Thank you, Ginny!

More painting with Bob Ross

(Please note Sodapop, who SNORED throughout this entire painting lesson.)

With Bob Ross, you get to a point, about halfway in, where you're all, "yeah, this looks like sh*t".  And then he KEEPS GOING, and tells you to do this and this and THIS, and pretty soon it's looking like an actual ... painting.

Voila!

More Painting with Bob Ross

Don't let the bright sun fool ya - it's cold as SH*T outside.  That's why I decided to paint this morning.

la la la ... happy little trees:

Wait WHUT?  "Squirrel" was most definitely NOT on the supplies list:

Bob Ross always scares you by telling you to do something AWFUL like covering half your canvas with black:

But then it all comes out okay in the end. Well, as okay as it can turn out when you're painting at the level of a third-grader, at least:

Now I've just gotta find out where to get a squirrel.

Quilting a mystery

In my previous post about the quilt, I mentioned some mystery squares.  Here they are:

Let's see, that's a pair of axes in the upper left, but what's that on the bottom right?  A ... sled?  A ... baseball with extended stitch lines?
 

Clearly, RHW was a big fan of ... underwear?  Swimming trunks?  Bloomers?

In the upper left of the above panel, we have a flower and either some leaves or a butterfly.  And in the bottom right, we have ... Saint Bernardcat.

Below we have a dog, surrounded by the moon and stars, staring at a bear wearing a collar (?).  The collar-bear also appeared in another block of the quilt.

Okay, so in the lower right of the panel below, we have a welding glove.  And in the upper left, we have four interlocking rings.  And an arrow.  BUT WHAT DOES IT MEEEEEAAAAAN?:

And finally, we have what I think is my favorite panel of all:

In the upper left, we have a monogram.  And in the bottom right, we have a little man running away with something tucked under his arm:

WHUT

I do not know what the little man represents, but he is charming.  As are all of these panels, even though I have not been able to crack their codes.  Ideas welcome!

Dashboard Hula

Because why not?

Costume contest!

I went to the reservoir to do some paddling yesterday, and happened upon a canoe and kayak costume contest!

Some people went for the basic look:

Although I did like this dragon:

Bird's nest?  I'm not sure:

Tiki bar!:

From left:  Beach scene, birthday party, Finding Nemo:

And!  My personal favorite:

Now I want a pirate kayak!  There's my next project ...

The artist's assistant

Painting

Yeah.  If I put some paint on his paws and let him walk around, do you think I could pass it off as "outsider art"?

HEY LADY I BOUGHT YOU A PRE-

... oh, wait, I think it's for me.  Never mind.



Attempts at card creation continue, with Santa's little pains in the a** helpers assisting:

I guess cat-in-the-box was inevitable at some point - why should my guys be any different from cats worldwide?:

It's not too late to request a card, seeing as how card-making is limping along at a feeble pace.  Shoot me an email at rockycat24 AT yahoo DOT com if you want a late, cat-hair-coated card.  You know you want one.

Last weekend, Ponyboy decided he wanted to go along to help me pick out the Christmas tree:

And some of the cats just want to be under the tree.

The tree is up and the lights are on, but it's not decorated yet.  I'm not done shopping, I have yet to ship my packages, the cards are not done, and a very helpful friend reminded me on Facebook this morning that there are fifteen days until Christmas.  If everything gets done, it's gonna be a Christmas miracle.

Deck those halls!

Freaky Friday: Crazy Crafts!

Okay, I think we all could use a little respite from my racist boss (see yesterday's post if you missed it), so let's do a Freaky Friday.



I know you guys all think I'm nuts.  Truth is, I am.  But there is a method to my madness, and today I thought I'd give you a step-by-step look into my world.  Previous Freaky Fridays have given a glimpse into some of the weird sh*t around my house; today I'll show you how one such item came to be. 

 Start here, with a flat-back birdcage I picked up at Kohl's using one of the gift cards they keep sending me.  Original price thirty-nine bucks, marked down to fifteen, and I had a ten dollar card so it cost me five bucks.  But it's plain!  This can not stand!

Let's see, it needs some background.  Maybe some sky?

Nah, not quite right.  How about some lizards?

Oooooo, better.

I was gonna go with the lizard motif, and maybe put a little hanging plant in there, but ... eh.  It's been done before.  I needed something different ... something really different.

I wanted to have a cage of light.  Of brightness, for the winter months.  But I couldn't quite put my finger on the idea ...

And then, I went out walking the other weekend, and the trees and the asters all looked like fireworks going off, and I thought, "fireworks.  I want a birdcage full of fireworks."

Well.  I knew I had some wrapping paper or a gift box or something at home with a fireworks print.  I thought I'd head for the dollar store to see what else could remind me of fireworks.

I was looking for anything sparkly.  Metallic sparkly.  I picked up some cheerleading pompoms, one of those balloon-weight thingies, some shiny gold wire garland and some bead necklaces.  It was time to go to work.  First up was deconstructing the pompoms; I was pleased to discover that the strands were all attached to some plastic backing and not just running amok once they were removed from the handles.

(Yeah, I was working out in the backyard. It was a beautiful day.)

I started with the fireworks-printed gift box; I unfolded it and put it in the back of the birdcage.  There wasn't enough to cover the whole back, but I figured that wouldn't matter once I put the other stuff in there.

 The balloon-weight thingie went in the center as the main firework; I draped a dismantled pompom across the back of the birdcage, arranged the garland to look like streamers, and ran the bead necklaces down from the top.  In progress:

Close-up view:

Here it is inside:

Hmmm.  Looks a little dark, there in the corner.  Needs more light.  I took a nightlight, attached it to an extension cord, and stuck it in the back of the birdcage.  Let's LIGHT IT UP, BAYBEE.

Close ... close ... getting closer ...

The light needed to be ... more firework-y.  (Am I insane?  Don't answer that.)

I pulled out the nightlight, threw in a small string of Christmas lights, and tried again.

THAT'S IT! I GOT IT!

A birdcage full of fireworks.  Oooooo, pretty.


 

Cards here! Getcher cards here!

Because pinched nerves, root canals and a couple of highly entertaining kittens are evidently not enough to keep me busy, I'll be doing Christmas cards again this year!

So! Here's the deal: If you got a card from me last year, you are on the list for this year. If you did NOT get a card from me last year and you would LIKE a card, email me (rockycat24 AT yahoo DOT com) and you'll go on the list for this year. If you DID get a card from me last year and you now hate me and are not speaking to me, email me (that doesn't count as speaking, heh) and you'll go OFF the list.

Got it? Personally, I'm kind of confused. Bottom line? If you want a Christmas card, and you haven't gotten one from me before, email me. Rockycat24 AT yahoo DOT com. Most of the cards will be homemade, and as I am quite possibly the least-crafty person on earth, prepare to receive a card that looks like it was made by a third-grader. Peeps who got cards in previous years, you KNOW what I'm talking about.

Let the gluing-together-of-the-fingers begin!

If I can't be good ....

I went to a watercolor-painting demonstration a while back. I've been painting for a long time - oils, acrylics, watercolors - you name it. I picked up some good tips, but it was only a teaser for a class that would cost $50.00 for four hours of a group lesson.

Which I thought was kind of price-y. I mean, if there's a bunch of people in the class, you're going to get little to no personal attention.

And plus, I took a (more reasonably-priced) series of painting classes a few years back and didn't get a whole lot out of it, because the classes were self-directed, which is not my thing. I need someone to show me what to do.

And basically, the main thing is, I suck at painting. I'm really not very good, at ALL, and it's frustrating the heck out of me, because let's face it, the reason I started painting to begin with is because I looked at some paintings and said, "hell, I could do that!"

Except I couldn't. And I still can't. And I try and I try and I try and while I've turned out a few pieces that aren't too bad (for a twelve-year-old {sheesh}), I'm still pretty sucky.

And I guess it's the perfectionist in me that's saying if I can't be good, I shouldn't even try. Don't even bother.

But I like to paint! Even if I look at what I've done, think, "I could fix that", realize, "No, there's no fix for suck", and toss it, the process itself is still fun. Right up until the end, when I realize how bad the finished product really is. And then I get mad, because, "why can't I be good at this? I really, really want to be good at this - why do I suck so bad?"

I mean, at least I realize I suck. It's not like I'm churning out horrible crap and trying to submit it to art galleries or anything. So where's the harm, right?

Then again, if I can't be good .......... what's the point?

So let me ask you - Is there anything you do just for fun, even though you're not any good at it? Anything you do just for the heck of it, 'cause you enjoy it?

I need some inspiration here!