Goodies and A Squirrel.

I have made some truly fantastic blog friends over these past two years.  One lovely thing about the blog world, is the friendships you create that last even when you're not so great at blogging consistently.  ;)  Another added wonderful thing is, trades/goodies in the mail.  I have traded art with some of my blog friends, I have won gorgeous little goodies and I have randomly and lovingly received  gifts...just because.  This week I was blessed to receive two goodies in the mail.

The first came from the bright and sunny, Kristen at Twinkle, Twinkle.   Her art is so full of sunshine, love, joy and wonder.  In this gorgeous picture, she added me, Danielle and herself.  We all got to meet each other last fall, which was a very fun and cherished time.  :)  Thank you so much, Kristen.  I am excited to hang this up where I can see it everyday!
P.S.  If you don't know Kristen, you should definitely pop over and check out her blog, she does this wonderful Color of Summer Blogfest, which will be happening in just 3 weeks.  Anyone can join and join you should.  It's wonderful.  :)

On the picture, she wrote... I Love Us.  We are talented, generous and real.  And our art - that intangible bit of fabulousness we create - allows us to blanket the world with joy.  Yay, Us. 

A couple of days later.....

I received this glorious bag that my other good bloggy friend made for me.  Am I spoiled or what?

Robin over at Rasz Art  makes these beautiful bags, as well as many other wonderful art pieces.  I love these bags...she hand paints them, and she makes/paints the fabric for the art that she puts on the bags, such as, dragonflies, roses, flowers, crosses, grapes, vines...etc.  They are fantastic, you should definitely visit her blog and look through her posts.  She has created many beautiful totes.  She also has draws and paints and takes pictures.  She is multi-talented.  And...she is a wonderful person that I have been very blessed to get to know.  Thank you so much Robin.  :)  

I'm using this tote to carry around my books/sketching tools and other little projects that I like to take with me.  Yay!!

I managed to capture this cute little guy the other day.  

Just thought I'd share!

Have a bright and happy week!

Cheers!!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you! 

I love old churches, they're so beautiful and of course, everything in Spring is extra lovely.  I took some Springy pictures the past couple of days, the weather was so wonderful, we had to get out and meander through the trees.  

Hope your Spring is joy filled and lovely. 

pussy willows

a boardwalk thru the woods

a large flock of geese

cherry blossoms

a sandwich eating squirrel (isn't he adorable?) 

a tree that I don't know, but it's quite lovely.

I've been working on a few projects here and there, 

all in various stages.  

I'm considering this for Free Art Fridays

(I was invited to join but have not yet done it)

a new "dream" picture I am working on

another trial picture using mixed media

very thorny, I don't like what I did to the background, so now 

I need to figure out how to fix it.

practicing cat's eyes.

And now you know what I've been doing, aside from the day to day stuff....working, cooking, cleaning, reading, going out with the guys, 

daydreaming.....

What have you been up to?

Many blessings to you!

sketchbook

I've been drawing in my sketchbook, not daily, but as often as I can.  

I definitely need more practice and to play with new techniques.  Here are a few of the recent pictures I've drawn.  Some are finished, some I'm not sure if I will finish them or not.  :)

Hope you are having a productive and joy filled week.  

Happy Weekend!  

p.s.  a few pics from the week too. 

wine sampler...oh my!

day dates.  :)

disc golf with the guys! 

Attempted Mixed Media

I am taking the free online mixed media course through Strathmore Online Workshops.  I signed up for it last year, then never got around to it.  This year, I thought I would go for it.  It's a bit more of a challenge...loose lines, well mostly

that is the challenge.  These are my first attempts at it.  I need to keep working at it, trying to loosen up and try new things.  

I don't seem to be very cooperative.  

I will keep at it. 

:)

dragonflight

the invitation.

P.S.  How are you doing?  What new things are you trying this year?  

How do you deal with attempting new styles/mediums?

And....do you name your pictures random things? 

I've recently noticed that I name pictures based on what immediately comes to 

mind after I finish a picture.  

Curiosities.

Have a lovely day!

Happy Mail

A very happy day to you!!

A couple of blog days ago, I checked a fellow artist's blog, to see what she was up to and found that she had some new...very lovely items for sale in her Etsy shop.  So I popped on over to check them out and ordered myself a couple of goodies.  Happy Mail came and here is what I received....

I ordered a necklace and earrings.  She also sent me an awesome card with a mermaid on it, and a gorgeous stick with a unicorn.  

this has always been one of my favorite pics by Cam and now I get to wear it.  :)

I really, really needed some new earrings.  I couldn't resist!

Hooray!!!
It's nice to have such amazing art friends!  :)
Have a lovely week!

Commissioned Project and a New Pen!

A friend of mine recently commissioned me to create some Baby Shower invitations.  She's always been a huge fan of my little square owls, so we decided they'd be perfect for the job.  I finished them up and sent them on their way today.  I have to say, it was a fun little project and I learned a few things along the way.  I am thinking I need to do more of these projects.  :)

ready to go.

I also finally purchased myself a nice drawing pen.  I've had a chance to play with it a bit, the lines are much smoother and the ink cooperates a bit better than the other pens I've used.  Now I need to go back and buy more, in various sizes.  FUN!!!

playing with more doodles and zentangles.

I finally finished Jane Austen, she's now hanging in my house, along with Poe and Agatha Christie.  Still have some more to finish.  

Stellar Jay

I was invited to participate in a 1 photo a day for 365 days, project.

I have to say, as much as I enjoy taking photos, it is hard to do it every single day and feel creative with it.  These are a few pics I've taken so far.  

Pretty leaves

Sunrise

my boys getting ready for a dance

outside the ballroom.  

That's all for now!  Have a Happy and Beautiful Valentines Day!

<3

New Sketchbook!

Finally purchased a new sketchbook.  It's much smaller than my usual sketchpads.

But I feel that I need to spend more time drawing/sketching/doodling, basically practicing art.  

What have you been working on?

faces

what's on your mind?

little red

foxy

zentangled hair

"You can't do sketches enough.  Sketch everything and keep 

your curiosity fresh."        ~John Singer Sargent