Wrapping Presents

Last night I spent time with my friend Bowen, who is back from Wittenberg University in Ohio.  I helped him shop for Christmas gifts (and also helped him spend his Starbucks gift card!)  and wrapped them when we got back to my house.

This year I rolled everyone's things and placed them in paper lunch bags and addressed them with india ink.  If you try this, be sure to place something thick like a sheet of cardboard in the bag when using the ink so it won't bleed through.  I also found that when I had three items of rolled clothing to stuff, it filled the bag to the top so that I couldn't fold down and staple the lip.  I simply slid another bag over the other end and placed the gift on its side!

Keep Warm

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is spending time with friends and family.

I have a list that I'd like to tackle with my loved ones this year:

Christmas Caroling

Construct a Cardboard Village

Try 3 New Recipes

Drive Around to Look at Neighborhood Christmas Lights

Read aloud The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Go to Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve

Keep warm!

Children's Books

Tonight my Mom showed me a new children’s book she had read to the kids she substitute taught: Snowmen at Christmas written and illustrated by husband and wife team Caralyn and Mark Buehner.  My mother and I have always had a heart for children’s literature and especially enjoy the illustrations.  Hidden in each picture of the snowmen are a cat, a rabbit, a mouse, a santa face and a tyrannosaurs rex.  This prompted me to grab some of my favorite books growing up and read them aloud with my roommate, Amber.  The three of us poured over the pages and took it in turns to point out the silly details and jokes slipped into the illustrations.  Two of the books I grabbed were written and illustrated by the same author, though I had never known.  Peggy Rathman wrote two of my favorites: Goodnight Gorilla, my “first book” and Ten Minutes Till Bedtime, a story I fell in love with when I was much older.  Peggy loves the tiny details, and tonight we found another treasure she had hidden for us: a scene from Goodnight Gorilla made a cameo in Ten Minutes Till Bedtime.  If you have children or simply want a beautiful book to giggle over, I heartily recommend checking out Peggy Rathman.

I don’t want to spoil all the surprises in Goodnight Gorilla, but I will say pay attention to the balloon.  

First Snow

I can't remember the last time we had December snow.  Little flurries flew up in plumes towards me as I made my way home from GA Tech.  It kept up all day, but none of it stuck.

This weekend I drove to GA Tech to see Cam and the rest of our new friends.  While they studied for their finals, I worked on painting.  I'm sorry for not keeping up this semester, but here's the gist of it: I love ink and Watercolor!  Now that I'm out for winter break, I can fill up my moleskin book for The Sketchbook Project.  My theme is Happy Thoughts and I'm planning on illustrating everything with collage papers, ink and watercolor.  Here's a look at what I finished this weekend:

This last guy was spurred from a conversation this weekend I had about "The Living Christmas Tree" which is a Christmas Concert put on by First Baptist Church of Gainesville every year.  But upon hearing the title, a friend of mine was confused and admitted they had envisioned an evil tree that ate children...it was too good an idea to pass up.  

My Work