Sweet Memories were Made
Another full hands on deck creative month! I am a bit surprised at all the little projects I had going on and saw through to the end this month! This has certainly been one of my most creative years in recent history and I am proud to say that. There is so much second guessing an artist does, so to see projects through again and again is the best feeling. And to sell work at another craft fair is so much fun and exciting! So let’s dive in….
Final calendar to draw for 2025! What a wonderfully creative and yearlong gift this was to celebrate!
A digital sketchbook page…
I began this month by drawing a lovely wreath on a beautiful front door on the procreate app!
I began Screenshot Saturdays this year and what a fantastic way to keep me drawing digitally and learning more about this application and best practices. I love that this medium always seems to feel fresh and I am discovering how to use a new digital brush all the time! I also appreciate that this practice keeps me sharing even when I feel perfectionism creep in. Sharing is a big part of the process!
Keep looking for this practice to continue in 2026!
Drawing and creating cards weekly continues to inspire me, keep my ideas moving and art supplies handy. This month’s cards include a specialty card for my dear friend and running partner. 5 cards for my administration that are always to fun to do! For the theme this year, I decided to do a simple colored pencil front door with a gouache and ribbon mixed media wreath. Also included is a tiny headpin to represent the nail for hanging it! And finally a few Christmas themed cards for my grandparents. I enjoyed drawing the objects of the season!
Winter Tree Vases and Other Tiny Vases
I took the miniature ideas further and tried creating a small interior space for the ceramic tiny tree. The flooring was created with colored pencils, and the tree skirt is cardboard with gouache and colored pencils.
Another fun, but very cold outdoor craft fair for 2025 with the Bees Knees Collective! We had so much fun selling our pottery and meeting a wonderful crowd who celebrated our hard work! Another success in a local craft fair! Thank you so much Betsy for doing all the behind the scenes work and making it so easy to pop right in! I was thrilled I could join in this year!
Such an exciting and inspiring way to end 2025 - by watching your tiny vases sell to folks who love them as much as you do!
The start of the craft fair before we were chilled to the bone! We loved it despite the freezing temps!
Do you get nostalgic this time of year for Christmas seasons past? I know I certainly do! Every year I feel like I turn back into a little child wanting to do all the crafts and make the ornaments and decorate the stockings. My paternal grandmother we affectionately called Memaw loved this time of year and Christmas and I can’t help but always think of her and the different ways she made the holiday feel so homemade.
Well, at the end of November, my Dad gave me a bag of pinecones from her yard where my grandfather still lives. These are the big pinecones and it felt like a blank canvas to craft something fun, whimsical and nostalgic for all my family. I had never made a pinecone tree before, but it was one of the first thoughts I had when my Dad gave me the pinecones. Oh what a hot glue gun delight! I fell right into it especially with all the miniature stuff I have been making lately! Such a fun project! Check out the pictures below….
Creating the Angel Toppers….
Memaw always topped her Christmas trees with angels so it seemed like the obvious choice.
Materials used: 2 types of ribbons; one for the body, one for the wings. Brass wire for the halo, wool ball for the head, Red rick rack for a decorative element and wooden flat coffee stirrers for the height
Creating the Stockings and everything else….
Each year I make stockings, so I had some scrap stockings leftover from mess-ups over the year that were perfect to make miniature stockings from. It was quite simple!
Instructions on creating miniature stockings:
Create a template of the stocking size you want from a thicker paper or chip board. Cut open a stocking and trace the stocking template onto the red area of the stocking.
Cut out all the stockings needed.
Cut out a strip of the sewn white edging of the larger stocking and them trim to cover over the top of the red area.
For an ever cuter look - trim a very tiny red loop to place between the stocking backing and the white area.
Hot glue the loop and white area at the same time.
Final step: Trim any excess and ensure the toe part of rounded nicely.
Optional items that would be so fun: Add puff paint, sequins, pompoms or a felt star.
Other additions to my miniature Pinecone Trees…
Tinsel was cut from an old strand I already had.
I made Christmas lights with purchased light beads and green floral wire.
Construction paper strip stars and a construction paper chain.
Online order of pompoms.
The Base…
To give the tree a slight lift, I used old wooden cedar discs and hot glued them to the bottom of the pinecone. Then I covered the base with a decorative ribbon as the tree shirt.
A few other sketchbook pages to share…
A sketchbook page….
The time has come to say goodbye to 2025.
And hello to 2026!!!
2026 is upon us and I always enjoy a fresh new year with a new perspective and both goals that feel doable and also goals that feel slightly beyond my reach. Dream big as they say! Lots of changes are happening in 2026 for me personally and my family. Both our daughters are graduating….one from college and our youngest from high school. We will be empty nesting (or bird launching) AND moving from the area this year. Bittersweet moments for sure. That next chapter is here and we are ready to turn the page. But one thing will stay the same….I will continue creating, designing and sharing my artwork, process and creative thoughts.
So…here’s to a wonderful year of art making and creative goals AND to a brand-new year with more creativity in the works!
Stay Creative out there~
Hannah