15 Minute Ink Sketch Showing The Inside Of My Home

I was going to do a drawing of the corner of my living room that layers with the dining room in back. I had 15 minutes until I had to leave for an appointment so I wanted to see how much I could get done. The sketch is rough, so I'll explain it, but it's liberating having a deadline.

I have a philodendron in the vase on the fireplace. Next to that plant is a champagne bottle that is actually an antique silver plated cigar humidor. To the left of that is a photo of a waterfall in Maui.

The pictures above the fireplace are 4 of 12 photos of vacation locales. There are sea turtles, a beach scene, lover's beach in Cabo, and a humorous sign at a beach bar welcoming topless photos. I enjoy the impact of the 12 tightly spaced photos over the fireplace. I like using vacation photos for decoration and they are throughout the house.

Two of the plants are spider plants. There's also a mystery plant that grows despite me and a grass like plant that is very odd but interesting.

The center lamp is a stained glass shade that my husband made. The lamp behind it is for feng shui purposes and since my Westiepoo, Marilyn is afraid of the dark we leave it on all the time.

The framed thing by the lamps is a handmade metal floor display from the Curtis Hotel. It was used to display lounge events and things of note going on in the hotel. The hotel was torn down many years ago and they sold off some of the items inside. I have a watercolor of a red glow through pine trees inside it. I never could decide if I was painting a fire, sunset, or autumn leaves but I like the reds and oranges.

How To Make An Accordion Book With Pockets From An Antique Book

I bought a bunch of old books with pretty covers and I'm re-purposing them by making new books out of old ones. Polly was the name of my childhood dog and the 1890's camping scene is very attractive.



















Remove the pages with a razor blade and scissors, leaving the cover intact. I didn't like the look of the cardboard inside the spine so I covered the inside of the book with new end papers. Lay the book cover on a piece of scrapbook paper and trace around the cover with pencil. Cut the paper slightly smaller than the book cover then glue the new end paper inside the cover and over the spine.














Use a brayer to smooth the paper and remove any air bubbles.













I used a large sheet of heavyweight black paper for the inside of the book. If you want to see the end paper make the insert smaller than the original book. These pages are 4.5" x 10" and the page on the end is 5" wide. It's wider so you can make a flap to ensure the pocket will be secure by not allowing items to slide out the side. Cut off the excess edge portion. Make pencil guidelines for creasing and if the paper is thick, use a bone folder to score the lines.















The pages are 7" high so I also made a horizontal guideline for creasing a 3" deep pocket.

To recap, fold the paper accordion or paper fan style to fit inside the book cover. Fold a long horizontal crease to make a pocket like you'd find in back to school folders. Use the bone folder to make sharp creases.





















Flip the paper over and glue down the flap. The flap needs to be on the opposite side for the back of the book.












My book was fairly thick and since the paper wasn't long enough to use only one segment I used two. I left a flap to glue under another page so that the pages hinge together.





















The book is now a long accordion fold with the pocket on one side and the end flap is on the backside.





















Spread glue on end flap and glue it to the inside cover.





















Press the paper firmly and glue the back cover to the inside page. Close the book to verify placement. You don't want the pages too close to the spine or too far away.




































Now the book is ready to fill with memorabilia and you can decorate the pocket for more of an art journal feel.





































This version is filled with 90lb, cream colored drawing paper.

Pretty Bikes Are Like Pretty Shoes

I bought this pink Diamondback, Della Cruz, bike because it had an awesome chain guard, wide cork patterned seat with springs, sewn leather handles, cute wicker basket, balloon tires, and was covered with yellow hibiscus flowers. The only thing it's missing are gears and it has one speed, slow.

I drew this after a grueling 3 mile ride that would have been effortless if I borrowed my daughter's 10 speed bike. I get a lot of complements on my stylish bike while I chug along, but riding it is like wearing stilettos on a hike.

ACEO ATC Pop Art Doodle

Artist trading cards are 2.5" x 3.5" and were traditionally traded among artists and were never intended to be sold. ACEO, art card editions and originals are an off shoot of that tradition and are original works of art that are sold. The only rule is that they be 2.5" x 3.5" (the same size as a baseball trading card. The cards typically fit inside a plastic sleeve but some artists develop a more dimensional style and and the thickness can vary.

The painting is an abstract watercolor that I embellished with India ink. I like that the piece can be displayed on all sides and it reminds me of vintage pop-art. My only self imposed rule for this style is I can only work with existing shapes.

Bearded Iris Abstract Painting

I did this acrylic painting for a lady who is a member of the red hat society. The members wear red hats and purple dresses so red and purple are prominent colors in the painting.
She's a free spirit so I wanted the painting to echo her personality and interests.

Standup Chef Menu Chalkboard

I saw a chef similar this in front of a cooking school a few years ago, I drew a pattern and my husband kindly cut it out for me. He stands 4 feet high with a hinged support panel on the back and is pointing to an area painted with blackboard paint.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, Daisy Poster

The poster has a field of Illustrator drawn daisies on a grass background that was created in Photoshop.

Maple Tree Helicopters

I was in the hammock watching the helicopter seeds fly around the yard.

EDM 1 Draw a shoe and 2 Draw a lamp

I thought it would be fun to combine some of the challenges and so the canvas shoe now has a lamp print fabric instead of the existing blue.

Green Concealer Is Not To Be Confused With Color Changing Lipstick

My daughter left some cosmetics on my vanity that she bought and decided that she didn't want.

I thought the green lipstick was the color changing variety so I put a large swipe across my bottom lip and waited.

The lips are a linocut print that I made and then tinted with a prismacolor marker. The rest was drawn with with a Pigma Micron Pen.

Godzilla vs The Burbs

There was a bad thunderstorm and the dogs refused to go outside.

I found a nervous pile of poo which I unfortunately stomped like Godzilla attacking Tokyo.

I never thought I'd draw Godzilla stepping in poo since I'm no longer 12 but here it is.

Chauffeur Zentangle Doodle

I've been doing a lot of waiting for my daughter and this was a nice way to kill time in a semi-mindless fashion that was still fun.

Zentangles are easy to pick-up and leave without losing your flow. This one was done with a fine point Pitt pen. My favorite design to do was the waves but drawing dirt always makes me happy (while in school I used to draw elevations for architectural plans).

In grade school we would draw a scribble and make different things with the shapes, I guess I never got over it.

Cabin Sketches

I was at our cabin over the 4th of July and here are some of the sketches that resulted.

Eagles nest on a nearby mountain, it's Minnesota, so It's actually a big hill but we call it a mountain. The eagles spent quite a bit of time hunting in the clearing so I'm glad we did not bring along the dogs, they are smaller than the rabbits that the eagles captured.

I did the drawing of the eagle with a Pilot Frixon Ball pen. In theory it's erasable but I wouldn't try to erase anything larger than a tittle (the dot over an i).





I went to Sivertson Lake to photograph the water lilies and waded out to get a better shot.

I was so intent on the flowers I forgot why no one swims in that lake. The holes in my pink Crocs were the perfect playground for blood suckers (small leaches). I did get some great photos so it was worth the ick factor.





We had an impressive storm on July 3rd that brought 8 inches of rain; a mile away they only received half an inch. The storm was so localized that it had a Stephen King element to it.

I heard a cracking noise after the rain stopped and went out back to see what happened. One of the pine trees had fallen and since I heard another crack I fled back inside. The cabin roof has been hit twice before by pine trees and my Jeep once; no damage either time. This pine was courteous enough to fall backwards, slid down the hill, and required no clean up.


We are at Toad Lake and there are the cutest, tiny, toads. The toads are about an inch long while they sit. This one thought he was invisible he if didn't move so he made an excellent subject.

The weather must have been perfect this year since we had wild roses and lady's slippers everywhere.

There is a Jurassic sized crow that was hanging around the screen door; I had no idea that black birds could get so large. He would stand in front of the screen and scratch the wire with his beak.

We have no visible neighbors and I think he was planning a caper. I gave him a slight smile since I think he's planing on what to get from the refrigerator for lunch.

Oil Change Portrait

I went in for an oil change and there was nothing to read or draw so I was a little bored. The woman was in an issue of Time magazine that I had read previously but I liked the way her jacket was constructed.

They finished the oil change before I had to decide whether to draw the complementary popcorn or the plastic plant.