Buzz Light Year - Cardboard and Thick Gray Tape

Head hung low. My knuckles are dragging because I haven't had time to paint, but I did make this last night. This is our latest creation out of cardboard. A Buzz Light Year space suit for my gal. This is all her design and I fabricated it. Tomorrow (if I have time) I will paint. She's thrilled with her space suit and I'm looking forward to see what details she'll add to it. You can't see the empty vitamin bottle that is strapped with tape to her back. Again, this was her idea. The vitamin bottle is her rocket launcher so she can fly in space. This pose was her idea and she had many more. She's got style!


We've been busy with classes and learning. The learning never ends and I'm enjoying every day I get to share with her. So my painting will have to wait for a short time.

Tempest

It's late and my Toot is sleeping on the couch while I finish putting up this piece. Something quick that I promised myself to do in a couple of hours and put up tonight. This is what happens when I don't have any time during the day to paint. Made this on the computer in Painter. A bit rough, but I wanted to get a basic composition and have fun with it. It was raining when I started and now as I'm putting it up on my blog the rain has stopped. I'd like to make this into a painting or a drawing.

I spent Sunday organizing my desk and paint supplies. The next few days we will be going through several storms and it'll be a perfect opportunity for me to make some quick pieces. If the Toot lets me. Lately, she's been wanting to takeover whatever I start and then I have a hard time finishing. How am I'm going to go about this? Quick pieces is my latest idea. Or...more of these late night computer pieces. 2:30 am and I'm going to pay for it when I have to wake up on her schedule.

I don't think I've mentioned this on my blog or anywhere else, but I've joined The Society of Children's Bookwriters and Illustrators! I've been a member for several months now, and I've put up some of my drawings and paintings. Not much activity there (on my part) lately, but I am glad I finally joined. It's something I've been wanting to do for myself to keep me focused. Take a look at my gallery. I know I've got a long way to go to get my portfolio up to par with the professional children's book illustrators, but I've taken a step forward and that's good for now.

These Curtains were not made in China

These are the second set of curtains that I made last Saturday, but I didn't have time to put up until today.

I had to recharge the battery to my drill and then I got busy with other home stuff before I found time to hang these blue lovelies. I'm pleased with the cheerful pattern and color.
It's nice how they've changed the mood in the kitchen. These are the third set of curtains I've made in my lifetime. All three sets were made with my mother's old sewing machine. I am improving and again I am grateful that my mother taught me how to use her sewing machine. It sure is so much nicer to make my own curtains. Pre-made, store bought curtains are so impersonal. It also costs me a lot less to buy three yards of material and make them myself. I get to choose a pattern and color that are to my liking. And now with my experience on my mother's sewing machine, I can now get a little fancier with the pattern. This time I made these two sets in one day. Not bad at all. It feels great to complete another project.

Happy New Year! oooops! A little late...

in the post and it's still okay. It's all good.
I'm enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee this morning. The Monstritos are asleep and I like the quiet. I got to hear the neighborhood rooster while I admired the kitchen curtains I made yesterday. I will post photos later today (..Here's my photo). For now, I just want to post something to keep my blog from feeling abandoned. I've got my brand new schedule book and it's been filled with activities, projects and thoughts. I decided to get back to a schedule book that I can write on and look at without having to turn on the computer. Getting on the computer to check my emails, schedules and everything else became a time consuming distraction....oh and Facebook too. I'll have to admit that I got drawn into Facebook. It has been nice reconnecting with old friends, but there is only so much I want to know about what they are doing. Anyway, I've finally weened myself from Facebook and I plan to get back to my blog and artwork on Etsy.
Got to go! The Monstritos are up!

Winter Days with my Gal

A chilly view of silhouettes from our bathroom window. When the sun comes up in the morning these are the shadows that reflect on our pebbled glass window. It's a striking sight when I walk in at the right time.

We have been busy making our decorations for the holidays. You can also see Toot's turkey made from construction paper, pine cone, feathers and eyes that move around in their plastic casings. The Christmas decorations are also great because we will recycle the paper and make new ones next year.

We also made it to the Huntington Gardens on the 3rd. We went with some friends in Toot's class. We had a fabulous time. So much to see and enjoy! I did get to take some photos of textures and nice shapes for inspiration. I'm anxious to paint again, but the days go so quickly and the sun is gone so early in the day. I need natural light to paint. I did have a great time photographing the desert gardens. So photography will have to be my creative outlet for now.

Potato printmaking this year for our Christmas cards.

We're making our Christmas cards this year. Well, I've been making them for several years now. It's become a Christmas tradition that I've started since my girl has been with us. It's possible that I did make our Christmas cards before she was born, but I don't remember anymore. This year she has added some details to a couple of cards. I did let her print a couple and I'll post the finished product in a few days. We're still working on them.