Stuff I worked on this week

I created a mandala that I love... finished it this morning.

and then I made a little celtic inspired heart.

Have you heard of The Rainbow Elephant? You have now!

I ask because I had seen some stuff around, in fact I actually purchased her mandala templates but hadn't really played with them until recently. (There will be pictures. I promise) and then I saw a link and really dug into what was there.

Well, she's got some great stuff going on over there, so you should check it out.
She has 3 "Mandala Starter" templates for download on her site.
Anyway... this is one I started a few days ago and just didn't have the time to complete until this morning. I have to say I LOVED working on this one though. In fact, I did something I really don't do very often. I printed two copies so that I can do it again differently!
It's from The Rainbow Elephant it's a "starter template" so you add your own stuff to it.. which is great, because I'm just really learning the art of creating my own, so this was a wonderful in between and her lines are just beautiful. Anyway.. here is the link, my completed version and it's my first attempt with a watermark because sadly I've had some problems.
Please make sure that when you are inspired by an artist that you credit them, and please don't ever blatantly steal from them. Whether they are using it as a means of revenue or not, it's upsetting.
Anyhow... The Rainbow Elephant!

This template to download
Here is my work in progress on it.

And here is my completed.

Now to break out those directions to make my own.... 

(I receive no compensation for any of the stuff I talk about on my blog. If I ever do, I promise to share that info!)

Happy Monday!

As always it didn't end up the way I planned, but I do really like it. There are no "beetlejuice" roses like I mentioned because I decided they needed to be red instead.
For an example of what I mean.. you can see here on my instagram. :)


So here's what I came up with. I don't love it, but I do like it. I'll play with the idea some more another day.
I do love the colors, but I'd planned on it being more intricate. I'm not sure though, I like the playfulness of it.

For tomorrow I'm going to be working on The Diva's challenge, which reminds me to slow down and enjoy the process while revisiting my favorites.

So that'll be interesting. If you don't participate in her challenges, you really should. Check them out here. 

Today's art prompt.
Use your favorite color. I used turquoise which is my current go to color in the sugar skull and that's my favorite part.

Here's the linkey thing. Can you believe it's been 23 days?! Are you proud of yourself?

Day 19- Monotangles

Sometimes I like just working with 1 pattern. My original inspiration for this was a picture of a box of ribbon candy. It reminds me of my Gramma and that always puts a smile on my face. I found a tangle pattern that I've used in the past that looked like ribbon candy and thought I'd just go with it. Instead this reminds me of bees or mummies. I'm not sure why. Not quite what I was going for but I think it's visually interesting.

Today's art prompt...
Find inspiration in a piece of candy. I'm often inspired by candy. Some of my favorite pieces have ended up reminding me of tasty treats! If you have to eat it to be inspired, that's ok too!

"O" it's Tuesday

Cheryl over at Artful Creations runs a weekly Tuesday challenge for Tackle it Tuesday.

We are working our way through the alphabet and are on the letter O.
That means that all the tangles start with the letter O.

Here is my tile for today.

I used 

• Onamato
• Opus
• Ole

Very few of the tangle patterns that start with O are ones I really like, but I did use Ole for the first time and found it to be really versatile. I think I'll use that one more.

So, we're on day 17, and as much as I am a creative person, and I really do try to work on something every day, wow.. it's hard to do it EVERY day! The guitar kind of took a lot out of me getting it done on time, so I am going to go with something really simple tomorrow I think.

So today's art prompt is:
Round.
Either do something round or circular or with the letter O.

Another quick one for today (Day 14)

Today's post is going to be another short one. The guitar is coming along nicely, I was up too late working on it cause I had *gestures vaguely* stuff yesterday that interfered with my creative process and I was hoping to be further along than I am.

The really hard part is done,which was writing out the music around the edge.Music is a foreign language and has so many nuances, etc. It was funny as I was adding the music, all I could hear in my head was my dad's voice counting it out like he used to when I'd practice my violin!
Good times! :D

So here is where I am today.

I promise to do a complete "guitar" post when it's done with all the wip pics and the completed project and the story behind it, but for now, I want to get back to it.

Tomorrow is Father's day, so today's art prompt is cards! Do you need to make a card? Decorate the envelope? Simply remember to go pick some up? That might not be that creative, but I hate trying to make cards the day of something, so if you don't need a Father's day card, what about one for a day in the future? 

I have to make 3. One for my Dad (which given his gift is going to be pretty simple, but hopefully he won't mind) then I need to make one for my brother, since it's his very first father's day! And one for my husband too, with a thank you note for giving me the 2 best gifts in the universe. 

Oh yikes.I just realized that it's my sister's boyfriends birthday this week, and I'll be seeing him tomorrow too. Guess I need to make a birthday card! So that's 4. Maybe I'll incorporate already completed artwork in those! Either way, I better get back to work!

I procrastinate sometimes...ok, a lot

So Father's Day is Sunday... and I have been wanting to do something for a while but didn't really take any steps to do it and now I REALLY want it done to give to my dad so my posts for the next few days are going to be pretty short and everything is going to be work in progress pics on that so that come Sunday, his gift is done, or at least MOSTLY done.

My dad is a musician. I am an artist. Therefore..... this needs to happen.

Strings removed, scrubbed and touched up. This is a pre-loved and now discarded guitar.
It's fully playable and in pretty good condition. I thought it deserved new life. Upcycle for the win!

There is actually a theme to this, I'll explain more as I go.

Rough outlines of things... it's hard to see in this pic

Thank goodness I work fast. :D
Now onto the challenge! We're on day 13. Wow!
Today's art prompt is MUSIC! Do something with music, either artistically or actually musically. If music isn't your thing then listen to music you love while you create!
I am not musically gifted, but my dad, my husband and my daughter all are, which is amazing for me in many ways, but I am the type of person who needs music in my life like most people need food and air. :)

It's going to be a busy couple days, but a good few days. I love to make things for people, even more when there is a lot of meaning behind them.


Link up your work!

Day 10- 1/3 of the way through the challenge so I'm giving stuff away!

Can you believe we are already 1/3 of the way through? THAT is AWESOME! Because we are already 1/3 done I am throwing in an extra giveaway today and tomorrow!
I missed having pen and paper in hand yesterday! I did put some time to good use and found something new that I'm jumping into feet first.
Here's what I did today.

There's a facebook group called Doodling Together that is built around this concept and I'm in love with the idea.(I have no affiliation other than I joined and am participating)
You get the app (yes it's an app, that's how I found it) and there is a small fee ($2 US), but one I thought was well worth it.
Each project is a larger piece that is then broken down into LOTS of other squares. You claim a square in the app, the pattern for your individual square comes right to your email, you print it out and complete it in the next day or two.
Then you upload it and it gets added into the project. How cool is that?
When it's done the final piece is available on all kinds of cool things and you have art you participated in making across the globe.

You can learn more about it here or get the app. 
IN fact.. .I'm going to give one away today and one away tomorrow from the entries on today's blog! All you have to do is submit something today and leave a note in comments that says "Enter me!"

Today's art prompt is to find something you want to jump into and do it (of if you've been waiting to start something)! No procrastinating!

Rules remain the same and this is an extra prize today... so all entries still count for prizes at the end of the month too. I'll be doing the same giveaway tomorrow as well. Tell your friends!

Week 1 is over!

Remember how I said everything had to be posted by Sunday night? It's because today, my project was to give you this.


It's a showcase of the artwork submitted by everyone this past week and I really hope you enjoy it. That amount of creativity and amazing stuff was fantastic and I love to see what everyone is doing.



I tried to get everyone in here, if yours is not here for some reason, shoot me an email at whimsybykelly@gmail.com and I'll make sure to add it to next weeks when I do that one. There were a couple that lead to nowhere.


So that's my creative thing for today... my prompt for you today is to find something in there that inspired you, whatever it is and use it to create something new. If you can't get to it today, then sometime this week.

The rules remain simple.

• Create something. Doesn't matter what. Just do it.
• Post your creation 
• Put your direct link in the linkey thing
• Leave me a comment. 
• Be nice

Past due entries may be posted up until the Sunday of that week, otherwise they can't count. You can still link them but that's the cut off for the video and the contest.

Let's have fun this week!

Happy Sunday!

It's an incredibly GORGEOUS day here, so I'm going to get right too it! I finished this early this morning (after the car alarm started going off in the driveway FOR NO GOOD REASON) and then not so adorable at that moment puppy decided that made it playtime. Heh. I like her more at 8am than 5am.
It's a good thing she's cute right?

If you are new here, the rules are simple. Create EVERY day. I'm not picky about what you create.  I jut want you to do it!
Come here, post a link to where you showed off your creation in the linkey and on July 1 I'll post winners. You must submit previous entries no later than Sunday night each week for them to count.

I will post an art prompt most days, today is "Think color" and put some where you might not have otherwise.

Here's the project I finished this morning, the one that I gave a teeny tiny sneak peek of yesterday.

I love it, even if it didn't photograph as well a I'd have liked.

I hope you do to and I hope this challenge is inspiring you to be creative! I'm having fun with it and I'm really loving getting to see all your blogs and individual pieces as well!






Here i proof that she is in fact adorable and it was worth it to get up.

Plus as an added bonus, I got to see this gorgeous sunrise.

It's not that often I see 5am. I look forward to a nap today though!


UPDATE: Not sure why this didn't post but hopefully it will work now. If you didn't get it submitted because of the missing linkey thing, just leave me a note in comments and feel free to submit it tomorrow. :)

1 week in! Day 7

Today's challenge should be pretty easy I hope!
 Don't worry about trying to finish something. Pick a project you know you can't do at once or work on something you've had in process for a while, but don't stress yourself out trying to make something start to finish. It's the weekend and this is supposed to be FUN! Today I did a little on something I hope to finish by tomorrow, but I've been working on it here or there for a couple days. Here's the corner I did this morning while having my tea.

 So take a quick pic of something you work on today, feel free to make it "just a peek" and save the big reveal for the day you finih it! For more rules and to see the prizes if you are new here... click here

I look forward to seeing what you do today!

I finished this earlier this morning.. Day 5!

So I've been working on a project ever since I saw the whole sharpie on mugs phenomenon take off and I loved it.. but I was skeptical.
I made sure to find items that rendered my finish project food safe because..
1. I want to make an entire set to match the kitchen decor I've ALWAYS WANTED BUT NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIND!!!! (Strawberries are NOT THAT WEIRD people!)
2. As soon as I mention it I had people want to buy sets. Ok then. I'm not going to sell them if they can't eat off them so began my quest until I found items that would be fine.

Here's my test piece. I started it yesterday and finished it up today. It's not terribly intricate because the next step is to pass it around to every member of my family with the explicit directions to try and destroy it, and I knew I'd be sad if they were successful and I'd spent tons of time creating it. Plus, this is a favorite design of mine. (I do promise to update on how it holds up!)

So that is what I did to be creative today.
How are you coming along in my 30 day Kreative challenge?
( Update because I forgot to add a prompt earlier, Thanks Bev for the reminder!so here it is!)
For your project today, consider doing something you've been wanting to try for a while, a new pattern, a new technique, a new project! 

Rules and prizes can be found here... 

Some questions I'm getting asked a lot...
Q:Can I jump in even though you are in progress?
A:Yes, please do!

Q:Does this count?
A: Did you feel like you were creating something? If so.. yes!

Q: Can I submit something for a different day?
A: Yes, but only until the Sunday of that week for it to count towards contest entries.

So add your link to wherever you posted what you made in the linkey, leave me a comment so I can come check it out and make something fun!

And I shall call her....Zoey! (And the official challenge details!)

I am really excited about the way this turned out. I am a huge fan of giraffes and when I saw this I instantly knew I wanted to make it patchwork. This one took me a while, but I only started it last night so it wasn't too bad!
I used my watercolor pencils to add some color, which I don't normally do...but they were perfect for this and just really had some fun with it.
My daughter and I decided it's a girl, and my son decided her name is Zoey!

Isn't she cute?! (I wish she was an actual stuffed animal!)

Ok! And now onto the next piece, my

Kelly's 30 day "Kreative" Challenge!

It starts tomorrow and runs from June 1- June 30.

I challenge you, to be creative every day for the next 30 days.

I am pushing myself this year to really make sure that I am doing something EVERY day, no matter how small and I want to see how many of you will join me!

I am hoping to have one of those cool Mr. Linkey things up and running by tomorrow but I'm struggling with it a little, so until I do, please just leave your links in the comments. 

There are only a few rules and that's to keep it simple.

Complete something every day, or as many days during the challenge as you can. 

It doesn't have to be big, or intricate. Just draw or paint, or sketch or knit or doodle or whatever it is you want to do that makes you feel creative! 

Try and link them daily, if not, then no later than Sunday night of each week and note what day it's for in your title or somewhere in your blog post or link.

Please link directly to what you want me to see, otherwise I might miss it.

Tell your friends!

There are going to be TWO prizes.

One for the person who completes the most days... and then one will be drawn randomly from the people who entered, each project is good for one entry. 

So now that I said that... what am I giving away? 

I thought I'd give away a set of my favorite micons in winners choice of black or multicolor 

and I've also decided to give away a wooden spiral art drawing set like mine, because it's gorgeous and I love it so much. 

 

So don't forget... and I hope to see you back here tomorrow for day 1! 

Ack! It's been a week!

I have an excuse or something. LOL

No, I really don't. I've just been kind of in a funk. I did do some drawing but I didn't like it enough to even finish it, and then I got ready to start a project and kind of "artist blocked" but I think I'm ok now. 

I also spent time playing with the puppy... because LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Plus it's nice out, and I am a SUCKER for nice weather. See my liliacs? I'm working on a sketch for them... but it's not going as well as I'd like. 

And then I broke out my pens and paper again. 

First, the Diva's challenge this week was to use rain. (I'm seriously sick of rain... so I wasn't thrilled with the idea lol) but it did not seem to invoke the results of a rain dance or anything. Plus I like how it turned out. 

So here is my completed piece for Challenge 168.

Then the Tackle it Tuesday challenge was the letter M.

It did not go the way I planned at all, but it's kinda fun and different.
I used

• Meo
• Mak-Rah-Mee
• Merryweather
• Mooka

And then some daisies found their way in there all on their own. 

I posted in a few other places that I'm going to be starting a 30 day challenge in June. I really hope you'll consider participating. It should be fun and I'm going to give something away at the end. 

More details on the 31st though! I don't want to give everything away in advance!

Inspired

I find inspiration in various areas of life... in this instance, from another artist.

So the other day I saw this video.... and it looked like fun. So I watched it again... and then a third time, and then I subscribed to her videos on youtube. You should too.

And when I was done watching,  I drew this, really fast.... because her directions are GREAT! Seriously, it probably took me 10 minutes.

I just kind of thought about how she did it and realized.... I had something else in mind. So I played with it a little bit and now there is this!

Eventually I want to do another one in full color and with a lot of whimsical stuff on the flowers, but for now, drawing this made me really happy.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Or at least.. where did you find inspiration today?

Sunday tangle

I worked on this yesterday and finished it up today.

I had some friends ask me how it goes from in my head to finished so I took some step by steps.

This is how it started.. with some breakfast and an idea on Sunday morning.
Here is my basic string.

The vision in my head. Yes the circles are freehand, I've been asked 4 times. LOL

This part comes together pretty quick for me. 

A close up of this section

Where I was in the evening on Sunday.

Done .. except the shading

Some shading

And done... I need to rescan it because my scanner is glitchy but here it is! 

This one took a few days

I've been working on this one off and on for a few days, I had a really hard time deciding which tangles to use and where to put them and how I wanted it to look. It didn't actually come together until the last little bit, and I almost wonder if there should be MORE shading. This great template is also by Ben Kwok. I love his style and if you haven't checked out his artwork you really should.

Several people have asked about the size of my work, the zendala style pieces , the rose, the zebra and most of my patchwork style stuff are usually on 8x10 pieces of cardstock or in my 11x18 sketchbook.

The weekly challenges and Tackle it Tuesday challenges are always small and done in my little sketchbook, so they probably turn out about 4x4.

Zebra Sighting!

This one was a project I started the other day and only worked on for a quick minute until today, when I dove in. I enjoyed doing this, it's a little different than the stuff I've been doing but how much fun is this? I did get "lost" in his stripes a few times, but always found my way out.

I was going to post WIP but I got into it and never got to it. Next time I'll at least put some up on my instagram. (whimsybykelly if you're on there!)

 I've decided his name is Zed. :)

I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the photo so I may retake it, but here he is!

The template comes from the Ornation Creations facebook page.

Bent not broken?

Sometimes I just go with what flows from the pen when I sit down.

New challenges to add to my list!

Cheryl over at Artful Creations  has given me more to do! Well, not me specifically, her blog doesn't say, HEY KELLY... JOIN US...  but yes, me. She has created a challenge she calls Tackle it Tuesday and I figure the more of these I do the more likely I am to reach my goal of creating almost every day. I know it's not Tuesday, but hey, I have things to do besides play with paper from time to time.
I missed the first one, which was to use only Tangles that started with A (I will go back and do that asap), but I jumped in with the second one, which is to use only B tangles. This was fun, there are a lot of B tangles, I used some favs and some I'd never touched before.
I used:
Birds on a Wire (new to me)
Betweed (one of my favorites actually, although I used to find it hard to fit places!)
Bales (another fav)
Bask It (this one is showing up in my stuff more and more)
Beadlines (new to me)
Boo-Kee (also new to me, and which I did wrong, but I liked how it turned out so I kept it)
Bronx Cheer
Bulb Lantern (again, new.. this one just makes me think of the movie Tangled! How fitting!)
Bunzo (new)
Bwiya (not quite new but I've only used it once before)

I was writing the list and thinking.. it's not that big, I couldn't have used that many tangles, but I did!
Here's how it turned out.

I've also joined the Ornation Creations facebook group with the amazing templates of Ben Kwok and I am really excited to start on some of those this weekend. He has a giraffe! *le sigh* Happiness!
So I have my new pens, a new sketchbook, wood for my fireplace, lots of tea and some really good food to make and my kids are pretty well occupied. I know what I'm doing this weekend!!!!

(Can we say Pajama weekend??Hibernation! It's what people who hate the cold do right???)
So I hope to have something to share from that by the end of the weekend and of course I have my garden to work on.
I guess that's all for today!