A Little Over It

Hello Everyone!

Happy Summer!  It's been a little over a year since my last post. Once again I managed to fall off the blog-O-sphere after trying to re-establish the SketchyGirlz blog with my best friend last year. It just was a bit overwhelming (to both of us) trying to keep up with two blogs, working full time and creating art. That's how it happened....Now, it is time for a fresh start once again.

How is your summer going?  Are you working on anything new?  Living in south Florida, the average temperature each day is in the 90's so it may seem a bit strange to know that knitting is one of my hobbies.  Most people think of knitting as a winter activity but because of the warmer hot temperatures here, it becomes a summer activity for me.  I enjoy looking for knitting patterns and taking classes online during the summer months and have several knitting projects going.  In the knitting world, these are called WIPs or Works in Progress. My latest WIPs are a sweater knit-a-long (KAL), a few baby hats (charity donation) and finishing up a cabled pattern blanket (almost done with that project!). Any knitters out there that can identify with the WIPs?  I'd love to hear from you.

The Knit-A-Long (KAL) is where you join a group of knitters for a specific project during a period of time.  The KAL is new to me, my first one!  I'll talk more about it in an upcoming post.

On the ART palette are several works that have been completed and another ICAD project (Index Card A Day) which I'll be sharing with you soon.  Each year I challenge myself to do the ICAD for 30 days.  You can see my previous works by clicking on the side bar. Meanwhile here's a glimpse of the recent challenge and I'll be posting more in the coming weeks.

My daughter and family visited recently and we had a great night out at "Painting With A Twist". This was a totally new experience for me, painting in a group setting where everyone paints the same design and it was SO much fun!  We painted a beach scene and every single painting was different! Fun seeing what everyone was doing and how they interpreted the theme.  I'd definitely do it again and would encourage everyone to try it at least once!  Take a group of friends and enjoy the evening painting and having a blast.

Let me know what summer projects you've been working on!  I'd love to hear from you.

Bee Creative,
Suzy

March Index Challenge Week 4

Hey Everyone!

Happy Belated  Easter!  I totally failed to get my blog post done in time for Easter Week, but I trust that you all were celebrating on Sunday with family and friends.

It's the final stretch of the 31 days in March Index Card challenge.  This last week proved to be another challenging one for me, mainly because it was a busy week at work and my brain was pretty tired by the time Thursday rolled around.  Thankfully my Fridays begin on Thursday afternoons and I quickly revived in time to get the Easter shopping done and throw in an Easter craft with my little Sunshine and Lollipop!


We made paper plate Easter eggs and Crosses wreaths to hang on their doors! The girls were really into the crafting, cutting and gluing embellishments (a bit of chocolate helped fire them up....shhh! Don't Tell Mama! <wink wink>.


Such fun with the Little's who are not so little anymore, they are growing in leaps and bounds and doing wonderful things.  Miss Lollipop has lost 3 baby teeth since Christmas and has won awards for "Best 1st Grade Colorist" (this sure makes her Mimi's heart sing).  Little Miss Sunshine is doing very well in school too and is enjoying her crafting time so much she said "Mimi, that was SO much fun, please don't go! I love You SO much, You could stay here Forever"! she's the dramatic one, if you can't tell.

I've posted Week 4 of the 31 Days of March (ICAD) challenge, just click on the link over to the right sidebar.  Enjoy!

Have a wonderful week....
Be Creative!
Suzy

WEEK 3 ICAD CHALLENGE

Hi there!

This is where the rubber starts to meet the road in the Index Card A Day (ICAD) challenge in the month of March.  When ideas flowed freely in the first two weeks of the challenge now they aren't coming so easily, but I press on to the challenge of making a card each day for 31 days and finishing the race.  My first adventure into the ICAD was a 60 day challenge I did with Yellow Daisy and you can see the cards were much more elaborate collages where this time I've stuck to the everyday life theme.

Maybe you'd like to try a personal challenge of your own?  Making an index card a day does require commitment and as much time as you are willing to put into it.  I guarantee you will learn a great deal about yourself and develop your own style of art work.  If you decide to try it, please let me know, I'd love to hear from you.

Please click on the side bar link to 31 Days in March to see  Week 3 and the previous works for Week 1 and 2.   Thank you for stopping by and I'd love to hear from you, please leave your comment below.

Bee Creative!
Susie

Index Challenge Week 2

Hello there!

It's been very windy this week....in fact another week has just blown by! I'm working on 31 Day Index Card Challenge for the month of March.  Be sure to check it out!  If you haven't done a Index card challenge before, I would encourage you to try it.  A simple 3 x 5 index card will do, some pencils or pens or whatever media you'd like to explore and go for it!  Make one card per day, any subject is fine.  I'd love to hear from you if you are doing the challenge.  It's not too late to jump in and give it a go.

Please check out WEEK 2. Hot off the press....click on 31 Days In March (ICAD) link in sidebar.  Let me know what you think.

Have fun & Bee Creative.

Suzy

31 DAYS IN MARCH CHALLENGE (ICAD)

Hello Out There!

It's me and I'm BACK!  Are ready for some FUN in March? A little March Madness???  A few years ago I participated in a 60 day Index Card a Day Challenge with Daisy Yellow.  Look at the Link over on the right side of this page and check it out.  Sixty days was a LONG time to do a challenge and to do it everyday was REALLY challenging as well as inspirational and super fun too. I love to do art challenges because it makes me DO something creative every day!  Also it continues to inspire me to create more art, larger pieces and sometimes a series of ideas comes out of it.  I love when a little piece sparks a larger piece and that sparks the imagination in other ways.  

So, I've set up this little 31 Days of March Challenge for myself to get back into the art everyday routine.  The best part about doing this on index cards (3x5) is that the small format isn't intimidating, its not time consuming either.  I like that.

I'll be posting my index cards on the page "31 In March (ICAD)" so please check it out each week during March.  Oh, and there will be other March Madness coming too. Hope to see you around and please leave me a comment when you stop by, I'd love to hear from you. 

Bee Happy! Bee Creative! 

Suzy

Traditions With A Twist

Hello Friends,

Christmas is rapidly approaching....Countdown has begun.  There's still cookie baking to be done here and presents to wrap.  How's your preparations coming along?  I'm putting finishing touches on the Mermaid Tail Blankets I've been knitting for Sunshine & Lollipop and I'll be sharing those with you after Christmas.

I promised to share more decorating with you......most of you know that I have no fireplace mantel to decorate (I live in Florida where it is currently 82 degrees in Mid-December) but I do have a baker's rack that gets the full treatment each season.

In addition to the Santa collection

I've added a new chalkboard greeting

A few of my favorite things

including a vintage angel and her reindeer buddy.

More Santas and a new addition of glass pedestals to hold  my jeweled fruit. 

Oh another crafty project I've been working on is the Coffee Filter and Cupcake liner Christmas tree.  This was inspired by Pinterest: see it HERE.  

 Of course I did my own spin on the original, adding pom-poms and painting my own design. 

I originally planned to use the tree on the baker's rack but it just didn't look right.  Less is more, right?  And looking at the BR it didn't need More! So, this year my cheery little tree will join the moss-filled hurricane lanterns on the dining table.  I think it fits in perfectly here, don't you?

Until next time,
Bee Creative!
Suzy

Keeping It Simply Natural

Hello Friends!

It's that time of year again when we are all super busy with preparations leading up to Christmas when time seems to fly rapidly, while we try to keep up with an endless TO DO list.  If you are that busy then it is time to slow down and enjoy the season!  Take time out of your busy schedule to enjoy a cuppa something warm, take a breath and enjoy the moment.  I don't know about you but I have to remind myself to sloooooow down!

As December approaches I get super busy with craft projects, decorating and gift making.  I like traditional decorating but try to switch up the traditional each year with a few newer ideas.  This year I'm keeping it simple with natural elements.


Cinnamon scented pine cones in a wooden bowl on a quilt brightens up the coffee table. 

 Last year I made a few cone trees decorated with pages from a dictionary and added paper snowflakes punched from recycled Christmas cards. This year they join the angel next to a vintage basket stuffed with pine boughs.

And a few more cone trees decorate an entry table....they are favorites of Sunshine & Lollipop. They love the bright green and silver tinsel trees decorated with red buttons and wooden stars.

JOY!  My newest chalkboard design holds court over a painted Santa sign and mini Christmas tree decorated with nuts and berries.  The silver and gold basket holds a silver pear. 

A new hand-made faux boxwood wreath hangs over the wooden nativity near my chair. 

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Another natural element: silver and bronze tin pail holds more greenery and a little red star.

Our beautiful porcelain nativity with vintage trumpet candle holders announce the birth of Jesus.  That's a wooden chopping board painted with chalkboard paint to herald the blessed event.

What creative ideas have you come up with to decorate your home?  I don't know about you but I have a zillion ideas but only a few make it to the final cut each year.  That's the great thing about decorating, there's always lots of ideas and they can wait until next year.

  I do have a few more decorating projects to show you, so please come back soon!  

BEE CREATIVE!  

Suzy