Real Neat Blogger Award

I was recently nominated by Ezra to do this awesome award! Thank you so much, Ezra! Be sure to go check out his blog. It’s super neat!

Let’s go!

So, the rules are:

1. Put the award logo on your blog
2. Answer the 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you
3. Thank the person who nominated you and links to their blog(s)
4. Nominate any number of bloggers and link to their blog(s)
5. Come up with seven questions for the people who nominated you

Onward!

Ezra’s questions…

1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Hmm… Well, I love America, so I would probably want to explore a little more of it, but internationally I’d say Scotland/England or Switzerland(:

2. What is your favorite genre of music?

Ooh. Well, I like a lot of different types. I would definitely say Christian (such as Chris Tomlin, Bethel, Switchfoot, etc.), Rock (Like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and others), and Indie/Folk (Like Ingrid Michaelson, Sarah Bareilles, and others).

3. What is your favorite book series?

Ahhh!!😱 SO HARD! I LOOOVE the Chronicles of Narnia, the Little House series, and the Mysterious Benedict Society. (If you call that a series(: )

4. Why did you decide to start blogging?

Hmm. Well, A long time ago when I was much younger I had a blog about American Girl dolls called Dollventuresblog. In 2016, I got locked out (for some odd reason) and couldn’t get back in. After taking a long break from blogging and playing with my dolls, I wanted to start it up again. Then I started theJunebugblog in September 2017(: I wanted to show the things I was interested in and inspire folks!

5. What is your least favorite food?

Hmm. I don’t really know! I like most foods. Maybe Cajun food? I know that sounds strange, but the past few times I’ve had it, it wasn’t the most enjoyable! 🤪

6. What’s the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?

Mexican candy. Definitely. It was supposed to be edible paper with this gel frosting pen that you can use to write on it. Then you eat it.🤢 It was, *ahem* interesting.

7. What’s your favorite color? 

I like dusty blue, Blush pink and Turquoise(:

That’s it for the questions. Those were fun! Much thanks to you, Ezra!

Now my nominees are (Linking to their most recent post so it notifies them):

Sydney

Clara

Rosy

Lillian

Ani

Rhi

Olivia

And my questions:

1. Would you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
2. Where’s the most interesting place you’ve been to?
3. Do you prefer reading or writing?
4. What is your dream job?
5. Do you say “y’all” or “you all?”
6. What’s your favorite season?
7. If you could have any natural ability (such as being a math major at 12, or being a pianist by ear, or an amazing baker), what would it be?

Thank you smooch for reading! If you would like to do this award and I didn’t nominate you, feel free to do so!

I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

Also: There is an online race going on right now. The registry closes on March 25th. It is called “Spring100” and it is for runners and walker to run or walk 100 intentional (not just from your couch to the fridge to get a snack!) miles between now and June 21st. This is my first year doing it, and I’m excited! It’s totally free. Click here if you’re interested! I will be planning to post a little bit of my progress on the way. I am looking forward to it!

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My Most Used Brush Pens and How I Use Them

Hi everyone!

I am really loving the Spring-ness outside! I am enjoying the warm (er) weather a lot!

I have had some questions before about what brush pens I use. Today I shall be showing y’all what my most used brush pens are. Also, a little bit down the way I will be showing y’all how I use brush pens in (every. single. way. possible.😜) some different ways.

I will link to each pen’s website when I give their description. Be sure to check them out, they’re all great!

I have only been doing brush lettering for the past 6 or 7 months, and it’s now my favorite (or one of my favorites) hobbies. I love how you can use it in all different ways: letters, artwork, journaling; there are so many!

I mainly use it for designing letters and for journaling and for art, but I like to write with the harder ones, like the Tombow fudenosukes and Baokes below. (It can become quite wrist-tiring, but still😋)

The first ever brush pen I started with I still have: The Marvy Le Plume II. It is double sided; the brush nib on one side and a pen nib on the other. (Most of the other dual sided pens have bullet nibs. That’s the main reason I like this pen.)

Level: Beginner 

Link: Marvy

Price per pen: $2.59 (on Marvy website)

Rating (by me😛): ★★☆

The brush nib is, well, not the greatest. It is felt, which most are, but this one is easily frayed. I’ve only ever tried black, and the pigmentation isn’t the greatest (The black comes off more grey looking than black)

I really liked this at first, before I tried any others, but now that I have a variety I really just…don’t like it at all. It’s a bit difficult to use on the up strokes. It is a nice skinny pen, though, which is good when writing. I also like the pen tip on the other side. It’s almost like a Micron 03 which I use for line art during illustrations. It’s nice because you can write on the outside of a card and the inside using both tips!

This is quite pricey for the quality, though, which I don’t like. I wouldn’t recommend this to a professional, but it’s a good starter for beginners. I liked it a lot when I first started.

Tombow ABt Dual

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Link: Tombow USA

Price per pen: $3.19

Rating: ★★★★☆

I really like these pens. I got the primary colors pack for my birthday last June along with a tutorial book, and I loved these so much more. I recently got the 96 pen set, and I use it day and night😂 Tombow constantly comes out with new colors and packs, and I love their website.

However, they are quite pricy per pen, and they can fray easily when used wrong or used a lot, which is sad.

The brush tip is felt, and is very firm, which I like a lot. The bullet nib is great, too!

I would recommend these first to anyone who asks. Definitely go check ’em out!

Koi Coloring by Sakura

Level: Beginner

Link: Sakura of America

Price per pen: Varies ($2.00 on some sites, $3.50 on others)

Rating: ★★★

I bought two Koi’s from Dick Blick awhile back, just to test. I like them okay, except they give such a thick line when in full pressure, and aren’t double sided.

The aren’t quite ask expensive, however, which is good. And they haven’t frayed yet, which makes me glad. I love their vibrant colors and the fatness of the strokes is nice sometimes(:

Baoke 20, 21, 22 + 23

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Link:  Amazon

Price: $10.00

Rating: ★★★★

Now, I was running out of one of my Fudenosuke pens (coming below) and I wanted to see if there were any brands I hadn’t tried yet. I went ‘a searching’ on Amazon for pens and I found these, and I was much pleased. I really like number 21, 22 and 23 (bigger number bigger size), but the number 20 reminds me a lot of the Marvy Le Plume II.

I use number 22 and 23 all the time, and I love the different sizes. These are also great quality for such a good price.

I definitely recommend!

Tombow Fudenosuke Hard and Soft Tip

Level: Intermediate

Link: Tombow USA

Price (together and per pen): $6.98/$3.49 

Rating: ★★★★☆

By far, my favorite brush pens ever. I love how firm they are and how dark black they come out. I use them on every thing and I just LOVE them.

The only bad thing is that when they dry out they give a scratchy, faded look to your lettering that you don’t always want with a pen.

I wouldn’t recommend these for first time letterers, though, for they have a plastic nib and can be damaged if not used properly. Other than that, they’re great!

Now, as for how I use them, I will show a few ways(:

You can make tiny little works of lettering art. I love making ATC’s to send pen-pals!

Post: Some Recent Art

I make lots of cards with lettering on them. I also like to illustrate with the colored ones.

Post: Some Photos (And something new!)

Illustrations and card designs are super fun.

Post: (Pen-Pal) Letter Art 

Those are just a few ways I love to use brush lettering. There are many, MANY more ways, though, such as bullet journaling, crafts, and watercolor work. (They’re water based, so when water added they give a watercolor look!)

Here are also a few recent pieces of art I’ve done. (I’m just ‘a throwing it all at ya!)

I really liked painting this one(:

I did the sky of this one with the Tombow Dual Brush pens(:

That’s it! Thank you so much for reading! I really enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have any questions, be sure to let me know!

Do you have any of these pens? Do you like the look of brush lettering? Do you like rice or salad? 

A Gathering Of Recent Photography

Hello my friends!

I do hope your day is grand!

I have gathered an amount of photos in the last few days and I am longing to share them with you all!

We have had some rather beautiful sunsets of late. I love how they change so many times in the short time they’re in the sky. God’s masterpieces! Aren’t they gorgeous?

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

Psalm 113:3

The view of our neighbor’s pond across the street. Ahh! I just love sunsets.

Our neighbor’s house had the sun sitting on it’s roof! Look how golden it is!

I love using manual focus and making everything bokeh-d(:

The cherry tree finally bloomed! The blooms are so pretty. I had never smelled one before, til I took the pictures. They’re so sweet!

AHH! I love this one. They have a nice view(:

I crossed the street when I saw purple. Ah, yes, a nice bed of chickweed there for me(:

Isn’t purple LOVELY?

My Dad and Evan (my brother) went out to play frisbee. I wanted to try some action shots(: It was hard to get everything still! I used Shutter Speed on the dial first, but then went to Tv 3200, F-stop 1/125. It seemed to work alright. Learning!

Hehe. Evan did an Olympic catch😂

Evan looks so determined! Haha.

Right before the fall. 

Haha! A very enthusiastic catch!

Alrighty! There we are. Just a few photos for your pondering. I hope you enjoyed!

What’s the weather like where you live? It’s finally Springish here!

Thanks much for viewing!

Do you like Frisbee? Do you have a flowering cherry tree? Do you prefer sneakers, flats or boots?

Also: Abigail is hosting an awesome giveaway for reaching 100 followers (!) over on Books, Life, and Christ. Go check it out and enter! Give her a follow!

Fun Things To Send Your Pen-Pal/Tips For Conversation

Hidey! (That’s how my family says “howdy” 😜)

I hope everyone is well on this actually not raining day!

I have always, since I’ve been able to write, had a pen-pal. I learned to write when I was six (decently, at least), and my two friends were also at that point. I remember watching “Anne of Green Gables” I do believe and seeing Anne and Diana write letters made me want to! Over the years since then I have asked people I meet and my friends if they’d like to write. It’s a great way to get to know someone, and if your like me, tech-less, then it’s a great way to communicate, and it’s also really fun to get mail! My Mom says I get more mail then she does. XD

At first I used to send and receive super short letters. They might’ve been something like this, “Hi! How are you? I’m good. I have been playing outside a lot lately. It’s really hot out! Have you been to the pool lately? Your Friend, AK.”

Not really much there!

I am one for a long letter. I enjoy reading them, hearing about my friends’ day and what they’ve been doing, what they’re into at the time, what they’re learning in school, etc.

I also like to send fun things with the letter, such as stickers, a photo, an ATC (Artist Trading Card), some artwork, a postcard you got on recent journeys, a poem, a quote, bible verse, and such. I have also gotten some things with my letters before and it’s always so fun to open up and see everything.

My Pen-Pal Supplies drawer

It’s fun to have things prepared for letters as well. I love to get right on the reply when I get a letter so it goes out in the mail the next day, and I like to have things prepared to send.

I have some questions written down on a little piece of paper I can refer to if I’m in a rut on things to say. (And that’s especially if it’s a first time letter, sometimes questions can break the ice.) Some include:

1. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? (That’s a fun one. There’s always different answers to that!)
2. Do you like to cook or bake more?
3. What is your favorite flower(s)?
4. If you could have any kind of superpower, what would it be?
5. What is one of your favorite things?

Those are just a few. It’s nice to have this if you get stuck not knowing what to say. It seems that if you ask questions like these you get the ball rolling and then you learn you have many things in common and you become great friends over time. It’s amazing, because one of my best friends is a pen-pal, and I’ve only ever seen her in person about 3 or 4 times. We’ve gotten to know each other very well over the past little while. Sometimes it seems that you can tell each other anything in a letter!

Washi tape or decorative tape is always fun to include in a letter. (Or on the outside to seal the envelope!) A looong time ago (my wee little blog was still new!) I made a post about things you can do with it. (You can see that here) I like to decorate the envelope with it, too.

Speaking of decorating envelopes, that is one fun way to add a personal touch to your letter, and it is really fun! I love receiving decorated envelopes in the mail. (And decorating them myself! See some here)

Tea is one thing I enjoy sending to pen-pals. (Although that’s one of the questions I always ask, “Do you like tea?” just randomly😉) It’s fun to send your friends your new favorite teas and to see how they like them. (I especially like to send this green tea😁)

It’s also fun to write a note on the back, or just to tell them why you like that blend.

One thing some of my friends did was to get a piece of paper, one person writes about 4 or 5 things that we’ve done together/things we’re going to do and pass it back and forth until, well, it’s done! It’s fun to do lettering and artwork on that piece of paper. When you’re done, you can copy it and send your friend one and you keep one. We do one once a year, and it’s fun to look back on what you were doing/looking forward to at that time. (And to see how well your penmanship has changed😆)

I love to send Artist Trading Cards to pen-pals. I like sending my recent artwork on them. I get some from my pen-pals, too, and I love seeing their artwork/recent doodles and such.

Little works of art are fun to include as well. I like to send little watercolor works or illustrations. I like make them various shapes as well.

Something a few of my pen-pals and I did were make “knick-knacks” as we called them. We just made bunches of little pieces of paper with art, bible verses, quotes, etc. and it was fun to receive them in the mail each letter!

Fun stamps always make letter art that much more fun! My Grandaddy got me these for Christmas. They’re so cute! But if you go to USPS.com you can see all of there stamp collections. (You can also order them) They have floral designs, celebrities, seasons, etc. on stamps that you can choose from. You can see them all here.

Wax seals! These are one of my favorite things for envelopes. I love to melt different colors together to create a marbled look, and to just melt solid colors. You can find these anywhere online, Amazon, Etsy; They’re there for ya! There are also different stamps you can buy, and different colored wax. They just add a little “pop” to your envelope. (And they also seal the letter quite well!)

Photos are alway a good option, too. If you can print photos, send one in your next letter! They’re fun to receive, and it’s a good way to share a memory!

Also, if you’re interested in becoming a pen-pal with someone, don’t be afraid to ask! Writing letters is so much fun, and I’m sure the other person would say yes, with permission!

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Well my dears, that is the conclusion of this fun post. I have really enjoyed writing this, (I bet all the word you read explained that! heh, 1,059 words!) it was fun to do!

I hope you enjoyed. Let me know if this was helpful for your and if you will be using any of these tips! I’ll be happy to answer any questions as well.

Have you ever seen Anne of Green Gables before? Do you write letters? Do you use any of these thing in your letter? Would you like more of these posts soon? What is your favorite day of the week?

A Peek Into My Sketchbook | A Bit Of Photography

Hello, all!

Are you doing well?

I have been working in my sketchbook a good book today, and I thought I’d share! I have been working on drawing lots of different things and working with different art mediums, such as colored pencils (which I’ve never liked☹️), watercolor, charcoal, and others.

I like to try new things (mostly😜) and I have been enjoying using the things I have around the house. It’s fun to find out what is fun to use that you never really enjoyed!

I was experimenting today drawing hair. For some reason hair has always been one of the hardest parts of drawing a complete head. I have been learning how to “block out” the shape of the har, then add detail. (well, when I say learning, I mean figuring it out myself while I listen to Adventures In Odessey😆)

I have also been working on blending colors together to create highlights are shading, and I am really enjoying it! Especially with colored pencils. They actually blend a lot better than I ever thought!

This one turned out m favorite, I believe. This was with Crayola (I know!) colored pencils. I just used the tan colored one where I wanted highlights before I added brown, and then I layered the brown up , leaving highlights where I thought they’d go. (I actually copied my hair the best I could from a picture of myself. It actually looks like my hair!)

I started this one and then decided I should take pictures of the process! I used my Tombow dual brush pens for this one. I have really been trying to nail-down the blending for these ever since I got them, and i do believe I’ve figured it out. (and I do believe this applies to most art mediums as well.) Start with a light color, then add the darker color on top. with hair, I left spots with only the lighter color showing through for the reflection, then added the light color back on top, blending it out, looking a bit more natural.

I like to add the face shape in there to see how everything fits. (:

And thus ends the very quick view into what I’ve been working on in my sketchbook! I know that was short, but I’m planning on doing a sketchbook tour once I’ve filled this one completely.

Now, onward to photos!

Thank you all for reading and looking at this (rather short) post! I am looking forward to new posts soon(:

Have you ever drawn hair? Do you use Crayola? Is it raining where you live? What’s your favorite season?

My 2019 Reading List

HI! Happy National Dress day, y’all!

When 2019 started I was really excited to think of all of the good books I will read. I really like certain Authors (and Authoress’s) and I have been really liking lots of different ones. I thought I’d share it with y’all, because I always enjoy reading other people’s reading lists.

Here we shall go!

Some of my favorite writers are Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, Elizabeth Elliot, and many more, but those are the main ones as of now(:

I have read a lot of L.M.A’s books of late, and I am really enjoying them. I read “An Old-Fashioned Girl” first, and it was the best book I had ever read–until I read Eight Cousins. AHH! I just love it so much. The story can be applied to anyone’s life or age, not just girls.

Rose in Bloom by L.M. Alcott. (The sequel to Eight Cousins) This was on my reading list this year because I’d heard to was a few people’s favorite book. I am working my way through it, gradually, but so far I still love Eight Cousins. (The main character’s name is Rose.) I hope to do a review on them (the first and the sequel) when I finish this second one. Let me know if you’d like that!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has been on my reading list for a long time now, but I guess I’ve never got around to it. I love the movie, and my Mom and I have decided that usually the book’s always better than the movie, but I guess I’ll find out!

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell has said to be a great book by a few people, and I can’t wait to find out! I know there’s a BBC movie, but I haven’t seen it, either.

The Inheritance by L.M. Montgomery has also come highly favored among people. There is, too, a movie on this one. I want to read this, too! AHH, SO MANY WONDERFUL BOOKS!

Jo’s Boys by L.M. Alcott is also one I have heard a great deal about. This is one of the sequels to “Little Women.” (There’s also “Little Men.”) I read Little Women awhile back, and I LOVE the movie, (the 1994 version with Winona Ryder and Christian Bale) so I’m excited to see what this one’s like.

Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter is one I’ve started and is on the list for this year. We read Freckles a few years back, and it was one of my favorites at the time. This one is good so far, an very “detailed.”😄

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Printiss is one I have and want to read. It’s a journal from a 16 year old girl until her married years and how her faith grows with her. It sounds good! I’m excited to find out what it’s about and how it goes(:

So far that’s all I have on my list, but you know how it goes; there will be lots more on there, and hopefully lots checked-off by the end of the year!

Thank y’all much for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts, let me know down below!

WHAT’S ON YOUR READING LIST? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? BEACHES OR THE MOUNTAINS? PLANES OR TRAINS?

 

Spring Hath Sprung! (-ish)

HI PEOPLES!

Friends, How art thou?

Spring has kind of started to poke it’s little head out among the branches and grass around our home. I went out today in awe of the bright (cold) sunlight and greenery! It’s just so amazing. It’s been raining here off and on for, hmm, let’s check… 3 (LONG) WEEKS!? Okay, yep, time for Spring!

The rain has made everything look so pretty, and, even though it’s quite cold, I hopped on outside with my dear old camera ’round me neck!

Let’s go!

Also: I shall make a much longer Spring photo post soon when everything comes out, real time, for Spring(:

FIRST OFF: I had to stare in amazement at this crystal blue, cloudless sky before me. WOW! It’s been at least am month since I’ve seen one of those! There wasn’t a cloud there!

These little green buds are all about the trees and limbs. They’re such a cheery color!

AHH! Green leaves are my jam(:

Look at those trees! NOTE:

It does not feel like Spring, sadly. It’s about 45 degrees😫

The Bradford pear trees are starting to bloom as well. AHH! 🎶blue skies smiling at me thinking of blue skies all day loooong🎶

They haven’t quite opened up yet, but soon!

Heh, oops, I took a picture into the sun😟 It’s one of my favorites, though!

I love how they all bunch together. So cute!

A few days ago we went to Alabama for and event and to see family. Going past the ATL airport, I got this(:

p.s. The next few pictures are from Alabama.

These are the Bradford pear blossoms in Alabama.

HEHE! My friend’s sister’s dog, Zoe, wanted to be a model😁

We walked down a forest path♥

And by the time we came back, it was sunset time(:

That’s it, my friends! Thank you so much for reading!

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PICTURE?

March 2019 BUJO Setup

Photo Credit: Canva

Happy March! (How is it MARCH?!)

Well, so far March has started out a fun month. We went to Alabama for the first two days, which was fun and I was excited about. It’s always great to have something fun to kick off the month!

Beforehand, I like to give my monthly BUJO setups a theme, (ex. January: Colors, Feb: Pinks + Reds) so when you see a lot of cacti, well, yep, that’s my theme. I also am using lots of greens, but some occasional pinks get in there(:

Without further adieu, let’s take a look!

My left opening page just says “March,” with, yep, a bunch of little cactus around it. These little plants are so fun to draw, and it adds a little color into it. The right hand side has my month calendar. Since there’s 31 days in March, I had to leave one space open. A perfect spot for some more cacti!

They’re cut and easy to draw. I used my Tombow Dual brush pens for the colors and then for the pot’s lip (or whatever it’s called😄) I used an gold opaque chisel pen that I’ve had since I did some scrapbooking a looooonnngg time ago. It just added a little “sumpin’ sumpin,” as my mama says.

This is my month overview. I like to do the little calendar squares that are about one and a half inches apart, just so I have a little room to write things down.

This is my monthly habit tracker. I decide this month, that instead of doing one big grid, (see here, my February setup’s habit tracker) I want everything individually. I like it better this way. I think it gives a cleaner look. I chose to do all greens this month. (well, the pretty ones, that is.😆)

More cactus(: The grids are about 2 inches wide; perfect for the dotted grid.

Instead of doing a water tracker this month I’m just using this goal (that’s trying to become a habit for me) to drink 5 or more 8oz. glasses of water daily. So far I’ve done it, and I’m hoping to keep it up!

Now here I just placed many things together, and I actually like it! I didn’t at first because I thought It might be a little chaotic, (which I guess it would be if I had more colors and things to write…) but It works pretty well for me. I just put my goals, reminders, to do’s, etc.

This is my first week of March log, just so I can have a more in detail look at what’s coming up.

Here is my month letter tracker. This really has no purpose, except that I like to see when I received letters from different pen-pals. I made this one so that the person’s name is like the address and the return address is where the date goes. (You can see the first letter I’ve gotten this month up there in the corner.)

This is my March savings log. I like to do this to look back on my expenses and savings.

And last: my March bible reading plan. I’m following the ESV 30 days in the new testament plan. If you want to check out their reading plans for the English Standard Version (ESV) click here. They have some good’uns! The plan is that you read each one of these each day for 30 days. I like following a plan, so I’m excited to do this one! The ones I’ve done before are in Focus on the Family’s Brio magazine. (A christian magazine for teen girls) I have used their reading plan for awhile, but I wanted to try something different this time.

Welp, that’s it! I really enjoyed setting up is month, and I’m excited to see how March goes in general! I love spring, and it’s only 18 days from now!

Thanks much for reading, y’all!

Maisy claiming her new spot for a nap(:

DO YOU BULLET JOURNAL? HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF FOCUS ON THE FAMILY OR BRIO? DO YOU LIKE FORD OR CHEVROLET? CARS OR TRUCKS? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?