Book Illustration Project

I've never illustrated a book before but my friend Nikki wrote a cute children's story that I am working on the pictures for. I think I need about 12 pictures so the challenge will be to not burn out! My granddaughter has already burned out with posing but next time I will use real cupcakes to make it interesting! She posed for this one with a fake cupcake.

Mermaids

When someone gave me some naked Barbies for my grandchildren, I decided that they all should become mermaids. At the fabric store I got two mermaidish types of fabric and proceeded to sew tails for each doll with a small Velcro closure at the back.

Homemade Lip Balm

I've been wanting to make my own healthy lipstick ever since I read that the average woman eats four pounds of it a year! The recipe I used was 20% beeswax, 25% coconut oil, 15% cocoa butter, 40% olive oil and small amounts of dried red wine (for color), argan oil and rosemary oil. Just melt the beeswax, coconut oil and cocoa butter in a can in a pan of boiling water and add the other ingredients when these get melted - then pour into chapstick containers. I thought I was making a small batch but I ended up with 44 tubes! I will say my dried up wine was not totally successful as a colorant so now I am drying a beet for the next experiment.

En Plein Air

I had to get at one plein air landscape in this summer. This was painted down at the newly renovated boardwalk at the mouth of Accokeek Creek. The boardwalk is plenty fancy - time to check it out if you haven't been down there yet!

Quilt Square

Years ago, my friend Francis told me about the easy way to make a quilt square. You sketch out a picture, then make fabric cutouts of the picture, then glue them together using iron on "stitch witchery" glue, then use a tight zigzag stitch around the fabric edges. It's so easy to do it this way! In this square, the Owl and Pussycat are actual little stuffed animals, attached by a ribbon to the inside of the boat.

Willow in Straw Hat

Every time I see a painting I am familiar with acted out in real life I feel like I have to paint it. The inspiration painting is Mary Cassatt's Girl in a Straw Hat. I know I'm kind of in a grandchild painting rut - will try to break out soon.

Handmade Camera Case

My two cameras before my current one both broke and I finally caught on that keeping a camera in a case is the way to go. My current one did not come with a case, so I traced the camera outline on paper and added about 3/16 around the edge. Using my paper pattern, I cut two pieces of leather, one with a extension about 2 1/2 inches for a closure flap. I measured the widest part of the camera and cut a long leather strip that width plus 3/8 inch. The embellishments were cut out of leather scraps. All the seams were glued first with contact cement. Then I used an awl to punch holes about an eighth of an inch apart. I stitched up the seams and put a magnetic snap on the flap and I was done. I have a nice case that exactly fits my camera!