Ink drawing Printables.

I recently took part in a challenge set by Nik the Booksmith called the Deserted Island Challenge. I had such fun making the journal using very limited supplies.

I had to get resourceful and I used a sharpie pen to make several drawings which I used as journaling cards within the journal.

I have made these available as free printables for your personal use.

To download the images, 

CLICK HERE.

(I recommend printing about a 4 x6 inch image for the best quality.)

Here are some examples of how you could use them...

Much Love.

xxx

Cosy

After bemoaning the weather and how warm it's been in October, the weather today seems more autumnal. It's a bit colder, it's raining and there are leaves on the ground.  I love it, it feels like the right order of things. This has got me thinking about being all cosy and snuggly in twinkly, candlelit rooms. (Although I also have twinkly, candlelit rooms in summer. I have twinkly lights all year round! Life has got to have twinkly lights in it!)

I think it's important to acknowledge the seasons and embrace the season you're in. (This pertains to a wider life context too.)

So despite the fact that the shops are already full of Christmas paraphernalia, I'm determined to live in the present and to enjoy everything that autumn offers.

I've been making the flat feel more cosy. I've become obsessed with crochet again and my journals have taken on a distinctly cosier feel.

 So here's to embracing autumn and all the beauty it has to offer. 

Much love.

xxx

Printable Faces

 I spent the whole of last month drawing and painting faces, and I had the idea to create a few faces that could be used as printables for others to use in their journals.

So to that end I have created a couple of freebies, and the idea is that you can download them and adapt them however you want for use in your personal journals, as tip-ins, journaling cards or as pieces of art.

These images are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. 

The copyright remains solely with me, and the images may not be used for any commercial purposes, including use in any journals you are going to sell.

Thanking you Kindly :)

These images can be used in a number of ways, depending on the printer you use. 

If you have an inkjet printer, then using watercolours would not work so great as the ink will run, but you can use colouring pencils, markers, pastels etc, basically stuff that doesn't require water.

If you have a laser printer, then I think you can use watercolours or watered down paints. 

Basically try and see what works for you.

CLICK HERE to Download Printable Girl 1

CLICK HERE to Download Printable Girl 2

Here are some examples of how I adapted these images.

For these two I used colouring pencils and collage elements..

Even though I printed these out with an inkjet printer, I did manage to use acrylic paints on these next two pieces without any problems...

You can also use the space in the hair for your journaling...

So have fun, enjoy and happy journaling!

Much love.

xxx

Painting Faces

I spent the month of March painting faces in my journal. I've always wanted to be better at drawing/painting faces and I figured that spending a month drawing or painting a face everyday would be a good practice to do.
I found it a bit more of a challenge to stick to than the birds in February.
I think painting a face is a bit more involved, but all in all, I stuck to it, although I did spend some days playing catch up.

This is what my desk looked like most days...

So here are some of the faces in my March Journal...

I'm really glad that I spent the month drawing/painting faces. It opened my eyes to look at people around me differently. Its' funny how if you spend long enough doing something, it transforms your perspective. I began to see beauty in every face and to appreciate features in a way that I hadn't done before. I also discovered more of my own style and became much braver with expressing it. 

And that's a really good thing.

 I have a full flipthrough of my March journal up on my youtube channel. 

To view it , click on this link: https://youtu.be/TVzy68NiL1I.

With much love.

xxx

Painting Birds

I spent the whole month of February drawing and painting a bird in my journal every day. I did the same with flowers in January. So the idea was that next to my writing everyday, I would draw/paimt a picture of a bird.

This practice has been hugely enjoyable but more than that, I found such moments of peace and calm in my day.

I love birds, I love that they wake up each morning and sing a pretty tune. It's in their nature to spread beauty to the world around them just by virtue of being themselves. 

I decided to spend the whole month painting songbirds because I love what they represent.

Here are some of the birds I painted. They are all painted with watercolours.

I'm so glad I spent the whole month painting birds, I got better at painting them and I found such peace doing so. I also went through a process of thinking about being more authentically myself and how, in allowing that to happen, I will spread beauty and sing my song more fully, to the world around me, just like a bird does.

I have a full flip through of my Feb journal up on my youtube channel, Here is the link if interested:
https://youtu.be/o45juIXyRm8

Much love.

xxx

Happy beginnings.

I love beginnings. It's the beginning of a new year and I love the feeling of starting afresh and the opportunity for change that each new year brings. It was also my birthday last week and it was lovely to celebrate the threshold into another year.

This year I would like to build on all that I started last year with my business and I would like to delve further into creativity; to find joy in the simplest creative activity.

To that end, I've started a new way of journaling, one that is super simple and feels sustainable. I've been really inspired by Ali Brown and her style of journaling and the joy that she releases through her process.

So each day I sit at my desk and do a really simple watercolour. It doesn't have to be anything specific, just the simple application of paint, water and colour to the page, and when this has dried, I journal next to it or over it.

I'm really enjoying doing this and it means that there's no pressure to be perfect and I don't get overly attached to any picture. This simple practice, albeit only a week in, has been so good for my soul. I feel awake, inspired and I'm practising a new kindness and grace with my art and my ability (or non ability) as the case may be. For this process, I'm using a simple A5 insert which fits into my travellers notebook. It's an A5 sketchbook and I collaged the cover. The paper inside is sturdy enough to take watercolour or collage, and the pages are blank so I can, write, draw or whatever.

I'm aiming to have one insert per month. 

This is January's insert.

I also made a small art insert for my A5 traveler's notebook. It's made with thick watercolour paper which I stitched together into a booklet. I love the simplicity of it and how non pressured it feels to make art in it because its just a small insert, rather than a full blown art journal.

My focus this month is on flowers.

I've also been art journaling. 

After the holidays, I felt very unmotivated to create and didn't have much focus. So just before New Year's I started painting in my art journal to try to get my head in gear and my heart in a good place. It's working and I will continue with this practice regularly.

So here's to the year ahead. To practising kindness towards ourselves and our creativity.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and the very and most wonderful best for 2018.

Much love.

xxx