Day 15

Prompt
Use a dollar bill as your medium or inspiration today.


Material
One dollar bill


Result
Using the tutorial here, I created an origami cube, albeit a wonky one.

Day 14

Prompt
Can you make something that requires a magnifying glass or microscope to see?


Materials
Quinoa grains
Acrylic paint
A single hair from my head
Quilting straight pin
Tape


Result
25 grains with unique paintings: some faces, some animals, some abstract. I apologize for the poor photo quality. None of the lenses I have access to zoom to this tiny scale.

The paintings on the tape used to hold them still.

The paintings on a dime.

Day 13

Prompt

Use tea leaves or tea bags or even liquid tea to create something today.

Materials

Green tea, steeped in 2oz of water

Pencil drawing from Day 11

Result

I had a brilliant idea to brew green tea strongly, condensing the color as much as possible, then using the brewed tea as watercolor for the left-handed drawing from Day 11.

DID. NOT. WORK.

The color of the tea was so light that it didn't show up on the paper at all, and just smeared the pencil lead.

I suppose that one completely failed attempt out of 13 to date is a pretty good track record, but I'm itching to redeem this project and try something else with tea now. Stay tuned... .

Day 12

Prompt

Create or alter something so that it disappears into its background.

Results

This is far and away the hardest prompt for me, so far. I have been turning this over in my brain for 3 full days and haven't come up with anything feasible. I haven't given up; I hope that I will rise to the challenge and come up with an outstanding project.

Day 11

Prompt
Pick a medium you're comfortable with, then work with your nondominant hand.


Materials
Pencil
Pepper painting from Day 10


Result
I attempted to complete the pepper painting from yesterday by creating a mirror-imaged pepper on the page. Once I get better watercolors than the Finding Nemo colors from my kids' craft stuff, I'll fill it in.

Mirrored pepper in pencil, with left hand.

Day 10

Prompt
Use water as your medium/inspiration today.


Materials
Water
Watercolor paints
Pencil
Watercolor paper
Green Pepper


Result
I took this opportunity to give watercolor painting a shot again. I've tried it in the past and disliked working with the medium, but it's been years now. A friend here watercolor paints, and I asked her to help me give it another go.

Day 9

Prompt:
Make something with your breakfast before you eat it.


Materials:
Banana
Dull pencil


Result:
I decorated Elizabeth's banana by gently drawing on the peel with a dull pencil. After a little while, the marked areas darkened.

Day 8

Prompt:
Transform an old book into something new by cutting, folding, gluing and so on.


Materials:
Past edition of Real Simple magazine (all our books are in storage)
X-acto knife


Result:
I cut out the silhouette of the main photo on the cover of the magazine and kept cutting through the magazine to the first page of the featured article on page 143.

December 2012 issue.

Day 7

Prompt:
"Today, make a stencil and use it in your work."


Materials:
Benjamin Moore's Portico Wall Tattoo
Gold acrylic craft paint
Old throw pillow


Result:
Ok, I bent the rule today. I didn't create my stencil. I looked up the prompt last night, and apparently only the "stencil" part stuck with me. Perhaps I'll incorporate a handmade stencil into tomorrow's project...

Day 6

Prompt:
"Look in the kitchen and work with the first fruit or vegetable you spot. It could be in the form of juice, jam, or even canned."


Material:
Pomegranate seeds


Result:

I spent time creating Pomegranate Cove, complete with hilltops and a cave and a body of pink water. The photos do not capture the cove quite right; if it were a piece of real estate, I'd say it's one you'd have to see to believe.

Day 5

Bowl of Roses

Today was difficult for me. I attempted this project 4 times with different media with no luck. I tried working with a coin collection and my collection of hundreds of straight pins before I landed on this one at 8:00pm. In fact, this idea came from my husband, who suggested I take photos of the same subject using different lenses. Below is a two-fold project: the subject is a collection photographed by a collection of lenses.


Prompt:
Work with a collection of objects you have in your home.


Materials:
Conch shell tips
Canon 60D
24-85mm lens
10-22mm wide-angle lens
100-400mm L-series telephoto lens
Photographs were taken of the subject at the same location in the same lighting conditions


Result:

Shot with the 24-85mm.

Shot with the 10-22mm wide angle  at the same
vantage point as the 24-85mm lens above.

Same parameters as above, zoomed in as close to the subject as possible.

Shot with the 100-400mm lens over the edge of the second-story landing.
(~15' above the subject.)

Day 4

Prompt:
"Take a 5-minute walk, then make something using whatever materials are available where you've ended up. Leave it there for someone else to discover, but be sure to document it first!"


Materials:
Project 1: Coral
Project 2: Sticks and a lone bird feather.


Results:

PROJECT 1

with collaboration from the kids

PROJECT 2

Day 3

Prompt:
Make something out of paper, but don't use scissors or glue or draw on it.


Materials:
2 8.5"x11" sheets of white printer paper


Result:

Day 2

Prompt: 

What's your favorite animal? Use it as your inspiration today.

Materials:

Found sea glass, shells and coral arranged on a counter top.

Result:

"CUBA" stamped glass.

Day 1

Prompt:
"...start small today and make something that fits in the palm of your hand using only the materials in your immediate environment."

Lucky me, my immediate environment is a craft room.

Materials Used: 

7 3"x5" college-ruled cards

White thread (and needle)

Elmer's Glue

Origami paper

Cardboard

Scrap fabric (from Tula Pink's Parisville collection)

Result:

A 2.5"x3" bound book, following James Darrow's tutorial at jamesdarrow.deviantart.com.

Introduction

Welcome to my photo journal. My amazing Mother-in-Law gave me Noah Scalin's book 365: A Daily Creative Journal for Christmas, and I'm chomping at the bit to get started. The book is meant as a guide to stretch oneself creatively through small daily creative tasks. I'm supposed to have picked a theme, like butterflies, or a medium, like sewing, as my focus for this endeavor, but I haven't. I thought about doing quilting, calligraphy or attempting something brand new every day, and may end up with one of those yet. For now, I'm just going to start following the prompts and see where it leads.

This blog won't have a lot of text, just enough to explain the photos, if necessary. I'll list the prompt for the day and provide photos of the work that results. Please feel free to ask questions, give constructive criticism or leave comments.