inktober #17

inktober day seventeen,  prompt:  "battle"

i will always strive to be carrot-healthy,

but choco-happy wins the battle every time!  

:))

{i'll be away from art desk for the next few days....

be back for more inktober soon!}

click here for more info about inktober!

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper,  micron pens

pentel color brush,  ranger distress markers, copic marker}

inktober #10

inktober day ten,   prompt: "jump"

another chocolate-themed post....

seems like my brain always jumps to that subject,

no matter what the prompt..... :))

click here for more info about inktober!

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper,  micron pens,

ranger distress markers,  copic marker}

inktober #5

inktober day five,  prompt:  "sad"

here's to keeping lots of chocolate in the house.... :))

click here for more info about inktober!

{supplies:  pentel sepia color brush, micron pens, 

ranger distress inks, canson moulin du roy w/c paper}

his name was chip

i'm truly honored and super excited to be this week's Featured Artist

over at Documented Life Project 2015 
and i'd like to send out a big hug
and many thanks to the Art to the 5th gals for inviting me!!  woo hoo!

this week's DLP art challenge is to use deli paper on your journal page,

and the prompt is "you had me at hello"….

so, i took the challenge and prompt,
and threw in a bit of chocolate
(because you can never really have enough chocolate, right?)….
and this is my finished journal page,
featuring my zero-calorie chocolate chip cookie made from deli paper!

                     

here's a video showing my entire process from start to finish!

i hope you have tons of fun using deli paper this week!!
xox

thanks again to the gals at DLP!

you can read more about Documented Life Project here.

you can watch this video in larger format here!

{supplies:  Strathmore Visual journal for mixed media, pan pastel,

Sofft tool, deli paper, micron pens, 6B pencil, watercolor, matte Mod Podge,

heart stamp, Staz On ink pad, washi tape, needle, embroidery floss,

tape runner}

inspiration monday

when it comes to working in my favorite art journal….

 the pages i enjoy most are created when i allow
inspiration to take complete control…..

and i stick to matters close to my heart.

and speaking of matters-of-the-heart,
please pass the chocolate, and let's talk some happy!
xox


{supplies:  moleskine journal, derwent watercolor pencils, derwent inktense pencils,
pitt artist pens, 2B and 6B graphite pencil}

soul-warming

when it's cold outside for days on end,
the best thing to warm the soul is the perfect cup of hot chocolate.
 a big dollop of whipped cream on top is nice,
but how about a handful of mini marshmallows instead….
just because they're so much fun to chase around in that sea of cocoa.

and while the bobbing for marshmallows is going on,
don't forget about all that extra chocolate on the side….

 because that's probably the best reason to have the hot chocolate in the first place….
for the extra goodies on the side.

oh yeah….and to warm the soul, too, of course.  :))


{see soul-warming hot chocolate recipe here!}

the way to my heart

whether it's candy coated.....

or slathered over a salty pretzel......

or paired up with peanut butter.....

or disguised as a little chip.....

or in a simple foil wrapper.....

chocolate will always be the way to my heart!

sending you big, big choco-hugs,

and wishing you all things that make your heart happy!

enjoy your Valentine's Day,  sweet bloggy friends!

xox

inspiration monday

i've discovered that sometimes when i'm looking for inspiration,

it's nice to catch up with an old friend,  like my dover doodle book......

because on the pages inside, you can always create silly stories about new friends....
like tom, and his day at the museum:

(tom's silly story goes like this....)

"once upon a time, tom found something he liked
in the case at the museum."

"and it didn't take long before tom was in a

  glazed-over-eyes-must-have-choco-trance." 

"actually, it became an all-out choco-emergency."

later that day, tom had discovered the moral of the silly story:
"always be prepared"
(or in choco-terms,  always carry a hammer in your backpack.)
:))

{this silly story was created in my dover doodle book using micron pens,

derwent inktense pencils, and a 4B graphite pencil}

{you can find the dover doodle book here!}

inspiration monday

no matter where you look,
creativity can always be found.....

just follow the path that inspiration lays out for you.

and as you travel along,  you never know when
fantastic surprises will appear...... 

  so make sure you have a fork and a napkin in your art box,
just in case......heeheehee

:))

{created in my walls notebook using pitt pens,

white uniball signo pen, pan pastel, and a 6B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

this week i went looking for inspiration,
and found it in the form of a purply art supply that
i haven't used in a really long time.

 we spent some time getting to know each other again.....

and before i knew it,

there were pages filled with fun purply marks......

and those marks led to letters.....and purply words.....

and familiar little quotes......

and chocolate.
fun, purply chocolate.  
heeheehee



{purple play done with a pentel color brush}

choco-hearts

t

images via lori at pinterest


valentine's day is getting close.....
spoil your sweetie (and yourself!) with some homemade
super-chocolately treats, courtesy of martha stewart!
recipes are here!

{images from my pinterest boards}

candy store

                                                      Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Lori on Pinterest

i hope you have a kids-in-a-candy-store kind of weekend......

and i sincerely hope you find a bin of chocolate that you can do a nose dive into!!

enjoy!!  :))

some green and a little chocolate

when you're eating gluten-free and you find someone like elana over at elana's pantry who is also eating gluten-free, has done lots of experimenting with gluten-free ingredients, and is willing to share them with the world, you're absolutely thrilled over the thought of being able to bake goodies and eat like "real people" again.  however.....when it comes to baked goods, the color green isn't exactly what i want to see in my muffin.  but that's what i love about elana......she's smart.....she adds chocolate chips.  and when it comes to chocolate chips, i'll eat them with cardboard if that's part of the deal.

so i thought i'd give her zucchini chocolate chip muffins a try.......

and they're absolutely delicious!
actually, they're so good,  i figure i could really use the whole green-in-baked-goods-thing to my advantage.......with all that zucchini in there, don't you think i could probably eat the entire batch and get one of my required daily servings of veggies?!  (not to mention my chocolate fix......heehee)


{you can find the recipe for these gluten-free zucchini chocolate chip muffins here! }

vanna, may i please have a consonant? ...................... {elvie-encore-post #9}

i'm a real sucker for anything that has a clever use of letterforms. so when i spied this box of swedish happiness during a recent trip to ikea, i instantly had visions of using them to leave notes for my little dutch sweetie on the kitchen counter, or playing cookie scrabble.....

but my abecedarian dreams were shattered when i opened the box, and discovered that it was filled with only the letters i, k, e, and a. three vowels and one consonant? this was a challenge that would send any wheel-of-fortune veteran straight into an alphabetical tailspin!

so, since there was no letter b in the box, i decided to create one for myself.....

in the form of a plan b.....

and just dunked them in a bowl of c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e.

i just love finding new ways to use letterforms!


have a great weekend!  i'll see you on monday!

i'm currently on a little bloggy break......

this is an encore presentation of a post originally featured on february16,  2010

thinking outside the box....of eggs

i was here a few days ago and this ceramic tray caught my eye.....

it's intended purpose is to hold a dozen of these.....

but i quite like seeing all of those little ceramic cubbies filled with

rainbow-chocolate-pretzel-happiness......

and my little dutch sweetie thought it would be a great

tray for my paints!

(have i ever mentioned before that he's an absolute genius?!)

{which works out well, because those m&m's weren't gonna last long

after their photo shoot anyway....heeheehee}