Finding Some Style

Hello Bloggy Buddies!

I don't know if any of you have noticed, especially if you go on Pinterest at all, the trend to re-purpose/re-style clothing that you would otherwise donate.  T-shirt redos are very popular, too.

With Maggie growing like a weed, she is always in need of new, comfortable clothing.  She is only 6, but very tall for her age, and I'm just not happy with a lot of the choices available in her size but geared for older girls.

So, armed with a bag of clothes, a sewing machine and my limited stitching skills, I gave it a try.
Now, I will repeat, again, I am a novice sewer, so I'm warning all you accomplished sewers now....there will be visible wonky stitches, raw edges, crooked cutting and other sewing don'ts....haha! 

A friend of mine gave me a shirt that was much too big for her daughter, and not the style or color that she liked....but, c'mon...it's Hello Kitty....every little girl wants a Hello Kitty shirt, right?

 

So I started by cutting off the neckline and sleeves...

 

 

Then I added a black and white striped ruffle and made a cute flower with the stripes and a bit of leftover T shirt material.  Luckily, Maggie doesn't care about that awful wavy stitching....haha!

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of it before, but I found this cute raglan top at the 99Cent Store of all places!  It is a nice, thick shirt, too!  I took some of the cat fabric leftover from Maggie's room decor and appliqued this cute heart onto the front.

She says it's perfect because she loves cats :)

 

 

Last time we went to the Thrift Store, she picked out that tie dyed shirt on the left which is cute, but plain.  The dress on the right is too small for Maggie now, but I just loved that ruffly part on the bottom (which I just now realize you can't see in this picture.....oops!....haha!  You'll see it in a minute) :D

 

 

I took one of my Hubby's old Tshirts and added a collar insert and a second layer to the bottom to make it look like a layered Tee....and give her more time before it's too short to wear.

 

 

It's a little more interesting now without taking away from the tie dye design...

 

 

 But, but, but......I've discovered my most favorite thing to do to clothes!

Well, I'm getting ahead of myself, let me first show you this....

 

 

Yes, this was mine.  Love this shirt....hate the pit stains....

 

I wanted to marry the top of this shirt (sans stains, of course...haha!) with that ruffly skirt I mentioned earlier....well, that didn't work out so well.  I made the top part way too small for Maggie.  So as not to waste that cute ruffly part, I made it into a skirt and sewed some of the flowers onto it to make it more girly.

 

 

It's awesome that Tshirt knit won't fray.....I also love that with this kind of style, I don't have to be as exact with my sewing and can keep it loose and artsy :)

 

Here is what I wanted to share with you!

 

 

Even though I made the bodice too small for Maggie, I finished this dress off with a Tshirt ruffle from that same shirt of Hubby's to give to a friend. 

Look at this flower!

 

 

This is my new love!!  Cutting bits of clothing into pieces and sewing all crazy over the bits...and add a button...voila!

Pretty flower! 

I think I may need to do that to some of my shirts!

 

...and, in keeping with finding a little style, I finished this Mermaid with an edgier vibe to her.

 

This is "Roxy and Spike"

 

 

Isn't Spike a cutie? ;P

 

Well, we're getting ready for a 3 day weekend here in the States.  But, I wanted to make sure I checked in with all of you before picnics and sandcastles beckon.

 

As always, I treasure you coming here and visiting!

Sunshiney wishes,

Cameron

Mermaid Swap Begins Monday!

I've just been so excited about this Swap!  I was just planning to do quick mermies on cardboard....keep them loose and fun.....not too detailed...

...but, I should've known better....haha!

They are each having such a personality and a story, that I'm going to unwrap all those I've already prepared and scan them so I can maybe make some MOO stickers or other fun things out of them :)
I hope they bring as much happiness to their new owners as they've brought me!

I realize I haven't been sharing their titles with you. I'll remedy that now! I'll just preface them first by reminding you that I'm a pun-loving dork...haha!

Here is another installment of Fishy Girls....

 

"Eel Fated"

 

 

"Fish-anista"

 

 

"Violet Jewels"

 

 

"Good Boy"

 

 

I can't wait to see what your Mermaids have in store for me!

If you would like to join in and haven't yet signed up....no worries!

As long as your envie is postmarked by Sept 21st, you're good....so, please email me to sign up :)

 

Hope your weekends have been full of things that bring a smile to your face!

Warmest hugs,

Cameron

Zombies are Coming!! Run....

....to my Shop to get them....heehee!

I never thought I'd put the words cute and zombie together in the same sentence before....but, I must admit....these little guys have quite the infectious personalities!

I had a blast deciding what type of (cute) blood and (cute) gore to add to these brain-craving dudes...

This one has a nasty gash on his head!

This one is agony...over losing his hair....just one tuft left....haha!

This little guy has blood shot eyes and exposed ribs....his putrid green color is....well, perfect...don't you think?

....and this guy is just a mess....literally! 

I thought it would be cute to package them up with biohazard warnings on them....especially this guy, oozing as he is ;P

Be warned....more zombies may be coming!

Keep your wits about you....and be aware of where your brain is at all times....

....unless you're a Mom, then, the whereabouts of said brain can be elusive, at best :D

Love ya to bits!

Cameron

Breaking into Shoe Business?

Hello Bloggy Buddies!

A Mom from school asked if I could paint her teenager's Converse...of course, I said yes!  I gave her a quote and am still waiting for the shoes to be given to me.  While I'm waiting, I thought I better practice because....sshhhh....I've never painted shoes before...haha!

So, my mother gave me some of hers and asked for ladybugs.
...and voila!

Maggie got a new pair of canvas shoes. When I told her she could have whatever she wanted put on them, she promptly requested Sally and Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas :)

Here's what they look like!

She showed them off to everyone at school today....I guess she likes them....haha!

In case you are wondering, I used acrylic paints and Sharpies in 2 different widths.

I didn't use any sort of transfer.  I just sketched the general design with pencil, then outlined with a fine tipped Sharpie.  I, then, painted within the lines and touched things up with ink again once the paint dried.

I used a larger tipped Sharpie to fill in the black areas of Jack.  I sprayed a sealant on it, but, I'm not sure that was necessary.  I'll know more as these shoes are worn :)

I might have to go buy a pair for myself!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!  I plan to post another Lesson from Drawing lab early next week....so, if you have the book and want to join in, please do!
Also, the Mermaid Swap begins next week (I'm super excited)....please shoot me a quick email if you'd like to be in on that, too :)

All my very best,
Cameron

More Mermaidens

Here's what I've been working on lately.  More art for the swap....

What swap, you say?
Well, now....please click on the button to the right.  I'm hosting a Swap of the Scaly variety :)

If you already signed up....then one of these girls could end up in your mailbox....heehee....but which one, I wonder?

Isn't that part of the fun?!  You just won't know until you open the package :)

I'm having so much fun!  I've been cutting up every spare box I can find to use for these ladies.  I have 9 of you signed up so far....and there is still over a month to sign up and send your Mermaids to me!  Hope you'll join in :)

Also, I wanted to mention that Amalia at Pencils and Fireflies is spreading some Sponsor love today and included me in such a nice little feature!  I'm over the moon happy :D

You can also visit her wonderful Shop....she is an amazing artist!

Hope to "sea" your name on my swap list :P

Love ya guys,

Cameron

DRAWING LAB - Lesson 10

I know, this has been long overdue......very long overdue!
I'm sorry for that!

In this lesson, we were to visit the local coffee shop and draw blind contours of the other patrons.
I discovered that I was actually putting this one off time and time again.  It certainly isn't because I don't like coffee....anyone who knows me is aware my undying devotion to the brew....haha!

I found that I was dreading taking my sketchbook out in public and "staring" at other people while I was there.  I didn't want to be make anyone uncomfortable....or worse yet, have them ask to see my sketches.  If you've done contour drawings before, you know just how weird they can look.  I didn't want to take the chance of offending anyone.

So, instead of the coffee shop, I finally took my sketchbook to Karate Class.  We parents sit there in the lobby area for 2 hours every week.  Even so, I only completed 2 quick drawings.  I still felt strange drawing in public.

But, I guess that's part of the exercise....to do something differently than we normally do.

I actually asked this mom if I could draw her before I did. She liked it and we began talking about my art, etc... So, it ended up being a good thing :)

Please linky up if you do this Lesson (or, like a couple of you, have already done it and have just been waiting for me to get my butt in gear...haha!)

Hope you're having a wonderful week so far.....and a great big welcome to the new Friends I have joining me on my art adventures!

Here's to loving our contours,

Cameron

Mermaid Art Swap!!

Hello my pretties!

I can't express how happy I am to write this post!  You see, earlier this year my good friend, Micki at The Secret Hermit did a mail art swap....it was fantastic....her art is awesome...and I knew it was an idea I would steal, er...I mean borrow for my own little swappy poo!!

The difference is that this will be a swap of Mermaid Art!
Now, I'm not talking monumental masterpieces here...unless, of course, that's what you love to make and want to send...
But, as far as I'm concerned, if you created it, it made you happy to do so and it has a mermaid on it....please send it!  Can be any medium. :)

As for what I'm offering, I took a huge piece of currogated cardboard and cut it into rectangles approximately 5 x 7 inches in size.  Some are larger, some are smaller.
I simply sketched right on them with pencil and started painting them, coloring with colored pencils and detailing with black ink...

Here's what I've made to swap so far...

This swap will be active from Monday, August 27th to Friday, September 21st 2012.

Here's how it will work (again, thanks to Micki for figuring all this out and letting me mooch the parameters off her....heehee) :

If you would like to participate in this swap, please email me and let me know.  Send me a link to your blog (I want to share what I get from everyone and have a linky for you) and include your address, please....  I am so bad at reading return addresses on mail.

My email address is : paintmyselfpretty(at)yahoo(dot)com

I will confirm your email and send you my address, too....and we can virtually hold hands and jump up and down with anticipation of doing such a fun swap together :D

Then, just send in your mermaid art within the designated dates.  Postmarks must be between those dates.  I'm giving everyone 2 1/2 weeks to prepare and 4 whole weeks to get their art here.  Don't worry my International Friends, as long as your art is postmarked by Sept. 21st, it can take as long as it wants to get here.  I will mail your art out to you after yours is received :)

I will be prepackaging these sirens up ahead of time, so I won't know who will be getting what...adds an element of surprise to the whole thing!!

Did I cover everything?

If I have left out any details, please feel free to ask away!

Hope to "sea" your name in my inbox....corny, yes....but I'm just so excited...heehee!!

Splash,

Cameron

Buggy Eyed

Hello Dear Friends!

I've been trying hard to get back into being creative.  This is easier said than done when we're trying to milk every ounce of Summer out of the remaining days of vacation.  Maggie goes back to school on the 8th of August (early, huh?!).

But, when I saw that Butterfly Effect had the theme of INSECTS this week, I knew I had to join in.
First, I thought I'd revisit the fun Lesson from Drawing Lab (which, *ahem* I have not forgotten about.....new posts soon to follow) with the monkeys in this post HERE. 

Maggie picked a few random colors for me and I drew common bugs in this new, brighter colors.....

Is a cockroach less gross in red and green?

Or a wasp less intimidating with hot pink stripes?

....and since I was using the Drawing Lab book, I skipped ahead to Lesson 40 and decided to try my hand at a whimsically drawn bug collection.

I did a large blue beetle......

....a bright colored grasshopper....

...and a moth and beetle duo....

I enhanced the mattboards with Sharpie pens and silver metallic ink.  Here's what they look like together as a grouping.

Each  is 5x7 inches. 

I think I may try a larger collection.  I have a few 8 x 10 mattboards around here that could use a purpose :)

Thank you for peeking in today!

....and do crawl, fly or buzz over to Butterfly Effect and add your buggy creation to the mix :)

Bugs....er, I mean, Hugs,

Cameron