Hobonichi Techo ~ Travel and Celebrations

The Hobonichi Techo is the name brand of the Japanese journal in which I write and draw for my 'illustrated diary.'

The Hobonichi brand sells an extensive line of

planners and accessories, and enjoys an almost

cult following of lovers of their products 

The Hobonichi Techo Challenge is a creative challenge

by Penguinscreative originally posted on Instagram,

 in which she comes up with a theme and daily prompts 

for Hobonichi users to draw or write about.

A busy week has passed, as I rescheduled appointments

and prepared to travel out of state to visit family, attend

a play co-directed by my music-teacher-daughter and

attend a high school graduation ceremony.

I usually squeeze in the time to write notes in my 

journal, adding drawings and doodles later.

The fruit challenge this month has really made

my pages colorful and fun.

It was a long drive to Tennessee to attend my

grandson's Fifth Grade graduation ceremony. Hubby

had to work, so I was on my own. I was

surprised at the formal ceremony, because it isn't

something done in the area where I live.  However, I think

it encourages the students to look forward to graduating

from high school. So that's certainly a good thing.

No caps and gowns, but everyone was dressed up

and there were helium balloons, flowers, and a 

very nice awards ceremony. I'm so glad I got to attend!

This is one of those pages where I wish there had been

more room to write and draw! Very proud of 

my grandson, who is 11. (but looks so much older!) 

I discovered on the drive back to Ohio that listening

to an audio book makes the time pass much more

quickly and enjoyably! It was actually a title that my

grandson had read, and features a 'steampunk' kind

of alternate universe. Fun stuff.

On Friday, I drove to Northwest, Ohio where my

daughter teaches music. Some of her students were

performing two different one-act plays.  Since I hadn't

been to any of her programs this year, I wanted to 

attend.  The plays were funny and well done, and the

venue was quite interesting.The Fayette Opera House, which my daughter explained had been built for the 

old Vaudeville days. Still needs some restoration, but

so inspiring that the community is working to 

keep it going and make improvements.

I discovered that some of her students have

been looking at my blog. As my daughter was doing

theater make-up for her students, I thought it would

be a good time to do a little work in my journal.

"Oh, is this the famous journal?!" asked one of the students.

"Famous journal?" ah, um, yes. I didn't know it was famous

in Fayette, Ohio... Lots of interesting questions followed.

So surprising to find that they were even interested...

I guess it's a good reminder to keep in mind the impact

of the images and words that you put out there on 

the internet! You never know who is seeing it, and it's 

one very good reason to keep things positive.

Then there was High School Graduation on Sunday and a 

very nice family gathering afterwards for my nephew.

The school happens to be my Alma Mater too. I 

remember being so glad to move on to college! And

did I mention making 'Buckeye Candy' for the party?

They are truly decadent. But sooo yummy!

Linking up for T Tuesday over at Bleubeard and

Elizabeth's blog, where we share a beverage and

a chat about whatever is on our minds. 

Thanks for stopping by!

T is for TECHO and Trivia

Trivia is defined in my Webster's

Dictionary as "unimportant matters."

My Hobonichi Techo is the place for my

own daily trivia...stuff that is 'important'

only to me. 

Still enjoying learning about these

unfamiliar (to me) fruit that were part

of the Hobonichi Challenge. The

drawings make for colorful pages!

Went to see the movie

Guardians of the Galaxy 2...

not as good as the first movie, but

fabulous special effects and music.

The plot was a bit...I don't know...

choppy?...forced? Still enjoyable 

for Science Fiction lovers, though.

Baby Groot simply stole the show!

Our family had a wonderful Mother's Day,

and I hope yours did too.  I wish I had

taken some photos, but alas I didn't

think to take my camera. 

Linking up for the T Tuesday blog hop over at 

Altered Book Lover's blog. Stop by for a

 beverage and a chat. You can even join in 

with a blog post featuring any kind of 

beverage. (Did you see my little coffee mug 

drawing? It qualifies! 😉) It's a lot of fun

 to see the variety of beverages and

 activities that our blogger friends have 

been up to: travels, creativity, swaps, restaurant

visits, vintage, baking, and beverages.

My choice of beverage is usually coffee, and even

 though the blog hop is called Tea Tuesday, our hostess

graciously permits other beverages! (*smiles sweetly*)

♥ ♥ ♥

 "A coffee a day keeps

the Grumpy away!"

Pre-Doodling for my Techo

Morning coffee and my Hobonichi Techo...

...and painting in some doodles that I drew

in pen while watching TV. They come in 

handy to add a little 'arty interest'

to my journal entries.

I realize that my pages are crazy 'busy.'

I pack as much onto these little pages 

as possible.  Above, the watermelon page

before it was finished.

And here you can see quite a bit more

was added to the page. That's just how I

roll.  The stickers on the left were unearthed

among children's supplies. I think these babies

might be over 30 years old, from Hallmark.

And they still stick!!  so...I am a supply 

hoarder, I admit it.

Loving the Hobonichi Challenge this month

(from April Wu on Instagram) which is fruit.

Cheerful and pretty subjects to draw, and

I'm learning about a few fruit that I 

might want to try, like Mangosteen. Not 

sure it is available fresh in the U.S. though...

have you ever tried it?

Anyone else remember that old song

"put the lime in the coconut and 

drink it all up?!"

I seem to be using more Washi tape and

collage in my Hobonichi this year. I think

this journal will be even bulkier than

my 2016 edition.

And here is the partial page for today,

lest you think the entries are done all

in one sitting.  Actually, the page may get

added to a little at a time during the day; 

often just notes about what got 

accomplished or what happened. Then

I finish it up the following morning.  It's 

interesting to try to 'notice' how you

proceed with your journal pages. It is often

intuitive, and you have trouble explaining to

someone else how it happened!

Do you follow a planned process when 

you make art, or does it just 'happen?'

Linking up for the T Tuesday blog hop.

I recommend you stop by for a cuppa

and a chat. There might even be

baked goodies...you never know!

Techo Tuesday

Art journaling every day in my

Hobonichi Techo keeps me busy,

and happy...

even when I have "one of those days"

where I can't seem to focus or 

remember anything! I write and draw

about it, and it's like therapy.

Linking up with Bleubeard and Elizabeth

for T Tuesday, where we share a 

beverage and have a chat. Can you spot

my coffee cup sketches? (and a 

sweet roll!?)

Got some cool collage goodies from

some mixed media friends, and into

the Hobonichi they went!

The Hobonichi Challenge (by April Wu)

on Instagram is up for May. It features a

different fruit each day. Several I've never

heard of, so Google will have to help

with that...it will be fun and educational to

illustrate each one on the appropriate day.

And you can see, above right, that some

days get filled in at a later time...maybe 

because it was a busy day, or maybe because

I didn't know what to draw/write. Blank

spaces do get filled eventually!

The month of April was the month of 

International Fake Journal Month. At my

Cottonwood Counterfeit Journal blog, I

dreamed up a Fake character, who would

draw about what she saw and experienced.

It was a tough one for me to identify with, 

but the response from my readers 

seems to indicate that it struck a cord.

In a week or so, I will be doing a Wrap-Up,

where I will explain all ~ and my conclusions

about the project.  Stop by to see what

the Faking was all about!

Welcome to all my visitors...what are

you doing to be creative these days?