freebirdsings

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

I am with all my family in California for Christmas as usual. I hope you are right where you need to be and I hope you have a wonderful day, This is the tree at my daughter's house.

This is my first post using an android app so hopefully my pic is right side up!

First Snowfall

2011-12-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. As my mother used to say (I think she made it up) "Hello Mr. Rabbit, your tail is mighty white. Yes, by golly, it snowed last night". And it did! Only a dusting and it'll be gone soon but it was great to wake up to. The temp here is 38 degrees so it's not going to stay long. I know for you easterners it isn't worth noting but this could be all we get this year!

Catching Up for Now

2011-10-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

My husband had an appointment at the VA dental office. It is in Prescott AZ, about 80 miles away so I packed candy and journal stuff to go along with me while I waited for him. The first picture is what I did while I waited. It's in the style of Alisa Burke who offers an ongoing class here.

I made a little travel palette to go in my journal in my purse. It takes up no room. In fact it sits inside my journal. It's made by cutting a piece of Sheer Heaven, a special plastic which can be used multiple ways as you can see here. I made it per the instructions found here. It worked really well as you can see.

And these are my latest pictures from Jane Davenport's class SuppliesMe. I plan on signing up for her next class!

Question For You

2011-10-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. First, this is a picture I made for Jane Davenport's class Supplies Me
. I enjoyed drawing this as she represents my granddaughter who is really skinny like this, loves purple and is taking ballet. (Her mother told me in LB's saturday class they were told to kick their legs behind them and try to reach the back of their head. When she saw LB she exclaimed "OMG (long version), she's really doing it"! And my LB said she kicked her head pretty hard with her right leg but only touched it lightly with her left. Now can you do that? I can't even kick past knee-height!

The second thing and the point of this post is a question. Do you have an Ipad or an Android tablet? I am looking at these and have read that on the Android tablets some of the web sites come up in cellphone version rather than a PC version and some find that annoying. Since I don't get sites on my cellphone I don't know how annoying that would be so I am hoping someone can tell me! If you have an Ipad, do the sites come up regular version or cellular version on it? Maybe this is the real reason people love the Ipad over the Android tablets?

Happy Sunday

2011-10-02T08:12:00.002-07:00

I'm taking a class with Jane Davenport from Australia. The second picture here is my interpretation of her in a teaching video she made from Bali. She's teaching how to use various tools from colored pencil to watercolors and markers. We are also learning how to draw faces and some basic figures. I'm learning quite a bit. The other picture here is one of my lessons in putting it together in my journal.

The picture of Jane was done with regular graphite pencil on a gesso covered puzzle page in a re-purposed journal. I went over the pencil with watercolor pencils and then water.

The girl with kite was done with no drawing for the background. I just took gouache (opaque watercolor) and started in. Then I drew the girl on a separate piece of paper, colored it in with colored pencil, cut her out and glued her on the page. I'm really happy with her and my whole page!

I hope these pictures add some color to your day. Hope you have a great Fall Sunday!

If you are interested in Jane's classes check out this link: http://www.janedavenport.com/workshops/ . You'll learn a lot and have fun too. This is the beginning workshop; she's planning more to help us with drawing people!

Yuck!

2011-09-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been told not to say bad things about my work at least not unless I am willing to say something good. I am trying a new way of working with colored pencils where you layer colors and then rub pretty hard with another pencil to even out all the colors. I didn't use the best paper for this. I used drawing paper and so I will try again on bristol or in my Moleskine (cream paper version). I was feeling like pink and red when I drew my 11th self portrait so I rather overdid them. And then I ended up plastering my hair to my head as if I'd been out in a driving rain! My granddaughter on the left in their picture actually looks somewhat like her but the one on the right does not. I have lots of practice ahead of me.

I almost didn't even post these. I waited several days but then gave in to my principle of showing you all my projects even if they aren't ones that make me happy. I said I would share my 30 portraits so I will! Let's hope the next one is better. Two steps forward, one step back. That's me. I guess that leaves me firmly in the human race - no demigod business for me!

Imaginary Trip to Italy

2011-09-13T20:19:00.002-07:00

I have taken another Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita. We had a blast touring Italy. You could have fun too, taking these trips. I always learn something new. Sometimes I learn new things about the places we are "visiting" and I always learn more about painting with watercolor. There is an autumn trip coming up soon. Why don't you join me?

Sambo and another Portrait

2011-08-31T20:43:00.002-07:00

Still keeping busy with artstuff. I had put the background to Sambo in ahead of time. It's acrylic so watercolor wouldn't work well and I didn't feel like using gouache or collage so I used the Tombow pen to draw my little black poodle-chihuahua mix. I like how he turned out. I guess I could have drawn him larger but it's okay this way. At least I got him down before he moved! Getting faster with my sketching and that's a good thing when you try to get an animal down without using a photo.

The other is portrait number 9. I'm really slow at doing these. The challenge was to do one every day during the month of August but I've changed it to doing 30 no matter how long it takes! I'm pretty happy with this one although once again, it doesn't look like me or the other portraits! My eyes are too big but at least I got the head shape better. And the nose is better too! Wish it looked like me though!

Everyone ready for fall to come? I've had enough of this summer between snakes and the heat. I think everyone has had lots of heat this year and many of you got Irened too. I hope all of you did okay through her rage up the East Coast.

Mojave Green and Some More Self-Portraits

2011-08-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Oh, we had some excitement around our house this morning. Not good excitement either. I looked out about 15 minutes after I'd let two of our remaining dogs outside and this is what I saw. At first I couldn't believe I was seeing what I was so I called my husband over and he confirmed it. Another snake! This is a Mojave Green rattler which has two kinds of toxins, one for the muscles and one for the nervous system so the vaccines and antivenoms don't work well if a dog gets bit. Very, very dangerous. This one had 7 rattle buds so it was quite mature. At least we got this one before it got another of our dogs!

The other pictures are part of my ongoing self-portrait series with Violette
. I am not happy with my monkey face at all. My face needed to be out as far as the hair edges and then hair added beyond that. It would have made a lot of difference. Also, I think I have to watch the angle at which I hold a handheld mirror as it changed perspective on me and not for the better! Ah well, it's a learning process.

The second, blue and orange picture was done in ball point pen with watercolor added. I was trying to stay cool yesterday which I can as long as I stay indoors with the air-conditioning but it was 108 degrees outside. The official temp is never as high as we seem to get but we have three thermometers outside that all say the same thing. They are two different brands and in three areas of the yard so can they all be wrong? I think not. These were portraits nos. 7 and 8. I am quite a bit behind but that's okay with me. It's the journey, not the speed that counts here.

Hope you have happy events in your day!

Portrait Number 4 and a Journal Page

2011-08-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Portrait number four was done without looking at a reference. I just felt bad and drew that. I think it comes across! Hope you all felt better today than I did.

The birdbath is my sister's. She's moving to Japan to live with her son since she just can't make it in California on Social Security and a part-time job. She's only taking small items with her and although she loved this birdbath, it's too heavy to ship so I drew it. I wish I'd left the writing off so I could make a print for her. When I get refreshed on PSElements I might erase the lettering and print it out.

More Self-Portraits

2011-08-07T20:00:00.001-07:00

I've been visiting my sister who is leaving to live in Japan and went to my son's pot party (we all took clay pots to welcome him into his new home) so I got a bit behind but I'll keep working at these. Here are nos. 2 and 3 with neither being good and both worse than day 1. I guess you could call me a glutton for punishment but I really am hoping to learn something from doing these.

Now off to catch up a bit with my newest Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita which is a trip to Italy! Ciao!

30 Self Portraits

2011-08-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Violette
is having a challenge over on her blog for 30 days of self-portraits. She's asking us to let everyone know in case they'd like to practice drawing, drawing faces or whatever. So now you know why I did the picture here. I haven't done many faces so I figure 30 of them will help my drawing them. We'll see won't we? Want to join me? They don't have to be lengthy sessions or realistically done. Want to scratch one out with a pencil in 5 minutes or paint one or do a cartoon? It's all okay. So come on! Join in with me.

Damn the Rattlesnakes Anyhow

2011-07-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

I came home from California today as it was a very bad day for us. Our Brandy was bit by a rattlesnake last night. My husband took her to the vet but she couldn't be saved. Evidently, getting bitten in the nose as our big Sarah dog was is a better place than the fleshy underside of a dog. Brandy was only about 3 years old so we are really, really sad and wishing we weren't living in the desert right now. I know the snake was only doing what comes natural to them for their own survival but it hurts so much to see the dogs hurt by them. My husband almost stepped on a snake when he was out looking for her. That snake didn't make it either but I don't feel so bad for it.

Brandy was a shelter dog who'd been turned back in three times before I found her. She got over a lot of her fears and was enjoying life to the fullest so we at least can be happy about giving her that. It's just so hard; we feel like we failed her even though logically we know we did the best we could. We will miss you forever Brandy. We love you.

All Done!

2011-06-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here it is in all the glory it's going to get! This is my pear. Thanks so much Ann for the tutorial and thanks to everyone who has been keeping an eye on the project.

I left the border and the extra bit of paper on the bottom because I am wondering if I want to add "Pear" in calligraphy (Ann, was this a Bartlet?) or maybe something more in that space. I also am wondering about a background. What would any of you do? Leave it white, add some colored pencil - and what color would you use? I'm rather stumped at this point so thinking it'll probably remain white. All opinions welcome!

So once again, check out Blue Bird Hill as she can inspire you too!

More Pear

2011-06-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Second stage of my pear! So far so good but I'm worrying I've added too much color now for the next stage. I might have filled the tooth of the paper. We'll see. Stay tuned!

As always, check out Ann's Bluebird Hill blog for the tutorial and some wonderful art!

Working on My Pear

2011-06-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is my pear with the first layer of light yellow all over except in the highlights and then the second layer of adding some other yellows and green. On to some more colors. Actually I had to go over this a few times as it was too light to see when I turned off the Ott light!
Remember this is being done with the tutorial found at Bluebird Hill blog. If you want to try it, just hop over and check out all the lessons. There is even a downloadable PDF.

Fun in the Garden

2011-06-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

I had another fun trip with Laure Ferlita. This is another of the stay-at-home variety. It was called An Imaginary Trip to the Garden
and we all had a delightful time sharing critters and flowers and such. These are the pictures I painted. Laure gives lots of leeway for you to personalize your "trip". Why don't you try a trip of your own?

Are You Being Watched?

2011-05-29T18:19:00.001-07:00

My kitty was sitting beside me while I played a game on the computer. I dropped the game and picked up a pencil to see how much I could draw before she moved. Well, I got most of her eyes done and then she was gone. Still, it made a nice page. I went back in and added color to the eyes. I don't know which way I like the drawing better. What about you?

Color Pencil Drawing

2011-05-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Ann Nemcosky of Blue Bird Hill blog is offering a tutorial on colored pencil drawing. I've told her I want to follow along. She's asked to see where we'll be posting our work as we go along so I am going to post the steps as I do them here. The picture she's chosen and already prepared for us is this pear.

Do you want to try out some colored pencil drawing. Grab your pencils and join in. Go to her blog I've linked for you above and let her know. Ready? Let's go!

Just Practice Work

2011-05-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

I was practicing dewdrops for a class I am taking with Laure Ferlita. This one is a Trip to the Garden and she might have a second one coming up. These seemed pretty hard at first but are fun once you get the hang of it. I resorted to a magnifying glass when I tried the teensy tiny ones on the flower you see at the bottom of the Dewdrops page!

The other page was simply boredom last night and a desire to do a bit of practice with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. I played it loose and fast both with the pen and the subsequent watercolor. This is in a Strathmore journal filled with drawing paper so it's not really made for the watercolor. I think it worked fine as I got in some drawing practice and painting practice but I also found out this ink doesn't dry quickly on this paper. I had several minutes between drawing and painting but my ink still smeared. It didn't matter so much with this page but it could on others.

Since I am always wondering how large a page people are working

on I thought I would mention the top pic is on a 5.5 x 7.5 inch page and the bottom pic is on a 9 x 12 inch page.

Hope you have a wonderful, creative day.

New Pages

2011-05-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

I am back home from California. My Skoshi dog is doing fine now that the blockage is gone from her intestines and I am catching up on blogging and some painting.

The bee picture was done because my youngest granddaughter has moved beyond truly loving all animals to including some of the insect world. She likes bees now even though her sister and a friend have both been stung recently. There is an avocado grove on the hill behind their house and the owner imported bees which have decided this granddaughter's swimming pool is a good water source for quenching their thirst after a hard day pollinating trees! Anyhow, I told her I'd show her a quick way to draw a bee so she and one of her sisters grabbed their composition book journals and we drew bees and daisies. They did a great job and I wish I had thought to scan in their versions but then again, this youngest granddaughter wouldn't have allowed me to share anyhow - she is beyond shy.

With nothing to do one morning while all the kids were doing schoolwork (being homeschooled), I drew one of the family dogs. This little dog is a rescue dog. She's perfect for my granddaughter and was dressed up in such a cute little dress. I had to try drawing her. Painting her was a bit more difficult but I think I got the gist of her down.

The last pic is of my Pandora kitty. She was sitting this morning, where she could see me, the dogs and the canary, Taxi. I thought she made a simple shape the way she was lying down so grabbed a Tombow pen and quickly drew her. Good thing I was being quick because no sooner than I began and she up and took off for a better spot leaving me to finish without my model! With this pen I just had to add a bit of water to have the essence of a painting. I thought it looked like a Chinese or Japanese sumi ink painting so I added a bit of origami paper and made my date look like one of their little stamps. The writing is a bit of haiku (minus the word Pandora) I made up for the page.

Now I have to catch up with some lessons I am behind on. Hope you all have a good day.

Happy Mother's Day - Mitzi's view

2011-05-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! Hope you have a wonderful day.

We celebrated yesterday as everyone but my mistress are going to Disneyland today. Mistress says that's fine with her as she'd rather spend the day with just us dogs for a change. No people unless she decides to go out somewhere to eat.

The girls picked such lovely flowers it was a shame not to try drawing them. The scanner lightened the picture quite a bit but we can only do a basic scan with no adjustments since it's not our scanner (don't have the software to do all the adjusting). The vase was on a brownish table so I painted what I was seeing and should have painted that part to how I was going to have the background on my paper which is good to learn if I want to make pictures that aren't journal entries. No pencil was used here; it was straight penwork and then painting.

We are having a good visit even if it was due to Skoshi (one of Mistress' other dogs, a shih-tzu) having a stomach blockage from swallowing a rawhide chip. She was rehydrated, given barium and lots of xrays but not the surgery we thought she might have to have. We are all relieved but now we don't get to chew on the rawhide strips anymore. I hope Mistress finds something else yummy for us to chew on.

Note by Timaree: I know Roz's International Fake Journal Month is over but Mitzi hasn't filled her small journal so we will continue till it is filled. Besides, it's fun!

Poolside

2011-05-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Some days were cloudy and cool, some were cloudy, cool and rainy and some days during my trip to California were sunny and gorgeous. This was one of the sunny days. Mistress' son-in-law was kind enough to sweep the spider webs off the chairs by the pool so she could sit and enjoy the sunshine. She thought it was too sunny and wished she'd worn a hat but I enjoyed all that sunshine.

The kids decided to go swimming but weren't in too long. A sunny day doesn't mean overly warm when a cool breeze is blowing. The kids enjoy sitting in the spa and then jumping in the pool straight from it. That's a bit too high a jump for me; I prefer the wide shallow steps at that far left corner in my painting. The pool was actually a deeper teal color more like the tile work but I wanted the tile to show up separately so I took what my mistress calls "artistic license" and made it bluer (the pool has a very dark teal pebble lining). The kids enjoy the cave. I hear a bird is building a nest inside and I wonder if I was here when the eggs were laid or hatched if I could reach it. Wouldn't that be a tasty snack? This is sure a fancy pool and rather larger than the one we have at home. You can see my pal Sarah in the one we have. A bit of a come-down don't you think? And we certainly can't both sit in that little thing at the same time. A dog's life isn't always easy I can tell you!

Easter

2011-04-30T15:06:00.002-07:00

Boy, have we been busy! Easter came and went and it was great except for Tena's migraine. I wonder why dogs don't get them although I am very glad we don't because it looked like she was really hurting. Anyhow, I took a spare moment when everyone was still asleep to draw some eggs and a chocolate bunny on the kids' whiteboard which is sitting in the kitchen. It's rather hard to draw well with markers that erase so easily but I gave it a shot. Good thing too as that's all I had to show for Easter. I took a photo of it knowing I'd want something for my journal. After putting it in PSElements where I added the Happy Easter bubble I printed it out and layered it over a photo print of Mistress's easter candy. Now I have a memory in my journal. I wish I could have a memory of one of the eggs the kids dropped as they dyed the eggs but they grabbed it up so quick I couldn't get to it. If I'd been one of the smaller dogs I'd have been able to I'm sure.

I hope you all had a great Easter. I'll bet no one thought you were dyed special for Easter as someone thought I was when we went for a walk on Easter Day. Hmmph, like I'd go through this coloring business just for one day!

Drat That Cat

2011-04-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

We are back in Simi Valley. It's cloudy and cool but not so wet I can't go out. Once while I was out with Mistress but on a leash, I saw Ashley sitting in the front yard near some bright orange flowers. (Mistress says they are nasturtiums and we can eat them but I prefer her fig tree's leaves back home that she doesn't allow me to eat). I tried really hard to paint Ashley but she is just a fluffy hunk of gray. I also really wanted to chase her down but there is that issue of being on a tight leash, hmpph! When I am indoors I can't chase her because she hisses at me and that worries me just enough to keep me from trying it plus there are other cats in the house and I wouldn't want them to gang up on me. One of them, a black cat, weighs almost what I do or at least it seems that way and he takes a swipe with his claws at anyone who walks by so I don't mess with him indoors or out.

The bird was a different story. This time I was inside looking out while Mistress waited for her coffee to brew. She tried to take a picture of this bird we saw outside just sitting so nicely at leaping height on top of a shovel stuck into the ground (these people are finally working on the weeds) but didn't get her camera fast enough so I painted it from memory for her. Doesn't that bird look good enough for a quick treat?

I sure hope you are all having a great day. I really appreciate you all coming to see my pictures and hear how my trip is going.

Taking a Break

2011-04-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hi once again everyone. I'm sorry about the skewed picture. I had to ask Mistress to take a photo as we are at her sister's house in Fallbrook now and we can't get hooked up to her scanner right now.

We've been so busy it's taken a few days to get this done and posted. We went to see a cheapo property for sale with a small mobile home on it in Hemet. The realtor didn't show up the first day and it's an hour's drive so Mistress was a bit upset but she got to talk about it with her sisters and we got to see two dogs who live at the home next door. They were pretty large dogs but I am bigger and a bit more refined (at least I hope). They seemed friendly enough and after saying hello a few times, they settled down. They were behind a fence so we couldn't properly get to know each other. (Mistress deemed the property unfixable which is sort of what she expected as it was only $36,000.00 in California. Yes, that's really unreal isn't it?

Anyhow, back to the subject here. We went out to sit on the patio here at Cherrie's and it feels like a nice room. It's really pleasant except that two of the chairs just aren't my style. Mistress finds them comfortable enough and was kind enough to leave the 3 seater swing for me. I didn't swing but it felt so good to be able to stretch out for a bit. It's lovely here in Fallbrook. It's still a bit cool except midday but it's so green! I love it.

Hope you all have a great day. I'm going back outside to sniff the pretty flowers and maybe, just maybe, the neighbors cat will try to go through the yard while I am out there. Oh, won't he get a surprise?

This is Food?

2011-04-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

Mistress and I drove from Simi Valley to Oceanside, California and saw some very pretty bits (tiny bits) of ocean and pretty hillsides which I need to figure out how to paint but right now, it was what was in front of me (or not) that I want to concentrate on. James is a vegan. I am a poodle and never the twain shall meet so to say! His table had a nice pretty bowl on it and the colors were wonderful but let's face it, a poodle does not want an orange or a Minneola (such fancy terms these humans have for something not really edible as far as I am concerned). He won't even allow meat in the house like pepperoni on a pizza - boy, isn't that sounding good to me now! So anyhow, I drew what was available wishing it were something else but life is what it is and I'm grateful for the fenced yard with grass in it and that he lets me up on the couch. The sun was shining too so overall it was great but, oh well, I'll be home soon enough where I'll get eggs and bacon, cheese and hamburger, pork chops and steak.... excuse the drool okay?

Ladybird - Huh!

2011-04-07T20:05:00.002-07:00

Well, while Mistress was taking all those photos I went after the fun bug. I chased the flies! I am always chasing the flies. When I am at home and even here in Simi Valley. Flies are fun. They buzz around and just invite me to catch them. I haven't gotten one yet but someday I will. So Mistress can have the boring ladybugs or ladybirds, as some people call them and I will continue chasing the good ol' fly. Want to join me?

Hmmm, maybe I should darken that pink background. What do you think? Is it as bright and distracting to you as it is to me? I mean, I'm pretty used to seeing things pink since every time I look at myself that's all I see but this might be a tad too much.

Pictures in Simi Valley

2011-04-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Since it was so beautiful out yesterday I took some photos. These are my best shots. I wish the bee was in clear focus but I didn't even know he was there when I shot the picture. Bugs and weeds say spring don't they?

Out Walking

2011-04-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, today was a gloriously sunny, warm day. Just a tad of breeze, enough to carry so many wonderful scents (and a few less wonderful) to my nose. Mistress took me for a nice long walk. She tired out long before I was ready to quit but I have to cut her some slack as she only has two legs to my four!

We walked to a park where just a couple of kids were playing and through a housing area where we saw rabbits. No, I did not chase them. I am more dignified than that - at least while in the city! We saw a lady walking towards us and Mistress got excited. She said it was someone whose blog she reads and from whom she'd love to take a class on making books. Her name is Roz Stendahl I found out. She seems to like dogs well enough but I'm not sure she liked my pink hair coloring. (I'm not always sure I do either as I don't see any others this color although Mistress says there are a few). It was wonderful and when we got home we sat out back and I watched Mistress try to take photos (first she had to find some new batteries and then play with the focus thing a lot). Anyhow, I thought I would paint the lady we met in my journal since Mistress seemed to think it was a big deal. Hope you all have as wonderful a day as I did.

Having Fun - Mitzi

2011-04-04T11:31:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone. Mitzi here. We are having a good time so far. As I mentioned before, the weeds surprised me. We get them in Arizona in the spring but never so big and tall! Tena has been weeding pathways through them for her kids but we dogs sure appreciate it too since we have to make several trips out there everyday. I drew a few of the weeds that are growing but I don't really know what the names are for them. One is just some kind of grass. I know because that's what it tasted like when I tried it.

A German Chocolate cake was waiting for Mistress when we arrived. I got a chewy bone of some sort. I get lots of doggy treats here but not as much of table food as I get at home. Change is good I keep telling myself.

Everyone has gone off to Disneyland now so Mistress and I are taking good care of my new friends Buddy and Lolli, the rabbits (they are fun to watch and so much fatter than the bunnies running around my yard at home), the cats and the birds. This house holds more animals than at home. It even has 4 children but like I said, they've gone to Disneyland. I'm trying hard to do a good job. I bark if anyone comes to the door. You never know who could be there so I want to make sure Mistress is warned. She'd rather I barked just once but I like to give a bit of warning so she just has to get over that nonsense and let me protect her the best I can.

I wonder what else we'll be doing while we are here. I hear she'll take me for a walk to see more than just this neighborhood. Stay tuned.

Mitzi's Trip - Day One

2011-04-02T12:14:00.002-07:00

It was a beautiful day for a trip. The sun was shining and it was warm. I jumped in the car as Mistress was loading it. I sure didn't want to be left behind! I worried most of the way that she didn't bring any food for me so when we got to Tena's house the first thing I looked for was my bag of food. I was so relieved when I found it.

It was a great trip; we only hit a few slowdown spots on W210. Some nasty old guy honked at us when we had to brake suddenly when everyone in front of us stopped suddenly. He should have seen that Mistress had no choice but to stop fast. That part of the trip made me nervous. I enjoyed the bits of Sausage McMuffin Mistress saved for me and I enjoyed getting out at the McDonald's in Barstow to walk on the newly watered grass and get a drink from the bowl of water she brought for me.

Then I saw, and I haven't drawn it in my journal yet, a bridge going over the freeway with lots of little trees on it. I thought how my boyfriend, Pierre would love to walk across it stopping at each one of those trees as the boys like so much to do. I'll have to draw that to show him when I get home but first I was so surprised at the weeds growing taller than me in Tena's yard from all the rain they've had! I am busy drawing them right now. I'm sure I'll have lots more to tell you soon but right now it's time to visit with Buddy and Lolli-pup!

Mistress says to say hello to everyone and thanks you all for the good wishes for a safe trip.

I'm ready - Or Not!

2011-03-31T18:49:00.001-07:00

I have my new journals ready for my trip and classes. I have one for Laure's upcoming class (The Imaginary Trip To The Garden where there is still openings available). It has the butterfly on it. I have the blank white journal for Mitzi the pink poodle to decorate and write in for Roz's International Fake Journal Month

and I have one with a bird on the front filled with 90# paper, both hot and cold-pressed to see if I like working on it. This should cover me for my whole trip and more.

The reason for the second picture showing the bottom edges of the journals is to show you what happens when you don't want to waste the cardboard so cut it where it will barely fit. The journal with the butterfly barely fits in the cover. It saved me a lot of wasted cardboard but I will not do this again. I'll probably have worn or dirty pages later because I tried to save a few cents. The journal on the right is much better and I will do it like this from now on. Sometimes it doesn't pay to skimp.

I also have a large bag full of my art supplies, some knitting and I even have my suitcase almost filled with clothes. Still have to pack up my computer but I am waiting till the last minute for that. So I am almost ready but I always hate leaving home and most of my pets even though I'll enjoy the trip. So I am almost ready but not quite!

Fake Journal Month for 2011 and A New Class

2011-03-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's time for Roz's International Fake Journal Month again. You can find out all the info by clicking on the button (I can't seem to remember what the clickable pictures are on the sidebar) of the blue dog on pink background over at the top of my sidebar or you can just go here. Just be sure to scroll down and maybe even go to previous posts to read the whole thing. There is a description at the top of the blog but if you want to join in do read the whole thing.

I am going to be Mitzi, a pink, standard poodle who happens to be very unusual in that she can do art but hey, my family insists I live in lala land and if that's true then I get to decide what dogs can or cannot do in my world. I decided that although I prefer toy poodles, I do not want to keep my nose to the ground for a month. I want to be able to see what's on the table at least! So stay tuned and we'll see how this goes.

I'm going to be in California for most of the month and I am also going to be taking Laure Ferlita's newest class "An Imaginary Trip To The Garden" so I believe Mitzi will be seeing lots of interesting stuff. I think Laure still has some open slots too so why don't you join me in both the Fake Journal Month AND Laure's new class?

Odds and Ends

2011-03-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've finished this house picture I've worked on at times over the last two years. I started it before I began using watercolor. It's in my moleskine journal and I used watercolor pencils which work in that book unlike watercolor. This is purely imaginary; a fun escape when I wasn't feeling so cheerful.

The bluish faced creature is me! This was done as an exercise suggested in the group The Sketchbook Challenge. This is a blind contour drawing done in white crayon on white paper so you can't see it even if you peek. I stood in front of a mirror and drew what I saw, then painted over it all with aqua. The outline showed up but I went back and wiped out as much blue in the face as possible and added more realistic colors. One person who saw it on flickr

said it looked like I was looking up from under some water

which I think fits. My eye got a little off to the side and it's

not any great piece but it was fun and I plan to try it again.

The next piece is a bookmark I made after the bigger picture that looks similar. I did these in Jane Lafazio's style with the bigger one made for a class of hers I am currently taking at Joggles. This is ink without using pencil first and then adding watercolor. I got the pink too dark on the large picture so really went lighter on the bookmark. It looks better. I'm having fun in this class and if you are wanting a beginner's course in watercolor journaling this might be the ticket for you. It's fun even if you aren't a total beginner.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

The Sun is Out Again!

2011-03-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Nope, I didn't match the title to the picture again. Today is finally sunny after a week of clouds and finally rain. I loved the rain but hated the week of cloudiness. We got enough to water our trees so I am happy. That means water for the well too.

I didn't do anything spectacular to the rest of this page. I really just wanted to let my pear shine. You can see the blotches I mentioned in my earlier post behind the flowers I stamped on the page. Now that I look at it online I'm thinking the white is a bit bright. Maybe I'll go back in and try something else or maybe that will wait for another day. I'm pretty happy overall and ready to do a new page. Hope you are having a sunny day too!

Rainy Day!

2011-03-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

This pear has nothing to do with the title. I just wanted to show it as I am happy with how it turned out. It's done in an old journal I made for a class so the page had white spatters on it and in another spot some really ugly bleedthroughs. First I drew a graphite pencil sketch and then used colored pencil to color it in. I made the pear in response to a green challenge and now have the challenge of finishing my journal page to work around the ugly spots or to incorporate them.

Mostly I just want to shout out "it's raining, it's raining"! Not a deluge by any means but over 1/4 inch to be sure and maybe 1/2 inch. That's a big deal for us here in the desert. Of course it also means all the little weeds are going to grow and then make stickers that attach to my dogs, gets transferred to the carpet and maybe my bed or bathrobe and that part is no fun at all but still, it's raining!

Ireland

2011-03-14T19:14:00.001-07:00

Wow, was this an exhilarating trip! We went all over Ireland visiting so many types of places from cities to the countryside to the seashore. Ireland is a land of many beautiful sights.

I've shown almost all the pages I painted for this class. These are the final versions after corrections or enhancements were made after the gentle critiquing from Laure was done. I still need to come up with a cover and I am not showing one for which we didn't have permission to share our work with anyone outside of the classroom. (I guess that means if you want to know what it was, you'll just have to take the class and remember that is with Imaginary Trips with Laure Ferlita as the tour guide).

If you are wanting to paint flowers, keep an eye on Imaginary Trips as I do believe there is going to be a class for that soon.

A Few of My Recent Pages

2011-03-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

These are some recent pages in my journals. They each stretched me a little. To start with, my cat was drawn in colored pencil on red paper. That meant getting my whitish cat to show up and I did that. I didn't get the blue comforter to look as much like a comforter as I should have but after working so hard on the cat I was getting tired of it not coming out as I would have liked. What is wrong? To start with, she looks like she is colored in with a white pencil. She doesn't look like she has fur. I did okay I think on her face and it does look like my cat so I am happy about all that. Also, I did this live with my cat turning her head this way and that and finally shifting even her body position so I feel good that I got her down as well as I did. When I look back in years to come I am hoping to see that I have improved on her over time!

The next page was done with a pre-done background of a red dry brushed corner added to the page. It took me a long time to figure out what to fill the page with. I ended up doing my canary as he sat on his perch. This was another live drawing but I probably will try for a photo next time. He doesn't like me to stay so close and I can't see him if I'm not! Reading glasses only make it worse. I am happy with him but not his beak. I didn't really get his whole face right but I have plenty of time to try again. He was done with watercolor and a waterbrush. I added a bit of penwork to finish him off as he seemed to need a little something after I added the background.

Next up comes my plastic, thermal, iced tea glass. I decided to try out my new Pentel Pocket Brush Pen which I have heard such good things about. Many of the people whose sketching I enjoy use these pens. It actually is a fountain pen with a brush instead of a nib. It was harder to draw with this pen over a pencil or regular pen than I was expecting. The ink wasn't running strongly yet and I thought that was the way it worked but later found it started flowing very well. Then I learned that I was going to need some practice to learn to control the thick and thin lines this brush can make. Lastly I learned that on my multi-media paper at least, the ink does not dry very quickly and smeared when I went back in with watercolor. So...

...I took another page to do some practicing! I tried to see how it would do with comma and S strokes like I'd use in Folk Art painting. I doodles little pictures quickly and just some lines, a couple of letters in calligraphic style and just tried to get used to the way this brush works. I'm thinking if I can learn to control it, I will like how it can make the various lines and marks.

At any rate, this is some of what I have been working on. I have been taking a few classes, some better than others. My favorite again, is the Imaginary Trip to Ireland with tour guide Laure Ferlita. I'll be posting a few of the pictures later on.

So what have you been working on?

Playing Around

2011-02-21T21:23:00.002-07:00

I was playing around by first adding some leftover paint to the pages by sliding a credit card with the gold paint down the page and then later adding blue circles. On another day I stamped a red checkerboard pattern in pigment ink and then worried it wouldn't dry so I embossed it with clear embossing powder.

So far, so good but now what? I left the pages open for a couple of days and then saw a post on Carol Sloan's blog
that gave me the finishing idea. I used her tutorial to make my dialog boxes and then filled them with quotes I'd been saving. All but one of the boxes that is. That tiny box got filled in when I realized I had done all the quotes upside down on the pages! I have a tendency to do this upside down trick in many of my journals. I guess I get caught up in what I am doing and stop paying attention to anything beyond the page! So the tiny box made note of my error and now the page is finished.

I really like the idea of doodling an area that can be filled with something later on. Thanks Carol for the idea.

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

2011-02-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

We had rain late last night and most of today. We had a LOT of rain for our desert area. I am so happy. I had to make a journal page to commemorate it even! The goats hate rain so they hide out in their shed all day. Mary Muffin kept poking her head out to see if it had quit yet. I thought painting their pen with the out-of-focus mountains in the background would be a good way to remember a very rainy day so that's just what I did. Hope you got rain too if you've been wanting some.

Ficus carica - Say What?

2011-02-16T20:58:00.002-07:00

A while back I read a neat post on Jacqueline Newbold's blog Art in My Heart, Jacqueline Newbold titled Watercolor Vignettes from Ponet; a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal. You can find it on the sidebar (I couldn't copy the post address itself). Anyhow, she showed how to precolor the background. I did it but I made one big block of color and then didn't quite know what to do with it. Until the other day that is, when I wanted to draw my poor, new fig tree.

I got the fig tree for my birthday back in November from my son. It is a plant that will only grow about 3 feet and can live and produce fruit indoors. That's important because the animals will kill the tree outdoors and/or steal all the fruit. I got it potted and placed it in a sunny window - right at cat level! I had no idea my cat would chew on all the leaves. I didn't think the tree would survive but it finally sent out some new leaves and I wanted to draw it to commemorate the occasion (by the way, the plant is in another window now on a tall stool the cat can't share). I remembered this page and thought I'd give the sketching and overpainting a try. I am real happy with how it turned out. The paper is not my favorite but I have it in one of my sketchbooks so need to use it up. It soaks up moisture like a sponge and doesn't warp but it doesn't always allow for detail to show either so some penwork helped out a lot here.

If the idea of an indoor fruiting fig sounds good to you the link to buying one of your own is here. It was under $20 when I got it, not a bad deal.

Happy Valentines Day and Painting in Public - Sort of!

2011-02-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

My daughter and her family came to visit on the ninth so as to be here for Grandpa's birthday on the 10th. He only found out they were coming on the ninth. That didn't give me much time to get ready but I did the best I could. That means the sheets were washed, bathrooms cleaned and the vacuuming done. Then baking commenced but all I got done was caramel corn (4 batches), Chex snack mix (4 recipes) and shortbread cookies. The dusting didn't get done and no one seemed to mind.

We celebrated the birthday all weekend playing darts (in the garage out of the cold wind) and lots of Trivial Pursuit. They have a new version out and it was one of the birthday gifts.

On Sunday my husband took everyone bowling. I don't bowl since it hurts my wrist and fingers but I did take the time to do some live sketching. A bowling alley is public but it wasn't busy and no one walked by me to even know I was doing any painting or drawing. Still, I was ready for onlookers and I did do the sketching. I enjoyed myself and everyone else did too except for the youngest grandchild who was coming down with a bug.
I'm happy with what I did but I can see I am still sticking to just using mid-values (I'm really trying to work on that Laure)! My family was pretty impressed that I did these in just under an hour right there at the bowling alley.

And I'm a bit late in the day but Happy Valentine's Day everyone! These are valentine hearts my middle granddaughter and I made. Everyone else was out playing darts and after just one heart we went and joined them. We had fun doing them. This morning we all had heart-shaped waffles with strawberries and whipped cream and then everyone left for home. We had two wonderful celebrations together this year!

Wall Decorating

2011-02-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

I have been busy painting a wall in my bedroom/craftroom. I moved the bookcases that you can see here to another wall and that left a brown and yellow wall - ugly! It took me months to get to it but I finally went and bought the paint and did it.

First, I used the paint that is on my furniture for a sample so I could match it at the store. Knowing it was a large area to be done, I lightened the sample a bit so it would read right. Well, I didn't lighten it enough and after getting it on the wall I had to lighten up some of the paint and recoat it. Then I added the squiggly pink lines one at a time till I finally covered the wall in a diamond pattern. I finished by adding blue paint to the top edges where the wallboard had a frame already and painted some really sloppy green leaves on the blue strips to match what I had done on the furniture. I either need new brushes or get back to practicing strokework but overall it turned out. This wall took me four days to do - painting those lines is hard on the wrist. As you can see it matches the furniture I painted several years ago. I think my room is done now. Well, until I need to rearrange my art supplies again anyhow!

Playing Around

2011-01-31T20:27:00.002-07:00

While making the cards in the Valentine class I mentioned in the last post I made some practice roses and didn't want to throw them away. I kind of get attached to my work practice or not (except when it comes out reeeeaaalllly bad). So, I painted and gessoed and collaged in my practice bits and then filled in with writing. I would have to say this was pure fun. I didn't have any real project or outcome in mind when I started. I just didn't want to throw the roses away. So I played! And this is the result. I'm rather pleased with myself just now. Hope you enjoy the page too.

Valentine Class

2011-01-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

I just finished a mini class with Laure Ferlita which was about making cards for Valentine's Day. These are what I came up with. The one with the cupcake was finished in PS Elements but first I made the cupcake painting. All the rest were made as watercolor originals. It was fun and if you want to join in check out Imaginary Trips. A new tour is leaving very soon!

ATC Journal Pages

2011-01-28T14:47:00.001-07:00

I finally took the ATC's I made in a mini class with Laure Ferlita through her Imaginary Trips classes and turned them into journal pages. First I shrank the ones I'd made down to a very small size so they'd all fit on one page. I kept the card I got from Kelly Riccetti in the original form putting it on a page by itself using photo corners so I wouldn't ruin the card itself.

A trip to Ireland is ready to take off. Check it out at Imaginary Trips and come join me on a fun trip through Ireland with watercolor journaling.

Knitting

2011-01-24T15:06:00.004-07:00

I was over at Sheep Rustler where I saw some very pretty handknit socks and it reminded me that I am knitting a pair myself just now. Since I have so little to share lately I thought I'd show where I am in my knitting. Exciting isn't it?

What is exciting is that the yarn is 51% bamboo! Can you believe they are using bamboo in yarn? It feels very nice too. I'm using a lacy stitch for these to dress them up a bit and when they are done, I'll be giving them to one of my sisters. In fact I'll be giving them to the sister who makes these lovely bird houses. She paints a few different ones. I was lucky enough to get one as a gift. Everyone else gets to pay $35 dollars for one. It's fun to share with someone who can appreciate the work put into something handmade.

I am trying to get myself into doing more work in my sketchbook and I really want to get back to doing some beading. Hopefully I'll have more to post soon.

Home at Last!

2011-01-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

I went to California for Christmas and just got home two days ago. What a trip! First, we got to drive in a huge rainstorm so my husband and I took separate vehicles so gifts wouldn't get wet. I hate having to follow someone especially over 300+ miles. At least we didn't run into rain on that first leg of the trip but only from Fallbrook to Simi Valley. I finally gave up following and telephoned (yes, I know it's not legal but I kept it short) my husband to say I'd just get there when I got there!

Then preparations in hurry-up-mode for a couple of days. I made caramel corn (not usually a Christmas treat but my husband wanted it) and my daughter made some chex mix (again, not a usual Christmas treat but her daughter got confused about when we have that treat). I made brown sugar fudge and sponge candy (a crispy, foamy brittle broken in pieces and dipped in chocolate - google it as it's easy and sooo yummy). I made date balls, stuffed dates and divinity too. I didn't find time to make fattigman, a Norwegian cookie my grandmother used to make, nor did I make Biscochitas, an aniseed sugar cookie my sister started making 50 years ago for our family. Ah well, we had enough as my daughter had already made snowballs (sandies or Mexican wedding cake cookies), pfefferneuse, chocolate fudge with and without walnuts, and mints. A turkey was cooked for my daughter's brother-in-law's birthday on the 23rd, cheese, sausages and crackers were cut up and put out for Christmas Eve and my husband's spaghetti sauce made for Christmas dinner (it's red, isn't it?). We didn't make the gingerbread houses till New Year's Eve! I tried to get the girls to make journal pages and they did but after filling the first quadrant they pretty much quit on me. I finished mine just before heading home.

Next I went down to my sister in Fallbrook again where I got together with my son and some other sisters. We went out to Anthony's Seafood Grotto by Grossmont Center (a shopping mall) and that's where I picked up some food poisoning. I was sick for several days with effects lasting a good week. Won't be eating there again but we had noticed their quality had gone downhill before we got sick! Still I found time to start an acrylic painting for my bathroom but haven't finished it yet. It's my first real acrylic painting and probably looks it but I still like it so far.

I was getting ready to come home to get ready for another watercolor class with Laure Ferlita when my daughter called and asked if I could come back up and babysit the dogs so they could go to San Diego for a nephew's birthday party. So back up I went for a few more days. Then I finally headed home. I decided to go east on Hwy. 58 rather than the 210 Interstate to hwy 15 and ran into a 2 hour stoppage due to an accident and roadwork. After that though, I had smooth sailing.

The journal pages posted here were done on my trip. Not too much to show but Christmas is a busy time even without drawing and painting. I've started my new class centered on Valentine's Day with Laure Ferlita. Hope to share what I do in this class soon.

By the way, have you ever wanted to go on a trip to Ireland? I'll be leaving January 31st with Laure on another Imaginary Trip. Want to join me? If not Ireland perhaps you'd like New Orleans another new trip she's worked to provide us with which leaves February 22nd. Just click here and here to find out more!

Hmmmm.....

2010-12-16T09:22:00.004-07:00

I was just wondering how everyone is doing? Are you having fun getting ready for Christmas? Is it more stressful this year than last? More joyful? I really hope you are all having more fun and if you aren't I hope you can find a space to stop, take a deep breath and relax for a few minutes.

I finally finished my Christmas cards and am getting them mailed out. Here's what I came up with this year. I stopped making originals for each person - that was taking the fun out of it as time would fly by and then I'd feel stressed and rushed.

Now who has baked anything for Christmas? I've made some brown sugar fudge that I started making after my mother-in-law died. My husband missed the candy and his mom so I tried making it. After three failures (in one day), I said a prayer and it must have been heard as the fudge has come out fine now for the last 25+ Christmases! So, please, let me know what you are cooking up. Let's have some fun!

Want to Sketch?

2010-12-12T10:20:00.002-07:00

Have you wanted to sketch but didn't know what to draw? Didn't think you were good enough of a drawer? There is a new challenge starting up in January where some artists got together and will be posting an idea to sketch each month. They will have pointers for us, share what they draw and even have some give-aways. Sound interesting? Check it out by clicking on the Sketchbook Challenge button on the right or going to it righ here. I am going to follow along; hope to see you doing it also.

My Hat

2010-12-07T21:40:00.001-07:00

My Hat
Originally uploaded by TimareeC

I'm taking another class with Laure Ferlita and the subject right now is hats. That reminded me of how my granddaughter enjoyed warming up by wearing my hat when they were here at Thanksgiving so I made a journal page out of it. It's a very fuzzy, shiny hat.

Free Calendar!

2010-12-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

Robin Kohli (E-junkie) and Adi C (Fish & Web) have developed an art calendar with owl pictures submitted by many different people. You get to pick the pics you want and for which month. Then you can download and save it for printing. Check it out by clicking here or on the owl to the right on the sidebar. Just a little something for fun!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-04T17:53:00.002-07:00

I bought this tiny tree the other day as I rather missed not having a tree and my husband seemed to be missing one too. It stands only 12" tall with the pot so it's tiny. I strung some beads to wrap it with and added some sequins as ornaments. I liked it and decided to sketch it so I'd keep the memory! Hope you are having fun getting ready for Christmas too.

Thanksgiving is Gone Already!

2010-11-29T12:30:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving arrived and now it's gone! Wow. The time sure flies. I cooked and cooked, did dishes and played many games of Trivial Pursuit.

My daughter and her family came in on Monday night. We went to town the next day for a buffet lunch but other than that, I cooked! Before anyone arrived I had made:

banana bread, both plain and with walnuts
4 batches of caramel corn, one with peanuts (should have done two with peanuts)
3 batches of my version of chex mix
chili and beans
pot roast
shortbread cookies

The next day our son came in and from there on I cooked:

tacos, both meat and lentil versions, and tostadas
sausage, bacon and eggs, both fried and scrambled
turkey with stuffing, relish tray, mashed potatoes, corn and gravy
an acorn squash stuffed with apple, pear, pecans, dried cranberries, cinnamon and real maple syrup for my vegan son
3 pumpkin pies, one apple pie and one blackberry-raspberry pie
batch after batch of popcorn
Thai fresh green curried butternut squash
french toast and sausage
salad bar with too many items to mention
southern style sweet potatoes

It was a food filled time but we managed to play a couple of games of Around-the-World on the drawn-in-the-dirt basketball court in the cold wind and multiple games of Trivial Pursuit. The old team (my husband and I) won at least half!

My grandkids fed the goats and dogs, took out the trash, set the table and decorated it for Thanksgiving dinner, ate plenty of junk food but didn't ask for soda till the day before they left. They played the old Atari computer games and the new games on their i-pods, colored pictures and played paper dolls. The two youngest peeled potatoes, sweet potatoes and cucumbers plus chopped whatever needed chopping.

In spite of the help, I am taking a day to rest now that everyone has gone home! I painted some of the decorations the kids made and that made up my journal entry for the holiday. I should have left more room for writing!

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful too.

Tea Anyone?

2010-11-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Laure Ferlita posted a painting of a tea bag on her blog. Some of the commenters including myself wondered if we could do a painting like that. Laure came back telling us to try it so I did. This is my result. This is the sort of thing you can do after taking a class of hers (warning: the classes are like potato chips, you can't stop at one!). We don't just learn to copy her lesson; we learn how to put what she teaches to paint anything. I know it's just a little teabag and a used one at that but it makes me so happy to be able to take up that challenge and come up with a reasonable painting of it! Thank you so much Laure!

Mail Day!

2010-11-08T19:49:00.003-07:00

Aren't I the lucky one? Helena of Creating a Likeness blog from England sent me these things for my birthday which is coming up very soon. She makes some very nice cards which she sells but I didn't have to buy mine! The booklet is so cute too. I have to show it to my granddaughters as I bet they'd love to try to make one like it. I don't have butterflies as pretty as these but they'll make do.

I am lucky to have Helena as a blog friend. There have been a couple of times in the past couple of years when I thought of giving up blogging when I was in a blue funk and then out of the blue, she'd send me an email asking how I was. That got me going again. She sent these photo corners because she remembered me making some once for a project because I didn't have any from the store. Thank you for the birthday gift Helena and for "being there" when I needed it.

Friendship Journal

2010-11-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I took part in a travelling friendship journal for a yahoo group I am in Blissfully Art Journaling. These are the three spreads I made for it. One was to be about me and the other two something about friendship.

The picture I painted was with gouache. The paint lifts very easily when it gets wet so I was going to spray it with fixative. I tried the fixative first on a different gouache page and it worked fine except the spray wouldn't quit spraying until the can was empty. So for this tea time painting I was goint to use some UV acrylic finishing spray from Krylon that I had. Hmmm, three big blobs hit my page before I could stop them. This time I got no spray; the stuff just bubbled out of the can till it was empty. I don't know if my cans were too old, too cold (the house was between 66 and 68 degrees) or what but I even went and found my spray bottle of hairspray I've had for a few years but couldn't get it to do anything but shoot a heave stream rather than a fine mist. So, the page is going to go as is, with three horrid blobs on it. Thank goodness they didn't blur the paint under them.

Do any of you ever seal a gouache or watercolor page in your journal? I have only done it as a trial effort and on a painted cover to a journal. I figure they don't usually get wet but when the journal is going to someone I don't know, I just wanted to be safe.

Back to Beadin'

2010-10-26T11:07:00.002-07:00

I was going through all my old bead magazines trying to thin out all my "stuff". I came across many patterns I still want to try so I saved those and chose one to do after reading a post about making time on Kathy's blog Catching Happiness. I let time slip away without anything to show for it much too often. I will give this necklace to my daughter at some point. She has a birthday coming up and then there is always Christmas or just as a "here, this is for you" gift. It was a fun project and I think I will make a few more.

I am working on other things now to. Every so often I guess I just need a swift kick in the rear to get moving!

Autumn Fun!

2010-10-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Once again, a class of Laure Ferlita's is finished. These are the pages I painted for my journal. Don't you want to try this? A new Fall class started just today. You could join in right now and not miss anything! There are other classes listed on her site too. Check them out. You won't be sorry.

Love Those Grandkids!

2010-09-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

My husband took us back to California just a few weeks after we'd come back from there. He wanted to fix up some of the family computers. While there I got my 13 year-old granddaughter signed up for Laure Ferlita's Autumn Class which just started (there is still room. Go here ). I helped her sign up in blogger and showed her what she'd need to participate fully. She wanted to try out the new watercolors I'd gotten her which would be used in the class so she and one of the other granddaughters sat down to paint. They didn't know what to paint though! So I put down my coffee mug and had them choose between it and a pink goblet that was already on the table. One chose the mug and the other the goblet. Then I showed them how to paint them and they did a great job. You can see for yourself they did a great job. Now let me tell you, these girls are 11 and 13 and this was their first try at using watercolors in a real way. If they can do it, so can you! So scoot on over and join in on one of Laure's classes. You won't regret it.

Wow, Another Page!

2010-09-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

I got a new bird yesterday. Actually I got him a little over a week ago but when he didn't eat for 4 days and was sitting on the bottom of the cage, not even on his feet, I took him back. I was so happy to hear they'd take him straight to the vet. We hear such awful stories about the treatment of animals in stores and mills. When I called back later the manager told me the vet thought he'd make it and it was mites that were the problem. She said she'd put my name on him when she got him back so I could rebuy him. Then she took ALL the canaries for treatment. This was at PetCo so they really do take care of the animals.

Because I missed him after I took him back to the store I made a Zentangle with him. Now that I've got him back I made a journal page that I had pre-prepped with paint, about him. The zentangle is there rather than his picture. Now that I think about it, I should have had both picture and zentangle. Oh well, I guess I'll have to do another page sometime.

By the way, he is doing great now. He's hopping all over the place, eating the veggies I put in the cage and his seeds. He's even done some chirping. Cross your fingers he stays this way!

Helena ( Creating a Likeness )offered to make me some photo corners and I thank you for the offer Helena. As you can see, I made a couple for this picture and they are much larger than the punch cuts out. I appreciate your offer so much though.

Doves

2010-09-01T08:05:00.003-07:00

I've made a new collage page for my journal. I found the feather yesterday. I hesitated in reaching for it in the midst of a few bushes since I've seen two rattlesnakes this year in my garden areas so far but I didn't see any so got it and put it in my journal.

I sure wish I'd known about this kind of journaling back when my kids were little. Back then they had baby books but that meant answering the questions in it and adding pics and that didn't work for me. I didn't like the questions and couldn't afford the pics - that was before digital cameras which I consider to be one of the top inventions of our time. So, many memories are lost from that time but I hope not to lose all of my present days.

About Time Eh?

2010-08-27T08:26:00.006-07:00

Yes it's about time I posted here! I went to California to be with family which I do several times a year. This time I just got so busy I didn't even get online for a long time!

We went to our granddaughter's ballet recital where she had a solo after taking ballet for only two months. She got to do a dance she'd made up before starting ballet and didn't know that was what she was doing! (She was in gymnastics for 3 years so I'm sure that helped).

We stopped first in San Diego to visit our son for his birthday and then went for an overnight to my sister's in Fallbrook where I picked up my new bedframe (my husband had his truck with him so could bring it home for me).

We went to the circus in Los Angeles as my husband was given that as a gift back in Feb. for his birthday.

Then up to Simi Valley for that recital I mentioned and then staying for my grandson's 16th birthday unparty. He didn't want the anxiety associated with a party so it was mostly family and a few neighbors and we kept up the unparty theme teasing him that we brought an ungift and so on.

My daughter took me shopping for the bath stuff I don't get here at home and for skirts that were on clearance at JCPenneys. I was down to only two very old skirts hanging in my closet so needed something.

And then it was watch the girls do this and watch them do that and journal with us Grandma and listen to this and watch us swim and play a game of pingpong with me and on and on. I had fun!

Finally it was a couple of days with my sisters and brother. The last time all of us were together was eleven years ago for our dad's dying and funeral.

Busy, satisfying and very tiring. Now I am home trying to get back into doing classes and catching up with everyone.

In the pictures I am wearing a blue t-shirt and a skirt at the beach and a purple t-shirt at my sister's condo she just moved back into (lucky her, she's back in the San Diego area). We range in age from 51 to 63. The journal page pictures were done mostly at my daughters in spare moments. I added the words to the borders page when I got home.

Beaded Flowers

2010-08-02T19:20:00.003-07:00

I mentioned doing beading in my last post. These are some of the flowers I made. The pot is about 2" high and the larger daisies are not quite 1 1/2" across. I also made some roses but they are not in an arrangement yet so I'll share them later.

Art Everyday

2010-08-02T08:15:00.001-07:00

During Laure Ferlita's Foundation To Journaling class I made a calendar page. Everyday during July I put a red circle around the date if I did anything artwise. I also wrote down the main thing I did. I managed to do something everyday! It feels good to see every day marked off.

This month I probably won't be able to do art every single day since I'll be visiting family and doing lots of things they want to do but I will try to do as much as I can.

If you want to take her Foundations class you'll find a new one starting up tomorrow. Hurry over and sign up. It was a super class and you CAN do what she teaches. Really. Give it a try.

A Grateful Heart

2010-07-24T21:26:00.002-07:00

While I was browsing blogs I came across a pretty picture with a quote I liked. It turned out the quote belonged to the blog author so I asked if I could use it for my journal. This is the page I made with it. Watercolor was laid down, some flowers collaged on and some penwork. Now I won't forget the quote. My word for this year chosen at New Year's was gratitude so this fit perfectly. You can see Jennifer Maroney's blog here.

Finished a Class

2010-07-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

I've been taking another class. This class was called Foundations of Journaling and it was taught by Laure Ferlita. As you know, I've enjoyed some of her trip classes. Well this one was just as good! I've posted most of the pictures we did but not all of the exercises or pages. We covered a lot of ground and had a lot of fun. Again, this is another class of hers I highly recommend.

Now I am moving on to her Explorations class. She has room for a couple more people. See, she keeps her classes small so you get the attention you need. Why don't you click the Imaginary Trips button on my sidebar and see what is being offered. Hurry if you want in the class that is starting on July 20!

A July Challenge

2010-07-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Sarah at Curious Crow is challenging herself and anyone who wants to join her during the month of July by trying to do things to stretch and grow beyond just sketching in a sketchbook. I've decided to join her and the picture here is my first piece I've done. This is for day three. I would have done day two but it was to use the primaries and make a color chart. I've done a color chart which I will be posting about soon but it was for a class I took and since I just did it recently I didn't want to do another just yet. Day one was to add paint or collage to some of my journal pages just to present a challenge when I use those pages. The picture here has a piece of testing-out paper glued onto the page. It was sitting on my desk when I needed to add that collaging so I used it. Then I wondered how in the world I was going to incorporate that into a page.

So how did I do it? I used ink to draw my picture. I used some purple for flowers. I used the grid I had around the top red square in the window on my little adobe house which I drew from my imagination thinking about how it should look and using what I've been learning in watercolor painting with Laure Ferlita in her classes. I added some swirls to another corner and although all of that didn't fit that strip of paper in completely it no longer looks foreign either.

Why don't you check out Sarah's blog and see if you want to join in?

Continuing With Fake Journal

2010-07-03T18:23:00.001-07:00

I know the Fake Journal month is long past but when I get an idea I am going to continue to add to my journal.

I was looking through my newest book I bought Drawing Lab For Mixed-media Artists by Carla Sonheim and I realized I bought it because I enjoy her fanciful, fake animals. Then I picked up my papers I was using for my fake journal and saw a bird on the top piece. So, I picked up a pen and doodled it out. It's a fake for sure so I decided to add it to my fake journal as an official entry.

Animals in the Desert

2010-06-28T12:42:00.002-07:00

I rather enjoy watching the animals around our place. I saw these crows in the yard and wondered why they were hanging around - until I went out to water my apple tree. They had pecked apart every apple and torn off many of the branch ends! Couldn't they have just eaten ALL of a few apples and left everything else alone?

The bunny is so cute sitting in the shade of our tree. I'm sure he didn't expect to see me come outside with my camera but then they've surprised us a few times too. We now surround all new plants with chicken wire because the bunnies decimate them. They have even chewed off many lower branches on our oleander bushes but drop them when they realize they are poisonous. Once my husband opened his car hood to see why the car wouldn't start and there was a cute little bunny who had chewed the spark plug wires!

I still like watching all these animals. I don't know what to do about the apple tree. We built a garage to keep our cars away from the rabbits and rats. I have foil strips hanging from my tomato cage which is up on our porch away from the bunnies but evidently not the birds! I sure hope I get a few of the tomatoes.

Journal Page - Celebrate?

2010-06-19T20:43:00.002-07:00

I was clipping words and pictures out of a magazine that I thought I could use for journaling and ended up making a quick page. I thought I'd share it with you. This is just some cut and paste work but is a lot of fun at times.

C is for Color

2010-06-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

I got the new book The Journal Junkies Workshop. Using a few of their ideas I made this page. I've previously done a page for the letter A and have started (barely) one for B so I decided to do C here. Since this uses mixed media I decided to post it on this blog even though it is also on my drawing blog.

I used watered down acrylic for the watercolor looking background hoping it would somewhat seal the page. This is done on drawing paper and the paint was watery enough to soak the paper and bleed through to the other side almost ruining my page there. Adding watercolor pencil lines, I had to rewet the paper to blue them out. Then I let it dry and stuck with drier stuff like a photo I took of a flower in my daughter's yard and some butterflies from gift wrap. A little inkwork and I called it done at least for now.

I think my next journal will only have watercolor paper in it. I like painting on the 140# but it's so thick you can't get so many pages in a single journal. Could any of you tell me how 90# paper works for doing wet backgrounds concerning bleedthrough to the other side? I don't mind buckling as it flattens some when the book is pressed close.

Baby Birds Have Hatched

2010-05-29T08:31:00.001-07:00

The baby birds have hatched! These are the two not-so-cute-yet babies! In a week they'll love so much cuter. I'll try to catch another picture then.

Imaginary Trip to England

2010-05-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

It's been another fun trip with Laure Ferlita. This time we went to England and what a comprehensive trip we had! We went to some pubs of which I painted my favorite. We went to a national park in Wales called Snowdonia. Touring some interesting neighborhoods was part of our trip as you can see by the house and castle doors I've painted. Seeing some historical stuff like a ruined abbey and Stonehenge were even part of the trip as going to the palace and seeing the changing of the guards.

Exciting and I learned so much about sketching with watercolor. I encourage anyone who has wanted to try watercolors but has been too afraid to hop onto one of her trips and have fun while learning. She is starting up a couple of general (no trip this time) classes in watercolor journaling also so click on that Imaginary Trips logo button on the right and join us.

Fake Journal - Page Seven

2010-05-16T06:02:00.005-07:00

I know Fake Journal Month is gone (and I only did six pages for it) but I've decided to keep it going and when I see or think of something fake I will add it to my collection. This drawing shows something so very fake it is hideous.

Now mind you, I am not slamming all TV dinners. I love the Marie Callender meals and both are made by Con Agra but some like this Bangquet are simply trash. Reading the ingredients the chicken patties are made of chicken, soy and lots of other stuff. I don't mind soy. I eat it in my Jack-in-the-Box tacos I think but here it does not taste good and if you look at what you get nutritionally you'll find it quite dismal. Many of the calories come from fat. By the way, the veggies they show on the cover are MORE than what I found in the dinner. I tasted it and threw it away. Really. Marie Callender dinners have lots of real potatoes/rice and vegetables with a small amount of real meat. They are very different items and I was shocked to see they were both made by the same company. Worse, I go to the store and see some old men (they are older than me so they are OLD) buying huge stacks of the Banquet dinners when they go on sale. Can't beat 88 cents can you? Well maybe if you want some food....

This time I used a dark brown Pitt pen and watercolors to paint in my drawing. I didn't think the watercolor would work so well on the inked background but it turned out fine.

Note: If you'd like to be able to draw and paint like this and better then look at my previous post about a class on journaling here.

Dove's Nest

2010-05-14T18:56:00.004-07:00

The doves that built a nest in this tree last year are back. This year's nest looks rather flimsy to me. I sure hope the parents know what they are doing! The eggs arrived some time about a week ago. I don't know the exact date. It looks like two eggs again.

Journaling Class Coming Up!

2010-05-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

If you've been thinking about journaling and thinking about watercolor with it especially then I would like to send you over to Laure Ferlita who is offering a beginner's and not-so-beginner's journaling class in June and July. The link is here and it looks mighty good. The picture here is one of Laure's and it's along the lines of what she'll be teaching. And don't even think you can't do it! I've taken her trips classes and she is a great teacher. Her classes are loads of fun and worth the money. I am signing up for the journaling classes myself just to have more fun and more guided lessons as I am not quite getting what I want on my pages yet. Will I see you there?

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:39:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. It's a quiet day for me with my husband still recovering from surgery. I spent the morning drawing this sketch, then baking a Burnt Sugar Cake which I will have to eat all by myself since my husband doesn't like it and there is no one else around. Aw, poor me, lol. Then I went back to my sketch and added gouache. Now, what to have for dinner is the question. It seems today is mostly art and food for me! My son called to say happy mother's day and I am waiting for my daughter to call later. Life is pretty good.

Surgery Over

2010-04-30T07:11:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. My husband came through his surgery just fine. No heart attack, no extra blood loss even though it was described as a difficult extraction. Too much info? That's okay 'cause that's all there is. Now we are on to healing and then me getting back to more of my art work!

This page was made with torn paper (and a bit of cutting) collage. I did it while waiting in the waiting room during the 5 hours of surgery. No, it didn't take 5 hours to make the page. That only took about 15 minutes - about the quickest ever. I had to take the photo with my cell phone so it's a bit blurry.

Tucson VA Hospital

2010-04-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

My husband is having surgery soon at the Tucson VA hospital so we had to go down for some pre-ops which ended up including a stay overnight for a cardio-catheterization. I took the opportunity to do a couple of sketches from his 3rd floor room window. It is a beautiful old place and they are keeping it up quite well (the room wasn't so great and the food was inedible but the hospital is lovely).

One sketch is on watercolor paper using watercolor and the other is on some Canson MiTientes brown paper so I used gouache on that one.

Fake Journal Page Six

2010-04-20T11:40:00.001-07:00

I have found out that a line drawn to show the shape is not really there on the object in reality. I actually knew this but hadn't seen it put into words really until I saw a blog post on Drawn2Life where Jennifer talks about why she draws as she does. Very interesting and I suggest you go take a look at the post if you haven't already. So anyhow, it led me to my current take on "fake".

I drew a continuous line drawing of my lamp I painted several years ago (it was a $5 lamp from a dollar store and I hated it till I painted it to match the furniture I'd painted). It was harder than I thought as I find I have to hold the Pitt pens so vertical to get them to draw that my hand started to hurt. I need to find a pen that will write at a slant which may better suit my left-handed curled grip. I colored it in this time with markers. Hope you enjoy it.

Apple Blossom Time

2010-04-18T07:53:00.004-07:00

Good morning everyone. I thought I'd share some photos I took yesterday of my apple tree and rose bush. Aren't these so springlike? Spring is well underway and I'm loving it!

Fake Journal - Page Five

2010-04-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Today's fake thing is my plastic flower pot I got from Wal-Mart this year. It looks like ceramic but it isn't. I went for it because of the price and the hope that I could move it if necessary once it was full of dirt.

Hopefully my tomato plant will take hold. The first one didn't as the wind bent it in half. I'm going to get a tomato cage for this next time I go to town. I don't think they are fake yet but they have reduced the number of rings to 3 and I seem to remember 4 years ago.

This is ink and gouache. I like how the gouache covers the background mostly. I'm not using it so thick as to hide all the ink or background but it's not totally transparent either. If you haven't tried the gouache I would recommend it for your tool arsenal.

Fake Journal - Page Four

2010-04-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

I have my fourth page done for my fake journal. This page has my fake flowers on it. I made french beaded flowers and put them in clay I had stuffed into this watering can. Then I sprinkled a little dirt over the clay to hide it. I love these bright flowers but of course, there is no real substitute for real ones.

I painted the watering can after a question was asked in the Oils class I am taking with Nel . What color do you paint a metal thimble was the (paraphrased) question. Nel said to paint it the colors reflecting off of it as the metal doesn't have it's own color exactly. Well tonight I needed to paint a metal watering can so I played by using blue, teal, red, orange, yellow and purple in this painting. Didn't it work great? Thanks Nel.

I Won!

2010-04-14T06:15:00.003-07:00

I was enjoying Jennifer Edwards blog which has great artwork on it. She knits and she paints. You really should go over to Drawn2Life and see for yourself. Anyhow she had a drawing for some of her notecards and I WON! These are the cards I got. If you like them she sells them on her website Yarnworks. Do take a look as you will be glad you did.

Thanks so much Jennifer! I love them.

2010-04-10T09:56:00.001-07:00

Well I have a third page done for the idea of fake. What do you think? Is the milk we drink today real? I used Pitt pen and gouache to do this page.

I am working on my latest class which is a virtual trip to England with Laure Ferlita. I'll post about that as soon as I get some paint on my page. Stay tuned.

2010-04-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

It seems the theme of my fake journal is "fake" as in this is not the color of the original flower so therefore it is a fake. I have no idea what other fake things I am going to come up with so stay tuned.

Fake Journal - Day One

2010-04-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

Well the first of April has come and gone but I am finally posting what I did. The first was a busy day as my husband was having a medical problem and my daughter and her kids were coming in to visit for Easter. After everyone settled down for the night and I still hadn't thought of what to put on my journal I did this as a first page. This is more real as in how I was feeling but let's face it, a fish that can deal with being out of water must be a fake one, right? I drew this with pencil as it was all I had at hand that late at night. Anyhow, I've started!

Have Some Fun

2010-03-23T13:04:00.003-07:00

I saw a post on Laure Ferlita's blog about making a photocopy
of some pictures after turning them to a grayscale version. I think this is a fun way to change and personalize a photo to fit wherever you might want something a bit different. It is recommended that you use watercolor paper but my printer wouldn't take anything heavier than a drawing paper so I tried that. I think I made mine too light a version of gray so be careful not to make it too light. The pink daisy is my result. As you can see it's quite a bit different than the original shown in the other color picture.

This is fun. Give it a try. Thanks for the idea Laure.

A Trip to the Beach

2010-03-19T09:05:00.004-07:00

I just recently took A Trip to the Beach, a class with Laure Ferlita. I've posted all the pictures I painted and journaled in this trip. I've put them all on my other blog here. I hope you'll go see them. This has been a wonderful experience and I think everyone should take at least one of the trips she offers. There is a trip to the beach, England and Paris right now and all are getting ready to take off so hurry and sign up! I can't tell you enough how wonderful taking a class with her is. You have to try it to see for yourself. I had not really used watercolors up to this point and look at what I did. If you can draw basic shapes you can do it!

J Inchy

2010-03-17T08:25:00.003-07:00

This week's inchy is the letter J. I went to bed one night and an idea of what to do came to mind but I didn't get up and jot it down so by morning my wonderful idea using J in multiple ways was gone. This is my second idea and probably just as good as my original idea (unless that idea comes back to mind I'll never know)! This is Pitt pen and watercolor. I can see doing watercolor might be best done with a finer brush now that I see the one inch square blown up so large. Ah well it is what it is....
...which is

Jack and Jill went up the hill

to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown

and Jill came tumbling after.

You all remember that rhyme don't you? And do you remember lots of rhymes without having to look at a book?

BJP Off and Running!

2010-03-16T12:45:00.004-07:00

Hooray for me! I finally finished the January Bead Journal Project piece!! I know it's March but I am still happy as I wondered if I'd ever get anything done! I took the project more literally this year. I also want to finish each piece as a stand alone item before starting the next. My beadwork piece is
2 1/4 inches square. I made it to complement fabric I chose for a journal.

When I was done I made a book 5 1/2 x 8 inches. I glued the square of beadwork between a cover board with the square cut out of it and a thin piece of card to back it. This way it is flush with the cover and won't snag putting it in a bookcase or stacking other books on it. I filled the book with drawing paper and watercolor paper. I made 4 signatures wrapping each one in a decorative paper to go with the cover. I'm very happy with how it turned out and hope I don't need to do too much changing or adapting for the next book. If I have my math right and wrote the corrections down I'll be okay!

I've Been Awarded!

2010-03-15T20:14:00.002-07:00

Yep I sure have. I've been awarded the Kreativ Blogger award. I think it's going around a fun group I am in on Yahoo called Blissfully Art Journaling . If you like to journal and add some art to it this is a good group to be in. Anyhow to get back to the point, several of the ladies have been kind enough to give me the award. In fact three of them on this blog and three on my other blog! This award here is from Tammy, Shay and Ramona.

Now as part of the award I have to do seven things:

(1)Post the image of the award.
There it is over on the right!

(2)Thank the person who gave it to me.
Thankyou all three of you ladies. Your cyber friendship means a lot to me.

(3)Link to the person who gave it to me.
Will do as soon as this is posted!

(4)Tell you seven things about myself that you wouldn't know.
See below.

(5)Choose seven great bloggers to give this award to.
Oh dear, well I think most of the people I know have received it or don't want awards so I am going to be the party pooper and not pass it on.

(6)Give a link to their blogs.
See number 5.

(7)Leave them a message on their blog.
See number 5.

Seven Things You Would Not Know About Me:

I am taking a watercolor class by Laure Ferlita or should I say, I have taken one and am ready to start another. These are cyber trips and I highly recommend them. In fact I will post the pictures on my next trip so you'll see how much you want to go on a painting trip too.
I'm busy as a bee as I am also taking a class starting this Wednesday that is a beginning oils class (although I will be using acrylics) by Nel Jansen . Go here to see her paintings. You'll love the variety.
But I bet numbers one and two aren't what you were expecting were they? Okay how about I'm one of those strange Americans who actually loves fruitcake? Really. I make some every Christmas even if I am the only one who eats it. I have a great light fruitcake recipe too with canned (not candied) pineapple and coconut in it.
Every Easter I make chocolate covered coconut fondant eggs for my daughter and her family. They taste just like See's Candies! I got the recipe in a candy cookbook over 30 years ago.
I bought a guitar over a year ago and want to learn to play it but the books are too hard to learn from especially since I couldn't even tune the thing from the directions I got. I'll take lessons someday after I quit paying for art classes!
I love quiet! Real quiet as in no sounds at all unless it's the wind outside or a bird calling. I don't need the noise of the TV blaring or even music although after doing without music for 20 years I got an Ipod and enjoy it now occasionally - very occasionally.
I'm shy. Yes, yes I am. When I am around strangers I am painfully shy. You all are not "strangers"!

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed my answers. Thank you again for the award.

Orangutan and the Hound

2010-03-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

Orangutan and the Hound

Posted using ShareThis

The Letter I

2010-03-11T10:03:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone. This week's inchy is for the letter I. I goofed and started my writing at the bottom of the inchy. Oh well, I'm sure many of you will understand my nostalgia wherever I started the writing.

Journal Page

2010-03-02T13:05:00.003-07:00

This is a page I made last night for my journal. I was tired and didn't want to draw or do anything complicated. I thought this glass of ?pink lemonade? looked so refreshing on a cover of a last summer's issue of Better Homes and Garden's that I cut it out and made a page of it. I guess I'm jumping ahead of even spring and wanting summer which I sure won't like when it gets here and is around 100 degrees everyday!

I used a journal I made with bristol board pages and put down a watercolor wash. This paper doesn't take a wash well but with adding a border and the focal piece not too much showed anyhow. I had fun making this page. Hope you enjoy it too.

H is For

2010-03-02T10:48:00.005-07:00

This week's inchy is for the letter H.
I made mine with a simple little heart
stamp and then some writing. The background is my blotter paper I keep on my art table for wiping brushes and stamps or for testing things on. I cut it up for use as inchy backgrounds.

You can join in making an inchy of your own. If you do, post it for all to see at Inchybyinch.

Another Inchy!

2010-02-24T21:33:00.004-07:00

I've finally done another inchy! This is for the letter G and the last one I did was for the letter A so I have some catching up to do. I've been visiting family in California and taking too many classes. Some of the classes are ending so that may help me catch up on these inchies and other projects that have gotten behind - like the Bead Journal Project. Boy oh boy am I behind on that! Anyhow, G is for green and goats. This is a cutout of two baby goats (kids) of which we still have the one with the red collar. Her name is Mary Muffin as her dad was Stud Muffin.

Birthday Journal Page

2010-01-24T21:15:00.003-07:00

Two of my granddaughters have just had birthdays. I got a
journal page made for one of them this morning. I made this from various bits of her giftwrap along with a pogo print of the party attendees and finished with a little ink. My granddaughter loves the monkey theme as she is a competitive gymnast.