Crafty In Cobb

The school year is a good month in if you live in Cobb County, GA. Can you believe it? August has passed so quickly. This also means a month of making lunches and snacks for the kiddos. Store bought items are OK but after awhile they end up tasting the same. For me, they taste like either sugar or salt and maybe a little something else. When I have the time I prefer to do homemade snacks. Something that tastes like real food because it is - real flavor, real texture, really yummy. Muffins are my go-to homemade snack and can often make a great breakfast, too. They bake quickly and it's so easy to include healthy ingredients. I'm not the type to hide them. My son is not the best eater but I make sure he knows all the goodness that he does eat. The muffins will take you about 10 minutes to make and then 25 to bake. The ingredients are pantry staples. You may be able to make them today! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins Makes 12 Muffins Ingredients 1 1/...

I've been working as a designer in all kinds of capacities for some time now and have developed some skills that allow me to create things that are fun to share. One of my favorite creative activities is making patterns - floral, geometric, random, nautical, rustic, abstract, you name it. For me the creation of the forms that make the patterns are fun. So is adding color. Recently I thought... why not make some coloring pages? I did and they've been so enjoyable to make and color (pencil and/or crayon are my favorite choices) I decided to share some with my readers now and again. The designs I'm sharing here will print at 8x10" on a letter-sized sheet of paper. If you want a really great experience coloring I suggest buying some inexpensive watercolor paper from Michaels or Targer or wherever. Cut the page to 8.5x11" and print via the sheet-feeder. The color of whatever media you use - pencil, pen, crayon - will be pretty spectacular. All artwork w...

Rumor had it that this past weekend was meant to be nice and cool by Georgia standards. That means somewhere in the 80s for August. A  really good weekend to be outdoors. So, what to do? What to do... After a little deliberating me and my boys decided to drive up to Amicalola Falls Sunday morning and take a hearty hike up the side of this very steep waterfall. As it was the weekend we slept in a bit, had a cup o' joe, fed the kittens, packed a picnic lunch and hit the road. The drive is a bit over an hour drive via 575 and takes you through some pretty back roads through Canton, Ball Ground and Marble Hill. There are a few produce stands along the way, too.  Once you get to the park have $5 in hand to pay for parking. The visitor center has a large parking area and clean rest rooms. Amicalola Falls State Park is friendly to leashed dogs and is a great place for kids. There are 2 small playgrounds by the visi...

Did you enjoy my How To Make a Rainbow Leaf Drawing Tutorial from 2016? I've created another! This one shows you how to draw a relaxing, meditative mandala shape. This circular form I show is a very simplified version of a traditional mandala. A real mandala drawing represents the universe in both Hinduism and Buddhism and is drawn as a spiritual ritual. What I am showing you here is how to draw a geometric pattern that derives some of its shape from this practice but whose goal is simply to give you a couple of hours of relaxing activity. You will need the following: Paper (printer paper is OK) No. 12 Pencil with Eraser Thin Black Sharpie Marker Color Pencils or Crayons The outer circle is about 8" in diameter. If you aren't comfortable drawing 2 circles by hand use a cereal bowl for the outer circle and a clear glass for the center circle (so that you can see that it is centered. Do not worry about pencil marks. You will erase them after...

South of the Border (cotton & wool), 1958 Photo Source: http://albersfoundation.org/art/anni-albers/weavings/#slide15 Annie Albers, 1899-1994, was a true Renaissance Woman. Born in Berlin Germany at the end of the 19th century, Albers was one of the most influential textile artists of all time. As a trained artist, Albers did not see textiles as second to painting and sculpture. Rather, she embraced textiles as a fine art form that should be seen side by side with all such artworks. Photo Source: http://albersfoundation.org/teaching/anni-albers/introduction/#slide12 Annie Albers was born Annelise Fleischman and married the painter Joseph Albers in 1925. They both were heavily involved in the modern art movement in Germany and joined the famous Bauhaus in the 1920s. In 1933 the Nazis forced the Bauhaus to close and Annie and Joseph moved to America. They both taught at the influential Black Mountain College and became US citizens in 1939. While at Black Mountain Alber...