A Break from Drawing - Something Totally Different

Darlene (sister-in-law) shared with me one of her latest adventures in Diamond Painting.  Because Terry likes to work pictures out of beads, she thought he might be interested in this.  He was intrigued and decided to get a couple of kits. 

After watching his "painting" develop, I thought I would give it a try as well and ordered a kit.  His two kits consists of round beads or diamonds or whatever they are called and mine ended up being the square ones.

This is the first one Terry completed:

And here is the one I just completed tonight.  The thing I really like about the square beads is the fact it reminds me of cross stitch......something I've always loved but didn't have the patience with the tedious change of colored threads.  Sticking these plastic bits to canvas is sooooooo much easier!!!

 

Bottle Cap Magnets Using Art Prints

As a change of pace, I've been working on bottlecap magnets.  These are a blast to make and easy with the supplies I chose to use with epoxy adhesive domes and adhesive seals instead of glues and resin.  Less mess.......no glue, don't have to seal the prints first, and no long drying times.  So far I have made 33.

Gnomes

For days I have been looking at various crafted gnome ideas and came across videos on how to make miniature gnomes as tree ornaments and free standing gnomes by altering the stuffing contents.

My favorite videos on these are by Emelie Lefler on YouTube.

So that I didn't have to keep referring back to the videos, I decided to draw these illustrations I can follow when the materials come in to make.

After working up this sheet, an idea hit me the gnomes I illustrated could be used in other ways like as ATCs and ecards.  Because I'm working digital, I can change colors, add embellishments and other things for variation.

This is one idea I came up with using balloons I had already drawn and embellishments I'm starting to create to use at any given time when making ecards.

From the original illustrations above, I changed the color tones on the male gnome's hat and body (didn't like how orange the red originally looked), changed the sizes on their noses, added the embellishments on the hats, and added shadows.  Then took my heart balloons apart I had drawn earlier this month as a tied bunch and separated a few placing as seen below.

 

The beauty of drawing digital and creating every component on a separate layer allows me to do things like this with ease.  Sometimes I might need to make alterations or minor changes but at least it saves time having to start over from scratch, which I don't always feel like doing.  

Something Different

This month has been busy with various projects I've taken on.  One project taking inventory of my art and craft supplies.  I'm still not quite done with that.  Plus I've been working on another major project, which for now I'm not writing about until after Christmas.  

Another project that's a bit different - my picking up crochet I haven't done in years.  Instead of crocheting practical items, I like working on novelty things like amigurumi.  Something different as I go through this drawing and painting lull I seem to be in at the moment.  What got me back into crocheting was my dear friend, Fay :-)  Like me, she's going through an art lull as well and has been crocheting.  She sent me a couple examples of what she's been doing and that inspired me.

Another Miniature Project - Wood Tiles

Today I spent a little time covering more charm size prints with resin.  While those set, I started another project where I glue prints on 2 1/4" x 1 1/5" wood tiles (also have 1 1/2" square wood tiles I'm working on.)  Once glue sets, I'm brushing mod podge over each piece.

I like the fact they will stand on their own or you can add magnets to the back.  I might try eye hooks for hanging if I can find the hooks small enough to work in the sides without splitting the wood.  All sorts of ideas are whirling around in my head in which I can display these.

Opal from Logo Design to the Real Deal

For those who know me and follow my blog, Opal is a miniature bear I often use as a model for sketching and painting.

After I worked a possible sketchers' group logo, I wanted to find a way to actually dress this little bear wearing a hat and backpack.

A dear lady (Steph) at "In a Nutshell Miniatures" shop in Tavares, Florida, specializes in miniatures from doll houses to furniture to accessories and food.  When I mentioned what I was hoping to do, she had me come by the shop and we worked on making my wish happen.  I sat across from her as we looked at various fabrics and she created the miniature backpack and dressed up a miniature raffia hat.

I also bought a miniature composition book, plain journal book and pencil to the scale I needed but haven't quite figured out how I want to attach without making it permanent with glue.

My Granddaughter's Saturday Afternoon Project

I'm not keen on sharing photos of myself but thought I'd make an exception for my granddaughter, Madison.

Madison (age 9), came over and stayed the afternoon working on making hats.  She made six total to be given as gifts to family and a friend. 

My hat is a sun hat with a picture of me on top and each of our dogs around the brim (Miya, Smudge, and Yorshi).  She made a tie using a bead that slides up to tighten under neck plus added yard strands as a decoration around the hat hanging down in back (papaw helped with that task).

Papaw's (Terry's) hat is a Lincoln Hat or otherwise known as a stove pipe hat. 

Grandchildren.............you gotta love em' !!!!

Does she not look pleased with herself??!!!!!  (HUGE grin)