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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: A spoonful of creativity a day, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 20 of 20
1. More ponderings

I have a bunch of things buzzing around in my head at the moment - all triggered from my month of creating every day. Now I have to get organised and sort out the order of the projects I want to work on next. So here is a list (if I write things down, I am more likely to do them).

I want to ...

*Sell some of my little needle felted characters, but want to package/label them properly before I do - and considering opening a new Etsy shop for them.

*Create some book spreads/dioramas with various characters to see if they really could work in a book format.

*Attempt to write story lines of my own.

*Continue painting - I still love my watercolours and acrylics, I just got a bit side tracked by fluffy, wool roving :)

*Create some Christmas card designs.

*Improve my photography skills.

*Update my website.

Here is a little bunny that I am working on at the moment. Don't know his name or what adventures he will have yet, but I love his little face...







13 Comments on More ponderings, last added: 10/8/2009
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2.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 29

Today was a day of catching up on other things outside of the studio and then when I finally got around to working on the mouse scene, I felt thick headed and slow - I think my dear son finally gave me his cold - he is generous that way :)

I spent most of the afternoon messing around with various papers, trying to pick the right wallpaper/floor combo. I wanted the floor to look like wood and I quite liked the idea of making the wall look like it had years of wallpaper on it. Sandy from Art Tea Life very kindly sent me some vintage wallpaper samples many moons ago, and I have always kept them for that special project - and today was the day. Thanks Sandy!

So now I can't make up my mind - I am not sure if the background is too busy and needs to be plainer. I think the answer is to leave it alone and come back to it tomorrow.Some days just don't work out the way you plan 'em.

*edit* This was bugging me and I realized that I needed to see it lit by candle light. So here it is - better I think...

8 Comments on , last added: 10/3/2009
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3.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 27

I did have to miss a day yesterday, which was a bit disappointing. I will add on an extra day, so that the last day of my challenge will be the 1st of October. This doesn't mean that I will stop being creative after this, I just might not post about it every day :)

A friend of ours, children's author Alan Silberberg was with us at at the Burlington Book Festival yesterday. During his presentation, he talked about his writing methods. He felt it was important to try to write something every day. It could be as simple as a few lines, a list or character sketches. But the point of the exercise is to physically write every day - exercise your writing muscles. He felt that this really helps his work to flow.

I think the same method can work for making artwork. Doing something creative every day, (no matter how small the spoonful) can be really beneficial. It becomes a habit and it has certainly made me feel more inspired and excited about creating.

As I mentioned the other day, I want to create a dioarama bedroom scene with the needle felted mouse that I made. I started with the bed, and made it out of scrapbooking card...


So that I could make it just the size I needed...


Then I made a mattress, pillow and a teeny patch work quilt...


Wakey, wakey, little mouse...


Time to get up...


Good morning!



Inspiring artist of the day: Rare Bird

Art on my desk: Vintage photograph of Ruth Miller, 1928.

9 Comments on , last added: 10/28/2009
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4.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 26

More mouse making today. Finished needle felting some mousy legs...


And sewed him together...


A cute...


and very curious mouse...



Inspiring artist of the day: Amanda Blake

Art on my desk - Love tattoo by my friend and very talented artist : Jon Claytor

I will probably have to miss my creative spoonful tomorrow, as me and my husband are going to be participating in the Burlington book festival. It's about a two and a half hour drive from Montreal, so I think that by the time we get back in the evening, I will not have the time or energy to be creative :)

4 Comments on , last added: 9/30/2009
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5.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 25

When I began this challenge, I did not imagine that I would end up doing so much needle felting, but I am loving it and and want to continue with it while I am having so much fun, and hopefully it is not boring for those of you that check in regularly.

It has also got me thinking about how I could use it in my children's book illustration work. I would love to make some little characters for a story and create backgrounds for them with a combination of illustration, collage and other felted pieces. I don't have strong photography skills, but that is something I could learn/improve upon.

So I am going to start with making a simple little bedroom scene with a mouse. I am excited to see how it will turn out, and of course, I will share the process with you. It may be a disaster, but if I don't try it, I will never know.

Unfortunately, today I didn't have much time to get started. Ah well, tomorrow is another day :)


Inspiring artist of the day: Chris Sickels

Art on my desk: Cutting a rug by John Byrne

3 Comments on , last added: 10/22/2009
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6.

A spoonful of creativity
Day 24

Today was one of those nice days where we had to go out early and got lots of stuff done (I am not naturally an early bird!). And the icing on the cake was finding an Art of Walt Disney book that I have always wanted but could never afford (it was originally $90) and I got it for $40 at Multimags. Happy, happy.

It is a wonderful book - it goes right back to the beginning of Disney and the artwork is just amazing. Lots of sketches and beautiful watercolour spreads. I was brought up on this stuff, in fact I learned to draw by copying stills from animations like Alice in Wonderland and Peter pan. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Disney.

Then I came home to some fun mail: felting needles (I had ran out of #40's because I kept breaking them, clumsy needle felter that I am) and glass eyes - not for myself but for my little guys! The eyes are a little smaller than I expected. I can use them, but think I will have to order some larger ones.

Now, on to my spoonful of creativity for today. A teaspoonful today, just the beginnings...


of two bunnies...


Inspiring artist of the day: Abigail Halpin creates whimsical illustrations with a lovely, old world charm.

Art on my desk: Vintage photograph that I have always loved. Look at the ladie's fancy coats with big buttons - fantastic!

1 Comments on , last added: 9/28/2009
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7.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 22

I have been needle felting like a mad woman, so today I took a break from it. I have been thinking about what to do with these little guys - they are so tiny and light that they don't stand up by themselves, unless leaning against something. I started looking around at other people's crittters, and it seems that the solution to the problem is to attach them to some sort of base. It gives them more substance and I have seen bases made from wood, boxes and pincushions.

I like the idea of pincushions because they can be used just for display or have a function to hold your pins. Jennifer Murphy has been generous enough to share how she makes her pincushions, so I thought I would give one a go and see what it would look like with one of my little guys. I don't have everything I need such as the excelsior and sand, but I wanted to make a prototype to get started.

I cut out some pink felt pieces:


Sewed them together:


Stuffed it with excelsior (I found some at the dollar store but still need to buy the sand):


Stitched some details with embroidery thread, then needle felted the mouse to the pincushion:


I think I like it. Perhaps the colour of the pincushion is not perfect, maybe should have been more of a contrast and the stitching is a bit rough. But I like that the little mouse is standing so solidly and the whole piece feels a little more substantial. I think if I stuff the pincushion with sand as well as the excelsior, it will look plumper.
What do you think?

Inspiring artist of the day - Needle felter: Jenn Docherty
She has also had a book published about needle felting called
Sweet needle Felts for all you folks who would like to learn.

Art on my desk: Print by Jen Corace

5 Comments on , last added: 9/25/2009
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8.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 21

A strange, slow, tired day but it turned out all right in the end :)

The little mouse finally came together...


Waiting to get dressed...


No flag for him but a little sparkly star instead...


Close up...


Inspiring artist of the day: Jennifer Murphy

Artwork on my desk: Papercut by the lovely Elsita

6 Comments on , last added: 9/24/2009
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9.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 20

Whoo! Day 20 already. The time has zoomed past, which must mean that I am having fun. Not a lot of creative stuff done today. Just a smidgen of something new. Well, it was Sunday after all, and a beautiful, sunny, autumny day it was too....
So I only got as far as making a head...


Of a teeny mouse...


Squeak! Squeak!

Inspiring artist of the day - Needle felter: Violet Pie

Postcard on my desk: Tears by Man Ray, 1930

1 Comments on , last added: 9/24/2009
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10.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 16

The day ran away from me today. Not much done. Little Red needed a basket to make everything complete - so thought I would needle felt it ...


Starting to look like a basket...


But I didn't like it. It turned out not to be a great shape for Little Red to hold, so I started another, more roundy one...


So that was it for the day - little pesky baskets:)

2 Comments on , last added: 9/19/2009
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11.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 14

I had to get a piece finished for our Illustration for Kids Fall promo postcard today. I did some sketches yesterday and couldn't really decide between the hedgehog and the mole - so decided to work on two. A hedgehog in ink ...


and watercolour...


And a mole in acrylic and ink...


Almost done...


Finished hedgehog...


And finished mole...


I think I may go with the hedgehog - I like the softness of it and I think I might have overpainted the mole a bit. Fun to do though :)

5 Comments on , last added: 10/2/2009
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12.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 13

Another day with very little time to squeeze in anything creative - but, I had promised myself to do something every day, I didn't promise that it would always be pretty :)

I have a piece to paint for our Fall Illustration for Kids promo card which I need to submit by the end of the day tomorrow. (Shouldn't you have started this much earlier Susan? Yes, I should have, but instead left it until the last minute..)

Here are some very rough sketches....I have Little Red Riding Hood on the brain - quite like the idea of her feeding squirrels with the sneaky wolf looking on - but the image has to be approximately three inches square and this might be too busy and detail may get lost..


Keep doodling moles and hedgehogs with oak leaf umbrellas...


As you can see, I don't really have a clear idea of what I am doing yet, but it is all part of the process...


Sometimes things have to get a bit messy before something good can come out of it.

1 Comments on , last added: 9/14/2009
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13.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 11

I couldn't leave the needle felting alone, and started to make a little pink circus bear...


The Christmas needle felt scene was almost done, so I painted the box and stuck it all together and it is finished!...


The bear didn't take too long as he is very tiny...


And kinda cute...I think I will give him a ruffled collar and a hat but that will be for another day...


Did I mention that needle felting is fun? :)

3 Comments on , last added: 9/14/2009
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14.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 8

I have been carrying on with Little Red today - trying to get her finished, but not quite there yet. She now has some silk underoos and a lot more hair...


Here she is modelling her complete outfit. I still have to make the cape though..


And I gave her a bit of a hair do...


Starting to look quite spiffy. Now I just need to make a cape and a pesky wolf :)

5 Comments on , last added: 9/9/2009
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15.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 7

And another teaspoonful today. The holiday and a long bike ride curtailed the creating today, but we had a lovely day and it was well worth it.

So, today, Little Red got a new pair of boots made from red felt and some cute buttons:


And a skirt made from a cuff of an old shirt. I think my original Little Red who is looking on, approves:


Next, a top and of course, a red cape...

3 Comments on , last added: 9/9/2009
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16.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 6

Today's spoonful of creativity was a tiny one - a little teaspoonful.

A few months ago, I was asked to make a Little Red doll with a wolf for a library. I got Little Red started ages ago, then she languished in my sewing box for the longest time.

So, today, I got her back out:


Her body is done and she has the beginnings of hair. I cut out the arms and legs..


Sewed them up and stuffed them:


Then attached them to the body with mother of pearl buttons:


Now she needs an outfit, which will be a project for another day!

Sweet dreams!

2 Comments on , last added: 9/7/2009
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17.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 5

Watch out folks - needle felting is very addictive.

I started a mole last night (which you can see next to the mug there) but in the end felt it was too big, so I put it aside. Ewan had asked for a koala bear, so I spent another afternoon stabbing at some roving..


Starting to look bear like...the ears were fun to shape..


Almost there...


Added some legs and black beads for the eyes...


Finished off with a little bit of stitiching to the face...


And as I am completely addicted, I had to make something else. This time it was a teeny tiny mole...


I love moles :)



I will do something different tomorrow - probably a simpler project that is a little less time intensive...but I do have to finish the Christmas scene that I started, so I will get to feed my needle felting addiction some time in the near future.

Cheerio!

9 Comments on , last added: 9/8/2009
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18.

A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 4

A bit late posting this, but I didn't really get going until this afternoon, and today I decided to give needlefelting a try. Once again, I have had the materials sitting around for a while. I had used a little of the roving to make hair for my stuffies, but had never really tried to make an object - until today.

So I got out some wool roving (such pretty colours!), needle felting needles, a foam mat (you need a surface that gives a little when you stab with the needle so that it doesn't break)..


I thought a Christmas tree might be a simple shape to start with. I folded the roving into a rough triangular shape...


Then started stabbing into the shape while turning it every now and then. Be careful as the needles are very sharp and it takes a lot of stabbing (and patience)to start creating a solid shape, and it is easy to get carried away and forget about your poor fingers!

Starting to look like a tree. I took a piece of pink roving and made a little ball for the top of the tree...


I began to make a little snow scene for the tree and I plan to stick it on a little box....


This needs more work, so I will continue at another time.


Needle felting takes a lot of time and patience, but it is fun, like sculpting with a needle. I already have a few ideas for some little critters, and my son has already put his request in, so I forsee plenty of stabbed fingers in my future :)

Nighty night!

4 Comments on , last added: 9/5/2009
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19.

A Spoonful of creativity
Day 3

Today I have a scratchy throat and feel very lethargic, so my enthusiasm for sitting at my desk was pretty low - but I knew I had to do something - it is only day three, after all!
I didn't have the brain power to come up with ideas and needed to do something more connected to my hands and less with my brain - if that makes any sense.

So today was paper clay day.
I have had this sitting in my cupboard for a while. When working with it, it is handy to have a sheet of waxed paper to use as a working surface, a bowl of water, a wet cloth, paper towels and sculpting tools if you have them:


The clay was pretty tough at first and not very malleable. so I broke off pieces, kept dipping my fingers in the water and kneaded it. It got quite soft after a while and I just played around with it, not really knowing what to make. These started to look like mouse ears to me...


A little mouse head, with a folded pipe cleaner as possible base for a body, and a little bunny. I pierced a holes through the body to possibly put wires through to attach arms and legs...


The beginnings of a doll. I put little holes in the chest piece with the idea of sewing it to a fabric body...


This is as far as I got, then ran out of steam...


The paperclay was nice to work with and fit my mood - a bit spaced out and slow.

More tomorrow folks :)


3 Comments on , last added: 9/4/2009
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20.

A spoonful of creativity a day


It's the first day of September and change is in the air. Our son is back to school which means the beginning of new routines and I thought that perhaps now was a good time to make a new routine for myself. Work has been slower, which over the summer was really nice but has now left me feeling a little restless. Thinking about it, I realized that I have got used to deadlines and sometimes feel a little lost without them. I have also been talking about creativity and staying motivated with quite a few people recently and came to the conclusion that a little project was needed. Something fun, without too much structure or rules.

So here it is: A spoonful of creativity a day. Every day of September I will create something. It can be anything from a two minute doodle, or a painting, collage, sculpture, knitting, sewing - anything. By documenting it here, it will encourage me to keep producing, even on those days when I just don't feel like it. I am hoping that by the end of the month, I will feel newly inspired and hopefully inspire some other people along the way too.

If anyone wants to join in that would be wonderful (you don't have to commit to every day, sometimes would still be nice!). Leave a comment so that I can visit and see what has made your day feel a little more creative.

Today is Day One....better get started.......

6 Comments on , last added: 9/1/2009
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