B is for...

There are so many good things for this letter I couldn't do just one. If I had to pick just one though - it would definitley be my Bailey dog!



My best buddy Bailey has been my boy for 8 years now. He just had a birthday too on January 21st - Happy Birthday Bailey buddy! (like my B alliteration?!)

I also have some more B's for you...

All these photos were taken with a new Nikon lense that John rented for me. Did you know you could rent lenses? I sure didn't. It's a great way to try out a new lense and see if you like before you invest an obscene amount of money in actually purchasing one! He got it from rentglass.com. They have both Nikon and Canon lenses. I got a Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro for those of you who may be interested. It's basically for taking really close up and personal pictures.

Here are some B inspired photos:

A closeup of the Brick on my house:



I love how you can see every grain of sand in the grout.

My favorite summertime flower, Black-eyed susans, still look pretty cool in the winter:



Even the shadows look great:



These shadows have bee on my mind recently. I keep thinking about how great a black and white drawing of them would look. Now I just have to actually sit down and try to draw it!

Another B in my life is Baltimore.

Last weekend my friends Erin and her cowboy, Jen (jeekeehoo) and I went to Baltimore's Visionary Arts Museum. It was a fun day spent looking at sculptures, paintings and mosaics. There was even an exhibition of some of the secrets sent to Post Secret.

Outside there was a crazy tree made up of crystals and mirrors. I like to call it the Bling Bling tree:



It was a great day spent in a great city.





And for those of you here for the knitting... I have a Beginning shot of my Diamond Fantasty Shawl (ok that B was cheating just a bit!):



I'm using my own handspun for this baby and I love the way it's coming out so far.
Have a great week!

A is for...

Art!

One of my goals for 2008 is to do more art.

I used to draw and paint all the time when I was younger. Knitting and sewing have taken up a great deal of my life, but I still need to stop and remember my painting and drawing.

My mom got me a watercolor a day calendar for Christmas. At first I thought it was kind of corny - but we painted a few together and I really like how they came out.



The kit has a differnet watercolor every day. Some are famous paintings, while others are original drawings for the calendar. Each page is basically a rough line drawing of the image. The kit also comes with 5 watercolors (blue, yellow, red, green and black) with which to paint.

It was challenging to get the right color at times and I found myself thinking back to my elementary school color wheel to help me mix the paints to get the right colors!

Here's a closer look are two of my favorites:




The calendar also shows a sample completed work photo for ideas on what colors to use etc.



As you can see I paid no attention to the date - just picked the images I liked best. I look forward to more painting and drawing this year. I bought some quality ink pens while I was in Philly a few weeks ago - and I can't wait to try an ink and watercolor project I have in mind. Stay tuned!