EDM #80 - Draw Something That Makes You Happy

The treat of a new lipstick is always fun and delightful. Just a silly, little thing, but it makes me happy.

EDM #75 - Recipe & Ingredients, Cheese Straws

I luvs cheese straws. If I give them away as gifts, the recipients sometimes return the tins in case I'll make more for them.

These can be put through a pastry bag, but it's easier for me to roll them out. If rolling, the dough and scraps should be kept chilled until rolled.

It's fun to watch people who have never had cheese straws ... the cayenne pepper eventually makes its presence known.

Click on the image for a larger, readable version.

Enough with Roses

Just couldn't get into one more rose. I'm sure the practice is good for me, but I don't like the results of my efforts. One day I will be more comfortable with ink and shading, but not today. At least my new Pilot pen from the previous post is more comfortable in my hand than my previous pens.

If anyone is interested, here are the links where I purchased my pens.
His Nibs
Pilot 78G, Fine Nib, $25
Hero Account, XXF Nib, $10

It's a Flower

I tried to put a yellow flower on a cream background. Even with the inked outline, I wasn't sure which petals were pencilled. Though I've only tried gouache once before, I decided that it would help to have a dark green gouache background. It really didn't help with the fact that putting yellow on cream doesn't work for me. Maybe daylight instead of incandescent light would have helped. Ah well, I won't try that again. Meanwhile, the petals on the flower closed before I could finish!

Testing Art Supplies in Moleskine

Left: Gouache
I've never used gouache, so I purchased a cheap set for use in my Moleskine. It was easier to use in the sketchbook than watercolor. I had a problem with too much water coming from my Niji Waterbrush, but I learned this can happen after pushing on the sides of the barrel to flush the pen. Now I unscrew the nib from the barrel to adjust the pressure. I put the gouache paints into a tiny, toy, metal paint palette, and it and a matching palettte with Yarka watercolor paints fit nicely on the bottom of my pocketbook. It took ages to get the original watercolors out of the toy palettes. Those paints were hard and water-resistant!

Right: Noodler's Ink and Lamy Pen
Noodler's Ink does not like the water-resistant surface of the Moleskine sketchbook pages, so it's not waterproof on the pages, plus it takes a long time to dry. It needs to reach paper to be waterproof. I also showed the Pigma Micron and Staedtler Pigment Liner pens, and they are both waterproof on the pages. Big disappointment because I wanted to use my Lamy pen in the sketchbook. Not to worry. There's more paper around here.