Adventures in Drawing

"I can't draw", how many times do people say that? I had firmly placed myself in the camp of "can't draw" for a very long time and still have a hard time seeing something and thinking "I could draw that". Some people just have an affinity for drawing and boy do I envy those people, but just like any other hobby it can be learned. It just took me a long time to stop complaining that I couldn't draw and start learning how to do it.

My boyfriend was the main inspiration for me to start this journey, he was the first person to assure me I could learn how to draw. He is one of those people with a natural affinity for drawing (and lots of other things!), ask him for a drawing of a giraffe wearing business clothes and 5 minutes later he presents you with this adorableness.

I'm not sure I'll ever have that kind of ability, it takes me a good long time to finish a drawing but I am slowly beginning to see more like an artist. I really think seeing things for their general shape and perspective is a huge part of being able to draw. I struggle greatly with this part of drawing, the ability to see dimension and perspective. My first great find to learn how to do this was Mark Kistler's Draw Squad book. Some of you might remember Mark Kistler's Secret City TV show from back in the late 80's/ Early 90's. I never saw it as a kid but as an adult his techniques helped me greatly.

At first (and this was several years ago in 2008) things were a bit ugly. As to be expected, I suppose. My frustration when I first started learning was SUPER high. I just wanted to be able to pick up a pencil and draw a masterpiece. Sadly, it doesn't work that way.

Eventually, I got better even ended up drawing things I was kind of proud to have been able to draw. But, since it didn't come to me naturally I ended up putting my drawing book away and not really adding to it unless I was really in the mood.

Then, drawlloween happened! One of my facebook friends posted her drawing for drawlloween, a month long challenge in October to draw Halloween themed items. I saw her drawing and knew I had to do this and I had to really make an effort at it. Thus began my rekindled enjoyment of drawing.

Things still don't look wonderful all the time, I have a very hard time getting buildings correct, choosing the right pencils for shading and perspective. After drawlloween the JD to my Turk and I decided we would continue a weekly drawing challenge and my friend who writes This Hostile Universe, a web comic, asked me to guest draw. So, I've kept at it and now I am even starting to be able to recognize what is wrong with a building I've drawn or why the angle of something is off. It's a work in progress.

The GREAT Blog Revival

Here it is, four years later and I've decided to dust off the old blog and get back to it. There have been a great many changes in my life over the last four years but one thing remains constant, crafts. I have not stopped and will probably never stop creating. It just makes me feel more complete and like a better person for having created something. Even the smallest and silliest of projects feel great to finish.

Here's a nice photo round up of what I've been up to:

 

Messenger bag with some great kawaii fabric I found at Cool Cottons in Portland.

 

Tom Servo! This was a kit that my boyfriend and I worked on, I love him intensely.

 

I've been getting into some drawing and needed some storage for my pencils, nice use of some scrap fabric I bought in Tokyo!

 

I have a thing for creepy baby dolls, this on I turned into a planter. She delights me.

 

A crocheted Cheshire Cat, this was a gift. I love him.

 

One of the most useful things I've ever made, this is for my embroidery. There's a spot for the needle, scissors, markers and even a little scrap bin. Again using some fabric I purchased in Tokyo (and some from JoAnn)

 

I participated in Drawlloween this year, a month long challenge in October to draw something spooky each day. This was my eyeball, probably my favorite drawing. Drawing is one of my newer hobbies so I'm still learning which is always a fun and frustrating process.

A full four years worth of crafts would be far to look of a blog post but this is the kind of variety I've been doing. There's lots more on my Instagram so be sure to give it a follow!

I think with this revival I'm looking to share some interesting things I find on the web and maybe talk about some of my struggles with my hobbies. There's always something to improve upon.

Until next time- watch out for snakes!

Oh no!

I am most assuredly the worst blogger in creation. I have, despite my lack of blogging, been crafting! The holiday season demands crafting. There is nothing better than making gifts for the people you care about! So, without further ado, here are some (not all, since I am not sure everyone has received their presents yet and don't want to give away any surprises) of the presents I made.

A set of Dias de los Muertos napkins

 I love these, you can't see it in this picture but the opposite side of each has the opposite color and the edging goes all the way around. I made them for a friend, technically for her birthday in October but, well good crafts take time right? There is, of course, a fourth napkin but I gave it to her back in October and forgot to photograph it first. I had a very hard time with the edging on these, cutting and sewing a nice straight edge is not my strong suit. But it was excellent practice and by the last one I had found my rhythm. Also it is very apparent that my french knot needs work. I couldn't get the darn things to look right and there are only so many times you can make a hole in the fabric to try again.

Applique tote bag with a robin

Applique tote bag with an owl

These were a project a friend found on the Country Living website. We had a great time looking for fun fabrics and working on them together. I filled them with random fun gifts. If I had them to do over again I would dye the bags first since the white background is a bit plain. I would have also liked to have found a way to make the edges a bit neater, they were made using iron-on fusible web and had raw edges that frayed quite a bit.

I cannot believe this is the best picture I managed to take of these...

Ugh, look at my hair! Anyway, I love the length of these fingerless gloves that I made for a friend at work. The pattern for these can be found here, I use it a lot though somehow this time I managed to forget to increase when I came to the palm. They look a little funny when they aren't being worn but they fit the person they were made for well. Aside from that my only other struggle was finding an inconspicuous way to hide the ends, something I have always struggled with when crocheting.


That's all for the Christmas presents. Aside from those I have been working on my bead making, just playing around with the glass and getting a feel for what I like the looks of. I have a lot of glass beads that I have made that are just too darn big to really make anything wearable with so I've been playing with a smaller mandrel size (to make a smaller hole) and just a smaller sized bead. Hopefully I get a few winners so I can update the Etsy store a bit.

Lessons in skirt making

This week was my first attempt at making a skirt by making my own pattern. I have been buying all sorts of flowy fabrics to use for increasing my skirt collection and since summer is almost over and soon it will be to wet and cold to wear them I decided now was the time! I found the book Sew What! Skirts: 16 simple styles you can make with fabulous fabrics by Francesca DenHartog at the library and fell in love with the book and its simple techniques for making your own pattern and how to put skirts together.
I made my pattern last week out of a roll of craft paper I bought. I thought I would hate it because it was so heavy but actually it is kind of nice because I know I won't destroy it like I tend to do with tissue paper patterns. The last few days I worked on the cutting and sewing portion, since I'm a new sewer I still have a bit of trouble cutting and sewing straight but it was even harder than usual with the silky fabric I used. Aside from that my only other major problem was the damned elastic waistband. I made the casing no problem but pulling the elastic through the casing was a pain in the butt. Then when I finally had the whole thing through and I had fitted it and tightened the elastic to where I wanted it I let go of one end... elastic is, well... elastic and that end went halfway back through the casing and I had to start over. I won't make that mistake again. So here it is all finished! 

I'm really hoping I get better at photographing clothing, this is just sad. But you get the point!

When I was done I had all kinds of left over fabric so, I made a headband to go with it. 

Trying to show the headband and still look at the camera makes an awkward pose..

All and all I would consider the first skirt a success. There are a few things I will do differently next time, including adding a liner fabric and possibly hand stitching the hem. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated, especially any that would make putting the elastic in the casing easier!!

Inspiration

I'll start off by warning that I'm not much of a blogger. However, I do love reading blogs. In fact I'd say I spend about a half an hour a day on the internet, usually first thing in the morning when I'm still groggy, just clicking through and looking at the pictures and descriptions of peoples day-to-day life. My favorite type of blog is of course, the craft blog. There are so many amazing people who are taking time to write about the projects they are working on and even some who share their patterns and techniques. So, I was inspired and I think maybe I can be part of this growing community of people who love crafts and sharing what they do with others who love crafts. I will do my best to write once a week and include pictures, because really what fun is a blog without pictures. I'm hoping that this also keeps me doing a project a week, since sometimes life catches up and we forget to do the things we love to do.