Play and Draw Happy pages ...21 Secrets Plus Some

Some extra pages I did in the Childs Play and Draw Happy classes after I completed the workshops.

This page, using magazine pages, was inspired by Alma Stoller in the Childs Play class. I have done a little bit of a lot on it. I machine stitched around the edges and all over the papers, gessoed it on both sides, and left to dry.

The dream words were cut out of the front of an old knit sleep t-shirt gown and machine stitched onto the front. You can see evidence of bubble wrap stamping in the white dots under the layers of fluid acrylic paints. I also used some oil pastels on top.

I'm thinking I may add something else later and use it for a journal cover, but this is how it is for now.

The next two sketches are the same page, only the top one I scanned as a magazine photo and the other was scanned as a regular photo. As you can see, the top one didn't pick up all the color, but I like it.

It's an extra drawing from Jane Davenport's class in Drawing Happy and Doodling. I used a sketch and wash pencil and watercolor pencils with a damp brush. She was born of my imagination, then had a pink flower cut out of scrapbooking paper and pasted on with gel medium for some flair.

Not perfect, but she has character, don't you think? :)

My cousin sent me an email with a lot of cute animal pictures in it, and I couldn't resist doing a quick sketch of these two. They were in two separate pictures, but had similar expressions. I used a mechanical pencil and the lead is light unless you really put the pressure on it. It's a cheapie from Wal-Mart, but I like it. :)

I also finished reading "The Curse of the Holy Pail" by Sue Ann Jaffarian and thoroughly enjoyed it. The protagonist is an overweight middle-aged woman, so I can identify with her, except that she's feistier and braver than I am. There were lots of twists and turns to the mystery, plus humor, and it kept me guessing right up until the end.  I look forward to reading more books in the series and solving more mysteries with Odelia Grey.

Thanks for visiting! I hope something on here made you smile! :)

3 Little Words Poetry Journal Pages-21 Secrets 2

These pages were inspired by Aimee in her 21 Secrets workshop Three Little Words. I learned how to take word strings and create poetry and a journal page with them. I love this class. It's one of my favorites, but I would hate to  have to pick THE favorite workshop from all of them, because I have learned from and enjoyed them all, and I still have 5 to take.

I've been taking a little break to do some cleaning and stuff that needed doing badly. When I do art, write, listen to music, or read, I tend to ignore everything else, but eventually I have to play catch-up, or at least clear a path for walking. :) My workspace is also in shambles, because I started organizing and cleaning, and right in the middle of it I got sidetracked and haven't gotten back to it. Right now, I can't find anything, and I wouldn't have a space to work if I could. So I'm catching up on my reading until I get re-situated and back into my journaling.

I have discovered the world of electronic reading via Kindle on my pc. Love it! I read "God Don't Like Ugly" by Mary Monroe a couple of weeks ago, which was hard to put down, and I'm now reading "The Craggy Hole In My Heart And The Cat Who Fixed It" by Geneen Roth, also very hard to put down. I purchased these two, but there are tons of free ebooks and short stories that look interesting on Amazon, and I've downloaded a couple of those, as well.

Whoops! I got sidetracked again, but when I find something that I enjoy I love to share it. :)

All three pages are on 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock, the phrases are from Anne Rice's book, "Violin (I love Anne Rice!)," and I used fluid acrylics in different ways, such as fingers, brush, spray, stamping, etc. I kind of overdid the background on this one, I think, and the gold glitter butterfly and swirls don't show up in the scanned image as pretty as they are, but you get the idea.The face was drawn and painted over the background, but before the bubble wrap and the glitter glue. The journal phrase is in the necklace around her neck, and it says, "Dizzying golden swirls Touched her check."

This page also has collaging and cut-out butterflies, one from scrapbooking paper and one from a text page, a page from an old dream dictionary, and black "stitching" with a Pitt pen. The poem says:

I reached out full of hope

Just to rest, to be free

The words melted like a veil from my soul

Stood in fear, shut my eyes in the rain

Caught the light, opened my eyes

No longer afraid of all memories or the unknown

Stomped my foot!

Confessed with laughter!

For some reason, I am really into purple and pink this summer. What do you suppose that means? Anyway, I used pages from the old dream dictionary to collage the background, sprayed them with thinned fluid acrylics, then added some torn shapes from the same book that I had already painted pink over a resist word (Faith) on at the bottom. I cut the upper butterfly from one of the pages and used it as a stencil negative to spray over, leaving the bottom butterfly pinkish and the top one purple. Again, I used a black Pitt pen to "cross-stitch" the torn paper with the poem to the page. I'm not sure I'm finished with this page. It seems to be calling for something else, but I'm not sure what just yet. I love my poem though! The poem says:

A dipped pen

Grand purple ink

Just the moon, mellow and soft

Caught in transcendence

Expressed my soul in that moment

Shut my eyes

Let it go



These pages got covered up, along with my friend's birthday card, for a few weeks, during the re-arranging of my work space, and I just found all of them a couple of days ago, a week after my friend's birthday. :/  So she now has her card, and I can share another of my workshop projects with you.

I hope you enjoyed your visit and that something on here made you smile just a little. :)

I'll be back soon!

Me and My Shadow and Adding Dimension-21 Secrets

These are journal pages inspired by the workshops Me and My Shadow with Violette Clark and Adding Dimension with Kelley Brown. I did mine on cardstock and used a variety of techniques learned in other 21 Secrets workshops in the background, as well. There is also a lot of emotional work involved before the doint the art, and I'm loving all the different processes I'm experiencing. Can you tell that I'm excited about these workshops? LOL

The first page is my society face, along with labels for the characteristics I tend to portray around other people. I tried to use lighter brighter colors for my "sunny" side. My labels are written on the butterfly and the stems. I wasn't aiming for a smirky smile, but that's how it turned out. I don't think I look smirky in public, at least, I hope not! Reckon my subconscious is trying to tell me something? :)

This is my shadow side. The side I try to keep to myself and hidden from other people, although I'm not too good at hiding things. I have one of those faces that shows whatever I'm feeling, no matter how much I'm trying not to show it. :/ For some reason, in this series of workshops, I've been drawn to a lot of purple and magenta/pink color, although this one isn't actually quite as purple as it looks here. I don't know what that's about. I'm usually a blue/orange person, but I guess everything changes around at one point or another.

This page also contains a sewn on pocket to hold secrets that I want to hide and on the left is a flap, held on with cheetah duck tape, that lifts up for more personal writing. These ideas came from Kelley Brown's workshop, along with some other great ideas. You will probably see more from her class as I go along. :)

The faces and the butterfly were created on a seperate piece of cardstock and attached with gel medium. I have also used hand made stamps, stencils, cutouts, spray color, torn papers, writing, etc among the layers in the backgrounds.

Both these classes were a lot of fun. I would hate to have to pick a favorite from the fourteen I've taken so far. And I still have two to finish and five to start!

Connie just sent out an email that she's extending the workshops until the end of the year. Registration has been extended until Oct 1. So there's still time to participate if you're interested!

These workshops are deeper and more involved than the last round, and I, for one, am happy about this. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get through them all before August and get what I needed to out of them. Now, I will have time to re-visit all the workshops and catch up on any new videos or ideas that have been shared and participate more in the classrooms.  Yippeeeeeee!

Have fun with ART! :)

Connect to the Goddess Within You-21 Secrets

This is the journal page that I created connecting with my inner goddess in Goddess Leonie's workshop in 21 Secrets. This was an interesting workshop and journey to find and meet my goddess, and I found her floating serenely among the tree branches with the sun and sky above her.

As I'm typing this post, I realize that that's exactly where I should have expected her to be. One of my very favorite places to be alone is sitting on the bank of our big pond with my head back looking up through the tree branches at the sky, and very often the bright sun is peeking though the branches back at me. It's where I feel most at peace with the world.

I didn't start this page with that in mind though. It is purely coincidental, or intuitional, or my sub-conscious at work? I don't know. All I know is that I went on a journey and she is what I found.

I watched Goddess Leonie's wonderful videos, read some of the discussion posts, and looked at the amazing pages that class mates had created, but I have to confess that I could never get the audio meditation to play. I tried numerous times to no avail. So, based on what I heard and read in the workshop, I made up my own meditation and quietly went on a mental journey to see what I could find.

After I meditated, I opened my very large Moleskine watercolor journal, dampened a page, and started dripping different colors of acrylic inks onto the page, letting them merge and run where they wanted. Occasionally, I lifted the book to help them along or sprayed a little clear water on them to soften them. When the page was covered, I left it to dry and for a few days I looked at it not seeing anything. Then all of a sudden, I turned the page end ways and there she was, complete with long flowing robe and kerchief head scarf! The bright sun peeking over her shoulder in one little spot throught the branches, the blue sky overhead.

I did some stamping with a large Asian stamp to add a layer. I wasn't paying attention to where I stamped, but when I went to paint her hand, there was a stamped flower right in it. I painted her face and gave her a blue kerchief instead of the green one she appeared with, then I painted shimmering gold acrylic ink over her robe and added the large buttons that it was begging for. The gold ink allows the colors underneath to show through. It just makes them shimmer a little.

I was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the page when I noticed the cat walking down her sleeve looking all pleased with himself, so I gave him a little attention. Then I noticed the large regal profile with blue hair in the right corner looking out into the future. I gave her a few curls and a little detail, but not enough to take away from my goddess. I wrote in white gelly roll pen and called it done. Just as I was putting it away, I noticed the red/pink heart just over my goddess's shoulder and near the sun.

This quote in Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Simple Abundance" seemed to fit the page;

"Let your mind be quiet, realizing the beauty of the world, and the immense, the boundless treasures that it holds in store." Edward Carpenter

Pondering what all this means gives me food for thought. I'm wondering if the arm that is reaching outside the page is inviting me up to float among the tree branches in peacefulness and serenity with her...

This was a fun experience, and I'm so glad I took the workshop. I love my inner goddess! Thank you Goddess Leonie! :)

Zentangle Mooka Challenge 16

This week's challenge at http://www.iamthedivaczt.com/ is to use the new Mooka pattern created by the founders of zentangle art. It's a fun pattern to do. I don't usually use a string to guide me, but this time I did. Of course, I didn't stay within the string. I love learning and the doing of the tangles. :)

 These were both done on 3x3" squares in my Moleskine pocket journal with a medium Pitt pen.

I tend to forget that I have more than one size pen, and whichever pen or marker I pick up is what I use. Trying to make them perfect is stressful to me and sort of defeats the purpose of meditation, so I just have fun with them.

I sure do enjoy seeing everybody else's gorgeous tangles though!

21 Secrets 2 is in Session! Drawing Happy!

The second set of mixed media journaling workshops in the 21 Secrets playground opened yesterday. They are hosted by Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studio (see the badge on the left sidebar). I had so much fun in the fall session, and learned so much, that I've been on pins and needles to start this one. I looked over the classes and worked on my profile page yesterday. I also tried to decide which of the 21 workshops to take first. Not an easy decision!

This morning I decided to go with the "Draw Happy" workshop with Jane Davenport. It's a class about, well, drawing happy. :) She showed us how she draws and doodles, and the different tools and surfaces she draws on in several very upbeat informative videos, which also starred her cute-as-a-button dogs and happy music.

The first exercise was to show her some of the things that we automatically doodle when we're on hold on the phone, in line, etc. I shared the doodle below.

I call these heart people my little Hearties, and I love them. The lower left corner is a series of connected dashes, and I tend to do them when I'm very nervous. I used a Pitt marker pen in my Moleskine pocket journal.

One thing I love about these workshops is that we're encouraged to feel free to explore and experiment; that it doesn't have to be perfect, and if we don't like what we've done we can always cover it up with something else. I love it! :)

The second exercise was to do a test page with some of our drawing tools over different textures and to share what we liked and didn't like about them. Below is my chart, and I know it's wonky. That's because I'm wonky. :/

I used white cardstock with  strips of Quincidrone violet fluid acrylic, white gesso, and clear gesso to test on. The acrylic proved to be too slick for most of the pens/pencils to write on. I am loving my new Pitt pens though. I'd never tried them before until I did a zentangle atc last night.

The third exercise was to do a finished journal page using our doodles and tools and to upload it to share. Here is what I wound up with.

This is a page in my Moleskine large sketchbook, and I used fluid acrylics, my Pitt marker pen, and gellyroll metallic pens. I wish the metallic and white pens showed up better in the scan, particularly the gold in her hair. I'm happy with it. :)

Well, I've completed my first workshop and I've spent a beautiful Saturday inside doing it, but I've loved drawing happy. Jane is a delightful person, a good teacher, and I appreciate her teaching the workshop and sharing her knowledge with me. I will continue to draw happy. Thank you so much, Jane! :)

Zentangle Challenge #15-Curves

This weeks challenge at http://www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/ curves only, no straight lines. I just bought a set of Pitt pens and decided to try them out in my pocket Moleskine sketchbook on an atc (2 1/2 x 3 1/2"). Love the pens and had fun doing the tangle. Here is the result!

Zentangle Boo-Boo turns in to The Dinner Table

This week's challenge for zentangles is Curves Only. I started out with a double circle and petal shapes, but then I forgot and did a zigzag pattern around the outer circle (no straight lines allowed this week). I tried to fix it by turning the zigzags into black "pearls", but some of them ran together, not looking too good, so I just had fun with it. Still all curves, not so much tangle! But I like it. It makes me smile! Hope it does you too!  I call it "Dinner Table" :)

Navy Zig ballpoint pen on a quarter sheet of pink cardstock.

Challenge 14-I Walk The Line Zentangle

This week's challenge at http://www.iamthedivaczt.com/ was I Walk The Line. We were to use only straight lines for the tangles. The first two I did are with Zig ballpoint pens on post it notes. The notes are hot pink and the Faith one is a Hunter Green pen. The second one is hot pink with a purple pen. I don't know why, but my scanner would NOT scan the paper as hot pink. Instead, it's a pale pink. They really look better in person, but I decided to share them anyway, just because they were fun to do. :)

Not easy to keep the curves from creeping in, because I love curves. However, any curvy lines you see are because my hand wavered while drawing the straight line. They are not intentional. :)

These two are actually only one. It is done on hot pink cardstock (a quarter sheet) with a purple Zig pen. I seem to have been on a hot pink/purple kick this week for some reason. I did the one above, scanned, and saved it, then filled in some more of the blanks and added a smidgeon of burgundy pen. I liked it too, so I scanned and saved it as number two.

I have to confess that a ballpoint pen is not the best to draw tangles with, although I love to draw with them. They tend to leave little blobs sometimes and you can't get really fine detail with medium point pens, but they are still fun to play with!

Another fun and challenging challenge!

Zentangle Challenge 13-Non-Dominant Hand

This week's challenge at http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/ is to draw a zentangle with your non-dominant hand. I am right handed, so I drew with my left hand. I used a Zig marker on 4x4" white cardstock, and I thought I was using the smallest end of the marker, but when I finished I had used the larger end. :/ It felt totally foreign and awkward to use my left hand, but I was amazed at how well I did, despite the size of the marker point and the lack of control in my hand. This was fun! :)

Then I tried one with the fine end of the marker. Shaky lines, but I like the design.

I believe the "correct" pens to use are the Micron fine tip pens, or something similar, but I tend to draw with whatever is laying handy, and a lot of times it's a marker. The finer the pen, the more delicate the design.

I started not to share these, because they are not that great. Then I thought, the ones I do with my dominant hand are not that great either. My hands and eyes are not as steady as they used to be. However, I LOVE doing these. They are a great form of meditation and concentration, which is a good brain workout. So why not share something I find so beneficial and enjoyable?

The non-dominatrix challenge was just that. A real challenge, and it was fun! :)

Zentangle Challenge-Blue, a Fish, and an Angel...

This weeks challenge is Something Blue @ iamthediva.com (see the Diva's Challenge badge on the sidebar). This is an atc (2 1/2 x 31/2") in my pocket Moleskine sketchbook with a Zig ballpoint pen in turquoise. I started off with a black spiral covering the whole card, then filled in the spirals with patterns. 

Another atc I started in the Moleskine while sitting in the waiting room at the Dr.'s office. I used a black Zig ballpoint pen, and later, a turquoise one. The egg and wing shape are patterns I saw online somewhere. Mine didn't turn out too well, so I added swirlys and polka dots. Still not happy with it, but thought I'd share my not so good with my better with you anyway. :)

This one and the next two are 4x4" tiles cut from white cardstock, and I used turquoise and black Zig ballpoint pens. I started this one in the left upper corner with one of my favorite patterns and continued across the tile with more of my favorite patterns free-hand. As I said before, I don't pre-draw with a pencil, so any wobbly lines and uneven patterns show, but that makes it mine! :)

I prefer free-hand drawing to using patterns, because I have a really hard time following patterns for anything. However, I decided to try some cookie cutters for a starter pattern. I used a plastic cutter for this one, and it barely fit the 4x4" tile. I placed it on the paper, and, using a pencil, drew around the inside of the cutter, which left the very basic outline. Then I lightly divided it into sections, and using the Zig black ballpoint pen, went over the pencil lines and filled the sections in with some favorite patterns. I really like my little fish! :)

I used a very thin metal cookie cutter angel here. She looks a little like a nun, doesn't she? Same process as the fish.

I just wanted to show you that whether you can draw or not, you can tangle. There are lots of ways to get a starting line to fill in and some great tutorials online. I don't claim to be a pro, but you don't have to be a pro to enjoy doing what you love. :)

More Zentangle Practice...

A zentangle in my watercolor paper art journal with a watercolor background and a chocoalte brown Zig marker. My tangles may be more doodles, because I don't use patterns, I use whatever is handy to draw with, and I've only learned enough about zentangling to make me dangerous. :) I just usually start with a shape, or not, and go free hand, which accounts for the wonkiness and sometimes the escaping of the page. :) I love doing it though! It's very mind-consuming and helps me focus.

Same art journal as above, but a pink Zig marker sounded like a fun idea, and it was, plus I still have room to journal. :)

Two small ones on the same page in my Moleskine large sketchbook/journal. I don't draw them in pencil first, so any mistakes I make with the Zig marker add to the character. At least, that's my opinion! :)

Last page in this Moleskine. I did the tangle on the left for a challenge, but it got so cramped at the seam that I decided not to share it there.The small one on the right is an idea from a past challenge, before I signed up. I like the idea!

This one, and the one below are some of my first attempts at tangling in the large Mole sketchbook/journal. I like the little fellow above a lot, but I see now where I could add some more patterns within to really bring him out.

I've been doing mostly large tangles with a Zig double-ended marker, but I notice on most online sites they use 4"x4" squares, or "tiles" of smooth paper, a variety of fine micron pens or pencils, and patterns. These are much more delicate than mine, but any of them can be scanned and printed for art journaling, collages, transfers to clothing, tattoos...

Zentangle Fun

Double page zentangle in large Moleskine sketchbook using a Zig double-ended marker. I'm new to this artform, but I can tell you it's very calming, a lot of fun, and highly addictive! 

I read that one of the ways to start a tangle is to close your eyes and draw a few simple lines trying to express your feelings, then fill in the lines with patterns. The other day while my father-in-law was visiting with us, I was doodling in my book, and I turned to a clean page and just let my pen glide around the page while I was looking at and listening to him talk. I came up with a large tangle line, which I filled in and finished while watching TV after he was gone. This is how it turned out.

I really like it!

Now to finish the other three I have started...

What I'm Working On...IF I Can Find the Space!

 I'm sitting in front of my laptop pondering where I'm going to make space to work today.  My current studio/playroom is our dining room.

Just for fun I thought I'd show you what I'm facing as I sit here. Sorry about the picture quality. I forgot to turn the flash on, and there's a flouresent light overhead with a yellowish tint to its light. Needless to say we never use the table for eating! LOL

 Here are some of my ABSOLUTELY favorite tools that I always have within arm's reach. Laptop, Mp3, gum, scrap paper for notes, post its, and COFFEE. Art Journal page for a screen saver! WIP felt doll #2 guarding my coffee.

 Still to my right and up a little, WIP felt doll with the rest of her top laying near on a box of wool felting supplies, waiting patiently for me to get back to them. Behind them an old computer desk full of books, beading, stamping, half-finished paintings and projects, and misc.

 Straight ahead is my sewing machine on the other side of the table with a stack of art journals in progress between me and it. I've been sewing on some of the journal pages, although I did repair two pair of hubby's pajama pants while I was at it. Between the journals and the machine are piles of paint and stacks of background and misc papers, plus files of stuff. My water container and brushes and my styrofoam plate palette is on the left side of the table. The painting corner to the left I'll explain on down the post.

 To the left of me is my printer on a TV table with my drawing board laying on top of it, where I've been doing my larger painting. I know, NOT a good idea! :/

Still to my left, two large cheap watercolor papers that I've been working on for the last 2-3 days for backgrounds. I've gessoed and painted both sides of each page. Also a zentangle that I started last night in my Moleskine journal while watching TV with hubby. Great alternative to eating! Behind is a portrait of my little Pekingese, Kibbles, who has been gone since 1997. I can't bring myself to finish it.

I'm not going to show you the view from the other side of the table or the floor. But I can scarcely believe it myself. :o It is like getting through a mine field to get to the other side of the table, and any day now I'm going to straighten it up. :)

I have a very large studio upstairs, but it has steep stairs (and I'm prone to falling), it costs too much to heat and cool it, plus since hubby retired he likes me down here with him, so I'm relagated to our very small dining room, but I'm blessed to have a space at all, so it's all good.

 This is the whole sheet of the corner showing in the picture above. The light glared on one end of it and the following pictures, but you get the idea. As I said above, these are big sheets of cheap textured watercolor paper that I've randomly applied liquid acrylics and inks to, using brush, bubble wrap, sponge wedge, etc.

I planned on cutting this sheet up for collaging or journal pages, but a pinkish face shape appeared on the left side and I've. since taking the picture, painted in a face, shoulders, and hair, and I've lightened up and changed the background. Right now I'm liking it, and I'll show you when it's done, unless I really mess it up, and it still winds up in pieces. I did sponge paint the back of the paper with a sea sponge, just in case. :/

The second sheet I used mostly acrylic inks on. I drizzled them on then used an old credit card to try to spread them. They soaked into the paper pretty fast. despite the gesso, thus the blurred effect. I used a brush handle to draw squiggles and stuff in the damp ink. It does look better in person.

This is the back of the previous sheet, using acrylic inks, liquid acrylics, bubble wrap, and a sponge wedge. This sheet will most likely be cut up for journal pages, or atcs, or.......

So these are some of the projects I'm working on, plus I started two more zentangles while visiting with company yesterday and finished one of them last night while watching TV with hubby. I'll show you those in a different post.

By the way, the answer to the riddle about a space to work? I stand up to paint on the makeshift table to the left, and I either hold my sketchbook on my lap or take it to the living room to draw or zentangle, I take my needle felting to the living room and hold it on my lap, and I set the sewing machine down in the floor to glue stuff in my art journals. I can also take those to the living room to write or draw in. It would be much easier if I could work on only one project at a time, but I can't. I have to have a variety of projects going at once, or I get bored. It's not about the finished item for me. It's about the learning and doing of it, the process of figuring things out. But I will eventually finish them...

I'm so glad you visited, and I really hope something here made you smile. Now to get back to one of those fun projects... :)

Zentangle Challenge #10-Open Spaces

I'm still new at zentangles, but I discovered a challenge blog, http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/ , a couple of days ago on the blog of a member (I'm sorry I don't remember whose) of the Everyday Matters drawing group that I belong to, and I thought I'd like to try the challenge. It's hosted by a certified zentangle teacher, and there's some great work on it. I already had this one started on an art journal page, so I thought I'd start the challenges with it.

This one is untitled, but I used a black Zig marker on a watercolor paper (textured) that had background colors and patterns painted in liquid acrylics on it. Sorry about the holes down the side, but I had already put it in my journal. :/

Here I go to share it in the challenge! I hope it fits the criteria and the subject ok. I loved doing it! :)

Doodles, Crow and Cow Sketches, & A NF Sampler

All of these were done with my sketch and wash pencil in my Moleskine, practice and play.

 I like to doodle while watching TV. The other night we were watching Blade II, and I did quick sketches of patterns in the background. They had to be quick; there's a lot of action in the movie. :)

I sketched a small version of this in the doodles above while watching Nights in Rodanthe. It was a black metal sculpture, sort of a room divider thing, in the movie, and it was gorgeous. So I decided to try a larger version in my sketchbook. I had already brushed on some leftover white gesso onto a portion of the pages, so I drew over it, then went over everything with a damp brush. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted it to, but there is a little charm to it, I think. :/

Clara Nell was sketched from an original photo, and is my first attempt at sketching a cow with a pencil. I tried one in paint when I first started painting, but it wasn't solid black like this one. Black objects or animals are very hard for me to shade. I decided not to use a damp brush on her. I left well enought alone, for once! She's not perfect, but she's mine, and I learned that I could do it! :)

I got in an order from Joggles with some new colors and textures of felting wool a couple of days ago. I wasn't quite ready to start another doll just yet (first doll in post before this one), and I didn't want to dig out something denim to try needle felting on, so I made a sampler, of sorts, on a square of wool felting that I had handy. It only took a few minutes, and it was fun!

I have way too many hobbies and way too many half finished projects and too little time! LOL

Doodlicious Journal Pages & A Llama

A few days ago some friends emailed us a photo of their new baby llama. It was so cute that I couldn't resist trying to draw it, using my sketch and wash pencil in my Moleskine journal/sketch book. I seem to have a penchant for not leaving room for feet, no matter what I'm attempting to draw. Nonetheless, I decided to share my first attempt at drawing a baby llama. I'm proud of myself for trying and I actually like it! :)

Baby llama is an off white color with a black spot on both back legs and woolly fur.

When my neice and neice-in-law gave me cookie cutters for Christmas a couple of times, they had no idea that I would use them for everything BUT baking cookies. :) Cookie cutter shapes and metallic pens in Moleskine journal with ideas for their different creative uses.

A page out of my first Doodlicious journal, using clorox on damp fluid acrylic paint, inktense pencils, white gellyroll pen, and a starry gold ribbon.

Double page in Moleskine using left over fluid acrylic paints spread on with an old credit card, white gesso on starry house shoe sole used for a stamp, and a black Zig marker for the letters, hearts, and circles.

A double page in Moleskine using leftover paint squished around with a large round bristle brush, blocked on with a flat brush, and  lettering is brush and Zig marker.

Another double page Moleskine testing some colored markers I got for Christmas, lists, a drawn bird sitting under a Frappucino label, a 50s themed napkin with notes and turquoise squiggles, leftover paint smudges, bubble wrap stamped in pink, and Zebra duck tape just for the fun of it. I love these pages of odds and ends!

That's it for this post! I'm having loads of fun playing in my journals and sketch books this winter, and I'm also finishing up my first needle felted doll, which I'll share as soon as I tweak her a little more. Also, more Doodlicious pages to follow...

Hope you enjoyed visiting as much as I enjoyed having you!