Craft Ideas - Flying Fairies

I wanted to surprise my daughter with a little something yesterday, and while she was at school, I got out my crafting box, then started getting busy...

First, I used these printouts of fairies and colored them in.

Then I cut them out along the shapes, leaving a small gap between the line and the edges for easier manuveure.

Next, stick the cutout fairies onto cardstock paper and cut along the edges once more.

After that, punch a hole on the top and attach a ribbon for hanging.

And there you have it... flying fairies to brighten up your little sweetling's room!

(which by the way she loved!)

If you'd like to get cracking and make something similar, my fairies are available here.

Have fun, everyone!

Playtime

Remember that wonderful era when paper dolls were so much more fun than Barbie dolls? Well, I finally found some time to work with my scissors and glue the other day...

 

It was so refreshing to make these little girls, I think I might even make more and expand the family! Doesn't it feel good to relive your childhood memories? What kind of toys did you play with as a child?

Amalia, oxx

Early Resolution

Time is ticking and the end of year draws near. As with many years that have passed, the last week is always the crucial moment for me to pause and reflect. Not that I intentionally sit myself down and think about it, but thoughts just swim by every moment of the day and stops me at the littlest things I do. As if my mind tries to remind me of what's done and subtly leaves me space to ponder on.

Well, today I thought about my journey. The beginning, the process and the end I have yet to meet. I realize now that I tend to get excited when things start and rush myself to the end, leaving the process merely as a leap to get me where I want to be. At the end the sweetness just lingers on briefly, while something feels missing out of the picture. So I decided that from now on, the process will have its own spotlight, starting right here.

This is the initial black and white drawing I did. While in the beginning I had the image of a girl drifting at sea, apparently my hand just had a mind of its own. So flying on a cloud, she goes...

I've been experimenting with watercolor and acrylic washes these days. Having spent the past 7 years or so focusing on colored pencils, I've been trying to get myself out of the box this year and had played around more with other techniques. It's just good to know that I now have more options on the shelf for each project I'm doing.

Well, this is she... just before the final touches. I love the antique vintage look on her and how the paper had turned into an old scroll like form. And it smells wonderful, because I like using a little bit of tea stains here and there. (Jasmine is my fave!)

Wishes, acrylics and tea stains on paper, 2010

And here she is... up high in the sky, off to reach out for the stars. Don't you just wish that was you? I do! (impossible it may seem). So I think I'll just post that image in my head for safe keeping, in case I ever felt like crawling under the bed...

I hope you get time to pause and reflect.

My best,
Amalia oxox

Lazy Day, Crafty Hour

One cold and rainy day...

...when lazying around and doing nothing was the greatest temptation...

...I reminded myself that it was yesterday's agenda...

...so I picked up the pencil, drew, painted...
...and proved to myself that I could still put a good use to scissors and glue.

It was wonderfully satisfying to do something different. I hope your weekend was great!

Many hugs,

Amalia oxox

Flows Like Water

I'm sure many of my artist friends would agree when I say that ideas and emotions often come along side by side in creating art. To me personally, sometimes the process seems like such a blur that there are times when I can't even see or hear anything but the idea itself forming in my head. In this particular moment, it's hard to doubt or argue with myself... if I should do this instead of that, if I should use this color or any other... Everything just flows, like water. Of course, because of this, I make a pretty lousy critic for my own work, seeing that most of them are created based on my personal thoughts and emotions.

It's funny that this musing was actually triggered by a simple question my six year old daughter asked me.  She wanted to know why the people in my work always look so sad... Now what would you say to that? Let alone explain it to a child? Because honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Do I simply enjoy it or is there something more? Is it something I think about constantly? Could there be sadness buried inside? Well, I decided that trying to find out would be a very exhausting process. So cowardly as I was, I suggested truce to my little critic and offered her to do a 'happy' drawing instead.

This, was what I came up with. And her comment was?

"She looks nice, but how come the clown looks so sad?"

... *SIGH*... So much for a 'happy' drawing, huh?

Annie's Dream - Another Watercolor Experiment

In one of my older posts, I promised myself that I would try experimenting more with watercolor. Funny I know, this is one technique that I'm still struggling with until now...I just can't quite nail it down yet. Somehow I get nervous and indecisive when it comes to applying the colors. A friend told me once that maybe I just think too much about it :)

So I did another attempt last night, and to my surprise I'm kind of happy with it. What do you think? Well, if you'd like to see more of my nerve-wrecking attempts, come visit Watercolor Wednesdays!

Something New

I'm playing around with pencil and pen today, just something I haven't got around to do in a while (thanks to crazy deadlines and motherhood :D). A little experimenting is always good and because I've always wanted to do a much softer and transparent version of my style, I thought a balance between pencil and pen could work. Maybe I should also try watercolor again one of these days...