Happy Zentangle Wednesday!

Hi Friends,

Who doesn't love cupcakes? It has been very apparent that in the last few years there has been a cupcake explosion...and that is the subject of today's Zentangle.

Cupcakes are not only fun to eat, they are fun to create too! No matter what form they come in...food, drawing, sewing project, crocheted, knitted, clay...they are adorable.

A fun way to create a base for your Zentangle drawing is to use a dingbat from a fun font. There are many websites to download free fonts from...this one came from the font mtf sweet dings from dafont. I chose the dingbat that I wanted to use, made it really big, and then just printed it and started tangling!

Hope this tangle inspires everyone to go out and create cupcakes...whatever the medium may be! Have fun with it!!!

Take care!

Pin It Now!

Graduation Time!

Hi Friends,

Since graduation is right around the corner, I thought that I would show you the open house invitation I designed for my brother-in-law.

Hard to believe that 10 years ago this spring I graduated from high school...I know I just aged myself there! Times really do change though. I remember my high school graduation open house invites...they were nothing to write home about; though I am sure at that time I thought they were the best thing since sliced bread! Now days, there are so many unique designs out there for grad announcements so...remember to keep your options open and do some research to find a design that fits your needs and budget!

I am working on getting an Etsy store up to sell my designs but until that happens, this is a little preview of some of my design work...I hope you enjoy!

Take care!

Pin It Now!

Crochet Day!

Hi Friends,


I am very excited about this post! Today I am having a crochet day with one of my very good friends. I get to relax, crochet, and watch Sex & the City all in good company...I call that an excellent Friday! Since I have not posted any crochet projects since my very first post, I thought today was the perfect day to add another one...I am in crochet mode!!


This is another one of Ana Paula's patterns. I am OBSESSED with her patterns right now, especially her ocean creatures. I have made three of there little jellyfish...there are oh so adorable and pretty fast to whip up! These could be crocheted in a rainbow of colors and look cute every time!


I have been missing Duluth terribly which is why I think I have been creating many nautical and water themed projects lately. Granted, there are no jellyfish or octopuses in Lake Superior, but I have got water on my mind and these things do live in the water in other places of the world!


I hope everyone enjoys this amigurumi...stay tuned if you do because I am hoping to finish another very cute one after today's crochet day!

Ingredients:
Peaches & Cream cotton yarn (color : Floral Garden) for body and tentacles
Lily Sugar & Cream cotton yarn (color : Hot Purple) for bow
2 small felt squares (behind eyes)
Black Embroidery thread (for mouth)
Darice Shank Back Eyes 9mm
Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Fiberfill
Size G (4.5mm) crochet hook
Large yarn needle (for embroidering mouth and attaching parts)


Take Care

Pin It Now!

Happy Zentangle Wednesday!

Hi Friends,

Today I have decided to post one of my very first Zentangles. I just love how an ordinary shape can become transformed into a very dimensional drawing in a matter of few minutes.

This tangle illustrates my MN love! Although the weather here can sometimes test my love for this state, I truly do love living here. Art, food, culture, nature, and four seasons...true love!

I hope everyone enjoys this weeks Zentangle!

Take care

Pin It Now!

Finally Organized...

Hi Friends,

I have finally brought some much needed organization to my kitchen.

I really enjoy baking and cooking...especially trying new recipes. I get most of my recipes online and anytime I find one that I want to try, I print it off on a sheet of office paper. All of these sheets of office paper end up getting folded up and shoved in a small basket on my counter. So, this means anytime I am looking for a recipe I have to look through everything in the basket to find the recipe I am looking for. I took all of my recipes out of the basket, there were approximately 60 of them, and I am in the process of transferring them all to recipe cards.

What finally got me started on this organizing process were these adorable recipe cards from Love vs. Design. They have adorable stuff and many free printables so check them out!

I printed out both of the matching sets and dividers and now I have the daunting task of transferring all the recipes to them but I just had to show everyone some pictures...I am really liking how they look. I purchased a plain recipe card box from my local craft store and I plan on jazzing it up with some scrapbook paper and Modge Podge. I will have another post with this project completed but I could not wait to show how it looks so far...much better than a bunch of sheets of copy paper!

Before...

I cannot believe this was my "recipe box" for as long as it was!

 After...

There is nothing better than the feeling of organization!

 Enjoy and stay tuned for the final result of this project!

 

Pin It Now!

Happy Zentangle Wednesday...on a Thursday!

Hi Friends,

Zentangle Wednesday again! It came and went so quick its already Thursday! Didn't quite get this one up in time..anyway...I thought this week that I would use one of my "pins" as inspiration for my tangle. I am in love with any and all things nautical right now...every time I see anything nautical, it makes me think of my FAVORITE MN city, Duluth. This pin is also inspiration for a tattoo I plan on getting...someday!

Ok so here is the pin...

Anchor "Pinspiration"

I used this image to illustrate something of my own in Adobe Illustrator. I left my anchor as an outline so I could fill it in with my zentangle and the font I used is Lobster. So, with my printout and trusty Sharpie I started doodling and this is my end result...

and a detail...

If anyone out there is a beginner zentangler like myself, Adobe Illustrator is a great tool for making all different types of shape outlines. Then you can easily print them out and start doodling away. Like I have said before, I am not a great drawer so I use Illustrator to make my basic shapes and then I can doodle to my heart's content. However, Zentangles DO NOT have to be a perfect shape! You can just doodle and see what you end up with. I just think its fun to have a shape to start with and then see how it can be transformed by filling it in!

I hope you have all enjoyed this weeks tangle! Don't forget to take a close look at your surroundings, or do what I did, and take a look at your Pins and make a tangle from that inspiration!

Take care!

Pin It Now!

Bold & Bright

Hi Friends,

Today I thought that I would feature one of the handbags that I created recently. I have not shown any of my sewing projects yet and I though this one would be perfect for my sewing projects debut.

Made from Simplicity pattern 2685. Details inside are my pattern.

I made this particular purse for one of my lovely coworkers. It is a large carry-all with plenty of pockets for organization and even includes a place to clip your keys on the inside.

Detail of pocket and key clip.

Detail of other pocket.

Front of purse details.

I am a big fan of large handbags. As many women can probably attest to...the larger the bag, the more things you can find to shove in them! I am oh so guilty of doing this.

I recently started sewing again after taking a LONG break from it. Mostly because I didn't have a working sewing machine for quite some time. Starting up sewing again was just like riding a bike, it just comes back naturally.

I encourage all of you who have not sewn in while, to dust off your sewing machines and give it a try! I am sure you will be as pleased as I was with the results of your first project! It is just so satisfying to make something yourself versus buying it at a store...you definitely don't have to worry about someone having the same handbag as you! Don't forget to take risks and try including some of your own elements...especially if you use a store bought pattern. It makes the project that much more personal, but most of all, don't forget to HAVE FUN!


Project Ingredients:
Keepsake Calico Fabric-Mocca-Red (main purse fabric)
Symphony Broadcloth Solids - light blue (inside lining)
Pellon Fusible Interfacing
Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP General Purpose Thread (Red)
Red Button (from my button collection)
Simplicity Pattern 2685 (Accessories - Bags)

Pin It Now!

Happy Zentangle Wednesday!

Hi Friends,

Well another Zentangle Wednesday is upon us! I figured that since the Easter holiday is this weekend that I would try to do a tangle Easter related. I am not quite sure if I like how it turned out yet...still undecided.

I printed out the "Happy Easter" and the four egg shapes from something I quickly created in Adobe Illustrator and then I filled in the eggs shapes with tangles using my trusty black pens.

I also decided to try some watercolors on them. I have not used watercolors since I was a little kid and it shows! I have always liked the way that the watercolors look with the black ink of a pen on paper...I do need some lessons though.

Does anyone know of some good online watercolor tutorials?

I love adding color to my sketchbook but I usually just use colored pens and pencils. Trying watercolors would be a good challenge for me and like I said before, I just love the way they look with black ink pen.

Anyway onto the picture of this weeks tangle...hope you enjoy and HAPPY EASTER!

I really have to stop taking pictures with my phone...sorry for the bad color!

Pin It Now!