Behind the Scenes - creation of Dobby

I wanted to post some photos of the creation of HP Dobby's character. I used recycled materials and paper mache to create him.

Step 1: gather plastic soda bottle, masking tape, styrofoam plates, newspaper, and plastic easter eggs.

Step 2: Crumble newspaper and place on bottles with lots of masking tape. Trace two elf ears from styrofoam plates and attach to head. I also attached the plastic easter eggs for eyes. Shape head and ears as needed by adding more newspaper and masking tape.

Step 3: I added some pvc pipe for the legs and tried to make him at least 3 ft. I traced my foot and cut out feet from styrofoam.

Step 4: To make it easier to work with, I attached him to a piece of styrofoam. It wasn't very sturdy, but it helped with keeping him upright. I added more newspapers and shaped his feet. His arms were made with wire. Once the skeletal part of the body is assembled, all you need to do is add newspaper and masking tape to shape body.

Step 5: Arms were sculpted with some cardboard and shaped with newspaper and masking tape. Once he was shaped, I added strips of newspapers with paper mache paste (www.ultimatepapermache.com).

Step 6: Ready for paint. Actually, before painting, I added a coat of gesso.

"Look away, children!" Dobby looked pretty scare in this phase.

It tooks a few attempts at painting until I was satisfied with how he looked.

Every respectable elf needs to be covered. I added two pieces of linen tied on the top. I handsewn the sides and ta da!

Last step: Glue Dobby to a piece of scrap wood. I started this project during the summer (2018) and was made with materials I had on hand. Basically, Dobby was FREE!

Harry Potter Book Night

This week our elementary school is celebrating "Read Across America" with many activites throughout the week. Some of those activities include Principal reading to classes, chalk painting, and an evening of magical reading of the Harry Potter, Chamber of Secrets book. I creating some of the props to transform the cafeteria into a magical place. Students will walk thru the 9 3/4 platform and will be greeted by Dobby (the elf). Then, they will be able to take a picture with HP flying car. I also created some magical wands for each of the students. I took my time working on all the projects, especially Dobby. He was created with recycled materials and paper mache. The following pictures are behind the scenes of all our creations:

Dobby was a labor of love for me. I started creating him during the summer and worked on him slowly. I became so attached to him, I almost didn't want to give him up. lol! I got started after watching a video tutorial (on cruz laporte -youtube) and basically created him using newspapers, plastic soda bottle, and pvc pipe. Since I had everything on hand, he was basically free. I used a paper mache recipe (ultimatepapermache.com) to put him together.Dobby is currently collecting new socks to be donated to the polinski center in San Diego

The Harry Potter Book Night theme was book #2 "Chamber of Secrets." This book introduces the flying car Harry and Ron use to get themselves to Hogwarts School. I used an old cardboard box that I had. I was inspired by a photo prop of the flying car in the website www.santanasstudio.blogspot.com

These wands were created with small dowels and a lot of hot glue. I then spray painted them black and added some gold shine. There are many tutorials on the web to help you with creating wands. I followed the tutorial at boxycolonial.com

I used an old drape and sponged painted the bricks on the fabric. To make the sign, I used an old foam board and painted it. I printed a free 9 3/4 sign from the website: jonesing2create.com

"Write it, already!"

"Write it, already!" shouted my husband as I exclaimed my new writing idea. I didn't realize how annoying I sounded every time I expressed a new idea out loud. It was day 16 of the 30-day writing idea challenge posed by Tara Lazar. I had been proclaiming ideas left and right. My husbands comment stopped me in my tracks. "What good are all these ideas if I never develop them?" I am more determined now to follow through. Writing a picture book has been a life long dream since childhood when I first entered a kids writing contest in 4th grade. No, I didn't win. Forty-plus years later, I'm still dreaming of writing a children's book. Now, I need to focus and set aside all the distractions that keep me from writing (cleaning house, painting, baking, washing clothes,etc). Wish me luck!

How was I creative this week?

Friday is usually my day off from work. Usually, I spend most of the day cleaning, running errands or being creative (in that order). Although I love my part-time job (ELL IA at local elementary school), I love creating things. I dabble in watercolor, acrylic painting, paper mache, sewing, baking, writing, reading. Well, you get the picture. I like to do it ALL. I believe I am a lifelong learner. Always on the lookout to learn a new skill. Sometimes, I wish I could just master one skill. Instead, "I am a Jack of all trades and a master of none." Kinda sad (insert sad emoji). Anyways, trying and learning new things makes me happy. And that's the point. I create in little bits "here" and "there". Creativity is not always easy to see. For example, I sometimes find myself daydreaming of the little bird chirping outside of my window. "What could he be saying?" "Is he warning his friends of a cat lurking by?" "Or is he shouting God's praises for the beautiful sunny, clear day?" My imagination goes wild. Possibly, an idea for a picture book -wink, wink. Here are some of the things that kept me creative this week:

Baked Chocolate sweet bread

sketching a picture of my father-in-laws dog. Still a work in progress.

Too Subscribe or Not to Subscribe

Currently, I am in love with my monthly art subscription to "Lets Make Art". For $35.00 per subscription, I receive watercolor paper, paints and instructions on painting 4-5 paintings. The kit also includes a blank watercolor postcard, stamped and addressed to a family/person. The idea of the postcard, "lets make art matter," is to paint for someone who could use a little encouragement. I love this part of the kit. And, don't worry if you don't know what to paint. Sarah, owner of Lets make Art, has videos and lIVE facebook paintings to follow along. I have learned so much and get giddy with excitement every time I see a "lets make art" box on my front door. There are many subcriptions in just about any area of interest. So go ahead, and get creative! Here is a sample of some of my watercolor paintings and "Lets make art matter" postcards:

New Year- New Beginnings 2019

Every new years eve for the last 20+ years, our family (hubby and girls) have been writing goals, prayers, dreams, etc. for the upcoming year. It is one of my favorite family traditions that we have. We recycle old Christmas cards where we write what we would love to accomplish for the year. We then place them in a Christmas box and store until the following year. It is always exciting to see what we have accomplished or what prayers the Lord has answered. Sometimes, I am disappointed that I didn't accomplish certain goals (i.e. loose weight, haha). However, I usually carry-on goals to the new year in hopes of finally accomplishing them (i.e. lost 25 lbs in 2016-woohoo!) Last year, one of my goals was to participate in Tara Lazar's Storystorm 30-day writing idea challenge and submit a picture book manuscript. I started the challenge, but only wrote 2-weeks worth of ideas, insert sad face. But, because I don't give up that easy, I am participating in the challenge once again. I'm happy to report, I have one full week of writing story ideas.