Illustration Friday—Magnify

I was all set to create new art for Illustration Friday, until I saw the word magnify. How can I get any closer to that theme than this illo from last year. I've used it before. Sorry, but it's perfect if I do say so myself!

Stop Motion Animation

Kiyon's goal this summer was to make a stop motion animation. Almost the whole summer went by without achieving this goal. Too much camp got in the way. Not a problem, he LOVES camp, but I really wanted him to make his movie. Quite by accident he finally got his chance. Our very talented, designer and movie making friends (of Tirapelli Design) provided the means. They recently visited Zeum in San Francisco. It's a museum dedicated to hands on multimedia art and technology for kids.

They had so much fun, they bought the animation program on the way home. We got to visit them and the kids got to work on their movies. Tony later added music, a title page, and special effects in Adobe After Effects. Kiyon hasn't seen it yet, but I know he'll be thrilled!

They used a program called iStopMotion by Boinx. Of course, my friends have professional lights, blue back drop, and a HiDef digital video camera.

Experimenting

This little fairy is part of a series I'm working on. I love the softness of the sketch.My original plan was to use watercolor with pen and ink. I like the color here, but the softness is gone. Too bad. I was really hoping for the quick style to work. Creating the patterns to go with it would have been so much easier, too.

Here's the color pencil on toned paper technique (my go to style). I've dropped in a scan of paper for the background, then colorized it in Photoshop. The softness is definitely here, but I'm still not quite happy. I feel like the solution is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite get to it. I need to think on this a bit.

I'd love some feedback on this.

Shop Update

Just wanted to let you know that I've updated my shop with lots of goodies: original collage birdhouse frames, magnets, & prints. Please visit & let me know what you think.

Vacation & Sketches

Worked on some sketches in the car while heading to Reno. I really love them. Last night I tried to fix them up, so that I could color them, but I only managed to mess them up. I won't bore you with those. Above are the original versions. I'll have another go at it today.

Just got back from an impromtu mini vacation to Reno/Tahoe area. We stayed in Reno. I'm not a gambler, so for me, the river was the place to be. I love rivers! I could do without the ocean, but not without a good river. This one's right in the heart of downtown Reno. It reminded me of growing up in the Missouri. So much fun.

We went whitewater rafting, but I haven't found the picture yet. Mild trip. Perfect for our 8 year old's first time.

We got to race Go Carts in Reno. So much fun. On the down side, our boys now have a taste for driving and are anxious to turn 16. I, of course, am not looking forward to that!

Gadget Bugs—Firefly

Fireflies, or Lightening Bugs which we used to call them, are my favorite bug. I didn't realize I had a favorite bug, but I do. They're like little bits of magic flying around. This magical guy is looking for love.

Summer's winding down around here. It's always sad at this time of year. My aunt is a retired teacher and she still gets that sick feeling in her stomach when she drives by a school at the beginning of a new year. I know what she's feeling. If I was able to homeschool my kids without one of us ending up in a mental ward, I would. On the bright side, I will soon have a regular schedule for work. Yippee!

Illustration Friday—Impatience

Feeling impatient with his current blood collection system, Stanley the Mosquito upgraded his equipment. Yes, I know I just posted this guy, but he seemed right for Illo Friday.

Summer Quilting

We haven't been to the pool much this summer. It probably won't get really hot here until school starts. What a pain!

I went to my mom's quilt group on Thursday. It was a lot of fun. I got to watch quilt design by committee—what a hoot! I'm glad I wasn't involved in that. I also got a lot of help on my first quilt. I really like simple, clean design, so I'll be making a nine patch with a white background.

Here's the fabric I won. Just loving these colors! Thanks so much Bari!

Gadget Bugs—Mosquito

I had so much fun creating the last bug that I had to do another (with two more in the works). You can see the Fly here. Thanks to Angela for the Gadget name.

Illustration Friday—Modify

It's been so long since I've created or entered anything for Illustration Friday. The first thing I thought of when I read the word Modify was "Mod-i-fly". It was so much fun to create this. Of course, my sons helped me develop his modifications. It's their specialty. He's ready for anything.

While you're here, please check out the prints and hand painted birdhouse framed collages. Click here.

Summer Sewing

I was inspired to sew some clothes for myself this summer. So many great projects on creative blogs out there. Here's the first project. It's been decades since I've sewn clothes. It just became cheaper to buy it, but when I saw this fabric, I couldn't resist!

I just love the little button. It's just enough sparkle to jazz up the top. I made a few (ok, more than a few) mistakes, one of them being that I used the selvage. The pattern went all the way to the edge. It wasn't until I finished it late last night that I noticed the name of the pattern written in gold over the blue. Oh well, lesson learned. I'll just shorten it a bit. Next up—a skirt. Well next after I make the jacket Josh just designed. Can you tell he's obsessed with Michael Jackson?

Winner!

I was so lucky last week. I this stack of fabric from BariJ's new line, Full Bloom. I'm so excited! I've decided to make my first quilt with it. If I can find someone to take my kids on Thursday, I'll join my mom's quilt group and get it started with their help. I want to keep it very simple. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted. (photo courtesy of BariJ)