http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/work daily 1.0 2025-07-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438126804719-VZPV62E0H32P2NMF0P52/image-asset.jpeg Home - Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose Watercolor sketch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1751492641747-NSEW9IPPXZ4DC63P3APY/image-asset.jpeg Home - Lily 12 × 12 Acrylic on Canvas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1738477663742-OOJCGL2BP2CGDUJN1JYY/image-asset.jpeg Home - Slow Stitch Forest Floor Mixe Media Fabric Collage 12” x 12” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1751492761466-S0UUVZQV6LK05Q9COBLR/TeddybearspicnicforBlog.jpg Home http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog daily 0.75 2024-11-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1430175587832-IY7EOF1LN81H3A78F74W/Wallace.jpg Blog http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2024/11/18/living-creatively monthly 0.5 2024-11-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/bec83ee7-1141-40ae-ba52-559be3e32616/SeahorseShowerCurtain.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Seahorse Shower Curtain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6aa4f52d-19c9-4807-a885-c0d1c6602e6c/XmasTableRunner.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Christmas Table runner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/37594d43-d173-4310-9e86-45a2af54532d/Buffalofabriccollage.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Fabric Collaged Buffalo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/01efbacb-8f09-47ef-a2c8-6161438bdf05/BootCropped.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Fabric Collage - solitary Cowboy Boot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ec8399cf-949e-4935-936e-6cc08d5e668f/Slowstitch1.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Slow stitch #1, 12” x 12”. Fabric, lace, buttons, wood cutout, ribbon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/cdaf7c22-0b88-4a50-b49f-491c6c49c23a/Slowstitch2Ocean.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Slow Stitch #2, 12” x 12” Fabric, beads, lace, wool yarn, wool felt, wood https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7c1d20be-d806-4141-93be-dceac0bc4feb/Slowstitch3ForestFloor.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Slow Stitch #3, “Forest Floor”. Fabric, wool felt, wool yarn, buttons, lace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/10840328-0509-46cb-8a73-e721736ff0af/Lilypadsforscale.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Actual giant lily pads at Kew Gardens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f9a8fc06-a6b3-4e69-9ca1-197dfb8bcc0f/KewGardenspiece.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Slow Stitch #4, “Kew Gardens”. Fabric, buttons, beads, wool yarn, wood cutouts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1816cfd7-835b-4e37-b0a1-97fad6a74519/KewGardens3D.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Showing the more three dimensional aspects of #4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/70579189-5c6f-4848-bebc-3153d9e21a6c/WesternTanagerBirdy.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Western Tanager. Wool, wire, clay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1aa7c288-6785-49fa-9c59-84fc4a989dca/GreatTitBirdy.jpg Blog - Living Creatively - Make it stand out Great Tit - a small British bird made for my sister’s birthday. Wool, wire, clay. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2024/7/28/when-is-an-antelope-not-an-antelope monthly 0.5 2024-07-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/085cb259-11a8-42ff-bcb4-10801b64e2e0/Pronghorn6Final.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out …when it’s a Pronghorn! I wonder how many of you have seen a Pronghorn in the wild? Probably not too many. My inspiration for making this one was an encounter in New Mexico recently. My car and a Pronghorn were headed at great speed for the same part of the road. I stood on the brakes, and fortunately the Pronghorn decided to veer off at the last minute. I saw the whites of it’s eyes though — a little too close for comfort! Fun Fact: Pronghorns are North America’s fastest land animal and can reach speeds of up to 60 mph and maintain 40 mph for 7 miles. Pronghorn fawns can outrun a human at a few days old. It is thought the pronghorns developed such speed to outrun cheetahs and lions that roamed North America thousands of years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9b4578d7-5b24-49d5-ae3b-1c3ec288c6b2/Pronghorn1Armaturedesign.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out In light of my struggles with size and proportion when felting animals I decided to design my armature with the help of a photograph. Fun fact: The Pronghorns official name (Genus) is Antilocapridae (Antilo = antelope; capro = male goat) But Pronghorns are not actually antelopes. They are believed to be more closely related to the giraffe and okapi. They are the only living species of its family and are native to North America. True antelopes live in Africa and Eurasia and are in the Genus Bovidae, closely related to bison, cattle and buffalo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e8ecf43a-7442-4821-8dab-59bd7b04af91/Pronghorn3Wrapping.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out I wrapped the legs with brown floral tape to give the wool something to cling too. The legs are going to be super skinny so I didn’t want the chenille stems to extend down there. I’m forming the body with my usual core wool. Fun Fact: Prior to the 1800’s, the Pronghorn were almost as numerous as the Bison in North America. That soon changed when land was converted to crops and ranches and we began hunting them for meat. Their numbers have gradually come back since then and they can be seen in several central and western US states. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d7a9bb5e-794e-48cf-b1e4-72e856044e63/Pronghorn4Coloring.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out Putting some color on him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/74013081-1cf6-433b-af90-bbeb4974bb8c/Pronghorn5MoreColor.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out Adding more color. Still a lot more needling to do to finesse the form and get the shape right. Fun Fact: Actual Pronghorn males are about 3 1/2 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh around 130lbs. True antelopes are larger and heavier. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0874006a-ab79-41a7-96e2-813f3a34f4ef/PronghornHORNS.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out Before I created the head I needed some “horns”. The horns are very distinctive looking with tips curling toward the rump and a “prong” facing forward. That prong gives the animal their name. I thought about using the chenille stems and wool for the horns like I did with the reindeer, but thought they would be too large. I had several attempts at making the horns with air dry clay. Above are some of the ugly rejects, but I did end up with a couple of horns that were better shaped and usable. I painted them black and glued them on to the head. I worked the rest of the head/ears on around them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/27c3b4ac-d7b3-43b3-bc53-02afe0a40bc9/PronghornvsAntlers.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out Fun Fact: What is the difference between horns and antlers? Antlers are an extension of the animal’s skull. They are made of bone and usually only the males have them (Reindeer are an exception to that rule.) Horns on the other hand (or head!) are made of two parts — a bony core, surrounded by a tough keratinous covering, like your nails, grown from modified hair follicles. Antlers are shed yearly, but horns usually are not. Pronghorn males are the exception here and shed their horn covers every year. Pronghorn female also have horns but they are smaller and not shed. Another difference between the Pronghorn and true antelopes is that the latter have curved single pointed horns which grow continuously and are not shed. This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about bony protuberances! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/33fbfca9-84eb-48ec-a89b-ef27f60ca601/Pronghorn8Final.jpg Blog - When is an Antelope not an antelope...? - Make it stand out Here is the finished animal. It’s 6” long and 6 1/2” tall to tips of the horns. I’m going to stick with my venture into American animals and would like to do better with “horns” so maybe I’ll make a Bighorn sheep next — that would be a fun challenge. Watch this space! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2024/7/11/the-eagle-has-landed-needle-felting-a-bald-eagle monthly 0.5 2024-07-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d4d1d75a-049f-4753-84b4-30b765c07072/Sylvia%27s+Bald+Eagle.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Did you know that Bald eagles live 20 - 30 years in the wild? Like the Bison, they were almost wiped out by humans due to the widespread use of DDT, a chemical insecticide which was finally banned by the EPA in 1972. Eagle numbers gradually rebounded and they were taken off the endangered list in 2007. I’ve been lucky enough to see a few Bald Eagles recently. We have at least one at the lake where I live, and I also saw some at Shasta Lake on a recent boat trip. So, after making the American Bison, I thought making an American Bald Eagle would be fun. It didn’t go exactly to plan of course… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8ab84722-30d2-480c-ab3a-b96f17be8c4c/BaldEagle1Skeleton.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out First I built a wire armature. Then second, I built another armature as the first effort was a little out of proportion. Sigh. I should draw out the creature I am making and design the armature to fit -duh! When I’m making something for which there is no extant plan or instructions, I use a lot of guesswork and adjustment as I go along. I do look at photographs of the animal and it's skeleton, but it’s still very much an experiment trying to figure out size and proportion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/26938604-ff4c-440b-9825-4690c1d13669/BaldEagle2HeadfirstAttempt.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out I got a little further with the second attempt, but then I made another mistake (there were so many on this poor creature!). I have created bird beaks in the past from air dry clay so that’s what I did here—but unfortunately it turned out way too small. Note the continuation of the leg wires which I intend to use to mount the eagle on a piece of drift wood. I covered the legs and feet with brown florists tape before I put the yellow wool on, that way I was left with dark talons. I intended to make a fish for the talons to grip. Fun Fact: It’s a myth that eagles cannot unlock their talons in the water when they catch a fish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c1d51db2-2823-4054-9bfc-eb1f2957ee87/BaldEagle3head2ndAttempt.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Here is attempt #2 at the head/beak. It’s an improvement, but the proportions are still off. I think the head is still too small, but I stuck with it and attempted to make the rest of the bird fit! I ended up cutting off most of the white “tail” stump as it was too long. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/97562e04-1979-488d-b5fe-ee8e224c43df/BaldEagle4head2ndAttemptfront.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out It looks kinda freaky - like something from a horror movie! Fun Fact: Bald Eagles mate for life, and use the same nest for many years. (I can’t see this one getting a mate!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/56106934-07f9-4bf8-a40d-97eaf4aac0bb/BaldEagle4A.head.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out However, with a bit of white wool on the head, and an eye, it now it just looks like a demented seagull. Not so scary! It was a challenge adding wool to to the dried clay head, but a little bit of glue helped get it started. Fun Facts: A bald eagle’s vision is 4 - 5 times better than ours. They also have a see-through eyelid which cleans and protects their eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/fff688a4-8ff9-4382-addf-e04a812b8b7e/BaldEagle5Wing%3Atailpieces.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Here are the wing and tail pieces for the eagle. I did draw out a paper pattern for the wings, which I wet felted. I decided to use chenille stems to stiffen the front edge of the wings and give them shape. For the tail I used some white felt left over from making the Pegasus wings (never throw anything away). Fun facts: Females are larger than males. They can have a wingspan of up 8 feet, second only to the California Condor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dc7d56ea-924d-4c67-bcd5-70b1a7744e2b/BaldEagle7Wingsattached.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Here are the wings attached. I sewed the chenille stems on the edge of the wings then sewed the wings to the body. I then felted over the top of my somewhat clumsy sewing so that it was hidden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/346b8351-4c60-4ac5-9d23-7f4205d764a3/BaldEagle8withtailFlies.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Well, it’s kind of an eagle after all — and it flies! Fun fact: The top speed of a bald eagle is 43 mph (99 mph in a dive) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/863c5b02-6caf-4e15-9347-093c72d94cc4/BaldEagle9FlieswithFish.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out Here’s the eagle with the felted fish I made for it. Fun fact: Their favorite food is fish, although they also eat small mammals, reptiles, and carrion, and they will steal food from other birds like the Osprey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a8c1f0db-60d6-4e7c-9c19-457d64f14038/BaldEagle10withFishattachedtodiftwood.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out I cut down the leg wires to the required size and inserted them into pre-drilled holes in the drift wood. Fun Fact: Bald eagles can swim. If they catch a fish too big to enable them to fly off they can use their wings to paddle through the water. (I actually saw this at Shasta Lake. We thought an eagle was drowning, but it did a kind of breast stroke to shore with a huge fish.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/72322fcc-42f9-4261-bda9-e7079c058bc3/BaldEagleTheEaglehaslandedscene+copy.jpg Blog - The Eagle Has Landed! - Needle Felting a Bald Eagle - Make it stand out The Eagle Has Landed! I fished out the “fabric ocean” I made for my mermaid cave and used it, along with an old painting, to create a suitable scene to show off my eagle. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2024/5/25/pop-quiz-what-is-the-national-mammal-of-the-usa monthly 0.5 2024-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5cf0595e-7129-4516-8944-8f03860c6725/Bisonalmostdone.jpg Blog - Pop Quiz – What is the National Mammal of the USA? - Make it stand out If you answered “the American bison” you would be correct –– and you might have had a clue from my photo! In 2019 the National Bison Legacy Act was signed into law and the American bison was made the National Mammal of the USA. I’ve seen bison in Yellowstone, South Dakota and, more recently, outside Denver. They are majestic and fascinating animals. After returning from a trip to Colorado, New Mexico and Texas I decided to needle felt a bison. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b8b65aad-1947-42fc-bb33-1dc5791747c2/BisonArmature.jpg Blog - Pop Quiz – What is the National Mammal of the USA? - Make it stand out The armature –– always my starting point. As I started this project a friend asked what kind of instructions I was working from, and was shocked and amused when I just showed her some photos on my phone. I can see from the photos what it should look like, and I guess I have enough felting experience to know, roughly, how to get there. Things don’t always go to plan, but with needle felting you can keep on adding and sculpting until you get what you want, and if it all goes to hell you can cut wool off, or start over (I’ve done both –– sometimes on the same thing!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2a39c5ce-e355-4644-8f19-925a523d4b8f/BisonBeforeColor.jpg Blog - Pop Quiz – What is the National Mammal of the USA? - Make it stand out Here I’ve added core wool to the armature to start building the bison shape and musculature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/25de86c9-e18a-4051-a74b-8e4f8370e530/BisonBeforeHead.jpg Blog - Pop Quiz – What is the National Mammal of the USA? - Make it stand out When the basic shape is made I start adding color and sculpting, adding bulk and form. Here I have the body mostly done. The head is next. Bison use their large heads to sweep away snow in the winter and get to the grass underneath. They forage for 9 - 11 hours a day. The American bison’s ancestors came originally from Asia during the Pliocene epoch. Bison are America’s largest mammal bison. Bull’s can weigh up to 2,000 lbs and stand 6ft high, but 400,000 years ago its ancient ancestors were even larger. Not only is the bison huge, it is also fast and agile. It can run up to 35 mph, jump fences, and swim. So if you encounter one, stay well away! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/397d7599-fb96-4c6f-aef4-5b88c664ba5d/BisonScene+copy.jpg Blog - Pop Quiz – What is the National Mammal of the USA? - Make it stand out Alongside the bald eagle, the American bison is now officially a symbol of our country. The bison is a powerful animal, physically and culturally, and one that was driven almost to the point of extinction by greed and hatred. Today there are bison in all States, including Hawaii. As a symbol, it is an acknowledgment both of our failings as stewards of this land, and of the great achievements that we are capable of when we take heed of our mistakes and correct them before it’s too late. Bison Bison Bison 6” high x 8 1/2” long Just need a few thousand more now…! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2024/3/3/contrary-to-popular-rumor monthly 0.5 2024-03-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a9224547-6914-4c05-8dbc-5e454c474c0d/HummingbirdFinal.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Hummingbird and nest. Wool, and found materials. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1f5194f2-43e0-4894-b0d8-6bf6c3aaa9c3/BirdsThree.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Three little birdies. L to R - Robin, Bluebird, Quail. The Quail was the most popular and literally “flew” off the shelf. ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c39e0f07-e424-4bbe-9f34-ff995a0e8850/RobinPair.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Two littleAmerican robins (which by the way are not robins at all but Thrushes and go by the rather unfortunate Latin name of Turdus migratorious. Who thought of that??!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/98619068-7817-4141-910e-8dff081d0490/Bunny.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Here’s a little bunny that I made to use as a Needle felting tutorial. A few ladies have signed up to give it a try so we’ll see how it goes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6209e333-24e2-48e8-8e8a-6d19cf5c0b57/Scarf.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out This is a wet felted scarf. I used hand dyed merino wool I bought on a Pine Needler trip to a yarn store and a quilt store. I managed to avoid buying fabric (just!) and fortunately had this little piece of silk fabric in my stash. It’s a short scarf and just having the wool at the ends means it’s not tickling my neck, but is still warm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9f10fe17-b8ea-4c72-86d7-67ae768b3ac5/WolfPair.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Wolf pair. I needed some wolves for my story (currently on the back burner, but bubbling away!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d5b07e40-91e7-4bb5-a486-cc6f4ce3052b/WolfpairPlaying.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Playing, or fighting - who can tell? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f000717f-60ff-48f0-ba00-a86d08fe86e8/PegasusDuo1.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out One of the benefits (or problems) of keeping things around your studio is that you often come up with ideas on improvements. This happened with my pegasus when I realized that they needed bigger wings. So I took off the originals and wet felted more fabric. Then I created new and improved wings for them both, complete with embroidery. They are so grateful! Lol! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/72f34bba-2f73-4b22-a853-7b60d1b26bb1/PegasusDueCloseup.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out These two are among my favorite creations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c3dff0f0-c0e5-4500-b4e4-637301b4003d/ReindeerVsPegasus.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out I was commissioned to make a reindeer (center) so here it is in a size comparison with the original reindeer for my story, and my Pegasus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e747906e-7d57-4c03-8e7f-2805ccf937ab/BlueBear.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out This was a fun project - making a bear for my friend Sue. It’s based on a whimsical painting that she created of a blue bear. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/75e1c062-434d-456a-a07a-0c39e758b559/LemonEarrings.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Another friend needed Lemon earrings to go with a dress, so I made her these. In some ways they were harder to make than the bigger stuff as they were very fiddly to felt. Hmm, Fiddly Felting – could be a good trade name! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/26d31fef-23ae-461e-a844-ff1c581e8caf/WetFeltFlowers.jpg Blog - Contrary to popular rumor... - Make it stand out Finally, this is a wet felted flower bouquet that I made for my sister. Flowers are very easy and fun to make. Merino wool, bamboo top, wool nepps. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/8/31/finishing-my-library-room monthly 0.5 2023-08-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f2790c8d-724c-4a58-8a5c-e52629f1dd75/walls1ExperimentingwithStainedGlass.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I used thin plexiglass for the window panes - because it’s like glass, right? I traced a pattern with a black acrylic paint pen onto them, then colored the pattern with more acrylic pens. This worked very well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/503735c7-09a4-4623-aa00-709605ea7891/Walls2MakingWindows.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I placed the windows in a foam board “wall” and built some window frames and sill out of strips of foam board. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/146e065e-cb26-4fd7-ba31-98c141711553/Walls3StainedGlassLeading.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I used the same procedure for the french doors. I cut a frame into the foam board for each door, making sure the paper on the back stayed intact along the inner edge so that I could hinge them open. For the stained glass effect this time I found a little bottle of “Gallery glass Leading” and tried that. It gives a more realistic effect than the acrylic pen as it’s three dimensional, but it’s tricky to get straight lines as you have to squeeze the bottle as you draw with it. Anyway, as the pattern was not complicated I persevered and put the resulting stained glass windows into the foam board doors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2ba8987b-409b-4ba7-a0f0-561e9fce7aa8/walls4BasicDoorsandWindows.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out For the windows next to the french doors I went back to my stash of overhead transparency film (remember that from my apothecary shoppe window) and tried making the windows with that. It actually worked really well. The bottle of glass leading was too tricky so I didn’t bother with that. The acrylic pens worked perfectly on the film, so I could have saved myself a lot of time and expense by using that for the other windows and doors. Oh well, live and learn…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/14fc7235-f22f-447b-b540-7bf32de0884d/walls6Doorhandle.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I made some door handles with Paper brads and wire, the same as on my book case cupboards. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/56fc479c-add8-4c3a-b028-135f9be1010b/walls7WindowframesandgardenUrns.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Ta da! Finished look - I want these in my house! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5a48ac55-19ef-40ab-9708-b5670198a8c5/walls8FireplaceStartwlogs.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out On one of my room walls I wanted a fireplace. I used a small box to make the back of the fireplace so that I could place my light up logs inside it. It doesn’t look very exciting at the moment, but wait… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2c6d2e98-0480-4ffc-a40a-d6d23ad9a02b/walls9FireplacewMatboard.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I lined the box with some fancy matboard and then built a foam board wall to surround it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5d17adec-49e0-4e64-9005-f7fe4e7152c8/walls10FireplaceinWallandmantel.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out On to that I added more of the matboard and some strips of foam board as a mantle. I also added some short pieces of doweling as decor either side of the fireplace which ties into the wood used in the book cupboards. I later painted that white. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dd92483d-c1a1-4a14-a6d8-ddff2bb6b57f/Walls1aStrawberryThiefTissue.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out At a place called Winterbourne Gardens in England the house had lovely floral wallpaper in some of the bedrooms and in the gift shop I picked up some fabulous tissue paper which has a Wm. Morris pattern on it. I knew I would find a use for that in my library room! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d668661d-7483-47db-8721-3176b82f8ec9/walls11FireplaceandDecoraboveMantel.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Above the mantle I defined a space with foam board and glued some of the tissue into it. Suddenly I was even more in love with the tissue paper! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/77e065d2-dae9-4d79-83df-d6d0b5d2f189/walls12LibraryGardenRoomViewFireplaceNoWallpaper.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here I experimented with placing my furniture into my room to see how it would look. The footprint of the room is 25 1/2 inches x 27 inches. Walls are 20 inches high. I used some scrapbooking paper with a wood pattern for the floor. At first I liked the white plain walls, but thinking back to all the lovely rooms I had seen in England it needed a little something more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/56799347-6b44-49d0-8d6e-602963a88d11/Walls13PossibleWalldecor.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I tried some options for wallpaper… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d525f460-f8f9-4430-9929-27b849587640/walls14HangingWallpaper1.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out … But in the end decided I loved the tissue paper so much I wanted it on every wall. Fortunately there were 4 sheets of tissue paper, and knowing I had large expanses of window/doors on two walls I went ahead. The biggest problem was how to apply the tissue paper as it is obviously very delicate. I started out using white glue. But this was awful as the tissue paper stuck in places I didn’t want it, and it tore if I tried to move it. It also wrinkled in a very disappointing way. I tried double sided tape, which was okay, but I quickly ran out of that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0a489cc9-34d7-4a3e-9180-02bb53ae1d15/walls15AdhesiveforWallpaper.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out From the depths of my craft supplies I remembered this Scotch mounting adhesive which I had used waaay back in college. I had a huge roll of the stuff and was able to apply it to the back of the tissue paper and then glue that to the walls with greater ease. It was still a very fiddly process, and working around the window sills and doors was a nightmare, but eventually the “wallpaper” was hung on every wall! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8c7a4164-3f75-4bb5-b047-5807946a2896/Walls16Baseboardandwindowsill.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here’s a closeup showing the foam board window frames/ledges. I cut foam board for baseboards along the base of every wall. I had used white glue for the tissue paper on this section so you can see how wrinkled it got. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1a1836a4-0333-497f-9e24-b8834c630509/walls17Molding.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here is a closeup of the foam board molding along the top of each wall. By layering different widths of foam board strips you can get a good effect. You can also put grooves etc into the foam board for decoration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/62fe69c3-184c-4131-ad45-6d73ac4a2bcc/Walls18finishedLibraryFireplaceView.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out So here are some views of my completed library room. I’m still debating whether to paint the white molding, window frames, etc., cream/off white. But for now it’s done and I think it’s a cosy place to hang out, read, and of course, drink tea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/38d8ef2d-f23b-4c7e-8def-6029e7b28863/Walls19Rug2inRoom.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I think I need more books… back to mini book making! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e686c95f-ad66-4206-8f3d-392aa9a3a7d4/wals17GardenLibraryWindowView.jpg Blog - Finishing My Library Room - Make it stand out And now I need a nice garden beyond those windows rather than my messy studio. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/7/17/furnishing-my-library-room-1 monthly 0.5 2023-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5825889b-555d-4d93-acd7-c5867e8e9907/2BooksintheMaking.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I love books and so I’m building a 1/6th scale library room to feature in my story. The first thing a library needs, obviously, is a lot of books. I had some I made for Zahrah’s cabin, but I needed loads more. I printed out some book covers — these can be bought and downloaded on etsy or sometimes found for free on the internet. Then I spent a happy few hours making tiny books. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e414192d-8fb2-4b8e-8405-73b0e8ebced1/2cbookcomparison.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I had to make a lot of books, and was feeling lazy, so I used pieces of foam board for the book interiors (top). They look functional on the shelf, but are not as impressive, or as fun to make, as the more “realistic” ones I created for Zahrah’s cabin which have actual pages in them. I may go back and make some more proper books when I have time, but for now these “fake” miniatures will have to do. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1cbf22ec-e903-4402-95c6-5824828ffe84/3aBuildingbookcases.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out With all those books I now needed bookshelves to hold them. These I made from the same little wooden dollar store trays that I used for the Apothecary Shoppe shelves. I went through the identical process of putting a nice paper in the back of the trays, then cutting wooden shelves and gluing them in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0edeaee2-70ce-45f7-8b4e-5892b4096449/3Bookshelves.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I faked some little cupboard doors on the lower part of the shelving and used paper brads and bits of wire for handles. I also added some pieces of thin wooden dowel to trim the cupboards. Next I repurposed the shelving unit from Zahrah’s cabin (left), changing the color from dark brown to cream. Those corner shaped metal pieces I tried to use on this shelving, but decided they were too clumsy looking. I love them and I will find a use for them one day! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7eb2b76e-f776-45d3-9934-fcb2c31b8144/3cotherbookcase.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I had a cute little gold colored box that had contained chocolates, and made yet another bookcase by adding some card shelves and little wooden legs to it. The legs look ok, but being narrow this little bookshelf likes to fall over at the drop of a hat and I have lost count of the time spent re-shelving those darn books! I should glue them all together really… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f4061a14-cdfb-464e-8efc-73456d4c2e38/4creatinggardenUrns.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I came across two small candle holders on sale for a few dollars and immediately envisioned them as stone plant holders, like the garden ornaments grand mansions have out on their patios. I definitely wanted them for either inside or outside my library room. I was going to make some little leaves and flowers to go into them, but actually found a miniature garland of leaves in dollhouse supplies at Hobby Lobby, and then searched for some other tiny plant stuff to go along with it. These little pom pom type “trees” were perfect, and I found some tiny white plastic flowers that I could cut up and use too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7ef79b1f-1fc1-40c6-a02b-fc0cbc0d3f2c/5FinishedUrn.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here is a finished urn — I think it looks like something from a manor house! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f44eb80a-fa73-4600-8745-90c974705dfc/6FeltsuppliesforRug.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out My library will have wooden floors, so I thought it might be nice to have a little rug for Nieva to put her feet on while reading. I decided to try wet felting a rug. I’ve done a little wet felting to create my own fabric for dragon/pegasus wings etc, so here was another excuse to practice making felt. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/21496b7f-f28d-45a6-b1b0-8321e7ae273a/7LayingOutRug.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out To wet felt wool, you first start by laying out your dry wool in thin layers. Here I made a circular pattern. I recently discovered a type of wool called bamboo top which gives a nice shine to finished felt so I used that for the green and blue areas. The next stage is to cover the dry wool with mesh, and then wet the wool with soapy water gently pushing out the air with a wet sponge and making sure not to move the wool out of place. Once everything is wetted down you gently agitate the wool with your soapy hands to get the wool to felt together into a fabric. It takes a bit of time and patience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0958e5ac-86d0-45ad-bcb2-c19fe3970e10/8finishedRug.jpg.png Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out After felting, rinsing and drying - here is the finished rug. It turned out not quite circular, but I actually like the random wobbly edges of hand felted wool. In some places the wool was a little thin - I obviously hadn’t done a good job of making the layers even. That aside, I was quite pleased with the rug, but I decided to have another attempt using a different color scheme. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/24068238-66fc-4401-bcea-908119dc492d/9NewRugColors.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here’s my color selection for rug #2. I used Merino Top (fine Merino wool, very soft) in green, pale blue, black, and dark blue. Then the far right scarlet/beige wool is my bamboo top which will add a pop of color and sheen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/de4be25e-e336-4565-a169-54261a4d1320/10NewrugStart.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out I started laying out the border of my circular rug by blending the black and dark blue. I filled in the middle with green and light blue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/73cf6538-08fb-409f-bf55-400696f2a851/11NewRugPizza.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out On top of the base colors I added the bamboo top, which will create a shiny pattern. At this point it I realize it looks more like a wooly pizza than a rug, but I’m going with it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/edab4385-48df-4c3a-a528-906efb1787f2/12NewRugFinish.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out After the wet felting process and drying here is the finished “felted fabric”. You can see the rich color I got in the border by blending the black and blue. I deliberately made the dark edge wide so that I could trim it if necessary. I haven’t figured out how to keep things perfectly circular and I actually like the uneven edges, but ultimately did trim them down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ece20814-56b1-4128-9633-0626af781bcc/13NewRugSheen.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here’s a closer view showing the sheen of the bamboo top, and how “crinkly” it looks when it’s felted. I love the process of making my own fabric — albeit on a very small scale. The rug has a 10 inch diameter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f763cd87-6d52-4b98-a78f-75aeef620c10/14TwoRugs.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out My two rugs side by side https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e62eadc5-2cc2-458f-94ce-5c50cda77579/15roomlightcomponents.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out While shopping at the dollar store I had found some cute little lights. These have tealights in them and a lovely oriental looking cutout front. I decided to use some of these for my library. I added a finial to the top to give it a more finished look, and then put it onto a small box (also from dollar store) which I decorated with wooden cutouts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a8a613da-dfc1-40f5-b1be-9bfe641bb244/16Sofa2base.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Next on the agenda was another sofa, something comfortable and less formal than the chaise. Using fabric from my stash, I made a little mattress type base for the sofa 10 inches long and 6 inches wide. Looks like something you could fall asleep on! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/68a2ed23-2d76-463c-89fd-5c5b78ec555e/17sofa2arms.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out For the back and arms I sewed and stuffed a fabric “sausage” leaving space to bend the sausage to fit the sofa base. It looked ok, but I thought it was too low. But hey, amongst my many crafting supplies was a perfect sized gift box which I used as a base for the sofa. This raised it up to a good height. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/afe7471e-8acb-4c4c-8836-4810a2950430/sofa2approve.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Here’s Affie giving the new sofa the seal of approval. Yes, it’s very comfy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c973dfd4-8711-4e87-a367-d05da43cc9d2/RoomFurniture.jpg Blog - Furnishing My Library Room - Make it stand out Finally, here’s all the furniture I’ve made for my library so far. You can see how fun the light looks with the tea light lit up, and notice that I trimmed the rug to be more even on the edges. For my next blog I’ll build some walls to make the actual room, and give it some personality. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/5/29/twigge-towne-furnishings-special monthly 0.5 2023-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c2416eb0-60cc-4f5e-988d-caa7274d6835/ChaiseTwiggeTowneAd.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/223eb4ef-aff9-4bc1-81fa-f588a7126eb3/Chaise1Start.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out I looked at several ways to make 1/6 scale (Barbie size) chairs, and using cardboard and foam board seemed the best way to go. I worked out the rough size I wanted and drew some shapes for the arms and back. Then I cut some pieces of cardboard and curved them to make the arms. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ac48b82c-164d-46d9-9c4c-48c5d38be966/Chaise2Arms.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Here I added some structure inside the arms to give them strength, and then cut thin pieces of card to seal the ends. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3633f2ca-5c9d-4d91-99fc-ae0da3ffac28/Chaise4ArmsEndCap.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/76169cf8-4d69-428b-b718-facde0f0e1e8/Chaise5cutoutbackshape.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Here is the shape for the back of the chaise. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/80fd6c74-940d-4dec-89fe-b8e8e3a9b25b/Chaise6Basic.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out And here it is roughly in place — not glued together yet. That will happen once all the pieces are covered in fabric. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c2dbe092-409d-46a2-a65d-c5b7533615c9/Chaise7Padding.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out I used a combination of foam and felt for the main padding of the back and seat, then added some wool to the seat for extra comfort. (no expense spared for my woolly characters!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/39bacb34-50f3-43fe-b468-3048a11d9bd5/Chaise8FabricChoices.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Now to raid my stash of fabulous fabrics for the covering of my chaise… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/fc97356b-7e19-466b-927d-7fabeb6cf6df/Chaise9fabricsewing.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Once I chose the fabrics, I hand sewed strips together for cover the seat, back, and arms. Here I got to use the new felt ironing pad I was gifted for Mother’s Day. (Thank you Mark and Nina, it will get lots of use!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c6d0c916-d191-47de-a16f-d268d6298fdc/Chaise10Coveredbasewitharmfront.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Once the covers were stitched together I covered the various parts, trimming and fitting the fabric to the curves. I used tacky glue to stick them down. Then I cut out new card covers for the front of the arms and covered them with fabric. I added a braid piping to the edge to make it fancy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/898ae227-a50d-4c88-a3b5-f5d86da64e5d/Chaise11ArmFrontbackside.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Here’s the backside showing the trim I used for the piping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/59b77a08-60c9-4aeb-80cf-5ba43b889b5a/Chaise12Feet.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out I glued a piece of mat board to the bottom of the chaise to finish it off. Now I had to find some feet for the chaise. I had these small Finial Dowel Caps from “Woodpile” manufacturer and with a little bit of paint they look the part. I hot glued them on to the bottom of the chaise. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/244819a6-45ef-42a7-ba87-80278982982a/Chaise13Complete.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Ta Da! Chaise all glued together and complete. 11.5 inches long x 7.5 inches high. Now to test it out… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a8722749-5a32-4a78-a29f-bb281c3bbb7a/Chaise14Approval.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out It got the seal of approval from Nieva and Rime. But it needed a little something next to it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/559a0e38-98ab-46e0-a111-a80f53b26e81/Chaise16Tablebetter.jpg Blog - Twigge Towne Furnishings Special - Make it stand out Here we go — a cute little table. Made from half a Brie container and some armature wire. I covered the top with some fancy paper from my stash and it’s ready to hold a cup of tea and a couple of books! Don’t forget to order YOUR chaise from Twigge Towne before they are all gone. ;) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/5/18/bartering-hedgehogs monthly 0.5 2023-05-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d72b7c59-f948-4d2a-95c3-d6dd883bc024/1Needle+Storage.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out This week is a tale of hand sewing and bartering hedgehogs — sounds whacky I know, but stick with me as I have fun with fabric and wool. (There will be hedgehogs I promise!) On one of my frequent trips down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest I came across Needle Books. These are beautiful little fabric books made to hold all your needles, and sometimes other sewing essentials like scissors, tape measures, etc. As you can see above, my pins and needles were scattered in half a dozen ugly little containers making it hard to find what I wanted, so I just had to make a needle book. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/73db1378-ff19-4c4e-a192-ef1ca5cce49e/2FabricforNeedlebook.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out I sorted through my stash of beautiful fabrics for the cover of my book and came up with a couple of pieces that I love. I used two pieces of matching fabric for the front and inside back cover and two others for the back and inside front. This was more work that just using one piece for outside and one for inside, but I do like making work for myself and I think the result is attractive. Between the cover fabric I put some felt to give the cover substance so that I could incorporate some little pockets for scissors etc. For the inside “pages” I used some matching felt sheets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0426d4a9-4e93-4bf7-851f-61dbcd34be12/3Needlebookpage.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c3766a6b-b418-4f70-81c5-fe1f256832ad/4Needlebook+pocket.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7b6bc3db-a768-4e14-a7d0-7ca96aeff96a/5myneedlebook.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6f0ba640-7c5c-47c3-8714-7f3867611cd3/6button.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out I’m not a great embroiderer, but I had fun using some decorative stitches to sew small panels to the pages for the various pins/needles to be stored on. I also added some trim/lace and buttons for decoration. I’m pleased with my needle book. It is so much nicer than the ugly containers I had before and now my needles are easy to find. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6ba5f09a-bffd-44a9-a0f5-7fc28401ba3b/7Kathisbookhedgehog.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Next I made one for a friend, and to go with her needle book I decided to make a hedgehog pin cushion from wool.The hedgehog shape is pretty easy to make, it just takes time to get felted to the right level of firmness such that the pins stick in and don’t fall out, or sink completely. It takes about 1 1/2 hours from beginning to end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/440e4f02-dca4-4367-8ace-b44533fcebf9/8hedgehogstart.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out I begin by making a thick sausage of core wool which gets pretty well felted into a firm shape. I add more wool to one end to make the hedgehog body shape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2130f114-9596-43dc-84c8-a6f202f7bad2/9hedgehog+shape.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Here’s the shape when it’s firmly felted. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/daf6ca5e-641c-4f18-99d2-09049fd341b2/10hedgehogfacebase.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Next I add another loosely felted sausage for the nose. It looks kinda weird to begin with, but with a lot of poking, shaping, and compressing, the nose takes shape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9e4cbd5f-fda0-44fd-abad-ecae569fb0cd/11hedgehogface.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Looks a bit more nose-like! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/07360aaf-4e40-4157-9704-15c98bf50c12/12Hedgehognoseshorter.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Next I blended some brown and grey wool to make the color for the hedgehog body. This also gets well felted down and I test the pins in it every so often to see how much more felting it needs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/54b0703b-41e8-43eb-a242-ecc0dbf5ea4f/13hedgehogfinish.jpg Blog - Bartering Hedgehogs - Make it stand out Finally, I add the details. Eyes, a dark tip to the nose, then little ears from some small dabs of wool felted into a semicircle. The Pine Needlers declared my first hedgehog super cute, and I had two requests for more. So I made another couple and handed them out — that opened the floodgates for cries of “What do I have to do to get a hedgehog?!” And so the bartering began. I made several more and received various goodies in exchange, including microwave bowls and wool. The hedgehogs proved as popular as my bunnies. What a great system for sharing crafts and supplies. Happy sewing everyone! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/4/14/ewe-heard-it-here-first-im-having-lots-of-farmyard-pun monthly 0.5 2023-07-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1521e14d-3695-4433-8196-ddd355d511e0/ChickenLegsStart.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out First I made some chickens. I always thought I would like to keep chickens when I retired, but I herd taking care of them is not all it’s cracked up to be, so here are my wooly substitutes. I started from scratch with a tiny wire armature to make the legs, and built up the chicken from there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/aa8eb67f-be1e-42b0-ad0b-d56c5426cb2f/ChickenMostlyDone.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Half baked chicken - hard to tell what it is really. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/032f8852-091c-4b82-9492-9c8b934c5dae/RoosterandHenpartlyDone.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out I hatched a rooster too, not sure he’s anything to crow about, but he does have a big tail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f6eb5e49-4159-440e-9d6c-12e2d95f0773/ChickenLegspainted.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Those chicken feet got painted with acrylic - yum! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c33925ff-ef0a-418d-97d0-8a15640e3cb1/CuteBunnies.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Pleased with the chickens, and with Easter coming up, I hoppily made some bunnies. They’re tiny, and quick to make, so I ended up with a whole fluffle of bunnies (yes, that’s a real expression according to the internet and one I intend to use a lot.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5d82818c-3ae6-4068-b983-199df8163ec6/CHickensandBunnies.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out The first chicken I hatched (rear right) had a chenille stem as a base, but that made the legs too thick and hairy, which could actually work for some breeds of chicken, but I didn’t want that. Henny way, I chopped those off and cluckily turned the legless chicken into a laying chicken. The bunnies proved very popular and became a good barter item that I could use for other fun things, including a ride to the Quilt Show! With all their cuteness it’s not surprising that my fluffle of bunnies quickly found forever homes as fast as I could make them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/36f63b6e-0f34-4be5-b64c-0e2de1928c81/Sheepstart.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Feeling sheepish about not having any bunnies left, I moved on to another farmyard favorite. I love the hilarious stop motion series “Shaun the Sheep,” (look it up on ewe tube if you haven’t seen it), —and I am working with wool for heaven sake — a sheep it had to be. As usual I began with the wire armature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/27098ecb-56b2-402a-8e3d-da6c82e542d0/Sheepish.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out I used only my core wool for it’s body. The core wool is relatively ineggspensive (I’m counting how many times you groan reading this ;) because it’s natural, not dyed or bleached. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a699bb0e-bf7c-4858-96fc-078377ef06cf/SHeepDone.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Here’s my Shaun the Sheep ;) It might be hard to believe, but that eye is made only of wool! Now on to the next pigment of my imagination… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b4273169-4411-4ee6-9453-5d55f9f9a015/PigDone.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Yup, you guessed it! Some people think pigs are dirty creatures - but that’s hogwash. They like to be clean, and only roll in mud to keep cool as they have no sweat glands. Pigs are very intelligent - as you will know if you watched the movie “Babe”. I made my pig a nice clean pink, and added a few oink spots. My son said this piggy is my most accurate animal anatomically so far — praise indeed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/60d790c1-e6ac-405b-9c4e-30824d3b2733/PigFormalback.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Sheep are not as stupid as most people believe— they can form strong bonds with their fellow sheeple and are only slightly less intelligent than pigs. Here my pig and sheep get acquainted, and what do you know a little bunny popped up out of nowhere— as they do! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5bb50b91-9683-448b-b018-dfcb08b9c943/Farmamials.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out So I’ve got quite the farmyard happening, but then I was challenged to make the cutest of all sheep - the Valais Blacknose Sheep from Switzerland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/71fa4aee-7023-46e5-9891-132653124277/ValaisStart.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Looking sheepish - maybe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3f91a079-c279-4f90-b4ef-5a48985f7502/Valaisfinal.jpg Blog - Ewe herd it here first… I’m having lots of farmyard pun! - Make it stand out Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more adorable…Valais are so shaggy and cute with their black noses and curly top knots. I used up a lot of my curly white sheep locks on this one. Not sure what I’ll make next —there are sow many reasons to make piglets, or it might be amoosing to make a cow. It might just be whatever gets my goat. I’ve just been told “it’s pasture bedtime” so I’m off. You can breathe a sigh of relief — no more puns. Alls wool that ends wool ;) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/4/1/build-your-own-wood-stove monthly 0.5 2023-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/112fa38c-ee52-40d2-9f21-0d84ba0d2f70/StoveParts.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out If any of you are feeling chilly and have run out of propane - here’s how to build your own wood stove. All you need are these simple parts and a bit of imagination. Disclaimer: stove will be very small and might not actually work… ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dde1a6bf-b238-4081-b20b-0c58056726dc/StoveStart.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out I had a devil of a job getting the label off the vitamin bottle, and I should really have primed it, but I was impatient. Sigh. Here I am gluing the various bottle tops together to make the stove body. I cut out two pieces of white card for the stove door, painted them black, and glued them together pinning the “hinge” in place. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5a214cfd-4ad9-418a-88fe-9ff6ce569d0c/HingeandHandle.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out For the hinge and door handle I used these bracelet findings which are perfect. I’ll never make a bracelet using these so it’s good to find other uses for them. I also used the round parts as Zahrah’s magnifying lens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/efcc1eee-be55-4dea-8052-6663a8cadcc7/Stovebasicpainted.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out I painted the body of the stove with black acrylic paint and ultra matte medium. It took a couple of coats to stick (because I hadn’t primed the plastic!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b42f34a8-b0b6-40e7-901c-d19a8a51f294/Stovetrim.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out When I looked at olde stoves online they often had some fancy decoration so I found some beading supplies and made my own by squashing the bell shaped bead caps flat and gluing them on to the bottle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/fd2d7e0e-7d32-4af4-a67b-98dbce8b1ba8/StovetrimmedandDoor.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out After I glued on the trim, I used a silver pen to do some stripes and highlighting, then I glued on the door. The grill below is a piece of wood left over from a wooden 3D model I did years ago. After doing all this I decided I did not like the Matte look and went over it with gloss medium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ef1c642a-b581-4342-956e-5665f73ad83c/StovetryinginSitu.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Trying the stove in situ. I made a stove pipe using the cardboard roll from my kitchen foil (which conveniently had just run out!) Now of course I needed a log basket. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/55eb5c79-8bd3-47a8-bd64-361c0bffe276/LogBasketbeginning.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out I got out the jute string that came with all my little apothecary jars and started coiling it up. I used tacky glue to make it stay in place. Once it was a good size I started to build the sides up, just coiling and sticking. It was kinda messy, but worked really well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/573b1584-1918-4899-bd3b-cb370a671543/LogBasketHalfWay.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9d3ab5c0-d9c6-4e97-9ce3-5544decd2934/LogBasketFinished.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Finally I plaited a little strip for the top edge and made some handles out of the remainder. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/54cc77ab-f54c-47e0-8658-ce67d4f2cb60/LogBasketandStove.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Completed Stove and Log Basket. Esmun is now ready for any cool weather. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0f1ca45a-af55-48a3-add6-8cc9732f8ebe/PavementTools.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Creating a sidewalk outside the Apothecary Shoppe. Only someone as crazy as me could get excited about making a sidewalk! Fortunately I’m not the only person being crazy these days, so I found some inspiration online (where else) and used some dollar tree foam board. I stripped off the top layer of paper revealing the foam. I experimented with making marks in it and painting it to see if it worked. These are my tools for scoring. I used the foil for making indentations in the foam, which I did when I made my wall for the final scene of my book. The foil creates a stone like texture in the foam. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/17d22eda-b583-40cb-bde8-14efc7db64e1/Pavementpattern.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ff5694ce-280a-4a9f-9425-46e5b1a3c350/Pavementpainting.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Having figured out what to do I made a whole street length of pavement markings, then started putting paint on it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2edb091b-752f-4c97-b968-5c25a1fe7167/PavementandShoppefront.jpg Blog - Build your own Wood Stove - Make it stand out Here’s how it looked in front of the shoppe. For later photos I added some bits of moss and dirtied the stone up a bit. Well, now the Shoppe is completed - on to other things… http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/3/11/apothecary-shoppe-grand-reveal-photos monthly 0.5 2023-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/13a145cb-7177-45dd-8ee7-c8cbb91afa8f/ShoppeReveal1AAEsmunSweeping.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Esmun is particular about his shoppe - even the outside! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/75bda840-5521-403c-84f0-57b75750ba5f/unlockingApothecaryShoppe.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Done sweeping, he unlocks the shop ready for business. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/76177aa2-6265-4909-85d1-c337533394c5/ShoppeReveal2AEsmunandStove.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out It’s a bit chilly this morning, so he gets the stove started. Probably not a good thing to be doing in that nice white shirt, but at least he took off his expensive coat! (More on the making of the stove next time) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/094f4233-60b2-4356-8cd4-32650ad03124/ShoppeReveal2BB.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Esmun does some filing - like I said, he’s particular. ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b282bbd2-1904-402f-a2d6-58f747c3bfe4/ShoppeReveal2BEsmunselectsherb.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Now Esmun has to make up some potions. I think his eyesight is going — good job I made those glasses for him! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f72e8fd5-b1c2-49ef-a136-0bcf80c0240d/ShoppeReveal2C.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Yep, that’s the right stuff. And what, you might ask, is that monstrous looking thing on the top shelf? That, my friends, is a dragon skull (or my version of one anyway.) I made it in a fanciful moment with the idea that Esmun tells people he killed it himself - it’s a fiction of course, but it stops people messing with him! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b7e7beab-7920-4bb8-aaed-3a36c888d99c/ShoppeReveal2CCLooktoWindow.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out This is Esmun’s view of the shoppe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9b472453-9cc1-4f35-9978-b1708665cc1c/ShoppeReveal4BirdsEyeView.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Birds eye view of the shop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dd630af5-af3d-42cf-b8c7-94ad082c2ae0/ShoppeReveal2EsmunWeighing.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Esmun is using that nice set of scales I got him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/88ee7629-c7e9-4a11-a0b2-d43fba2d2cff/ShoppeReveal8Jars.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out Esmun has a lot of interesting things in his shoppe with which to make his pills and potions. But wait… is that really a jar of Dragon Blood on the shelf? Shock Horror! Perhaps he did kill that dragon after all! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/11b5a3e1-9d8f-4f93-b10e-690d5bd73433/ShoppeReveal10Interiordoor.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out I need Esmun to come do my housekeeping because this place is neat as a pin… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f638b774-b5b2-47bb-9316-fea1197a08f7/ShoppeReveal11EsmunCloseup.jpg Blog - Apothecary Shoppe Grand Reveal Photos - Make it stand out We’ll leave Esmun to work on his Potions. I hope you enjoyed the pics. In my next blog I’ll show how I made Esmun’s stove, and the pavement outside the shop. Yes, even pavement can be interesting to me! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/3/11/apothecary-shoppe-grand-reveal-videos monthly 0.5 2023-03-12 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/3/4/meet-esmun-my-apothecary-guy monthly 0.5 2023-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7f8adda3-f005-4d5b-b8cf-332c408de101/A1AApothecaryStartingblocks.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Meet Esmun — my Apothecary guy. What do you mean you can’t see him? He’s all there… I know, I’m a tease! Settle down with a BIG drink this week as there are lot of pics to get through showing the evolution of my Apothecary character. People have asked me how long it takes to make one of my creatures/figures and until now I have never had a definitive answer. I never work on just one thing at a time and therefore never keep a note of the hours put in. However, I began working almost exclusively on Apothecary guy at the Pine Needlers craft group and usually I’m there for about three hours. So using that as a calculation, and adding in the extra hours at home, start to finish this character (including making his clothes) took me around 34 hours. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/feb6472c-c36b-4f1d-bb2f-b4bc06fb77f6/A1apothecaryguyarmature.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here’s the beginning. My usual skeleton of wire covered with chenille stems so that the wool has something to stick to. He started out quite tall, but if I remember rightly I took some length off his legs— either that or he shrank with age as he is now only 11 inches tall in his finished form! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ed69aa50-77bd-42bc-b960-57caf680b84a/A2apothecaryguylookingdumb.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out After wrapping with the white core wool, I covered him with “Latte” wool for his skin. This is the same color as Nieva, the heroine of my story. He looks a little strange and misshapen at this stage, but that improves with time and effort. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0b67643f-1ad2-4a90-a16d-bb06557e4c4c/A3Apothecarybeforeeyebrowsbeard.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here he is with his face mostly worked. I gave him a bald head — but plenty of hair at the back. Story of old age really — hair in all the wrong places! ;) He still looks a little strange as he as no eyebrows/eyelashes. I had to wrap him in a temporary cloak as he was embarrassed standing naked in the shop setting. At this point I also realized that his hands were absurdly small - poor guy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b2285b7b-b8c4-4e48-89c3-9899489ea71e/A4ApothecaryFace.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out He looks a little more characterful at this point. I gave him a mustache, beard, eyebrows, and eye definition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8d4c28a3-e13f-472c-9c13-9bd7bfadf67c/A7ApothecaryClothesSketch.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Now my Apothecary needs some clothes. I started with a rough sketch of what I wanted to make. I’m obviously not a fashion designer, but I had looked at some olde fashions online and there is enough info in the sketch for me to decide what to make. I already had some fabric that I bought as a little packet in Hobby Lobby and I picked out a mustard color for his pants, white for his shirt, and a blue for his coat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/20d32d89-af28-4555-a920-899b02a326a7/A8ApothecaryPantMaking.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out I made a pattern for the pants first. I use sheets of paper towel to wrap around the body and draw on, then cut out. Then cut out the fabric and start hand sewing the pieces together. I hand sew because it’s quicker and easier than setting up my sewing machine for such small pieces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3c2e3154-46a5-4f03-9efa-80281e684292/A9ApothecaryinPants.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out I used some elastic in the waist of the pants so they would be easy to get on. He still looks a little perturbed, and who wouldn’t - standing in a shop half naked is the stuff of bad dreams! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6c94a9f3-6508-4bb5-8263-0aacaf84f77f/A10Apothecaryinpantschesthair.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out I finally understood what his problem was. He didn't feel quite complete — he wanted chest hair! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/af331cbb-c75b-4bcf-a9be-6249a1a6f04a/A11Apothecaryshirtpattern.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out On to the Apothecary shirt (which annoyingly enough is going to cover up the magnificent chest hair. Humph!) Again I made a pattern. I laid it out on the blue coat fabric so that you can see it, rather than on the white fabric the shirt will be made from. Part way through making it I decided to add a collar, so I had to work out a shape for that too. I have to say that my clothes making is not very precise, I guestimate and adjust along the way. Each item I make is a learning curve, but it seems to work out in the end. To my satisfaction anyway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/45b70b1a-6121-4a7b-b945-7503e9dca31c/A12ApothecaryShirtPartlyDone.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out I wanted the sleeves to be puffy at the shoulders and elasticated, with flared cuffs, so I had to experiment with the sleeve pattern a bit to make the fabric big enough. I also wanted some gathering in the front of the shirt so that was made pretty large too. I had to buy some especially narrow elastic to do the cuffs with. I folded them double and made a channel to put the elastic through. It was very fiddly, but worked out pretty well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c83ca020-3786-477b-80f7-c033b7ac9339/A13EsmunShirtFront.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here’s the shirt on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/531cf4c4-0793-4891-8e69-efc7f5edbb45/A14EsmunShirtBack.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here’s the shirt back. I didn’t do any fastening at the back because it will be hidden by his coat and tucking it into his pants holds it in place. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/68781113-1d9a-4441-9d2b-3dd7d96f0e09/A14aapothecaryPirateHand.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out At this point I decided to replace his pathetic little hands, so I took some scissors and cut off the wool, unwound his finger wires and started over. Not for the squeamish! He looks like a pirate now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e1ae61bb-f18b-4d39-aeae-1ba76812437b/A14bApothecaryEdwardScissorhands.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Ta Da! Edward Scissorhands! Oh dear, it’s quite gruesome, and you can see that I went from one extreme to the other. I struggle with the hands. It’s not easy to gauge how big they will turn out and they are the very devil to put wool onto. Sigh. I should probably spend a week just making finger templates and hands of various sizes for future reference. Anyway, now he has functional hands that can probably tear trees in half! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dd4f8b78-ce3d-4496-b087-387c18af6457/A15Apothecaryleggingsandlance.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out In this pic you can see that I worked on several things. First I gave him some leggings below his pants in a matching wool. I also added a bit of tiny lace to his shirt collar, which really gives it some finesse. The lace was left over from when I had cut up some wide lace to make skinny waves on the ocean for my merfolk cavern, all that long time ago. This little bit of trim was just perfect. You might also notice that he has glasses. In a mad moment I thought I haven’t really done enough super tiny work that will give me a headache and sore fingers so let’s try and make apothecary glasses out of 24 gauge jewelry wire. I don’t recommend it — but now he has them and he can read all those tiny labels on the apothecary jars. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3815fcf7-55ee-4a32-9057-7c4cdae474ab/A16AapothecaryGlasses.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Once I’d made the glasses I added some drops of Gloss gel to make the actual “glass”. This is quite effective and I’ve used this a couple of times for making magnifying glasses for my other character Zahrah. I taped the glasses down onto freezer paper as the dried gel will peel right off that, sticking only to the metal frame. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/bbbc7c99-4b1e-4d68-9892-ecfb996dd6f6/handheldmagifyer.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here’s a picture of Zahrah with her hand held magnifier. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d4b7f00e-eb84-4c11-8ae5-3fe1f11c60ed/A16ApothecaryCoatPattern.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Back to the serious work of the apothecary coat. This is not a coat in traditional terms, but a “surcote” a long, sleeveless, outer garment, often worn by soldiers over their armor in medieval times. (Amazing what you can learn by making clothes for a doll.) This pattern was the simplest. I cut the back piece on the fold, and the front sides separately. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0fc3aec7-f49e-4be6-91ea-7f0f7f3a8b93/A16ATApothecaryCoat+Trim+ideas.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out When last in Michaels I bought a trim bundle that I thought would surely come in handy for the Apothecary clothes. Here you can see the coat pieces stitched together and hemmed at the armholes. I didn’t worry too much about the look of that as I knew it would be covered by something or other. I picked through the trim to find something I liked. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/cb990fc9-8586-419e-827c-ac33a5142bb0/A17ApothecaryCoatInside.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Here you can see the fairly neat finishing I did on the inside of the coat (?!) I know, makes no sense — well, actually it does. Because of the nature of the coat it falls open and the inside can be seen. The fabric frays quite a lot so I took the time to turn the tiny excess seam fabric over and fell stitch it down. (One of my youtube favorites is Bernadette Banner and she does a lot of felling so I was quite thrilled to be able to do a little myself, although not up to her quality you understand.) This gold trim was what I picked out initially for the coat trim https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a0551e6e-8cbf-4f55-99b1-ebb1f323ad0b/A18ApothecaryCoatTrimCummerbund.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out I decided to make the Apothecary a cummerbund to hide the elasticated waist of his pantaloons and make him look a little wealthier. I chose a broad gold trim from my bundle. Then when I put his coat on and tried trim against the whole outfit I decided I liked the white and gold trim on the right. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/54761dad-f66a-4141-9933-a0183d927b41/A19ApothecaryCoatFinished.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out So here is the coat finished. After applying the trim to the coat I thought his cummerbund was a little gaudy, so I found a slightly narrower ribbon in a gold that matched the coat trim and added that over the top of the original gold cummerbund. Esmun is fairly happy with his clothing so far. Now on to shoes and a hat… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e8aed6e7-b2b7-4079-8f49-0f0609108561/A21ApothecaryHatBase.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out When I envisaged the coat I wanted to make raised shoulder edges that were gold and blue. So I made this piece of wool trim by taking a section of each color wool and twisting it into a skinny sausage. Then I twisted the two colors together over a dowel. Unfortunately they were not easy to felt together and I ended up with two short sections that kept coming apart. They were unsuitable for the shoulders of the coat, but I thought they might make an interesting hat band. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dd8635dd-a63d-4908-99a0-7800454d04b8/A20ApothecaryHatBaseonhead.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Looks like a good start to a hat… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/782a313d-1165-4e86-8a6e-9052a051de34/A22ApothecaryHat.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Having made the hat band the right size, I took some slate blue wool and felted it into a flat circle of fabric and secured it to the hat band. It looked a little plain so I added a couple of strips across the top and a bobble in the center. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e488b74d-01c0-43fb-8413-9b507f8831db/A23ApothecaryinHat.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Definitely looking the part now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b1237656-0d50-4f7a-ab5f-0f8d9a832a30/A24ApothecaryShoesFront.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out The shoes I started with a flat piece of felting, again in the slate blue. When I wrapped the bit of fabric around his feet they looked a lot like slippers, but I decided to go with that. I had a piece of trim from my Michaels bundle that had fancy shapes cut into it, and they looked a bit like buckles to me so I cut a couple and sewed them onto the front of the shoes for decoration. I think that elevated them from slippers to, well if not exactly shoes, then fancy slippers! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/494c4cbf-d272-43d7-a5ea-2ace4709b207/A25ApothecaryShoesSide.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6b54a30e-7b4f-4e90-a04d-35076c8056a9/A28ApothecarysideView.jpg Blog - Meet Esmun - My Apothecary Guy - Make it stand out So here is Esmun - looking very pleased with himself! Just a note on the name - it’s a variation on Eshmun, Phoenician god of healing. Appropriate, I thought, for an Apothecary. I hope you enjoyed this journey of creation. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/2/24/constructing-an-apothecary-shoppe-front monthly 0.5 2023-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d0edd43f-0e08-43fa-a676-5c10a738d2fd/ShopFrontStart.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out Beginning the Shoppe exterior https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2f82189b-9f62-4997-aabc-007de03b629e/ShopFront2.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ce9d77a9-256d-4731-83b6-cbae1d713189/Shopfront3.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out The door I created by cutting pieces of mat board into strips and rectangles. I made the mistake of using my mat cutter to get the nice angles on the panels - but I have paid for it dearly with a lot of pain in my hand ever since. I was a picture framer for many years and although I loved the job it was very hard on my hands. This was a reminder of why I gave up doing that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1f95d186-1e8a-49e1-aac1-f709d3cbd521/ApothecaryWindowFilm..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out When it came to creating the “glass” for the window, I discovered in my stash of art goodies an old packet of printable transparency sheets. If you can tell me why I have these you can win a wonderful prize - a packet of printable transparency sheets!;) Does anyone even remember what those were for - and who keeps this stuff for heaven’s sake? Lol! Not only have I never had an overhead projector, but I haven’t owned an inkjet printer for years either. Not a hoarder - honestly!! Anyhoo - perfect glass - and easy to print Esmun’s logo onto! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7a78813a-9faa-4a7a-8a32-a178a500edf2/Shopwindow.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out I used some skinny pieces of painted basswood to make the window frame, gluing and taping them into place. I discovered that you can paint over masking tape very successfully and it doesn’t look too bad. (real dollhouse perfectionists would take issue with it, but as I’m making it to be photographed I can actually cheat and do some beautifying in Photoshop if necessary) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/509faa70-474e-4abe-b665-f89dfc186087/GarnetGel..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out Now, what to do about the front wall of the shoppe? I didn’t want to have to make/paint bricks. I have had this pot of Garnet Gel among my paints for years and never had a use it for it. I tried it on a sample of foam core and et violà — stucco! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9223720d-d753-4cf9-9fd2-f78bc8c20462/Apothecaryshoppestuccoing..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out I spread the pinky garnet gel on the foam board with a palette knife. When it was dry I painted it with creamy beige acrylic paint. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/86aacbbe-d11b-4f53-be4d-a204bcd7df58/ApothecaryShoppeFrontPaintedstuco..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out Now it’s starting to look like something. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/065c63e6-f6cf-4c5b-9016-e19411574717/ShoppeInteriorDoor..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out I also worked on the interior of the Shoppe frontage, creating the door on the inside and and framing out both the door and window. The door doesn’t open - it’s just for looks. The window ledge was covered in the same cork I used for the counter top. The wallpaper is a fancy pattern I found in 12 x 12 sheets at Hobby Lobby. The cute metal door handle is the same as the ones I used for the Apothecary chest of drawers. Having struggled with framing the door, I discovered we had some tiny saws and an old mitre cutter that I used for picture framing in a previous life, that meant I could cut the basswood in, somewhat, proper angles for the window. I think the Apothecary will be happy with it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1dff919f-f408-46a4-a1db-46bef31d5ab2/Apothecarysignbegin.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out I had made a sign to just stick on the wall above the shop door, but then had the brilliant idea of making it a hanging sign. Off I went to my stash of metal and wood to create something…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/44cde759-63d9-4970-a7c8-7b054f334226/Apothecaryhangingsignmetalworkpainted..jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out I’ve tried bending jewelry wire into curves before - without much success,. This is not perfect, but I think it turned out ok. I used some fine 24g wire to hold the sections in place, stuck it to a piece of wood so that it would stand away from the wall, then painted it all black. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/4ad32ed8-d39c-49ea-8c3b-6d2e701fd7ac/ApothecaryShoppeExterior%3AinteriorwithSign.jpg Blog - Constructing an Apothecary Shoppe Front - Make it stand out Hey presto - Shoppe sign hanging in the breeze! I added a few more bits of window frame to make it look more interesting. I should have put a ruler or something in there for scale, but it is 20 inches high and 24 inches wide. Now I have to figure out some pavement or something in front of the shoppe. The next blog post will be all about the making of my Apothecary guy, and a grand reveal of the splendid interior of the shop - watch this space! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/2/12/ye-olde-apothecary-shoppe monthly 0.5 2023-02-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d3fc6fdb-22bb-4f5c-8cb4-eace5864245e/JarsandShelves.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out Shelves in the making. These wooden trays from Dollar Tree are my beginnings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c6196163-2575-4990-afdd-652c04d8356f/shelf+ideas.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out There’s some apothecary magic going on with those jars suspended in mid air. ;) The dollar tree was a great source of little empty wood trays that would make great shelving and all I needed was some bass wood for the actual shelves. I cut up lots of little pieces of shelving, painted everything in Burnt Umber acrylic, and tried different arrangements to see how many shelves I needed and how to space them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e9f0eb32-cf73-4740-af82-3727f1bbe4df/apothecaryshelfpapers.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out I found a cute book of faded wallpaper designs (4.5 x 6.5 inches) just the perfect size, with just a little trimming, to fit inside the trays - and it turned out the papers were self adhesive so it seemed they were a match made in heaven! Was that really $10.99? OMG! The patterns were so perfect I got swept up in a buying frenzy at Hobby Lobby and didn’t think about the cost until I looked at this photo. Oh well, I can make shelving for all eternity now! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8f286457-8431-4655-83a7-34012fc7cd4b/apothecarycounter.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out Once I had the shelves arranged I glued them in place (mostly level - I hope). One of the actual trays seems a little off kilter - but I doubt anyone will notice once it is filled with apothecary goodies. The counter cabinets are made from two more trays. I glued some of the little wooden cubes I got from Dollar Tree on for feet and painted them with burnt umber acrylic. I used a gold acrylic pen to draw on the cupboards, and attached Esmun’s logo onto a spare piece of shelving and glued it on the front. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/17a5867b-5bbc-48da-80c9-d53d30c49f7b/apothecarycounterbackside.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out Here’s the backside of one of the counter cabinets. I put a shelf in either side for more goodies like wrapping paper, spare jars etc. Who know’s what the apothecary will put there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/72fc5280-6657-40a2-bf1d-bcba8c2bcf02/apothecaryaccessoriesoncounter.jpg Blog - Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe - Make it stand out Here are some little Apothecary accessories. Left to right: The clock and tiny scales were purchased from Etsy. I couldn’t resist them, especially the scales which are made from metal. All the minuscule weights in the base come out and the scales go up and down. It’s 1:12th scale, so normally would be too small for my dioramas (which are 1:6th scale) BUT my apothecary will be measuring out medicines, not potatoes, so it is actually perfect! The tiny gold spoons are straightened out clamshell bead covers from my beading stash. I saw the hack on the internet after I made those sculpey clay spoons on the right which didn’t come out so well. The egg timer is made from buttons and two plastic single use eye drop bottles glued together. It contains paprika and actually works (although I wouldn’t recommend it for timing eggs!) Lastly the pestle and mortar is made from sculpey clay. The counter top is sticky back cork from Dollar Tree on a strip of basswood. Work continues on my apothecary guy, and also the shoppe front - more on those in my next posting. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/2/12/open-studio-and-book-launch monthly 0.5 2023-02-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3ad9b568-106b-4b19-aee7-7747d240b133/openstudiotheartistmona.jpg Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out Last weekend I held an open studio and book launch event. I laid out a few scenes from my book showing off my main characters and all the little miniature goodies I made for them. I had examples of my book and showed images from the book on my tv. I ran another slide show of all the felted critturs I’ve made since I began this hobby three years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/41673ecb-4cd0-4d85-a4de-b53c643ee8c4/open+studioSylvia+Explains.jpg Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out I had an explanatory table showing how I begin my felted creatures and how I have progressed in the design and making of them. Here I’m holding the beginnings of my Apothecary guy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/cd3e0a52-757f-49f3-a20b-21934db4bf51/OpenStudioNievaMona.jpg.png Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out Stars of my book - Nieva, Serac the reindeer and Rime, the little fox https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5eb2dd27-f5a2-4e0a-a266-88df1ca3370a/OpenstudioMerfolkMona.jpg Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out Merfolk Sealia and Kai, in their magical cavern https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/eb577e73-2b40-4e6e-8405-a358daa12a6f/OpenstudioZahrahsCabinMona.jpg Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out Part of Zahrah’s cabin with Rowan building up the fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c576409d-d789-42e8-826c-5953e34af199/openstudiopegasusmona.jpg Blog - Open Studio and Book Launch - Make it stand out Momma and baby Pegasus hanging out on the fireplace. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2023/1/21/apothecary-bless-you monthly 0.5 2023-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/af93238d-1dd6-4743-b1ea-87fc6f5e10c8/apothecaryjarsempty.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5e9a1c7d-ed7d-4f67-8b54-64bf37f077d1/apothcaryjars.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out All manner of Apothecary goodies in jars, and I have lots of ideas for other mysterious items to include in the shoppe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1a0f2449-758e-4a82-a267-ce5f2efa1908/OilJars.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out These are some of my favorites. The jars on the left are filled with olive oil and Sage seeds, Rose petals, and a Sculpey clay snake. (Had forgotten that Sculpey is hard after it is baked so I was lucky that it just fitted through the neck of the jar!) There is also some real snakeskin gathered eons ago from a stone wall, and some random bones I found in the woods, also eons ago (don’t ask why I kept those awful things all these years!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/6307660b-4abd-48f7-8931-cf10f8769769/LIttleJars.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out These tiny screw top jars were a great Dollar Tree find and I just hid the metal with some fabric and string. It was fun to make the little labels on my jars and inscribe them in a language known only to my apothecary! ;) Now, with a large collection of goodies for sale I need to make Ye actual Shoppe. It is virtually impossible to find 1/6th scale (barbie size) dollhouse stuff that is not ultra modern, (and I couldn’t afford it anyway.) So, I went in search of something from which to make ye olde shelves/cupboards. On a wonderful shopping expedition I discovered a Dollar Tree store and a Hobby Lobby next door to one another (died and gone to heaven. Lol!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/56c28e59-81ab-4349-8590-4c7a1f9a8cf6/DollarTreeHaul.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out My stash from Dollar tree was epic - a whole bunch of faux wood flooring, potential shelving and cupboards, mini plant pots, cork sheets, and all manner of useful and fancy stuff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/014715c3-f7eb-4270-89f1-9340a4cb2144/handles.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out Hobby Lobby is a good deal more expensive but has some marvelous things, like these wonderful tiny metal drawer handles, that I haven’t seen elsewhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/778c1315-0755-4e7c-a6f8-dbbb29fd1398/cupboardStart.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out Eager to get going, I began constructing my cupboards, creating two little drawers to go into each one. The wood is simple basswood - so easy to cut with a craft knife and glue together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ef5d5dde-bcff-4ee3-95b9-c5abab2ba2ec/making+drawers.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ce80d909-e26a-41db-8885-d3df6e5466c7/drawers2.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out Now I added those nice little drawer handles. For the top drawer I divided it into three and used brass colored paper fasteners. With the drawers finished and working I then painted them with burnt umber acrylic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c58a9f70-7a3f-45d6-8a1d-e9f4718cd3ef/cupboardfinished.jpg Blog - Apothecary - bless you! - Make it stand out I painted a coat of satin varnish over the acrylic, then glued the two sets of drawers together and fancied them up with a bit of gold paint and a cork surface on the top. I’m not a great carpenter - yet - but I was fairly pleased with how this turned out. Next stop - creating some shelving for all those jars, oh, and of course an apothecary to make the potions and pills! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/12/29/end-of-year-roundup monthly 0.5 2022-12-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8a7681cb-0e59-4d8e-9c7a-17771bad2942/Lua3.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/e019ebd6-86e2-48f0-a554-5a872fc683f8/LuaandLua.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out “What the…??” Lua meets herself! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7c632584-dc25-4166-b127-c53dc5309397/LolaFinal+copy.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out This is Lola, a commission I did as part of a fundraiser for the Rüdiger Foundation, a non-profit in Nevada City that provides K9 resources to local police. https://rufk9.org/who-we-are https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/91fe9caa-eb48-445f-81d2-d12f3f6902ba/JazzyandJhengoSigned.+copy.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Lola’s owner then wanted me to paint her daughter’s two dogs as a Christmas gift and here they are. I’ve been so busy with the book making that it’s been a long time since I painted anything other than backgrounds for my story. It was fun picking up a brush again! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/311c0a55-a74a-45e0-9720-33836974e0fb/braceforreindeer.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out I felted a couple of reindeer for some “dear” friends! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/885dabf4-c2db-4ca9-bce8-e3b207ec2049/RaccoonXmas.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out I felted a Raccoon as an addition to my “Woodland Carol Singers’ group. He’s not singing, he’s running off with the Figgy Pudding of course, so I used this image for my Christmas card! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/315c8ab2-71a8-4504-9539-8577c16a7745/Racoonjoinswoodlandsingers.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Here he is with the carol singers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c2131f37-d2d0-4455-8d01-f476385f6467/Chipmunkfinal.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Here’s a cute chipmunk I felted as a Christmas gift. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/18e80e66-e812-41d1-8b60-0662d9ac75b6/Singing+Birds.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Here are some Caroling Birdies I felted as a Christmas gift for my daughter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f7341c2d-7efa-463a-a52b-201099d6ac1a/Giftedfelties.jpg Blog - End of Year Roundup - Make it stand out Everyone seems happy with their gifts! A lot of felties got made, a couple of paintings got painted and now I’m enjoying a well earned break and will come back to it all with renewed enthusiasm in the New Year. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/12/2/its-a-book monthly 0.5 2022-12-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/98d8e8ce-c736-4e0c-8799-49941943e912/ItsaBook2.jpg Blog - It's A Book! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7a380902-0aaa-442f-80b7-3eba5793a5e4/BookInside.jpg Blog - It's A Book! - Make it stand out The images and text came out great and I’m very pleased with the way Blurb printed it. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/10/25/what-could-be-cuter-than-a-pegasus monthly 0.5 2022-10-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ced24390-da3d-43f5-adee-d799d6e1face/Deocomplete.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b6daac8f-7570-4ba8-8e23-808b0da85b15/BabyPegasusStart.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Not very impressive yet - but give him a chance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f539be0b-4b72-474e-8067-14790a436993/babyPegasusstart2.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Sculpting his face - now he looks a little crazy, but hang in there… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/77cb9cd9-cd28-4077-b040-b9b883fa836e/babypegasus1+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Up you get… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3be92fdb-e485-4d11-8855-39d87385624b/babyPegasus2+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out But how mommy…? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/96efe2ff-d0cd-4042-bcd1-a52b806d14a9/babypegasus3+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Legs are tricky things to work… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/82cb28f8-4b13-4057-bf7c-b8d32e54802e/babypegasus4+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out You did it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/66676410-4ece-411a-85ac-a45f649db7a0/BabyPegasus5+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/97f40ad1-882f-4236-99b0-906594572cd2/babypegasus6+copy.jpg Blog - What could be cuter than a Pegasus? - Make it stand out Hey, life is fun! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/8/31/from-this-a-fantasy-horse monthly 0.5 2023-09-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/439d952c-4363-4cce-a0c9-ac8f21e3360c/9FaiosElements.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out From this unassuming bundle a horse is born… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1ec2bf3e-fef6-4a2f-8c90-4d42cad77327/16FaiosFinal+copy.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out Finally my fantasy Pegasus horse is finished and I’m rather pleased with her. Now all she needs is a grand adventure - already in the works, of course! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/03e562ae-615d-4c47-bf86-dd7c824fda47/10awetFelting.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out Here’s how I made the wings. Laying out thin layers of Merino wool to start wet felting some fabric. When you have the layers of wool ready they are wetted with soap and water and gently agitated until they form a sold fabric. It takes a little while. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/004ac888-ab54-4671-94ef-bb2cdb5e94cb/10FeltforWings.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out I made two pieces of thin felt, one using grey and white wool, the other just with white. I had intended just to use the grey fabric, but on its own it was not substantial enough, so I put the grey underneath and the white on top. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/7e8b79b8-94cd-4e3f-8fc0-4a0a17c96834/11AttachingWings.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out I attached the felt to the armature, first with stitching, then some needle felting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/b35673ee-72dd-44f8-99c2-6d37a7e7d0e2/11bPegasuswithWings.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out The wings looked pretty good - but I felt they needed something more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/17e40dd6-8d0e-41d6-9913-f383fdc7c0f4/12ManeandTail.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out While I thought about the “something more” for the wings I got to the really fun part of adding the mane and tail. I have some white ‘fur’ wool which I wrapped around a wooden skewer and wetted. When it was dry the wool comes off the stick wavy or curly. I used some of this for the tail and part of the mane. I used a lot of straight ‘fur’ for the mane too. Then added some cute curly kid mohair locks to tumble down the front of the head. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/bbd4af09-ee9b-4184-ab74-c0bd5dea06ce/13embroiderysamples.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out I eventually decided a little embroidery on the wings might make them more feather-like. I bought a selection of metallic threads and embroidery floss and after doing some samples I plumped for using the shiny white floss. The metallic threads were a bear to work with so I was very happy that the white floss worked so well. I’m not a great needlewoman and I haven’t done any embroidery for many, many, years so it took me a long time to do the embellishment. I think it was worth it though, as it improves the look of the wings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/131a81dc-9210-47f1-bae1-e9864ec53947/14wingembroidery.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out Adding embroidery to the white upper wings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0adafeb8-b095-44c1-9ded-f30e25412e5e/15eyelashes.jpg Blog - From This ... A Fantasy Horse - Make it stand out Another embellishment was suggested to me by my daughter-in-law who wanted to know if I was giving the Pegasus eyelashes. I do love a challenge, so I figured that out…I want to say… in the blink of an eye! ;) I used some of the curly ‘fur’ cut down to size and needle felted above the eyes. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/8/14/almost-a-flight-of-fantasy monthly 0.5 2022-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/9b2d21c8-9bf4-412a-997b-d2efedda6e08/1PegasusArmature.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Well, what on earth could this be? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/c6fcc30c-a0ec-467f-a69f-b1e4ae04fc81/2Armature.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Here I’ve wrapped the armature with chenille stems to give the wool something to grab on to. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2221c2f5-52e0-4007-b0bd-559bf82b456d/3WrappingArmatureBeginColor.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Beginning to wrap the armature with wool, some core wool (white) and some of the colored wool I will use for the whole body. It looks a little weird without a head and of course the legs have no muscles yet… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/08b46c32-a41d-4bdf-8a9b-88ec235fdec9/4Shaping.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Now the creature has more muscles - but still no head….scary!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8d4bcf50-93a6-49dd-8f1b-fbe3d2f6ce92/5BeginningHead.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Finally the head starts to take shape - still a little scary looking though! It took many hours to get to this stage. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0504d576-55b6-42a7-ba58-712c0ad21291/5aLookingmoreHorseLike.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Ha! Now that’s a bit better. At this point I’m still looking at lots of horse photos from all angles and constantly working on the muscles and shape of the legs etches well as finessing the head. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f89aa4e1-f71d-4da0-9ba9-a67c485c2bab/6HeadCloseup.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Closeup of sculpting the head https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/26303b36-94ae-4d9d-afd3-3fe1fd2ba177/7HeadCloseup2.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ef9de49d-7424-4096-8d1f-8aad88453456/8LookingbetteralltheTime.jpg Blog - Almost A Flight of Fantasy... - Make it stand out Many pokey hours later the pegasus takes shape. There is still a lot to do. I spent lots of time looking at photos of horses to work out where the muscles should be and how to shape the legs and head. I was initially pleased with the hooves, but I am not happy with them now and will redo them. It’s a big project which will take a lot more hours before I can get to the fun part of mane, tail, and wings. I have yet to figure out how to do the wings. I think I will try some wet felting like I did for my dragon and see if that works. Watch this space for further updates. :) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/8/14/turn-your-photos-into-a-graphic-novel-whose-crazy-idea-was-that monthly 0.5 2022-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8976b417-24f7-4713-9b28-8223d3b4c4d7/GraphicNovelCover.jpg Blog - Turn Your Photos into a Graphic Novel - whose crazy idea was that?! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/728e968f-7a49-4731-bf06-d4a42c8ed9cd/GraphicNovelPageExample.jpg Blog - Turn Your Photos into a Graphic Novel - whose crazy idea was that?! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/90b1285c-b38e-4c49-af80-1c2adc746781/GraphicNovelPageExampleMerfolk..jpg Blog - Turn Your Photos into a Graphic Novel - whose crazy idea was that?! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/2/2/a-glamping-we-will-go monthly 0.5 2022-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/d1bea153-2d2d-4c56-ae9a-df81d8cfc058/GirlsinTheYurt2copy..jpg Blog - A Glamping we will go... - Make it stand out Who wouldn’t want to go Glamping with these girls! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/92f00d6a-f871-4f93-ace5-c54b1d791bfc/YurtFrame.jpg Blog - A Glamping we will go... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/ea9c9575-cda9-463c-b6e7-d0cff587285e/YurtFrame2.jpg Blog - A Glamping we will go... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/3b462cf2-5540-414d-9fc5-9b5a962e8965/YurtAll.jpg Blog - A Glamping we will go... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/72b218fc-6555-4ced-ae7b-690c80b8c7cd/YurtHooks.jpg Blog - A Glamping we will go... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2022/1/16/another-year-more-tiny-stuff monthly 0.5 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/56e7de50-e797-4d9b-88bd-2a865cd412b8/ZahrahsBeforeDecoration..jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Not bad - but a bit bare https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/54a7c33d-e489-408a-b75d-a89f4188f37a/Zahrahscopy.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Ah - now that’s more like it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8fed844e-74c4-438b-9d1d-cb9e65a7ed85/ZahrahsPlace4.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out A bookcase full of fun stuff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/dc8abd43-1f6f-46f5-8f78-467860490228/vaseteapot.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Vase made of beads and a button base. Teapot made from glass bead and metal jewelry decor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/fe5d4e7c-1130-486f-8197-1c6d7d1c418a/feathervase.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Another bead “vase” with a button base. I finally found a use for some of the feathers in my collection! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/75e84625-3c52-4d14-ac05-35a7905f82fb/buttontable.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Here’s a little table made from buttons https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/43896765-0734-4afc-b107-6ce34ba106cd/platesteapots.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out These plates are actually buttons too… and more glass bead teapots (I just went crazy making those!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/61d8150a-05cd-4490-8696-81ace63e659a/ZahrahReading.jpg Blog - Another year - more tiny stuff! - Make it stand out Zahrah reading at her desk. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/12/6/time-for-snow-and-snowmen monthly 0.5 2021-12-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/62a7e4b8-b295-42f7-a1d5-83d4dd4f741a/snowmanreindeer+copy.jpg Blog - Time for Snow and Snowmen - Make it stand out What is the Reindeer asking the Snowman? Answers on a postcard please…! :) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/0e66cee2-5c18-4d42-b64c-2dced0a8b69c/NievaQuestandDawnSkywatermarked.jpg Blog - Time for Snow and Snowmen - Make it stand out Nieva and Quest admire a dawn sky http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/11/7/in-praise-of-brave-resilient-women-everywhere monthly 0.5 2021-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/5807c52c-ce49-4b8e-b910-29de21c3874c/Warriorsandmelowres.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out Rowan and Amber, the warrior women, are done! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/764b2605-799b-4004-8175-2c24c305a0ea/RowanandAmberArchery.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out Rowan and Amber are close friends and skilled archers. You might notice Rowan is a lefty! Amber is tall and serious, she loves weapons of all kinds. All my characters are into archery but Rowan is also a capable medic. Both girls are devoted to Zahrah, my scholar character. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/08d3de2a-e2ce-41bb-96d2-c03399371b25/buildingblocksandtools.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out Each of my characters starts out as a vague idea in my head and this is my material starting point - a dull collection of sculpture wire and wool. Once I start making the character the wool takes over and dictates a lot of what happens. Add a lot of imagination… tons of time… a few needle felting and sewing skills of course and ….voila! - a character is born. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/8425c438-f01d-4a15-a16e-b8e44e138718/Amberhead.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out Each of my warrior women took about a week to make, but even after I think they are finished I often keep going back and making little adjustments - perhaps more wool on the face, or limbs, more hair, or just a lot more felting. I don’t name them until after they are pretty much complete. At that point I go through a list of possible names and see which one the character wants to have. I wanted my community of warrior women to be inclusive so I relished making a darker skinned girl. She’s made from a luscious brown colored wool called Chestnut. The purple hair was an afterthought - I have so many lovely little bits of colored wool it would be a shame not to use them! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/a78ee920-ff4b-47a5-9113-68ccadd34e3f/Rowanheadfront.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out I decided to make Rowan pale and red haired - representing my touch of Irish ancestry. I had intended for both warrior women to have the same “uniform”, and I half made a dress the sam as Amber’s for Rowan, but she decided on something a little different. I didn’t argue - I am always guided by what my characters really want! ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/f2eef75b-0870-408c-8535-4ba182b91349/warriortools.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out After I had dressed the warrior girls and given them bows and arrows, Amber absolutely had to have a short sword. Once again I used up some wine bottle foil to create a sword blade, glued it to part of a cocktail stick, which I then decorated with a bead and leather wrap. The faux red leather I bought from JoAnn Fabrics is lovely to work with and very easy to sew. I made a nice little scabbard for Amber’s sword and attached it to a belt. For an idea of scale the sword is 3 inches long. In my story Rowan has to carry medical supplies so I created a backpack for her based on the one I made for Nieva. The back pack contains some medical “instruments” in the form of tiny scalpels etc. and will have medicines and bandages in it eventually. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/2ee98d72-4a87-41e4-a551-1c2fcc71ae69/AffielearnsArchery2Enhanced+copy.jpg Blog - In praise of brave, resilient women everywhere... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/10/19/a-comfy-bed-for-an-old-lady-and-miniature-goodies-everywhere monthly 0.5 2021-10-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634619530108-8EJKAMX5U3IANTAUFG4N/ZahrahsBed.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out Zahrah admires her new Quilt https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634619791712-YI4S84KT6STG7J6WXPDK/ComeintoZahrah%27sCabin.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out Welcome to Zahrah’s Cabin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634619885211-Q02C2WIY3EVMNUTXDI8K/Zahrah%27sGate.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out Zahrah’s Gate. I have a large collection of long pine needles and had intended to learn how to make a basket with them. That has not happened yet, so weaving them into my gate was a good use for some of them. I’ll get to that basket one day…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634619944886-O9BA99DCFWTRPSZSC3GD/Zahrah%27sministtuffjpg.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out I just can’t stop making these cool mini things! Inside Zahrah’s home will be a couple of rooms filled with books, scrolls, and other intriguing stuff for Zahrah the scholar/naturalist/scientist to study with. The book on the lectern is about dragons so Zahrah’s interest in them will come into my story. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634620040163-NKUOBWFL56UUT0ZDN2UU/TelescopeandMagnifier.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out More fun stuff for Zahrah to play with - a telescope and magnifier. Seeds are always a good source of interesting forms and I’m always on the lookout for natural stuff I can add into my scenes. The “handles” on my little cupboard are seeds from a Grevillea shrub in the garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1634620181648-LBHKL7K3JYUCCJ2P2E4K/fabrics.jpg Blog - A comfy bed for an old lady, and miniature goodies everywhere - Make it stand out When I’m not picking up acorn cups in the park or shopping in Craft stores, I can be found in fabric shops…. I netted these goodies in JoAnn Fabrics with my next project in mind. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/9/24/meadows-can-occur-naturally-under-favorable-conditions monthly 0.5 2021-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632518677507-XFG5LCQVS42YQTHI2MFT/snowballfight.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out The story writing continues unabated and it is gradually coming to a conclusion. There is joy, heartache, and drama of course. To update you - after Nieva left the strange Merfolk in their cavern she continues on her travels again. Here’s a fun pic of her playing in the snow with Rime, the little fox. I think this one might end up as my Christmas card this year! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632519028699-JEURMW5ARGZTYXHM03UW/Nievapushingsleigh.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out All this time Nieva has had her wonderful sleigh to carry all her worldly goods in. But as time passes spring is coming and the snow is melting. She has to abandon the sleigh (I know, I know, how could I do that to her?) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632519384276-POAWE04OACVJC9E9RRXY/SeracandTravois2.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out Instead of the sleigh Nieva decides to build a travois to carry her stuff. She’s a resourceful person as you can tell. :) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632519477101-H6E5VGIMZCDR589YYD0O/Dragonfliesoverhead.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out Nieva finally gets to meet the dragon - a totally terrifying experience, of course! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632519613796-MU1LGVGX4U3HC6Q75KRD/NievaCampsite.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out Nieva’s campsite. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1632519758501-2THVJXT84LLL7THQ4PD0/Meadowstudiosetup.jpg Blog - "Meadows can occur naturally under favorable conditions..." - Make it stand out This is my studio setup (65 inches long by 33 deep). You can clearly see the painted backdrop and real bits of tree. The hardest part of dealing with this scene was that it was on the floor. There must have been a really good reason for me doing that, but now that my knees and back are complaining it completely escapes me! Never again. For these early shots I kept the white fur fabric as snow. In later images I incorporated large areas of green on the ground for the emerging spring grass. So the next part of my story involves Nieva meeting the dragon rider, Affie. Will they become friends, or enemies? What adventures will they have? Watch this space….. :) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/9/4/working-from-home monthly 0.5 2021-09-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630776352304-CB5G8AV0P5C602VHX0HJ/TwiggeTowneDeskandChair.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630776621402-TF4R77A4UGYQI7XREATM/Granniekeepshouse.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out Nieva’s Grandmother Zuri. The characters I created for my story have a life of their own and I am very fond of them so I decided to repurpose my Grandmother Zuri character so that she can be a new character in my continuing story. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630776762493-4PXX3MWTQUXL02OKLGSZ/Repurposed+Grannie.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out Those of you following this may remember me making Nieva’s grandmother Zuri months ago. Sadly, in my story, her death is the catalyst for Nieva’s journey. Well, you can’t let a good character go to waste, so here she is repurposed and ready to play a new character in the tale. I replaced her grey hair with curly white and added a few more bags and wrinkles in her face. I tried to model her on my grandmother and I think she looks quite adorable. I haven’t named her yet, but Zahrah is my favorite so far. The photo was taken in front of the original “cabin” that I made for Nieva and her Grandmother. I will repurpose that too, and have started making changes by turning what was the inside into the outside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630776870722-J8ZGTFYHFH62R30N2PBQ/leatherbook.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out Zahrah, is a scholar, and will be key in helping Nieva and my dragon rider, Affie, find a place to live. With that in mind I was down a Pinterest rabbit hole and found some wonderful people who make miniature books. Of course every scholar has books…so I had to make some! I found some great instructions and free printable antique looking book covers and pages on the internet. All you have to do is print, cut, cut, cut, cut some more, then glue, oh and glue some more……and embellish. It’s a fun, fiddly thing to do and used up one or two of my many tiny jewelry findings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630776968422-OVF78O6R16GETGU2OQ0M/Bookparts.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out The parts of a book - the pages are put together in a stack and glued along the spine, then a little bit of cocktail stick is glued to the spine to give a curve to it. The covers are painted with a glaze of acrylic paint and gloss medium before assembly. The end papers are glued to the inside of the cover, then to the first and last pages of the book. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630777082445-KJV60F1YXX369VYE5QE0/Booksonshelf.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out I initially made four books to get the hang of it. The three thinner volumes I embellished with copper foil, leather, and tiny bits of jewelry findings. I colored the edges of the pages with a gel pen to make them look gilded. To try something more advanced I put a leather clasp on the thicker volume. It was difficult to glue the tiny stud that the strap hooks on to and it remains to be seen if it will last long, but it is my favorite book by far. The stud is the end of a head pin. I was thrilled with the way the little books turned out and decided to make some fun ancient scrolls too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630777445682-K2EG33M5ZU7ZO7O77NV3/Scrollsandbooks.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out For the scrolls I actually printed some things from my family history. The open scroll is a tiny printout of my Great Grandfather’s apprentice indenture from when he trained to be a papermaker in 1881. Total length unrolled 3”, height 2” at the ends. The larger scroll is a miniature 1824 map of my home town in England. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630777562998-DX3PDZL1PQ6PF43NU0EF/20210828_165402_resized.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out I already had a set of “fairy” shelves which I made last year, but I decided to make a desk and chair for Zahrah so that she would have somewhere comfortable to do her studies -hence the Twigge Towne Furnishing Ad above. You will be surprised to know that I am now almost out of twigs in my studio. Lol! - who thought this day would come! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630777686762-1U9LR67EZAXTDM6VA4EZ/Deskcloseup.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out After the success of the books and scrolls I looked around for other “miniature” things to make and found that I could repurpose my eye drop ampules as tiny little bottles. Then I cut some short bits of glue stick, melted it a little, stuck some jewelry wire in the center of the glue stick and painted the end black - voila a candle! Then I had more fun with beads and jewelry findings in order to make the Lucidite lamps on the little chair. The little inkpot on the desk is a bead, and the tiny quill is a real feather that I found in my garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630777961578-J455WN2HP5Z94EKXNQ9O/ZahrahStudying.jpg Blog - Working from Home?... - Make it stand out It’s a perfect little world of my own making - I just wish reality was as controllable! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/8/27/her-mind-had-went-out-for-a-stroll-and-fallen-down-a-rabbit-hole monthly 0.5 2021-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630113656556-SQQDMVXUFZ5SN2MOO2LZ/foodontable.jpg Blog - "Her mind had went out for a stroll, and fallen down a rabbit hole..." - Make it stand out Come on over for Dinner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630113739947-EFXLAOQQ2M7LHGNBS8NZ/Roast.jpg Blog - "Her mind had went out for a stroll, and fallen down a rabbit hole..." - Make it stand out The yummy roast! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630113856012-XENOWAZPFA4DL1FFBLCN/Claymolds.jpg Blog - "Her mind had went out for a stroll, and fallen down a rabbit hole..." - Make it stand out Lettuce mold https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1630113974312-85X38IM986M18AIP9BGJ/FruitandVeg.jpg Blog - "Her mind had went out for a stroll, and fallen down a rabbit hole..." - Make it stand out Fruits and veg http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/8/13/a-hunting-we-will-go monthly 0.5 2021-08-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1628885331357-KY072IG1WGXJNMOQLOKI/AHuntingwewillgo.jpg Blog - A Hunting We Will Go... - Make it stand out A hunting we will go… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1628885786803-JK12VW5JX5L2NHYMP3ET/Nievatriesthebow.jpg Blog - A Hunting We Will Go... - Make it stand out Nieva tries the bow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1628886033078-DD5I35SM7GU3FO2BBBUK/AllEquipped.jpg Blog - A Hunting We Will Go... - Make it stand out Equipped for any eventuality! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/7/21/finally-a-mermaid-cavern monthly 0.5 2021-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626901557556-13GNVS6OPIYZEMP2D1RU/Comeinmypretty.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out The siren call of the Mermaid… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626903693659-QQ0Q9GOZ2TZ141BGG9K6/BewaretheMerfolkSpherised.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out This little guy “speaks” to Nieva warning her to beware of the Merfolk. I took the photo with a fisheye lens, then did a bit more to it in Photoshop. This weirdo character is a tiny piece of driftwood I found on the beach. It spoke to me too, as I passed it by, so I had to bring it home and put it in my story. ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626902017257-JTCZ7CLYHRC7TSCO72IU/CavernSetup.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out The cavern setup in my studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626902172665-2O185BW1F3IZDBT1EGT6/Rockwall.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out I made about 11 feet of rock backdrop, which I painted on paper with oil pastels. It was not easy figuring out how to prop this up and had to resort to using various clips and tape, canvases and cardboard clamped to the table. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626902321821-IJV0OBEE0O4SF40Y5IQI/Ocean.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626902460921-GQQLT4K2SSCCYAB9ZVE9/NievaandtheMerfolk.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out Nieva gets to know the Merfolk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1626903178983-FPN8BGWXGNWG6OZ599CK/waterfalldrink.jpg Blog - Finally - a Mermaid Cavern! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/6/20/every-good-dragon-needs-a-rider monthly 0.5 2021-06-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1624163909331-AXF8DDI6D0OU5OP188TD/AffieQuestGardenpic+copy.jpg Blog - Every Good Dragon needs a rider.... - Make it stand out Dragon and rider, in the garden https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1624164102237-U6K6CU7A9CBUI39YG9YZ/Affie.jpg Blog - Every Good Dragon needs a rider.... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1624164162493-7RBVLKWCFQ9ZLURBBQAS/ApphieandQuest.jpg Blog - Every Good Dragon needs a rider.... - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1624164292108-JZ1LNXVKW4I07CC0OOD0/NievaEntersMermaidCavern+copy.jpg Blog - Every Good Dragon needs a rider.... - Make it stand out Entering the mermaid cavern http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/6/2/i-get-distracted-mostly-by-a-dragon monthly 0.5 2021-06-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622677620154-GB1GHAZ2N7N777R2RQTI/Boating.jpeg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Lots of fun summer activities to draw me away from my studio! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622677789228-LUAK96ZQJ9XFY7ZYELKV/TwoDragons.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out The new blue dragon and my little red dragon, Firenza https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622677895216-I3OY5I5QELX1TWQCJLT0/dragon15progress.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622678227883-HAIQ7UQZIS8UJJL112QU/Wetfeltingfirsts.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Top - my first attempt at wet felting . The yellow gold is a “silk hankie” which is an actual silk cocoon pulled out into a fine square of silk fibers. I thought it would be attractive, but from comments I got (see below) I think it is a C- in the aesthetics department! Bottom - Second attempt - a thinner, more delicate fabric, but not quite large enough for wings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622678459451-QEOKHJR8VUGC6S06UOID/wetfeltingfibers.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Here’s what the fibers looked like on my second attempt before they got felted. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622678363538-NZQCE6O43VXVY8JLQV45/DragonWings.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Quite a good wingspan don’t you think?! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622679823969-QA9M8FE4Z1W3FLETCQZF/ApphieFrontView.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1622679847637-YJHQ5MUD1EP3N6KGMCCR/ApphieSideview.jpg Blog - I get distracted - mostly by a Dragon - Make it stand out My new “fairy”/dragon rider. Haven’t fixed on a name yet - suggestions on a postcard please…. ;) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/5/1/a-snowstorm-and-a-cave monthly 0.5 2021-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1619910551183-AS2PP7Q5HRDQ2Q787CXR/Nievainthesnowstorm.jpg Blog - A snowstorm.... and a cave “Onward they struggled, fighting the wind and sleet with every step…” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1619910718206-8FB6MOYDHR9ZL0SA6AE7/ShelterCavesetup.jpg Blog - A snowstorm.... and a cave Setting up the shelter cave https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1619912873584-1KFKMJTGEUM829B2ACSH/RimeDidYouchewYourPacka+copy.jpg Blog - A snowstorm.... and a cave One of the finished scenes Naughty Rime has been chewing his pack. Nieva will have to do some repairs. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/4/16/nieva-feels-at-home monthly 0.5 2021-04-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1618604340515-3VU8KT6J3MR4P3RA1YD2/GrandmotherpreparesFish+copy.jpg Blog - Nieva's Journey Begins... Nieva takes care of her baby fox, while Grandmother prepares food. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1618605339493-N6KFX364ZOI511A804TD/GrandmarebuffsRime+copy.jpg Blog - Nieva's Journey Begins... Rime the fox loves to beg and steal food! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1618605676248-X03CV251HSON0OW95EYN/Winterbackdrop+copy.jpg Blog - Nieva's Journey Begins... Winter backdrop, oil pastel, 22 inches x 50 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1618606581616-MJH1822B4FRD0PV228T1/GettingstartedRimeexcited2+copy.jpg Blog - Nieva's Journey Begins... The companions begin their journey - Rime, the fox, is very excited! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/3/26/blue-petering-a-home-for-my-princess monthly 0.5 2021-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616793562719-05WBKZJ1JXILBXCTU7GN/CabininteriorDoor.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794239378-H3Y6WD2YHN6SOTW6U538/RocksandSticksforhome.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616793730279-T66A7Z6CCZ4GDDYIHVOA/recycleintoafireplace.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess Who looks at this and says “Hey, perfect for a fireplace…!” ? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616793880898-12DIM024484OALIVICVP/20210326_132838_resized.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess A cosy fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616793949312-CKOKPM5668MMAXJW3B7N/fireplaceforblog.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794039941-1D33Z3LT9HTEK14DQTSP/Buildinglogcabin.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess First empty the box of wine - hic! - then build the log cabin! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794304118-S2SDZ1464ORW5JEAXD9R/Rockbackground.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess Oil pastel rock background https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794419407-DH8H5BRCEL5SEW458OPT/Studiosetup.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess Here’s the overall scene in my studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794782249-3DFSI5HAEJSTKQ7A463X/CabinInterior1+copy.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess The completed log cabin interior https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1616794820560-CNBJYYHA2OMDELUTDYX8/CabinInterior2+copy.jpg Blog - "Blue Petering" a home for my Princess Who wouldn’t want to visit this cozy home?! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/3/5/light-and-fire-the-innovative-and-the-rudimentary monthly 0.5 2021-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1614982376254-G6204NK9GIBGLJEFEAP4/FairyLightingAd.jpg Blog - Light and Fire - the innovative and the rudimentary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1614982460709-ON9NBKJA2U8QA84RZVTZ/CampFire.jpg Blog - Light and Fire - the innovative and the rudimentary http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/2/20/royal-fanfareheralds-sing-and-so-on monthly 0.5 2021-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613847148853-LUDRR2BYX549UENJI8KG/PrincessNieva.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... Princess Nieva is finally here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613847297074-4KQBKPMBEIRISXOZ64IQ/PrincessYoga.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... In the process of making my princess I discovered that she likes yoga! A good demonstration of just how posable she is. (I think she looks good even before she got her hair - but she will never forgive me for posting this pic on the internet!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613847462125-M0YUATJT87NL3V99PNIJ/Hairfor+Nieva.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... Lovely wavy locks in the making… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613847670267-OQB644ETLS5T2EI6UO88/drawers.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... Kinda piratey looking underwear! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613848289538-JUDZQYPIIPCA5POK9HR9/Nievacoat2.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613848657450-VPZWEM6SXMPJ8E5K269W/Practicebootandpattern.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... OK, now on to footwear. Princess Nieva would need boots for the snow, but I wanted them to be removable as she will have different clothing later in my story and boots may not go with it. I designed a pattern (another skill I am learning!) for boots and tried it out in cheap felt, before moving on to my pricey, teeny, piece of Michaels faux leopard skin leather ;). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613848777032-NIR5SFRT0039FNLJINN8/TheLeatherBoot.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... Once I had the pattern worked out, I moved on to making the real thing. I sewed tiny loops for the laces to go through so they can be undone. The laces here are thin strands of hemp and are way too stiff really, so I will have to find a replacement. However, the boots worked out surprisingly well and, in fact made it even easier for my princess to stand unaided as I left the soles unfinished. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613848887263-2W5F5T3JEZFWEXK0VRGG/bootbottoms.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... In this pic you can see that the boots are unfinished on the bottom. My daughter had the genius idea of adding the little magnets to Nieva’s feet so that I can use them to help pose her later for my story illustrations. More on that at a later date… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1613849110129-ECPOI9DYW8SFSQBDGKRH/Nieva.Rime.Serac.jpg Blog - Royal Fanfare...Heralds sing and so on... Using more of the reindeer harness leather I made Nieva a belt, attached the little knife in a sheath, and …ta da.. she is ready for adventures! Oh, but wait, she needs yet more clothes, because - “princess”. Lol! But that’s for next time….. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/2/6/time-for-a-sleigh-cation monthly 0.5 2021-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612667837777-STHHAO8U122VWDS15DTQ/SleighAd.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612667991747-BLM090BWD0VTWK5DNB82/Sleighrough.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Here’s the rough start - I’m not much of a woodworker as you can see! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612668069762-4Z38CDYYB6GV21I0FR9X/Sleighwithcushions.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! A princess requires comfort on her journey so I made some lovely wool upholstery for the seat. I was going to use some bark or other natural materials to decorate the sleigh, but it didn’t work so I just painted it white. However, even several coats of paint could not hide the ugly surface of the balsa wood so I tried some folksy decoration based on some ribbon I have. That did the trick and made it look fun and pretty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612668203818-1SYXNC72WZMK9FLXPTBK/SleighSkimaking.jpeg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Here’s how I made the sleigh skis. I used tongue depressors which I soaked in hot water until they were bendable. Then I clipped them around a mug and let them dry. Voila! Sleigh Skis! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612668614564-ZLBWTVB239W0AWLJX60E/sleighNet.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Plenty of room in the back of the sleigh for all the stuff a princess would take on an adventure. The netting to hold everything securely on the back of the sleigh is an old mandarin mesh bag. (finally a use for some trash that has been in my painting/collage stash for years…!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612668733858-K40RXU15R65ROZGDG3E5/PrincessSupplies.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Knowing that my princess would need to take some essentials on her journey, I began creating/finding some useful items for her. (For scale the walking stick at the bottom of the picture is 10” long) The little storage box I already had from a wooden stagecoach kit, I painted it to match the sleigh. I had some huge acorn caps of different shapes and these make ideal little storage/serving items. I found a perfectly shaped piece of seashell to make a handy knife and just added a sculpey clay handle. The fish I made out of sculpey clay and painted. I made a fishing spear is also made from sculpey. The walking stick is just a painted twig embellished with beads and a tiny bell. You can probably tell that I am having so much fun with all these teeny tiny objects, and still thinking of other things to make….! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612669139669-ZLSTGJTR43PTMT5SGBEN/Harness.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Finally, I had to create a harness for my reindeer so that she can pull the sleigh. For this I had several bits of ribbon, and a long length of super skinny leather cord. It was a challenge to form the harness and I used both sewing and gluing to piece it together. The tiny metal rings came from my beading stash, as did the bell, and the metal clasps holding the cross straps on. Sewing those minuscule 1/4” rings onto the leather was such a trial, but I was so pleased with the result it was worth the headache. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612669232421-GH4GD9W7JLZQZFXGX331/neodymiumMagnets2.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! I bought some neodymium magnets to see if they will make good closures for tiny clothes etc. Neodymium magnets are the strongest permanent magnets you can get. As you can see above they come in really tiny sizes, this column of 18 individual disc magnets is just over half an inch. Can they be glued onto cloth, that is the important question? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612669456729-4VJC3NGW21LBI8IZ86YN/magnetharness.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! The answer is Yes! The magnets glue pretty well to cloth. They provide a good way to hold two strips of fabric together - here making my reindeer harness completely removable. I did buy some self adhesive magnets, but found they are only useful on paper as the adhesive is not very sticky. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1612669615260-0WH7K9D2510O5QWQFMEX/GrannieSleighWalkingStick.jpg Blog - Time for a Sleigh-cation! Well, things are coming on apace for my story. I am busy making my princess, and in the meantime Grandmother Zuri is having fun driving the sleigh. Uh oh, not sure if she has a license for that - Serac the reindeer looks a little peturbed! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/1/29/lessons-from-a-grandmother monthly 0.5 2021-01-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611951227027-1PV4J7YUVZKKTZEOO5QC/GranniefeedsFox.jpg Blog - Lessons from a Grandmother Grandmother Zuri feeding Rime, the white fox. Also, there’s some of that twig furniture I made for the fairies! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611951390612-I6YBJ58XODCY08NZDEQE/Granniekeepshouse.jpg Blog - Lessons from a Grandmother Zuri does some housekeeping https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611954539808-Z55MXU5TSKWQKIJA4OYY/WireArmatureforfigure.jpg Blog - Lessons from a Grandmother The very beginning… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611952913776-LU1X82366IBGXOXWSY1W/makinggrannie+copy.jpg Blog - Lessons from a Grandmother Here is Grandmother Zuri in the making. She is 10 inches high and fully posable. I first make the wire armature, then add white core wool to get the overall body shapes. Then I add skin color wool, sculpt the face, and add hair. I totally want that head of hair! I can do without the wrinkles and sourpuss look tho’! As you can see she stands on her own - or at least did until I added clothes. That was when I realized she would need a walking stick as an extra prop! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611955887724-DE2XJLLIZO73PZ0SMODW/Granniegetsgoing.jpg Blog - Lessons from a Grandmother A handy little twig (from my huge stash of twigs!) makes a great walking stick. My husband swears there is more of the garden in my studio than there is outside! That’s surely an exaggeration…. I hope! I used some beads and wire to pin up her hair, she looked a little wild otherwise. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2021/1/21/what-happens-when-the-story-muse-strikes monthly 0.5 2021-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611271671014-IY747PPKWY6G6AA8AKXT/Reindeer+front.jpg Blog - What Happens When the Story Muse Strikes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611271723543-EFGCHOUGI8NKN3ZI0SE3/reindeercloseup2.jpg Blog - What Happens When the Story Muse Strikes Did you know that reindeer’s eyes look blue in the wintertime? They have a way of altering the structure of their retinas by increasing pressure in the eye. That way their eyes see better in the long dark months of winter. Clever eh?! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1611272240177-DSG5SWCV3EOEQMB2291H/whatadifferenceayearmakes+copy.jpg Blog - What Happens When the Story Muse Strikes What a difference a year makes! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/12/30/ending-the-year-in-fairyland monthly 0.5 2020-12-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358727672-QXSKPN6D4AX31U81Q4QL/FirenzaBlazepetting.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! I think Blaze has some dragon treats in her pockets ;) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358790064-K6RW68AZAK6ELAFQ1JT4/FirenzaBlazeacquainted.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! Firenza the dragon seems very amiable - training is going very well! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358858398-K0VM3JK3F0AUY1NYTYRB/DragonClaws.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609359168887-CKZGT5NWHMRJH496Y474/Firenzacloseup.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609359228566-011DKIMQ2SFNPBARKOT7/Firenzaparades.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609359255192-9OYVNFT2XM10CUPC3MF0/dragonbed.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! Firenza discovered I have another dragon. Serentity is a somewhat lazy dragon though, and seems reluctant to give up her creature comforts and go play. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609359347685-7TN4CNVGZ3Y3H9607L3B/FairyDragonadventure.jpg Blog - Ending the Year in Fantasy Land - Why Not...?! Blaze and Firenza seem made for each other and they are off on a fantasy adventure together…. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/12/30/christmas-catchup monthly 0.5 2020-12-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358062261-AZQ15QE02KLBFC6OZS2Y/WoodlandCarolSingersmall.jpg Blog - Christmas Catchup Woodland Carol Singers at the Lake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358273510-76VGZRQ9R1YN7OTYWEXF/Snowmanverticalpic+copy.jpg Blog - Christmas Catchup Snowman at the Lake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1609358310393-USKSN8MCAYEANDBETZ2C/Santa2pic+copy.jpg Blog - Christmas Catchup Santa brings gifts for folks at the Lake http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/12/11/a-wassailing-we-go monthly 0.5 2020-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1607727447976-19WRNM5O1WS12EC19DI0/WoodlandCarolsingerswhite.jpg Blog - A Wassailing we go.... Woodland Carol Singers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1607727826550-DDTZNYPORVYG4IUULJ5O/Squirrelbase2.jpg Blog - A Wassailing we go.... Oooh, a poor naked, headless squirrel - Don’t look! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1607728570718-G777KMYIQH4UF77A2Q3I/squirrelrightside.jpg Blog - A Wassailing we go.... Ha, the squirrel did not lose his head after all! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1607728994164-I56S7IFYBLJ3SD14XSTW/BadgerHi.jpg Blog - A Wassailing we go.... Badger says Hi! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1607729227836-DXRUGRGCB6YZRPL1OBIC/BadgerandRabbit2.jpg Blog - A Wassailing we go.... Badger and Rabbit getting acquainted http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/11/27/peaches-visits-the-merfolk monthly 0.5 2020-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1606529009801-6YWHCTHY1DN6IE7TS7XT/PeachesPlayBow.jpg Blog - Peaches visits the Merfolk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1606529257290-RP2XYP96RRQJPTQTD41D/PeachesandKai.jpg Blog - Peaches visits the Merfolk Peaches has fun with Kai, my merman. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1606529317105-35RH42C7XFVWDNECPJMC/PeachesontheThrone.jpg Blog - Peaches visits the Merfolk http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/11/15/doggie-days-of-fall monthly 0.5 2020-11-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1605485527813-RG3ZLIK7LOJH3A6OA6TP/Spanielslookfortreats.jpg Blog - Doggie days of Fall Spaniels look for treats! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1605485979397-K6UZVMRAS39YNKMS2OYZ/SpanielsgetAquainted.jpg Blog - Doggie days of Fall Spaniels get acquainted… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1605486087664-N36DEL0FKAL1PPARB7IZ/SpanielsSadiewantstoplay.jpg Blog - Doggie days of Fall One little spaniel wants to play https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1605486147557-OX6AZVILMT8YTMJWRXQD/SpanielsSadie.jpg Blog - Doggie days of Fall This one might have a bossy side! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/10/7/paw-sitively-fun monthly 0.5 2020-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602121404920-4XWZTOJ16ETYKD1SUNCY/Spanielfrontside.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602122325744-68AQ1SCBMS4VQGOSU514/SpanielLocks.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! Natural sheepy locks on the right, my fake ones on the left. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602122609487-01QT4X0GURTAGY9J8B97/SpanielBack.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602124086578-8H8WML2KZFVL8TYRLL2W/SpanielHand.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! He’s a handful! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602122739055-PM9WNV86OB322CBEPZWW/SpanielRambunctious.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! Getting a bit rambunctious with my fairy Blaze. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602122909692-6VMQO429WKWPYKBOT81R/SpanielP.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! Oops - need some training here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1602123073411-NIQL4OUK1SV34TTCHIYS/SpanielTraining.jpg Blog - Paw-sitively Fun! Sit! Good dog! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/9/24/a-dachshund-is-born monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1600961065272-16IFMWVDKN85LKT9O9RQ/PuppyFlying2.jpg Blog - A Dachshund is born... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1600962019903-6R5BRQ1035B6OANXX2H9/PupandMerfolk.jpg Blog - A Dachshund is born... Pup meets the merfolk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1600963726960-2MHJZRPV64IN0ZU7WCW2/Pupstealthrone.jpg Blog - A Dachshund is born... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1600963880887-QXR5F70YJST9TXXWO7EZ/PupMadewithLove.jpg Blog - A Dachshund is born... Who could resist that little face?! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/9/12/i-make-another-throne-and-a-shocking-discovery monthly 0.5 2020-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599952986909-7P9NHKXP37RVH2VRK1OV/AtlantisTyrrhenianFinal.jpg Blog - I make another throne - and a shocking discovery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599953227414-F15MJGB3SFOCKWNJVVQO/Opisthosomacloseup.jpg Blog - I make another throne - and a shocking discovery Here’s my opisthosoma - try saying that three times fast! I topped it with a spiral shell (turittella). All painted with metallic copper paint. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599953583815-IDHH50PF5FOTH0WD8VH3/KaionThroneFrontCoral.jpg Blog - I make another throne - and a shocking discovery Here is my merman Kai, enjoying his new throne. I think he looks pretty happy with it. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/9/5/new-the-merfolk-collection-of-custom-decor monthly 0.5 2020-09-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599363799120-2E5FGJBPAGHOYVRNSLIW/ThroneandCoral.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... Custom designed Aegean Throne https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599431918015-IQEK05OX4ORNG2NU711K/AtlantisCollectionAd2.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599420072595-B3XTZIDJ13M51G5CB2GB/mermaidThroneandCoral.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... The Aegean Throne among the splendor of colorful coral. A grand place of repose for discerning wooly creatures everywhere! Throne dimensions 16 1/2 inches high x 9 inches x 5 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599430980230-I2EE52B7ZUC4N09B2KQM/hyperbolic+corals.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... Hyperbolic crochet - yes, that’s a thing. Fun, easy and a perfect way to use up small quantities of yarn. My only regret is that the yarn is all acrylic, if it had been wool I could have felted it and made it look even more organic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599431110117-23YPBDT9NE2QSVLQCQMH/braincorals.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... My version of brain coral on the left. This was a left over piece of felting from my fairy making. On the right is a length of trim from Michaels which I sewed together. It was originally stitched together to make a flat trim, but I took off the top edge stitching and fluffed it out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599431289594-48PTX74FU3PRLJ2AXT8Z/whispycorals.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... The tubular coral was another use for left over pieces of felting. I just bunched them together and added the wispy blue “tentacles”. Spot more hyperbolic crochet, and the blue and white fluffy coral is another length of trim from Michaels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1599431456747-FKP3AJ4YNEYS1Q4QXAD5/inventedcorals.jpg Blog - Diamonds, pearls, and beauty from the ocean... My attempt at red branching coral, plus some invented undersea plants. All needle felted. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/8/26/the-artful-rabbit monthly 0.5 2020-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598462372952-H1CJZOBK1T271LDDASVN/paintingRabbit.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598466704279-NC67JJ69PS7HO2W8SZ78/paintingRabbit3.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598466879653-9YWLDJB6CY3QR040BNUW/RabbitDance2.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit The happy rabbit dancing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598466937953-IQ8PFBFZ1SXN5W1FEFNC/RabbitDance4.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598466992286-JJFXCIH0HADQ1NQDWPIQ/RabbitandSerenity2.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit Rabbit meets Serenity the Dragon and learns a few things about the felted world of the fairies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598467093345-SKZKUTWAC9PHEQQ8GQY6/RabbitRun.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit Rabbit has had enough of posing for photos…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598467160432-DTGOEX2NTFL5JNXN5HAP/Rabbit+Sleep.jpg Blog - The Artful Rabbit Ok, just leave me alone to sleep! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/8/21/a-thoroughly-modern-merman monthly 0.5 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598052799211-BW6F5NP3LMLCG4LF6T7N/Merman.jpg Blog - A Thoroughly Modern Merman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1598053304185-STM3CCT1XPM6H395Y3GI/Merman2.jpg Blog - A Thoroughly Modern Merman http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/8/5/a-siren-call monthly 0.5 2020-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1596667331499-3Z1ZA4UV9L95FH252ZLQ/Mermaidswimbackview.jpg Blog - A Siren Call https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1596667718669-IFE3QAFI63PQ9YUTBH0U/mermaidswimfrontview.jpg Blog - A Siren Call https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1596668467339-Z30FPY6ZOXLHTKN2A2XR/Mermaid+seated.jpg Blog - A Siren Call http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/7/12/a-punk-fairy monthly 0.5 2020-07-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1594602825362-GGVCFFYABOSN6L6P475M/Blaze.jpg Blog - A Punk Fairy called Blaze https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1594603510637-IQAWOHQQZE6QIYTCLBAK/Blaze+sideview.jpg Blog - A Punk Fairy called Blaze https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1594604131592-W7WE0K54O2SXAY8Q2G3H/fairyparts.jpg Blog - A Punk Fairy called Blaze Oooh yes, so very creepy looking at this point! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1594749061997-QR0S8VY0CP0DTLHLEZT5/fairyjointed.jpg Blog - A Punk Fairy called Blaze Fairy “parts” joined to the body. The head is still separate at this point and the hands have not been made. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/7/3/happy-furniture-making-from monthly 0.5 2020-07-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1593798718123-7WJTTB1897Z1EMQD80ZX/TwiggeTowneHomeFurnishingsLogo.jpg Blog - Happy furniture making https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1593796433465-25DCZL8DIQ9L05S878UQ/FairybedBird.jpg Blog - Happy furniture making Fairy bed from found objects. 7 1/2” x 9 1/2” x 7” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1593797224059-2JJGHMVZD76VB24J039F/Fairybedbasic.jpg Blog - Happy furniture making http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/6/20/twig-towne-home-furnishings monthly 0.5 2020-06-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1592671446511-Y4ZI50UB61JQAI174LCD/redberrybench.jpg Blog - Twig Towne Home Furnishings Redberry Bench. 8” high, 5” wide, 4” deep. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1592672321519-UEXQS34R73RHN607U0EV/snowmantreebench.jpg Blog - Twig Towne Home Furnishings Snowman, felted wool. Christmas tree, felted wool and beads. Bench, found materials http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/6/7/uppity-fairies-get-cupholders monthly 0.5 2020-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1591566486184-DLLOD14LW353LGQ66Q3L/FairyBenchwithcupholders.jpg Blog - Uppity Fairies get cupholders Fairy Bench - with cupholders. 10 inches long, 4 1/2 inches high. Found materials, pressed and dried flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1591566839391-R37YS2RG4XQBY08IPJBQ/AllthisfairystuffImade.jpg Blog - Uppity Fairies get cupholders All this stuff I made since March! (Waaay to much time on my hands.) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/5/28/fire-dragon monthly 0.5 2020-05-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1590704478889-DJCNVILRWD8S8OOKPQL8/Firenze.jpg Blog - Fire Dragon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1590704913150-VBEKYY9OB7673OQXCR8K/Firenze2.jpg Blog - Fire Dragon http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/5/15/sacred-space monthly 0.5 2020-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589575735492-BBMY19IF3YKM70NUJQK3/SacredSpace+copy.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Sacred Space Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 15 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589576736730-X46M7Y1O9EXKQ5GCA8WZ/thumbnails.jpg Blog - Sacred Space https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589576922656-NKBD5CPEZS6TGQYF1XQC/JapanFushimiInari.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Fushimi Inari Shrine. Torii gates ascending the hillsides https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589578018319-ZPFCCYEX3IUU3WW9ZK7T/JapanHeianJinguShrine.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Heian Jingu Shrine Temple buildings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589578065261-BVRLVXBV67XHLEGO325Y/JapanHeincoverdbridge.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Heian Jingu Shrine covered bridge Lots of sweet Japanese ladies sat next to me while I was doing this and asked me questions in Japanese. Sadly I have no Japanese so had to make do with sign language. Fortunately Art transcends words and we had a good time admiring the view! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589578123084-YNHOLA5Z93HH7DE0NH4L/JapanNijo2.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Nijo Castle moat and bridge https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1589578172707-4MHP3QQVDK14R19IEBFX/JapanNijo.jpg Blog - Sacred Space Nijo Castle Gates http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/5/8/here-be-dragons-well-one-at-least monthly 0.5 2020-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1588962330207-V93CD2UOZEQSQ7YU7IF2/SerentityTatooed.jpg Blog - Here be Dragons... well, one at least! Serenity Dragon Felted wool over wire armature, 6” high https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1588962602858-X6RF0MSCTSKZRJ6WHSFZ/armature.jpg Blog - Here be Dragons... well, one at least! Wire armature for dragon - and yes, my table is a complete mess! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1588963385190-VYZOYV4VHUNVZ62KXUON/20200430_205410_resized.jpg Blog - Here be Dragons... well, one at least! Ooh, a nekked dragon…. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/5/8/abstraction monthly 0.5 2020-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1588961731368-T5KJDMIQWRZPM7C8IRO1/TwoAbstracts.jpg Blog - Abstraction Two Abstract, 15” x 12”, Acrylic on canvas http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/4/13/come-fairies-take-me-out-of-this-dull-world monthly 0.5 2020-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1586799225364-ZY3SSP55D92GGBP05DIX/FairyShelveslowres.jpg Blog - Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1586799790017-9FHLV4T52EY45JSCPV1E/GardenFairies.jpg Blog - Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world.... http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/4/10/felting-and-more-fairy-stuff monthly 0.5 2020-04-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1586556068030-T0A2TOV6FLTSGK1CSV8J/RedHeadFairyonBench.jpeg Blog - Felting and more Fairy Stuff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1586556456028-6O2E76U874PVTUE6HUS0/FairyBench.jpeg Blog - Felting and more Fairy Stuff http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2020/3/27/fairy-land monthly 0.5 2020-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1585334540070-UOB1LMWC5ODSJRMMUIZQ/DeeAnnsFairy.jpg Blog - Fairy Land Handpainted ceramic fairy, and house build of twigs and cedar cone scales. 5 inches high. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1585335449166-MS9M49ERCJBO789O2WFE/fairyscene.jpg Blog - Fairy Land Fairy furniture - Bed and chair made from twigs etc. The “baby” was bought online, purely because it was so cute. “Babysitter” is made from felted wool. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2019/11/15/fall-color-reno monthly 0.5 2019-11-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1573840381478-GDXYAMRIATSK1GJ2Z2YS/AspenGrove+oil+pastel.jpg Blog - Fall Color, Reno Aspen Grove https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1573840594852-50UVKIRRZR0J8YKF4JTY/TruckeeRiverReno+Oilpastel.jpg Blog - Fall Color, Reno Truckee River https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1573840652373-S4SF69HU9OXW4MFD364O/DavisCreekOilPastel_resized.jpg Blog - Fall Color, Reno Davis Creek https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1573840687161-5HZC89BU7O47DIR0GUGZ/DonnerLake+light+oil+pastel.jpg Blog - Fall Color, Reno Donner Lake http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2019/5/19/an-abstract-and-a-pastel monthly 0.5 2019-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1558306171320-7JOPUTYJ5P01VW5ZAS7K/Abstract356.jpg Blog - An abstract and a pastel Abstract 356 Acrylic, 15 x 30 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1558306535180-9H9LCB1JGLFKH7G6AKW9/TruckeeRiverPasteljpg Blog - An abstract and a pastel Truckee River from the bike path near Tahoe City Oil Pastel, 12 x 16 inches http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2019/5/13/a-watery-theme monthly 0.5 2019-05-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1557721289393-S4LA3CCAQUIRZB4MQDV6/Sunsetfromtheboat.jpg Blog - A Watery Theme Sunset from the Boat, Lake of the Pines https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1557721578529-427VDCD8QOOAU6OE55KZ/Air+and+water.jpg Blog - A Watery Theme Air and Water, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1557722019768-F12YD0PJL99K0XF45JYX/IslandAbstractjpg Blog - A Watery Theme Island Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas, 8 x 8 inches http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2019/3/18/painting-adorable-pets monthly 0.5 2019-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1552957411549-EW01VQ2GMZ35DFMKH76I/Humphrey+copy.jpg Blog - Painting adorable pets Portrait of Humphrey. Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1552957560580-408FX4QRD4SDH5EJK8J7/Rocko+copy.jpg Blog - Painting adorable pets Portrait of Rocko. Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 inches http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2018/11/14/fire monthly 0.5 2018-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1542221793920-UTJUB1MLG15NIBO4G8C1/Smokeplume%2C+Camp+Fire.jpg Blog - Fire Smoke plume over Central Valley from the Camp Fire, 11/8/18 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2018/10/7/rocks-and-water-3 monthly 0.5 2018-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1538955204860-62TC39Q3L64I2F4DK75Q/MercedRiverRectangle.jpg Blog - Rocks and Water #3 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2018/8/30/acrylic-painting-using-a-monochrome-underpainting monthly 0.5 2018-08-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1535675977291-F1MYSMRFNMLCNI9NPIBT/workshoppainting.jpg Blog - Acrylic painting - using a monochrome underpainting My workshop painting - currently on display at AsIf Gallery http://www.asifstudios.com/new-page-5/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1535677037180-X5DUUQ059XXXDLUEDPIF/underpaintingRiverRocks.jpg Blog - Acrylic painting - using a monochrome underpainting Underpainting for River Rocks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1535676217394-QJN10UD0Q5ZB87OKPG8U/MercedRiverShadows+copy.jpg Blog - Acrylic painting - using a monochrome underpainting Merced River, Yosemite. 24 x 24 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1535676814361-S8EV6S1FRXAFLIN0P75S/firstlayersMercedRiver+copy.jpg Blog - Acrylic painting - using a monochrome underpainting First layers of the Merced River painting. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2018/5/16/oil-pastels-lake-of-the-pines monthly 0.5 2018-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1526504910120-XPUQKOIDXI3BOWKCXDS3/20180505_160832.jpg Blog - Oil Pastels, Lake of the Pines Fall Color, Lake of the Pines https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1526505362389-VPFNRXDPHKSW5JZEQO4U/20180516_124227.jpg Blog - Oil Pastels, Lake of the Pines Storm clouds over the lake (16 x 22 inches) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1526505469511-4FTYBCPHL7I1A5LWA9SI/20180513_172907.jpg Blog - Oil Pastels, Lake of the Pines Evening light at Park #3 (7 x 10) http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/7/30/sunset-at-lake-of-the-pines-oil-pastel monthly 0.5 2017-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1501429368443-ANJ0XPSLF8JTFODCD9NP/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Sunset at Lake of the Pines (Oil Pastel) Sunset at Lake of the Pines (oil Pastel) 16 x 20 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1501429622307-LSKAWQT6RRM52Q28LG4P/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Sunset at Lake of the Pines (Oil Pastel) This is my initial drawing and start. This piece was done on Illustration board, sealed with acrylic medium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1501429700923-OLW0U52CKAIQDYKCA2MN/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Sunset at Lake of the Pines (Oil Pastel) Blocking in the sky. Part of the fun is smushing the pastel around and blending areas. I use my fingers (I wear gloves) and silicone color shapers for blending. I use Myngyo Gallery pastels for most of the painting, with some of the much softer white Sennelier oil pastel for adding light and blending colors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1501429863544-0ETOKSL7ZI8T2FABJC28/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Sunset at Lake of the Pines (Oil Pastel) Adding trees and reflections. It was key to get some distance by making the far trees bluer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1501429936153-FZ7EV21OZI7T273J9KRM/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Sunset at Lake of the Pines (Oil Pastel) Adding near trees and their reflections http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/7/23/getting-to-grips-with-oil-pastel monthly 0.5 2017-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500852978917-EVMWMS2OTUN4XWT102KP/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Getting to grips with Oil Pastel Reflections at Lake of the Pines https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500853645126-4AN3DYM21N7OWGIHK1MV/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Getting to grips with Oil Pastel Sparkling light through the trees at Lake of the Woods, Oregon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500853901067-T344TDYTS21G74ZUXVCM/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Getting to grips with Oil Pastel This was my sketchbook page, done from memory, at the campground https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500853953992-N5309MLEK6WLSAMPWRIY/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Getting to grips with Oil Pastel Light through the trees on Mt Ashland, Oregon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500854253399-B2FC2YRTGOR53Y8KE788/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Getting to grips with Oil Pastel Park #3, Lake of the Pines http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/7/23/lake-of-the-woods-oregon monthly 0.5 2017-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500852320345-N6XR5WQ23MZ6V0JGN1DA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake of the Woods, Oregon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500852562439-8MZV62BGJ3V2IXI8UZJN/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake of the Woods, Oregon This is Sue painting at the lakeside https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500852599971-0E95BEZGINO0VMZUA4JG/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake of the Woods, Oregon Some people sketches from the beach area https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1500852644182-0ME2IT1NEFMTCKLW11JS/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake of the Woods, Oregon http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/6/30/garden-flowers monthly 0.5 2017-06-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1498845487960-RNTC05ISJMX4RXEZGN9X/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Garden Flowers "Rudbeckia" Watercolor 10 x 14 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1498845732411-Y9XW8IHLNVTK4W9Q4DS4/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Garden Flowers http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/6/30/copying-a-favorite-artist monthly 0.5 2017-06-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1498843967032-97N1W5AWB2NGISPSL44K/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Copying a favorite artist My copy of Peter Wileman's "Christchurch Harbour" Acrylic on canvas 24 x 28 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1498845056636-SGUZDY58LMPQ4AYXU2SA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Copying a favorite artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1498845089336-37987E0KYF1Y5UQB06UL/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Copying a favorite artist http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2017/4/24/visit-to-england monthly 0.5 2017-04-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056056682-PZ533JU4KIL5WEQMKNU3/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England These are part of the gardens of Littlecote House, a hotel we stayed at. The hotel had parts dating from the 12th century and a wonderful Roman mosaic preserved in the grounds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056163135-ZPOVK9NFURBSWKCSPJA6/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England This is the lovely view from our friends' house on Dartmoor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056246939-TD4UV6IIEOJPKK26YLRY/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Our friends' kitchen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056313176-VPMU07JKJXXLM8OVBZFW/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England A scene from Dartmoor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056347887-TELWARX0QC8JHABGZNH9/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Burnt swayling from Hay Tor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056416575-X3Y9GKQKI1OHJ9LE96XM/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Dartmoor is subject to wild changes in weather and this sketch was done during a foggy patch where the distant Hound Tor was covered in low cloud. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056526126-F4V8LM014HCA5XUMRA1Y/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Down on the coast of Devon this is the beach and headland at Budleigh Salterton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056595453-WJKZJUV94EOAQ8ST2VX4/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056641419-RAFEH0N4X0F4FHW9CYXO/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England The River Exe Estuary - a lovely peaceful spot to enjoy the view. The tide came in rather quickly! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056731733-19LIWTVLEI4BK4CXUECO/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Lyme Regis - famous for its fossils, and the movie "A French Lieutenant's Woman". A long stony beach, with The Cobb off in the distance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056866191-JPAIHZ38V9KLYIEYP6TO/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Charlie and Alison's Garden. All our family and friends were so hospitable and generous, they made it a wonderful trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1493056972459-J25IC4R0DTYSCBS0V3KL/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Visit to England Of course we had to ride some steam trains. This one was on the Severn Valley Railway - but there were others! Keith ran off with the train driver at one point! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/11/8/cosmo monthly 0.5 2016-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1478627763943-1EWS0CBRIRX1HRC3W6L8/CosmoPainting+copy.jpg Blog - Cosmo http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/11/8/vina-castellano-winery-auburn-ca monthly 0.5 2016-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1478627228226-9K3XLGQJRA42GG26L0FA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Vina Castellano Winery, Auburn, CA http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/10/9/leaves-5-x-7-inches monthly 0.5 2016-10-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1476056252177-1C5EJLBCE6F7STTLCHMW/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Leaves 5 x 7 inches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1476056294182-VAZPBI14FSVJCDZC6ZLW/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Leaves 5 x 7 inches http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/7/10/painting-a-green-scene monthly 0.5 2016-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468169405734-BUF9GQOGU4OQ24AMQWL4/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Painting a green scene http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/7/8/lake-natoma-folsom-ca monthly 0.5 2016-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468004968647-PU33XGWRV6EWZBO0OZA7/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake Natoma, Folsom CA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468005167491-9YOEN2DHRHTRFQGGTUKI/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake Natoma, Folsom CA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468005207299-JM64TK2XSMXFCTY2GP4B/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake Natoma, Folsom CA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468005307611-CYFLQ338L5DXE1D31CHQ/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake Natoma, Folsom CA Quick sketches of the real sailboats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1468005447409-CB7XW0I1S1688WW2367C/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Lake Natoma, Folsom CA My initial sketch before painting. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/7/5/more-from-auburn-valley-ranch monthly 0.5 2016-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1467773860374-61WKUT4H75LUGFEUF8DF/image-asset.jpeg Blog - More from Auburn Valley Ranch http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/6/29/river-hill-organic-farm-nevada-city-ca monthly 0.5 2016-06-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1467258139467-I78FM8JLWPLVO57RPOQX/Riverhillcopy.jpg Blog - River Hill Organic Farm, Nevada City CA http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/6/22/pastures-new monthly 0.5 2016-06-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1466621720972-CDUKJZ0I48Z6KAFF5J3G/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Pastures New https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1466621905216-FFBJ6QK52FXK6SL2KZEU/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Pastures New https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1466622265426-82JMZ9B7R76WI0GTBIAN/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Pastures New Cute chicken sculptures https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1466621950187-ES28LT5RA016M2V3DT6V/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Pastures New https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1466622225359-I2LXWOOHXC5836ERLEPL/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Pastures New http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/5/13/joseph-d-grant-park-hike-and-sketch monthly 0.5 2016-05-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1463184002288-GYV2BBBSALH4IAMJ7752/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Joseph D. Grant park Hike and Sketch This was a view of the cookhouse. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/5/13/san-jose-heritage-rose-garden monthly 0.5 2016-05-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1463183142443-4WRHE0CW76CRUXMHC2TT/image-asset.jpeg Blog - San Jose Heritage Rose Garden https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1463183203477-J94UHVINI17YMP9F0XQF/image-asset.jpeg Blog - San Jose Heritage Rose Garden Quick sketch of a rose called "New Face" http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/4/15/nolas-iris-garden-san-jose-ca monthly 0.5 2016-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1460758710619-1MUV0VN2IMHIFZ7L432G/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Nola's Iris Garden, San Jose, CA View from Nola's Iris Garden http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2016/1/8/la-casa-grande-new-almaden-ca monthly 0.5 2016-01-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1452301721778-ICIWRE2ALX2AT5RWEGRS/image-asset.jpeg Blog - La Casa Grande, New Almaden, CA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1452301843691-BS413FIXLNEHPFMTO1PN/image-asset.jpeg Blog - La Casa Grande, New Almaden, CA http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/12/13/acrylic-abstract-painting monthly 0.5 2015-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450058562489-D6L6EAYECWC5NKWXQ9A9/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Creating an abstract painting This is the initial scraping of acrylic paint with a few additions of color glazes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450058617017-3M4KUT5D2ZV043ZCCHCF/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Creating an abstract painting This is the next phase with some gesso glazes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450058669611-04G195CLX9GVW8DCU2OE/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Creating an abstract painting Here I added more gesso glazes and some texture and scribbles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450058731829-ACZWJOOAXGZDLCPPGMZE/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Creating an abstract painting The final piece http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/12/13/how-to-ruin-a-beautiful-watercolor monthly 0.5 2015-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450056254973-W24FUYOB1G8XOKHV62BA/firstmoorpainting.jpg Blog - How to ruin a beautiful watercolor! The ruined painting :( https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1450056295606-GUZZW0DDQAFR6N5A84LV/image-asset.jpeg Blog - How to ruin a beautiful watercolor! My second attempt at the painting http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/11/12/plein-air-painting-in-campbell monthly 0.5 2015-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1447378129821-D0OO2FVS483SZZKMP49B/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Plein air painting in Campbell Campbell's signature tower https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1447378376838-5GKQ9TF3BFWQX9BB3FNO/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Plein air painting in Campbell Ainsley House, Campbell http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/11/6/a-portrait-of-tyson monthly 0.5 2015-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1446852439040-XD759RQXJEQBL6WE9JFA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - A Portrait of Tyson http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/10/22/portola-vineyards-portola-valley monthly 0.5 2015-10-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1445557337429-BTIFQ65H4ZDF4TOABFS6/image-asset.png Blog - Portola Vineyards, Portola Valley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1445557750511-HUEUNUC7Q0GHSS65E1UV/image-asset.png Blog - Portola Vineyards, Portola Valley http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/9/25/keiths-engineer-for-a-day monthly 0.5 2015-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1443201096732-NO2W4WZQEE63VWQ0U25R/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Keith's Engineer for a Day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1443201271086-1A31TJ2QB3YQT12UA209/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Keith's Engineer for a Day http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/9/25/martial-cottle-park monthly 0.5 2015-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1443200828226-GCE9GDVONSX24N5F4R5B/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Martial Cottle Park Martial Cottle Park is newly opened in South San Jose. Surrounded by housing, it is the last surviving relic of agricultural heritage in that area. They have kept the beautiful old oaks and make a cute children playground.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1443200983823-9CNNTYWH82WSXGHYQTNN/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Martial Cottle Park This piggy was a little sit on sculpture in the children' park. Playing with the scale of the landscape made him into a giant pig! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/9/25/martins-beach monthly 0.5 2015-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1443200495971-PJ8MMVP9AWHX1JGNAOV8/MartinsBeach+copy.jpg Blog - Martins Beach We had a lovely day at the beach the other week. Our hosts have delightful cabins at Martins Beach, near Half Moon Bay, and we were invited to paint from their decks. The day was warm, but foggy, and a very welcome change from the sweltering heat of San Jose. I believe there was a massive rock just off shore as some of our members painted it, but the fog kept it hidden from me! http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/8/7/annas-garden monthly 0.5 2015-08-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438985144769-TWEEH5GOJ5QBYUIXGFBR/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Anna's Garden https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438985360778-YLFMUAM7V3F56PNGM1PG/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Anna's Garden https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438985380903-551BSBUR6MMP1ZK7848P/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Anna's Garden http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/7/28/japanese-friendship-garden-san-jose monthly 0.5 2015-07-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438126903366-G4GL3O7H6M49TV17RA3Z/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1438127104252-XCFXJZXZ2W4OVEVKMPU9/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose The geese don't stay still, so these are quick gesture paintings drawn with the brush and watercolor. http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/7/16/hike-and-sketch-at-pichetti-winery monthly 0.5 2015-07-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1437087081920-UZKFWO4LVM9228NYJU4S/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Hike and Sketch at Pichetti Winery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1437087320333-8Y0J3AAS38K77MZQ2CKR/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Hike and Sketch at Pichetti Winery http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/7/16/nostalgia-train-station-painting monthly 0.5 2015-07-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1437086645092-VNTSK3B2EKNFQ0J2NLKA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Nostalgia - Train Station Painting http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/6/5/hike-and-sketch-at-santa-teresa-park-san-jose monthly 0.5 2015-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1433536515202-ECS6JL0A6IC702HU3QC5/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Hike and Sketch at Santa Teresa Park, San Jose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1433536641857-ZRYHXOQYFRBZRKKWREC8/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Hike and Sketch at Santa Teresa Park, San Jose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1433536680689-X69PKD25MWAZFJ1FHVAT/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Hike and Sketch at Santa Teresa Park, San Jose http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/6/5/final-portrait-of-wallace monthly 0.5 2015-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1433536280128-IOSJNXINYSU2OM236DY6/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Final portrait of Wallace http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/4/25/a-portrait-of-wallace monthly 0.5 2015-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1429989428743-FBMIIYPGY4VX9N64WKXW/wallace.jpt Blog - A portrait of Wallace http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/4/22/dartmoor-england monthly 0.5 2015-04-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1429750584970-M4YMYC533DVJARF348A6/Dartmoor.jpg Blog - Dartmoor, England http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/3/19/kirk-farrington-house-san-jose monthly 0.5 2015-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1426806403808-7CFABBBI4LYFL903I2VS/KIrkfarrington.jpg Blog - Kirk Farrington House, San Jose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1426806741812-EKP41RLRO4ZNWNBY6KT9/Kirkfarringtonpeony2015 Blog - Kirk Farrington House, San Jose http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/3/6/new-floral-paintings monthly 0.5 2015-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1425677953566-LU8KXIYL0429UWU6NDBW/Pink+Floral Blog - New Floral paintings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1425677998780-P8B638ZFS2RLZ28C1ORC/Blossom Blog - New Floral paintings http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/2015/2/19/mary-knoll-seminary monthly 0.5 2015-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1424396133305-S36GTAF8WZWPHL1FBOET/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Mary Knoll Seminary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1424396259914-FEI5Y0KQ3WP82KCNZJ3B/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Mary Knoll Seminary http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/tag/Blossom monthly 0.5 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/tag/Flowers monthly 0.5 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/tag/Watercolor monthly 0.5 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/blog/tag/Floral monthly 0.5 http://www.sylviawaddellart.com/about daily 0.75 2023-10-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e4c9f4e4b0c247344ea864/1592673853987-PZTDSEIJTO16X8J6WFYQ/Mepainting.jpg About