Carnet de gratitude : January 2025 sketchbook

It's already been three years since daily illustrated journaling became an important part of my life after following Kate Sutton's course on Domestika... but it feels like I have only just started <3 Sharing life at Maison Legrand is very gratifying and as I witness my little blue sketchbooks accumulating, it feels so good to know that I can browse them to remember the important moments of each day.
Drawing a Gratitude sketchbook has many values for meditation and mindfulness... I talk about this in the interview I answered for Domestika at the end of 2024. You should see the link in this project if you want to know more.
I publish monthly and you can access the archive since November 2021 from the Projects section on my Profile.

I hope you will have fun dicovering the January pages of Carnet de Gratitude. There is a special surprise that starts on January 7 : my Saint-Ours bears are special guests ! It's been very sweet for me to open their display case and draw them.

For Carnet de gratitude, I use Talens - Art Creation sketchbooks in 19x14cm format, I draw and colour with fineliners, water-based Tombows, Lyras, crayons...
The Saint-Ours bears were creating almost 20 years ago ! I sewed them by hand from plush fabrics and vintage mohairs, set their glass eyes, and assembled them with moveable heads and limbs. It was a great creative moment, to imagine these characters and bring them to life.

For New Year, it's become a tradition in Carnet de gratitude to draw a special page, looking like a tarot card, with all the Potichats around.

When I woke up un January 2nd, I was dismayed that the wall clock we had just installed didn't work anymore ! But on close inspection, husband discovered that the power cord had been snapped by a Potichat. He knows how to fix that so it turned out good.
Our Tanuki caught a huge earthworm in the catio and was very proud to bring it inside and show us, though she was also a little afraid and didn't know what to do with it.

A quiet winter day with the perfume of tangerines, our Potichat Miruku being his sweet self and husband bringing back loads of Christmas chocolates that wer on bargain sale ;-)

The day began with little Tanuki dozing against my leg on the bed shortly after I woke up. Then I met friends online for a New Year party where we discussed what we would like to improve in 2025.

On the was back from physical therapy, we stopped at the bakery and bought a nice frangipane king cake. Then I noticed tender new leaves on the rose bush just next to our front door. Later, Yuzu and Miruku napped together on the couch.

Even if we had a king cake from the bakery the day before, I made our own version with coconut blossom sugar and frozen cherries ! Husband got the little trinket hidden in the cake (again). How do you call these little things ? We say "fève" that translates as "bean", but I don't think it is the real name... Also, I loved the character a very talented friend drew in the magazine "Furtif".

This is the day I began drawing portraits of my Saint-Ours bears, that I created two decades ago. They are together in a display case and don't see much action, so it was great to take one out everyday and draw his portrait !
This first one is called Luzerne, he is sewed in vintage pinkish mohair.
It's also a day when we devoured lots of fries crisped in our new AirFryer ;-)

Another Saint-Ours bear, this is little Fûû, she is vintage mohair too, with a dress, a bow and a Smiley button.
We shared chocolates with husband, then I went online for my weekly Theater Therapy session and read a little book about Oulipo and the nuances of translation.

Meet Bayou, another little Saint-Ours bearie, with a surfer vibe and a colorful wooden necklace.
The Potichats destroyed a headband I had with white cat ears, so we made a little hat for Wabisabi with the lost ear.
I listened to a podcast where Science-Fiction was discussed about a new book about the future of towns by writers from La Volte.

Alfalfa, one of my favourite Saint-Ours, you will see him for real soon !
I gave husband a haircut then we had some pastry again.

A smile from Alfalfa, a sweet Saint-Ours bear that I sewed in vintage mohair.

This little one is Alfalfa twin and she was adopted by a dear friend, her name is Callisto.
Tanuki gave me a cuddle session first thing in the morning as she often does, then I made nice salads and listened to a favorite Chemical Brothers album.

Here is Kiefer, a crossover bearie from Saint-Ours, half anime, half traditionnal style. His fur is white tipped and called "hedgehog".
We shared shrimps with the Potichats, I continued reading Claro's essay about Oulipo and translation, then, in the middle of the night, I went out and breathed the ice-cold air under the full moon in a cristal clear sky.

Soufflé is the read crossover bearie from Saint-Ours. I'm going to show him for real soon.
I drew the frozen ivy a friend had photographed when she walked on it and it made nice cracking sounds.
Then I reactivated an account on Mastodon, and now I publish my sketchbook pages there too everyday.
To finish the day, I had vegetarian bio food that came from a pouch and could be microwaved : modern !

Bears enjoy looking at their portraits in Carnet de gratitude !

Now for a blue Saint-Ours bear with a koala attitude : Azul <3
I watched a HappyVisio online class for relaxation, then had a Stockholm coffee and watched the movie "Le Règne Animal".
When I took pictures for the daily sketchbook publication Miruku did a cat-bombing !

Sometimes, inspiration produces 2 bears in the same fabric, with two styles ;-)

I drew with 2 Potichats installed around me on the couch !
My chickpeas salad was great : see the recipe in french.
And so here is the traditionnal version of Azul, same blue vintage mohair but the face and body of a classical bear.

That's the day David Lynch disappeared, he was one of my very favourite directors. Lost Highway plays forever in my mind.
I saw the cover of a forthcoming book by my friend Luvan, I'm sure it's going to take me far away in poetry.
Little Wabisabi has become very found of cuddles !
Here is a Saint-Ours bear in very sleek light beige fabric, with smoky eyes and a silhouette that I love. Also, he sits perfectly in my hand.

Isn't it amazing that this cutie was created at Maison Legrand ?

This dusty pink Saint-Ours bear is a sweet character, she has a picture book by Saint-Ours and a locket with a portrait inside too !
I wanted to binge watch the second season of the series Severance, but there was only ONE episode...! Isn't it the strangest story, and this workplace feels so liminal spaces...
We also spun eggs to find out if they were cooked.

She decided to show you the page of her little book that displays portraits of her best friends.

This brown Saint-Ours bear with his tilted head and droopy eyes has melted my heart. It was sweet to take him out of the display case and feel his weight in my hand. He has a tiny cat made of felt.
Miruku the Potichat didn't touch him, even though I forgot him my drawing place and he spent the night there !
And I nibbled hot and delicious crispy nori slices that my friend Deer Bartok had sent.

It's a wonderful part of bear making that their characters are always different...

Here is the only Saint-Ours bear that walks on all four. He is a true forest dweller.
I began the day singing a french-brasilian song by Lucas Santtana and Flavia Coelho, but when husband was cleaning the fish tank, there was an accident with water flooding the living room wooden floor ! We acted real fast and were lucky enough to save it all :-)

He is super clever and choose to walk on all fours, and live in the woods.

This one is the tallest of all Saint-Ours ! She was born vintage, with a replacement eye and a frayed nose. She is so lovely !
I had a nice coffee with raspberry tiny meringues and Wabisabi slept with her face pressed into the cushion.

She is the tallest of the sewed bears I created with Saint-Ours, but she knows where to find protection with the great big resin bear !

This Saint-Ours is... a cat ! He is very special to me as it is the portrait of Kumquat, my cat who died in 2016. I used some of Kumquat whiskers on this little one face.
I received lovely velevet pants in a favourite colour, watched "The Watchers" a strange movie with beauty and poetry in it, and my Potichat Yuzu looked at me when he woke from his nap.

He really feels like my cat that I miss so much.

Pink and fluffy, with a feather in her hand, she managed to spend the night sitting at my drawing place with 7 Potichats who LOVE feathers, and they didn't bother her at all <3
Tanuki says that they are very well behaved cats.
I began the series "The Devil's Hour" and when I went to bed, the wall clock showed 3:33...

She's very persuasive !

Here is Clafounafootie from Saint-Ours and she's the anime version of the pink bear drawn yesterday <3
Husband opened oysters for me and I ate them like little bites from the sea...
I listened to an interesting podcast about neurosciences and science-fiction and there were friends as guests.
Nori enjoyed catnip toys that he foundsomewhere around the house.

These pink bears love pearls necklaces ;-)

A Saint-Ours bear with giant feet that is sewn in towel fabric <3
Sharing shrimps with the Potichats and improvising a catisfaction song with them !
Another interesting podcast with Katalin Kariko who designed ARN messenger.
I have discovered Gochujang not long ago and I put some everywhere LOL

Who says bears don't wear platform boots ?

She's the other Saint-Ours with giant feet and she is also super sweet and elegant <3
Have you seen her own little photo book ?
We watched a TV game that was endearing and I indulged in too much salted butter caramel cream...

Her colour scheme uplifts my mood and she has a beautiful pendant hidden behind her little book.

A Saint-Ours bear sewed into the softest fur ever... He is the brother of a bear that I made for my daughter.
Again, too much sugar for my own good LOL but it is the 100th birthday of these caramel lollies...
Then I listened to an interesting podcast about the CERN Large Hadron Collider and it gave me an occasion to draw Shiva Nataraja (did you know that there is a statue of him there ?)
I found this lovely brooch in the shape of a hand by a friend artist, perfect for my grand-daughter upcoming birthday.

Resistance is futile in front of this fur that will attract your fingers to the softest experience ever...

Brown bears are just the best. That's what I think when I see this Saint-Ours full of wisdom and kindness.
I began a book edited by La Volte, it is a novel by Elio Possoz called "Les Mains Vides", Empty Hands.
Listened to Bashung and took selfies with Yuzu in the catio.

Lots of fur and shiny eyes full of kindness...

Another brown Saint-Ours but with a very different character : this one is more than clever and full of mischief !
I listened to Morcheeba's new song, then we found out Kurumi had a problem with an eye. Good that the vet could see him the same day and we began treatment right away.

With his large head, long snout and small body, he is a crossover bear.

Now, it is time to meet the tiny Saint-Ours ; here is a very small grey bear, sewn into old frayed fabrics. He is very fragile but he lasted for decades already.
It was the beginning of the Lunar New Year ! We stayed at home and had some chinese food but there was a lot happening outside with dragons celebrating the year of the Snake.
I listened to a podcast about the Human Cell Atlas, I hope science will continue to progress.

Nice to meet you <3

This Saint-Ours is very small too ! But he is sewn into my favourite sleek golden fabric, and his articulated limbs and head are perfectly functionnal.
On this day, Marianne Faitfull disappeared. Her voice, her albums spoke Broken English all over Maison Legrand while I sat and watched as tears went by...
It was a day full of energy so I did some cleaning and listened to a podcast about Louis de Broglie, scientist of quanta particules and new ideas. Then pizza !

He is the brother of Little Eiffel, a Saint-Ours bear that was adopted by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel, whose ancestor built the famous tower !

This Saint-Ours bear is sewed in felt fabric and is lightweight. When I created him, I felt a buddhist vibe that is still strong 20 years later.
And it was a day for bright yellow, when I brought back mimosa flowers, bananas and lemons...

And this closes January at Maison Legrand. I hope you enjoyed meeting the Saint-Ours !
If you want to browse the archives of Carnet de gratitude, return to my Project Section on Profile.
Thanks for your interest and if you do sketchbooks or daily illustrated journaling, I would love to meet you in Comments.