the cake party

last week, it was my birthday. (i like to remember it for some weeks :))
a good occasion for some cakes, i thought.
so i sent this invitation to my friends:

I spent some hours (or more like half a week-end) in the kitchen,

with my friends flour, sugar, chocolate and butter (mostly)

and with some stress moments 

(like this one below - happened several times.).

But i have to say: I LOVE BAKING CAKES.

The result was this table:

some party elements, and my at my best:

close-up of the best (and easy-to-bake) cookies in the world (i found the recipe here).

the chocolate cake is even more peanuts, i found the recipe here.

and i succeeded to make a really tasty, healthy lemonade.

Needless to say, it was a tasty sunday worthy party.

mmm. london.

birthday breakfast! with good coffee and french toast. 

white cliffs of Dover

as a birthday present, my boyfriend took me on a super short trip to London.
We went by boat (and missed the first one..) to Dover, and drove some hours.
It was quite a trip, but once in London, i instantly loved the city (i was never in London before!)..

and now it's clear, being on the road (and being on holiday, even if it was for two days)
gives me a lot of inspiration for drawing.

on the boat, i draw some strange impression of the white cliffs of Dover.

the fishing family / voor janne

last weekend, my boyfriend went fishing with his family (an old tradition)
in a super nice environment.
it feels like you're in the wild nature (although it's not far from a city),
there's a lake with a little house (size of a summerhouse, but fully and cosy equipped)

The house (property of his sisters boyfriend) is now for sale.. 
although i've been there only twice,
i think i will miss it. it has a special atmosphere, and an 'instant holiday calming effect'

i took some deep 'pure air sniffs' and
used my new pencils (they're great!!).

i didn't work on this sketches on my computer, so there's not much contrast. 
but in this way, the colors stay more like they are in my sketchbook. 
i don't like it when the scan changes the 'atmosphere' of my sketch...
(maybe you know some tips/tricks for this?)

(janne: ik hou de originele schets bij voor je!)

Residentie Melinda

I commute from home to work,
and sometimes, when it gets busy, i live some days in the city where i work.
which is really nice, because it's at the coast.

When i'm living there, i stay in a really calming, nice apartment.
Always good to be there, and have a good sleep and nice chats at the kitchen table.

These days, i'm staying there again,
keeping room n°1 occupied.
So i HAD to draw for Annemie and Bol.
Thanks!!!

ijverige ooievaars (pt. 2)

July was a babyboom-month. Before Jinte there was Hannah (and Idris, can't wait to visit him).
All this cute babies, curious to see them change in the next months!

ijverige ooievaars / busy storks (pt. 1)

I've been making some birth announcements lately.

This one i made for a very cute baby girl, Jinte.