The 25 Doors of Christmas and My Helper

I will admit that I missed a couple of days.  I really thought I went back and made the days up, but apparently I did not.  In any case, on the 18th our son and his family came to celebrate Christmas with us.  We were originally going to have both our son and daughter's family together but GS2 was directly exposed to someone at daycare and had to be in quarantine.  (This is the third time since September that he has had to be out of school because of exposure.)  Of course they didn't want to put anyone in jeopardy so they stayed home.   Towards the end of the visit, I was showing GS1 my book of Christmas doors and he saw that I had the next day sketched and asked if he could color it.  I said "sure" and got out the colored pencils for him.  I let him pick what he wanted to color and the colors.

They had to get going before he finished and he handed me the metallic rose pencil and said to use that next.  So I colored the window.  I outlined the sketch lines and the only other things that I colored on this were the two horizontal candy canes, the siding, and the colored balls on the twigs (which he told his mother he liked when she showed him the picture of it finished that I had sent them).  He wanted me to draw him more doors to color and we talked about doing an art journal to go back and forth that I'll prepare in January.  Pretty good for a 5-1/2 year-old don't you think!

This door was inspired by the lighthouse that I received in the ornament exchange I did in November.  Wish I was able to fix that wonky tablecloth.

There is an antique store near the condo that this is based on. The real building has more to it on the left side with a porch, but I took my liberty with it.  The colors are those of the real house though.

I think I've been watching too many Hallmark Christmas movies.  There's always some kind of tree festival going on or Christmas bazaar.  This would be the Hall of Trees.

I have to say that this is one of my favorites.  Although I think she might need a hat.  I might elaborate on this and have some prints made of it next year.  

Okay. Yes.  I know.  The yellow is a bit loud but it wasn't in my head.  

This came to me just before I fell asleep the night before I drew it and I'm really surprised that I remembered it in the morning.  Who could that be trying on Christmas sweaters on Christmas Eve?  A lost elf perhaps.

And to end things up, since I had done my front door, I thought it only fitting that I should also add the back door.  That frame that I used to make the wreath is a bit more elaborate IRL but since the buffalo plaid ribbon was fussy enough to do, I decided the frame was good as is.

So there you have 22 of the 25 Doors of Christmas for 2021.  

The 25 Doors of Christmas 2021 - Days 4 through 14

Yes, even the chickens get to celebrate Christmas with their own Christmas tree.

Some little Santa gnomes and a chalet.  Are they escaping or breaking in?

Somewhere where the weather is a little warmer.

You've got to decorate the potting shed with a tree made of pots.

Even the reindeer get a wreath on the barn door.

Could be a cookie house as a table decoration.

This door is inspired by an actual door.  My cousin's 21-year-old grandson Charlie is finally in remission after his 3rd bout of cancer and spending the last 322 days in the hospital where he underwent numerous treatments with side effects that debilitated him.  He has continued to fight back to regain his health and stamina.  He finally got to go home and his whole town welcomed him with a parade.  He is a hockey player and those in his community had a campaign of "Sticks Out" to keep Charlie in their thoughts and prayers.  His story was covered on several New England news stations and local hockey teams were very supportive.  We are keeping him in our prayers in the hope that this remission will be long lasting.

There's another sneaky little Santa gnome again.

A little chapel in the woods with some woodland creatures keeping watch.

Someone turned a caboose into a tiny home and decorated it to the 9's.

Sitting at my dining room table and looking towards my front door this is a mash up of the view.  There are many more trees and little scenes to this view but for time's sake I've only included a few with the little white house village.

With part of the family coming for a visit this weekend I took a little break from the Christmas Doors for a few days.  Still looking for inspiration.  

 

 

The 25 Doors of Christmas - 2021

I was asked to participate in this challenge again by one of the other challengees who I'll tell you more about at a later date.  The challenge is an Instagram one that is hosted by Alexandra Sillos who you might remember was a contributor to and spouse of Michael McVean who used to do the Scribble Picnic challenges.  They have relocated several times in the couple of years since that time and have now settled in Kentucky near to her family.  They have recently opened a little gift and stationery store.  Alexandra still does her illustrative work and has continued to host the 25 Doors of Christmas.

I feel a little frustrated sometimes looking at the entries to this challenge as some of the contributors use technology to create their entries and always look so polished.  And there are some very accomplished watercolor artists who also add their wonderful work.  Since this time of year is typically full of other activities for me, I usually resort to watercolor pencils or my trusty Prismacolor pencils......... and the finished products look that way.  I'm actually trying to be a little more open with my drawing and not so precise as I've seen many other artists do, so my lines may look a little wobbly here and there, but that's okay with me for now.  

I'm using another little sketch/scrapbook that measures about 3 1/2" square.  The paper is heavy weight but not watercolor paper so when I do add water with the watercolor pencils there is a little bit of warping.  But I chose to use the smaller profile to be able to do these in a timely manner.  (Thinking bigger takes longer, but sometimes the smaller details warrant more time....... well, it was a thought!)

Oh, and my inspiration, for the most part comes from pictures that I've found on Pinterest or FB that I have made a folder of for reference.  

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

So, if you come across a picture of or actually see something in your neighborhood or travels that you can take a picture of, send it to me as I'm always on the lookout for ideas.

If you're on IG you can check out #the25doorsofchristmas to see more.

25 Doors of Christmas 2020

Some time ago, I participated in a weekly challenge called Scribble Picnic facilitated by Michael McVean.  He and his wife Alexandra moved on to use Instagram as their platform of choice and last year around this time I tried to keep up with their 25 Doors of Christmas challenge for the month of December.  I didn't get very far with it then, but hope to do more of it this year.  Here you will see the first 5 days of doors.  I haven't put pencil to paper for a few months - the desire was there and it wasn't.  I think I've been in the art doldrums.  Hopefully, this will help get me out of them and back into using up these art supplies that I've been accumulating all these years.  I am continuing doing them in an off brand 5 x 7 sketch book with Prismacolor pencils.  Most of them have been inspired by doors/scenes I've seen on Pinterest with changes in details, colors, etc.  The last one with the cardinal is an original design.  

If you have an Instagram account you can check out the other daily entries by using #the25doorsofchristmas and can see other original artworks by Alexandra @alexandrasillos and Michael @itsrainingmarmalade.

The 25 Doors of Christmas (or less)

Some of my Scribble Picnic cohorts put a challenge out on Instagram called The 25 Doors of Christmas and I was pumped to play along.  Way back on December 1st I was a little more optimistic of being able to fit this into my day and it lasted about a week.  These are the doors that I managed to get done.  They are mostly done in colored pencil (Prismacolors) with the last one being done in watercolor pencils.  

I had been carrying along my sketchbook to school everyday and whilst eating my lunch "al desko" I did get a few more sketches done, but finding time at home to color them was impossible.  We're celebrating our traditional Christmas Eve dinner early this year on Sunday and I'll be packing up all the art supplies for a few days, but I may just get back to coloring those sketches when I can wind down early next week.  And who knows, I might even break out the watercolors.  

If you have an instagram account you can check out #the25doorsofchristmas or Michael McVean at #itsrainingmarmalade or Alexandra McVean at #alexandrasillos for some pretty wonderful takes on Christmas doors of all kinds.