December 30, 2008 - 11:20 AM - Blog Announcement!

After many months of thought, organizing and preparation, I have decided to start blogging on my very own site. Emily designed everything for me, so it's easy to navigate and leave comments. I've moved most of my posts, mainly the ones with art work and doodles, and the ones that weren't too silly.

Bits and pieces (like adding more older posts and enabling gravitars) are still coming together, but I think it's ready to go! Besides, I couldn't wait much longer to tell you!

So here it is:
"A Bowl of Moss and Pebbles" dot com! Start here!
http://www.abowlofmossandpebbles.com/

See you there!

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December 11, 2008 - 7:32 AM - We have our Give-Away Winners!

There were a lot of great captions, and we had a fun time reading through them. I chose the two funniest, and then drew a random entry, so there are three winners.

Here are the Winners:

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December 10, 2008 - 8:38 PM - The Beginnings of Madeleine

Mid-November I was listening to a piece of music that inspired my current art project. I drew a quick sketch of a little girl who was running home just before a rainstorm broke loose. Just as she passed over the bridge, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She briefly stopped, just in time to catch the glimmer of something in the grass.

I wanted to make it a large drawing in full color. I decided on colored pencils (Prismacolor) because the original graphite pencil sketch came out so textured, I had to recapture it in a rich and solid medium.

The base of the bridge was a light “wash” of black, slightly erased. Then I added some sandbar brown and Mediterranean blue.

I began layering some light umber, dark brown, lime peel and violet to fill out the stones.

And that’s the beginning of my Madeleine.

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December 11, 2008 - 6:30 AM - A Homemade Christmas - Week 8: Orange Rind Ornaments

The past few years have given rise to a new tradition. Come the gray days, I long for a burst of color and extra fresh fruit. The thick soft rinds feels soothing in my hands, and I feel compelled to make something out of it. Within two to four days they are completely dry and ready to adorn the Christmas tree.

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December 4, 2008 - 5:00 PM - Christmas Give-Away!

It's Week 7 of A Homemade Christmas at Simply Vintagegirl's blog! 

My post this week is a giveaway! (See below for details.) *Edit* I will pick three winners who will each get to pick one of my art prints as a Christmas gift! Each print is 8"x10" on and 8 1/2x11 sheet of archival quality paper. It'll arrive with *the artist's* signature, ready for framing.

Here are the rules: Write a funny caption or joke for my goldfish painting and leave it in a comment. Next Thursday (Dec.12) *Edit* I'll pick the 2 funniest and 1 random entries. (Please leave a way for me to contact you if you don't have a blog.)

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December 1, 2008 - 8:30 AM - the six unspectacular

My Aunt Lou tagged me, and I am to list 6 unspectacular things about myself. So here are my six things:

1. My favorite Bath & Body Works scent is Velvet Tuberose.

2. I have lived in Indiana my whole life.

3. I am currently reading Frankenstein, but as soon as I'm done with it I want to read some books by Francis Schaeffer on art and culture.

4. I enjoy listening to Beethoven, Bach and Vivaldi.

5. I am on the internet way too much.

6. I give drawing lessons to my piano teacher's boys in return for free piano lessons.

There you go! If anyone would like to do this tag, have at it. :) Merry Christmas!

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November 30, 2008 - 3:18 PM - Happy Birthday Sister!

Emily - Today is your birthday and I'm so happy for you. You are my favorite sister, and I'll always love you more than words can express.


From nap times and story times...


...to learning and playing...


You'll always be my best sister-friend.
I can't wait to see what the Lord continues to do in our lives. God bless you!

I Love you - Happy Birthday Emily Rose!

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November 26, 2008 - 1:54 PM - Little Red and the Pipe Cleaner People

For one 2½ inch tall Pipe-cleaner doll you’ll need:
- 1 12-inch pipe cleaner (for one doll)
- Flesh-colored embroidery floss (I used DMC 3774), as well as other colors to match felt
- Felt for clothing
- Wooden bead for head (10mm-15mm)
- Acorn cap for hat
- Fuzzy yarn or wool roving for hair
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Glue
- Optional: Acrylic paint, colored pencils or permanent pen for face

(You may also wish to embroider the clothing, so for easy embroidery instructions click here.)

Here are some of the supplies to give you a visual. Make sure you have plenty of flesh-colored floss for the body!

First you will want bend the pipe cleaner following these measurements: for the neck, ¾”; for the arms 1″ both ways; 1¾” for the outside of the legs; and 1½” inside the legs. This should use up the whole pipe cleaner.

To begin wrapping, unbend one of the hands, hold the embroidery floss on the pipe cleaner…

…and wrap it around the pipe cleaner! It’s pretty easy. Just make sure you twist out the floss from time to time so it will fan a bit, creating better coverage. (Once you get going you’ll understand - it may start to twist back on itself.) (While working, I hold the pipe cleaner with my left hand, and wrap with my right.)

Once you have the tip of the hand wrapped, bend it back in place and wrap both sides together. Continue wrapping up the arm until you reach the body. Repeat this with the other arm as well.

The feet are wrapped the same way as the arms, though you may wish to use another color for shoes. When switching colors, don’t tie a knot - it’ll leave a bump. Rather, wrap the flesh color over the remains of the shoe color, and then continue wrapping towards the body.

Once you finish all the limbs, wrap the body and the neck like so.

Take your wooden bead and make sure it fits on the neck. Use the glue to attach the hair, then the cap on top. You may wish to pencil the face on at this point. (This step you may do before or after you sew the clothes on. Just don’t glue the head on yet.)

This is the pattern for the basic shirt. Make the sleeves as long or short as you wish. Fold it in half to cut the neck hole as well. A jumper or dress can be made in a similar manner, adjusting neck and skirt area as necessary.

Make a buttonhole stitch along the ends of the sleeve and bodice, tying it off on the inside. (If the shirt will be under a jumper, finishing the bodice won’t be needed.)

This is the first time I’ve ever added a collar to a shirt, and it was very easy. Embroider with the buttonhole stitch before attaching it to the shirt. Slip the shirt over the [headless] neck and body, then sew the sides together with the buttonhole stitch.

Here is what the jumper looks like underneath, while finishing the armholes. I usually like to decorate the front with simple embroidery.

Sewing up the sides…

…Making a simple hooded cape. After gluing on the head, painting on a face, and trimming the hair, you now have your very own pipe cleaner doll!

And here is Little Red Riding hood!

For another tutorial on a variation of the wee doll, click here.
Coming soon - wee pants tutorial!

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November 21, 2008 - 12:45 PM - Hurry!

Voting ends tonight at 12:00 pm! Vote for my sister, Simply Vintagegirl in the Best Crafts, Plans and Projects category here. It only take two clicks!

The post on how to make those little dolls is on its way.

While you wait, have a look at this. :)

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November 13, 2008 - 5:30 PM - A Homemade Christmas - Week 4

Christmas is getting closer and closer and I am honestly not prepared! Making homemade gifts definitely takes more time than just stopping by the mall, but it is so worth it when you are finished with the gift you've worked hard on. Atop the satisfaction of a job well done, you give a piece of your time and love to someone you care about.

And when it's all said and done, we cannot forget about what we are really celebrating. It's not how many gifts we've made, or how many pies we baked, but celebrating Him who gave us the creativity and strength to accomplish these things, and more than that - Celebrating the birth of the One who came to save His people from darkness.

The coming season is one to share the love and grace God has so freely given us. I'll be the first to admit I'm a very selfish person, and I don't automatically change just because it's cold and wintry outside. But this is a year that God has especially been doing a lot in my life, and I hope that as I grow, that selflessness and generosity won't come once a year.

So onto a project!

This is a small embroidered pillow (about 7"x4") I started maybe two. . . well, probably three years ago! Notice the straight pins at the bottom. :)


This isn't considered a "useful" gift, but I think it's pretty and will bring added depth to the over-arching aesthetic stimuli gracing every room of our abode by adorning any given respite-structure. (Translation: it'll make the house cuter by sitting on a piece of furniture.)

I am determined to finish it this year, which won't take but 5 minutes to spiffy up.

Oh, how I long for the long snowy days when we can just sit in the living room, listening to a book read aloud, with a hot mocha nearby, and a craft in my lap.

I'm ready to get busy!

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