Hallelujah!

wishing you blessings and joy this Christmas,

and may your New Year be filled with lots of creativity and chocolate!  

Merry Christmas sweet, bloggy friends!!

xox

perfect stay-cation

our DLP challenge this week is to choose a fantasy vacation spot,

and create a list of things to take along.

and while a long list of faraway places immediately came to my mind….

those other important things on my heart intervened…..

and i realized that sometimes just taking a few minutes right where you are

can be the best getaway of all.

{and yes, with a 13-week old puppy to consider,

the thought of a ten-minute retreat in my favorite chair 

is definitely a fantasy vacation!  :)))) }

{supplies used for DLP week fifty challenge:

moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 HP paper, pitt pens, micron pens, 

derwent watercolor/inktense pencils, 6B pencil, white gelly roll pen, washi tape}

tree-babies

tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the 

North Carolina Appalachian mountains 

are rows and rows of evergreen firs and pines

that will someday be brilliantly decorated in celebration

of the most important day of the entire year!

grow strong, little tree-babies!

{supplies used to journal one of my favorite views from

our neighborhood gazebo in banner elk:

moleskine watercolor journal, koi watercolor, derwent inktense pencils,

pitt pens, micron pens, 6B graphite pencil}

meet Gidget

sometimes when life gets a little too predictable…..

and things are going along a little too smoothly…..

life comes along and mixes things up for you a bit…..

in the absolute best sort of way!!

meet Gidget, our little mini-goldendoodle puppy!!!

she's a mix of golden retriever and miniature poodle,
and is absolute pure precious blessing!

and at 11 weeks old, she also has the energy of
a room full of two-year-old toddlers!!
yikes!

so until she starts taking more naps (fingers crossed!),
and i can take my eyes off her for more than two seconds (toes crossed!),
art has become a little interrupted and a little sporadic these days!

in the meantime, life is very, very good,
and i am SO truly grateful for each and every one of you!!
my heart is swollen-the-size-of-texas over
your heartfelt notes these past couple of weeks!

thank you from every square-inch 
of my extremely grateful heart! 

many chocolate-covered hugs,
xoxox

♥♥♥

and to all my sweet American friends,
i'm sending many Thanksgiving blessings to you!!

anatomy of an acorn

i recently took a quick walk through the park…..

and there was evidence all over the sidewalks 

that the squirrels have been busy stocking up goodies for the winter.

i couldn't resist picking up the "leftovers", 

  and by the time i got home, i had a pocketful of goodies 

just waiting to be added to my journal!

{supplies:  moleskine watercolor journal, pitt pens,

derwent inktense pencils, 6B graphite pencil}

{i have a lot of travel scheduled for the month of october,

so i'll be checking in over at my new instagram account….

please join me here!} 

3 colors, 1 cupcake

if you're ever wondering what your favorite colors are,
just open your paintbox and take a peek at the ones you use the most…..
on the other hand, the colors you're not-so-crazy-about
are the colors that look brand new.

the trick to using the colors you're not-so-crazy-about
is to think of a subject you're absolutely crazy about…...

and before long, those not-so-crazy colors will start looking
a lot more appetizing!


{this was created for the DLP week 40 challenge
to paint with three colors you never use
my colors:  lemon yellow, jaune brilliant, viridian hue}

{supplies:  moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper,
koi watercolors, pitt pens, sakura white gelly roll pen, 6B pencil, washi tape}

splatter-happy

this week, DLP put out the call for drips and splatters on our journal pages,
so i got busy and pulled out some "drips and splatter" supplies like
watercolor paper, a spray bottle, water-soluble inks, and a ranger craft sheet.
but if you're like me and you don't really want to make a huge splatter mess,
here's a way to "reverse" the process…..

swipe some water-soluble ink across
 your craft sheet (or other slick, non-porous surface),
and spray it well with water using a mini-mister or spray bottle.

{for this step, i used peeled paint and scattered straw distress ink pads}

now lay your watercolor paper on top of the ink
and slightly smoosh it around.

then, lift your paper off your craft sheet and hold it up
so the ink will drip down the paper.

let your paper dry, or speed things up by using a heat gun,
and then pat your paper down into the same ink on your craft sheet.
this will give your "drips and splatters" a layered effect.

you can do this process as many times as you like...
just make sure the paper is completely dry in between steps.

you can also use water-soluble markers…..
just swipe them across the craft sheet and spray well with water.
then, lay your paper into your juicy ink slurry, lift it off the sheet,
let it dry, and repeat for a layered effect.

{for this step, i used tombow markers,
and i just dabbed my paper into the ink instead of smooshing it}

once your splatters have dried, it's time to play a game of "i spy"!
look at your paper for any particular shapes that jump out at you.
then take a waterproof marker and start
outlining, drawing, and embellishing your shapes!

you can also swipe some marker onto your craft sheet or acrylic block,
then pick it up with your waterbrush……
fill in and smooth out any areas to help your shape stand out better.

when you're happy with the way your splatter-shapes look,
then, it's all about adding your favorite finishing touches….

and before you know it,
you've gone splatter-happy without all the mess!
{or at least without most of the mess! :))}

♥♥♥♥♥

i'm very honored and excited to have been invited by the
Art to the 5th team over at Documented Life Project
as this month's Spotlight Artist!!  woo hoo!!
i'm absolutely thrilled to have my artwork featured,
and i thank the Art-gals SO much!!  xox

please join me here to see my interview!

{this journal page was created for the week 39 DLP challenge.
supplies:  moleskine planner, arches 140 CP watercolor paper, 
distress ink pads, tombow markers, spray bottle, ranger craft sheet,
white sharpie paint pen, pitt pens, black permapaque marker,
graphite pencils, washi tape}

the gift of today

there's a good chance that something about his day will

speak to your heart…..

or maybe something will even tickle your fancy….

but, one thing's for sure…..
this day has the makings to be the best day of the entire year!
{p.s.  and the same goes for tomorrow and all the days after that, too!}

this page was created for the DLP week 38 challenge to

add a feather to your page.

{supplies:  moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper, pitt pens, 

winsor-newton watercolor,  sakura white gelly roll pen, 

3B & 6B pencil, washi tape}

little white pen

this week, our DLP challenge  is to use a white pen 

prominently on our journal page…..

and i'm super happy about that, because i think the little white pen

is one of the sweetest little treasures in my art box.

it's great for adding a little sparkle in just the right places…...

and no matter how you use it,

it can make any journal page seem like a masterpiece!

{i used these supplies for the week 37 DLP challenge:

moleskine planner, kraft card stock, sakura white gelly roll pen, pitt pens,

derwent inktense pencils, 5B graphite pencil, washi tape}

be you-nique

today might seem like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill day…..

but it's actually a great day to be…..

the absolutely best thing YOU know how to be!

you  beautiful,  fabulous,  awesome,  artistic,  extraordinary,

incomparable,  one-of-a-kind,  amazing,  creative,  incredible,  super cool,

YOU-NIQUE  YOU!!

xox

this art journal page was created for the DLP week 36 "black & white" challenge.

{supplies:  moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper,

bombay india ink,  white Sakura gelly roll pen, white chalk, 

pink derwent inktense pencil, micron pen, washi tape}

heart-links

when i saw this week's DLP challenge to add a face to your page,

i began to panic a little, and quite frankly, i had a fleeting moment

of trying to figure out how i could "get around it".  :))

of course, the whole point of a challenge is to, well, 

challenge yourself to do the things you're not comfortable doing

(and many times to do the things you think you can't do)…..

so, i went to my stand-by method of resolving these issues:

eat half a bar of chocolate, turn on some really good music,

dig deep down in my heart, and just start drawing……

with no editing.

{well, okay, maybe a little editing.}

and the amazing thing is that while i was getting lost in the music, 

my heart kind of took over and led the way….

and before i knew it, i was able to eat the 

other half of the chocolate bar as a big reward!  

woo hoo!  xox

{supplies:  for the DLP week 35 challenge:

 moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper,

derwent inktense pencils, pitt pens, 2B & 5B pencils, washi tape}

hat of paper

this week, the Documented Life Project challenged us to use numbers,

and it reminded me of a fun song my little dutch sweetie 

used to sing to our kids when they were younger.

it's a very popular counting song about a sweet little paper hat.

the song doesn't include a bear or a heart-balloon….

but, when you're dealing with kids and paper hats,

a bear and a heart-balloon really are must-haves, don't you think?  

 :))

here's the rough translation:

one, two, three, four, 

hat of, hat of,

one, two, three, four,

hat of paper.

it's a really cute little song and it sounds so much better in Dutch.

especially if it's being sung by someone with a sweet little Dutch accent. xox

you can listen to it here!

{supplies for the week thirty-four DLP challenge:

moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper, pitt pens,

watercolor, washi tape, 5B graphite pencil, scrapbook paper}

hello, sunshine!

 i'm so happy to celebrate the fun-in-the-sun of this summer

with my new stamp set over at Technique Tuesday!!

there are lots of great designs to help you
send some sunshine to someone special…...

and tell them how much they brighten your day!!

and p.s. …. thank you SO much for brightening my little spot in cyberspace
every time you stop by my blog!!  sending you lots of these:  xoxoxox!!


{for more information about this "hello sunshine" stamp set,
and other new sets including Christmas stamps,  please click here!}  

goin' green

this week, our DLP challenge is to use some of those juicy bits of paper 

that catch all of our creative messes while we're working.

so, i did a nose dive into my trash can and rescued some paper towels that 

had been used to wipe my watercolor palette clean.

then i tore a couple of pieces into circles,

and folded and pleated each one to give it a bit of character.

then i stacked the two circles on top of each other

and sewed some french knots to make sure they stayed together…..

and then i added it to a stem…..

which sits next to a little wooden sign.

and after a bit of reusing and recycling, 

i have a little garden that's goin' green and growin' happy!

:))

{supplies:  moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb. paper,

paper towels, yellow thread, derwent inktense pencils, 

5B graphite pencil, washi tape, pitt pens, glue dot,

stamp from my "grow happy" set at Technique Tuesday}

{click here for more information about the DLP challenge!}