celebrate today

sometimes the best way to solve the

"i-don't-know-what-to-draw dilemma"

is to look around and document 

all those things that surround you every day.

some of them might seem a little humdrum,

but it's always great practice and sometimes quite challenging!

i mean, who knew i'd get stuck….and do a lot of erasing!…. 

trying to draw a hairbrush!

(thankfully, i had less trouble drawing the chocolate….

it's a subject i'm very familiar with….heeheehee)

here's to celebrating all the little things….

and a big thank you to danielle donaldson for such great inspiration

through her "storybooks and studious girls" class….i'm having a ball!

{and my celebration continues today, as i've been featured in Dasherie, 

a beautiful publication devoted to the lettering arts!  

i'm thrilled, honored, and very thankful to be included in the Summer issue,

where so many fabulous artists have had their artwork showcased!

all orders for this gorgeous magazine that are placed today will 

ship tomorrow….all those placed after today will ship the first week 

in August.  you can read more info here!}

{journaling supplies:  stillman&birn beta series journal, .3 HB pencil}

little mountain house

i have become quite intrigued by this sweet little house nestled in the mountain trees.
and while i don't know who lives there,  i would imagine that one thing is for certain.....

that such a cute little house surrounded by such tremendous beauty
surely must be filled with lots and lots of love!

{created in my moleskine journal using koi watercolor, pitt pens, 
a waterbrush, and a 5B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

once you've made a brand new journal, and decorated the cover, 

it's time to tackle all those blank pages inside!  if you're like me, this can be both exciting,

 and a little intimidating.....how do you know where to start?!

that's where inspiration will take the lead and remind you that the best place to start with any new project is at the beginning......

and at the Crawley house, the best place to start is the front door!
(and as a result, no more blank page!  woo hoo!)


{created in my downton diary using koi watercolor, derwent inktense pencils,
pitt pens, 6B graphite pencil, waterbrush}

inspiration monday

one of the best things about making a new journal for yourself is deciding how you're going to fill it up!   for me, that means coming up with a "theme" that really, really inspires me.....because if i'm not inspired, i'm not going to want to work in it.  but with this journal, i've already discovered that sometimes inspiration will lead you down a path that you kinda wish you hadn't gone down.....

because even though this topic really, really inspires me, i may have bitten off a little more than i can chew!  i found myself drawing tons of lines and details that started to make my eyes cross, but once i added some watercolor......

it all became a lot clearer to me that when you're really, really inspired by something....

(okay, i'm beyond inspired with this topic....it's more like borderline obsessed!)

it's worth pushing yourself through, because when you're done, you'll overlook all those slightly wonky, wavy, and a little off-kilter lines that you just drew, and instead, look forward to the next path your obsession inspiration will take you!!


{i created this downton artwork using koi watercolors, waterbrush, pitt pens,
derwent inktense pencils, uniball signo white gel pen, 6B graphite pencil}

timeless details

{stonework detail at biltmore house} 

one of my new favorite places to visit is the biltmore estate, located in asheville, north carolina!  the grounds and landscaping are breathtaking, the house is stunningly beautiful, and the history behind this extraordinary property almost reads like a fairy tale.  it took an army of laborers and craftsmen back in the late 1800's to complete the construction of what is now known as "America's largest home",  and with all it's grandeur, i found such beauty in the details of the immense stonework that adorns the outside of the house.  as an artist, i can only imagine the sense of pride those stone masons must have felt as each project was complete.......and as artists (and over 100 years later), i think we all continue to have this same sense of delight in common with each other, no matter what our finished project is!

happy weekend to you!

{this artwork was created in my mini strathmore journal for mixed media using
pitt pens, black tombow marker, waterbrush, 4B graphite pencil}

stacked stones

if you happen to find yourself in the mountains (and maybe hiking up grandfather mountain in north carolina), you may come upon a little stream that's surrounded by really large rocks......and on those rocks you might see some sweet little towers of stacked stones that were left by previous hikers.

and then you can draw a little sketch of them in your favorite journal to help you remember all the fun you had that day (and how you somehow managed to get your choco-hips up that mountain, even though you were huffing and puffing the entire way.....).


{supplies:  koi watercolors,  waterbrush, pitt pens, 3B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

the holiday season is upon us, and i can't think of a more inspiring time of year!  to celebrate all the things i love about the season, i thought i'd create a little booklet......here's how i did it:  take a piece of medium weight paper (i'm using arches textwove that measures approximately 4"x20").......

then fold it in half, and fold it in half again accordion-style until you have a booklet with four sections.

(you can adjust this any way you like and it will still work.....use any size paper, and the more you fold it in half, the more sections, or "pages" you'll have!)

now add some lettering and illustration to your front cover.....

along with some color around the edges, if you like. 

(i'm using some green pan pastel here)

and before you know it, you've created a cover for your new accordion book!

when you open your book up, there will be lots of empty space smiling at you, so

go ahead and start filling it up using your favorite supplies!

i added this Christmas tree on one of the paper folds (because i truly love all those twinkly little white lights!).   i think it'll look kind of neat when the book is folded.......

because you'll be able to see half the tree on each page!

it's going to be fun filling up all that blank space by adding a little bit of artwork here and there throughout the holidays.....and it will be a great way to be creative for just ten or fifteen minutes at a time!

welcome to the holiday season......the most wonderfully inspiring time of the year!!

{this accordion book was created using arches textwove paper, koi watercolors,
micron pens, pan pastel, graphite pencil, uniball signo white gel pen}

inspiration monday

when i created my pottery barn journal,  i used this tutorial by teesha moore (she has a great method for taking a large sheet of watercolor paper and transforming it into a 16-page journal!).  as a part of her design, there are little flaps that measure about 2.25" on the inside front and back covers.  and every time i pulled out my journal to fill another page with pottery barn goodness,  i wondered to myself what in the world i was going to put on those skinny little pages.  and now that i only have two blank pages left in my journal (woo hoo!), i was getting a little nervous about the "skinny little pages" thing, because i still didn't have any ideas.  but, thankfully, inspiration gave me a hand this past weekend.....

and i realized that these skinny little pages were the perfect spot to include an explanation for why i created the journal in the first place......

a place to give inspiration the spotlight!

and while the front-cover-flap was purely about my inspiration, i added some other

details to the back-cover-flap......

because if i don't have it written down, 

there's no way i'll ever remember what materials i used!! 

and since inspiration was giving me a hand, i decided to go ahead and put a little something on the back cover of my journal, too

 (this was another space i had no idea what to do with!).  

even though this is meant to be the back of my pottery barn house, i think it kind of looks like it should be the front of the house.  but then i decided that many times when we find a place we really love, we usually head towards the back door........because that's where we feel comfortable enough to go ahead and hang our heart on the door!


{supplies:  koi watercolors, derwent inktense pencils, micron pens,
graphite pencil}


p.s.  the doors to the letterLAB open today! 
time to have some cursive fun!!   woo hoo!!

embroidered pillows

i took some time to do a little window shopping in my favorite PB catalogs, and when i spied these pillows, i immediately knew they would be the next entry in my pottery barn journal.  i've always had a real soft spot for satin-stitching and french knots......and i don't think a girl could ever have too many embroidered pillows!  they're the perfect thing to surround yourself with as you're lounging on the couch......with your feet up on the coffee table......while you're watching your favorite movie......and eating a chocolate bar.....or two...... :)))

i hope you have a relaxing surrounded-by-embroidered-pillows kind of weekend!!



{journal page created using koi watercolor, derwent watercolor pencils,
waterbrush, micron pens, pencil}

from start to finish

i love watching a journal page come to life.
 it doesn't look like too much when you begin.....

but add a little micron pen,

along with lots of burnt umber, payne's grey, and yellow ochre watercolor

(and some more micron, because you can never really have too much micron),

and before you know it, you've got a finished journal page that's filled with yummy
assorted hardware......pottery-barn-style!


{this two-page spread in my pottery barn journal 
was created using koi watercolors, waterbrush, micron pen, graphite pencils}

inspiration monday

you're going to think i'm crazy (or, maybe you already do.....heehee)......but i've made another blank sketch journal.  eeeek!  but hey, it will look great with all the other blank sketch journals i've made......and haven't filled with artwork.....yet.  my problem is that i get ideas for "themed" journals, then i make the journal, and then i only complete half the pages, because by that time i have a new idea for another "themed" journal.  and the wheel goes 'round and 'round!  but this time i did something a little smarter......i put a small amount of pages inside this journal so now i have a better chance of filling it up (said with a hopeful tone in voice....)!

{journal cover}

and i've chosen a "theme" that always, always inspires me......pottery barn!  

since i always seem to have my nose in one of their yummy catalogs......

it was easy to come up with inspiration for what to sketch on the pages!

(wouldn't you just love to have an entire room filled with these fabulous sicily jugs?!)

and something about these colorful market umbrellas just screams
"happy.....party.....come-on-and-sit-outside-and-eat-some-chocolate"!

think about what you love and what makes you really happy
(like new journals, pottery barn, sicily jugs, party umbrellas and chocolate!)......
and you're bound to find inspiration, too!!

***

{i made this journal using fabriano 140 lb. hot press paper  

and this technique by teesha moore, although mine is smaller at 5.25"x 7". 

journal cover and pages created with koi watercolor, derwent inktense pencils, 

graphite pencils, and micron pens}

waiting room

when it comes time for my annual check-up at the doctor, there are only two things that make me a little nervous.  the first is that horrifying moment when you have to stand on the scale and the nurse moves those clunky weights across the bars to the right......and keeps moving them to the right......and this year, even more to the right.  eeek!  every year i wear lightweight pants and take off my shoes before stepping on the scale, but it really doesn't seem to matter (maybe eating fewer pans of brownies would help.....). 

the other thing i'm not crazy about is all of the waiting......and the waiting.....and even more waiting!  i'm not a very patient patient!  but the moleskine journal in my purse was a lifesaver......you can sit and draw for hours in them.  and that's just about how much time i had the other day.....ugh.

hope you have lots of time this weekend to do the things you want to do!

{moleskine journal page created with a 2B and HB pencil}

watercolor garden

my dear sweet friend and art buddy martha lever paints the most fabulous little free-form flowers......i'd love to have an entire garden of them!  she's made a wonderful tutorial showing us how to paint them ourselves......you can watch it here ......and i hope you have some time to create your own watercolor garden this weekend!  :))

inspiration monday

there are many times when i'm really inspired to create something, but i have no idea what that "something" is.  so, i've been on a scavenger hunt this past week.......in search of my muse.  and as it usually does, inspiration snuck up on me as i was rummaging through my closet and found my little collection of old postage stamps.  once i saw these butterflies, that flickering lightbulb over my head was suddenly shining bright!!

so, here's my sketchbook interpretation of that orange-tip beauty.
thank you, inspiration.

{want to know how alisa burke finds inspiration? click here!}

window shopping

still having a ball playing with my pottery barn catalog!  so many fabulous things in there that are on my wish list......but right now, this is the next best thing!

i'll be away from blogland for the next few days.....going to take some time away with my little dutch sweetie and  do some "real life" window shopping (but i'll have my credit card with me just in case of emergency!! heehee).  see you on monday!

journal page finished using watercolor, micron pen, and a 4B pencil.

click on image for better view