More from sketchbook.............I think #8

Well, I was not going to do anymore sketchbooks but find that I just enjoy doing them. They are not anything special. I am not trying for good artwork here. Just experiment, have fun and practice. I get my ideas from other blogs or artists, pictures I see, photos I take......just about anything that inspires me to pick up a pencil. Because they are not always original ideas of mine they are in the sketchbooks and not made into pictures or artwork. The above picture was modified from something I saw. The next is original. I will forget what is what over time.

I kind of like that one. The next is based on a Susan Branch picture. I love her work.

I tried some letters. I used to love manuscript writing. So.......I tried some decorated letters.


Anyway, I try to attempt different things in the different books but I do get repetitive sometimes. I do a lot of faces because I enjoy that but they are not portraits.


I like doing animals

and birds

Anyway. I guess until I have something better to show I will have to show excerpts from my sketchbooks

tantangles are fun.....I enjoy them sometimes

Well that's enough of that thank you very much, more than enough.

Fake flowers.............

I love to have flowers in the house. The thing is they are a pain to take care of. My African Violets are an exception, they do well and I will keep those going and probably get more. However, I collect what I can find of decent fake flowers. They are now so life like............and expensive.
I have found some good deals over the years.

These roses (above and below) I got many years ago. I was taking art classes and the place has things for sale at a discount. I loved the roses and bought as many as I could. They are in two shades.

The poppies are somewhat worse for wear, but work in the place I have them between rooms.

They fit in with the colours in two rooms. I have used fake greenery in places I can not get to to water plants.

These are in a vase that was my grandmothers. They are a mix of colours but they go with my pink and green theme in the dining room. I think I got most of those flowers where I got the roses. 

This next set of flowers I got at a thrift shop. They are in a brass container and the colours are in peaches and oranges and go well in the family room. They had to have been good ones when new. I could not afford to buy those new.

Then again, I buy wreaths for different things and then end up with them on the walls. Most of the things I have I have bought over a long period of time. I have them in every room, flowers or wreaths to add colour. I have house plants too but they need watering and are becoming an increasing pain in the butt. A lot of my fake stuff I use outside as well as indoors. I will always pick up good ones if I see them at garage sales or thrift stores. 

I have found nice things in florist shops. In my bedrooms I have several vases that I have bought special for the room when I first decorated it. They last forever, naturally. Mostly though I have found some really good ones at garage sales. I have not photographed any of those. Maybe I will do another post later on all the others haha........or not.

My latest sketchbook...............

My latest sketchbook, it tinted paper. It also does not take watercolour very well. It seems to crinkle up a lot. I am just showing a very few from this one.

The only thing I like about it is that I can use white. I liked that for snow.Well then I decided to try to do a few sketches of the human form

I am no good at males. So I figured I will try to do some females. As they are smoother and easier to sketch I figured that may be a good place to begin.

I also wanted to try some different poses and see if I could make them less stiff


I was quite pleased with a couple of them. The one on the left looks like she has a very small waist but actually I have got her tummy there but it doesn't show up well in the picture. In any case, maybe I can do some more in my next book. I still have some simple sketches in this book and I am about half way through. I may find a few more but at this point, the rest did not photograph well. Need better light but that's OK. Another time.

Todays thrift.................

A busy day today. It was time to take the two small poodles in for their hair cuts. That was at 10am and I had a doctor appointment at 11am and to pick up the girls again at 12noon. So rush rush rush. I did of course take some time to go into my favourite thrift store. I saw a couple of things I didn't get last time were still there. Again, I found too many other things so left them again for next time. Today I found teapots.
First this rather ungainly pot of roses. I believe it was 6.99 (remember this is a charity shop so a donation of sorst)

But I actually got 3 things........I like the pot to begin with. The roses, well they will be OK for outside and then there is the ribbon.

I could probably get a pot for that price but not the flowers. I always need flowers for the places outside, the deck or porch where I can not put live plants because its too shady.

So I justified the 6.99 price. I found salt and pepper shakers in little cottage/barn shapes that go in with my current theme. They already have a spot on my shelf. They were 4 dollars for the pair.

Then there were the tea pots. I am trying to stick to colours that are relevent to my scheme (we will see how long that lasts) Keep in mind that come summer some of these will become plant pots for out in the garden. This small one I had a larger one in the same design. They are common finds at garage sales. This one was a dollar 50.

The small brown pot is smaller than a one cup pot I think but it wont get used so no matter.

Then I found a lovel white one.


Then the floral one.I must add that I did leave several behind that were not my colours.

The last thing I found and really have no place for as yet although it may just go in Alex's room, that is a lavender colour and I do also have a pansy picture I could put in there. It is hand done so could not leave it there.

So I ended up spending just over 20 dollars. A nice haul for a nice donation I think.
The roses????? well I am thinking I might try to update them with a little paint.....or maybe not. Probably not, they are silk and really dont look so bad. I may seperate them and well, who knows. I am not fond of cheap silk flowers but sometimes when they are in with others they end up not so bad.

I do have others in the house that look so real that you cant really tell they are silk.
Sharing with The Dedicated House Make it pretty Monday

I am also sharing with The Enchanted Rose
I am also sharing with Ivy and Elephants