Ribbon Posy

I hope no one is sick of these yet, because I've been on a flower making spree! :) I put some fabric ones together earlier this week but wasn't happy with them (my husband agreed - that is one of the things I love about him, he's honest, yet tactful...) but I did make these and was much happier with them, he liked them much better too!
I added a pin to the back and thought they'd be good for decorating a coat or blouse or as a little everlasting corsage.

Herbs

I'm still working on the garden, there are now little tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, summer squash, and a variety of herbs planted in the garden beds, and of course flowers in the rest of the yard.

I hope the herbs make it, I have mixed luck with those. I planted some catnip in my garden at my previous place, only to discover my cat was one of those that wasn't at all excited by catnip. But the neighbor's cat discovered the thriving patch and I once looked out the window to see this cat literally rolling in the catnip, with a blissful look on its face. It makes me laugh to this day when I think about it.

Fashionable

I couldn't resist making one more ribbon rose.
There's no rhyme or reason as to how I make these flowers, I just play with wired ribbon and try different things until I make something that looks good to me.
I tried a different leaf shape this time around, added the usual pin backing and couldn't resist trying it on my little hand painted piggy bank that I made a while ago. This little piggy is definitely ready to go out and have fun!
What the fashionable peegs are wearing this spring!

Bamboo

I have been interested in Japanese culture since a fairly young age. I think it may have been either Sanrio or the Japanese animation I grew up watching, but either way, because I love art I was always intrigued by the sumi-e and woodblock prints I would see in books.

I took a class to learn the basics of sumi-e and found that it's a wonderful, meditative art. It's deceptively simple, because you try to capture the essence of the item in as few strokes as possible. The paper we used was absorbent and the ink permanent, so any hesitation would mean there was a blob of ink in the middle of an otherwise beautiful stroke. It took some practice, but I loved making the ink at the beginning of each session, working on control of the brush, and found that I felt much more relaxed and happy after a session painting sumi-e. The best part is that the finished painting itself also possesses some of those same qualities, inviting peaceful meditation. I recently came across my stash of work from those efforts and will be showing a few here as I become re-acquainted with them.