Bella Dia

Another Drawing

Thank you everyone for all the nice things you said about my tree drawing.  It's hard when I do something that I like and then I hesitate to do it again because I'm afraid it won't come out as well the next time and then I'll feel like I just got lucky the first time around rather than having any real skill.  I felt like I had to just dig in and try again.  Sounds so wimpy but there it is.  Does anyone else ever feel that way?

This is a drawing of a piece of branch from our firewood box.  I'm using a mechanical pencil (my beloved Quicker Clicker) and a kneaded eraser.  The kneaded eraser is really fun and so helpful with the shading and highlights, plus you can play with it like playdough :)

 

To Draw A Tree

I've always wanted to be able to draw.  I mostly wanted to be able to put down on paper the ideas I can see in my mind but I also wanted to be able to draw a tree.  I always thought that if someone could draw a tree then they were a pretty good artist because I think trees seem hard to draw.  Inspired by Lori's drawing lessons that I have featured on The Crafty Crow, I've been practicing a lot lately.  I finished this tree drawing this evening and I have to say I am pretty darn pleased with it.  I see places for improvement but for my first real effort I'm satisfied. 

The kids and I have begun keeping nature journals so consequently we're spending more time looking at the shapes and lines of trees and rocks and water movement at the river.  I pulled out Keeping A Nature Journal that's been sitting on my shelf forever and it has been a practical help as well as an inspirational one.  Besides suggestions on observing nature and how to get started journaling, it has basic drawing lessons and exercises that I have found extremely helpful. 

A Tree Grows

pencil on stone

Miniature Cairns

I've been working on these for awhile: they are miniature cairns.  These are a familiar sight in the area where I live - hikers marking a trail or making a little monuments to remember special places.  We've made some of our own too on warm days down by the river. 


The stones are made from polymer clay and permanently stacked so they can be a source of contemplation next to your bed, on your desk, or any place you want to be reminded how to find your way home. 


They will be for sale in my shop very soon.  I hope you like them :)

Kvetch and Sketch

I keep a little sketchbook (3½" x 5") next to my bed and have been trying (key word here) to do a little drawing before I go to sleep every night.  This is my most recent one and one of my favorites so I thought I'd share.

I have had a horrible cough for almost a week and I am ready to be rid of it.  The coughing is wearing me out, zaps all my energy and makes my head pound every time I cough. Complain, complain.

We got out a little bit over the weekend to see if spring really is here to stay and I have to say I believe it is.  Snow is melting, rivers are running and birds are taking up their summer homes.  Picture taking was making me dizzy so I only took a few but it's nice to know that winter is behind us and we have greener days in our future.

Robots!

I've been working on these robots for about a week - building, gluing, painting, varnishing - and it has been so much fun!  Do you like playing with all the different filters on Photoshop like I do?  I don't know how to do much in Photoshop (another thing on my to-do list) but I love clicking through the various filters and oohing and aahing over the different looks.  I thought the robots look like vintage toys in this photo. 

Here they are under normal conditions.  I haven't given them names yet because I am so name-giving challenged (see, I can't even think of a name for my short coming, good grief!) so I am open to suggestions.  Hopefully I'll have some of these guys and a few other new things I've been working on for sale in the shop fairly soon.

And Now for Something Different: Watercolors!

Sometimes it's easy to overlook a craft or art project because it's labeled for kids but going though all these new projects for The Crafty Crow has really gotten me itching to try a bunch of them.  I think it's good to remember to experiment with new mediums and give those creative muscles a stretch every now and then, so when I saw the watercolor tutorial by Arounna I decided to jump right in along with my kids.

You begin with a very abstract watercolor and after it has dried you go back with India ink and a bamboo skewer and create flowers out of the watercolor splots (sorry, couldn't think of a better word.)

The freedom and unpredictability of the medium was really fun and different from the controlled detail work that I usually do.  I'll definitely be doing this again.

Learning New Things

My daughter and I and my sister and her daughter took a beginning jewelry making class the other night at our local bead shop.  I haven't made jewelry in a long time and wanted a refresher on all the little tips and tricks.  The class was two hours long but we spent the first hour oohing and aahing at all the possibilities and trying to decide on what we wanted to make. We had so much fun and I wanted to share with you the results.  My necklace is a choker length but adjustable by two inches - it's made from tiny seed pearls, a favorite, that took forever to string but I am so happy with the way it turned out.  I forget what the bracelet is made from, silver-like beads, and the stones on the earrings are some sort of quartz I think. I love their watery blue color.

These are the items my daughter made - can you tell she's a cowgirl at heart?  She took to it right away and I believe a new hobby has taken hold - oh no, what have I done?! 

Happy Spring

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens

Happy Spring everyone!  Our spring looks a lot like winter here just more brown and muckish.  We got a fresh layer of snow last night but it has almost completely melted. Now only four more feet to go! 

I made these carrots for the kids Equinox baskets.  They are posed with Sour Cream, my youngest sons lovey that he's had forever.  I used this pattern but modified it some.  The pattern calls for increases until you reach 32 stitches around but I stopped at 20 stitches and then kept going until I reached the length that I wanted.  I believe the smallest carrot is 12 stitches around.  I only printed out the first page of the pattern by mistake therefore I'm not sure how they did the green tops so I just improvised mine.  They are stuffed with poly-fil only since my kids are too old for rattles as called for in the pattern; they're really too old for these in general but they don't mind indulging their mama every now and then.

I've been working on a new project that I am planning to unveil next week.  I'm really excited about it and can't wait to share it with you so be sure to check back on Monday for the grand opening :)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and Easter!

Works-In-Progress

I've been eyeing this pattern for awhile and finally decided to jump in.  I would love to make a traditional granny square blanket but at least for now I just don't have the patience to weave in all those ends. This one big granny square blanket is working up fairly fast and with only two ends to weave in per round it's not nearly as taxing.  It's made from Cotton Ease which is one of my favorite yarns.  Being a cotton blend it is much softer to work with than 100% cotton and rates high on the squeeze-ability scale.  I love the colors that are available, I just wish there were more of them. My youngest son has already claimed this blanket while Stripey goes to my oldest son. Next in the queue will be a blanket for my daughter.

My sister and I were talking the other day about what great gifts blankets make.  I love that I can make this for my 9 year old son and he will be able to use it just as well now as he will in college, his first apartment, married life, etc.  When you think of it that way then the time you put into it seems so minimal and worthwhile.

This is my other WIP that is just for me.  It's a long (about 6') and very soft shawl/wrap (shawl sounds so old lady-ish and wrap doesn't sound warm enough).  Done in shell stitch, I'm going to edge it with that rust color (in the picture it looks more orangey than rust but it's not).  I'm about half way on this project but it's moving along pretty quickly too.

For the wrap, I was inspired by the color combination of the Cafe Curtain (pictured above) from Vintage Crochet  - one of my many favorites from this book.

I'm hoping to have some things in my shop for Easter too but with it so early this year and my studio a huge mess it won't be easy.  I do have plans for Mother's Day though!