snippit in green and teal

i am working on some paintings for holiday gifts that i can't show you, but i thought it would not hurt to give you a tiny peek. i don't plan out these freehand watercolor paintings, i just start and keep going. my favorite brand of watercolor is Daniel Smith, but I have some others.. Holbein and I think some Windsor and Newton. i used a 2 round brush for this and the paper is some pretty inexpensive Strathmore cold press , 140lbs. It's acid free, of course, that is the most important thing.

selkie girl and more

here is another page from my sketch journal. i suppose some people might find it repetitive, but i find it relaxing. and i explore variations on my reoccuring themes, try out new ideas that may make it into other works later, and bring back ideas from the past that i want to revisit. still lots of girls and half girls. lots of houses and trees. the selkie girl in the middle and to the right is an idea i played with a little a couple years ago but was not done with... click to see full sized.

Hedgehog Cottage

You may have noticed I am fond of drawing hedgehogs. I used to have a pet Hedgehog, named Igle. Igle was certainly cute and full of personality, though he was not actually very friendly and I don't think he liked me very much. Hedgehogs are kind of solitary creatures, and just barely domesticated, so they really only make good pets for people who cope well with rejection. Cute as buttons, though.

This little guy is in my Etsy Shop. It is 4x4", watercolor and ink.

another sketch journal page..

again, this is Pitt pens, sizes F and B in several different colors. I favor the earth tones, obviously, one of the reason I like these pens so much. They come in lots of good earthtones. i also like micon pigma pens, but they do not come in as many colors, the nibs are more delicate, they take slightly longer to dry, and therefore can smear on some papers, and they are getting harder to use as my eyesight has gone downhill a little as i get older. i do still use them, but I use the Pitt pens more. Click thumbail to see larger.

free pattern for you, unicorn ornament

here is a last minute stocking stuffer idea. this is a pattern i made a couple years ago! this pattern requires: wool felt, 2 black beads, 4 tiny buttons, novelty yarns, stuffing, flower bead or ribbon flower, and polymer clay.

cut out 2 bodies and 8 legs and 2 ears from felt. whipstitch together, stuff, and sew shut, inserting the horn as you sew shut the head, as shown in diagram. after you have sewed all the peices together sew the legs on with the buttons (ask me if you need more details but i think a lot of my readers probably know how to make button joined legs.) lastly embellish the unicorn by tacking on his mane, tail, and the flower. sew one the 2 black bead eyes and the ears and enjoy! i have also modified this pattern in the past to make horses and donkeys. you could further embellish with beads or sequins, add wings, etc. they can be enjoyed as is or you can add a loop to hang them up as ornaments.

finished product. click on thumbnails to see larger:

making and inserting the horn from polymer and the pattern





full size pattern.

feel free to make, pass on, share, etc. please don't make to sell them w/o permission!

november beaded journal house - done

i finished my november beaded journal house. i meant to leave more batik showing, but at least i left some showing, so i am learning the power of negative space!

Holiday Sale

In case you are celebrating Buy Homemade this year, I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop. FREE shipping to the USA and Canada. To get this offer, please do not pay from your shopping cart, but let me send an invoice. ALSO, I have relisted many items from the "archives" with new lower prices.

happy thanksgiving!

november beaded journal house

this is the genesis of my november beaded journal house, inspired by my trip to the Southwest last month. I love this fabric, too. It is "triple batik" from eQuilter. Since I like it so much I am going to try not to bead over it all, but i do have this compulsion to bead every square inch. With my drawing, too, I am still attempting to master negative space. Oh, I get it, I appreciate it, understand it, but actually applying it seems to be another matter...

mmmm, chocolate.

these are 3 new atcs i just listed on Etsy. The 1st two are watercolor freehand sketches, and the 3rd one is pen and ink and watercolor and the central portion is the Mayan Gylph for chocolate... mmm.

art plush

these were my offerings at the Plush You show this year. i got them back last week and now they are in my Etsy shop . and you can enjoy seeing them here, there, and on flickr.

October Beaded House

I am making one beaded house a month as part of a project I am working on.. See more here. This is the October House completed. --Hm, and only mid-November. I need to get back on schedule! :)

Blogspot sometimes crops some of my photos oddly, you can always see more on my Flickr Account.

new watercolor painting

this is my newest watercolor painting that i worked on this weekend. it is 8x10" and was done completely freehand with watercolor. i started in the lower left corner and just sort of expanded out. these are not my typical colors, but i am very happy with how it turned out. click on the image to see the painting full sized.

fantasy flowers (and landscapes)

here are some more free-hand watercolors, clearly inspired by my recent trip to the desert southwest, the georgia o'keeffe museum, and .. my imagination. they are available in my etsy shop.

autumn landscapes

continuing with the landscapes, these two little landscapes are acrylic and ink on canvas panels. they are 4x4" and 5x5" and i had a lot of fun creating them. they are a continuation of a body of work i started this summer, and which you can view here.

Southwest Landscape

Usually when I do watercolor, I sketch something out with pencil or ink first. These little ATCs were done freehand, without the aid of an outline to follow. I used to work a lot more that way when I was younger. I like how fluid the results are! They are listed in my Etsy shop.

October Beaded Journal House

this is part of a group project i am working on. You can find out more about that here. At any rate, you would expect my october beaded journal house would be done, this being november 1st, however, no. here it is in progress:

and here are the completed houses so far, june, july, august, september: