handicraft and sketches

Thank you all so much for the caring comments you left on my last post. I am so grateful to you all. Thanks for bearing with me. 

During my blogging break, I did manage to do some sketching and even some crochet. With the colder weather approaching, my son wanted me to crochet some doggy coats for Scarlett and Violet. We officially started our Winter on June 1st. 

Not an easy feat considering I have advanced Osteoarthritis in my hands causing chronic hand pain. I was just getting over a nasty arthritic flare but I do think working my hands helped a little.

Anyway, Violet is a tiny Chihuahua size and even the Extra Small winter coats in the shops were way too big for her.  So I made the girls 2 coats each, Scarlett has 2 different shades of pink coats, while Violet has 2 different shades of purple coats. I looked for a pattern online and had to make my own adjustments but you can check out the original pattern I used HERE. I mostly used the pattern for the neck, the rest I just winged it as I went, fitting them against the girls at different stages.

 Violet below

Scarlett below

Out for a morning walk. I even made hole area for the harness to fit through, something the shop-bought coats don't allow for. 

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't include a pic of precious Miss Kya doing what she does best...sleeping.

As for sketching —

I've had a pocket (14.5cm x10.5cm) sketchbook waiting to be finished so I did some daily Sketchnote-style entries of daily happenings. Just a few more pages left to finish it. I started this sketchbook in 2017. That's my problem — I always have more than one sketchbook on the go and, sometimes, one may be put on the back burner for longer than I'd like. Different sizes and paper. Some of the most recent pages, shown below..sorry if they're a bit blurry, must have moved when I snapped the pic. They may be rough, free-hand ink sketches but they capture the memories for me. I love looking back over my sketchbooks at a later date.

I've not long got over a pretty bad bout of Asthmatic Bronchitis. Cold, wintry air is one of my main triggers. Sometimes, a severe bout of asthma can turn into bronchitis....not fun at all....but I did get to rest and watch some series and movies on Prime/Netflix.

On that note, I will finish this post here. 

Wishing you all a beautiful, happy week! 

Serena x

#62 of 75 pen/ink sketches

Daily blogging seems to be a habit I can't break at the moment.

What the......??

This morning, I woke up at 5am, and it was already quite hot and humid.

Yesterday was like a sauna and I felt so sorry for Cody and Jack. 

Their coats weren't over-long since I'd clipped them a couple of months ago 

but there was definitely enough length to make it an uncomfortable day for them. 

So by 6am, I was scissor-trimming Cody, followed by Jack. 

I figured I'd get it out of the way before the real heat of the day set in. 

Wise move!

I ended up sending the cheap electric pet trimmers back for a refund. 

They just didn't do the job properly. 

Michelle bought the same set and was of the same opinion. 

I am pleased that the company stood by their word and 

were very quick paying the refund back into my Paypal account.

For my sketch today,
I chose one of the combs I use while I scissor-cut. 

They are very handy for holding the hair in place and
also act as a protection shield while I use the scissors. 

No dogs were cut on my watch. ;)

By the way,

the first image is SOME of the fur I shook off in the yard 

from the table protector cloth I used. ;)

Pencil-free sketch in A6 Moleskine pocket sketchbook 

using BIC Pro pen and a wee touch of Micron pen.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

~Love, light and peace ~

Day 8 - AEDM & Nablopomo - Squeak!

A quick post and run today.

#39 of 75 pen/ink sketches

A squeaky dog toy!

Pencil-free sketch in A6 pocket Moleskine sketchbook 
using ZIG Millennium and Micron pens.


To view the posts of other AEDM members for today,
click HERE.

And here is a pic of my precious Cody inside my wardrobe.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Day 3 - AEDM & Nablopomo - #34 sketch

YAWN!!! 

I'm feeling quite tired for some reason 

and it's only early evening. 

Last night, we had an overnight guest. 

My son, Beau, and his house-mate, Steven,
were attending a house-warming party 

and had planned to stay overnight. 

So, Steven's dog came to stay with us for the night.

She is a German Shepherd/American Staffy Mix, 

if I remember rightly, and she is SO sweet!

Unfortunately, we had to keep her separated from our fur-boys. 

All she wanted to do was play with them but, 

Cody gave her a wide berth and, 

Jack refuses to tolerate other dogs on his turf
and Lexi was no exception. 

He wanted to have her for dinner!! 

Too funny being that she's more than twice his size.

Anywhoo, Lexi became sketch #34 of 75 pen/ink sketches.

Let me state right here and now that 

I haven't done this beautiful girl justice.

In reality, she is slimmer in the cheek areas of her face. 

Pencil-free sketch in A6 Moleskine pocket sketchbook 

using ZIG Millennium and Micron pens.

Despite my tiredness, 

we are planning a movie night and, 

no doubt, I'll fall asleep at the crucial point.

Just love it when that happens...NOT!

Enjoy your weekend!

~ Love, light and peace ~

What inspires me?

In the Artist's Play Room this week, we talk about the things that inspire us.
What inspires my art?

I find so many things to be inspiring....the sea, nature, animals...
Then there is the internet, more precisely the amazing artists I have met online.
 Their creativity also inspires me tremendously.

I haven't painted a realistic painting for the longest time but that's not to say I won't again.
Every time I see a painting of an animal, I feel a yearning within to put brush to canvas.
One day, I know I will....

I enjoy painting flowers too.
Nature is a great inspiration!

I discovered illustrated journaling a couple of years ago and it has become my main focus in art.
I absolutely LOVE sketching and adding colour to my journals.
 There's just something special to me about sketching, then adding some words,
either about what I've sketched or about my day.
I have met many other illustrated journal artists
who have inspired me greatly in this area.

A recent journal entry

There are so many things I feel motivated to do regarding my art,
thanks to all the wonderful inspiration that surrounds me.
My biggest foe is procrastination but I'm working hard to beat it.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Puppy goodness!

Hi everyone!

GEEZ, I can't get over how the time has flown since my last post!

Can you believe it's June already?!!

I have been recuperating at home the past couple of days since having my Angiogram (Coronary Catheterisation) on Thursday. There were a couple of hiccups during the procedure but all is good and, after spending most of the day in hospital, I was sent home to recuperate for the crucial 48 hours. The best news is that my heart and arteries are CLEAR!!!  It was sweet music to my ears, I can tell you.  This means that I can now go ahead and organise a date for my Hysterectomy.  However, I'm not looking forward to the 3 to 5 day stay in hospital because I'll be very worried about Cody who suffers terribly with separation anxiety even when I'm away from home for just an hour. He will have the boys at home with him so I hope that will calm him enough to cope without me for a few days.

I've been busy hooking while I've been absent from Blogland,

Crochet hooking, that is!

Can you guess what this is??

I'll give you a hint....

Meet Abbey, my Grand-Furbaby!

Isn't she adorable?!!

Michelle and Alex added a doggy to their family and Mikayla, my Granddaughter, is totally smitten with her!

We are officially in our winter DownUnder and little Abbey was feeling the cold, particularly in the mornings.  The puppy coats in the shops were huge so I made her a little coat to keep her warm and cosy.  There's room for adjustment too so it will grow with her for a little bit.

Abbey is a Cavoodle which is a cross between a Cavalier Spaniel and a Poodle.

Here she is sleeping like a baby.

Of course, I just HAD to do a quick sketch of her in my journal.

Pencil-free sketch using Faber-Castell Artists PITT pens in large Moleskine journal.

All in all, things have been going well in my neck of the woods.

Bradley and I have been watching episodes of Little House on the Prairie and I cry with each one.  I've always loved that series.

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

It's a wet one here so perfect for recuperating indoors in my PJs.

Love, light and peace to you all

Day tripping, sketch, crochet, BIG NEWS and a humanitarian

I hope you're all enjoying a beautiful weekend.

The weather is perfect here!

Last weekend, we took a drive out to our favourite spot - Burgess Park, Lamington near Hillview.

It was such a lovely day....

...and we found the perfect spot when we got there too

it was so relaxing...laying on the picnic blanket under the canopy of this beautiful tree

and listening to the steady stream of water below us

I would love to camp overnight one time.

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Lately, I've been getting back into my crochet and I'm happy to say that my granny stripe blanket throw is getting some length to it now.

FAMILY NEWS! - I will be getting out the knitting needles and some baby wool very soon so I can start knitting up some baby bootees. Michelle has given me the okay to go public with their big news so YES!! I'm going to be a Grandma for the second time come November!!! YAY!!!

Michelle has informed me that she wants lots and lots of bootees this time around because she loved the ones I did for Mikayla.

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I have been a little lax with my sketching of late but, yesterday, I found some time to sit down with my Moleskine journal.  This is a pencil-free sketch using only my Faber-Castell Artist's PITT pens.

Reference image credited to Harold Hopkinson at PaintMyPhoto.

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On the health front - All the swab tests, chest X-ray and blood-work came back clear.  I mentioned to my doctor about the possibility that my chronic cough could be due to the Coversyl blood pressure medication.  Thanks for the heads up Gloria and Cindy.  So, now I am taking a different blood pressure medication and my cough is starting to ease although it may take a good week or so to clear completely.  I had to postpone the angiogram due to the cough but it is now booked for the 31st.  Hopefully, things will progress more quickly from there on.

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Wishing all you Mums out there a very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY for Sunday!!!!

~ love, light and peace ~

Flowers, dogs and a sketch!

Yes, I changed back to my previous template.

I am missing the Dynamic Views template terribly but, unfortunately, it is too limiting at this point in time for what I want to achieve with my blog.  Hopefully, Blogger will offer more options sooner than later.

My Bird of Paradise is in bloom!

I spotted another bee so moved in for a macro shot.
I was very close but I wasn't afraid and managed to snap away without being stung.

My Desert Rose (Adenium Obesum) is also flowering. YAY!
I LOVE this potted succulent!!
To think that I nearly gave up on it because, for quite a few years, it didn't seem to grow or bloom at all.  Then, a couple of years ago, I re-potted it and, from that point on, it took on a new lease of life.  It thrived AND started flowering!!  It's been growing well ever since.

Here was Cody and Jack catching a spot of sunshine the other morning. 

It's like they know Vitamin D is good for us.
Clever doggies!

I have indeed been sketching a little.

First a rough graphite outline in my large Moleskine sketchbook -

Followed by more detail using Pigma Micron pens and it's all finished -

Reference Image is credited to Gwen Card at PaintMyPhoto

That about wraps up another post from little, old me.

I've had a few rough days health-wise...I'm not sure that the antibiotics are agreeing with me. :(

Anywhoo, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

~ Love, light and peace ~

a funny pooch, inspiration, motivation, sketches & a self portrait

I just had to share.

I couldn't stop laughing out loud while watching this pooch.
Too funny!

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 And here is an inspirational story on TED by a young woman who, at the age of four, escaped to Australia by boat with her family.  I hope her story makes people who are against the 'boat people' really stop and think.  These refugees are real people who have suffered greatly and are only looking for a safe and better life.  In case the video doesn't work, here is the link - Tan Le - My Immigration Story.

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I was quite devastated yesterday after attempting to watch a movie called Earthlings narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. It shows atrocities committed against animals around the world by human hands. I guess it is hoped that people will take a stand and make a difference.  It shows the truth of it all. The movie is over an hour and a half long but I could only make it to 17 minutes before I was crying my eyes out and feeling physically ill. I just couldn't watch any more and don't know if I will be able to. It truly hurt my heart and soul and, if you're the type of person who empathises deeply with animals like I do, I would advise you NOT to watch it. Some of the images are still haunting me and, no doubt, will continue to haunt me for some time to come. Seeing things like that can truly make me hate the human race for what they do, or choose to ignore, when it comes to the animal inhabitants of this planet...and even their own kind, let's not forget the Holocaust.  We are all God's creatures and animals deserve our respect, compassion and love too.  I just can't comprehend how some of us can be so indifferent and desensitised to another creature's agony and suffering?  It's those people who really need to watch this film from beginning to end as hopefully it might restore some of their humanity. I can only pray that things change for the better.

I now feel motivated to get back to focusing my art on animals.
I also want to consider other ways I can make a bigger difference apart from my donations and bringing awareness via my Animal Love links.

 My actions are my only true belongings.
— Thich Nhat Hanh

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Speaking of art,
here are a few recent sketches in my journal.


The birds in our family - Maelik (pronounced 'mail-ick'), Surya (pronounced 'sue-ree-ah') and Jacob.

Budgies are native to Australia and, over the years, have fast become a popular pet around the world.  In America, they are known as parakeets because they are a member of the parrot family.  As far as talking goes, the male budgies are much easier to train whereas it's not very common for the females to talk.  One tip - If you want to train a budgie to talk, it is best being on its own in a cage as another budgie companion will just distract it.  That's why they say not to put a mirror in their cage either.  These little birds are full of personality.


The finished page I started the other day.

Here, my main focus was sketching directly with ink pens - no pencils - so I only added a hint of colour to the background.

And a collection of Asian influences around my home.
The leafy plant is called Lucky Bamboo and lives in a large vase of water.

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Week 8 in the 52 weeks of me 2012 project.

Contemplating what to sketch next perhaps?

We're having a very rainy weekend here with humidity and temps alternating between muggy and cool.
I'll just have the coolness please.


OH, I received a date for my hysterectomy surgery!
March 22nd - the day before my birthday which means I'll be in hospital on my birthday.  Ah well, at least I won't have to cook. lol

Btw, I think Blogger heard the outcry about people being frustrated with the NEW Word Verification.  I've noticed that, while it is still the two words, they have done away with the indecipherable B&W wonky word...YAY!! While I still hate Word Verification on blogs and refuse to use it on my own, at least Blogger has opted to make the words easier to decipher.

I hope you're all enjoying a beautiful weekend!

~ Love, light and peace ~