• Art - Blog

    Order in Chaos

    I’m giving a new challenge a whirl today. Perhaps I’ll make a habit of it.

    tiot1 copy (1)

    Try it on Tuesday has the theme of Letters and Numbers for the first challenge of 2016.

    Order in chaos | Halle's Hobbies

    I will admit this is not my favorite page but it does reflect the chaos in my quote. I believe that I got carried away with the sprays. I should have stopped several squirts earlier.

    Order in chaos | Halle's Hobbies

    I was able to use up a bunch of number stickers that I thought would never get used.

    I have another idea in mind…if it ever warms up enough to hang out in my basement art space.

  • Blog - Crafts

    After Christmas crafts

    On Wednesday I was on a mission to get all of my errands complete before the snow then wicked cold snap was to hit. I went 11 places in just under 4 hours. Shockingly I didn’t spend a bunch of money either. I was hitting all the loss leader deals at various stores while still getting the essentials to last into next week. I wasn’t even planning on going to Michael’s but since I was just down the street from it I decided to check out the 80% off all Christmas deals.  I picked up the needed supplies to make a couple of wreaths.

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    Since we are putting away all of our Christmas decor today, it was now or never next year for wreath making. So I gathered my supplies and set to work.

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    I also had to find a video tutorial on the process of creating a deco mesh wreath.

    This one worked for me.

    What I didn’t comprehend was just how huge this was going to be!

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    It became painfully obvious that the scale of the elements I had purchased would be completely wrong.

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    I added some ribbon…and what appears to be a nice bow in the photo. Nope…just shoved the rest of the ribbon in there for storage until I can find someone to help me with the bow. Did I mention how much I suck at making bows!?! I called my crafty neighbor for help and evidently she lacks that skill as well. I’m thinking with the addition of a proper bow and perhaps some plastic Christmas balls this would work for an outdoor wreath.

    Next I set to work on a winter themed wreath. Something to take you through until Easter.

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    Did you notice the price sticker on the deco mesh…? Goodwill $2.99 and I used a 25% off coupon so it was really $2.24, sweet! The wreath base was purchased previously when I made my burlap wreath. I started out and realized that the green wire base was showing through in a very unflattering way. First I doubled the number of pipe cleaners on the base but the green still showed through. It needed to be white.

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    Lucky for me, the temps were hovering around freezing yesterday so I was able to give the base a quick shot of paint in the garage.  Honestly, I’m surprised at how quickly it dried. I was really worried since the can said not to use below 55°F.

    Isn’t it pretty!?!

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    I was making it for a gift but it looks so good on my front door that I think I’m keeping it. Shhh…

    Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

    I love the iridescent shimmer in the mesh. Perfect match to a cold winter day.

    Do you decorate for “winter” to carry through until St. Patrick’s Day or perhaps Easter?

  • Art - Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: two posts collide edition

    It’s a two for one deal here at Halle’s Hobbies… I’m linking up with both Art Journal Journey and T stands for Tuesday today.

    Why you say? I decided to embrace my word of the year and enjoy the meeting of two worlds instead of stressing over it.  Technically they’ve met. 🙂 This is one of the things about the blogging community that I really enjoy. So much crossover and one blog leads to another and soon you’ve went down the rabbit hole but learned so much along the way.

    The Winter wonderland theme this month on AJJ gave me the opportunity to play with a new supply.

    Winter Wonderland supply | Halle's Hobbies

    It came in a box of paint from a garage sale. I wasn’t sure that I’d ever use it. Since I was using my sturdy board book heART journal, I knew it would hold up to the weight and wetness factor of the paste.

    Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

    I am certainly glad I kept it. Look at the texture it provides. And the sparkle! The photo capture of the sparkle is nothing compared to the real deal. It really does look like snow glistening in the sunlight on a crisp Winter day.

    Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

    Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

    I used this stencil with a palette knife to create the snowman.

    Winter Wonderland supply | Halle's Hobbies

    Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

    I wish you could feel this page. So much texture on the background and the snow is soft. A really unexpected result for me even with the jars claim.

    Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

     I hope my T stands for Tuesday friends have enjoyed my latest journal page.

    In keeping with the rules spirit of T day, I’m sharing my beverage as well as the healthy breakfast I enjoyed yesterday.

    T Tuesday enjoying healthy breakfast | Halle's Hobbies

    What else does the day have in store?

    T Tuesday | Halle's Hobbies

    For starters, the transfer of important dates from one calendar to the next. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to keep a paper calendar since most everything is kept electronically now. But a hard copy is always good. When I rely on technology, that’s when it fails me.

    I’m also going to tackle taking down Christmas decor, get in a little exercise and sort paperwork for taxes. I actually started our taxes yesterday. I hate waiting on this. I really like to know where we stand.

    What are you doing today?