Summer Doodles

There was no photograph taken of the moment a dog mistook me for a tree, while I innocently sat in a park in Italy. It was, however, recorded in my friend’s sketchbook, with a drawing and accompanying explanation of how I was peed on by a busy little Italian dog. I was still overcome with hysterical laughter when shown that image some twenty years later, as I relived the moment and all the wonderful things that happened on that trip – which beautifully illustrates why journals and sketchbooks are the best, in their ability to capture moments in your life, and take you back in time. 

My son took  a Moleskine with him while traveling in India last year, and it gave us a tiny glimpse into the amazing experience he had. It’s filled with doodles and drawings, and many thoughts – both humorous and serious, which will help him revisit that time in his life. 

And so, with the lazy days of summer upon us, it’s an ideal time for your kids to fill up some of those sketchbook pages with doodles, drawings and stories of all the wonderful things they’ve been up to. Imagine the smiles it will bring later on.

We’re off on another road trip – this time through beautiful eastern Canada. Happy July to all of you, and looking forward to sharing lots of travel inspired ideas when I get back.

Materials

• journal or sketchbook
• pencil
• markers
• circle template

Instructions
1.Using a pencil, fill a page from edge to edge, with wavy, loopy, zig zaggy lines that overlap and fill the page.

Add randomly placed circles over them, using a circle template. Of course, this part is totally optional. I was just curious about how it would look.

2. Fill the spaces with markers. If you want the circles to stand out, make sure to fill them with colours that are different from the surrounding areas.

3. Once all the spaces have been filled in, use a black marker to go over all the pencil lines, making some areas thicker than others to make it more interesting. Black marker is added at the end to prevent it from bleeding into other colours.

 

Here’s a link to my Journals and Sketchbooks Pinterest board, where you can see some of the amazing things people have been filling their pages with.