Art in August #10 – Loomband Luggage

Loomband Luggage

It’s the weekend, and the kids were up at 5.30am. It was my turn for a lie in, so I hid in my room and made loom-band luggage while hubbie entertained the children for a couple of hours.

I am definitely obsessed. I’ve started seeing loom patterns in my mind while stacking the dishwasher or tidying the playroom, and I sat making mini roses while the kids had their bath. I then spent the entire evening making the beginnings of a loomband purse. Obsessed isn’t the word.

Still, it’s a relatively cheap and harmless obsession.

Apologies to anyone following these posts who is sick of loombands by now! I’ll try and do something more traditionally artistic soon…

Art in August #8 – Cheeky Turtle

My cutie turtle

I really wanted to do some ‘proper’ art today, watercolours or sketching or even colouring in, but I used all my energy taking the children swimming and then tidying up their mayhem from this morning. Hubbie said I should take a picture of the playroom and call it my installation art!

Instead I’ve fallen back on the old faithful and used the latest loomband pet. This was a tricky build because it needed a double loom but the spare I have is a cheap imitation one, so I had to hold it all together with one hand and loom with the other. Now daughter wants one too so I get to do it all again tomorrow, but with her ‘help’. Eek.

He’s my second favourite pet to date, after the dragon. We’re building up quite a zoo. My daughter wrote a book about them today (until we fell out when I gently pointed out that her bs and ds were back-to-front. Think I’ll have to leave teaching to the professionals!)

Is it September yet? I forgot to buy wine.

Loom Band Story

Outside the Pool

Art in August #7 – Loomband Unicorns

Rockin’ Unicorns

Oh look, more loomband creations! This one was my daughter’s choice, as it was just the two of us today (and after we made a cardboard robot and a clay unicorn).

The brightly coloured one is hers (at least, she selected the bands! At 5 years old, her attention span and dexterity aren’t quite up to this yet.)

Unfortunately the sparkly bands are very soft so I hoped the unicorn pegasus would stand up better if made with solid bands. As you can see it didn’t make much difference: they’re still either newborn or drunk.

Never mind, I think they look quite rock and roll! If only my clay unicorn had looked as cool. It was so awful I squished it and my daughter made a snowman instead.

A day with my gorgeous girl

On a non-artistic note, I’ve made it to the end of the second week of the school holidays; only four more to go (thank goodness we only have six).

While I’m certainly not missing the school run, we are all starting to unravel and to get on each other’s nerves. My son’s report from nursery today was that he’d been ‘challenging’, I spent two hours trying to sleep through Doc McStuffin episodes, and then had to carry my 5-year-old round the field on my shoulders, while walking the dog, because she got a blister.

When we got home from nursery pick-up, little man managed three tantrums in about ten minutes and little lady had two. The house looks like the aftermath of a three-day sugar-fuelled festival for preschoolers and the dog’s taken to following me around like a shadow. I haven’t figured out if she wants a walk or some respite from the constant arguing.

Life-sized robot

This evening, despite the less than desirable behaviour, I ordered the kids a GlowPet pillow pet each, as bribery/compensation because I’ve cancelled our planned trip to Sea Life tomorrow (I can’t face it!)

But as the pillows won’t arrive for a week I still have to come up with a plan for entertainment or they are going to murder each other.

Please tell me how any of us are going to survive another month? Thank heavens for Art in August, Facebook and Escape to the Country… Oh and chocolate.

Art in August #6 – More iPad Doodles

Olaf

Today’s art is more KidsDoodle pictures, but this time observational sketches rather than doodles.

I quite like the random effect of the colours, having a different colour for each new stroke, because I’m normally so controlling. It’s more like doing abstract paintings than pencil sketches. Great fun. I’ve even paid the 69p to remove the advert bar! 🙂

I think Olaf is my favourite, although I like the sketch of my daughter watching TV too, and the colourful dog sketches, because our dog is actually black. The best thing about the app is you can replay your drawing as a video. As a wannabe artist, being able to watch how the drawing took shape, one line at a time, is fascinating. I also watched the videos of some of my daughter’s sketches, which was pretty cool.

Expect to see more iPad Art this month, especially as I still feel wrung out. Besides, anything I can do on the iPad instead of surfing Facebook and checking for Amazon sales and reviews is a good thing.

This post is part of Art in August as mentioned on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

Little girl

Little boy

Sleeping Dog

Rainbow Kara

Watching TV

Art in August #5 – IPad Art

Doodle Dragon

I’m still sick. I don’t even know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m just plain exhausted, although if that’s true only a quarter of the way through the summer holidays we’re all in trouble.

I stayed in bed for a couple of hours but after the fifth, “both of you get in here right now!” in response to the escalating squabbles that seems to have marked week two of the holidays, I hauled myself into the shower and took us off to the supermarket to buy popcorn and DVDs.

The trip out finished me off, so I lay on the sofa while the kids watched Angry Birds Toons and Elmo goes to Grouchland (their choices, sigh.)

I didn’t even have the energy for reading or loombands, but every time I lay down both kids piled on me for a cuddle (which, if you don’t have 3 and 5 year-old children, is a bit like the judo I watched in the Commonwealth Games).

Doodle Firebird

So I decided to do my August Art on the iPad, using the children’s KidsDoodle app. Oh my, it’s amazing. My fingers are big and clumsy – I really needed a stylus which I don’t have – but I had so much fun. There are a whole range of brush types, but you can’t control the colour – a different colour comes every time you touch the screen. Very difficult to draw eyes!

I couldn’t choose which of my random creations I liked best so – as the children do – I saved them all.

Here’s to feeling better tomorrow!

This post is part of the Art in August challenge on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

Art in August #4 – More Loomband Pets

Loomband Alligator

I had intended to have something other than clay and loomband creations to show off today, but as I’ve been in bed poorly all weekend this is all I have.

I probably shouldn’t have done these, even, as the eye strain is possibly contributing to my general feeling of dizzy malaise, but I need something to stay sane. There is only so much Commonwealth Boxing and episodes of Flog it! you can watch!

So, I introduce loomband Alligator and loomband Giraffe. Both come courtesy of DIYMommy instruction videos on YouTube.

Loomband Giraffe

My daughter requested the giraffe and helped me with some of the prep but really the 3D pets are a little hard for her concentration levels (or should I say for my patience levels – trying to teach a five-year-old to listen and follow a 45 minute tutorial is beyond my skill!)

The Alligator is the hardest thing I’ve made so far, involving much cursing, especially as it turns out the green bands I have are weak and prone to snapping (no pun intended).

Still, I am growing rather fond of my loomband pets (I have a purple bunny which is probably my favourite to date.) Hubbie thinks I might need counselling for my addiction…

This post is part of the Art in August challenge on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

Art in August #3 – Clay Dragon

My dragon

When my daughter asked to do modelling with clay, I knew what I wanted to make. A while ago, fellow author Rinelle Grey took a break from writing to make clay dragons. They are adorable. Her designs were based on the work of Becca Golins, aka Dragons and Beasties, who makes the most incredible dragons. I want them all…

Anyway, I’ve wanted to make one ever since seeing Rinelle’s post, especially as my first complete novel is all about dragons.

Unfortunately it turns out I don’t quite have the knack (oops, scrap that, one of the rules of Art in August is to not apologise for your art!) I think my first attempt is cute, in a timid sort of way. I wonder if it could be Ilaria.

Daughter’s dragon

I must investigate what clay to use, as I don’t think painted white clay has the same impact (plus it’s really hard to paint!)

All good fun and, as with the clay dog yesterday, my daughter’s dragon was cool too. It reminds me of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.

This post is part of the Art in August challenge on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

Art in August #2 – Painted Clay Dog

Painted clay dog

My daughter saw a flyer for a workshop to make clay dogs this holiday and I failed miserably to get her booked on it. As recompense I took her to the craft shop and let her spend the £10 it would have cost on craft materials, including a pack of air drying clay.

It’s been a long time since I modelled with anything other than playdoh and it took a while to remember how. But I very much enjoyed making my pieces and leaving my daughter to do her own without interference.

Today, despite being exhausted after a four-hour trip to the local woods to do a Gruffalo trail, and being full of cold, we managed to find the energy to paint our creations. I’m cheating slightly and saving one for tomorrow, as we have a busy weekend, but this is my dog. My daughter’s is below.

My daughter’s dog

This post is part of the Art in August challenge, as described on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

Art in August #1 – Loom-band Dragon

Loom-band Dragon

My first artistic endeavour in August had to be a loom-band creation. I have taken to the new craze like a hormonal woman to wine and chocolate. I particularly love the 3D creations and today I have made a bunny, two monkeys and a dragon.

Of course, for obvious reasons, the dragon is my favourite. I made it using this YouTube tutorial. I might have to figure out how to give it proper wings, and then I can do one in each set of colours for the cast of Dragon Wraiths.

This post is part of the Art in August challenge, as described on the Laptop on the Ironing Board blog.

P.S. There is a Giveaway going live on Goodreads this morning, to win a paperback copy of Class Act. If you haven’t read it (or you have but fancy a paperback version) do register your interest. Available in US, UK, Australia and Canada (but will ship to any country where it is available on Amazon!)

Getting Ready for Art in August

Loomband Crazy

This year I have decided to take part in Art in August, as described on the blog Laptop on the Ironing Board. I contemplated it last year, but didn’t think I would be able to fit in in around writing Two-Hundred Steps Home. Having decided to take the summer holidays off from writing this year, I need something to stop myself going bonkers.

It’s been noticeable to me that a day doesn’t go by without me writing song lyrics or making paper fans and loomband bunnies. All this creativity bursting to escape. So I’m going to use the August challenge as an excuse to get back to all the fun stuff I used to do before children and writing took over. Watercolours, photography, pencil sketches. There might be some new things too (loombands are a must, as they’re my new obsession. Hilarious as I refused for ages to even have them in the house!)

So if you need something for you this summer holiday, why not join me? The rules are simple:

Get creative (and don’t apologise about it)
Take a photo of your creation (unless you’ve created a photograph, in which case you can skip this step)
Post the photo on your blog
Link back to the Laptop on the Ironing Board post and mention somewhere that you’re joining in Art in August

Here’s to some creative fun!