Werewolves & Watercolor

Hello friends! I just got back from running with my neighbor again (my second run..er, jog with bits of walking here and there of the day might I add) and it is beautiful out with the full moon lighting the way. Well, it was good until I thought about werewolves and I couldn’t get to her house quick enough and right before I got there a deer jumped out into the road.  Luckily I realized it was a deer (and not some scary werewolf) or I would have dropped dead of a heart attack that had nothing to do with my fitness level.  So now I am having a cup of decaf tea (instead of wine-go health!) and finishing up some computer stuff. I have been doing a lot of watercolor painting this week and I finished up this painting yesterday. I have this project as a PDF tutorial in my shop with step by step photos and instructions in case anyone wanted a more complex project than what I have been doing in the free videos.

My tutorials for sale contain a PDF printable set of instructions (The beginner kits have lots of step by step photos) a printable pattern and a high-resolution picture of the finished painting (heck, you could print the painting on watercolor paper if you did not want to bother painting it LOL!) It only costs $3, what a deal!

[end shameless plug]

I had a few great questions in the comments after the last two free watercolor painting videos so I decided to answer them in a quick {ish} video tonight:

If you had a question that I did not think of just leave a comment and I will get back to you:) Well, that’s it for tonight, my runner’s high is wearing off…now I’m mostly hungry. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Paper Beads!

Howdy folks! Today is day 2 of cross-country training (so I don’t keel over during the parent race with my son’s cross-country team) and tonight I ran with a friend who is in way better shape than me…not that it is any great achievement mind you…but it was great motivation to run with someone who has more stamina. What’s also great motivation, I realized while jogging alone to her house in the dark, is thinking about zombies and scary clowns, yep, I never ran so fast in my life! Why don’t we have streetlights around here anyway?!? Well, I didn’t feel like I needed to throw up after the “run” and we went 1.5 miles alternating brisk walking and jogging so that is something. We are doing it again tomorrow night and I am trying to recruit other moms to join us…they keep saying “no” though…I might have to knock on doors and catch them by surprise I think.

You say you did not stop by to hear my tales of physical endurance? OK then, here are some paper beads I made a week ago. I watched another great tutorial by Ross Barbera on creating rice paper beads. I never would have tried that before because it is so thin and delicate and quite frankly it looks like a lot of work but the tutorial was so intriguing. I sliced up some rice paper, dipped it is future Floor wax and drizzled on regular and metallic watercolors and let dry. Let me just say that Ross’ technique is way nicer than mine but I am impatient (and lazy.) 😀 Then I made earrings:

And a bracelet:

And more earrings and a necklace…

I find the necklace design a little unsettling now that I see it in a photograph. Hmmmm…

Paper beads are fun! I had never tried them with rice paper before but I was inspired by Ross Barbera’s technique so I thought I’d have  a go at it. Gee, running, time consuming paper beads, what’s next? I’m wind and crazy I tell you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Pinata!

Howdy folks! I started training for a race today. My son runs cross country for his school and every year they have a “parent race” and I figure what’s good for the goose is good for the gander so I am going to run it. I have 2 goals:

1. To finish the race and not have a heart attack.
2. Not to come in dead last.

So today instead of walking my dog I jogged the first 3rd of our route, walked a third and jogged the last third. That might sound impressive but our route is 1/2 mile long. The race is 1.62 miles long.  I had to drag my dog the last third of the way because she is more of a leisure breed I think. Come to think of it I probably am too. My ankles hurt and my lungs burned.  Good times. I am trying to recruit other moms of x-country runners to join me because misery loves company I guess. 🙂 I have to say though, a half an hour after the run I felt really good and had lots of energy the rest of the day too so that is worth a little bit of agony I guess…right? Oh, you did not come hear to read about my running? OK then, here is my work desk this week, my twin daughters birthday is this weekend and here is the pinata we began tonight:

You might wonder why we spend so much time making something that is going to be destroyed (I think that when I see the elaborate food some people cook) well, I’ll tell you:

1. It is fun to design and make.
2. It is inexpensive (cardboard and party streamers) and it is nice to save money on the pinata and spend the money on the good fillings!
3. What kid doesn’t love a pinata?
4. It is really fun and freeing to make something that you know is temporary, it is liberating!

I was running low on cardboard and had to get creative with this. I just had some new goodies arrive from Papermart today so I used the box as the belly of the pinata (I filled the box chock-a-block full of candy) then I used a panel of flat cardboard for the nose and tail. I had to scrounge clean cardboard from a pizza box to make the fin and some tapering pieces from the box to the ends but who cares, it will all be covered in crepe paper! Man, I love making pinatas!  If only I could figure out how to put the squiggle over the “a” whenever I spell pinata….

Do you want to see what other craft folk have on their desks today? Well hop over the Julia’s blog The Stamping Ground for more WOYWW fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!