A day at the beach

Last weekend we made the most of the beautiful weather; we loaded the car and headed to the beach. It was a bit windy and the water a little chilly for a dive, but surely the kids enjoyed playing with the sand on the endless and almost empty beach. We ended the day with a pizza over a spectacular sunset dreaming about the summer to come.  Here's to a beautiful day!

Remembering our first day at the beach with a quick watercolour sketch in my weekly art journal. Happy Sunday!

A peak inside my new b/w sketchbook

As I don't have already enough on plate these days, I bought myself this white gel ink pen to try out. I had some black paper scraps and started doodling. The results were very effective and loved the white marks on the black background.

So I thought I'd buy a pocket moleskine with black pages, but couldn't find one easily, so I made my own little book (about 12x12cm) to experiment with instead.  I used this sheet of black paper and this black hemp cord to coptic stitch the pages together. For the cover I used some cardstock covered with a sheet of paper designed by Suzy Ultman for The Book for Paper Lovers 2.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mums out there! you are all doing an amazing job, whether you are a mother of one or ten kids. Being a mum is no joke and the painstaking job we are all doing should be celebrated and recognised every single day (I'm typing this single handed while my 9 month old is trying to climb over my shoulder). We all have ups and downs, joyful moments and tired tears, but at the end of the day there's no one else in the world that can replace us. So to all of you, who are struggling in your role as a mother, as I am right now, hang in there and let the world celebrate you on this day. Happy Mother's Day. xoxo

Documenting 2015: 4/12

Brother & Sister: Chasing each other and laughing like crazy. 

There's never a dull moment with these two around

Olivia: Sunbathing on the grass after endless hours of playing and running around looking for flowers to pick

Vale: His first pic nic, followed by a very long afternoon nap.

April is, and always will be, my favourite month of the year (and also my birthday month!). We spent a lot of time outdoor enjoying the glorious weather, playing at the park, eating ice cream and picking wild flowers. Loving the longer days and making up excuses for going to bed a little late.

I will be documenting 2015 through monthly portraits of my little ones. You can check the previous months here.

work in progress

We have spent the past week in Calabria visiting my parents. I had plans to get a few things done, but as much as I tried, time was mostly spent chatting, relaxing (as much as I could with two young children to look after), celebrating my birthday, eating good food and enjoying the good weather. My sketchbook will have to wait to get its binding finished, my sketches will stay as they are for a few more months and my blue mixes will dry on the palette. Everything has its time, and this was not for them.