painting in progress

I've been working on this painting for-next-to-ever,

mostly because I hardly ever paint these days.

I'm back at it again, though!

In this last round, I decided to darken up the background

and block in flesh tones. I'm happy that the figures

at least look humanoid at this point.

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waiting for the game

My favorite bit of this sketch is those couches:

You just never know what wonderful little surprises

you're going to get with watercolor.

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fun with woodburning

                      Oh, summer...

fountain pen messes

Refilling fountain pens...

the outcome is well worth the mess!

 

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save the date

 

So, this is what I've been up to lately.

My dear friends Layne and Mark are getting

married soon, and I had the privilege of

designing their "save the date" postcards!

Scroll down to catch a glimpse of the process.

 

 

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dylusions

Having fun with Dylusions Ink Spray.

I just picked up the London Blue and Lime Green

for collage purposes. But in the meantime...

 

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travel art supplies

 

I'm looking forward to painting a bunch more this year

than I did last year!! As such, I have packed up

some of my drawing/painting accessories to tote around:

a couple of General's Sketch & Wash pencils,

a mechanical pencil, a blending stump,

a waterbrush, and a mini mister.

I also toss in a travel watercolor set,

some tubes of gouache, or the cutesy

watercolor pencils I received for Christmas.

Ooh -- there's also a Pentel brush pen in there. Tasty!!

 

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happy new year!

 

 

 

tether ball

Tether ball is the newest

addition to our yard and family

entertainment. Elliott loves it!

 

the clock

it's caramel apple time!

I've been trying to figure out how to make caramel apples

for several years now -- not the Kraft Caramel kind,

although those are great. I wanted to learn how to

whip up my own caramel from scratch!

So I found a recipe (can't locate it at the moment,

but it had condensed milk, brown sugar, and corn syrup,

for starters) and cooked up the ingredients to the

"hard ball" candy stage as instructed.

Well, the caramel tasted great!

But it set up so hard that we could barely cut through it

with a knife -- think Sugar Daddy chewy.

It was delicious, though, so I might give it another go.

This time, I'll only heat it to the "soft ball" stage

and see what happens.

Do you have a favorite way to make caramel apples?

How 'bout favorite bits to roll them in

while the caramel's still gooey?

 

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hello again

 

Hi there! As you may have guessed,

the past few weeks have been crazy busy

around here! They have included:

one (1) new school (my son's),

one (1) tonsillectomy (my daughter's),

and one (1) new part-time job (mine).

All good transitions, and we are

happily and healthfully looking forward to fall.

I hope you are as well!

Now that I have a blog app on my phone,

I hope to resume posting on a regular basis.

So see ya soon!

 

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in the bookbag

Here are my favorite reads of late:

1) The Wisdom of Stability by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

A meditation on the beauty of staying put in a world that's on the move, and a consideration of the ways God uses constancy of place and people to accomplish His work. As I read this, I find myself grateful for the place where I live and the people who have shared it with me these many years. The book has reframed some things for me.

2) Creative Lettering by Jenny Doh

This beautiful primer is a collection of samples and alphabets by lettering artists. It includes instructions for how to letter the alphabets and suggested art projects to go with them. Tasty!

3) The Complete Photo Guide to Cookie Decorating by Autumn Carpenter

Includes thorough supply suggestions, recipes, and instructions for accomplishing a variety of cookie forms and decorations, including flood icing, painted and filigree frosting, decorative buttercream frosting, candy coatings, and fondant. This book answered some questions I had about cookie decorating, and I've done my fair share of it!

4) Color Recipes for Painted Furniture and More by Annie Sloan

Don't know if I'll use this one for practical purposes, but it sure is fun to look at.

 

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party time

200 water balloons + 4 pounds of bacon + 90 degree

weather (what a relief!) + one kajillion kids =

PARTAY!!!!!

Happy Birthday, little buddy!

 

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beaded journals

As I mentioned previously,

I've been beading up a storm lately.

My favorite thing to bead at the moment is

these little (3.5" x 5.5") Moleskine journals.

I just love the contrast between the

shiny beads and the plain cover stock.

These little, hand-beaded journals are now
available at my Etsy shop...
which is finally open! Yay!

I don't have much in the way of packaging 
and logos yet, but I do have sewing labels! 
So here's the way they ship:

Whee!

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for a friend

Ever since I made this little zip bag, I've been wanting to make

a small purse for myself out of the fabric. It's incredibly soft!

I'm not sure where it came from, but I suspect it's some sort of

microsuede. And isn't the color just so exciting?

 

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yum

Okay, so this is a horrible photo. I get that.

But the marshmallows were homemade and

pretty darn tasty with chocolate fondue.

Recipe here.

 

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sorting beads

I have been all into beading lately. I love the texture of beads,

the vibrant colors, and the delicate sheen. Unfortunately, sead

beads have a way of traveling. My whole collection of chartreuse

and blonde beads fell out of their containers into a much bigger

container last week, and completely mixed together. Once combined,

they're not all that easy to tell apart! So I sat down tonight and sorted.

As I was sorting beads, I realized that much of my life these days

feels very similar to this process. I spend so much time chasing

down mundane details that roll away quickly as I approach. This

isn't a new sensation, either. Perhaps I'm just the kind of person who

is always sorting beads. My attempt to start a cottage business has

been that way -- slow and precarious, picking through minutiae.

Beautiful things happen here and there, but not in a Type A person

kind of way. Rolling little balls of color around tonight, it dawned on me that

this is not such a bad way to live. If I can accept my turtlish

tendencies and stop trying to be a jack rabbit,

maybe I'll be able to enjoy myself more along the way.

 

 

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ryan preaches

 

 

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road trip

 

This week, Eric & I drove to Globe, AZ to deliver the kids to

Grandma and Grandpa for a few days. These are some road

trip sightings, rendered in General Sketch & Wash pencil.

It was a lovely drive -- the desert is lush from the monsoons,

and the sky was full of fluffy clouds. We even saw a bit of rain!!

 

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