Blue Antique Victorian Oxford Stove Needlepoint - Hand painted canvas

Designed this needlepoint canvas in honor of the antique stove that I painted blue and put into my dollhouse condo. It's hand painted on 18 ct. canvas and will be available in the summer of 2020 in my online store here.

Abert's Squirrel of New Mexico Needlepoint Canvas - Hand Painted

Abert's squirrels! They have crazy long ears! We saw our first one after moving to New Mexico a few months ago. So, I commemorated it by designing a needlepoint ornament. This canvas is 18 ct. and will be for sale in my online store soon! Maybe not until summer of 2020 though. :) Email me if you need this one sooner.

80's Preppy Bermuda Bag Needlepoint Hand Painted Canvas - Alligators and whales

So cute! I'm in love with these Bermuda Bag ornaments. Note my Bermuda Bag obsession in my post from 2014. I designed them on 18 ct canvas and they are ready for purchase in my online store! I love these little alligators and whales so much. 

I plan on have a number of colors and patterns!

Easter Peep Needlepoint - Hand Painted Canvas

Just designed a Peep! Love this little guy, surrounded by easter egg-looking polka dots. He isavailable in my online store on 14 ct. canvas.

Chocolate Bunny Rabbit with a bow Hand Painted Needlepoint Canvas

I designed a chocolate bunny for needlepoint! He had a few iterations, but I think he's at a really good place now. I'm offering a canvas or kit with a solid background or this Zigzag jacquard background. The kit has gorgeous silk thread. Available now in my online store!

Brush lettering with Pilot Custom 912 Falcon Nib

Doing some "calligraphy" style lettering lately. I'm using the Pilot Custom 912 Fountain Pen with the FA Falcon Nib on Tomoe River paper. The ink I wrote in is Iroshizuku Murakami Shikibu, a wet ink that is just divine. The outer drawing is Tombow Brush Pens, Watercolor pencils and the fantastic Platinum Carbon Ink pen with the Extra Fine nib.

The guys at Nibs.com set and optimized the Pilot Custom 912 at purchase for no extra charge. Love them. Wrote them a little thank you note below.

The Platinum Carbon Ink pen is, for the money, the best art purchase. The ink is waterproof and can draw on watercolor and not smear. What a great thing!!

To the Nibs.com guys in Los Angeles:

Ruth & Ralphy

I've just created these little characters! I used Procreate on an ipad. I'm usually a PC person, but my mom passed away and left me her ipad so it's just another gift from her - a way to get back into art a little more (I've spent a lot of time with other crafts, like knitting). So, I named the little girl character Ruth (after my grandmother) and the dog is actually a rendering of my mom's dog, Ralphy (yes, my mom left me an ipad and a dog. I guess that's better than money in the long run). 

I think I'll write a book with these two characters. They inspire a lot of ideas for me. I see them in a pastoral setting, exchanging ideas about the evolution of our perception and how we can become aware of the limiting beliefs that control our daily interactions. 

Been Knitting a ton lately - find me on Ravelry! :)

https://www.ravelry.com/people/jenyarose

Casual Skateboarding in my 40s - just learned!

Just learned how to skateboard! I've always wanted to learn, and was given a penny board as a child that was not easy to ride. I'm not in it for the tricks - I just want to ride around the neighborhood. It looks fun.

I did a bit of research and found out that I needed to go to an independent board shop, pick out a wide deck that is easy to stand on (I chose 8.75 inches, my husband chose 10 for his big feet). Then have them put on their biggest, softest wheels, cheapest ball-bearings (so they are not fast) and set the wheels tight so they don't revolve a ton when you spin them.



If I'm standing on a hill my board will not roll. That's how tight the wheels are set. It was very easy to learn on a board that doesn't go flying out from under you when you step on. It took a few hours and I was ready to start heading down some gentle hills.

The board shop where I got mine (Ground Floor Skateshop in Rockford, IL) had handpainted options for the rough upper bit (instead of just black). So pretty!

I'm still shocked at how easy it was to learn.

Word of caution: wear pads! I was sharing the wrist guards with my nephew and at some point neither of us was wearing them. That's when I fell. It was my 5th day of riding. I was going uphill and about to be at a complete stop when the board went out from under me backwards. I fell onto the cement and rolled onto the grass. I scratched my knees and palms, but the worst part was something I did to my left thumb.

2 weeks later it's still not totally up to snuff, but it's healing. Bone bruise? Who knows, but now I wear full pads - even if I look like a fool. It's totally worth the pain though. Skateboarding is so fun!!!

The dog loves that we're doing an activity that he can be involved in. He hates when we go biking.




My dog and husband. My nephew photo-bombing in the back.

Made my first Eyedropper Pen from a Platinum Preppy!

I converted the Preppy (which takes cartridges) into an eyedropper pen (you can fill the whole barrel with ink). Tons of people have done it and there are tutorials everywhere, so I decided to get in on the fun! Goulet Pens sells the O-rings that fit the preppy. Then you just need some silicone grease.

 Filled it with Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

I'm either writing about the pen or what the TV is saying, so don't read anything into my mumblings. 

It seems to write much wetter now and almost acts like a larger nib than it used to. Maybe it's the pressure of the ink coming out more easily. Writes smoother now too, prob a byproduct of the plethora of ink coming from the nib. Very enjoyable. 

My guest bathroom kitchen is now inkville.