Mastering Mixed Media Challenge 2026 Classes-Part 2

 As I said before, I only chose six of the 38+ free classes in this challenge, so these are the last three I completed. All were challenging, but fun, and though they may not be exactly like I wanted them to turn out, I learned a lot and gained in confidence. The first two are in my 7 x 10" Winsor Newton 135 lb mixed media sketchbook. The dog was painted on a sheet of drawing paper, then glued to a page in the same book. The paper is relatively smooth. I do these classes as small samples to learn from in my sketchbook. I can't wait to try these with my own ideas on different paper, canvas, or board!

Kitty was inspired by a class with Nadyia Duff, called "Stick, Stack, Create", and involved sketching and painting the cat (I used her reference) onto one piece of paper, and while it was drying, cutting out tree shapes, and ground shapes, then gluing them to a separate paper for the background. It also involved sketching a house in ink onto the background, leaving it unpainted, then filling in the rest with whimsical foliage in different markers, Posca pens,  pencils, etc. I also used a bit of stenciling. The cat was glued onto the background, and I added a few more marks and things, such as the gull on his head. The house is actually my gr-grandparents old home place, which I have lived on my whole life, although in a different house. I'm not used to coloring with markers, so Kitty was a challenge, but I'm ok with it! It was a good experience and something different...

This mini double spread was inspired by Tiffany Goff Smith in her class, "The Layered Playground". I turned my sketchbook sideways and folded it in the middle to get the double page effect, and I pretty much followed her ideas for layering. I used a copied page from my Senior school annual, which happened to be my cousin's class that year, for the school pictures, a copied sample of one of my best friend's handwriting torn and glued/stapled down in a couple of places, the fabric from one of my old jackets, and a piece of silk ribbon. The ribbon and ruffle are hand stitched, then I used hot pink staples to staple them to a piece of denim from one of my shirts and the page. The pictures and handwriting are also stapled together (above). The layers are made up of a variety of ephemera and mark making with different media.

The same pages with the fabric flap lifted up on the right. Another great learning experience! I loved it! I have been following this teacher for a long time on Instagram as Southern Gals Design, but didn't know her name, until I took this class. I'm so glad I did it!

The last one is from Tamara Laporte's class, "Let's Play!", and I used her reference to sketch the dog face. It's also done in layers of watercolor, acrylic, markers, etc. Also a challenge, and I didn't quite get the perspective right for the nose to be the focal point. I also didn't get enough pinkish colors on it, and what I did get isn't showing up in the photo, but I'm proud of myself for trying, and I learned some things that might be helpful about finishing the oil portrait of my little dog that I started years ago and didn't know how to finish. We'll see!

As usual with these classes I learned and experienced a lot, both with the teachers and the other students. It's also a lot of fun to learn to be able to just let go and do what I do!

I was planning to not do any more classes right now, except the ones I bought and have waiting from a couple of years ago, but another batch of free lessons (with the option to buy and keep forever) has presented itself for nine days in July, and I couldn't resist signing up, mainly because Toni Burt is one of the teachers. I have taken a few classes with her in these sessions and love her work. These sessions are called "Make, Create, Express 2026-Art is Magic Online", also with 35+ classes/teachers. 

So, I have a month to create what I want on my own! I've already done a collage piece and I have a page where I cleaned off my acrylic paint palette, on which at least three horse heads have appeared. Going to see what I can do with that! Fun stuff! Never mind that the house has been let go until it's a disaster! 

Take care! Thank you for visiting! 

Sketchbook Revival Binge Fest 2025-Post 3 Classwork (1)

 This is the class I did today, and is the eighth class so far. Also, this will catch my posting up for now! 

This is from "Sidewalk Cracks" with Carla Sonheim, and I used her reference of a photo of cracks on a sidewalk to draw images from.

A simple image drawn from looking at the photo of sidewalk cracks, and coloring it in with a pencil, then using an eraser for feathers. I made the mistake of using a Stablio pencil, which doesn't erase easily, so I used a blue colored pencil to try to make feathers. It didn't work well! Shading didn't work well either...

These are fun whimsical characters to look for among the cracks. Also good practice!

This bird emerged from the cracks on the sidewalk for me, and I colored him in with a marker and a bit of colored pencil after watching the tutorial of a dog image.

I sketched along with the teacher on her image drawn out of the cracks, except hers was a pink poodle where mine is a blue mutt done in markers. Fun stuff! I love pulling images out of other patterns and stuff!

I printed off copies of the reference photo in different sizes and glued the small ones in my sketchbook to practice on. When I turned one upside down vertically this little dog with its back turned appeared. I've only drawn the lines so far, so it's a work in progress, of sorts.

When I started to color the image in with markers I suddenly saw his face and I added another leg to make him facing out. Later I picked up the book and saw the start of another dog head, so I gave him a buddy in orange. I love their expressions!

On a large copy I saw this quirky rabbit with a bird on its back emerge. I've only drawn the lines so far on this one too. I'm going on to another class for now and will come back to these later.

This is from the same reference sheet of cracks, only larger. The bunny appeared, then later the bird's head, so I perched him on the bunny's back. I'm having way too much fun with this class!

That's what I've done so far in the last week and a half, besides completing the 100 Days of Stitch Meditations challenge June 2. Yep! I finished it!

Not sure what class I'll take next. We have to run errands out of town tomorrow, so I may take a couple of days break. Maybe not...

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just wanted to wish you all a safe and happy New Year! May it be the most blessed and best year yet for all of us!

PS-The whole family got matching sweatshirts for Christmas this year to have a family photo made in. The shirts say "The Compound, est 1958", because most of the family still lives in a cluster of houses close together, and that's what they call it. Our nephew's grand-dog, Bentley, kept wanting in the picture, but didn't quite make it (our nephew said it was because he didn't get a shirt), so when they all walked off and left hubby and me sitting on the plush couch wondering if we were going to be able to get up off of it, someone wanted a picture of just us, because we are the oldsters of the bunch now, in our mid-seventies. 

Anyway, Bentley was determined to get in this photo and jumped up onto our laps and began trying to lick me in the face before settling down to look at the camera. It was so funny!

Bentley lives with his family in another state, and it was the first time we had met him in person, but for some reason he took to me and kept picking at me all evening. He took advantage of this situation big time! 😂

This is my last post for 2023. I haven't been very productive creative wise, or any other way, for that matter, this year, although I did do a lot more ebook reading. Thankful to have made it another year though! Hopefully, I will do better in 2024 and do more posting and sharing!

For now, I still need to answer thirty-seven memory questions for the book my niece gifted me last Christmas (I got overwhelmed and behind), and I have to get my blog book for the year together and printed. We'll see!

I'm not making any New Years resolutions, because I can never keep them, but I wish you all luck with yours! I hope you all had a good Christmas, and I pray we all have a safe and happy New Years holiday!

Thank you for visiting and for your support this past year! I hope you have enjoyed my posts, and I look forward to sharing more with you. Let's keep making stuff. The world needs all the prayer, beauty, love, passion, and good stuff it can get right now! 💖

Still Here! Painted Quirky Doodles, a Sketch, and a WC WIP

 My creative passion and muse is taking a looooooong vacation it seems! I am still in a slump and can't want to do anything, plus I haven't been feeling well. So, the other day I decided to make myself paint some of the quirky doodle sketches I had previously shared. I got out my watercolors, markers, pens, brush pen India ink, water spray bottle, and sketchbooks and just literally started throwing paint with a wet brush, letting it run and settle on a few of the sketches, thinking it would jumpstart my creative juices again. When they were dry, I added the other media. I enjoyed it while I was doing it, but it hasn't helped me want to continue on, or start new, projects yet, plus I can't get back into my daily sketching practice.

Usually, doing a few quirky doodles or buying a new class does the trick. I haven't bought a new class, because I have about three already that I haven't started yet, and quirky doodle sketches are even alluding me right now.

Anyway, here are my feeble attempts at creativity over the last few weeks. Hope you enjoy them!

The quirky doodle sketch below and the painted version above done with a mechanical pencil, Kuretake watercolors, and an India ink brush pen in my hot pressed mixed media sketchbook from Sophie's Art Supplies online.

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"Alone"-The sketch above and the painted version below were done in my Arteza mixed media sketchbook, on the textured side, with a mechanical pencil, black gel pen, Kuretake wc, a Zig black marker, and Posca markers.

"Me and My Shadow"- The above quirky doodle sketch and the painted version were created with a pencil, a black gel pen, a Zig marker, Kuretake wc, and Posca markers, also in my Arteza mixed media sketchbook, textured side.

"Scotty"- The quirky doodle above and the painted version below created in my Sophie's hot pressed mixed media sketchbook (very smooth pages) using a brush pen filled with India ink over a mechanical pencil sketch, with a little blue colored pencil on top after it was dry.

An accidental painting made by testing a couple of colors of Kuretake watercolors, which are in cakes, with my wet brush. This lady appeared, so I added a face. Later the cat appeared and I added a couple of pencil lines. I like it!

Work in Progress- A background using Kuretake watercolors brushed on with a wet brush, then sprayed with water and let dry.

The only sketch I've done lately. She's imaginary, and I was trying to find an easier way to draw faces, so I used a mechanical pencil to sketch a square instead of an oval, marked the feature lines for eyes etc., added the chin and forehead over and under the square, sketched in the facial features, hair, and ears, and this is what I came up with. I kind of like her. 

The new sketchbooks I'm trying out here for part of the images are from Sophie's Art Supplies online. They have hot-pressed mixed media pages, which I thought would be like hot pressed watercolor paper, although it didn't say that. The pages are 140 lb, very smooth and white, and they are for acrylics, watercolors, pen and pencil, which I like, but it's kind of like drawing and painting on thin smooth cardboard, kind of slick. It also doesn't say it's acid free. I got three for about twenty dollars, 30 sheets each, so I should have known it wouldn't be watercolor paper. A little disappointed, but I will still use them for sketching and journaling, so it's ok.

Anyway, hoping my creativity energy returns soon and I can finish up some of these projects and start some new ones! Plus, I'm now seven stories behind for the Storyworth memory book my niece gave me for Christmas. They send a prompt once a week.

Thanks again for visiting! I truly appreciate it! 💖

Paper Clay Bird with Detachable Mask

"Birdie in Boots" is NOT from the Come Clay with Me classes, except for her mask in the last photo. 

I've been working on Birdie, off and on, for a while, as I worked on the other little clay character faces. She was inspired by some birds I saw online and mostly from my imagination, as I had no idea what I was doing when I started sculpting her, which is obvious by her wonkiness, but I happen to love her wonkiness. I made many mistakes on her, but kept going. For instance, I should have used much stronger wires for her legs. It's hard to get her to stand alone, but it is what it is until I can figure something else out. 

I lost track of how many layers of marks, paint, and gold gel pen she has on her, but I'm calling her done and moving on. She taught me much that I can use on on the next bird!

I didn't get her head tilted back far enough for her mask to stay on by itself, so, for now, it's resting atop her head.

Birdie has been so much fun to create, even if she took a ton of patience and perseverence. Because she was such a challenge that I stayed with until she was finished, she has a piece of my heart and soul, and I see her as a treasure! 

This will probably be my last paper clay post for a while. I still have two classes with three three-dimensional figure busts, one with wings, one with feathers, and one with a container, to sculpt. I'm really looking forward to creating them, but it's going to take a while to sculpt them, and days for them to dry, then days to paint them, and the holidays are here. I don't know if I'll even get started on them before Christmas, or not. We'll see!

Meanwhile, I'll do some painting, sketching, and other things that are not as time consuming among Christmas cards, gift shopping, etc. Busy time for all of us!

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed Birdie in Boots. We had quite a journey together! Stay well and try to get in some time to do something for you during this busy time of year. 

From My Sketchbook-Clowns, Pups, Girls, and a Cottage

Some sketches made in mechanical pencil, Stablio pencil, and Frixion erasable pens in my sketchbook. I've been sketching in this book for a year now, as well as a few sketches in other books, and I lack two pages having it filled. Kind of sad to move on to another book, but also exciting to start fresh!

Again, the pages are actually white, not gray. I still cannot figure out why they're coming out this way, despite the photo editing. :(

Imaginative clowns in Frixion erasable pen-blue. Not real fond of these pens for sketching. They tend to skip, especially with a light touch, but maybe it's the mixed-media paper I'm sketching on. 

Some doggie sketches for practice using photos that my cousin took of some of her dog grooming clients. Mechanical pencil...

English cottage from a paused TV scene in Frixion pen. I got it too scrunched up here, so I turned the book around and sketched it again in mechanical pencil below.

Girl in a cloak from a paused TV scene, done in mechanical pencil.

Imaginative faces sketched in Frixion pen.

Another doggie practice sketch from my cousin's photo of her own mini schnauzer, Sammi. Not a great likeness, personality wise, but I like the overall pose, and I surprised myself with how well it did come out. Fun stuff!

Sketches from a paper clay bust I've been working on and am waiting for her to dry. Trying to decide with mechanical pencil and watercolor how I want to paint her in acrylics. 

I'm still trying to do at least one sketch a day whether I work on other projects, or not, just to keep my creative juices flowing. I've just ordered new glasses, so maybe my eyes won't get so tired and strained, and maybe I can see better, when they come in. Fingers crossed! :)

Stay safe and keep creating! 

First Snow on Rabbit Hop 2022

First snow of the winter at! This one was Tuesday of this week, and it turned Rabbit Hop into a wonderland. We've got another one with snow on top of ice today (Thursday). Pretty, but also dangerous, especially for us old folks.

Lil Bit is a feral kitten that was orphaned and hubby is nursing and spoiling her back to health. She won't let him touch her though...yet!

These pictures were made before good daylight, from my back and front porches. Some ice underneath the snow.

My dad's workshop, which is actually red!

I know the weather is really bad in a lot of places with much more snow and ice than we got, so be careful out there. Accidents happen in a blink! Stay safe!