Old Man Winter is BAAACK!

Doesn't he know it is officially spring?????

Last Tuesday, we went to PreSchool with our 4 year old grandson, Jack.  He was presented with the honor of being the Star of the Week.  It was so cute, his teach interviewed him about various things.  I was so thrilled to have the day off so that I could go!

Jack age 4

I have been busy playing around with a couple of online classes.  One is Lifebook 2013, it has a variety of teachers all year long, so we are exposed to many different styles and interpretations of art and journaling.  March was all about connections.  I don't know how mine wound up looking like little China dolls, but it did!!   I try to copy the teacher, but sometimes it just does not work for me and I have to do my own thing before I get to frustrated.  I do try to learn whatever technique they are showing and use it if I can. 

Connections taught by Mindy Lacefield in Lifebook 2013

And a very fun class is Cotton Candy Girls by Natasha May...love her girls!

And on April 4th, I get to go to a Art and Soul retreat!  Yippee!  I chose to take Joanne Sharpes art journaling class.  I have so enjoyed all of her online classes, so I knew I wanted to meet her in person!

Wishing all of you a Happy Easter and Spring!

What's on my worktable...I mean playtable

A Cotton Candy Angel on an 8x10 canvas...my first canvas!

This is lesson one with Natasha May...she is fabulous.  Isn't the internet a wonderful place? 

 Natasha lives in Slovenia...do you know where that is?  I had to Google it of course.

Sunday Postcard challenge... Toadstools and Mushrooms!  

Most of the art is from Deviant Scraps...awesome site!

LetterLove 201 with Joanne Sharpe...not sure which lesson this is, but so much fun!

My 4 year old grandson, Jack, loves to play with gramma's markers. 

We drew dragons  and practiced letters.

Inky fingers and paint all over the place....oh well...fun times in my studio!

Thundersnow!!!

We are in the midst of a drought, so the snow is most welcome.  Plus I was feeling very cheated by a winter without snow!  Now we are having record breaking snowfall...not feeling cheated anymore! 

Jim was not and is not feeling cheated at all.   He really hates winter!  So glad we closed the office and I did not have to make the drive in.  Probably would not have made it anyway...the roads are terrible according to the news.

My mom has celebrated her 88th birthday.  We took her out to eat at her favorite restaurant and let her be entertained by the great-grandsons.  She is to be admired...healthy and alert, getting a bit slower because of her darned knee, but keeps going as much as possible. 

I am not getting any quilting done, keeping up with my online art journaling classes are keeping me busy.  Plus with the price of fabric..who can afford to quilt?  But I know I will continue to make small quilts...they are my favorite anyway!  This month, I am taking a fabulous class with Joanne Sharpe, Letter Love 201.  And working on my A to Z's of Me journal, as well as my Lifebook 2013.  Lots of things to get caught up on...better get off this computer and get to work...I mean play!

And in March, I hope to take a class with Natasa May...check out the class she has coming up.  Hope I win a free pass!!!  I really do love her whimsical style.

All of the above is from Letter Love 201...off to create more!

The A to Z's of Me project

For the month of February, there is a great art journaling challenge going on over at An A to Z of Me.  Bernice Hopper has organized this challenge and has put an immense amount of work into into it.  Every day will be another letter in the alphabet, she provides inspiration and journaling prompts for us to play along with.  Go check it out...you might want to join up with us!

Hope you are finding time to create this week!

Groundhog day

Don't know about you, but I am always glad when January is done...spring is that much closer now!

This year I decided to join up with the Calendar Art Journal challenge with Kate Crane on Facebook.  And I actually had my February pages done before February arrived...wonder how long I will be able to keep that up? 

Keeping busy with other artsy things.  Lifebook 2013 is in full swing, and I am enjoying it very much.  And yesterday a new class started with Joanne Sharpe....LetterLove 201.  28 days of lettering lessons...that should make a cold February easier to tolerate!

My son, Matthew graduated from the Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Acadamy on January 18th.  I am so very proud of him, as he went to school full time and worked full time.  As you can tell, Jordyn is also very proud of her daddy.

Grandkids are always so much fun...like these silly Boys Scouts! We took Caleb bowling...wild and crazy times :)

 Jack is trying out a new toy that Santa left at Camp Gramma...the Crayola Marker Airbrush toy!  I think the most fun for Jack is pumping it up.

And here are a few of the other projects I have been working on in January.

What are you going to do today?

Lifebook 2013....Intentions



a new zentangle page using watercolors



Where has she been????

I know...I've been a bad blogger!  Time is such an issue for all of us, isn't it?  But I have been busy in artistic pursuits...mainly art journaling.  And of course playing with the grandkids and working full time...you all know the drill! 

I have slowed down on my quilting endeavors....#one reason, Jim retired and $$$ are tight, so I stay away from the quiltshops.  But I have been digging out my scraps and using them to make quilts of valor.  On Veterans Day, our Kansas City Area QOV awarded 9 wonderful quilts to very deserving Vietnam veterans.  What an honor to meet one of the only living Medal of Honor recipients and present him with a quilt.  It was truly an honor to meet the men and women who served our country and received very little thanks upon returning to the USA. 

Korean war veteran

Medal of Honor

This year, starting January 1, 2013....I am taking an online course called Lifebook 2013.  Also, starting February 1, 2013....another awesome online class with Joanne Sharpe, Letter Loving 201.  Another project that I have started is an Artjournal Calendar Challenge with Kate Crane.  Here is a view of my December and January pages.  It is a great idea and forces me to journal just a little bit everyday!

I have had the week off, and spent a couple of days in my pajamas playing in my studio...what have you been up to?

Hoping that all of you have had a Merry Christmas, and that you will be blessed in the coming New Year!  

Color Lovin' Bonus Lesson #34 Build-a-Doodle

Hello all of you Color Lovelies!  and for my quilt friends, you might want to grab a pen and paper and play with us today.   How does one doodle?  How do you explain how to doodle?  I just do it, and I don't think about it...you know that "art trance".  So I sat and thought about it, and decided to break it down for you.  Use basic shapes like circles, teardrops, some curleques, and start building!

 I have labeled the Tangles that are used here.  You can go to Tangle Patterns for great instructions on how to make these.  They are Dragonair, AHH, Angel Fish, and Soo Flowers.  There are so many choices, use these or whatever appeals to you the most. 

A few more "doodled" pictures for you...

Ready to color.

I started this one while sitting and waiting for my car to be repaired!  Who knows what else I will add to it?  That's the fun of it!  Sometimes I just put it down, and go back a day later and keep on adding until it looks just right!

One of my favorite CZT's is Penny Raille. 

Check out her blog and note the breakdown called

Stacked, Unstacked, and Seperated. 

This really helped me get started, and I hope it will do the same for you. 

Be sure to check out the two videos in the sidebar, they will show you how to tangle!

Here are a couple of other links to videos that will hopefully inspire you!

Flower Explosion

Flowers Are Fun!  (don't you love the music?)

You will want to check out her Dangerous Doodle videos while you are there.  Lots of inspiration!

Your assignment, should you decide to take it,

 is to build-a-doodle using your favorite background method. 

It can be a flower garden or just an abstract object. 

Color it in with any of your wonderful supplies that we have been using.   

You are welcome to use any of the above drawings to get started...sometimes it is just easier. 

Can't wait to see what you come up with! 

Have a doodlicious time.....