a number of things

a poster

I uploaded a lovely poster Anna made, with the calendar herbs, to my Etsy shop this morning. She has great plans for adding more of her art, so that may mean her own Etsy shop before long. :)

Have a fantastic day!

 

2012 Calendar

Well, here it is! Anna finished her drawings 2 days ago, and I completed the pages and layout last night. Nothing like a good self imposed deadline to make you move. :)

We really do hope you like it. You can click here to download and print it out (or click any of the photos above).  Here is the wording from the back cover of the calendar:

 

This little calendar was a mother / daughter collaboration between myself (Alice) and my 14 year old daughter, Anna. We have been learning about different herbs and their uses over the last couple of years and this project was a great way to further that learning.

The pen and ink drawings were all done by Anna (and then colored digitally), while I did the calendar pages, layout etc. We hope you will enjoy learning a bit more about these common, yet useful herbs along with us. Please visit your local library or the internet to explore the world of herbs further. It is fascinating!

 

* Edited to add:  Anna now has a poster featuring these herbs available for purchase in my Etsy shop. :)

 

Anna & her art

As you might have noticed, Anna has her own style. She loves to sew, craft & create as well as draw. Almost, I dare say, more than I did at her age (which is saying quite a bit). I love her simple, relaxed style and the way she loves to experiment.

So when she volunteered to draw all of the pictures for a 2012 freebie calendar, I took her up on it very quickly (before she had much time to think about doing 12 new drawings).

We decided on a theme of herbs (which is a great interest of ours), and she went to work. Anna has done some watercolors, but is not really fond of them. Her preferred medium is pen and ink, so for a bit of added color I showed her how to "paint" her drawings digitally after we scanned them in.

So far she has 8 herbs completed, and 4 to go. I am doing the layout, calendar pages, moon phases, etc. and we have great hopes to be finished by the first of December. We hope you will like them!

weekending

A fun little weekend addition to my Etsy spot.

Hope you are having a great one!

 

duh moment

 

The other day I had what can only be appropriately described as a "duh moment". It suddenly occurred to me that offering my past (and future) things as downloadables / printables would be both more affordable for most (and who isn't looking for affordable these days), and easier for me. (Not to worry, any future calendars will be offered here on the blog for free!) You are probably thinking, "This girl is nuts. I wish she'd make up her mind already."

I can't deny that my life is extra busy right now, but I know I will have time for more drawing and painting someday (soon?) and what better way to offer my doodles yet keep my sanity during the crazy times. The little shop now linked to in the sidebar is just getting started and I hope to steadily fill it as the days go by. I am not quite sure about the future of a separate space for the artsy posts, I may just move the few posts over there, to over here, and ditch it. Who knows, it's autumn and I feel like cleaning and simplifying.

Have a fantastic weekend!

 

2011 printable calendar

 

 

A gift for you! The 2011 calendar is ready and available!

 

 

Like last year's calendar, this one is filled with my little watercolors.

 

 

But this year's version has a somewhat "natural history" feel to it with several mixed media pieces and the lunar phases as well. I have also included a sweet cover page and (optional) band to give you a couple of gift-giving options.

 

 

If you find an image in it that you would like to have as a print, check out the shop as I will be steadily adding prints and other goodies. (ETA 6/11- Prints are currently sold out.)

Enjoy!

 *** Edited to add 1-18-11 ***

I have given up on using Scribd as a way to keep track of how many downloads etc the calendar gets, and I am now linking directly to the PDF version. :)
 

***  ETA 8-31-11 ***
If you are wondering about a 2012 calendar, please see this post.

 

postcard giveaway

  

 

I am really enjoying this weekly giveaway thing, so I thought I would do a few more. This week I am going to giveaway a pack of 6 American Sycamore Leaf with Acorns postcards to 3 different commenters. This is what November looks like in our neck of the woods. Large, brown sycamore leaves crunching loudly underfoot and lots of different acorns scattered here and there.

So if you would like a chance to win a free pack of postcards, just leave a comment to this post and perhaps tell us what November is like where you live. I will close the comments Friday afternoon at 3pm CST and let the random number picker choose 3 different winners. (I'll ship them anywhere in the world.) Good luck!

(The cute little birch branch card holder is from this lovely Etsy shop. I really like their things!)

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Congratulations to commenters number 14, 8 & 37!!

#14 ~ Michelle said...

I live in the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, November is...well...rainy.

#8 ~ Ginny said...

Those are beautiful! So far November is falling maple leaves and chilly air at my house in Virginia.

#37 ~ Sam said...

Beautiful postcards!
November in my part of Wales is usually a bit chilly, but only dipping into cold by the end. Lots of blue skies and crisp, sharp days contrasting with damp, grey, turn-up-your-collar days. Piles of golden and brown leaves to shuffle through, and delicate spiderwebs strung with pearls of rain. And I swear there is always the smell of bonfires throughout the month - bonfires always make me think of November.

Thank you so much to everyone who played along!
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

 

medals n' such

 
I have finally gotten an antique St. Dominic Savio medal cast and available in the Gardens of Grace shop. Ever since I started the boy's book and read up on St. Dominic Savio I have been looking for a nice bronze medal for him but have not had much luck. Then last year I found this one from Argentina, and sent it off to have it cast in August. It finally came back to me last week and I couldn't be happier. It's the perfect "pocket knife" medal for boys. You can read more about them here.

And on a slightly different note. I have been having fun turning a few drawings into baubles. These are only about an inch across and are basically a tiny cropped print under glass. Anna likes the one with the blue and I can't decide between the simple background or the one with the curlicues and nearly illegible text (which reads "Sacre Coeur de Jesus"). I really like the way the morning sun goes through them all, however. :)

 

a gift for you

A little calendar, just for you!  To keep or to give... simply print, cut and clip.  I have also included a page of wrap around labels if you would like to package them up just so.

To put together your calendar, print out the calendar pages (there are 3 months to a page) onto card stock. Using a paper cutter or scissors, cut between each month, stack and attach a small binder clip.  Next, hang and enjoy! :)

Printable 2010 Calendar

Wrap-Around Labels for Gift Giving

If you decide to print the labels, do not use card stock for them, but regular printer paper. Cut them out along the dotted lines and wrap around a finished calendar securing with a small piece of tape at the back.

Hoping you have a truly blessed Christmas season and a very happy New Year!

 

**** Edited to Add ****

Check out the mini-version that Kimberlee made! So cute!

 

autumn days

Swamp Maple Leaf

Oh how I love these autumn days. We began our homeschool year early (in the midst of the unbearable last-of-summer heat) just so we could let go and enjoy these lovely November weeks. They have been beautiful and busy.

Amanita crocea

Tomorrow my oldest (Noah) turns 15. Wow. Wasn't it just yesterday he was the one toddling around the house? And now he is a real live teenager and baby #6 is the one toddling. How time does fly.

I love my boys. (Ok, girls... you know I love you too.) They are so simple in their needs and wants... and so much fun! Way back when I wrote "Sewing with St. Anne", Noah (little 8 year old Noah) asked me when I was going to write a "boy's book". 'Someday', I said. Then a few years later, when I wrote "Tea & Cake", Caleb and Noah both asked me when I was going to write a "boy's book". 'One day', I said.

Feather from one of our chickens.

Fast forward to now. Just the other day Collin (almost 8) asked when I was going to "make a book for the boys". Without hesitation (or thinking) I said, 'Now!'. And so I am.

This book is first and foremost for my boys. They are providing many ideas and much input. It is still taking shape, but the basic skeleton is there just waiting (as life frequently interrupts) to be fleshed out with fun ideas, projects, recipes, photos and watercolors. I will be self publishing this time, also. Another learning adventure that I am quite excited about!

 

Cortinarius armillatus

So there you have it. One of the many reasons things have been quiet around here lately. One of my main problems when I set myself to a large-ish creative task is that I think of a hundred other creative things that I want to do. Oh the paintings that I have in my head... they keep me up at night! But I have a promise to keep. So when I have a few of those precious free moments, I will be working on a book for my three sweet boys... and having a blast doing it. :)

 

sketchbook: Mother's Day time

Ahh... It felt so good to pick up a pencil and brush again.  To mix the paints and watch the colors blend.  I haven't done any of this sort of thing since before Lilly's birth and I was, frankly, having withdrawals.

When Chip and the kids asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, I told them that all I needed was time to doodle.

And doodle I did!  For inspiration, I kept going back to this beautiful book.  As I told a friend recently, just looking at it makes me want to break out the watercolors and forget all about the laundry. One of the first things I did was research a few of our common local birds and paint their eggs.

Since I cannot paint near as much as I would like right now, I am really enjoying these Cathy Johnson videos as well as her ideas for travel watercolor sets.  So inspiring!  

"My View"

I know one day, I'll be able to do this more often...  As my sweet friend Dodi reminds me, this is but a season.  And what a beautiful one it is.

(P.S. ~ And yes, if you are wondering, Lilly has nursed herself to sleep in the sketch above. :-))    

   

late summer banner

I know it is a bit late (in most parts of the country) for blackberries, but I could not let the summer slip by without sharing some with you.