EclecticDesigns by Catherine

The Rosy Days of May Blog Giveaway!

2011-05-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

I have some exciting news to share with all of you! My sister, Rebekah, and I are having a contest! Visit Rebekah's blog for details!

Spring Cleaning = New Design!

2011-05-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, a new blog design is on its way! I believe a fresh start will help give me a boost to start posting more on here! I have been making a list of all the things I want to post about, so I hope you are as excited as I am!

P.S. I should owe my enthusiastism to my sister, Rebekah. She is posting once a day on her blog, Art and Needlework, all month long. She has come up with some creative posts and she always puts a smile on your face with her elegant writing! Psst.... my sister and I have been discussing a very special surprise for our readers... find out more next week!

Paintings, drawings, and other items on eBay!

2010-11-24T05:35:00.000-08:00

Please take a look at my current eBay listings below. And please tell your friends about them!
Note: The eBay seller is my brother. I asked if he could put the listings up for me. :)

Oranges and Hickory Nuts Still Life Original Oil Painting

The Bridge to the Old Dam Road - Original Oil Painting

Chestnut: A Winter Delight - Original Pencil Drawing by Catherine Fox

Grand Geraniums - Original Pencil Drawing by Catherine Fox

Fiber and Bead Jewelry by Helen and Sally Banes

Taylor Swift US Weekly Bookazine

Bella Beaded Jewelry by Donatella Ciotti

Catholic Traditions by Ann Ball - Set of 2 Books

Two Squirrels hand painted rock art

Dalmatian dog hand painted rock art

Horse hand painted rock art

Lake Scene hand painted rock art

Fawn / Deer hand painted rock art

Take a look at my sister's afghan on eBay!

2010-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

My sister, Rebekah, crocheted this beautiful afghan and is now selling it on eBay! Please take a look!

My Etsy Store + Social Media Sites

2010-07-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/myeclecticdesigns

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/eclecticdesigns

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/EclecticDesigns-by-Catherine/122099857822221?ref=ts

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eclecticdesigns/

Drawing of Two Swans

2010-06-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

This drawing was a bit of a challenge because the ripples in the water was a very tedious job. It was an exciting moment when I finished the water and moved onto the swans. I always leave the fun parts for the last!

When I showed my father this drawing, he suggested that I add in some lily pads. I thought this was a very good idea, but unwilling to touch the drawing after I had sealed it, I am resolved to take up the pencil again and draw a similar drawing of swans but with lily pads.

I used 2b lead on Bristol board for this drawing.

Commissioned Work: Dog Portraits Painted on Rocks

2010-06-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

I used acrylic paint for both rocks and sealed them with acrylic spray.

Floral Drawings 2010

2010-05-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Flowers are my favorite subject to draw, if you haven't noticed already. So far this year I have completed two drawings. One of them I used a different color lead which was exciting for me. To deepen the color, however, I used a colored pencils. I hope you like them!

Here is a drawing of a rose that I found in a park. I used 2b lead, HB red lead, and Prismacolor colored pencils on Bristol board.

A drawing of a Black-Eyed Susan.

Close up of the drawing.

Rebekah's Crocheted Earrings

2010-05-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

My sister Rebekah loves to crochet. I asked her if she could make these and I think they turned out beautifully! Now she just needs to teach me how to crochet...

Religious Rock Art

2010-05-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

My eldest sister asked if I could paint a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on a large rock for her garden. I agreed and after many months of searching for the perfect rock, cleaning it, lifting it to a satisfactory place to paint and, of course, painting the image, the rock is complete. I used acrylic paints and I sealed it with a satin outdoor sealer.

Two Christmases ago, I painted a couple rocks to give as gifts to my sisters. One is of the Sorrowful Mother of Jesus and the other is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The rocks now sit proudly in each of their gardens. I used acrylic paints and I sealed them with polyurethane.

Sorry for the harsh lighting. The sun wasn't cooperating that day! This is one half of the rock, the other half has a prayer written on it. (See below.)

This is one half of the rock, the other half has the Immaculate Heart of Mary painted on it. (See above.)

Graphic Designing: Sweet Corn Planting Scheduler

2010-05-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

I was asked to design a couple ads and a press release banner for my dad and brother's new software:

In 2008 Tom Fox and his son Matthew, who not only helps out at the farm but is also a Windows software developer, started work together on a Windows based software program that makes use of corn GDD to schedule plantings. This Windows software was tested in 2009 and named Sweet Corn Planting Scheduler. “It worked even better than we planned,” commented Tom Fox. “Despite several unusual summer cold spells in 2009, we had continuous corn from July 24 until frost in early October.” continued Mr. Fox, “What I like about the program, was that it was so simple to use and easy to figure out with all the graphics. It not only gave me an estimate of when I should start picking the patch the day after I planted it but it also was able update this date every day, if I requested it to! It has all the info it needs — GDD for each corn variety, average daily GDD for our area — right in the software!” - Excerpt from magiclandfarms.com

And here are the graphics:

A Trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

2010-05-05T07:03:00.001-07:00

My family and I visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in April. It was an awesome experience and I'll never forget it. So many beautiful flowers, trees, plants, and sculptures! I absolutely loved it all.

I brought my camera along for the trip, of course, and thought I'd share with you the extraordinary experience I had. The photos are in no particular order.

Please note that I am now using Flickr to host my photos. I am a novice to this service, so I hope that in time I'll be able to take full advantage of all its uses.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick little post wishing you all a blessed Easter Sunday! May God bless you!

A delicious cherry and almond Easter cake baked by my step mom, Annemarie!

Spring flowers... so pretty!

A Drawing Challenge!

2010-03-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am a member of a wonderful forum called WetCanvas and every week they organize a challenge. They call these challenges "Weekend Drawing Events". This week's theme was Andalucia and I decided to participate. Here is the work I finished over the weekend. It took me about six hours to complete and I took photos throughout the drawing process.

After about an hour of work.

After about two and a half hours.

About four hours.

Six hours. Completed.

A couple closeups.

Web and Graphic Designing - 2

2010-02-22T05:47:00.000-08:00

I have been busy designing two websites these last couple of months (January and February):

Please note that all the websites that I develop are coded by hand. I do not use a WYSIWYG editor.

Magicland Farms

The top of the front page. Note that the image banner randomly changes each time you visit the page. The image banner was a photo of pumpkins when I took this screen shot.

The bottom of the front page.

The drop down menu. It was created using only CSS.

Here is the photo album for Magicland Farms. If you click on the photo thumbnail, a larger picture will appear without going to another page. I used Rokbox for this.

I clicked on a photo thumbnail in the photo album and a larger picture appeared.

Magicland Electronics

The top of the front page.

The bottom of the front page.

The drop down menu.

The online catalog.

A Walk on the Ice

2010-02-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

My siblings and I decided to take a walk on a lake very close to us. The sun was shining and it was fairly warm out. It was a beautiful day. . .

Lots of fishermen!

I love the rock reflections.

An old woodpile - thought it was interesting!

I like the colors in this photo.

We found this footprint drawing - can you guess what it is of?

An act of kindness. Shoelace tying.

I like lampposts. They're pretty.

I was lagging behind. I was shutter happy.

Commissioned Work: Life-size Raccoon Rock

2010-01-23T05:48:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I completed a rock painting of a raccoon. The lady who ordered it wanted it by Christmas to give as a gift. This was my first rock painting with a rock this large - over fifty pounds!

I took pictures of the painting process to show you. I apologize for the poor quality on some of these photos! I hope you will enjoy them despite that!

The rock that I chose.

Black basecoat.

Chalked the basic features.

Basecoated the basic features.

Completed raccoon rock.

Opposite side.

Close-up.

Detail work.

Bottom of the rock.

Before the Snow

2009-12-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

It is a winter wonderland outside now! And the snow keeps coming. I can't wait for the falling snow to subside, just so I can take my camera outside and get some good shots! I do have some photos of last winter, but I would prefer to keep my photography fresh on this blog for right now.

I have quite a collection of photos that I have accumulated over the years that I finally decided to break down and purchase an external hard drive to store them all. I am super excited over this. I now need to organize them all and transfer them, a task that I am kind of dreading at the moment, but it has to be done!

One last note, I took some pictures in November and never put them up on this blog! I think it's better late than never, so here you are!

I took these photos on a Saturday afternoon at our farm, Magicland Farms:

My siblings and I took a long walk around our lake, Pickerel Lake, and I brought my camera along:

2009 Jewelry Show: Earrings

2009-12-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

Update: I will not be having a part three for 2009 for bracelets because I sold out of them. Hopefully next year I'll take photos of them beforehand.

This is part two of my Jewelry Show series. ~~The next part will be on bracelets.~~ Maybe next year I will be able to add other types of jewelry like anklets and rings.

Last year I started making earrings. I have to say, earrings are my favorite jewelry to make. They are just so much fun to make.

My step mother helped me pick out the following earring to show you. My personal favorite is the "Best Buds" one.

Uncle Phil and Aunt Ginny's Surprise Package

2009-11-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

My uncle owns his own business, Castle Cleaning and Oriental Rug Company. He sells and cleans oriental rugs. Last week Uncle Phil and Aunt Ginny surprised my family and I with a package in the mail. I was inspired by the unique designs of the items and had to take my camera out.

Coasters

Mouse pad

Coin Purse

Pillow

Makeup bag

Eyeglass case

Bookmarks

I absolutely love everything. Such high quality items and so intricate of designs. Thank you, Uncle Phil and Aunt Ginny!

2009 Jewelry Show: Necklaces

2009-11-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

One Saturday when I was at the stand, I finally was able to take a few snapshots of my jewelry. Please note that the quality of these photos are not the best because I didn't have anything set up to take photos. Also, I am showing you only a sampling of the necklaces I have made this past year.

I'd love to hear your suggestions on how to take photos of jewelry or ideas on what type of technique I should try. Also, would you like me to list all the types of materials I use for each necklace or give a description of them? Any feedback is appreciated!

My Drawings: 2008-2009

2009-11-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

I have found drawing to be a little easier than painting because of the easy clean up. With oil paints, you have to clean out your brushes well, clean up any oil spills, etc. With drawing, I have four basic tools which I carry around with me wherever I like and it is easy cleanup. Also, my father built a tilted drawing surface that is portable, which I use all the time and makes drawing much more enjoyable.

Below are drawings that I have completed. Some were drawn in 2008. Click on the images to see a larger view. If you have any questions about them, please don't hesitate to contact me or leave me a comment!

Medium: 2b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: 12x9"

Medium: 2b and 8b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: 12x9"

Medium: 2b and 8b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: about 18x22"

Medium: 2b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: 18x7", drawn for my sister, Rebekah

Medium: 2b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: 12x9"

Medium: 2b lead, Surface: Bristol board, Size: 15-1/2x22", drawn for my step mom, Annemarie

Painted Pumpkins

2009-10-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

For a number of year now I have been painting miniature pumpkins to sell at my family's farm. They are a lot of fun to make!

A Horse Named Cocoa

2009-10-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

When I asked for permission to take photos of my neighbor's horse, Cocoa, I was asked in return to paint them a picture of Cocoa. This is how it turned out...

Oil paint on canvas board. Framed by Catherine Fox.

I also drew a picture of him before the painting.

Web and Graphic Designing

2009-10-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

This past year I have been quite occupied with web and graphic designing. My largest project was a website for my sisters, Bernadette and Rebekah. They wanted me to redesign their website (Saint Maria's Messenger) so it would be more organized and with more features. (Keep in mind that this was my first website using Joomla, a CMS.) Below is a screenshot of the website.

In addition to the website, I designed a forum (SMM Forum) using phpBB. This was the first time I worked with this opensource bulletin board system. The first time using any bulletin board system, for that matter.

After the launch of their website, I decided to design my sister, Rebekah, a cooking blog. Her blog is called Sabbath Supper. The layout is inspired by a teacup and saucer that is from our grandmother.

Then Rebekah started a blog dedicated to her crafting. I offered to make her a layout for it and she accepted. She named it St. Gemma's Art and Needlework. The layout incorporates my sister's ardent love of the color red. What I really like about this layout is the buttons. It is definitely unique.

Let me finish off this post with one last graphic that I designed. It is a header for the Magicland Farms blog. I am hoping to design a special layout for this blog as well.