The working end

 In my previous posts I'd mentioned getting things sorted out and organized and all of the unusual things you find. So far this old cartoon is one of the weirdest.

 That first house was a duplex and when we didn't have the apartment full of an assortment of friends and family I used it for an art studiogift shop, gallery, sewing and knitting machine workshop.

 A second kitchen sure came in handy.

I did a lot of work out on the front porch as well. If you're wondering about the camouflage paint job on the Victorian table, it was so that it wouldn't be noticed out in the woods when we were camping on my in laws farm.

Buried Treasure

 This picture was taken on the front porch of my first house.

 These pictures were taken in the gallery and gift shop upstairs.

My design for this sewing machine cabinet almost made it into a magazine about 20 years ago. Who knows, maybe I should give it another try. Things are always changing, sooner or later I'm bound to be in style...

The days in between

There's always a lot to do around here but some of it just isn't much fun to write or to read about. In between projects there's a lot of clean up and organizing to do in order to have enough work space for the next one.
It helped to re-organize some cabinet and storage boxes, I even "found" a few things that I'd lost track of over the years.
Some of the next things I'll be doing are:
painted furniture
colored pencil drawing
watercolor painting
pen and ink drawing
acrylic painting
sewing
crochet
embroidery
wood carving
The biggest challenge is deciding where to start.

Before and After

Step by Step

 One of my watercolors that came back to me in the mail

 I decided to add some permanent ink and a bit of colored pencil

After I'd finished with it, my husband cleaned it up in the computer and I'm off to my Zazzle store to see what I can make out of it.

Tiny Trees

Quite a makeover from the burlap bag to the gold flower pot, isn't it?

Reindeer Rehab

 Paper mache reindeer with a broken antler glued back in place.

 The repair was painted over and then I began adding ribbon and bows to make them a bit more festive.

 They look happier already.

3 for 1 image

Painting for exercise class

Envelope design in progress

 This is how it turned out. The design is in the lower left hand corner of the envelope

 Part of our work out is with big,foam swimming pool noodles so I turned them into giant candy canes for this Christmas card

 Here's the finished card

Here's the back of the envelope

Holly

3 for 1 Christmas Special

Making the most of your images with a computer and scanner:


1. Scan your Christmas card or envelope just as you've drawn or painted it.

2.Add branches, pine cones, holiday greens or holly and berries.

3. Scan again.

4. use permanent ink to add outlines and details.

5. scan again.

You've now got 3 very different images from the same piece of art work.

Would you like to see examples? If so, be sure to check one of the boxes at the end of the post or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Holiday Plant Shopping and Yarn Projects

 I'm shifting in between projects on the dining room table. As soon as I finish the slippers, I'm planning a series of drawings,watercolors and acrylics with the fresh holiday plants I managed to get. The poinsettia that I got from Target was half the price and twice the size of the ones at Wagner's Greenhouse but the people at the greenhouse are wonderful and do great work. I did a bit of each, I got the cheap poinsettia from Target because of our current financial situation but got some fresh holly and mixed greens from the greenhouse.

 These were my Christmas present to me. The Holiday Season is whatever you make of it and these cheer me up and keep me warm as well.

Exit the Knitting Machine, bring on the Holidays

 Don't worry, it's just been packed away a while so that I can focus on other things. It was impossible for company to stop by with that much equipment filling up the room and I was getting a bit lonesome.

 It was nice to have everything out long enough to get it all sorted out again. I sold a few pattern books I didn't need anymore so it helped with my plan for organizing and downsizing around here as well.

 Doesn't this look a bit better? We made some hot, spiced cider and settled in for some holiday movies. Yes, that sofa has seen better days but then again so have we...OK, you can stop laughing now...

Yes, I made the afghan. I'll be drawing and painting the flowers soon. You'll be seeing the new work as soon as I finish each piece.

Something for everyone

 My sister painted this for me and I'm SO excited!!! She says I can use it to make stuff on Zazzle with. It's going to be fun to see what I can do with it.

 I finished these two scarves and took them into crochet group today. These will be donated to an organization for the families of veterans. I also finished a hat and sent it along with them.

 These are both made the long way with half double crochet stitches.

Working with Fresh Holly around the house

 Tossed in the scanner

 Sitting in the livingroom

 Tossed on the sofa

Out in the Kitchen

Progress Report

Knit and Crochet: "They say charity begins at home". I say "been there, done that". I just gave 2 scarves, one hat and 4 pair of slippers to my family and made 1 pair of slippers each for my husband and myself.

Zazzle: Sales are improving and we're still designing lots of things with my artwork on them and just discovered that we can do ceramic tile there that can be put on everything from a trivet or gift box to a bathroom or kitchen. I got SO excited that I designed dozens of them.

My Studio: I'm still working on the dining room table because we couldn't afford to finish the old garage we were converting to studio space but I'm not letting that stop me from planning a series of workshops on color mixing and problem solving for watercolor and acrylic artists. Even if I can't do them here I can do all of the planning so that I'll be ready to go when things get back on track.

Organizing, Recycling and Downsizing: 3 bags of "stuff" went out to charity last week, some bins were emptied and others reorganized. My go to system for things these days is tote bags for each activity or place I need to go to so that everything is always sorted and ready. people say "you're so organized" but they'd be horrified to see what a mess my house is in. Somehow I can always find something more important or interesting than housework...I'm sure that won't surprise you.