And I thought that today was the perfect day to print it out in black and white and display it in a simple double matted frame.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
Thanks for dropping in.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
In Daddy's Arms
I took this photograph back in March...
And I thought that today was the perfect day to print it out in black and white and display it in a simple double matted frame.
And I thought that today was the perfect day to print it out in black and white and display it in a simple double matted frame.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Behind the Easel with Leo
Well, we've had a blast with Leo, but it is almost time for him to continue on with his journey. So as Leo packs up his things, I thought I'd give you a peek "Behind the Easel" of the drawing that I did of him.
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
This is the first time in a very long time that I didn't use painter's tape along the edges, like I normally do. If you'd like to see what that looks like, check out Cottage Chairs, On Great Grandpa's Knee, or Feathered Trio.
To be honest, it was because Oliver and I were all set up out in the backyard before I realized that my tape was in the garage... which has a big heavy manual garage door... all the way at the front of the house... and I'd already been back and forth... twice. So no tape.
But I actually like the way it turned out and it was quite freeing to just start sketching without any defined borders.
I started with a loose sketch of Leo's basic shapes using willow charcoal.
Then added in more details...
...and began shading in some areas. The side of the piece of charcoal is great for this and fingers make great smudging tools.
Time to get a little darker with compressed charcoal...
...and even darker with black conte. And to use an eraser to lighten areas and create texture.
Well, Oliver had gotten fed up with wearing a hat and it was time to go back inside, so I guess it's also time for the final addition... a signature!
I'd love to hear your thoughts...
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
This is the first time in a very long time that I didn't use painter's tape along the edges, like I normally do. If you'd like to see what that looks like, check out Cottage Chairs, On Great Grandpa's Knee, or Feathered Trio.
To be honest, it was because Oliver and I were all set up out in the backyard before I realized that my tape was in the garage... which has a big heavy manual garage door... all the way at the front of the house... and I'd already been back and forth... twice. So no tape.
But I actually like the way it turned out and it was quite freeing to just start sketching without any defined borders.
I started with a loose sketch of Leo's basic shapes using willow charcoal.
Then added in more details...
...and began shading in some areas. The side of the piece of charcoal is great for this and fingers make great smudging tools.
Time to get a little darker with compressed charcoal...
...and even darker with black conte. And to use an eraser to lighten areas and create texture.
Well, Oliver had gotten fed up with wearing a hat and it was time to go back inside, so I guess it's also time for the final addition... a signature!
I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Thanks for stopping by.
Leo is Lollygagging Across America . See where he came from
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Honey Butter Munch
To appease Leo's serious sweet tooth, I made a big batch of one of our favourite sweet snacks today.
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
The recipe originates from the box of "President's Choice Toasted Oat Os Cereal"
{aka: cheap Cheerios}
Honey Butter Munch
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cup Toasted Oat Os Cereal
1 bag microwave popping corn, popped according to package directions
1 cup natural whole almonds {I prefer to use peanuts sometimes}
Makes about 15 cups.
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
The recipe originates from the box of "President's Choice Toasted Oat Os Cereal"
{aka: cheap Cheerios}
Honey Butter Munch
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cup Toasted Oat Os Cereal
1 bag microwave popping corn, popped according to package directions
1 cup natural whole almonds {I prefer to use peanuts sometimes}
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees F
- In saucepan, melt butter with honey over medium heat.
- Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat
- In large shallow roasting pan {I use two 9x13 glass baking dishes}, stir together cereal, popcorn, and almonds {or peanuts}.
- Pour butter mixture over, tossing to coat.
- Bake, uncovered for 40-45 minutes.
- Cool.
Makes about 15 cups.
We're in honey butter munch heaven!
Thanks for dropping by.
Leo is Lollygagging Across America . See where he came from
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Le-Oh Canada!
Well, Leo sure has been enjoying his time here with us polite, beer drinking, hockey loving Canadians.
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
To show Leo why we love it here, we could have taken Leo to the CN Tower in Toronto, or maybe on a brewery tour, or even to a hockey game...
...but I thought it would be best to show Leo a place closer to home and nearer to my heart. So we decided to take a walk around our own neighbourhood...
We usually start off in the forest across the street from our house...
...where Leo enjoyed some time in the tree tops...
We continued down the trail, which runs along the shore of Lake Ontario.
There, we saw a sailboat in the distance...
...and peered over the edge of the bluff.
A little steep for a stroller... good thing we know another way down... and it just so happens to be through the trails of the beautiful Samuel Wilmot Nature Area! I feel so lucky to live within walking distance.
They are in the process of building a lookout here...
...but we were still able to see the incredible view of the Cattail Marsh over the orange fencing.
My family patiently waited while Leo and I explored the shore...
...where we sat on the delightful driftwood...
...that was scattered all along the beach.
...and enjoyed the soothing sound of the waves.
After a nice long walk, there's nothing better than sitting on our master bedroom balcony, (maybe even with an ice cold beer) looking over the neighbourhood.
As we watched the wind flutter through our Canadian Flag, Leo wanted to know more about the relationship between our two countries.
So I showed him this video.
I first watched it during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and it instantly became a favourite of mine...
and Leo really liked it too.
...to all of my American blogging buddies out there...
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box and A Heart Full of Art}
To show Leo why we love it here, we could have taken Leo to the CN Tower in Toronto, or maybe on a brewery tour, or even to a hockey game...
 |
| sources: CN Tower, Beer, Hockey |
...but I thought it would be best to show Leo a place closer to home and nearer to my heart. So we decided to take a walk around our own neighbourhood...
...where Leo enjoyed some time in the tree tops...
...and some cuddles from Oliver!
We continued down the trail, which runs along the shore of Lake Ontario.
There, we saw a sailboat in the distance...
...and peered over the edge of the bluff.
A little steep for a stroller... good thing we know another way down... and it just so happens to be through the trails of the beautiful Samuel Wilmot Nature Area! I feel so lucky to live within walking distance.
They are in the process of building a lookout here...
...but we were still able to see the incredible view of the Cattail Marsh over the orange fencing.
My family patiently waited while Leo and I explored the shore...
...where we sat on the delightful driftwood...
...that was scattered all along the beach.
...and enjoyed the soothing sound of the waves.
After a nice long walk, there's nothing better than sitting on our master bedroom balcony, (maybe even with an ice cold beer) looking over the neighbourhood.
As we watched the wind flutter through our Canadian Flag, Leo wanted to know more about the relationship between our two countries.
So I showed him this video.
I first watched it during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and it instantly became a favourite of mine...
and Leo really liked it too.
...to all of my American blogging buddies out there...
...I'm so glad that we're neighbours!
Thanks for stopping in.
Leo is Lollygagging Across America . See where he came from
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A Heart Full of Art
Our lovely house guest Leo arrived just in time to accompany us on a quick visit to our hometown.
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box}
We had a very "art-full" weekend!
First of all, two of my drawings were accepted for the Invitational 2011 Exhibition at Gallery in the Grove, so we wanted to attend the opening reception. The show runs until June 25th, 2011 so if you're in the area you can go see Cottage Chairs and Feathered Trio in person.
Then my very talented best friend and her very talented sister invited me to join them at their booth in the street festival, Artwalk. {Check out Taking it to the Streets! for more info.}
Well, Artwalk was a success! All of the Scrappy Sparrows and Beach Bottles that I brought sold! Most on the first day of the festival. Now that I know people like my stuff, I'll have to bring more quantities of everything next time.
And I must give a shout out to my friends, Meghan and Katelyn O'Donnell... I was so impressed by their beautiful paintings and I'll be sure to let you know about their website once it's up and running!
Perhaps it was Leo's presence that brought us good luck, as he peered down from his perch on the tent roof...
So once we were back home, Leo wanted to get in on the art action too...
...and he was the perfect portrait model!
Leo says that he likes my drawing of him, but what do you think?
Now all of our hearts are filled up with art... and we're loving it.
Is art a part of your life? Drawing, painting, crafting, gardening, cooking, etc.... what's your favourite creative activity?
More adventures with Leo coming up tomorrow!
Leo is Lollygagging Across America . See where he came from
{Need to catch up on who Leo is? Check out Friendship in a Box}
We had a very "art-full" weekend!
First of all, two of my drawings were accepted for the Invitational 2011 Exhibition at Gallery in the Grove, so we wanted to attend the opening reception. The show runs until June 25th, 2011 so if you're in the area you can go see Cottage Chairs and Feathered Trio in person.
Then my very talented best friend and her very talented sister invited me to join them at their booth in the street festival, Artwalk. {Check out Taking it to the Streets! for more info.}
Well, Artwalk was a success! All of the Scrappy Sparrows and Beach Bottles that I brought sold! Most on the first day of the festival. Now that I know people like my stuff, I'll have to bring more quantities of everything next time.
And I must give a shout out to my friends, Meghan and Katelyn O'Donnell... I was so impressed by their beautiful paintings and I'll be sure to let you know about their website once it's up and running!
Perhaps it was Leo's presence that brought us good luck, as he peered down from his perch on the tent roof...
So once we were back home, Leo wanted to get in on the art action too...
...and he was the perfect portrait model!
Leo says that he likes my drawing of him, but what do you think?
Now all of our hearts are filled up with art... and we're loving it.
Is art a part of your life? Drawing, painting, crafting, gardening, cooking, etc.... what's your favourite creative activity?
More adventures with Leo coming up tomorrow!
Thanks for dropping by
Leo is Lollygagging Across America . See where he came from
Monday, June 13, 2011
Friendship in a Box
Yesterday I told you about the arrival of a special package.
Well, today let's find out what's inside!
It's Leo! He's come all the way from North Carolina and the home of Debbie at McCormick Madness.
He's making his way across America and I am so pleased that our home in Ontario, Canada is his first stop. Interested in joining in on Leo's journey? Get the details here.
In true Canadian fashion, Leo received a warm welcome from Oliver...
...and they have become fast friends. We've been having lots of fun showing Leo what our life is like here, so I'll be sharing all about it in the following days. In the meantime, check out where Leo's journey began if you're interested!
Well, today let's find out what's inside!
It's Leo! He's come all the way from North Carolina and the home of Debbie at McCormick Madness.
He's making his way across America and I am so pleased that our home in Ontario, Canada is his first stop. Interested in joining in on Leo's journey? Get the details here.
In true Canadian fashion, Leo received a warm welcome from Oliver...
...and they have become fast friends. We've been having lots of fun showing Leo what our life is like here, so I'll be sharing all about it in the following days. In the meantime, check out where Leo's journey began if you're interested!
Thanks for stopping by.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A Package Arrives
The other day a special package arrived...
I wonder what's inside?
Oliver has been chewing over the idea of what it is...
...if the box itself is this interesting, it must hold something great... right?!
I guess we'll have to wait until we open it to find out...
What's your guess?...
I wonder what's inside?
Oliver has been chewing over the idea of what it is...
...if the box itself is this interesting, it must hold something great... right?!
I guess we'll have to wait until we open it to find out...
What's your guess?...
Stay tuned to find out!
Thanks for dropping by.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Taking it to the Streets!
Today, I'll be taking Charcoal and Crayons to the streets!
Artwalk is a group of volunteers who produces a weekend art festival that takes place along one of the streets in downtown Sarnia, Ontario.
For more info check out their website.
The last time that I participated was in 2006. I was able to dig up a picture of that time...
Hopefully this weekend will be just as fun as last time and if you're in the area, come check it out!
Artwalk is a group of volunteers who produces a weekend art festival that takes place along one of the streets in downtown Sarnia, Ontario.
For more info check out their website.
The last time that I participated was in 2006. I was able to dig up a picture of that time...
Hopefully this weekend will be just as fun as last time and if you're in the area, come check it out!
Thanks for stopping by.
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