Awful, Awful Sprouts

One of more odd pages of my Sketchbook Project was about farting brussel sprouts. I know, I'm a classy lady. The other evening while I was figuring out what to serve for vegetables, brussel sprouts popped into my head and all I could think was that they are AWFUL. Truly, truly awful. But why are they awful, you ask? Well, other than tasting hideously, they also meangirl each other which is just unforgivable, really.

Pen and Crayola Marker. I'm stealing my kids supplies.

Sketchbook Project 2011 Album

I finished her up shortly before Christmas because I knew the craziness of the holidays plus the house and moving situation wasn't going to make it easy for me to finish up right around the deadline of mid-January. She was safely packaged up, nestled between some bubble wrap and is *hopefully* in her new home in Brooklyn.

I've posted all of the pages on Picassa while I wait for her scans on the ArtHouse site.

The entire process has been so incredibly rewarding. It was a creative outlet for me when I was feeling as though I was in a rut and I have met some really lovely people who were also participating. I will absolutely do this again next year and can't recommend it enough.

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It's Friday, I'm in Love

I'm going to start a new, weekly post series called Friday Love. Just like The Cure Song that often pops into my head and stays for days at a time, these posts will showcase what I'm currently loving to pieces.

Let's start this series with a book I just purchased. Water Paper Paint by Heather Smith Jones. I discovered Heather via OakMoss (also lovely and coming up in another Friday Love). Since I am getting back into watercolour painting and loving it so much, this book seemed like a great investment. I'm a very tactile person and so when I opened the cardboard package to find that the book cover feels like lush, heavy watercolour paper I was an instant fangirl. The pictures and examples are beautiful, and the instructions are simple and straightforward. I'm looking forward to digging out my paints and experimenting with some new techniques. 

Lovely You

As my oldest child gets older it amazes me how her little brain works. It feels as though ideas just start to click in her head and suddenly we can carry on a decent conversation. Every so often I jot down some of her 3-year-old thoughts. I liked this one in particular so I put it into my sketchbook and played around with some of her markers.

Pen & Crayola Marker. Yes that's right, Crayola.

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Type Tests

My husband noticed how much I enjoyed working on my Sketchbook Project and so, for Christmas, gave me a Pentalic sketchbook. It's close to the same size, but bound with a hardcover. The paper is very similar so I know I'll be able to work with some light watercolour, certain markers and a few of my pens. Most of my art supplies are packed and won't be used again until March. That's a long time to take a break from drawing and sketching now that I'm getting back into a groove. Since the sketchbook is small, I think I'll take it with me while we're in the process of moving. A pen, pencil, eraser and perhaps a few markers should tide me over.

Some of the first pages I filled in are type tests. When I was working on the Arthouse Sketchbook I found that I tended to use a few letter styles most often. I redrew them in the Pentalic as a reference and an exercise.

Comfort Food

January's Etsy Treasury List is somewhat biographical. My mother has always made her own bread from scratch. There are pictures of me sleeping in the snuggli on my mother's chest while she kneads the dough. As I grew my memories are of the process and the smell, oh the smell!! Is there any smell greater in this world than freshly baked bread? Some of my fonder memories are of helping and learning that my grandmother also made bread the same way and that kneading and punching the dough is a great stress relief. I also remember learning about yeast and wanting to have my own pet yeast in my room. (Hmm, would we call that Sea Monkeys, perhaps?)

When I feel the need to eat to smooth over a bad situation or mental state my number one comfort food is always bread. A slice fresh from the oven with melted butter will make EVERYTHING better.

This treasury was a joy to make and there are some really cute items and talented artisans on here. Check out their shops.

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