Color-in Dragon Card

For Easter last year, my nephew sent us a lovely card that he had painted:

So cute, right?
I hadn't sent him an Easter card (such a bad auntie!), so I wanted to make him a special card in response.  Here's what I came up with:

Thank you Easter card: front.
Micron pen and colored pencil. 2015.

Thank you Easter card: inside.  8"x11" Micron pen. 2015

Thank you Easter Card: back

I though my nephew would enjoy getting to color in the dragon.  Instead, he asked my sister (his mom) many, many questions about the card.  Why was the bunny sitting on the egg?  Why did Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris decide to hatch the egg?  How did the dragon get inside?  How did the dragon get out?  My sister said that after asking all his questions and thinking about it a while, he turned to her with tears in his eyes and asked how he could get another egg like that one.
"I think he was distraught to learn he had mailed off something of such value without realizing its potential," my sister said.

Oh no!

Apparently he was only upset for a little bit, but I still felt bad!  So to make up for it, I decided to send him an egg of his very own.

Costume: if the Natty Boh Guy and the Utz Girl had a baby

For Halloween 2012, my husband (then just boyfriend) and I dressed up as the Natty Boh Guy and Utz Girl as a couples costume.  We had a baby this past October and for Halloween decided to dress him up as: "if the Natty Boh Guy and the Utz Girl had a baby"!    

The elements of this costume that I made include the bow tie and the binky.  For this costume, we needed a way to put elements of our created character onto the baby without using glue or tape or tying anything to his face!  The binky was my husband's creative, good idea!

The adorable Maryland flag blue crab onesie was a gift purchased for us by a friend, but was the perfect onesie for this costume! :-D

"If the Natty Boh Guy and the Utz Girl had a baby binky".  Binky, foam,
fabric, thread.  October 2015

Latte Art

Latte Art, espresso, 12x12" ish, 2010

This painting was done using espresso as paint.  It was a wedding gift for a close friend of mine who loves coffee :-)

Beer Label: Aftermath Amber

Aftermath Amber Beer Label, micron ink and photo editing, August 2014

Aftermath Amber Beer Neck Label, micron ink and photo editing, August 2014

Special people deserve special gifts.  My husband and I brewed an amber beer as a wedding gift for a close, special, and also artsy friend of mine.  Home-brewed beers need home-made labels, which is what you see above.  I also did an inverted version.
See final product below:

a case of Aftermath Amber, brewed by the Patrick Brewing Co.

inverted labels version

Felted Fish

This is my first needle-felting project. I used a kit sold by Licorice Tree.
Her's is much cuter. I decided to make mine a little heinous.

Evil puffer fish, felted wool, October 2014

Evil puffer fish, tilted view

I found needle-felting to be an incredibly satisfying artistic endeavor.  I look forward to doing more needle-felting in the future!  (as if I need one more hobby... :-p )

watercolor: Wren

Wren, watercolor. ~8"x11". winter 2008.

This watercolor painting was a gift for my dad.

Pop-up praying mantis birthday card.

Birthday card for Chris, front.  8.5"x11".  cardstock, printed images, marker, colored pencil.  2010.

back

A while ago I tried to learn how to make pop-up cards.  This was one of my first attempts; some-what poor planning b/c the pop-up mantis' stick out when the card is closed.
Chris is very interested in bugs, hence the praying mantis theme.
Also, this card demonstrates my love of bad puns :-)