September 17, 2007
After a 24 hour painting marathon I finished the wedding gift painting. The bride and groom loved it which was great… they were in awe of the final product which felt nice. I didn’t have much time in between painting so the 3rd round to final is quite a jump but you get a sense of the final product.
Here is where I took a break to have a photo taken of the progress unfortunately I do not have a photo of the line work before hand…
TA-DA! Here it is. I love how the groom’s shirt came out; I was doubtful of the highlights of pink and purple but they really completed the look nicely. I found out, though, that the base of the purple oil pastel can not be painted over with out the color seeping back through. IF I want to paint over this color in the future I’ll have to spray a top coat before continuing which I’ve never done before. The favor portion turned out great and the wedding date is viewable inside the tin which is written on the M&M… Overall despite my fears of portrait work this turned out great with minimal issue. I’m very happy with how it turned out!
September 12, 2007
A belated birthday shout out goes to Colin Firth who’ll never read this blog but here’s hoping who celebrated his 47th on Sept. 10th.
I have begun the base paint shadows on the groom’s face along with the hair. I thought the facial hair would be much harder that its turning out to be which is a relief. For right now I’m really pleased with the progress… We are meeting up with them this weekend so I’ve got to get it done but done right. (Secretly I think Fred set up this date to get the painting done because I was neglecting it… I don’t blame him) I’m working on the groom’s vest / shirt last and thinking about how to do the intense highlight on the back of his head - the hair is a completely different tone with the sunlight hitting it.
While waiting for the groom’s base paint to dry I increased the density of the highlights on the bride’s cheek, above her eye brow and her forehead. I also worked on her left hand but it was frustrating me so I stopped. I’ll continue tomorrow and maybe sketch in the favor portion of the painting…
September 10, 2007
As I’ve said in my previous post I have been very busy with my various projects.
At the start of last week I had been craving cupcakes. I have a thing for cupcakes and all baked goods that are full of fruit and nuts (door stops as Lynn says). I finally broke down and bought some cake mix and frosting. Out of the box is not normally how I roll BUT I was hard up and didn’t want the major undertaking for from scratch cupcakes… yes for me it’s an undertaking. I bought the new Pillsbury Reduced Sugar cake mix and frosting. I’ve been trying to cut corners and find better ways to have the foods I love with out all the fat or sugar or calories or in general the “bad tasty stuff” and this was a great option. The cake mix was delish and you would have never known it was reduced sugar!! The frosting however was kinda odd… gritty and gooey but you know I ate them anyway… Fred like them - he had no complaints.
I thought I’d do another quick knit project. I found this felted “bobble” scarf from Lion Brand Yarns website. You have to sign up to get access to all the free designs but I must say it is worth it! I have found many great patterns that I want to try - some I have to work up to… However this felted scarf is really easy. You need wool yarn, large wood bead or nuts and string. You knit the scarf in stockinette stitch until you reach the length you want (keeping in mind the scarf will shrink), Tie the scarf around the wood beads or nuts with string then wash and dry the scarf until it’s lightly damp. You then pull the scarf into shape and allow for it to dry completely. I figured I could manage that. Of course I don’t really like the placement of the bobbles per the pattern image so I decided to create my own version of the scarf using warm fall colors in the Lion Brand Wool Ease� “paprika” and “violet”. The violet stripes will have the bobble effect - I’m making the stripe pattern up as I go. At the half way point I will then mirror the stripe pattern I created so the scarf is even. I’ll share it when it is finished.
Lynn and I have approx. 2 weeks until we test launch our website for our brand 2 Girls & Plastic (2girlsplastic.com). We’ve been working on product constantly preparing. We are currently working on revamped vintage skirts with different “themes” in both the Jo and Lola style. The close up is of our “Fairytale” skirt in Lola colors. The ribbon and the appliques will be stitched down securely in a decorative way. So far we’ve created t-shirts, skirts, wristbands, sachets, ties and altered or restored vintage pieces such as tops and dresses. We are very excited and there is much more to come…
September 8, 2007
I have been having my hands in a lot of pies - Brandy Pie Hands! - but I will blog on that a little later when I download my camera and upload all my pictures. While I have you waiting talk amongst yourselves… Here’s the subject : this AWESOME super cute retro style leopard pattern cardigan (1st image - gold) that I found while looking through the pages of Mary’s k.1. (knit.1) magazine.
I’m looking into hiring a knitting tutor for garment creation and construction. I believe this may be my first project!!
