ravens and crows...

i had a really good time painting these. they are mostly freehand watercolor, accented with ink afterwards. i am working on some owls now..
these are on etsy:

birds in nests

these are are some little 4x4" paintings i recently finished..now Etsy.

december beaded journal house

so much art i want to do and just a few more days of vacation! i am knitting a scarf, working on some watercolors, and working on my beaded journal house for december. --and there are so many other things i want to do!

this is the december house so far:

more holiday paintings..

i had a very nice christmas eve with family, followed by christmas day with friends. today i will probably have a quiet day knitting and watching tv, though i might go out and so a little post-holiday shopping, just at my neighborhood shops, no big expeditions! and i am feeling quite a bit better, i might have some coffee today, though i suppose i should wait another day or two. (i always buy coffee out, not make it, because unfortunately try as i might, the coffee i make is absolutely terrible. i mean, i could get a job at denny's.)

anyway, here are some more paintings that i made as gifts this season. these ones are 5x7"

and this painting is 5x5":

more holiday art!

i am starting to feel a bit better, but still taking it easy.
last night my mother, stepfather, and twin sister came over and we exchanged gifts. then we went to my mother's cousin's house, where i saw the relatives i probably have not seen since last christmas. all the kids are a little bigger, and so is the newfoundland zeke.

i'll be spending the day with friends, but here is some art for you before i go!



happy holidays, one and all!!
~ megan noel

trying to feel the magic

i am still under the weather, actually my ibs is as bad as it gets now and i am pretty miserable and laid up. i have given up finishing the last present and cards -- they will have to wait. thank goodness my friend nusz came over to help with chores. he is cleaning the bathroom now. and i guess it is either a sign or how poorly i feel or of how long i have known him but i am not even embarassed to have him cleaning my bathroom.

i managed to rally a bit and do some holiday decorating before retiring back to the couch. i hope i am feeling better by monday, i have to work, but then i am off till the 2nd!

here are some photos of my decorations. a little wonky this year but good enough for me! the tree i made last year. it is stuffed. i made it from berber fleece. the ornaments are pinned on. i should have moved that black cord next to it.. that's for my sun-up light therapy light. anyhow, the tree has ornaments by me, faun bonewits, theresa hall, and my mother. i have some other neat ornaments hanging from the mantle, i shall show you those another day..


this is my little table. the mouse ornament is from my sister, my mother knit the little star he is sliding on, the beaded doll "Island Girl" is one of mine, and the 3 paintings in the background are by anna barrow.


you can see more, and see these in more detail, at my flickr account .

periwinkle shawl and paintings

i feel out of sorts though it has been a somewhat productive day. i worked on a christmas present, and cards, did a little housework, napped, watched the lord of the rings.

this is the "periwinkle" shawl i am working on, pattern by louisa harding, in her yarn: sari ribbon, glisten, fauve, and kimono ribbon.
sari ribbon 20 (rust, olive, and copper)
kimono ribbon 9 (burgundy)
glisten 19 (rust)
fauve 22 (light olive

the lace repeat is 4 rows and the stripe repeat is 22 rows.

and i never did post the new jena colby painting i got a couple weeks ago. this is 5x5"


and finally, here is another holiday gift that has been opened already so i can show you now! :)
it is watercolor, 5x7"

i have not forgotten this blog!

i have not forgotten this blog -- no, not at all. it's just i generally post ART and most of the art i am making now is top secret until after the holidays. only of course there are always the people who open their presents early. so i can show you a few paintings now! this painting is watercolor, and i did not start with a sketch or plan really, i just.. went with it. it is 5x7". enjoy! i very much enjoy painting in this style. or anti-style, or whatever it is.

tricertops

this is something i finished today. it's for a gift... click thumbnail to see full sized.

Triceratops
8x10"
pen and ink

Ghost Trees

It is snowing in Seattle, so pretty but cold to be out in. I went down to Urban Craft Uprising, which was quite good. (This is a local craft/art sale.) There were 120 vendors. Every year I try to get a Jena Colby original if I can, and every year I think it will be the last one I can afford. Well, as a present to myself I got a little one, I will have to take a picture of it for you. Then on the way home I stopped in at my local yarn store to get something for a gift I am making. Fiona, the shop French Bulldog, was in an unusually mellow mood and let me snuggle with her in a big overstuffed chair while she grunted happily.

These are three new paintings (ATCs and 4x4") that I listed on Etsy.

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.