Spring Break...Sort of

This week is the official public school Spring break but we are taking our family Spring Break, week after next.  Phil has a "quiet" school to himself to work in and is catching up on his administration courses this week as well as taking the children into work with him for playtime in the gym in the afternoons, freeing me up for crafting time.  All of our normally scheduled activities are canceled so it is just a nice slow week at home.  I am thoroughly enjoying it!

A friend (Jenn) posted on facebook a picture of a lego scene that her daughter had put together representing "mom".  It was a lovely scene of a lady working in a flower shop.  I hope the above doesn't represent me.  LOL!

We went to our church's baptism.  It was such a privilege to see so many of our friends baptized.  

Our room, overflowing with things that belong in an art studio!

Studio items in the playroom as well.

A friend (Jenn) gave me this lovely bouquet and while it is nearly spent, I have enjoyed studying it and working on watercolors and felting using it as my inspiration.

I got a beautiful watercolor set and tried out the new rich colors.

Hard to decide when to call it "finished".

I felted the bouquet as well.  I have so much to learn about felted pictures and I find it frustrating to still be in the "learning stage".  Felted pictures would be my 'ideal" artist goal.  I love to crochet but wearable art doesn't seem to be as "sellable or enjoyed" as framed art work.  For me, knowing how to put together a composition and being able to do detail work would be my dream.  Unfortunately, it isn't my talent or skill.  Yes, I can make a sketch of a still life but I can't elevated it to gallery art.  

This is after some needle felting detail and sewing machine free hand sketching.  I still need to do some hand embroidery before I can call it done.

I am still working on this piece from December (bouquet from Jenn).  It wound up being really dark and I have been working on making the details stand out ever since.  

This is a fabric collage with acrylic and oil pastels.  The composition itself isn't so impressive but I do like the thick texture.

(Incidentally, I am happy to be friends with Jenn LOL...nearly 20 years, almost 1/2 my life.)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Boots

Image
Last week, was snowy and cold cold cold, then rainy.  I continued to work on getting the yard cleaned up.  I dug out the ponds and refilled the holes with dirt.  I loaded up rocks, pavers, and bricks.  I cleaned out the water features.  I collected the strawberry runners so I would have starts to plant.  I unloaded 2 loads of bark dust.  The children were a tremendous help.  They loaded an entire trailer of firewood all by themselves and then helped with another load of rocks and bricks.  I am amazed at how much there is to load and fix just in the yard alone.  It is a lot of work for the simple concept of "curb" appeal.   Waiting for the snow to melt so I can put down the bark dust. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were freezing so I broke down and bought a pair of Muck Boots.  The funny thing is, 2 years ago, I really wanted to have a new pair of winter boots but I just couldn't justify paying so much money just to have ...
Read more

Then Came Dense Fog and the Thunderstorm

Image
Sunday, I woke up to a dense fog and smoke cover combination.  I think this is probably the densest fog I have ever been in. Before the sun came up, it was white.  Once it got lighter outside the smoke color showed through. On the porch, looking toward the swimming pool (North) but unable to see it or the goat barn or the walnut trees. On the porch, looking toward the barn, only able to see the garden before the parking area. Outside the window looking at the tree block, barely 30 feet away. I am not sure how I let Phil talk me into (trying) going to the store...but the fog was supposed to lift by 11:00 and we were scheduled to gather at the Rawie's for church and I needed ingredients to put together something for the potluck.  (We ended up having to cancel our homechurch.) Our mailbox, we couldn't see any cars, so we had to roll down the windows and listen.  I was already terrified at this point and didn't want to continue. After having to slam on his brakes multipl...
Read more

More Hats

Image
The Etsy shop is still a work in progress and unfortunately the name Over the Top is already taken.  I have been tossing around the names Tip Top and Whimsy.  I managed to get 7 hats made during the month of November.  I have a couple that I can put on Etsy when we are ready to list them and several Christmas hats made for the children.  I have been timing how long it takes me to make a hat and I am surprised (and not in a good way LOL) at the number of hours I spend.  A baby hat takes over 5-6 hours, a child's hat takes about 7-8 hours, and an adult hat 10 plus hours.  It takes even longer if I decide to tear out the stitching because it isn't looking the way I had imagined.  The more yarn variety I use, the longer it takes me to weave in the ends.  I usually spend over an hour just with a tapestry needle making all the ends secure.  Minimum wage plus materials puts the hats in the 50-80 dollar range.  Yikes!  I would never pay th...
Read more