100 days of Ditsy doodles

What's this? A post...an actual post not involving desktop calendars? Well heck!

That's right, today I thought I'd share a creative challenge that I set myself. I'm drawing 100 days of Ditsy doodles, and sharing them on my Instagram account with the hashtag #100daysofditsydoodles.

I've seen a lot of these on Instagram where, for a set number of days, you commit to creating/doing something every day, and sharing it on your feed with your followers.

I've a track record of being horrendous at sticking with challenges (through self sabotage, usually) but thought, what the hey, I've nothing to lose, and only good things to gain.

Good things? Why yes :)
- regular material to post (sometimes finding something to share is like walking into a brick wall)
- the satisfying feeling of sticking with something for a set period of time (I have never given anything up for Lent/dry January etc)
- seeing how I fare when faced with self inflicted deadlines and guidelines
- improving my motivation to create, post, share and inspire
- seeing whether my style develops over the 100 days; whether themes appear (the first 15 days have been firmly based in the realm of botanicals and florals!)
- finding out what gives me joy to draw, and what leaves me flat and a smidge curmudgeonly (the flower for 14/100...ugh! A lesson in not over working and over thinking, and relaxing into the flow of mindless - ooh a little controversial perhaps - drawing and mark making)
- playing with different tools/materials/pens - using colour rather than purely black ink on white*
* read, 'Sarah's happy safe comfort zone and favourite place to play'

So here's a little round up of 1 - 10 and I'll share 11- 20 once I've passed that point.

If you'd like to see the doodles as they are posted, you can find me on Instagram as @ditsybird...do say hi if you pop over!

If you've got any questions about the doodles/sketches - eg pens/sketchbook etc, do please ask.

Cheerio for now,

Sarah
♡

Snatched moments of creativity

Recently I've found myself spending more time on the behind the scenes areas of Ditsy Bird, than on the actual creative side - developing my tech skills; scanning in designs; planning; organising my storage and filing of my digital designs; working on streamlining processes and so on.
This has meant that I'm spending less time drawing and painting than I would like, and have been finding ways to snatch back some time to get creative.

Sofa doodling is an absolute favourite of mine!
I have a lap tray that lives under the end of the sofa nearest to the lamp, and you will often find me sat there late in the evening, cross legged, sketchbook on tray and pen in hand.

It's not brilliant for my posture, but is wholly necessary for my mind - a little art therapy goes a long way to relaxing the shoulders, unclenching my jaw, and silencing the brain chatter.
I tend to do this when we're watching (I use this term loosely as far as what I'm doing is concerned) something that doesn't require my full attention...what I like to call soufflé telly - looks good but is mostly wind and puff.

I suppose I use the film or whatever is on, more as an audiobook than for watching, and it is good company for the evenings when I'm home alone - plus it gets me out of My Room, and my head out of Ditsy mode.

Other creative opportunities are the times when I take George to his piano lessons, or to the gym, and there isn't enough time to go home and back during the lesson. Piano isn't brilliant as it's only 30 minutes - and honestly, by the time I've replied to IG comments, I barely get chance to get my pad and pen out.

Gym time however, is most excellent!
I park in Aldi car park for this, as the gym is on a main road, and I usually go in and do a shop whilst George is getting fit on the treadmill. This week though, we'd already done a food shop so I stayed in the car and had a wonderful, uninterrupted hour of fountain pen doodling. Though for a moment there I sat staring at the blank page, pen in hand, and with zero inspiration to draw.

Argh!
I went with the fallback of 'draw an old favourite', and was soon lost in the process of slowly doodling seedheads, breath slowing, shoulders falling, completely in the moment, and oblivious the cars pulling in and out around me.

I'd love to know how you make sure you find time to do the thing you love?

Until next time,
Sarah
♡

Scrapbooks as sketchbooks

Morning!

I bought a new scrap book at the weekend, which I wanted to try out as a sketchbook - the paper inside is so beautifully smooth, that I find it perfect for pencil sketches, dip pen and fountain pen drawing.

There is no texture to the paper - which is something I would normally actively seek when creating products - but I love the smoothness of this thick paper/thin card for when I'm doing carefree doodling, in order to wind down of an evening, or to warm up my hands before working on a commission.

The other joy of this particular book, is that it is so very beautiful!
Just look at the cut out detail on the cover! And birds! I do love a bird or two.

The pencil sketches were drawn with my Pentel 120 A3DX propelling pencil, using 0.3mm lead. I love how delicate the lines look, and how much detail you can get with such a fine line.

The fabulous turquoise pencil is just there to look pretty ;)

I also wanted to test how well the paper would stand up to ink, so I got out all my pink inks (acrylic and bombay) and had a play - not one came through the back of the paper - and I also tested liquid watercolours as well as high flow acrylics. Same result.

Now I'm not suggesting we all ditch our traditional sketchbooks, I'm just saying that it's worth keeping an eye out for scrap books and photo albums in the sales, as often they have really good quality paper/card in them, which is perfect for doodling on.

This bird design was purchased from a Paperchase outlet shop for £5 - half it's original price of £10 -but it is available HERE on the Paperchase site for £7.50 in the sale.
The hard back cover is very sturdy (and gorgeous) and made up of the deep turquoise hard back inner, sandwiched between two layers of kraft card.
Spiral bound, so I can work on it with the spirals at the top, which stops them getting in the way whilst I draw.

It also has a beautiful ribbon to tie it up, which protects the inner sheets from getting marked or damaged.
There are 40 sheets to work on, and honestly, the paper is of such good quality that I could work on both sides if I so wished - I tend not to do this though, as you can get pencil and pen marks rubbing off on to the page below if you do that.

I've been using scrapbooks as sketchbooks for a while now - my first one had black paper pages inside it, and is fantastic for practicing with all sorts of different pens to get new, fun results. But that's a post for another day!

Materials used:
Vintage dip pen - these can be found quite easily on eBay
Birds scrapbook
Pentel pencil
FW ink pearlescent pink
FW ink fluorescent pink
Liquitex acrylic ink magenta
Dr.PH Martins Hydrus watercolours magenta
Golden High Flow Acrylics magenta
Dr PH Martin's Bombay inks
Caran D'ache Grafik HB pencil
The links are just for reference, so that you can have a look at the materials online...they will be available from other shops, so it's always worth looking around to find a price that suits!


Sarah
♡

Daily(ish) Drawing

Hello!

Here are a few photos of recent daily(ish) drawings, that have been posted to my Instagram feed - I say (ish) because daily really isn't happening.

Life got in the way before the Easter holidays, and since then I've got out of the habit of sofa doodling on an evening...just way too tired..and my mojo is still on it's jollies I think!

I'll get going again once other jobs are out of the way, and there's a little more time in my head and life.

I do miss it, as I enjoyed the constant and consistent creativity, so I will be working hard to get back into the rhythm of daily drawing.

Spot the button themed drawings? They were fun! I may go back to this at some point, and create some mini original art on the same theme.

☞ To see all my daily(ish) drawings in one place, simply search under the #dbd2016dailydrawing hashtag, on Instagram.

Have you taken on a challenge for 2016, creative or otherwise? Are you managing to stick to it, or do find that there are times where you simply have to roll with it, and take a break?

Cheers for now
Sarah
x

Product Photography

Hello from a seriously soggy North Yorkshire - perfect weather for making headway on To Do lists!

Taking priority on the list for me, was setting up a place where I can do my product photography, without having to take down all the equipment after every session.

my new product photography set up is as near to the roof window as possible

We recently had most of our loft boarded out for storage - oh my word, how much do I love that loft?!?! Complete tangent here - but knowing that we now have somewhere to store...Winter clothes and coats in Summer & vice versa; Ditsy Bird materials and supplies that I don't use regularly; bags; spare bedding; all the stuff that is currently under all the beds due lack of storage; sentimental keepsakes - what a difference this is going to make!

Okay, back to it - I decided that, as there won't be a lot of traffic up there (it will basically just be me, moving things from house to loft and back again), it is the perfect place to set up my lighting, tripod and backdrops.

With this setup, as and when I finish a product, I can whizz up the ladder and take the pics I need, and get straight on to editing and listing - rather than continuing with my current method, of waiting until I've got loads to photo, in order to justify the time spent setting up all the equipment.

Lots of trips up the ladder, lugging gear upstairs; lots of crawling on knees to get things into place (W trusses..ugh!); lots of getting hot and bothered (so warm up there!) later, and it's all set up. Hurrah!

I feel hugely satisfied for having actually got off my bum and done it - plus the exercise I've had climbing those ladders, and lifting kit up there - and for trimming down my current 'to photograph' pile.

Oh yes, very satisfying indeed.

Have you tackled something that's been nattering away at the back of your head for a while, or is there something that you could do, right now, to get a big fat tick on your to do list?

Right then, what's next on that there list...

Sarah

x

UPDATE:
Just in case anyone is interested, THIS is the lighting set I bought in 2014, after taking THIS course by Alisa Burke. I can highly recommend both the lights, and the course! Best of all, there is currently $10 off the course, in Alisa's Summer sale. 

Weekend round up

Good morning, and a happy new week to you all!

So what did you get up to over the weekend? Did you have sunshine?

Ha, that is such a British thing to ask, isn't it?

It was a bit patchy round our neck of the woods, with lots of rain and some sunshine...our plants are very happy about it though.

colour me happy

I lost myself in painting on Saturday - it was utter bliss!

This week is my last in my current job, as I am being made redundant on Thursday, and it's my first time. Hey ho, I'm not the first, and I certainly won't be the last...and frankly, I think I've done well lasting 18 years in a company where I've seen so many people go over the course of that time.

beautiful church and churchyard in Kirkby Lonsdale

I'm quite alright with the no longer working there part, it's just the actual leaving bit - this last week - it's all a bit toe curlingly cringy. I just want to be gone. I hate being the focus of attention, and actively avoid awkward situations, so it's going to be two days that will be spent firmly outside of my comfort zone.

My plan is to act bright and breezy, and eliminate any potential uncomfortable moments...cunning plan, huh?!?!

how's about that for a messy desk...fun times!

So back to the painting - I just slapped colour on various wooden objects, and continued on, for some very happy hours. Colour happy!

Most are nearly finished, and will soon be ready for the wonderful inking process. Hurrah, my favourite part.

And the cherry on the cake? A damned tasty, takeaway curry in the evening. Perfect.

how fab is this building, with all those windows & a roof like a bushy monobrow?

Sunday involved a lie-in, late breakfast, and a lovely mooch around Kirkby Lonsdale - it is such a pretty town, with little boutique style gift shops, loads of pubs and cafes, and a fabulous gallery. There are some gorgeous riverside walks to be had too, but we were in mooching mode yesterday.

odd place to put a clock, don't you think?

I finally got my hands on some gorgeous oil cloth for our kitchen table...it's still packed away until work has finished in the house, and we're straight again, with everything back where it should be, and lots of stuff hidden away in the soon-to-be boarded loft.

Ooh storage, how I've missed you!

feeling the house love with this beauty, and that completely lush garden

Sunday evening consisted of a Paul cooked chilli prawn linguini; a mini manicure & pedicure, from me to me; and catching up on a couple of episodes of Penny Dreadful. I love it, but it creeps me out big time, so I won't watch it alone. 

And now it's on with a new week, full of potential, and a little more rain for good measure.

Have a good one,
Sarah
x

draw, draw and draw some more

Good morning!

how are you today and what are you up to?
I am finally listing some new brooch designs I've been working on over the past couple of months! As mentioned in my previous post, I have been drawing (a lot) in order to perfect my style and technique. I'm getting there and am really chuffed with the results...and even more chuffed with the response they've been getting on my Facebook page and on my Instagram account.

click here to view it in my Etsy shop

I had already listed my new wooden pendants - I really love how these have turned out...the rustic feel to the slices of windfall branches as well as the beautifully smooth birch rounds. I have a black and white rustic version on at the moment and it is my current 'go to' accessory as it happily sits on most of my tops and dresses. It is also wonderfully light to wear...I have lots of pendants (magpie!) but find some of them aren't suited to everyday wear due to their weight and the pull on my neck. Thankfully, this is no longer a problem and I can accessorise at will ;)

click here to view it in my Etsy shop

Today is all about word brooches and heart garden brooches - little birch hearts, decorated with paint and then hand drawn on with ink using my dad's old dip pens. My dad was a talented artist and I'm delighted that I am able to use some of his tools in my endeavours...I love the feeling of continuity. I also love that George often wanders in to ask if he can play with my pens whilst I'm working.

So that's me!
I hope you like the new designs and rest assured, more will be on their way in to shop as I beaver away with my inks.

For now, I'll leave you with some images of my drawing practice and the brooches & pendants.
Have a great day!
x

a natural progression

morning!

Having signed up for a Valentine's themed mail circle swap type affair on Instagram, I was probing my brain the other day for ideas. I'd seen a wonderful photo on IG of two framed hearts ~ one filled with badges and I think the other with buttons. This then reminded me of the wonderful stamped heart project in Geninne Zlatkis' book Making An Impression and prompted the following series of ideas...

I initially sketched out my rough plan on the Paper by 53 app on Paul's iPad ~

I then raided my stash with the intention of using up some of it along with some bits of w-i-p that having been loitering for a while ~

In all honesty, this wasn't really doing it for me and then I realised it was because there wasn't really any sign of me or my style in it. A quick faff and play and then this ~

Ahh much better! A bit of doodling and an actual theme to the composition and my heart was happy again! Then it was on with my favourite bit - the inking of the design...oh, the calm contemplation this brings me is priceless.

Inked up and now for a sit back and look...a few tweaks later and it is almost done~

...though I'm still undecided about the wording (let love bloom).

That hasn't stopped me ploughing on with Heart Garden II though ~

inking up the design

close up of the detail

and here is the second finished Heart Garden ~

I'd love to know what you think!

One of them is ear-marked as a gift, but I was thinking about doing a few more and putting them in my shop. I'd probably leave them on the full sheet of paper and then it's up to the recipient to decide whether to cut it to frame it, or to simply tack it to their wall with a bit of washi tape :)

Plotting and planning, and working through an idea can be so rewarding.

Sarah

x