Art Update- Rowena

My latest creation is Rowena. She's got that hint-o-Halloween about her, doesn't she. Well, I'd been away from black and orange too long so I decided to take a little side trip with Rowena. I also wanted to use this portrait to exhibit a wee bit of Steam Punk. And a shadow box. I bought the shadow box first, you see, and made the portrait based on what I thought would fit within those confines.

So, without further ado, Rowena~

Rowena~ 12" x 12"~ mixed media, wool applique on cotton with charcoal pencil on paper~ ©2011 Danielle Crane

I know I normally don't show as many pictures of a finished piece here but, I just love this one! I had so much fun creating Rowena, I almost want to do it all over again. (Almost, I'm not crazy!) Soon, on my other blog , I'll post even more pictures along with Rowena's back story.

Something New and Something Blue

Something new I stumbled upon during my hiatus, is this wonderful food blog called Skinny Taste (thank you, Patty).

Gina, the blogger, has taken oodles of recipes and made them healthier and low fat. If you do Weight Watchers, you will for sure want to check this out because she tracks how many points per serving in her recipes. If you don't do WW but are striving to eat better, you'll want to take a look. I've already tried several of her recipes and they have all been easy to understand and quite good. If you love food, you'll want to take a look at her blog because the images are gorgeous! Gina takes beautiful pictures of the food she makes.

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I have purchased a new, blue binder (I can only go so long without a new binder). I've decided to compile all of the recipes I use frequently, in one place. I have lots of  cookbooks and loose recipe cards and pages from magazines and.... You see where I'm going. I've been, little by little, going through all of my cookbooks and recipe boxes, pulling out or copying the recipes I use. I hope that once I'm finished my new binder will help me more with meal planning and grocery shopping.

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In the meantime, food is getting so expensive we are eventually going to have to stop eating all together. I can't wait to get that garden going!!! At least the snow is gone but it is still quite cold out. Come on, Spring!

Spring and...SNOW...What!?#*!*&?!!%$*#?:{

So, I was going to write about Spring and Easter today. Then I looked out the window and saw this:

 Asher keeps looking out the window, saying, "What's up with that, Mom?" What indeed!

Well, as you can see, I was not able to use my little break to work on the garden or yard. A week ago it was in the 80's. We made a little progress outside but it was too hot to do much. Spring is taking it's time this year. I have to accept that and get over it. There is nothing I dislike quite like having my plans messed up. Meanwhile, indoors, I have a little bit of Spring going on of my own:

Tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower are making their presence known! I have them on a little table in our one south-facing window, right beside my work table. I should probably move them lest the sight of snow frightens them! 

Well, Spring will come. Someday. In the meantime, Easter quickly approaches. Plans have been made (dinner at the in-laws) and baskets are being assembled (I love Target). After Nathanael asked about when he should make his Easter wish-list, I decided this year's Easter baskets needed to be turned down several notches. I did pretty good- a reasonable amount of candy and a few little things; like a bottle of bubbles and some new pencils and notebooks. 

I'm not worried about the boys not understanding what Easter is about. I think they have that covered. Unfortunately, they have begun to expect that any day resembling a holiday means giving me a list of toys to purchase for them. It's not their fault. I've led them to this place myself. This is the fun part of parenting, isn't it? No one ever talks about the seemingly innocent "habits" that you, yourself, develop in your children. And then, that you have to help break them of those habits. Hindsight's a kick in the pants sometimes! 

This snow has me at sixes and sevens. I'm not sure what to do with myself! In my heart, I'm planting spinach. And teaching Asher how to ride a bike. And going for a long walk in the neighborhood.

In the words of Charlie Brown, "Aaarrrrggghhh!"

More New, New, New

Ichabod Crane, Katrina Von Tassel and the Headless Horseman~ 2.5"x 3.5" ACEO's~ watercolor and charcoal drawing on paper~ ©2011 Danielle Crane

M et Mme le Mummet, the Count and his Bride and Dr. and Mrs. Stein~ 2.5"x 3.5" ACEO's~ watercolor and charcoal drawing on paper~ ©2011 Danielle Crane

The Puppet Master, Henri le Rennet~ 10"x 13", mixed media, wool applique on cotton with watercolor and charcoal drawing on paper~ ©2011 Danielle Crane