Tuesday, May 30, 2017

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!



Tuesday, May 16, 2017

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!"


Tuesday, May 9, 2017

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!



Tuesday, May 2, 2017

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
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?