Poem Collaboration

tonight I will pretend
I can shoot water from my fingertips
in the shower

tonight I will imagine
the carpet is made of lava
and the couches are the rocks

tonight I will pretend
a blanket tied around my neck
makes me Wonder Woman

tonight I will imagine
my room is being sieged by dragons
and I, the princess, must slay every single one

tonight,
I will pretend I can go back.

childhood fascinations

by Allyssa Barker

You can see more of her Poems her: http://inkedsummit.tumblr.com/ 

New Discoveries

I have found I like hand lettering! At first, I thought "oh no! Not another hobby!" As it turns out, hand lettering only enhances my book binding. Now I can create custom labels for my books and personalize them further. I also wonder if it'll be an asset to my illustrating as well. 

In the meantime, I am copying other artists designs to learn style and design. It is so fun to make the most mundane of lists and information beautiful. 

I have a lot more practice to put in, but I hope to eventually have handwriting as nice as my moms!

Trying Out Digital

Painting digitally is not my favorite way to illustrate. With my current skills, it takes me 3-5 times longer to create something to my satisfaction, BUT I can stop easily and quickly. Now, that I have a toddler and a 3 month old, I really-really don't have time to set up and clean up traditional painting. 

This Mermaid is a warm up of sorts. There is another piece I'm working on, but I was struggling with it's complexity(also my anatomy has never been a strong suite) and fighting this digital medium. So I thought I'd work on this old sketch, which is simpler to work on shape, color and style. I have learned I have to have a strong sketch to start with and that I can't just wing it once it's in the computer. I still have a lot left to do on this, but I wanted to share it because I'm excited to create again. 

I have a few short stories with graphic novel formats that I've been too chicken to work on traditionally... also babies. So, I'm thinking maybe I can attempt to do them digitally over the course of the next year or two, fifteen minutes at time in between diaper changes. Crazy? Probably.

Easter Printables

Every week, I have a "craft" day with my two year old. I drew these lil' guys up, and then I cut them and we tape them to the wall.  She loves arranging them just so on the wall. Older kids might like to color them, or you could attach them to popsicle sticks and have a little puppet show. Or you could hide them around the house and have your kids search for them. 

I'm selling the pdf's on etsy for $0.25 (the eggs are free) and you can print off as many as you like.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/thepapersandwich

Recycle, Reuse

My darling husband cleans and reuses food jars for other purposes. He took a old jar of sun-dried tomatoes and cleaned it up for our Q-tips. The boxes they come in are awkward and ugly. 

My assignment was to create a cool label for the lid to cover the old food design. We can't decide which one we like better. Can you?

 I shamelessly stole these shapes and designs from milk labels I googled. Typography and graphic design is NOT my strong suit. I did learn what I liked though. Its a good exercise. I think I may try it again.

#inktober

It's the Little Things...

I'd been feeling down because I've lost some steam on my goals to exercise and eat more healthy. Then today, getting ready for church, I put on a little blush and mascara. Voila! I felt pretty. It was the boost I needed to tackle this next week and keep trying. 

#Inktober

More Inktober

Day 3 of #inktober

I totally get why mom's put laundry on the back of the couch now! To keep the toddlers from unfolding everything. I hope to paint this one by the end of the week. 

Day 4 of #inktober

This fish is from last year's series of #Inktober drawings and it has been patiently waited to be inked all that time. I think I might do some more fish this year but maybe fish that are native to my new home in the state of WA instead of FL. Squishing them into squares an interesting challenge

Inktober 1&2

I'm discovering that a mom, I do not have the daily luxury of drawing for hours of time. I have discovered I can snatch about 5-10 min of sketch time during bathtime or a good 15-20min at the library every other week. Today. My lovely husband gave me an hour and a half to paint theses 5x7in. While they aren't just ink, I'd like to include them for #inktober.

Ps. If you can think of other beautifully mundane moments like clipping your toenails, I'd love the suggestions. Thanks.

Cas

Sunday Doodle

I was sketching last night, which I rarely seem to do these days. Gosh. It was so relaxing. I was playing with shapes, and the lifegaurd came out. He looked so lonely, so I had a give him a friend to share the beach with. I had so much fun, I had to paint it whilst wrestling a toddler. Okay not really wrestling. She was a bit squirmy, so I had to put on "Shaun the Sheep" which is AMAZING by the way.

The Projects these Days...

 I've discovered the wonder of WonderUnder. I used it on quilting cotton to create a barrier for the glue. I think the patterned fabric adds a punch of fun and color. I had forgotten how much I love to bind. Its a great hobby with my lil Vienna because I can pick it up or put it down without much fuss.

This is some bunting for Vienna's room. We are renting, so adding color through painting isn't an option. I just finished sewing them, so the next photo will be of them hanging up.

 The Buffalo King needs a few tweaks, but it's on its way. It only took six months to get this far. haha

 And this one. She keeps me pretty busy. But I made her too, so I think she counts.

Sooooooo behind...

I may or may not have bitten off more than I can chew. I'm up to third journal for the year. The second journal is mostly descriptions and sketches with a few finished and the third is just notes. gah..... I have so many things to capture I'm drowning in memories to be recorded. I'll be a bit, catching up for a little while. I hope to have posts again the beginning of Sept.

thank all!~

Okay I went on vacation too! 

Mom made Crème brûlée...

Whaaat???? A Current Post???

Are you shocked and awed? I know. Me too. I've actually filled two of these sketchbooks with our daily doings. I'm still inking book 2. This is from book 3. I'm trying to keep up with the latest as I go back and ink the penciled in entries of June and July..... Oh crap. I just had the realization. I marked this day as July 3rd. It's actually today: August 3. Shoot. Ah well. I had fun drawing it. My friend Amanda was a good sport and posed for reference for me to draw this well. I have a hard time remembering what people wear when I get home. And she is so stylish! 

Also. Please notice the purple cauliflower I bought at the market. I can't wait to eat it!   

A new Tribe

I've joined a baby-wearing group of ladies, who get together. I highly recommend baby-wearing. You can read about the benefits and convenience by just googling it. I was sold after reading about the "fourth trimester" which goes over the transition of the baby from womb to world and how to make it smoother. 

Phew!

Vienna FINALLY went down for a nap long enough for me to snap some photos. I'm still catching up on inking for the month of June. Too many interesting things are happening! I'm having a hard time keeping up. I'm singing as I type this to keep her happy. Thus any typos. Since I'm backlogged I think I'll able to post twice a week or so.  

Oh Mike!

More Mom Life

While we make dinner, Vienna sits in a little swing. Well, her little butt gurgled and when I walked over to peek at her diaper! She had leaked into the little seat! So with a burp cloth and and extra set of hands, Vienna was whisked to the changing table. (a burp cloth is much easier to clean than drops of poop on the carpet) 

Funny. I now know why my bjorn isn't such a great carrier. I'm so glad I have my ergo and ring sling. 

Mike's work has a pool table with their logo on the felt in the office. On Friday's, they guys take the afternoon to blow off steam and play a little. I'm kinda glad Mike forgot his lunch so I could come visit. 

I am nearly caught up with May... just as I approach June. Hahaha. Isn't that just the way? I'm so amazed I've been able to keep up with it. It's mostly because of Mike. He bathes Miss Vienna each night so I can have some down time. 

The Ups and Downs

To the Rescue!

We are slowly catching up kids!

Knight in Armor and Farts

I really enjoyed drawing April 9th and 10th. You can tell because my line quality is actually, you know... half way interesting. I know my style is kind of all over the place and my characters don't look terrible consistant, but I think it'll be okay. Maybe as I do this the rest of the year it'll get better and better.. maybe not. Either way, I have an incredible record of my days that I actually enjoy going back through. 

My First April Fools Prank

If you want to make my grandma's deviled eggs you need our family's basic ingredients for everything (tunafish sandwiches, egg salad, macaroni salad, deviled eggs...). You boil the eggs then half them and put all the yolks in a bowl. Add some Mayo, mustard, sweet relish, black olives(chopped up), onion powder and a dash of paprika. Tada! Super yuppy deviled eggs. 

I've never been one to do pranks. I found this idea on Pinterest and it seemed harmless enough. It had fun making it even if Vienna fussed a bit.

Basically, Mike is the best as you can see here.