Sketchbook Tour - Fall 2017

Hi there. How are you?

Between traveling and the holiday sales season, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for me to work in my sketchbook. Now that things have finally slowed down, I'm excited to get back to regular blogging and regular sketch-booking. 

My trusty Moleskine with tool belt. Though it hasn't gotten much use in the last 2 months, I've almost always got it with me. 

A duo of ballpoint pen sketches from the fall of 2017. 

I'm looking forward to more time for sketchbook explorations over the holidays and in 2018. I'm itching to try some new things! 

Happy Holidays Friends. Ciao!

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Hi there. How are you? 

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is gift wrapping. I spend way too much time on it and I like to come up with new ways to wrap things every year.

Tea towels make great gift wrap. Here I've wrapped up jars of local honey and apple butter. 

Tea Towel as Gift Wrap

Since I started making tea towels a couple years back, I enjoy using them as wrapping "paper". Here I wrapped up a jar of local honey and a local apple butter and topped it off with one of my dala hoop ornaments.

Wouldn't this make a cute teacher or hostess gift?

Click HERE to see how I wrapped this.

My fabric ornaments have sold well this year. 

Hoops are Hot for 2017

I Introduced these small fabric hoop ornaments in 2016 and did not sell a single one. This year, they've been super popular! The ebb and flow of retail is weird.

Wine towels are new in 2017. Click through to purchase. 

New Wine Towels

As a lover of wine, I don't know why it took me so long to make a wine tea towel. They're finally here and I love them! (Click HERE to see the whole towel.) 

Wrap a bottle of wine in this wine tea towel and you've got an instant holiday hostess gift!

A Stylish Holiday Gift

My favorite way to gift a tea towel is with a bottle of wine. Wrap it up and a bow and bam, you've got a fab holiday hostess gift.  (Click HERE to see the steps I followed to wrap this.)

One last thing: 

All orders placed by December 19th will ship with a free mystery print.

It's a little gift from me to you!

December 19th is also the last day I will be shipping for the holidays.

My apologies to my international crew....Any international orders placed now won't make it in time for Christmas.

Happy Holidays Friends! Ciao.

Back to Black

Hi there. How are you?

Now that my-ecourse is up and running, I've had a lot more time to draw. My sketchbook and my ballpoint collection (hoard) have been put to good use lately. 

I've been particularly drawn to black.

That's kind of weird for me. Once I started drawing with colored ballpoints about a year ago, I stayed away from black. If you've done any kind of paint mixing, you'll know that black can easily muddy colors. 

Now, I'm no stranger to a black pen. In fact, it was the only color I used for years. Just look here, and here, and here. 

My transition back to black started slowly. 

Adding black to this sketch gave it more depth and perspective. 

I made this pink sketch and really liked it. But, it needed something. My usual go-to color with this pink would be a classic Bic blue, but I was tired of that combo. So, black it was, and I love it!

Then, I decided to just go for it. 

The first drawing I've done in all black in easily a year. 

I kicked ass on this one and I had fun in the process.

I think it shows too.  I was tempted to add a little color to this one, but why? It's very #Inktober and I like it as is. 

Drawing with a classic black or blue Bic pen is really satisfying. The ink is much more smooth than any other colors or other brand of ballpoint pen.

I was so into my black ballpoint that I decided to revisit a sketchbook drawing that I had abandoned in frustration months ago. Read all about that frustration here. 

Adding in the black saved this once abandoned sketchbook drawing. 

This drawing was saved with the addition of black.

It's so much more rich, flowing and dimensional. The black ink also covered up some of the problem areas that I don't think any other color would have done. Hooray for black! 

I liked this sketch so much that I decided to make a print of it. 

Frangipani - Abstract Fine Art Print

Size:

Select Size 8" x 10"11" x 14"

8" x 10" 11" x 14"

Quantity:

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"Frangipani" is available in 2 sizes and the color just jumps off the page. This print is sure to add impact and personality to any space! 

Is there another of my sketchbook drawings that you'd like as a print? 

Just ask! Leave a comment or send me an EMAIL.

That's all for now. Ciao friends!