A Peek into my Sketchbook

I’ve had this thing for poppies recently so on Sunday afternoon I sat outside and played around with my watercolors and painted poppies to my heart’s content. They’re so much fun and quite easy!

Spring. Please?

I am very ready for spring.
Fresh air.
Open windows.
Green things growing.

So I brought some from Arkansas. I attended a Bible School in Arkansas during the last month and a half and spring has already started there. Having tasted spring already this year makes me wish for it more here. So I brought some in for my desk.

The trees are starting to bud so I cut a few twigs and brought them in to enjoy the fresh little leaves when they pop.

I love this little nest from last summer. An artsy little bird bordered her nest with these lacy little weeds.

I brought this moss back from Arkansas. It represents good memories of walking along a woody riverbank that was carpeted with this beautiful thick moss!

This is what I did. Very simple and it makes me happy. How are you enjoying spring’s little beauties?

scarf+rice=?

 

This scarf was lying here trying not to be sent to Goodwill. I liked it but it was so small that I didn’t use it, so it was added to the pile to be moved on.

Last night I saw it again and had a sudden inspiration. And strangely, it was a quick and simple inspiration. 🙂 (Perhaps the past year of working full time, plus trying to keep up with photography and a social life have something to do with the slightly less time consuming inspiration.)

It was to be a cozy little rice bag. The whole project took about 45 minutes and would have been finished much sooner if I hadn’t added the flower or had to take out some seams.

In the process of envisioning the finished product, I wasn’t thrilled about the fact that one side would have a wide blue strip and it would look strange, but then I decided to add the flower to make it look like the blue end was meant to be there -the best part of upcycling things, you are presented with more or less options, it just depends how you look at it!

I started by sewing the flower to one end of the scarf. It’s a simple ruffle spiral made from an old worn polo shirt.

Then I folded the scarf in half and sewed the two layers together with a zigzag stitch, but it looked really bad and stretched the scarf so I took that out and sewed a straight stitch instead. This worked much better. Once both sides were sewed, I added the rice.

After adding the rice, I sewed that end closed. All the seams were top-stitched. The thread isn’t visible since the weave of the scarf absorbs the stitches.

It’s that simple. And a great way to use a $1 scarf. Now all that needs to be done is to heat it in the microwave for a minute or two, drape it around one’s neck, and grab a book and a cup of tea to enjoy its coziness.

Stay warm!

P.S. Is it acceptable to give an upcycled project as a gift? 🙂

September calendar : : free printable

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s time to post next month’s calendar; this busy summer has flown past and it’s already nearly September!

  Click here to download.

This calendar is free for personal use. I hope you enjoy it!

August calendar : : free printable

Well, I’m several days late, but I’m here with the August calendar…and finally with a real download link! I’ve been trying to figure this out for awhile and had no clue it was this easy until Hannah showed me tonight. It’s nice when that happens. 🙂

This photo was a very quick shot and it’s one of my all time favorites. I hope you enjoy it too! 🙂

Click here to download. Personal use only please.