Must… Draw… Every… Day!
This is pencil on Washi paper.
Author: micheleballantyne
Mother of 9, Grandmother of 12, blogger, artist, horse and animal lover, plant lover, nature lover!!! Currently I am involved in fiber arts making scarves and wall hangings. I also love spinning wool and will be including my character yarns into my fiber art! Yay!
Challenge: Day 2
Using the pens and pencils I used to save for my grandkids when they come over, today, I continue playing with lines and color on card stock 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Below is the image before any editing.
Then I tweaked my drawing in the edit section on my phone, see below.
Kind of fun.
Below is the same picture using “dramatic cool” filter.
Then a filter for less color.
And now black-and-white.
Playing around with photos of my drawings is pretty fun!
Below is the picture I drew yesterday after tweaking it in the editing department.
New Years Resolution
Art every day. Some kind of art. Any art. Here is my fun for today!!!
I like it.
I got the idea from MarmaladeRose. I just discovered her today while I was looking at Pinterest. She’s a fiber artist and does amazing work!
You can find Marmalade Rose at marmaladerose.com
“Ginger bread“ house party for kids (and adults)!
The gram cracker “gingerbread” houses are constructed ahead of time so the icing can dry and the house structure will be firm before the party. Royal icing is used for construction because it holds the parts firmly while constructing and also once dry.
The recipe I used called for two egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1 pound of powdered sugar. Beat the egg whites first until stiff and foamy. Then add the cream of tartar and powdered sugar and beat for a long time until stiff peaks form. Cover the unused icing with plastic wrap so no air will get to it. If it starts to dry it will become crunchy and clog up your decorating tips. Recipes for royal icing can also be found online.
Buying candy for the party is a lot of fun. I always look for small candies that can be used repeatedly on small houses.
Here are some examples of what the kids and adults made at our last party for Kevin and Melanie’s kids.
Decorating the yard is important too.
Half walls in the art studio
As I was beginning to plan where to put all my shelves in the art studio, I realized I didn’t have enough wall space. I decided to build a wall between the two halves of the studio to give me room for all my hanging shelves. I didn’t like how closed off it felt, however, so I cut a large opening in the wall at eye level to open up the space.
Since that leaves me only half a wall when I needed a whole wall, I’m also putting half a wall between the breeze through and the far section of studio. That will allow me to mount all my shelves and still have a view of the entire studio as well as the horse corral and yard.
I thought I would be done with my studio before Thanksgiving but, as I should have known, projects always take 2 to 4 times longer than expected.
Making my own gifs!
What better thing to do on a Thanksgiving evening with a bunch of grandkids and grand nephews and nieces than to make some gifs.
Felted, hand spun yarn!
I decided to try my hand at felting my handspun yarn. I read about it in one of the spinning books I have. Now that I have tried it, I really like it.
First, you spin the wool. The first time I tried it I just spun just a little bit and made it into a ball, which I then felted and unspun. After that I tried making full skeins and felting them. Below, you see a full skein that is ready for felting.
To felt a skein, you put it in hot water and full it, then take it out and with soap, you lather it up and agitate between your hands. I like to fold my skein so it doesn’t get too tangled and felt it as if it were a ball.
Below is a picture of the felted skein which has not yet been unspun.
After the first felting, the skein must be unspun by turning the spinning wheel backwards and gradually moving the yarn onto the spindle while untwisting it.
This creates a beautiful and interesting texture in the felted yarn. Then the yarn must be felted again to increase its strength. Below is a picture of the final product, after drying.
The more it is felted while twisted, the more defined and interesting the texture when finished.
Below is a picture of the three stages next to each other.
Below is a picture of the first little bit I felted and unspun. All of these examples are with Merino wool.
I’d love to hear from anyone who tries this or has tried it.
