Watercolor - two ways

There's something undeniably delicious about letting your brush slurp up jewel-toned watery color, and to lay it on paper in delicate swathes. 

Folks who work with watercolors know what I'm talking about!  

I've been without it for far too long,

so making this little birdie was so sweet. 

 And then I thought I might as well do it digitally too,

not the same picture, as you can see,

but the same(ish) technique.

Anyhow, here it is, and both were fun to do:

Watercolor two ways....

Traditional media (paint and paper)

Digital media (mouse and PhotoShop)

More ammo for my illustration techniques!

Simple pleasures

I find it amazing that the most ordinary things can inspire us

to pause and reflect, and marvel. 

I was trying to sort out some of my photographs into anything

that might resemble a sane grouping

of a crazy variety of images

(probably an impossible task not worth the attempt)

 and found these....

Taken at night in yellow light...

A mellow light...

Our old chandelier and a vase from WalMart

with a plastic orchid stuck in it...

(I told you about the ordinary things!)

But I remember it was wonderful to take these pictures.

Hope you find some extraordinary

in your ordinary today!

Caught in passing....

Happenning upon an article on Etsy,

I found this little gem and had to share:

What does handmade mean to you?

Handmade is the cliff swallow, bulding a mud nest on a wall where vertical meets upside down. It’s about finding the patience to slow down and accept the pace at which one person can progress through many detailed steps. It’s the power that we all have to bring something into existence that just moments before was a fleeting thought or curiosity.

What an amazing way  to put it!  Do read the rest of their story

- it's guaranteed to inspire.



Ring, ring...!

Visiting my parents (yes, I am) means a couple of things
 - lots of food, and lots of talk :)

I need to start working on illustrating the book

I'm supposed to be working on,

but I'm also itching to work with fabric.

I found a few shards of really cute material and

 can't wait to make something out of them. 

And I definitely need to make more of these!

Funky fabric rings are calling out to me!

While The Babies Sleep

 Four little babies fell asleep

Then their friend came and woke them up

This inspired Mommy to wake up too.

And see red.

And gold.

And oval seemed like a good way to go.

Ready to party?

An experiment in monochrome

My new book illustration project involves a Moroccan wedding.

That means this look that I was working on

will have to sit on the shelf for a bit.

Moroccan wedding = COLOR, no?

At least I think it does.

Time for research!

Minty Green Butterflies

What happens when you mix blue with yellow,

or actually, greeny-yellow?

Minty green, of course!

The NanoBot had her fingers in the making of this,

but that was the best part. 

I love 'cooking' with her!

I found this playdough recipe at mini-eco here.

(can you believe those yummy natural colors???)

We wanted blue playdough, but didn't have any red cabbage left,

(chop some and pour boiling water over it,

and you get an intense blue dye

-also thanks to mini-eco.  You MUST check out this fabulous blog)

so I improvised with drink crystals

(which we only use for coloring stuff - haven't tasted them yet :))

The drink crystals were a lovely blue,

but the recipe calls for cooking oil,

and I only had olive oil.

That's where the blue+greeny yellow part happened.

The resulting color was a gorgeous icy green - so cool!

The butterfly pic was taken as daylight was just fading,

and shows the color accurately.

We made lots more butterflies, then put the cookie cutter away.

These pics were taken in yellow light.

I made a bunny face, and the LittleOne made some monsters.

This was the color of the drink crystals

(no idea what flavor that is - I just picked it up for its hue!)

It made for a good lesson in color mixing!

Color, and a prayer

It's white, white outside, so I made me some color...

A funky fabric bag

To go with some funky fabric jewelry

Bring on the snow...

Although, with the storm we had a couple days ago, 

and the snow swirling around us,

I couldn't help thinking how incredibly fortunate

we are to have a roof over our heads

 and every comfort to cater to our every need. 

I couldn't help thinking of the many who are without a home,

 without warmth, without even food. 

Inconceivable, but so real for so many. 

Like I said to the Little One,

the least we can do is pray for such people,

pray for their comfort and safety. 

But that is not the least we should do. 

We all have the capacity to help, and there are

many small ways to do so, both locally and online.

We do food banks and blood donations

(DaddyBoy goes every other month),

and each year instead of doing birthday parties

we sponsor a child in the LittleOne's name,

but I also hope to volunteer at a soup kitchen

with her when she's a little older.

 

Until then, there are so many other small ways to pitch in.

May the cold not be too cold for anyone...

January

Eeek!  Where did this month go???

I have lazed around, and lazed around, and...you get the picture. 

 Lots of Agatha Christie, tea by the bucketfuls  (bucketsfull?),

and a LOT of Star Trek after the LittleOne's beddy-bye. 

 Oh yes, good times.

But now I have a new computer, and well,

I guess I can't hide behind any excuses any more.

Just to give you an idea of HOW lazy I've been,

here's a picture I took in NOVEMBER - that's right.

I know.  So last year.  But here it is:

A luscious book about the birth of an orange in sunny climes,

and its long journey to a very cold place (looks very much like Canada). 

And how it is then shared by a bunch of kids playing in the snow.  We were enjoying some juicy watermelon that day which had doubtless undertaken a similar journey to get to our table, and I thought it made a cool pic. 

 Which I forgot to upload, of course.  Until now.

Weirdly appropriate, don't you think, since it's now January?

Or will be, for a few hours more :)

Purple

Purple is an-between color, and it's both calm and passionate.  I'm only recently learning to embrace purple, and in this cuff bracelet I have harmonized it with it's two cousins - red and blue.


The result is very intense, and quite stunning!

Super Magic Powers

I'm still laptop-less, so this is just a quick post about something I've been meaning to share ever since I saw it.  Something about an ordinary lil thing with....Super Magic Powers, like DaddyBoy would say (now with the LittleOne following suit, of course).

Baking soda.  Yup.  I've always been a big fan - I use it for cleaning spills on the carpet, and for scrubbing the stove and appliances in the kitchen, not to forget countertops. Even the bathtub and the toilet come out shining with it.  It really is a handy thing to have around if you don't like the chemical-infested cocktails they sell as household cleaners.

Of course, baking soda is also a manufactured compound, so we do ravage the earth a little while making it, but it's still far more friendly to the environment than regular cleaners, both in its production and its use.  Combine it with earth-friendly vinegar and you have a powerful team of Super Fighters.

But then I came across this.  30 great tips for baking soda.  And then some, if you look at the comments this post generated.

Here's one from my Mom: Take about equal quantities of baking soda and active dry yeast.  You need very little of each - less than half a teaspoon.  Mix together with a tiny amount of water to form a paste.  Rub gently on your face.  Keep for a couple of minutes, then wash off.  You won't believe how soft your skin feels afterwards. Try it!

The Deception Of Time

Gouache on acrylic paper

6"x9"

As painted...

...and 'digitally remastered' : )

RIP

That's for my poor laptop, who died a hero after an epic battle with chocolate milk. (NanoBot with glass of milk and laptop negligently left on coffe table...enough said.)  I've never seen a laptop screen do the things this one did as it passed on....

So no computer means no computer time, mostly.  Sharing DaddyBoy's right now, but I used to like to do all my computer stuff while the LittleOne was asleep, either very early in the morning or very late at night, so that I would be with her most of the day at least.  But DaddyBoy also needs it at the same times, so I haven't been able to update my blog.

OK, that was just an excuse - I've been lazy!!!

We had our first snow - three days ago!

Anyway, the Brocante Lux was so good!!  The new cuffs were a hit, and all my brooches are gone as well.  Next up is a project coming up with a clothing company from the U.S.  Wish me luck! 

Last few days I was busy doing a writing assignment for a wonderful blogging network - sisterswhoblog.com - a press release and letter to the CEO of Qatar Airways.  The network will be giving out awards for best blogs and the founder is hoping QA will give out free tickets to the winners. 

Let's hope that letter works!

I'm also in the midst of illustrating SuratAlFurqan - the most challenging illustration project for me so far.  Meanwhile, here are a couple of pics form my last book, as promised...

It's about two sisters who find a necklace...

And the older one reminds the younger one about doing the right thing...

The younger one suddenly remembers who she had seen wearing it,

and off they go on an adventure to find the owner...

It was a fun book to do!

Ciao for now!