What I'm up to...

Remember all the snow outside my window yesterday? Well, this is how it looks today.

 A little breakfast. I had toast and peanut butter/honey earlier along with coffee. I'm kind of a grazer.

 I'm working on my sea creatures. I think instead of just "sea creatures" my theme is turning out to be "Sea Creatures With Big Schnozzolas".

I've also finished drawings for the "Anatomy" swap. I probably won't become a medical illustrator any time soon, lol.

 I've committed to a Pick-a-Theme swap, so I have eight more cards to make for that.

 The seasonal bugs seem to keep circulating. Micah's family is on the mend again. I think everyone's feeling pretty good today, but I'm feeling sickish. Sheesh. Wish it was warm enough to take off my storm windows to air the place out. I'll have to just open the front door for a while.

Daughter-in-law, Jess, posted this picture of Starry on Facebook yesterday along with the caption, "Mom, would you help me pray tonight? I keep messing up by asking for a giant cookie." :)

Since the school has a 4 day weekend I'll keep busy drawing, painting and reading while sipping hot liquids. :)

Happy Easter to all! I put my Easter header up a little early, but I figure He IS risen already, so why not? This is my favorite resurrection picture.

God bless and shalom to all!

Whaddaya know? Snow!

Well, only about 6-8 inches. I didn't have to go anywhere, so I just enjoyed it and went out and unburied my car when I was sure it was finished. Micah's family was having another round of being sick so they all stayed home, too. I'm sorry they were sick, but it was a good day for staying home!

These tree branches usually hang at about the top of my windows and I can see under them.

I got this cleared off.

 I've just been doing some reading, drawing and lots of video watching. Today I didn't have the option of going anywhere, so I'm glad I was well supplied with things to keep busy.

I've been making some bookmarks using my stamps. This first one came out kind of blotchy, so I'll probably keep it for myself. Someone asked what PLUMHILL means. That's just the user name I use at my ATC trading site, so I put that on the back of my cards so people know who gave them the card. We used to call our little place Plumhill Ranch, so I used that as part of my email address, and then it just seemed easier to use it for a name on computer forums.

Front of the bookmark

Back of bookmark.

Fronts

Backs

So, that's what I've been messing around with. I have a couple of new swaps in the works. One is sea creatures and the other internal organs. Yeah. Believe It or Not.

But now, I have some important reading to do. I shouldn't leave my Bible reading until late evening, but I tend to do that. I'm also reading:

I started this book ages ago and then put it aside. I thought it was time to try it again, so I'm starting over.

I just finished:

I loved listening to Ken Robinson on TedTalks, but this book was SO DRY.  I was halfway through it before I realized I was hating it. I just finished it because I'm doing the Goodreads Challenge and I thought I might as well get credit for it. Sheesh.

I also have this book requested at the library:

Gotta balance out my non-fiction and fiction!
I'd better get along and do some reading before bedtime. Y'all stay dry and warm!
Thanks for stopping by!
Shalom.

Dave and Goliath...

Wednesday night was AWANA night. Do you have AWANA at your church? It's a youth program for preschool through elementary that my kids, and now my grandkids, participate(d) in where they learn Bible stories and memorize scripture along with a game time. Audrey and Hazel really enjoy their time there. I volunteer with the older girls, and Micah and the babies enjoy the nursery, where Micah helps out.

Anyway, we were visiting with Hazel's Cubbies leader, Mrs. Blake, in the hallway afterwards and she's always so enthusiastic about what they're doing with the kids. (She's Hazel's favorite.) She was asking Hazel questions about the Bible story they had dramatized during Cubbies, which is the preschool part of AWANA. Mrs. Blake had a slingshot in her hand that someone had fashioned out of a long strip of sweatshirt material. Hazel and Audrey were very much into the idea of slinging a stone at someone and knocking them out! Then Mrs. Blake asked Hazel, "What was the name of the young shepherd who used this slingshot to slay the giant, Goliath?" Hazel looked puzzled for a moment, clearly not recalling such a mundane detail. After all, she had been paying much more attention to the part about throwing rocks! Mrs. Blake leaned down and whispered a hint in her ear. A smile spread across Hazel's face and she said, "Oh yeah! Dave!"  Ha ha!! We all had a good laugh at the thought of Dave and Goliath. It just doesn't sound quite right, does it? :)

In case you don't know which one is Hazel, lol. Micah needs to take more pics of the girls. Sully's kind of been hogging the photo shoots lately. :)  BTW, she's showing you her tooth that she just pulled out. That was a while back.

 Two treats came my way today. A letter from MK and two books that I'd requested from the library. Thanks for the nice note, MK! And the pretty bookmark! I'm glad you're enjoying the Charlotte Bronte book. The forward was SO LONG, but I was glad to learn that I was reading the original edition of the book rather than the "edited-to-death" version. I'll have to get some pretty stationery or note cards so I can write some snail mail. Or maybe I'm too impatient for that? Ha ! I've been enjoying Dr. Robinson's TED Talks and thought I'd try out a couple of his books. MK, I think it was you that posted that first TED Talk, right? Thanks, again!

Here are some of my latest ATC's for a Favorite Animals swap...

 I don't recall if I showed this one already. It was for a private trade. What can I say; the gal wanted an opossum (or possum, as we call them in my neck of the woods).

I'll be settling in to do some reading and movie watching tonight. I hope you all have pleasant plans for this evening and the weekend!
God bless and shalom. :)

Finished painting...

I don't have much to post about, but I did finish the little ATC landscape for the contest. And here it is! :)

A while back one of the other ATC people sent me what we call a pocket letter. It's another kind of trade where you send someone a nine-pocket vinyl baseball card page filled with little trinkets and treats. This gal sent me some adorable little cut-out figures and I just love them, but couldn't find quite the right project to use them. I decided to use them to make some bookmarks to give another lady for our monthly RAK (Random Act of Kindness). This lady lost her husband just a few weeks ago, so I sent her a sympathy card and these two little bookmarks. I took lots of photos of them before sending them off so I can try to replicate them later. I think they're so pretty! Here are the bookmarks.

 This is the happy, chaotic mess on my kitchen table! :)

I figure if I get some stuff out I might think of a way to use it. I've stamped some of my images on ATC's and now I'm hoping to figure out how to use them as collage backgrounds. I don't "think" in collage terms, but I keep trying. LOL.

It's a bright, sunny day. Still snowy out, but a hint of spring in the air. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be visiting you soon...if you have a blog, that is. ;)

God bless all.
Shalom!

Snow day!

The grands got a snow day today. The first of the year! It didn't seem all that bad when I made a quick trip across the highway to go to the post office and store for essentials. But just after I got home the wind really kicked up blowing snow like crazy. We had icy rain last night, so the ice sheet underneath probably has something to do with the snow day. Maybe they know something's coming before school would have been out. I think Jody's wind has reached us!

Anyway, I'm glad to be snug at home with no place I have to go. I have lots of books and art projects to keep me entertained.

This is the beginning of an ATC I'm painting for what's called the Monthly Contest over at ATCs for All. You enter an ATC based on a theme (Waterscapes this month.) and then they have a vote. The 2 top winners get a prize of some art materials. This is just the first layer of watercolor. I plan to work on it a little at a time instead of rushing, like I usually do. It has to be entered by the end of March.

More layers to come! I will also do some ink lines after the painting is all finished.

Reference photo.

For this painting I'm using some very cheap paints from Walmart. They're sort of hard and chalky, but I kind of like the effect. They almost look moldy on top when they dry, but that happens within minutes of using them, so I don't think it's mold. I couldn't resist the large selection of bright colors! (Although, they're actually very pastel when you use them.)

As for reading material, I'm going through a children's book phase again, so I'm reading books about writing for children...

...AND I'm reading some actual children's books to see how different authors write for the age I'm interested in writing for. These are Magic Finger by Roald Dahl and Blubber by Judy Blume. I disliked the content of both, but I'm getting some ideas about dialogue and length of chapters, etc. I know Judy Blume is famous for her "honesty", but I found the book depressing. Better to talk to a kid about bullying than immerse him/her in a whole book about it. Anyway, I think by reading many more books in this age range (10-12 year olds) I'll start to develop a better feel for how to write them.

These three I haven't read yet.

My favorites at this age were horse books. I might have to try one of those, eventually! :)

I'm also taking a FREE watercolor painting class online. It's the sort of thing you can do at any time, once they post the video. So, if you never get around to it, nobody is the wiser!
Strathmore Watercolor Workshop

I hope you all have something fun to do today! Thanks for visiting!
Shalom. :)

Dreamin'...

I see many of you are seeing the dawn of spring. Well...we will be enjoying snow for a bit longer, I think. Here are the views outside my window this morning.

The snow has actually melted quite a bit. So nice to see temps above freezing! Warmer temps also bring us a lot of snow in March and April, but the end is in sight! Up north we always rejoice at getting through another winter! :)

I find that my craftiness, lately, has taken the form of looking at other people's craftiness more than making anything myself. Watching knitting videos...

...and being inspired to try sewing some simple clothes by seeing these patterns on Pom Pom's blog!

I don't even have a machine, but I might just get one...some day!
Dori inspired me to pick up my pen and sketchbook and try my hand at drawing a complex scene like this! (Drawing from Dori's blog.)

I've also been collecting images of fish. I have a fascination with drawing and painting fish. I haven't done many, but I hope to do more. One example...(From Google.)

The only original art of my own I have to share today is my latest attempt at a stamp, lol.

MK, I'm excited to see how your kitchen is coming along! Here is a little drawing of my someday dream "cabin". (Click on pic to make larger.) You have to have a dream!

Well, I was just checking out everyone else's blogs and wanted to refresh mine as well. Time for bed,I think! Thanks for all of the inspiration you folks give me. Some day I'll have the energy to pursue some of these things. But in the meantime, I'll enjoy watching everyone else! :)

God bless and shalom! Have a great weekend!