Throwback Thursday: Magazine Stripes

Rip a few pages from a magazine into strips and mix them up for a journal page (or two or three... it'll be hard to stop!).

Wordless Wednesday: Flowering Ecalyptus

7 Months Old

So far 2017 has been an irregular stone, slowly tilting off the side of a hill and gathering speed as it races toward the bottom. I'm not quite sure what happened to August... is it really going to be September before the end of the week???

This month, Marc continues to crawl, climb and step his way through his developmental milestones. He can sit up on his own (and get himself into a seated position); he can crawl on his belly; he can pull himself up on almost everything: the couch, the gates, his bookshelf, the back of my legs; he can creep along the couch and takes unsteady steps when we guide him forward. He has one tooth and is currently working on another one (the two middle ones at the bottom). He also now reacts to his name (if only to look at you with a grin and then continue doing whatever it is he isn't supposed to be doing).

We've been trying all sorts of new food this month. Some favourites include banana, peach, plum and small tastes of popsicles and juice. He wasn't very fond of peas or zucchini, but is eating both mixed with other vegetables and fruit. This month we went out for dinner at Papa Giuseppe's for the first time; Marc enjoyed the berry sorbet (and was otherwise a perfect baby).

Marc also took his first swimming lessons this month. We went every morning for 2 weeks straight and signed up for the fall classes (starting at the end of September). He loves being in the water! We've been going to the parent-and-tot free swims every chance we get. We ventured to the park to try out the swings last week. Marc enjoyed the breeze on his face as I pushed him back and forth.

This month has been a joy. Marc continues to be a happy, easy-going baby and rarely fusses (though he has been these last few days as he is cutting his second tooth). He still doesn't make strange, but does prefer mommy most of the time. His biggest and best smiles are reserved for when daddy gets home at the end of the day though.

It's been so much fun watching him explore and get to know his environment and routines. Let's see what month 8 will bring!

Sketchbook Pages: Weeks 33 + 34

I finished another sketchbook and I'm not sure where I want to do my daily pages now. So these last two weeks have not been super prolific. I'm leaning toward either my long/skinny green sketchbook or the new 8x10 I just picked up. I've included pages from both for last week as I decide this week. Maybe I'll just stick to both, depending on what size I feel like working in? We'll see.

8/18 Pretty in Pink

8/19 Mint Holiday

8/20 Fiery Texture

8/24 Red Press

Materials used:

• assorted papers (scrapbook paper, recycled stationery, tissue paper, ephemera)
• paint
• re-harvested glass texture medium

Sketchbook Pages: Finger-Painted Florals

I finally added another layer to this sketchbook page: a "leftover paint and collage bits" page that has been sitting incomplete for a while now.

I was in the mood for finger-painting with all of my favourite colours. Here are the results:

As I said - this is only another layer. It doesn't feel done to me yet. I think I will add another layer of paint and go from there. 

Throwback Thursday: Black and White

Restrict yourself to using a single black pen to fill a page.

Wordless Wednesday: Playing

My Birthday in Review

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. I celebrated all weekend long: Saturday we went to Springridge Farms where I picked up a few things for myself; Sunday we went swimming and shopping at an art store and the market; yesterday Pat took the day off and we went out for dinner for the first time as a family. A lovely birthday long weekend, I must say!

Here is my new market bag, handmade in Madagascar using natural fibres. I grabbed a few of these for gifts (along with a selection of items to go inside) before I started browsing for me. Pat expressed his surprise that I hadn't chosen one of the bags for myself. I did want one, but there weren't any colours I really loved left. Before we could finish looking around the upstairs rooms, Marc started fussing for food. So we paid for what we had and ordered meals to enjoy at the picnic tables outside. Once our hunger was satisfied, I went back in to find something for myself and was pleased when Pat pointed out that the bags had been restocked. This gorgeous purple/green/grey one had Amanda written all over it!

I also couldn't resist adding this tiny bowl to my collection:

I'll demonstrate all my new art supplies over the next few days and I'm sure photos of my birthday flowers will make it up at some point too.

The only thing really missing was a traditional birthday cake... we had delicious gelato last night instead (Marc approved of the raspberry sorbet!). I was so excited when Pat suggested we go out to Papa Giuseppe's; we hadn't been since the weekend before I delivered Marc. I devoured my spaghetti and meatballs - so good! Marc was the perfect baby while we were there: looking around, charming the ladies and just barely fussing for food and once he was tired near the end. Slowly but surely, we're getting back to our old favourites; places made even more special as we introduce them to our son. I'm so looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring!

Throwback Thursday: Word of the Day

Here's an idea for a daily sketchbook practice: use an online dictionary's "word of the day" as a prompt.

Throwback Thursday: Simple Collage

Not sure what it is about these two simple collages, but they just speak to me.

Sketchbook Pages: Week 31

I only have a couple of pages to show for week 31 - partly because we were away for the weekend. I only have 3 more pages left in this sketchbook and then it is on to a new one (and by new I don't necessarily mean completely empty). I haven't decided just yet which one, I have a few to choose from... I think that anticipation in choosing is all part of the fun!

8/1 Soft Breeze

8/2-3 Fiery Tempest

Materials used:

• assorted papers (scrapbooking, recycled, magazine, tissue, handmade, ephemera)
• paint
• pencil crayon
• pencil