Having Some Challenges Fun!

    This week . . . or next . . .  school starts.  I don't know when exactly and don't really care at the moment.  Seriously I do wish my friends a great school year and have thought more than once of my last year's kiddos and hope they would be fine.  But I am not stressing over my room, plans, a new group of kids, meetings, and the list goes on.  I spent some time getting to some of my favorite things - the challenges.  I would love a few more artsy type challenges.  Any suggestion?  Leave me a link to some good ones.
     Every Inchie Monday's challenge word was camel.  I am always reminded of the scene with Conan (the barbarian) and the camel.  It always cracks me up!  I have heard they can be quite contrary creatures. 

      Made by Joey's challenge was to use the tangle naida.  I combined it with betweed and some swirly things that just seemed to fit! 

      I have missed a few Diva challenges lately.  For no real reason, just have.  But when I saw that the challenge was to use nzeppel, I could not resist.  That is a tangle I love to use.  I also enjoyed reading the guest bloggers post about feeling as though you don't fit in.  I have struggled with that frequently.  I much prefer very small groups or even better being alone.  I can identify with her daughter's struggles in beginning middle school.  So much happening at that time of one's life.  But as I was working to make nzeppel fit into this shape, I saw a beautiful flower emerge.  I hope as this young girl (and all the others starting this stage) struggles to fit in, there is a beautiful flower emerge for her. 

     I finished up my coloring page I was working on - Lucerne Switzerland.  I loved giving my new pencils some more time.  I also am playing with ways to blend the polychromos - like using gamsol.  It went on amazingly smooth.  It also bled right through and I had to quick grab a blotter!  Uh-oh!

     Thanks for dropping by - I hope you are having a blessed day!  It is time to go get some dinner going.  Want to come by for an enchilada burger?  I will throw on an extra one!

Where the Buffalo Roam . . .

    Every Inchie Monday's word was buffalo.  I enjoyed looking at some google pictures of these majestic creatures before starting to draw.  They are so beautiful out on the plains grazing. 

    I haven't been very creative otherwise this week.  A little coloring, some tangling.  My lab work came back, by the way, okay.  Nothing irregular or otherwise.  My A1c is up a bit so my doctor monkeyed with my meds, upping them some.  I have been getting better fasting sugars, but I also am so nauseated I could scream.  It has left me a bit drained.  The pharmacist said back off and gradually up the meds.  Made more sense to me.  I just wish this aggravated stomach would go away.  Not fun.
     I also have been having some cooking (well, that is creative) fun with my new Instant Pot pressure cooker.  I don't think we have had the oven on since our purchase.  It does everything but the dishes - and I really wish it did those!  It makes the best sugar free cheese cake ever!  Not to mention a wonderful roast. 
     See you later - I may have to work on some other challenges.  Thank you for dropping by!

A Bit Warm

     It is a bit hot outside today, this week.  Temps up to 100 degrees1  I really don't do heat.  I like mild - not too hot, not too cold - weather.  So inside tangling I shall be!
     Every Inchie Monday's word is "fly".  The word "fly" instills instant action and fear at our house!  My beautiful big, BIG lab mix, Lakota, goes into a panic attack whenever he hears a bug buzzing.  Why?  I haven't a clue.  The moment we see or hear one, we run and grab the gate to keep him out of the bedrooms.  If we move too slow or don't see it first, Lakota runs toward one of the bedrooms as fast as he can and either gets wedged between the wall and bed, where he does not fit and gets stuck, or jumps onto one of the beds and stands around up there making a disaster of covers.  He also when outside if a bug bothers him will go dashing into the house.  I do not know where this zoned out fear comes from.  I have seen this dog growl and stare down a pit, and put himself between a "suspicious" person and my brother when they were walking.  He is 110 pounds of muscle . . . and he totally panics when there is a bug near him.  Go figure!

     Made by Joey's guest blogger, Michele Wynne, asked us to use a string by Margaret Bremner.  I really like this string and may play around with it some more beyond this challenge.  I also had some lovely zen time just tangling.  With the exception of one tangle, chaist, I just went with what was in my head and didn't look anything up. 

Tangles: verve, cadent, n'zeppel, chaist, shattuck, paradox, with chard as a background.
 

     Diva's guest blogger, Jessica, wanted us to focus on the heart.  Her samples on Diva's site are totally awesome.  I decided to go round this challenge.  I looked up tangles with heart shapes and played with some of those. 

     For my daily Facebook challenge, I made a huge bobble on the center piece.  So I worked on a brown tile and glued it into my calendar!  I don't usually like to do that but hey, I problem solved!

   I also worked a day ahead because I have to be out tomorrow and knew I would not have time.  I get to go and find out about my lab work - wish me luck.  I seem to have shaken the overpowering anxiety, but still . . . It is routine so I really should not stress so.  Let go and let God!
    I hope you are having a great week and it is not too hot where you are!  Thank you for dropping by and saying hello.  I love your comments and encouraging words.  They truly brighten my day.

Long post alert!!

    I had all this art work completed and ready to post and we decide to get a much needed new printer/scanner.  I have been after my brother to agree to one that is wifi compatible.  Finally.  Now we had to figure out how to get things to work with my laptop.  So the art work sort of piled up again!
     The word over at Every Inchie Monday was hippo.  I just recently saw an adorable picture of a baby hippo on-line.  She weighed a bit over 300 lbs!  Some baby!  Mine is sort of a goofy looking gal.  She normally wears a pink tutu and dances for the movie (Disney) Fantasia.  Check out her performance here - Hippo dance. 

     The guest blogger over at Made by Joey's idea was to use a star.  I made a few cross ups with my lines but over all it is not too bad.

      The rainy weather and my general laziness of the moment allowed lots of coloring time.  I finished two pages.  As I may have mentioned, I work very slow on one of those.  Lots of layering and shading.  The pumpkin is done with my new Faber Castell watercolor pencils.  I so love those.  They are so much fun to play with! 

Prismacolors, Color It pencils  FC Watercolor pencils

FC Watercolor pencils

      And lastly a few daily challenges for my Facebook group.  I like them all but I had a blast playing with the "alphabet day" challenge.

      Just returned from the doctor today.  Lab work.  Please say a prayer that my "numbers" are good.  I always get a bit anxious - that is just me.
      Have a wonderful day and thank you for dropping by!