A Is For Art My Way

It is very fitting that the first letter of the first day of the A to Z Challenge is the letter A, especially since the title of this blog is Sweetbearies Art Tips.  So why is the blog called Sweetbearies Art Projects?  Years ago when I first created my blog Sweetbearies Art Tips, I was thinking of a good pen-name to use on that site.  I had used the screen-name Bearie23 for years, especially on Zazzle, so I wanted something to reflect that name, and my penchant for desserts, such as homemade apple pie.  I settled on the name Sweetbearies, which is how my moniker was born.

So what is this blog about anyway? Sweetbearies Art Projects documents how I create art projects that are for me, and things that truly inspire me.  Many artists are very talented at knowing how to create art that appeals to a large audience, but I have never been motivated by drawing something just because that item  might sell well. Actually, I enjoy drawing and painting palm trees and mountain landscapes, which are evocative of the scenes I see in my daily life.

Also, I enjoy creating cross stitch projects that I design myself, such as this heart design on plastic canvas mesh. Art my way is about creating what inspires me, and the icing on the cake just happens to be if others enjoy looking at my art as well.  So what kind of art do you enjoy the most?  Creating thing I enjoy is what I find to be truly motivating.

Cross Stitch Heart Design

Here is the heart cross stitch design that I created on plastic canvas mesh.

Designing my own cross stitch pieces is just one of the ways I like to create art my own way.

Getting A Head Start On The A to Z Challenge Posts And List


My past art projects.

 Earlier this month I had meant to start working on The A to Z Challenge, but finally this week I am  attempting to write blog posts in advance, and to start commenting on the list. I am working myself down the list by commenting on each person’s blog below me, but I just started with this goal yesterday. Also, I have finally got back to writing some of my A to Z posts in advance, but I am not sure I will get all twenty-six posts completed here, and the other ones of the blog Sweetbearies Art Photography, which is also participating in this challenge.

The theme for both of my blogs is just the theme that I always have for my blogs. Sweetbearies Art Photography is about how taking pictures is where I get the inspiration and reference photographs for my art projects, and this blog is about the art and crafting projects I create. I do not believe in having a set number of words for each blog post, and prefer to just create. Below is a collection of videos on YouTube of the art projects I have created over the years, so feel free to check these out. What kind of art projects or crafts do you enjoy creating?

I am participating with two blogs on the A to Z Challenge list with the goal of commenting on as many blogs as possible. However, I do not want to overlap commenting with two blogs on the same blog, and then missing others. Once my first blog meets up with the second blog on the list, I will have to skip around a bit. There are plenty of blogs on the A to Z Challenge to go around, and thus I could never run out of posts to comment on during the month of April. You can still sign-up for the A to Z Challenge if you need some motivation and goals for your blog. It is also a fun, yet albeit time consuming, way to meet a few new bloggers. But it is worth it! Are you ready for the challenge?

Finishing The Heart Cross Stitch Design

Yesterday I finally completed the heart cross stitch design on plastic canvas mesh, which took a couple of months to work on. Yes, I did not concentrate on it 24/7, but I felt like I could not work on any other art projects or crafts until I completed this one. This might sound silly to people who surf through hundreds of art projects and crafts in the same amount of time, but I am a one project kind of person, and I find I like to finish things rather than abandoning projects.  I still have a beautiful cross stitched bird that I started on aida cloth twenty years ago, but I abandoned the project because my mom pointed out I needed to finish a research paper for my tenth grade English class.  Over the years I lost the pattern to this piece, and  it still bothers me to this day I have never finished it. So these days I am endeavoring to finish every project that I start, and I never want to leave one undone.  For this project I double cross stitched each row so the composition would be opaque when held up to the light, which definitely took a bit more time than just cross stitching once across each row once.

Here I am continuing to add the red background to the design.
Here I am continuing to cross stitch on the red background to the design.
Here I am almost finished with cross stitching the red background.
Now I am almost finished with cross stitching the red background.
Here I am cross stitching on the top edge of the design.
Here I am cross stitching on the top edge of the design.
Here I am cross stitching around the right side of the rectangle.
Here I am cross stitching around the right side of the rectangle.
Cross stitching the left side of the rectangle.
Cross stitching the edge on the left side of the rectangle.
The completed cross stitched heart on plastic canvas mesh.