hearts

A month or two ago, I stumbled across this blog.

I thought the little stuffed hearts looked like a fun project to try.

So I made a couple.

I gave the results to Elise and my mom for Valentines Day.

The first one (which I gave to my mom) looks a lot like one of the hearts on the blog...

It's hanging from our curtains now.
:)

I gave the second one to Elise.
It was focused more on embroidery.

I think I like it better than the first one!
:)

They both liked my gift to them!

Not sure when I'll post again...
I've been pretty busy with soccer!

pencil case

Here's the sewing project! 

I made a....

Which you probably already gathered from the title.

:P

I found the tutorial (here) for it.

I liked it a lot,

and it looked fairly easy.

So I made one.

Sadly, I was too busy making it to photograph it.

That happens a lot.

:S

I'll just post the finished pouch.

The zipper I used was a bit too short.

:(

So there's a little hole right on both sides of the case.

But you can't really see it. 

 

I stayed up a bit late one night finishing the quilting. 

Which I don't think my siblings were too happy about.

(the sewing machine is loud...)

But the quilting part was fun.

;)

I have never seen batting here, so I got creative and used a bit of a fleece blanket, which seemed to work!

 

The inside is lined with one of the fabrics I used on the outside.

My favorite. 

:)

(the stripes weren't very forgiving with the quilting, though. By the end, the inside looked more like zigzags than stripes... :P)

Anyway,

I'm really happy with it, and it's useful.

(a quality which many of my projects lack...)
:P

Eiffel Tower

My assignment: 

a project related to the Eiffel Tower.

So... I painted/drew it.

I was happy with the way the streaky blue watercolor gives the effect of clouds.

And I like the different effect of pens and markers combined with watercolors!
 :)
But the tower looks a bit wobbly.
I wish I had a steadier hand...

-
I finished a neat sewing project, which I'll post about soon.
A nice change from watercolors.
:P

tropical island

For art class last week I had to paint a water scene. 

Hm. 

I picked a photo Elise took from a boat trip several weeks ago....
Sorry.
Can't find the actual picture.
:P

You can go here to see it: Light on My Lens

It was challenging. Especially the water. :P

 Any suggestions on how to paint realistic looking water?

Anyway, here is the finished painting:

The sky is not as neon blue as it appears here.
:/

Scanners...

Maybe I should photograph my art rather than scan it...

I have another painting soon, of the Eiffel Tower! 

:)

African batik 2

Here's the second half!

After the fabric was completely covered with wax, I took the pillow case outside.

I cracked the wax a little, by crumpling up the pillowcase.

Then I got out the black fabric spray paint, and went to work.

 

After covering it completely with black paint, I took it back inside on a garbage bag, and let it dry for quite a while.

Next, I ironed it between newspapers, to get most of the wax off.

This is how the first couple of sheets looked...

:P

 

I ironed.

and ironed.

and ironed.

 

and here the batik is, finished!

 

 Sigh. 

I wish I could take better photos.

These just don't do it justice.

:/

 

but I like how it turned out!

African batik 1

Well, here is my quarter project post!

I decided on African batik after finding this neat tutorial.

I found an old muffin tin, bunches of crayons, and a cotton pillowcase.

Then, I lightly sketched my design onto the pillowcase with a pencil.

 Next, I unwrapped a box of crayons...

 

...broke them into chunks... 

 ...and separated them by color into the muffin tin.

I stuck the muffin tin into the oven on the lowest temperature.

After about five or ten minutes, the crayons had melted.

I took the tin out of the oven, and using an old paintbrush, I started painting my design.

Every few minutes the wax began to harden, so I had to stick it back in the oven.

Several people commented on the tutorial that a warming tray may be much better than the oven.

If you're in a hurry, or want to be more efficient, you might want that.

Being the spendthrift I am, 

I took the time-consuming but cheap path. 

:P

Also, the wax hardened onto the bristles of my brushes, and they  became unusable.

So having a pot of boiling water is helpful, to pour over the stiff bristles, and to soak brushes in.

A warning...the container used to soak your brushes in will quickly become covered in hard wax.

Rather hard to clean. 

:P

And note the layer of wax on top of the water... 

It helps to clean that off with a bit of paper every so often, or else every time you lift out a brush, it will be re-coated in wax.

And...

Here is the fabric completely painted!

 It took maybe five or six hours to paint it all.

Phew!

Sweaty work in such a suffocatingly hot kitchen!

:)

I'll post about the last half of the project in a day or two.

purple flowers

Well, we are back to school.

:(

My art assignment this week was to paint something outside.

I was at a loss for ideas.

Then I noticed the beautiful bouquet of purple flowers sitting on our table.

So I painted them. 

They came from outside, after all. :P

I liked how it turned out!

The buds are actually light green, and the flowers are purple, not blue, but our scanner didn't recognize that.

:P

I will post about my quarter project soon...

I know, it's long overdue!