Pressed flowers

 I grew up in a house with dried flowers and I taught myself different methods to press flowers when I was an adult.  I don't pick flowers but it is easy enough to find great looking flower heads on the ground in San Diego. Once this was pressed I sealed it to the page with a bit of liquid gloss medium.
 The trick is to press the flowers right away so they retain their color.  If you are in a hurry you can use the oven on the lowest setting.  I plan on pressing some of the lovely clover that is popping up all over the city.  With all the rain they are triple the size this year.  No luck finding a giant 4 leaf clover. 

Journal bits

          I had a scrap piece of fabric that I ran though the printer for another project and didn't want to throw the piece out so I dyed it with watercolors.  I only used one color but varied the way I applied it and created a nice ombre effect.  I have used a few hearts but I am still waiting for the right page to use them on.  I tend to stick all these little bits down in my purse and they get mixed up with my rings. 

To the country

 It always rains this week in February so you would think that I would be use it by now but no I forget about it every year.  We were lucky today because the rains started at 6:30 am and petered out by 10:00am.  We drove about 25 miles north of San Diego to check out the house a friend is buying.  Hopefully all goes well with the final inspection and she'll be able to move in soon.  It's a great house and she's lucky have a view of a pasture that will hopefully stay clear for a few years. 

Down the street a bit we stopped at a Farmers market and picked up a few goodies and saw the vast fields of the San Diego Ostrich farm.

 

In case you are wondering they feel like regular eggs.

Blueberries and the closest I will get to organic gardening.

Step 1 Buy blueberries and stare at them. Then draw simple circles.  I used the middle out of a CD but you could draw them freehand or with a compass.

Step 2. Choose at least 3 colors to work with because if gives your pictures more dept.  Build color light to dark.  Once the first color is laid down erase the hard outside lines to get the 3-D effect.  Build color.  For me it's easier to fill when I work in a circular motion.

Step 4 Fill in the negative space to help your drawing pop. Add color lightly until you get the desired effect.

I love all the new posters popping up that emphasise fresh food so I did my own take on this theme.   I wanted to pick something a little different for the title and went with It's Alive a nod to Frankenstein. 

A few years ago I went in to weed a garden and learned that I am allergic to it. I could do it if I kept my sleeves down and gloves on but I am addicted to rolling up my sleeves. I'm not sure what I'm allergic to but I have to stick to container gardening if I ever what to make it as a farmer.