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Month: June 2021

New Crossbody Tote Bag

Posted in Sewing: Finished Bags & Pouches

I’ve been continuing to experiment with sizes and features of my crossbody tote bag. I am always tweaking and changing a design based on customer’s suggestions, buyer’s custom orders, what I see women carrying while people watching, or sometimes just looking at a fabric can give me an idea.

I have a new crossbody tote bag listed on my SibStudioSewing Etsy shop. This new one has some new bells & whistles.

This size is similar to my other bags, 14 x 11 inches. and has the adjustable crossbody strap and as well as easy to carry handles. There are always lots of pockets inside & outside for practical, everyday use. A zipper closure is a must for most of my customers.

I added the pretty feature of the zipper cover on the front zipper pocket. I saw that on another bag and thought that was such a nice feature to give the bag a clean finished look.

I also added pretty sewn in fabric tabs for holding the rings for the strap. It also gives the bag a more polished look.

This bag has feet at the bottom of the bag to keep it off the ground when you set it down. I often use faux leather so the bag can be kept clean even when it is set down. But, sometimes, I like the look of a fabric bag and the feet are a great addition to help keep the fabric clean.

Feel free to check out the new crossbody bag on my Etsy sewing shop: SibStudioSewing.

Dependable Stella D’ora Lilies

Posted in Reference Photos

Lilies are pretty reliable perennial flowers, but the Stella D’ora is a trooper. They came up year after year, not matter where they are planted. These beauties are up and blooming all around my yard right now.

Stella D'ora lily

I love their yellow blooms and their bright green leaves. I often take reference photos of these lilies for future drawings & paintings. Enjoy!

Coleus: They Looked Painted

Posted in Musing About Art, and Reference Photos

When you see something in nature as beautiful as coleus plants, it’s hard not to exclaim ” Hey those looked like someone painted them! “.

The reality is we paint from nature. And nature provides so many wonderful and beautiful things to paint.

So whether it’s a sunset, or adorable creature, or a spectacular plants, enjoy the beautiful hand paintings of nature. 🙂

What’s on my easel this week? 6/17/2021

Posted in Art Work, and Peeking Behind the Easel

On my easel right now is a painting in progress of three pumpkins. I sketched the pumpkins on the canvas with chalk several weeks ago and set the canvas aside. This week I was in the mood to paint pumpkins 🙂

My favorite size canvas of the moment is a 16 x 8 or 8 x 4 inches long canvas. It gives focus to the subject being painted. Luckily my buyers agree, as these sizes are their favorites as well.

I like the composition of a pumpkin trio. It brings a nice balance to the horizontal canvas. I always have some fun at the end with the littlest pumpkin that you will see in my next update. So far in this painting I have painted in my mid tones and my initial darks and lights to give fullness to the pumpkins. Stay tuned to updates and the finished painting!

More Baby Bunnies

Posted in Reference Photos

Every spring we have batches of new baby bunnies in the yard. This year their nests are well hidden. You can kind of tell there’s a nest near by watching the Momma bunny arriving to the same area in the later afternoon/early evening.

It’s not long before we can spot of the brave babies wandering from the nest:

sibstudio.com  bunny

This little fella is palm size – about 3 – 4 inches. He stopped and sat still when he realized we were near by.

sibstudio.com  bunny

It didn’t take him long to realize we were no threat, and he got busy nibbling on leaves. We’ll keep our eyes for him and his siblings tomorrow.