WOYWW #455

So Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! I'm glad to be posting this week, and actually earlier than I usually do, because I didn't get to post last week! Work got in the way!! Can you believe that????? Wonders never cease! :) LOL I'm thankful to have a job that DOES get in the way! And let me assure you that I thank my Father in Heaven for that every day as well! :)

So some of the photos that I show you today are actually what was on my work desk LAST week that I didn't get to post as a part of WOYWW!! I assure you there is WAY MORE menagerie on my desk this week.....and not in a good way! So much for keeping my work space clean and void of clutter! LOLOL Anywho.....if you want to play along with us, step on over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground and see what crafters around the world are up to on their own desks! :)

So I believe the last time I posted I mentioned that I did have a few more lovely items coming in the mail to me, BUT IT IS THE LAST for awhile! It was all still part of using the last bits of Santa funds! LOL As I have been soooooo into my watercolor painting and journaling lately, I simply HAD (hee hee) to get this set of Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay India Inks!! I have been lusting after those puppies for quite some time! There are actually two or maybe three sets of them and I knew I wanted this set because the tone of the colors is more to my liking. I'm not a real "flashy or bright" color person, which is the first set, so these were perfect! I actually have some others, that I have bought individually, which are the pearlescents. They are fabulous as well!

So when these guys came in the mail, and I opened them up, I think I heard choirs of angels in the background!! LOL LOL I think I ewwwhheed and awwhheed for a good 5 minutes! LOL These guys are luscious and I really have been wanting them to use in tandem with my GORGEOUS Schmincke watercolor paints. The aim is to use with my dip pen, but I'm know I can use them in all sorts of mixed media projects as well!

So the other items that came in the mail with the puppies are this lovely Pentalic Aqua Watercolor Journal and this Blu Tack adhesive. I did not have a proper watercolor art journal and also really wanted to have one to start down my watercolor/sketch journaling road! I had other journals, but not with proper quality paper. So far, I am really loving this guy!

The Blu Tack, I bought after much research online to stick to the bottom of my watercolor pans in my Schmincke palette because they kept sliding around everywhere and I couldn't figure out how to make them stay put. Well, funny story, just before this came in the mail, I came across a YouTube video where the person actually showed me just what to do that REALLY worked (unlike other YouTube videos I had watched!) So now, I have this adhesive that I guess I will put to use elsewhere! LOL Story of my life! LOL

So push ahead to this week, I will show you the first journal pages that I couldn't wait to get started on! My hope is to continue this right on as long as I'm on this earth and leave something for my girls and their children. You know, kind of like diaries, but in a different way! So they will see who I was through my journals. What I saw and how it made me feel or respond to life around me! That's something tangible that I can leave!

So, on these first two pages I really just wanted to spell out, if for nothing but in my mind, what I would be using in this journal. Because I only want to use my watercolors, sketch pencil, dip pens and ink in these journals, I wanted to show those. So I simply sketched out my tools and my watercolor box with the pencil then went over with my dip pens and then washed with my watercolors. I then noted that it was Journal #1 (of many, I hope) and that it signified "Beginnings" for me. A little elementary, I know, but for me, this is an all new journey and it put it right in my mind!

So, just a few close-ups of those pages! The lines on the page with my watercolor box are nib lines. I just wanted to clarify the nibs for myself and see which I could use for various projects. I love the outdoors and am constantly taking photos of trees, plants and landscape. Especially when I am hiking and those are the things that speak to me, express "me," and where I feel like I can express my love for God's creations in my journal. I can be driving down the road and see something and stop to take a photo! I get honked at A LOT, but I don't want to miss the "moment," so to speak! LOL So I have years of photos from my phone that I can use to start me off on my memory road!

Well that's it for me today folks! What's on your work desk today? I'll go have a look see and share in your moments as well! Have a great Wednesday and blessed rest of the week!

Blessings

WOYWW #453

Good Wednesday all my dear crafty friends!!! I hope today finds you joyous in whatever part of the world you are in!!! It's a rainy day here in my neck of the woods and after my heartfelt post last week about wearing my father's coat, would you believe today that, that coat is already back in the closet!!! Yep right now it's 61 degrees and it is supposed to be up to a high of 71!!! Uggghhhh is all I can say!! Oh well, if only for a moment right??? LOLOL

Well it's time for our weekly desk visits as a part of WOYWW over on Julia's blog Stamping Ground! Come over and take a peek, join in the fun and browse other crafters desks! It's great fun to play along!

So last week, you remember I showed off my new Schmincke watercolor paints and was starting a small piece? Well this week, I will share the finished product. Can I just say that it was glorious using those paints????? They were simply yummy! If ever there were a time that I felt right about spending a pretty penny on something, this would definitely be one of those! You won't regret it. They are just lovely!

So this "little birdie" got its start with a sketch in pencil because I am not confident enough to do anything straight from paint to paper. Then after I was satisfied with that, I then used my new dip pen and india ink to further sketch the little guy. Then came those fabulous paints! I had great fun doing this little guy. I got the idea from watching the birds over at my father's house. He loves birds and has many bird feeders outside his kitchen window. In the mornings when I go to administer his meds, we sit and watch those lovely birds and its precious time together. So it got me wanting to draw one!

My hope is to take a class from a resident artist here in my small town. We are lucky to have him here and I happened to catch him one day and ask if he would be willing to teach a class. We haven't made it happen yet, but hopefully soon. I would love to learn some techniques as I don't know ANY! LOL I've always been a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of girl! LOL It would be nice to actually know what I was doing sometime! LOL Hopefully this year I can do that!

I've never been fond of drawing people or animals, I am a HUGE nature lover and landscapes have always been my "dream" to paint! People connect with God in different ways, but I connect with Father God through His lovely creation, earth! We've made a mess of it, to be sure, but nevertheless, I see the beauty underneath all that, that He intended! I'm astounded and my breath is taken away, EVERY TIME I gaze upon a vast landscape, an amazing soulful tree, a whispy, intricately colorful flower, a powerful sunset or sunrise or even a tiny mushroom! God is in them all! So my dream is to try to depict that through watercolor! We shall see! Until then, I will keep plugging away at it! LOL

So that's it for me today guys! I hope you all have a great week! I hope to share another goody (I know, I know, I just need to chill out! BUT this IS the last goody for awhile) that I have coming in the mail next week! Eeeek! It's those darned sales, I tell you! LOLOLOL

Peace and blessings!

Friends from Afar!

Happy Thursday all my crafty friends!!! I can't believe I am posting two days in a row! LOL Wonders never cease, right???? LOL I hope today is finding you all healthy, at peace and FULL OF JOY! :)

Today, I am not going to be sharing any of my craftiness partly because my project is not done yet, but MOSTLY because I want it to be about someone else's craftiness!! I came home several days ago (I know.....what took me so long to share!!!) and found surprise HAPPY, SPECIAL, PRECIOUS mail! Yep, that's right! For those of you who get "happy mail," I'm two up on you cause mine was happy, special...andddd...precious mail! LOL Ok, I'll share the floor with you! LOL I went by the postbox fully intending to find yet ANOTHER bill but instead found love in an envelope!

Look at that goodness right there folks! My wonderful friend Jackie P Neal, who incidentally is a published star.....you can check out her claim to fame RIGHT HERE...... and yea, I know her......hee hee, sent me this envelope of love! I bet anyone passing by who saw my face as I pulled that precious envelope out of the box probably thought.....boy that's the biggest cheese grin I've ever seen! LOLOLOL I couldn't wait to get inside and open it!

Jackie, like so many of you out there, is just a gifted artist! She creates some of the most wonderful pieces and I'm grateful to call her friend! When you have the opportunity, go check out ALL of her GORGEOUSNESS on her wonderful blog Creating Without Crayons!

I'm a tag girl and I love creating them as well as receiving them. I have been on several online tag swaps and really need to get back into another one! They are great fun and you meet so many wonderfully talented people and learn some lovely techniques when you receive their goodness! As I have been involved in many swaps, I have so many art pieces displayed on my art closet wall. But a tip from another wonderful online friend Zsuzsa, who is also an amazing artist,  brought out the discussion of a "Friendship Wall!" How cool is that right??? So the current wall that I do have will at some point have a "billboard" on it and all of my precious online friends's art displayed. I have so much that needs to be put up that I still haven't displayed yet, so it will be a work in progress!

So all that got my thoughts flowing. I have spoken about this before, but I really want to express my EXTREME GRATITUDE for my online arty friends!! I've never personally met you, but you all still feel like family as I take a peek into your every day lives either on social media or on your blog. Online friends can be like your at home friends......they come and go...., but there are some of you (and you know who you are) who I met over five years ago online and we have all followed each other and shared our art with one another all that time! You develop just as special a relationship as if they were right down the road! Now, I'll admit, I wish you WERE right down the road, to hob nob with across a craft table, go to the coffee house with or even sit by the fire with a glass of wine and laugh with, but even though I don't have that luxury, YOU are still just so special to my heart!

Thank you never seems quite enough, but know it's NO LESS sincere and heart felt! So today, THANK YOU sweet, sweet Jackie and all my other online friends who bring a smile to my face and heart each and every day, who inspire me, encourage me and bless me without even ever knowing it!

Today, I encourage you to take the time to share a smile, a hug, a text or even a "blog post" with those who mean so much to you! We aren't assured another day, so live today, like there is no tomorrow!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of YOU!" Philippians 1:3

Blessings

WOYWW #452

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! I don't know about anywhere else in the world, BUT...it's frosty here! Brrrhhhhh! Particularly for the South! It was 28 degrees this morning and let me tell you, that made this girl happy because that means I got to put on my treasured leather coat that was my father's. I had always loved that coat and when he passed away, my sisters made sure I got it! It's from the old school and it is VERY warm. They don't make clothing (or anything for that matter) like they used to. They used to last,  hence why it's still around, but today, it's all about greed and how much money can be made. I better stop, or I will get on my soap box! Anywho.....isn't nice to have something like that to treasure? What about you? Do you have a favorite something from a past loved one? Those are God's little blessings for you! Isn't He just the best?

So, today is WOYWW! Hurray!! Because last week....it was a "no show" for me! I have been extremely busy of late! This is big convention time for my elected officials. I do all the coordinating for those conventions, so it's all deadlines and building conference packages! I love it, but it's time consuming! So, if you are able to play along this week, go on over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground and check out the fun! You won't be sorry!

This week I will show you what's on my desk that I promised I would show two WOYWW''s ago! And dunt dunt duhhhhhhhh........

Helloooooo mama!!! LOLOL If you could have been in my presence when this package came in, you would have exited the building!!! LOLI have been lusting (I know, I know) after these guys for some time. I have some student grade watercolor paints that aren't bad, but after much research and lots of book reading from professionals, they convinced me that its important to really have professional grade to learn the true craft with! Soooooo, OF COURSE, I HAD to have them! LOL Thank you Santa Clause! LOLOL

So,these guys are just stinking gorgeous! I've been working on the swatch card that came with the set. At the time of this writing, I am now finished with it and I tell you, it's so handy to have that in your kit to refer to while painting! I have already started on some new bookmark ideas and below I have already started on a small painting.

In this picture, you can see that all I have done thus far is sketched out my "little birdie" scene (you'd have to zoom in to really see it, sorry) with that FABULOUS Pentel Graph Gear mechanical pencil that Santa brought me, but the next step will be to use my Tachikawa dip pen that you see above it to further sketch my "little birdie." I keep my nibs in that cute little Altoid tin you see there and OF COURSE there are my new GORGEOUS Schmincke paints at the wait!

Above my dip pen, can you see those cute little whales? They are dip pen and paint brush rest/holders! Aren't they the cutest! They are so great to have so that I don't have my dip pen or paint brush rolling around and getting product everywhere! That's important because I LOVE sticking my arm in things! LOLOL Also you will see two of my inks in cute little jars and next to them two "shading" pen packs from Faber Castell. The last thing to the right is one of my favorite coffee mugs from my "bestie" that says "Don't forget to be AWESOME!" I love having that to encourage me as I craft......and, of course....the fabulous coffee inside that mug helps! LOLOL

Well that is truly what is on my desk as of this morning! Trouble is......I CAN'T WAIT to get home to finish the said piece!! Ohhhhh to be a full time artist!!! Good on those of you who can do the thing you love most ALLLLLL DAYYYY!!! For now, mama's got to bring home the bacon! LOL That being said, I am a TRULY BLESSED WOMAN to have a Father in Heaven who provides for me with my wonderful job and because He knows the desires in my heart, provides that I may enjoy the gift that He placed on the inside of me! Thank you Father God! :)

Well I hope you all have a FANTABULOUS Wednesday and rest of the week! I am going to try to get around to as many of your desks today that I can and see what you have been up to!

Blessings

WOYWW #450

Happy COLD, brrhhhh..... Wednesday all my crafty friends!! I love it!! It's FINALLY cold here in the south! LOL And guess what????? It's SNOWING!! Yep! A cold front has moved across the southeast and our little ole town has gotten some snow! You guys above the Mason Dixon Line will laugh at that because, of course, it's not really snow....it's flurries! LOL Regardless, in the south, the danger for us is not so much the snow, but the freezing. We aren't equipped here in the south to drive in that kind of element, so, we pretty much shut down! Funny, but folks in the south already CAN'T drive, can you imagine on ice!! LOLOL  If any of my crafty friends are in it like I am...stay warm and safe!

Well, It's another WOYWW and I can't wait to show the goods on my desk today! You can always get on the band wagon by going on over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground and play along! You will love to see what EVERYONE around the world is mashing around on their desks!

So last week, you will remember that I shared some of my "Santa goodies" and how stoked I was? Well today, I will show you the results of what I was waiting on some of those goodies for! I have been in love with watercolor / pen and ink for some time and have been playing around with what I had on hand. But now that I have half of what I wanted Santa to bring me to achieve some craftiness, I have been able to do more. I still have one more thing that Santa is to bring me that will be arriving hopefully by next WOYWW and I will reveal it then. But that last little treasure will COMPLETE my newest "art addiction!" LOL

Many of you crafty friends are very familiar with Cee Cee over on Cee Cee's Creations and I just love her! She is an amazing artist who I love to follow! She had been doing some awesome watercolor line art that I fell in love with and because I have been fascinated with watercolor lately, I knew this was something that would fall right in line with what I had been doing and so the share's from my desk today are attributed to her creative share with us all! Thanks Cee Cee for your inspiration!

I did these bookmarks for some friends of mine and I just had a ball! I took some 140lb cold press paper and stretched onto a board that I bought over the holidays that my wonderful husband finished out for me so that I could get wet mediums and what not on it without its warping.....thanks hubs! :) Then I simply washed over with watercolor in colors that I just happened to be feeling at that moment. After letting dry, I cut down to the size of bookmarks that I wanted and then the rest of the joy began!

Now let me just say that I have always loved drawing even at a young age, but have never had lessons as far as painting my drawings....it has always been intimidating to me....therefore that is why this style is so yummy to me because the wash is in the background and I'm not actually painting the flowers! LOL I know, I know, easy way out huh? Going to have to face that fear eventually! LOL I used my brand new dip pen and my new nibs and I was like a kid in a ca
ndy store! I had so much fun! This is something I think I will be doing on a regular basis to have on hand for gifts on the quick! Much like I do my crosses! But, that being said, I am hoping I will grow in this and the plan is to take a watercolor class at some point in time this year and flourish further in this art medium!

After finishing, I went to a local print shop and had them laminated and will send them out to my sweet pals for a new year blessing! Hopefully the lamination will preserve the art and not have a reverse effect on it!! YIKES! LOL All three of these pals that I am sending these to are avid readers so even if they have these bookmarks through a couple of book readings, at least they will know I was thinking of them! What do you think? 

My last treasure, that should come in this week, will help me continue in this newest love and I am sooooo looking forward to it's arrival! I want to try all sorts of new things in 2018....for me....the sky is the limit!! How about you?

Well, happy WOWWW guys and I look forward to seeing what you all are sharing today!

Blessings

WOYWW #449

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends! Happy New Year! I haven't posted since last year....hee hee hee! Honestly though, it seems like forever! It was a wonderful Christmas season for me and my family and a needed break from ALL things! It was extremely busy as well, so I got NO crafting done over the holidays! And as I took several weeks during the holidays for vacation, I have been extremely busy catching back up on all things at work and at home! BUT, alas, it is a new year and I have big plans for my art crafting!!!! Notice I didn't say "resolutions" in there anywhere!! My experience when I use that word is that it turns south not too long after I make any statements! LOLOL Therefore, I will just say "big plans," and see how that all turns out! LOL I'm super excited however for the things in my head to come out on paper, canvas, tags, ATC's, journals.....whatever comes my way! Yay 2018!!!

So it is another Wednesday and the FIRST in the wonderful WOYWW fun! Happy New Year to all my "desker" friends! LOL If you want to get in on the fun for 2018 with all of us "deskers," just jump on over to Julia's blog at Stamping Ground and play along this year! It will be fun and you will meet all sorts of LOVELY crafters just like YOU! :)

So as I mentioned, I haven't been crafting much so I will show you what is on my desk from my holiday blessings, either to me or for me! As some of you will remember the Raskog Cart was my big gift to myself, but I did get a little extra money from Santa and managed to purchase a few things that I had been wanting for myself. And it was a "yippee fest" for me as it came in the mail!

So first off on my yumminess to myself is the AMAZING "Create Your Life Book" book! I couldn't wait to get my hands on that guy!!! I have been wanting to do the Life Book Class for years and simply have not been able to for financial reasons. It's always right after Christmas when we are ALL sacked out on the money train, right??? I love Tam and her amazing talent and truly want to do the Life Book stint some time! Maybe next year? So since I couldn't manage it yet again, I vowed to get her book. And I got a great price on it! Let me just say it is a lovely, lovely book and I recommend anyone getting this book as a great addition to your art book stash! She is such an inspiration not only art wise, but also spiritually....no matter what your faith! Her words ring true across spiritual realms! I think she is somebody I could TOTALLY pal around with! LOL

The next thing I will point out is the Tachikawa dip pen holder and then you will see some nibs that I bought to go with it! I have so been wanting this holder and I made it happen at also a great price. I long loved dip pens and the amazing art you can do with them and so I haven taken on another art adventure lately that absolutely FORCED me to get this guy....hee hee hee! I will be posting some new crafting in the near future to show off this fancy guy! Additionally I have longggggg wanted that Pentel Graphgear 1000 mechanical Pencil!!! That guy is the bomb!! I have other cheapo mechanical pens, but I wanted the "daddy!" LOL I am so stoked about that! I also got some lead to go with

The other treasure on my desk is the Da Vinci Squirrel brush! It is a size 0 for the "small" watercolor painting that I have been doing lately! My intent is to get a whole set of squirrel brushes, but hey, I have to start somewhere! LOL I am so excited to break this brush in! Woop!

The other wonderful item on my desk is that Cloth Paper Scissors magazine! What makes that magazine so special is that a true Christmas Angel gifted me that subscription this year! This person, and you know who you are, is one of the most precious people I know! She is a true "angel" who continuously expresses the Father's love for His people through her art and service to others! "Thank You" simply doesn't seem enough, but I'm am grateful for her and to her for her act of kindness to me! I look forward to a year of inspiration out of this magazine! Yay me!!! :)

The other menagerie on my "still clean desk," ha ha is my yummy watercolor palette, some gorgeous india ink for dipping and some Altoid tins that I plan to do some mixed media crafting with. A small one holds my nibs and I want to "craft it up," LOL and others I want to do for gifts! Also there are a couple of packs of Faber Castell pens in grays and sepia for shading. 

That's pretty much it for me today guys! I hope to share some of finished craft goodies next week. I pray you all had a beautiful Christmas and I also pray for peace, joy and prosperity for your coming year! And, OF COURSE, lots of CRAFTY GOODNESS!!! :))))

Many blessings to you all!