December 2019 - Pet Portraits

For (slightly late) Christmas 2019 presents, I gave three of my friends a "portrait" of each of their dogs. The pictures are around A5. We managed to find marble effect frames and then I used 300gsm card to make the mounts.

The first "pet portrait" I did was of a wire coated Jack Russell named Winnie.  

I then did a portrait of a Jack Russel named Scurry (as a puppy).

Last but certainly not least, I did a portrait of a Black Labrador named Merlin.

  

Overall I was pleased with the end result of these portraits. I haven't done pet portraits before so I did find them tricky to do but I did enjoy the challenge and I think that some of each of their personalities does come through in their portraits.

My friends were certainly happy with the pictures as they each recognized their own dog. In addition, they have asked me to do a portrait of another one of their pets. 

As always, if you have any feedback, questions or suggestions then please leave a comment below...

December 2019 - Luing Sunset Paintings

At the end of December, I did two small paintings of sunsets on the Isle of Luing, as possible Birthday presents.

For both of these, I used 13x18cm (5x7") canvas boards, Inktense pencils, water-brushes and fine-liner pens.

The first painting I did is of Blackmill Bay. I tried to get the reflections/light trail to look as natural as possible but I don't think I've quite mastered that yet - but hey, all life is a lesson, right?! I was quite happy with the effects I managed to get on the almost silhouetted land and I really like the posts too.

In the end, this was the one we gave as the present so we got a frame for it and I think it adds something to the overall effect.

I also did a painting of Cullipool, which included a boat. I think, between the two, this might be the more striking image due to the range of colours - from a pale yellow to a vibrant purple. I think the water effects may also have worked better in this painting. Overall, I'm quite proud of this one.

  

I think these both turned out very well and both have aspects that I (personally) prefer. I actually enjoyed doing these little paintings and can't wait to see what the next one will be.

If you have any feedback, questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below...

December 2019 - Nativity Background

Back in December I was volunteered to make the background for CY (Sunday School) Nativity service.

I started with two large pieces of double thickness cardboard and joined them together using gummed paper to create a sort of "book". I also use the gummed paper to seal the edges and make sure they were smooth.

I then drew and painted the scene.

The idea was to have the figures (and the Star) detachable so that the kids could build up the scene as the story progressed, and so it could be used again for future nativities if required. I used self-adhesive velcro dots to attach the laminated figures/Star. I then used a gold sharpie to suggest the other stars (using slightly bigger dots for where the kids would put the star stickers).

Once I had finished painting the inside, I used brown acrylic to cover the outside. It was quite hard trying to get the paint to evenly cover the "book" but it ended up looking a little like worn/distressed leather so it turned out for the best. I also used metallic gold paint to add the writing/details to the cover.

I'm pleased with the way this turned out and might try this idea for some other projects (on a smaller scale!) in the future.

As always, if you have any feedback, questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below...

December 2019 - DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

In early December, I made some upcycled ornaments for our Christmas tree using corks and cardboard (with a bit of paint to decorate them).

This year we decided our theme for our tree would be "Fairytales/stories" and still feeling inspired by the Toadstool doors in my "Pumpkin" Calendar, I decided to paint some corks to look like little toadstools. I then used 4mm-eye 10mm screws (eye screws? - screws with a loop instead of a flat end) to attach a string so that we could hang them on the tree.

I also decided to make a small Gingerbread house ornament (out of cardboard) for each member of  my family, using the "Advent Calendar 2017" doors as a starting point. To make these even more special, I realised I could leave the door piece unglued which would mean the gingerbread-houses could be used as small giftboxes.

I measured and cut all the pieces I would need and then assembled them with my glue gun. I then used acrylic paint and sharpies to decorate them.

My younger sister asked to have a fireplace in hers so...
(Click on the photos to enlarge)

I thought these turned out really well and decided to make a set for my friend's family too. I found out each of their favourite sweeties and tried to incorporate them into the design so that they could tell whose was whose. With a little more experience, I also wanted to try putting a wreath on some of the doors as another festive detail.

I'm really happy with all of these ornaments and hope to use them again for years to come. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, please leave a comment below...

November 2019

I did a few little projects in November, including an elephant drawing (for a birthday card for one of my sister's friends), flower arranging for a Sunday service(first time I'd done that), and new butterfly earrings in preparation for the Caddonfoot Coffee & Crafts morning where I had a stall.

I decided to do a pen line drawing and then use water to spread the ink a little to create a greyscale image which I think is quite effective.

I was also asked to arrange the flowers for one of the Sunday services. It was the first time I had done flowers for a service on my own. I'm about to do my first of three consecutive Sundays arranging the flowers (the second of which is Mother's Day so no pressure(!) - right?!). Anyway these are the arrangements I did in November:

November is also when the "Caddonfoot Coffee & Crafts" morning is held in the Volunteer Hall in Galashiels. Once again, I had a stall there and I wanted to try a new jewellery design which I used butterfly buttons, fine chain and small semi-precious stones/glass crystals to make dangly earrings.

While it was a pretty busy month - arranging flowers, drawing elephants and preparing for the stall - I'm pleased with how it all turned out and I'm looking forward to doing similar projects in the future.

Please leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for posts or projects you'd like to see...