Crafting through the coughs

I picked up a bug from my boss last week, and had to call in sick for a few days. Between the napping, coughing, exhaustion and feverishness, I wasn't fit for much mentally, but I was itching to use my hands, so I got on with some crafting I had outstanding.

I'd been asked if I could make two Totoro characters in quilling, one in pink and one in grey, for a first wedding anniversary gift. I researched, I experimented, and after creating a first design that I was happy with, I made the pair:

When I posted these on my Facebook page, another friend asked if I would make her a No Face. Now, I'm not a Studio Ghibli fan (I've seen My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away, but only once, and years ago), so this involved more research to check just what was being asked for! After that, I made a first version in "plain" quilling:

I offered to put a back of black strips on the body, and the recipient wanted this, and it turned out looking good and finished it off nicely :)

Meanwhile, I'd remembered that I'd promised a goose to someone else ages ago, but hadn't had a chance to get one designed. So, I designed and made a goose...

Which would have been fine...if the recipient had actually wanted a goose, rather than the white duck she'd asked for! Luckily, she was happy enough to receive a goose instead :)

A friend had been talking about Malcolm Tucker' sweary quotes from The Thick Of It, and how entertaining it would be to have one of them as a quote on their front door, for departing guests. So, I tested out my basic cross stitch skills to make a simple word design, and set to work. This was the end result:

I had also promised hand-drawn postcards of dandelion clocks to the people who sponsored me to do an abseil a while ago, but I hadn't had a chance to get to do those either, so I was able to make a good start of getting them done.

And today I took a trip to the Post Office with a LOT of packages, including a RAK for someone as a wee cheering thing (hopefully).

So, being sick isn't always an entirely bad thing, if you can keep your hands occupied :)

A day of presentations means a day of doodles

I had a full day of training recently, but there wasn't much I needed to make notes on during the day, so I filled my time with some doodling again.

Morning session, part 1

Morning session, part 2

Afternoon session, part 1

Afternoon session, part 2

I put them in my Etsy shop - doodles for all!

From a mental to a manatee

I  take part in a mentoring scheme for my professional body. I refer to myself as a mental rather than a mentor, and my mentees get used to being called manatees. Recently, one of my current mentees nominated me for an award, and somehow, I won it! She joked that she wanted 10% of the prize, which I swiftly agreed to (while declaring that she should have asked for more, but a deal's a deal... ;) ). As a thank-you for the effort she had to put in to somehow making me sound good, I thought I'd make her a wee gift, to go along with her cheque....so this is the development of a manatee :)

 First came the drawing, sketched from one I found online. Theses sort of filigree filled drawing need clear and simple outlines, so I quite often look for line drawing versions of the shape I need, so I can see how things look when broken down into simple parts. Then I sketch my own take on them.

Then I duplicated the sketch onto a watercolour postcard, and inked the outline over the pencil.

I started to do the filigree infill, but it became clear that the body outline could end up a bit lost.

So I started to thicken the outline, while making sure the filigree stayed a wee bit clear of it, and kept filling.

I wasn't quite sure how to deal with the snout, so I left it alone for a while to think about it, and kept filling.

And filling...until finally...

 A completed manatee!

All ornate and fun!

I sent the manatee off to my mentee this week, and she received it today, so now I can post this without it giving away the surprise! Thanks for nominating me, Miss M!

Starry, Doodled Night

I had been doing another drawing yesterday (which I can't unveil yet), and still feeling in the mood to craft, I asked for ideas of what to draw next. Mobeena Khan (@greebstreebling) suggested Starry Night, by Van Gogh. Replicating famous art isn't something I've ever done before, but when I looked more closely at the original, I felt I could see a way to do it. So I sketched in in pencil some main shapes that I could pick out from the swirls:

Then I started to draw things in a bit more "properly", and thicken up some of the original thin ink lines, and begin with the filigree doodle infill:

And continue with the infill...and add the details to the sky:

And keep going with the doodles and details until it felt like every space that needed it was filled.

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. I'm thinking about getting prints made of this one, whenever I get a chance to get to the print shop. It's half the usual size of the prints I get made though, so I'm not entirely sure the print shops machines can cope with how small it is!

Anyway, I'll leave you with the lovely Starry Starry Night by Don McLean.

Another conference, another doodle...or four

I was at a conference all day today, so I put my "brain's listening, hands are drawing" approach into action again, and occupied my hands with a watercolour postcard pad and a 0.05 nib pens.
This is the result:

 Introduction and First Keynote Speaker

Session on "Professional Knowledge and Skills Base"

Parallel session on a CPD23 experience

Final session keynote - it started as nothing and ended up suggesting itself as a bat

All of these postcards are rehomed or on offer to people - some of them to the people whose sessions I drew them in. I hope they're not offended, but it really is something I do to keep my hands busy, while my brain is occupied listening!

Another meeting, another doodle...

I had a 2.5 hour meeting at work recently. As it covered everything the whole department was doing, there was very little input I could make so I was mainly there to listen. Of course, when listening, my ears and brain are in use..but my hands and eyes are free, so doodling tends to happen.

This one ended up with a shape forming suggesting it be a floating island in the sky, with a volcano pouring smoke out of the top...

Pride and Prejudice

Someone on Twitter suggested that Jane Austen would be a good image to do, so I went looking for an image of her online. I'm not a great reader of that sort of classic literature, and I've never read anything by her, but I've been to Bath, so I know that there's a recognisable silhouette of her. Luckily, as it was drawn many many years ago, it's out of copyright, so I was able to use this for my drawing.

Then, since I'm not a fan of her books, I needed some help with what would be a relevant quote. For something like this, I need a fair chunk of text, but it needs to be able to cut off when I run out of space, and still remain coherent. It helps if the sentences are short too! So, I got a few good suggestions, and I used the text listed below to make the final version:

""In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit."

And then, after I put that in my shop, I added a postcard version too :D 

At some point, I'll need to get to the print shop to get some prints made of the large original, but right now, I'm just too busy!

The Owl and the Pussycat

I love it when I get orders off Etsy, but when they're for one of the postcard originals, it can be a bit of a stress too! As each one is done to order, I always have a lurking worry that people won't be happy if the image they get isn't identical to the one I show as the example on the listing, even though that's impossible as each one is unique. Silly, but it's still a niggle at the back of my head. So I focus so hard while doing them, and then there's such a feeling of relief when they're done, and mailed off!

And here's my latest stress-inducer: The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, now en route to Australia.