February Sketch

This week has been filled with many different projects, but nothing is at a point where it's shareable.  Plus, I've been busy with lots of school stuff too.  So, I wanted to share a sketch that I did for my parents and in-laws for Valentines day.  Yep, it's a bit late for Valentines, but hey, I'll take flowers and a card from my little guy any day of the year. :) I had to sketch this portrait quickly because my little son was done posing for me after about 30 seconds.  I think that I caught his look pretty accurately.

I recently got a new Wacom bamboo tablet to help make coloring my sketches with Photoshop a whole lot easier.  I love to draw and sketch, and coloring them on the computer gives me the option to easily change up a sketch for different uses.  And yes, I've started to add water marks to any art that I post online.  I've just had too many problems with people who think that my drawings are freebies that they can use in any way they want.  It's frustrating, but I think that artists need to protect their work.

I'm thinking about starting to share more sketches of the kids in the future.  Maybe one each month.  I do love monthly themes.  What should March be?  Any ideas? 

Let there be sewing machine light

Today I just want to quickly share a great giveaway with everyone.   

Ecolux Lighting is sponsoring Patricia, over at a A Yankee in Queen Liz's Court, with a LED sewing machine light giveaway!  I've seen these puppies at quilt shows, and I can honestly say that they really do put out a lot of light right where you need it.  It's not in my budget right now to buy one, but maybe I'll be the lucky winner, who knows, or maybe it will be you.  Patricia gives you three chances to win so it's worth the time to head over to her blog and enter the giveaway.

Good Luck!

Melted Crayon Fish Valentines Cards

Do you like our armada. :)

They go with the great little Valentine's cards that the kids and I made-up this year.  There's just something so sweet about little kids exchanging Valentine's.  While I'm in no way opposed to buying the latest in premade Valentine's cards, it's always fun, when we have time, to make them ourselves.  

This year I found the most wonderful little Valentines printables on the I Heart Nap Time blog.  Aren't they just super cute!  If you need some quick Valentines for the kids, go here to find the original blog post and download the printables.

In the original example posted on the I Heart Nap Time Blog, they used swedish fish candy or fishy crackers for the fish.  

Since I didn't want to do candy or food this year, we made melted crayon fish using a fish ice try from Ikea as our mold.  As you can see, once you use the mold for melting crayons it's ruined for anything else but crafts and shouldn't be used for food or ice. 

The kids loved cutting up the crayons and choosing the colors for each fish, then we just stuck them in the oven at 250*F for 15 minutes and voila, brand spanking new multicolored fish crayons.  As fun as it was, I don't ever think that I'll do this project again using the fish molds.  The tails kept braking off when I took them out.  I actually found  that if I popped them back in the oven for 1 minute after they had completely cooled down in the fridge, they loosened-up and came out much easier.

Again, thanks Jamielyn from I heart nap time for the great printables.  :)  Anyone else find DIY Valentine's card inspiration online?

Hugs and Kisses Valentine's Wreath

Yep, it's that time again. Time when I start to feel that our door needs a seasonal update and deserves a new wreath.  Since I absolutely hate our cheap looking faux wood apartment door, I always try accessorize it in the latest seasonal fashions. Plus, my neighbors are disappointed if I don't change the wreath out at the beginning of each month.  Last year at this time, I did a heart shaped crepe flower wreath. This valentines I wanted to do something a bit different. After surfing the web and racking my brain, I came up with a hugs and kisses inspired valentines door hanging.

When I'm designing anything new, I first visualize what I want and then try to figure out how I can make my idea into a reality using easily available supplies.  I like to try to use what I have on hand as much as possible.  I really think that I end up with a more unique and creative item by changing my design to fit my supplies rather than running all over town trying to find supplies to fit my design.  For this wall hanging, I bought the wood letters at my local craft store, but all the other materials were from my stash of yarn and crafty stuff.

I also do a lot of trial and error.  I originally wanted to do the "O" in red yarn, which looked good on the craft table, but it really clashed with the cherry colored door so I had to change it to white.  Then for the arrow, I thought about using a wooden dowel rod for the shaft, but it was too bulky.  I ended up wrapping some wire around a pencil to form the arrow shaft and accented the arrow head with a bit of valentine's garland for some extra bling.  Add a little ribbon to tie the letters together and hang them, and voila, a sweet hugs and kisses wreath just in time for Valentine's.         

Does anyone else like to decorate their doors seasonally?  I'd love to know what you are doing for February.