Nail and String Art

I realize that these nail and string art (or whatever they are called) have been around for a while, but we finally decided to give it a try.

Super simple. All you need are some nails, some wood (we used scraps that I had painted forever ago) and some sort of string. We used embroidery floss, but yarn or even thread I think would work for this.

Place a piece of paper over your wood. Draw the desired shape 

(or use your computer and printer if you want a more precise shape)

Hammer in some nails along the lines your drew

Pick a nail to start with, tie your string to the nail, then loop randomly (or in a pattern).

I had Emma go around each nail in a complete circle before moving on to then next nail.

Enjoy your masterpieces! 

We hope the winter is treating everyone well!

Our "New" Calendar

I'm pretty cheap. I hate the thought of buying a calendar each year. Last year we actually got one for free, a nice big one that was suppose to be a desk calendar that I punched holes into and hung on our door.

The calendar is in the upper right corner of the photo.

Normally what I do with the calendar pages once the month is over is I give it to Emma for paper to color on. 

Not sure when or why, but eventually it dawned on me; the back of the pages are the perfect size for next years calendar!

So, this is how we did our latest batch (because I didn't take photos of the first batch). 

Materials Needed

Old calendar pages that are blank on the back (not in the photo)

Writing implements (pencil, pen, markers, colored pencils, etc)

Ruler (if you want straight lines)

Tape

Stencils

Cheat sheet with the months of the year and days of the week

Step 1

Use a bright window to trace the squares from the original side onto the back side of the paper. 

You can tape the page to the window if it's easier. We used pencil so that we didn't Sharpie the window.

Ready for art work!

Step 2.

Cover the page with stencils, doodles, and whatever else you want. 

Step 3. 

Add dates, go over the outline of the calendar with marker (if you want) and presto-chango!

We are now ready for December. 

A quick note: On our last batch of calendar remakes we did, we covered the pages with paint before adding the lines and dates. While they look cool, it was hard to see the dates or anything else we may have written on the calendar (such as appointments). This time around we are going minimal and so far we like it better. 

What do you do with past years calendars?

Sewing Sunday

Apparently, Sundays are my day for sewing. At least the last 2 Sundays have been.

Two Sundays ago (the 9th) was my birthday, and so I spent the day making myself stuff. Emma managed to get a picture of one of the items I made, I forgot to get photos of my other new clothes.

I had some leftover pieces from the dress, so I made Emma a shirt. 

Check it out, she's wearing EARRINGS!

This past Sunday (the 16th), I didn't have anything particular in mind except I REALLY needed to get Emma's riding jeans patched up. She had a major hole in the knee on one leg, and the beginnings of a hole on the other. 

She loved the messy look of the crazy thread, which meant less work for mama, score!

I also made myself a shirt. Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of yourself wearing a shirt? Pain. In. The. Butt. 

Oh, and just so Saige didn't feel left out, I whipped her up a sparkly dress to kinda match Emma's. 

 

Have you done anything crafty or creative lately?

Sneak Peak- New Clothes

I am so excited! I want to take better pictures tomorrow before I post a lot of pictures, but I had to share what I made today. So excited!

Birthday Tracker

I suck at remembering to call people on birthday's and anniversaries. I would like to do better.

So, I crafted about it.

Using a bunch of stuff I had lying around, I made up this birthday and anniversary tracker. For the heck of it, I'll bore you all with the what and how of it. 

Some of the tools I used

What I used:

An old hardcover book (just need either the front or the back)

Old scratch paper (I used a watercolor painting that didn't work out)

Paint Chips

Sticky back Velcro

Ribbon

Scrap Sticker Paper

The tools that I used where:

Mini folder punch

Scissors

Square punch

Stapler

Alphabet Stamps

Ink

All I did was punch out 12 mini folders from the scratch paper, and a ton of small squares from the paint chips. 

Fold the mini folders and staple.

I used the scraps of sticker paper to make sure that the stamped months show up better. 

For the information, I just put the date of the event in the upper right hand corner, the name of the person in the middle, and the year of the event on the bottom (like how I hid the info?). On the back of the square I wrote the address.

On the back of the mini folder, I attached the Velcro, then stuck the other piece onto the old book cover. I punched a few wholes, braided some ribbon, threaded it through, and hung it up. 

Why do all this? 

So that at the beginning of the month, I can sit down at my desk,

pull off the current month, and send out birthday or anniversary cards, letters or postcards. 

Well, that's the plan anyway. We'll see how it all works out. 

Latest Obsession- Sketch Books

*Obsession- the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc. *

That definition is from dictionary.com. I thought I should probably look it up as I use the word a lot. And, I suppose, it fits each time I use it. 

Anyway, our current obsession is sketching/drawing. Not sure what the difference is, but we love to draw. As much as I hate buying new paper when we have lots of paper that we could recycle, I find having a sketch book makes the act of drawing easier. Each piece of paper is the same weight, it takes markers, pencils, erasers, and many other mediums well, and its spiral bound so all my attempts and art stay in one place. 

I say "our" current obsession, because Emma was always stealing my last sketch book and running off with it. So, we now each have our own. Technically, I have 3, but no one's really counting.

It turns out she loves her sketch book as much as I love mine. Here is a collection of photos from both of our sketch books. If you would like to see everything we've sketched so far, feel free to pop over to our flicker site. 

Here are a few of my favorites from Emma's sketch book (Strathmore Mixed Media 5.5" x 8.5" 90lb- gotta love buy one get one sales!)

*Emma took all the photos of her sketch book art*

Drawing of one of her model horses

Draw from a photo on the web

Drawn from her mind

Drawn from her mind

Most of my drawings are sketched while looking at pictures in Emma's picture books. My sketch book (Canson XL Mixed Media 9" x 12", 98lb). 

From "The First Dog" by Jan Brett.

Various road signs we saw on our trip to Texas

Two scenes from the book, "There's Something in My Attic," by Mercer Mayer

(This is my favorite)

I intend to add color to my pictures, but I will probably wait till I get home so I can scan the drawings first. That way if I screw them up, I can try again :0)

There are lots more photos from our sketch books over at our flicker site. My worst drawing was when I attempted to draw Medusa. Pretty pitiful. If you want, you can check it out here. 

Happy Creating! 

Learning to Draw

Slowly, over the past 2 years, I have been teaching myself to draw. I am constantly drawn (ha ha, I'm a funny girl) to drawing people. I am starting to feel comfortable with the proportions  but now I need to start learning about shading, and gradient, and all those other artsy drawing terms I don't really have a clue about.

Thankfully, the internet is full of clues for the clueless!

My latest drawings and watercolors.

Drawn on an old pad of paper hanging around, scanned and printed onto watercolor paper.

Painted with watercolors. 

Close-up of her face. Her left eye is bigger than the right, which I didn't notice until I painted it. 

I tried to fix the left eye and just made it worse. Oh well. 

Here is a close-up of the shirt I drew/painted. Emma loves it. Maybe I should think about making one for her to wear :0)

That's it for now, hope you all have fun and creative plans for the weekend!