Nini's ATC swap- April

The theme for the April swap was SHADOWS. I found it hard to decide what to draw or paint. I even had more than one option. The thing is that the ideas in my head seemed easy while on paper they turned out to be a challenge.

I ended up sending this one to my swap partner:

Colour me Positive March

March was a very busy month. We had a marvellous holiday planned and I had to prepare quite a few things before heading for... Texas!!! Still, I devote a few spare moments to keeping up with my challenges. ;)

WEEK 10

WEEK 11

WEEK 12

WEEK 13

 

Nini's ATC swap- March

I really liked the challenge a lot - POLKA DOTS. What came to my mind after reading the theme for this swap, was... Spanish flamenco dresses! So, I decided to paint one, but I found out that using my beloved watercolours would be challenging on such a small piece of paper, so I went for colour pencils. It waschoice :)

Colour me Positive - February

I did my best to keep up with the challenge and really enjoyed working on the pieces to match the hints proposed. Here is what I created:

WEEK 6

WEEK 7

WEEK

Nini's ATC swap February

After a long break from blogging, here I am catching up. It's been a busy beginning of the year, much busier than I had expected and much more chaotic. Still, I did my best to keep up with the challenges and swaps I'm in even though at times with a bit of delay. Now, I'm back on track :)

So, the February ATC swap theme was: COLOUR PENCILS

 

 

 

 

Nini's ATC swap- January

The topic for the January ATC was OLD MOVIE VIBES. It took me a bit to decide what to make and then, just one day, the idea came to my mind. Tahh dahh!

The funny thing is that when I was making it I thought about those old films about the I WW and when the other participants of the swap saw it posted on Facebook, they associated it with Casablanca! I love the way people perceive things in such diverse ways.

Book pad thingie

When I was in Slovenia a friend of mine and I spotted a pad that makes reading much more comfortable. We were in a bookshop and they had these nice looking pads, but they were pricey for what they were so my friend suggested making one. Unfortunately, our 'to-do-list' was so long that we didn't make it. So, the other day I finally decided to make one. It's not as sturdy as it was supposed to be, but it does the job :)

#wedrawtheyear challenge - January

#wedrawtheyear challenge

I have taken on yet another challenge. Yay! I feel the need to play with my watercolours a little more so when I saw this Instagram challenge I decided to hop on this one too. The host published the challanges at the beginning of the month so we can do them at any time, still I like the weekly challenge idea so I work on one every week.

Here's January

Week 1: snowflakes 

Week 2: sledding

Week 3: hot chocolate

Week 4: Mittens

Colour me Positive Project- January

Colour Me Positive Challenge

Back in December I decided to engage in a few projects related to watercolours. One of them is called COLOUR ME POSITIVE. The host provides us with a weekly quote and a few hints on the arrangement or the media to use. I decided this Project to be watercolours and pencil only although I might as well pluck up the courage and introduce some other ideas on the way:

So, here's week 1: GRATITUDE

Pencil




Week 2:  BE BRAVE

watercolours (silhouette was an extra challenge)



Week 3: LIVE LIFE

watercolours and my beloved city Vienna (extra challenge: song lyrics)



Week 4: Believe in yourself and magic will happen

Watercolours (extra challenge: self-portrait)

My January watercolours time

This January has been devoted to creating and being busy painting using my beloved watercolours. Apart from the 2 challenges I am in I still had the time to make a few more pieces.

Here's a poisettia:

 

I once saw a gorgeous video on how to paint this lovely plant but I never saved the link so had to use my memory to try and reproduce the technique. I did my best :)

I also painted the view from the local seaside path. I love this spot :) 

Here I used the Moleskine watercolour paper. I'm not happy with how it behaves with the watercolours. I was once told this brand is a good one for all types of papers for artists, but the watercolour booklet I got doesn't seem to work well for me. It absorbs water quickly and doesn't allow me to play with the paint and do the 'job' that watercolours do. Such a shame...

 

the last watercolours of the year and plans for 2016 :)

Christmas brought peace and relax and I seized this opportunity to spend some time cherishing my watercolours.

I painted the house where I was brought up. We lived in a flat on the first floor of this huge house- (Only the first two windows). On the side there lived a marvellous family with whom we were very close. We rented this flat from a family who lived about a 100km away and would only come in summer and on bank holidays so it felt as if the whole house belonged to us! I had a marvellous time there...

This is a house that I passed by when walking to the town centre with my mum. It was an old abandoned house that always tickled my curiosity. I wanted to know who had lived there, what had happened to them, why nobody cared about the house any more... Never found out

 

 

And now, to my plans for 2016 :) I have decided to paint and draw even more! Yes! I know it may sound crazy because my timetable is already very tight, but since I made some personal decisions regarding this coming year, I believe that being more focused on creating will give me a chance to spend more time with myself. And this is what I precisely need this coming year, no matter how selfish it may sound...

So, I joined this marvellous project called: COLOUR ME POSITIVE hosted by Lulu Art. Every Friday a challenge and positive quotes will be posted and we are to fill our journals with 'Works of Art'. Sounds fun, doesn't it? :)
The other challenge is on Instagram and is called WE DRAW THE YEAR. There will be four simple illustration prompts every month and each of us will give it the interpretation they feel in their hearts and souls. So excited!

So, stay tuned! a happy New Year to you all!

my first Amigurumi and probably the weirdest ever ;)

Star Wars is a big thing now, but not for me. I honestly don't care about films of this type. No offence to all Star Wars fans ;) So, I don't care, but have neighbours/ friends who do so I decided to make a Little 'something' for them this Christmas. The idea of what to make was suggested to me by a friend who every now and then sends me links related to crochet. Back in spring she sent me a photo of some Star Wars characters. My first reaction was: nice, but I'll never make it as I'm no fan, but then, when I realised how crazy my friends are about the whole Saga, I decided to give it a go. I found a pattern on Ravelry and made my first ever Amigurumi, also, the strangest one ever, most probably ;)

I started off with the head, ears and body:

 

then, made the arms and feet:

 

and finally, put it all together, made the jacket and ...Taahh dahhhh!!!

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, he got wrapped nicely and was joyfully gifted to make someone happy :)

 

In return, Doggie and I received the cuttest 'portrait' ever :)

 

 

 

Crochet shawl - work in progress

At the beginning of December I came across this gorgeous yellow mohair yarn and couldn't resist the temptation, but buy it :) I wasn't quite sure what I would make out of it, but I had to have it!! One never has too much yarn ;) Then, I came across a lovely pattern on Ravelry and decided to make a shawl for myself. I'm not even half way through as there were other projects I had to see to, but I will definitely finish in January :)

 

 

The Doggie is always there to help, of course :) Even though all he does is snoring ;)

 

 

 

 I worked on the train while heading for Barcelona to visit a marvellous exhibition entitled Pharaohs and Animals. The Animal Kingdom in Ancient Egypt.

 

 
 

 

And I worked from home :) I love the pattern! can't wait to see it finished!

 

Nini's ATC swap - December

It feels a bit like the ATC swap is quite a challenge now ;) the topic for this month is: SELF-PORTRAIT. For someone who's not very good at drawing faces, this is quite a strain. I did my best and hope my swap partner will be satisfied ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nini`s ATC swap November

The November ATC swap was a challenge! the topic was...ALIEN LANDSCAPE. I'm such a realist and such a 'down-to-earth' person that this topic seemed a complete misión imposible. Still, there was no way back as my partner was waiting for my ATC. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I ended up with something aceptable. Here's the outcome:

12 pages in 2015 - December

And so here I am with the last page in the 12 pages in 2015 :) The topic for the last month of the year was THROUGH THE WINDOW & FAVOURITE MUSIC. Since I'm not good at collage and the favourite music by no means seemed to make sense to me this time, I opted for the view I had a chance to cherish for over 20 years. This is the view from our kitchen window. I miss this place so much...

I used watercolours again. I'm really keen on improving, but also find them the most enjoyable to use.

12 pages in 2015 - November

I was a bit behind with my 12 pages Project as I made the November page in December ;) but still I'm very poud of myself that I managed to squeeze it in my busy timetable and spend some precious time with my beloved watercolours. The topic for November was GARDEN & TRAVELLING.I didn't hesitate at this one. The only city in which gardens are the most amazing and beautiful is in VIENNA, my beloved city. I was lucky enough to live there for 9 months during when at the university and fell in love with this place instantly. It was love at first sight and I will never forget the marvellous people I met there, the friends I made there (some of them follow my blog ;) so, a big 'thank you' for being here for me :) you know who I mean ;) ) and the gorgeous places I had the chance to cherish while exploring the city on daily basis.

 So, ...gardens in Vienna.

 

I used my beloved watercolours. I like the way it turned out, but I struggled with the grass so this is something I need to work on ;)

 

12 pages in 2015- October

The October theme was *THE BEST TRIP & PEACE*. I had absolutely no doubt about it this time. This September I travelled to Slovenia to visit a special friend of mine. This holiday was exceptional, peaceful, inspring, joyful ... just the best...

12 pages in 2015- September

I finally came round to making the September page whose theme was *BEST GIFT*. It took me a while to think of something that I would like to draw. At first I thought about a toy I got as a child- a gorgeous colourful Clown that would play music. Thing is I have to look at an object to draw it and I don't have this toy any more so I opted for something that is a *perfect gift* at any time...

C*H*O*C*O*L*A*T*E

 

 

getting ready for Christmas :)

This year I decided to start making Christmas cards and little crochet gifts well in advance :)

I opted for cards made using watercolours. 

I also made some cards using the scrapbooking technique. I am no good at making them on my own so I went to a workshop and here's the outcome.

The little crochet gifts are SNOWFLAKES

I had the best helpe ever- my sweet Doggie :)

 I also made an attempt at making a Granny Squares Christmas tree, but after my better half said it looked like a *bell* I gave up... ;)