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Showing posts from August, 2015

Break the Rules with Coloring

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This past spring, I published a coloring book of floral mandalas called Flowers All Around. (It’s available NOW on Amazon!) I had so much fun drawing these designs. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite personal projects I’ve ever done.




Mandala designs are popular in adult coloring for their repetitive and intricate nature. I like to draw them using floral elements because I’m obsessed with drawing flowers and patterns. I’ve created floral mandalas with a variety of media—paint, pencil, ink, digital, etc. I often draw them when I don’t know what to draw. So I had a lot of practice before I got the idea to even make this book.

Adult coloring books are a great way to relieve stress and create works of art in the process. These aren’t the brand of coloring books you used as a kid. These designs are often very detailed and can be beautiful and sophisticated—though there are some fun quirky ones as well. There are adult coloring books for just about any subject matter you can think…
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Niki Knits: Baby Vests (with free pattern)

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As I revealed previously, I am currently pregnant with my first child, a girl. I am due in December, and my husband and I are so excited.

In my return to crafting, I've once again been bitten by the knitting bug. This is in large part due to the fact that now I have a new area to explore: baby clothes. And not just for my own little angel... There has been a small baby boom recently in my circle of friends, so there are a few other little ones on the way that I have been busy making gifts for as well.

Much of the appeal of making baby clothes (besides the obvious adorableness) is similar to why I like making doll clothes. They are fun to design and execute, and the small scale keeps projects relatively quick and easy, which suits my short attention span. (Case in point: my adult-size fisherman cable sweater that I've been working on for probably 5+ years...not to mention all the other projects I've abandoned altogether because I got bored with them.)

I started out my baby…
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Back to the Craft Table

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Every artist goes through creative block once in a while. It just happens. Life gets in the way and all of a sudden, you have no time. Or you become frustrated and insecure about your abilities. Or you just don't feel inspired to create. I feel like I've gone through all of these things in the past year. It's as if the artistic, crafty part of me has been dormant for months.

The biggest factor has been the whole life and no time thing. I've gone through some major changes this year, including falling in love, getting married, and very quickly after, becoming pregnant with my first child (whoa). So not bad problems to have, but between a move, a wedding, newlywed life, and baby prep, I've given little attention to my sketchbooks and knitting needles recently. But I'm starting to feel the itch to get going again. 


Perhaps this new burst of creativity has come because it's now August, and fall looms around the corner. Autumn is my favorite time of year, when …
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