simple Analogy

Lest You Think This Is Becoming A Food Blog...

The last several months have been extremely busy.  I haven't had a lot of time to sew, but I did make some time to paint. 

Butterflies...

lots of them!  They were gifts for the sweet ladies in my Bible study class.  I've only ever given my "artwork" to my mom, so this was a big step for me.  I think it means I'm getting comfortable with my painting.

I drew them all the same, but each of them turned out differently.

I think that's my favorite thing about watercolors.  You never exactly know how the paint is going to blend, spread, and bleed.  You never know if that dab with the paper towel will leave some texture or make the painting look distressed and faded.

If you use more water the colors are softer; paint dry and the colors are vibrant.  I love the variations!  Each of these butterflies were a metamorphasis of their own.

My Finger Slipped

So I was editing my butterflies, and look what happened.  My finger slipped on the contrast.  I came out with this. 

Hey, I like it!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Winging It

I am not confident when it comes to scketching.  But when I start painting what I sketched, I find that my sketches arent' as bad as I thought. 

Maybe it's because the paint hides all the imperfections that I know are there.

Maybe it's because my scritch scratch comes to life.

Or maybe it's just that it's hard to mess up a butterfly. 

Anyhow, these little guys are making me happy right now.

On A Wing and A Prayer

Spreading my sketching wings...

Making My Own Antiques

Over a year ago, I found a frame at Hobby Lobby that was horrid - brassy metallic gold with black splattered dots, several gashes in the edges - but was heavily discounted.  I bought it thinking I could paint it and spruce it up, stuck it in the craft closet, and promptly forgot about it.  I came across it again as I was cleaning out the craft part of my closet a few weeks ago.  Alas, I forgot to take the before picture, but it spruced up nicely after a little bit of love.

I spray painted the whole thing with Krylon Ivory and let it dry completely.  Then I tried the new Martha Stewart line of paints at Michaels.  You're supposed to be able to use her paints on any surface:  metal, glass, wood, etc.  I used the antiquing medium mixed with Espresso, painted a coat over the entire thing, then gently wiped off some of the excess.  Fun, fun, fun!  

Here it is on my mantle.  And no, that's not a live orchid.  I learned early on in my marriage that my indoor plants needed to be silk.  The green thumb - she's not so green.

If your wondering, the print is a free download from Dear Lillie that I printed on my favorite watercolor paper. 

During Tebow Time

Yes, we are truly Tebow fans.  We appreciate his testimony and his athletic ability.  Sadly, our Tebow watching days are over until the football season starts up again in the fall.

While I am a fan, it's hard for me to watch hours of football.  So during the last playoff game, I brought out my sketchbook and watercolors.  I didn't have a plan... just started sketching.  

My mom was sitting on the couch behind me during the game, and it was nice to hear her comments as this painting progressed.  

She wants this one.  So since it is destined to be her Valentine's present, I subtly added a few hearts on a few petals.  Now all it needs is a mat and frame.  Oh and I guess to be official, it should have a signature.  Now if only my signature had a little more flair...

December Kid's Craft Along: Got Pinecones?

I bet you thought I'd forgotten about our craft along project for December.  Well no, I've just been too busy to put it together.  Usually posted on the first of the month, this one is slipping in just before Christmas.

Ok, so you have a ton of nieces and nephews that will be visiting for the holidays, and everyone is tired of decorating gingerbread houses.  What do you do to keep them busy and have fun at the same time?  Gather pinecones.  Actually if you gather some pinecones beforehand and do a little prep work, they'll be ready to roll when the kid's arrive.

Supplies:  pinecones, 18-20 gauge wire, paint, fabric or ribbon, hot glue gun, glue sticks

Approximate cost:  Less than $5

Directions:  Pinecone Swags from Family Fun

My nieces and nephews aren't going to be around for Christmas this year, so I'll be doing this with all the preschool children at church Christmas morning.  I made our ribbon (tore fabric into one inch strips) and glued the hangers onto the pinecones ahead of time.  All they have to do is paint...

Suggestions:

• Make sure children wear a paint shirt/smock over their clothes.  Acrylic paint will not wash out.
• An adult will need to do the gluing!

• Add a little glitter to your pinecone while the paint is wet for a little bit of sparkle.
• Use this idea to make individual pinecone ornaments.
• Write the year on the fabric/ribbon hanger.

• Hang these on the door, on the Christmas tree, on the stairs, in a window, on a bulletin board...  pretty much anywhere!

If you try your hand at these, I'd love to see your creations.  Upload pictures to the Kid's Craft Along Flickr group!

{PRESENT}ing Day 11: Paper Towel Flowers Part 2

Yesterday we made paper towel flowers.  Once they are made, it's easy to place them on a gift.  For adhesive use a large glue dot  (or a drop of hot glue) to attach it to just about anything. On this present I tied a wide piece of fabric into a bow around a shirt box and added one flower for a simple presentation. 

Of course if you want a little more drama add another flower.

Or three for a cascade. 

Paper towel flowers are a very cost effective yet glamorous way to spruce up a package.  And because you choose the color scheme, they are very versatile.  Use them to adorn wedding favors and Mother's Day gifts, or paint some red ones for Valentine's Day.  They can be used many other ways as well.  Make a few for a corsage for the mother-to-be at the next baby shower.  Place a few in a shadow box for a piece of art.  Use on your Thanksgiving table.

How would you use them?

***Add your gift wrap creations to the {PRESENT}ing flickr group to share your wrapping inspiration.

{PRESENT}ing Day 10: Paper Towel Flowers

Believe it or not, this flower was born from a painting rag.  I mentioned the other day about taking Watercolor Bliss...  I've become hooked on painting with watercolors.  As I paint, the paper towel that I use to blot and clean my brush becomes saturated with blobs of different colors.  It looks really pretty sometimes, so I decided to make something out of the pretty ones.

Supplies:  paper towels, wax paper, watercolors, embroidery thread, sequins

Lay a paper towel on top of a piece of wax paper and paint blobs of color onto the paper towel, covering the entire surface.

After the whole surface is painted, paint different sized circles all over your paper towel.

Let dry completely, then cut out the circles.

Gather five circles that are approximately the same size and arrange them like the petals of a flower, making sure all of them overlap each other in the very center.

Gather several smaller circles and arrange them on top of the "flower" you just made.  Again, make sure all of them overlap each other in the center.

Continue until you are satisfied with the fullness of your flower.  Add one small circle to the very center.

This is what it looks like from the side.

Pick up your flower carefully holding all the layers together.  Using matching embroidery thread, take a stitch through from the front of your flower and back again.  Make sure that your stitch holds all the layers of circles together.  If it doesn't, take a few more stitches.  The ends of your embroidery thread should end up close together in the front and center of your flower.

Thread several different sized sequins onto each thread and tie threads in a knot.  Spread out the sequins.

Now to fluff it.  Take each petal individually and crush it gently with your fingers.  I know!  It goes against nature, but just do it.  After all the petals have been crushed, gently spread out each one.  This will give your flower some texture and, well, a little fluff. 

Side view. 

That's it!  You've got a paper towel flower.

Variations:

Make different sized flowers by using larger or smaller circles.

Try different methods for the center.  On this one, I stacked a medium sized sequin with a smaller one, threaded both threads through the hole, and tied an overhand knot.  Do this several times, and you have a stunning flower center.

For white flowers, and to save a lot of extra time, don't paint the paper towels!  Just cut a plain paper towel into circles and go from there!

Tomorrow I'll show you how I use these on a gift.

Mkay

You may have noticed it's been a little quiet here on the blog lately.  Well, it's not because I haven't been doing anything lately.  Actually it's because I've been working on something really fun (I hope) for YOU!  So, be patient, and we'll talk more about that fun next week!

In the meantime, let me show you a new painting.  I did this one a few weeks ago.  One of Noah's science projects was to dissect a flower.  "Can you dissect a flower?" asked Landon who just finished a year of Biology and dissecting all kinds of critters.  You can!  We were supposed to be able to find all the parts of the flower including the ovary and ovule (inside parts).

I was kind of excited about this because I wanted to sketch and paint the cross-section of the flower.  Mkay, our flower had no ovaries - at least we couldn't find them.  So he just found all the parts he could identify, and we left it at that.  In the big scheme of things, failure to find the ovule of a flower will not greatly hamper my son's education.  But I was kind of disappointed that my plan for painting was hampered.  So instead of the cross-section, I focused on different parts of the flower. 

First up, I painted the whole flower.

Next I focused on the stigma/stamen.

Lastly, the stamen.  And that's my "Anatomy of a Lily".