Resuming an Old Handmade Sketchbook

 So, I finished my other sketchbook, except for a couple of watercolor sketches that need a bit more work, and in looking for one of my new sketchbooks, I found this little handmade book that I made back in 2012 that hasn't been used since 2015.

At the time, we were having to take my father-in-law to the doctor a lot and I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms, so I made this small light weight journal to keep in my purse to sketch in while I waited. I also read in my Kindle a lot, plus I had another small hardback bought sketchbook that I did most of my sketching and note taking in. That explains the long gaps in the dates!

The cover is made from soft unstretched artist canvas, which I stenciled and layered paint on, and I punched four eyelet holes in the edges for decoration and to tie together with waxed linen thread for bookbinding. It measures 6"x9" closed. 

It's been so long that I don't remember what kind of paper I used, but it's a bit thicker than regular paper and is an off-white color. It has two signatures of five 18" long papers folded in half, and they are bound with a simple pamphlet stitch using the same waxed linen thread I used for a tie.

The first four pages are from 2012, and the fifth page is from 2013. 

People I saw in the waiting room that I found interesting

A mandala kept me busy for a whil

Doodled a quote that I saw somewhere

Another mandala practice

Ok, I did a quick loose watercolor sketch in it this morning from imagination, using leftover watercolors and a large brush. The paper does not work well with wet watercolor, and it buckled some. It might be ok using dry brush watercolor, but it seems to be more suited for dry media. Not great, but at least I was painting! 

I had to photograph it because it wouldn't fit on my scanner, being a 6" x 18" long double page spread. I also couldn't make the photo on here bigger, because it wouldn't fit on the published page. Anyway, it's a start on getting my mojo back! Ha!

We are still iced in with very frigid temperatures, but thankfully, we have what we need, and are doing ok. Day #8 with the aftermath of "Fern".

Hope you are safe, warm, well, and creating beautiful things, wherever you are! You don't have to make things perfect to enjoy making them...

Doodling During the Ice Storm "Fern" 2026

 I haven't been doing much in the way of creativity yet, but I did do these quirky doodle sketches trying to get my mojo flowing again. It hasn't worked. Too much else going on and a lot of distractions. These last three sketches finished up the sketchbook I've been working in, so I get to start the next sketches in a new one, or maybe finish up one that I got started in and got sidetracked. I have a few of those! Ha!

My mind wasn't really on these sketches, but I showed up and tried, but it's been 2-3 days, and I've done nothing else creative, except watch a couple of art videos and dig out another sketchbook. I guess that counts though! 

I have also gotten very slack on my physical therapy exercises for my back/hip, which is not good. I am guilty of letting a lot of stuff slide lately. I'm going to have to pull up my big girl britches and do better! lol

Day 7 of Ice Storm "Fern" (1-24 2026 thru 1-30-26)

A few more ice storm "Fern" pictures that hubby made four days ago while he was out feeding the cats and birds. These are just in ours and my mom's yards.

Today is day seven and many people all around us and in the county are suffering. They still have no electricity, and even those with some form of heat are running out of fuel, food, etc., and some have water pipes frozen and/or busted. Our county in Tennessee was one of the hardest hit, but neighboring counties and states are still trying to dig out also. Electric company people are working as fast and hard as they can to restore electricity, and people who are able are helping cut and clear away trees/limbs from roads and driveways. Warming shelters with places for hot meals, hot showers, water, etc., have been set up in various locations. Some of the ice has melted off the trees, lines, and roofs, but the ground and roads are still very slick, and the temps are still frigid.

The weather people are forecasting more extremely cold weather and possibly more snow from today through the weekend. Please pray for all the people working out in these conditions trying to help other people get back to some level of normalcy, whatever that is. 

The last picture is of a large tree limb that has fallen on top of my mom's house. Nobody lives in the house since she passed, but it's the house I grew up in since I was two years old, and I'm just praying that it didn't put a hole in the roof.

We were going to take our side by side out to the old homeplace today and check all the tree damage, but since we have to drive up a little hill, and it's an extension of our driveway, which is still solid ice, we've decided not to risk it. We know from pictures we've seen all around us that we have a lot of trees down, but that's minor, compared to peoples' homes and livelihood. 

Hubby did get the limbs cleared out of the driveway down to the main road day before yesterday, but his truck barely made a dent on the ice when he drove it back and forth over it down to the main road yesterday. I can barely walk in the house, so I have not even tried to go outside yet. Thankfully, we still have what we need and nowhere we have to be for a few days, so we are ok.

There will be a lot of tree damage to clean up when it warms up, but we are so grateful that none of it fell on our house or car. We are also grateful that our niece and nephew have checked on us and offered to bring us anything we need, although it would have to be a matter of life or death before we asked them to get out on these treacherous roads. 

Pray for all who are still trapped in "Fern's" ice, struggling to get their lives back, and there are many, scattered over multiple states. 

Ice Storm "Fern"- 1-24-2026 on Rabbit Hop

 Rabbit Hop got covered in ice yesterday and last night, and we lost our electricity about 3:30 a.m.. We are ok, because we have gas heat to keep us warm and plenty of food and water. It came back on about 1:40 p.m. So thankful! Most people in our county still don't have any. Just praying that ours stays on and theirs comes back on soon!

Sorry about the picture quality, but I made these through dirty windows from inside the house. I have three rechargeable batteries for my camera, and they all died on me while I had no way to re-charge them. 

This is just a sampling of the damage to trees in our and my mom's yards. Our driveway has multiple limbs across it and there is a huge limb on top of my mom's house. We don't know if the roof is damaged or not yet, and we haven't been out of our yard yet to investigate out around the whole place, because we are old and don't need to be on the ice any more than necessary. We are way too far from an emergency room!

Hubby moved our car from my mom's car shed next door, because a tree is threatening to fall on it, to our car shed, which also has a tree threatening to fall on it, but we have insurance on ours. We don't on hers, because since she passed away and nobody lives in the house, they wouldn't let me keep the insurance on it. It wouldn't have been practical to keep it anyway, because it's an old house that I grew up in, and I couldn't bear for anyone else to live in it. It is very sad to watch it die though...

It's already below 20 degrees and falling, so with what little ice melt we had today freezing back tonight, we could possibly have more breaking trees/limbs falling on lines tonight, causing us to lose power again. Prayers that doesn't happen, but we're trying to prepare just in case!

So that's today's adventure. Not too many dull days on Rabbit Hop! We'll see what tonight and tomorrow brings. So thankful for a warm roof over our heads, food, water, each other, and that we don't have to be anywhere for a few days! 

Prayers for everyone in this winter storm system! Stay safe and warm, and we'll try to do the same!

Blog Book 2025

 I got my new blog book for 2025 a couple of days ago. It's very different from my others, as the printer I used for years went out of business. I used Pixiebook last year, but I had no control over how it was printed. It's a gorgeous book, but I didn't like that the text wasn't with the pictures, and the pictures were all different sizes, with some covering a whole page, while others are postage stamp size. 

So, this year, I tried Into Real Pages. I had a little more control and choice with them with the layout and the book cover. They also had a choice of soft cover and different formats and colors. I'm glad I picked the two-column layout. At least, the text is closer to the pictures, which are all the same size. The pictures would have been too small had I picked the three-column. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with it, and I do have a record of my creative efforts last year.

This is the cover I chose, and I'm only including a few of the 212 pages of the 9" x 12" book to give you an idea of how it looks. And, with the discount coupon, the price wasn't too bad either for a hardbacked book this size.

I have accumulated my own little library of blog books now, as I have one for every year I've been blogging, which is several. I love looking back through them and seeing things I forgot about. It usually inspires me to get busy! Not that I claim to be that good of an artist, but that I had that much pleasure creating anything! So thankful that I have this outlet to keep me sane!

Sorry the photos aren't better! I was trying to hold the book open with one hand and take the photos with my camera phone, which I don't know much about...

Take care! See you in the next post!

Doodling My Way Out of a Slump

 Well, I'm still in kind of a slump, creative wise, but I have done a few doodles over the last few days. Most of them are quirky doodles, where I make a bunch of random marks and swirls, then pull an image out. Three are 1-liner sketches (the dog, cat, and owl). I used Micron, brush, Posca pens, and a pencil. The butterfly is watercolored and spattered. Just fooling around on the last few pages of my current sketchbook. Only a couple of pages left before I can break in a new one!

We're currently getting snow and ice in Tennessee, and they're forecasting it to get really bad today and tomorrow, with possible power outages. Trying to get stuff caught up and saved up, just in case!

I just saw on Facebook today that the new Sketchbook Revival classes for this year start April 11th. I'm anxious to see what's included this session, so I know if I want to take them this time. I also got an email from Ivy Newport about a new mixed media art journal course that looks interesting and isn't too expensive. I'm thinking about it! Of course, I still have a bunch of classes left in the Sketchbook Revival 2025 session that I haven't sampled yet, a couple of courses with Jeanne Oliver that I haven't even started, and I'm wanting to create stuff on my own, not from a class, if I can ever get started again. A bit overwhelming and frustrating! lol

Anyway, it's cloudy and gloomy and snowy and icy, but still a beautiful day today, and who knows, I may do some more doodling before the day is over!

Prayers for all of us in the path of these winter storms! Stay safe and warm, and make a little creative magic while you're housed in!