Henna Alphabet Letter "Z" Printable

 Can you believe this is the last letter? I started this alphabet in the Fall of '13, so it's been a long time coming! Soon I want to get them rounded up so you can see them all at once, but until then, all of you Zs out there have something nice for a change.

Click to download and print in Brights Palette "Blue Green." 
Click to download and print in Naturals Palette "Sage."
Click to download and print in Black and White.

Cashmere Rag Doll

 

A little girl with a big personality should have a doll with personality too. That's what I think, anyway. In an effort to be a good aunt I have been trying to make a stuffed animal or doll for each new nephew and niece. The girls could not have been more enthusiastic about planning dolls for their new cousins, so we pulled out a felted cashmere sweater and the girls stuck it full of pins while I drew up a quick pattern.

You can check out the dolls and stuffies that inspired me here on Pinterest. I was especially thinking about Jess Brown rag dolls which are so loveably awkward and fashionable at the same time. They are like the doll versions of the Man Repeller. We went a little more traditionally girly and bright here, with different eyes and mouth and more clash. 

 
The cape is red broadcloth, the printed dress is vintage flour sack, the lace slip was a swimsuit coverup, and the shoes are felt.  My daughters have been carrying "Little Red" around to do everything. I asked what they liked about her, and they said she was squishy and nice to hug. So there you have it! A doll can't ask for a better endorsement than that!

Wood Burned Oars

Done! I intended to hang them in the hall, but I really love them propped in a corner. They make good props for maritime adventures involving cardboard box boats on rug-ged seas. Someone asked me why I made these... 

The only reason is that they exist and they should be beautiful. Happily, beauty finds its reason in God and needs no other! 

Sticking My Oar In: Maritime Pyrography

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were lovely. Our Christmas break was a whirlwind of interrupted projects and plans. With the exception of Christmas Eve, every time we started a project either my husband had to go back to work unexpectedly, or we couldn’t find the supplies we needed. I can't say it was restful, but it was encouraging to make progress on things even if we didn't check them off the list.
 Daniel went back to work this morning officially, so today feels like a regular day. I love the novelty and fun of Christmas, and I also love sliding back into the flow of life.
One of my goals for the year is to make some art for the house, so I got a start here. We had some wooden oars I've had my eye on burning.

I was so tempted to over-plan myself out of it, but I took my own advice and just started drawing. My influences here are water because of the oars, a swirling early Eritrean pattern I found years ago, and haiku: Specifically how haiku has a natural theme and is supposed to transform the way you view something by making a shift or juxtaposition.
The oars are still in process, but I am excited to get them done. I both enjoy and am maddened by how much pyrography is not only drawing, but a measure of time. It is not as quick as making a mark on paper!

Free advice: When using an indelible marking tool do not stray from the plans you made in pencil. After all these years I should know that!

Henna Alphabet Letter "H" Printable

Several little girls I know will be born soon and need a big H for their nurseries. One of those little girls is a bit too anxious to arrive. Stay put, little one! The world is wide and you will have plenty of time to see it. Enjoy the womb sweet child!

Click to download and print in Naturals Palette "Brown Gray."
Click to download and print in Brights Palette "Pink."
Click to download and print in Black and White.

Henna Alphabet Letter "G" Printable

How was your Thanksgiving? This year has brought so much to be thankful for, which is the perfect antidote to Black Friday. 

This G might be my favorite letter so far, and very much in keeping with my thoughts as I use fall and winter to work on soil building. In the spring and summer I hope my plants will be growing eagerly toward the sun just like they are in this letter! 

Click to print in Brights Palette "Tangerine" 

Click to print in Naturals Palette "Spring"

Click to print in black and white. 

Henna Alphabet Letter "F" Printable

When I started to draw the F it occurred to me that I could think of very few girl names for F. I went on those baby name sites, and sure enough, there are lots of boy names and plenty of last names, but very few girl names. This surprised me because it seems like a feminine found doesn't it? Quite soft.
It makes sense for "flutter," "friendship," and "forest," but it seems odd to me that we use such a nice letter for "fall" "fear" and "fake." Oh, the things that keep me up at night!

Speaking of things that keep me up, I haven't been in love with the palette of the letters. As much as I love the brights I haven't been thrilled with the combination, and I also wanted to offer a more subdued palette as well. This week I decided it was now or never. I didn't want to be nearly all the way through the alphabet before I changed my mind. I am going back and changing everything retroactively. Hopefully that won't make too much of a mess! I know, I know, both colors look eerily familiar. Trust me, this is going to work out better!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Click to download and print in Naturals Palette "Gray."
Click to download and print in Brights Palette "Pea."
Click to download and print in Black and White.

Printable Henna Alphabet Letter "Y"

And finishing up the word Joy, Y!

 My kitchen is fairly bursting with vegan gluten free foods in expectation of company coming for Damaris' birthday. It's been a whirlwind few years, but my baby will soon be two!
It's supposed to be raining and cold, so we are making indoor plans, and focusing on soups.
Do you have any big plans for the weekend?

Click to download and print in color.
Click to download and print in black and white.

A Fear of Falling

The icy fear that grips my gut when I think about the change in weather is way colder than the actual outdoor temps, and a bit embarrassing. 
What's not to love about changing colors, pumpkin flavored baked goods, soup, hayrides, and the rest of it? Well, nothing, really. What I can't stand is that winter follows autumn, and I am not the least bit excited about winter. This winter has just got to be better than the last one because we were in that itty bitty miserable apartment, but still the unreasonable phobia unease persists.

To associate the fall with more positive things we are making an effort to take outings and appreciate the changes instead of dreading them. First on our list, an early fall family camping trip! In the spirit of 2013 all the pics were taken with my iPhone 5 instead of hauling the DSLR up a big hill with a toddler on my back. Wonder of wonders it worked! 
Hope you had a great weekend as well!
What are your favorite fall activities?

Printable Henna Alphabet Letter "D"

My daughter Damaris always brings me a pen and paper to draw a flower and a butterfly for her. It would be really clever of me if I had thought "Hmm, this is Damaris' letter. I should commemorate the sweet way she is always asking me for flowers and butterflies forever." No, I wish! I was drawing the flowers here and she said "Good drawing flowers, Momma. Now draw a butterfly!" so I did. Um... sure... of course I meant to do that!
Click the links below to download and print.

Print in color
Print in black and white

Henna Letter "C" Printable

Surprise! What what? Not only is this an extra letter for the week, it's also an extra post for the week outside my MWF schedule. That is partly because I figured out a short cut for editing the drawings, and partly because I have a lot to say and a lot to show you right now, so buckle up!
The Letter C in my printable Henna Alphabet series. Technically it could pass as a lowercase "e" too, if you really wanted it to. Now isn't that completely classy?
Please. Stop me before I hurt myself with the alliteration.

Print "C" in Color (kind of)
Print "C" in Black

Henna Alphabet Letter "B" Printable

This post is brought to you by the letter B!
Just think of all the Birthday Bashes, Baby showers and Bazaars you can use this for. This is the next installment of my free printable Alphabet in Henna series, and I am getting faster, so maybe it won't take 26 weeks to hit all the letters. Here's hoping!

Click to print in Brights Palette "Blue-Green"
Click to print in Naturals Palette "Sand"
Click to print in Black and White

Henna Alphabet Letter "A" Printable

I thought it might be fun to do a printable for today, and start an alphabet. I am sure that by the time I get to Z I am going to be saying "What was I thinking? Z? Who needs Z? How many Zekes, Zoes, and Zedekiahs can there be?" Or maybe by that time I will be an expert and it won't take so long to get these from sketch to print. Maybe I will talk my husband into buying me a drawing tablet. Who knows? Between A and Z nearly anything can happen!

But anyway, here is the letter A. I see these being printed up for children's rooms, or adult rooms for that matter. Entry halls? Weddings? Showers? Who knows? Tell me all about what you use them for okay?
P.S. I'm getting a lot of feedback that you guys can't leave comments, and I am working on it 2 ways: Through Blogger, and also by trying to get my self-hosted site up and running. In the meantime, if you have comments, please leave them on Facebook here: Lydia Lark Creative

Click to print in Brights Palette "Tangerine"
Click to print in Naturals Palette "Brown Gray"
Click to print in Black and White

Best Laid Plans

When I decided to take a blog break this winter I was living in the dark in a new town and new state with 1,500 sq ft worth of belongings packed into 400 sq ft of basement apartment. While there are definitely greater hardships in life, and they weren’t unhappy months, the atmosphere dried up my creativity. As there was not enough light to take a good picture on a regular basis, I was reduced to dusting off old ones from the files. 

I thought I would work on the new blog space I am going to move this to, but it turned out that I had lost my compass on that too, so I didn’t get it done. Now we are installed in our new house, albeit under kitchen renovation, and despite the craziness of construction, a minor auto accident two weeks ago, and a trip to the hospital for me this week, I feel like perspective and creativity and beauty are once more accessible. Hallelujah.

And what beauty! This floral extravaganza happened in my yard to my surprise and delight. My friends from arid places will understand my gob stopped amazement at this bounty. I get excited about clover blossoms, so this is. 

Wow. 

And the fragrance.

Yeah. 

So I am back. I have moved house but not site. 

That is fine for now.