First off, this is a busy time of year for my family. Yep, we just finished Christmas but January has two birthdays, February has two and March has one. Then it's on to Easter but that is still down the road. So the first thing was my granddaughter's 17th birthday. Since I am now in California I was determined to make it. She chose to drive down to her Uncle's in Oceanside so she could go to the beaches there. We started off with singing Happy Birthday, giving her her presents and having a cupcake before heading out to Oceanside Beach. We stayed for a few hours and then it was off to lunch at a local fast food place that dips their chicken and onion rings in fresh batter before frying! They have fresh French fries and make up the salads when you order one. She wanted their milkshake and French fries. After that it was a short ways down the coast to Carlsbad Beach where we stayed till the sun set. Then it felt chilly so we were ready to leave! The kids didn't really swim but they played ball out in the water for a couple of hours. The day ended with dinner at Olive Garden and a drive up to Simi Valley back to their house.
The pictures show the happy birthday part before the beach, having fun at the beach (my son was giving my daughter lessons in beach volleyball) and there had to be at least one ritual "bury her in the sand" job! The fire hydrant was at Carlsbad beach and I just had to have a photo (if you like sketching these things feel free to do so) and the last pic are the sand and sea cupcakes along with part of the Happy Birthday sign everyone gets on their birthday at my daughter's (along with whatever they want to eat all day which was pie dough for Victoria last year for breakfast and a Chipotle burrito for breakfast this year). She likes to make sure it is THEIR day and she is happy they are here!
While we waited the few days till the next birthday we went shopping where I saw this fountain with the girl and her kite and I thought of my online friend Jennifer Edwards and her new book Genevieve and the Kite. Do you see the kite way up towards the top of the building?
I also had to pick out a frame with my daughter's help for the picture of a ballerina I bought from Jennifer for my granddaughter's birthday present. Tena thought the mirror like frame would be like looking in the mirror as the dancers do when they practice. (My granddaughter dances ballet and helps out with the younger children). Her favorite color is purple. How perfect is that?
Then I felt drawing withdrawals so I did a quick sketch page of the fountain in my daughter's backyard. This fountain has weeds around it now but they plant veggies around it in the summertime.
My youngest granddaughter (who is almost 13 but that's next month) made me this frog cling for my window since I love frogs and she wanted to make something. The pattern was in a book but she chose the colors.
So now granddaughter number two had her birthday. We had bacon for breakfast. We would have had eggs too but it was getting late and we were going to Yolanda's Mexican restaurant for lunch. She is the socialite of the family so butterfly cupcakes were made for her dance class. They were done just in time! When she got home from dance we had present opening time and cake from the Olive Garden which is her favorite. The picture I was giving her wasn't done being framed so she got a picture of it tucked in a card. The picture here shows her with the gift from Victoria - a framed photo she took during her photography class of Little Bit's dog. You can see it was a hit!
The next day we baked lots of cake for a sleepover party. It was all done in bright colors with a piñata shaped like a cupcake. All in all it was a successful first round of birthdays!
Lastly, this is what I've been up to craftwise. I am making some socks for myself. It's a lacy pattern but a simple one. It breaks up the variegated yarn pattern nicely.
I am also knitting a simple lap blanket for a sister of mine who is going through a rough patch emotionally. I've already made a mistake and it shows. I couldn't figure out how to undo it so I guess there will be a few crocheted flowers strewn on this when I am done knitting it.
Then, I have joined in on some new journaling classes. One looks like it has a plan to really cover a lot of ground in a few steps each day. The course suggests using a weekly calendar but I am using a composition book. I think once I get the hang of it, it will be a good tool. There are places to put a theme for the month, colors and artwork for it along with small bits for each day. We'll see how I do long term, lol. The second class just looked like fun and I have already learned a good way to map out what I draw. But then I goofed and any good artist will see it but I don't think it wrecked my page even though the rule was broken. For those who don't see it, the general rule is to NOT divide the page in half and with my paint brush, you can see that is just what I did. It was wonky on the palette so I didn't notice how it landed on my page. I will be watching for that in future. As they say, we learn far more from our mistakes....
The classes are: 1. No Excuses Art Journaling (which is a book you can buy and also a class you can take online)
2. Draw Your Awesome Life given by Joanne Sharpe
My palette I call the Laure Ferlita palette as she uses it and suggests it and these paints for her classes at Imaginarytrips.com.
Jennifer Edwards has not only Genevieve and the Kite book published but a poetry book called Words on a Line, and Letters to an Artist. Check them out at Amazon or on her website Jennifer Edwards.
Hope you all made it this far. Have a great day and go create something!
