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How to Use your Apple Drawings for a Card
The fall flavors continue … and will continue (for me, at least) as the weather gets chillier, the leaves begin to change, and all things cozy become normal again. I love summer and warm weather, and I want it to last forever. There is a part of me that gets sad as the days shorten into winter. But another cozy part of me loves fall just as much with its crisp temperatures and comforting flavors. I just can’t dwell too much on winter coming. Winter can get very long. As I think about fall coziness, I’m also combing my brain for new fall designs. Some will be cards this year,…
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How to Draw Lavender with Watercolor Techniques
I recently tried my hand at a little soap making. My son was brainstorming ways to make extra money. He loves to make things with his hands and came up with the soap idea. I tried and tried to have time to learn about it to see if it was a good option. We ordered some supplies and gave it a go … months later. We tried several recipes and several scents to see what we liked and what we didn’t like. I am so glad I tried it! We now have soap for the next year (a little overboard? nah!). Homemade soap is so nice on your skin, you…
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How to Draw Doodles on an Elephant Drawing
It’s time to start thinking about spring. Can you feel it? Winter is coming to an end. The sun feels a little warmer, the wind doesn’t bite as hard, and those days are getting longer. And that calls for something a little colorful and fun. Want to try an elephant? All dolled up to celebrate? That seems fitting. This week, we’ll search out our playful side to decorate an elephant drawing with some colorful doodles. This tutorial is a little more involved than some of the tutorials you find here. It will be just as fun but might take a little longer. As you paint, draw, and doodle, think about…
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Easy Drawings for Plant Labels
As summer approaches, we add to our garden and patio plants weekly. Plants often inspire my drawings and watercolor, and the outdoors teem with inspiration right now. Strawberry plants bloom, tomatoes and peppers wait for the day they become fresh salsa, lavender promises blooms and aroma while chives and parsley offer deliciousness sprinkled over food … I could go on and on. This week, we’ll turn this inspiration into easy drawings for plant labels. After drawing, painting, and lettering them, you can use them to decorate indoor plants or gift them with a plant. (These markers are for indoor use only, as they are not waterproof.) We may get our…
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Lettering Tulips
My family and I live in the country, so this time of year when the days are sunny and starting to warm, the outside beckons to me. It’s not enough to work at my desk and look outside. That just makes me feel cooped up. I want to be out there in the growing grass and warm breeze, 40s or lower 50s (I know, but it’s warm to me right now). Still … there is work to be done. During those times, I need a little more spring inside. In the last tutorial, we painted bright spring butterflies (if you missed it, you can find the tutorial here), so this…
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Tulip Drawing with a Loose Watercolor Blend Technique
Tulip drawing. Who can resist tulips? Or flowers in general? When the weather turns warm, I throw the windows open, cut whatever flowers bloom and let the outside in. When I stop to paint, the same thing happens, the outside comes inside in the form of flowers. I gravitate to painting them just like the weather gravitates to warmth. Today, I want to share with you another way to use one of those Watercolor Techniques we learned about several posts ago. I called it the multi-colored splot technique. It’s very wet, allows for blooming (some people avoid blooming, but I love it), and it can add a lovely looseness to…
