Mini Sketchbook Challenge

Last month, I gave myself a mini challenge in my sketchbook after filling a page completely with flower doodles: fill 5 more spreads, each page different from the last. I mixed in some different techniques and finished just past my self-imposed deadline. I'm really happy with the results. Have a look - first, the challenge:

And the page that started it all:

The first spread: first page full of doodled scallops (made with my trusty black Pilot V5 Hi-Techpoint), the second page filled with my collection of washi tape.

The second spread: a simple collage using a mix of papers, followed by a doodled page filled using patterns found in the collaged papers (in roughly the same arrangement).

The third spread: a doodled page (using Sharpies) inspired by a building I saw while driving around with Pat, the second page a signature girl sketch.

The fourth spread: another fun doodle (inspired by some of my older sketchbooks) and then my favourite page. First, I doodled the black outlines, then I cut out and glued tissue paper to fill the bubbles and then I filled in the background with subtle lines (using pencil crayon).

The fifth spread: a sticker-filled page and a sketch completed solely in oil pastels.

And you know what? This mini challenge totally sparked my creativity! I've been doodling and drawing and cross-stitching like crazy these last few weeks. I love it! Now I just need to clean out and organize my craft room so that I can get to my paint and other supplies!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pat surprised me when he came home last night, a little later than usual. He made a few stops and came home with (my dry cleaning and) a surprise: a beautiful card and bouquet of red-streaked-cream roses.

It's funny because just a few days ago my mom mentioned that he would do something for V-day and I countered with a "probably not" since we don't usually do too much to celebrate. But my husband still has a few romantic, spontaneous gestures up his sleeve!

I love you Pat! I'm so happy I get to spend this love-filled long weekend with you!

Recipe: The Best Chocolate Cookies

For our Superbowl party, I was in charge of dessert. So I made my go-to coconut cupcakes (I'll post that recipe in a few days) and these delicious chocolate cookies.

These cookies are one of my most cherished childhood food-related memories. You should make some right now!

The Best Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (1 12oz package)
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup icing (powdered) sugar

Methods:

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips by microwaving on 80% power for 30 seconds, stirring well before repeating once or twice (for a total of 1 to 1.5 minutes), until all the chips are melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Blend in eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate.
5. Combine oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture.
6. Stir in remaining chocolate chips.
7. Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll in icing sugar, coating heavily.
8. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes.
9. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet before removing to wire rack. Makes about 5 dozen.

I'm really not exaggerating when I say these are the best cookies ever. You will not be disappointed!

Story Time Sampler 2015

I love cross stitching, and when I saw the latest year-long sampler put out by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, I just had to sign up. This year, each monthly frame is a scene from a recognizable story - the Story Time Sampler. Obviously I love reading, so it was a given that I would get on board with this one! I think I might just have to pick up each book represented in the sampler to go along with it!

I'm a bit behind as I've been working on it sporadically, between reading and sketchbooking and spending time with my husband (smile). Each frame is also very intricate (which means slow-going) - I already had to rip out a good part of the green frame at the bottom because I wasn't looking at the pattern properly. But here's my progress so far:

I love the pastel, subtly variegated thread used for the frames. From what I've seen posted on the Facebook group, I'm really looking forward to seeing each frame filled!

My goal for today is to finish the first frame and possibly get started on the scene inside (Alice in Wonderland!).

Collections: Royal Doulton

As wedding gifts, my parents and gramma added to my collection of Royal Doulton Dolls (ceramic figurines), bringing my total to 6 (4 large, 2 small). I absolutely love these dolls - all but the small Amanda doll (in white) are antiques as the three of us agree that the older dolls are much prettier than the new ones. Hand-painted and beautifully crafted, they are timeless pieces.

Growing my collection meant re-arranging my glass cabinet - here's a better shot with the doors open:

It's unfortunate that these photos turned out so dark and grainy - it's really hard with winter lighting, but you get the general idea. On the top shelf you can see The Last Waltz (in yellow, with coordinating pitchers, also from my mom) and Amanda (in white). On the second shelf, from left to right, is Victoria (seated in pink flowers), Laurianne (seated in navy), Autumn Breezes (standing in red) and Goody Two Shoes (standing in red, the smaller one).

The wedding gift from my parents was Victoria:

She's absolutely beautiful - the pink flowered dress is breath-taking. My gramma has both Victoria and Laurianne in her collection - they look so cute together, sitting and chatting away. Laurie Anne is my middle name (and my gramma first child) and Victoria was the name of one of my great-great-grandmothers.

When gramma heard our good news, she immediately gave me Autumn Breezes from her own collection:

She's a perfect match to Goody Two Shoes, which gramma also gave me from her own collection - the red dress, the bonnet, even the purple-blue ribbon and green trim. They look lovely together! My gramma chose to give me Autumn Breezes since we technically got married in the fall (though at the very tail end of it!).

Each of these pieces holds special meaning and memories for me - I look forward to many years of arranging and re-arranging them!

Our First Christmas

It's a little late to be posting Christmas photos, but I just had to share this one little ornament I bought this year. I just had to commemorate our first Christmas together (as a married couple) and really liked this beautiful heart I found at Hallmark:

A nice sentimental piece to remember a very happy time!

One month!

It's our one month anniversary today! I promise I won't do this every month... but I just had to say: married life suits me just fine! I mean, nothing much has changed, but we do call each other "husband" and "wife" way more often than necessary ("could my husband bring me a glass of water?") and it feels like we're back in the sweet puppy-dog-love stage again. It's been wonderful!

2015 Word of the Year

My word of the year last year was "settle" - it was the perfect word for 2014. I settled into a lot of things, including (newly) married life. There's still much room for growth, but overall it was a settling year.

I had to think long and hard about a word of the year for this year. I felt pulled in a few different directions and pondered over a long list:

foster
nurture
nourish
simplify
cherish
cultivate
boost
present
provoke
stimulate
advance
challenge
indulge
encourage
promote

But then, as "words of the year" should, the word popped into my head a few days ago after a conversation with Pat: patience. I let it sit, pondering over it, and the longer I sat on it, the most right it felt.

A virtue I like to think I have a lot of, but really I need to work on cultivating it. I need to show more patience in all aspects of my life right now. I really want to move up and on to a new stage in life, but it isn't going to be an immediate shift. We need to work out many things first. Patience. I need to cherish this time in my life too and have patience. The next step will come. All at the right time.

What is your word of the year for 2015?