Deliberately Creative

Cooking up a storm!

2011-08-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post as I'm having so much fun cooking new things and not getting much else done. I love finding new recipes and trying them out and I have been in a cooking mood. Weird...right? It's the hottest part of the Summer and here I am, coming home from work and baking!

First I made a lovely Rustic Apple Blackberry pie. I cooked it up on the grill and didn't even burn it!! I got the gluten free crust recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring Nichol is a charming lady with a very creative and clever way of writing, she also has AWESOME gluten free recipes.

Next I came across a recipe on Smitten Kitchen for Homemade Oreo cookies. Chocolaty, creamy, crunchy dunkable Oreo Cookies! I followed her recipe exactly EXCEPT I used Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose flour. It worked really well.

All of the photo credit goes to my awesome hubby Mark, he's also my chief taste tester, um...guinea pig, foody victim and general good guy with a cast iron tummy!

I am off to figure out what I'm going to do tonight...sweet or savory? It's so hard to decide!
Remember to get out and do something creative today!
hugs,
Stephanie

New pillowcases for a new bedroom!

2011-08-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note from me to you. I haven't taken any photos of the updated bedroom yet but I have finished 2 new embroidered pillowcases and I do have a photo of them. :)

The designs are from Doodle Stitching motifs by Aimee Ray. I had a blast doing these and my husband is pretty impressed with them too. All of the flosses that I used were of the variegated kind so I could just thread up the needle and start stitching.

I'm looking forward to playing around with more of the designs from this book. I have a couple handkerchiefs that need something special so I can give them as gifts. I think those will be my next projects.

I hope you are having a great Summer and taking time to do something creative!
Cheers!

SB

Watery Coolness...

2011-07-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

For all who have to deal with much too warm weather I'm sending you a lovely wish for some watery coolness.

Here's a doodle that I came up with this morning I hope that it brings you a moment of coolness and enjoyment.

The bedroom is almost all done! We have painted the walls and baseboards, put in the new cupboards and bookshelves and hung the new drapes, taken out the carpet and laid the new flooring. All we have left is the new bed that is being delivered on Saturday. Just in time for our second 1 week vacation (my hubby has next week off) we are staying close to home this time. I told my hubby that with the bedroom being all bright shiny and new it would be like staying at a lovely hotel. :) We will be doing lots of day trips this time. Relaxing and just enjoying all of our hard work.

Remember to get out and be creative!

Ah...doodling!

2011-07-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

It has been months and months since I had a chance to do some intentional doodling. Here's a few that I completed last week. I'm so excited to be getting back into the groove.

I'm drawing more, but we are also in the middle of our Summer home improvement project. After almost 24 years in the same home we are tearing out the carpet, putting in new flooring, painting the walls and trim in our bedroom. We have already done every other room in our home so it is just about time.

Just many different ways to be creative! Cheers!


:) love to doodle hearts!

Doodles inspired by Zentangles

Something Fishy!

Click on the images for larger views.

Oh My Bagels--Gluten free?

2011-07-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought of making your own gluten free bagels? I always thought that bagels would be hard to make, that gluten free dough couldn’t be boiled and hold together and that it would just be a mess. Boy! Was I ever wrong.

Making bagels with the recipe that I came up with (after looking at several wheat flour bagel recipes) is so easy! It does take time but most if it is overnight when you are sleeping already any way.

These have a lovely crust that is slightly glossy and chewy. There are several different whole grain flours but they add so much to the end flavor and nutrition. These are wonderful after cooling right out of the oven without toasting. The same day they can still be eaten with out toasting after the first day you will want to pre-slice, wrap and freeze to keep that just baked freshness. Just pull out of the freezer, toast and enjoy!

If you make these bagels remember that playing with gluten free dough is always a time of experimenting. Get to know the texture, this dough is soft but with a bit of cornstarch you can handle the dough, rolling into smooth balls and shaping gently.

Remember as with all recipes to read all the directions first before making the recipe. This has several steps, they are all easy but are necessary to end up with a good product at the end!

Multi Grain Gluten Free Bagels
(c)2011 Stephanie Bergeron
*Recipe yields 9 bagels

Bagel Ingredients:

½ c potato starch
3/4 c tapioca starch
½ c Millet flour
½ c Sweet sorghum flour
½ c GF Oats (pulse in blender or food processor to make flour measure out ½ c)
½ c Brown rice flour
2 T golden flax seed meal
1 t unflavored gelatin
2 T brown sugar
1 t kosher salt
2 ½ t xanthan gum
1 T yeast
1 ½ c warm water

Mix all the dry ingredients in mixer bowl, slowly add the water to make a firm but soft dough. Mix for 5 minutes to develop the xanthan gum and gelatin structure. (I'm using a Kitchen Aid Mixer with a fairly strong motor--you can mix by hand if you don't have a mixer--it will build muscles and character)

Turn out the dough on parchment dusted with cornstarch (or starch of your choice) roll the dough around to lightly cover with starch and make it easier to handle.

Cut 9 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Punch your thumb through the center of the ball and lightly stretch to open the ring of dough.

Place on a baking pan that has a silicon mat or parchment lightly sprayed with non-stick spray.

Make the rest of the balls into rings and place on pan. Lightly spray the bagel rings with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.

Let the pan rest on the counter for 30 minutes then put into the refrigerator over night.
Next morning, take pan out and let the bagels come to room temp.

They will have developed a better flavor in the overnight rest and rise. (Remember that these are gluten free and they won’t double in size during the overnight rise—this is just the way it is.)

The next morning, or after at least 8 hours in the refrigerator.

Turn on the oven and start preheating to 500 degrees F (if you have a baking stone make sure it is in the cold oven first and that it gets heated during the pre heating time).

Take a large cooking pot and fill it with fresh water. Add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar to the water and bring to a boil.

Using a large slotted spoon or slotted spatula carefully place 3-4 bagels into the boiling water.

Boil for 2 minutes and flip to boil an additional 2 minutes.

Using a large slotted spoon or slotted spatula - remove to a cooling rack over a towel to catch any dripping water.

If you plan to sprinkle with seeds, cinnamon sugar or coarse salt, do it while they are still wet from boiling.

Then boil up the rest of the bagels following the same directions from above.

Move all the boiled bagels to a baking pan covered with parchment or a silicon mat lightly sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with fine corn meal.

15 minutes total baking time- 5 minutes in oven preheated to 500 degrees F, then reduce temp to 425 degrees F for 5 minutes, then 5 minutes on the baking stone or flipped over on pan to crisp the bottoms.

The bagels should be a light golden brown and have a slightly shiny look to them when they are done.

Now the hardest part—you have to wait at least 30 minutes to let them cool before cutting. If you don’t wait you will end up with a less than satisfactory experience. Just trust me and wait.

Now cut open and spread with your choice of spreads and enjoy!

If there are any leftovers that are completely cold you can pre slice them, wrap and freeze, ready to be taken out, toasted and munched at a later date.

A Yummy Gluten Free Pizza?

2011-07-09T20:11:00.001-07:00

Yeah! School's out for the Summer!

Now I get to be a bit more creative in the kitchen, craft room and the garden--Or just sit on the front porch and read a book and drink iced tea...

Tonight it was the kitchen--

I know that many people think that bean flour is wonderful. More power to them. I don’t. I love a good bean soup but please don't make beans into flour. Ugh! Odd tasting--and worse still, I'm one of the folks that when eating foods made with bean flours gets a weird metallic taste in my mouth--Not Pleasant at all!

We have a few local pizza places and at least one chain pizza location that do offer a gluten free pizza on their menus. Unfortunately, all most all of them use the same pre-made crusts from the same company and they use….bean flour as a main ingredient. Why? I think that it is the protein in the bean flours that they think is necessary.

I think there are enough other flours out there that have quality proteins to help with the elasticity issue of gluten free pizza crust.

We had home made pizza for dinner tonight.

Gluten Free pizza--Chicken Apple Sausage with caramelized onions and sauteed apples.

I started playing with a pizza crust recipe, my darling husband (A GLUTEN EATER AWAY FROM HOME BUT NON-GLUTEN AT HOME) said this is the best one I have come up with so far.Pretty good praise. :)

I liked that it could be rolled out or patted like regular (wheat) pizza dough. I’m also happy that I have more real grains than starch in this recipe too. This crust has a nice chew to it without any of the –Gluten Free- grittiness. He liked that it didn’t fall apart, or get soggy with all the toppings and that the crust was crispy on the edges and still chewy and didn't have any weird flavors or after taste.

Gluten free par-baked pizza crust

Oh, It can be rolled out really thin for a cracker like crust or thicker if you roll that way too.

If you are interested, try it out and see what you think and let me know.

Stephanie’s GF Pizza Crust

Directions--

In a medium size bowl put:

1/3 C brown rice flour

1/3 C sweet sorghum flour

¼ C millet flour

1/3 C potato starch

1/3 C tapioca starch

2 T ground flax seed

2 t xanthan gum

1 T sugar

1 t salt

2 t yeast (instant, rapid rise, active-what ever you have)

Stir dry ingredients together well.

In a liquids measuring cup put:

¾ C warm water

1 egg beaten

2 T canola or olive oil

1 t apple cider vinegar

Add liquids to dry ingredients slowly. Hold back about 2 T of liquid. Stir well, you should have dough that is soft, but firm enough that if you pick up half of it with cornstarch on your hands it can be made into a ball and not be sticky. If it is too dry add more of the liquid.

Cornstarch (or starch of your choice for rolling out the dough)

Corn Meal (or brown rice flour to dust the parchment)

Now, take a piece of parchment paper or silicon mat dusted with cornstarch (or other starch of your choice) put half the dough on the parchment and roll it around to lightly cover with starch. Pick up the ball and dust the paper with a bit of corn meal or rice flour. Put the ball of dough down and pat it out into a circle. If you want a thick crust pat out the dough to about a 9-10 inch circle, if you want thinner crust pat out larger.

Do the same with the second ball of dough.

Let the dough circles rest while you pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

You are going to par-bake the crusts for about 5-8 minutes they will look a bit puffy but no really big bubbles. The bottom of the crusts will not be brown yet.

Take out of the oven and top with your favorite toppings. (Go light on what ever sauce you are using to keep the crust from getting soggy.) I topped ours with caramelized onions, sautéed apples and slices of chicken apple sausage—Oh My!

Bake until the toppings are heated, the cheese is starting to brown a little and the bottom of the crust is golden about 10-14 minutes—I cooked on a parchment paper on top of a baking stone for the par baking and then slid the pizza onto the baking stone without the paper to do the second baking

New Year and New Projects

2011-01-24T18:33:00.001-08:00

Knitted clogs before felting
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00
Happy New Year! Yeah I'm a couple weeks late saying that but I've been doing all kinds of creative stuff and just haven't gotten around to blogging it all.

I have been knitting!! I have been finding this such a soothing thing to do and so much fun to see the projects grow from a twisted skein of yarn into an object of clothing or an accessory. Useful items are such a joy t make and use.

Starting off my entry this time is the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs. It's amazing that something so huge and floppy will become a firm fabric with shape and are so comfortable to wear. This is not a hard pattern if you follow it exactly line by line. I even was able to felt them in my front loader washing machine with out any trouble!

Next up are socks that I knit for my sweet husband. I actually made it through the whole pattern twice with out having to rip out a bunch of stitches and start again. Yeah Baby! That was a real accomplishment. Well, gee, I have to find that photo so I can post it! Arrgh. On the other computer right now.

I made a fun doodle of a lovely little girl's name. She asked and we did a pinky promise. So, I had to follow through. I'll find out tomorrow what she thought of it. Then I'll add the photo of it here. :)

Hey, I hope you have had a chance to get out and do something creative already!
cheers,
sb

Happy Holidays....

2010-12-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

Hum, well...I have been one of the busy elves.
Honest...lots of creative stuff but I haven't been posting any of it as I'm using almost everything as gifts this holiday season.

First, I Machine embroidered a Happy Holiday Banner that is decorating my front porch I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

Here are the Yummy Cupcakes that I made last Sunday for my dear son's 24th birthday party. These cupcakes are made from Elizabeth Barbone's Classic Chocolate Cake recipe that is wonderfully GLUTEN FREE! She has it in her Easy Gluten Free Baking cookbook. If you are interested she also has a web site with lots of free recipes and a paid membeship section with even more!

Knitting, drawing and playing with felt, making gifts and decorations has been filling up my evenings and weekends.

Oh yeah, baking and candy making too. I've been having fun! I just have to stop eating so much of the goodies! I really do need to get on the ball and lose about 20 lbs!!

I hope you all have a great Holiday Season and find time to do something creative for yourself or someone special!

Cheers,
SB

Boo! Happy Halloween Weekend.

2010-10-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

I said something in my last post about fun and simple crafts with very few supplies and really no 'special equipment" Here's a couple pieces that I have decorating the front windows of my house.

Photo by Mark Bergeron

The first is the coolest Owl head.

Just made with card stock, hot glue and double stick tape.

Just like grade school--fan fold a few pieces of card stock paper double stick tape the folded papers fan it around into a circle, glue the face pieces on put on a string and hang up in the window.

Photo by Mark Bergeron

The second piece is a paper lantern.

So simple!!

Print out the design on translucent vellum and tape to the inside of the cut out card stock lantern sides. tape the lantern sides together and either put a wire hanger in the top and use little battery powered candles or put in the window sill over a real votive candle in a protective glass candle cup. (That's what I did!)

Looks cool and lots of bang for the tiny amount of time and supplies!

So do you do any decorating for Halloween? Drop me a line, share a link to your blog with what you've been doing.

cheers! Remember to get out and do something creative!

sb

Oh, Chocolate Cup Cake how I love thee...

2010-10-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well, that title may sound a bit over blown but gee...

If you really like chocolate and you really like cake with twinkie cream filling, wouldn't you be just a bit effusive when savoring a cupcake that looks like this?----------------------------------------------------------->

Warm, dark, moist, homemade and get this...WHEAT FREE!

I have Elizabeth Barbone's Gluten Free Baking cookbook and it is WONDERFUL! I actually started with her Vanilla cupcake recipe and then added cocoa powder and buttermilk and a bit of extra water to make the batter. Then I used the cream filling recipe from her Whoopie Pies to finish these little pieces of heaven. My hubby--a gluten eater ate 3 of these the day they were made. Yup, they really are that good.

I'm having so much fun baking and cooking. Being creative in the kitchen, making messes and ending up with foods I thought I'd not get to eat again.

I don't have a photo yet but I seem to be in a bit of a chocolate phase right now. I'm almost done knitting and hooded sweater made with chocolate colored yarn and I already made a sweet little pair of knitted fingerless mitts in a milk chocolate wool silk blend yarn. I'll see about the photos for those soon.

I have also been doing some crafts for Halloween! Martha Stewart's web site is a treasure trove of quick easy crafts that really can be done with out all the expensive tools and superfine glitter. (The tools and glitter do make it more fun though) :)

Any way Happy Almost Halloween and remember to get out and do something creative!
sb

I think I'm figuring this out...

2010-10-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit quiet this past 6 weeks or so. I have a really good reason...Honest! I found out that I can't eat wheat. Why would that make me be a bit quiet on the blog? Well...I have been figuring out how on earth I can eat a reasonable diet with out one of the basic American staples in my diet.

I have come to the realization that I am a very flexible person, I can learn to cook and bake with new and different flours and feed my family good food that tastes and looks like 'Normal" food. My super husband has even told me to stop buying him separate loaves of bread. He likes my home made yeast bread just fine! Yeah!

So the "normal" kinds of food I made this weekend? Cinnamon Rolls from Ellen at I am Gluten Free this is what mine looked like all hot and cinnamony--

Then for lunch on Sunday? Gluten Free Breadsticks!! Oh baby! They tasted as good as they look. Crunchy, chewy, salty. Perfect for dunking in my homemade Cheddar Broccoli Cauliflower soup.

Yeah, I think this is going to work out just fine. I just have to figure out how to do Thanksgiving. Sigh...

I have already figured out the bread dressing and the pumpkin pie. Those are my two most favorite things that it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving with out.

Now, we just have to figure out with the rest of the family where that meal is going to take place and if I'll even be able to bring my new found recipes along. Who knows...may be I can talk my hubby in to running away to the coast for the holiday and make dinner in the room? Sounds good to me...

Hey remember to get out and do something creative!

sb

It's all over.....

2010-08-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

So, here's what I have been up to for the past week and a half!

front cover of my Doodle Adventure

Pages 1-2 A Hefelump?

Pages 3-4 Mouse of Mystery

Pages 5-6 the Fluter-snoot!

Pages 7-8

Pages 9-10 Wild Wings

It's been almost 2 weeks, it is amazing how much more difficult it is to get creative stuff done with you are back to work full time! But, I have been being creative-- From Unit 7 of the Drawing lab, I chose to do the book. It took about 40 hours to do the whole thing! I can hardly believe it.

I had an amazing time working on this project. It started by making a little cover stock book with odd shaped pages.(the book when closed is about 4.5 x 5.5 or when open it is 4.5 x 11 inches) All of the pages all had a bit of the next page peeking out behind. That way when I drew on a page some of the marks were going on to the following pages. Then, I had to incorporate those marks into the other pages and make new marks on the next pages.

It was so surprising seeing the book develop before my eyes. I did this whole book an an exercise in doodling with a purpose. :)

What do you think? This was one of the most creative things I think I have ever attempted.

Now, I need to figure out a way to make a good copy of it. I'll probably take the book completely apart and scan all the fronts and backs of the pages and see what I can come up with.

If I get it to work out I may even put a few up for sale at some point. Who knows?! Would anyone buy it? hum...

so my message to you is to get out and be creative, even if it's just for a few minutes!!

Cheers!
sb

One week left...

2010-08-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm excited for the Drawing Lab Workshop to come to a close and sad too. Excited becasue it looks like I actually stuck with it and followed through on all the assignments. It has been hard some times, especially since I went back to work from Summer Break last week, and it's been HOT outside and not cooling down in the evenings. I just want to veg. I'm really quite proud that I'm down to the last week of the lab!

Here's some of the art that I have been doing--:) Yup I'm a bit more than proud of myself! I'm not a painter but after drawing this flower in colored pencil following the lab in the Drawing Lab book I really wanted to take this another step. The black and white drawing page is from my sketchbook. One of the labs was to go on a Walkabout and draw whatever takes your fancy. Well, I really wanted to do the lab, but it was 94 degrees, so, I opted for a tour around my yard. Lots of fun stuff to draw. It was interesting to take time and really look at things that I have lived with for several years.

I'm also all signed up for Carla Sonheim's Art of Silliness 2 online workshop that will start in September. 30 days of fun, silly worksheets as assignments. 1 a day for 30 days for just $25.

You remember worksheets--just like in 3rd grade but these will be way more fun! She will be giving prompts for creative projects, things to do in a journal or what ever, poems, riddles I am just so looking forward to this I can hardly stand it!

Hey get out and be creative! SB

Summer Bunny doodle!

2010-08-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

Week Five of the Drawing Lab and I got to do so many fun things. Of course my most favorite was the doodling lab. What do you think?

One of the suggestions in the lab was to draw a realistic eye and incorporate it into the doodled design. I found this to be right up my alley. :) I have been incorporating eyes of one kind or another for several years. even with out consciously doing it.

Hum...I wonder what that means? I'm sure there could be some sort of meaningful symbolism but hey! I'm not here to dissect my doodles just enjoy them. :) (click the Bunny Doodle to get a bigger view!)

I'm sort of sad that the Drawing Lab will be drawing to a close in just 2 weeks. But, it looks like the next ART workshop is going to be on Zentangles using the Totally Tangled book. Oh YEAH! I am all over that one. :)

I hope you are enjoying the last month of Summer. Remember to get out and do something creative!
SB

One Eyed, Two Horned, Underwater Algae Eater!

2010-08-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

Yeah I'm having fun!

This week's Drawing Lab workshop had us doing One Eyed Monsters.

Tapping into our imaginations to come up with one eyed creatures. I had such a good time that I did several.The mosquitoes are out in full force so I made a lovely one eyed monster who wants to rid the area of those pesky pests!

My fourth monster has a bit of an artistic side with a pocket full of pencils and paintbrushes. I Love his space ship hat too!

Have you ever just let your imagination have it's way with you and just followed? It's a fun way to spend some time being creative.

Cheers!
SB

Newest Creative Project!

2010-07-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished my newest creative project! It's a Fun and Funky Collage Necklace. Made with several mini collages that are mounted to Tim Holtz Fragments charms using Glossy Accents. I'm so excited!!

I took it out on a walk yesterday in the sunshine. My wonderful hubby (who is an awesome photographer) took photos of it so I could share with all of you. :)

So, I got the idea for this from Sherry Goodloe she was talking on her blog about a class she had taught making these awesome necklaces. I can't get to California to take a class from her so I asked if she sells the kits for the necklaces. Oh yes, she does! I purchased the kit and it arrived quickly, with lovely instructions and tons of cool papers, fragments charms, and the necklace chain with toggle clasp. I just added the jump rings, adhesive and some of my own images and collage bits and pieces.

I'm hooked and now I'm in the process of making a load of mini collages to go on the next necklace!

Hum...maybe a coffee or tea theme? Crafty theme? Birds? flowers? gosh I have to make up my mind some time...

It's going to be hot this week so hanging out inthe craft room and the air conditioner my well be the ticket. :)

Have a great week! Get out and do something creative today.
SB

Drawing Lab week 3! Picasso dogs and more...

2010-07-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness!

I'm in love with the Picasso Dogs exercise in the Drawing Lab book by Carla Sonheim.

So fun, full of whimsy and you can't do them wrong!! What's not to love about that??

I drew these up and then scanned in to the computer to do the coloring. I didn't want to mess up the originals yet. :)

I know that many times I'll do a pen and ink that I love and ruin it when I add color. Doing it this way I get to play with lots of different color options and the original is still waiting for the final color choice. Are you a person who can go right to the colors and get it right the first time? If so, I bow down to you and your skills! If not, using the computer to help may give you more confidence when you are ready to commit to your final colors on the originals. :)

I hope this helps!
Cheers and remember to get out and do something creative!

SB

Four Eyes! Drawing Lab Unit 2 lab 12

2010-07-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

I'm having such a great time with the Drawing Lab book and Workshop. Having time to do assignments and share them with others is so much fun!

I have been learning things about my self. I never really understood why I don't like charcoal as a medium. I have now figured it out.

There are 3 things about charcoal that bother me: gritty feeling on my fingers, too smudgy on the paper and the skritchy sound/feeling when actually drawing with it.

I have tried using the charcoal pencils to remove some of the gritty feelin on the fingers but alas...I still end up with charcoal on my hands. I'm not the most tidy person while making art. :)

Have you found materials that you LOVE or Hate to do art with? What are they??

Remember to get out and do something creative today!
Cheers,
SB

Drawing Lab Week two--People...

2010-07-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This week in the Drawing Lab Workshop in the Artists of the Roundtable group in groups.Yahoo.com we are working on people.

HUm...not my strongest subject so that makes this a good, challenging week artistically. I have done 2 of the exercises, wrong handed portrait and coffee shop drawings, --mostly as blind contours (not looking at the drawing while the pen is moving). I even added water color pencil to one that I especially liked. It has problems with proportion but you can feel that there was a real person that the drawing was based on.

I included some of the stuff that was around this person to give a sense of place.

What do you think?

Did I do okay??

Have you ever done this kind of exercise?

I hope you are enjoying your Summer and spending time being creative!

Cheers,
SB

Drawing Lab- Artists of the Round Table

2010-07-07T11:32:00.001-07:00

This is the first week in the Drawing Lab workshop that I'm participating in. I'm enjoying it! The first lab was Draw 30 Cats in Bed. :) Here's my page of cats. I am trying to go away from the realistic looking cats and more toward a naive look-- Of course it took me the whole page to figure out that I really wanted to go toward a less realistic design style. Sigh..

I'll be doing this lesson again! I know that I need to work on loosening up.

Then I took one of the little cats and drew it again, and played with it in Photoshop as part of the "Taking it Further". I haven't done much in the way of drawing/illustrating in Photoshop. It's fun! It's creative and I need to do it MORE!

I hope you are staying cool and enjoying the Summer. Remember to do something creative!
SB

Fishy Doodle

2010-06-30T10:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Summer Break!

I'm in a doodle mood so here's my latest. This started out to be a ZenTangle on an 8in x8in piece of bright white Bristol board. I made my string and started doodling and here's the result.

What do you think?? Did I over work it?? I have been trying to get myself to the point that I stop before it is over done.

Kinda like baking brownies--take them out of the oven a minute or two before they are done and as they cool they are perfect! I am trying to figure out that point with my art work, when is it is almost done and need to sit for a while? Have you figured out that for yourself? How do you know??

Enjoy the Summer and get out and do something creative!
sb

My Girl Embroidery

2010-06-28T07:49:00.001-07:00

Yeah! I DID IT!!

I took the last piece of art that I shared in my blog and used that as the pattern for this embroidered little girl.

I'm especially happy with the hair and the pattern on her top. I have a long way to go on my embroidery but I know the only way to get better is to keep working on it. It's so fun to find old skills and brush them up and being them into the 21st century!

I love the summer break time from work. It gives me such a creative boost to be able to get up when I want (just a tiny bit later than my regular work day) I get a chance to look at others' blogs and make comments and to share what I have been doing. I love the feedback I get from all of you too!

Thanks for looking. :.) Remember to get out and do something creative today.
sb

My Girl

2010-06-24T17:23:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking about doing this little girl up as an embroidery design. I haven't decided yet on that.

I actually did the original as a Going Away (Miss You) card for a coworker who is leaving to go help her mom in Texas..

I had fun stepping out of my box and trying a different style. Pen and ink and colored with watercolor pencils.

This is the first of a few I plan on trying out. :) Or maybe I should crawl back in to my box?

Remember to get out and do something creative!
sb

Create Art--Embroidery

2010-06-21T19:49:00.001-07:00

I (heart) Embroidery. I have been working on developing my own patterns for embroidery--This is a new outlet for my creative juices who knows where it will go?...

I think everyone has the ability to create art. For me making time, enjoying the process and doing something original is one of the most enjoyable things that I can do with my time.

Here's my newest tea towel. I drew up the Zen Tangle Heart and then transferred it to the tea towel and stitched it up.

I really enjoyed this project. I usually don't do multiple colors in my Tangles so this was an interesting exercise.

What do you think??

remember to do something creative!
sb

Travel through the tunnel of Chocolate

2010-06-16T19:04:00.001-07:00

It's the last full week of school and we are needing all the fun and silliness we can get. So, what is better than a chocolate sugar high to get your through from lunch to going home?

My hubby is doing a 365 project taking photos and so he first took the photo of the Chocolate Buttermilk cake with Chocolate Ganache that I made and then he tested the recipe by eating the cupcake. :)

He told me that I couldn't take the cake to school...he would just have to east the whole thing himself to save the others from my baking. I told him that he could have another cupcake and I would take the big cake to work. He could have left overs if there were any. :) He had another cupcake and smiled at me through the chocolate crumbs.

Creativity can take on many different guises. Baking was it last night.

so remember to get out and do something creative today!
sb

Creative week!

2010-06-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Oh Boy! I completed 5 more tea towels, found several new places to get embroidery designs, planted tomatoes and had Tea with sandwiches and fresh scones with my hubby this week.

I'm so excited to find Andrea Zuill of Badbird--She's super creative and she shares a new embroidery design each month for free.Here's one of my tea towels done with one of her free designs!

I did another tea towel with one of BadBird's little girl images. It's actually a print that she sells and I adapted it to an embroidery. Here it is:

She's got a bit of the grumps about her but I just loved doing all that great hair!

Finally, we got a weekend with out rain! This is such a big deal here in the Pacific Northwest this year. We have been so soggy that every everyone was getting a bit grumpy. People's plants have either been drowned or eaten by giant ninja slugs.

We planted our tomato plants in pots this weekend and a couple peppers and some spaghetti squash. Not a lot of stuff but hopefully we will have some yummy veggies and not feed the sneaky slugs.

And in celebration of the great weather this weekend my hubby and I had Tea on the front porch. We finished the meal with these homemade scones!

Take care, be well and remember to do something creative!
sb

New old craft!

2010-06-04T19:45:00.001-07:00

Whimsical Tea Towels

I have been having so much fun!

Embroidery is a skill that I learned as a child but I haven't done much over the past few years. I have done some small pincushions and such but nothing like these.

These designs were drawn freehand in pencil on the tea towels and then stitched in mostly back stitch, chain stitch and stem stitch. They were done just like I doodle. Starting at one point and then choosing colors as I go along. I love watching the evolution of the design as I work toward the completion.

I have been doing all kinds of creative stuff, I just haven't been posting. I guess it is one of those things. I work all day with computers and so when I come home I enjoy doing my creative stuff and I'm not as much about the blogging. Weird I know but what can I say?

remember to get out and do something creative!
sb

A Bunny to Light the Way...

2010-04-11T13:29:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun and creative bunny lantern that I saw at a garden and home interiors shop in La Center Washington. It's amazing how creative artists can be. Someone had to actually think of this idea and then bring it into life as a real object. I am always amazed by the creativity of the human race to come up with beautiful, fun, funky, strange useful objects.

Now, I have been busy too but most of my creativity has been in the area of space planning and restructuring of the computer lab in the library at the middle school I work at. I have been working on a space plan that will allow the teachers to monitor the computers more easily, teach the students more efficiently and for the students to stay on task!

We went from L shaped tables that only had a couple ways of being set up in the space available to rectangular tables that are more logical in the way they are laid out. It is amazing! after only a week and the lab area being used almost every period of the day the library feels quieter and more like a real teaching and learning environment! People have been commenting on how much more focused the students are...

We'll see how long this lasts!

More creative stuff--I've been doodling little cards and sewing up cute little felt critters and such in to pins. I may just have to get an online sales account someplace so I don't drown in felty cuteness! I have sold 3 of the original 4 Recycled coffee bean bag totes and have been asked to do some more to replenish the stock at the Nor'West Coffee shop. Yeah! very exciting if I do say so my self. :)

I'll get more photos uploaded in a few days! As soon as I take some of the cute felt stuff. :)
cheers!

Creativity comes in many guises...

2010-01-24T21:09:00.001-08:00

I have been doing all kinds of creative stuff these past several days but I haven't had a chance to get photos of them. So, here's a pic from our trip to the local wildlife refuge taken on Saturday, January 23, 2010.

I love the stark wintry look. It was actually a great day with soft winter sunlight, blue skies, and almost 50 degrees. Between us we took almost 400 photos. (I maybe took 20 of the photos but I like the ones I took)

My main creative outlet this past week has been teaching myself how to do drop down menus with cascading style sheets (css). I have the menus figured out. (YIPPEE!) Now, I just have to finalize the design template, then the school web site will get all updated and re-vamped! I'm so excited to get this completed.

We had a great community Lit Night at the school I work at, with about 300 people attending. Stories, poetry, theatre games, food, free books and loads of fun. I was there doing my best to document it all on the 'good' camera and helping to take care of a few computer issues too. :)

Oh and most exciting news... Nor'West Coffee Roasters Roastery Coffeehouse 8013 St Johns Rd Suite P Vancouver, Washington USA is selling my Recycled Coffee Bean Bag Totes!! $22.50 and that even includes tax. I can hardly believe it.

Finished a fun little knitted shrug and getting ready to start a new drawing...

When the creating bug strikes it just keeps on biting!

remember to do something creative today!
Stephanie

#2 of my Doodle Cups

2010-01-16T20:31:00.001-08:00

Yup, another doodle drawing. :) This time my husband took the photo. You get to see the scale of the drawing here since my hand is in there actually drawing!

I find that drawing the doodles is easier and harder in the big size--easier in that I can get more variety in the sizes of the elements in the drawing, and harder because I can fit so much more in a drawing that I have to work at NOT over filling the design and making it so busy. I am prone to over doing and so I have have to work at not over working my images.

The finished drawing is just the way I wanted it to turn out. I'm so excited! I have a coffee shop that is going to possibly hang some of my work. I need to get them all mounted and ready to be hung.

I'll get the finished drawing posted tomorrow after I get the photo taken. :)

Thanks for looking! Remember to do something creative!
SB

creating but nothing finished

2010-01-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

This has been a week of creating... but not having anything tangible to show for it YET.

So, first I'm teaching myself how to make drop down menus in Microsoft Expression Web using CSS. HUm...I gotta keep working on this as my boss at school wants the school web page updated and to use the drop down menus. It's hard for me to admit that it is taking me a couple days to get my brain to wrap around it. I'm so used to just looking at something and having the understanding of what to do. This is knocking my socks right now. I'm not sure if it's really me having a problem or the computer that I'm doing it on. sigh... It will get done, I know that! I gotta stay positive.

Back at home I have 4 of my coffee bags in process of being made, but none of them are finished YET. I should have them done this weekend. They are going to be really neat when done.

Creating memories is also on the plan for this weekend, we have a family get together for my Father's birthday, Photo ops! I know if the weather decides to cooperate a day trip to the coast is on the list to do too. We shall see...

keep the creativity flowing!
stephanie

a creative couple of days

2010-01-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

Creativity...making something...doing

I like how interactive you have to be in the process of creating. I can't just sit and think about making something forever. I have to pull out the supplies, what ever they may be and just start doing.

I try to not have more than a couple projects in process at any time because I know that something won't get done. I know me and that is the way it goes.

I made a yummy Butter Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Apricots and Cashews last night. Oh My Goodness! Yum! Here's a photo of it.

My dear Hubby and I have eaten almost half of it all by ourselves in less than 24 hours. We had to sample it last night, then this morning it was lovely as part of our brunchy breakfast, then as dessert this evening. I think I'm going to whack a chunk off and wrap it really good and freeze it so we will have some another time.

I also finished my latest pair of socks. :) Knit on size 2 needles using Supersock 100 yarn that is cotton, wool, nylon and elastic.

I was able to knit it no problem. I have been sensitive to wool all my life so, this was a miracle. Now, I have to see if the socks will work on my feet with out causing irritation. I am hoping that I'll be able to wear this wool blend. I want to knit more socks and also be able to wear them.

The pattern is Sunrise Socks by Wendy Johnson and is available on her website for free! They were such a pleasure to knit up. I love that they are set up so you can easily do them on a single circular needle using the Magic Loop technique. I can't get my hands to control multiple double pointed needles so using the magic loop is a g*d send.

My hubby and I went out to our local wildlife refuge and spent a great 2 hours driving the 4 mile loop. We love photographing all the critters we come across. I got a couple really good photos of a young Great Blue Heron that I'll post as soon as I can get them off the other computer. :) We also got to witness a Red Tailed Hawk swoop in and catch is supper (a small gray mouse), we also saw tons of water fowl and a few other raptors. We purchased a 1 year annual pass to the refuge and we are certainly getting our money's worth out of it!

remember to get up and do something creative!
Stephanie

It's been a creative week

2010-01-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Wow!

I can't believe how much a person can get things done when they just want to. I haven't been in such a creative mood since last Summer.

Usually working 40 hours a week just doesn't leave much energy to create. I guess the stars have aligned and it just time to get creative while the bug is still biting.

Since signing up for the Creative Everyday Challenge I have completed 2 large Zen-Doodle Drawings (12x18) and a recycled coffee bean burlap bag into a small shopping tote, then I photographed them all to get put on this post.

I have also noticed that when I'm feeling creative it's harder for me to stop and blog about what I'm doing. Weird, since I love words and communicating others.

Have you found that happening to you too? HOw do you work around it?

Remember to do something creative today!
Stephanie

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

:) Year 2010 has begun and I have decided that I would sign up for the Creative Every Day challenge. I've been thinking about it and realized that I really do something creative "almost" everyday already...maybe this will help me keep it going.

I have 2 loaves of Magic Fruitcake in the oven and the house smells amazing! I'll be posting photos as soon as it is cooled enough to slice into. This is a recipe that my Mom would make every Christmas and now I have made it almost every holiday season since I got married and had a family of my own. It's so easy!

It really does seem like magic when you mix it up and glop it into the pan then 90 minutes later these lovely loaves of cake all golden brown and glossy come out of the oven.

Magic Fruitcake
(posted here from the hand written card in my recipe box)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (28 ounce) jar prepared mincemeat pie filling (homemade micemeat is wonderful too)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts (more is good too)
2 cups chopped dried mixed fruit (we like dried apricots, dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins and currents) just end up with around 2 cups and you are good to go!

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) spray pans with no-stick spray
Sift the flour with the baking soda.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit, and nuts. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until center springs back and top is golden brown. Cool. Turn cakes out onto wire rack.

Easy Peasy and so Yummy!

creativity for all the senses!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-26T17:33:00.001-08:00

JOY to the world!

Having a Westie is like having a 2 year old. Such a joy, but gee they require a lot of attention. Winston is 9 years old and is still chugging along with the best of them! He loves Christmas as much as we do!

I love his comical head tilts and the way he loves to give a death shake to every toy he gets his teeth into. :)

We had a great family holiday with lots of fun, laughter and of course food! I baked way too many things and gave loads of it away to friends and family on Christmas.

I haven't made divinity in almost 20 years, My hubby said he'd really like some so I gave it a shot and it actually worked!

I guess it's one of the ways I show my love for them all.

Hope you had a great holiday too and here's to a happy and

creative new year for you and yours!

cheers,
Stephanie

October has come and is almost gone...

2009-10-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

Autumn is in full swing! Crunchy golden leaves are littering the ground. I picked up a couple a few days ago, and decided to memorialize them in a doodle honoring Autumn. :) I used lots of textures and some shading to give a crisp feeling to the leaves. I really like how they turned out.

I'm having lots of fun this fall as my husband and I have purchased a new camera and have been going all over the place taking photos of wildlife and landscapes. We've been sharing our photos on our Facebook albums. I really enjoy the opportunity to get feedback on our photos, things people like and what we can do better too.

I hope you are having a peaceful autumn and enjoying some kind of creative pursuit.

remember to be creative!
sb

August and it is finally cooling down

2009-08-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

blue bowl strawberries
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I'm loving the cooler weather and it is sparking my creativity! I did this little painting of a bowl with strawberries while sitting at a bookstore cafe. I only took 10 mins to do it since I didn't want to overwork it. I am so interested in details that many times I lose a good painting because I got too fiddly. I worked hard at not working it too much. What do you think??

I have to go back to work next week for the new school year. I need to have all the computers up and running for when the teachers get back in the building. The Summer just doesn't last as long as it used to.

go a be creative!
SB

Now for something new...for me at least

2009-07-24T20:38:00.001-07:00

Now for something new...for me at least
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Earlier today I saw a lovely water lotus painting the Happy Painter did. I followed the link she included in her post and found the photo!

So, I tried my hand at a mostly watercolour with a touch of fine black pen. It has been a few years since I did actual water color paints versus the Derwent WC pencils I started using last summer.

It is VERY small! only 2.5 wide by 3.5 tall. it was done on 120 lb bristol board. I'm actually sorta happy with it too.

Any suggestions beyond the obvious that I need to pull out the 'good' watercolour paper even when practicing would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for looking and any for comments you leave. :)
cheers!
SB

Summertime flutterby! ATC #1

2009-07-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

Summertime flutterby! ATC #1
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

My Husband is now on vacation for a few days and it is going to be really hot out (Okay for some of you 85-100 degrees isn't that hot) So, we are going to the Washington coast for a day.

This day trip is really to try out the new car that we just bought last Sunday--and 2010 Kia Soul in Bright Silver. It will be our 25th wedding anniversary in September and we decided to gt something we both could use. :) It will be his day to day use car but I get the benefit of it on our drives and trips together.

This drawing that I have to share today is #1 in a new series lucky Butterfly doodles. ATC size of 2.5 x 3.5, drawn with a Copic Multiliner Pen on a bristol board like paper.

Butterflies are symbols of good luck in China. They represent the energy of love and a happy social life.

I think that the luck of the butterflies has been with my husband and I for the past 25 years.

Here's to a life as blessed as my grand parents, they were married 73 years, and it just so happens that the butterfly is one of my grandmother's favorite things. Hummm coincidence...?

cheers!
SB

Summer days and doodling again

2009-07-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

ATC swap card #4 finished!
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I signed up a month ago to participate in an Artist Trading card swap. The due date to mail out is NOW! I finished up my last two cards last night and they are safely in the mail on their way to Zengami. :)

We had grandpa Power's funeral on Monday this week, he was 100 years old and still living at home when he passed. It was a beautiful and peaceful ceremony.

I'm so blessed with the family I belong to. We really do circle the wagons and take care of our own in times of need and distress.

Take care, remember that no matter how long we have on this earth, it will never be long enough for those who are left here with just memories.

hugs,
SB

Summer days and doodles

2009-06-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

School's out for the Summer!

I've been doing some new doodled ATC Cards for a swap and here are the first ones that I have finished. They are all standard ATC size of 2.3x3.5 inches.

One of these days I may bring out a different colored pen or add color to some of the doodles with my colored pencils. I'm really enjoying how some of the doodles end up representational and some are very abstract.

I like both kinds, I think I like the ones that I can "see" something "real" in the best though. What do you think??

cheers!
SB

It's Summer!!!!

2009-06-25T17:59:00.001-07:00

I just spent my last day at work until August. I'm so excited by the thought of getting to do art work and just enjoy the process.

I'm going to see how many of the Everday Matters Challenges I can get through in the next few weeks. I wonder how many I can doodle my way through too. Hum...my own personal challenge. :)

Enjoy every day and don't forget to do something creative!!

cheers,
SB

Rainy days and doodles...

2009-06-20T20:36:00.001-07:00

Today is another rainy day and a great day to doodle. I'm so happy to be getting back into doing any kind of art!

This doodle was all freehand and drawn from my wacky brain.

Hum, there could be is some weird symbolism here showing my inner processes or it could just be free association and what ever worked into the design? I'm not certain which one it is but I like how it turned out. :)

A neat thing about this design is that any side could be the top or the sides, it is sort of MC Escher like in a way too. I enjoy figuring out how to make something hat is so normal look a little bit different or special. I think it turned out well.:)

There's lots more art in my head just waiting to find it's way out through my pen. I wonder what will happen next?

cheers and keep your umbrella handy...maybe an umbrella doodle? hum? ... never know...

later!
SB

celtic doodle

2009-06-19T17:27:00.001-07:00

celtic doodle
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

It's a lovely rainy afternoon and I was playing with my new Copic Multiliner pen and this doodle just sort of popped out.

I love the flow of the ink from the tip of this pen. I feel like I'm the one in control and not the pen.

Like I said this is just a doodle. I'm working on getting back to drawing something everyday. School's out and I'll be off for a few weeks in just 1 week!! Yeah!

Later folks!
SB

"May this blog be with you!" Starring Yoda

2009-05-29T18:47:00.001-07:00

Crochet Yoda
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Creative spurts seem to be the order of my life lately. I pull out my pens and doodle, then pull out the embroidery and do that for a few days and then I find my yarn stash calling my name.

This time I'm sharing "the force" with you in the form of a amigurumi Yoda that I designed for my self. I used both Lion Brand Cotton yarn and Bernat handicrafter cotton for the actual doll. The robe is acrylic felt and hand sewn.

I had a great time figuring this out. I took it to work to show it off and one of my coworkers asked me if I'd think about making one to sell. I told her she could buy this one, she was so excited about that. Her kiddo is a huge Star Wars fan, The only thing was I had to take photos first before she could have it.:)

I will be making another one soon!

What do you think??
Stephanie

Sheesh! March got past me and April has too!

2009-04-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how fast the months zoom by when you are busy.

I have been having a lot of fun with my sewing machines for the past couple months. I have found out that Craftster.org if an amazing site filled with ideas, patterns, finished projects and loads of helpful people too!

So here are a couple photos of what I have been up to. PURSES! and bags. I have even sewn myself a new carry-on suit case! Yup, I'm very proud of myself right now. I've also been sewing up coffee cup cozys and wallets too. I think my motto has been "'must keep busy!"

What do you think??

Spring is on it's way!

2009-02-28T20:33:00.001-08:00

doodle squirrel
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

We are now only 4 weeks away from the official start of spring and I am so ready for it.

I have seen so many squirrels lately and that inspired this doodle sketch. It was all from my imagination so the squirrel has an unfortunate cat like look around the eyes.

This week was so much fun! I got to spend 3 class periods teaching doodle lettering to middle school students. It was really great to see the lights go on in the eyes of the kids when they "got it!"

I'm hoping to get the chance to do some more drawing this weekend but if I don't at least I got something posted! Yippee!

I hope you get the chance to do something creative and share that creativity with us too!

cheers!
SB

I'm loving the doodles!

2009-02-17T18:31:00.001-08:00

These doodles are so much fun to do.

I finished 36 different patterns this weekend. A few of them are ones that I may even see about getting made as rubber stamps.

Working in black ink on bright white card is so exciting, You can end up with such graphic designsI can see some of them being made into fabric or like I said before rubberstamps. Or they may just be used for my own learning and end up in a box on a shelf. Who knows?

I really would love to be able to earn some money with my art. Some folks have been trying to talk me into doing more with my work in ways that can be sold. But I worry about making my art in to Work for pay. Sigh... I just don't know what to do, So I'm sort of just making art and I'll let things sort of percolate for a while. Who knows what will happen but for now I'm having fun!

I hope you are getting the chance to do something creative!
Cheers,
SB

Doodle Time!

2009-02-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

I love doing Black and White doodles!

It is so exciting to see what happens when a design starts to take shape. I usually don't have any clue as to what I'm going to do or how it is going to end up in the end. Sort of like real life, I guess. :)

The creative process really get to take over in these doodles. The human mind is so amazing, we can look at a series of black lines on white paper and we can make it look like something in the real world or something that lives just in the eye of the viewer.

I hope you enjoy the process and let me know what you think about these pieces!

Remember to get out and do something creative today!

Cheers,
SB

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T23:11:00.001-08:00

Here's my Valentine that I drew for my husband. My doodle heart is filled with joy and love for my sweetie . We have been married for 24 years and each day is still an adventure. I really enjoyed making this Valentine. Over the years I have hand made many cards for my husband--We even have the very first Valentine that I made for him when we were still in High School--it's in a frame hanging on our bedroom wall.

I hope that you have a chance to share warm feelings with a special person this year.
Remember to take some time to be creative and share t love!

cheers,
SB
doodle heart
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Dream Time

2009-02-10T17:30:00.001-08:00

Wow!

I have finished my hand drawn alphabet. Here's a sample of some of the letter.

Now I am going to have to figure out what I'm going to do with it. It really is amazing to me, when I look at all the letters all together it is surprising how well it works as a whole. I went into this project without any pre planning or any idea of where I was going to go with it.

I'm going to try and find out how to make this into a True Type Font. I think that would be kinda cool! I'm also thinking about how I can go about digitizing the letters in a bit more basic form so I can use them with my embroidery sewing machine.

I have so many ideas and now it's time for me to learn how to do more with my art work. who knows...I may end up with a new side business.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please share!

cheers! Remember to do something creative today!!
SB

Welcome to February!

2009-02-03T23:17:00.001-08:00

SAB letters 2009
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

This is my first February entry. :) 1 month gone in 2009 already! Wow!!

I have been giving my self hand cramps doing loads of doodles these past few days. I actually have been drawing and doodling even though my wrist is giving me fits! I'm just so into this right now it is hard to stop. I have even been taking my doodles to work and doing them while my computer at work is processing.

I have decided to work on an alphabet in this style. As long as I remember that I can do it 1 letter at a time I think I will actually finish this project!. So for now I have 8 letters done. The S, A, B are my initials, I have started doing my family's initials and that will get me quite a long way to getting the whole alphabet done.

Wish me luck!
Now get out there and do something creative today!!

cheers,
Stephanie

2009 first doodles of the year

2009-01-31T21:57:00.001-08:00

2009 first doodles of the year
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Happy last day of January 2009!

I have started scanning in my doodles that I have been doing this year. These 4 are all only 3" each. I scanned them all together to make it quick and easy to get them posted.

I'll be posting more of my slightly larger doodles soon.

If feels so good to be creating art again. I have been doing several kinds of art lately. Machine embroidery, knitting and drawing. Yeah! I'm following through on my resolution to be more creative this year.

take care and enjoy the time you get to spend doing what makes you happy!

cheers!
SB

Wow this month has gone quickly!

2008-12-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness where has this past month gone? One minute it is a few days before Thanksgiving and now it is just 1 week until Christmas.

I've had "the cold" 2 times now in the past month (including right now!) sniffle.

I've been doing creative stuff just not posting much because I haven't been taking photos like I should. Sigh...

Here's a quick rundown of what I've been doing--most of it is gifty stuff for friends and family-- I've been knitting--made 2 pairs of fingerless mitts, and 2 hats to go with them. I've also knitted 3.5 pairs of slippers, a sweater for a 2 year old, and a scarf! I need to mention that I have also been playing with my embroidery sewing machine and made 2 sets of coasters, 2 Christmas stockings, a set of cocktail napkins, an apron, candy cane holders and pencil toppers along with a few random ornaments and snowflakes to hang in the window. Oh yeah , a couple dog scarves for Winston too! (wow, I actually have a photo of that!)

Yeah, I've been busy but hey, I've made most of the stuff from my stash of yarn and fabrics so Christmas is going to be really cool but not too expensive. Wahoo!

We have also been having an interesting time with the weather here in Vancouver Washington. Rain, sleet, snow and cold winds. The weathermen have their hands full trying to forecast for this area as we have so many factors they have to keep track of. We are close to the coast, on a river with the windiest gorge that funnels East winds right down on us. We are effected by cold fronts that come out of both Canada and Alaska. Oh and moisture that comes streaming out of the pacific!

No school today and who knows about tomorrow? Tomorrow is the last day before winter break and we are supposed to have our faculty holiday breakfast. Always a fun time with good friends and loads of yummy food to get us ready for the day of chaos. We shall see... If I can get motivated to do It I may just get some photos of the projects I've been working on and get them posted!

cheers and do something creative today!
sb

white poinsetta

2008-11-19T19:06:00.001-08:00

Watercolor postcard swap! This poinsettia is right out of my imagination. The shadows were intriguing and the spark of yellow in the center adds a nice bit of bling!

I'd love to hear what you think if you happen to want to leave a comment on any of these postcard images. :)

Cheers and happy Autumn,
Stephanie

1 leaf sm

2008-11-19T19:05:00.003-08:00

Watercolor postcard swap. I really liked how this leaf turned out. I'm not that great with my backgrounds but this one turned out looking like a concrete sidewalk. Just as I intended. Wahoo!

4 leaves Postcard Swap

2008-11-19T19:05:00.001-08:00

Fallen Leaves. We are covered in blowing leaves right now. They are a strong symbol of the last few months of the year.

robin snow

2008-11-19T19:04:00.003-08:00

Postcard swap! Watercolor painting of a European Robin in the snow.

Snowball kiddo!

2008-11-19T19:04:00.001-08:00

Watercolor pencil painting. Fun and wimsical. Postcard swap for the last 3 months of the year.

Postcards for Swap

2008-11-19T19:03:00.001-08:00

I've been having a blast getting all my postcards ready for the last 3 months of the year postcard swap. This snowman was fun, I haven't done much with snow because its hard to represent white snow. This was done with watercolor pencils and black ink.

It's almost Halloween!

2008-10-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

I hope that everyone is having a great Autumn and are getting ready for the spookiest night of the year. :)

For the first time in my adult life I have gotten politically active. The Race for the Washington State Gov. is really close So I have been maning phone banks, phoning to support our curent Gov. that hasn't left me much time for crafty stuff but ...

I have been doing a few different crafty things, punch needle embroidery, knitting fingerless mitts and a hat and then finally I was able to get myself to settle down do a drawing/painting.

This raccoon was done from a really neat photo that I found. He's such a cheeky looking little guy and I tried to capture that in my drawing. The bark on the tree was sort of difficult and I'm not certain I pulled it off. I think it needs something. I'm going to have to wait and see what I think in a couple days.

So what do you think?
Happy thursday!!
Cheers, SB

It's really Autumn!

2008-10-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year, the trees are flaming up in glorious colors, pumpkins are piled up in front of the grocery stores and the air has gone all crisp and bright.

I wish I felt better so I could enjoy this time more. I'm feelig just a bit grumbly right now because I've got a bit of a cold and my head is all stufed up. Sigh...

I have been doing some creative things but not much in the way of drawing these past couple weeks.

I've been teaching myself Punch Needle Embriodery and I've made a couple Hallowen ornaments for a contest at Stitch Craft a really neat Knitting/Sewing/Embriodery store in Downtown Vancouver Washington. This is such a fun and easy craft I'm surprised that I hadn't ever tried it before. I have been sketching simple designs on muslin fabric and then using a punch needle tool loaded up with embroidery floss to punch loops through the fabric and make the design. You end up with your design on the finished side looking like a tiny patterend rug. It's amazing!

What do you think??

I hope you are having a great Autum and are getting a chance to do something creative!

Cheers. SB

Whoooo do you think you are?,,,

2008-09-24T23:13:00.001-07:00

burrowing owl watercolor
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

:) This little owl is a Burrowig owl, I really liked the straight on gaze that this little guy was giving the camera. I tried to capture that gaze here in my painting. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

This was done in watercolor pencil and pen and ink drawingThis was done in my folded watercolor sketchbook (5x7") 140# paper with Albrecht durer watercolor pencils from a photograph.

Thanks for looking!
Cheers! SB

Just hanging out...

2008-09-23T20:25:00.001-07:00

pacific tree frog
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Yesterday was my 24th wedding anniversary! I got to go out to lunch with my dear hubby and this weekend we'll get to get out of town for a weekend away! I'm so excited. :)

Today I had an idea about painting a frog image. So, here it is! Pen and ink with Watercolor pencil (albrecht durer wc pencils) I'm pretty happy with it. I need more contrast but I didn't want to over work the frog and lose the highlight areas. I have lots to learn still. But that's why we practice.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week!
Cheers, SB

In to the Deep

2008-09-19T22:21:00.001-07:00

This is the cover of my new folded watercolor sketch journal. It will be interesting to see what it looks like after all the pages are filled and I open it out flat. I loved seeing some other artist's folded books after they were filled and photographed flat as a big collage of their art. I want to have the experience of seeing my own art done that way too. :)

So, I was watching a replay of the really cool show Blue Planet on the Science Channel. The episode that I watched was The Deep. It was amazing to think that so many creatures live so deep in the ocean that they never see sunlight.

I really liked the creatures of the twlight zone 1500' to 3000' big teeth and wonderful eyes!

This illustration was done as quick sketches that I then refined with pen and ink and colored with albrecht durer watercolor pencils.

It's a very colorbook illustration look but, I like it anyway. What do you think??

Hope your weekend is awesome! SB

Have you ever finished...?

2008-09-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

Last page in my watercolor journal
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I have never finished a whole sketchbook before. I think that I actually finished this one because I made the book with good watercolor paper and I didn't put too many pages in it. Only 16.

It has been fun and I'm excited to make a new book and get started on it.

This yellow bike just looked so cool up against the painted brick wall. It was drawn in ink first then colored with Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils. The ink I used wasn't waterproof so I used it for some of the shading with the water brush(this wasn't planned it just happened!) I think it turned out pretty neat.

What do you think??

I hope you are having a great Week!
Cheers,
SB

The last days of Summer

2008-09-08T18:12:00.001-07:00

Daisies are such a sign of Summer to me.

With Autumn just around the corner and school starting back up I decided to try and capture one last image of Summer.

This flower was done with Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils on #140 watercolor paper. I had fun doing this drawing of the flower from a different angle than you usually see.

What do you think?? Any Suggestions? I really need to find more time to play with these pencils.
I hope you are having a great change of the seasons,
Cheers! SB

Harvest some creativity!

2008-08-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

watercolor pencil journal harvest sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today was so Autumn like that I had to do something to go with my feeling.

I decided on Pumpkins and corn from the photograph shown below the painting.

I took this photo at the Astoria Oregon Farmer's market last September. I think I like how it turned out. What do you think??

It was done with Derwent Inktense(the corn) and Alrecht Durer watercolor pencils(the pumpkins) on 140# wc paper.

Happy last day of August! SB

Walk through the woods in my imagination

2008-08-30T15:59:00.001-07:00

Walk through the woods in my imagination
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

After a week of work and trying to get my school ready for the kids I didn't have any energy to be especially creative at home. Today was really fun. I drew up this image and finished it all in about an hour.

My imaginary woods done in Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils on 140# watercolor paper.

I'm still learning how to use these pencils. I'm happy with the composition, I am not sure how to work this though and not turn it to mud. hum...any suggestions??

Have a great Labor Day Weekend! SB

Sunny and thinking of the winter holidays!

2008-08-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Today was bright and sunny, 85 degrees, what do I draw? Holiday ornaments.

I didn't set out to do this it was one of those things that just sort of happened. I started doodling in one circle and it looked cool. I did another one the same page and it was neat too, then the third one appeared and there I was with a lovely page of doodled ornaments.

I think that these may end up being the holiday card this year. I scanned it in to the computer and then started playing in Photoshop, making layers and trying out different colors. I love being able to turn off different layers to see what I am doing and how it it looking.

I still have a whole day this weekend to play! I'm looking forward to Sunday and maybe ven getting some more sewing done. :) I need work clothes and finding ones I like that actually fit is a challenge. Luckily I have been sewing since I was 7 and making my clothes through High School and College. I am lucky enough to have a really nice sewing machine and a husband that doesn't mind me hanging out in the work room several hours. Especially since I'm saving us a couple hundred dollars on the clothes I'm making. :)

Have a great rest of your weekend and remember to be creative! SB

Fun time Friday!

2008-08-22T20:18:00.001-07:00

watercolor workshop lesson 2 rock v3 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I had a fun time with this rock. :)

It looks like the 3rd time is the charm. It looks hard and shiny and rock like to my mind. I've included in the scan the actual rock for this one. :)

The painting was done with Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils in my handmade wc journal. Figuring out the right colors to use was interesting too. Browns, reds, yellows, sepia, and paynes grey.

Have you ever got stuck on a subject and had to keep trying to do it until you finally were happy with the out come?

I know that I get a little fixated on a subject and I have to keep doing it until I'm happy.

I hope you have a great weekend and get to do something creative!
cheers,
SB

Trying to be creative tonight and not sure about what happened...

2008-08-21T20:39:00.001-07:00

I tried to do this really funky rock that my Husband and son collected at the Richardson Ranch in Central Oregon a few years ago. I

It has all these great colors and different minerals in it. This was done in Watercolor pencils on 140# WC paper. I'm not too happy with it as it got really dark and too orange. ( I actually think it looks more like a diseased body organ--ugh!) Okay I do like the shiny blue and white looking stone and a couple of the green ons and the texture on the bottom right side of the rock but...

I think I need to just stick with my pen and ink. I know I can get nice rocks that way and watercolor pencil for a touch of color. I am really not happy with my lack of ability to use just color to show something that is Hard and Solid. sigh...

I'm sharing it because I really would love to constructive comments on what I should try to do next time. Thanks!

Here are some rocks I'm much happier about! All the blue is just 1 prussian blue watercolor pencil with a couple touches of dark naples ochre.

This was a fast sketch less than 5 minutes start to finish. I needed to have something pretty to post because my other one from this evening I'm seriously thinking of deleting the first one! The reference for this came directly from the Watercolor Pencil Workshop CD by Kate Johnson. --This one is loose, rock like and I really like how the trees turned out. go figure!

Happy Thursday, SB

Sunday show and tell August 17

2008-08-17T22:11:00.001-07:00

watercolor pencil workshop cd
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Oh my! This week has been HOt! Hot! Hot! and now this next week we are only going to get to the 60's and 70's for most of the time and a really big rainstorm is supposed to hit mid week with lots of wind and rain. Hum...I'll believe that when I see it!

Today was cooler and I was able to sew together a new demin skort. It has a long enough skirt that I can wear it for work and look professional and modest when I have to crawl under counters and desks hooking up computers and such. I'll be making more of this pattern soon!

this evening I had a chance to sit down with my Watercolor Pencil Workshop CD by Kate Johnson. I'm still working on lesson 2. I have posted the trees and bark exercise. I have lots to learn still but what I really need to do is go out and sit in front of some trees and really look at the bark to figure out the colors and textures.

I will be doing more of this exercise for sure!

Have you ever really looked at the the bark of a tree up close? It's amazing all the living creatures that make the bark their home.

I hope you have a chance to slow down and really look at something in detail noting all the different textures and colors we live in such a diverse world :)

cheers! SB

Wednesday Wanderings

2008-08-13T21:51:00.001-07:00

watercolor journal red tulip field small house
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Let me say right now I really don't like HOT weather. The weather is really going to be hot by our moderate Pacific Northwest standards. We are going to be close to 100 on Thursday and up to 104 on Friday! UGH!! Thank goodness they decided to actually turn on the air conditioning at the schoo I work at. The A.C. has been off all summer to save money. For the most part that is fine but when it gets hot.BLECH! It is like a sauna. Who needs a gym membership?...

At home the little window AC unit is going to be working overtime to keep the livingroom cool enough to keep me from getting grumpy and snarking at my wonderful husband. :)

The rest of this week I'm going to be alternating between looking at more of lesson 2 on my Kate Johnson Watercolor Pencil CD and a crocheted cotton top that I started several weeks ago I would like to get finished!

But for now I'd like to share my newest watercolor journal entry. It's another landscape. I'm trying to do a few more of them because I really don't want to do them. Sharon over on the EDM group at yahoo has been mentioning that when we feel resistance to someting when working on our art it is probably something that we really NEED to push through and work on anyway. I will say that this one was easier than the last one I did. You can see it on my flicker page if you want.

this field of either red tulips or poppies (I couldn't tell from the small photo what kind of flowers they really are) was such a vibrant red with the green fields and trees and the expansive blue sky that I just 'felt' like I should try it out. I got the reference ohot from Wetcanvas.com.

I'm enjoying the watercolor pencils and learning more about what they can do.

I hope you are doing something you really enjoy too!
cheers,
SB

Sunday show and tell August 10

2008-08-10T17:48:00.001-07:00

watercolor pen and ink Fun time.
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Woohoo! Olympics are awesome! I hope that those who are interested have the opportunity to watch some of the games and maybe even create a piece of art or two at the same time.

While watching several different events I had to be doing something too. I pulled out a photo of some trees and a path through the trees and started working on this little painting.

It was done with the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils. I'm learning how these pencils make their marks and some thinkgs got away from me a bit and I had to go back in and lighten up the path in the back by coloring in with a white gel pen, letting it dry and then coloring with my lighter wc pencils. It was an expirement that actually worked! The bunny was added because I felt that the painting was a bit flat and needed a bit of life.

What do you think?

Saturday Painting time!

2008-08-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

watercolor journal page 3 winston sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today I spent several hours with some of my cousins who are in town getting to visit and we had the opportunity to videotape my grandparents telling stories. What an awesome experience!

Then I came home and deciced that I HAD to make some art. I pulled out a photo I took of my dog Winston last summer on a really hot day. He so didn't want to move. I figured that it was a perfect time to get a photo. :)

I sketched first with pencil, then with the ink and finally with some Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils. This was such an odd angle that it was a challenge to get Winston to "look right" I also decided not to draw the grain in on the wood of the bench, I figured it would make the painting look too busy. what do you think??

I hope you are having a great weekend!
cheers, SB

Wow! An amazing week of learning.

2008-08-08T23:07:00.001-07:00

watercolor journal poppy
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I was able to attend the Washington Education Association Leadership Accademy this week. It was a wonderful experience being immersed a learning environment with a couple hundred educators. Amazing.

I worked on one watercolor pencil painting this week and I actually finished it! This poppy was done usingAlbretch Durer Watercolor pencils on 140# watercolor paper in my new watercolor journal that I made last week. this is from a photo that I took a couple weeks ago while walking into downtown Vancouver. I love the smooth application of these pencils!

On my way up to the conference I had the opportunity to visit the Daniel Smith art supplies store in South Seattle. It was so cool! I even found most of the Albretch Durer pencils that Kate Johnson reccommends for light fastness. that's what I used for my poppy. I love these pencils!

On another note, today was my grandfather's 100th birthday! Yup, 8-8-8 was when he was born. It is so exciting to me to think of all the things that have changed and happened in the world since he was born. It sort of boggles my mind. We had about 20 family members at lunch and then more showed up at Grandpa and Grandma's house for cake and Icecream too. It was so fun to see folks I havn't seen for almost 20 years!

I hope you have a great weekend and make sure to tell those you care about what you think!
cheers, SB

Sunday Show and Tell August 2nd!

2008-08-03T16:11:00.001-07:00

watercolor journal page 1 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Watercolor journal page 1.

I have 16 pages in the new watercolor journal and I have finished my first entry in the book! Wahoo!

I took this photo of a bumblebee at the Edgefield McMenimins Just outside of Portland Oregon last summer. I thought it was so cool that I was able to catch the bee sitting still and see the shine on it's wings.

I remember when our son was little he used to pet the furry bumblebees hanging around the lavendar bushes in the front yard. He would always laugh and then run to tell us about the soft bumble bees. :)

Here's to summer memories!
cheers, SB

New Watercolor Book

2008-08-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

watercolor journal cover sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I made myself a hand bound watercolor journal from 1 full size sheet of 140# paper today. I havn't done any bookbinding in a couple years so this was a fun exercise! It is Coptic bound hard covers.

I'll be able to get 16 watercolor sketches in this book. I decided that wasn't too many. I tend to get overwhelmed by too many sheets in a journal or sketchbook. when there are too many pages I start and then keep seeing ALL THOSE OTHER PAGES and think I'll never be able to fill them up and so I stop even trying. I'm working on getting better about that kind of talk to myself

Since this is a watercolor journal It ended up with a watery theme to the doodling on the cover. I had fun seeing what it would become. I used a Koh-I-Nor Rapido Sketcher pen (I'm loving this pen right now) and my Prismacolor Watercolor pencils.

happy Saturday! Cheers, SB

Inspired this evening!

2008-08-01T23:44:00.001-07:00

watercolor postcard gazebo garden sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I was inspired by a photo in a Home improvment summer magazine. The Gazebo and lots of flowers, perspective and greens made it challenging and very rewarding when I finished it. My husband even said it looked really good. That's high praise, usually things look nice or pretty good. so...

Any comments or suggestions on what to do next time greatly appreciated!

Have a great evening(or morning depending on were you are in the world!) cheers, SB

Friday fun time--my last one of the summer

2008-08-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

watercolor postcard portals 3 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

This is my last friday of summer break. I'm kinda sad about that as I have been having so much fun getting back into my art!

I have decided that I'm not going to let work get in the way of my creative side. I have the evenings and I'm going to make them count.

I hope to remember that after I get home from work I can rechage my personal batteries with a homemade latte and a sketch. Even if all I do to start out is the Everyday Matters (EDM) Challenges.

For now though, I'll share my watercolor postcard portals series number 3! It's yet another stone wall entrance to another place...It was done with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Pitt xs black pen and Prismacolor Color Pencils.

As Always I love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment or suggestion.

Cheers! SB

Wednesday meet up and a painting!

2008-07-30T23:37:00.001-07:00

watercolor postcard portals 2 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I got to meet up with Carol C from the EDM group today!

She was in Vancouver for a work training seminar and today she only had 1/2 a day of classes. We met up at a funky coffee shop in the Uptown Village. I got there first and started a drawing from a photograph #2 in my Portals series! Woohoo!

We were going to sketch but started chatting about this that and the other and all of a sudden 2 hours had passed and I had to get home. Carol is a very charming lady with a lot of talent and the gift of making friends really fast! I hope to get together with her again some time!

Here's the pen and ink drawing with watercolor pencil wash. I was so excited to see this one come together . The colors worked and the pen work is looser than I usually do.

I hope you have a productive and enjoyable time in your next artistic endevor!

cheers! SB

2nd try watercolor postcard marbles

2008-07-29T22:19:00.001-07:00

So, today looks like a day of doing things again. this is my second go at the marbles.

This time I went for a lighter and brighter effect. I think it works except that line around the biggest marble. All done with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils on 140# watercolor paper.

There will be a 3rd time and hopefully I'll get it right next time.

What do you think? Is it better, worse or just different??
let me know!
Cheers, SB

Self portrait part 2

2008-07-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

edm draw your self portrait 2 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today I tried another self portrait. I just grabbed what ever paper and it ended up being 140# watercolor paper. It was drawn with just an old mechanical pencil that had HB graphite in it.

I didn't do any real blending of the lines just some sketchy shading and accidental smudges. it was done pretty fast (for me) about 20 minsand was drawn from a photo of me that my husband took from last spring (07).

The only way I'm gong to get any better is to keep trying and working at it. BUT I want it to look like me NOW! sigh...

cheers!
SB

Monday Monday I loved this day....

2008-07-28T22:06:00.001-07:00

edm 29 A Border Abby Scotland
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Yeah, even after going to the dentist I love this day. Hey mom, look no cavities. Just my regular cleaning and I'm on my way.

I got several uninterrupted hours and was able to get this drawing finished that I satrted lat night.

I really like how is feels substantial and very stone like. Though I am thinking of maybe do a bit of a color was on it, I haven't decided yet so here it is: A Border Abby Scotland, I can't rememer which one since we saw several abbys in just a few days and it was 10 years ago.

It was drawn almost completely by stippling with an XS Pitt pen on 140 # watercolor paper. It's not very big only 4.25 x 5.5 inches so even though it looks really involved it is small. :)

I'm thinking of doing a bit of a series based on doors and windows. I love the idea of entrances, exits and ways to seen into or out of a place.

Cheers to you all!
SB

Sunday show and tell

2008-07-27T12:34:00.001-07:00

watercolor portals 1

Good afternoon,

This morning I took out another photo from WetCanvas.com. I'm still learning what the different watercolor pencils can do. Playing with light tand shadows too. This doorway is in an old church cloister. I don't know what country it is in as the photo didn't say.

I did a quick pencil sketch to get the basic shapes and then started in with the colored pencils. The photo was 'really dark' except for the open door and the outside. I HAD to put in a bit of the other door. :)

This was mostly done with Graphitint pencils with a bit of prismacolor watercolor pencil for the yellows. This is small only 5.5 x 4.25 inhes on 140# watercolor paper.

As always any constructive comments greatly appreciated! thanks for looking and letting me know what you think. :)

Thanks Rachel for the suggestion of darkening the shadows! I think it is much better now.

have a lovely Sunday!
cheers, SB

Steping out and trying something new!

2008-07-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

watercolor marbles

I found the coolest photo of marbles on WetCanvas.The light coming through and all the reflections was just too inviting. I had to try it! (and it fits EDM challenge 61-draw a grouping of 2 or more objects!)

I pulled out the Prismacolor watercolor pencils, the Inktense and Graphitint pencils and went to work. I did this in about 2 hours of futzing and putzing. I'm not totally satisfied. Some of it actually worked but parts I over worked and started turning to mud and not getting the right colors.

I'm still figuring out how to use all the watercolor pencils and not using any ink. This was really hard for me. I'm going to try doing it again and see what I end up with.

Any constructive comments most gratefully accepted. :)

Hope you have a great Friday evening!
Cheers, SB

I did it! My own portrait

2008-07-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

I actually did a pencil sketch of myself.

I'm working on portraits after several years. This is the first time I have tried to do one of myself. I like most of it but the eyes are really problematic for me. In the photo I'm looking toward the sun and sort of squinting 1 eye more than the other.

(I actually cheated a bit on this as I had a photo that I played with the brightness and contrast, then I printed it out and traced it to get the eyes mouth and nose in the right places.) I want to learn how to see where all the parts go with out any crutches.

I will get better as I practice more. :)

I hope you have a great evening!
cheers, SB

It is cool outside and I love it!!

2008-07-23T12:20:00.001-07:00

It's a lovely cool day and I'm feeling really inspired to do some more images. It's so nice to put on a sweater and sit on the front porch. I enjoy these times much more than the really warm days of summer huddled in the house with the Air Conditioner.

I got a drawing done from the Drawings from Other Members Photographs DFOMP-5 and it also goes for Everyday Matters EDM 43! so I'm pretty excited to have those completed!

I'm having fun learning how the Inktense pencils work. They are different than regular watercolor pencils but very simialr too. I really like being able to color, get it wet and then not have the color move after if I want to add more colors. I'm also figuring out how to blend the inktense pencils. I'll get better as I learn more.

Thanks for looking!
have a great day, cheers! SB

.

Tuesday and flowers!

2008-07-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

I got the flowers finished that I started yesterday! Wahoo!
these are for EDM 76 draw some flowers. I really had fun with these. I inked the stems and leaves then prismacolored every thing. :) Lots of layering of the colors to get them 'right'.

I figured that by not inking the petals I would keep them softer and more petal like. Do you think it worked?

I am really enjoying using color pencils again. It has been a few years since I really used them. I feel like I have way more control over them than the watercolors at this time. That's why I'm really looking forward to Cathy Johnson's CD watercolor pencil magic lessons. I'm hoping to learn how to have more control with them when they get water.

But until then, I'll have fun with my Not soluable pencils and blend and burnish to my little heart's content!

cheers! SB

Two EDM Challenges today! 24 and 91

2008-07-21T23:23:00.001-07:00

It was beautiful today, soft summer sun, 75 degrees and an easy breeze to keep the air moving. It was perfect to go in the yard and sketch!

I actually got 3 sketches done, the blueberries and the apple along with some lovely flowers that I'm still working on. I inked the apple and the branch then colored it with Prismacolor Pencils. The Blueberries were done with just the color pencils over a light graphite pencil sketch.

So the blueberries are EDM 24 draw a piece of fruit and the apple is EDM 91 draw an apple.

Both of these could have been the challenge of draw something summer because daring to my sisters and cousins to eat little green apples was one of the silly childhood games we played as soon as the apples were bigger than plums! Oh the puckered faces we would make!

And well, blueberries were always a summer fruit! we'd get to have fresh blueberry pancakes, and muffins then freeze a bunch for winter to have little sparks of summer in the darker parts of the year.

I hope that you have some tasty memories of summers past to carry along with you too!
cheers, SB

Sometimes a doodle turns into a snail...

2008-07-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

I sat down after a nice walk with my husband to do a bit of doodling. I got out my white card and pen and started laying down my string.

Little did I know at the time that string didn't want to be a doodle. It wanted to be a snail. With just a couple added lines the snail came crawling out and said I need a reason for hanging here with my head down. A rock magically appeared and all was well.

Silly I know. Not correct as far as a 'real' snail would look but, well, It came from my imagination.

Sometimes the pen knows what it's going to draw and I just hang on for the ride and see where it takes me!

Hope you have a great ride in store for you too!
Cheers, SB

Sunday show and tell EDM 66

2008-07-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

Today's show and tell is a Fire hydrant from a photo I took in Illwaco Washington near Black Lake.

It was so cool, all the peeling paint showing layers of different colors. I wonder how many years it has been quietly doing it's job?

It was done in watercolor pencils, inktense pencils and pen on 140# wc paper. I should have stopped a little sooner with the pen as I think it shows up too starkly. (I may do some more work to tone that down but all in all it's a pretty good image I think).

After all the awesome comments I have decided that I had better just leave --Well Enough Alone-- The piece if finished and I won't mess with it anymore. :)

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!
cheers, SB

Drawing from Memory edm 173

2008-07-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

What a lovely Saturday!

It was overcast this morning which kept it cooler than the forcast, even though it did clear out and get sunny and 75 degrees. Perfect!

I decided to try out a Derwent Spectrum Blue Watercolour pencil (that came free with my new set of Inktense pencils) on a quick sketch from my imagination of a girl's face and head. It came out sort of neat. I like the varitations of blues from the one pencil since I did wet parts of the drawing. My proportions are a bit off and the eyes look like flat disks not orbs, but part of that is not knowing how the pencil and water were going to react.

Any helpful suggestions are more than welcome! I have already ordered Cathy Johnson's Watercolor Pencil Magic cd and I'm on pins and needles waitning for it to get here! (of course I just ordered it today and it's going to take about a week to get here!)

I hope you all are finding something creative to do today!
Cheers! SB

Friday Evening and EDM #2

2008-07-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

edm 2 draw a lamp or light sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

It's leftovers for dinner tonight, that gave me time to get this drawing scanned in and posted.

I went to the Provecho Mexican Grill in downtown Vancouver for lunch today. It was someplace that I hadn't been before and I wanted to try them out. Yummy soft corn tacos with grilled chicken and a beef one. Oh yes! I'll be going back again.

So, while I was waiting for my order I started drawing the hanging light. I though it was kinda cool and funky with it's 3 different glass globes covering the light bulbs.

I will say that this was a big challenge. I only got 2 branches of the light done when my food came. I stopped, charged up my batteries with yummy food, when the plate was cleared I finished up the drawing.

I'm working on perspective, it's pretty good but parts are twisted funny and somehow I added a piece the the front and center branch that's not on any of the others. Weird...

Oh well, it was fun and I'm getting more comfortable drawing in public. Two of the workers even came by and looked at some of my stuff. One of them is an artist and he had a few of his images on his phone that he shared too. :)

If you want please let me know what you think!
Cheers, SB

So many colors!

2008-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

There's an old song by Harry Chapin that goes:

"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun,
So many colors in the flower
and I see every one"

I feel like that. So many colors, and I don't want to have to choose just one!

Even when we look at something like an orange. If I just draw an orange colored circle on the page, it would just look like a big polka dot! You have to add some red, and maybe some burnt umber and then a bit of a sunny yellow and may be even a touch of blue to make it LOOK like an orange.

What do you think? Can you imagine a world where every thing was just crayon box flat colors with no mixing allowed? I don't think it would very fun. There'd be no place for subtle variations, or gradations of tone. Hum...something to think about...

cheers! SB

Something Different again!

2008-07-17T22:53:00.001-07:00

doodle circle embriodery 071708 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

hey there!
Today's post is a bit different. It started as a doodle drawn directly on fabric (white muslin with a small white flower pattern on it) and then handstitched all in black #5 perle cotton. This was all done today (thursday). it's not as detailed as most of my pen doodles but hey, I knew I'd be stitching all those lines!

I'm pretty excited that I took it from just an idea to a completed project in just one day. I am so impatient that I have to be able to do a project from start to finish in one day.

Well, unless it's a big quilt project and then it can take a couple days to piece the top and then another to machine quilt it but that's another story!

Are you the impatient type or the kind that can start and then let it sit for a couple days and come back to finish?

I'd love to know what you think!

Cheers! SB

Just to give you a smile!

2008-07-16T21:35:00.001-07:00

EDM 80 something that makes you happy Girl with rooster statue at Powis Castle, Wales UK Gillian Mowbray photographer.

Gillian Mowbray of The Fading Rose was so gracious to give me permission to use one of her photos of a statue as the model for a drawing. This is the pencil sketch that I did this evening. I'll probably do a pen sketch of it too at some point. I need LOTS of work on my faces.

This statue makes me smile. It makes me think of the joy of being a child and not worrying if the bird is going to poop on my head.

I miss those days...
Hope you have a great evening.
Cheers! SB

Wednesday Woohoo!

2008-07-16T14:34:00.001-07:00

edm 21 draw something old or vintage DFOMP 4-insect collection
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Loving this day so far! Dropped off some stuff at the college-looking at a technology job--Who knows something might come of it. :)
Went downtown and sat outside and drew up a challenge that actually goes for 2 groups that I'm in now.

Oh yeah!
edm 21 draw something old or vintage and DFOMP 4-insect collection. this bug drawing is part of a photo of an insect collection that was from the 1920s or 1930s. so most definately old or vinatge.

I am so happy to be able to get out and draw! I'm sure that when the rains start I'll be just as happy to stay home or indoors at coffee shops and such but right now, the warm air (only 74 degrees) and soft breezes beckons!

I hope that all ofyou are finding something to be happy about today and that you get the chance to exercise your creative souls.

later gators! cheers, SB

My sleepy Westie

2008-07-15T21:41:00.001-07:00

It's been really warm and when you have to wear a fur coat all the time you enjoy a nice snooze on the couch with your favorite blankie and the air conditioner gently blowing on you.

As someone else on EDM mentioned when the dog is sleeping don't bother him. Draw him! so I did a quick pen sketch of Winston all curled up with his blanket. Looks pretty much like him I am surprised to say! My husband even said that I captured him! :)

have a lovely evening!
Cheers, SB