drawings

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Nature Journaling

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I have been wanting to take my love of birding, hiking the state parks, and nature photography to the next creative level – nature journaling seemed to be an obvious extension. To break through the paralysis that inevitably happens when it comes to my drawing, I signed up for a class by Jan Blencowe and it has been fabulous. I highly recommend it for beginners, as well as “stuck” veteran artists.

One of the new tools I am learning to use, and quite enjoying, is the extra fine fountain pen that uses platinum carbon ink.

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22 Illustrators

5 Things I love:

  1. Creating books
  2. Making things people love
  3. Giving thoughtful gifts that strengthen relationships
  4. Teaching kids how to have giving hearts
  5. And especially involving others in the joy of doing something creative (because I believe EVERY person is creative!)

These loves coalesced a month before Mother’s Day this year when I saw this book sitting tucked away in a little store. It was like fireworks went off!

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In April of this year my mother had 22 (in June #23 arrived) grandchildren ranging in ages of 17 to a year. 14 of them are under the age of 12, so this was perfect. It even had 22 blank pages!

With a little logistics work, it happened and I got it back in time to present one of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts of all time — from all of them! (This, another book, is now my second favorite – I believe this one tops it.)

Here are some delightful excerpts:

Simeon gave grandma a colorful superhero cape – it was fun to see some of the kids use that same concept on their pages. Kids are so creative!

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Lizzy knows Grandma loves her hummingbirds so she drew one and pasted it in. Several of the older kids wrote notes on their pages.

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