Sketches @ the Strawberry Stand & More!

This is my lame excuse for not having posted for awhile: I have not wanted to waste the little me time I've had by talking about and posting pictures of my doings. That would have been just plain old silly, because all of my precious time would be being consumed by blogger and not by the creative workings of my brain. Thus, I would have had nothing to talk about or post pictures of. I've been really busy-trying to fit in weight lifting workouts around work is just crazy; by the time I get home, all I want to do is shove food down my esophagus, watch Captain Kirk do those fabulous rolls of his, and sleep. I've been so exhausted I've been going to bed around 8:00 at the earliest, 9:30 at the latest. It's felt difficult to have any kind of energy to put toward being creative.

I did manage to finish my dress on time for the wedding, and locally I found some mega-amazing shoes to wear with it (there were a few minor disasters that came about trying to order a pair, but I won't go into that.) I am so happy with it, especially considering that it was my first time working from a pattern. What excites me the most about getting into sewing garments is the sheer enormity of what you could create. What you make is completely customizable and unique to YOU, from the sizing to the fabric to all the fun frills. ^___^

Since I'd like to show y'all what it looks like (and just FYI- I'm not southern, I just have a tendency to talk in weird voices...I guess it carries over into typing, haha) but don't have any GREAT pictures (yet) I'm falling back on a silly snapshot of moi dans la cuisine, taken hurriedly minutes before we dashed out of the door so as not to be late for the wedding. You get the idea :)

My geekish self hamming it up for my sister's camera.

The only other time that I've really had to do any drawing is when I sell strawberries at the stand. Sometimes things get a little slow, and when they do I'M READY! I bought a new sketchbook that's nice and small and easily portable, and I bring it with me. I've come up with some great ideas and characters to pursue further when I have more time. Here are some pictures of my favorite pages/sections of pages:

Joseph, the amazing 8 legged rabbit.

Yorik, who loves everything cute and fuzzy but is a notorious egg robber (his favorite are bluebird's eggs, fried sunny side up)

And some other guys...

A few days ago we had a rain day (yeah!!! You can't pick berries in the rain!!!) and I decided to drag out my paints once again. Here's Yorik in acrylic paint form:

Productivity is a Good Thing.

Yesterday morning = the perfect way to spend the first few hours of a Sunday. Ahhh, Sundays. Not a strawberry in sight...plenty of coffee drinking in flannel pajamas...hardy, home- cooked breakfasts...and drawing to my heart's content! What love. :) I drew allllll morning, and did not feel even an ounce of guilt. I felt very productive. For weeks I've been dying to do some drawings based on some of Kayleigh Morin's 365 project (Delusions of Grandeur.) The concepts for her photos are inspired; when I see her images, I'm filled with the need to create. This particular shoot was centered around the color red, and what emotions it reflects to the artist (you can read more about it in her blog.) I asked her if she would mind if I did some drawing versions, and she said she didn't mind at all! I'm so lucky to have artist friends. They help keep road blocks at bay by continually stimulating fresh thoughts. ^__^

Sketches

Inked

RED PORTRAIT I finished:

India ink, permanent marker, Crayola markers, Faber Castle brush pens.

RED PORTRAIT II finished:

India ink, permanent marker, Crayola markers, Faber Castle brush pens.

RED PORTRAIT III finished:

India ink, permanent marker, Crayola markers, Faber Castle brush pens.

These were the best photos I could get, since I still don't have the use of a scanner :/ I managed to get the inked versions to look decent, because they were in black and white with very sharp lines. I shall try to get my hands on a pretty little scanner as soon as I can, because I really miss having one.

DRESS STATUS: Last night I cut out all the pieces and bought my notions. And I found some AMAZING pairs of shoes that would be fab fab fab to wear with my dress. Not sure which pair yet. And if I do get them, I shall have to train myself to walk in heels. As of now, I stumble even in my mom's clogs. I am far to used to converse and running sneakers >.<

Both are from http://www.shop.ironfistclothing.com/.

He's Got a Cupcake Growing Out of His Forehead.

I am on a new kind of plushie making streak. I got the idea talking to the lovely Lace (http://lacejayne.blogspot.com/) over lunch last week, and I think 'tis a brilliant one :) Here's how it goes: Get a hold of some plain white cloth. Obtain fabric markers. Create amazing character that NEEDS to become 3D. Draw thus character with fabric markers onto previously referred to white cloth. Stitch together and stuff! Weee! I love the idea, because as you know I have been really enjoying turning my drawings into plushie form. While I am a huge fan of buttons and fancy stitching and fun fabrics, this technique gives the finished plushie a unique feel- more like a three-demensional stuffed DRAWING rather than...well, a plushie. It all depends on what you want for a finished product. Here's my first attempt. He was really kind of a guinea pig, because I was trying to get used to the way the fabric markers worked, blended, and went onto the cloth. Plus, now I know that I need to save more room for the seams, because even though I thought I had plenty of room I could use more. I think he looks a little bit squished on there...I would prefer to have more white around the edges.

He doesn't have a name yet, but he's got a cupcake growing out of his forehead (which he likes to eat with a spoon) so he's all good.

And here's my original like-three-second sketch.

I am absolutely OBSESSED with the fabric markers that I used to do this project. They were pretty expensive but they were worth it (plus I'm a working lady now, so I'm trying not to feel too guilty. I need $ to fund my projects!!) They -the markers- blend nicely while they're still wet. Siiighhh. Blissful.

One more new news goody-bit: My cousin is getting married later this month, and since I have absolutely nothing to wear, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make my own dress! I went to the fabric store today and found the PERFECT pattern along with the PERFECT cloth. Yay, I'm so excited ^__^

I'm thinking of making the dress with the green skirt, but without the apron. LOOOOKIT THE CLOTH!!! It's pink with animals!!!!! AWWWWW :D