Ellies Life Book Unfolded

Here are the pics of Ellies life book unfolded, as promised. Not particularly good pics but you get the idea. I am delighted with this idea, the book is already taking form.

I've been home from St Osyth for five days now and it seems my relaxed approach to art followed me back because I did nothing for four of them!
Yesterday I picked up my Art House Sketchbook again and started on pages two and three, mainly because I was unable to do anything else due to the fact that my Son (a personal trainer) took me for our first training session on Monday and I could barely move all day Tuesday!...Who knew you had so many muscles in your bum and legs!!!!!! I've mastered the walking but sitting is still awkward this morning.

It's pouring with rain here today, so I'm hoping to lose myself in the studio and get those two pages finished after my noon training session.
Will scan and post soon as I'm done.

My Art House Sketchbook still hasn't arrived yet...is there any one else from the UK that is taking part that can tell roughly how long theirs took to arrive? I'm gathering it's just a postal thing.

Ellies Summer Pumps

Ellie-Size8
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Here is the Summer shoe I also added to Ellies life book.
I have taken pics of the book unfolded so far, as requested, will upload and post soon!

Ellies Life Book Update

Ellie-size 8
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

This is the reverse side of Ellies life book, where I sketch her personal bit and pieces on the back of the matching aged portrait.
I've decided to concentrate on her shoes over the years, her Mum loves shoes and you all know how much I adore them so I'm sure Ellie will have the same passion for footwear. It's going to be so much fun seeing the changes in fashion through her years. It will also be easier than documenting her toys because her shoes can be dropped off to me as she grows out of them, which is exactly what happened this week.
So, here we start with Ellies footwear...aged 2, size 8. I have also sketched a Summer shoe which I'll scan in later and hopefully snap a picture of the book unfolded.

A Short Break

Harry and I left home Sunday evening to travel to Coltishall to stay with my dear friend Joan Sandford-Cook for a few days. We are having a wonderful time!

Above you can see one of Joan's local pubs, sketched during my last visit.

I have decided to keep a separate journal for my trips to Coltishall and started this visit. I am using the A6 dragonfly journal made for me by Kala which is covered in the beautiful, black and white dragonfly fabric you can see below and filled with Fabriano HP.

Meet 'Flo'

Isn't she adorable?...I have nicknamed her 'Flo' after the word floral. She is on her way to me as we speak, custom made by Kala. (Karen Jinks)
Filled with no less than 48 pages (96 sides) of Bockingford watercolour paper, she's a full bodied beauty!

Thankyou Karen...I love her and look forward to spending the Summer with her!

Word and Thought

On Sunday I ordered a new A5 sketchbook from Karen Jinks (Kala), it is to be filled with Bockingford NOT watercolour paper which I use alot for larger works, I am looking forward to having a little texture in the paper after using HP in my journals for a while now.
I chose my cover fabric too, it's the 2nd one down in this set with the big happy green and pink flowers...Perfect design to bring on Summer!
Kala also made my A6 dragonfly journal, at my request, and the accordion book I use as Ellie's life book.

I also managed to order some Maruman folding watercolour sketchbooks from Jerry's Artarama, which I heard good things about on Laurelines blog.

I worked in the studio on a pet portrait when I wasn't cooking or doing laundry, so I didn't journal many sketches which gave way to word and thought later that evening while watching the 'Lust for Life' DVD I purchased recently.



It's unusual for me to write so much in my journals, which surprises me because I love to write and churn out ideas and thoughts. However, I usually do this on scrap paper somewhere...Perhaps it's time to include them? We shall see!

I also managed to fill a page with my NEW Summer Project plan, which I am rather excited about...Ooooh...I will share them in my next post.

New Project

Ellie aged 1 week - Watercolour

Last night I finally started the project I've had in mind for the little indian handmade journal I purchased from Kala back in November...A life book for baby Ellie.

My plan is to paint or sketch little pictures of her as she grows on one side and capture a few of her favourite toys, shoes and general bits and pieces on the reverse. I do also plan to add notes and text along the way.

I will then present the book to her on her 18th/21st Birthday as a special and very personal gift.


When I purchased the journal I knew I would have to find some very special purpose for such a pretty and unique book.

The journal is made up of Bockingford watercolour paper in accordion style, allowing me to add further pages with ease should I require them through the years. It also opens beautifully revealing all of the pages on one side at the same time allowing years of growth to be viewed all at once, just perfect for such a project as this.

I started with a portrait of Ellie aged just one week old and added sketches of 'Nellie' and her 'Roo' blanket; the first toy and blanket we purchased for her, on the reverse side of the portrait.


Handmade by Kala

I know I am going to really enjoy this project, my only regret is that I didn't find my path to art earlier so I could have produced such books for my own children.

Scribbles

I spent a few moments on Scribbler this morning and created a 3 minute self portrait before dashing out of the door for the school run.
When I returned I decided to try a shoe from imagination and then gave it a backdrop in my paint program.



Scribbler is such fun to play with, I tried it briefly before Christmas too and created these from imagination:



The only downfall is you have to draw with your mouse...This is not an easy task! I'd love to have a pen shaped mouse to draw with for this sort of program.

I also designed and ordered a new mouse mat from http://www.mymousemat.com/ today and uploaded the sketch below for the design, my old one is more than a little weathered.



My handmade sketchbook from Kala arrived a couple of days ago and looks amazing! You can see photographs of it over at Kala's Etsy shop. I had originally ordered it as a smaller sketchbook to my Canson journal to pop into my handbag but I'm afraid it became far too precious for such rough treatment the moment I set eyes on it so I am setting it aside until it either becomes less precious or I think of some special project for it.

Fragrant Feet and Dragonflies

Today's journal entry started with my hand holding a new bottle of perfume, I used a mixture of inktense and coloured pencil to create this sketch. Then, this afternoon, Harry sat on the sofa next to me and his feet looked so cute I caught a quick sketch with my Lamy fountain pen before he adjusted his position. This evening, it occurred to me that although there are 30 years between us, we have the same size feet and it would be a great thing to note in my journal before he slams into overdrive and stretches towards a size 12 like his elder Brother. My foot is the top one, same size but nowhere near as cute!

I ordered a bespoke journal from Kala on Etsy today, a UK seller based just under an hour from me. I have been inquiring about a journal with good quality 140lb watercolour paper and Kala now has the materials to make me what I need. Since I have recently purchased two 21x15" journals, one of which I am using here, I thought it would be a good idea to order an A6 from Kala. The larger journals are difficult to carry around, not impossible but difficult, so this should fit into my handbag nicely and also give me a feel for the new paper.

Kala sent me a page of fabric samples to choose from for my cover, a tough decision as they are all fabulous. I decided on the centre design on this set, the white dragonflies on black background to compliment the red and black cover on my current Canson journal.

One Of A Kind

This is my very special cup, gifted to me by my two boys and purchased on a trip to The Butterfly Park at Long Sutton some years ago. The cup is just the perfect size to fit into my Tassimo machine and holds each shot perfectly. It has flowers running all the way around it designed and signed by Nel Whatmore. The design is titled 'One of a Kind'
...I love it for so many reasons.

Below is a recent purchase from Kala on Etsy. It's a small accordion sketchbook made of Bockingford watercolour paper covered in Indian embroidered cotton fabric.
IT IS SERIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL!
Kala took the care to pack it in printed tissue paper, tied with a ribbon and lots of loving care. I was most impressed and felt apprehensive about opening it and ruining her beautiful work. However, I was soon to discover that the real beauty lie within.
I'm waiting for a special occasion to use it, it deserves special treatment, it is most definitely 'One of a Kind'.
My photos are a little dark, you can view Kala's much better photographs HERE.

As you know, I've been trying to find the perfect sketchbook and my purchase from Kala got me playing around with some old left over gift wrap and tags. I too used Bockingford and attempted an accordion style network that turned into more of a maze. The thought of stitching puts me off of making my own sketchbooks but this folding malarkey looked like a fairly easy alternative.

Don't be fooled!

It looked easy but with only small sheets of paper cut from a block to work with, it was far from easy. There is a skill to lining up the back and the front too which I think wouldn't be such a problem if the pages inside all opened the same way like Kala's version. Mine opens in every direction and in one of those directions the back cover interferes with the front a little.

Still, for a first attempt using leftovers I think it went ok and with it's maze style pages it is most certainly 'One of a Kind'.