I chose them.  The quote for the day was something that I came across in a magazine and really liked. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old - Franz Kafka

I really think that I need a trip to a museum to jump start my creativity again.  Lately I have been so tired and blah.  A good few days of the sun shining will definitely help, hurry up Spring, get your butt in gear!  This cabinet is the home of my photo albums.  It was a five dollar purchase from the Goodwill and I really wish that I had bought it's companion at the time.  This is a kid's play refrigerator, there was also a stove, but at the time it didn't seem as easy to transform into piece that was usable.  When I first got it there were handles that more resembled the real thing.  If you look at this cabinet you can see the two separate doors that are supposed to be for the fridge and freezer sections.  The first step was to remove the old handles and add the cool knobs you see here.  They really are drawer pulls, but the design appealed to me.  As with anything that I paint or redo for myself, fun shapes are always the first...

This is an idea that kind came from the other post I did of a profile with flowery hair.  It like the idea of the same picture in graduated sized and in different colors.  The curly style hair seemed to work the best for this design.  The blue and greens are a great combo but in the end it still needed a pop so the red frame was added.  This is yet another paper cutout design there are so many things to make in this medium.  Between this and all of the felt creations there has been a lot of new things that I have explored while working on this blog. This design will look great next to the other picture, now I just need to come up with another one because I like uneven numbers.  Two is just not enough, three would round out the set. 

Here is yet another idea that came about when I was trying to fall asleep.  It was originally different in my head.  The design was a single rectangle that was divided into six smaller designs.  The frame is what dictated the layout.  Once the drawing was finished, I stood back and looked at it.  To me it had the feel of Frank Lloyd Wright a great architectural designer and someone that was way ahead of his time.  If any of you are not familiar with his work I highly recommend that you check it out.  I have a book of some of his stained glass designs and they are spectacular.  At one time when I was visiting a friend in Oak Park Illinois I got the privilege of touring one of the homes that he designed.  As a creative person this was a high point in my life.  He has beautiful clean lines but it also has a lot of intricacy in it.  I cannot stress enough that this is something that you should google or go to the library and check o...

It is so great to have warmer weather and start to see buds on trees and plants.  No more bundling up with layer upon layer of clothes.  Spring makes me think of pastels and flowers and of course Easter.  I already did my Easter Bunny post but I do have a few other projects for this holiday.  The shape of an egg lends itself to a variety of ideas.  Today, I did a little pop art type of design using my newly found medium of cutting out patterns and shapes.  The paper is in four great spring colors and came from a notepad that cost a dollar, it was in a bargain bin.  I drew out a basic egg shape and traced it numerous times then started making different patterns.  After about a dozen rough sketched, I picked four that were my favorites and started cutting.  Andy Warhol's style was the influence for the layout.  I like the modern feel of the picture and can't wait to hang it up.

Think spring!!!  What a long winter, I can finally see the ground even if it is muddy.  The birds are chirping and soon you will be able to see even more signs of spring.  This is what is truly an inspiration! This is a post related to one from last week.  I painted a seahorse on a chair and after doing so decided that I really liked the design.  Using that template, I drew the seahorse onto a piece of yellow paper which was actually a manila envelope that I cut apart.  The color stood out to me and was a great contrast with the black scrapbook paper.  It looked best at an angle so now I need to find a frame that will work for it.  

Yesterday, I posted about five dream jobs and after posting, a few more ideas came to mind.  So, altogether let's do ten jobs.  The additional five are as follows in no particular order.  Greeting card designer, create designs for fabrics, children's art teacher, set decorator and my childhood dream illustrator for Disney. On with today's post.  This is a card that I made one night when I was bored.  Doodling is a great way to occupy your self while watching TV and just relaxing.  I use my stash of blank cards, grab my stencils, a bunch of gel pens and start making random patterns.  Every card is unique even if the design that I choose is one I have done before, by doing everything freehand the end result is different.  This one is in green ink for a change. 

Here is my second letter "D" - My goal is to have a wall of D's by the end of this blog.  The color orange just jumped out at me so my design is a little tiger inspired, but in my style.  My next initial project I think may be something crafty like a D made out of found objects instead of painting.  We'll see what happens, stay tuned!

Today is Thursday, Project Runway day!  One of my favorite shows.  I do like to dabble in design, and did go to FIDM for a bit.  Occasionally an idea hits me and I have to draw it out.  In my younger days, I wanted to be a fashion designer, but after going to school for a bit, figured it wasn't for me.  I can sew, but not well enough for clothing design.  This one of my illustrations - black and white, my fave! 

I love the craft store, so many possibilities! I look through the aisles, rummage the clearance area and always find something to make. I've been on a painting kick so let's keep it going for now. People enjoy personalizing and monogramming things. It's a great gift that means you specifically thought of a certain person. This a wooden letter 'D' that was bought at Joann Fabrics for about five bucks. It's about a foot tall & will soon grace my bedroom wall. The design is not groundbreaking, but it is my style. The designer D for Dawn :)