matilda the whale (stuffie)

Inspiration comes from many places.  Yesterday it struck me while I was watching Clifford with Bella.  I noticed a whale mailbox in the cartoon background and I instantly visualized a whale stuffie.  I grabbed my sketchbook and started drawing and in less that 15 minutes I had designed a pattern and started constructing.  I had to wait until this morning to go buy stuffing - which was hard for me because when I'm excited about a project I will usually go to no end to get it done NOW - anyway, here it is - Art Nest's newest whale stuffie named Matlida!  She is availble in the shop but I'm afraid I'll miss her when she's gone...Simply lovely!

gnome bonnet

This cooler weather has been calling for something warm and snug to slink over my children's heads.  Luckily, I stumbled across some pictures of the Gnome Bonnet I made last year. I was instantly inspired to make some fleece lined fall bonnets for the girls.  I  loved the colors, shape and simplicity of the above Gnome Bonnet and hope that the lined ones turn out to be just as charming.  A trip to the fabric shop is in order...Simply lovely!

PS:  'Charlie' is modeling the Gnome Bonnet.  Charlie is my toddler mannequin and he/she is absolutely creepy and has been the cause of many screaming fits as my husband has become accustomed to moving Charlie around the house in attempts to scare the monkeys out of me~  Needless to say...Charlie stays packed up now (ugh, I don't know why I bought him)!  I thought you might get a good laugh out of this!

quilting

The weather is brilliantly cool today and I've been sitting by the window in my sewing corner all morning.  I'm working on a quilt inspired by the lovely tutorial on Katie Did.  To be honest, I'm overwhelmed at the thought of making anything larger than a crib size quilt as my machine is not really cut out for the task.  I have several more hours to go and am a smidge apprehensive about the hand sewn binding but I'll give it my best shot!  The weekend is coming and I'm thrilled to have so many projects to keep me busy...Simply lovely!

weekend work

This weekend, amidst the laundry, picnics, and a much deserved dessert date with my husband, I started on the prototype for this wool felt textile necklace.  It's so refreshing to be working on a new project - I hope to make several of these necklaces for the shop : my new favorite color combination (this week) is hunter green with sky blue...Simply lovely!

sketch :: sketch

In light of the recent Art Nest list making post, I thought I'd share another 'secret' that keeps me feeling productive :: sketching!  How many times in a day do you visualize the perfect illustration or fabric for that certain project and you don't sketch or jot it down?!  I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and start digging around the kitchen for some scratch paper 'cause some ideas are just too good to be forgotten.  It's important to have a reservoir of thoughts and ideas that you can look back on to gather inspiration for those times when you think "I have no new original thoughts - I must have tapped out of my creative abilities...I'm finished as an artist..." - we all have those bad weeks occasionally, right?! 

I just treated myself to a brand new sketch book (I wait for those 40% coupons from the art store).  Small sketch books seem more practical but then I never use them - I need at least an 8x10 but truly  prefer the 11x13 size..  The larger the better for hiding behind at the coffee shop...not to mention the fact that you can cram a lot of stuff onto one page!  The first sketch* is always the hardest for me.  I don't want to mess up a perfectly polished book with some horrid drawing.  I just have to laugh at myself and remember that is what the sketch book is for. 

Since I've started sewing, I also keep fabric samples taped to the inside of my sketch book.  That way all of my sketches for 3-dimensional projects ( clothing, dolls, pincushion rings etc.) have some tangible meaning to me.  I admit to tearing out pages from magazines in waiting rooms ( I know - I should feel guilty but I've built up quite a lovely collection of inspiration this way) and tape those to the pages as well. 

How do you keep track of your wonderfully unique creative thoughts?  I'd love hear!

*sketch by Art Nest for polymer clay little Red Riding Hood doll