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"Parting is such sweet sorrow."
This is my take for this week's Illustration Friday. Friends 4 Ever, best friends always, you know who they are. Those kindred spirits who've been blessed with. The kind of friends that no matter how far apart you are, it's like you never left each other when you are reunited. Saying goodbye is filled with sweet sorrow. Joy for the time together, sorrow for the distance in between, hope the next visit will be soon.
I'm so excited, my first hats ever. I was inspired by this pattern, but then and made up one on my own. I wish I could share it with you, but it's crocheted and I don't know all the little abbreviations to write up a pattern. The link to the pattern above looks easy enough, and there are a few others on that site. I used the Homespun yarn and a little fun fur added in there for the flower. I made a purple one, but my youngest wouldn't take it off when it was time for bed. She loved it, she called it her jazzy hat. Okay, enough play, back to work for me!
Here are a few new beads that I have been working on. I have them in kits on my website. I also have some of my beaded flower necklaces put up there. A detail of it is below. I love doing the intricate beadwork, but it's so time consuming. I'm working on more of those types of pieces for the fashion show and I'd like to approach my gallery about hosting a show for me. Yikes, that will take some courage.
It's hard to go back and forth between beads and illustration, but I love them both so much. I just work on things when the muse strikes, knowing the larger goals I have to meet each month. Illustration has been about promotion and for beads, getting an article out the door this month, along with filling orders has been my focus. Happy Creating!
Aren't I spoiled? What a spectacular package to open up today. And just when I was feeling so sad, what a great way to brighten my day!
Check out the little ones that look like houses. They are drilled along the bottom, but I'm going to set them in silver so that they look like little birdhouses. I love them all. In fact I'm over here petting them, whispering, "My precious." And they are going to go perfectly with the new beads I've been working on. My Mom sure does take care of me! I just wish she would have been taken better care of at the event she taught at. Shame on those promoters. You can read about their horrid deeds on her blog, a hard lesson learned.
Here is a little sketchbook she sent me. The cover is made with real leaves. I love it. The girls got one too, what cute little nature study notebooks they will make! And speaking of sketches...
This is a scarf I'm going to make for the San Antonio Fiber Artists Fashion Show. It's in March, so I better start on it soon! I'm going to experiment with mixing all sorts of yarns, I'll be taking my first trip to the fancy yarn store here in town. I can hear my checkbook whimpering already! I'll also be mixing some beadwork in it, beaded leaves and a beaded flower as the centerpiece.
Okay, that's enough for the beads. I'm also working on a new promo piece and have a dummy book that I need to get polished up for an upcoming SCBWI event. Great creative efforts are produced here, the dishes sit by waiting to be scrubbed...
It's right on Lake Michigan. You can walk from one end of downtown to the other in 15 minutes. It's filled with all these cute little shops, ready for the summer tourists. The snow in the wintertime is beautiful, despite what everyone is saying there right now! We went back for vacation in November. It's snowed, it was picture perfect. In the back of my mind, I dream that I'll be a famous illustrator and could live anywhere I want. In the meantime, how do I deal with the longing for home, for family, for the quiet, still world that the town inhabits? I'm not sure, lots of phone calls back home. Lots of journaling. Lots of counting my blessings and be thankful for our home here.
Today I was sketching little things I remember about my great grandmother's house. We lived right next door to her. She would bring us over blueberry muffins in the mornings. I love how she would sprinkle sugar on them. Yes, they were made from scratch. One thanksgiving she made 13 homemade pies. Can you imagine! When you went to visit she'd have blueberries or strawberries in the summer and a little bowl of sugar to dip them in. Yes, she was a sweetie. I'd look out our kitchen window in the summertime and see her hanging her sheets on the line. Fresh laundry in the summer breeze, now that is home. Next to the clothesline would rest a little jug of sun tea, steeping in the hot summer sun. In between our houses was a row of lilac trees. I'd wake up in the mornings and that would be the first thing to enter my head. It's still one of my favorite scents. Lots of card games where played at Grandma's. Along with everything Thanksgiving Dinner when we where kids. When my daughter was born, there were 5 generations in our family. Grandma Jensen went on to a heavenly home last Christmas. It was hard to say good-bye. Her strength and independence will be a lasting trait in the women in our family.
Our online critique group, the Picture Book Junkies, started a blog ring just for children's illustrators.
Here is the little blurb from the ring homepage:
We are a group of established professional illustrators who specialize in the children's market, and our blogs reflect this. We strive for high quality work and serious pursuit of careers in children's publishing. As there are sometimes children who access our sites, no profanity or topics unsuitable for children's eyes are acceptable.
So, if you are a published children's illustrator, (books, magazines, educational market, etc.) and meet the above requirements, we'd love to have you join the ring!
Let your wishes and dreams lift off the ground this season. It will take a little work to get the wind to grab hold. Wait, keep running, it will happen soon. Make sure there is enough string tied to your dreams so that when the wind does catch hold, your own fears won't hold you back. You'll be able to let your dream climb higher than you had imagined. Create happiness, dream unlimited, soar fearlessly.
Click the image to view larger. This is my entry for illustration friday. It was a piece I had done for an SCBWI contest, didn't win, but it's now used as a logo for our local chapter. It's one of my favorite prints.
Here is fun way to waste a few minutes:
Today we are going for a walk, (it's 70 degrees here) I'm teaching my girls how to sew by hand and then I'll work on a little knitting I have going. We like to take Mondays slow, they are hard enough to get through! I found a great little yarn by Red Heart, called Tiki. It comes in this wonderful shade, Fruit.
use size 10 needles
Cast on 20 stitches
Knit three rows. Make sure to slip off the first stitch each time for a smoother edge.
Drop stitch across the 4th row. I wrap my yarn 3 times for the drop stitch.
Repeat until desired length. Finish your scarf with fringe.
(I'm not a great knitter and this is by no means a professional pattern, just sharing what I do!)
Do you know any other yarns that are like this? I'm on the hunt. I found this at Walmart on a fluke, it's a limited edition and they only had 1 ball!
I hope you have a special Valentine's Day. If you don't have someone showering gifts on you, then make something sweet for yourself this weekend. Or spread the joy and make these treats for a few dear friends.
Try your hand at making a few hearts using polymer clay. You can find it at your local craft store and with just a few tools you can discover the meaning of instant gratification. You make your stuff, pop it in the oven for 30 minutes, ta-daa you'll have beads! Here on my bead site, I listed a few heart inspired projects. Check out all my archives for beadmaking tips.
Now this is my favorite frosting recipe, add this on top of those tubes of sugar cookies you find in the dairy section and it will be just like making homemade sugar cookies. Lay out wax paper on your counter, cover it with flour, roll out a nice chunk of dough with a rolling pin - use lots of flour so it won't stick to everything. Cut out some hearts with a cookie cutter. Bake them up. Add your frosting after it cools. If I'm feeling really naughty, I'll dip them in sugar before the frosting sets. yummmm. Whip up a few hearts, add a little pink frosting and enjoy a girls night in! (directions from creative genius, Kerri Smith.)
Butter Frosting:
3 tbsp. butter (or margarine)
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 tbsp. of milk, add one at time until you get your desired consistency
In a big bowl beat all ingredients until light and fluffy. Add a few drops of food coloring, mix until the color is uniform. Use immediately. You can store it in an air tight container for a few days. If your frosting is too thin, add more sugar, too thick, a little milk.
Here is a little journal I made a few months ago. It uses envelopes as the pages, which make a handy place to put in little drawings, postcards, paint chips, clippings, and other things that inspire, to go along with your journaling. This one I happen to use for collecting info. on our never-ending list of remodeling and repair projects for our new home. And also I keep a fun list of 100 Things I'd like to do in My Life Time. The pockets are nice for adding little momentos when items are checked off the list.
Book Instructions:
20-30 of any size new envelopes
A sheet of nice thick paper - I used Rives BFK (my favorite paper in the whole world) Cardstock would also work.
scrapbook paper and vellum for the cover
twine and a little bead if you have one laying around
hole punch 
1. Punch 3 holes in each envelope. (click on the first pic. to see the details)
2. Cut your cover paper to wrap around the front and back of your book. (See the second picture.) If your envelopes are 4 x 6, then your cover paper should be 5 x 13, add on an inch to make sure it covers it nicely. Fold your cover paper in half and punch three holes along the folded side.
3. Decorate your cover as you'd like.
4. Tie your pages together with twine, add a little bead on the top tie. (that's the circle on the cover) Your binding should be loose to accommodate turning the pages and the bulk of what you'll add to the envelopes later.
