FOs - Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts

FO Friday: Golden Mantella Frog

Posted by Vanessa on May 17, 2013 at 1:02 pm

May 172013

I’ve been on a painting roll lately. It feel so much more easier to paint in a tiny hotel room than knit. I feel like most of my knitting, even sock knitting, needs to take up lots of space. But not so much with my small watercolors. I saw a photo of this guy on pinterest and I knew I had to paint him:

golden_mantella_frog_mixedmartialartsandcraftsdotcom

I’m really proud of how this frog came out, though the line between his mouth and where his foreleg connects got smooshed together. I’m hoping to take a painting class or something that will help me trouble shoot when I notice things like that happening. But I’m still proud of how my skills are improving. Plus, it’s such a cute frog! I made the spot of white in his eye with a white jelly roll pen. I’m planning on using this pen to make some white zentangles instead of my usual black ones. It’ll be fun to play with tones and values on a different and lighter scale.

A little more info on the Golden Mantella frog. They live in Madagascar and are a critically endangered species. They’re related to the brightly colored poison dart frog. Golden Mantellas are found in the forest and near fresh water ponds. They are social creatures who live in family groups called armies with twice as many males as females. You can learn more about them from the Bristol Zoo’s conservation page.

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FO Friday: Zengtangled Goldfish

Posted by Vanessa on May 10, 2013 at 10:57 am

May 102013

Hello hello! It’s been awfully quiet here. That’s because we’ve moved to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. We’re currently house hunting so I haven’t had too much time to craft. I did, however, find time to paint this guy:

goldeen

I made sure that I kept my sketchbook and my travel set of water colors out along with some of my knitting. He looks more like a little whale than a goldfish but that’s alright! I think he’s super cute. I got to use my Pen & Ink sketch fountain pen over the water color washes. I use my pen mostly in my journaling but the insert said this pen is designed for sketching. It was really smooth over the washes and I enjoyed zentangling with it. However, the ink it comes with is not water proof. I tried to run a wash over one of the fins and it started to smear. That means I’m still in search for a fine tipped pen that won’t smear if I watercolor over it.

For more Finished Objects, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Crochet Lymph Node Goodness

Posted by Vanessa on May 3, 2013 at 10:30 am

May 032013

I’ve had too much fun making more nodes from my crochet lymph node pattern.

Everybody say: “Eff cancer!”

I’m whipping up a bunch of brooches and larger nodes that fit into a pocket in preparation for my Etsy store’s grand opening in three weeks. Keep your eye on this page for more behind the scenes sneak peeks and some fun goodies.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Found Poetry

Posted by Vanessa on April 26, 2013 at 11:06 am

Apr 262013

I’ve been experimenting with found poetry in my art journal. First, what is found poetry? According to poets.org, found poetry is

The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.

Meaning, this most likely wasn’t covered in your Poetry 101 class in college. At least it wasn’t in mine. I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if it was. I’ve been playing around with the idea of making meaning out of catalog descriptions and I hit on something that sounds beautiful to me.

Here’s the poem:

Why Land?

Powdery jasmine wreaths prove most meaningful. Because

a procession of marigold-wrapped monks

quietly build

fire.

Riper, never-sweeter mango, ignites

the fulsome floral garlands.

gods and kings

seem outlandishly glamorous. Because

gleaming temples stand side-by-side,

trading moments ethereal and down-to-earth.

Because at dawn,

the sun doesn’t rise so much as slowly sets the day aglow.

The text is from the latest copy of Anthropologie’s catalog. It’s about their photo shoot and new items imported from Thailand but the words spoke more about a garden I would love to have in my dream home. So I made it mine and I ran with it.

I’m seeing now where I can keep zentangling and where I can add more bits of color, particularly with the flower on the side. I love the bright yellow and how soft it looks against the blue. I’m also really proud that it sounds really cool spoken and read. And I’m most proud of sharing it here. I made this back on the first of April but I’ve been sitting on it out of fear of rejection. But I’m taking a big risk and sharing it.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Mrs Tumnus Shawl

Posted by Vanessa on April 19, 2013 at 1:51 pm

Apr 192013

I finished the Mrs Tumnus shawl yesterday. I’m quite surprised at how quickly this knitted up. Here is the full shawl on the blocking mat:

mrs_tumnus_mimi_hill

And here is a detailed photo:

mrs_tumnus_detail

I cannot wait for it to finish drying. It will feel like a hug that is much needed today. I hope all of my Boston readers are safe. I used Dream in Color Smooshy and knitted this on a set of US7 circs.

It’s Friday and Tami’s put up this week’s link.

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Failure or Growth?

Posted by Vanessa on April 9, 2013 at 11:59 am

Apr 092013

I want to share with you a failure of mine. I’ve blogged about failed projects before (like my resin bracelet and two different pairs of socks) and I do my best to figure out what went wrong and what went right. Here’s another:

face

I’m taking “How to Paint Faces” class over at Kat Can Paint! and this was my first time ever painting a face. The initial drawing is part of the info packet. Once I copied that (just a simple pencil transfer), I followed Kat’s 8 steps to painting skin. Well, I should have read the whole thing before starting.

Firstly, I used my widest brush to create the outlines. That was mistake number one. I should have used my liner brush instead. Secondly, I didn’t really mix my paints well enough. Thirdly, I didn’t read the instructions for painting lips. Lastly, I didn’t wait for the paint around her eyes to dry before outlining the lids and painting in her pupils. I did do something right! Her face was a little too red and I was able to lighten it. Next time, I don’t need to add so much red.

What this really boils down to is a lack of patience. And/or not keeping my hair dryer by my side to dry the paints. I’m used to being able to dive into a knit or crochet project and understand what’s going on. Painting is a new skill for me, doubly so for painting faces. When learning a new skill, I need to read all the directions (like at school!) and make sure I have all my materials with me.

So what went right? I was able to even out her skin tone by trying something different. I’m really proud of the fact that I was able to fix it without help. The really great part was that I did dive into this with both feet and I had a lot of fun painting at home. Even though I was keenly aware that I was making mistakes, I didn’t stop and just kept painting. And at the end, when I saw how wonky her eyes came out I laughed. I laughed at my mistake, I laughed at how silly she looks. I laughed at myself which makes me proud to show off this painting. I’m not ashamed of it and laughing at it has taken away any bad feelings that could have taken root.

The next time I mess up a project, I’m going to take the time to laugh at it and laugh at my newness. I’m not an expert and that’s okay!

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FO Friday: Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings are DONE

Posted by Vanessa on March 29, 2013 at 12:24 pm

Mar 292013

I finished my Lydia Bennet socks yesterday!

Of course, today is a grey and rainy day which means they took forever to dry. When I photographed them, they were still a little too damp to wear even after several trips through the dryer. Oh well, I’ll wear them later today/tomorrow.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Pepper the Penguin

Posted by Vanessa on March 22, 2013 at 11:51 am

Mar 222013

I finally finished last week’s penguin! Meet Pepper the Penguin.

Pepper_penguin

He’s all done and so cute. He’s about 10″ tall and quite chubby. I’m going to make him a hat and scarf later. He’s so cuddly. He’s the latest FreshStitches pattern, Pepper the Penguin. This pattern is a double whammy, she teamed up with Abby Glassenberg who designed a sewing pattern of Pepper.

I used scrap yarn I had laying about and my favorite 4 mm/size G crochet hook. I didn’t have any safety eyes in the right size for his head so I sewed them on with the last bits of black. I might change them out for buttons but I haven’t decided yet.

For more finished objects, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Waterlily

Posted by Vanessa on March 15, 2013 at 11:05 am

Mar 152013

This week, I signed up for a watercolor class at the local Gilda’s Club. I’ve been trying to teach myself to watercolor with pretty good success so I took advantage of the free class.

water_lily

The instructor printed out the image onto water color paper and showed us how to fill in the waterlily. I might paint in a solid background but I’m not sure yet. Since I have my own set of paints at home, he graciously gave me an extra page for me to paint in at home. He also had a still life set up for the more advanced student there. Perhaps next month, I’ll join her if the subject is again this straight forward.

For more Finished Objects, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: A bunch of lymph nodes

Posted by Vanessa on March 8, 2013 at 12:27 pm

Mar 082013

I am having way too much fun making lymph nodes. I’m starting to make them in different colors too!

My friends at Gilda’s Club have been requesting them in pink because breast cancer survivors often have their lymph nodes removed in a mastectomy.

I made the larger guy by doubling my yarn (it’s sport weight) and using a 5.5 mm/I hook. The eyes come from Suncatcher Eyes and for him I used 12mm eyes.

The pattern is still up for sale and I am happy to announce that I was able to donate $26.25 to Stupid Cancer! Grab a copy today and help me make that total go up.

And keep your eyes on this page because I’ll soon be opening up an Etsy store full of ready made lymph nodes!

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

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