I can’t help but smile seeing this pretty donut birthday cake. It is an actual donut, just slightly larger than the normal size. I made a special order for two extra-large donuts one with white icing and the other with chocolate at a local bakery, Georgia’s Bakery. They came with no other decorations as requested and with very little effort one was transformed into a birthday cake with a handful of colorful sprinkles and candles. Love that!
At the request of Kay to share my latest project…. The Sketchbook Project 2016
Some months ago I came upon a book in the library titled,”The Sketchbook Project.” It was filled with the sketch work from people all over the world. Some were professional artists and some amateurs. Interviews with several of the contributors revealed many were like me having been more devoted to practicing art at an earlier time in their life. Participating in the project gave them an opportunity to simply sketch again and perhaps reignite their artistic side. I decided to take a chance and make a commitment to produce my own sketchbook to be included in the Brooklyn Art Library located in Brooklyn, NY.
The theme/challenge I signed up for at the time was “Memoirs.” It took some time to consider what of my memories would be included in my sketches. I found I had to work in a separate sketchbook for a few weeks to let ideas through my mind. Eventually I found most of my work focusing more on the places I have lived that had the greatest impact and some other important locations and events related to living.
There are many wonderful sampling of projects in the making from artists for viewing on Instagram, Instagram-The Sketchbook Project 2016, and Facebook. Here are some of my finished works that I submitted.
When an idea for a project turns out better than expected, it is quite exciting for me! The transformation of basic flour sack towels into “designer towels” with the use of fabric markers was a fun project. Simple hand-drawn leaf and stripe designs were used and it took about 5 to 10 minutes to finish each one. In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the instructions and the steps to make these pretty towels. I also included illustrations of different types of leaves you might want to include in your designs.
The finished flour sack towels are lovely for displaying when not in use. They also make great gifts to share with others.
The abundance of flowers blooming in the garden, on tree branches, and bushes make for easy cutting and gathering. Every few days, I love to walk outside early in the morning and select one or two types of flowers to bring into the home to decorate. Simple arrangements were often my preference. Here are some ideas and ways to decorate with plum blossoms {top left}, lilacs {top right}, lilly of the valley {middle}, apple blossoms {bottom left}, and forget-me-nots {bottom right}.
It’s time to bring out rhubarb recipes. Our family favorite is rhubarb strawberry crisp, you can get the recipe for it here and here. These fresh picked rhubarb {above} from the garden will be used in a recipe to make rhubarb simple syrup and delicious compote.
