Sketching the World One Drawing at a Time

Sketching the World One Drawing at a Time (illustrations by Betsy Beier/Wanderlust Designer)

I've been a busy bee this last month over on my other site, Wanderlust Designer. I'm so excited to have many of my travel sketches and designs I've been working on posted in one central location.

This past year, besides designs and drawings of various locations I've traveled, I've been working on two different sketch series; "Eat Drink Travel" sketch series and "Scenes from..." sketch series. Many of these illustrations have stories associated to them as well, like a story about drinking Turkish coffee in Istanbul and enjoying a churrasco BBQ feast in Rio de Janeiro.

Head on over to my travel sketches and take a peak, I'd love to hear your feedback.

Brainstorm Session: Following My Artsy Passion

Diagram of an Artist's Brain - Illustration by B.Nute productions

My brain has been on artsy overdrive lately. This summer, when I took a little time off,  I rediscovered my artsy self. Ever since I've been full of ideas and can't stop drawing. I've been focusing mainly on my travel sketches, but every now and again add some other whimsical drawings in the mix. I've joined up with several different sketch-a-day (#sketchaday) efforts on Instagram, including a 30 day sketch challenge in September and an #inktober drawing challenge this October. I've even been taking a fabulous online storytelling sketch class from Sketchbook Skool.

I must say, I've definitely been feeling a little scattered, though. My desires to continue to produce art has left my blogging in the dust. I did a little brainstorming this week and came up with a plan to help this nagging problem. I've decided to follow my passions, and do what I'm enjoying at the moment-- illustrations and design.

What does this mean-- Well, you'll be seeing a lot more of my illustrations and drawings here on this blog. As with any thing, I'd love to hear your feedback. Leave a comment below, or send an email anytime!

Gettin' Crafty: Free Printable Creativity Quote 8x10 Sign

Free Printable "Creativity Makes Life More Fun" 8x10 Sign from B.Nute productions

"Creativity makes life more fun." It's as simple as that!

I've really been trying to step up my creative game lately-- doing more sketching, more drawing, more watercoloring, more creative projects - I've even picked up my dusty guitar to strum a few chords. I truly believe creativity makes my life more fun.

To get you inspired, I've created a free printable quote. I had fun playing with type on top of one of the color abstracts I painted. After I printed it out, I put it in a simple 8x10 frame and put it on my desk. It's bright, cheery and the perfect reminder to greet me in the morning when I begin work. I hope you find it inspiring as well.

Free Printable Creativity Quote 8x10 Sign

Free Printable Creativity Quote 8x10 Sign from B.Nute productions

Instructions for Making Your Creativity Sign
1. Select the link above, and print out the page on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. Print on white cardstock to give some weight to the image.
2. Cut out the 8"x10" image, and place in a frame.

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions.

Gettin' Crafty: Front Door Collage Art

Create Your Own Front Door Collage Art to Celebrate Your Home

For some reason, on my walk today I started paying attention to everyone's front door. Each house I passed, I mentally analyzed their entryway. Was it welcoming? Was it colorful? What did it potentially say about the family that lived inside?

Once home, my obsession continued. I decided to create a project that would celebrate my very own front door. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It's the perfect collage to be framed and sit near

Just Create: A Cast of Doggone Cute Characters

A Cast of Dog Gone Cute Characters by B.Nute productions

My son signed up for a cartooning class through our local rec. center and was so excited. He kept talking about the things he wanted to draw. Two days before the start date, I got a call that it was cancelled. He was so disappointed.

To cheer him up, I offered to teach him a cartooning class myself. Although I took a few animation classes in graduate school, I must admit, I have lots to learn when it comes to character drawing, and cartooning.  I've always admired playful illustrations of characters, and thought this would be a fun way for us to spend some time together and create art. Of course my daughter chimed in that she wanted to attend the class as well. The more the merrier, I say!

So, in preparation for tomorrow's first class, I spent a little time today working on this "dog gone cute" cast of characters. I love how it turned out, so bright and cheery. I printed it and put it in a frame on my desk to make me smile. I look forward to sharing how our class goes. I'll be sure to post the progress along the way.

Just Create: Free Crafty Font and Printable Sign

Free Printable Just Create Everyday Sign by B.Nute productions

Today I gave myself the liberty to create anything I wanted - creative free reign. Of course this sent me into a good hour not knowing where to start! Finally, I opened up my iPad and decided to create a font. I've been wanting to design more fonts for a long time. I went with a crafty theme and just had fun.

This year I want to give myself many more "just create" days. Days where I try to take a couple hours and not stress about what I "should" be creating, but instead just create.