Sporadic

Apparently, I am a sporadic blogger.  To anyone who still checks and reads this blog, thank you!  I have intentions of posting more often, but it does not seem to happen yet.  I will continue to try and get better!

I worked on a drawing this weekend and was not pleased with it, until I realized that I wanted a more zoomed in version of it.  So here is how it turned out:

And this is a zoomed in photo which is more like what I had in mind:

I guess I will have to try again and experiment with the background some more.  I also have been meaning to share a photo of the new necklaces I have made.  They are not baked yet, but I really like them and I want to make some more in this style:

I am kind of into paisleys right now.  They seem to be showing up in my drawings so I figured I would see how they looked in necklace form.  I have to say I am pretty pleased with the results!

Easter

I decided that this year I wanted to do something amazing with Easter eggs and try drawing on them with wax like the beautiful Russian and Polish eggs that I keep seeing on the internet (...Pinterest).  So I lit a candle and got some eggs and then discovered that without proper tools, drawing on eggs with wax is really hard!  I ended up using a knife and made some simple designs on three eggs.  They were far less beautiful and amazing than I had pictured, but until I figure out where to get wax egg drawing tools they were the best I could manage! 

Then I dyed them along with all the regular, not wax decorated eggs and here is how they turned out:

I think they are not bad for a first attempt and I definitely learned a thing or two.  Next year I plan to be much better prepared!  Here are the rest of our eggs:

I hope you all had a Happy Easter and enjoyed dying eggs of your own! 

Wales

I just got back from an amazing wedding in Wales.  Not only was the wedding and everyone there beautiful, but Wales itself is lovely and full of sheep!  I will have some new art work to share tomorrow, but for today here is the beautiful beach in Anglesey:

 sandy beach full of weird seaweed stuff and lots of tide pools

sheep!

Busy, busy

February turned out to be quite a busy month!  But I did manage to do a little art along with planning a friend's bachelorette party :)  I also got back on a bit of a Pinterest kick, which led me to a ton of new recipes, which got me on a baking kick.  I have to say, I found some really great recipes (particularly the cinnamon swirl banana bread) but I have satisfied my baking itch for now.  You can see my cooking board on Pinterest if you are interested! 

The idea for this painting has been floating around in my head and I finally put paint to canvas! 

close up of the top

New Necklaces

I have been trying to use some of the drawings I have been working on and put them on a necklace.  It was a bit harder than I thought and I am not entirely sure if I like the result, but they are kind of funky. 

I sat down yesterday to try and make some Valentine's necklaces.  I think they look fun as a group.  We will see if anyone in the land of Etsy likes them! 

I was also in the mood to bake this weekend, so I made a delicious frittata (if I do say so myself!).  And then, wanting something sweet, I made lemon cookies which I decided to decorate:

 I used potatoes, red pepper, red onion, thyme and rosemary

Happy New Year!

Hello again :)  I got lost in the business of Christmas and the wonderful, inspirational, time-wasting, fantastic website known as pinterest.com.  If you have not seen it yet, you should, but be warned: you may end up spending LOTS of time looking at all the amazing things on it.  I have been trying to get away from just looking and pinning things and start actually trying to cook some of the recipes and make some of the crafts.  To that end, I made 35 origami balloons today!  

 

They were easy to make once I stopped creasing all the folds.  I had a few unsuccessful attempts of blowing up my balloons before I figured that out.  Once they were all made, I put them on a string of white Christmas lights and hung them in the kitchen.  I think they look great!  

It adds some nice color to my kitchen.  I have several other things from Pinterest that I am eager to try - I will keep you updated on how they turn out! 

Success!

Well, I did it.  I cooked and hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner!  There was plenty of food, nothing burned, and only one plate of deviled eggs tipped and spilled onto the floor (luckily I had two plates).  It was a LOT of work but it made Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving and it was much easier to be so far from home. 

A table full of empty plates is a good sign!

I have been doing a lot of cooking lately.  I have also been thinking of a lot of new projects, but have not started any yet.  I also discovered Pinterest, which if you have not yet checked out, you totally should.  I am thoroughly enjoying it!  I suppose I am spending my time looking at other peoples' projects instead of making my own.  It is time to get creative!