Sheet of 40 Inchies Progression...

This is the sheet as I shared it a couple of weeks ago in the Everyday Matters, Creative Every Day, and Theme Thursday challenges. Several of you expressed interest and wanted me to post progress pictures. Here is what I have so far...

Step 1-1" squares drawn off on watercolor paper in Moleskine WC book. I dampened the squares out of sequence and added dabs of watercolor, letting the colors merge together and dry.
If you look closely, the dried paint in some of the squares already suggests a subject. They just need refining.

If you dampen joining squares at the same time they will run together and colors you may not want will get into the squares. By the way, you can do these in any media on any surface.

I am doing each square as a seperate little painting, but you could also color the whole page to harmonize, then add your designs. I tend to make things complicated, and sometimes, a little chaotic. :)


Step 2-Still filling in backgrounds...

Step 3-All 40 backgrounds filled in! It's been fun, but now the REALLY fun part begins...Pulling out and creating the images! A few of them are coming along...

Step 4-I added a border of "stitches" with an ultra-fine black sharpie. I'm also adding a frame of "stitches" as I complete a square, so the squares that are completely stitched around I think are done. Right now there are about 5, but if you look closely you'll see in several of the other squares where I've pulled out images in pencil, ready to finish. Others are not so clear just yet, as to what they will share.

I haven't decided yet whether I will cut them apart and use them that way, or leave them as they are, with drawn stitching, and use them for a journal cover. I also considered using a sewing machine to really stitch between them, but I don't know if they'd stay together or not, with the needle perforations. We'll see how it goes...

Anyway, this is as far as I am for now. Looking at the sheet as a whole gives you some idea of how my mind works. Scary ain't it! :)

There are still many images to come, and I'll post the finished sheet as soon as it's done.

Hope at least one square made you smile. :)

4 EDM Challenges, CED, & Theme Thursday

This post includes doodle drawings and sketches for Everyday Matters, Creative Every Day, and Theme Thursday combined. They are numbered whatever challenge they are for EDM, they are all for CED, and they represent a COLLECTION of sketches for Theme Thursday. I've had a blast doing them!

These are only sketches. Some are only line drawings and some have shading that may not be entirely accurate since they were born from doodles and I had nothing to actually go by. The pencil I used did not show up well when scanned, so I digitally darkened them so you could see them better.

Anyway, on with the quirkiness...


EDM #243-Draw a pillow...Doodle Emu? napping on one

EDM #224-Draw a pitcher...Pitcher of milk with cantaloup and peaches...doodle sketches, of course

EDM #173-Draw a memory... Late 1950's memory of my older cousin, whom I idolized, and her cat Tiger, who was actually solid black. I might add that the figure bears little resemblence to my cousin, but it's a great memory...

EDM #58-Draw a Hat...Images drawn out of my doodle marks...Looks like the mouse had a hat lunch...

EDM #58/2...Draw a Hat... Another doodle character wearing a hat...I love hats...Wonder what she's thinking...

A project I started this morning. I drew 40 one inch squares on a page in my Moleskine WC book and proceeded to start filling them in with watercolor. None of these are finished, but I thought I'd share them anyway. I will share the page again when I have them all filled in. I may or may not cut them apart. If I don't, I will add frame lines around them. Each 1" square is will be a finished painting when I'm through.


I'm having a lot of fun experimenting. Hope at least one of them made you smile. :)

Theme Thursday-Shadow

I looked at my shadow this morning. My shadow looked at me. Then we started dancing to "I'm a Little Teapot"!

Theme Thursday's challenge this week is shadow. I've been wanting to do some shadow photos, so I thought this was a good time to try it. What fun it was! I WILL be doing more. :)

Maggie's New Hat

Maggie has a new outfit, and it happens to be purple. She enjoys dressing up to watch the sunrise, because what is more glorious than a beautiful sunrise...unless it's a sunset?

Buttons---Theme Thursday & CED

The theme over at Theme Thursday this week is buttons, so I thought of the buttons on Anna's coat. I'm also posting it for the Creative Every Day challenge.




"Why are you looking at my buttons, dear?" Anna couldn't imagine that people would stare at her more than generous thumbs.

Another character doodle on a double page in my Moleskine sketchbook in watercolors/pencils. This is actually an art journal entry that I haven't come up with just the right words yet. They'll come to me eventually though.

Hope she made you smile! :)

Shoe--Theme Thurs.

This week's Theme at Theme Thursday is Shoe. I happened to have pulled a quirky shoe image out of my doodles the other day, so thought I would play. WC in Handbook sketchbook. Sorry the paper wrinkled some. That's why I prefer Moleskine sketchbooks. :)

This may, or may not, be the shoe Cinderella left behind. I'm just saying...

Melinda Undercover @ Theme Thursday

Melinda wants to be a private investigator. She started with the hat. :)

She is going undercover on Theme Thursday for her first assignment. She doesn't know if she's really qualified or not, since it's a paper arts challenge. She's going disguised as watercolor pencils/water on paper about the size of a greeting card. She thinks that qualifies. The theme is people with hats. We'll see...