Daily December Critturs Day #1

While most people are familiar with the Grinch, they are unaware of the Daily December beasts that inhabit the North Pole.  These critturs hibernate all year long, except for one day.  A different beast wakens each day in December, and runs frantically about the workshops and factories, honking or hooting or chirping.  By this means, the elves always know what day of the month it is when they see or hear the Daily beast.

As you might imagine, pictures or photos of the beasts are rare, but I managed to do some sketches of them (don't ask when or how!) and I'm sharing a few with the world at large.

Daily December Crittur #1 makes a panting noise, and his feet pound the ground like someone beating on a bongo drum.  Pant-a pant. Bomp-bomp-bomp.  Pant-a-pan. Bomp-bomp-bomp!


I based my Daily December journal off of an exercise in Carla Sonheim's 'Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals'.  The technique for my Daily December book was adapted from an exercise in Carla Sonheim's 'Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals'.

You know all those annoying polictical flyers we received in the mail during the political campaign?  I've been priming them with gesso. I added alcohol ink, drop by drop, to 6 flyers of different size, plus a bookmark or two, and then burnished them with a slightly wet rag.  Once satisfied with color and texture, I folded each in half and sewed them together with a pamphlet stitch to make myself a journal.

I set that aside, and stamped each and every number from the  Plate1430! from Viva Las VegaStamps! onto a sheet of Kromecote.  I cut each number out, and added miracle tape to both sides.  After I adhered a number to one page of my journal, I sprinkled it with Micro Marbles, which toned down the bright white of the Kromecoat, and made it glow.

Then I used my Faber-Castell Stamper's Big Brush White to rough out each beast.  I used the blotches and drips where the Alcohol Ink had run to guide me in drawing my critturs. The fun of this journal was that each beast spreads out to the pages around it and becomes part of the next beast.  I used Tim Holtz Distress markers for the outlines and a bit of additional color for shading and the Santa hats.

Supplies: Viva Las Vegastamps! Daily December Plate (I couldn't find it on the site for some reason)
8 Mail flyer cards
Gesso
Ranger Alcohol Ink-Wild Plum, Stream, Terra Cotta, Meadow, Ginger, Oregano, Currant, Caramel, Bottle
Micro Marbles-Glass Apple Green, Glass Orange, Glass Aquamarine
Faber-Castell Stamper's Big Brush White
Tim Holtz Distress Markers-Black Soot,Barn Door, Forest Moss, Broken China, Scattered Straw
Scissors
Bookbinding thread/Needle

These critturs were numbered using the Daily December  The basic idea for the journal came from an exercise in Carla Sonheim's 'Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals'.

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Comments

  1. I, for one, really appreciate the break down of exactly how you did the pages for the book and the links to the products. It is always so inspiring to look at your unique art. Thank you for sharing with us all.
    Jean

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  2. Thank you! It's nice to know that people do find my breakdowns helpful.

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  3. And what brought your creative processes this way Used to be the only good politician was a dead one, now you've given them a reason to come alive again... to furnish you with background backgrounds :)

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    Replies
    1. I was throwing all those flyers away, thinking what a waste--they say the same things I'm seeing on TV. I even though about keeping count and voting for the politician who sent me the least number. Then I realized I could put them to good use. They still count against the politician though. I'll still be using what I have when the next election rolls around.

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  4. Hi Sandra, I seem to be having some trouble signing in to leave a comment. I hope this one works. These journal pages are all amazing, I've been watching their development on flickr. I appreciate how you have taken essentially worthless advertising and turned it into beautiful art. I also appreciate your step by step instructions on how you did that. I may be able to cut down on recycle by trying some of your techniques. You've been an enormous inspiration to me from the first day I showed up on the flickr zentangle site last April, just having learned what a zentangle was. Thanks for sharing your talent with us.

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  5. I totally agree with all of the above comments. I would like to spend an hour in the recesses of your imagination. Why only an hour...you figure it out!!!

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