Sketchbook: teapots (sort of)

Sketchbook: spoons...

This month´s theme in the Sketchbook Challenge is everyday objects, and this made me think of spoons... It is quite an inspiring topic for SAHM, because I had always thought I had to put off learning watercolours and drawing until my kids were way older. Its nice to try looking for things around the house for inspiration.

Another gratuitous picture of the view from our old house, Wellington Harbour, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand.

Chickens and socks

I´ve stumbled across the Sketchbook Challenge webpage, and decided to have a go at that, time permitting. It fits in nicely with my working through the Water Paper Paint book by Heather Smith Jones, and the Drawing Lab book by Carla Sondheim. Above is a picture of one of today´s entries.

If I´ve understood this month´s Sketchbook Challenge theme correctly, it is about everyday things. So I´ve chosen socks. Or more precisely, in our house, our collection of individual ¨sock¨ singulars. Our washing machine never eats a pair, only one of each. Mustn´t want to get fat or something. I´m currently working on the ¨Working Wet onto Dry¨ exercise in the Water Paper Paint book, and this made me think about socks too (overpainting different colour socks).

Whanganui River, North Island, new Zealand

Pen and Watercolour drawings

I got the Water Paper Paint book by Heather Smith Jones for my birthday, so I´ve been experimenting with some india ink & watercolour sketches.


I´m still trying to find my own style for drawing kids. I´d also like to draw in a way that is translatable to linocuts. In the meantime I´ve had a go at drawing in the style of some of the kid´s books I´ve seen.



The plant on our table outside. Not sure what kind of plant it is. Some kind of succulent or other...

A small attempt at the Working Wet onto Dry exercise at the top from the Water Paper Paint book.

River near Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand

Stone Dominoes

My good friend Jellyspec lent me the magazine Good Things for Kids and it had painted stone dominoes in it. So I collected some pebbles from Otaki Beach and had a go at it. The pebbles are very tiny and flat, only about 3/4 inch long, if that. The white marks are made with a white paint-craft pen.

Porangahau Beach, North Island, New Zealand

Handprinted Checkers/Draughts Game

Yay! I´ve finally finished my hand printed, handmade checkers/draughts game. The pics are a bit unclear and I´ll put up better pics soon. The board is calico fabric, with the squares stamped.

One picture shows the beanbags main side, and the other shows the other beanbag side which is used when you king a piece. The beanbags are made from fabric, which has been hand-printed with hand-carved stamps I made from linoleum.

I´m really happy with it and there were lots of creative steps in it. I enjoyed carving the linocut stamps and figuring out the colours. There wasn´t a huge amount of work in it, but it took quite a long time to do, fitting it around work and kids.


My husband even played a game with me last night, and I won (I think he might have let me win). Here is a pic of him playing against our cat, Tess.

Kapiti Beach looking towards the South Island, Kapiti Coast, North Island, New Zealand

Critter socks for my son

My son asked me knit something for him. They only pattern I could find for his size was the Critter Socks in Wendy Knits Toe Up Socks for the Whole Family book. I didn´t do the pattern though as the wool was already variegated. He is not really into knitted things, but I think it was the thought that counts. Son Number Two might like them when he gets to that size...