Tranquil

I'm loving these watercolour pencils I got from Michaels!

I finally managed to use water with them. They're very easy to use and there are lots of pins on Pinterest to inspire me.

I finished of this little guy with my calligraphy pens. Ahhh, tranquil.

Painting, Take 2

After my first painting class, I decided to try some painting on my own. The kit I bought had two flat canvases in the same size, so I picked a complimentary photo to try and recreate.

Here's my version! The background is darker than what I wanted but I'm still pretty happy with it.

I had the leisure of doing this in my own house at my own pace, so I took the time to tweak the colours and highlighting. I didn't have any guidance, but I think it turned out ok.

Here are my first two attempts, side by side. I was happy I got the purple colour the same from mixing the paints. I think they will be nice side by side and framed.

My sister and husband said that a set of 3 would like nice, but I can't find this size canvas anywhere! Ah well, I'm happy with the set of 2 for now!

Painting Class

This past weekend I took a paining class at Michael's! I have been wanting to do this for weeks now and could never commit to the time. I received a coupon in my email in box that was a great deal, which I combined with my 40% of coupon to buy the materials. And away I went!

It was a 2-hour beginner acrylic class called "Spring flower." Here is my clean palette and reference photo.

The first part was easy, just learning how to mix paints and getting the background on the canvas. The gal beside me had been painting and taking these classes for many years, and she was SO wonderful and helpful. Actually, more helpful than the teacher, who seemed a little distant and overwhelmed because the class was large (9 participants). That was a little disappointing, the quality of teaching, I mean. But thanks of to Emily, the gal beside me, I just forged ahead.

You lay down carbon paper and trace out the general shape. I used a binder clip at the top of the canvas, care of the very helpful Emily.

Then just go for it! I got into it and didn't have time to take pictures. We had to get it done in 2 hours, after all. The other ladies in the class were very friendly and we chatted while we painted.

I really enjoyed the highlighting and adding details of the painting. It's amazing that we all painted the same picture, but each participants' work of art was totally unique.

Here is mine, almost done. The teacher came by and, thankfully, gave me some tips on blending background colours so that they don't overpower the main focal point.

Here is the reference photo, again.

And here is my finished painting, all dried and resting on my sunny windowsill. The hubby was very impressed! I think it turned out better than I expected, but if I had more time I would fiddle more with the stem and background. But all in all, I was very happy with the class. I'll have to do more painting now, since I have a ton of paints from the starter kit that they make you buy, as well as another canvas. I'll try it on my own before signing up for another class, unless I know that Emily will be there - she really was one of the best parts of the class! 

Too soon!

Christmas decorations at Michael's - no, no, it's too early for that!

But they did have some awesome Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations too. 

Terra cotta dishes

I love the look of this terra cotta dad dish from that artist woman. I made some little dishes out of clay that turned out all right, but these ones looked so good, I gave it a try. Here's a quick tutorial:

First I bought some dishes from Michael's. These were the second smallest size and cost me about 2 bucks for both of them. The hardest part was getting that darn sticker off the bottom!

I painted the bottom red with two coats of acrylic paint. This colour is called "Red Apple Barrel" and it's so lovely and bright. When that was dry, I painted the inside with two coats of white.

I found a big can of lentil beans that fit into the dish and traced it out on my paper.

Then I used Mod Podge to stick the paper to the bottom of the dish. I find it's best to apply Mod Podge to all surfaces: the back of the paper, the bottom of the dish, and then around the inside of the dish entirely.

I let that dry overnight, then sealed it all with varnish.

Here it is, not quite dry.

Done! I made a matching key chain too.

Here are a couple more I made, of the smaller size. They're great little dishes, good for catching keys and coins when you're running in and out the front door. 

Monsters on the brain

I'm not sure why, but I've had monsters on my brain. Not scary monsters, but cute cartoon monsters! I've pinned a few ideas I've seen around to my Crafty Creatures board on Pinterest. And look at this cute paper I found at Michael's:

I've used fun scrapbooking paper to inspire me in the past; I wonder what kind of stuffies this will inspire?

New craft punch

I went to Michael's on the weekend and got - well, many things. But I picked up this new craft punch, for 40% off! I just love their weekly coupons. I have been looking for something like this, it's the perfect size. Just add a hole to the top and think of the endless crafting possibilities: gift tags, cards, labels...

Hmmm not sure about this

You know, everyone is wearing these awesome slouchy hats these days and looking, well awesome. "Hey," thought I, "I knit - I should make myself one." Or two. Or three.

I found some chunky yarn on sale at Michael's and bought a couple of balls because there is absolutely no yarn in my house whatsoever, no siree. I started with Ysolda's Icing Swirl Hat and it ended up being too big. I mean, HUGE - like, so embarrassingly huge that I couldn't take a picture of it for fear the anonymous blog-reading world would judge me. I went down two whole needle sizes and came out with this: 

I dunno, not sure if it suits me. So after knitting this hat twice, I found another pattern and tried again. More on that tomorrow. Right now, I have to sleep. (Ooooh what will the next attempt look like? Tune in tomorrow to find out!)

PS - Do I really look that goofy? I guess so :S