Lovely Books~

I love lovely books..that speak to me..  entertain me.. teach me..or inspire me.

The ones above inspire me..

Through Jenni..I learned of  Mary Woodin.

I perused her book and stared painting with it next to me..

One fine day we had the boys..Lucas played chess with Jacques..and Max asked if he could be in my craft room with me..I love that..I set him up..and Oli:)..

..and all 3 of us paint or draw.. Max did watercolors..mostly skaters.they were terrific..

Oli   ..drew Mike Wazowski  ..once ..twice..so many times:)  He had found the ones Noah did and said wow..so he tried and got it..and continued..

Hard to explain how sweet the feeling is when I am painting and my 6 yr old grandson is painting on a table close to me..and a 4 yr old is on another table..it's not a pretty room..it's in the basement ..with 2 large windows..and at this time of year with no gardens hiding the windows..the light streams in..and there is such a peace..with those two with me:)..that that room becomes pretty to me.

I tried looking at certain paintings of Mary  Woodin and without tracing painted them..

the geranium leaf is from one of the geraniums I wintered indoors..now blooming:)

My garden shears  kind of look like a friendly animal:)  But the practice felt great.

My mind is wandering towards gardens and seeds..and dahlias..(do I try again?)..

My heart skips a beat when I spot the first Violets..

And the list goes on and on..

Myosotis and Lily Of the Valley.. some much needed new garden tools..

Clematis and Roses  ..Peonies..Irises   Foxgloves and Blueberries..

Compost and dirt..and garlic!

Taking photos of ferns unfurling for this the 13th yr in a row..without tiring of seeing the same dance.

You can get inspiration from many types of books.. from childhood books..( the bottom one was my first dictionary..:)  we gave it away..but I found it on Amazon.ca resellers..So nice! All illustrated..
..to present day children's books..  like the above from Sharon Lovejoy..
classics..like Beatrix Potter etc..
books from Fance..or recomemnded books..(  D Dewey and The Watercolor palette book recommended by Paris Breakfasts..Carol)...gift books..and old books on techniques you bought years ago thinking it should be easy..(not..)..
The 2 Vivian Swift books I have~
There are so many books I could add here..
Some are packed away since 13 yrs..try and find the box.
Some are lent..some are lost..some that were lent became lost..
Some books..you keep forever and look at time and time again..:)over and over again..
Treasures ,books are.

Not crazy about the Fabriano paper in the little book I have.. 90 lbs it's murky kind of~

Least favorite paints: Prang..there is like a gummy feeling to them..

I shouldn't be one to give an opinion.. 

But in case you are thinking of taking up this hobby..perhaps these comments will help~.

 A good book is all you need to motivate you:)

We're having a snowstorm right now..

I hate to admit it  but we are..

So I might just look at books..

By the way..reading Goldfinch..about halfway through..like it a lot so far.

In th ekitchen ..not too much going on..

But Jacques is celebrating a birthday and last night my daughter and son-in-law had us over for a delicious dinner.

I was in charge of dessert..

A fun little bunting I found on the internet and I am so sorry I cannot remember where..Thank You Thank You..

Staples printed it up..I cut it and strung..it dresses up a white chocolate coconut cake   perfectly..

He's so nice..he loved it♥

PS

I have had this cake recipe for so many many years.. in a binder..I cut it out of and In Style magazine we had..My girls loved it..I think it was part of a shower for Melissa Gilbert..anyway it was a feature in the magazine.. I'm not a box cake baker..but this one has been in our home for yrs..

I just Googled for fun..Instead of typing it all out..because typing is not my forté..

and lo and behold it's here.

Have a great weekend.