Cutie Patooties

Here are some cute little creatures I have been drawing and painting lately. At first I thought they had deer like antlers, but now I think that they are soft and that they move. These little creatures remind me of axolotls, all soft, squishy and cute.  

Bird of Paradise

I just finished this painting! Yay!

I painted it for a local charity auction. It’s pretty big, I had to dig out the easel for it, which was not easy in my jam packed studio. It’s done with acrylic, which is not my favourite medium, but I’m pretty happy with it. Now it’s time to focus on my halloween costume!! Woot! Woot!

Deep Sea Mermaid Colour Study

Yesterday I dug up an older drawing that I had been wanting to expand on. It’s a study of several deep-sea merpeople. I knew they would have glowing bioluminescent spots, but I couldn’t decide if they should be pale or dark, so here is a colour test of the pale version. I’m going to do a dark version as well, then perhaps a larger picture.

I also did this sketch of Tia last night while in bed. It’s from a picture I took of her as Mz. Honey.

Two Years Later and I’ve Been a Busy Bee

It’s October! It’s 2015! Wow!

I think it’s time to start updating this blog again. I want to try to share some of the things I make.

So September was a crazy month. We had a Wearable Arts Show which I was in charge of and I made two pieces. Here are Mz. Honey and the Busy Bumble photographed by the talented Prairie Ranger Photography.

These outfits are crafted from upholstery foam, craft foam, fun fur, acrylic paint, glitter, pom moms, and other bits and bobs. My models, mom and daughter, Tia and Teagan, did such a great job! Their skirts bounced around while they danced to a 1920’s song called “The Bee’s Knees.” I think we all had way to much fun and we were all so pooped by the end of the day!

Now that the Wearable Arts Show is done, I finally found some time to sit down and paint! Yay! It was so much fun. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Late last night (and into the morning) I painted this picture of the Eleventh Doctor.

It’s from a screen grab of the show, and I liked the moody light, so here’s my version. I feel that I didn’t quite catch the likeness, but I love the moodiness.

I have a few artsy things coming up.

-Next month I will be going on a trip to teach some workshops with elementary students in conjunction to a traveling exhibition of my Stargazer series. (There are pictures from that show on my website.) I’m getting pretty excited about that. I need to come up with some samples of the craft we are going to make.

-I’m trying to reopen my Etsy shop soon. I will have handmade ceramic earrings, art prints, greeting cards, buttons and pocket mirrors for sale. I will be ready to open sometime this month, so keep an eye out.

-Oh no! It’s not even Halloween, but I’ve got to think about the CFCA Christmas Show and Sale. Ick, at least it’s going to be a lot of the same types of things that will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

So I have lot’s to keep me busy and I hope to update regularly, so let me know if you want to see what I am crafting up.

Anxious Scone

He’s anxious because he knows that he’s delicious.

Dragon Baby Shower

Today, the gals from work and I threw a baby shower for our dear friend and co-worker, Katie.

This is me (in red) with the glowing mom to be.

 

The theme was dragons and the colors were red, white and black to coordinate with the nursery. Everyone brought food to share, and it was all so tasty! Yum!

I made the cake and the sugar cookie dragons. The cake was chocolate with a whip cream and Oreo filling.

The dragons were based on a sketch I made. The legs on the babies were inspired by this post on Haniela’s Cookie Blog.

 

My friend Val made this awesome dragon bread! We didn’t want to eat it, but when we finally tore in, it was delicious!

Since we all work at an art centre, we had to do something crafty. So we tie dyed baby onesies!

These are some of the ones we made today.

This is Candace with her creation. Beautiful!

For the gift, I wanted to make something special, that would fit with the theme and the nursery. It HAD to have a dragon! I made this little flying dragon mobile. The dragon is made from my own pattern, and has jointed legs. When the baby is old enough, the dragon can be detached and used as a toy. The stars are painted, glittered and glow in the dark.

A few more pictures just for fun.

and the smallest guest stole the show!

Macarons!

I made macarons today for the first time. Having never made them or even tasted one before I was a little worried they wouldn’t turn out. But they did! I used Sprinklebakes recipe. It was easy to follow and fun to make.

Cake!

I just took these little tea cakes out of the oven.

The recipe was quite intensive, what with grinding and toasting almonds and browning butter and such. So I’m a little disappointed they didn’t turn out right. They’re not bad, just a little chewier than they should be. Probably over mixed.

Now this cake:

This cake was delicious! I whipped it up quick for a friends farewell party. It went over very well.

The Forest Queen

This past September, I helped put on a Wearable Arts Show at my work during Alberta Culture Days. I also created a wearable art piece to showcase in it. This is that piece. It is called The Forest Queen.

My beautiful friend Tia did a wonderful job of modeling it for me both for a photo shoot out in the woods and on the runway. Sean of Prairie Ranger Photography did an amazing job on the pictures. Thanks again to both of them!!!

The piece its self is made of bark and moss on a paper mache base, with fabric, tulle, handmade paper clay mushrooms and various rocks, twigs and pinecones. The crown is wire,  floral tape and  glitter.

 

We glued on leafy eyebrows and used bright berries to add a pop of color.

 

Valentine Heart Cookies

Valentine cookies for my loved ones. Sugar and gingerbread cookies decorated with icing sugar.