Canvas and Joy

Outer Space Mural

Jenny / January 29, 2018

A while back, I painted a mural in my kids room. It was my first attempt at a wall mural and it was lots of fun.

I started by drawing a grid of the wall and sketching out my ideas. This helped me to get a basic idea of scale for the planets. I measured out a few key distances and then I mostly just free-handed the whole thing. I used samples of several different colors of paint and blended the together as I needed. And I definitely let my kids leave hand prints in the corner as a final touch :)

Here is a little video showing the process. Enjoy!

A while back, I painted a mural in my kids room. It was my first attempt at a wall mural and it was lots of fun.

This weekend I will be participating in a craft show here in San Luis Obispo. I'm getting excited and, as always, doing a lot of last-minute painting. It seems like the closer I get to a show, the more inspired I get. Here's a peak at some ornaments I've been working on.

I'll have these along with my usual art print and cards (which are still available in my shop!) Stop by and see me if you are in the area!

Christmas Show Prep

by Jenny on November 19, 2017

This weekend I will be participating in a craft show here in San Luis Obispo. I'm getting excited and, as always, doing a lot of last-...

Hello Friends-

I recently found out that a dear friend of mine will be having a baby. I was very excited for her and wanted to make something special. My go-to baby gift is burp cloths. They are simple and fun to make and in my own mothering experience, work better than most store bought cloths. My method for making these is a little unstructured, but here is my basic method. Come! Follow along!

The first part is really the most fun. Go to your favorite fabric store and pick out several patterns of flannel. I typically get the "snuggle flannel" they sell at Joanns because I can use a coupon and there is a wide selection. I usually buy at least six patterns because I love fabric and can't decide. If you are a simple girl or are making these for another simple girl, go for one or two fabric choices. Really, just follow your heart on this one. I get about 1/4 yard of each, sometimes a 1/2 yard of one I think I will need more of.

So many fun fabrics! The pineapple is my favorite.

To start making the burp cloths, I iron all of the fabric to smooth it out and then cut each piece into fourths (again this will depend a bit on your fabric size- my final pieces ended up being about 10"x16").

I have a special fabric ruler thing but I haven't found it since we moved. But this works.

The next part is also fun. Take all of your cut pieces and match up patterns. I love pairing different colors and patterns. I also found it helpful to sing the Matchmaker song from Fiddler on the Roof while I did this. Your choice.

Place each fabric pair together with right sides out (so the pretty pattern showing on each sides). I like my burp cloths to have rounded corners so find a circle and trace a rounded edge on each. I just use a sharpie because I know I'm going to use my serger to trim off the edges as I sew.

Note- You are going to want to remove the cap to actually draw on your fabric. Also, I am available for hand modeling.

The last step is to just serge around the entire edge of the cloth. This goes pretty fast although the curved edges can be a little tricky until you get the hang of it. Definitely practice on scrap fabric first.

Done! I love the contrast of the black thread.

And that's it! I was able to make a set of these in one night so it's a pretty simple project. I didn't get a picture of this, but they look pretty if you roll them all up and then tie with a ribbon. And your gift recipient will really appreciate these; babies are pretty messy (understatement of the year).

Basic Burp Cloth Sewing Project

by Jenny on June 23, 2017

Hello Friends- I recently found out that a dear friend of mine will be having a baby. I was very excited for her and wanted to make somet...

Here's my lesson for all of you starting out as artists. You will try and fail many many times. Well, okay, not always fail, but fine-tune. I have changed my site, my name, my products many many times. For all I know, this site will change in another few months. But hey, join me while it lasts :)