new use for inanimate objects

 YAY!  new project idea!  my mother in law gave me these flooring samples because she thought I could do little drawings or paintings on them.   what sort of genius is she, really?!

my first rule was that I would work from top to bottom and try a different picture on each one.  then I thought I would do one a day...  which sounds great.  and ambitious.  but even I know myself better than that and there's no way I could make that happen.  so I figure, we'll just ride this wave out and when I have an inkling in me to drawing a tiny little...  something, I will do it.

here's what I did:  (oh!  tip: these little tiles have a great tooth on them- think Bristol paper for drawing- so it takes to color pencils, charcoal and oil pastels easily.  I will get to paints, eventually.)

step one: sketch your drawing.  I used a white charcoal pencil, since the tile I was using is dark.

hello baby mushroom and tiny clouds...

step 2: apply color.  I use Prismacolor color pencils.  believe it or not, there are 14 different pencils used in this piece!  Prismacolors are my favorite pencils to use because you can layer the colors so easily.

it's really hard to photograph your strong hand with your weak hand.  sheesh.

step 3: step back and admire your work!

CUTE is pretty much the only word I can find to describe this.

front:

                      back.                     

Owl Messenger bag

a friend requested a diaper bag for her new baby. only she didn't want it to be a diaper bag, she wanted it to be a "bag I can carry around at all times and not look like a diaper bag, but with lots of pockets."
her requests: purple, orange & green fabric, owls & mushrooms, lots of pockets.

this is the outcome. there are 7 pockets total.

detail of the fabric

their daughter's middle name is Clementine, I made this citrus applique as an homage to her.