Sketches, Doodles, & Cetera — Tutorials

Discover an enchantingly simple bookbinding technique using just a twig, rubber band, and paper!

I stumbled upon this rustic zine-making method at my local library and was immediately charmed by its accessibility and organic feel. Perfect for nature journals, mini art collections, or personalized gifts, these twig-bound booklets require no special tools and can be completed in minutes.

In my quest to "find my style," I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I do and don't like in my drawings. One thing I've discovered I like a lot is the sketchy graphite linework in my initial thumbnail sketches, so I'm trying to find ways to bring that into my finished work.

I recently discovered an easier way to bring that into digital work, so I put together a tutorial to share it with you.

I've been working on an embroidery of a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz. I knew I wanted to play with some fun stitches, and his fur and the embroidery on his outfit seemed like a great way to experiment with some new techniques.I learned a new stitch for this project called the Hungarian braided chain stitch, and I thought I'd share it with you as a tutorial. It creates a really lovely textured, raised line that seemed perfect to decorate the monkey's little cap. Start with a small straight stitch at the beginning of your design line.Bring your needle up...