I think I saw a yellow leaf or two today,  hiding among among the green foliage. I'm pretty sure the first day of autumn is just around the corner. 
What better way to welcome the changing of the seasons than some celebratory art? 

You probably have a fall bucket list, which may include a bit of crafting, some decorating, and opening a new page in your journal or planner. Here is an easy tutorial for a cute, doodled pumpkin to spice up your autumn-y creativity. 

It's super easy and fast! Anyone can draw it! Once you start doodling them, you won't want to stop!

It's almost that wonderful time of the year...

Time to carve pumpkins, pick out costumes, buy candy corn you will never actually eat, and decorate for Halloween! ​

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year...

Time to carve pumpkins, pick out costumes, buy candy corn you will never actually eat, and decorate for Halloween! 

Okay. I sometimes eat the candy corn. I also LOVE colorful Halloween decor. But sometimes simpler is better, and there are so many lovely black and white decor ideas. I'm seriously thinking about sticking to a minimal, somewhat black and white theme this year (with a splash of pumpkins and slime, of course.) 

Since I'm searching for inspiration and ideas, I thought I would share a round-up of some simple, black and white Halloween printables you can find on Etsy this year. 

I've been asked a few times recently how I manage to find time to create art and have blogs, while raising three children. (And still get other stuff done too.) 

Since it was super hard to get everything in balance at first (and I almost gave up many times) I can understand the sense of overwhelm. ​

Also, I think fears about time constraint hold so many people back from creating things, because we are pretty much taught that creating is a "hobby", not a priority. 

So, I thought I would share my "secrets" for getting it all done and not going crazy (all the time). 

​Creating pretty things for your home is fun and magical. But art supplies can be expensive. 

So what if you are on a budget and can't justify buying all the pretty things? One of my favorite ways to collect a few free art supplies is by taking nature walks. 

Autumn is a perfect time to take some walks with the kids. You can combine science and creativity while enjoying some (cooler) fresh air.

​Here are a few arts and craft supplies you can find outdoors, and ideas for using them: 

So, a new cartoon/illustration/doodle design! This one actually has some deep-ish meaning too. 

Okay. They deep meaning was an accident. I just wanted to draw a cactus with balloons. But...

​In my last post, I listed books as one of my five silly (yet motivational!) happy thoughts, and shared a picture of my kitchen bookshelf. 

Someone I know messaged me and asked which book from that shelf I would recommend the most so she can add it to her summer reading list. 

That sounded like a pretty great idea for a post! So, here are my top 15 (who can choose just one??)  books I would recommend if I could only suggest books from just this shelf. 

The last couple of weeks have been pretty shabby. Snakes, summer colds, a broken microwave, a broken car, allergies, a lost birth certificate, a total dud of a yard sale. 

When so many negative things pile up in a short amount of time, it's important to focus on some, silly happy thoughts.  I don't know about you, but if I start to stress a bit and let myself get all glum and sulky,  I have a much harder time finding any creative motivation. 

Here are my happy thoughts for this week, and some creative motivation for you (free printable!): 

​Hi! It's been awhile since I did a PicMonkey art tutorial, so this seemed like the perfect time to share my favorite tips on how to color in your drawings. 

If you are looking for a budget-friendly, easy way to color in some of your art, then this tutorial is for you. I've included step-by-step screenshots and instructions. 

Warning though! This is a pretty long post, so feel free to pin it or bookmark it for later! 

​Ready? 

​Are you looking for something to doodle in your bullet journal? Or maybe a motif you can use for a craft project? Maybe you just want to try drawing something new. 

Well that is awesome, because today I've put together this easy-peasy tutorial so you can quickly draw a cute whale doodle! 

You can draw this little whale in just ten steps, and you only need a few budget-friendly supplies. Ready? 

It's almost time to start stocking up on those back-to-school supplies. If you are like me, then you probably like to start a bit early and beat that crazy rush of last-minute shoppers grabbing up what's left on the shelves. 

Okay. I also like buying "school" supplies because it gives me an excuse to hang out in the office supply section and fondle all the notebooks and novelty pencils. 

Since we homeschool, we don't have to worry about things like backpacks and lunchboxes, but we thoroughly enjoy browsing those pencil cases and silly erasers. 

Because cool supplies are the best school supplies, I've put together a round-up of some of the most amazingly cool, unique, fun and cute supplies that are on our wishlist for this year. 

Really, these are so fun and art-y... they make me almost wish I was back in school again! Luckily, most of them will work great as "grown-up" office (or art studio)  supplies too! 

I was adding some art and printables to some older posts and came across this post about the time I spent  29 days without my phone. 

Since I had tons of other stuff on my list to-do, naturally I decided that post needed a cute cartoon and bumped it to the top priority slot. 

​I'm still feeling this post because the replacement phone they sent me did the same thing. And now I am using my mother's older phone until I can get something better. 

Until then, I can at least draw cartoons of smartphones. Here is the one I did tonight to go with the post (and somewhat soothe my phone angst): 

​"Twins? Wow...you sure knew how to save time, huh?" 

There is just something about twins that mystifies people. They are a pretty cool phenomenon, and I admit I've always gotten excited when I've seen sets of twins too.

The funny thing about having multiples (I'm sure moms of triplets and more draw a lot of attention too!) is that they tend to attract strange questions and weird comments.

You get tons of these from strangers when you are pregnant with twins, and you think it is probably over once the babies are born.

​Nope, people will just keep in with the commenting and questions, just like the person last week who told me that having twins saved me a lot of time building my family. :) 

Now that my twin girls are 3, and look very different from each other, I don't get quite as many comments and questions while out and about.

But I've recorded some of my favorites (?) weird remarks from strangers, from twin pregnancy to the present day to share with you. 

(If you already have twins, feel free to laugh, groan or nod your head. I'm sure you've heard at least one of these!) 

(And you can get some free printable diaper bag tags farther down. You'll see why...) 

Years ago, someone warned me that it was stupid to be an artist, because art is a luxury, not a necessity. Decorating things was "a waste of time."

That same person would probably roll their eyes out of their sockets over these doodled DIY seed packets. That actually makes me feel pretty good about this project...because we all love a little luxury in our lives, right? 

While seed packets may not be high on the necessary stuff list, they are a great way to organize any seeds you harvest from your own garden. They also make cute gift packages if you like to share your seeds with other gardeners. 

So, since my marigolds have just started dropping seed pods, I figured it was a good time to share this tutorial with you...so you too can waste a little time making something pretty and helpful for your home.  *wink* 

​Here is what you will need: 

Happy 4th! Since you are probably busy having fun, here is a short post with two new cartoons and a free journal page printable for you. (Perfect for recording all the fun you had on Independence Day!) 

​If you have a Sharpie marker or two in your home, then you can turn about anything into an artistic canvas. Even "trash". 

Lots of us love the challenge of upcycling something that would normally be thrown away (since it is pretty much free and all). You've probably seen all the Pinterest projects for upcycling or making over items like old jars, cereal boxes and wood scraps. 

Well, this little upcycled tea box is a much smaller project than anything involving wood scraps. It is made from one of the divider boxes used in a box of Lipton tea bags. 

Here is how I transformed this one into a cute desktop holder for my paper clip collection: