I was playing around with my new sketchbook. It’s the same size as the smallest Moleskine (3.5 x 5.5″). It’s from the hand book journal company. The label on the journal says: “Contains 128 pages of heavyweight buff drawing paper with a good tooth. Great for pen & ink, pencil, and markers. Accepts light watercolor washes without buckling and, of course, it’s 100% acid-free.” It also has an elastic closure and a clear envelope inside the back cover. They also have a larger size, again, just like the Moleskine, approximately 5 x 8 inches. I bought mine from Dick Blick and the price is $6.59. It is available in black, red, green or blue. It’s great for sketching and light watercolor…that’s all I have tried so far. I drew the first sketch with a woodless Koh-I-Noor woodless pencil 4B, also available at Dick Blick.
These sketches are influenced by Teesha Moore’s website drawings:
This is the other side of the “Split the Difference” page being a little smaller than the 8 x 10 size of the other pages. It’s my first time working with the Fabriano paper that Teesha Moore recommends.
I am still working on the security envelope books I am making for Christmas and the angel picture I started a few days ago is still waiting for me to get back to it. Can you believe that Christmas is next week?
This is one of the smaller pages in my 16 page journal. I finished it this afternoon. She is definitely not pretty or cute. Interesting…that’s a descriptive word that fits her.
I was pleasantly surprised to have a visit here from the author of the Band Aid quote (Rhonda LaShae) that I used on the journal page posted just below this one. She left a very nice comment for me…thanks Rhonda! I appreciate ALL comments very much. It makes my day to have someone leave a comment about what I’m doing or saying. I appreciate all visits…THANKS SO MUCH!!!
Here is another journal page I finished this morning. This is so much fun, I can’t stop making them! I made a mistake when writing the quote on the left. I put the word NO in and started over with the quote…makes for a more interesting quote The actual quote is great: “Thoughts can be used one of two ways, like a Band Aid or like a rubber band”—Rhonda LaShae.
On another note, I’m reading Stephen King’s latest novel, Under the Dome. I assume that it’s his latest…he’s such a prolific writer, he may have another book out by now. In the author’s note in the back of the book, he says that he first tried to write the book in 1976. There were many technical problems the story presented to him so he tabled the idea back then. I must admit that this is the first Stephen King book I have read. My hubby read it first and kept talking about how great it was, so, when he finished reading it, I started it . If you don’t like blood and gore, don’t read it but if you want an exciting and well-written story that grips you…then do read it. Another thing, it’s huge…over a thousand pages
This is my first attempt at art journaling ala Teesha Moore. If you are interested in learning more about her, go to You Tube and you will find several instructive videos by her. Teesha also has a webpage with the videos right there on her site: http://teeshascircus.blogspot.com/
This is what I needed to get me back into the creative mode again. I put together one of her “amazing 16-page journals” last evening and this is the first completed page in it. Using the poster pens to write with is more difficult than it looks. I almost ended up with a mustachioed girl because my pen made a big splotch right under her nose. Anyway, I had so much fun making this collage. I am taking Suzi Blu’s Angels Class. I have an angel painting started and hope to get that finished soon. I have also signed up to take LK Ludwig’s new journal making class that starts on December 15. http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/ Yikes! So much to do, so little time!
I’m a pushover for any kind of dog story. I first saw this video over at Voodoo Cafe: http://voodoonotes.blogspot.com/. This is a great story of a dog who was being trained to be a service dog but the universe had other plans for her:
This is another page in my Gut Art book. I glued the shapes onto a prepared background. The shapes were cut from my favorite painted paper…old telephone book pages. The writing was a quote from an old dictionary page…it just happened to be on my art table so I used it. I had been hearing so much about Sharpie Poster-Paint Pens and I tried them. They do write over almost anything.
Here’s a peek at one of the security envelope books I am working on. I am making two…one for my daughter and the other for my granddaughter. I told my daughter NOT to visit my blog…ha, we’ll see if she can resist. The next thing I need to do is dig out some old photos to put into the pages. All the pages have an opening at the top.
I want to mention that I did make the pumpkin chocolate chip cake for Thanksgiving (recipe below ) …it was great! I got a lot of favorable comments about the cake. I will definitely make it again. Nuts would be good in it and next time I will use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips.
Another item that may interest many of you who do most of their art supply shopping online is another source I just found out about. It is ASW (Art Supply Warehouse). http://www.aswexpress.com/ For example, they have the best price I have found anywhere for Fabriano Artistico Watercolor paper. I ordered some and I received the order in less than a week. I paid $29.49 for 10 sheets. They have a sale going on until the end of the month (12-31-09). Check it out…they have good prices on all their paper goods and most of their art supplies.
Hello…I’m back! It’s been awhile. I really haven’t been doing a whole lot of art lately…I’ve been getting ready for Thanksgiving…now that it is over…whew…I can relax a bit. I have started a project…two, to be exact. I am making two booklets from security envelopes that I plan to fill with photos, cards with quotes or anything else that comes to mind. I will use magazine pics, decorative papers, old dictionary pages and some of my art to embellish the pages of the books. If you would like to see more clearly what I am talking about, visit Patty at River Bend Ranch and watch this short video:
The photo below is a page I did earlier in my Gut Art book. The class has ended but I have a few things from the class that I have not posted yet. This started as a page from a Coach catalog. I put a thin layer of gesso and then used watercolors all over the page, letting them drip from top to bottom. Then I used some decorative papers and painted with acrylics and stamped over the page. I see a sheep’s head and body if I look closely. The head is to the left of the dark watercolor drip.
Seeing as how my art mojo is currently on vacation, I’m doing what Janet over at http://jkbees.blogspot.com/ posted last Friday.
So here is the meme:
1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere?
Several years ago my mom remarried and ever since then we have a tradition of getting together in a public meeting room for Thanksgiving dinner. At first, I didn’t like the idea but now I love it…no one has to host the dinner and everyone helps with the clean-up afterward.
2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? We usually buy frozen…only other option around here is to hunt a wild turkey.
3. What kind of stuffing? I make a cornbread stuffing, southern style with sage sausage.
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin all the way!
5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing?
I love leftovers…we usually have some to bring back home with us. That’s why hubby always volunteers to bake a turkey so he will have leftovers for later.
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Whole cranberry sauce freshly made, not canned.
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Sometimes but not always.
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier?
Hubby and I work as a team so we aren’t too stressed. I’m always wishing I had an extra oven come holiday time.
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour?
We eat early in the afternoon so we do need to get up very early to get the turkey on to bake. This year we are going to use one of those cooking bags.
10. If you go to somebody else’s house, what’s your favorite dish to bring?
I haven’t done that in a long time but I would make a dessert. This year I’m going to make the pumpkin chocolate chip cake that I posted here on my blog a few days ago.
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn’t bring to your house?
Everything is welcome…one thing I’d never touch are those overly sweet marshmallow sweet potatoes that some people just dearly love.
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you’re happy to see?
No drama in our group, if anyone has one going on, he or she can keep it in check for the day…ha!
13. What’s your absolute favorite thing on the menu?
Turkey and gravy.
14. What are you thankful for this year?
Life is good right now…sometimes I think I should pinch myself…I am really blessed to have a great family and friends, plus Toby, the super dog. I am saddened to know that there are many all over our country that aren’t having it so great right now…I pray things turn around very soon.
If you would like to do this meme feel free to take it. Let me know if you do it so I can come read your answers!
"Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before."
-Shel Silverstein
The actual quote is great: “Thoughts can be used one of two ways, like a Band Aid or like a rubber band”—Rhonda LaShae. 
