Tag: 30 days of creativity

30 Days of Creativity, Day 21

Okay, seriously, I have blogged about my push puppet lion that was lost or stolen from me when I was ten at least five times, beginning in 2005 and as recently as when I saw Toy Story 3. It’s silly to mourn a lost toy so much, I know, but there you have it. People get attached to things, and I loved Linus. I have long searched for one like him on eBay and other Internet stores, but they were all painted or just weren’t right. Then the other day in Michael’s, I found this for 99 cents:


Unpainted, a little less noble than my childhood lion, and with nothing near the mane my lion had, plus no tail tuft. Still, he had potential. And he was 99 cents!


This morning, I removed the inadequate mane and stained him with some extra stain I found in the garage.

Then I found some trim that Lynne once used on pillows my late friend Jeff commissioned her to sew. I took the trim apart, broke out the hot glue gun, tweezers, and toothpicks, and…


A new version of Linus! Linus II can never replace what I lost, but he doesn’t have to. He just has to be his own adorable self.

Who Linus was named after, even though I wasn’t born then and stuff:

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 19

A little late with Sunday’s submission, but since I shared a couple of drawings last year for 30 Days here and here, thought I’d attempt one of Penny, Tim’s Foster Dog, also known as Miss Funnypenny, Princess Penelope, Bess, Ethel, and Rhoda. This is from the “Fat Lil’ Sketch Book,” which is roughly 5.5×4 inches.

Penny’s sketch gets a little more detail because this is a first version. The more comfortable I get with the shapes that are uniquely hers, the better able I become to put only a few details and leave out all the rest.

This is a ball no other dog has any interest in, but Penny likes it and often “hides” it to play with later.

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 17

Last fall when I did my Canvas to Couture collection, I’d planned on completing twelve looks. Then Project Runway did a challenge toward the end of the season in which the designers were asked to create their own fabrics and design a look for Heidi Klum. I’m starting to think she conceived this entire series as a means to fill her own closet.

That meant I ended up with thirteen looks, and you know that number makes me twitch. I could have dropped one of the looks before I hang the collection in August, making it a pleasant dozen, but since I needed another creative project anyway…


First I did this. Then I began working on this.

It isn’t finished–you may see pins and a needle and thread sticking out of the bottom. It also needs to be accessorized; that yellow ribbon holding it together while I sew it is not part of the final look. Still, it will take the Canvas to Couture series to a satisfying fourteen.

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 15

It’s kind of funny that today’s theme on the 30 Days of Creativity site is “Sea Creatures.” I didn’t know that when I began this painting, or even that this painting would be what I’d use for today’s entry. But when I was working on it, I kept thinking that it looked like jellyfish or other aquatic life–I was trying to give it an effervescent effect.


“Hanley Has More Bounce to the Ounce”
mixed media on 8×10-inch stretched canvas
The Bottle Cap Series

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 14

Down the hill, the cattle are lowing and the Coke machine beckons.


Today’s 30 Days of Creativity theme is “Picnic,” so I made a couple of play-outside outfits for two Basics dolls. I also made a picnic basket and plates. The rest of the stuff–who cares. What matters is that I’ve helped you see your daily cow. You’re welcome.

(Click here to view larger version on black background.)

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 13

Today is Einstein Day on the 30 Days of Creativity site. I wasn’t going to use that theme–what do I know from physics?–but then I was thinking of Lynne’s gift for growing things, particularly her cherry tomatoes that are producing and ripening faster than I can pluck them from the vine. So… Art is relative.


Related: Does anyone need some cherry tomatoes?!?

30 Days of Creativity 2011, Day 12

The 30 Days of Creativity calendar suggested Abraham Lincoln as the theme for today. I asked Paco if he wanted to pose for me, and he said sure, he’s a big fan. Turns out he’s a big fan of Linkin Park. Stovepipe hats and beards? Not so much.

I made the hat for him. The whiskers are digital–if you couldn’t tell. 😉