three little ladies

In November I completed three little paintings for a show at a local gallery. 

My favorite one sold at the opening reception earlier this month, so I'm happy with that. 

It was a scary (but good) feeling to put some pieces in to a gallery, so I hope to do that more in 2015. 

merry merry wishes

I spent a few minutes just playing with watercolors. It had been quite some time, so it was fun to play with simple lines and circles. Then I scanned them and did a bit of playing on the computer. Lots of fun, I am looking forward to more of this! 

 And here are a few gifts, wrapped using my favorite supplies: gold sharpie, brown paper, gold ribbon, and watercolor tags. Love, love, love them. Handmade wrapping paper is one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

 And that's it for my Christmas to-do list. The shopping, wrapping, and baking are done...now the fun stuff can begin! Happy Holidays to all of you!

Little Candy Dishes

I fell in love with the Marbled Clay Ring Dishes on A Beautiful Mess. I figured they would be the perfect simple little handmade item to give to my coworkers for christmas.

And I filled them with some chocolate goodness. 

Wrapped them up, and added a handmade tag. 

I'm back!

Well I apologize for the unplanned blogging hiatus. I went to Africa. I made some big changes in my life. I had to rethink if I wanted to continue blogging, and where exactly I am heading on this journey. I still don't have all the answers, but I have renewed focus. 

 

I've got some fun & exciting stuff planned for 2015. 

I've signed up for MATS Bootcamp starting January 5th and I'm looking forward to the assignments. 

I'm heading to Antarctica. 

I'm going to work on my technical skills with a pattern class at Pattern Observer.  

 

 

What are you excited for in the new year? 

I'll be back next Wednesday to show you the little Christmas packages I'm working on. 

happy happy day

Today I am celebrating with my mom, who is retiring. This is the card I made for her. Happy happy day for her!

bringing me joy

This week I've been devouring Juliette Crane's newest online class, Abstracts & Backgrounds. I am loving it. It is exactly what I need right now, as I struggle with getting my creativity back. It is simple and messy and loose.

thoughts on 26

I have been creatively lost lately. I have had no desire to create things. I turned 26 last weekend, and I haven't made a list for 26. 

I've been spending a lot of my energies on organizing my life. Decluttering. Cleaning. Trying to simplify. It is a hard process and something that I am not naturally very good at. Perhaps there is a feeling that if I can streamline my life there will be more energies for living a creative life. Perhaps I feel that if I declutter enough, there will be more space in my life for the things that make my heart sing. 

I have decided to not make a list of 26. My goals and priorities seem to change so much throughout the year, that by April I feel like I have to rush and cross all these things off a list that doesn't inspire me anymore. 

Here is my 25 list and what I managed to accomplish. 

1.                 improve my 5k time

2.                 Take a drawing class

3.                 explore a new city

4.                 go surfing

5.                 make real hot cocoa

6.                 drink sangria

7.                 make salad dressing from scratch

8.                 Take a staycation

9.                 Get a design *out there*

10.               do something spontaneous – I’m counting my octopus tattoo, which was not planned, or drawn in advance.

11.               do yoga daily for one month

12.               read seven deadly sins  - I read about half of it, and that’s enough for me. I’m getting rid of it.

13.               make a fire

14.               declutter studio – Well I did a bit of decluttering, but more is needed…soon

15.               slip n'slide

16.               paint a big canvas

17.               make ice cream

18.               clean out my closet

19.               screenprint something

20.               chinup – Well technically, I still can’t do a chinup. But I did swing upside down from the flying trapeze.

21.               draw a self portrait

22.               finish my quilt

23.               ride a bike

24.               live with less

25.               grow something – I did grow something. Mould, but I don’t think that counts. 

I did get inspired enough to make this little birdy stamp this week. And I'm quite smitten with him. And my heart sang. 

For now, I'm happy with that. 

my new favorite shirt

I made this design a while ago, but I just turned it into my new favorite t shirt from society 6.

Don't ya love it? Get one of your own here 

feather queen

Feathers - A painting

Well I've finally finished my second large canvas that I started during Bloom True in October. You can see my other big painting here. This canvas hangs in my hallway, and its the first time I've really painted a piece of art to hang in my home. As you can see from the evolution below, the first feathers were there quite a while ago, either hanging from the top or the bottom. 

spray paint

Inspired by the Daring Adventures in Paint class I’ve been taking, I picked up a few cans of spray paint today. Outside in the sunshine, I played on some of my on-the-go canvasas. All of these are still a long way from being finished, but I’m pretty in love with spray paint. 

a mermaid from my sketchbook

These days I am trying to keep afloat in the Photoshop Elements class I am taking. It is a great class, but very technical and lots of info!
This week is also the end of the Daring Adventures in Paint class I have been taking. I've started three canvas's and I need to figure out my plan for them, and what direction I want them to go. '
I feel like I am closing in on my final layers in my 2nd big canvas that I started during the Bloom True class I took last year.
And when I have some spare time, I am still loving my Jane Davenport, I Heart Drawing class.

happy mother's day

I have the best mom in the world. I also have the best grandma's and aunts. (I have a lot of super fabulous people in my life.) And to all the other fabulous mom's out there, Happy Mother's Day.

a teabag lady

For play this week I painted this little african lady on a teabag and did some messy stitching in her hair.
And just for fun, here she is in black and white.

Stars

The weather has been beautiful here, so I've been taking time to enjoy that. I've been battling with a flu. I've been painting one of my big canvas's from Bloom True, hoping to finish that up soon. Basically, just been busy.
Here is a little lady from my sketchbook.

My new addiction

I've recently fallen head over heels in love with Photoshop Elements. Just this week I've started an online class with Texas Chicks, and even from the first lesson, I feel the course has been worth it's price! If you are a photo and travel junkie like me...it will change your world.
These were photos from my last African Safari, that I was completely thrilled with at the time.
I am absolutely amazed by what a couple of quick adjustments can do.

Just have to share some of my before & afters with you:

Daring Adventures in Paint

I was away on a shopping trip, stocking up on my favorite things: adventure gear and art supplies. 

I am taking Daring Adventures in Paint with Mati Rose, so thought I'd share where my paintings are at right now. The top one is my favorite right now, we'll see if that changes in the next few weeks! Look forward to playing some more with these and my new paints, and seeing where they go.