Look Out, Blog! I'm Back!

And we've had A LOT going on--I've got 600 pictures to sort through since the last time I posted. Wowza! But, as I'm skimming through, I felt like my first post back should be a celebration of the only other person I know who posts blogs as often as I do . . . my birthday- month buddy, my little sister!

You will see on later posts that I took an earlier painting class--the inspiration for this year's homemade sister gift. Yes, the two of us were born just three days apart on the calendar (month only, clearly not year :) So, when we were both raising babies and were both broke as all get out, we decided to create one-of-a-kind, personalized birthday gifts for each other on the cheap--and the tradition continues! In fact, Brennen saw the "Hootenanny Granny" hoodie I was given a few years back (with *soda* koozie pocket) featuring a photo of my mother-in-law in a straw hat, chewing on a piece of hay (a former classroom design piece), and he claimed it as his own. Even sent Gabby pictures of himself wearing it, lol!

This year, with all the fancy photography we've lined up for weddings and graduation pictures, I thought my sister probably was lacking a personalized masterpiece of her own. Better yet, a handpainted personalized masterpiece of her own! So, I consulted my art consultant, Gabby, and she told me how to get started.

Step 1. Find a picture (I did that! We had a siblings picture taken at her wedding!)

Step 2. Tape a piece of white paper over the photo on a brightly lit computer screen, so it can be traced onto the paper. Here's how my Step 2 turned out . . .

Buck was like, "I don't know . . . why does she look so old?" And I said, "Because clearly my artistic ability doesn't even extend to tracing." Lololol! So, Gabby came by on Thanksgiving and redid my Step 2, which I forgot to take a picture of . . . maybe that's Step 3. Have your artistic daughter do Step 2 for you :)

Step 4. Buy the materials you'll need--like a canvas; and/or scrounge through the long-abandoned art buckets under the classroom benches to find acrylic paint and brushes.

Step 5. Take a painting class at a county conservation board event in a shelter house you once had family picnics in when you were a little girl (this step can be modified as needed, as per your own situation ;)

Step 6. Rub charcoal (which your artistic daughter stopped to buy since yours disappeared in the art supplies when your sons decided to never do art again after the charcoal drawing curriculum you bought them last year did not bring them joy in creativity . . . but, again, modify this step as needed ;) over the back of the better tracing your daughter did and then transfer that by re-tracing the front of the page with a pencil to leave the charcoal impressions on the canvas. Whew, maybe that was two steps! Here's what the re-traced picture looks like . . .

Pretty good, right?!

But you don't need that part anymore--now you're working with a faint outline on a canvas that quickly disappears when you apply paint. Gah! Being a portrait artist is hard! That's Step 7 (or 8 if you counted Step 6 as two steps).

Step 9ish: So, the painting part is way fun! Swirling colors together (you can thank your conservation board painting class for that) to make new colors is very relaxing. However, at this point you *might* realize you do not have either of the KEY colors in painting apparently anything--black and white. Oof.

Step 10: Forget to take pictures of your semi-finished project and allow it to dry in a cabin for transport home, whereupon you can buy paint to finish your sister's teeth. For the record, gray eyelashes are fine!

At this point, Caelan said, "Wow! Your drawing made her look really old, but your painting makes her look really young; she'll love it!"

Step 11: Finish with the teeth; regret that you didn't paint in a broody, dark background first (because you got too excited to start making the face pretty colors), and then frame in the gaudiest $10 frame Hobby Lobby sells . . . viola!

Step 12: Take a selfie with your sister before you pack her in a box for shipping . . .

Step 13: Open gifts on the EXACT same day (because you are both really busy and sometimes gifts arrive late, lol) and send each other pictures of yourself with them!

Step 14: Record the experience on a blog, because that's what sisters do! :) Yay, birthdays, heeheehee! I'm thinking--given the uncanny likeness of my first try--I might take on commission-based projects for next season--I'll keep you posted ;)