LydMc

Happy Halloween! Halloween is almost here again, and you know what that means... costume pARTy! In case you missed the original  Halloween Costume Art , I like to commemorate the holiday by drawing various (often hilarious) costumes pulled from the latest costume catalogs.   Random Costume Assignment This year I enlisted my brother to help randomly assign costumes for my usual cast of characters.   Even though the costumes were completely random, a lot of them worked out quite well for the people who received them. 1st time is not the charm Once I knew who was who, I took some time to sketch out a possible plan. Ten people is quite a lot to fit into one picture, especially since I wanted them to interact in some fashion.  Getting ink A few preliminary sketches later, and I was ready to start inking. This is one of my favorite parts of the process, as it refines all the hazy spots and makes it look so official! Gibdo attack! (Bonus...

Bird's Eye View Have you ever wanted to draw, but had no idea where to begin? This sort of creative block seems fairly universal to most any creative avenue (writing, painting, cooking, you name it), and one of my favorite ways out of this rut is to step back and do a little R&D.  When it comes to art, for me that means working from a reference. This not only gives your creative brain a break while still flexing the muscles, but also gives you a chance to study up, refine your skills and experiment with new styles.  Where can one find references like this, you ask? Pinterest, of course! Hey, fancy ladies! These fancy ladies were inspired by this  Fashion Photo  which struck me as soon as I saw it . I referenced the clothes, hair and postures of the ladies, but gave them to a few of my own characters instead. (If I really wanted to maximize the learning experience, I should have gone after that background, too, but... maybe next time!) Women's Fa...

Birthday Book Brownie! This  year's birthday cake was extra special because I got to share it with another awesome character... Dewey! I love a good book and this guy's no exception. I drew the little dude as part of my Leadership class project (a do nation station benefiting the local library) , and then made the cake in honor of Dewey's official debut. So what kind of cake do you bake for such a celebration of literacy? So we meet again... A book cake, of course! Or in this case, a book brownie. In the interest of fewer crumbs in the library (and because I make a killer brownie), I opted for a brownie cake instead of the usual.  Books & Brownies? Yes, please! A good tip for showstopping brownies? Doctor up a boxed mix with tasty extras like cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate chips. I also swap out half the oil for applesauce, as it's less oily and you can't tell the difference. Isn't he cute?? When it came time to decorate...

The 4th of July is a great time to celebrate freedom, independence and our nation's birthday. It's also a great time to bust out the fireworks (where legal), barbecues and patriotic baked goods! As it turns out, I actually started out just planning a baked good to celebrate the  July  birthdays of two of my coworkers. When one requested cherry pie, I could not help adding one more birthday to the mix. My, my, this American pie Instead of the typical lattice top, I simply added three full dough stripes across the bottom of the pie and three half stripes across the top. I added white sugar to the stripes to make them extra white and tossed it in the oven for about 20 minutes. (If you're looking for a good crust recipe, by the way, check out  Pie Crust V   on Allrecipes.com. It's my go-to crust recipe for most of the pies I make.) The stars were baked separately on a cookie sheet (also topped with white sugar) for about six minutes. Once both the pie and s...

I <3 Valentine's Day! Valentine's Day is the perfect time to celebrate with sweet, pink treats full of love and deliciousness. As it turns out, you can make just about anything heart-shaped, and muffins are no exception.  Instant yum While I originally just intended to make some of my favorite go to muffins as part of a low-key brunch, inspiration and timing got the better of me and made for a fun, new creation. Think outside the box... By following the "What if" recipe option listed on the back of the box, you can transform these already tasty muffins into allegedly "guilt free baked donuts." The only main difference in the process involved putting the batter into a plastic bag and piping it out onto a pan. The shape of my heart Since it was <3 day anyway, I decided to take it one step further and make Valentine's Day themed, heart-shaped donut muffins.  Circles, hearts and triforces, oh my! Along with the ...

Edible fiction One of the few things I enjoy more than baking is reading - especially a good, old-fashioned book. Fiction, nonfiction, tomes, novellas... stories of all kinds are welcome on my bookcases. So, when I found a baking pan in the shape of an open book, I simply could not resist.  Book armor (+42) My test run with the new pan began with an already hungry audience, so I decided to go the quick route of boxed cake mix. I also decided to sweeten the deal by making a few modifications.  Going bananas! Taking a simple yellow cake box mix, I followed all the directions as listed, but added to the concoction two ripe bananas and... Chocolate makes everything better. ...Chocolate chips! This way, instead of having a run of the mill boxed cake, you have a delicious semi-homemade banana chocolate chip cake. Yum!  This story isn't even half baked. After mixing everything thoroughly, I poured the batter into the book pan and set it to bake, a...

Handmade pajama pants are the coziest There's nothing quite like cozying up on the couch in a warm, comfy pair of pajama pants, and it's even more special when the pjs in question are personalized just for you! That's what I thought when I decided to make about a dozen pairs for my friends and family for Christmas.  Making so many pants from scratch may sound crazy, but p ajama pants are actually a fun, simple  sewing project that makes wonderful gifts, especially in the cold, winter season. To make the pants extra awesome, I made several sets with mix and match pockets representing special groups like my three college roomies. Each of the pairs of pants in the set wound up with one pocket of each of the other's fabrics. How cool is that? And so it begins! The first step in this project was finding a good pattern that included pockets and selecting fabric for each person. Since the roomies' favorite color is blue across the board, I decided to honor ...