LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

Tags
acrylic paint americana angel article article birch articles arts and crafts ash aspen autumn baltic birch baltic birch plywood band saw basket basswood bedroom set beech beeswax bible birch birch ply birch plywood bird birds eye maple blade blades blood wood box brushes build burl business business designing business scroll saw ca glue cabinet camera candle card stock carving carving tool catalog cedar celtic chair cherry children christmas class cocobolo commission work compound cutting contemporary contest corian country crackle crafts creating creativity curly maple custom customer cutting cutting board damask de decorating decorations decoupage design designing dish dolls door drawing dremel drill drill bit drill press drilling easter ebony embellishing embellishment end grain exchange fall faux finishing finish finishing fish frame free fretwork furniture garden glue gothic grey elm halloween heart hickory holiday holly idea ideas inspiration instructions jatoba jewelry jewelry box jig kit kitchen koa lack ofproject progress laminate trimmer lamp lathe light luan plywood magazine mahogany mahogany sepele maple maple heart maple plywood mask masonite mdf military mineral oil finish modern napkin holder nature nautical new oak oil organization organizing ornament ornaments padauk paint painting painting gothic paper patriotic pattern patterns pau amarillo pen pens photography pine plan planer plaque plaques ply plywood poplar power carving presentation pricing primitive printing production project project progress project progress baltic birch project progress birch project progress maple project progress mdf project progress roasted birch projects publish purpleheart r refinishing religious repair review roasted birch romantic rosewood router routing rustic sander sanding sapele saw scroll scroll saw scroll saw blades scroll saw class scroll saw tape scroll sawing scroll work scroll working scrolling techniques scrolls saw scrollsaw scrollwork scrollworking season seasonal segmentation sell selling sellling sepele shaping shellac shop shop safety shop tour shop vac show shows silhouette skates skill sleigh snowflake snowman song spring spring box stain stain finish staining steampunk stenciling storage story studio submit summer table saw tape teach teaching thanksgiving tip tip aspen tool gloat tools toy traditional transfer pattern tray trick turning tutorial valentine veining victorian video vintage walnut wenge western whimsical wildlife winter wood wood shopping wood store trip wood working woodworking woodworking show word art work write yellow heart
7M views 13K replies 477 participants last post by  teaklight12 
#1 ·
Beginning this Blog

I recently was referred to this site by Steve Good, who has a wonderful, comprehensive scroll saw forum and blog page. Although I have been doing woodworking for almost fifteen years, I have finally reached a point in my life where I am able to make it the main focus of my activities. Since my life revolves around my woodworking and business, I believe that this blog will reflect that very clearly, although it will also be somewhat personal. But I think that woodworking is very personal anyway.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. There have been many good times and some not-so-good ones, but I appreciate every single step because I think that if even one thing was different, I would not be where I am today or who I am inside. It isn't only the positive events in our lives that make us what we are. Many times it is the negative things that mold and shape us and teach us to look at things in a certain way. I try to remember that when things are tough and move ahead.

I have learned that there is only one thing we can be certain of in life: change. Whether things are good or bad, we need to hold on and appreciate the moment, as we can be certain that things will be different before long. This helps us to not only appreciate the good days and things we have now, but also hang on when things are not so good, as we know that they will be different soon. I like this philosophy.

I liked reading about the new contest offered by this site in the newsletter. Fluidity. It is a perfect theme for projects because our existence itself is fluid. I am anxious to see what interpretations are going to be, as I am sure everyone else is. It will be an adventure for all of us for sure.

So why am I starting this blog? The other day I received a call from a customer who had a question for me. He kept saying how surprised he was that I answered my own phone. I have worked as a Contributing Editor for Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine for the past 13+ years and I guess in the scroll saw community, many people have heard of me. It seemed so odd to me that he would think I would have a secretary or staff. We kind of laughed about it, but it really got me thinking about his interpretation of my life. We all tend to form opinions of others from very limited information. We see the outside of a person as they are presented to us and many times are very quick to categorize that person in our minds. I do it myself.

But in my years of talking with and dealing with many people from many different places, I have come to realize that people are like icebergs. We only see the tip of them and below the surface is a vast, complex side of them that is the basis of their actions and thinking.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has traveled a journey. No two people have traveled identical paths. Thus, we are all unique in our thoughts, actions and creative processes. I enjoy hearing others stories. I think that listening to others and hearing their experiences helps us to understand each other. With that understanding, we learn.

I have used the phrase "Knowledge Is Power" in my signature since I have been on the web. Once someone told me that they thought it was quite arrogant of me to say that. He thought that I was implying that I knew more than anyone else and he found that offensive. I told him he couldn't be more wrong. My interpretation of the phrase is that our QUEST for knowledge EMPOWERS us to make better decisions about things in our lives. We are never finished learning. I learn every single day from my friends, colleagues, fellow woodworkers and students. We never know when we will learn something new. Sometimes you can learn from even a seemingly insignificant event. I feel the key is that we need to be open to learning.

Everyone has a story.

So I will close today with those thoughts. I don't know how often I will post here, but I hope to make it a habit. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but somehow it doesn't matter. Writing is a key in self-awareness. By writing things down we categorize our actions and it helps (me anyway) to keep my life organized. Organization leads to peace as far as I am concerned.

I am quite overwhelmed with the scope of the site here. I am still getting my footings and lurking around. I think for the first several days or maybe even weeks I will be more of a passive observer while I find my comfortable position among the others here. I want to upload the new things I am working on here. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the response they get. I love seeing others projects and could spend my days just looking.

Although it is quite intimidating, the forum looks like it is full of friendly, knowledgeable and wonderfully creative people.

I think I am going to like it here.
 
See less See more
#12,101 ·
Veining Lines

It felt good to get such nice feedback on my angel ornament project that I showed here yesterday. I am pretty excited about it myself. It felt good to really get something going in a good direction for my very patient woodworking followers.

It turned out to be a very busy day. While I was answering the many email that I received, I also had some orders for some wood pieces I had to cut so I shifted gears and went to the saw for a couple of hours. Even though I always have things to do, I never mind stopping and working on the scroll saw for orders. It keeps my skills sharp and gives me a chance to 'think' about things like my next projects. I am in my own world when there.

One of the comments on my blog yesterday was a woodworking question by a woodworking friend. It seemed that I mentioned that the angel ornaments had 'veining' details in them instead of fretwork, and she wasn't quite sure what that was. I thought that it would be a good topic for today's post.

In scroll sawing, there are basically two types of detailing that we can apply without adding anything else to the wood. The first one, which is somewhat obvious, is 'fretwork'. The details are added by cutting holes in the wood and allowing the piece to fall out, creating a void. This makes some beautiful designs, but sometimes it isn't always practical to do things this way. Especially on things like figures and animals, it is a bit harsh and makes the project look forced and unnatural. That is when "veining" would work best.

Veining is in essence, drawing lines with the blades. When you cut into a piece of wood, depending on the thickness of the blade, you will remove part of the wood. This is also referred to as the "kerf". Naturally, the larger the blade you use, the thicker the kerf and the more pronounced the line is. When we are cutting fretwork, since the entire section falls out and is removed from the piece, we don't think too much about it. It is only when we cut veining lines into pieces that they really are pronounced.

Veining lines are very helpful in creating detail and dimension in our scroll work. Many times you can 'lead in' to the veining lines from the ends of the piece, such as when we are cutting out wings. You simply dive in with the blade and cut into the wood, being sure to leave enough wood to hang on firmly and then back out of the same area to the waste area and keep cutting. This is actually quite easy when doing straighter lines, such as wings, but it may take a little practice when cutting more complex curves. While some people prefer to stop their cut and remove the blade from the blade holder when they get to the end of a veining line, I find it easier in most cases to back the moving blade out by re-tracing the curve in reverse. I find this way there is much less stress on the wood and less chance of breaking off pieces.

The picture here shows where the veining lines are in my angel ornament:

Bird Beak Neck Feather Organism


You can see that most of the veining lines - especially on the wings - originate from the outer edge of the pieces. For places on the angel where it would not look natural to begin on an edge, (or it would be not practical, where the piece may fall out) what I did was create a 'slit' or void in which to originate my veining line, as on the head and the upper arm and body area. These areas would naturally be the deepest shadowed areas and the small slits don't look out of place. As in the instance of the upper body, you will need to do the veining in a couple of steps. (I think I will make a video of that soon so you can see how to approach it.)

The result is a really nice, detailed piece.

Another reason I like veining lines is that they provide a wonderfully natural break for adding color into the piece. While I know that many scrollers may not be fond of painting, I don't think we can deny the appeal of adding a bit of color to our pieces. This is especially true when we are using cheaper wood such as plywood which has little or no grain pattern (my samples here are all in plywood) To demonstrate this, I painting up one of the pieces, using no shading and just blocking in the sections where the natural breaks occur:

Mythical creature Gesture Art Wing Angel


Isn't that beautiful? I simply painted within each section and kind of 'connected it in places like on her hand and at the top of her dress. It took only minutes and made a big difference in the appearance of the ornament. (Of course I added a layer of Glamour Dust fine glitter paint on top! They are, after all ornaments and should have some sparkle to them!) I am even going to add a beautiful gold rhinestone to the center of the star I think!)

I feel that there is no scroller that would not be able to achieve this beautiful look very easily. There is no learning curve whatsoever, and all you need to do is apply the paint in a light wash. The veining lines naturally stop the flow of the paint and keep your colors "in the lines". I hope you try it.

Today I will be finishing up coloring my set of scrolled ornaments. I have also been asked if I am going to offer these angels as a painting pattern along with the wood blanks. I believe that I will do that, as I think they will be a fun and easy project and be great not only for Christmas, but all year around.

Thank you all again for your comments and encouragement. I truly appreciate them all. Hopefully I will be able to get these for the most part done today and we can get them on the site in the next couple days for the next update. Please stay tuned. :)

It is overcast here today and seems to be a bit humid, but cooler. We are due for some much needed rain and I hope we actually get some. Our rivers and lakes are quite low.

Mythical creature Gesture Supernatural creature Wood Art


I wish you all a wonderful Wednesday! Have a great day and do something creative.
 

Attachments

#12,102 ·
Veining Lines

It felt good to get such nice feedback on my angel ornament project that I showed here yesterday. I am pretty excited about it myself. It felt good to really get something going in a good direction for my very patient woodworking followers.

It turned out to be a very busy day. While I was answering the many email that I received, I also had some orders for some wood pieces I had to cut so I shifted gears and went to the saw for a couple of hours. Even though I always have things to do, I never mind stopping and working on the scroll saw for orders. It keeps my skills sharp and gives me a chance to 'think' about things like my next projects. I am in my own world when there.

One of the comments on my blog yesterday was a woodworking question by a woodworking friend. It seemed that I mentioned that the angel ornaments had 'veining' details in them instead of fretwork, and she wasn't quite sure what that was. I thought that it would be a good topic for today's post.

In scroll sawing, there are basically two types of detailing that we can apply without adding anything else to the wood. The first one, which is somewhat obvious, is 'fretwork'. The details are added by cutting holes in the wood and allowing the piece to fall out, creating a void. This makes some beautiful designs, but sometimes it isn't always practical to do things this way. Especially on things like figures and animals, it is a bit harsh and makes the project look forced and unnatural. That is when "veining" would work best.

Veining is in essence, drawing lines with the blades. When you cut into a piece of wood, depending on the thickness of the blade, you will remove part of the wood. This is also referred to as the "kerf". Naturally, the larger the blade you use, the thicker the kerf and the more pronounced the line is. When we are cutting fretwork, since the entire section falls out and is removed from the piece, we don't think too much about it. It is only when we cut veining lines into pieces that they really are pronounced.

Veining lines are very helpful in creating detail and dimension in our scroll work. Many times you can 'lead in' to the veining lines from the ends of the piece, such as when we are cutting out wings. You simply dive in with the blade and cut into the wood, being sure to leave enough wood to hang on firmly and then back out of the same area to the waste area and keep cutting. This is actually quite easy when doing straighter lines, such as wings, but it may take a little practice when cutting more complex curves. While some people prefer to stop their cut and remove the blade from the blade holder when they get to the end of a veining line, I find it easier in most cases to back the moving blade out by re-tracing the curve in reverse. I find this way there is much less stress on the wood and less chance of breaking off pieces.

The picture here shows where the veining lines are in my angel ornament:

Bird Beak Neck Feather Organism


You can see that most of the veining lines - especially on the wings - originate from the outer edge of the pieces. For places on the angel where it would not look natural to begin on an edge, (or it would be not practical, where the piece may fall out) what I did was create a 'slit' or void in which to originate my veining line, as on the head and the upper arm and body area. These areas would naturally be the deepest shadowed areas and the small slits don't look out of place. As in the instance of the upper body, you will need to do the veining in a couple of steps. (I think I will make a video of that soon so you can see how to approach it.)

The result is a really nice, detailed piece.

Another reason I like veining lines is that they provide a wonderfully natural break for adding color into the piece. While I know that many scrollers may not be fond of painting, I don't think we can deny the appeal of adding a bit of color to our pieces. This is especially true when we are using cheaper wood such as plywood which has little or no grain pattern (my samples here are all in plywood) To demonstrate this, I painting up one of the pieces, using no shading and just blocking in the sections where the natural breaks occur:

Mythical creature Gesture Art Wing Angel


Isn't that beautiful? I simply painted within each section and kind of 'connected it in places like on her hand and at the top of her dress. It took only minutes and made a big difference in the appearance of the ornament. (Of course I added a layer of Glamour Dust fine glitter paint on top! They are, after all ornaments and should have some sparkle to them!) I am even going to add a beautiful gold rhinestone to the center of the star I think!)

I feel that there is no scroller that would not be able to achieve this beautiful look very easily. There is no learning curve whatsoever, and all you need to do is apply the paint in a light wash. The veining lines naturally stop the flow of the paint and keep your colors "in the lines". I hope you try it.

Today I will be finishing up coloring my set of scrolled ornaments. I have also been asked if I am going to offer these angels as a painting pattern along with the wood blanks. I believe that I will do that, as I think they will be a fun and easy project and be great not only for Christmas, but all year around.

Thank you all again for your comments and encouragement. I truly appreciate them all. Hopefully I will be able to get these for the most part done today and we can get them on the site in the next couple days for the next update. Please stay tuned. :)

It is overcast here today and seems to be a bit humid, but cooler. We are due for some much needed rain and I hope we actually get some. Our rivers and lakes are quite low.

Mythical creature Gesture Supernatural creature Wood Art


I wish you all a wonderful Wednesday! Have a great day and do something creative.
You always bring life to your scroll work, Sheila.
 

Attachments

#12,106 ·
A Tribute to a Queen (Layla the Tigress)

It is with a great deal of sadness that I write my post today. Yesterday morning, I was notified by The Wildcat Sanctuary that their beautiful tigress Layla had passed away. This hit close to my heart, as over the past few months I had come to 'know' Layla through the Sanctuary, as she was the subject of my tigress painting pattern that I recently created for the August issue of Painting Ezine online magazine. For those of you who don't know the story, I will tell it here . . .

This past spring, I was invited by Susan from Painting Ezine to contribute a painting pattern for their August issue. The theme for the month was "Summer Safari" and they had seen that I liked painting 'big cats'. (You can see my other big cat and wildlife paintings on my Gallery page of my site.) I was thrilled at the opportunity, but I admit that I was a bit intimidated. Any artist can tell you that there is a world of difference creating an original painting and 'teaching' one. But I was up for the challenge and I thought it would make me stretch my wings a bit as a designer.

I knew that the subject for my painting had to be something that would not only be beautiful, but I would need a clear photo as well as permission to use it for my reference. I am a firm believer in respecting the copyrights of photographers.

One day, as I was browsing through Facebook, I came across this beautiful photo of Layla the tigress:

Head Siberian tiger Eye Bengal tiger Vertebrate


From the moment I saw it, it captured my heart. I immediately appreciated her regal beauty and thought it would be a wonderful picture to create my pattern from. I contacted the Sanctuary and requested permission to use the photo. I explained just what I was going to do with it and how I would use it and I also offered to send them a portion of whatever revenue was generated by the derivative work. I explained that I was a small time artist, but I would give what I could and try to help raise awareness for their cause. They graciously agreed and I was sent a higher resolution photo to work with. In the end, my rendition of Layla came out very nice. I think it is one of my better paintings to date:

Vertebrate Siberian tiger Felidae Nature Carnivore


My relationship with Layla and the Sanctuary didn't end there. It just began.

As I read more about them and their residents, I saw what wonderful work they were doing and I tried to think of ways that I could help their cause the most. Those of you who know me know of my love of animals and I love cats in particular - big and small. When reading the stories of the horrors that many of these animals (including Layla) had endured prior to their rescue from the Sanctuary, I knew that this was something that I would be trying to help for the long term. This would definitely not be my last work with them.

Layla was already 20 years old when she was rescued. You can read more about her story and her rescue HERE and see a memorial video of her HERE.

After years of neglect and abuse, it seemed that Layla would finally find peace through the Sanctuary, as have so many other beautiful animals.

In these past several months, I feel that I have come to know many of the animals at the Sanctuary. I have read their stories and I keep up with their daily lives on the Wildcat Sanctuary Facebook page. It is through these portals that we can see the good that the Sanctuary is doing - not only for its residents, but in trying to educate the public about things like petting zoos, that may seem harmless, but doom the 'cute cubs' to lives of horror and abuse as adults. It is something that frankly I never thought of previously, but after learning about it, I will never visit one of these facilities again.

Just this past weekend I ordered the photo reprints of my Layla painting in order to sell both the prints as well as note cards. I want to continue to support the Sanctuary in any way I can, and I am sending a portion of the income from these items to them. As I was going through my photos and working things out and ordering the supplies, I was thinking how glad I was to be able to do something to support a cause so important to me. Last week the Sanctuary brought in four new residents, and it felt good to think that I would be able to not only send a donation, but also raise awareness through my artwork.

Hearing of Layla's passing hit me hard. I felt as if I lost one of my own pets, as the relationship that I developed with her while painting her portrait was strong. With each brush stroke of paint, I was in awe of her majestic beauty - from her beautiful eyes all the way down to her tattered left ear. I looked at that as a badge of the war she had fought most of her life. I admired her.

I hope you take the time to visit some of the links above and read about the Sanctuary and its work. I also hope you would consider supporting them and their cause. If not by donating, then perhaps by joining their Facebook page and sharing their stories and promoting awareness so that others understand what these animals endure. Little by little, we can make a difference.

I am still awaiting arrival of my prints from New York. When I have them ready, I will post them on the site. I am posting the painting pattern on my site later today and I will give a portion of all sales in her memory to the Sanctuary. I will also look for other ways to help the Sanctuary and the animals there with future projects. I think that Layla would have liked that.

Even though I am heartbroken about Layla's passing, I am grateful for having known her. She helped open my eyes to many things. She helped me grow as an artist, and even after she is gone, she will be helping her fellow residents at the Wildcat Sanctuary have better lives. I think she would have liked that.

She will forever reign as queen in her new kingdom on the other side of the rainbow bridge. She will always do so in my heart.

Have a good Friday.
 

Attachments

#12,107 ·
A Tribute to a Queen (Layla the Tigress)

It is with a great deal of sadness that I write my post today. Yesterday morning, I was notified by The Wildcat Sanctuary that their beautiful tigress Layla had passed away. This hit close to my heart, as over the past few months I had come to 'know' Layla through the Sanctuary, as she was the subject of my tigress painting pattern that I recently created for the August issue of Painting Ezine online magazine. For those of you who don't know the story, I will tell it here . . .

This past spring, I was invited by Susan from Painting Ezine to contribute a painting pattern for their August issue. The theme for the month was "Summer Safari" and they had seen that I liked painting 'big cats'. (You can see my other big cat and wildlife paintings on my Gallery page of my site.) I was thrilled at the opportunity, but I admit that I was a bit intimidated. Any artist can tell you that there is a world of difference creating an original painting and 'teaching' one. But I was up for the challenge and I thought it would make me stretch my wings a bit as a designer.

I knew that the subject for my painting had to be something that would not only be beautiful, but I would need a clear photo as well as permission to use it for my reference. I am a firm believer in respecting the copyrights of photographers.

One day, as I was browsing through Facebook, I came across this beautiful photo of Layla the tigress:

Head Siberian tiger Eye Bengal tiger Vertebrate


From the moment I saw it, it captured my heart. I immediately appreciated her regal beauty and thought it would be a wonderful picture to create my pattern from. I contacted the Sanctuary and requested permission to use the photo. I explained just what I was going to do with it and how I would use it and I also offered to send them a portion of whatever revenue was generated by the derivative work. I explained that I was a small time artist, but I would give what I could and try to help raise awareness for their cause. They graciously agreed and I was sent a higher resolution photo to work with. In the end, my rendition of Layla came out very nice. I think it is one of my better paintings to date:

Vertebrate Siberian tiger Felidae Nature Carnivore


My relationship with Layla and the Sanctuary didn't end there. It just began.

As I read more about them and their residents, I saw what wonderful work they were doing and I tried to think of ways that I could help their cause the most. Those of you who know me know of my love of animals and I love cats in particular - big and small. When reading the stories of the horrors that many of these animals (including Layla) had endured prior to their rescue from the Sanctuary, I knew that this was something that I would be trying to help for the long term. This would definitely not be my last work with them.

Layla was already 20 years old when she was rescued. You can read more about her story and her rescue HERE and see a memorial video of her HERE.

After years of neglect and abuse, it seemed that Layla would finally find peace through the Sanctuary, as have so many other beautiful animals.

In these past several months, I feel that I have come to know many of the animals at the Sanctuary. I have read their stories and I keep up with their daily lives on the Wildcat Sanctuary Facebook page. It is through these portals that we can see the good that the Sanctuary is doing - not only for its residents, but in trying to educate the public about things like petting zoos, that may seem harmless, but doom the 'cute cubs' to lives of horror and abuse as adults. It is something that frankly I never thought of previously, but after learning about it, I will never visit one of these facilities again.

Just this past weekend I ordered the photo reprints of my Layla painting in order to sell both the prints as well as note cards. I want to continue to support the Sanctuary in any way I can, and I am sending a portion of the income from these items to them. As I was going through my photos and working things out and ordering the supplies, I was thinking how glad I was to be able to do something to support a cause so important to me. Last week the Sanctuary brought in four new residents, and it felt good to think that I would be able to not only send a donation, but also raise awareness through my artwork.

Hearing of Layla's passing hit me hard. I felt as if I lost one of my own pets, as the relationship that I developed with her while painting her portrait was strong. With each brush stroke of paint, I was in awe of her majestic beauty - from her beautiful eyes all the way down to her tattered left ear. I looked at that as a badge of the war she had fought most of her life. I admired her.

I hope you take the time to visit some of the links above and read about the Sanctuary and its work. I also hope you would consider supporting them and their cause. If not by donating, then perhaps by joining their Facebook page and sharing their stories and promoting awareness so that others understand what these animals endure. Little by little, we can make a difference.

I am still awaiting arrival of my prints from New York. When I have them ready, I will post them on the site. I am posting the painting pattern on my site later today and I will give a portion of all sales in her memory to the Sanctuary. I will also look for other ways to help the Sanctuary and the animals there with future projects. I think that Layla would have liked that.

Even though I am heartbroken about Layla's passing, I am grateful for having known her. She helped open my eyes to many things. She helped me grow as an artist, and even after she is gone, she will be helping her fellow residents at the Wildcat Sanctuary have better lives. I think she would have liked that.

She will forever reign as queen in her new kingdom on the other side of the rainbow bridge. She will always do so in my heart.

Have a good Friday.
Hi Sheila,
Just catching up on your blogs after a week away. I love the angel patterns and know exactly who will be getting on of those for Christmas! It is sad to hear about Layla. Such a beautiful animal and you have done such a great tribute in your painting of her.
Sunny and warm here - very welcoming after the cold of Alaska! Beautiful part of the world though.
 

Attachments

#12,109 ·
New Products on our Site!

I am going to write a quick blog today, because I wanted you all to know that we did a site update yesterday afternoon. We have some new patterns available for you and those who may want to start some new projects over the weekend.

Keith has two new patterns this time around. His first is a beautiful layered cross, with two different patterns for the backer. He calls it SLDK610 - Faith, Hope and Love Cross.

Cross Font Religious item Symbol Symmetry


His other plaque is a large sectional word plaque of The Lord's Prayer. (SLDK457 - The Lord's Prayer)

Wood Font Pattern Poster Wood stain


It is a beautiful piece, but he has requests to add another panel for those who have the phrase "for thine is the kingdom, power and glory, now and forever" at the end. If you are looking for that version, please check back with us soon.

For myself, I added my Layered Angel ornaments. I have TWO versions available - The SLD514 Scroll Sawn version (with LIGHT painting instructions)

Vertebrate Black Sleeve Organism Mammal


As well as the SLDP243 Layered Angels Painting Pattern, which gives much more detailed painting instructions:

Textile Organism Entertainment Art Performing arts


And of course, I have the new SLDP241 Layla painting packet available:

Head Bengal tiger Siberian tiger Tiger Human body


Layla's pattern is 19 pages with over 40 step-by-step photos. It really breaks down the process of painting her into easy steps. :)

I still have to finalize the two angel patterns today, and I expect to be able to send them out by tonight. However, they are posted so people can pre-order with their other patterns right away.

We finally got some rain here and a break in the warm temperatures. I am happy and feel much better. I love the cooler weather.

I hope you are enjoying these final weekends of summer. Have a great weekend and stay safe. :)
 

Attachments

#12,110 ·
New Products on our Site!

I am going to write a quick blog today, because I wanted you all to know that we did a site update yesterday afternoon. We have some new patterns available for you and those who may want to start some new projects over the weekend.

Keith has two new patterns this time around. His first is a beautiful layered cross, with two different patterns for the backer. He calls it SLDK610 - Faith, Hope and Love Cross.

Cross Font Religious item Symbol Symmetry


His other plaque is a large sectional word plaque of The Lord's Prayer. (SLDK457 - The Lord's Prayer)

Wood Font Pattern Poster Wood stain


It is a beautiful piece, but he has requests to add another panel for those who have the phrase "for thine is the kingdom, power and glory, now and forever" at the end. If you are looking for that version, please check back with us soon.

For myself, I added my Layered Angel ornaments. I have TWO versions available - The SLD514 Scroll Sawn version (with LIGHT painting instructions)

Vertebrate Black Sleeve Organism Mammal


As well as the SLDP243 Layered Angels Painting Pattern, which gives much more detailed painting instructions:

Textile Organism Entertainment Art Performing arts


And of course, I have the new SLDP241 Layla painting packet available:

Head Bengal tiger Siberian tiger Tiger Human body


Layla's pattern is 19 pages with over 40 step-by-step photos. It really breaks down the process of painting her into easy steps. :)

I still have to finalize the two angel patterns today, and I expect to be able to send them out by tonight. However, they are posted so people can pre-order with their other patterns right away.

We finally got some rain here and a break in the warm temperatures. I am happy and feel much better. I love the cooler weather.

I hope you are enjoying these final weekends of summer. Have a great weekend and stay safe. :)
Sheila, Man!; I really like that cross of Keith's. Within the Masonic work they express those very thoughts, although they use Charity in lieu of Love all being the same meaning. Then the Lord's Prayer and the angels are also extra special to we Christians. Than you so very much for posting this morning.
 

Attachments

#12,116 ·
Just Monday . . .

Lately it seems that I have been a bit 'unsettled'. I have been thinking in many directions and figuring out which path to follow next. There are lots of choices it seems, but I am not sure on which one to take to move ahead at full steam. It is odd.

I don't think that is a bad thing though. Choices are good and variety is what makes us well-rounded people. Right? I find that the more I see and learn, the more I want to see and learn more. Does that make sense? If I thought there were not enough hours in the day before, I seem to think that even more so now. But there isn't really a choice now, is there? We are all dealt from the same hand and it is up to us to do what we can with what is given to us. That part hasn't changed at all.

The weekend was really busy. We had our site update on Friday and I was still working on finishing up my SLD514 Layered Angel Ornaments patterns.

Vertebrate Black Sleeve Organism Mammal


Of course, I created two versions - one for the scrollers (shown above) which include optional simple painting instructions and one for the painting crafters, who do not cut wood (SLDP243) which include full painting instructions. I also offered the wood silhouette cutouts for the painters, and I spent Sunday cutting angels for the several kits that were ordered in addition to some extras for future orders.



It kept me busy most of the weekend.

Keith was busy as well. When he first created his new SLDK457 Lord's Prayer Sectional Plaque pattern, he had several ordered right off the bat.

Brown Wood Font Publication Pattern


However, several customers requested the final doxology to be added in so he spent the weekend drawing up that last section. You can see it in the photo above.

I finished my cutting just around dinner time yesterday. I then spent the evening organizing and going through my supplies. It is something that I need to do every so often and I was well overdue in getting things in order. I felt like I made a good dent though, and it feels better to have a clean start to the week.

So here we are at Monday. . .

I may wind up blogging a little less often in these next couple of weeks. Several of the projects I am working on are things that still being thought through and I don't feel ready to show them yet. I would rather post fewer entries that have better quality than post just for the sake of posting. I am sure you understand that. Quality not quantity and all of that.

I have lots of exciting new things to share, so I doubt I will be going away any time soon. But for now, I need to focus on creating in order to get these things done and these couple of extra hours in the morning will come in handy for that. I want to use them to their best advantage.

I am sure you will all appreciate it as well.

It is raining here again this morning, as it has for the last three days. But it is a light rain and not unwelcome. It was such a dry spell previously that we really need the extra. Besides - it brought with the cooler weather of autumn and I love that as well. It is going to be a good week.

I wish you all the best week ahead. I hope you all have fun and find something creative to feed your souls.

Happy Monday!
 

Attachments

#12,117 ·
Just Monday . . .

Lately it seems that I have been a bit 'unsettled'. I have been thinking in many directions and figuring out which path to follow next. There are lots of choices it seems, but I am not sure on which one to take to move ahead at full steam. It is odd.

I don't think that is a bad thing though. Choices are good and variety is what makes us well-rounded people. Right? I find that the more I see and learn, the more I want to see and learn more. Does that make sense? If I thought there were not enough hours in the day before, I seem to think that even more so now. But there isn't really a choice now, is there? We are all dealt from the same hand and it is up to us to do what we can with what is given to us. That part hasn't changed at all.

The weekend was really busy. We had our site update on Friday and I was still working on finishing up my SLD514 Layered Angel Ornaments patterns.

Vertebrate Black Sleeve Organism Mammal


Of course, I created two versions - one for the scrollers (shown above) which include optional simple painting instructions and one for the painting crafters, who do not cut wood (SLDP243) which include full painting instructions. I also offered the wood silhouette cutouts for the painters, and I spent Sunday cutting angels for the several kits that were ordered in addition to some extras for future orders.



It kept me busy most of the weekend.

Keith was busy as well. When he first created his new SLDK457 Lord's Prayer Sectional Plaque pattern, he had several ordered right off the bat.

Brown Wood Font Publication Pattern


However, several customers requested the final doxology to be added in so he spent the weekend drawing up that last section. You can see it in the photo above.

I finished my cutting just around dinner time yesterday. I then spent the evening organizing and going through my supplies. It is something that I need to do every so often and I was well overdue in getting things in order. I felt like I made a good dent though, and it feels better to have a clean start to the week.

So here we are at Monday. . .

I may wind up blogging a little less often in these next couple of weeks. Several of the projects I am working on are things that still being thought through and I don't feel ready to show them yet. I would rather post fewer entries that have better quality than post just for the sake of posting. I am sure you understand that. Quality not quantity and all of that.

I have lots of exciting new things to share, so I doubt I will be going away any time soon. But for now, I need to focus on creating in order to get these things done and these couple of extra hours in the morning will come in handy for that. I want to use them to their best advantage.

I am sure you will all appreciate it as well.

It is raining here again this morning, as it has for the last three days. But it is a light rain and not unwelcome. It was such a dry spell previously that we really need the extra. Besides - it brought with the cooler weather of autumn and I love that as well. It is going to be a good week.

I wish you all the best week ahead. I hope you all have fun and find something creative to feed your souls.

Happy Monday!
Keith's plaque is beautifully done. And I love the angel ornaments. I'm looking forward to working on those.
We had another warm sunny day but the rains are coming midweek. :(
 

Attachments

#12,121 ·
Finding My Way

As some of you may have noticed, lately it seems like I am all over the place. (OK - you may not have noticed any difference in things, but it certainly feels like it to me!) I am not sure how much of this is me, or how much is reality.

I am always doing lots of different things, but there are days when they all fall together like pieces to a puzzle and there are other days when very few of them seem to match up. I am sure that is just part of our ever-evolving and changing lives though and I try not to look at it too hard or take the days when seemingly nothing is accomplished too seriously. I have learned that good or bad, living through changes always offer some positive elements. Sometimes we just need to look harder for them.

Yesterday was what I will call a 'family day.' One of my beautiful kitties (Richard) had to go for some surgery to have a lump removed from his chest. This was a long time in coming, as I discovered the lump a couple of years ago (yes - years!) and I had it biopsied back then and they told me not to worry about it unless it grew. Well, over the past year or so it had really became larger. What began as a small spot about half the size of a pea was now about half the size of a grape. Richard is a very slim and trim boy so every time I picked him up I could feel the growing lump more and more. I knew it was time to have it addressed.

So I bit the bullet and made the appointment a couple of weeks ago at my vet. He is always busy and since this was a non-emergency case, the appointment was made for three weeks ahead. That was fine with me, but it meant that I had three weeks to ponder things and allow my worry to build up. A lot of scenerios can go through your head in three weeks. While Richard was basically pretty healthy, at 11 years old I certainly didn't want anything to go wrong. I would be devastated.

So yesterday was the day for the procedure to be done. We had to leave the house very early (by 7am) to get to the drive to the vet and get him there by 8am. He sat on my lap the entire way, purring. I brought his stuffed 'kitty' that he liked so much and we dropped him off there. I felt so bad because he just looked confused and I know he must have thought we abandoned him. I was on pins and needles all morning wondering how things went.

We were able to call at noon and thank goodness, he did fine. They wanted to keep him until about 3pm though to allow the drugs to wear off fully.

We were there right at 3 and he was so happy to see us. Those who say that cats aren't as affectionate as dogs never had cats like mine. I gently took him out of the carrier and he spent the ride home on my lap, pushing his body against mine and purring. It was touching and I was greatly relieved.

Is prognosis is good. The doc said we didn't need to worry. It looks like we will have many more years together. What a relief!

I was quite exhausted though, and after taking a nap after we got home (with Rich curled up next to me, of course!) I had a very low-key evening and went to bed early, still very tired. It amazed me how much worrying took out of me. You would think that I was the patient instead of him!

We had a good night and he slept either in my arms of right against me all night long. Right now he is curled up with me here on my chair, as he always is in the morning, peacefully sleeping. To say I am relieved is an understatement. Life is once again good.

Now I am finding my way back to concentrating on work. There are lots of odds and ends that I need to do that are all exciting new directions for our business. I have kept quiet about many of these so far until I have more to show you. I promise that even though I may seem to be in a lull on paper here, certainly the opposite is true in reality. I just want to reveal things slowly as they come to be.

One of the things that I am excited about is that I am working in a new medium that is really cool. After the success of my Layla painting, I was looking for more instructional videos on wildlife art and I came across a girl who did beautiful work in many different types of media. (You can visit Lisa's YouTube channel here:Lachri Fine Art) Acrylic paint, oil paint and different types of colored pencils are among them. I remembered that I had a large set of Prismacolor pencils (120 of them!) that I had purchased for a class over 10 years ago and they were barely used. I dug them out and I have been watching the videos and learning how to use these in ways I hadn't thought of before. The results so far have been encouraging.

Here is my first go at an iris. Just the beginning:

Plant Flower Petal Painting Terrestrial plant


. . . and the finished drawing:

Head Flower Plant Eye Petal


While it has lots of room for improvement, I feel it is a good start. It only took a couple of hours and it was very fun and relaxing. Enough so to have me order some other types of pencils to continue learning this new (to me) method of creating. I am certainly having fun.

I don't know how or if it will fit into my business yet. Maybe it will and maybe not. In any case, it will not harm my drawing skills and will help me indirectly in lots of different ways. I will just have to see. I have read so much about colored pencils lately that I feel that it is an up and coming trend in art and crafting. There are all kinds of online classes as well as Zentangle (Google it!) drawing to relax people. I think in this over-stressed world we live in, it may be a great thing to explore. It certainly won't hurt.

I also wanted to begin once again showing a 'featured product' every day here in my blog. It seems that as our website is growing, sometimes there are patterns that just get 'lost' in the mass of the number of patterns we have to offer. We do our best to keep things well-organized, but it is impossible to quickly show all of the hundreds of patterns we have to everyone. So highlighting new ones here as well as some older favorites would be a nice way to bring things to the front. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Today's featured pattern is Keith's new plaque pattern set SLDK614 Family, Home & Love.

Rectangle Font Poster Label Metal


As with all of his plaque sets of this nature, he offers the patterns both as a set and individually. Just follow the link to the product page to see more. We hope you like it.

I want to thank all of you who knew about Richard's procedure and sent messages of support. It means a lot that my cyber-friends are so caring.

I have a medical appointment early tomorrow morning myself, and I am not sure if I will have time to post tomorrow. But I can assure you that I will be back to posting regularly again soon. There is too much I want to share and too many wonderful techniques that you would be interested in that I don't want you to miss.

Today I am getting back to drawing. I have a deadline due for an autumn project for Tole Town that will also have a video with it. I think I know what I am going to do and I am excited to see it come to be.

As for Richard, he is resting comfortably at my feet. He is still a bit 'clingy' after being gone for the day, but he is much more like his old self this morning. I am happy for that and happy that his operation is behind us.

Cat Comfort Carnivore Felidae Small to medium-sized cats


Have a wonderful and creative day. Happy Thursday!
 

Attachments

#12,122 ·
Finding My Way

As some of you may have noticed, lately it seems like I am all over the place. (OK - you may not have noticed any difference in things, but it certainly feels like it to me!) I am not sure how much of this is me, or how much is reality.

I am always doing lots of different things, but there are days when they all fall together like pieces to a puzzle and there are other days when very few of them seem to match up. I am sure that is just part of our ever-evolving and changing lives though and I try not to look at it too hard or take the days when seemingly nothing is accomplished too seriously. I have learned that good or bad, living through changes always offer some positive elements. Sometimes we just need to look harder for them.

Yesterday was what I will call a 'family day.' One of my beautiful kitties (Richard) had to go for some surgery to have a lump removed from his chest. This was a long time in coming, as I discovered the lump a couple of years ago (yes - years!) and I had it biopsied back then and they told me not to worry about it unless it grew. Well, over the past year or so it had really became larger. What began as a small spot about half the size of a pea was now about half the size of a grape. Richard is a very slim and trim boy so every time I picked him up I could feel the growing lump more and more. I knew it was time to have it addressed.

So I bit the bullet and made the appointment a couple of weeks ago at my vet. He is always busy and since this was a non-emergency case, the appointment was made for three weeks ahead. That was fine with me, but it meant that I had three weeks to ponder things and allow my worry to build up. A lot of scenerios can go through your head in three weeks. While Richard was basically pretty healthy, at 11 years old I certainly didn't want anything to go wrong. I would be devastated.

So yesterday was the day for the procedure to be done. We had to leave the house very early (by 7am) to get to the drive to the vet and get him there by 8am. He sat on my lap the entire way, purring. I brought his stuffed 'kitty' that he liked so much and we dropped him off there. I felt so bad because he just looked confused and I know he must have thought we abandoned him. I was on pins and needles all morning wondering how things went.

We were able to call at noon and thank goodness, he did fine. They wanted to keep him until about 3pm though to allow the drugs to wear off fully.

We were there right at 3 and he was so happy to see us. Those who say that cats aren't as affectionate as dogs never had cats like mine. I gently took him out of the carrier and he spent the ride home on my lap, pushing his body against mine and purring. It was touching and I was greatly relieved.

Is prognosis is good. The doc said we didn't need to worry. It looks like we will have many more years together. What a relief!

I was quite exhausted though, and after taking a nap after we got home (with Rich curled up next to me, of course!) I had a very low-key evening and went to bed early, still very tired. It amazed me how much worrying took out of me. You would think that I was the patient instead of him!

We had a good night and he slept either in my arms of right against me all night long. Right now he is curled up with me here on my chair, as he always is in the morning, peacefully sleeping. To say I am relieved is an understatement. Life is once again good.

Now I am finding my way back to concentrating on work. There are lots of odds and ends that I need to do that are all exciting new directions for our business. I have kept quiet about many of these so far until I have more to show you. I promise that even though I may seem to be in a lull on paper here, certainly the opposite is true in reality. I just want to reveal things slowly as they come to be.

One of the things that I am excited about is that I am working in a new medium that is really cool. After the success of my Layla painting, I was looking for more instructional videos on wildlife art and I came across a girl who did beautiful work in many different types of media. (You can visit Lisa's YouTube channel here:Lachri Fine Art) Acrylic paint, oil paint and different types of colored pencils are among them. I remembered that I had a large set of Prismacolor pencils (120 of them!) that I had purchased for a class over 10 years ago and they were barely used. I dug them out and I have been watching the videos and learning how to use these in ways I hadn't thought of before. The results so far have been encouraging.

Here is my first go at an iris. Just the beginning:

Plant Flower Petal Painting Terrestrial plant


. . . and the finished drawing:

Head Flower Plant Eye Petal


While it has lots of room for improvement, I feel it is a good start. It only took a couple of hours and it was very fun and relaxing. Enough so to have me order some other types of pencils to continue learning this new (to me) method of creating. I am certainly having fun.

I don't know how or if it will fit into my business yet. Maybe it will and maybe not. In any case, it will not harm my drawing skills and will help me indirectly in lots of different ways. I will just have to see. I have read so much about colored pencils lately that I feel that it is an up and coming trend in art and crafting. There are all kinds of online classes as well as Zentangle (Google it!) drawing to relax people. I think in this over-stressed world we live in, it may be a great thing to explore. It certainly won't hurt.

I also wanted to begin once again showing a 'featured product' every day here in my blog. It seems that as our website is growing, sometimes there are patterns that just get 'lost' in the mass of the number of patterns we have to offer. We do our best to keep things well-organized, but it is impossible to quickly show all of the hundreds of patterns we have to everyone. So highlighting new ones here as well as some older favorites would be a nice way to bring things to the front. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Today's featured pattern is Keith's new plaque pattern set SLDK614 Family, Home & Love.

Rectangle Font Poster Label Metal


As with all of his plaque sets of this nature, he offers the patterns both as a set and individually. Just follow the link to the product page to see more. We hope you like it.

I want to thank all of you who knew about Richard's procedure and sent messages of support. It means a lot that my cyber-friends are so caring.

I have a medical appointment early tomorrow morning myself, and I am not sure if I will have time to post tomorrow. But I can assure you that I will be back to posting regularly again soon. There is too much I want to share and too many wonderful techniques that you would be interested in that I don't want you to miss.

Today I am getting back to drawing. I have a deadline due for an autumn project for Tole Town that will also have a video with it. I think I know what I am going to do and I am excited to see it come to be.

As for Richard, he is resting comfortably at my feet. He is still a bit 'clingy' after being gone for the day, but he is much more like his old self this morning. I am happy for that and happy that his operation is behind us.

Cat Comfort Carnivore Felidae Small to medium-sized cats


Have a wonderful and creative day. Happy Thursday!
That is a beautiful iris Sheila. I've noticed more and more done with coloured pencils. Great technique - and no mess to clean up!
 

Attachments

#12,126 ·
Autumn is Nearly Here

I had a dream last night that I awoke and all the leaves had already fallen from the trees. I was in Oak Lawn, Illinois - the place where I grew up in my teens. It was a place that is filled with many large and beautiful maple trees that lined the streets and they were always bursting with color throughout the autumn season. I was sad in my dream, because I was in front of my neighbors house with a carpet of spent leaves beneath my feet and as I looked up to the sky, only a few leaves were left dangling from the mostly bare branches. I had missed the entire season!

But when I came to my sense of reality after awaking this morning, I realized that it was only a dream. It was still September and the tops of the trees here in Nova Scotia are just now beginning to lighten and take on a slightly golden color. My favorite season was still ahead here for me to appreciate and enjoy. What A relief!

Things have been busy here. I know I always say that, but it seems that they are even more busy than usual. I have several important deadlines coming up in the next few weeks and I am confident that I will meet them.

These past couple of weeks also seem to be weeks of 'maintenance' and 'preparation' for the upcoming winter. This isn't intentional, but it just seems as if this are turning out that way. I have had several health check appointments (medical, dental, eye exams, etc.) and have a dentist appointment today. Even my cat Richard had to have surgery last week. (Everything went fine and his prognosis is excellent.) My car needs some additional things done as well as my license, insurance and plate renewed as well. Everything seems to 'fall' in the 'fall' season. Is that a coincidence? Or had I subconsciously planned things that way?

All of these things take time, and many of them are not 'blog-worthy'. Not when I am writing a blog about creativity. I often throw some personal stuff in here, as life often gets intertwined with my creative process, but I don't think all of you would really be interested in how I did at the dentist or whether I found a new insurance company that could save me some money. So I spare you the details on that. :)

In between, I have been planning and creating as much as time will allow. I have also been filling several wood orders and cutting lots of pieces to be sent out. (Thank YOU!) I love the diversity of what I do, and every step of the creative process. It is even wonderful to cut wood pieces for my customers, as I get to know many of them personally and it feels like I am making things for my friends to paint. That is a "dream job" to me.

So I ask again that you be patient with me if I skip blogging a couple of times here and there. I know you are all busy as well, but some days I feel that the mornings here are better used for making things than talking about things that I am going to make. My progress can be slow sometimes and rest assured, if I have something to say, I will say it.

With that said, I wanted to show you the progress I am making on a new banner that I am creating that will be a featured project at Toletown (An online painting community.) Not only will the pattern be available to members, but it will also have a video accompanying it.

The theme was 'autumn', which we already established as one of my favorites. I decided to make a banner on Roc-Lon fabric. It started with a nice background and some falling leaves:

Brown Wood Font Art Rectangle


I then added a couple of pumpkins:

Plant Pumpkin Orange Calabaza Art


Some pretty, bright sunflowers were added:

Flower Petal Plant Natural foods Line


. . . and here is where it is right now:

Plant Pumpkin Cucurbita Calabaza Botany


So far, so good. :)

I still have lots to add yet though until I call it finished. Since I cut most of my orders yesterday, I hope to finish it up today.

It is off to the dentist now (I like early appointments) and then home here to work. I will try to enjoy my time today and maybe even take a walk. After all - before I know it autumn will have passed and winter will be arriving. I want to make sure that I don't miss a minute of it!

Have a wonderful Monday!
 

Attachments

#12,127 ·
Autumn is Nearly Here

I had a dream last night that I awoke and all the leaves had already fallen from the trees. I was in Oak Lawn, Illinois - the place where I grew up in my teens. It was a place that is filled with many large and beautiful maple trees that lined the streets and they were always bursting with color throughout the autumn season. I was sad in my dream, because I was in front of my neighbors house with a carpet of spent leaves beneath my feet and as I looked up to the sky, only a few leaves were left dangling from the mostly bare branches. I had missed the entire season!

But when I came to my sense of reality after awaking this morning, I realized that it was only a dream. It was still September and the tops of the trees here in Nova Scotia are just now beginning to lighten and take on a slightly golden color. My favorite season was still ahead here for me to appreciate and enjoy. What A relief!

Things have been busy here. I know I always say that, but it seems that they are even more busy than usual. I have several important deadlines coming up in the next few weeks and I am confident that I will meet them.

These past couple of weeks also seem to be weeks of 'maintenance' and 'preparation' for the upcoming winter. This isn't intentional, but it just seems as if this are turning out that way. I have had several health check appointments (medical, dental, eye exams, etc.) and have a dentist appointment today. Even my cat Richard had to have surgery last week. (Everything went fine and his prognosis is excellent.) My car needs some additional things done as well as my license, insurance and plate renewed as well. Everything seems to 'fall' in the 'fall' season. Is that a coincidence? Or had I subconsciously planned things that way?

All of these things take time, and many of them are not 'blog-worthy'. Not when I am writing a blog about creativity. I often throw some personal stuff in here, as life often gets intertwined with my creative process, but I don't think all of you would really be interested in how I did at the dentist or whether I found a new insurance company that could save me some money. So I spare you the details on that. :)

In between, I have been planning and creating as much as time will allow. I have also been filling several wood orders and cutting lots of pieces to be sent out. (Thank YOU!) I love the diversity of what I do, and every step of the creative process. It is even wonderful to cut wood pieces for my customers, as I get to know many of them personally and it feels like I am making things for my friends to paint. That is a "dream job" to me.

So I ask again that you be patient with me if I skip blogging a couple of times here and there. I know you are all busy as well, but some days I feel that the mornings here are better used for making things than talking about things that I am going to make. My progress can be slow sometimes and rest assured, if I have something to say, I will say it.

With that said, I wanted to show you the progress I am making on a new banner that I am creating that will be a featured project at Toletown (An online painting community.) Not only will the pattern be available to members, but it will also have a video accompanying it.

The theme was 'autumn', which we already established as one of my favorites. I decided to make a banner on Roc-Lon fabric. It started with a nice background and some falling leaves:

Brown Wood Font Art Rectangle


I then added a couple of pumpkins:

Plant Pumpkin Orange Calabaza Art


Some pretty, bright sunflowers were added:

Flower Petal Plant Natural foods Line


. . . and here is where it is right now:

Plant Pumpkin Cucurbita Calabaza Botany


So far, so good. :)

I still have lots to add yet though until I call it finished. Since I cut most of my orders yesterday, I hope to finish it up today.

It is off to the dentist now (I like early appointments) and then home here to work. I will try to enjoy my time today and maybe even take a walk. After all - before I know it autumn will have passed and winter will be arriving. I want to make sure that I don't miss a minute of it!

Have a wonderful Monday!
I love the green damask border on the side of your banner and all the Fall colours. Looking forward to seeing the finished project. I really like the Roc-Lon fabric.
Fall is coming here too - cool mornings and evenings now but still a beautiful sunny day.
 

Attachments

#12,129 ·
Little by Little

Good things take time. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

In today's world of 'instant gratification', we sometimes forget that everything we have and want can't always happen in an instant. Sometimes there is just no way around taking the proper steps and doing things methodically.

I am often reminded of this with my work. While I see a 'vision' of my finished project in my head, I don't always see the many steps it will require to get to that point. I kind of figure that as I go along. It is always an adventure.

Yesterday I showed you my "Autumn Harvest" banner work in progress that I have been creating for the October Toletown class. I was thrilled at the nice response that I had from everyone on what I was working on 'so far', but I knew that there was more to come. My vision was not yet realized.

Little by little, I added layers of things to complete the banner. Here was where it was yesterday morning:

Plant Pumpkin Cucurbita Calabaza Botany


while it was pretty, I knew there was much more to do. I added the leaf borders to both the top and the bottom of the banner:

Flower Plant Leaf Petal Door


That really made it start to come to life! I love how you can cut the Roc-Lon to just about any shape you want. It doesn't fray or need hemming, and it is great for outdoor use. What a wonderful thing to paint on!

The banner was really taking shape, but I wasn't done yet. I still needed to do the "Autumn Harvest" lettering as well as the wooden header.

Flower Plant Door Orange Calabaza


I really thing that the lettering and header tied everything together beautifully! The banner is now 'pretty much' complete:

Flower Plant Leaf Green Botany


(I say 'pretty much' because I saw in my photos I still need to shade behind the leaves and sunflowers where they are in front of the pumpkins! I didn't notice until I saw it on the screen! That is the good thing about posting pictures of my projects - they allow me to see them through different eyes.)

All in all, I am very proud of the project! What a FUN and relaxing thing to paint! The lettering as well as the vertical stripe dividing the green from brown background are done in gold metallic, that doesn't show much on the photo. It adds a real elegance to the pretty design. Today we can call this one DONE!

I hope those of you who are interested in painting it will check out Toletown. It will be available as part of their subscription for the month of October, and then I will have the pattern on my site. I have the wooden header available on my site here:

Product Rectangle Font Beige Metal


SLDPK112 Banner Header

This is a header I use for lots of my banners. :)

It is great to see my project look so much like I envisioned it. I am really happy when that happens.

As a final note, I wanted to show you all something that my painting friend from England, Gill Hobbs painted. She took my SLDP203 Kickin' Up Our Heels witch boot ornament pattern and super sized them to make these fabulous sculptures.

Shoe Textile Creative arts Pattern Art


Aren't they awesome? She even used real boot laces to lace them!

If anyone wants me to cut larger boots for them, just email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will be happy to do so. I will probably put a product up there on the site or in my Etsy store later today, so just ask and I can direct you. I see lots of fun potential for these! :)

Well, that is it for today. I have some other fun things to work on, as I am spinning several plates today (as usual!) It is nice and cool and sunny today and a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia. It seems that Autumn is really here.

I wish you all a wonderful day. Happy Tuesday to you all!

"Little by little does the trick." - Aesop
 

Attachments

#12,130 ·
Little by Little

Good things take time. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

In today's world of 'instant gratification', we sometimes forget that everything we have and want can't always happen in an instant. Sometimes there is just no way around taking the proper steps and doing things methodically.

I am often reminded of this with my work. While I see a 'vision' of my finished project in my head, I don't always see the many steps it will require to get to that point. I kind of figure that as I go along. It is always an adventure.

Yesterday I showed you my "Autumn Harvest" banner work in progress that I have been creating for the October Toletown class. I was thrilled at the nice response that I had from everyone on what I was working on 'so far', but I knew that there was more to come. My vision was not yet realized.

Little by little, I added layers of things to complete the banner. Here was where it was yesterday morning:

Plant Pumpkin Cucurbita Calabaza Botany


while it was pretty, I knew there was much more to do. I added the leaf borders to both the top and the bottom of the banner:

Flower Plant Leaf Petal Door


That really made it start to come to life! I love how you can cut the Roc-Lon to just about any shape you want. It doesn't fray or need hemming, and it is great for outdoor use. What a wonderful thing to paint on!

The banner was really taking shape, but I wasn't done yet. I still needed to do the "Autumn Harvest" lettering as well as the wooden header.

Flower Plant Door Orange Calabaza


I really thing that the lettering and header tied everything together beautifully! The banner is now 'pretty much' complete:

Flower Plant Leaf Green Botany


(I say 'pretty much' because I saw in my photos I still need to shade behind the leaves and sunflowers where they are in front of the pumpkins! I didn't notice until I saw it on the screen! That is the good thing about posting pictures of my projects - they allow me to see them through different eyes.)

All in all, I am very proud of the project! What a FUN and relaxing thing to paint! The lettering as well as the vertical stripe dividing the green from brown background are done in gold metallic, that doesn't show much on the photo. It adds a real elegance to the pretty design. Today we can call this one DONE!

I hope those of you who are interested in painting it will check out Toletown. It will be available as part of their subscription for the month of October, and then I will have the pattern on my site. I have the wooden header available on my site here:

Product Rectangle Font Beige Metal


SLDPK112 Banner Header

This is a header I use for lots of my banners. :)

It is great to see my project look so much like I envisioned it. I am really happy when that happens.

As a final note, I wanted to show you all something that my painting friend from England, Gill Hobbs painted. She took my SLDP203 Kickin' Up Our Heels witch boot ornament pattern and super sized them to make these fabulous sculptures.

Shoe Textile Creative arts Pattern Art


Aren't they awesome? She even used real boot laces to lace them!

If anyone wants me to cut larger boots for them, just email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will be happy to do so. I will probably put a product up there on the site or in my Etsy store later today, so just ask and I can direct you. I see lots of fun potential for these! :)

Well, that is it for today. I have some other fun things to work on, as I am spinning several plates today (as usual!) It is nice and cool and sunny today and a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia. It seems that Autumn is really here.

I wish you all a wonderful day. Happy Tuesday to you all!

"Little by little does the trick." - Aesop
Good morning Sheila,
I think your banner is really great. I too like fall and especially the decorations of the season like your banner. I wish that Kathie was here because I know she would jump right on it. I love the colors that you used and your subjects. The banner is fall personified.
Rick
 

Attachments

#12,137 ·
Purpose and Meaning Through Art

At some time or another in our lives, most of us search for our purpose here on Earth. The reason we are here. The meaning of what our life is and why we are here in the first place. We want our lives to have meaning and purpose, I believe. We want to think that all the hard work and things we go through on a daily basis are for a reason. That somehow, in some small way we make a difference in the world. That somehow we make it better.

There are professions that are obviously noble. Doctors, nurses and medical personnel immediately come to mind. Scientists and inventors as well. Police, firemen (and women) and paramedics too. All kinds of service people for that matter. For these people make a visible difference in the lives of many every single day. But what about artists? There are times when I wonder if what I am doing is truly purposeful, or is it just feeding my own soul?

As I grow and mature as an artist, I am learning that art in general is something that is purposeful. Not only appreciating others' art, but the process of creating it is also very functional and uplifting. I have been teaching various forms of art for over 20 years now, on many different levels. From teaching through national and international publications to teaching one on one, the results usually are the same - the students walk away from the 'lesson' with a renewed sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. And they carry those feelings to others through their own art and general attitude.

What a wonderful payoff!

Whether I teach scroll sawing or painting or any form or creating that I do, I find that this is the case. That moment when the student 'gets it' and the look in their eyes when they look at their own piece is more satisfying to me than any amount of money or paycheck. It tells me that I did a good job and made a difference in someone's life, and I hope that will carry with them and they in turn will spread these feelings to those that cross their own paths. It boggles the mind when you think of the possibilities!

Then there is the impact of the 'things' that I created. The appreciation and smiles that they can bring to the recipient (or even those just looking for that matter!) is something else I can't put a price tag on. In this harsh and sometimes ugly world wel live in, it feels wonderful to know that I could perhaps make someone smile or appreciate the beautiful things that are still here. A flower, a leaf, or even a beautiful, majestic cat. How often do I see someone gaze into a really wonderful piece of artwork and get absolutely 'lost' in it? It is then when I realize that art too has a purpose. It can sooth our soul.

You may wonder why I am thinking along these lines this morning.

Yesterday, I assembled my note cards of Layla, the beautiful tigress that I recently painted from The Wildcat Sanctuary. I had received my photographs of my painting from the lab the other day and I was so thrilled with them. I had also received my order for the note cards and sleeves to package them in and I was ready to put them together, in hopes that they will make a difference in these cats' lives.

The quality of the photos was outstanding. I had them printed on Kodak Endura Matte paper, which is acid-free and makes them suitable for framing. My planning for them paid off well, as everything fit together beautifully and I feel good about offering a professional looking, high-quality product that not only I am proud of, but will help the Sanctuary as well. (I am donated a portion of each card to them for the care of their animals.)

Here are some photos of the cards:







I couldn't have asked for them to come out nicer. They are now available at my Etsy Shop and will be available on my own site later in the week. I am going to sell them individually, but also as a set of six, in which you will get one for 'free'. I hope they do well and I hope they bring in a lot of money for the Sanctuary.

I was so impressed with the quality, that I am going to create cards from my other fine art paintings that are on my Gallery page of my site. I plan on donating to the Sanctuary from those sales as well.

It is a wonderful feeling to feel that my art can in some way help this cause that I feel is wort


hy. It gives my art a purpose that I hadn't had before. It added another layer of satisfaction to what I do. How fortunate is that for me?

I hope you consider when you are creating, that your art will also have a positive impact on others. Even if you are not an artist, sometimes just a smile or a kind gesture towards someone else can make a change in their lives. Being kind to others costs us nothing, but it can mean so much and the impact of our kindness can be felt like a wave through those we encounter. It takes so little to make a difference. You just never know how many lives you will touch.

In other news, I wanted to also show you Kieth's new creation for the scroll saw.

I absolutely LOVE this Eagle plaque and I was so happy to see him once again creating beautiful wildlife. His SLDK239 Self-framing Leaf-bordered Eagle plaque is a beautiful addition to his series of the same name. I know that it will give as many people pleasure in creating it as it will those who receive it. It is one of my favorite pieces of his.

As the final hours of summer wind down, I will be looking forward to the beautiful autumn days ahead. Fall is my favorite time of year, with the beautiful colors, smells and food that accompany the season. I am very grateful to live in a place that experiences all four seasons, as I learn to appreciate each one for its unique characteristics. It makes life that much better.

I wish you all a wonderful day! Happy Tuesday and Happy Autumn! :)
 

Attachments

#12,138 ·
Purpose and Meaning Through Art

At some time or another in our lives, most of us search for our purpose here on Earth. The reason we are here. The meaning of what our life is and why we are here in the first place. We want our lives to have meaning and purpose, I believe. We want to think that all the hard work and things we go through on a daily basis are for a reason. That somehow, in some small way we make a difference in the world. That somehow we make it better.

There are professions that are obviously noble. Doctors, nurses and medical personnel immediately come to mind. Scientists and inventors as well. Police, firemen (and women) and paramedics too. All kinds of service people for that matter. For these people make a visible difference in the lives of many every single day. But what about artists? There are times when I wonder if what I am doing is truly purposeful, or is it just feeding my own soul?

As I grow and mature as an artist, I am learning that art in general is something that is purposeful. Not only appreciating others' art, but the process of creating it is also very functional and uplifting. I have been teaching various forms of art for over 20 years now, on many different levels. From teaching through national and international publications to teaching one on one, the results usually are the same - the students walk away from the 'lesson' with a renewed sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. And they carry those feelings to others through their own art and general attitude.

What a wonderful payoff!

Whether I teach scroll sawing or painting or any form or creating that I do, I find that this is the case. That moment when the student 'gets it' and the look in their eyes when they look at their own piece is more satisfying to me than any amount of money or paycheck. It tells me that I did a good job and made a difference in someone's life, and I hope that will carry with them and they in turn will spread these feelings to those that cross their own paths. It boggles the mind when you think of the possibilities!

Then there is the impact of the 'things' that I created. The appreciation and smiles that they can bring to the recipient (or even those just looking for that matter!) is something else I can't put a price tag on. In this harsh and sometimes ugly world wel live in, it feels wonderful to know that I could perhaps make someone smile or appreciate the beautiful things that are still here. A flower, a leaf, or even a beautiful, majestic cat. How often do I see someone gaze into a really wonderful piece of artwork and get absolutely 'lost' in it? It is then when I realize that art too has a purpose. It can sooth our soul.

You may wonder why I am thinking along these lines this morning.

Yesterday, I assembled my note cards of Layla, the beautiful tigress that I recently painted from The Wildcat Sanctuary. I had received my photographs of my painting from the lab the other day and I was so thrilled with them. I had also received my order for the note cards and sleeves to package them in and I was ready to put them together, in hopes that they will make a difference in these cats' lives.

The quality of the photos was outstanding. I had them printed on Kodak Endura Matte paper, which is acid-free and makes them suitable for framing. My planning for them paid off well, as everything fit together beautifully and I feel good about offering a professional looking, high-quality product that not only I am proud of, but will help the Sanctuary as well. (I am donated a portion of each card to them for the care of their animals.)

Here are some photos of the cards:

Siberian tiger Bengal tiger Tiger Felidae Carnivore


Bengal tiger Siberian tiger Tiger Carnivore Felidae


Siberian tiger Bengal tiger White Vertebrate Felidae


I couldn't have asked for them to come out nicer. They are now available at my Etsy Shop and will be available on my own site later in the week. I am going to sell them individually, but also as a set of six, in which you will get one for 'free'. I hope they do well and I hope they bring in a lot of money for the Sanctuary.

I was so impressed with the quality, that I am going to create cards from my other fine art paintings that are on my Gallery page of my site. I plan on donating to the Sanctuary from those sales as well.

It is a wonderful feeling to feel that my art can in some way help this cause that I feel is wort
Bird Vertebrate Rectangle Beak Accipitridae


hy. It gives my art a purpose that I hadn't had before. It added another layer of satisfaction to what I do. How fortunate is that for me?

I hope you consider when you are creating, that your art will also have a positive impact on others. Even if you are not an artist, sometimes just a smile or a kind gesture towards someone else can make a change in their lives. Being kind to others costs us nothing, but it can mean so much and the impact of our kindness can be felt like a wave through those we encounter. It takes so little to make a difference. You just never know how many lives you will touch.

In other news, I wanted to also show you Kieth's new creation for the scroll saw.

I absolutely LOVE this Eagle plaque and I was so happy to see him once again creating beautiful wildlife. His SLDK239 Self-framing Leaf-bordered Eagle plaque is a beautiful addition to his series of the same name. I know that it will give as many people pleasure in creating it as it will those who receive it. It is one of my favorite pieces of his.

As the final hours of summer wind down, I will be looking forward to the beautiful autumn days ahead. Fall is my favorite time of year, with the beautiful colors, smells and food that accompany the season. I am very grateful to live in a place that experiences all four seasons, as I learn to appreciate each one for its unique characteristics. It makes life that much better.

I wish you all a wonderful day! Happy Tuesday and Happy Autumn! :)
I think you should include teaching in your list of careers. All teaching, whatever the subject, has the possibility of changing lives. Of course, there are different degrees of influence as some are much more creative than others. One example, one year as a middle school teacher, I was assigned to fill in on one art class (this was not my training although I had studied some). I soon found out that most of the students were there because it would be an easy grade and could care less about learning. I did have two 7th grade boys who had studied painting and were always finished long before everyone else with their assignments so they asked me it they could learn some more painting skills. I had to inform them that I didn't have the supplies for what they wanted so they brought in their own paints and brushes so we wound up with a class within a class that I think was as enjoyable for me as it was for them. They mostly did things like a sunset to work with colors.
The art you design and also create makes the world a more pleasant place that adds good feelings to a persons life.
 

Attachments

#12,147 ·
Update Day

I got up early this morning and it is still dark two hours later. It is odd how quickly the days get shorter once a certain point is reached. It is getting dark much sooner as well, and I suspect that is why I wound up going to bed shortly after 10pm my time. It just seemed like my day was done.

I love these cool, autumn mornings. Even though we are only a day into autumn, it is nice to be able to say that. I sat on the deck yesterday with the cats for a bit, just taking in the warm sun and doing pretty much 'nothing'. It felt good.

I no longer leave them out there unattended even for a second, as a couple of days ago, Richard decided to take a stroll around the grounds. Usually, I could leave them for a few minutes at a time with the door open and check on them every couple of minutes. The furthest they roam is to the bottom of the steps where they could nibble on grass. That was mostly Pancakes, but since I brought a little planter for him that I fill with fresh grass from time to time, he is much happier staying up on the deck.

This time, however, Richard decided to head all the way around to the back of the large ranch house we live in, and for a brief period of time, I couldn't locate him. The panic I felt was not a good feeling, and I was truly relieved to see him cautiously stepping through the tree branches out back (our landlord recently took out several large trees out back and is still in the process of cleaning up the branches). Behind our yard is miles of woods, filled with coyotes and other animals that would do harm to cats. I knew if he got that far, he may panic and get lost further.

When I spotted him, he looked scared and like he was deciding whether to come to me or bolt. I had to contain my excitement in seeing him and slowly and gently approach him. I didn't want him to think he was in trouble and run. Fortunately I was able to get close enough to gently scoop him up, stitches and all, and bring him back into the house.

No more.

He could no longer be trusted for even a minute out there.

Coming from the city, I learned at an early age of the dangers of allowing pets to roam free. There used to be a black, long haired cat in our neighborhood that was owned by one of the neighbors I never met. The cat used to greet us as we walked to the store in urban Chicago, and he was friendly and cute. He did this for years, until one day he just disappeared. Not too long after, we were walking through an alley near our house and there was a small barbie case laying on the side of the road. My friend and I opened it to the horror of seeing that cat stuffed inside - suffocated. I was probably around 7 years old then, and it impacted me hugely. We later found out that the boys across the street were the guilty ones, and they said they were just 'playing' with it and didn't mean it harm. I never spoke to them again, and it changed my view of others. As I think about it nearly 45 years later, it still angers me. Such a nice cat. It was senseless.

Add to that the great number of pets that are hurt or killed by traffic, and illness from being outside animals, and I can justified with how I feel. I read somewhere that an outdoor cat's life expectancy is 3-4 years. I have had most of my pets for over 15. Even though I live in the country, I hear of or see many pets that meet their end in the street. I just don't want to take that chance with my group here. There are worse things than not letting them go out.

I didn't mean to go off on that tangent . . .

The majority of the day yesterday was spent working on some wood orders I had to do. I love that part of the job, because it not only keeps my skills sharp, but also it is fun to work on things that I know my customers will be enjoying. I can't help but think that I am creating 'future heirlooms' when I cut wood pieces for others. I love seeing when others paint and enjoy the patterns and pieces that I create. It was a good day.

On that note, I came across a photo of my SLDK316 Scrolled Nativity Set w/optional painting instructions that was created by my Facebook friend Theodore Buzzelli:

Wood Candle Christmas decoration Decoration Creative arts


Theodore created the nativity set using cherry wood, and he did some of the extra lines on the manger piece with wood burning. I really love how it came out, and I had almost forgotten about that pattern, as I created it a couple of years ago. (Thank you, Theodore for allowing me to share your beautiful rendition of it!)

I also have a painted version of it that is cute and simple to paint:

Sky Ecoregion Travel Tree Arecales


The painting pattern is the same as the scrolled one, and the instructions for both versions are done in the pattern. I dont' show a product for the silhouettes of the pieces to paint, but if anyone is interested, email me at sheilalandrydesigns@gmail.com and I will be happy to make one for you.

Today we are working on a site update. Keith will have another pattern for you all to scroll as well as his two new patterns that are already on the site. We will have some other things changed up on the site as well so look in your emails for your newsletter sometime later today.

I will also be working on the videos for my banner and my bonus skate project for Art Play Date. I want to have both of them done by Monday and perhaps be ahead of things for once. Then on to new projects.

It is light out now and while the morning is cool, I know it will be a warm afternoon. These are my favorite days - where you need a blanket in the morning and evening and no jacket during the day. I hope to enjoy my lunch on the deck again, and take it in as long as I can. Even though all of our trees are still green here in Nova Scotia, a few of them are beginning to turn the slightest bit golden at the tops. Soon our area will be filled with color and then winter will set in. We will have to enjoy these warm days while we can.

I wish you all a great day today. Enjoy the day to the fullest and have fun doing something creative. Happy Thursday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,148 ·
On to the Weekend!

It is hard to believe that we have another weekend under our belts! But with the mornings getting cooler and the darkness lasting a little longer each day, it is hard to forget that the beautiful summer weather is giving way to autumn. Time surely passes quickly when we are busy!

Yesterday I spent the day with Keith updating the site and getting out my bi-weekly newsletter. We changed all the sales on our Pattern Specials page and we added another new pattern that Keith created. This time is is a sectional plaque with a Christmas theme. I really love this "Silent Night Sectional Plaque". (SLDK615)

Sleeve Rectangle Font Wood Denim


As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I didn't have any new patterns this time around. I have been busy doing some online classes and projects for the Toletown online community. Sometimes it is quite a juggling act to keep everyone happy. (But one I love to do!)

What we have been doing lately is highlighting many of our older patterns in our social media networks and to our newsletter customers. With over 500 patterns on our site, we are beginning to realize that it is very difficult for people to 'see' everything we have to offer. Both Keith and I are amazed at the wonderful response that we get from bringing some of these products to the attention of our customers. With our customer base growing every day, we are figuring out that new people haven't seen these patterns, and even though they may have been with us for a little while, they are 'new' to others. This is something that those of you with your own businesses should consider.

My little Scroll Saw Nativity with Full Painting Instructions (SLD316) pattern that I mentioned in yesterday's blog had a wonderful response. So much so that I decided to add a pre-cut wood kit for my painting followers who don't cut wood and would like to paint it. The item is SLDPK123 Nativity Set Wood Kit and it includes all the pieces shown here, ready to paint:

Ecoregion Nature Nativity scene Travel Leisure


This was one of my absolute favorite pieces that I have created for Christmas. I gave a set to each of my children. I had several of the kits ordered last night and I hope that many more of my painting people like them as well. They would be cute for a small table, a fireplace mantle, or even to let the kids paint their own. The instructions are really simple and easy and just about anyone will be able to paint it. (Even the woodworkers who swear off painting!)

I know what I will be cutting this weekend! . . .

I am also going to finish up some of the videos that I need to do. I am doing my bonus video for my Art Play Date project, as well as my video to go with the pretty Autumn Harvest banner that I created for Tole Town. There is another similar pattern that I am making to go along with that project, so come back and read about it next week.

Finally, I want to encourage you to join our newsletter if you haven't already. This issue, we offered a discount code for our subscribers that they can use on any order on our site. (It can be used more than once, too!) We like offering special things like this to our followers, as we appreciate everyone taking the time to see what we are up to and supporting us. You can join the newsletter on our Mailing List page. We never share anyones emails with anyone and respect everyone's privacy.

Well, that is about it for today. I need to get heading in a couple of directions. I wish you all a beautiful weekend. It is sunny and cool here this morning and they are promising some beautiful weather. I hope to have some time to take a walk or two or even get to the beach. I haven't had an ice cream cone in quite a while and my favorite place is right at the shore.

Happy Friday to you all! I hope you have a great weekend having fun and creating!
 

Attachments

#12,149 ·
On to the Weekend!

It is hard to believe that we have another weekend under our belts! But with the mornings getting cooler and the darkness lasting a little longer each day, it is hard to forget that the beautiful summer weather is giving way to autumn. Time surely passes quickly when we are busy!

Yesterday I spent the day with Keith updating the site and getting out my bi-weekly newsletter. We changed all the sales on our Pattern Specials page and we added another new pattern that Keith created. This time is is a sectional plaque with a Christmas theme. I really love this "Silent Night Sectional Plaque". (SLDK615)

Sleeve Rectangle Font Wood Denim


As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I didn't have any new patterns this time around. I have been busy doing some online classes and projects for the Toletown online community. Sometimes it is quite a juggling act to keep everyone happy. (But one I love to do!)

What we have been doing lately is highlighting many of our older patterns in our social media networks and to our newsletter customers. With over 500 patterns on our site, we are beginning to realize that it is very difficult for people to 'see' everything we have to offer. Both Keith and I are amazed at the wonderful response that we get from bringing some of these products to the attention of our customers. With our customer base growing every day, we are figuring out that new people haven't seen these patterns, and even though they may have been with us for a little while, they are 'new' to others. This is something that those of you with your own businesses should consider.

My little Scroll Saw Nativity with Full Painting Instructions (SLD316) pattern that I mentioned in yesterday's blog had a wonderful response. So much so that I decided to add a pre-cut wood kit for my painting followers who don't cut wood and would like to paint it. The item is SLDPK123 Nativity Set Wood Kit and it includes all the pieces shown here, ready to paint:

Ecoregion Nature Nativity scene Travel Leisure


This was one of my absolute favorite pieces that I have created for Christmas. I gave a set to each of my children. I had several of the kits ordered last night and I hope that many more of my painting people like them as well. They would be cute for a small table, a fireplace mantle, or even to let the kids paint their own. The instructions are really simple and easy and just about anyone will be able to paint it. (Even the woodworkers who swear off painting!)

I know what I will be cutting this weekend! . . .

I am also going to finish up some of the videos that I need to do. I am doing my bonus video for my Art Play Date project, as well as my video to go with the pretty Autumn Harvest banner that I created for Tole Town. There is another similar pattern that I am making to go along with that project, so come back and read about it next week.

Finally, I want to encourage you to join our newsletter if you haven't already. This issue, we offered a discount code for our subscribers that they can use on any order on our site. (It can be used more than once, too!) We like offering special things like this to our followers, as we appreciate everyone taking the time to see what we are up to and supporting us. You can join the newsletter on our Mailing List page. We never share anyones emails with anyone and respect everyone's privacy.

Well, that is about it for today. I need to get heading in a couple of directions. I wish you all a beautiful weekend. It is sunny and cool here this morning and they are promising some beautiful weather. I hope to have some time to take a walk or two or even get to the beach. I haven't had an ice cream cone in quite a while and my favorite place is right at the shore.

Happy Friday to you all! I hope you have a great weekend having fun and creating!
That Nativity is very cool, and would fit about anywhere
 

Attachments

#12,152 ·
New Toys

Some girls like shoes. Others like fine jewelry. Still others, fancy clothes. . .

While I enjoy those nice things, they are something that I can take or leave. Don't get me wrong - I love having a couple of 'extravagances' such as my Chanel perfume and soap. (After all - I want to smell divine when doing my woodworking and painting! ;) ) But for the most part, I try to keep things simple. Except when it comes to art supplies . . .

I can almost hear you guys cheering already!

Some say we are judged by our peers. If that is the case, I am in pretty good company. One of the perks of being a designer for a living is that most of my friends are also creative people and there is an unspoken understanding between us that no matter how many creative supplies we have - be it hardwood, paint, tools, blades or brushes - we ALWAYS have room for more. Why that just goes without saying.

About a month or so ago, I was closing out my day as I normally do surfing around the internet. Often when I am busy the way I have been, I am quite wound up and in order to get to bed, I need something to relax me and unwind, so I cruise Facebook and YouTube and so forth.

During one of these sessions, I came across some videos of some beautiful work done in colored pencils. I was blown away at the detail and realism I saw from them, I never knew that would be able to be achieved. So I started thinking . . .

I had here with me a set of 120 Prismacolor pencils from way back when I lived in Chicago. I had taken a class or two using them and besides a couple being slightly used, the set was virtually brand new. I dug them out and started reading up on how these wonderful artists achieved such realize with materials that I was only able to use to create child-like drawings. It fascinated me.

I began learning techniques and I purchased some of the additional supplies I needed to give it a go (decent paper, etc.) and I have been playing with it ever since.

On Friday, my most anxiously awaited shipment of Derwent Inktense pencils arrived. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to try them out. (I will be blogging on them more soon.)

I got my set on Amazon for less than half price. I purchased the full set, that came in this beautiful wood box:

Brown Orange Book Amber Publication


When I opened it, I think my heart skipped a beat!

Wood Shelf Abacus Audio equipment Circuit component


I feel like a QUEEN!

Now the Inktense pencils have very different properties than the Prismacolors, and I will explain them in a later blog. (I promise) But after spending the time to get to know them a little better and experimenting with them, I started a new project with them in conjunction with my Prismacolors to make something 'just for fun' and to LEARN. And I am having a BALL with them!

I decided to create a simple 8" x 8" drawing for started. I used a piece of 140lb Fabriano hot press watercolor paper, which is heavy and will take a lot of water, but has a very smooth texture, which will add to the realism of the finished drawing.

I decided to make a bee because I just like bees. I found a photo of a honeybee and blew it up to the size I wanted. I then masked the bee out with masking fluid so I could apply the background.

Gesture Art Wood Rectangle Drawing


(It doesn't look too impressive, but it doesn't look too intimidating, either!)

I then used one of my Laurie Speltz stencils to use the Inktense pencils to make a hive design on the paper. The Inktense pencils turn into ink when you wet them and are permanent, making them perfect for backgrounds. They won't lift up when subsequent layers are applied like normal watercolors do.

Wood Rectangle Gesture Flooring Floor


I then washed a very pale yellow over the honeycomb pattern after I 'set' the honeycomb lines with water. This will make a very subtle background which I will add more to later on.

Then I want on to begin the bee. While the area of coloring is only about 1.5 square inches, I probably used about 10-15 colors so far. It is a very slow process, but one that I find most enjoyable.

I am rather pleased with how the bee is beginning to look . . .

Pollinator Arthropod Insect Safety glove Art


More importantly, I am LEARNING and ENJOYING what I am doing. Putting down color with pencils is pretty much the opposite process of when I paint. When I paint, I lay down the darker colors first and then add highlights on the top. With coloring, it is almost the opposite, where the light highlights have to be left 'open' in order to make them stand out. It is really an exercise for my brain and thinking.

I am also learning to look at the objects very differently. Instead of looking at say an eye or a wing, I focus on the minute shapes that each objects is created from. They don't have to make sense at all when laying down the color, but it is amazing how they seem to come together to create an object full of depth and dimension. This will certainly help my other forms of creating as well and improve both my drawing and painting skills a great deal.

I don't know where I am going with this new (to me) medium. I don't think that I would be able to teach this in packet form as I do my scrolling and painting packets. Not yet anyway. There is too much that I, myself need to learn to feel good about that.

It is all part of growing as a designer and creating new things. While each aspect of art can overlap, it keeps things fresh and exciting when we explore new ways to creat.

People often ask me how I keep from 'burning out'. I suppose my best answer is that we should never stop seeking to improve ourselves and learn new things. For each time we turn a page to a new technique or medium, we are opening an entire new chapter for us to get excited about and explore. And that can go on forever. :)

I hope you all had a good weekend. I was busy and got a lot done. My video for Art Play Date is complete, I got to play with my new 'toys' and I even started designing some new projects for a collaboration book that I have been invited to contribute to. I ended my weekend by watching the beautiful eclipse last night. Our sky here in Nova Scotia was crystal clear. It left me in awe.

Today there is lots of cutting on the table. Designing as well. I am surely going to remain busy and happy. I hope you are as well.

Happy Monday to you!
 

Attachments

#12,153 ·
New Toys

Some girls like shoes. Others like fine jewelry. Still others, fancy clothes. . .

While I enjoy those nice things, they are something that I can take or leave. Don't get me wrong - I love having a couple of 'extravagances' such as my Chanel perfume and soap. (After all - I want to smell divine when doing my woodworking and painting! ;) ) But for the most part, I try to keep things simple. Except when it comes to art supplies . . .

I can almost hear you guys cheering already!

Some say we are judged by our peers. If that is the case, I am in pretty good company. One of the perks of being a designer for a living is that most of my friends are also creative people and there is an unspoken understanding between us that no matter how many creative supplies we have - be it hardwood, paint, tools, blades or brushes - we ALWAYS have room for more. Why that just goes without saying.

About a month or so ago, I was closing out my day as I normally do surfing around the internet. Often when I am busy the way I have been, I am quite wound up and in order to get to bed, I need something to relax me and unwind, so I cruise Facebook and YouTube and so forth.

During one of these sessions, I came across some videos of some beautiful work done in colored pencils. I was blown away at the detail and realism I saw from them, I never knew that would be able to be achieved. So I started thinking . . .

I had here with me a set of 120 Prismacolor pencils from way back when I lived in Chicago. I had taken a class or two using them and besides a couple being slightly used, the set was virtually brand new. I dug them out and started reading up on how these wonderful artists achieved such realize with materials that I was only able to use to create child-like drawings. It fascinated me.

I began learning techniques and I purchased some of the additional supplies I needed to give it a go (decent paper, etc.) and I have been playing with it ever since.

On Friday, my most anxiously awaited shipment of Derwent Inktense pencils arrived. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to try them out. (I will be blogging on them more soon.)

I got my set on Amazon for less than half price. I purchased the full set, that came in this beautiful wood box:

Brown Orange Book Amber Publication


When I opened it, I think my heart skipped a beat!

Wood Shelf Abacus Audio equipment Circuit component


I feel like a QUEEN!

Now the Inktense pencils have very different properties than the Prismacolors, and I will explain them in a later blog. (I promise) But after spending the time to get to know them a little better and experimenting with them, I started a new project with them in conjunction with my Prismacolors to make something 'just for fun' and to LEARN. And I am having a BALL with them!

I decided to create a simple 8" x 8" drawing for started. I used a piece of 140lb Fabriano hot press watercolor paper, which is heavy and will take a lot of water, but has a very smooth texture, which will add to the realism of the finished drawing.

I decided to make a bee because I just like bees. I found a photo of a honeybee and blew it up to the size I wanted. I then masked the bee out with masking fluid so I could apply the background.

Gesture Art Wood Rectangle Drawing


(It doesn't look too impressive, but it doesn't look too intimidating, either!)

I then used one of my Laurie Speltz stencils to use the Inktense pencils to make a hive design on the paper. The Inktense pencils turn into ink when you wet them and are permanent, making them perfect for backgrounds. They won't lift up when subsequent layers are applied like normal watercolors do.

Wood Rectangle Gesture Flooring Floor


I then washed a very pale yellow over the honeycomb pattern after I 'set' the honeycomb lines with water. This will make a very subtle background which I will add more to later on.

Then I want on to begin the bee. While the area of coloring is only about 1.5 square inches, I probably used about 10-15 colors so far. It is a very slow process, but one that I find most enjoyable.

I am rather pleased with how the bee is beginning to look . . .

Pollinator Arthropod Insect Safety glove Art


More importantly, I am LEARNING and ENJOYING what I am doing. Putting down color with pencils is pretty much the opposite process of when I paint. When I paint, I lay down the darker colors first and then add highlights on the top. With coloring, it is almost the opposite, where the light highlights have to be left 'open' in order to make them stand out. It is really an exercise for my brain and thinking.

I am also learning to look at the objects very differently. Instead of looking at say an eye or a wing, I focus on the minute shapes that each objects is created from. They don't have to make sense at all when laying down the color, but it is amazing how they seem to come together to create an object full of depth and dimension. This will certainly help my other forms of creating as well and improve both my drawing and painting skills a great deal.

I don't know where I am going with this new (to me) medium. I don't think that I would be able to teach this in packet form as I do my scrolling and painting packets. Not yet anyway. There is too much that I, myself need to learn to feel good about that.

It is all part of growing as a designer and creating new things. While each aspect of art can overlap, it keeps things fresh and exciting when we explore new ways to creat.

People often ask me how I keep from 'burning out'. I suppose my best answer is that we should never stop seeking to improve ourselves and learn new things. For each time we turn a page to a new technique or medium, we are opening an entire new chapter for us to get excited about and explore. And that can go on forever. :)

I hope you all had a good weekend. I was busy and got a lot done. My video for Art Play Date is complete, I got to play with my new 'toys' and I even started designing some new projects for a collaboration book that I have been invited to contribute to. I ended my weekend by watching the beautiful eclipse last night. Our sky here in Nova Scotia was crystal clear. It left me in awe.

Today there is lots of cutting on the table. Designing as well. I am surely going to remain busy and happy. I hope you are as well.

Happy Monday to you!
Glad you are happy with the Derwent pencils. The company have been around for years and are known for their quality products.
 

Attachments

#12,163 ·
More on Inktense Pencils and Blocks

Yesterday I posted about the new Inktense colored pencil set I had purchased. There were several people who wanted to know more about them so since I was cutting wood most of yesterday at the scroll saw, I thought that I would answer some of the questions and talk about them some more here today.

The "Inktense" products by Derwent not only come in pencil form, but they also come in pure pigment blocks, which resemble pastel crayons.

Musical instrument Font Electronic device Gadget Electric blue


At first thought, one would think that it would not be necessary to have both forms of them, but each one has its own purpose and I think it is very handy to have them as well, as the blocks are even more versatile than the pencils. (Of course, I needed to have them both! Besides - I was able to find them at a great price on Amazon, as I did with the pencils and they were shipped free as well.)

Now I know I am a 'spoiled brat' when it comes to this, but we all have our own fetishes. Mine just happen to be color, which I am very grateful that I am able to work with in my daily living. They do offer the blocks in smaller sets as well as individually, as with the pencils, but when I looked at the prices of them, it was little more for me to go and get the full range of colors, so I thought, why not? I am very glad I did.

As with the pencils, the colors are very intense. When you apply them to watercolor paper or card stock, they almost look like crayons. However, when you brush them with clean water to blend them, they turn to a beautiful translucent ink that when dry is permanent. This makes them optimal for using as backgrounds and base layering effects.

Another advantage to them is that you can kind of grate them (Yes - I said 'grate' them!) into the little cups of your bubble palette or a small container and then add some water to make a beautiful ink wash. I had a small ginger grater and flicked off some of the light yellow for my background wash for my bee picture that I showed yesterday and it worked just beautifully! Derwent sells a jar with a 'grater' lid, but I thought my method worked just fine. (Besides, I spent enough already!)

Wheel Automotive tire Liquid Tire Plant


The blocks also were better for covering large areas like backgrounds and so forth, as you just use them on their side and then brush with water. They give you a bit more control that way of where you want the color to be, although you naturally have to watch when you wet it where it will run. When it is wet, it will mix with other colors which offers you wonderful blending opportunities.

Finally, you can use a wet brush to pick up color off of the blocks as you would regular watercolor paint. Remember those little sets of 'spots' of color we used in grammar school? You can use them just like that to get fine lines or different intensities of color without even picking up the block. They are truly very versatile and cool.

I took some time out this weekend to 'play' with my new toys. I printed out a 'generic' photo of a pansy that had several colors in it. I wanted to play with as many colors as I could. I mostly used the pencils for my experiment, but I did try the blocks here and there as well.

I found my effort was not really that remarkable.

Flower Plant Petal Paint Purple


The colors of the pencils and blocks were all very dark and it was difficult to gauge from looking at them what they would actually look like on the white paper. I found the blues and greys especially 'close' in appearance, and I kept picking up a color that I thought would work, only to get unexpected results.

Office supplies Rectangle Material property Tints and shades Cosmetics


(I had marked the box with the color numbers so when I used the block up, I would know which one to reorder)

What I decided to do next was time consuming, but very much worth the effort. I printed out a color chart which I created on my computer which gave each name and color number. I then colored in 2/3 of the corresponding box for each sample. I then used a wet brush to pull the color so I was able to better see what to expect from the pencils and blocks. There were colors like "Mustard" in which the blocks/pencils looked positively GREEN, yet when I applied them onto the white stock, they did, indeed look like MUSTARD.

Office supplies Writing implement Font Writing instrument accessory Finger


The final color chart was in itself a work of art. You could see the subtle differences of each pencil/block and really make better decisions on using them:

Colorfulness Font Material property Rectangle Magenta


You can also see the deep, deep intensity of the colors. As you may imagine, what I believe my biggest challenge to be will be to 'tame' these colors to allow contrast in my work as well as highlighting. Unlike painting with acrylics or oils where highlights are typically placed on top of things at the end using lighter values, when using these as well as pencils, you kind of have to leave the areas to be highlighted alone and avoid them for the most part until the end. It is very much the opposite way that I need to think about my artwork.

After creating my charts, I attempted the same pansy a second time:

Flower Art paint Petal Paint Rectangle


I felt that I did a little better, although there is certainly room for lots of improvement. I think this will come over time as I get to 'know' the medium better.

Here is the final comparison of the two pansies. The left one I did before I did my color chart and the right one after:

Flower Plant Petal Paint Purple


" alt="">

I hope you can see the difference.

I often am told how I have 'natural' talent. I really don't believe that that is completely true. While I may have the desire to do creative things, there is a lot of work involved in getting to a point where our art is what we want it to be. And even at that, I always feel that there is a need for improvement. It takes a lot of work and willingness to put in time to learn about every aspect of drawing, painting and creating. It takes trial and error and learning from your mistakes. I do believe that is what really makes a difference in a 'good' artist and an 'excellent' artist.

I look forward to seeing where this new medium takes my skills, as learning one new skill certainly lends itself to learning in all aspects of art. We train ourselves to look at things differently. That can apply to so many other aspects, including wood and fabric!

Today I am writing my pattern packet for the Toletown project. I also need to take my cat Richard to the vet to get his stitches out from his recent surgery. He has been a wonderful patient and he looks like he is healing perfectly. I am glad that is over!

I wanted to remind you all of some of the patterns we have on our site, as I mentioned earlier in the week. Below is a pattern from Keith:

Font Poster Rectangle Art Logo


SLDK333 Self-framing Olde Christmas Fretwork Plaques

And finally one from me - My SLD486 Merry Christmas Block Set which includes the full alphabet so that you can make your own sayings as well as the beautiful layout shown:

Rectangle Font Art Recreation Indoor games and sports


I really loved both of these projects.

I hope you have a great day today. We are having some light rain here in Nova Scotia, after another beautiful moon and clear sky last night. Have a wonderful Tuesday!
 

Attachments

#12,164 ·
More on Inktense Pencils and Blocks

Yesterday I posted about the new Inktense colored pencil set I had purchased. There were several people who wanted to know more about them so since I was cutting wood most of yesterday at the scroll saw, I thought that I would answer some of the questions and talk about them some more here today.

The "Inktense" products by Derwent not only come in pencil form, but they also come in pure pigment blocks, which resemble pastel crayons.

Musical instrument Font Electronic device Gadget Electric blue


At first thought, one would think that it would not be necessary to have both forms of them, but each one has its own purpose and I think it is very handy to have them as well, as the blocks are even more versatile than the pencils. (Of course, I needed to have them both! Besides - I was able to find them at a great price on Amazon, as I did with the pencils and they were shipped free as well.)

Now I know I am a 'spoiled brat' when it comes to this, but we all have our own fetishes. Mine just happen to be color, which I am very grateful that I am able to work with in my daily living. They do offer the blocks in smaller sets as well as individually, as with the pencils, but when I looked at the prices of them, it was little more for me to go and get the full range of colors, so I thought, why not? I am very glad I did.

As with the pencils, the colors are very intense. When you apply them to watercolor paper or card stock, they almost look like crayons. However, when you brush them with clean water to blend them, they turn to a beautiful translucent ink that when dry is permanent. This makes them optimal for using as backgrounds and base layering effects.

Another advantage to them is that you can kind of grate them (Yes - I said 'grate' them!) into the little cups of your bubble palette or a small container and then add some water to make a beautiful ink wash. I had a small ginger grater and flicked off some of the light yellow for my background wash for my bee picture that I showed yesterday and it worked just beautifully! Derwent sells a jar with a 'grater' lid, but I thought my method worked just fine. (Besides, I spent enough already!)

Wheel Automotive tire Liquid Tire Plant


The blocks also were better for covering large areas like backgrounds and so forth, as you just use them on their side and then brush with water. They give you a bit more control that way of where you want the color to be, although you naturally have to watch when you wet it where it will run. When it is wet, it will mix with other colors which offers you wonderful blending opportunities.

Finally, you can use a wet brush to pick up color off of the blocks as you would regular watercolor paint. Remember those little sets of 'spots' of color we used in grammar school? You can use them just like that to get fine lines or different intensities of color without even picking up the block. They are truly very versatile and cool.

I took some time out this weekend to 'play' with my new toys. I printed out a 'generic' photo of a pansy that had several colors in it. I wanted to play with as many colors as I could. I mostly used the pencils for my experiment, but I did try the blocks here and there as well.

I found my effort was not really that remarkable.

Flower Plant Petal Paint Purple


The colors of the pencils and blocks were all very dark and it was difficult to gauge from looking at them what they would actually look like on the white paper. I found the blues and greys especially 'close' in appearance, and I kept picking up a color that I thought would work, only to get unexpected results.

Office supplies Rectangle Material property Tints and shades Cosmetics


(I had marked the box with the color numbers so when I used the block up, I would know which one to reorder)

What I decided to do next was time consuming, but very much worth the effort. I printed out a color chart which I created on my computer which gave each name and color number. I then colored in 2/3 of the corresponding box for each sample. I then used a wet brush to pull the color so I was able to better see what to expect from the pencils and blocks. There were colors like "Mustard" in which the blocks/pencils looked positively GREEN, yet when I applied them onto the white stock, they did, indeed look like MUSTARD.

Office supplies Writing implement Font Writing instrument accessory Finger


The final color chart was in itself a work of art. You could see the subtle differences of each pencil/block and really make better decisions on using them:

Colorfulness Font Material property Rectangle Magenta


You can also see the deep, deep intensity of the colors. As you may imagine, what I believe my biggest challenge to be will be to 'tame' these colors to allow contrast in my work as well as highlighting. Unlike painting with acrylics or oils where highlights are typically placed on top of things at the end using lighter values, when using these as well as pencils, you kind of have to leave the areas to be highlighted alone and avoid them for the most part until the end. It is very much the opposite way that I need to think about my artwork.

After creating my charts, I attempted the same pansy a second time:

Flower Art paint Petal Paint Rectangle


I felt that I did a little better, although there is certainly room for lots of improvement. I think this will come over time as I get to 'know' the medium better.

Here is the final comparison of the two pansies. The left one I did before I did my color chart and the right one after:

Flower Plant Petal Paint Purple


" alt="">

I hope you can see the difference.

I often am told how I have 'natural' talent. I really don't believe that that is completely true. While I may have the desire to do creative things, there is a lot of work involved in getting to a point where our art is what we want it to be. And even at that, I always feel that there is a need for improvement. It takes a lot of work and willingness to put in time to learn about every aspect of drawing, painting and creating. It takes trial and error and learning from your mistakes. I do believe that is what really makes a difference in a 'good' artist and an 'excellent' artist.

I look forward to seeing where this new medium takes my skills, as learning one new skill certainly lends itself to learning in all aspects of art. We train ourselves to look at things differently. That can apply to so many other aspects, including wood and fabric!

Today I am writing my pattern packet for the Toletown project. I also need to take my cat Richard to the vet to get his stitches out from his recent surgery. He has been a wonderful patient and he looks like he is healing perfectly. I am glad that is over!

I wanted to remind you all of some of the patterns we have on our site, as I mentioned earlier in the week. Below is a pattern from Keith:

Font Poster Rectangle Art Logo


SLDK333 Self-framing Olde Christmas Fretwork Plaques

And finally one from me - My SLD486 Merry Christmas Block Set which includes the full alphabet so that you can make your own sayings as well as the beautiful layout shown:

Rectangle Font Art Recreation Indoor games and sports


I really loved both of these projects.

I hope you have a great day today. We are having some light rain here in Nova Scotia, after another beautiful moon and clear sky last night. Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Thank you Sheila for taking the time to explain how these colours work. The colour chart is a great idea and would certainly help to choose the colours for a project. I have a set of watercolour pencils which I have used in my wood burning pictures but you have inspired me to get back to them and do some experimenting.
 

Attachments

#12,166 ·
Deadlines

Welcome October!

Our last day of September went out with a bang. It was probably one of my most 'unfavorite' days of the year weather-wise. (Is that even a WORD?) It was very warm and humid, but it was also very rainy and windy which made it difficult to have the windows open without the rain blowing in. YUKKY! I was warm and uncomfortable most of the day. Thank goodness that it seems much cooler this morning. It is still breezy out and overcast (and I believe raining a bit) but nothing like yesterday. I feel much more comfortable and happy.

The last few days have been a whirlwind for me. On top of several orders that had to be cut and shipped, I have had several deadlines to meet as well. I had thought that with the magazines not being around anymore that things would have slowed down a bit, but I think the opposite has been true. It seems that there are more opportunities than ever ahead for us and keeping up with everything sometimes turns into quite a juggling act.

Believe me though - I am NOT complaining! It is what I have been working towards for many years and it is fun and exciting to see everything unfolding. I hope things keep going in this direction for both Keith and I.

Yesterday I completed the pattern for the cool Autumn Harvest banner that I showed you all last week:

Flower Plant Leaf Green Botany


It is now available at Toletown and free to members. If you are not a member, it would be a great chance to join and give it a try. There are many very reasonable ways to become one. You can also purchase individual projects and classes I do believe, so you can look into that as well. It will be available on my own site in November.

The pattern is very detailed, as I geared the instructions all levels of painting (even beginners!) and has over 45 step-by-step photographs to guide you through the easy painting process. I find that when things are broken down into small steps, it makes things very easy for people to learn and gives them the courage to try. I hope I accomplish this with all of my patterns.

Checking that off of my list was a big accomplishment. I still am going to create a short video showing some of the painting techniques, but I will be doing that over the weekend.

I have some other deadlines to finish today as well, and I will be moving on to them next.

I also wanted to mention that Keith added another beautiful pattern to our site last night. He made this lovely SLDK616 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing sectional plaque pattern to go with his SLDK615 Silent Night sectional plaque pattern that he created last week.

Rectangle Font Wood Pattern Electric blue


I think both of them are lovely and will make beautiful gifts as well as keepsakes.

I hope you stop by our website and see all the wonderful holiday patterns we offer.

Today I am finishing up on (you guessed it!) more deadlines. I have a couple more ahead of me before I can start on some new projects of my own. I hope to keep pushing the piles though and creating patterns and instructions that everyone will have fun making.

I used to think that being self-employed meant that you got to do whatever you choose. The more successful our business becomes, the more I realize that the opposite is true. Without deadlines (self-imposed or otherwise) we wouldn't have a successful business and be able to do what we love. They are great guides to keep us on track and keep our productivity high. They also help keep us organized, which is probably one of the most important things to being successful.

I wish you all a wonderful day! Happy Thursday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,167 ·
Deadlines

Welcome October!

Our last day of September went out with a bang. It was probably one of my most 'unfavorite' days of the year weather-wise. (Is that even a WORD?) It was very warm and humid, but it was also very rainy and windy which made it difficult to have the windows open without the rain blowing in. YUKKY! I was warm and uncomfortable most of the day. Thank goodness that it seems much cooler this morning. It is still breezy out and overcast (and I believe raining a bit) but nothing like yesterday. I feel much more comfortable and happy.

The last few days have been a whirlwind for me. On top of several orders that had to be cut and shipped, I have had several deadlines to meet as well. I had thought that with the magazines not being around anymore that things would have slowed down a bit, but I think the opposite has been true. It seems that there are more opportunities than ever ahead for us and keeping up with everything sometimes turns into quite a juggling act.

Believe me though - I am NOT complaining! It is what I have been working towards for many years and it is fun and exciting to see everything unfolding. I hope things keep going in this direction for both Keith and I.

Yesterday I completed the pattern for the cool Autumn Harvest banner that I showed you all last week:

Flower Plant Leaf Green Botany


It is now available at Toletown and free to members. If you are not a member, it would be a great chance to join and give it a try. There are many very reasonable ways to become one. You can also purchase individual projects and classes I do believe, so you can look into that as well. It will be available on my own site in November.

The pattern is very detailed, as I geared the instructions all levels of painting (even beginners!) and has over 45 step-by-step photographs to guide you through the easy painting process. I find that when things are broken down into small steps, it makes things very easy for people to learn and gives them the courage to try. I hope I accomplish this with all of my patterns.

Checking that off of my list was a big accomplishment. I still am going to create a short video showing some of the painting techniques, but I will be doing that over the weekend.

I have some other deadlines to finish today as well, and I will be moving on to them next.

I also wanted to mention that Keith added another beautiful pattern to our site last night. He made this lovely SLDK616 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing sectional plaque pattern to go with his SLDK615 Silent Night sectional plaque pattern that he created last week.

Rectangle Font Wood Pattern Electric blue


I think both of them are lovely and will make beautiful gifts as well as keepsakes.

I hope you stop by our website and see all the wonderful holiday patterns we offer.

Today I am finishing up on (you guessed it!) more deadlines. I have a couple more ahead of me before I can start on some new projects of my own. I hope to keep pushing the piles though and creating patterns and instructions that everyone will have fun making.

I used to think that being self-employed meant that you got to do whatever you choose. The more successful our business becomes, the more I realize that the opposite is true. Without deadlines (self-imposed or otherwise) we wouldn't have a successful business and be able to do what we love. They are great guides to keep us on track and keep our productivity high. They also help keep us organized, which is probably one of the most important things to being successful.

I wish you all a wonderful day! Happy Thursday to you all!
Keith uses some beautiful fonts in his plaques. I love both the fonts on this plaque. Your banner is very classy!
We are still experiencing the last of summer here. Another beautiful sunny warm day but being on the West Coast, I'm sure the rains will come soon enough :-(
 

Attachments

#12,171 ·
Self-Challenges

It felt so good to be caught up yesterday. That, by no means translates to being 'done' with everything - but it more or less means that I am on a workable schedule. For a while there, I thought I was slipping, with getting things completed just under the wire. While I like to have deadlines to pace myself, there are times that the sneak up faster than I anticipate and I find myself wondering if I will be able to meet them. It can be a slippery slope when I don't leave enough wiggle room to allow for some things to come into play. I need to be watchful.

But yesterday afternoon I got as caught up as I will ever be. All of my orders for wood kits and pieces were completed and either out the door or will go out today. My pattern for my banner is posted, and I will be spending some time this weekend making a short technique video to go along with it for the class. My other commitments are on time and while I still have two more patterns due for some collaboration books that I am participating in creating, I think all is under control. I feel a big sigh of relief.

I have been fighting a cold these past few days and yesterday it seemed to be getting the best of me. I don't know if it was the letdown after pushing so hard, but it seemed that as soon as the last thing was done I felt extremely tired. I tried to take a little catnap yesterday afternoon, but I was thinking of so many things that I really couldn't sleep anyway. So I did what I like to do in between projects - I reorganized and straightened things out.

It didn't take too long because I generally keep things in pretty good order. But there is a nice feeling of closure when I put all the paints, wood and accessories away from a project that I recently finished and run the vacuum and remove just about everything from the counters. The house was clean and pleasant and even though it was dreary and rainy outside, I sat down and listened to some quiet music for a bit while sipping a nice cup of tea. Life was good.

By then it was past 5pm and time to start thinking about dinner. My peaceful moment was short-lived, but pleasant nonetheless and very much appreciated. Besides - I only last so long in my quiet place before I am overcome once again with the urge to create. It must really be what I was meant to do.

I spent a bit of time last evening working on my colored pencil drawing of my "Bee". As you may remember, I started it over the weekend:

Pollinator Arthropod Insect Safety glove Art


It is being created using my Prismacolor pencils on Fabriano 140lb hot press watercolor paper. The background honeycomb has been created using my Inktense pencils and blocks that I showed earlier this week. It is a work in progress and obviously not finished yet.

This is how far I got last night:



I probably spent close to two additional hours on it. I am learning that drawing with pencils in this manner is not something for those who want things done quickly. When I paint, I simply apply the paint and move on to the next element or layer and the change is very evident and profound with each layer. With using pencils in this manner, it is a matter of applying layer upon layer and then deciding when to blend them together only to apply additional layers until the colors, tones and details are achieved.

When I first began watching the videos and tutorials on this process, the artists stated anywhere from 6-10 or more layers of pencils for certain steps. I certainly thought it was an exaggeration on their part, for how could you possibly apply that many layers of anything without making it look muddy and messy. But as I am learning, I am beginning to realize that they were not exaggerating at all. What I initially thought would go in the garbage is beginning to turn into a somewhat respectable drawing. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and keep forging on, even though at one point I wanted to ball it up and throw it in the garbage. If I had not shown it here the other day, I probably would have done so.

But once I posted it here, it became somewhat of a commitment to not only myself, but to you all as well. I will see it through to the end.

I often am told how much "natural talent" I have with my creating. While I believe that the desire to create comes to me naturally, I also know of the work that is involved to hone the skills I have and to continually try to improve them and broaden the scope of my creativity. For me, there was no easy path to making pleasant drawings and paintings. It was done by following my desires and studying and working on it and training my brain to see things in a certain way. I think all 'artist' will agree with me. It is as much work as any other desire we may have. We only need to dedicate ourselves to what we are doing and follow through.

I hope I never stop learning. I don't think I will. For there is always more ways to create and more processes to learn. It is what makes life so good and gives me a purpose. The more I can share this knowledge with others, the better.

Today I am working on my next deadline. I feel more relaxed though now that I am pretty much caught up. I hope to have a great weekend which will allow me not only time to continue to work, but also to continue to learn new things. As I always say - there is so much more that I want to do. I appreciate your following me through these processes and your continued support.

With the arrival of October, we are all starting to think of Halloween. I wanted to showcase some of our ornament patterns that you all may have missed and may enjoy creating for your own crafting pleasure.

First there is Keith's SLDK339 Gothic Bat Ornament pattern which consists of 10 lovely scrolled bats:

Brown Font Art Wood Pattern


And from me, my SLD416 - Six Masquerade Ball Ornaments pattern which are also wonderfully challenging pieces to cut:

Black Textile Art Creative arts Motif


They are both frightfully fun and a bit of a challenge. Why not test yourself and see how you do with them?

Have a great weekend!
 

Attachments

#12,172 ·
Self-Challenges

It felt so good to be caught up yesterday. That, by no means translates to being 'done' with everything - but it more or less means that I am on a workable schedule. For a while there, I thought I was slipping, with getting things completed just under the wire. While I like to have deadlines to pace myself, there are times that the sneak up faster than I anticipate and I find myself wondering if I will be able to meet them. It can be a slippery slope when I don't leave enough wiggle room to allow for some things to come into play. I need to be watchful.

But yesterday afternoon I got as caught up as I will ever be. All of my orders for wood kits and pieces were completed and either out the door or will go out today. My pattern for my banner is posted, and I will be spending some time this weekend making a short technique video to go along with it for the class. My other commitments are on time and while I still have two more patterns due for some collaboration books that I am participating in creating, I think all is under control. I feel a big sigh of relief.

I have been fighting a cold these past few days and yesterday it seemed to be getting the best of me. I don't know if it was the letdown after pushing so hard, but it seemed that as soon as the last thing was done I felt extremely tired. I tried to take a little catnap yesterday afternoon, but I was thinking of so many things that I really couldn't sleep anyway. So I did what I like to do in between projects - I reorganized and straightened things out.

It didn't take too long because I generally keep things in pretty good order. But there is a nice feeling of closure when I put all the paints, wood and accessories away from a project that I recently finished and run the vacuum and remove just about everything from the counters. The house was clean and pleasant and even though it was dreary and rainy outside, I sat down and listened to some quiet music for a bit while sipping a nice cup of tea. Life was good.

By then it was past 5pm and time to start thinking about dinner. My peaceful moment was short-lived, but pleasant nonetheless and very much appreciated. Besides - I only last so long in my quiet place before I am overcome once again with the urge to create. It must really be what I was meant to do.

I spent a bit of time last evening working on my colored pencil drawing of my "Bee". As you may remember, I started it over the weekend:

Pollinator Arthropod Insect Safety glove Art


It is being created using my Prismacolor pencils on Fabriano 140lb hot press watercolor paper. The background honeycomb has been created using my Inktense pencils and blocks that I showed earlier this week. It is a work in progress and obviously not finished yet.

This is how far I got last night:

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Rectangle Art


I probably spent close to two additional hours on it. I am learning that drawing with pencils in this manner is not something for those who want things done quickly. When I paint, I simply apply the paint and move on to the next element or layer and the change is very evident and profound with each layer. With using pencils in this manner, it is a matter of applying layer upon layer and then deciding when to blend them together only to apply additional layers until the colors, tones and details are achieved.

When I first began watching the videos and tutorials on this process, the artists stated anywhere from 6-10 or more layers of pencils for certain steps. I certainly thought it was an exaggeration on their part, for how could you possibly apply that many layers of anything without making it look muddy and messy. But as I am learning, I am beginning to realize that they were not exaggerating at all. What I initially thought would go in the garbage is beginning to turn into a somewhat respectable drawing. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and keep forging on, even though at one point I wanted to ball it up and throw it in the garbage. If I had not shown it here the other day, I probably would have done so.

But once I posted it here, it became somewhat of a commitment to not only myself, but to you all as well. I will see it through to the end.

I often am told how much "natural talent" I have with my creating. While I believe that the desire to create comes to me naturally, I also know of the work that is involved to hone the skills I have and to continually try to improve them and broaden the scope of my creativity. For me, there was no easy path to making pleasant drawings and paintings. It was done by following my desires and studying and working on it and training my brain to see things in a certain way. I think all 'artist' will agree with me. It is as much work as any other desire we may have. We only need to dedicate ourselves to what we are doing and follow through.

I hope I never stop learning. I don't think I will. For there is always more ways to create and more processes to learn. It is what makes life so good and gives me a purpose. The more I can share this knowledge with others, the better.

Today I am working on my next deadline. I feel more relaxed though now that I am pretty much caught up. I hope to have a great weekend which will allow me not only time to continue to work, but also to continue to learn new things. As I always say - there is so much more that I want to do. I appreciate your following me through these processes and your continued support.

With the arrival of October, we are all starting to think of Halloween. I wanted to showcase some of our ornament patterns that you all may have missed and may enjoy creating for your own crafting pleasure.

First there is Keith's SLDK339 Gothic Bat Ornament pattern which consists of 10 lovely scrolled bats:

Brown Font Art Wood Pattern


And from me, my SLD416 - Six Masquerade Ball Ornaments pattern which are also wonderfully challenging pieces to cut:

Black Textile Art Creative arts Motif


They are both frightfully fun and a bit of a challenge. Why not test yourself and see how you do with them?

Have a great weekend!
Wow! That bee is amazing! The wing is so delicate. That can't be easy to draw but you've got it down pat! Love it.
Enjoy the weekend.
 

Attachments

#12,178 ·
Reaching the Goals We Set

After a rainy and overcast weekend, on this beautiful Monday morning the sun is bright and shining. It looks to be another lovely autumn day here in Nova Scotia.

The weather didn't bother me a bit though, as I was focused on doing some 'inside' things and working on some new projects and crossing off those deadlines. It was nice actually to not 'have' to go out anywhere, and I made good use of the time I had.

I don't think that I mentioned it here before, but I was invited to participate in a collaboration and create some designs for a book that is being published by The Artist's Club. Many of you know of them or have heard me mention them before, as they are one of the better suppliers of painting and art supplies that I have come in contact with. They also were the ones that wholesaled many of my painting kits, like my SLDPS203 Kickin' Up Our Heels witch boots and SLDPS202 Hats Off to Witches witch hat painting patterns and kits. They are always great to work with and fair to the designers. They have a great following as well and have been in business many, many years. (By the way - they have a 'free shipping' special going on now off of a $50 order. So if you are thinking of buying some books or supplies, be sure to check them out!)

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be asked to participate in a book such as this. Right now, the undertaking of doing an entire book is very intimidating to me. Besides being pulled in many directions as far as designing goes, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish what I want to do. I think I am in the stage of designing where I am feeling out many different aspects of it and markets and seeing which one would work best. This trial and error approach is something that I feel necessary to help our business grow, but it can be exhausting as well. We have to pick and choose carefully as to what avenue we will be pursuing.

As I mentioned last week, I have several deadlines in the near future that need to be met. One by one I have been checking them off the list and with each accomplishment I feel a sense of relief. I am pretty much driven by deadlines, so I like having at least a couple of them in place at all times. It gives me a purpose and direction and helps me stay focused on growing the company.

This weekend I finished the initial painting for the Artist's Club project for the book:

They were fun to
Plant Green Flowerpot Houseplant Rectangle


paint and I think I like how they turned out. I now only have to write the accompanying instructions for them and send them off to be published. It feels pretty good to have that deadline nearly under my belt.

I have two things left that need to be done 'now' or 'soon' and then I can begin setting more goals for myself. It is a never ending cycle that keeps things moving in a positive direction for me. I suppose that I am used to having several things ahead of me.

I also wanted to share with you some of the photos I received from my friend and customer Anna. She loves trying new things and I love seeing what she does with my patterns. For this project, she took my SLD514 Layered Angels Ornaments pattern and layered them with some scrap book paper to make beautiful decoupaged ornaments. It was fun and easy and took her little time and the results are fabulous!

Textile Cartoon Gesture Creative arts Art


With all the beautiful scrap book papers available, just think of the possibilities you would have for beautiful designs!

She also cut some of hard wood and added some beautiful hot-fix rhinestones from Rhinestone Canada.

Natural material Gesture Creative arts Wood Artifact


I really think this little bit of 'bling' makes these ornaments extra special.

I love seeing what others do with our patterns. People are so creative and I love seeing them share their ideas and creativity with us all. Thank you, Anna for sharing with me!

Well, that will about do it for today. I did want to show a couple of our Halloweenie patterns before I go. Sometimes we think our patterns get 'buried' on our site because we have so much to show.

The first one is my SLD398 Halloween Silhouette Ornaments or Mini-Plaques 1 pattern:

Font Art Circle Pattern Symbol


This is only one of the two sets of patterns that I created with this style of design. The frames are fun to cut and very easy to paint with a simple sponging technique. I also used scrap book paper to decoupage the backgrounds. anyone could do this with fabulous results. (Hint: you can use the silhouette figures as stand alone ornaments as well!)

And for Keith's highlighted pattern:

Handwriting Font Wood Magenta Event


I LOVE this spooky Halloween poem! (SLDK605 Spooky Halloween Poem Shield Plaque pattern) I think it is beautiful as well as spooky and would be lovely in an entryway or on a porch. It is one of my favorites of his Halloween designs.

I hope you all had a good weekend as well. it is much cooler here than it was last week. Great weather for snuggling and cooking and even baking a little. It has been a long time since I have done much of that. I wish you all a great week ahead. Make some goals for yourself and strive to reach them. It will make you feel great!

Happy Monday!
 

Attachments

#12,179 ·
Reaching the Goals We Set

After a rainy and overcast weekend, on this beautiful Monday morning the sun is bright and shining. It looks to be another lovely autumn day here in Nova Scotia.

The weather didn't bother me a bit though, as I was focused on doing some 'inside' things and working on some new projects and crossing off those deadlines. It was nice actually to not 'have' to go out anywhere, and I made good use of the time I had.

I don't think that I mentioned it here before, but I was invited to participate in a collaboration and create some designs for a book that is being published by The Artist's Club. Many of you know of them or have heard me mention them before, as they are one of the better suppliers of painting and art supplies that I have come in contact with. They also were the ones that wholesaled many of my painting kits, like my SLDPS203 Kickin' Up Our Heels witch boots and SLDPS202 Hats Off to Witches witch hat painting patterns and kits. They are always great to work with and fair to the designers. They have a great following as well and have been in business many, many years. (By the way - they have a 'free shipping' special going on now off of a $50 order. So if you are thinking of buying some books or supplies, be sure to check them out!)

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be asked to participate in a book such as this. Right now, the undertaking of doing an entire book is very intimidating to me. Besides being pulled in many directions as far as designing goes, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish what I want to do. I think I am in the stage of designing where I am feeling out many different aspects of it and markets and seeing which one would work best. This trial and error approach is something that I feel necessary to help our business grow, but it can be exhausting as well. We have to pick and choose carefully as to what avenue we will be pursuing.

As I mentioned last week, I have several deadlines in the near future that need to be met. One by one I have been checking them off the list and with each accomplishment I feel a sense of relief. I am pretty much driven by deadlines, so I like having at least a couple of them in place at all times. It gives me a purpose and direction and helps me stay focused on growing the company.

This weekend I finished the initial painting for the Artist's Club project for the book:

They were fun to
Plant Green Flowerpot Houseplant Rectangle


paint and I think I like how they turned out. I now only have to write the accompanying instructions for them and send them off to be published. It feels pretty good to have that deadline nearly under my belt.

I have two things left that need to be done 'now' or 'soon' and then I can begin setting more goals for myself. It is a never ending cycle that keeps things moving in a positive direction for me. I suppose that I am used to having several things ahead of me.

I also wanted to share with you some of the photos I received from my friend and customer Anna. She loves trying new things and I love seeing what she does with my patterns. For this project, she took my SLD514 Layered Angels Ornaments pattern and layered them with some scrap book paper to make beautiful decoupaged ornaments. It was fun and easy and took her little time and the results are fabulous!

Textile Cartoon Gesture Creative arts Art


With all the beautiful scrap book papers available, just think of the possibilities you would have for beautiful designs!

She also cut some of hard wood and added some beautiful hot-fix rhinestones from Rhinestone Canada.

Natural material Gesture Creative arts Wood Artifact


I really think this little bit of 'bling' makes these ornaments extra special.

I love seeing what others do with our patterns. People are so creative and I love seeing them share their ideas and creativity with us all. Thank you, Anna for sharing with me!

Well, that will about do it for today. I did want to show a couple of our Halloweenie patterns before I go. Sometimes we think our patterns get 'buried' on our site because we have so much to show.

The first one is my SLD398 Halloween Silhouette Ornaments or Mini-Plaques 1 pattern:

Font Art Circle Pattern Symbol


This is only one of the two sets of patterns that I created with this style of design. The frames are fun to cut and very easy to paint with a simple sponging technique. I also used scrap book paper to decoupage the backgrounds. anyone could do this with fabulous results. (Hint: you can use the silhouette figures as stand alone ornaments as well!)

And for Keith's highlighted pattern:

Handwriting Font Wood Magenta Event


I LOVE this spooky Halloween poem! (SLDK605 Spooky Halloween Poem Shield Plaque pattern) I think it is beautiful as well as spooky and would be lovely in an entryway or on a porch. It is one of my favorites of his Halloween designs.

I hope you all had a good weekend as well. it is much cooler here than it was last week. Great weather for snuggling and cooking and even baking a little. It has been a long time since I have done much of that. I wish you all a great week ahead. Make some goals for yourself and strive to reach them. It will make you feel great!

Happy Monday!
The paintings for the book are great Sheila. I love the crackled effect. These would made beautiful gifts for any gardener.
Thank you for sharing my photos. I find the scroll saw to be my favourite and most versatile tool and I enjoy trying new materials to cut out on it even fabric!
 

Attachments

#12,183 ·
Everyday Stuff

Sometimes when I am at my busiest, I have the least to show you. There are so many things that Keith and I do to keep the business running that is 'un-glamorous' but necessary that sometimes I feel I have nothing interesting to show you in the mornings here.

Yesterday was a busy and productive day. On Monday, it was my turn for my Art Play Date 2015 project to play, so I have been busy cutting skate surfaces to ship out to those who requested them:

Footwear Shoe Font Outdoor shoe Fashion accessory


I really loved making these cute skates and I had a great time teaching the project. It really helped me push myself out of my own comfort zone by doing some videos to go along with the project and I feel that I learned a lot as well.

I also had other wood kits to cut and ship and I spent a good part of the day packaging them and taking them to the post office. We can tell that it is getting to be that 'busy' time of year!

In the morning, I finished up my video that will be posted on Toletown to go with my Autumn Harvest banner project:

Flower Plant Leaf Botany Natural foods


I decided that instead of doing a video on the 'regular' painting process, I would highlight how I applied the DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackle Medium to the header of the banner:

Brown Liquid Bottle Fluid Drink


I recieve so many questions regarding applying the crackle that I felt that would make a great subject for the instructional video to go with the banner. While it is easy to do, there are a couple of things that should be avoided and I cover that in the lesson.

Other than that, I spent the day answering emails and doing general office work. I was approached by a fellow painter to supply her customers with wood pieces, so I am working things out with that. I will show more of that later on. :)

All in all, it was a good and busy day. I kind of wanted to draw and work on my bee, but I was rather tired by the time I slowed down, as I am also fighting a cold. I thought it best not to push ahead on something that I am so unfamiliar with when I wasn't feeling my best. So it was an early night.

Today I feel good and although the cold is still hanging, it is manageable with some medicine. I plan on working on my project for Artist's Club today and buttoning it up quickly so I can ship it off. I will be painting and writing instructions today.

I did want to highlight a couple of our patterns today as well. These are both cute for autumn decorating and were rather popular. The first is Keith's "SLDK125 Welcome to the Nuthouse" simple segmentation plaque pattern:

Font Plant Logo Tree Graphics


People just always seem to love it and the shaping of the leaves is very forgiving for those new to segmentation work.

My plan that I want to highlight is my SLDP209 Boo Ghost Trio Vignette painting pattern:

Facial expression Vertebrate White Black Mammal


This one is simple and easy and also uses the Weathered Wood that I showed above. I can cut the wood pieces for this as well, if you email me I will give you a price. :)

So that should do it for today. It is bright and sunny here in Nova Scotia this morning. Another beautiful autumn day. I still need to get my autumn decorations out, and I hope to do so in the next day or two. Our trees are beginning to have a golden blush on them and it won't be long before we are full of colors.

I hope you have a great day today. Happy Wednesday to you all! Thanks for stopping by!
 

Attachments

#12,184 ·
Everyday Stuff

Sometimes when I am at my busiest, I have the least to show you. There are so many things that Keith and I do to keep the business running that is 'un-glamorous' but necessary that sometimes I feel I have nothing interesting to show you in the mornings here.

Yesterday was a busy and productive day. On Monday, it was my turn for my Art Play Date 2015 project to play, so I have been busy cutting skate surfaces to ship out to those who requested them:

Footwear Shoe Font Outdoor shoe Fashion accessory


I really loved making these cute skates and I had a great time teaching the project. It really helped me push myself out of my own comfort zone by doing some videos to go along with the project and I feel that I learned a lot as well.

I also had other wood kits to cut and ship and I spent a good part of the day packaging them and taking them to the post office. We can tell that it is getting to be that 'busy' time of year!

In the morning, I finished up my video that will be posted on Toletown to go with my Autumn Harvest banner project:

Flower Plant Leaf Botany Natural foods


I decided that instead of doing a video on the 'regular' painting process, I would highlight how I applied the DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackle Medium to the header of the banner:

Brown Liquid Bottle Fluid Drink


I recieve so many questions regarding applying the crackle that I felt that would make a great subject for the instructional video to go with the banner. While it is easy to do, there are a couple of things that should be avoided and I cover that in the lesson.

Other than that, I spent the day answering emails and doing general office work. I was approached by a fellow painter to supply her customers with wood pieces, so I am working things out with that. I will show more of that later on. :)

All in all, it was a good and busy day. I kind of wanted to draw and work on my bee, but I was rather tired by the time I slowed down, as I am also fighting a cold. I thought it best not to push ahead on something that I am so unfamiliar with when I wasn't feeling my best. So it was an early night.

Today I feel good and although the cold is still hanging, it is manageable with some medicine. I plan on working on my project for Artist's Club today and buttoning it up quickly so I can ship it off. I will be painting and writing instructions today.

I did want to highlight a couple of our patterns today as well. These are both cute for autumn decorating and were rather popular. The first is Keith's "SLDK125 Welcome to the Nuthouse" simple segmentation plaque pattern:

Font Plant Logo Tree Graphics


People just always seem to love it and the shaping of the leaves is very forgiving for those new to segmentation work.

My plan that I want to highlight is my SLDP209 Boo Ghost Trio Vignette painting pattern:

Facial expression Vertebrate White Black Mammal


This one is simple and easy and also uses the Weathered Wood that I showed above. I can cut the wood pieces for this as well, if you email me I will give you a price. :)

So that should do it for today. It is bright and sunny here in Nova Scotia this morning. Another beautiful autumn day. I still need to get my autumn decorations out, and I hope to do so in the next day or two. Our trees are beginning to have a golden blush on them and it won't be long before we are full of colors.

I hope you have a great day today. Happy Wednesday to you all! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for all of the great information, and Keith's "Nut House" is also a winner. I like the way that he's included some carving for those of us who would like to add those details. Nicely done to both of you.
 

Attachments

#12,186 ·
Life Happens

I was debating on whether I should write today or not. Yesterday was one of those days when we were thrown a curve ball and I accomplished very little artistically. I didn't really want to be MIA again though, as it seems that these days some of the projects that I have taken on are taking just a bit more time than normal. I hope that means that the level of my work is also increasing. No matter how busy I get, I like to think that I am doing better things as an artist and designer.

Yesterday's 'life event' was that our 50" TV decided to die. It didn't die all at once, but it suddenly wore a black band about 4" wide just to the right of the center of the screen. It came out of nowhere, and as you can imagine, my partner Keith was pretty upset about it. (He had bought the TV several years ago - a plasma that they no longer make).

He spent a couple of hours trying to resuscitate it - taking it apart and both blowing the dust with a compressor and vacuuming it off. He tried checking the connections. He tried it all. But finally we came to the reality that it had seen its last movie and it was time to put it to rest. It was gone.

Long story short, we spent the day going to the local electronics place and then taking a trip to Yarmouth to see what our options were. I was rather pleased that our local place here had the best TV for us (not necessarily the cheapest, but the best quality) and we came back just before closing to purchase it. I would much rather spend money at our local business anyway than support Wal-mart or the other big box stores.

We had taken the Mustang (our 'biggest' car) and figured that we would need to carry it home in the back seat with the top down. (Another reason that I was glad we purchased locally - the short ride home!) When the owner was helping load it in, he didn't want us to have to carry it that way so he offered to drive home with us with his truck and deliver it on the spot. We gratefully accepted. (Wal-Mart wouldn't have done that, I bet!)

The rest of the evening was spent unpacking and setting the millions of settings to get things right. We have both of our computers connected to the big screen in the middle and we run our TV viewing off of Keith's computer. It is a very complex set up and getting everything to work properly is a challenge (for me, anyway - Keith knows what he is doing, but I still heard a few naughty words from him!)

In the end, all is well and we are back to 'normal'. But the day was gone and with me fighting this cold, I was ready for bed. It is one of the few days in my recent life that I can honestly say I accomplished 'little'. I apologize.

But life happens and today is the dawn of a new day.

I didn't want to start it out with not posting here. So here I am. :)

Today I will be finishing up the Artist's Club project and mailing it off to be published tomorrow. Then on to my next project(s). I have lots of fun things in store so I hope you don't lose faith in me. This has just been a little hiccup along the way. I will be back at it soon!

I wish you all a wonderful Thursday!



SLD320 Gothic Bats and Charms Candle Tray Pattern



SLDK309 Filigree Pumpkin Ornaments Pattern by Keith Fenton.
 
#12,187 ·
I think it's a male thing, Sheila. We can't install electronic equipment without the odd expletive. Have been having fun with my scroll-saw (now that's not something often heard from me). Just a hint for the other LJ's out there
Green Rectangle Textile Aqua Material property


as I believe you've see it already. I'm getting better with it. Just a few expletives. I don't think I'd stand an Earthly chance cutting out those pumpkins, splendid job. Enjoy your new tele box.
 

Attachments

#12,191 ·
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

There are two times when I really feel that I am not living in the USA anymore. One of them is in July, when the US celebrates Independence Day. It is sometimes hard to get used to the 4th of July being just 'another day' here in Canada. Although they do celebrate "Canada Day" - usually within a day or two of the 4th, it somehow just feels different.

The other day that I really feel that I am living in a different country than I was raised is Thanksgiving. While in the US we celebrate on the last Thursday of November, here in Canada it is observed the first week or so of October. That is quite a difference.

I have been here for 11 years now and I am finally getting used to things such as this. While it used to feel a bit out of place to have turkey dinner in early October, I have learned to not only accept things as they are, but also embrace them. I not only enjoy having this 'early' Thanksgiving dinner, but I look forward to it. I have set a 'new' tradition of spending the day at the camp of my dear friends Bernie and Ellen, on a beautiful lake. The leaves are still on the trees and usually in a varying state of changing. Today is no exception.

It is sunny and crisp out and promises to be a beautiful day. I made my stuffing yesterday (another "new" tradition - Bernie loves my sausage and cranberry stuffing and I try to bring some every year!) and I am ready for a day of relaxing and enjoying my friends and Canadian "family". It is going to be a good day.

I had a very busy weekend. I had agreed to provide the wood pieces for fellow painter Rosanna Zuppardo (you can visit her Etsy Shop here to see her patterns) and I had several tree orders to cut. This was a treat for me because I loved the two designs -

SLDPK124 "It's Christmas":

Organism Font Adaptation Event Happy


And SLDPK125 "The Warm Light of Christmas":
Christmas tree Christmas ornament Holiday ornament Ornament Font


I can see why both designs were so popular. I want to paint them for myself. :)

I also began working on a project for a collaboration book I am doing from The Decorative Painting Store. As a fun project, a group of us designers were rounded up by Sharon Chinn, the owner, and we are in the process of producing several new collaboration books of painted ornaments. I was thrilled to be asked to do this and I have three ornaments in mind for my book. I am teamed up with three very talented ladies whose work I have admired for a long time. I think this will be a win/win proposition for all involved and I hope to do more projects like this in the future.

My first ornament is completed, and I will give you a sneak peek at it here:

Textile Art Paint Writing implement Office supplies


As you can see, it is a little snow globe mouse. I have two other snow globe mice in the works and I should be finishing them up soon. What you can't see is the beautiful 'chunky' shimmer that is on the ornament. This photo better shows it when the light hits it just right:

Finger Nail Art Circle Electric blue


It truly looks like the 'snow globes' we had as children.

Keith has been busy, too and has some new beautiful slotted ornaments for our scroll sawing followers:

Font Plant Wood Pattern Fashion accessory


You can follow this link to the site to purchase this pattern right now: SLDK617 - 8 Slotted Snow Globe Ornaments .

I have some new scroll saw designs for Christmas and the holidays in mind as well. After these last couple of deadlines are met for me, I will be making them up and should have them available shortly. You just have to stay tuned.

As you can see, it has been a very busy time. I haven't been blogging as regularly because I am 'in between' so many things at once that I am not sure there is interest there for you all. Usually when I miss a blog or two, it isn't because I am not working, but rather more because there is so much going on and things aren't quite ready to show yet. I don't think I will run out of things to create for a very long time.

So that is all for today. I hope to do a little painting before I have to leave for dinner. I plan on having a wonderful afternoon and evening with my friends and Canadian family. I guess having two Thanksgiving holidays is appropriate for me, as I feel I have so much that I am thankful for that my gratitude can't really fit into one day. I still celebrate the 'other' Thanksgiving at the end of November. I am always up for a turkey dinner and I love having my friends here with me to enjoy it.

To all my Canadian friends, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. To everyone else, I wish you a beautiful day. There is always a reason to be thankful. I can never be grateful enough, it seems.

Happy Monday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,192 ·
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

There are two times when I really feel that I am not living in the USA anymore. One of them is in July, when the US celebrates Independence Day. It is sometimes hard to get used to the 4th of July being just 'another day' here in Canada. Although they do celebrate "Canada Day" - usually within a day or two of the 4th, it somehow just feels different.

The other day that I really feel that I am living in a different country than I was raised is Thanksgiving. While in the US we celebrate on the last Thursday of November, here in Canada it is observed the first week or so of October. That is quite a difference.

I have been here for 11 years now and I am finally getting used to things such as this. While it used to feel a bit out of place to have turkey dinner in early October, I have learned to not only accept things as they are, but also embrace them. I not only enjoy having this 'early' Thanksgiving dinner, but I look forward to it. I have set a 'new' tradition of spending the day at the camp of my dear friends Bernie and Ellen, on a beautiful lake. The leaves are still on the trees and usually in a varying state of changing. Today is no exception.

It is sunny and crisp out and promises to be a beautiful day. I made my stuffing yesterday (another "new" tradition - Bernie loves my sausage and cranberry stuffing and I try to bring some every year!) and I am ready for a day of relaxing and enjoying my friends and Canadian "family". It is going to be a good day.

I had a very busy weekend. I had agreed to provide the wood pieces for fellow painter Rosanna Zuppardo (you can visit her Etsy Shop here to see her patterns) and I had several tree orders to cut. This was a treat for me because I loved the two designs -

SLDPK124 "It's Christmas":

Organism Font Adaptation Event Happy


And SLDPK125 "The Warm Light of Christmas":
Christmas tree Christmas ornament Holiday ornament Ornament Font


I can see why both designs were so popular. I want to paint them for myself. :)

I also began working on a project for a collaboration book I am doing from The Decorative Painting Store. As a fun project, a group of us designers were rounded up by Sharon Chinn, the owner, and we are in the process of producing several new collaboration books of painted ornaments. I was thrilled to be asked to do this and I have three ornaments in mind for my book. I am teamed up with three very talented ladies whose work I have admired for a long time. I think this will be a win/win proposition for all involved and I hope to do more projects like this in the future.

My first ornament is completed, and I will give you a sneak peek at it here:

Textile Art Paint Writing implement Office supplies


As you can see, it is a little snow globe mouse. I have two other snow globe mice in the works and I should be finishing them up soon. What you can't see is the beautiful 'chunky' shimmer that is on the ornament. This photo better shows it when the light hits it just right:

Finger Nail Art Circle Electric blue


It truly looks like the 'snow globes' we had as children.

Keith has been busy, too and has some new beautiful slotted ornaments for our scroll sawing followers:

Font Plant Wood Pattern Fashion accessory


You can follow this link to the site to purchase this pattern right now: SLDK617 - 8 Slotted Snow Globe Ornaments .

I have some new scroll saw designs for Christmas and the holidays in mind as well. After these last couple of deadlines are met for me, I will be making them up and should have them available shortly. You just have to stay tuned.

As you can see, it has been a very busy time. I haven't been blogging as regularly because I am 'in between' so many things at once that I am not sure there is interest there for you all. Usually when I miss a blog or two, it isn't because I am not working, but rather more because there is so much going on and things aren't quite ready to show yet. I don't think I will run out of things to create for a very long time.

So that is all for today. I hope to do a little painting before I have to leave for dinner. I plan on having a wonderful afternoon and evening with my friends and Canadian family. I guess having two Thanksgiving holidays is appropriate for me, as I feel I have so much that I am thankful for that my gratitude can't really fit into one day. I still celebrate the 'other' Thanksgiving at the end of November. I am always up for a turkey dinner and I love having my friends here with me to enjoy it.

To all my Canadian friends, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. To everyone else, I wish you a beautiful day. There is always a reason to be thankful. I can never be grateful enough, it seems.

Happy Monday to you all!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Keith and your friends and family. Enjoy the day together.
Rick
 

Attachments

#12,198 ·
Evolving

As I sit down and write this morning, I find myself struggling a bit as to which direction I want today's post to head. It seems that lately there have been so many new avenues that I have been exploring that it is somewhat difficult for me to discuss them all here without having extremely lengthy posts. While some of you may not mind that, I realize that other just don't have the time, as they are much like me - exploring the different avenues and wondering which one would be the 'best' to follow. Decisions like that take a great deal of time and resources. They aren't made lightly.

It has been just over a year now since the magazine I worked with for nearly twenty years has folded. It is just this very morning that I am able to attribute that fact to the past several months of me kind of floundering around as far as my craft is concerned, as I feel that things have been somewhat out of focus.

Since we are well into the final quarter of the year, I begin to start evaluating the things that transpired with my business these past months and gauge how things have done. Overall, we are still seeing a growth in our business, which of course is a very positive thing. Keith has come up with some wonderful ideas and seems to have found his niche with his word art patterns as well as his wonderful ability to draw and create beautiful, flowing designs that are well-received by so many. He has really made his mark on the woodworking and scrolling world and has made a wonderful name for himself with his work. I am very proud to be his partner.

As for myself, I feel as if I have been meandering back and forth with several things, trying to find where my work will take me. I have been testing the water in several different venues and trying to find the one that will best suit my ability and desire. It isn't easy.

I often am asked how I keep coming up with my different ideas. There never seems to be a shortage of things to create and my head is filling up with additional projects much quicker than I can implement and create them. I believe that is because in my journey of exploring different media and different techniques, I see so much that new things are triggered all the time. I get tired just thinking about them.

Another part of the variety is economics. As many of you know, it isn't always easy following ones' desire and heart and making a living at doing something creative. Especially at these times when it seems that people are struggling financially more than ever. Art and recreation is what most consider a 'luxury' and things like paying rent or buying food or fuel comes before spending money on leisure time activities. Sometimes we need to be practical after all.

With all that said, I still feel the need to try to find what will work best for me. While my pure desire is to draw, paint, and create beautiful things out of wood each day with no pressure or expectation, I realize that in reality, that can't be the case at this time in my life. I have to override my desire to create for the sake of creating and allow the practicality of creating for others take precedent. But that isn't a bad thing either.

Fortunately for me, it isn't all black and white. For so much of creating patterns for others relies on creativity and originality. It is a very large grey area where my own tastes and desires coincide with what will be embraced and popular with others. That is a great relief for me.

But finding that 'zone' isn't always easy and doesn't always happen immediately. There is no magic formula for satiating my own soul while feeding the needs of others. It happens a little bit here and a little bit there and I have learned to be happy with the compromise that we are all generally happy with the results. In the mean time, we keep on - and will continue - evolving and changing ourselves as we grow as artists and designers. That is just part of the process.

So I ask you all to be patient with me as I go through this process. I feel 'odd' not writing every day as I have been doing for nearly six years. But there are some days when I am so thick in the midst of 'doing things' that I feel the mechanics of writing and documenting the process is somewhat mundane and boring to you, my readers. So I skip. Ironically, this often is the time when I seem to be accomplishing and learning the most. So it is with purpose.

Yesterday I finished up my three ornaments that will be in a collaboration ornament painting instruction book. I was invited to join some very talented ladies in creating several books of this type, and I jumped at the chance. My peers are all artists whom I admire greatly, and I was thrilled to be included with them. I will have more information on the book as we get closer to releasing it, within a couple of weeks.

I decided to create three little snow globe ornaments with some cute mice in them:

Souvenir Holiday ornament Creative arts Event Christmas decoration


They were fun and something 'different' that I hope will appeal to many. I will be spending the day today writing up the instructions for them and also working on the instructions for the herb plaques that I created for the book for Artist's Club.

Keith also finished up another set of ornaments that I believe is absolutely lovely!

Font Art Pattern Electric blue Triangle


His SLDK618 Filigree Christmas Spirit Ornament pattern is now available on the site. I absolutely love them and I think they will be very popular.

We are planning a site update either later today or tomorrow. A newsletter will be coming out as well. It is going to be a busy end to the week for me, and then hopefully by the weekend I will be able to get back to some more designing myself. I have some scroll saw designs that are in my head that I have been dying to get done, but these other deadlines have been calling.

It seems that I will always be evolving. I don't think that is a bad thing though. I think as long as I am changing and hopefully improving, I will never run out of new ideas or concepts. While every idea I have may not be a home run, more often than not even if an idea fails, it triggers off another idea that is a success. I believe it is part of the process and part of being a designer in general.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through all these years. And welcome those who are new. I think the best is yet to come.

Happy Wednesday!
 

Attachments

#12,199 ·
Evolving

As I sit down and write this morning, I find myself struggling a bit as to which direction I want today's post to head. It seems that lately there have been so many new avenues that I have been exploring that it is somewhat difficult for me to discuss them all here without having extremely lengthy posts. While some of you may not mind that, I realize that other just don't have the time, as they are much like me - exploring the different avenues and wondering which one would be the 'best' to follow. Decisions like that take a great deal of time and resources. They aren't made lightly.

It has been just over a year now since the magazine I worked with for nearly twenty years has folded. It is just this very morning that I am able to attribute that fact to the past several months of me kind of floundering around as far as my craft is concerned, as I feel that things have been somewhat out of focus.

Since we are well into the final quarter of the year, I begin to start evaluating the things that transpired with my business these past months and gauge how things have done. Overall, we are still seeing a growth in our business, which of course is a very positive thing. Keith has come up with some wonderful ideas and seems to have found his niche with his word art patterns as well as his wonderful ability to draw and create beautiful, flowing designs that are well-received by so many. He has really made his mark on the woodworking and scrolling world and has made a wonderful name for himself with his work. I am very proud to be his partner.

As for myself, I feel as if I have been meandering back and forth with several things, trying to find where my work will take me. I have been testing the water in several different venues and trying to find the one that will best suit my ability and desire. It isn't easy.

I often am asked how I keep coming up with my different ideas. There never seems to be a shortage of things to create and my head is filling up with additional projects much quicker than I can implement and create them. I believe that is because in my journey of exploring different media and different techniques, I see so much that new things are triggered all the time. I get tired just thinking about them.

Another part of the variety is economics. As many of you know, it isn't always easy following ones' desire and heart and making a living at doing something creative. Especially at these times when it seems that people are struggling financially more than ever. Art and recreation is what most consider a 'luxury' and things like paying rent or buying food or fuel comes before spending money on leisure time activities. Sometimes we need to be practical after all.

With all that said, I still feel the need to try to find what will work best for me. While my pure desire is to draw, paint, and create beautiful things out of wood each day with no pressure or expectation, I realize that in reality, that can't be the case at this time in my life. I have to override my desire to create for the sake of creating and allow the practicality of creating for others take precedent. But that isn't a bad thing either.

Fortunately for me, it isn't all black and white. For so much of creating patterns for others relies on creativity and originality. It is a very large grey area where my own tastes and desires coincide with what will be embraced and popular with others. That is a great relief for me.

But finding that 'zone' isn't always easy and doesn't always happen immediately. There is no magic formula for satiating my own soul while feeding the needs of others. It happens a little bit here and a little bit there and I have learned to be happy with the compromise that we are all generally happy with the results. In the mean time, we keep on - and will continue - evolving and changing ourselves as we grow as artists and designers. That is just part of the process.

So I ask you all to be patient with me as I go through this process. I feel 'odd' not writing every day as I have been doing for nearly six years. But there are some days when I am so thick in the midst of 'doing things' that I feel the mechanics of writing and documenting the process is somewhat mundane and boring to you, my readers. So I skip. Ironically, this often is the time when I seem to be accomplishing and learning the most. So it is with purpose.

Yesterday I finished up my three ornaments that will be in a collaboration ornament painting instruction book. I was invited to join some very talented ladies in creating several books of this type, and I jumped at the chance. My peers are all artists whom I admire greatly, and I was thrilled to be included with them. I will have more information on the book as we get closer to releasing it, within a couple of weeks.

I decided to create three little snow globe ornaments with some cute mice in them:

Souvenir Holiday ornament Creative arts Event Christmas decoration


They were fun and something 'different' that I hope will appeal to many. I will be spending the day today writing up the instructions for them and also working on the instructions for the herb plaques that I created for the book for Artist's Club.

Keith also finished up another set of ornaments that I believe is absolutely lovely!

Font Art Pattern Electric blue Triangle


His SLDK618 Filigree Christmas Spirit Ornament pattern is now available on the site. I absolutely love them and I think they will be very popular.

We are planning a site update either later today or tomorrow. A newsletter will be coming out as well. It is going to be a busy end to the week for me, and then hopefully by the weekend I will be able to get back to some more designing myself. I have some scroll saw designs that are in my head that I have been dying to get done, but these other deadlines have been calling.

It seems that I will always be evolving. I don't think that is a bad thing though. I think as long as I am changing and hopefully improving, I will never run out of new ideas or concepts. While every idea I have may not be a home run, more often than not even if an idea fails, it triggers off another idea that is a success. I believe it is part of the process and part of being a designer in general.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through all these years. And welcome those who are new. I think the best is yet to come.

Happy Wednesday!
It could be a whole lot worse, Sheila. You have choices to make and creativity on the boil. It's also not 'just you', which gives you some breathing space. I am sure the best IS yet to come.
 

Attachments

#12,207 ·
Becoming 'Real'

I am finding that it is remaining darker for a longer period of time each morning when I awake. I have been up for over an hour, started my second cup of coffee, and have already been visited by all three of my cats this morning. (Pancakes is still here on my lap and Richard asleep at my feet, curled up in a ball on his little pillow with a blanket wrapped around him. I can hear him snoring quietly. It is so peaceful) The sun is just beginning to illuminate the eastern sky. This morning it is a light shade of grey with darker grey clouds drifting by. The trees still look dark in the foreground, and most of them still have their leaves, although as you drive across the countryside you now see a variety of colors, as I described the other day. It is really beautiful.

Many that I know don't like this longer period of darkness. Some see it as depressing. I really don't mind it though, and I dare say that I find comfort in it. On the morning side it represents my coveted 'quiet time'. I love these hours of writing with no interruptions by the light of my 'all-season' tree. Although I admit to you all that this summer it has remained naked except for the warm white lights. I had intended to dress it for summer and then for Halloween, but time (once again) escaped me. There was work to be done and it was not a priority. I am not always as organized as some seem to think I am. (Let's keep that our little secret!) In the next few days, I should be as "caught up" as I can be. I always plan probably ten projects ahead of where I am, but as far as deadlines go, they will all be met and it will be one of those rare times when I can take a breath and 'think'. That would be a splendid time to rotate out the few decorations here in my home, but with Halloween just a couple of weeks away, I may just go for a 'autumn' theme and leave Halloween to next year. Worse things could happen.

Besides the lingering darkness of the morning, it has been getting dark earlier as well. To some that is also depressing, but to me, it brings back fond memories from my childhood, growing up on the south side of Chicago. After school we would walk the several blocks to the Gage Park field house and enjoy a variety of after school activities such as dance lessons or open gym or sport games. These activities were free and they were available every day from 4pm until about 5 or 5:30. After the lessons we would walk home with our friends - usually in the darkness - and I would remember the glow of the lights on the city streets and how much I loved it. There was something wonderful about the night. I always liked it. As we got closer to Christmas, sometimes my friends and I would sing songs from our school chorus group or Christmas carol along the way. Back then you would knock on someone's door and just start singing. They would give each of us a nickle or a dime (probably to get rid of us) and that was the way we earned money to buy our own presents for our family members. It was a good way to earn some extra money back then in the early 70's. I smile to myself now just thinking about it.

So the darkness doesn't really bother me. I am glad, because even if it did, there is not much I could do about it. I have learned as I get older that it is wasted energy to get upset over things that are out of our control. It just isn't worth the thought.

Yesterday we completed the update to our website. I don't know if you receive our newsletter, but if you do, you should have it by now. We changed the sales products and added another plaque pattern that Keith created:

Rectangle Font Wood Pattern Electric blue


Keith's SLDK619 - Joy to the World plaque pattern is the third in his sectional Christmas carol series. They have been very well-received so far and we appreciate everyone's kind comments on our work.

My plans for today and tomorrow are to finish up the three mice ornaments that I showed yesterday. I am re-painting them today so that I can take step-by-step photos for the pattern and then I will be creating the pattern itself. I find that this is the best way for me to do patterns of this type, as I am able to 'fine tune' the design the second time around. It is all part of the process.

Other than that, I may take Sunday to actually 'decorate' my home a bit for autumn. It is my favorite season, and I don't want to let it pass by. I would also like to take a walk or two over the weekend in the nearby woods. The colors are beautiful now and it would be a pleasure to see them and clear my head.

Then back to designing.

It is hard to believe that October is already half way over. The pages of the calendar turn much more quickly than they used to it seems. While I want to stay productive, I also want to remember to take time to enjoy this season that I love so much. It would be a shame to work right through it without taking notice.

After my post the other day regarding "evolving", I saw a quote from one of my favorite childhood stores - The Velveteen Rabbit.


It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. -Margery Williams - The Velveteen Rabbit


I read the quote and I thought how it applied to what I was talking about that day. How we change and evolve. Perhaps it is part of finding our 'real' selves. Perhaps it only happens later in life, when we have experienced many hardships and are a little 'shabby' and 'worn'.

If that is the case, I am well on my way. :)

I wish you all a splendid weekend.
 

Attachments

#12,208 ·
Becoming 'Real'

I am finding that it is remaining darker for a longer period of time each morning when I awake. I have been up for over an hour, started my second cup of coffee, and have already been visited by all three of my cats this morning. (Pancakes is still here on my lap and Richard asleep at my feet, curled up in a ball on his little pillow with a blanket wrapped around him. I can hear him snoring quietly. It is so peaceful) The sun is just beginning to illuminate the eastern sky. This morning it is a light shade of grey with darker grey clouds drifting by. The trees still look dark in the foreground, and most of them still have their leaves, although as you drive across the countryside you now see a variety of colors, as I described the other day. It is really beautiful.

Many that I know don't like this longer period of darkness. Some see it as depressing. I really don't mind it though, and I dare say that I find comfort in it. On the morning side it represents my coveted 'quiet time'. I love these hours of writing with no interruptions by the light of my 'all-season' tree. Although I admit to you all that this summer it has remained naked except for the warm white lights. I had intended to dress it for summer and then for Halloween, but time (once again) escaped me. There was work to be done and it was not a priority. I am not always as organized as some seem to think I am. (Let's keep that our little secret!) In the next few days, I should be as "caught up" as I can be. I always plan probably ten projects ahead of where I am, but as far as deadlines go, they will all be met and it will be one of those rare times when I can take a breath and 'think'. That would be a splendid time to rotate out the few decorations here in my home, but with Halloween just a couple of weeks away, I may just go for a 'autumn' theme and leave Halloween to next year. Worse things could happen.

Besides the lingering darkness of the morning, it has been getting dark earlier as well. To some that is also depressing, but to me, it brings back fond memories from my childhood, growing up on the south side of Chicago. After school we would walk the several blocks to the Gage Park field house and enjoy a variety of after school activities such as dance lessons or open gym or sport games. These activities were free and they were available every day from 4pm until about 5 or 5:30. After the lessons we would walk home with our friends - usually in the darkness - and I would remember the glow of the lights on the city streets and how much I loved it. There was something wonderful about the night. I always liked it. As we got closer to Christmas, sometimes my friends and I would sing songs from our school chorus group or Christmas carol along the way. Back then you would knock on someone's door and just start singing. They would give each of us a nickle or a dime (probably to get rid of us) and that was the way we earned money to buy our own presents for our family members. It was a good way to earn some extra money back then in the early 70's. I smile to myself now just thinking about it.

So the darkness doesn't really bother me. I am glad, because even if it did, there is not much I could do about it. I have learned as I get older that it is wasted energy to get upset over things that are out of our control. It just isn't worth the thought.

Yesterday we completed the update to our website. I don't know if you receive our newsletter, but if you do, you should have it by now. We changed the sales products and added another plaque pattern that Keith created:

Rectangle Font Wood Pattern Electric blue


Keith's SLDK619 - Joy to the World plaque pattern is the third in his sectional Christmas carol series. They have been very well-received so far and we appreciate everyone's kind comments on our work.

My plans for today and tomorrow are to finish up the three mice ornaments that I showed yesterday. I am re-painting them today so that I can take step-by-step photos for the pattern and then I will be creating the pattern itself. I find that this is the best way for me to do patterns of this type, as I am able to 'fine tune' the design the second time around. It is all part of the process.

Other than that, I may take Sunday to actually 'decorate' my home a bit for autumn. It is my favorite season, and I don't want to let it pass by. I would also like to take a walk or two over the weekend in the nearby woods. The colors are beautiful now and it would be a pleasure to see them and clear my head.

Then back to designing.

It is hard to believe that October is already half way over. The pages of the calendar turn much more quickly than they used to it seems. While I want to stay productive, I also want to remember to take time to enjoy this season that I love so much. It would be a shame to work right through it without taking notice.

After my post the other day regarding "evolving", I saw a quote from one of my favorite childhood stores - The Velveteen Rabbit.


It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. -Margery Williams - The Velveteen Rabbit


I read the quote and I thought how it applied to what I was talking about that day. How we change and evolve. Perhaps it is part of finding our 'real' selves. Perhaps it only happens later in life, when we have experienced many hardships and are a little 'shabby' and 'worn'.

If that is the case, I am well on my way. :)

I wish you all a splendid weekend.
I love the fonts that Keith uses in his plaques. I particularly like the Od English font he used in the above plaque.
Happy Fall days! Another beautifully sunny and warm one here.
 

Attachments

#12,216 ·
Meeting Deadlines

It isn't often that I am able to proclaim that I am 'caught up' with things. Usually I have several things on my plate that are lined up that need to be doing. In the past month or so, I have had six major deadlines that I needed to meet for various things that I had committed myself to doing. I can't tell you the relief that I felt yesterday when I completed the last one right on the deadline. All of the others came in on time, as well. It was as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

Being self-employed means that we need a certain degree of self-discipline. While many people have the idea that self-employed people are able to call the shots as far as the amount of work that needs to be done, I don't really think that is true. At least not if one is to be successful.

In being a designer, while in some ways I am my own entity, there are may others that I need to interact with in order to achieve success. The many avenues of freelancing not only help my income in a small way, but more importantly they act as a venue to reach groups of people that we otherwise would not be able to reach. By contributing to many different resources such as online classes and publications, I am able to not only 'meet' new people who are interested in my type of designing, but also show them samples of our work. Hopefully that will make them come back for more.

Many times these other venues pay very little. But if I have learned anything over the years, it is that one can't always look at the upfront dollar amount and judge on that. I think that one needs to be much more far-sighted than that and consider all the elements and residual benefits that come from the venture. They go far beyond the initial compensation.

I believe that this is true in just about any type of business - be it woodworking, painting or any type of craft venue. People like dealing with those they are familiar with. Even though they may love new designers, I believe they are more comfortable with those whose names are familiar to them, as it helps bring confidence that there will be not only trouble free purchasing, but also support after the sale is made. Answering questions and helping people out is a very big part of the process, I believe. To me, it is an integral part of what I do.

So I look at the choices that are available for submission of my work and I go from there. Sometimes my submissions are not accepted, and sometimes they are. I have learned not to take things personally when things are passed on, as there are many reasons for this - many which are no reflection on me. There are times when 'timing' is just off or other times when the slots fill up for a certain type of design and my projects are gracefully rejected. I admit that it used to bother me a bit, but after so many years of doing this I feel I have learned to take rejection with a grain of salt. It happens to the best of us. And just because a design doesn't fit in one place, it doesn't mean that it won't fit somewhere else. I just try again.

But sometimes things come in like an avelanch and everything comes in at once. It is at those times when I begin to feel somewhat overwhelmed, for one of the worst things I can think of is making a commitment that I am unable to keep. So I need to be watchful of what 'may' happen and how far I am willing to extend myself. It is a somewhat precarious line to walk at times.

So that is why today I am breathing a sigh of relief. I have been fortunate to have several things fall into place and had many individual deadlines due the past several weeks and much to my delight (and sometimes surprise!) they all fell into sequence and I was able to check them off one by one. It was a huge victory for me business-wise and also personally.

But now what?

When I saw the things stacking up, I began to back off ever so slightly. I still have my 'regular' deadlines that are just part of my business (ads, holiday designs, etc.) but what I consider 'major' deadlines are for the most part clear. It is time for me to begin planning again and start putting out feelers. It is time to once again align things so that in the future I am just as busy as I have been in the past. It is a never-ending cycle. For if I rest on my achievements at this point, the future will be pretty bleak (remember the Ant and the Grasshopper?)

But for today I will take a day of organization. And tomorrow will be a much-needed social day. After I finished my last deadline yesterday afternoon, I spent the rest of the day doing some of the things that I neglected these past weeks. I switched my summer clothes to winter clothes. I took out my autumn decorations that I want to put out today. I went on a "date" with Keith (without feeling guilty or anxious that I should be working.) I tidied up the house a bit.

I still have more I want to do today along those lines, and I think I will. I have several ideas for new designs, but I think I will begin them on Wednesday. Tomorrow I am spending the day with my dear friend and we are taking a ride to the city. Our autumn leaves are at their peak, and it promises to be a beautiful and fun day.

These are the things that allow me to work so hard when I do work. Contrary to popular belief, most people who are self-employed (and successful) actually work HARDER than those who work for others. The days of sitting on the beach or goofing off all day are few and far between. But we still need them. We need to replenish and feed our souls. That is the fuel that we use to keep being creative.

So I will leave you with that today, along with a couple of my favorite autumn projects. . .

The first one is one of my first and favorite candle trays that I designed :

Headgear Hat Artifact Art Ceramic


SLD319 Autumn Leaves Candle Tray scroll saw pattern.

And the companion pattern that Keith created:

Wax Candle Candle holder Fire Flame


SLDK148 Autumn Votive and Tealight Candle Tray by Keith.

I wish you all a beautiful day and hope you take time to enjoy this wonderful time of year.

Happy Monday!
 

Attachments

#12,217 ·
A Day Away

It is hard to believe that it is Wednesday already. As usual, time is going by faster than I would like. After some much cooler weather over the past weekend, we were reminded that winder is close on our heels. I know that people don't want to think about that, but it is going to arrive whether we think about it or not, so it is best to prepare the best we can for things and do what we can to make those long months pleasant.

After seeing snow flurries this past Sunday, I realized that very soon it will be time to put my car away for the winter, too. It seems as if I just got it out, and in reality it was only four short months ago that I had it returned to me from the shop and renovation. I would love to keep it longer, but the practical side of me knows that it is best to do the right thing and surrender it early, before they begin salting the streets. I expect I will only have it a few more weeks.

Over our Thanksgiving dinner last week, my dear friend Cindy and I decided to have a 'girl's day' and go to the city to do some shopping. We only do thing once or twice a year, and it is fun and relaxing to go on our own without having to worry about anything. Most of the leaves are still on the trees here in Nova Scotia and they show the full range of colors; reds, oranges and golds. We are nearing our peak here and soon they will begin to fall in earnest, and the show would be over. Add that to my deadlines being caught up and it was perfect timing to take a day away.

While I usually arise early, I typically don't venture out right away. I spend my mornings catching up on emails and writing my posts here, and planning my day ahead. But yesterday I was out the door by 7am, and it was still quite dark out. I had nearly forgotten how much I loved the early mornings, and I thoroughly enjoyed the 40 minute or so drive to Cindy's. I had brought my travel cup of coffee and had my favorite music blasting on my sound system, singing as I drove and watched the sun come up. I have always loved driving and this type of 'car therapy' was just what I needed to relax after these past busy weeks. It was one of those 'life is good' days.

We spent the day heading to Halifax and picking through our favorite stores. There is wonderful shopping in Dartmouth, and that is where we spent most of our time. It was wonderful to have to real purpose or goal other then to just browse and pick through the many shops and stores. Of course we had a beautiful, relaxing lunch/dinner at a little Italian restaurant, with me having Veal Parmesan with Fettuccine and Cindy having Chicken Tetrazzini. It was just the re-fueling we needed to keep us moving for the rest of the day.

In shopping, I found a wonderful array of fantastic bargains. I purchased two beautiful and luxurious sweaters from different stores - but both were only half their original price. I found some cozy jammies - with kitties and paw prints on them, of course! - and some comfortable socks for winter. I got some beautiful paper from Michael's at 40% off for some of my next drawing and painting projects, and they had the lovely decorated storage boxes that I tend to 'collect' at a whopping 80% off! It was as if all of my favorite things were on sale! I even found some yummy flavored syrup for my coffee and peppermint cocoa - both which I love to curl up with in the cold weather. All in all it was a splendid trip, and I came home late and exhausted, but very content and happy.

As I showed Keith and the kitties all of my 'treasures' (I had got them both surprises as well) I felt like Christmas had come early. It was just the break I needed after the brutal schedule that I had been on these past several weeks. I saw many things that got me thinking about future projects and ideas for designs that I want to make. I can't wait to get back to creating.

I am very grateful for the life I have here. My little place here is filled with some of my favorite things that remind me of my favorite artists:

My cute prim Halloween kitty from my friend Suzanne Anderson:

Vertebrate Mammal Wood Art Font




And my lovely autumn characters that were designed by the late Terrye French and sit perched on my soffet:

Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Plant


While it may not be elaborate decorating, each piece holds a special memory for me regarding those who created them. I smile each time I look at them.

So it is back to designing for me today. I hope that what is to come will some day be a wonderful keepsake for many of you. I think that the simple things in life and learning to appreciate them make us the happiest, don't you?

Happy Wednesday to you!
 

Attachments

#12,218 ·
A Day Away

It is hard to believe that it is Wednesday already. As usual, time is going by faster than I would like. After some much cooler weather over the past weekend, we were reminded that winder is close on our heels. I know that people don't want to think about that, but it is going to arrive whether we think about it or not, so it is best to prepare the best we can for things and do what we can to make those long months pleasant.

After seeing snow flurries this past Sunday, I realized that very soon it will be time to put my car away for the winter, too. It seems as if I just got it out, and in reality it was only four short months ago that I had it returned to me from the shop and renovation. I would love to keep it longer, but the practical side of me knows that it is best to do the right thing and surrender it early, before they begin salting the streets. I expect I will only have it a few more weeks.

Over our Thanksgiving dinner last week, my dear friend Cindy and I decided to have a 'girl's day' and go to the city to do some shopping. We only do thing once or twice a year, and it is fun and relaxing to go on our own without having to worry about anything. Most of the leaves are still on the trees here in Nova Scotia and they show the full range of colors; reds, oranges and golds. We are nearing our peak here and soon they will begin to fall in earnest, and the show would be over. Add that to my deadlines being caught up and it was perfect timing to take a day away.

While I usually arise early, I typically don't venture out right away. I spend my mornings catching up on emails and writing my posts here, and planning my day ahead. But yesterday I was out the door by 7am, and it was still quite dark out. I had nearly forgotten how much I loved the early mornings, and I thoroughly enjoyed the 40 minute or so drive to Cindy's. I had brought my travel cup of coffee and had my favorite music blasting on my sound system, singing as I drove and watched the sun come up. I have always loved driving and this type of 'car therapy' was just what I needed to relax after these past busy weeks. It was one of those 'life is good' days.

We spent the day heading to Halifax and picking through our favorite stores. There is wonderful shopping in Dartmouth, and that is where we spent most of our time. It was wonderful to have to real purpose or goal other then to just browse and pick through the many shops and stores. Of course we had a beautiful, relaxing lunch/dinner at a little Italian restaurant, with me having Veal Parmesan with Fettuccine and Cindy having Chicken Tetrazzini. It was just the re-fueling we needed to keep us moving for the rest of the day.

In shopping, I found a wonderful array of fantastic bargains. I purchased two beautiful and luxurious sweaters from different stores - but both were only half their original price. I found some cozy jammies - with kitties and paw prints on them, of course! - and some comfortable socks for winter. I got some beautiful paper from Michael's at 40% off for some of my next drawing and painting projects, and they had the lovely decorated storage boxes that I tend to 'collect' at a whopping 80% off! It was as if all of my favorite things were on sale! I even found some yummy flavored syrup for my coffee and peppermint cocoa - both which I love to curl up with in the cold weather. All in all it was a splendid trip, and I came home late and exhausted, but very content and happy.

As I showed Keith and the kitties all of my 'treasures' (I had got them both surprises as well) I felt like Christmas had come early. It was just the break I needed after the brutal schedule that I had been on these past several weeks. I saw many things that got me thinking about future projects and ideas for designs that I want to make. I can't wait to get back to creating.

I am very grateful for the life I have here. My little place here is filled with some of my favorite things that remind me of my favorite artists:

My cute prim Halloween kitty from my friend Suzanne Anderson:

Vertebrate Mammal Wood Art Font




And my lovely autumn characters that were designed by the late Terrye French and sit perched on my soffet:

Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Plant


While it may not be elaborate decorating, each piece holds a special memory for me regarding those who created them. I smile each time I look at them.

So it is back to designing for me today. I hope that what is to come will some day be a wonderful keepsake for many of you. I think that the simple things in life and learning to appreciate them make us the happiest, don't you?

Happy Wednesday to you!
A day away is a great energy booster. Glad you had a great day out. We see from the news you have already had some snow! We are still very mild here wth mostly sunny days and some showers thrown in for good measure.
Happy Fall!
 

Attachments

#12,221 ·
To 'Bee' or Not To Be

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of another week. Time seems to be going by so quickly this year. I can't believe we are heading into the last week of October already. Yesterday Keith and I took a nice long walk around nearby Eel lake and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was what one would call a 'typical' autumn day - overcast, cool, breezy and it even drizzled off and on a bit. The road we follow when walking that particular path is surrounded by woods, and the colors of the trees was stunning, with most of them still full of their leaves. It is truly a pleasure to walk when it is like this out and a great way to think things through and plan. I want to take advantage of every minute of these days.

The past couple days I have been in 'organizational' mode. This usually happens when I have some time in between projects. These short breaths of taking inventory, cleaning things up and making sure that everything needed is where it should be are so important to me and instrumental in my own creative process. I know many that don't mind working in a somewhat cluttered environment, but I am not of that line of thinking. I like all of my materials clean, neat and organized so that I can focus my attention on creating and not be distracted by hunting for things. I do have a story for you all about that though . . .

On Wednesday, I had the idea of sorting through my paint brushes and weeding them out. I do this about once a year or so, and I like to replace the worn brushes with new ones that I have purchased. I have a box of 'gently used' brushes that I keep for spares or use when I teach, and I also have a box of brushes that are brand new and unused, which are there to replace the ones that wear out. Last month though, when I began obtaining colored pencil supplies so I could create with pencils, I decided that my brush box that I purchased from Mary Kingslan Gibilisco would also work beautifully to hold my Prismacolor pencils:



So I ordered up another one and in the mean time, took my brushes out of it so I could put my pencils in it now to use them. I put the brushes in a box in a 'safe place' until the new piece arrived.

Long story short - the new box arrived early this week and I wanted to put my 'good' brushes back into their new home. That is what triggered my desire to really sort them out. But I couldn't find the box - the temporary home that I had given them. It was extremely frustrating to spend a couple of hours tearing through everything in search of my good brushes. Not only were most of these brushes in mint condition, but many of them were my more expensive tools - some costing close to $20 each! I had recently cleaned out and organized my supply closets and had gone through and labeled almost every box in them, but I was unable to locate the temporary home for my favorite brushes. Where could they be? Had I mistakenly thrown them out in my organizational frenzy?

After searching several times in the same closet for the brushes, I finally found them. In the closet, there was ONE box without a label. I had thought it was for some supplies that I had intended to use for embroidery. In fact, I was SURE that was what was in it. I was about to give up my search, but in desperation, opened the box 'just to be sure' that what was in it was what I envisioned and lo and behold, there were my best brushes. I was truly relieved, and angry that I spent an entire afternoon looking for what was literally right in front of me all the time. It really emphasized the importance of keeping things neat and tidy and in order. What a waste of my time! (Not to mention the FRUSTRATION!) The older I get, the more important it is for me to LABEL things! Being lazy about it will certainly come back to bite me! Lesson learned!

So yesterday I finished up sorting through my brushes. It is amazing how long I do keep them, as I am pretty good about keeping them clean as I use them. Some of my favorites are over 10 years old. But like most painters, we just never seem to have enough, do we?

I spent the evening finishing up my colored pencil drawing of a bee. This was the first time I have attempted what I will call a 'fine art' drawing using pencils. I created this piece using Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper and Prismacolor pencils. I used the Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks for the honeycomb background. The pencils for the bee itself is multiple layers of colors added on and then blended with odorless turpentine (Mona Lisa brand - it truly is "odorless") The brushing on of the turp allows you to blend the pencils and it rids them of that 'pencil' look. The results look more like ink or paint.

Here is the progression of photos for the project:

I began by creating the honeycomb background using the Inktense pencils and blocks and a honeycomb stencil. Once the Inktense is laid down, it is permanent and will not lift when applying subsequent layers. I began at the head. (Here is my reference photo that I used, too):

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Safety glove Pest


I worked my way down to the body and began the wings. At this point I am about 4-5 hours into the drawing:

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Organism Rectangle


And here is the 'finished' drawing:

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Pest Parasite


I still may add some shading on the body, as suggested by one from the drawing page. It wouldn't require a lot, but the body is a little 'flat'.

Here it is again with the reference photo:

Insect Arthropod Pollinator Organism Honeybee


I am pretty pleased with it for a first effort. What I was thinking of doing is making a hexagon shaped scroll sawn frame that will resemble a honeycomb. That would finish it off nicely. I think the bee itself is about 5-6" big. You can see my hand in the above photo for size relation.

I really like working with the pencils, and I think on some level they may be compatable with some of my woodworking projects. I think that woodworkers may feel more comfortable using them than using paint on wood, and I am going to be experimenting on some applications in the near future.

It is thrilling for me to keep exploring new ways to create. Most of the creative people I know use several types of media in their creative processes. I think that these nearly endless resources offer a huge amount of opportunity to make unique and beautiful things, don't you?

Today I will be drawing some new scroll saw patterns. I also have some ideas for painting as well as needlework designs. There is always something fun and new to explore and I love how the different types of projects overlap.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this bee design. And I hope it inspires you to give something new a try.

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Pest Art


Happy Friday to you all and happy weekend! :)
 

Attachments

#12,222 ·
To 'Bee' or Not To Be

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of another week. Time seems to be going by so quickly this year. I can't believe we are heading into the last week of October already. Yesterday Keith and I took a nice long walk around nearby Eel lake and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was what one would call a 'typical' autumn day - overcast, cool, breezy and it even drizzled off and on a bit. The road we follow when walking that particular path is surrounded by woods, and the colors of the trees was stunning, with most of them still full of their leaves. It is truly a pleasure to walk when it is like this out and a great way to think things through and plan. I want to take advantage of every minute of these days.

The past couple days I have been in 'organizational' mode. This usually happens when I have some time in between projects. These short breaths of taking inventory, cleaning things up and making sure that everything needed is where it should be are so important to me and instrumental in my own creative process. I know many that don't mind working in a somewhat cluttered environment, but I am not of that line of thinking. I like all of my materials clean, neat and organized so that I can focus my attention on creating and not be distracted by hunting for things. I do have a story for you all about that though . . .

On Wednesday, I had the idea of sorting through my paint brushes and weeding them out. I do this about once a year or so, and I like to replace the worn brushes with new ones that I have purchased. I have a box of 'gently used' brushes that I keep for spares or use when I teach, and I also have a box of brushes that are brand new and unused, which are there to replace the ones that wear out. Last month though, when I began obtaining colored pencil supplies so I could create with pencils, I decided that my brush box that I purchased from Mary Kingslan Gibilisco would also work beautifully to hold my Prismacolor pencils:



So I ordered up another one and in the mean time, took my brushes out of it so I could put my pencils in it now to use them. I put the brushes in a box in a 'safe place' until the new piece arrived.

Long story short - the new box arrived early this week and I wanted to put my 'good' brushes back into their new home. That is what triggered my desire to really sort them out. But I couldn't find the box - the temporary home that I had given them. It was extremely frustrating to spend a couple of hours tearing through everything in search of my good brushes. Not only were most of these brushes in mint condition, but many of them were my more expensive tools - some costing close to $20 each! I had recently cleaned out and organized my supply closets and had gone through and labeled almost every box in them, but I was unable to locate the temporary home for my favorite brushes. Where could they be? Had I mistakenly thrown them out in my organizational frenzy?

After searching several times in the same closet for the brushes, I finally found them. In the closet, there was ONE box without a label. I had thought it was for some supplies that I had intended to use for embroidery. In fact, I was SURE that was what was in it. I was about to give up my search, but in desperation, opened the box 'just to be sure' that what was in it was what I envisioned and lo and behold, there were my best brushes. I was truly relieved, and angry that I spent an entire afternoon looking for what was literally right in front of me all the time. It really emphasized the importance of keeping things neat and tidy and in order. What a waste of my time! (Not to mention the FRUSTRATION!) The older I get, the more important it is for me to LABEL things! Being lazy about it will certainly come back to bite me! Lesson learned!

So yesterday I finished up sorting through my brushes. It is amazing how long I do keep them, as I am pretty good about keeping them clean as I use them. Some of my favorites are over 10 years old. But like most painters, we just never seem to have enough, do we?

I spent the evening finishing up my colored pencil drawing of a bee. This was the first time I have attempted what I will call a 'fine art' drawing using pencils. I created this piece using Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper and Prismacolor pencils. I used the Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks for the honeycomb background. The pencils for the bee itself is multiple layers of colors added on and then blended with odorless turpentine (Mona Lisa brand - it truly is "odorless") The brushing on of the turp allows you to blend the pencils and it rids them of that 'pencil' look. The results look more like ink or paint.

Here is the progression of photos for the project:

I began by creating the honeycomb background using the Inktense pencils and blocks and a honeycomb stencil. Once the Inktense is laid down, it is permanent and will not lift when applying subsequent layers. I began at the head. (Here is my reference photo that I used, too):

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Safety glove Pest


I worked my way down to the body and began the wings. At this point I am about 4-5 hours into the drawing:

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Organism Rectangle


And here is the 'finished' drawing:

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Pest Parasite


I still may add some shading on the body, as suggested by one from the drawing page. It wouldn't require a lot, but the body is a little 'flat'.

Here it is again with the reference photo:

Insect Arthropod Pollinator Organism Honeybee


I am pretty pleased with it for a first effort. What I was thinking of doing is making a hexagon shaped scroll sawn frame that will resemble a honeycomb. That would finish it off nicely. I think the bee itself is about 5-6" big. You can see my hand in the above photo for size relation.

I really like working with the pencils, and I think on some level they may be compatable with some of my woodworking projects. I think that woodworkers may feel more comfortable using them than using paint on wood, and I am going to be experimenting on some applications in the near future.

It is thrilling for me to keep exploring new ways to create. Most of the creative people I know use several types of media in their creative processes. I think that these nearly endless resources offer a huge amount of opportunity to make unique and beautiful things, don't you?

Today I will be drawing some new scroll saw patterns. I also have some ideas for painting as well as needlework designs. There is always something fun and new to explore and I love how the different types of projects overlap.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this bee design. And I hope it inspires you to give something new a try.

Pollinator Insect Arthropod Pest Art


Happy Friday to you all and happy weekend! :)
That bee is amazing Sheila! What a beautiful job! You can see every hair and every vein on the wings. Very impressive!
 

Attachments

#12,224 ·
New Ventures

One of the most exciting part of being a designer is the vast array of possibilities that are available. Those of you who follow me know that I am quite diversified in the types of designing I do. Not only do I love designing scroll saw and woodworking patterns, but I also enjoy designing instructions for painting and drawing. In addition, I am looking into the future and considering designing some soft sculpture and needlework patterns as well. The possibilities are truly endless.

Over the past couple of years, you have all watched me dapple with different techniques and media. It seems the longer I am a designer, the more I think that the key to being self-sufficient and successful is to explore these many different types of creativity and not limit myself to just one venue. Not only does this expand ones followers, but it also helps me to stay fresh and excited about everything that I do. I feel that there is little chance of me 'burning out' when I am always learning to work with new techniques and materials. There is no way that I can get into a rut like this, as each time I move to something new, my excitement and enthusiasm is renewed. What a great way to make a living.

I think that the biggest issue I have is not wondering what I am going to do, but wondering which avenue to follow next. Lately it seems that I will need several lifetimes to fit all the new designing work in that is in my head. And those designs multiply just about every day. No sooner do I complete one design than I think of three more. I am certain that is why I am so eager to get out of bed each morning and begin each day.

Last year when the paper magazines folded, many people were devastated. While I agree that it did have a huge impact on several industries, I can't say that I didn't see it coming, and I am pleased that for the most part I was prepared.

Times change. And while many of us find comfort in the familiarity of 'routine', in order to grow and expand our knowledge base I fell it is necessary not only to accept change, but to embrace it. For how can we advance when we are stagnant in our way of thinking and doing things?

Change doesn't come easy for many. We feel a sense of safety in doing things a certain way. We know what to expect and we know we can count on things unfolding a certain way. It is to some, far less stressful.

But to others, the excitement of exploring uncharted territory and changing up the routine is something that makes one thrive. These are the innovators - the leaders if you will. These are the ones that not only adapt well to change, but look forward to it and make the most of it.

After the print magazines went out of business, several new digital issues have popped up, both in the scrolling world and the painting world. It has been just over a year now since All American closed their doors, and while I was very unhappy to see it happen, I am pretty impressed with the new digital magazines available. I have tried to embrace this form of designing and I am very happy to say that the longer I am involved with these publications, the more I like them - both as a contributor as well as a consumer.

Gone forever are the 'late' or missing issues that many of us (especially those of us in Canada) had to deal with. While there may have been a couple of hiccups when the e-magazines began, within a couple of issues they seem to be all ironed out. Everything arrives in my email box on time, without delay. If there is a delay or problem, it is rectified nearly instantly.

The quality of the issues is better as well. I find that there are far more photographs and better written instructions. I tribute this in large part to the fact that 'cyber-space' has no limits. An e-mag doesn't cost more to print additional pages or photos. Whether the pattern is five pages or twenty five, it is not of consequence.

Another big plus is that there is little delay from the time I design an item to the time it is published and available. Gone are the six plus months waiting time from when the idea was developed until it was published. As a designer I am much happier to see this time frame shortened, as I feel more of an 'instant gratification' than waiting all of those months to see my hard work enjoyed (AND receive payment for it!)

These are all very positive changes.

Last month I was invited to participate in a series of collaboration E-books of ornaments for the Decorative Painting world. I quickly jumped at the chance for this and worked the project into my calendar. That was sometime in September, and here only a few weeks later, I am able to see the fruits of my labor. My first E-book has been published and is now available!

I want to thank Sharon Chinn of The Decorative Painting Store for organizing this project. Sharon called in many great designers and between us we produced five wonderful ornament pattern books in just about a month. My book - Jolly & Joyful - contains the three cute Winter Mice Snow Globe Ornaments that I showed here on the blog a couple of weeks ago:

Font Poster Art Event Fictional character


I was lucky enough to be teamed with Sharon Cook, Cheryl Jones, and Susan Kelley for our book. Each of us contributed three ornaments. You can get our book here:

The Decorative Painting Store - Jolly & Joyful

I hope you also check out the other books on the Designer Sampler Series page, as well as all the other patterns that the Decorative Painting Store has to offer. There are projects for all levels. I am very proud and happy to have been involved with this project and I hope there will be many more like this to follow.

As for my woodworkers, I spent my weekend drawing up three new scroll saw patterns that I will be releasing later this week. It seems like it has been a long while since I created new scroll saw patterns, and I am really excited about these. I think they will be something nice for the upcoming holiday season. Here is a quick peek at one of them:

Vertebrate Gesture Ear Font Art


Yes - that is kind of mean of me because it tells you little as to what it was. You will just have to come back and see tomorrow. :)

I plan on spending the day today cutting. I am looking forward to that. It will be great to see these come together and fun to see everything fall into place.

Today is a beautiful, sunny autumn day. This weekend was great as well. Just perfect and 'typical' autumn weather with the hardwood tress full of color. We made time to walk this weekend, and I made some yummy pumpkin bars as well. All in all, it was pretty close to perfect.

Have a wonderful week! Happy Monday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,225 ·
New Ventures

One of the most exciting part of being a designer is the vast array of possibilities that are available. Those of you who follow me know that I am quite diversified in the types of designing I do. Not only do I love designing scroll saw and woodworking patterns, but I also enjoy designing instructions for painting and drawing. In addition, I am looking into the future and considering designing some soft sculpture and needlework patterns as well. The possibilities are truly endless.

Over the past couple of years, you have all watched me dapple with different techniques and media. It seems the longer I am a designer, the more I think that the key to being self-sufficient and successful is to explore these many different types of creativity and not limit myself to just one venue. Not only does this expand ones followers, but it also helps me to stay fresh and excited about everything that I do. I feel that there is little chance of me 'burning out' when I am always learning to work with new techniques and materials. There is no way that I can get into a rut like this, as each time I move to something new, my excitement and enthusiasm is renewed. What a great way to make a living.

I think that the biggest issue I have is not wondering what I am going to do, but wondering which avenue to follow next. Lately it seems that I will need several lifetimes to fit all the new designing work in that is in my head. And those designs multiply just about every day. No sooner do I complete one design than I think of three more. I am certain that is why I am so eager to get out of bed each morning and begin each day.

Last year when the paper magazines folded, many people were devastated. While I agree that it did have a huge impact on several industries, I can't say that I didn't see it coming, and I am pleased that for the most part I was prepared.

Times change. And while many of us find comfort in the familiarity of 'routine', in order to grow and expand our knowledge base I fell it is necessary not only to accept change, but to embrace it. For how can we advance when we are stagnant in our way of thinking and doing things?

Change doesn't come easy for many. We feel a sense of safety in doing things a certain way. We know what to expect and we know we can count on things unfolding a certain way. It is to some, far less stressful.

But to others, the excitement of exploring uncharted territory and changing up the routine is something that makes one thrive. These are the innovators - the leaders if you will. These are the ones that not only adapt well to change, but look forward to it and make the most of it.

After the print magazines went out of business, several new digital issues have popped up, both in the scrolling world and the painting world. It has been just over a year now since All American closed their doors, and while I was very unhappy to see it happen, I am pretty impressed with the new digital magazines available. I have tried to embrace this form of designing and I am very happy to say that the longer I am involved with these publications, the more I like them - both as a contributor as well as a consumer.

Gone forever are the 'late' or missing issues that many of us (especially those of us in Canada) had to deal with. While there may have been a couple of hiccups when the e-magazines began, within a couple of issues they seem to be all ironed out. Everything arrives in my email box on time, without delay. If there is a delay or problem, it is rectified nearly instantly.

The quality of the issues is better as well. I find that there are far more photographs and better written instructions. I tribute this in large part to the fact that 'cyber-space' has no limits. An e-mag doesn't cost more to print additional pages or photos. Whether the pattern is five pages or twenty five, it is not of consequence.

Another big plus is that there is little delay from the time I design an item to the time it is published and available. Gone are the six plus months waiting time from when the idea was developed until it was published. As a designer I am much happier to see this time frame shortened, as I feel more of an 'instant gratification' than waiting all of those months to see my hard work enjoyed (AND receive payment for it!)

These are all very positive changes.

Last month I was invited to participate in a series of collaboration E-books of ornaments for the Decorative Painting world. I quickly jumped at the chance for this and worked the project into my calendar. That was sometime in September, and here only a few weeks later, I am able to see the fruits of my labor. My first E-book has been published and is now available!

I want to thank Sharon Chinn of The Decorative Painting Store for organizing this project. Sharon called in many great designers and between us we produced five wonderful ornament pattern books in just about a month. My book - Jolly & Joyful - contains the three cute Winter Mice Snow Globe Ornaments that I showed here on the blog a couple of weeks ago:

Font Poster Art Event Fictional character


I was lucky enough to be teamed with Sharon Cook, Cheryl Jones, and Susan Kelley for our book. Each of us contributed three ornaments. You can get our book here:

The Decorative Painting Store - Jolly & Joyful

I hope you also check out the other books on the Designer Sampler Series page, as well as all the other patterns that the Decorative Painting Store has to offer. There are projects for all levels. I am very proud and happy to have been involved with this project and I hope there will be many more like this to follow.

As for my woodworkers, I spent my weekend drawing up three new scroll saw patterns that I will be releasing later this week. It seems like it has been a long while since I created new scroll saw patterns, and I am really excited about these. I think they will be something nice for the upcoming holiday season. Here is a quick peek at one of them:

Vertebrate Gesture Ear Font Art


Yes - that is kind of mean of me because it tells you little as to what it was. You will just have to come back and see tomorrow. :)

I plan on spending the day today cutting. I am looking forward to that. It will be great to see these come together and fun to see everything fall into place.

Today is a beautiful, sunny autumn day. This weekend was great as well. Just perfect and 'typical' autumn weather with the hardwood tress full of color. We made time to walk this weekend, and I made some yummy pumpkin bars as well. All in all, it was pretty close to perfect.

Have a wonderful week! Happy Monday to you all!
That's a great Christmas ornament book. It would be nice to have it as an e-book option as well as the printed book. I'm big on e-books when you don't have the storage space for books and you can have the e-books for ever.
I look forward to following your expansion into many creative medias. :) Even though the weather is mild here I've closed my workshop for the winter and am working inside on a new venture - quilting. A very interesting learning curve. The sky's the limit when it comes to expanding creativity. Enjoy!
 

Attachments

#12,227 ·
If the Garbage Looks This Good . . . Think How Nice the Project Will Be

I am happy to say that I had a tremendously productive day yesterday. It was one of those days when everything just went like it was supposed to go. Perhaps it is in part because of my early start (I got up my 'normal time' for the first time in a couple of weeks - I have a slight cold) and I was able to get a jump start on my day and accomplish a great deal. I am hoping that many more days like that will follow.

The main thing that I accomplished yesterday was cutting out my three projects. It was one of those rare times when Keith and I both had cutting to do, so we enlisted our DeWalt saw into service. We looked like quite the pair, I am sure, with Keith and I both wearing our headphones and listening to our favorite things while cutting. I love listening to upbeat music when working on the scroll saw. It is uplifting and makes things even more enjoyable. Before long, I knew I was in the "zone".

After my main cutting was done, I needed to do my final detail work. Keith had an appointment, so I switched to the Excalibur saw. While I still don't mine the DeWalt for cutting some of the larger pieces, (it's slight front to back motion of the blade helps much of the cutting go quickly) I still feel that the Excalibur is a better saw for the fine detail. It's precision can't be beat and makes cutting things out pure pleasure.

I spent the next couple of hours nearly finishing up my three projects. I still have about half an hour to an hour to go today, but for the most part, I am done. It was getting late and my eyes were getting tired and I felt that there was no need to push things when I didn't have to do so. (Especially the most delicate parts!) So I will probably finish things up today.

As I was cleaning up the area around the saw, I found some interesting 'garbage'. It is rare that when I cut, the pieces come out in tact. Believe me - it is not a goal to have them do so. There are are other things to worry about when cutting that are far more important. But come out in tact they did, and I thought they looked pretty cool.

Automotive tire Font Jewellery Circle Rim


(Ok - there is some blatant 'product placement' there. I wanted to give credit where credit was due! I love my Excalibur saw!)

If the 'garbage' looks this nice, I hope the project can look even better. You will have to wait until tomorrow to see though . . . (Yes - I am MEAN!)

In the mean time, Keith added another beautiful pattern to our site yesterday. His SLDK620 - It Must Be Autumn Self-Framing plaque is just in time for you to celebrate this beautiful season:

Rectangle Wood Font Landscape Signage


. . . and there is more to come from this series as well . . .

Today I will be working on finishing up my three new projects. I should have some nice photos of them by tomorrow. It is a beautiful day again today and while it is very cool out, it is sunny and pretty.

I hope you all have a great day. Happy Tuesday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,228 ·
If the Garbage Looks This Good . . . Think How Nice the Project Will Be

I am happy to say that I had a tremendously productive day yesterday. It was one of those days when everything just went like it was supposed to go. Perhaps it is in part because of my early start (I got up my 'normal time' for the first time in a couple of weeks - I have a slight cold) and I was able to get a jump start on my day and accomplish a great deal. I am hoping that many more days like that will follow.

The main thing that I accomplished yesterday was cutting out my three projects. It was one of those rare times when Keith and I both had cutting to do, so we enlisted our DeWalt saw into service. We looked like quite the pair, I am sure, with Keith and I both wearing our headphones and listening to our favorite things while cutting. I love listening to upbeat music when working on the scroll saw. It is uplifting and makes things even more enjoyable. Before long, I knew I was in the "zone".

After my main cutting was done, I needed to do my final detail work. Keith had an appointment, so I switched to the Excalibur saw. While I still don't mine the DeWalt for cutting some of the larger pieces, (it's slight front to back motion of the blade helps much of the cutting go quickly) I still feel that the Excalibur is a better saw for the fine detail. It's precision can't be beat and makes cutting things out pure pleasure.

I spent the next couple of hours nearly finishing up my three projects. I still have about half an hour to an hour to go today, but for the most part, I am done. It was getting late and my eyes were getting tired and I felt that there was no need to push things when I didn't have to do so. (Especially the most delicate parts!) So I will probably finish things up today.

As I was cleaning up the area around the saw, I found some interesting 'garbage'. It is rare that when I cut, the pieces come out in tact. Believe me - it is not a goal to have them do so. There are are other things to worry about when cutting that are far more important. But come out in tact they did, and I thought they looked pretty cool.

Automotive tire Font Jewellery Circle Rim


(Ok - there is some blatant 'product placement' there. I wanted to give credit where credit was due! I love my Excalibur saw!)

If the 'garbage' looks this nice, I hope the project can look even better. You will have to wait until tomorrow to see though . . . (Yes - I am MEAN!)

In the mean time, Keith added another beautiful pattern to our site yesterday. His SLDK620 - It Must Be Autumn Self-Framing plaque is just in time for you to celebrate this beautiful season:

Rectangle Wood Font Landscape Signage


. . . and there is more to come from this series as well . . .

Today I will be working on finishing up my three new projects. I should have some nice photos of them by tomorrow. It is a beautiful day again today and while it is very cool out, it is sunny and pretty.

I hope you all have a great day. Happy Tuesday to you all!
hmmmmm…..... those "garbage" pieces would make very decorative overlays for something! Lookin forward to seeing what they came out of :)
Keith's plaque looks great.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top