Things That Inspire

This week is crazy busy so I thought I would do a fun picture post of the things I am inspired by at the moment.
I went to Bishop again last weekend and there was a new art gallery opened. A large painting of a gorilla holding a flower smiled at me from across the street and I was amused and intrigued. I soon discovered the work of Ginger Fox, her contemporary style is colorful and fun. I can't find a photo of the Gorilla painting but below is a painting that is also very colorful and captivating. See more here.

picture from her website

I finally got a good picture of my pansies, aren't they pretty :)

I also got around to hanging some prints up in my room, it makes me happy to have a little color on the walls, it makes me want to get more stuff to decorate the walls and make some of my colorful contributions of my own.

Ashley G print

I've always liked collage and mixed media, but have experimented too much with mixed media lately. I am really feeling inspired by Katie Daisy and Mindy Lacefield their techniques are pretty cool.

It makes me want to start painting again.

Katie Daisy's mixed media

Mindy Lacefield's cute little couple

And last but not least, I made my Thanksgiving pie on Monday night, better late than never when it comes to pie.

 

 I tried this large pie crust cookie cutter thing for the first time that cuts out hearts all around. Pretty fun. but I still enjoy free hand carving and eventually I experiment with making  puff pastry from this book. She is my current baking inspiration

Back to the drawing board

So I mentioned awhile ago that I was going to work on making a bunny plush, well it started out ok and then I had a problem with the ears. Then I can up with an ear solution, but still ran into problems.
It's still not turning out like I want, but out of that came more concept sketches so I am excited about that. I'm still going to play with some ideas this week, right now I'm thinking about koalas and platypuses lol

bunny attempt #1

close up of the face

bunny attempt #2 he looks like a neon tater tot lol

I finally got frustrated enough to switch gears and start working on drawings again. I finished my scarf owl and I'm happy with how he turned out. I tried some different techniques on the tree bark and the background.

 I also got some new pansies, I really love pansies they are my favorite fall flower, with their happy little faces, pretty color variations and pleasant subtle fragrance.......what more could you want from a flower?


My Thanksgiving was wonderful watching the parade, cooking and hanging out. I was so happy to see the Kaws balloon in the parade. See more about the balloon and the process here.


The leaves have really started to turn finally and it makes for a beautiful back road drive.
I did pretty good Black Friday and got some pretty good deals online, will have to do a fashion post soon :)

Craft Show Roundup

Here's my craft show excitement, as I said in my previous post I had been to Funky Finds before and I was happy to see some of my old favorites.

First off, Sharen Chatterton does really amazing and vibrant watercolors. I love flowers and her painting are so happy and bright. The first year we saw her we bought a bookmark and started following her newsletter. This year I'm happy to report, I got this wonderful pansy print for my Mom.
I love pansies, and the gardening items mixed in.

Another one of my favorites I was happy to see again is Gypsyharte. Three years ago I really didn't know anything about needle felting but her creations were just so cute and personable I bought a felting kit determined to created little creatures of my own. My mom has more patience and does well at it. Three dimensional items are a little more tricky, but  I think we feel a little more confident so this year we got a pumpkin kit! Look how cute Gyspyharte's little pumpkin is! She is very talented.

I love her little mushroom toadstools and birdies :)

photo by gypsyharte

i love her little owls

Another fun shop I saw was Fuzzy hippo I love the 3-D texture in solid color, and the ones that make actual shapes are fun too. The wedding stuff is cute and they even have furniture too, perfect for graphic geeks :)

I love texture and color together

It's fun to mix art with useful things

 And I finished my 3rd octopus. Her name is Ruby and her favorite color is purple (as you can tell by her bow). She loves to play dress up with her friends, and practice her hula hooping. Her favorite snack is chocolate pudding cups. She will soon be in the shop :)

She is made out of Fuchsia fleeces with purple accents and hand stitched facial features, including her eyelashes.

I think she turned out pretty cute, and I can't wait to make a little blue guy with a bow tie, inspired by my sketch.

Ok hope to post more soon, hope you are having a marvelous Monday!

Random fashion stuff

I really like this Marc Jacobs dress, it has lines that actually flatter and it has pockets, which is a big deal for me :)

But alas it's pretty pricey

Here is a dress from Modcloth that has a similar idea at at more reasonable price.

It even has button tack details on the sleeves, I love the little details :)

Marc also has really cute tech accessories, like these animal smart phone cases.

 They are so cute they make me want to get an iPhone!

I can't decide which one is my favorite

Also he has flash drives and coin purses! I love when a theme is carried through in many different forms.

The Bunny is so cute

oh novelty coin purses

Ok enough about that, I had a super great time at the craft show, I saw some people I didn't see at the last show so that's always fun and I've been sewing another softie so I plan to post about both of these things later in the week. Hope everyone is having a marvelous Tuesday!

Looking forward to the weekend

I always love to visit Ft. Worth, my favorite museum is there.

lovely view

 There is also a huge antique mall, I love getting lost looking through antiques, especially jewelry.
 One of my favorite fabric shops, Cabbage Rose, is also in Ft. Worth, they have so many different kinds of fabric: cotton, flannel, corduroy and laminated cotton, you know to make rain coats, or table cloths out of. Awesome! I'm like a kid in a candy store.

Laminated soul blossom peacock feather rose print

 But this weekend, I am going to local craft show, Funky Finds. They have local artists and a pet adoption area, it's great, this will be my third year to go, and I can't wait :)

I think I'm going to go see the new James Bond movie this weekend too and maybe stop by my favorite pie place for a slice of Druken Nut or Lord of the Pies.

beautiful and delicious

Also I've added my sewing print to the shop and Ben the Bat!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

New creatures and other stuff

So I finally finished a new stuffed creature I had been working on.......things seem so simple in my head even when I put them together but construction is not always as easy as I imagine it to be.
A couple years ago, I made a goodbye and good luck cake for one of my coworkers. She was really into twilight and vampire stuff so I made her a bat cake topper. Then I remember it the other day and decided it would be fun to make a plush bat.  I took my sketch and made it into a pattern.

I love cute little fangs :)

In huggable  plush form

Meet Ben

close up of the face :)

Meet Ben the bat, he loves to play tag and hide and go seek. Fall is his favorite time of year and he loves fruit cups.  I used anti-pill fleece for the 1st time, I definitely like the texture better than regular fleece its definitely great for making animals. I hand stitched most of his face, I experimenting with doing a zigzag applique around the largest part of the eye. I plan to add to the shop tomorrow after I take some better pictures. Working on more creatures, I'm eager to share as fast as I can get them done.

I was in Walmart the other day and look what I found in the craft aisle......mini canvases with an easel! So cute and tiny. I'm going to have to dream up a mini painting just so I can display this tiny canvas somewhere :)

I finally got to wear this scarf the other day, it is getting a little cooler now but still not consistently cool. Also I found this shirt at Urban Outfitters, I really like their BDG brand shirts.

1. Simply Vera: Vera Wang Sweater from Kohl's (last year)
2. BDG floral print shirt from Urban Outfitters
3. Supersoft pretty scarf Mossimo Supply Co. (I think this is it?) Target


What do you think about the Narciso Rodriguez collection at Kohl's ?

It's a little too 60's mod colorblocking for me. I think some of the dresses are cute, but let's be honest I don't wear knit dresses. Some of the tops are cute but I wonder what the material feels like. I probably will pass on this and wait for the new Prabal Gunrung collection at Target in Feb.


Also I'm glad all this election nonsense is over for the most part. I hope we can work together and do what's best for the country. I have decided something, thanks in part to reading the Happiness Project.
Doing things makes you feel better, it makes you feel accomplished, the act of contribution is a positive one. So when I feel overwhelmed about the future of our country and I start to feel helpless, I am going to do something to help my community. How can you help your country? Help your community.....grow where you are planted. I decided to organize a food drive at work, I was a little nervous but to my surprise everyone is pitching in and bringing stuff. Instead of trying to do it all on my own, I decided to include others, because everyone likes to have that awesome feeling you get when you have helped someone else and the overall result will be a larger donation, so that's more than I could have hoped for.
Anyway sorry to ramble on, just thought I'd share. Happy Wednesday to you, a little something below to make you laugh :)

Top 5: November is here

 Random things I want to share. Here's what I've been up to lately

1. It's not often I find jewelry I like, I'm always looking though. When I found this necklace it was love at first sight and I bought it right then! Which is a big deal for me since I am a chronic window shopper and returner ;)
I found out about this cool site from one of my favorite blogs, Oh Joy!

it's purple :)

2. I have been reading a really great book, the Happiness Project. Basically the author makes a to do list for each month, goals she wants to accomplish and talks about how that process goes. It's really encouraging, she's not a self help guru or anything just a writer trying an experiment trying to savor the little things, and enjoy her family. Take time to do things she's interested in that she has not always make time for. It does seem a little daunting when you look at it as a whole process but piece by piece, it's just being proactive and disciplined to go after the things you want  and to actively choose happiness even when it's not easy. I'm going to start working on my own to do list this weekend.

look how cute this cover is from the version published in Korea

 3. Making bunting banners. I thought these were cute at first  but then they started getting  super trendy and it was enough already.
But I made one the other day for the first time out of different kinds of paper and it turned out really cute. Usually when I work on drawings or sewing I don't get done in one sitting so this little craft was very satisfying indeed. I decided to try to make one next on the computer, I used the floral pattern I drew in Illustrator .Then I made a triangle shape laid out enough pieces for the words I wanted, I used a large white font so the words would pop against the dark purple color, printed it on a 11x17 sheet of paper. I cut and punched and strung and ta da project completed.

4. Wreck it Ralph and other Fall movies. Now that it's November (how did that happen?) all the good Fall movies are coming out, there's so many I'm excited to see like James Bond, the Lincoln one, just to name a few. But this weekend I hope to see Ralph, I'm so excited :)

too cute

5. Planning for the holidays and new items for my shop. It's always fun to play with ideas

winter birdy sketch

Welcome November, I'm ready for my favorite time of year :)