star spangled

this weekend, we're celebrating Independence Day, 

and we're so very thankful to all those 

who have been so brave in protecting our freedoms!

✭☆✭

sending all my sweet friends here in America

many star-spangled-hugs for a very

happy and safe weekend!!

xox

sleight of heart-in-hand

one thing is for sure,

no matter how hard you try to keep a date with your favorite journal,

life will conjure up reasons not to…..

until you've completely lost your creative focus.

and just when you think you're gonna have to resort to seeking out a magic wand 

and shouting "abracadabra" at the top of your lungs to find it again, 

you notice this week's DLP challenge…..

and you tell life that everything is gonna have to wait...

because you're taking a nose dive into 

the middle of your favorite journal for some well-deserved, 

and long-awaited creative time!  

here's to putting life on hold, 

and pulling a rabbit out of your creative hat. 

not because of any hocus-pocus……

but thanks to good ol' inspiration and sleight of heart-in-hand!  

:))

{supplies for this week's DLP "focus" challenge:

wings journal, derwent inktense pencils, micron pens, 6B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday {elvie-encore-post #2}

i love using watercolor pencils, but one thing i noticed right away is the color of the pencil isn't always the exact color that goes onto the paper!  so here's a paint-chip system that i've been using for a while now.....they're super easy to make, and all you need is your paints, scraps of watercolor paper, your waterbrush or paintbrush and cup of water, a pencil, scissors, glue or double-sided tape, and some popsicle sticks.

first, draw a square for each of your colors onto your watercolor paper 

and paint each square using one color. 

 i like to put more color at the top and less at the bottom 

so i know how the color looks both as a dark and a light.

now, label each color.  
you can leave your swatches as they are 
and you'll have a great color reference......

but i like to cut mine out......

and mount them onto popsicle sticks using a dab of glue or double-sided tape.  
this way i can mix and match and see exactly 
what they look like right next to each other.  
it makes choosing your color palette really fun, 
and you'll be amazed at how many fabulous color combinations you discover!

plus, your entire collection will look so cute all tucked in a glass jar......

kind of like a rainbow-paint-chip-inspiration-bouquet smiling at you!

{you can use this technique for watercolor paints, acrylics, watercolor pencils, 

watercolor crayons, and any other color media you enjoy working in!}

***

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

this is an encore presentation of a post 

originally featured on april 18, 2011}

keep calm and be challenged

i was playing with one of my new rubber stamps the other day,
and i decided to challenge myself to finish a journal page
without using my pitt or micron pens.

at first, i thought it wouldn't really be that hard to give up just one supply….
but as i got further along, i realized how much impact those black pens provide!

once i was finished, i decided it was a lot of fun doing something completely different, and i really like the way it turned out!  well, except that the stamp image isn't centered…..but that's an entirely different
trying-not-to-be-so-obsessive challenge that i'll deal with another day.  :))


{this was created in my moleskine journal using derwent watercolor pencils,
 "believe in miracles" stamp, and pigment stamp pad}

inspiration monday

when you're heading out for errands and appointments,  do you have some favorite supplies you like to add to your "in case i have to wait" bag?  i usually grab my houndstooth glasses, small moleskine journal, pencil, waterbrush, microns.....but when it comes to packing favorite watercolors, how can you possibly choose between all those delicious rainbow colors without adding 50 pounds to your bag?  here's an easy way to create a lightweight, transportable, very convenient paint palette that tucks easily inside your journal:

 first, choose your favorite watercolor pencils and color a very dark splotch with each one
on a small piece of watercolor paper (i used an extra page in my watercolor journal)....

then label each color, and when you find yourself waiting during an appointment,
all you have to do is activate one of those yummy dollops of color with your waterbrush.....

and block the world out while you pass the time in a wonderfully creative way!

and before you know it, your patience will be rewarded and
you'll be well on your way to crossing all those errands off your to-do list!



{small moleskine journal, derwent inktense and watercolor pencils, micron pens, waterbrush, 2B pencil}

inspiration monday

it's been way too long since i've added anything to my elvie journal,
so i decided it was high time to put some ink on this page!

inspiration is everywhere.....
even in your stack of unfinished projects!



{this was created in my elvie journal using pitt pens, derwent inktense pencils,
derwent watercolor pencils, 3B graphite pencil}

hiding places

Christmas stockings......
one of the absolute best places in the
entire world to tuck a sweet little surprise!


{from my things i ♥ about Christmas journal.
materials:  derwent watercolor and inktense pencils,
micron pens, 2B graphite pencil}

weekend recipe

the main ingredients to ensure a happy weekend are simple:
your favorite mug filled with hot cocoa, and a batch of cookies.

but, if you want to have a really, really great weekend.....
add lots of chocolate chips to the cookies.

and for an outrageously spectacularly awesome weekend,
make sure your cookies (with lots of chocolate chips)
 are freshly baked and warm from the oven!!

woo hoo!

here's hoping your weekend is outrageously spectacular.....
in an awesome-fresh-from-the-oven kind of way!!

{illustration from my "things i ♥ about Christmas" journal created
using derwent inkense pencils, micron pens, 2B grahite pencil}

{pepper}mint condition

i hope you have a peppermint twisty,  super sweet confectiony,

 red-and-white-sugary-candy-getting-stuck-in-your-teeth weekend!!  enjoy!!

{illustration from my things i ♥ about Christmas journal.

supplies: micron pens, derwent watercolor pencils, graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

one of the many things i ♥ about Christmas is listening to all the wonderful hymns and carols!  i have too many favorites, though,  and there isn't enough room in my little journal to include them all......so,  i decided to just add another page!  i took a piece of the arches textwove paper that i used for the accordion journal,  and folded it randomly.

then, using my microns and koi watercolors,  i added a title to the front.

then i started to add some of my favorite Christmas music titles inside......

until i had filled up the page!

then i added my new page of carols to the accordion journal by matching up the folds and punching three holes down the middle using my needle.

i used a piece of white waxed linen thread to sew my carols-page in,

(i used the pamphlet stitch, shown here)

and then i tied the threads into a knot.

and now i have a little "journal within a journal" that's filled with all kinds of
fabulous Christmas music inspiration!

{materials used:  arches textwove paper, micron pens,  koi watercolors,
derwent watercolor pencils, waterbrush, graphite pencil, waxed linen thread, needle}

vintage lockers

there are only two blank pages left in my pottery barn journal, 

and i'm chomping at the bit to get them filled!!  

today, i couldn't resist adding a set of vintage lockers to my wish list......

they have that special creamy white, time-worn, weathered look that can only be accomplished with years of exposure to sun and sea air (or maybe a few days with very experienced faux painter!),  and there's all kinds of room inside to store secret stuff.

but what i really went crazy for are these stenciled numbers......i just love simple little details like that, and these chunky numbers make me want to label everything in my house! 

 but for now, i'm off to sink myself into my catalogs and choose something pottery-barn-special to add to my last blank journal page !!  woo hoo!!

{materials:  koi watercolor, derwent inktense pencils, micron pens, 

graphite pencils, 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!!

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}