Painted Pumpkin Decorations

I've been seeing decorated pumpkin DIYs everywhere. A friend happened to pick up some little pumpkins for me and so opportunity struck! I went for a black and white theme. The idea is that when put together you can create a little pumpkin black tie suit. One pumpkin resembles pinstripe pants. Another pumpkin resembles a button down shirt. And the smallest pumpkin has a nice little 'stache to tie it all together. 

I thought it turned out quite nicely. Very seasonal and festive.

Embroidered Pencil Case

I have a habit of personalizing my stuff, as is obvious from some of the other projects on this blog. So when I got accepted into the Advanced Placement art course at my school I got a bit excited and decided to decorate my pencil case with all my charcoal and erasers and writing instruments. The materials: embroidery floss, needle, and a basic fabric pencil case. The process: honestly I didn't have very much of a process, I just guessed and tried to stitch in a design. 

I'm really looking forward to this school year.

Italy Memorabilia Display

This was a photo display of memorabilia collected in Italy this summer. I had an amazing time there. I went to a bookstore I had always wanted to visit. I enjoyed amazing food (I have never tasted ravioli so delicious). And walking the streets of Florence was unbelievable. Of course I needed to bring back souvenirs. Captured here are a pair of shoes, paper I bought in one of the hand bound book stores, gallery pamphlets and tickets, restaurant business cards, little watercolor paintings I got from a cute little artist's private studio, and maps of Rome and Florence.

It was a wonderful first trip to Europe. And despite some near death experiences with tiny Italian cars, I would love to go back. 

Pixel Heart Necklace

I found the Pixel Heart Necklace design here. The materials I used were 12 pixel heart cuts on cardstock, scissors, and glue. I don't own a die cut machine so I cut out the hearts individually with an x-acto knife. Then I glued the 12 layers together. I used black embroidery thread for a necklace chain.

It was a fun, quick project and pretty cute to look at

Sneaker Paint Job

Every year I like to give my sneakers a new paint job. It personalizes them for me and since I wear sneakers so much it makes every outfit feel like I can subtly show off my artistic interests. Some of the references I painted include: Adventure Time (tv show), Daria (tv show), Minecraft (video game), Fitz and the Tantrums (music group), The Fault in Our Stars (book), Totoro (movie), and did you catch the Craft Insomniac logo?

and if you click your heels together three times you wind up in the Aperture Science labs ;)

Collages Part 1

I enjoy collaging very much. I decided to put some of my favorites that I've made here. These are from journal covers and my school planner cover. 

Complex Origami Stars

Jo Nakashima's complex origami stars tutorial is fantastic and I tried my hand at some and they are super fun to make. The only materials required are 6 1-inch strips of colored paper and glue.

What's wonderful about these is the cute, chunky size.