Getting fun ideas . . .

I just wanted to pop in and show you these wood block stamps I just got!

I had the fun idea to sew some stuff (like bags!) and add these stamps (in silver metallic!) as a bonus awesome decorative element! I researched a bit more and found that the fabric paints I already have would work well for stamping, too.

So! That is in my future. And maybe yours, if/when anything makes it to the shop!

2025-Oct: Festive Flowers shirt (woven)!

I recently made a shirt for myself, a long time in the making! Behold:

I wore it to a Diwali festival and it certainly was festive! I hid some red Kaffe Fassett fabric inside the collar, for extra joy. ;)

It's the Presto tunic pattern from Love Notions. One caveat: the instructions for doing the collar are NOT GREAT. I made a practice and the collar looked like trash. Also I thought that interfacing it was a bad idea, since it messed it up even more. So for the real shirt, I found an alternate way from Lifting Pins and Needles (the third in this video), did NOT interface it, and it came out great!

I just like the afternoon light on the gold metallic print. ^_^

When you're feeling down . . . Bake it!!

I was feeling pretty down the other day, and I remembered "fake it 'til you make it". So I got up and started making a pumpkin pie I had been wanting to make.

While it was baking, I talked with my bestie and realized that baking makes everything better (it's creative, then you get to eat yummy treats)! So really, it should be "BAKE it 'til you make it!"

Later, I was inspired to draw and paint this piece, to hopefully inspire you, too! I hope to get it into the Dorybird shop soon, but my scanner is acting up. I may have to adjust the way I get art into the computer, because I really want to share this one!

Why an owl, you ask? That same day, when we headed out for a dog walk, a barred owl swooped into a tree right there in our yard, and hung out for a while!! (see photo!) I love owls (as you already know), so I saw it as a very good sign of brighter times ahead. So my little baker (in a fashionable sweater) is a barred owl. :)

The places that inspired my paintings!

At long last, I have three new art prints up in my shop (yay!), and I wanted to share a few photos of the REAL places that inspired my art!

First we have a couple cafes around RI, which came together to become the waterfront cafe the otters are enjoying. :)

I just loved these airy porches, and I put my cafe right on the water -- where otters would like to be, of course!

Next is the real camp office in NH that Camping Bear is getting books from! Inside, it looks pretty much identical to my painting. And yes, there were moths all over the screens! That's my kids examining them. It was just so old and nostalgic in there, like a musty library book. ^_^

Lastly, we have a photo from Tangled Garden, a lush, magical garden in Nova Scotia that A. and I stumbled into one afternoon. It seemed like just the place for a critter to go on a quest.

I hope you liked this peek into my inspirations! I take lots of photos, often seeing future art in what's in front of me. Sometimes it can take years for the places and scenes to make their way into paintings. I do remember my "future art" even when it's just stored away in my brain, and when the time is finally right (whenever that is!!), I comb through old photos and sketch things out. It feels REALLY GOOD to make "future art" into real art! Very satisfying, like I've fulfilled old promises to myself. :)

Two appliqued flower tops

Yes yes, these photos are sideways. I'm in a hurry. ;)

Just two tops I appliqued for myself!

 

Some recent artworks!

Hello hello! As I bring everything together here at the Dorybird blog (because I have too many various blogs), I thought I would share a sneak peek at THREE art pieces that are coming to the shop SOON!

These photos show them still in a sketchy state, but I've since finished them, colored them, and I'm getting them ready to list! How exciting!

First we have this waterfront cafe image, where a cat is serving up some goodies to an otter family. I've since finished this piece and it's watercolored! Woot!

Next is this fox traveller in a mysterious garden. It's done now, and I used watercolor pencils on this one!

And finally, here is a bear checking out the camping office at a campsite, doing some light summer reading. Again, I've inked and fully watercolored this quiet, woodsy scene.

I hope you liked these process pictures! Can't wait to show you the finals in the shop! Stay tuned!

2025-April: Pants with Pokemon Pockets

Here are some Pokemon pocket pants I made for C!