Stab, Strangle, Gut - Basic Knitting

Ah, knitting. The old-fashioned practice; the cozy sweaters and blankets; the hours of work; the challenge of deciphering the patterns; the impossibility of selling the completed projects for their true money's worth.

Turtle Clothes

I think the turtle itself would also look good as an emblem on a t-shirt.

Angel Feeder

Please enjoy this pencil sketch of a cafe for angels that also functions as a bird feeder.

A friend of mine is somewhat fixated on winged figures at the moment. A while ago, we were socializing and decided to each draw a picture with an 'angel' theme. I made this and she made, if I recall accurately, a dramatic image of an angel on a cliff overlooking a high-tech city.

I think we both did pretty well. I used a plate and a ruler for the 'bowl' edges, but otherwise this was entirely freehand.

'Drawn freehand' does not mean 'free to use'. As the sticker states, this is a copyrighted image. If you would like to use it for something, contact me and we will negotiate.

Apostroph'E

An ode to bad poems and pretentious faux-antique writing styles. It's been (yikes!) about a month since my last post, so I decided to post this now instead of saving it for November, just to reassure anyone still checking my blog that it has not yet been abandoned.

Ambidexterity

Ambidexterity refers to being able to use each hand with an equal level of skill and fine motor control. It is often used to describe someone able to write legibly with either hand.

Colour Compositions

Thank you for bearing with me and being patient while I sort out my new image editing software. There may be only one post a week for a while. (Sorry - it took just over four months, but I did indeed break my New Year's Resolution.)

I do still have several princess overalls to share, but for now, please enjoy these angels.

Here's how colour composition, commonly called 'colour comps', works: once you have a drawing you like, you make a few copies of it in a smaller size. Then you colour each version in a different way. You take your favourite colours and features and combine them into a single image. If you like it, that will be how you colour the final version; if you don't care for it, try again.

Disney Overalls: Esmeralda

Someone needs to write a crossover between the Disney film of 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' and their cartoon series 'Gargoyles'. Possibly that someone is me, but I can never figure out what should happen after the first chapter.

Disney Overalls: Megara

Megara's dress was supposedly designed to resemble a fluted column, which is why there are all those vertical lines.

Disney Overalls: Eilonwy

I think another reason Eilonwy is less widely-known is because her dress doesn't have a single unifying colour. It's pink, and blue, and white, and red, and another shade of pink, and the blue looks dark green or black in some lights. The more complicated an image is, the harder it is to remember. That's why designing an iconic logo is such a big deal.

Disney Overalls: Jasmine

I suppose, since Aladdin is the one the movie is named after, and the one it focuses one, and the one who sings a solo, that I should do some overalls based on his pants and vest one day ... but that day is not today, and probably would not be anytime soon.

Disney Overalls: Aurora

This was actually the first design I doodled for changing the princess gowns into overalls. I just didn't tutorialize it first because (A) it's probably the most complicated, (B) it's not my favourite dress, and (C) Cinderella had just been reinterpreted in live-action.

I did see the live-action Sleeping Beauty reinterpretation, 'Maleficent'. It was okay, but not great. Certain parts were very well done - but there were a lot of scenes that were just characters frozen in place, posing for the inevitable poster, or just close up shots of faces. I was disappointed that the queen didn't get to have a larger role - in fact, I think she had fewer lines in the remake than in the original - but I liked the depth given to the raven Diablo, and I was glad he didn't get turned into a statue. The scene with the dragon was very well done. I was disappointed they dropped the cover name of Briar Rose, mostly because there didn't seem to be any narrative reason for that change. I did not approve of Maleficent's skintight leather pants in the battle sequence, since the materials available at the time and the fact she arrived on horseback would have made loose canvas pants more believable, but the wing-return was impressive. Also, a lot of things were left open-ended when the movie cut to the credits, making the ending a little dissatisfying. The biggest disappointment was the lack of singing.

So, yeah. I mostly enjoyed it for the special effects. I would watch it again if I saw that it was on TV and nothing I liked better was on in the same timeslot, but I'm not going to purchase a copy.

Another blogger, 'Beaded Fae', did an excellent costume based more literally on the blue-and-pink 'paint-splattered' dress. Just type "Disney Sleeping Beauty costume paint-splattered gown" in a search engine and it should pop right up.

Disney Overalls: Rapunzel

Pink and purple and gold and white - sure, most of them are accents, but this is one of the most colourful dresses in the whole lineup.

If I were a model ...

As a model, I don't look all that different from an anime character. Go figure.
Also, my art style is such that, even as a model, I would still be 'plus sized'. Plus-size fashion models are just noticably under the standard weight for women of their age group and culture, as opposed to extremely far below the standard weight.
I approve, at least in concept, of new laws in France stating that you must have a certain minimum amount of biomass to works as a fashion model. In practice, I suspect it will lead to a lot of under-the-table arrangements and falsified documents.
(Still working on catching up on the tutorials I couldn't work on while my computer was going belly-up. If all goes well, you'll get a proper tutorial to read on Thursday.)

Escher Exhibit Reminder

This is to jog your memories before time runs out entirely to visit the exhibit. I had it scheduled to be posted later in the month, but in light of my lack of scanner-access ... The computer I use is actually working again, slowly, but I'm posting this now anyway to give myself a bit more time to generate new content.

Also, I realized after posting my previous M. C. Escher tribute that I had forgotten his lithograph of the crazy staircases, to the climbers of which gravity and perspective do not consistently apply. (Not that I plan to do a visual tribute to all of his work, just that I wanted to include his most famous pieces in the 'ad'.) In his pictures of buildings, you can really see the effects of his architecture training.

Computer Error

If you are seeing this message, I wasn't able to get my usual computer working in time for Monday's post. That's where I have all my image files related to this blog, and it's the one connected to my scanner, so if that computer fails, I have to wait to update until I can get hold of a scanner connected to a different computer.


If I haven't worked something out by Thursday, I guess we'll have April NaNoWriMo. I pre-created and set up a few story prompts with the intent of publishing them in November, but in the interest of continuing to add content to my site, I can post them early to buy some time while sorting out the hardware situation.


It's an older computer. It started being really slow near the end of March, then started abruptly powering down while in use, then somehow stopped being able to respond to the keyboard. My parents are thinking about replacing it.


I don't really want to leave you guys without a tutorial ...


Want to read about the prank I pulled on April Fools' Day?


I live with my parents still, but I pay monthly room and board. It's a lot less expensive than being out on my own. Mom and Dad put the money in a savings account for me to use for university or home-setup once I move out, or technically whatever I want, but I don't get the money back until after I move out. (I'm not the only one of my siblings to get this deal.)


Anyway, I pay with a cheque given to my parents on the first of the month. This month, I put the cheque in an envelope, along with a bunch of newspaper strips. I wrote on the front of the envelope that I had decided to pay room and board in cash this month. On the inner flap of the envelope (the thing you open to insert or remove the contents), I wrote 'April Fools!' I left it on the table so they'd see it first thing when they woke up.


Mom says she fell for it!

Disney Overalls: Kida

You know what's interesting about Atlantis: The Lost Empire? It has probably the greatest number of named female characters in the cast of any Disney animated movie (Helga Sinclair, Wilhelmina Packard, Audrey Ramirez, Kidagakash), and yet none of these women actually talk to one another.

Well, except for this one exchange right before the Leviathan attacks.

Helga Sinclair: It [the sound of the approaching Leviathan] could be our engines echoing off the rocks.

Wilhelmina Packard: [annoyed] You want to do my job?

I don't require a movie to pass the Bechdel test before I'll admit to enjoying it, but it is an interesting thing to observe. Audrey was an engineer, for example. It would not have been implausible for Kida to approach her before Milo (a linguist) for help in activating the ancient hover-vehicles ... unless, of course, Milo hadn't managed to explain what an engineer was in his and Kida's earlier conversation where she was trying to figure out who was who.

Disney Overalls: Pocahontas

Yes, I know the movie was historically inaccurate. There was literal magic involved that had a direct impact on how the plot unfolded. Also, it's been edited to appeal to children. Almost none of the Disney movies were eidetic copies of the source material.

Disney Overalls: Ariel

In case you need to store extra thingamabobs and dinglehoppers, you can always add more pockets.

Disney Overalls: Tiana

You can probaby find frog-shaped buttons if you look long enough.

Disney Overalls: Belle

Any avid reader who claims not to covet the library from this movie is a lying liar who lies.

Cinderella Dressed In ... Overalls

Do not feel bad if you do not read that giant block of text. I did not realize, until I started making the list of 'versions of Cinderella I own', just how many entries would be on it. And then I figured, since it was so long already, I might as well include summaries and opinions and versions of Cinderella that I knew but did not have in my possession.

Also, I realized after the fact that I had forgotten three Cinderella stories I have - Wyrd Sisters (Terry Pratchett; fairy godmother is the villain; three witches go on a quest to prevent a servant girl marrying a prince), Unlocking the Spell (E. D. Baker; the protagonists are Prince Charming's cousins and they pass through the ball on their way elsewhere), and Shrek. (Cinderella isn't plot-relevant to Shrek, but she's a throwaway reference in the first and second movies and a minor character in the third one.) So I actually have 18 versions.

Asparagus



I don't actually eat asparagus, but I have been told I prepare it well.

On a completely irrelevant note, today is apparantly World Kidney Day. Get yours tested, because most of the time, kidney failure shows no symptoms until it's progressed too far for the organs to be saved.

Beaded Hummingbirds

There are multiple types of hummingbird, but the ruby-throated one is the most iconic.

French Toast

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it the best thing since sliced bread, but consider the obligatory joke to have been made.

Weary and Wary

I am ready for winter to be over, so I can wear breezy tropical outfits like this robe, and see something outside my window besides snow. Just one more month, and then April will come, and then hopefully the snow will melt.

Kitten Stitchin'

Aw, it's a kitty! Look how cute it is!

Sharks and Squids

Dream of nautical adventure after adding a stripe of squid and sharks along your wallpaper. If you ever see a real hammerhead shark or giant squid, you're probably doomed, but in an adventure campaign, you can fight them for fantastic treasure.

Pineapple Dress

Once I learn how to make pineapple upside-down cake, I will post a recipe here, and whichever of these dresses I make, I will wear while eating pineapple upside-down cake.

Red Cake Dye Trick

This yummy idea is not just for red velvet cakes. I added it to the super-easy vanilla cake that I posted a recipe for back in September 2014, and it worked out deliciously.
Happy Family Day, fellow Ontario residents. Did you enjoy Flag Day yesterday?

Flag Day

I try not to make my blog a big political thing, but ... Flag Day! Get the red and white Valentine's decorations back out here!

Valentine's Day Card

Here's in Ontario, we're looking at a whole five days' worth of culturally significant dates. First there's Friday the 13th, then Valentine's Day, then Flag Day, then Family Day, and then Mardi Gras. I shall be celebrating with cupcakes.

Felt Flowers: Marigold

Marigolds are commonly planted because their scent wards off garden pests, like aphids.

Felt Flowers: Orchid

At some point, I might do a series of tutorials based specifically on the many kinds of orchids. For now, enjoy this one.

Business Cards

Happy Groundhog Day! I've never seen that movie, but I hear it's funny.

I thought I would take a break from the flower tutorials to do an opinion poll. I've designed a business card for myself, to distribute at craft fairs and conventions, but I can't decide on a colour scheme. If people could let me know their top three selections from the following options, it would help me a lot.

To vote, comment as follows: 1) [your favourite combination of text colour and background colour], 2) [your second favourite combination text colour and background colour], 3) [your third favourite combination of text colour and background colour].

You can just pick the one you like best, but I'm thinking I might get more than one colour combination printed, so a 'top three' selection format was more appropriate.

Voting will stay open until whenever it is I decide to get my first official batch of business cards printed! (Contact information will be on the back of the cards. I don't like the idea of giving out my phone number over the Internet.)

Felt Flowers: Ivy Vine Garland

If you're having an Easter party, or a garden party, or a Halloween party, or a fairy princess party, or a birthday party for someone named Ivy, these will come in handy. Or you can drape yourself in them and call yourself a woodsprite.

Felt Flowers: Violet

A little lesson on a little flower.

Felt Flowers: Tulip

Enjoy Part 2 of the Felt Flowers series!

Felt Flowers: Daisy

I had a bit of an adventure getting these images posted. My computer decided that Blogspot was a risky site and wouldn't let me upload images onto it. I tried logging out and back in, shutting down and reopening the browser, rebooting the computer ...

Finally, I discovered that, when adding pictures to a post, there is an option to 'add pictures from this blog' ... which somehow included the pictures I had tried to upload which had supposedly failed!

All's well that end's well, I suppose, but hopefully I won't have to go through that for every post from now on.

Plush Stingray

Everyone needs a bit of marine wildlife in their toybox!

Gently Worn

Of course, if you're donating clothing that was originally marketed to a vastly different demographic, the question to ask is, 'would I be willing to be seen in public with someone wearing this?', but that felt a bit verbose for what was supposed to be a short-and-snappy piece.

The first wave of winter holidays has passed, which means now is the time that a lot of charities really need support. If you really want to make a positive impact - well, regular giving is best, but the next-best is if your sporradic donations of goods, money, and time come during times of the year when most people aren't thinking, 'I should do something nice, to give back to my community'.

Sorry if this came out preachy. It kind of was. I happen to know of a lot of instances where the reason things were given away was because they were broken in some non-cosmetic, functional way - mostly pants without buttons and coats without working zippers. I live in Canada. It gets cold here. Coats have to be able to shut.

Wow. For a post intended to be short, this sure ended up with my longest out-of-comic commentary ever. Don't worry, it won't become a habit. I hope. I am quite verbose...

And yes, this is a chart. It is a free-form chart.