Plus a white ink pen (mine are from JetPens.com)…

Park you ass on the couch and zone out making swirly doodles and dots all over the album until you end up with this-

(Note: Ink will smear until it dries, so be mindful of that when you begin doodling and working your way across the album cover.)

Nervous about “screwing it up”? I think that might be impossible, but you can always practice doodles ahead of time on scrap paper. The coolness of the design comes from the repetition, so trust in the process and wait until you have at least one side down before you start getting all judge-y with yourself.

I love this size album because it’s not so too big, and it holds all my photos and doodled Me-Mo cards!

A good day.

Nothing big or amazing happened, just a series of small events. Things like:

• Finally feeling like the plague that’s had me on couch quarantine for the last week is lifting.
• The nuclear meltdown my son had yesterday giving way to a cooperative, calm day together today.
• Steady, gentle rain all day to keep things mellow and relaxed.
• An urge to tidy up & spend time in my studio for the first time in weeks.

Put it all together, and it makes for a rather serene day, one that I intend to go celebrate right now with a crisp, tasty cider, something I haven’t been able to enjoy while the crud was occupying my sinuses and chest.

Have a good weekend!

I hope all you have had a chance to share the love yesterday with friends and family. I’m slooowly recuperating from some form of the plague, but I wanted to share a little love project I made for my honey in lieu of a card. I usually do get him a card, but with the way I’ve been feeling, venturing out to stand upright for a prolonged period in a card aisle, plodding through a lot of bad cards to find that one perfect one just wasn’t happening this year.

Instead I made him this-

A handful of card stock, cut into business size cards, hole punched & bound with a book ring and you’ve got a mini book, ready to fill with ooey gooey sentiments of love. I won’t share what I wrote on the cards, but I will say they were all things that I love and admire about my husband.

I had so much fun making this for him, that it’s inspired me to make more. Linda of a la mode STUFF created “Project Letter Writing” this year as motivation for herself and others to bring back all that’s awesome about snail mail.

I hesitated to join at first since I have so many project & ideas of my own I want to act on this year, but when I saw the potential to incorporate the two, I signed on. So for this month’s “project letter writing”, I’m working on a mini book of doodles and memories to send to a friend, similar to the one I made for my husband. And while it’s not a letter per se, it is a little pocketful o’ joy that I’m sending her way, which is the whole point of the project.

Interested in joining? Click here.

The fact that it’s only slightly thicker & bigger than a pack of 4″x6″ index cards (my doodle surface of choice these days), so I can throw ALL of my art supplies (including pens & index cards) in my purse, a suitcase, or grab them to park my ass on the couch and doodle.

I love when things are simple like that.

In fact, I just found a site, JetPens.com, that carries all my supplies in one place. They have my Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box, Signo Uni-Ball white ink pen, and Micron Drawing Pen (#05 .45mm).

Another thing I love about creating with just a handful of art supplies (literally- I can carry everything in one hand) is a feeling of freedom to play and experiment. Because I’m not using some big fancy (read: EXPENSIVE) set, and I draw/paint on simple, cheap index cards, that sense of preciousness about using ‘good’ supplies is gone. If I screw up a card? Oh, well, just finish it out as practice and make another.

Again, I love when things are simple like that.

What about you? What are your favorite or must-have supplies for creating? (And I don’t just mean art!)

“She’s magical…like Santa!” -Jack commenting on Madonna’s “magical” disappearance at the end of the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

I was relieved to see Madonna had the sense NOT to do “Like a Virgin”…there are things we all have to let go of with age, and performing that song is one of hers. Madge may be slowing down with age, but I loved the Halftime Show this year…it was an amazing spectacle of musical fun, which is what a halftime show should be.

As for the naysayers, I have three words:

Black. Eyed. Peas.

With the deadline approaching, I tuned out the “WTF are you doing?!” voice in my head, hunkered down, and cranked out the rest of my sketchbook last week. Because even though there are a bazillion folks out there whose drawing skills are a gajillion times better than mine,

Honestly, I REALLY like drawing. Illustrating. Doodling. Whatever you want to call it.

It took completing this sketchbook and putting it out into the world for me to finally realize it.

So maybe I’ll never draw amazing portraits of my friends or family. Perhaps I lack the patience for that type of in-depth, observant drawing. But I’m finding that I really enjoy illustration as a means of memory keeping & recording observations. I like creating some sort of visual image to help illustrate a thought or moment.What I lack in technical skills (or patience), I find myself making up for in creativity when illustrating: Having a hard time drawing something? Well, how else could I represent that object or idea? Something I drew looks a little goofy? Well, I’m a little goofy, so might as well own it.

For the past few years, I’ve relied heavily on Adobe Illustrator to create designs & illustrations (LOVE THAT PEN TOOL!) But as I move towards projects with a more personal feel to them, busting out some old school art (and office) supplies feels natural and right.

I’m even working on ideas for a ebook for all you “I Can’t Draw” naysayers, sort of a “Shit Anyone Can Draw” primer. Because doodling can be a great way to record moments, make folks laugh, impress a preschooler, or just stay awake during meetings & conference calls.

So how about it? Leave me a comment and tell me what sort of things you like to doodle or wish you knew how to doodle.

(All drawings in this post are from my “In 10 Minutes” sketchbook. Click here to see the good, bad, and my kiddo’s contributions to it.)

If New Year’s is about fresh starts & new beginnings, then my New Year’s definitely had that not so fresh feeling to it. My guys were sick, family was in town, I had my son’s birthday to prepare for, a house still full of holiday decorations…

So I postponed my New Year’s to handle things, wind up sick myself, and take some much needed time to reflect.

My son begins cutting apron strings this August when he starts part-time preschool. In October I turn 40, which seems slightly surreal since I still wake up on certain days amazed that I’m even a grown up. I’m stunned at how quickly these milestones have arrived until I consider how I often I feel like I’m simply buzzing through a To Do list rather than engaging in life.

I gave up New Year’s resolutions years ago, and instead I decided to make “ABSORB” my “word” for the year, because I want to soak up more of my days. For me, “ABSORB” means more active listening, savoring, seeing, caressing and less nodding, ignoring, inhaling, scarfing down, skimming, overlooking, mindless patting, brushing past, zoning out, etc. It’s more “ACTION NOW!” rather than more “To Do” lists. It’s doodling more, regardless of my confidence/skill level, because it helps me engage more now and remember more later.

So stayed tuned…if might be worth a laugh or two.

Or you’ve been diligent about snapping AND printing your holiday photos.

Or maaaybe, my goofy little holiday doodles inspired you to doodle your favorite moments on some index cards as well.

Now what to do with all those photos and mini pages and index cards? Hmm…

Well, you could…

Hang them up. This month holiday photos and Christmas cards are hanging in our hallway on an Ikea DIGNITET curtain wire that I use as a rotating art/photo gallery.

Grab an inexpensive holiday photo book (these are from Target) for your Me-Mo Cards and photos. The green book is holding my holiday doodle cards and the silver book is where all the photos hanging in the hallway will end up at the end of the month. Two little books and I have a season of memories that are illustrated and photographed.

Hole punch your cards/Me-Mo Book pages/photos and use a Christmas card as a book cover to make a simple and easy keepsake. Or turn your Christmas cards into a bound book with just a few book rings. Have photos you don’t want to hole punch? Hole punch an envelope to add as a page in your Christmas card book and tuck the photos in there. Use some tape and connect the pages/cards/photos to create an accordian book that you can have out on display. But only if your book looks better than ours. As you can see, were doing some experimenting with this one.

Have more ideas? Share in the comment section!

Christmas is less than a week away…have you taken time to take note this month?

Perhaps you’re looking for a project for the kids now that school’s out (almost out) for the holidays…

Then go download the free printable Christmas Me-Mo Book I designed and am sharing over on Oh My! Handmade Goodness today tomorrow! Above is just a sample of the book, which prints as 12 black and white cards measuring 4″x6″ each. (Cards print three to a page.)

A printer, a few sheets of cardstock paper and you (the kids, the entire family) have a way to doodle, color, write, and take note of all that is good about this time of year. (You might even be able to email the file to Kinko’s and have them print it for you. Report back to me if it works.)

Stay tuned…my next post is about ways to display and/or bind your Me-Mo Book pages.

So rather than writing posts of forced holiday cheer, or crapping on others’ Christmas joy, I’m staying offline more and focusing on my kiddo. His innocence and excitement deserves a magical Christmas, full of good memories and fun. As a side project for myself, I’ve been doodling index cards of our activities to put in a mini photo album.

Here are our first 12 days…

Nothing fancy with the cards, just some Sharpie markers and 4″ x 6″ index cards, all going into a cheapie little photo book from Target. Jack seems to be enjoying the doodles…sort of a story book of our holidays, I suppose.

We still have more things planned, too- thank you cards to stamp, visit to Santa, movies to watch…Jack’s friends are coming over for a little Christmas party of cocoa and cookie consuming, gingerbread house constructing, and ornament painting. And while the children have fun frolicking and trashing the house, the moms and I will sit out on the lanai and enjoy some coffee…with a bit of Baileys.

To finding holiday cheer wherever you can,
Nicole