A Peek Inside My Sketchbook

Based on an image from nationalgeographic.com – such a perfect place to look for sketchbook-inspiration.

Sketchbook Project 2012 Update

Cuddling in bed has got to be one of the most wonderful, and relaxing, things to do.

That was one thing that was hard with the long distance relationship, when we had it – is that you don’t wake up together all the time. And the bed is awfully cold in the winter without that extra living space heater.

Sketchbook Project 2012 Update

I’ve had this white-marker pen for a while, and I’ve been utterly in love with it. It’s perfect for adding little touches here and there, and working as a resist with watercolours (it’s oil based).

I wanted to create a spread that just used the white marker with a nice background. Here I found the green creates the perfect ‘organic’ feel for the greenery that is sketched / drawn out.

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook

..based on a National Geographic image that I saw. I was intrigued by the numbers in the stands.

Gift Certificates!

I am pleased to announce, that my online shop on Etsy – www.jellybeans.etsy.com is now offering gift certificates!

These certificates are perfect for last minute shoppers – they can be emailed to you, and you can forward them onto the recipient. Or, I can email them directly to the lucky person! Also, if you prefer, there is an option for me to print out the certificate and mail it the good old fashion snail-mail route (please note: all shipping deadlines have past for Christmas, so if this is a Christmas gift, it might be better to go the email route).

These make the perfect gift for those hard-to-shop-for people – let me them have some fun shopping for what they would like to receive. They are completely customizable to whatever amount you would like to give – just send me a convo and I can create a custom listing / certificate.

Happy Holiday shopping!

Sketchbook Project 2012 Update

I’m starting to work on the cover, and get that done. This is where it stands now:

I like the ‘raw-ness’ of it. It sort of goes against the technology that it’s illustrating. For those who are new to my blog, and since I haven’t posted about this project in a long while, my topic was “Long Trips and Short Phone Calls”. I’ve self-edited the title to reflect the long-distance relationship James and I were in when we were in school: Long Trips (Distance) and Short Phone Calls (Text Messages).

It’s Christmas Time in the City!

I went to Toronto a weekend or so ago for the One of a Kind Show (no, I didn’t exhibit, just bought lots of goodies!).

Since we (mom, brother and myself) have never done the CN tower, we thought we’d give it a try. They had it all lit up perfectly for the holidays.

The view was amazing:

And the glass floor not too scary:

Let it snow…

Early morning, before I head out for work at the hospital

…it’s mornings like these that I cross my fingers that I don’t end up following a super slow snowplow

New in the Shop!

I’ve been going through my paint works, and have decided to part with some paintings that I have been, well, hoarding.

Cactus Delilah – Watercolor Collage Original

Shadows – Watercolor Original

Two Little Birds – Watercolor Original

Supernova – Acrylic Mixed Media Original

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook

Day 5: Holiday Wreaths

I wish I could have a wreath on my front door. But, being in an apartment building – and not really knowing the other tenants – I would be worried that it would get stolen or destroyed. So that being said, I sadly won’t be making a wreath this year. But, I still wanted to share some wonderful-wreath-making tutorials that I found on other people’s blogs:

Alisa Burke: Paper Flowers Holiday Wreath

Simply Camylla - Felted Holiday Wreath (scroll down for tutorial :)

Martha Stewart – Pinecone Wreath

Homemade.TipJunkie - Winter Wreath Tutorial

There are tons more on the internet – just visit google and type in “Wreath Tutorial”

Happy Wreath Making!

Sunday Shopping

This Birch Tree pillow is amazing. You can find it in YellowBugBoutique’s shop. The contrast in texture between the two materials used just adds so much interest to this piece, and it’s neutral colours means that it can fit in with any decor.

Snow

I woke up one more this week to a blanket of winter wonderland goodness.

The big question now – will it last? Please do!

Day 4: Pop-Up Reindeer Cards

Today, we’re making pop-up reindeer cards. I got this pattern off MarthaStewart.com so I won’t take credit for it. They even have a video on the website on how to make it. I will be showing you pictures, and linking to the appropriate patterns for you to make it easy to complete this project.

Now, I have added my own personal creative touches to this project, and it’s the perfect demonstration how you can take a pattern and make it yours. I’ve been waiting for the snow, so I decided to make this card, well, more snowy.

Materials:

• Coloured cardstock
• Glue
• Scissors
• Printed-off patterns – you can find them here, here and here
• For my version: acrylic paint, clear coat and glitter

1. First following the pattern cut out all your pieces. I don’t use the ornament pieces for my cards. Be sure to glitter your pieces at this step.

2. I also cut out a ‘landscape’ that will go in front of my reindeer. This way, the bottom is sort of hidden.

3. Next start designing your card. I begin with the front. I painted with blue acrylic paint, and then glittered some hills in front. On top of this glitter (once dry, of course), I used a coat of brush on clear coat. This prevents the glitter from getting all over the person who receives this card, as I’m sure they would not appreciate that.

4. I then used the same stamps that I used for my ornaments to stamp on some snowflakes and a cute saying. Now the front is ultimately a winter wonderland :)

5. Once that’s dry, you can begin working on the inside. I paint out my basic blue background – anyone can paint this, sans skills required!

6. Now begin placing your pop-up pieces. You can either mark your card based on the pattern from Martha Stewart. What I did: I folded up the pieces, and placed them, being sure that they do not extend from the sides of the card, and then glued the tabs.

7. Make sure that everything pops up right.

8. Next, glue on your landscape, and then you’re done! You’ll notice that this one below has snowflakes stamped on the inside as well – I only did it to this one. I realized after, that this didn’t leave much room for a holidays greetings.

Here comes Rudolph!

My Creative Space

Things have been beyond busy getting Holiday orders out, and getting everything organized. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed. Usually, during this time of year I’d be in exams in school and so I would have quite a bit of free time. This year, I’m working – a lot – and so time is not so readily available.

I need some sort of ‘mental' escape’, so I took a moment this week to paint – just to paint. There was no plan, it won’t be going up for sale. This was solely for me. I grabbed my acrylic paints, the largest canvas I had on hand. I put on my headphones, and cranked the music. I listened to ‘Down With Webster’, on repeat for the entire process of this painting. It just felt like the right music, and nothing else interested me.

I didn’t take too many progress shots. I started, but then as I really got into it, I just got lost in it.

I also didn’t set it up on the painting easel – I planted my supplies and myself onto the floor and painted there.

Before I knew it, 5 hours had past and this was my finished piece. I felt tired and needed my bed. But I also felt creatively refreshed. It was good for me. Now it’s hanging in my bedroom adding a much needed splash of colour – so it turns out it was good for my bedroom too.

Here’s some Down With Webster for you all :)

You can see more creative spaces, here.

366Pages Preview

My good friend Amanda from Ulixis is putting together a year long sketchbook workshop, where she provides prompts and inspiration for everyday of an entire year. Being a leap year, there will be 366 prompts.

As a special feature, and to give a taste of the project before she releases it, she provided a ‘preview prompt’. You can find it here.

Here is my interpretation / submission:

Some detail shots. I took the chunk of text from the reverse side.

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook

Day 3: Snowflake Stamp Ornaments

For this DIY, we’re making ornaments out of clay. They don’t have to be snowflakes – they can really be any shape that you want to cut out. Once again, I did this in the evening, so the lighting isn’t amazing.

Here’s what you need:

• Clay of a sort – I used Fimo, but you can use any sort of clay.
• Cookie cutter to make a shape
• Stamps – to stamp your design in
• Paint brush to smooth imperfections, fetching stray hairs ect.
  • Optional: glazing / clear coat, acrylic paints.

Instructions to create these lovelies:

1. Roll out clay until fairly thin.
2. Stamp your designs into the clay, being careful to get the imprints deep enough
3. Use the cookie cutter to cut out the shape, peel the clay from around the clay and cookie cutter (I keep it in the cookie cutter for stability reasons until I’m done).
4. Poke a hole through the top with the end of the paint brush for a ribbon later
5. Place on the baking sheet. If using Fimo, or another baking-required clay, follow directions to bake. If air-dry clay, let dry completely – this may take a day or three.

The rest of this tutorial is optional. You can stop here if you`d like to keep your ornament simply white. For those who are continuing, you will need acrylic paint. I`m using a dark blue.

6. Use a small paint blue to paint inside the stamps. This might be difficult depending on your design. Wait until dry.

7. Use white paint to correct the areas where the blue might have taken control of itself:

8. Finish with a clear, protective coat and string a ribbon through. Hang and enjoy :)

Here are some of the others that I created. If you don’t have a cookie cutter at all, you can always form a circle shape with your hands. The unevenness seems to add to the artsy-ness of the piece.