Mountain Biking - Captain Nemo

Crafty Idea #2 - Yarn Bowl

I had another chance to explore my creative side this weekend!  The 'yarn bowl' wasn't actually my idea, I saw it on another blog a couple of months ago and I'm so glad I finally tried it out.   Even though the process itself was a bit messy, I absolutely love the final product. The bowl is a lot sturdier than I was expecting and the neutral coloured yarn worked wonderfully.

Exploring the Backyard with Circus

I never get tired of making Bento!

These bentos were absolutely delicious!  The fruits and veggies we've been buying recently have been so fresh, they make our bentos even more visually appealing and tasty.

Mountain Biking - Crawford Downhill

We took advantage of our extra long weekend and went mountain biking on Monday.  There were a few amazing lookouts along the trail, perfect places to stop and have a drink and take a few pictures.  Some of the lookouts were situated on top of sheer cliff faces, the views were both breathtaking and dizzying.

Black Bean Burritos

Long Weekend Yard Work (with Circus)

Can you believe that one of my new passions, one of the things I look forward to most, is....doing yardwork?!  Now that we live on a beautiful property out in the country and actually have a lawn/yard to enjoy, I can't imagine having it any other way.  I spend hours puttering around our lawn, finding ways to get lost in the meditative act of 'working the land.' Whether I'm picking weeds, mowing the lawn, or trimming our xerascaping grasses, I find each activity to be very rewarding and productive.  Being able to see the real, physical results of my labour is a wonderful motivator.

Before picture

Another Before Picture

keeping me company

After Shot - Well worth the effort!

Prowling in the grass

Red Radish Bento

 My bentos keep getting more colourful the closer we get to summer. There are just so many delicious foods that are coming into season right now. :) The radishes were very crunchy and flavourful, a great last minute addition!
Front Bento: Baby carrots, radishes, strawberries and a peanut butter and banana roll-up
Back Bento: Avocado slices, baby carrots, radishes and a california roll wrap

Back to the Drawing Board

Since I have become all inspired to be artistic and crafty again, I decided to post some of my artwork.  There are a few unfinished ones that I desperately want to complete and hang up on my wall in the near future. Each picture has a caption that explains what medium I used, why I chose the piece, and what year I finished it in.

2003 - Pencil Crayon
This drawing was inspired by a screenshot from an awesome DS game called 'Another Code'

2001 - Acrylic Paint
This was one of my snowboard themed paintings I completed in my last year of highschool

2001 - Pastel
Another snowboarding inspired piece

1998?? - Pencil Crayon
I made this for my Mom for mothers Day and then swiped it back from her to use in my portfolio :)

1999?? - Acrylic Paint
I think I had planned on adding more stars to this one...

2004 - Pencil Crayon
I did this one purely for fun - I just had to recreate this awesome shot!

2009 - Pencil Crayon
This is one of my most recent drawings. An old work friend of mine approached me right after Obama was elected and offered me a bit of money to draw the famous Rolling stones shot for him.

2001 - Acrylic Paint
My favourite snowboard Painting from my OAC year

2001- Pencil Crayon
Yes, more snowboarding

2000 - Pencil Crayon
Grade 12 art class -  I just love drawing things from nature

2003 - Pencil Crayon (still unfinished after all this time!)
This is Samus from the Metroid Prime Games, I really need to finish this one....

2004 - Pencil and Pencil Crayon
This is a World of Warcraft Dragon, I misplaced my 'Art of World of Warcraft' book years ago and have been unable to finish this

2008 - Pencil Crayon
This is a drawing of Luke's Jeep, I gave him this home-made gift as a Christmas present.  His Jeep has had so much work done to is since I drew this that I'm starting to think I should do an updated version. 

2010 - Pencil and Pencil Crayon
This is my most recent drawing and I will be completing this one as soon as possible.
This is character from a recent Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game that came out on the DS.

2008 - Acrylic Paint
I made this for a friends nephew on his birthday

2009 - Pencil Crayon
An old work friend found this cool picture and decided he wanted it as a tattoo.  The problem was that this image was on a zippo lighter and he needed a larger version to give to his tattoo artist. I recreated this image on a larger scale for him and it is now tattooed onto the back of his calf :)