Christmas Favorites

I got quite a few lovely things for Christmas, here are some of favorites:

One of my favorite artists on Etsy is Tina Rodas of Hi Tree. She makes the most adorable felt trees and creatures :) I finally decided on one and got it for Christmas yay :) now my little tree stump can cheer me on in my creative endeavors!

Tina is talented and her craftsmanship is amazing! Look at all the lovely details :)

I've been wanting a stone necklace for awhile and I have long admired EwelinaPas wonderful jewelry. I really love this Blue Lapis Pendant and she lets you pick your own chain length so you can have it really long or short, that's awesome to have the option :) 
 

I'm feeling brave enough to show my PJ Christmas photos lol. My other gifts that I'm super excited about are my nutri ninja so I can make health shakes with fresh veggies from my garden YAY :)
And of course Sherlock season 3 let the binge watching begin!!! Actually, I'm going to take my time re-watching all the season to pass the long gap in between new episodes and see The Imitation Game in theaters of course :)

Did you get any handmade gifts? What was your favorite?

Christmas in Review

Hello again, I've been away for quite awhile but I'm back and brimming with things to share!

How was your Christmas? Mine was wonderful so nice to bake, spend some down time with family, take a nap and not have to go anywhere for a little bit.

1.We discovered some really great Christmas lights it was 2 houses combined to make a great dual presentation! The blue house was so captivating and beautiful you just wanted to stare at it all night.

 

2. We got a new little tree this year and we just bought some retro baubles for it and also decorated it with little mini stockings, I think it turned out great :)

happy tree

3. We went to the Dallas Arboretum to see the 12 Days of Christmas installations, one for all of the 12 days. I wasn't sure what to expect really, and I wasn't really excited to go, I knew nothing would be as good as Chihuly at the Arboretum. But it was really cool to walk around to each installation, they were animated and had Christmas music playing, they were very detailed, I couldn't imagine trying to plan and assemble such a thing. In all it was very fun and put me in the Christmas spirit :)

The collage picture shows the swans swimming. Here's the 5 golden rings installment with twirling rings. (My 1st video upload wahoo! )

4. Christmas baking! I had a few things I wanted to bake but only managed to bake peanut butter cookies with kisses on top, they were good but I have some more stuff to cross off my list like these by next week. :)

Grandma's Christmas cookies <3

I also made my Mom a snowman apron for Christmas, it was pretty fun to come up with a concept and not be 100% sure how it was all going to come together but that's my typical process when it comes to sewing. Hurry up and finish so you can see what it looks like, I really need to be more patient in that area, I'm gonna work on that in 2015 ;)

I also got to sketch some I made gift tags and worked on a Christmas doodle with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus wearing beanie hats with pom poms .....warm, cozy and happy for Christmas :)

christmas tags

I have more to share so stayed tuned :) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Did you do anything fun?

new items in my society6 shop

I'm so excited to finally have this done!!! I haven't drawn since the last time I posted work has been so busy and I've been too tired to do anything but I managed to get this done so I feel like my normal self again :)

click the link on the right side of my blog for more items :)

I also turned 30 between my last post and this post so that's exciting I guess. Oh to have a birthday that's not in the same month as a holiday. Oh well I'm trying to enjoy the rest of the holiday season. What are you up to? Working on any fun projects? I completed a successful DIY project, more on that later. I think my new favorite medium is Sculpey oven bake clay.......I'm thinking about all the endless possibilities :)

doodles lately

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!!  I'm getting over being sick and had also decided after Halloween that I probably wasn't was going to do any holiday drawings but then inspiration struck.
 I'm always thinking about how to improve my owls they are always evolving. Here's the latest version.(for those of you following me on instagram I apologize as this is not new for you)

late night sketch

1st attempt in color ......overall shape is too wide

I'm really happy with the version below and I kinda want to turn these into plush versions. What do you think?

so happy

I  want to draw a whole snowman family, I started with this girly one but I think the rest of the family would be fun too.

And I also have been experimenting with reindeer and leggings with winter prints on them

I thought this would make a fun plush too, the scarf would definitely be reworked be a separate piece.

And here's a close up of the snowflake print :)

And last but not least, I want to rework this little one for the winter holidays

And of course I have more ideas, so many ideas so little time. I hope to add some of these to my society6 shop soon :) What have you been working on lately?

Inspired by Mary Katrantzou

I've been meaning to post for a while, I've been distracted with doodling and instagram. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the one lovely blogger questions, I really enjoy the blogger community and the bloggers I nominated, thanks for your interesting and inspiring posts.  :)

I have admired Mary Katrantzou for a while now, she is known for her awesome use of patterns, she uses prints as a sort of optical illusion to accentuate the curves of the body. I love to see how every season she builds on the last and always takes it to a new level.

A look from her 2014 resort collection

I love the large scale jewels and different colors as a pattern (Spring 2014)

 I absolutely fell head over heels when she took her patterns to a new place with letters and lace in her Resort 2015 collection

I was kinda wondering how long it would take the trendy stores to hop on her pattern and print trend. When I saw this awesome skirt in a large scale jewel print very similar to hers at H&M, I thought  it was awesome but where would I wear it? It would be good for holiday parties but it's pretty flashy. I'm still on the fence about it.

Then I heard about her collaboration with Adidas!!!! This is the most excited I've been about a designer collaboration in years. I live in sneakers and love fun patterns so it doesn't get much better than this for me.  Mary's Adidas collection comes out mid November.

photos from style.com

I'm pretty sure the sportswear trend is here to stay for a while. Who are you inspired by lately? What designer collaborations are you excited about?

Inktober on Instagram

I mentioned previously that I recently got on instagram and I'm really loving the community there!
There is endless inspiration and so many people making and drawing amazing things.
I started participating loosely in inktober, a project that was started by illustrator Jake Parker.
The goal is to improve your skills and to sketch everyday in ink for the month of October.

I have been so out of my normal routine that sketching in any form has been my goal. I'm pretty happy with some of the new stuff I've done including my first adventure time fan art and some sketches that I've had laying around in very rough stages.  I hope to update my society 6 shop soon :)

What Fall projects are you working on?  Happy Monday!!!
You can follow me on instagram @floatingthrufields

Blog Award Nominations

I was nominated for the combined One Lovely Blog and Best Friend of Blogger Awards by Kerry of Candy Floss Ramparts, she does fun embroidery projects & awesome round up posts at the end of the week. I'm so touched that she thought of my blog and nominated me, my goal is to create interesting content and start conversations so that's really awesome thanks Kerry!
The goal of these awards is to find out more about different bloggers by asking and answering a few questions and nominating other blogs that you think deserve more attention.

Here are my answers to Kerry's questions:

1. What always cheers you up?
Music nothing better than an awesome song to brighten your day & lift your mood, also hanging out with family & friends always cheers me up

2. Marvel or DC?
I guess I'd have to say DC as Batman is my favorite :)
But I also like Iron Man and Wolverine

3. What was the last book you read?
 I re-read Gesine Bullock-Prado's "My Life From Scratch" it's one of my favorites she a hilarious writer and includes recipes, I've gushed over it a few times lol

4. Favorite app?
Probably my drawing and painting apps Adobe Ideas and Procreate that I use on my iPad :)

5. What’s your biggest quirk (or biggest pet peeve, if you’re quirkless)?
I  guess I am quirky about recycling often stopping coworkers and friends before they throw things away that can be recycled. Recycling is a small way to take care of the planet and make it something worth leaving to the next generation. :)

I want to nominate the following blogs YAY :)
1. Teacup Incident
2. Tape Parade
3. Sweatshirt Dresshirt
4. Magical Daydream
5. Kyla Is Inspired
6. Purple Heart Ori"jenn"als
7. Artsy Angel
8. Allie NYC
9. Target Addict
10. Little White Whale

My questions are:

1. What would be the perfect way to spend a Saturday?

2. Favorite Halloween Candy?

3. Best part of Fall?

4. Which do you enjoy more: baking or cooking?

5. Best concert you've ever attended?

Design Collaboration

I'm so excited to share with you my first collaboration with my dear friend, Jenn.
We have worked on separate projects at the same time and offered feedback which was really fun (see my show and tell posts here)
But not anything to this extent, so without further ado, here are some adorable Halloween pillow covers!

I drew the spider in the center and had planned to make a pillow with just purple swirl backing, but Jennifer had other amazing ideas, she is a wonderfully talented quilter and made the most adorable pillows covers ever!!! I can brag on my super talented friend ;)
I thought I would like the straight frame blocks around it more than the angled ones but now I can't tell which is my favorite ;)

And as far as cute Halloween fabric goes Jenn hit the mother load!!! Look at all the cute little patterns going on in there.

And she even embroidered the spider web to make it stand out :)

These lovely and adorable pillow covers are now listed in my shop
AND go check out Jenn's shop for some more awesomely cute and amazing items!

For more spider cuteness check out my society6 shop for more items

This project has definitely got my wheels turning thinking about new and different things, and I know Jenn is thinking about new projects too. I haven't felt this excited in quite awhile, so I'm gonna run with it :)
Have you worked on any fun collaborations?  Happy Monday to you!!!

A plush for a friend

I like to make plush dogs for my friends, especially after a furry friend has passed. I think it's just a small fun way to remember them. I had made a little dachshund last February just for fun, and my friend mentioned how cute she thought it was. When her dog passed I knew I had to commemorate him in happy cartoon form for her.

Bucky in cartoon form

such a sweet boy

happy face

look at those paws

paw print back

I learned a lot from this project, and I have made mental notes for things I'd like to improve next go round but I do know that I love making personal projects for people I care for and that makes me happy!
What are you working on lately?

Happy Fall

 I'm so excited it's officially Fall, it's my favorite time of year! The Summer is ending, a cool breeze starts to blow and it's not unbearable hot anymore, that's a big deal when you live in Texas.
Here are some things I've got on my to do list to really enjoy the season :)

1. Start enjoying the cooler weather by taking morning walks
2. Go to the Dallas Arboretum and see the pumpkin village!!!
3. Plan & shop for Fall flowers to plant
4. Shop for pumpkins
5. Bake loads of pumpkin muffins
6. Go to a craft fair
7. Take a weekend trip
8. Decorate the house with Fall festive-ness
9. Get hot chocolate on a chilly day
10. Get inspired and work on new winter drawings

a scene from the pumpkin village

What have you got on your Fall to do list?

Etsy Love - My New Favorites

Some of my favorite shops are putting out some great new stuff, and I've discovered some new artists lately too. Have you discovered anything new and exciting in the handmade community lately?

1. Bowl with Character
2. French Fries Plush
3. Felted Necklace
4. Poptart Plush
5. Swoon Pillow
6. Mushroom Plush
7. Fox Sweatshirt
8. Honeysuckle Print
9. Bunny Pouch

Kawaii Candy Corn & More

Hi Everyone, got my first candy corn plush added to the shop! This has been an idea since last year and I finally got my ducks in a row this year so I'm very excited to add it and some friends to the shop soon!

so happy!

And I'm finally on instagram! Follow me @floatingthrufields for the latest on my creations and everything else :)  Happy Monday to you :)