Tag: nature

Tulip Painting In New Watercolor Sketchbook

April 12, 2023

I got this little watercolor sketchbook from Amazon. It was free item I received to review. What drew me to this sketchbook at first was the cute little bunnies with floral artwork, but then when I got a closer look at the paper quality, I was hooked. The paper is thick cold press watercolor paper and takes water well. I was impressed a the quality.

I used the paint pan I made last year. I ordered the paint pan from Ali Express and filled it up with mostly Daniel Smith watercolor. There’s also some W&N Cotman and Art Philosophy Guache. I don’t have a photo of the outside of the pan but it’s got an outer space artwork that’s just too cute.

I used a reference photo to draw and then paint the tulip. It didn’t take very long to paint because the paper was excellent. I had a lot of fun painting this flower. I think I’ll use this little book to paint flowers and landscapes.

Do you love to paint? If so, what’s your favorite things to paint?

April 2022 Playlist

May 1, 2022

I was surprised to see the magnolia in the backyard bloom. A few years back only a few flowers bloomed, so I thought this bush was on its way out, but I’m so glad it’s still thriving.

I finished Camp Nano and hit over 100K words so I’m really happy that I was able to get that far. My goal was 80K. As a gift to myself, I purchased quite a few celebrity perfumes. Once I receive them all, I’ll probably share some photos.

Something was in the air in April and I got hooked on the song “Never Enough” from the movie, The Greatest Showman. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? It came out in 2017 but I only watched it a year ago and I wish I had seen it sooner. I knew how popular a lot of the songs were, but there is so much more meaning in having watched the movie. I love the original “Never Enough” version by Loren Allred, but also love Morrissette Amon’s version as well as Kelly Clarkson’s. If you get the chance, watch Morrisette’s version. It’s very beautiful. Here’s Kelly’s version. I believe they’ve played this on the radio. I remember hearing it driving the kids to dance practice when oldest daughter was still in high school. She’s now finishing up her second year of university!

Here are a few other songs I listened to:

“Into Dust” by Mazzy Star

“Je T’aime Till My Dying Day” by Enigma

“Glass Palace” by Jens Gad

February 2022 Playlist

February 28, 2022

The photo was taken of my oldest daughter ten years ago. Can you believe that? She’s going to be 20 in a few days here.

February has been a busy month with trying to decide which method of bullet journaling (bujo) to go with. I’ve been trying to get down from about four notebooks to just two. I really enjoy making my own using dotted line notebooks, so I think I’m going to continue doing that, and doing more of it.

These were the main songs I listened to while bujo-ing.

“A Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins. This song came out in 1994 and I remember listening to it during my college days. I think I heard it on “Lucifer” and it brought back memories.

“To Build a Home,” by The Cinematic Orchestra. First heard this song while watching “So You Think You Can Dance,” some time ago. The lyrics are a bit sad but beautiful, nonetheless.

“Lost Without You,” by Jaci Valesquez. Heard this song sometimes in the later 90’s early 2k’s and had it on repeat for awhile.

Snow Day (Photos) and Unboxing Video of 3 Notebook Covers

February 2, 2022

Daughter had a snow day today, which means no school. She’s both excited and bummed. Excited because she can relax and not worry about doing homework, and bummed because she spent an hour yesterday making Crepes for French class and now she’ll have to eat them by herself (and with me of course) or throw them away. She made about 20 crepes.

The snow is soft and light and it’s not that cold out. I went out to take photos in my short LL Bean boots, leggings, and sweater and wasn’t cold at all.

Here’s me crossing the lawn in the deepest part trying to get over to the pine tree.

As I was taking photos, this person comes by on cross country skis just enjoying the wonderful weather and snow.

And I had to share this notebook cover with the snow in the background. The little white sprinkling things is the snow coming down. This is the No. 8 Extra Wide in American Bison hide. The unboxing video below will have a closer look at all the striations and folds. It’s such a pretty leather!

Snow + Unboxing Video: Woodhouse Personal and Huckleberry B6

January 25, 2022

We got snow today. It’s beautiful but slippery. This is a view from the study, where I spend the majority of my time writing, recording, and crafting.

Here’s a video of my unboxing of the Austen Woodhouse Personal and Creme Huckleberry B6. They are both leather traveler’s notebook covers by Chic Sparrow.

I just love the feel of these leathers. They smell awesome too. Photos coming soon.

Gouache Painting of the Milky Way

January 12, 2022

This was one of the most difficult paintings I did with gouache. I nearly gave up. I think it turned out fine, but multiple times I almost tore it up. It could just mean I need more practice with gouache. You might ask why I keep using gouache and not watercolor if it’s such a pain. I wonder the same, but I think I’m drawn to gouache because it’s very smooth when laying it down, it dries matte, and it’s more opaque than watercolor so I spend less time layering paint. There are probably other reasons too but these are the main ones.

Steamboat Springs Weekend Trip

November 18, 2021

Last weekend, our oldest daughter was celebrating her two-year anniversary with her boyfriend in Steamboat Springs and we needed to get some Christmas photos for the year so we decided to join them up there. They had gone up before we did and stayed in a B&B. We stayed at a La Quinta about five minutes from them.

The drive to Steamboat was about four hours. There was a bit of snow as we approached the Eisenhower Tunnel.

Down the other side of the tunnel is steep and curvy. I’ve been down this road many times but each time, I’m always so nervous.

When we got closer to Steamboat, it snowed.

A few minutes before reaching Steamboat, the snow stopped and disappeared.

Where we stayed.

The view from the back window of our hotel room.

We didn’t have time to do too many things. Our one full day there, we had breakfast with our daughter and her boyfriend, and took photos. Then, they went their way, and we went ours. Husband, our youngest daughter, and I went to a hot springs which husband and I loved, but daughter didn’t so much. The sulfur was too strong for her. The sulfur started to burn my eyes eventually so we left. We had lunch and then went to watch Eternals at a really small theater (it’s really small compared to the AMC near our home, but not nearly as small as the one in Craig when I went with our daughters some years ago). Daughter and I liked Eternals. Husband thought it was too long.

It was a nice little getaway to a small ski town. Everyone was friendly and the view was beautiful and peaceful.

Chasing the Northern Lights

November 9, 2021

The day before Halloween, husband, our youngest, and I went on a road trip to Wyoming to see if we could get a good view of the Northern Lights. From what we learned, the massive solar flare would glow far enough to reach parts of Colorado. We thought we’d go further north for a better chance at seeing it.

It was a four hour drive, which wasn’t bad. The main road was straight and flat, which made the trip easy. A few years ago, it took us at least five hours to get to Ouray, Colorado, but we went through twisty roads and mountains which made the ride longer. Husband and I have been to Wyoming before. We went to Jackson Hole in Teton National Park to see Dr. Wayne Dyer at a speaking event. That was so long ago, and we didn’t stay very long either. It was also on the west side of Wyoming. This time we went straight north.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Casper where our daughter did homework while husband and I watched some T.V., and stepped out a few times to see if we could see the northern lights.

Unfortunately, we were not able to see the Northern Lights. We checked between 8pm and 10:30pm with no luck. It was just way too cloudy.

The next morning, we headed home. The car was slightly iced over. It was pretty cold. The roads were wet but not icy, although smaller roads might have been icy. It snowed part way while we were on the road.

The view above was in front of the hotel. There was nothing in Casper. I’m not sure if it’s all farm land, but there was a lot of empty land for miles and miles.

Even though we didn’t get to see the Northern Lights, this short road trip was well-needed. For some reason, I felt as though I could breathe better in Wyoming. I was also extremely relaxed. We stopped in Cheyenne on our way home for lunch and I fell in love with that city. I’d visit it again and stay a little longer. It’s not quite a small town. It’s a city, but a tiny cute one.