Boy

Two-legged creature

Egg-laying creature

Gruff monster

Unassuming giant

This creature is shy and sweet-natured, even though he's eight feet tall.

Little monster

I'm not particularly a Lady Gaga fan (or a hater), but after drawing this guy I noticed that his pose reminded me of her Bad Romance video, so I'm calling it "little monster."

Slothlike creature

Snow monkey-inspired creature

Water bottle cozy

You may recall my mason jar cozy (I've made a second). This is a water bottle cozy that my mom requested so that she can carry it around over her shoulder or put hot liquids in it and not have to worry about burning herself by holding the hot metal. The cozy itself is narrower and the strap is about three times longer than it originally was.

The cozy took a recent trip to Kauai (without me, alas). Sean and I actually did take a walk down to the beach this weekend, but it looked like this (photo courtesy of Sean).


Psst - email me if you'd like a custom cozy of your own! I have a few colors of high quality mercerized cotton to choose between, and can crochet it to whatever size you like. $20 for something in the standard range, $15 for a smaller jar.

Dancing Bear

This is another postcard for the Itty Bitty Art auction fundraiser. I already drew something very similar to this, but then I went and ruined it by painting the background and making too dark and all blotchy. I was disappointed in how it ended up looking, and realized I could just draw a new one and paste it over the old image. I'm much happier with this more simplified and better-positioned image, which I drew on manila paper and colored with a marker.

The bear was somewhat inspired by this guy.

No-Knead Bread Attempt #2

It looks pretty similar to my last attempt, but I let this one bake a bit longer, and it's darker than the last. I also tried using whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour in equal parts.

Eustace Tilley in Progress

The New Yorker is having a contest to design a take on Eustace Tilley, their iconic mascot (above). This is a partially finished idea for a possible version, but I think I need to make it more original. My first idea was to have various people walking around in the background and to set it in a subway or on a sidewalk. Any thoughts?

Faces in Places - Table Leaf

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - House

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Controller

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - No Skateboarding Sign

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Box

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Latch 2

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Plug

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Latch

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

Faces in Places - Recycling Bin

Inspired by a post on Faces in Places.

No-Knead Bread

I finally got around to trying a loaf of no-knead bread after eating some of my mom's. Although I had a slight mishap regarding my ingredient ratios, I think it turned out well! The hardest part about making it was waiting a sufficient period of time before slicing into it after I pulled it from the oven.

I used a slightly modified version of Jim Lahey's recipe (find out all about it by Googling his name).

Drawing of Walter Mischa

I liked a photo I saw on Shorpy from 1911, depicting a sculptor named Walter Mischa at work. This is the profile I drew based on the Shorpy image. (You can actually see it faintly behind the sketch of Charlie, as it's on the next page of my sketchbook).

Charlie sketch

Oh no! I've fallen a month behind with my posting. I'm going to get back on the wagon now, starting with this sketch of our cat, Charlie.

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Glaze

And here's another entry and another sans-Sean's-help photo. These are the pumpkin cookies with maple glaze that took home the best cookie prize at the Toronto Vegan Bake-Off this year! Let's hope they take home the prize for the Made Just Right Bake-Off too.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's another entry for the Made Just Right Bake-Off. I am sadly sans my photographer/food stylist husband this week, so here's my inferior attempt at capturing my cookies. Wish me luck, y'all!

A lot of other people seem to be submitting variations on oatmeal cookie recipes, so this might be a tough one.

Date and applesauce crumble bars

Thanks to Sean for this photo, too! This was also entered in the Made Just Right Bake-Off competition.

Brownie with cream cheese frosting

Vegan brownie with cream cheese frosting. Thanks to Sean for the photo! I entered this in the Made Just Right Bake-Off contest tonight. Wish me luck :).

The marshmallow experiment - 6

The marshmallow experiment - 5

Featherbottom

This is an image of a lucky duck named Featherbottom who was rescued and now lives happily at Roosters Inn B&B Sanctuary, a place I'd very much like to visit someday.