In my sketchbook

I used up some of my Swagbucks gift cards to purchase myself a Moleskin Watercolor sketchbook and boy, am I loving it!!

It can take so many washes of paint....

and not curl up or look icky.

Plus, how can you not love the sturdy cover!

Hope everyone is enjoying all of the holidays with family and good friends!

Off the needles...finally!!

I am now officially done with all of my Christmas knitting!! Yay!

Truth be told, I really didn't do much knitting this year, but I'm excited to have it all finished just the same. 

I originally knit this scarf for myself, but I knew that my all-things-orange obsessed sister would immediately try to steal it from me so I figured that it would just be easier to give it to her.

So here comes confession #2 for this post. I finished knitting this about a year and a half ago but wasn't in the mood to weave in the ends so I just tossed in onto the "gift" shelf in my closet...... and then forgot it was there last year at Christmas time......and then almost forgot about it again this year. Oops!!

{Notice the cat hair that became embedded in the scarf as a result of its long stay in my house? :-)}

So earlier this week, I took a whole ten minutes out of my day to weave in those ends and am now ready to wrap it up. 

Just in case any of you still have presents to wrap, here is this awesome video I found on how to make gift bags using wrapping paper. 

How to Make a Gift Bag From Wrapping Paper -- powered by ehow

And for all the specs on my "Better Late than Never" scarf, head on over to my project page on Ravelry!

Art in progress...Joakim Nordin

Sorry about my lack of posting this week. I've had a tail-bone injury that has kept me out of commission. Thanks to the work of a wonderful physical therapist I am on the mend and hope to return to my normal blogging schedule next week. In the meantime, here is this week's Art in Progress!


Today I am showing off abstract artist Joakim Nordin. He features more of his work over at his blog so go and check him out!!

To see previous week's Art in Progress features click here!

Art in progress...Tony

I found this week's video for the Art in Progress segment on Vimeo but have had trouble finding the artist's own website. (If you come across it, please email me!!)

Well, it won't take you long to see that this guy has talent so enjoy!!

To see more of Tony's work, head on over here.

And for previous installment's of Art in Progress go here!

In my sketchbook

I was in need of some color on this dreary snowy day!

Building a rainbow: PURPLE

So, for day number four of the Building a Rainbow challenge over at Daisy Yellow, I have opted to go with the color purple. Caitlyn loves purple, too and is our hostess for today.

To see what everyone else is up to, head on over here!

Building a rainbow: YELLOW!

So for day two of the Building a Rainbow challenge from Daisy Yellow  I chose to go with yellow! Mariposa over at Sirens Idyll is our hostess for this color and has made up a wonderful tribute to this sunny hue.

I love to fill up my sketchbook with yellow so I actually have two pages to show off today!

To see what other people are creating head over here for the linky list!

Art in progress: Llewelyn Ash

These week's feature highlights the work of Australian-

based glass blower Llewelyn Ash. 

Enjoy!

To see previous Art in Progress features click here. 

Building a rainbow: PINK!!

So today is the first day in Daisy Yellow's Building a Rainbow challenge. With the choice of using either red or pink, I went for pink! It's amazing how much we prefer to use the colors we like to wear in our artwork!!

(iHanna likes pink as well and is our hostess for this color.) 

Sorry my picture is so on the dark side but we just keep having overcast days here in Nebraska. To see what others are doing, head on over here for a list of participating blogs.

On the needle...

So, remember how last week I blogged how I was going to cast on for a new project? Well,I kinda got distracted by by two comfy blankets that I picked up at my favorite thrift store for 80c each...

and then I started going through my box of embroidery floss and thought to myself how great these colors looked together...

and before you know it...

 I'm just stitching along, all happy as a clam!

In my defense, I'm still using a needle...just not a knitting one!

Building a rainbow... 5 days of color with Daisy Yellow

Tammy over at Daisy Yellow has posted a fun challenge to build a rainbow with our creative pursuits. Art journal pages, sketches, paintings, knitting, crocheting or mixed media works are all welcome!

Basically, she has assigned a color theme for each day running from December 1st through the 5th, and you can participate by linking up your project for that color. She does ask that everyone plays along with the spirit of the challenge and only posts new work. 

I'll be posting my works and hope that some of you join in on the fun!

Art in progress: Supakitch and Koralie

This week's art in progress video is provided by Supakitch and Koralie!!!

To see more of their work go to Supakitch and Koralie!

In my sketchbook

What to knit next...

I haven't been knitting for the past few weeks (due to my arthritis flairing up), and I'm anxious to have something on the needles. A hat seems to be the most logical choice with the temperatures dropping each day.

This then leads to the hard part. Which yarn in my stash do I use?

My first inclination was to use my ever-so-lovely Araucania Itata Multy to whip up a beret or tam.

It only took about two minutes for me to find several options over at Ravelry.

(Sixty cables, Purl Beret, Spin me right round, baby and Lambert Beret)

But then I realized that it might be more practical to use a "warmer" yarn. 

Not to mention that you just can't go wrong with Kureyon! Again, with the pattern search finder, I had multiple options in no time.

(Winter Slouch, Bad Hair Day, Sandra's Slouchy Beret and Kudo Slouchy Tam)


Stay tuned to see which pattern I cast on!

Art in progress: Jennifer Bardsley

This week's feature is of Montana resident Jennifer Bardsley. 

To learn about her and see more of her work, head on over to her website. 

From my studio...

So, I'm guessing that you think that I've taken pictures of my latest painting....

Well, guess again!

I painted my laundry detergent box!

Now, before you start with the eye-rolling, let me explain myself. I wanted to make my own laundry detergent but didn't want to put it back in the box from the grocery store. I like handmade things to be held in handmade packaging. Make sense or are you now rolling your eyes at me? :-)

Making my own detergent didn't require any extra flexing of my creative muscles. It is actually quite simple.

There are lots of recipes out there for homemade detergent that are all well-loved. Here's the one I used:

1 bar of Ivory soap grated

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing soda

See! So much cuter than the grocery store box!

Art in progress: Joe

Being a big fan of watching other artists at work (and having been known to spend lots of time on YouTube watching videos), I thought that it would be fun to share with you some of my favorites from time to time.  I hope to make this a weekly fixture of my space so if you have any videos you think would inspire us please drop me a line!

To see more of Joe's amazing work head over here.

In my sketchbook...

Week in review

So, it has been a crazy (but fun-filled) week for me which unfortunately meant no blog posts for awhile. So sorry!! Here's a little peak into what I've been up to:

Every since I saw this windchime from wine bottles, I immediately knew that I had to make it.

I have plently of empty, label-free wine bottles (thanks to having a husband who makes wine) so the real challenge was to cut the bottles. Having looked at multiple tutorials from various blogs and YouTube, I thought that I was ready for the challenge. I was wrong.

So, my first attempt was an obvious DIY fail, but I am not going to let this discourage me from trying again. Christmas is just around the corner and I have several family members who would love this for their gardens. (BTW, photographing glass is no easy feat!)

Next up is my cycling-inspired painting for my brother-in law. I did go ahead and use the first thumbnail for the layout and am pretty pleased with how it is turning out. 

I do have some touch-ups to finish but nothing too major.

Hope you all are making progress on your Christmas present projects!!

In my sketchbook: thumbnails

 My brother-in-law's birthday is quickly approaching, and he is always requesting artwork from me. Isn't he sweet! Since he is a cyclist, I wanted to do some bike-related. To figure out what would work the best, I drew a collection of thumbnails based off of a wheel theme.

My fav so far? Definitely the first one!