What I found

Since I decided to do some play with watercolor for a bit,  I went looking for one of my old water bins.  It has a double well so you have a clean and dirty water bin in one container.  However, I didn't find it right away.  I did find that I am apparently a hoarder of art supplies.  I found a small carrying case full of various paint brushes.   I also found some watercolor pencils, some watercolor pan sets and some other interesting things.

But  there was also a basket full of wooden things.  Hmmmm.... pulling it out, I remembered many years ago when  a co-worker gave me a box full of wooden plaques.  I painted florals on a lot of them. Some I may have sold at craft shows, but some I know I gave as gifts.  My aunt still has one on display. 

I pulled them out and made photos so you can see them.  These are acrylic on wood with a sealant over the painting on most of them.

The one on the right has a Monet feel, I think.  Monet is one of my favorite artists, along with Van Gogh, Picasso, and Dali.

Maybe when this pandemic is over (if ever) I will be able to have a booth at a craft show and sell these little pieces.   They are better than I remember.

And, Yes, I did finally find the water container.  It was right out in the open- but I had put something inside it and disguised  it.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Watercolor - why not!

My friends A Left-handed Quilter and Barbara are painting a little with watercolors and watercolor pencils.  So I have decided to join in.  I have actually taken watercolor classes from some "name" painters, but it is not my strong suit.  To be honest I don't paint a lot anymore - watercolor or acrylic.  So I am challenging myself to paint two little watercolor pieces each day for a while. (Hopefully the rest of the month - but we will see.)

Here are two that I painted today following the same "Easy Flowers" video that Kitty used.

 The first one is blotchy and the stems are horrid. 

The second one is better, but the stems are still too thick. 

Maybe tomorrow's will be better. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Weaving Again

Since the "bathroom curtain" weaving did not go as planned, I have put another warp on the loom to make new fabric.  It may or may not be curtains for the kitchen.  I am using one of the Saori Brand pre-wound warps.  This was originally a 30 meter warp in black.   I had used part of it previously then removed it from the loom to save for another time. 

In some of the photos you may see a red thread in the warp.  I got one thread tangled and simply cut it out for bit.  When that thread was long enough off the warp, I wove in a red thread and put it through the reed and heddle in the right spot. Then I tied it to the black thread coming off the warp. Besides repairing the broken thread, it adds a little pop of red into the warp threads for a section.  I just think that is fun. 

Here are some photos of the weaving so far. 

This is a single variegated thread used as the weft. It is actually from a crochet thread cone made by Bernat.  I love the way the colors pooled into arrowhead shapes.

Sometimes, I wind two threads onto a bobbin at the same time.  This bobbin in the shuttle shows that. This adds some extra color and also makes the fabric look a bit "tweedy."  The fabric under the shuttle was done this way. 

This shows how the above shuttle thread look when woven.

It is also fun to use a variegated thread along with a "matching" solid thread to create a look that can be created no other way. 

The main part of this one is done with a multicolor variegated thread wound on with a deep aqua/blue thread.  It creates a wonderful variation in the color of the cloth.  (You can see the tail of the red warp thread woven in on the right about half way down. I left long ends just for fun. 

I see that none of these photos show the red thread running in the warp.  So here is one extra photo. 

PS.  The "new" Blogger format has been forced upon me. I don't love it, but I think I can manage to keep posting.   I am tenacious!

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Little "For Me" Project

One thing that I truly enjoy is reading. I like a variety of books.  However, I am not one of the people who "needs" a paper book to enjoy reading.  I bought my first e-book in 2008.  I have a large collection of  e-books and when trying to downsize physical space, it is nice to have a huge library still at my fingertips.  I do, however still check out physical books from my library and occasionally buy a physical book.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a brand new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.  I find the Paperwhite e-ink to be easier on my eyes than reading on a standard tablet.   I started looking for a cover for my device and was shocked that good ones cost about a third of the price of the device. 

Time to make my own cover both to protect and to make it easier to hold. 
I pulled out some hand dyed fabric, MistyFuse, ponytail holders,  and some "Stiffy" which is used to make postcards.  The Stiffy is similar to Timtex. 

I traced out my device on cardboard to use as a template -mostly for sizing.   I cut pieces of the Stiffy and added MistyFuse to them.   Then I placed them on the fabric and fused them down.  The edges of the fabric were folded over and and fused also.
An additional piece of Stiffy and fabric were used for the interior side where the Kindle Paperwhite attaches.  I added and sewed down the stretchy ponytail holders to use for holding the Kindle in place.
Then I sewed that section to the cover.

The device is secure and none of the screen is covered by the bands.

The outside looks like this

The cover will fold back completely.  This cover makes it much easier for me to hold onto

the "book" while I am reading it. My only regret is that I didn't add a small piece of magnet to 

make it a  "smart cover" that will automatically turn off the device. 

And just for grins, here is a picture of me way back when I was about 22.

I surely was skinny back then.  But not now. Ha ha.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.