Smallest Sketch Kit

I promised this a long time ago. Here it is! I finally made my smallest watercolor sketch kit. No paint in it yet. I'm still trying to decide what I want to use. I need to do it soon because I started carrying a purse instead of a backpack and the big sketchbook is getting left behind. This is 3x5 cards with some variety papers included. I used my Stampin' Up spiral punch to punch the cards. Then I made the rings by laminating cardboard cereal box circles and coloring them with a Sharpie. The cover is some junk mail card that I stamped and embossed.

The punch is very handy. I use it to add a variety of papers to my Bienfang, Aquabee and Pentalic journals. Most double wire bound spiral notebooks with a spacing of 1/2 inch will work with this punch.

I am a Stampin' Up demonstrator and if you like the punch you can buy it for $10.95 on my website here: http://www.dawnhubble.stampinup.net

The On Board Art journals are great too. They have cardstock pages and I really like using them with just about any media. Really wet washes will warp a little and it doesn't take a lot of scrubbing but light washes are fine. They are better than my 3x5 cards. I'm going to use the Stampin' Up cardstock for my next little book.

Pair of Pears

I had so much fun in this watercolor class with Linda Peterson. . .

*Not* Altoids Mint Tin Pocket Palette - for Watercolor or Gouache

Update to this post: After using this for a while the paint cracked and I just put new paint in straight out of the tube and let it dry --- sometimes simple is best.

It has been a long time since I posted anything . . . I had no idea. Life is going by so fast and that is just another good reason to record some of it by sketching. My son wanted to go by a garage sale last weekend to pick up some origami paper a friend told him about. The nice boy, who just graduated from college, was selling a mostly unused set of gouache paints for $5.00. I picked them up and decided it was time to make the mint tin pocket palette.

Here's mine:
I used the screw caps from cartons of milk and stuck them in to the tin with craft glue dots I use for scrapbooking. I read that others are using pop bottle caps and sticking them in with sticky-tack or poster putty. This is not an Altoids tin but it is the same size.

I painted the inside of the lid with appliance touch-up enamel and let that dry overnight. After the caps were secure in the tin, I put one drop of clove oil in each cap to retard mold in the paints. I read about that online somewhere and I had some so . . . in it went.

Then I put in one drop of honey to help keep them semi-moist. I heated the honey a little to get a smaller drop and make it mix more easily. Then added enough filtered water to cover the bottom of the cap before I squeezed the paint in. I stirred it until smooth with a toothpick. Actually I put the paint in first with the yellow. I learned that it works a lot better to put water in the bottom of the cap and then the paint. The ones I did that way didn't get air bubbles and they mixed to a smooth consistancy with a lot less effort.


I haven't painted the top black but will soon. I always wanted that bijou box but couldn't see spending the money. I liked this black tin because it made me think of the neat little box I saw and didn't buy. I really had fun making this and will make others. This one is gouache. I will probably want one with an old master's palette to play with and use for value studies. I already have a piece of red acetate for viewing values to fold up and put in that kit. I have a mini-mini I want to make up too. I'll post pictures as I finish the others.

Sketchbook Gift Tag or Christmas Ornament

I made this for a card swap. It's the first time in a long time that I invented one from the ground up. I usually look through books and internet pages to get ideas and inspiration. This one was inspired by the cute little watercolor set and the swap theme "Gift Tags." I was compelled to use the party favor in some way. I kept waking up in the middle of the night with ideas. It feels silly to lay awake at night working on something in my head, but it feels good too. Worrying never helps, but being creative does . . .

Evening Entertainment

While in the motel in the evening last week I entertained myself by sketching a flower I picked in the parking lot and painting the painted hills from memory. This landscape is one I seem to always play with when I want to try any new media.

Trapped in a Meeting

I was in a long meeting one day last week and sketched these while I listened: some imaginary flowers and a few pens from my bag.

Crayola and Derwent Watercolor Pencils

Just some samples here. Crayola on the left and Derwent on the right.

Polka Dot Plant - EDM #76 Showy Foliage

I had the best time mixing this green!

An Ear - EDM #79

This was such an interesting ear ring. She was very kind to pose for me.

Coffee Cup - EDM #4

This is a coffee cup I drew at a meeting I went to recently. EDM #4. I think I overworked it but it was fun to play with the hightlights and reflections. It may be the first time that I really saw those. I remember seeing the reflections of the people sitting behind me and suddenly realizing that I had never really looked that close before.

My Bag - EDM #3

This is the bag I carry with me everywhere. It is my EDM challenge #3.

My Watercolor Sketch Kit

This is the watercolor sketch kit I am using now. It is a Koi Field Sketch Box. It measures 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 7/8". I added a piece of a Monolith 2b pencil, a piece of a while vinyl eraser, a sharpener and close it with a half of a paper towel folded in the top. I also carry my sketchbook and any one of a number of black pens. Sometimes I use a permanent pen and sometimes I want the ink to run. I like the way these colors mix, they seem higher quality to me without the high cost. I have the Cotman Compact Set but I kept fighting to get the lid open, it's too bulky to fit into the pocket of my purse where this one lives, and it didn't hold the extras. This one is just right.

EDM #29 - Draw something architectural or anything else.

How about a bridge? Today my husband and I rode our motorcycles to a local state park and found a nice quiet picnic table across this bridge where we sat down to sketch.

We had been silently sketching away for less than 10 minutes when this group of people wandered over and stood right in the middle of the bridge to visit. It struck us as very funny and we laughed as we tried to get looks at parts of the bridge while they stayed put, very much enjoying their time together. We enjoyed it too -- twisted perspective and all.

A photo of the bridge with all the people is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnabelle/233463168/

Somewhere New - Landscape on a Business Card

I was out of town last week so I was sketching somewhere new all week, but sketching somewhere new had a different meaning for me with these little projects.




And, here's the real "Draw somewhere new" challenge - my favorite bus driver of the trip. She chattered away entertaining us and was completely sweet and helpful to a young man who was lost and late for dinner with his dad. It was a bit of a chore to draw this on a moving bus without getting queasy. I kept having to look out of the window for little bits at a time.

Trees and Fence

I penned some of this while waiting for a ride outside work. The next morning we sat at breakfast with crayons and scribbled away.

Sketch-a-Day

Here is my sketch-a-day for August so far. This is more fun than I expected it to be. I'm using Prismacolor markers that I bought on Ebay. It is an interesting exercise to draw a chunky picture in a 1 5/8" square. It's true that even when many aren't good, together they are fun. Even better when I squint :-)