http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog Homesteading, Life as Art, Creation instead of Consumption, Beauty Sat, 10 May 2008 21:45:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I hope she doesn't write me out of her will for this. http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/05/10/my-mom-reads-this-blog/ This is what we do when it's not nice enough outside to ride bikes. It was my first time baking sugar cookies and I was surprised by how dense the dough was (it has virtually no liquids in it at all).  Then we all pitched in and decorated them with ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/05/03/rainy-saturday-afternoon/ There is still some minor touch-up required (the water around the big bear most obviously) and of course it needs a frame, but I think this is coming along quite nicely. You can click it to zoom in to a higher resolution version (although it looks better in person -- ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/28/tiger-whitehead-iii/ Well, I started this project a long time ago, had all the pattern pieces and eyes picked out, plastic bead stuffing bought and everything pinned together...and, well, put into a bag and stashed in my closet. Then I finally set up one of my sewing machines to make a blackout ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/21/unmotivated/ Oatmeal Coconut Cookies 2 sticks butter (yes, a whole cup), softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups Quaker® Oats 1 cup coconut 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/20/cookies/ Work continues... (click to zoom)... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/20/tiger-whitehead-ii/ I'm working on a painting based on the song "Tiger Whitehead" from the Johnny Cash children's album that's also a loose fantasy self-portrait of Caitlin and I. The lyrics to the song continue above. I have a really nicely prepped canvas I'm doing it on -- here it is sketched ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/19/tiger-whitehead-self-portrait/ This painting is finished off and hanging in my hallway now. You can click to zoom in. The panels, clockwise from top-left are: The sun and moon. The house that we all built ourselves. Me, Caitlin, and Nefarious. A princess being scared by a werewolf (not sure how this fits into the story). http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/08/family-portrait-finished/ A few days ago Nefarious hid under the table (which is where she goes to draw when she wants it to be a surprise) and created a four-panel drawing that turned out really wonderfully and I've been working on finishing for her. Panel #1 (top-left) is the sun and moon: Panel ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/04/05/four-panel-painting-by-nefarious/ Nefarious, Caitlin, and I spent a couple hours painting... Three new projects are well on the way. Here's where mine is at so far. I figure it's about half done in this photo. As always, it involves my secret to life in art: "just add snakes!" Edit/Update: I actually changed the ... http://www.ineedmorelife.com/blog/2008/03/29/worlds-wisest-future-hot-dog/