Thanks and Pay It Forward

I have so many things I want to post, mostly knitting, but I am refraining because they are gifts and I'd like the recipients to be surprised. So instead I'm going to post some things that have been given to me (us) to say thanks. A while back I responded to a fellow blogger, Creative Kismet, and she sent me this wonderful package of fun things, simply for responding to her blog. Thanks Regina, for my first blogger gift!

Second, my mother-in-law, also known as Grandma Julie, sent this wonderful Advent Calendar for the girls this year. I have been coveting hers for years and had considered making something myself, but it's down at number 36 on the list of things to make. So, I was very excited and pleased that she made one for us.
Next, for my birthday recently, I got together with my local friends for a night of handwork (sewing, knitting, whatever...) and received these very nice handmade gifts. Gift bags for Christmas presents and a needle book. Thanks everyone!
Finally, I signed up to participate in Creative Kismet's Pay It Forward game, also a while back. Then I hesitated a bit, thinking, wait a minute, how is this going to work? No one reads my blog!! But what the heck, I'm going to try it anyway. Here's how it works...

“I will send a (small) handmade gift to the first 5 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.“

So, this should be fun. I have no idea what I'll make yet, but if you're out there wanting to join in some blog exchanging fun, here's your chance!

Needle Roll

I worked up this needle roll this weekend to organize my knitting needles. I am slowly getting my workspace more organized and this was just one piece of the puzzle. It is made with wool felt, sewed on the machine and then embroidered along the edges. The tie was a bit of an afterthought, which made it a little tricky to sew on. Overall the project was pretty simple. I'm not sure I would even embroider the edges next time.

Next post: a proper blog thank you and a little PIF promise.

Birthday Party

Sofia mentioned that she wanted to have a dinner party for her birthday this year. I latched onto the idea, hoping to save a little money by keeping it small. There was a total of 8 kids plus the parents, but the kids got to sit at the birthday table. I wanted to create a magical birthday atmosphere, not in a Disney princess way, but with some nice homemade decorations.Each guest got a favor box with chocolates inside. They were a little young to expect them not to eat their chocolate before dinner was served. I used some mismatch silverware I got from my grandmother, and Sofia chose her favorite colors of our cloth napkins to use.
The centerpiece was made of tissue flower arrangements and the birthday ring. Sofia helped make streamers, paper lanterns, and tissue paper cutouts to decorate the walls. It was a lot of fun for her to help. The tissue flower arrangements were an idea from here, one of my favorite crafty bloggers.
I had to recreate this after the party, since in all the excitement of the day, I forgot to take nice pictures of the table before the kids came. Sofia chose a roasted rosemary chicken, broccoli, fruit salad, and bread with butter.

Birthday Ring

Chris and I made Sofia a birthday ring for her birthday this year. There are twelve little characters made with felt, glue, acrylic paint, embroidery floss, ribbons and beads. Chris made the ring with his computer numerically controlled (CNC) router. My flickr site has more photos.

Halloween Teddy Bears

I get to post these two cuties here because I made their costumes. I don't think I'll encourage them to be the same thing again. It was hard to motivate myself to make the second costume. I guess I could have done it more like an assembly line but I was working with one pattern and I wanted to make sure I had done things right before I cut the pattern into the smaller size. They were some pretty cute teddy bears.

Monster Returns!

Yes, you've seen this before, but I took a better picture this time. And I'm entering him into a monster contest. This is Sofia's monster, named Murdoch. Acrylic on canvas board. 9 in. by 12 in.

The contest is Monster Mash 2007, presented by Penelope Illustration. The monster entries can be seen here at Penelope's flickr site, or here at her website.

Grow

Pen & ink and watercolor on paper, 6 in. by 9 in.

Extremes

Ink on Paper. 4 in. by 4 in.

This is just a quick little sketch for this week's illustration friday, submitted at the 11th hour, literally. We've been having a little mouse problem in the kitchen this week. They've been testing to what extremes we will go to keep them out. So far, the sign on the door hasn't worked.

OPEN

OPEN
Originally uploaded by mscahillman

I saw the IF topic last night and decided to go for it. I needed a little motivation I guess...

Acrylic on illustration board. 8.5 in. by 10 in.

Knitted Elephant

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Originally uploaded by mscahillman

I finished this elephant a while ago, but I didn't post it because it is a christmas gift. I decided that since the recipient probably won't be checking my blog (although her mother may), I would post it anyway. It's knitted with that kool-aid dyed yarn from a few posts back. The pattern came from Zoe Mellor's "knitted toys", which has a bunch of really cute stuffed toys. I'm working on the rabbit now as another gift.

Gocco Birthday Scene

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20070927_IMG_8365
Originally uploaded by mscahillman

Sofia's upcoming 5th birthday inspired this drawing. I scanned the original drawing, fixed a couple errant lines in Photoshop, and printed it the size I wanted for cards. It seems our printer's ink contains enough carbon to make a good gocco master. These test prints are on various handmade paper scraps that came in a set from Michael's. The higher contrast ones look better. Next I think I'll add some color layers and turn this into birthday cards and/or gift tags. Full size photos over in flickr.

New Logo Work

This is the logo I did for Natalie's bookstore along with the front and back of the business card.

Breakdance Daniel

Pen and ink with watercolor on illustration board. 8 in. by 10 in. This was done for my niece as part of a "secret buddy" exchange at her theater group. Her buddy describes himself as "metro" and likes to breakdance. Apparently, he loved it.

Pincushions

I'm a little behind in uploading projects. I made these back in May when two of my friends celebrated their 40th birthdays. Wool felt stuffed with wool and beans for stability.

Kool Aid Dyeing

My friend hosted a yarn dyeing play date and this was the result - yummy colors! This was a skein of undyed wool from Joann's. The basic recipe is, unwind ball and rewind into a big loop and tie in several places to keep from getting tangled, soak the wool in water (we used large basins outside), add vinegar, and sprinkle several packets of kool aid in the bath (do not stir to get the nice variegated dyeing), sit for a while, then rinse until water runs clear. There are many recipes out there on the internet. I have a cute knit elephant pattern that I think I will use this yarn for.

Cloth Baby Shoes

We have a new baby in the family, and I couldn't resist making these shoes when I saw them. The pattern is here.

Rejection

Colored Pencil and ink on watercolor paper, 7.5 in. by 10 in.

Suit

Aquarelle and pencil on watercolor paper. 7.5 in. by 10 in.

Guitar Tees

I printed these t-shirts today (the gray one is a birthday present for one of our little friends) with the print gocco. It was fun and easy - now we all have guitar t-shirts.

What Have I Been Doing??

I've been doing some toy making as well as some art. These little guys are root children and they go along with the Story of the Root Children, a traditional german story about the seasons.This is a quickie painting I did for my honey for his birthday in November.
I got together with some friends to dye silk scarves for playing. My girls got one of the rainbows pictured for Christmas and they love it!
Christmas card production this year...


A butterfly mobile for my twin niece and nephew.

...and lastly, a set of puppets for my niece to go along with a really cute story.

Love Your Body

Acrylic paint and ink on illustration board. 9 in. by 12. in.

This is my entry for the 2007 Love Your Body Poster contest. I am pleased with the outcome. Wish me luck!

Rocker Ballerina

I did this commission for my best client, so far:)

Twins Announcement

Print Gocco and Watercolor on cardstock. 4 in. by 5 1/2 in.

Wizard of Oz

Gouache and ink on illustration board. 8.5 in. by 11 in.

I painted this program and flyer for a play that my niece and nephew are going to be in this month.

Summer

No, it's not the topic for Illustration Friday, but it's my excuse for not doing any IF for a while. I didn't realize how much more I could get done while Sofia was in half day preschool . For now, I'm back to full time mom of two. I am working on some knitting and a birth announcement for my sister. Summer fun will be posted here!

Jungle

Acrylic on illustration board. 9.25 in. by 12 in.

I did this piece a couple years ago in a class. It was for a Los Angeles Times Magazine article about a young kid in South Los Angeles trying to free himself from the gang life.

Portrait of Two Girls Sitting Amongst the Lettuces

Acrylic on canvas board. 10 in. by 14 in.

This is based on a photo I took of my two girls at a farm this spring. I am reposting a new version on Friday 6/9, which I think is better, not perfect, but that's what practice is for, right.

CAKE

Acrylic on canvas board. 9 in. by 12 in.

5/31 I uploaded a new photo taken with a friend's digital SLR. The color is much better than anything I was able to get. Thanks Rowells!

SORRY

Gouache and watercolor on watercolor paper. 5.25 in. by 7.5 in. I'm sorry that I was not more creative with my subject matter on this one. I didn't have time to think about it too much, but I love Carla's take on this one. Anyway, I saw a lot of sorry little people in this week's entries also, so I thought I'd try my own take on a sorry little person. Boy, does she look sorry. I almost feel bad. I have no idea what she did.

Completed Apple

Acrylic on canvas board. 9 in. by 12 in.

ANGELS AND DEVILS

Acrylic on canvas board. 10 in. by 10 in. This one is too big for the scanner so I have to settle for this lousy picture.

FAT

Acrylic on canvas board. 8 in. by 10 in.

UNDER THE SEA

Paper collage and colored pencil. 5.25 in. by 7.25 in.