March came in like a lion...

I, myself, am really glad to see March arrive.  With the arrival of March, I know the days are lengthening and warmer days cannot be that far off... I hope!!!   March did come in like a lion in my little town, with lots of wind... and today we have plummeting temperatures and some snowflakes are falling. Only time will tell if the month will end like a lamb!

A fellow artist inspired me to think about the old lion and lamb verse, so sketching and watercoloring these two creatures seemed the perfect way to adorn my blank March monthly calendar pages.

My Arc planner pages hold up pretty well to a little wet media, but I really give them a test...slathering, gluing and painting away.  Sweet mail art, snippets, momentos from the week and simple sketches fill my planner... making it so easy to commemorate days easily and with fun... no fine art here, just fun!

Gina, the author and creator of the No More Excuses Art concept, offers ideas on creating a weekly "sprout"... love that term, especially as spring is arriving and there will be sprouts of all types... both physically and figuratively.  

Last week's sprout gave us the springboard of using a trio of color combos in our art.  I chose the colors orange, pink and lime green... I dreamt of a magical forest full of lime, orange and pink trees.  After a bleak winter, I got lost laying down these dreamy colors on my Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper... the most luscious paper ever!!!

This week's sprout idea was to take a quote and use it in our art journal creations.  I found a special quote that I adored and made it a part of my latest page.

"Life stands before me like an eternal spring

with new and brilliant clothes."

Carl F. Gauss

It is my daily goal to practice a grateful heart, and outwardly express it whenever possible.  Every day brings special joys and gifts.  I always enjoy the arrival of each season.  Here in North Carolina each one is spectacular in its own right.  I do have a special love for spring, with all the new growth and hope.  

May each of us find renewal and new joys in this upcoming season.

Making it through winter...

What a winter we have had here in the normally moderate North Carolina climate! We have had many really cold days and nights and a few snowfalls.  It has been beautiful to watch, but many days have been spent inside staying toasty warm, eating steamy bowls of soup, sipping coffee and watching Mother Nature's winter wonder through the windows.

Art has been on the front burner with more indoor time to spend and play away.  My daily planner for the new year made some changes early on.  The first planner I bought had such thin pages, it just didn't work for me and my style of slathering all kinds of water media on the pages.  So I went with a great system I got at my local Staples store... the ARC planner... just love the concept of how it goes together.  The paper is much stronger and takes to the water and most of my pens and markers quite nicely.  After the changeover, I now have a book I love, entitled... "It's a Wonderful Life".

I'm adding watercolored pages to the daily calendar ones, so my art table is quite a "painty mess" these days... but I love it...

I have a "thing" for vintage metal watercolor boxes... I found a couple of really cute ones on ETSY.  I then filled the larger one with my own paint palette... with all my favorite tube watercolors.  I mainly have Daniel Smith colors, with a few from M. Graham.  I have splurged on a few really nice brushes and they have made SUCH A DIFFERENCE.  Good paper, paint and brushes are the key to watercolor success.  

I'm adding some elements and pages with the ever-popular washi tape.  Gina Rossi Armfield has been a huge inspiration in my art lately. Her NO MORE EXCUSES ART site is filled with great ideas on journaling every day in a non-threathening, easy way.  LOVE her book, chock-full of ideas for documenting days in a delightful way.  On her blog, a few months back, she shared a photo of a darling tackle box she found and filled with her washi tape collection.  I LOVED that idea and went on the hunt for one, too.  I found the perfect crusty old box at a local antique shop and began filling it with my own ever-growing collection!!!

Silly sketches, watercolor and pan pastel backgrounds... little photos, momentos of the day... easy-peasy documentation of days...

I'm also finishing up a book I put together as a sweet memory from an event I attended last year with some dear friends...  It's so fat, in "baby jane" style... that I can't keep it closed without a ribbon!!!

Most of our snow has melted, but these are a few photos from my street last week... GORGEOUS!

Stay warm and safe... only 30 days until SPRING!!!

Brrrrr~ Staying in, finishing old sketches and beginning a great new project

WOW!!! What a frigid start to the year here in western North Carolina.  We were are 6º  this morning with a wind chill below 0º... definitely NOT the norm for us!   Late yesterday afternoon, I donned all my warm gear and filled up the feeders for my birdie friends.  This morning, they were right there to eat a hearty breakfast on this super-cold morning.

Since it is so very cold outside, I have stayed in quite a bit... enjoying finishing up some sketches celebrating the Christmas season.

Christy Tomlinson inspired me to create this little JOY watercolor...

a fun star-shape sprig and quote...

A dreamy window view of a snowy scene...

"Keep a green tree in your heart... and perhaps a singing bird will come..."... and indeed he did!!!

Ole Buttons LOVES to spend time snoozing on my bed... when the sun spills in through the windows...especially on these chilly days...

I do plan to keep on sketching these winter scenes and messages... They warm and fill my heart during these often bleak, short days.

My new project, one that I am LOVING, is documenting my life on a daily basis, whenever possible.   It gets the creative juices flowing and is a fun thing to look back on as the year progresses. It's a great way for me to stay organized and use up some of my stash of paper goodies such as tabs, washi tape, tags and other fun stuff!!!

Mine is beginning to take shape...

Making fold-out additions to the planner... I just LOVE the unexpected additions to my book... the "surprises"...  I found this quote and thought it was such fun...

In the first week, we are sharing my "front door"... to welcome in the new year and all that it represents to us... in my heart.

I am "at home" with my creative energy and how it inspires and lifts me every day of the year.  I am so blessed to have time and space to express my creativity.  Wherever you are in your life, it is  my wish that you can love your life and find some moments every day to savor the sweetest and best moments.  

Stay safe and warm...   sending some frosty snuggles from my buddy Buttons..

xoxox

Happy 2014!!!

Where in the world did 2013 go??? The days seemed to whirl by for me... and here we are in 2014.  It's frigid here today, and the forecast for the next week is much of the same.  No snow on the ground, but some mighty cold doggie walks several times a day.

I'm trying to get all the glitter, paint and glue put away in my art space.  It was the most fun ever to glitter and glitz everything that would stand still!!!  One of my creations for the past holiday season was a glitter globe... loads of fun to make and give away...

From dearest Junelle, I got the bug to paint these FUN FUN FUN blocks... with gingerbread houses or reindeer.  These are the BEST, because they are made from scrap lumber (It feels great to re-purpose!)

With a recipe for some "real" gingerbread included...

... a snow-covered "Charlie Brown-type" tree...

some gum drops... YUM!!!

Since the gift-making and giving is over for now, the art studio is getting a bit more orderly... or at least for a few days...

I am excitedly starting a new year-long project this week... I am cutting, taping... and about to begin "gessoing" my 2014 Moleskine planner... as a part of the Documented Life Project... (more on that in a later post).  I am loving this project... my buddy Tonya and I have been talking, planning and swooning over all the possibilities...

This is another little canvas creature I painted a few days ago.  He's dressed for the cold winter days... and giving a sweet, uplifting message for these "new year" days...

"live free"

Staying on course...

Oh my... it has been TOO LONG since I wrote a blog post!  It isn't that I have been idle... just so many things swirling around in my life.  One of the main reasons for my delay has been making some of my little Christmas surprises for family, friends and those that need a little pick-me-up.  Making many of my Christmas cards took lots of time, too... so I have really been a busy little elf for quite a few weeks.

Thanks to the inspiration of that cutie-pie girl, Christy Tomlinson, I have gone nutty making canvases (large and small) of some whimsical, fun winter pals.  Most were created on a smaller scale, but I mustered my courage and bought a wide-edge 16 X 20 canvas. Wow, that's a lot of white space!!!  "Staying on Course" is now the focal point of my grouping of winter whimsies.

Out came paints, gesso, and fuzzy yarns... He's quite a character, for sure!

Penguins are such sweet guys, and I had fun creating this one with the message~ SHINE...  Since I don't knit (but love to collect yarns), I found a great way to use that drawer full of funky, fuzzy yarns.

"Finding Community" is a special sentiment for me... Throughout the years, I have been so blessed to meet and find an extra-special community of like-minded creative spirits... My little owl pal and snowman are finding their connection...

For as long as I can remember, I have adored bears... collecting them over the years in all shapes and sizes... Love their sweet faces.  This "dressed for winter" bear boy speaks a timeless message...  "Love bears all"... Particularly at this time, we are all more mindful of the love of the season.

I need to get back to the arts and crafts store to buy more molding paste.  Can you tell I've used a whole jar???  

When I'm not in my art studio, I'm out and about. I've made the commitment to stay active, even during the shorter, colder days.  Whenever possible, Buttons and I put on our coats... and over the hill we go.  A brisk walk around the block makes us both feel so much better!  Buttons is a real ham~

I can hardly believe that Christmas Eve is one week away! YIKES!!! I'm off to the post office this morning with two big sacks of presents to mail to dear pals.  Hang on, Christmas is just a few days away!!!  

Silly autumn sketches...

For any of my art pals who might be interested in a fun autumn online workshop... I HIGHLY recommend THE ART OF GOODNESS with Junelle Jacobsen.  I have taken almost all her classes and she is just the best teacher... love love love her talent and spirit.  I've been back to my beloved watercolors with the autumn theme...

With pumpkins everywhere this time of year, they are such an easy and fun subject for sketching~

Last week we had some really cold mornings...with frost on the pumpkins!

Ole Buttons became a subject for adding some real silliness to the watercolor images...

He's a little ham and loves posing ...

Hope you have a lovely last few days of October.

I am so thankful for all the good in my life~

Always...

Seeking after treasures of precious gold...

With the changing of the season has come a commitment to getting healthier...which for me means eating high quality foods... and MOVING more...  My dog Buttons needs the healthier regimen, too.  So every day (when the weather is good) we are out and about in the neighborhood.   A new pair of running shoes has made the journey so much better...

The newest wonderful online class with Junelle has begun this week. Our "homework" for  week one is to collect some delicious leaf samples for use in our art.  All our color in my neighborhood is not full-blown just yet, but I found some sweet samples.

My current art journal is a re-purposed children's book with some darling illustrations... some of which I will incorporate into my work.  Tucked in my coat pocket were some collected specimens that I spilled out onto a chair... and my watercolor sketch took shape...

"May you seek after treasures of precious gold and find them within the hearts of others."  Mary Summer Rain

I LOVE LOVE LOVE texture in my art... So this spread has some yummy elements to "touch"... wooly yarn, cotton, linen, scrim, wool, deli paper... and of course there has to be some glittery BLING!

"Look for a lovely thing and you will find it."  

Sara Teasdale

Getting in shape is hard work!  Just ask Buttons.