Magnolias, sketchbook views

Pen details

Used a Uni pin

 doodling in the curves .....

little close ups.

Magnolias Sketchbook views

Magnolias

Some sketchbook views 

Pen  

Pen & Pencil

rough sketching and some thoughts......

Watercolour Pencil dry

Watercolour paint on Watercolour Aquarelle paper

Fabric transfer paper

Sketchbook .... Spirals

This months theme over at Sketchbook Challenge is Spirals

so I had some fun with my little brass stencils

and prismacolor pencils

Stitches and sketches

More purple and orange admiration

sketchbook page

Pitt pen and watercolour

a little stitchery

Little stitcheries & a sketchbook page

Two more little stitched pieces

I'm enjoying colour at the moment

Sketchbook page

 A little exercise in using colours,
colours I'm not usually comfortable with or wouldn't normally place together.
The sketch was started with a pit pen and then when I picked it up to work on it again I used a liquid ink roller, the second one runs when water is applied, hence the dirty look in some parts.
I wasn't aiming to be precious with this page at all but just to let go,
 go with the flow and have fun!

White

Enjoying the process of alteration .....

Warming things up!

was my first thought when I decided to play a little

with my watercolours

over the first double page of my sketchbook last night

a quick 30 mins rough sketching whatever came into my head and painting in low light.

Sketchbooks and Magazine

I have decided to join in with Lynn's 'Sketchbook Friends' 

I'm going with my own chosen theme of 

'Captured Moments'

I like to chop and change medium a lot I feel that this would best describe anything I might add or explore in my book from day to day, week to week.

 I'm going to use the little book that I had set aside for housing my Tags, but that idea didn't work out so well so I stopped, but I will keep the pages in there that I started to working on, they are, after all,
Captured Moments 

 background page for snowy tags

 for my white tag

for my vintage photograph album tag.

On the subject of books I bought the first issue of the new
 I signed up for the trial subscription of 3 issues of Homemaker Magazine for £6 which sounds like a good deal to me but I was a bit disappointed when I read in the confirmation email that I had missed out on the 1st issue and my subscription would start from the second issue, (wondering if this was a ploy?) anyway so when I popped into the supermarket last night for a couple of things, I bought the first issue.

 with free Christmas source book

Only halfway through reading it but I like it, beautiful pictures, packed full of ideas and on line info too.
 There are a lot of cut outs and vintage style printed pages to keep including some pretty spotty paper chains (I think these will end up in my girls room ;)
I look forward to trying out some of the ideas and using the templates.

Opening up the past

The 'challenge' this month has literally been to actually 'open' my sketchbook

First I opened a little A6 sketchbook from the past when I was at college all those years ago in the Borders when I made the 'Flower Quilt' The annotation beside the little watercolour flowers mentions applique as a proposed idea, I was reminded also that the six watercolour panels that I made were actually the second idea, the first being a single panel which I did make. I wasn't happy with it, mainly because I chose peach for the background fabric. I used a dip-dye method, I enjoyed the process but the end result didn't seem a good fit for the quilt so I didn't use it. I'm sure I must have this, probably in my portfolio with all the paintings and drawings, I will have to look it out.

 I remember now that worked on the six smaller panels during the summer break.

I have been working on the pieced border that I removed from the quilt
 separating all the squares, unpicking and removing all the stray threads.

I opened my sketchbook and again did some sketching then watercolour painting
 inspired again by the fabrics.

I'm thinking that it might be nice to make more panels for the back of the quilt using the same process I did back then after all I do have a lovely new set of the same watercolour dyes I used, actually this quilt was the reason I bought them the first time round.

Looks like my mend and reduce job is turning into another project.

Sketchbook peek

More flowers, in my sketchbook

 experimenting, with watercolours

wax resist

overlaying
& pen

I'm thinking ...quilting perhaps ........

I'm enjoying The Sketchbook Challenge,
 I'm using my sketchbook much more and I feel more connected to it again,
which is good :)


Flowers in my sketchbook

I relly feel at home with the Sketchbook Challenge theme this month

'Flowers'

Watercolour paint and Pitt pen

Watercolour paint & paper collage with Pitt pen

Pitt pen & watercolour pencil

Thanks for stopping by

Yvonne x

Sketchbook Challenge ~ Close Up

Have managed to pick up my sketchbook a few times for February's challenge

'Close Up'

sticking to quick 5 min sketches

Candle jar ~ gel pen and watercolour

string on a wooden heart hanging ~ pencil, watercolour and Pitt pen

fabric applique ~ coloured pencil

cosy slippers ~ Pitt pen

thanks for stopping by

Yvonne x

Sketchbook Challenge

There was a time in my life when I wouldn't have been anymore than a few feet away from my sketchbook, where I would loose myself in samples of dyed and stitched fabrics, thread, papers and found objects where time would be spent cutting and manipulating samples and gluing them randomly into the pages of my little A6 sketchbook and jotting down ideas and notes of things I needed to try out and doodling in the pages in between. I don't know when I stopped doing this, or got out of the habit but I want need to get back to that, it was the best source and development of all my work

I have read various posts recently about keeping and using a sketchbook the 3 that most come to mind are Karen, Connie and Alisa and each has got me thinking about how much I'm missing my sketchbooks, more so, how little I'm turning to them to explore and experiment, yes I always use them for drawing out a design, or planning a project but for simply having a doodle or splash around with the paints for no reason in mind..... it's been a long time......

So I have decided to take part in the Sketchbook Challenge to get my little books going again just for the fun of it. January's subject is 'Doodles'

Charlotte had me up before 7am and I was reading about it all, still in my PJ's but keen to get started, I grabbed the nearest sketchbook which was in the house and not in the studio at the end of the garden my A5 size TATE  and my favourite fine point pen and had a little play these are my sort of doodles ......

then Leslie's post later inspired me to have a little collage fun in my studio in the evening

not sure about this one but I enjoyed the process and
it was nice to get my paints out again

I'm looking forward to next months Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by
Yvonne x

Sketchbook scribbles & doodles

I have enjoyed getting in touch more regularly with my sketchbook these days.

I have it constantly to hand, well I say 'it' I actually have six that I can think of off hand that are currently in use but I'm trying to stick to one at the moment.

I think it would be great if I could keep one for a journal, one for my rose theme, one for jewellery etc, but it never works out that way and they are all mixed up....no rhyme or reason to them.

 I thought you might like a little peek at some random pages

petals

still working on this one

 tree with birds

prisma pencil overlay

doodles .......

 knots and buttons