IF - Contained

I did this painting waaaaay back in 2008--remember that year when we all wore jeans and t-shirts and still watched "Pushing Daisies"? :) (I'm so mad it was cancelled!!!)

I've had trouble keeping it contained, but I didn't want to post about it until things settled down after the holidays. And yesterday I finally took down my outside Christmas lights. So the holidays are officially over. Time to get into the swing of things...

This is my entry for Illustration Friday. The theme this week is CONTAINED.

This painting is available in my ETSY shop.

*SOLD*

New Folk Painting Available on ETSY - Irish Blessing

I tried something completely new with this painting. My husband has a machine that carves into wood--"The Robot" as my kids reverently call it. :)

So we carved the words into the wood before I did the painting. Theoretically the grooves of the letters would keep the black ink contained when I went back in to paint them.

It actually worked for the most part--I just had to use a tiny brush and do a little bit of touch up here and there. I LOVE the end result! The lettering adds so much to the finished painting.

Below is the scanned image. The colors are a little more true to life. (Ignore the line near the top, that's where I merged the two images since this painting is too long to fit on my scanner.)

Irish Blessing, 2008, 14" x 6", Acrylics and Mixed Media on 3/4" MDF (available)

This painting is available in my ETSY shop.

*SOLD*

Inspire Me Thursday - Fuse

You may not know it to look at him, but Kevin has a very short fuse!

Wedding Gift Painting

This fun painting was a wedding gift for a darling couple that got married on New Year's Day.

Valentine Blocks Now in My ETSY Shop

These fun Valentine's Day Blocks are now in my bumblebina ETSY shop.

For Me

Remember the green scarf I made for sister-in-law for Christmas? The one I had to force myself to mail and not keep for myself? Well, I got my hands on more of that yarn (Cascade Magnum), only this time in charcoal gray, and I knitted up a scarf last night for me.

That's right--this yarn is so bulky, you can finish a 70" scarf in one night. (I used size 35 needles and seed stitch the whole way.)

I have no idea where I'll wear a bulky, 100% wool scarf, but wear it I will. It is absolutely luscious!!

Just how bulky is this yarn? Here's the green balled up before knitting. You could bowl with this bad boy. :)

The Christmas Workshop Entry

Packages have been sent to most of these recipients so I think I can safely post this now without ruining suprises. Here are the fun projects I've been working on in Aunt Tif's Workshop...

Tag Cloths for my twin nephews. Twins don't need everything to match, right? Who's with me on this? I am in love with both of these masculine, but crazy fun color schemes.

Tag Cloths for my nieces. The front (the polka dot) is the dreamiest, softest fleece ever and the back is a pink flannel plaid. Delicious!

I'm still quite new to sewing--it took my brain a long time to get how the ribbons would be facing the right way when you turn them right side out. Anyway, I used this tutorial to help. (Pattern note: I prefer to start with 15" square pieces of fabric instead of the 18" the tutorial suggests--the 18" one just seems too big).

Okay, now this was F U N. Felt Sugar Cookie Cooking Set for my niece. Found the little mini rolling pin on e-bay and the sprinkle jar is a real sprinkle jar with tube beads in it. (We glued the top shut with industrial strength glue for safety).

And then I found this bag at Hobby Lobby--how cute is it all packaged up?

Homemade gifts are the best, aren't they? I love making them because the whole time I'm working on something for someone, they are on my mind and I'm picturing them and thinking about how much I love them and how much they mean to me.

And oh, how I love being an Aunt! My "babies" are getting too big for this stuff, but my little angel nieces and nephews are just the right age. I love it!

These little blocks are for the sweet girls I teach at church. They are 11 and 12 and they loved this quote, so I put it on a block for them.

Now a couple for the grown ups. This scarf is for my sister in law. I was really unsure about the yarn when I started it--it's soooo thick I had no idea how it would turn out. But now I LOVE this scarf so much--it's so soft and lux--I had trouble actually putting it in the mail and not in my closet! :)

And one other scarf for my brother in law. He's a Buckeye fan so scarlet and gray was the obvious color choice for his scarf. Did I mention they live in Alaska? If anyone needs scarves, it's them!!

IF - Voices

“We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been — a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power.”

--Starhawk