Doodling and Drawing

I enjoy being creative. It’s hard to sit and not do something with my hands. Some times I knit or crochet. If I’m not doing one of those then I am doodling or attempting to draw. 

I keep a notebook with me most of the time.  Anymore if I’m out and have to wait I would rather doodle than scroll.  I doodle things from my imagination or get inspiration from library books.

My doodles are silly, very cartoonish.  They make me smile and are easy.  Sometimes I make Zendoodles.  Those are meditative and calming when my mind wants to work overtime.

Realistic drawing is much harder for me.  I will never produce a photorealistic drawing, that doesn’t bother me.  If I could see some improvements, that would be nice. I bought a drawing book to help me with some of the basics.  Then I found a drawing prompt sketchbook at the dollar store.  At the price of $1.25, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.  The struggle for me will be to practice and not expect perfection.

Sorry, but I’m not brave enough to share any of my drawings yet.  Ok, as of right now I’ve only made one.  At some point I will share how things are going.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Lisa

Going in circles

 Sometime a small daily creative practice is needed. Something to clam the mind. My current favorite is painting a circle a day. It’s simple and yes, rather mindless. This is the book I am using. 

To do this daily practice the book is not needed, most any art notebook would do. In fact, the paper in the book is not watercolor paper and isn’t the best for painting. My book is a second hand copy from Thriftbooks.com. It had never been used, although that would have been fun to see what someone else had painted. 

I started in March.  No January first start for me. I have a basket of supplies, a few brushes, a few different watercolor pallets, and pencil and pen. 

I also have a chunk of a crystal rock to help hold the book open. The book has a few prompts you can use for inspiration.  Right now I am just painting colors, playing. That’s what I like about this, no pressure, no set guidelines. 

If I am busy and miss a day it’s not problem to catch up. Some days I don’t feel like knitting or cross stitching. Painting a circle is easy. 

January Happenings

 2026 started off with Flu A making it’s way to everyone in the house. Luckily we have all been vaccinated so I don’t think it was as bad as it could have been.  We recovered and then the cold weather arrived. 

I do like winter but Wow this is frigid.

My January project has been cleaning and declutterring our home.  My sisters and I had to go through my Dad’s things when he passed away in 2023. He lived very remote and had hoarding tendencies. It was so difficult. There was so much stuff.  I’ve know for a while that I have to watch what and how much I buy or collect.  It is easy for things to accumulate. Clothes, shoes, and house hold items are not my issue. I like little trinkets and I’m a bits and bobs saver. I have cards, paper ephemera, and childhood memories (mine and my kids.) These are the current focus items. I hope to make each of my kids a memory box and a photo book of some of their art work. 

The top box and basket will be the first that I tackle. Every small amount I deal with is better than doing nothing at all. This is going to be a slow process.

Besides the cleaning and declutterring I am very close to finishing my Half and Half Triangle Wrap. I don’t think I’ll finish in January but hopefully early February.  I’m not sure what my next project will be.  I have several WIPs I could choose.  I might just start a brand new one.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit  Lisa

What’s on my camera roll

My camera roll is a good representation of my brain, very random things.  Most of the pictures I take are texted to my sisters.  Here are some I sent to them this past week.

This is my car knitting project.  It is the beginning of a gnome. The pattern is Never Not Gnoming by Imagine Landscapes.

I bought a cute roll of wrapping paper from Dollar General.  Snoopy in his puffy coat makes me smile.  

 

The purple notebook is my 2026 planner.  When I was in high school my sister would give me a Kliban Cat planner for Christmas.  These stickers will jazz up my weekly To Do lists.

This meme is very much me. If it said anything about coffee or chocolate it would be perfect. Yes, I just take screenshots. I am lazy like that. 

We send lots of pet pictures.  One sister has two cats and the other has a cat and a dog. I might have more pet photos than I have pictures of my children. 

Avi is hoping we left dirty dishes for her to lick. She is not supposed to be on the counter let alone in the sink. We call this Scoping and Hoping. 

Because of the work in our attic Bru had to spend the day at puppy daycare. He doesn’t really enjoy being there but staying home would be more stressful. He did survive. 

These are a small sample of the photos that live on my camera roll. They are also a documentation of what takes place during a typical week for me. 

Thank you for stopping by for a visit, Lisa

What I’m Doing Wednesday

Today I am trying to stay warm. There is work being done on our house and I have the back door open due to a slight odor. I am sensitive to smells, being cold is better than stinky. 

I hope to finish my festive wreath today. Before working on this project I may need to put on my snow pants and gloves. It is rather chilly in here!

My crafting has been small but steady. I have being trying to knit without looking at my work. It’s not as bad as I thought. Purling is slower but I can do it. 

I have been making a tiny drawing a day. The drawings usually reflect something that happened during the day. I try to keep this low stress and not overthink it. The point for me is to do it, not perfection. 

This is a pocket size planner. The pen I am using is a .025. It is like writing with a sewing needle.  I’ve enjoyed doing this and plan to continue it in 2026. 

I hope you are staying warm and have a fun projects to work on today.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Lisa

A Crafting Funk

 I have been in a huge crafting funk. It is so frustrating. Usually I am knitting or cross stitching or drawing or painting. I was given an adorable Woobles crochet kit for my birthday and haven’t made it. I know there is an ebb and flow to creating but the lack of making is driving me crazy. Plenty of ideas come to mind but I don’t to want to start any of them  I bought yarn on Black Friday and it’s still in the box.

Maybe I should blame my crafting buddies.  They aren’t very motivated to accomplish much either. 

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. Lisa

Happy December

 I start my day with a cup of coffee and my planner.  It’s mostly just a book of lists.  Things I need to do and things I want to do.  If I turn my back or step out of the kitchen Avi makes her move to her favorite spot.  We joke she has lots of plans to make.

Now that the kids are older Christmas looks a little different.  I’m debating on not putting up a Christmas tree. The mantle may be all that gets decorated.  It will be festive and easy to put away.  However, we all did get an advent calendar.  They are too fun.  

Nothing like a daily piece of chocolate.  

I’m still working on my Half and Half Triangle Wrap. It is very close to being finished. This is what I take to my knit group or for car rides. I do enjoy the ease of it. 

I hope your December has started off nicely. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. Lisa