Dare #54

I liked this week's dare. It was different than any I have done. I had a hard time deciding what to draw, but I think it turned out pretty good. And, a big Thank you to Erin! I won a 2013 Tangle a Day Calendar on the website!

Zendala Dare #52

I feel about this one. On the one hand, I love it, it was so much fun. Then, on the other hand, I don't think I did a very good selection on the tangles. I will tell you this, I just love, love, love the challenge that comes with this. It is exciting, inspiring and so much fun! I am not sure how

Zendala Dare #51

Zendala Dare #51 from The Bright Owl. This is not my best work, but it was fun! Thanks Erin!

Zendala Dare #50

Well, so much for all my talk about posting everyday! :) Here is my Zendala Dare for this week!!!!

Dare #49

I missed posting yesterday, but I had company and lots going on. So today, I am posting The Dare #49 from over at the Bright Owl. I am not that pleased with the design, but it was fun to draw!

Catching Up

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! The Falcons lost to the 49er's and the rest is history. I have been trying to work on my art and knit, but other things seem to always take precedence. We did have Brian and Anna last weekend, and we had such a good time.

This is Anna, chasing a bird in the azaleas. She really thought that she could catch him. She is the cutest!

And then she realized that she couldn't! :)

Brian has lost his first tooth! He is now a snaggletooth, as my Dad used to say! We had a great weekend, but I was exhausted on Sunday night. I have been printing the dare from The Bright Owl, but never seem to get around to doing it. I love to do them, but haven't had time lately. I have done some art recently, mostly late at night, after everyone is in bed and I can have some time to myself. Have not been able to sleep much, so I take advantage of the free time, since I have so little.

These are some of my latest drawings. I have been knitting some too. I am trying to finish up a few UFO's and I am still trying to learn toe-up socks. Til next time~~~

Thankful I Rediscovered Art

I have always loved art. Even as a child, I loved drawing, coloring in coloring books, music, books, and all the wonderful things that are considered art. I have never had any artistic talent, unfortunately, and I always wondered why I loved it so much. Over the years, I have tried all forms of art. I have to say that my favorite is music. I love the classics, my favorite being Beethoven's Sonata #14, or Moonlight Sonata, as it is commonly known. I sang in glee club at school, choir at church and always wanted to be a musician. As life would have it, that was not my path. Our lives are so complex and the paths that we take are, at times, odd. Sometimes I wonder how I arrived at the place that I am today. But, I think that things happen for a reason and God always has a plan. I taught myself to crochet at about 16 and then later on, learned cross stitch, embroidery, rug hooking, macrame (remember macrame plant hangers?) and a bit of knitting. I learned all these from a dear and wonderful friend that I shall always love and cherish. Her name is Dixie and she is the most talented person I have ever met. She can do anything. For a number of years, I was so busy raising children, working and living my life, that I did not have the time or patience for art and completely gave up all my hobbies other than gardening. A few years ago, I learned to knit for real and started dabbling in watercolors. I realized very quickly that I am not a painter nor am I an artist of any kind. I am much better the with the needle arts....quilting, embroidery, cross stitching, but one thing has always remained the same....and that is my love of letters and numbers. Fonts, puzzles, calligraphy, lettering, writing. All those things are so dear to me, so I decided to go in a little different direction. I started doing Artist Trading Cards and joined some ladies at my work in a card club. We meet every 2 weeks and make a variety of greeting cards. I really enjoy this and seem to be fairly good at it. In my search for ideas and creativity for my ATC's and greeting cards, I literally stumbled onto something called Zentangle. At first, as I researched it, I never thought I would ever be able to do such beautiful artwork, but I discovered that I can!!! My life has changed forever. I now carry a sketchbook with me all the time. I am constantly looking for new ways to do my art, which now consists of Zentangle, ATC's and greeting cards. I am so happy and thrilled that I have found an art medium that I love and can actually do! My mother has been ill off and on since last summer and recently had a stroke that was very severe. She is still in rehab and we are thinking that she may never be able to live alone again, or even with me. The past few weeks have been so stressful for Randy and me and I have spent so many hours sitting in the hospital with her and trying to help her understand what has happened to her. My art has been my life saver. When she is sleeping, I sit in the quiet and tangle, or work on ATC's and I truly think that this has helped me to get through each day. The future is so uncertain and each day, I wonder what is going to happen. I thank God every day for allowing me to have this art....sometimes things do happen for a reason.