Sketchbook Project

Spreads 4, 5, 6 and 7. The story continues!

Poppy Painting

As part of the decorating step for our living room I decided to refurbish a painting my husband had picked out for our last house.  It was a 48" x 48" red rose, close up.  I liked the concept of the painting, but the artist used just out-of-the-bottle red and black to create depth.  So, although one might think black would do the trick, the painting always bugged me and seemed flat and lacking.  As not to upset the hubby TOO much I dove into a roll of primed canvas I still had hanging around from college and did a little "coverage".  I stretched the canvas, primed side down, OVER the existing painting, just in case...

I had never painted on this raw canvas side before so I wasn't sure how it would react.  While I was a scenic painter at NSMT I painted nearly every surface you can imagine, and stretched muslin was one of them.  This ended up being a lot like that, so soon after I anxiously began putting acrylic to canvas I forgot my nerves and went to town.  Most of the piece is in acrylic, but the black detailing is in charcoal.  I painted it in a watercolor style over the course of three days for the sheer need for dry time.  Once it is dry I've got to seal this puppy and it'll be ready to hang!  Personally, I think it's way better than the red rose.  Let's just hope the hubby agrees.  (Plus, since it's of my favorite flower, the poppy, it pays homage to A) my favorite flower...duh, B) Veterans - a la the VFW and the great little memory poppies my grandmother used to help give away, and C) a running theme from my wedding three years ago.)

Me on HGTV (finally)!

As most of you (well, Smells Like Crayons members, anyway) already know, four years ago I was contacted by the folks at HGTV’s contemporary craft show, That’s Clever. They had spotted my Etsy shop, were going to be visiting New Hampshire, and were interested in having me appear on their show! Of course I agreed immediately. That summer, they paid me a visit here in my home studio, where we spent the entire day taping me for two segments. In one segment, I showed them how to make one of my plush characters and in the other I demonstrated how to make one of my bumble bee ornaments. I had a blast!

I was told that the show would be aired in Season 5 and my episode number was HCLVR-560. It took Season 5 four whole years to air completely, and for a long portion of that, my episode wasn’t even listed. However, it looks like my time has finally come. At long last, my episode is posted on HGTV’s website! It seems as though an air date has finally been set for my episode of That’s Clever! Get up early, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down to watch me on HGTV November 14th at 7:00 a.m. before you head into work. Or, sleep in and set your DVR. It’s all the same to me, as long as you watch! Warning: the show is a bit on the silly side so if you’re expecting a serious craft lesson, you’re going to be met with goofy puns and me running around like a manic. Informative, yet a little nutty. Which pretty much describes me, so I suppose that’s fine.

One of the items I made for the show was the Plush Diva Pig (posted above). However, the one I made for HGTV was sans cleavage. TV is surprisingly anti-cleavage...even on stuffed animals. (Who knew?)

The timing is great because I (and several other members of our group) will also be participating in Not Your Grandmother's Craft Fair at McDonough School in Manchester NH on November 12. I'll definitely have a chance to get the word out about the show there. Come visit us! (o:

New fabrics

I just got a bunch of samples from my new line with Moda called "Ten little things". I'm really liking what they did, lots of different color versions!

Back to square one

Ah thumbnail sketches, don't look too closely, I am just planning my pages. I am taking a great class with Teri Weidner (Illustrating Children's Books) that is helping me get the cart back behind the horse. It is like taking a baking class when you discuss a different ingredient each week and find out what it does to make the cake taste so good. My brain gets ahead of my actions and this class is just what I need to make a mock-up, step by step.

More of the Sketchbook Project

Here's one of the latest pages I've been sketching for the Sketchbook Project. Only 20 more pages to go before the deadline (or 10 full spreads)!

More Sketchbook Project 2012

I'm working on a page in my sketchbook. Dharma is meeting her ka.

Sketchbook Project

I've been so busy lately with graphic design work, that I am grateful for the sketchbook project to keep me drawing. Here is the 2nd and 3rd pages from mine.