Mira in technicolor

I am sad to report that the first pair of Mira shoes had a run-in with a can of Scotchgard. My intentions were good! I wanted to protect the art for as long as possible. While the integrity of the shoes are still intact, the design is now muted. I think it looks kinda cool, but I prefer the stark contrast of its original state. Lesson learned: Sharpie pens and Scotchgard don’t mix.

The aforementioned experiment just gives us an opportunity to design another pair, right? Of course, right! This time, my colorful and creative younger daughter wanted the bamboo design in green. Well, okay.

It was cheaper with a coupon to purchase a set than it was to just buy a single green pen, and what are you to do with all of those color just screaming at you to use them? Well, d’uh, color savvy girls pick their favorites and her mom uses them. I’ve never Zentangled using a color palate before, I usually stick with the standard black and white. I must say, these are pretty exciting and I’m quite please with how they came out.

Clearly, my youngest daughter loves them, as she donned them this morning paired with her signature mismatched socks.

She’s a colorful person, without a doubt!

Mira, Mira on the shoes

My youngest daughter is a huge Animal Jam fan. Recently, she stumbled across Sketch Jam, where an artist demonstrates how to draw some of the animals featured in the interactive Animal Jam world.

My sweet youngest child decided that she wanted to draw an animal on the toe section, and that I could Zentangle the remainder of the shoes. It was fun working with her on this project. Listening to her talk about which animal to draw, which patterns she wanted to surround her animal, and wondering how long it will take to complete, made me smile. Once she decided on Mira, the crane, she hustled her dad out to shop for shoes.

She is proud of these shoes in which she took part in dreaming, planning, and creating. I can’t wait until we design our next pair!

Hearts and confetti

Valentine themed nail design. I adore looking through possibilities and then watching my nail lady go from concept to reality. She’s amazing.

Yarn of yore

My youngest daughter is gearing up for her sleepover on the Californian, the field trip for a cool history unit her class is studying. Last week, her blue eyes dripping with wistfulness, she asked me to knit her a hat. Well, yeah! What color?

She chose this gorgeous hand spun, hand dyed, yarn I bought a couple of years ago. I didn’t use a pattern, but how hard is it to make a hat, right? I wanted it to be slouchy, and I guessed at how wide to make the band, and when to increase and decrease stitches to give it that slouchy shape, but I think it came out okay. Not bad for my third hat (and no pattern).

I’m positive that she’s pleased with it, as she slept in it last night, wore it to the breakfast table, and occasionally reaches up to run her fingers over the stitches. It’s quite satisfying when someone shows such pleasure in a gift you’ve made for them.