Shades of Perry

Here are two more 8″x10″ acrylic paintings of Perry. The first was a thank-you gift for a coworker, and it’s Perry as his number one fan. This painting was unique in that it’s one of the few where the design wraps around the edges of the painting as well. (As opposed to a solid colored background.) Unfortunately, those pictures were blurry, so I’ll have to sneak into his office to take more. Yes, it’s hanging in his office!

The second is Perry the Practicepus, a gift for another coworker who is endlessly entertained by Dr. Doofenshmirtz having a practice dummy of Perry made from a painted log, tennis racket and tennis balls, rubber gloves, twigs, and an orange cone tied around its head with a piece of string. This, too, is hanging up in the office. Makes me proud

Birthday Paintings

Below are two paintings I made for birthdays. The first was for a dear friend of mine, and the second was commissioned by another friend for his husband. He actually did the design, I just transcribed it in paint.

Both are acrylics on 8×10″ canvas. (And I’ve included the evolution photos of Donald. And please pardon the glare on Mickey.)

So, I’ve been painting…

I’ve been painting a lot lately, but it’s left me with little time to talk about the painting I’m doing. I’ve done some more Phineas and Ferb characters, and even a few commissioned pieces. (Thanks to those of you who saw my autographed paintings and inquired about getting one of your own. It was quite touching, and humbling!)

Below are my latest pieces. I know I promised crafting diversity on this blog, and more of it will come, but when I’m in a phase, there’s no telling how long it’ll last. Don’t even get me started on all the Pinterest projects I’ve logged away and have been waiting to make. Acrylics are just ruling these days!

Below is “Something that doesn’t exist” and Bobblehead Perry from Phineas and Ferb. They’re both 8×10″ canvases.

I have been taking more progress pictures though. You can see how many tries it takes for me to settle on a shade of green for Swampy Me, a perfectionist? Nonsense.

Swampy, if you don’t recognize him, is the star of the highly addictive game “Where’s My Water?” Don’t say I didn’t warn you. He was commissioned by someone who saw my other paintings and wanted one of his own. I was thrilled to make it! (He, too, is on an 8×10″ canvas.)

I’ll post some more later on!

Perry and Meap

I’ve actually done a bit of painting lately, and it seems I found my newest inspiration in the Disney Channel show Phineas & Ferb. It’s a great cartoon, if you’re into wacky adventures, awesome musical numbers, and humor that’s silly for kids but with enough layers for an adult to enjoy as well. I am, on all counts.

Recently, I made these paintings for my cubicle. The first is of Perry, the boys’ pet platypus, after he’s been dressed up by the boys (Phineas and Ferb) to be in their Cirque (circus) act. Perry is also leading a double life as a secret agent, and the boys don’t know about it. He’s been painted in acrylic on an 8×10″ canvas.

The second photo is of the boys’ alien friend Meap. Meap is an intergalactic security agent, and his mustache is actually a translator to help him speak different languages. Without it, he merely says, “meap.” He is precious, barfs rainbows of death, and is also painted with acrylics on an 8×10″ canvas.

And here are the two paintings together, as they hang in my cubicle.

If you aren’t familiar with this show, you should definitely check it out. It’s one of the most popular children’s shows on Disney Channel, if not across networks. It’s not so juvenile that adults can’t enjoy it and, quite frankly, grown-ups will laugh just as hard at the incorporated references and throwbacks between episodes. A friend turned me onto it, and I’ve become somewhat of a fanatic in the past couple of months. I anticipate many more paintings of these fun characters. (At the moment, they’ve even replaced Stitch as my muse… Never thought I’d see the day!)

What characters do you find inspiring?

Paisley Cut-Out Flowers

I was really into creating these flowers recently. I used colored pencil to both outline and shade in some paisleys of varying sizes, cut them out, then glued them as floral arrangements onto a card for my mom.

I think the texture the watercolor paper adds underneath the colored pencil, combined with physically layering the cutouts onto another piece of paper gives it an enhanced sense of dimension. Considering this design came together on a whim, I was pretty proud of how this card turned out. (Mom liked it too!)

Stitch – A Portrait in Paintings

One of my favorite Disney movies is Lilo & Stitch. Considering they don’t sell much paraphernalia for this movie, you might think it wasn’t particularly memorable. Well, that’s just not true! It’s a hand-drawn, animated film that has aliens in it, and it takes place in Hawaii, what’s not to love? I fell in love with it when it came out, and Stitch immediately became an inspiration for the majority of my paintings from that point on. I apologize for any infringement, but these are, in fact, my own original artwork. You can tell by the differing hues of blue in each picture

Stitch has a devilish smile, and his mischievous nature is infectious, but he’s also cute and fluffy. All these paintings are acrylic. The first two are from 2003/04, and are on 16×20″ canvases, but based on the pictures, you can’t really tell the scale of the painting. If I had the originals with me, I’d take new ones!

The following painting is dated 2003, and is on an 8×10″ canvas. A rare occasion where I signed the front of the painting.

This one, dated 2007, is 5×7″ and actually hanging on a wall in my bedroom.

There are more paintings of him out there. I had this habit, back in the day, of giving away artwork and not taking pictures first. Not just of Stitch, either! So if you’re reading this, and you happen to have one of my pieces, please send me a snap

Do you have a favorite character to paint or draw?

National Craft Month

So, apparently March is National Craft Month. I feel like had I known this earlier, I would have had an appropriate celebration prepared. Instead, I will probably just take advantage of some of the deals that are going on, like I need more art supplies! Incidentally, the only reason I know about National Craft Month is because of a coupon I received from Jo-Ann Fabrics. So that you, too, can take advantage of all that NCM has to offer, I’ve included some insider deal info for you below.

Jo-Ann Fabrics is having a sale on all their scrap-booking supplies, so you should get in on that. Today only (March 1, through 11:59pm) they’re also offering 70% off Vinyl Wall Decor.They’re also showing new craft videos and How-To ideas on their Pinterest page every day this month!

Michael’s has some fun in-store events happening nationally all month long, so you’ll want to check out the schedule for the store nearest you on their website. They are offering lots of demos for small projects you can make and take home either for free or with the purchase of basic supplies, which seems like a great deal.

Even Overstock.com has some suggestions for how you can celebrate and make the most of National Craft Month! Some helpful hints include trying something new that you’ve always wanted to, and making sure you choose a project that you can finish during March.

How am I going to celebrate? Well, among other things, I intend to cash in on my Groupon for Color Me Mine! Maybe I’ll finally make a new mug to replace my favorite one which broke oh-so-tragically a couple years back. (Pictured below.)

Keep me posted on all your crafting this month. I’d love to hear if you tried out a new project, completed an old one, or cashed in on any great deals!

Oh, hello there!

Some of you may already know me as that girl who putters around the kitchen, but my first love will always be arts and crafts. In the spirit of my recent, burgeoning creativity (thank you, Pinterest), I have decided to start a separate blog to highlight some of my non-baking creations. Basically, I wanted a forum to show off all the fun stuff I can make with other mediums.

My love of arts and crafts has been around since as long as I can remember. I’m pretty sure that in every home I’ve lived in since childhood, there is a blue stain on the carpet (or couch…) from some rogue acrylic paint. (My current apartment is no exception.) On this blog, I will showcase all different kinds of artwork, from painted nails to painted canvases, my extensive collection of stickers and glitter, and anything else I find pretty. While some entries will be pictures of pieces I’ve made in the past, I also anticipate posting some how-tos of all the projects I’ve tucked away and have yet to make.

For my first ever post on They Call Me Crafty, I have chosen to display the two paintings below – the oldest paintings of mine that I have in my home. I kind of thought the first was likely painted with tempera or acrylic on a 9 x 12″ canvas board, but it actually looks a lot like water color. I can’t remember, and can’t really tell. Anyway, it’s a painting of a house I grew up in, painted in an art class I took at a local community college probably when I was 8 or 9. We moved in 1993, so all I know is that the painting has to be from before then, but isn’t dated.

The second painting is acrylic on a 9 x 12″ canvas board, and was created while I was at summer camp, and is dated 1995. I was, and still am, pretty proud of the job I did with shading.

I look forward to sharing more of my artistic endeavors with you, both past and present. Thanks for joining me on what promises to be a sometimes sparkly, but always colorful adventure.