Skyline series

I have been working on these for a while, and I'm very happy to say that the first is completely done and will be being made into limited edition reproductions as well as notecards. I have 52 others so far that are in my artist queue so other areas will be popping up soon if you are interested in somewhere specific shoot me a message and I'll add it.

Here are close ups of each, notice that I had to watermark them in more than one spot. I'm disappointed to say that I've had people try and pass things off as their own on more than one occasion lately.
:\ Not cool people.

See it on etsy!

See it on etsy

See it on Etsy!

See it on Etsy!

See it on Etsy!

I hope you are working on something great and I'd love to see it!

Diva Challenge 186- String theory Leaves, leaves leaves!

I love fall so much. It's my favorite season. I love the warmth of summer, the promise of spring (especially after my arctic winters of endless snow) but the color and breathtaking beauty of fall make it my favorite. I love the crispness of the days that alternate with warm days that feel like presents!
I live in NY so.... I associate fall with warm cozy sweaters, new boots, POT ROAST!!!! and new school supplies, freshly sharpened pencils and blank notebooks...
So.. ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS!

Today's Diva Challenge  was leaves.
Ok.

Here's what I came up with and I had so much fun doing this. I used brown, a dark green and red from my heritage color pen set and then coordinating pencils from my inktense set.

Loved it. Might even do more of this one.

Last week we grew gardens, this week let's build houses!

I had fun with the template I put out there for you last week and it looks like a few other people did too! YAY! That's the whole point right?
Anyway, I have a new one for you.... this time, let's BUILD A HOUSE!

It almost looks like a face.. lol. You can turn the page any way you'd like and I can't wait to see your creations!

Download the template from here.. TEMPLATE

And then come back next week and share your link in the Mr Linkey thingey.

And here's mine!

I look forward to hearing what you think about these challenges! 

Diva challenges 175& 176

I was a couple weeks behind on these, but I'm caught up now. 

175 was to use Cruz.

The UMT's usually (Use my tangles) are always a true challenge for me, but I always learn something new.

For this one I decided to go with all grid style patterns and then use a thicker than usual line to kind of unify it. I like how it turned out, but it doesn't feel like anything special. 

The next one is 176, and was a challenge by her guest blogger, Amy. It was to "BYOB" and stain your paper with your beverage.
YAY! TEA!
So I dripped tea on it, it made some cool splashes and I liked that part all by itself! Then I tangled on it using my sepia pens and then to continue with the "something different" theme I added a quote.
One of my all time FAVORITE quotes actually.

I am in love with this one. I know it's messy and not even and I could do a much better version, but I love it. (Is it ok to be in love with your own work?)

Here it is. 

Have you heard of The Rainbow Elephant? You have now!

I ask because I had seen some stuff around, in fact I actually purchased her mandala templates but hadn't really played with them until recently. (There will be pictures. I promise) and then I saw a link and really dug into what was there.

Well, she's got some great stuff going on over there, so you should check it out.
She has 3 "Mandala Starter" templates for download on her site.
Anyway... this is one I started a few days ago and just didn't have the time to complete until this morning. I have to say I LOVED working on this one though. In fact, I did something I really don't do very often. I printed two copies so that I can do it again differently!
It's from The Rainbow Elephant it's a "starter template" so you add your own stuff to it.. which is great, because I'm just really learning the art of creating my own, so this was a wonderful in between and her lines are just beautiful. Anyway.. here is the link, my completed version and it's my first attempt with a watermark because sadly I've had some problems.
Please make sure that when you are inspired by an artist that you credit them, and please don't ever blatantly steal from them. Whether they are using it as a means of revenue or not, it's upsetting.
Anyhow... The Rainbow Elephant!

This template to download
Here is my work in progress on it.

And here is my completed.

Now to break out those directions to make my own.... 

(I receive no compensation for any of the stuff I talk about on my blog. If I ever do, I promise to share that info!)

"O" it's Tuesday

Cheryl over at Artful Creations runs a weekly Tuesday challenge for Tackle it Tuesday.

We are working our way through the alphabet and are on the letter O.
That means that all the tangles start with the letter O.

Here is my tile for today.

I used 

• Onamato
• Opus
• Ole

Very few of the tangle patterns that start with O are ones I really like, but I did use Ole for the first time and found it to be really versatile. I think I'll use that one more.

So, we're on day 17, and as much as I am a creative person, and I really do try to work on something every day, wow.. it's hard to do it EVERY day! The guitar kind of took a lot out of me getting it done on time, so I am going to go with something really simple tomorrow I think.

So today's art prompt is:
Round.
Either do something round or circular or with the letter O.

The guitar- or... what I did last week. :)

So here is my Diva challenge for last week first... #171, she talked about Beads of courage which is an amazing program and one I firmly believe in. Go check it out. Get involved.
Anyway, this is actually a program I really believe in so when she talked about it and incorporated that into the challenge I knew it wasn't one I wanted to skip. I used my watercolors to add some bright splashes and I like it even if it isn't my "normal" style.

 And because it's Monday again and I didn't want to fall behind and I've been awake since 5.
Here is a duotangle for the Diva's Challenge #172, Auraknot and Mooka. I mssed up my auraknot but I like it enough to keep it!

Ok, and now... The guitar. 

This was a Father's Day gift for my dad.

Here are some completed shots and then I'll add in a ton of wip pics too. 

(not all photos are even worth looking at but I wanted them for my own reference in the future)

Here it is all displayed after I gave it to him.

And here is a better shot of it all completed. 

There is meaning in every stroke on that guitar, from the little dipper that you won't notice behind the tree branches to the stars over the moon, which my dad taught me to draw, sitting on his lap at my Grandparents house as a little girl. 

There is a campfire and the song around the edges is the music from Country Roads by John Denver, which was my favorite song to listen to him play when I was a little girl. I called it my camping song. There are dandelions for wishes and a quote that says everything.

I'm a lucky girl. I have the best Dad, and I am glad that I could give him a gift that he told me he'll always treasure. 

Here's a few WIP pics. I'm a messy artist. :D

Ok, so today is day 16.
Create something that reminds you of your childhood!

I finished this earlier this morning.. Day 5!

So I've been working on a project ever since I saw the whole sharpie on mugs phenomenon take off and I loved it.. but I was skeptical.
I made sure to find items that rendered my finish project food safe because..
1. I want to make an entire set to match the kitchen decor I've ALWAYS WANTED BUT NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIND!!!! (Strawberries are NOT THAT WEIRD people!)
2. As soon as I mention it I had people want to buy sets. Ok then. I'm not going to sell them if they can't eat off them so began my quest until I found items that would be fine.

Here's my test piece. I started it yesterday and finished it up today. It's not terribly intricate because the next step is to pass it around to every member of my family with the explicit directions to try and destroy it, and I knew I'd be sad if they were successful and I'd spent tons of time creating it. Plus, this is a favorite design of mine. (I do promise to update on how it holds up!)

So that is what I did to be creative today.
How are you coming along in my 30 day Kreative challenge?
( Update because I forgot to add a prompt earlier, Thanks Bev for the reminder!so here it is!)
For your project today, consider doing something you've been wanting to try for a while, a new pattern, a new technique, a new project! 

Rules and prizes can be found here... 

Some questions I'm getting asked a lot...
Q:Can I jump in even though you are in progress?
A:Yes, please do!

Q:Does this count?
A: Did you feel like you were creating something? If so.. yes!

Q: Can I submit something for a different day?
A: Yes, but only until the Sunday of that week for it to count towards contest entries.

So add your link to wherever you posted what you made in the linkey, leave me a comment so I can come check it out and make something fun!

What are YOU going to make today?

I think this is done, unless I decide to go back in and do something else, but it kind of told me I was done!

Today is Day 2 of my challenge, so with that in mind I want to encourage you to do some shading.

I tend to NOT do it as heavily as I maybe could and I find that when I do, I'm ALWAYS happy with the result. So that's my mini art prompt for you today.

If you need more info on the challenge you can find the details HERE and more about the prizes HERE. 

Shade something, or use shading or hey, do whatever outside in the shade. :)

I look forward to seeing what everyone accomplishes here!

And I shall call her....Zoey! (And the official challenge details!)

I am really excited about the way this turned out. I am a huge fan of giraffes and when I saw this I instantly knew I wanted to make it patchwork. This one took me a while, but I only started it last night so it wasn't too bad!
I used my watercolor pencils to add some color, which I don't normally do...but they were perfect for this and just really had some fun with it.
My daughter and I decided it's a girl, and my son decided her name is Zoey!

Isn't she cute?! (I wish she was an actual stuffed animal!)

Ok! And now onto the next piece, my

Kelly's 30 day "Kreative" Challenge!

It starts tomorrow and runs from June 1- June 30.

I challenge you, to be creative every day for the next 30 days.

I am pushing myself this year to really make sure that I am doing something EVERY day, no matter how small and I want to see how many of you will join me!

I am hoping to have one of those cool Mr. Linkey things up and running by tomorrow but I'm struggling with it a little, so until I do, please just leave your links in the comments. 

There are only a few rules and that's to keep it simple.

Complete something every day, or as many days during the challenge as you can. 

It doesn't have to be big, or intricate. Just draw or paint, or sketch or knit or doodle or whatever it is you want to do that makes you feel creative! 

Try and link them daily, if not, then no later than Sunday night of each week and note what day it's for in your title or somewhere in your blog post or link.

Please link directly to what you want me to see, otherwise I might miss it.

Tell your friends!

There are going to be TWO prizes.

One for the person who completes the most days... and then one will be drawn randomly from the people who entered, each project is good for one entry. 

So now that I said that... what am I giving away? 

I thought I'd give away a set of my favorite micons in winners choice of black or multicolor 

and I've also decided to give away a wooden spiral art drawing set like mine, because it's gorgeous and I love it so much. 

 

So don't forget... and I hope to see you back here tomorrow for day 1! 

Na na na na na na na na....

I don't really know why, this is my Tackle it Tuesday challenge tile, and once it was done, it makes me think of Batman. Not really sure why... but I'm a huge fan of Batman so, ok.

I thought it needed a tiny bit of color so I added the red and then it called for something in the center too.. hence the heart.

The challenge this week was only patterns that started with the letter N. There aren't that many, I was expecting more.

I used a capital N and a lowercase n for my strings, you can't really tell, which is sorta cool.

My patterns were:

• Ninja Stars
• N'Zepple
• N'velope
• Navaho

Some of these were really time consuming, I didn't expect that.

Anyway, without further ado.

Na na na na na na na na.... 

Zendalas and my gorgeous new toy

I really like the structure of zendalas. I love the way they flow from one segment to another, the order, the stability of them. I like doing other things to, but these come together very quickly for me and I'm almost ALWAYS happy with the result.

This one makes me think of magic wands.

I'm really happy with the shading on this one, but it might be a little too busy.

Recently I was reminded of my childhood spirograph. I wished I still had it because it would be so much fun to doodle and tangle on. So I started searching to see if I could find a new one at a decent price, but the reviews weren't fantastic compared to what I remembered and I tend to be really picky.

I ended up on ebay and etsy trying to find a vintage one, only to discover that only specific pens are supposed to work in them. That wasn't a problem when I was 8, but now... i want ALL my pens to fit.

And then I found this on Etsy. It's a gorgeous, hard wood spiral art set, so... basically, a spirograph for the me who didn't like any of the other choices. I can't wait to play with it! All my pens seem to fit and it's sooooo gorgeous. The picture here and the ones on the link do NOT do it justice. 

It's a little smaller than I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing, in fact, it's perfect because storage isn't going to be a problem and for tiles or my sketchbook...  SCORE! I'm really pleased with this and I encourage you to go check out the seller. (Not affiliated in any way but very happy with the product!)

Hardwood spiral art Drawing Tool 

There are several small plastic disks as well for even more sizes. 

So that's tomorrow's project. Play with my new toy! 

Pretty math

I love math, I admit it, I'm kind of a math nerd in the fact that I love how math just makes sense.
You can't add 3+3 and come up with a number that it has never reached before.. unlike people.
It's been a crazy few weeks. I needed something that showed order, and here is what I have. A fractal tree. It photographed like crap and it's on the back of a napkin.. but it made me feel peaceful.

I need to practice more fractals I think.

Inspired

I find inspiration in various areas of life... in this instance, from another artist.

So the other day I saw this video.... and it looked like fun. So I watched it again... and then a third time, and then I subscribed to her videos on youtube. You should too.

And when I was done watching,  I drew this, really fast.... because her directions are GREAT! Seriously, it probably took me 10 minutes.

I just kind of thought about how she did it and realized.... I had something else in mind. So I played with it a little bit and now there is this!

Eventually I want to do another one in full color and with a lot of whimsical stuff on the flowers, but for now, drawing this made me really happy.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Or at least.. where did you find inspiration today?

Diva Challenge 167- Punzel and Wells

WELL.....
For those that know me in person, I overuse that word. So it seems perfect that I start this post that...

Well....
This one was a very real challenge for me.
I had never even looked at Wells before, and Punzel is my kryptonite. So this was a major undertaking for me.
 I practiced a lot on my Punzel before I started, and I finally GET it, so if nothing else, I win! I still don't love it, which is funny because Chainging which is the base for it, is a favorite. Weird or what? Here is my practice. It's not pretty. LOL

I opted for one of the variations on Wells, because I loved it and thought it looked like pinwheels.
I really was liking the way it came out, but my shading didn't go QUITE right, and I think it looks a little too gray, but hey, it's done right and I mostly like it. (Perfectionist voices in my head again)

So without further ado, I'm back on track with my challenges and here is my completed Diva Challenge for the week.

iTangle

Tackle it Tuesday!!!! (Or Tangle it Tuesday as I always think of it!) from  Cheryl over at Artful Creation was an alphabet challenge. Today's tangle is using patterns that start with the letter "I" so I am calling this my "Itangle" since I was listening to music on my ipod, took the pic with my iphone and posted it to my instagram. :D

3 out of these tangles were new for me and I love IX. Love it. I need to practice it some more, but I love way it looks when it's finished. Very layered. 

This is my finished tangle, I don't love it, so I may re-do the one for this week, or I might just let it be. 

My tangles of choice were...

IX

Ixorus

Inapod

Intersection

Ilana

How to Draw Budz

I've been drawing this pattern since... forever I think. I didn't see it stepped out anywhere so I thought I would do it.

I've called it Budz and I hope you like it!

Step 1: Make a loopy line. My example almost looks like cursive L's but it can be any type of swirly line you like.

Step 2: Add a swirl on a slightly angled stick, one motion anywhere on your curve. I opted to show you with it just across from each swirl. 

Step 3: You can either finish your flower on step 2 with a quick line up to the curve of your flower, or you can skip it and finish it off when you put in your teardrop shape for a leaf.

Step 4: Place a tiny line at the bottom of the teardrop shape

Step 5: Dots make things fun!

Step 6: I shade at the base of the flower and the curve of the leaf.

You can actually stop after step 3 and decorate it however you'd like, and this can be done in rows as a variation to fill a space. It's more versatile than it seems at first glance!

I look forward to seeing what you do with it! If you use it, please drop me a link so I can take a look!

A little inspiration

On facebook I've been participating in the Wacky ZentangleWeekly challenge group, (Seriously this is fun, go check it out!)

This weeks challenge I could do 90 times!
Here is it from the group...
"We all like quotations or inspirational notes, so here is your chance to share your favourite ones with this amazing group.  I will leave it up to your interpretation, whether its writing the quote and tangling around it or tangling the quotes!  i can't wait to see what people come up with."

I simply adore quotes, especially ones that inspire me.

This is what I came up with last night. I don't LOVE it, love it.. because it was a very fast tangle and I wasn't trying to make it perfect, I was just kind of experimenting. I was playing with a tangle that I *think* is actually MINE (I'm still looking to see if it's listed anywhere else).

I actually have the infinity symbol with the quote drawn on my sketchbook and I really love that which was why this was my first attempt at this weeks challenge. I may do more. I love, love, love this challenge. 

We'll see how much time I have this week! 

Sunday tangle

I worked on this yesterday and finished it up today.

I had some friends ask me how it goes from in my head to finished so I took some step by steps.

This is how it started.. with some breakfast and an idea on Sunday morning.
Here is my basic string.

The vision in my head. Yes the circles are freehand, I've been asked 4 times. LOL

This part comes together pretty quick for me. 

A close up of this section

Where I was in the evening on Sunday.

Done .. except the shading

Some shading

And done... I need to rescan it because my scanner is glitchy but here it is!