Highly prized - a collection

A couple more sketches in response to the January prompt of the sketchbook challenge - "highly prized."

School and learning:

(this last guy is another student)

An almost leafless tree: (Fall and winter are my favorite seasons of the year) 

As a brief reflection on this blog... I'm surprised at how much sketching I've been sharing here. It's not my best craft, but it seems to be dominating my life right now. I've always liked a challenge I guess. I just didn't imagine the blog would be a place for me to be exposing these sketches to the world! 

Blogs seem to have a life of their own, eh? 

What have you done on your blog that has surprised you? Do share a "surprise" post if you'd like. I'd love to see them.

And thank you everyone for your well wishes and your comments on the fish. Your comments always encourage me.

"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy." - Lucille Ball (quote taken from the incredibly fun silly III class).

*Glub, glub* A fish is born

Short post today, as I'm feeling quite sick and will be returning to bed shortly.

Just had to share that I am done with the little fish! Woot, my first crochet piece is finished!

Here's a visual progression of sorts. 

Ok, back to bed to dream of my next projects.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. 

Why I create...

I'm not an artist; what I make isn't "art."

I have no innate talent and most of what I make is at best laughable.

I have no technique, no skill, but no illusions either.

Yet, I can't stop making things with my hands - drawing, sewing, knitting. I can't stop.

I'm usually a mess of a stress ball, trying to fit in some time to make some project in an already hectic day.

But I have to. Why?

Charles Bukowski wrote a poem telling would-be writers when they should write, and when they shouldn't. (I highly recommend this poem)

I'm (also) not a writer, not like what he means. But this part of the poem... This is me. This is why I can't stop creating something, anything.

"unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it."

I have to do it. I've tried to stop, but I can't. So I do it.

No, I'm not an artist. But that need, that itch to make something, to create something, to translate the world around me is still there, burning my gut.

Why do you create?

A hint of spring colors and a book

I've been in the mood for bright colors. It must be my anticipation of spring, as far as that seems right now (yeah, temperatures were around -7 F, or -22 C today).

So I ordered some fun fabric from the lovely hip fabric shop and it arrived! 

Now I just have to decide what to do with it. I'm thinking possible a sun dress or romper for N. Or maybe some decorative item for the house. So many possibilities...

Speaking of possibilities, one that I hold dear to my heart is that N. will grow up speaking at least three languages. Maybe I should explain why...

Background: My PhD is in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), I was born and raised in Brazil, and my husband is Japanese. So, back to multilingualism.

Besides being a gift that I can give her and that I think could benefit her greatly in the future, it will also help her connect to her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and a huge extended family in both countries. 

But there's a problem - she's not exposed to either language outside of the house, and that's not enough exposure to make sure she becomes fluent. So we try to find ways to supplement her exposure through books and dvds. It's a lot easier in Japanese, since we can find materials fairly easily in the US compared to Portuguese. 

This long story is my, a-hem, justification for dabbling into making her a book. 

I've decided that to help her Portuguese, I'll just make my own books for her. I've started with a prototype of a character. Meet Ana Maria Abelha (transl. Anne Marie Bee)!

She'll be introducing N. the alphabet in Portuguese and her first adventure is written, just waiting to be illustrated. It'll take me a while with all the other things I'm working on, but this project is close to my heart. It will get done.

Have a lovely week, friends! And do leave me a hello telling me what I could do with that fabric.

Highly Prized sketch

I'm finally posting a sketch for the January prompt of the sketchbook challenge - highly prized.

Sorry about image quality, it was taken with photo booth in the dark.

Yep, both my laptop and some coffee are both highly prized, and they usually go together.

Of course my daughter and my husband are my most highly prized, but I couldn't do them justice sketching. And my books... I may still draw them.

What's your highly prized object?

"Adventures" in crocheting

A few weeks ago, or at least it feels like weeks ago, I talked about learning how to crochet and my first project being an amigurumi. As promised, I'm posting an update on the progress of my little fish.

It is taking me a long time to move along with this project, partly because it's my first crochet piece, partly because I wasn't thinking. I kept losing count of rows and stitches, then I would go back and start an entire section over again. Until it dawned on me "why am I not using a place holder to mark where the row starts?!?"

Yeah, I know. You're probably thinking "how is this chick getting a PhD?" Well, in my defense, it isn't on crochet. :)

So now, things are moving along a bit faster. We'll see if I ever finish.

And if you're curious about the pattern and what it's supposed to look like when it's finished: I got it from this book (Kristen Rask's "Creature Crochet").

See the little fish? Yep, that's my buddy. 

So, am I the only one? Would anybody like to share an "oops" moment in their crafting?

The fun never stops

The weekend is almost here, and soon after I start working again.

Yeah, I'm actually happy to go back to work. I've enjoyed the break, now it's time to get back to business.

I'll find time to craft, even if it's only a half hour or so everyday. How do you all do it? I like Shona Cole's artful life tips. A bit of creativity everyday = a happier me = a better mom, wife, and worker.

Lately I've been enjoying lots of unravelling and silliness. I highly recommend both. Great way to see yourself in new ways and stretch your creativity through fun and fabulous connections.

Here's a glimpse of what I've been doing:

Looks like fun, right? And it is! So my bit of sunshine for today is: Get involved, go do the creative that you've secretly wanted to try, have fun! It's great for your body, mind, and soul.


What have you tried for fun lately?

A spontaneous project and a surprise

Oh boy, do I have a lot I want to say today... It was such a great day!

As I mentioned in this post, my word for this year is sunshine.


One of the things I'm trying to do, besides trying to silence my inner rain storms, is focusing on the warmth each day brings my way, no matter how little. Something else is trying to be kinder to others. Today these two goals came together in a wonderful way.

I met an old student of mine who had been... challenging. This is a very sensitive person who was adjusting to working with others in the US and who felt very out of sorts in many ways. In any case, I tried to listen to him while his teacher, but I was also very firm with him at times, too firm I think.

He emailed me a couple of times this month asking to meet, and I was reluctant. But following my goal, I decided I would not only meet with him but give him my ears and my heart during our meeting, really listen to him. It was wonderful. He was beaming with joy, and he had some great news to share. He doesn't know many people here, and it felt good to give him an ear so he could talk. I left with spirits lifted.

My point is, being kinder brought sunshine into my life, not only his. (am I being full of myself by thinking I brought him any sunshine? I hope it made him a bit happy to talk)


I apologize for the long post, but I really wanted to share that bit of sunshine with all of you.

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I came home invigorated, wanting to create. This is the result. It's the first piece of "toy" sewing that I make completely on my own, no patters or instructions. N's reaction? "Mama, I love the lion!"

Then, when I thought the day couldn't get any better, my husband surprises me with this:

A brand new sketchbook! (N. took my last one for herself...) Isn't it lovely? All recycled material, handmade, and just perfect. I love the feel of the pages and will be using it as soon as I am done writing this.

So, here's to more sunshine coming into our lives!

What has made you happy lately? What sunshine are your days bringing you?

Photo storyboards and a (brief) return to Christmas

Yes, I know Christmas is over with, but I just have to share N.'s video that her daycare teachers gave me. This was taken midway through December, and the teacher said she spent all day singing Christmas carols so they finally decided to get a video of it:

Ok, ok, now I'm really done with this past Christmas season.

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Here's something else I want to share: using storyboards with photos. There are quite a few available for free on the internet, along with frames and other fun things. I love the ones the fabulous ladies over at CoffeeShop have available along with plenty of tutorials, and you can check out the freebies section here as well. It's also not super hard to make your own.

So here are two examples of using storyboards.

(that's a CoffeeShop storyboard by the way)

(that was originally a frame freebie from freedigitalscrapbooking that I modified to make a storyboard)

You can use any photo with storyboards, but I like to have images that are related or tell a story somehow. Like in my niece's little "concert" she performed for us, or my headstand in the second picture. 

For the headstand, here's what I did: 

1. I set the tripod, the focus (using a dummy where I would go), the settings for the light, and the self-timer. 
2. Then I would get into position
1. first get up with my legs just going up
2. then a second picture with my legs a little more up
3. continue in that fashion until I had a good progression of shots.

 I would love for you to share what you have been working on lately. Have a great weekend everyone!

Sketching without guilt

Not many words today. Having fun with the little one and thinking about feet.

Did I have a resolution not to be critical of myself? And just have fun sketching without thinking about how they look? If not, I ought to have.

More projects finished

I finally finished the scarf and hat I wanted to send to my niece. I kept getting involved in a thousand other things, but I finally got to it. My daughter's little buddy is modeling the two pieces.

(yep, picture is blown)

I also decided to make a little gift bag to send the hat and scarf in. It took me all of one hour! I love these quick projects. All I did was sew the bag and the lining with scraps of fabric I have around. Here are some rough general (and maybe confusing?) directions:

1. Cut four rectangular or square pieces of two fabrics (2 x 2). The lining pieces should be about one inch shorter then the outside.
2. Line the matching pieces (RS) and pin. Sew leaving a little opening on one side. Repeat with the other two pieces (lining) but leave a 10 cm opening on the back seam.
3. Put the outer bag (RS out) completely inside the lining (WS out), line the top edges and seams, pin the tops and sew them together (I used a zigzag stitch on the machine).
4. Push the bag through the gap in the back seam of the lining, pull it out, turning the lining RS out at the same time.
5. Using a ladder stitch, close the gap, leaving just a small opening to pull the ribbon/cord through. 
6. Take a ribbon and push/pull through the gap between the lining and outer bag.
7. I left the edges of this section raw, but you can certainly finish it for a more professional look.

I hope my little niece likes it! I love making stuff for the little ones in our family.

Oh yeah!

Stay tuned for a home decor/cooking related giveaway later this week

Sharing a first

I did it. 

(excuse my dry winter hands)

I crocheted my first patch: an adjustable ring. Yep, I've been knitting for years now but only now did I finally pick up crochet needles and got down to business. I used this video to help me figure out how to do it. Don't you just love the resources we have available on the internet?

I want to do a little amigurumi to learn - the only way I learn anything is actually working on projects. I'll share my progress as it goes forward here.

Something else I'd like to share with you. My grandma is an amazing artist and crafter. She lives a long ways away from me and I miss her. Every time I try to pick up something new like crochet, I think of her. Every time I learn a new technique or work on a new pattern, I think of her. She's a huge inspiration to me. (Que saudades, vovo Mag)

Do you have someone who inspires you?

Even in the middle of a cold winter...

... the sun sometimes shines.

Yeah, I know I'm being superstitious, but I believe this is a good sign. 2011 is starting with sunshine and mild weather. Let's hope it stays its course.

This year I want to keep a record of my goals, so that i can go bak to them, remind myself of what I set out to accomplish. There's power in the word. Once it's out there, it's no longer just a thought, it's a plan, a setting into motion of events. So here it goes:

• I will let go of guilt and hang-ups about things I can't change.
• I will join yoga to help me relieve the stress and tension I feel in my body.
• I will be more loving to those I love, and kinder to those I don't.
• I will give more (attention, time, patience) to those around me.
• I will listen more and speak less.
• I will publish an article based on my current research and present in at least one national conference. 
• I will pay more attention to my subjects when I take pictures, represent them more instead of my own vision (see listen more, speak less)
• I will work on crafty endeavors for at least half an hour each day.
• I will continue to work on the blog and help it evolve into what it needs to be.
• I will give more of my time to volunteering and helping the community.

That's a start. Some are more concrete than others, some are more challenging. But I have them down now. *Blog, help me remain accountable to myself.*

I also hope to connect more with those of you out there, who love to make things, to create, to interpret, to represent what you see, feel, and imagine. Let's be friends in 2011.

Cheers!