Painting

I’ve finished a couple of paintings this week.

This one I had been working on for awhile. I did the hexagons back in the summer and could never really figure out what to do what the rest of it. I know bee’s seem a little obvious but I had the idea to do something a little different. I thought about putting little monsters in each of the hexagons, or leaving it as a geometric abstract painting. I think I’m happy with the way the Bee’s turned out though.

The second one started out as a doodle that I did in class.

I think I want to add eyes to the little purple floaters in this one. I used modge podge to get the texture on the planet and then painted it with a purple wash. I’m thinking it might need something else. I’d like to put something around the monsters to suggest they are glowing? Or maybe the planet should be glowing? I’m not really sure how to do that unless I use the wash again? As much as I like this it’s got a long way to go.

Edited: January 6th, 2012

Calvin and Hobbes

Over the holidays I began a pretty ambitious embroidery project. I wanted a challenge but I may have pushed myself a bit too far. I decided to turn a Calvin and Hobbes comic into a pretty piece of stitching. I’m using a single strand of thread in order to get the letters precisely where I need them and I’m trying to stay true to the exact content. Although I’m tempted to cut out all the hard letters. Why do words need “S”’s? Here is a bit of a work in progress and the original inspiration.

Edited: January 4th, 2012

Sewing

Almost two years ago I took a sewing class at The Workroom. I loved it. I made a pillow for my Dad, a pretty cool pillow. I learned to thread a machine, to fill a bobin and just really enjoyed the whole experience. I left Parkdale around 9:30 that night and hadn’t sewn a straight line since this week.

I had the best of intentions. I was going to make curtains for my kitchen and never have to pay to hem my own pants again. I had a sewing machine and I pulled it out, found all the pieces and tried to remember how to fill the bobin. After a few hours I had thread everywhere and a very empty bobin. I think I tried one more time before I moved and the sewing machine got packed away.

We’ve been trying to get rid of some things that we might not need, making some room to breathe in a very tiny apartment. I came across the untouched sewing machine and had a hard time justifying it’s use. I thought about putting it up on Craigslist, but instead I pulled it out and set it up. I grabbed the instruction sheet and somehow I filled a bobin. Beginners luck? I’ll take it.

I haven’t made anything yet, just stitching straight lines and seeing how strong I can make them. I’m super excited about this though. I have big plans for skirts. I can’t wait to combine Brian’s designs with cute pink polkadot skirts and floral patterns. I’m getting a head of myself a bit, first step is probably another pillow. Wish me luck!

Edited: May 19th, 2011

Winner!

Sunday night I was lucky enough to be on Facebook at the right time (okay, most Sunday nights I’m on Facebook, or Twitter, but probably both). I was the 400th person to like the Wise Daughters Craft Market Facebook Page,  and that was something very special. I won a prize pack! I headed over to their shop in the junction today to pick up my winnings.

So much awesome stuff here. I really like the cuff links…I need to find a cuff linked shirt for women, or maybe just get Brian to start wearing fancier shirts? The cards will come in handy for my plans to buy all handmade gifts/gift packaging this year.  And the felting kit is probably the beginning of yet another craft. I’ve always wanted to learn how to felt so now I have no excuses!

The store is cool and should really be checked out there is plush, accessories, t-shirts, aprons, DIY music box kits and more. It’s especially worth liking their Facebook page to keep up with what they are doing. This weekend, you can learn how to make an upcycled mobile, it’s only 2 hours and what else are you doing on Saturday? Okay, maybe you have plans but there are lots of other updates that are worth knowing.

Edited: April 12th, 2011

Free is Nice

I was in front of the Eaton Centre a few weeks ago and TD were handing out these bright green bags for free.

I like the colour and I love a free reusable bag but I didn’t really want to be an advertisement for a bank. Especially a bank I don’t even have a membership with. I’m not against logo’s but they are everywhere and wouldn’t it be nicer if art was everywhere, like fun unique art? I’m not very good with a sewing machine but I can embroider by hand, so I whipped up one of Brian’s scary skull designs. Sorry for the wrinkly pic.

I like the pink colour with the green, but if I did it again I wouldn’t do it on white linen. I like the rough look around the edges, it looks more punk rock and edgier. So far the bag is working great and getting a couple of interesting looks at the grocery store.

Edited: March 11th, 2011

You Are My Favourite

On Sunday we went to City of Craft’s Love & Rummage show at the Workroom. It was packed! I’ve gone to trunk shows there before and I’ve never seen it like this. I think it shows people in Toronto want more craft shows! People are craft hungry.

I saw a lot of things I wanted but limited myself to just one. A beautiful medallion by Krystal Speck. It’s hard to see in the photo but it says “You Are My Favourite”. I want to hang it everywhere but I’m going to try and find that one special place in my apartment where everyone will see it. Maybe I’ll hang it over the TV?

In less crafty news I found out this morning that later this month will be my 1 year birthday with the Toronto Public Library! I love that place. Free books means more money for Crafting.

Edited: February 7th, 2011

Etsy has been updated! I’ve even been included in a fun treasury. Updating my Etsy wasn’t as bad as I was thinking. I am going to be adding more blocks occasionally. On Etsy it is better to add new items slowly to show up more often near the top of the search rankings.

Besides updating my Etsy, Brian and I got out to see Come Up To My Room this weekend. The first room we went into was awesome. These pieces of wood are all the same shape but were connected together to go all over the room. Like a beautiful puzzle.

This piece was outside of the rooms in the hallway. It is all made out of very carefully cut paper. I would love to have something like this on my wall. It makes me think of the city, and being downtown.

We both agreed on our favourite room. A blend of illustration, amazing lighting and crochet. It was really well done, so much to look at, it had a kind of creepy feel, and I wanted to stay in this room all night.

Brian has been working on a really cool project and should hopefully be writing a post soon to talk about it.

Keep Up The Imagination,

Melissa

Edited: February 1st, 2011

Craft Show Wrap Up

I had a lot of fun at the Toronto Indie Craft Fair yesterday. It was my first show and I’m calling it a success. I made enough to cover the booth, transit and coffee on the way there. I also got a lot of great ideas for displaying my stuff. Here is a quick shot of what my booth looked like:

The table cloth and the shelving worked out.  I am pretty happy with it for my first time, and I can’t wait to get to Ikea to buy some things to make the next one even better.

If you missed the show don’t forget you can always check my Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/keepuptheimagination

Keep Up the Imagination,

Melissa

Edited: May 30th, 2010