Recent Art

So I've been trying to keep myself busy while being at home. I decided to do some art. It helps keep me distracted, mostly. While I was with my parents at my Grandad's house, I found some artwork that Granni started before she died. I was able to finish the first two pictured there because there was still some paint and brushes at his house. And no one seemed to mind. I think others may have been excited to see them finished.

Once I was home I remembered that I needed to make some amigurumi for an upcoming niece and nephew. The bunny is for the niece and she actually came six weeks early. I wanted to give it to my brother and sister-in-law at the baby shower but I got caught making it and my four year-old niece gave me up. And the monster worked out really well because we found out my sister was having a boy while me being back. Both of these seemed to go over really well.

Then these last things were done just for fun. The sign is actually some wood that Granni left behind and I decided to go ahead and paint "Welcome Foolish Mortals" on it. This references my favorite Disney Park ride: The Haunted Mansion. Originally it was just going to paint everything all flat, but Amber gave me the idea to modge podge the wallpaper on the back. I'm so glad that I did. I love how it turned out. It should be great to use at Halloween time.

Then this is another thing that Granni started but I finished. She made all the squares but one. I had to make one in order to get the pattern to work out. Which is ironic because there's also a square on the back because it's smaller than the others. I like how it turned out. This will be good to put on a table or on the back of a chair. We'll see in the future.

Lots of Crafts

I need to post these before the masses start showing up at the house later today. I've done these quite recently, it's just that I haven't put them up on the blog yet. Either because I was being lazy or busy with sketchbook and being out of town. So here are the new things.

First off, I made some more kanzashi. One is for a cousin that was getting married last weekend. I decided to make her a kanzashi using her wedding colors: black, white, and hot pink. Then the other kanzashi is made from an old beret that I only wore occasionally because I hated the design. Now I wear it a lot more often. I like how this turned out as a first try of doing shidare (dangling parts) of kanzashi.

Then I made a charm as an art trade with a DeviantART friend, Demi-Plum. This is her avatar that she currently has on her profile. This charm actually has no paint on it at all. That's right. The eyes are all polymer clay.

The next charms were more things for my cousin getting married. They are also in her wedding colors. I decided to make a dragonfruit cane so that I could have uniform slices for the charms. I mostly like how these turned out. The cake park of the big cake is messy; not fond of that.

Then lastly is something for my Granni. She turned 75 yrs. old while I visiting for my cousin's wedding. She loves things that are red, white, and blue. I thought she would enjoy this. She seemed to at least. ;)

Independence Day

Sorry I got this out late. I have been constantly knitting my new Harry Potter scarf. I'm getting close to being finished. Which is good because the movie opens up the coming Wednesday. (Yay!)

Anyway, the 4th. The first thing that the family did together was go see a movie. We saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. If you have seen the first two then you'll know how this one is. There were lots of funny parts but they were all mostly jokes for children. It's kind of hard to get into a movie when it's not set to your demographic. Oh well, what can you do?

Another thing that was boring about the movie was the 3D. Yes, 3D. Sure, you would think that would make a movie much more exciting. It doesn't. It looked cool in the previews and the first 5-10 mins. of the movie, but after a while it just got boring. The whole family has agreed that 3D isn't worth the extra money unless it was shot in 3D. Coraline is an example of that. (I hear that it's amazing in 3D since it was shot in 3D. Good thing there's a 3D version to buy when it comes out.) Anyway, you can see Ice Age 3 but don't expect a whole lot.

After the movie we went to a firework alley. Dad was only hoping to spend $100 this year but when we got there that didn't quite go as planned. So Dad walks up to a guy to ask him a question. The guy starts talking to him and then they're talking about the fireworks. Turns out the guy is a co-owner of a fireworks stand/shop. It was getting late in the day so the guy knew that he needed to make bargains. He talked to Dad some more and convinced him to get $350 worth of fireworks for $200. Needless to say we were all happy. Lots of firework smoke to make me happy. (I love that smell.)

We get home and Mom comes up with this idea to invite a co-worker and his girlfriend over to watch the fireworks. So we have a fast clean-up of the house before they got here. (Turns out that was unnecessary. They didn't come inside.) By the time they find the house we have to start heading down the path to our beach. We were only allowed to do fireworks there. The path is steep and not fun to go up. Once Mom starts the disposable grill she bought at Target, we realize that we forgot the chocolate for the sh'mores. So we call Zak to bring down the chocolate that we forgot when he gets home from work. Way to go us.

As we start lighting off fireworks, the nearby town are doing their shows. You can see four different shows and hear the ones in Seattle from where we are. We decided that maybe next year we'll go watch some fireworks that we saw go off across the Sound from us. They looked pretty cool.

By the end of the night, Dad lost one of the mortars in the water; we had one close call with a firework; sore legs from climbing back up the path; and tired people. It was past midnight when we were done.

The holiday was pretty fun. It would have been more fun if we were able to be with family. Oh well. A good side to that is that the family is going to drive down with me when I have to return to Provo for school. That should be fun. ;)

A Thank You Present

Meet the newest member to the amigurumi family. A Fourth of July bear. I wanted to make this one for Granni and Granddad. They're the ones who will be picking me up tomorrow and taking me down to Utah until I go see Amber, Greg, and Jared in Wisconsin. =D I attached the arms and legs by making felt stars and then sewing them on with a fancy stitch. Then I took more embroidery thread to sew the actual limbs on. You think they'll like it?

4th of July

Yay for Independence Day! I only wish I was able to do more than I did. My dad consisted of a parade, homework, fireworks, and movies. First I went to the local parade with my friend Mesia. I got there a hour early because the crowds are a nightmare if you get there just before it starts (learned this from last year). Too bad Mesia and I ended up sitting where a family/swarm of kids were. Oh well. We had fun. And I got an interesting sunburn because the sun was mostly in one side of the sky.

Later on was homework time. My Chinese Lit teacher decided to smash the last two units into this and next week. So, I had a ton to do before it was all due today. Let me tell you, it is very hard to concentrate on foreign literature when you're sleepy and sunburned.

Then Mesia and I went to the fireworks in Idaho Falls. They're supposed to be the largest fireworks on this side of the Mississippi, but what about all the big cities on the west coast? I'm not entirely sure that I believe that claim. Anyway, they are good fireworks. The crowds are intense if you go in certain areas of the city. Mesia and I decided to park near a highway ramp and then sit on the grass near it. We ended up getting pretty good seats for the show.

When we were done with the fireworks, Mesia and I came to my apartment and we watched Enchanted. I really do like that movie a lot. Too bad I made her be late for curfew. (Like any of the R.A.s were actually in town.)

That's my 4th of July adventures. I'm only glad that I should be home next year for it. I miss blasting off fireworks with my family and smelling them too. Mesia thought I was strange for liking the smell so much when we were watching the fireworks in Idaho Falls. Ha. Whatever, I just like it.