Halloween 2006 / 2007 / 2008

Yes, I know for someone who loves costumes I fell behind... In 2006 I was sent on travel for work so I missed Halloween... In 2007 I just answered the door since I just moved into a new house a month before and got married 6 months before that (I was busy)! So I finally got to wear it this year.

I'm so proud of this costume though! It was my first lined jacket. I used a Simplicity pattern since I didn't know how to make a jacket yet. I added the silver trim and buttons by hand though. I found the hat online and already had the pants (I'm a dork). I used bra hook closures to close the top of the jacket.

In the NYC Halloween parade I got asked if I was Paul Revere - so I must have done something right!

Halloween 2005

Going with the anime theme, I am a big fan of Chobits. There is one picture of the title character working in a bakery with a cute outfit. I tried to recreate the outfit, but never actually finished.

I was missing the white collar, the apron and her hat. I didn't see the point as I didn't have anywhere to wear the costume (and I can't wear it to work!). I still came out cute...

I had the most fun with the eyelets which I laced satin string through. I've used them in a few costumes - I'm a big fan.

Halloween 2004

So the next Halloween I joined my girls in NY once again and picked up my friend Day along the way. We were both very much into the anime Naruto and decided to go as characters. While I was making my costume I made one for him as well! Day provided the cool headbands for our characters.







My costume was a zipper front dress with side slits and biker shorts. Day's was an over sized shirt with a tall collar and his "family symbol" on the back. He's about the same size as me on top so it was an easy costume to do from a distance.

Halloween 2003

Yay! I'm finally getting around to my costumes! So I took a sewing class in high school (outside of school) and got hooked. Sewing was so easy (especially with a sewing machine)!

My friends who went to college in NY started throwing holiday bashes my junior year of college and couldn't resist going. The first party I attended was a Halloween party. As a poor college student I needed to make my costume on the cheap.

I found some green dollar material, borrowed one of my clear bra straps, found some cheap wings and got a wig the previous year in Salem, MA and made myself a Tinkerbell costume. I'm a huge fan of the fairy, so considering her movie came out last week and it's just a short time after Halloween, it was only appropriate I post my costume now.

Adirondack Chair

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In my bathroom, the medicine cabinet knob has been hitting the wall and was starting to make a noticeable dent in it. To solve the problem, I thought I'd hang a piece of art there. I already had a colored pencil drawing of seashells above the toilet, so I thought I'd use the same medium and theme. I created an Adirondack chair sitting on the beach.

I went to the dollar store to find a cheap frame. It was gold with a white mat, which didn't match my bathroom, so I made the gold parts silver and the mat the same color blue as the shower curtain and bath mats. The walls are spring green, so the sea grass in the drawing matched the walls. It solves my problem, looks cute and was a really inexpensive fix at $1!

My Cousin's 21st Birthday

My cousin B is the closest thing I have to a sister. We are both only children, and grew up very close to one another, but we couldn't be any more different. She is a social butterfly who likes to have fun at parties, enjoys designer clothing and is studying to be a lawyer. I am very shy, enjoy finding a bargain or making things myself and have a technical career. In reality our differences are quite a compliment to one another.

Since her 21st birthday was this summer and it's an important one, I thought I'd ask her what she would like. She knew right away she wanted a painting made by me. She always admired my art in high school and her mother even owns one of my pieces already. She said she wanted something black and white and romantic. Her idea of romantic is different from mine, but I was up for a challenge.

Based on her a piece called "The Embrace" from her favorite photographer - Bahner Bertram - I created this painting. I am much more comfortable creating black and white pieces with colored pencil and graphite than acrylic, but she asked for a painting. I'm also not great at doing people, but it was a challenge I was willing to take on for her. She ended up liking the piece very much.

Reupholstery

When we moved into our house, the previous owner had one more trip to make to take the rest of his belongings from the garage. In the garage he had an antique sofa. My mother-in-law commented how beautiful it was and the previous owner offered to leave it for her. The sofa's wood was in beautiful condition, but the material on the sofa was ripped and frayed. The sheet on the seat was covering a huge rip.

I spend most of my time in the den near the computer and the TV since it is the warmest room in the house. There is no where for me to stretch out and relax in there except for my desk chair. The sofa sat in the garage for about 8 months when I decided to reupholster it and use it in the den.

I started my ripping off the cording that was hot glued around the edge of the material - that ripped right off. Next, I took a hammer and screw driver and took out each upholstery tack one by one. They were all rusty. I had a coffee mug full of tacks by the time I was done. I also discovered it was reupholstered once before as well. I asked the previous owner and he said the sofa was about 100 year old, so that would make sense. After all the material was removed, The springs and padding were in great condition so I left them as is.

I found some great reversible fabric that was thin and red with gold swirls or gold with red swirls depending on how you used it. I used this for the curtains in the den. By pure luck I found a lampshade that used the same material at Wal-Mart so I used that to place behind the sofa. Per the suggestion of my friend B at work, I used a more durable material to cover the sofa - red microsuede with red embroidered swirls. I used the old material as a guide and cut out the new material and used a staple gun to attach it to the sofa. Once all the material was in place I found some matching cord and hot glued it to the sofa to clean up the edges as done before. My husband helped me move it in the den and now I can truly be queen of my household in my own throne!

High School Art Show

During senior year of high school, I took 3 AP courses. One of those courses was AP Art which also required I take on two additional art classes as well. All in all I took 3 art classes senior year. (I had so many classes one was after school hours!)

My high school was very much into the arts and sciences (hence the career choice), so they had an art show every May. At the art show, each student got to pick the one or two pieces they were most proud of to display with their class's work.

The lower grades were displayed in the hallways, however, the senior class got to display theirs in the gym. The students taking the other senior art classes I was in (they usually were in just one) put their artwork along gym walls.

Each senior had a space to hang their work. In front of their space they placed their senior picture and a book for guests to sign and comment on their work. (lower right of the first picture). AP art students put their pieces in the center of the gym on 3 walls (for each art class we took).

In the first picture posted, the top left picture was a chalk pastel of Persephone calling to her mother Demeter from the underworld. I did a lot of greek mythology pieces. This piece is currently in my Aunt's house.

The watercolor nymphs in the top right is with my step father.

The water color of the trees is with my friend L.

The chalk pastel of the trees was given to the man whose lawn I sat on to make that piece.

I still have the chalk pastel pumpkin still life in my attic.

The water color peaches are in my mother's living room as mentioned previously.

The watercolor chess piece rests on my bedroom wall.


In the second picture, the top left piece was purchased by the school. Each year my school becomes patrons of the arts and buys just two pieces from the senior class. One was mine!

I don't remember what happened to my chalk pastel portrait in the top right.

I still have the negative space charcoal portrait in the attic.

The piece inspired by "Desiderata" is under my chalk pastel portrait. It used a combination of colored pencil (light and airy) for the uplifting imagery and oil pastel
(heavy and dark) for the negative imagery. I chose to do the piece on the line "With all its sham drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world."

The water color of "Air Sea and Land" sits in my office at work.

The sculpture on the chair broke apart and I threw it away. It was of the angel of death.

You probably can't see her in this picture, but there is a sculpture of Medusa's head on the floor. That too broke.

Finally in the third picture, in the top left, Euterpe, the muse of music made from sheet music is inspiring a comic book like guitar player as music lyrics float around them. This is in my attic at the moment.

The cut paper dragonflies in the top right sits in my attic.

The water color and cut paper girl holding a light is hanging in my mother's massage room.

The monochromatic acrylic painting in my attic.

The black and white piece - also resting in my attic- was made by placing black contact paper on white cardboard and making inverted cur outs.

The final portrait of a girl contemplating the scary news headlines also sits in my attic.

I hope you all enjoyed my high school art show!

Mommy and Baby

While working in upstate NY for the summer one year, I was very bored during non-work hours since there isn't very much to do up there. I drew some sketches, made some throw pillows for my dorm room and made profiles of some characters from my friend S's stories.

One of my sketches was of a mother holding her baby. It came out really nicely, so I decided to frame it and give it to her for my birthday since there were no other holidays coming up that summer that would be appropriate. She hung the picture in her hallway in between our portraits.

Bruschi

My husband and his family are huge fans of the Patriots. To them, there is no other sport except football.

For his birthday one year, I decided to make a painting of his favorite football player - Tedy Bruschi. The one game my husband regretted missing since he started going to Patriots games was what was dubbed "The Snow Game". During that game, it snowed like crazy and since the fans had no where else to put the snow they threw it up in the air in celebration when the team scored.

There is one picture from that game that Bruschi is immortalized in that my husband loves, so that picture was the inspiration of my painting.

Winnie the Pooh Rug

For my nephew's first birthday I made him a Winnie the Pooh rug to match the theme I had going for him. So I never got any formal pictures of the rug before I sent it.

My mother-in-law sent me some cute pictures of him enjoying sitting on his new rug, though. I'm sure glad he enjoyed his new rug because I even work on it during my honeymoon - he's one lucky kid!

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too! (and Piglet)

Once attempting the cross stitch pillow, I created the Winnie the Pooh cross stitch picture. A little more detailed...

My husband even got in on the cross stitch fun and did a few stitches of the tree...

He probably didn't want me to tell you that...

It's a Blustery Day!

I had bought a book of counted cross stitch patterns for Winnie the Pooh for making a picture for my nephew and wanted to start with something small. I saw this pattern and thought it was perfect for my hubby's grammy.

Everytime I visit her she always tells me how when my husband was a small tyke she took him

out one windy fall day and he said, "It's a blustery day!" Hearing such big words from a little kid is just cute and there's just one place where that came from - the "Adventures of Winne the Pooh" book!I found some great leaf patterned material at the fabric store and made it into a cute little throw pillow for her!

Peaches

After spending 4 years at college and getting a full time job after graduation, I hadn't created much for artwork in a while. I made my mother the Tigerlily painting and had sown a few outfits, but hadn't done too much else.

My friend B from work invited me to a drawing class she and a few friends were taking and it just breathed new life into my artistic side, so I had to find something to paint.

Peaches are always an interesting subject - especially the pits. I had made a water color of peaches that now hangs in my mother's dining room (it can be seen in pictures from my high school art show). I'm not too fond of water colors anymore since it's quite time consuming and I'm a bit rusty in my technique, so I continued with acrylic painting.

Since I just painted this for the fun of it, it still has no home and just sits in my attic.

Baby's First Photo Album

My mother used to make adorable baby photo albums for every new baby born in the family or within her group of friends. She made them out of plastic canvas. The animals came from a plastic canvas instruction book that helped you make picture frames:

She adapted the instructions to make baby photo albums and mobiles and made whole baby sets out of plastic canvas! Within the last few years there have been 3 babies that have arrived, so I decided to carry on the tradition and make some for my friends and family who were having babies.

We put the baby's name on the binding - or if we don't know what type of baby it will be or if there will be more than one we will just put a last name.

The last one I made I decided to be extra creative and make my own pattern.

I had made a Winnie the Pooh cross stitch picture for my nephew for his birth and a latch hook rug for his first birth day (pictures coming soon!). Now he can that he can communicate a wish list I buy what he asks for instead. So for his new baby sibling (who is a girl) who can't tell us what she wants, I decided to make a pooh photo album! It was a challenge, but I think it came out great! My children will be drowning in home made items!

If you Can't Buy it, Make It!

My mother saw a painting of a huge tigerlily in an art gallery in SoHo, but certainly could not afford to buy a painting for sale in SoHo! Knowing me, she described the painting and asked if it was something I could make - no sweat!

Granted this was the first painting I made since high school, so I was about four years out of practice, but I think it is one of the best paintings I've even made.

I picked a large painting out of the trash heap at her apartment building and painted it a cream color to give it a new purpose. I found a base color orange that matched the paint sample she gave me for her room's tangerine wall color and worked from there. Jason even made the frame to go around it since framing is so expensive. I'm so proud ofthis piece!

The Peacock and the Partridge

My kitchen was recently remodeled by the previous owners and it came out wonderfully. The color choice was not my style, though. All the walls of the kitchen were painted a faded yellow. After reading a story called the yellow wall paper in 11th grade I refuse to have yellow walls in my house - wall paper or otherwise!

I'm a fan on the toile style floating around the home magazines and my aunt even used the theme once before in her living room. I found toile curtains and cute wedgewood style plates to place on the plate shelf surrounding my kitchen walls. The plate shelf and wainscoting were painted an antique white to match the kitchen cabinets and the remaining walls were painted a bright blue to match the curtains and plates. It came out amazing - I still secretly smile to myself every time I walk into my kitchen (6 months later!).

There was one large blue wall that was screaming for a painting and who better to make one than me! I took the white and blue paints I used on the walls and an additional dark and light blue to compliment them and made a painting of a peacock and partridge that played off one of the plates on the wall. It's a perfect match!

Aprons

I enjoy cooking - especially baking. Whenever I bake, however, there is always a mess of sugar or flour on my clothes. This inspired me to make myself an apron!

I had this great Hawaiian print material from the dollar rack and was just looking for an excuse to use it. I found a cute retro pattern online and bought the complimenting material and trim to make the apron.

When I showed off the apron, the number one comment was the location (or lack there of) of apron pockets. I forgot pockets! I don't need pockets in the kitchen, but I decided to try once again - with pockets this time - for a friend's shower. She's a lot taller than I am, so I tried to accommodate that. While it doesn't fit me quite right I hope it fits her!

Asian Spa

My mother appears to be a fan of my art. My paintings and crafts grace almost every room of her apartment. This spring, she found a painting in a catalog that she loved, but it didn't quite match her tangerine colored /Asian inspired bedroom. She showed me the picture and asked if I could make a similar picture that would blend into her room's theme and would have more sentimental value since I made it for her. How could I refuse?! I look for excuses to make art!

I also found a wonderful Asian inspired frame at the store to frame it and present it as a gift for Mother's Day.

I went home visit and the location she chose for it is underneath a lamp. It's meant to be in that spot because when she turns on that lamp, the woman in the painting glows!

Porch Pillows

I suppose there is no other way to do this than to post in the order my pictures appear in my computer's folder. This way I won't lose my place. At least until I get caught up!

The first thing that shows up is the pillows I made for my porch. I plan on making my screened in porch into another room of my house. Instead of the outdoor table and chairs that occupy that space now, I want to build storage benches that line the back and side of the porch. I'll make foam cushions to place on top of the benches - which will match the curtains I already made - and pillows to lean against. I'll add a cute coffee table and maybe a jute rug and some candles or lanterns and make a great space!

I planned to go with a totally New England styled theme of beach and sailboats and the like, so here are the pillows I plan to use in the space. Enjoy!

A Craft Jounral Just for Me!

I suppose my first post should be about my crafting background. Crafting is in my blood. My grandmother taught me how to sew and my mother always kept me busy creatively. I've always had craft projects in my life, and now that my crafts are getting more sophisticated and are leaving my possession as gifts, I thought the best was to keep track of them - in case I want to make something similar - is to keep a journal. I have a paper copy, but that's really hard to share with all my interested friends.

Thanks to Miss L for giving me the kick start to get moving on this!