Crafts- Paint Sample Banner

Its Springtime! And springtime for most crafters means redecorating. I've noticed my room seemed a bit dull, so I found a cheap easy way to brighten it up, from Pinterest of course! I went to Lowe's and found some paint samples in the shape of flags, even with a hole in one of the top corners, and brought them home. One hole punch and an bit of threading through and done! One cute banner to hang anywhere!

As you may be able to tell from this close-up, there is a little bit of text on the flags, but they are small hand hard to notice. Still, it helps complement the colors of your room and really pops against a dull white wall.

Photography- Silhouettes

Silhouettes are always fun to do when in a group. Everyone can take turns being king-of-the-rock while everyone else cheers them on. If they are standing, try to have the camera level with the subject so that their silhouette doesn't seem warped in the light. If they are sitting, try fixing the lens so that you are looking up at them, don't worry if you have to squat to do so! As for the editing, try adding some more color to the image.

Photography- Kids Part 1

Photographing people is all about the timing, especially when kids are involved. Because of the many aspects that can effect the photo, I find it a good idea to take multiple pictures in a row, and hopefully, you can get at least one good photo of your fidgety subject.

Crafts- Spay Paint Pickle Jars

This week I experimented with spray paint by decorating a pickle jar, which turned out to be easier than you would think. I simply cut a trash bag in half,  weigh it down on a flat surface in a well-filtered area. (Preferably outside) For the top I found it best to spray in an circular motion, the sides are particularly difficult, but be patient! If you touch it a minute too soon, you have to start all over again. Make sure when it dries its not sitting in a pile of paint. And don't trust the time they give on the can fornhow long you should wait to dry. For mine I used a nice pistatio green for the vintage effect and tied some string for the final touch.

Photography- Focusing On the Good Aspects- El Paso Skyline

In photography, sometimes you have to change your definition of a good photograph to suit your position. This for example, wouldn't be the best place to show the city of El Paso, but, as it was a rainy day, it did have some good aspects to it, like the rainclouds above the city. So, for this picture, I focused on the clouds rather than the city. 

Photography- Following the Line- Cactus Garden

Lines can be used in photography to tell the viewer where to look. This shot, for example, has two groups of lines in the bricks. On directs your line of vision up and down the image, the other goes horizontally, directing your attention to the catuses and away from the brick.

Photography- Close Ups- Poppy

Close up shots are always an ideal way to capture small details of individual shots. It requires alot of focus on the one object, such as this poppy, and in your editing and actual shot. You need to make sure that the emphasis is on that very object, and in some cases, grayscaling the photo can help it stand out.

Photography- Poppy field

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   This weekend I went to see the Mexican poppies in El Paso, it had rained earlier in the day, so the were only partially open, making for a more interesting shot. The trick with capturing a group of something, like these poppies, is to make sure you have objects of focus in both the background and foreground, or the photo will appear flat. You can check out all my photos on my Instagram @Savanners 

Drawing- Sending A Message- Robot With A Flower

Art is often highly influenced by the message it represents, like the lyrics to a song. And sometimes, like this drawing, the message is its strongest feature.

Painting- Dragon Tail

Imagination can do wonders in art, and this watercolor is a good example. By showing only the tail is leaves the rest of the dragon to the imagination of the viewer, and the drawing can be interpreted differently by different people. Is the girl off to slay the dragon, or is she going on a quest, with a dragon friend as a sidekick?

Painting - Daisy Fairy

This simple fairy is enough to get most girls jumping up and down, and they are really simple to draw. Same use of pen and watercolor, and some darker pink for the background. I'm not going to lie, you are probably going to see a lot of these, they are just so fun to draw and the perfect gift for a little girl.

Painting- Gypsy Fortune Teller

This drawing was done in pencil, like the pencil drawings I showed a few days ago, then I used sharpie pen to trace the drawing, then added watercolor. Notice how although I did add the floating candles to make up some of the space surrounding the window, I also used some quick color swipes of the watercolor to take up the space and give it a mystical effect.

Photography-Touching Up- Desert Flowers

A good photo can always be made better, and touch ups are practically made for that. Even a simple app, you can change the color, size and focus of an image, and it can turn from fairly decent photo into something different and unique.

Photography- "A" for Effort- Mule Deer

Photography can be a lot of work, and it can have some downsides, and sometimes you have to get creative to get the perfect shot, especially when you have less than perfect equipment. This shot, for example, was taken at a Youth Hunting trip I tagged along for. It was cold, early in the morning, and I had to take this shot through a pair of binoculars to compensate for the lack of a good lens. But despite that, it made for an incredible picture, and a good story.

Photography- Setting Up- Water Drops

Don't be afraid to move things around to set up a photo. You could very well show a branch hanging over a lake, but you can also add your own touch, like dipping it in to get this water shot.

Photography- Perspective Shots- Ducks

A lot about photography is perspective, like this photo of the duck pond at a park, a common enough scene, but at the right angle, it can become interesting. Don't be afraid to get down low or up high to find a more interesting shot.

Photography- Intoduction

Don't let lack lack of location stop you from taking great photos! For these, I used a simple phone camera with some photo editing and voila! Check out note of my photos on my Instagram @Savanners

Painting- Captain America

Watercolors make fun gifts, like this Captain America I made for my Marvel fan. Notice how although Cap traditionally wears American red, white, and blue, I used purple for the shadows and yellow for the highlights and background.

Drawing- Traveling Salesman

Like the French Lady, this Traveling Salesman is sort of a walking toyshop and pawn shop all rolled up into one. A lot of fun to draw, and ideas are endless.

Drawing- The French Lady

One of my favorite ways to sketch is by using doodles to visually express the personality of the character drawn. This Lady of the French Court, for example, I drew to be sort of frilly with her bows, feathers, and cupcakes.

Drawing- Blue Monarch Butterfly

Butterflies are good starts for colored pencil drawings, they are fairly easy to copy from pictures, but a lot harder to draw by memory. For this drawing, I used pencil to do a brief sketch, filled in the black with a combination of black colored pencils and sharpie pens. For the color in the wings, use various shades of blue colored pencils to blend lights and darks and make the wings more life-like. I would also recommend to color in the white with colored pencil to give it a glistening effect.

Crafts- Decorating Cigar Boxes

With some paper and mod podge, you can make an ordinary box into a personalized spot to stash your stuff, and cigar boxes are one of the best to use. Simply get a box and cut you paper accordingly and use mod podge that you can find at any craft store to glue and seal the paper onto the box.

I took it a step further on my own box by adding some gears to the side with some hot glue. (Keep in mind that it may take awhile to rub off access glue as you see on the right) which gives it a nice Steampunk look.