Bold Bloom and Grow Flowers in the Sketchbook

I played with bright colors for this bold two-page spread in my sketchbook. It was a lot of fun to do and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Obviously, you don't need to do this project in a sketchbook. A bunch of these grouped together on a classroom bulletin board would look amazing! Affiliate links below. 

Bold Bloom and Grow Flowers

Materials:

• heavy paper (in or out of a sketchbook)
• pencil
• Folk Art paint
• Apple Barrel Paint Pen (black)

Steps: 

Lightly sketch a circle on your page. It can be in the center or off-center. Paint the circle yellow. Paint petals coming out from the center and extending to the edge of the page in the color(s) of your choice. I did the orange flower first and didn't wash my brush before doing the pink one, which is why it has some color variation. Don't worry if your petals aren't straight or if you get paint between them. It will get covered.  

When the paint is completely dry, outline all of the petals with a black paint pen. You can fill in any white spaces with that pen, or you can use black paint. 

When the black paint is dry, place a piece of scratch paper on the center of the flower and write the word of your choice (Bloom, Grow, Love, Enjoy... whatever) so that it stretches from one side to the other. Then turn that piece of paper upside down and scribble on it with pencil. Turn it right side up, position it where you want it, then trace over the lines.

Trace the pencil guidelines with the black paint pen. Obviously, you could do this freehand if you want. 

I love how my two pages look together. 

If any of you do this with a group and fill a bulletin board, please send me a photo! I'd love to see them. 

Connecticut 2023

We've been traveling a lot (obviously) which means that I have a lot of trips to get into the scrapbook albums. Here is the page from our time in Connecticut in June. 

Connecticut 2023 (affiliate link)

I tried to get as much onto the page as possible. You'll see photos of the places we went (the Pez Visitor Center was our favorite), the food we tried (steamers and apizza - yum!), and the symbols of Connecticut that you see all over. There is their flag, of course, as well as the Charter Oak. And I couldn't forget Nathan Hale who is Connecticut's official State Hero. As far as I know, no other state has an official State Hero... but apparently not everyone thinks the legislature got it right. The governor would have voted differently. Nevertheless, I put him (Hale, not the governor) onto the layout. 

The title was really easy. The word and the leaf came from this sticker sheet (affiliate link). 

We really enjoyed our time in Connecticut and I'm happy to have the page in the album. 

Playing with Paint in the Sketchbook: "Anything But a Paintbrush"

Have you heard about the "Anything But a Backpack" spirit days that schools do? The concept is that you bring your stuff to school in any sort of container that is not a backpack. People get super creative, carrying their books around in a suitcase, stroller, laundry basket, wheelbarrow, etc. I would have had great fun with this as a student. Or, for that matter, as a teacher! 

I used the "Anything but a Backpack" concept for this sketchbook painting, which I'm calling "Anything but a Paintbrush."

This all started because there wasn't enough room on my paint shelves for all of the newest bottles of paint I got as a Plaid Creator. In the process of reorganizing, I came across four bottles of Folk Art Acrylic that were 98% empty. It was silly to have nearly empty bottles taking up prime real estate, but I wasn't about to waste them either. So I opened to a clean page in my sketchbook, took the lid off a bottle of paint, and smeared it all around the page. When no more would come out, I banged the bottle on the sketchbook to get the last little bits out, then smeared those around the page with the bottle. 

Light green first, then kelly green, blue, and purple. Four colors, no brushes!

When that was dry, I looked around my desk for other items I could use to add paint to the pages. Bubble wrap added really fun dots to my artwork. 

Next, pink circles using a cardboard tube. 

Orange swipes with an old business card!

White shapes with a Command hook!

Purple lines with a skewer! (No clue why there was a skewer on my desk. It's been awhile since I've cleaned.)

More pink circles, then light blue fingerprints!

One final touch: While the paint was still wet, I dragged the still-purple skewer the opposite direction through the purple lines. Here's the finished spread.

I like it! It reminds me a lot of this piece, but when I look at them side-by-side, they're quite different. Adding paint to paper using "anything but a paintbrush" was a lot of fun and definitely something I'd like to explore further. 

Introducing Brayden

There's someone new in the deRosier house! Meet Brayden. 

We miss Trouble tremendously and have been talking about becoming bunny foster parents. When Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue (CCRR) sent out a message that they needed an urgent foster for Brayden, that was the push we needed. We rushed to get everything ready and welcomed Brayden into our home on Saturday, September 30. 

Brayden's story is one that is all too familiar. He was a gift for someone who was not prepared to keep a bunny. A rabbit, or any live animal, should NEVER be a gift. A rabbit is a 10+ year commitment. A rabbit needs special care and should be treated as a member of the family. Serious thought and preparation should go into adopting a rabbit or other pet. 

The woman who was given Brayden had an international move planned and a bunny was not part of the plan. She kept him as long as she could, then surrendered him to shelter, who in turned called CCRR. I am very thankful that she didn't just dump him. A domestic rabbit will not survive long in the wild. 

It's unclear where the original person got Brayden, but the woman who gave him up said that he was 10 months old. Going off that, we've decided his birthday is November 15, 2022. 

On Friday, Brayden was neutered and received his RHDV vaccine, then we brought him home on Saturday morning. He did some exploring, then went back into the kennel for a nap. He slept solidly until 4:00 pm when he was suddenly ravenous and active. He spent the next few hours eating and playing. I mostly hung out in the x-pen with him. He was comfortable having me there and I even got a little bit of tooth-purring when I petted him!

Each time I left the x-pen, Braden followed me to the door but did not follow me out. I left the door open, but he stayed in the x-pen. 

  

Sunday was similar. He was active in the morning, slept solidly in the early afternoon, then was really active from 4:00 pm on. 

He did a lot of periscoping, clearly interested in what was beyond the walls of his (open) pen. 

  

Yesterday morning, it finally happened! Brayden followed me out of the x-pen!

Once he came out, he wasted no time exploring! He hasn't ventured much beyond the carpeted area, but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time. I've moved some of my work downstairs so I can supervise his out-of-cage play time; he's locked in the x-pen when he's napping and when none of us are available to supervise (when we're sleeping). It will take some time for him to learn the house rules (example: please don't eat our baseboards) before he can be out without close supervision. 

As I mentioned, we are fostering Brayden. We've made a 3+ month commitment to taking care of him, giving him the best possible life, and bringing him to adoption events. We don't know how long he'll be with us, but I do know he won't leave our house without going somewhere just as nice. 

Brayden is as sweet as can be. We'll treasure the time we have with him.

The Most Underrated States

Now that I've visited all 50 states, I feel comfortable saying which states are my favorites. But I'm quick to point out that there are so many other states that I love. Today I want to focus on underrated states - those places that I liked much more than I expected. These are the states where, upon hearing we were visiting from California and weren't there to see relatives, people asked us why on earth we would visit their state.

The Most Underrated States in the US

The most underrated state in the United States is Nebraska. Famously considered a flyover state, I am here to tell you that you should fly TO Nebraska, not over it. Before our visit, I had no idea how much there is to see and do there. We spent a week in Omaha, with day trips to Beatrice and Lincoln, and barely scratched the surface. Go to Nebraska.  

Next on my list of underrated states is Kentucky. I didn't expect to see such diversity of people and things to do. I didn't expect such a vibrant food scene, nor the breathtaking natural beauty. The capital city, Frankfort, is small and charming with a population under 30,000. Louisville is about 20 times larger and is one of my all-time favorite cities. Both are well worth a visit. I'd love to return and see more of the Bluegrass State. 

When you think of Ohio, do you think tourism? I didn't, until I'd been there. There are so many fantastic things to see and do in Ohio, including a beautiful national park, fantastic museums, and outstanding food. We spent time in Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus and I would happily return to any of them. The next time we're in Ohio my priority will be exploring Cincinnati, since we haven't been there yet. Ohio is seriously underrated!

I didn't expect to love South Dakota nearly as much as I did. There is a misconception that there's nothing to do besides visit Mount Rushmore, which couldn't be further from the truth. It may be nicknamed the Mount Rushmore State, but that's only the start to the cool things to see and do in South Dakota. The national (and state) parks we visited were fantastic, as were the many museums and cultural sites. We ate well in South Dakota and enjoyed the natural beauty and plentiful wildlife. 

The last state on my list of underrated states is North Carolina. We haven't been to most of their top tourist attractions and we still found dozens of interesting places to go. We loved Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte and didn't have nearly enough time in any of them. Consider North Carolina as a future vacation destination!

Do you agree with my choices? Any other states you think are underrated? Tell me what you think in the comments!