creative jewish mom

How To Add A Dutch Door Cover Page To Your Sketchbook

In case anyone thought that filling a sketchbook was about page after page of blank canvases that are all the same, guess again, there are so many ways one can customize the pages of a sketchbook or journal by adding cutouts! Imagine that? I recently turned a page into a frame for the artwork underneath it, and one can do this in so many ways, with craft punches or simply using a craft knife and ruler, or, yes, quite simply scissors! Another way to customize a sketchbook or journal, and especially a bullet journal, is to work with the idea of the dutch door, namely cutting a page, or pages, in half horizontally, and possibly even removing one of the portions. There are many ways to go with this idea, and I have given the vertical dutch door (not really a thing, but hey we can get creative can't we?) botanical silhouette idea a try, and it is truly so simple and adds interest that is simply not achievable in any other way. A vertical dutch door makes a great title page if you are dividing your journal according to months, or is just a fun way to play with juxtaposition of sketches. I love how the strip of geometric doodles peeks out from the next page, and invites one to turn the page! So lets take a closer look at this fun way to add interest to your sketchbook or journal.....

How To Draw A Camelia And Keep On Drawing Them And Drawing Them......

Want to draw something really quite simple and totally relaxing? Give this camelia (if that is what it is?) flower sketch a try, and if you are like me, you will not be able to stop drawing this flower! I first saw this fun flower on a greeting card that I shared in the features on craft schooling sunday, here, and since it was unlike the other flowers I'd drawn in my sketchbook,  I thought I'd give it a try. And then I added a bunch of little leaves and branches, and voila, a whole page in my large sketchbook came to life! And then I drew more and more and more, and I even drew a large camelia in front of a mountain, which you can see if you keep on reading.....But first I must say, I suddenly feel like drawing this flower again, but I'll change that little thing in the middle to something that looks more like the stamens in the middle of a camelia, stay tuned, but first take a look at the rest of the pages I drew!

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Simple Geometric Doodles

Simple geometric doodles that might also be called, in some cases, origami doodles, are so sweet, and perfect to practice in your sketchbook. Once you've mastered a simple doodle, such as a geometric pineapple, you can use it in so many ways. I'm picturing geometric pineapple placecards, gift tags, notes to kids in lunch bags, you name it! A folded paper airplane doodle is also really fun and useful, and while the origami crane doodle is a bit more difficult, that too can be used time and time again. So delve into geometric doodles, and enjoy, Ah yes, they'd be perfect for wrapping paper or decorating plain gift boxes as well! Enjoy!

How To Draw A Floral Border

Drawing with black fine line pens on white paper is just so very satisfying, I can't explain it really, but you'll know what I mean if you give it a try! And add the relaxing task of drawing flowers and botanicals to the mix, and I could just keep on going for hours, which is a good thing if you are trying to make progress in your new sketchbook! Not to mention that the sketchbook I'm working in now is literally twice the size of the old one, which means more space to fill, but also more freedom to draw much larger. If you take a look at the date on the sketchbook page in the photo above you'll see that it was drawn a whole month ago, which means I have many many more sketchbook adventures to share with you!

The wonderful thing about a sketchbook is that it is a great place to practice something that you might want to use elsewhere, on a card or work of art, and the sketchbook serves as a great place to keep track of your progress and the things that work out well. Lot of little pieces of paper are annoying and often get thrown out or damaged, whereas sketchbook drawings are nicely preserved in a book, and you have a real record or your journey. Enough said, how about giving a floral border a try?

How To Draw A Floral Monogram

Hot summer days are a perfect time to take out the sketchbook and work on drawing skills or lettering skills or collage or anything that feels right! Floral monograms are a perfect exercise with amazing results even for those whose skills are undeveloped. So pick a letter, get out some reference for drawing simple flowers and leaves, and get started, Or first practice drawing flowers and leaves, and then give your botanical monogram a try, you decide! Either way the key is to start, so lets get started, shall we?

Sketchbook Quote With Art Supply Doodles

Inspiring quotes can be a great way to boost mental energy and just the little push you might be needing at any given moment, especially when it comes to negative thinking regarding your art or craft practice! I saw this quote last week and just couldn't resist using it to practice my lettering skills, though truthfully I'd love to hang it on my wall as well. Practicing lettering and drawing together with giving one's self a little pep talk is a great combination, so use this quote, or find some more yourself and start creating inspiring and artful quotes to add that extra something to your day. If you don't have a sketchbook, you can easily make your own to fill with quotes by simply punching holes in watercolor paper, or even lightweight cardboard (I've been collecting cereal boxes for this purpose), and holding them together with small binder rings or even ribbon. So no excuses, creativity is calling you!

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Simple Doodle Butterflies

My sketchbook practice is still going strong, and  I have so many things to share, in fact I'm at least a month behind! So I now present to you, doodle butterflies, because butterflies, whether cartoon like or realistic, are really so simple to draw and look great! With something like a butterfly, wherein getting the wings right is crucial, I would recommend starting in pencil and then going over that in ink, I certainly did! And of course don't forget to draw them from the side, in a few sizes and go to town decorating those wings with all kinds of patterns, especially if you choose to go much larger than I did. Top off your butterfly doodle sketch with some fauxligraphy (fake calligraphy) or brush lettering, if you are familiar with that, and voila, a nice simple sketchbook page is completed, no need to paint or patch over any mistakes! I love these bold butterflies, but I also love the look of butterflies sketched with lots of wing veins, so keep on reading to see those!

Mixed Media Florals And Botanicals For Your Sketchbook

Mixed media simply means using a variety of art supplies together in one art piece, namely pen and paint, pen and collage, ink and pencil, etc. Mixed media is a great way to add color to your sketchbook drawings, though depending on the thickness of your paper you will need to do this with some forethought. My sketchbook is really just for drawing, meaning the pages are relatively light weight and cannot handle markers or watercolors without bleeding through to the other side. (One can always fix this by gluing together pages or gluing a page on top of the bleed.) But not to worry, there are several ways around this and many products that you can use to add color to your sketchbook, even if the pages aren't watercolor paper. Believe me, I've been doing this now for months and the results are great. Best of all, once you start using mixed media your sketches can come alive with color and pattern and even a little texture! And as I've written previously, using paint or gluing on little scrap of paper is a great way to fix sketchbook mistakes and create something unexpected from those mistakes. Okay, lets explore the idea of using mixed media in a sketchbook!

A Peak In My Sketchbook: How To Draw Doodle Clouds

A sketchbook is a great place to explore all kinds of things, and when I came across some cloud doodles that I wanted to try out myself I realized that this drawing exercise would also help me with my paintings of clouds (which I need to get back to, sigh) which I'm still struggling with just a bit. Of course doodling clouds is so much easier than painting them, so give it a try and fill some pages with doodled or sketched clouds, just looking at them is relaxing! And if you don't have a sketchbook, go ahead and draw on a piece of paper, the main thing is to draw, got it? For a closer look and a brief explanation of these drawings, keep on reading my friends....

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Jungle Botanical Doodles

This summer is all about sketching and doodling and filling my sketchbook with all kinds of botanicals and lettering and florals, mostly done with a fine point black marker! I'll admit it has become my #1 creative activity at the moment, though I think it is great preparation for painting as when one draws something over and over, those shapes are in one's mind, meaning that painting something similar subject wise will hopefully be that much easier. And since I now know how to fix my sketchbook mistakes, I'm not afraid to draw simple doodles and sketches in pen, which has been so very liberating. I can't quite explain it, but there is something oh so satisfying and relaxing about filling page after page with little botanical sketches which all fit together some how! I drew this set of drawings while referring to a lovely book (I have the kindle version) called The Creature Garden: An Illustrator's Guide To Beautiful Beasts And Fictional Fauna, though it is not a drawing book rather a painting with gouche book. Okay, lets take a closer look!