Funfetti Cake at the Beach

On Friday my daughter asked me to help her make a birthday cake for two of her friends. She really wanted moral support and a little advice. I was thrilled to give her the help she needed.

Since the party was going to have a luau theme, she wanted the cake to be decorated to look like a beach. We bought "funfetti" cake mix and baked two layers of sweetness. She then decided she wanted figures of the girls in bikinis with their faces glued on.

I think they came out rather cute. The decorated cake looked great with the figures added to the beach.



Who knows where this will lead. She always has such fun ideas!

Wishes

What do you wish to nurture?

It's Wishcasting Wednesday and I have been nurturing my hopes and dreams.

My wish is to nurture my art into something new and fruitful. As I cultivate this process of drawing and painting, I keep exploring new avenues to try. There are so many things to learn in creating a personal style. Even though I have reentered this effort after years of hard work in education, my dream is to become accomplished and successful. The challenge is to stay original, not reproducing ideas. There is so much already produced and I am compelled to remain true to my own style.

Line Drawings

It's so fascinating where art can take you when you try a new approach. I was reading about Zentangles on Maria Thomas' web page . She is an artist with amazing talent who created this concept. I thought I would try some zentangles on my own. Here are my results...

Pretty interesting, I think.

They may not seem so to the observer, but to me they are amazing.

When I tried at first, I started with the heart and added the star as I reached that point in the design. My second attempt is what I call a fish - rather imaginative isn't it? The flowing lines of each of these made me think of a dress.

Because I'm experimenting, I may add some more details.

I'm not really sure where this will take me, but it's fun to find out.

Dolci

Here is the final product of my painting efforts.

I love the colors

and I'm really not going to add anything else.

I may or may not use it for my header.

I think I'll play some more before I decide.

I'm really glad that I finished it

My Header

Well, I did a painting for my header, but...I don't think it's finished enough. Here's a preview:

The border needs some work, and I think the details can be better. I spent as much time on it last night as I could. I went to Yoga and had to go to Staples for my Hubby. Those breaks actually gave me some time to get a fresh look at everything.

It's ok, but not quite what I envisioned. If anyone reads this, please let me know what you think. I can redo it, or use parts of it in a new composition or even a collage.

Right now, I'm going to the store for some groceries. Later, I'll approach it again with fresh eyes.

For now, I have placed one of my favorite photos from last summer in the header.

I'll be back.

Wishes

Jamie at Starshyne Productions has prompted us to think of how we wish to play.

Here it is:

I wish that my day could be filled with the scent of spring as I

finish my new design.

I started a new header for my blog, Dolci.

It's time to finish.

I want it to be sweet, juicy, and delicious,

Almost good enough to eat :)!

So I'll paint and play,

doodle and draw.

I wish to finish it by tonight.

Adapt

Originally, I had created this picture for Illustration Friday last week. Even though I'm a little behind or late, I decided to post it. It was interesting to think of a way to show how someone might anticipate the need to adapt if their bubble burst.
Life could become interesting for a while. The two characters from two different worlds might become friends and form an alliance. On the other hand, they might resent one another until they found common ground.

There might be a story worth exploring here.

Cynthia's Cottage Design

I just visited this lovely web blog. Cynthia is a Home Decorator and she is celebrating her first year of blogging with a give-away drawing. I've added a link to her blog so you can travel there with ease.
I think you'll enjoy the visit.

Away Again

I'll be away for the next week. My daughter and I are taking my Mom to Florida to visit family there. Access to the computer will be limited for us, since I don't have a laptop. My daughter has one and I've asked her to bring it so that we can register for our flight home. She uses it for work and she really doen't want to think about work while we're away.
I'm not sure when I'll even check email. So, things will be simple for a week.
Take care, friends.

Fairie Queen

Today I have spent most of my spare time creating this image. (After cleaning 2 bathrooms and vaccuuming the floors in my house. It still needs work, but I just wanted to post this version. I have been studying the artwork of Trina Schart Hyman. She did some amazing art for children's picture books during her career. I love the amount of detail that she brings to each of her subjects.
This may need more color, I haven't decided yet. Her proportions may be off a bit too.

When we come back from our trip to New Mexico, I may try something different either using her or another image.

My latest efforts

Here is my latest sketch of Marmalade. I finished this picture in my last art class on Tuesday. I cannot get over how different she is from my first efforts earlier this year. I'll just keep working at improving my art. It's such a great journey, full of surprises. I have another illustration (below) ready with more color.

Now I have to work on consistency so that she looks the same from one image to another.