Sketchbook Pages: Week 29 + 30

It doesn't look like I've kept up with my daily practice... but since I'm using my craft room again, I'm working in many different books at the same time: whichever sketchbook I feel inspired to work in. Here, I'll continuing to only post the pages that I've completed in my "daily" sketchbook, but there is lots more (coming up later).

7/18 Melon Splash


7/19,20+21 Honeydew... Honey, Don't

To explain the title - I was pretty in love with this page but thought it needed a bit more black. What if I drip some ink? No. Not a good "what if"... ah well. You win some, you lose some.

7/22+24 Moody Shifts


7/24 Confetti


7/26 Six Month Old Baby Lafond (decorations from the diaper cake at my shower)


7/27 Summer Fever


7/29 Leading the Way

Materials used:

• assorted papers (scrapbooking, handmade, recycled, magazine pages, ephemera)
• paint
• stickers
• ribbon
• India ink
• white Sharpie paint pen
• black pen

6 Months Old

Marc celebrated his half birthday this week. I just scrolled through my "baby" album on Flickr, from bump photos to monthly photos... it's pretty crazy to think about this time last year. We were just back from our trip out East; I was celebrating my pregnancy and feeling great. Now, in the blink of an eye, Marc is 6 months old and getting bigger and stronger every single day.

This month Marc figured out how to sit on his own (he can't get into the sitting position, but once he's there he can balance for quite some time). He also learned how to crawl - not on all fours, but on his belly, dragging/pushing himself forward with his arms and legs. It's pretty cute seeing him spot a toy he wants and then cruising across the room to get it. Of course, it also means we need to finish up our baby-proofing. So far we have our gates up and I've tucked away some cables, but we still need to figure out what we're going to do with the tv stand and a few other breakable/dangerous things.

Marc's eating solids twice a day. He usually eats about 2-3 tbsp of cereal (rice, oatmeal or barley - sometimes mixed with a fruit/veggie puree) plus 1-2 tbsp of fruit/veggie puree (apple, banana, pear, avocado or sweet potato) at each of these feeds. I'm having so much fun preparing his food; I currently have frozen portions of sweet potato, pear and apple purees in the freezer. Next we're going to try peas!

At his 6 month appointment, Marc weighed 16lbs 12oz. He barely cried after his one vaccine - he's a tough little guy. I'm looking forward to spending the next 6 months at home with him (and so not looking forward to sending him off to daycare in the new year)!

Throwback Thursday: Happy

I love simple little prompts like these. They make the best pages to look back on.

Wordless Wednesday: Gated Community

Sketchbook Pages: Pastel Dots

Since I've felt especially inspired lately, I've found myself working in many different sketchbook / art books at the same time. That includes my altered Amber book, a book I am determined to finish this year. That should be doable: there are only six spreads to complete... eight if you count the two that I want to glue together for stability (to prevent the pages from ripping further and because the book is already so full you can't close it). Two of the six remaining spreads are blank (the inside covers) and the other four have a layer of paint as a starting point.

Here is the progression of the last page I recently worked up. I started this page ages ago: with leftover paint from this piece and the gender reveal cards I made (almost a year ago). Earlier this month, I got back to this page and added the following collage plus washi tape:

I toned it all down with a thin layer of gesso:

I broke out paint for the next layer - adding lots of texture with stencils (light blue dots and triangles), stamps (pink and purple circles), my fingers (white and yellow dots) and brushes (dark blue dots and lines). I used patterned tissue paper for more texture. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I darkened the edges (using a black gelato stick) because I knew I at least wanted that done:

The page sat for a bit. Finally, I decided to experiment with the gelatos. I added a bit of colour here and there to sort of bring the separate elements together. I also went with the dependable ink splatter (in both black and white.. although the white is paint, not ink).

I'm not sure if this spread is done yet.. it doesn't exactly feel done. But nothing else is really speaking to me yet, so I've moved on to work on one of those last six pages in this book. Maybe I'll come back to it... we'll see if something strikes me.

Throwback Thursday: Greens

Greens have really been speaking to me lately.

This last collaged piece is very inspiring to me at the moment. I love the splattered colours and circle pattern. 

Wordless Wednesday: Grocery Store Bouquet

My New Espresso Pot

One thing I miss the most about working is my weekly - ok, fine, near-daily - coffee shop americano or latte. There's just something about that extra richness espresso lends that turns a cup into a ritual.

I first heard about Bialetti espresso pots on Smitten Kitchen. Her dilemma of the daily expense for good coffee stuck with me and when I saw a display of the pots at the mall a month or so ago, I dragged Pat over to take a look. I told him I wanted one for my birthday; the 6-shot size should do. Two days later: there's my pot! Sneaky Pat ordered it for me on Amazon and had it delivered. (Romantic or tired of making early weekend morning Starbucks runs? I'll let you decide.) Now I get to enjoy delicious coffee from the comfort of my own kitchen!

It couldn't be easier: fill the bottom with water, fill the strainer with espresso grinds and let it percolate over a low flame. This size of pot - 6 shots - is perfect for 2 americanos. If I'm making one mug, I only fill the strainer halfway with grinds.

Add a bit of cream and there's really nothing better first thing in the morning... or late morning... or early afternoon...

Speaking of early afternoon coffee... I need to try making an iced americano immediately!  

Sketchbook Pages: Week 28

This week has been very prolific when it comes to art, all thanks to the inspiring creative retreat I blogged about last week. Every single one of these really speaks to me. Usually I don't say much about each page in these posts, but these make me so happy that I want to talk about how each one came about..

7/9 Spring Garden

I started out the week with a simple collage, still working towards my goal of using up my vast array of paper. The colours came together perfectly though - every time I look at this page I get a little jump of happiness.

7/10 Leave Space

This page was directly inspired by the creative retreat. I don't remember which artist talked about finding that inner space and just being there... I needed that reminder.

7/12 Shadow and Light

Here's where I started to work in more layers. I couldn't resist. I also incorporated more mark making, which is something I love to do and revisited during the retreat. This page started with some journaling, then a bit of collage (mostly in white) and gesso... then I experimented with orange ink and finished it all off with a heavy bit of pencil scribbles.

7/13+14 Golden Blush

Oooooh this spread. *heart eye emoji* I started with some journaling and a collage (in olive and cream) and then finger-painted with more creams and a bit of red, orange and gold. I actually wasn't too impressed when the paint was still wet, so I took a palette knife and scribbled through it. LOVE! It turned out amazing! A bit of gold and black doodles and some splatter finished it nicely. The photos do not do this page justice!

7/15 Summer Rain

I took a similar approach to the previous page, but ended up in a completely different place. Collage, paint, doodled texture (I played around a bit more with different doodles this time) and splatter. Bonus: using up old paint I haven't touched in a really long time. These pages are making me so dang happy! I'm so glad I'm back in the zone in my craft room!

Materials used:

• various papers (scrapbooking paper, magazine pages, handmade paper, recycled papers, ephemera)
• stickers
• paint (various brands)
• India ink
• pencils
• black pen
• Sharpie paint pen (white, gold)