Sunday, November 23, 2014

Draw Your Own Fireplace



Since I don't have a fireplace, I decided to make one. 


What you will need :

Black Paint & Paintbrush
Chalk
Canvas of Your Choice
Fake Garland





So, you paint your canvas black and prop it up against a bureau or a drawer. 

Take your garland, and place it inside the drawer.

Then, take some chalk and chalk the whole canvas first, so the chalk sticks on the canvas.

Finally, draw your design of your fireplace on the canvas, enjoy! Maybe have a cup of my 




Enjoy your fireplace! 

Have a nice day, S.E. Johnson


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Monday, November 17, 2014

Gingerbread, Snowmen, and Butterflies


Hi! Today, Little Miss Anya the cat and I have been enjoying our afternoon tea. The days are getting chillier, so we are acquiring our warmth from the large front window.






I love and collect vintage teapots. They are all very unique even if their design is slightly cracked. Even though modern teapots and tea kettles are more functional and useful, I prefer the style of these vintage ones.






As we pawed through Albertus Seba's Book of Natural Curiosities, Little Miss Anya found a flutter of butterflies on a page that I never knew existed.





She pointed to Sample No. 9, a yellow and black butterfly, and tried to claim it for herself. To her disappointment, she could not peel the butterfly off the page. I personally preferred Butterfly No. 5.






Later on, we made some gingerbread tea for ourselves, because it was very windy.






We took our modern teapot and warmed up some water for our tea. I suggested that we make the tea  appear like a snowman, to celebrate the cooler days. She agreed. The following is what we used to make our gingerbread snowman tea.




Gingerbread Snowman Tea

1 tablespoon of the Teavana Gingerbread loose-leaf tea
2 teaspoons of raw sugar
1/2 cup of milk (frothed)
Optional: one scoop of vanilla ice cream to make the tea cold

I am sharing my own recipe (in case you were wondering). Enjoy!


Have a wonderful day!

SE Johnson 

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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Finding Home





What is the meaning of collecting shells? Shells were once homes for creatures that were abandoned. We as humans have a connection to shells. Humans struggle to find the perfect home and the perfect job when really that person's life was something that was divinely created and planned, in this case, a shell for a specific crab. 






Also, shells are all unique. Every shell is different. Even though we are all unique, we share similarities. For example, there are many types of cone shells, but none of their markings match.  








I enjoy studying shells. This book is a reprint of Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities from the 1700's. Along with information, it has many beautiful drawn images of shells, as well as reptiles, butterflies, plants, and sea life. 









This is an image from this book. I found this beautiful swirl of shells, and the design in which these shells were arranged is entrancing. 






 Sample No. 64 is my favorite shell. I love the shape and color of the shell, as well as its ridges. 









When I was younger, I loved this book. This is Kevin Henke's Junonia. It teaches children about persistence, and selfishness. It is also a book about growing up. 





Also, the book is illustrated beautifully. The images are designed to appear hand-drawn. The chapters are short, and the book is very entertaining. 





More coming soon, enjoy!   

S.E. Johnson