"Round Three...Jella's Moly..."

...Jella's sign in pages...
...Jella's pages 1 and 2...
...Jella's pages 3 and 4...
...Lisa's pages 5, 6 and 7...
...my page 8
intertwined and spiralling in connection
with a few of Lisa's green swirls...
...Lisa's page 7 and my pages 8 and 9...
look closely and you can see the edges of each page...
...my pages 9, 10 and 11...
a happily nesting peacock in full zentangled glory...
...and finally my page 11 and my page 12...
where Cindy Michele
will connect with her sequence of designs.
Lastly, how about a peek at some
real life photos taken
just before Jella's book was shipped December 29th.
Jella's sign in pages (above)
followed by...
...Jella's four design pages linking to Lisa's...
...Lisa's design pages linking to mine...

...and my design pages

ready to be linked in the next round...:)

Voila!

Here is a view of the entire book thus far...

it is simply delightful.

And...

I am happy to say that

it is now officially all signed and sealed

and delivered...

(with a USPS confirmed delivery December 31, 2010)

to Cindy in Tennessee.

WooHoo!

(Click on any image to enlarge...)

"Great things are not done by impulse...

but by a series of small things

all brought together."

~Vincent Van Gogh

"My Day With Dad...

...last Friday began predawn when Scott and I

left Surprise

and headed for mom and dad's

arriving

bright and early at 7:00 am.

Scott stayed with mom...taking down outside

Christmas lights

and running some errands

as

Dad and I then headed into Scottsdale

for a day of pre-admission

medical routines he had to undergo prior

to his surgery this Wednesday.

We spent a lot of time

in a lot of different waiting rooms.

We talked and waited...and laughed and waited...

and "people watched" and waited...

and

then...waited some more.

Dad dozed a bit and I drew a lot.

I even got asked at one point if I was an artist

or maybe an illustrator...

Hmmm, go figure.

I guess

it was the open sketchbook in my lap

that gave me away...LOL:)

It was a long day...and absolutely not the

most comfortable of circumstances

for my dad...

but I wouldn't trade our "together time" away for

a million dollars.

Spending time with my dad trumps all!

(This was drawn...lead free...in my Zen Journal...

healing mandala and all.

Click on image, if you like, to enlarge.)

“Time is at once

the most valuable and the most perishable

of all our possessions.”
~John Randolph

"The 3 Part...12 Card Rainbow Swap.."

...at Illustrated ATCs.

...Hot Pink...
...Hostess Card...
...Red...

...Orange...

...Yellow...

...Green...

...Hostess Card...

...Blue...

...Indigo...

...Hostess Card...

...Purple...

...and lastly, the entire Rainbow...:)

What a beautiful page these made in my collection.

They have now individually flown

to collections

around the world...'tis truly bittersweet...

I miss you girls! :)

"Somewhere over the rainbow,

skies are blue,

and the dreams that you dare to dream

really do come true."
~Lyman Frank Baum

"First Impressions..."

...can run really HOT or extremely COLD.

Maybe

it's best to step back a bit and view things

from a distance...before imprinting

our brains with

with hasty conclusions.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression

by saying something,

and sometimes one creates

as significant an impression by

remaining silent.”
~Dalai Lama

"It's Amusing Sometimes..."

...to think about

how one thing leads to another.

That is exactly what happened here.

This started out in November

with the tree...

and was leaning itself toward a snowflake design.

Then

I abandoned her for over a month.

Magically,

she somehow morphed her way last night into

another mandala

with intertwining natural accents.

I flipped it just for fun.

I am sure my Muse was most amused...:)

Tee Hee..:)

“The most potent muse of all is our

own inner child.”
~Stephen Nachmanovitch

"From the Inside Out..."

...a healing mandala.

Drawn in my Zen journal lead free...ink straight in...

while

balancing book, pens, and composition in my lap.

This is

a first in a new series for a new year...

and

just what the (art) doctor ordered...LOL...:)
Rx: let loose...

make mandalas as needed...repeat daily...

add music if desired.

Side effects:

shapes may not appear as they are in real life:

be alert to frequent bouts of

"wonkiness"...and audible sighs of "Ahhh!"!

♥

"I Treated..."

...myself this past holiday

to the publishing of my blog over at Sharedbook.

I saw the idea on Lynn's blog here...

and the rest was history.

Above are pictured the volumes from 2008 and 2009.

Yes, I will be publishing my 2010

volumes soon!

Thanks Lynn for the great idea and the link.

I am very pleased with this product!

♥

It is fun to note that

my first blog post ever was a cactus...

you can see it on the cover of Volume One

on the far right.

So, then, I think it is only fitting

and perfect to wish each and everyone today

a Happy Cactus Monday, too!

:)

"Aspirations And Intentions..."

...see both sides...

take long deep breaths...celebrate daily...

share my journey...

make simple things special...expand my soul...

greet difficulties with patience...

feed all my senses...be inspirational...cherish...

make someone laugh till they cry...

embrace change...dance with delight...be in the moment...

weave lasting memories...

color outside the lines...make a difference...

say what I need to say...linger in beautiful places...

be remarkable...face fears...

love living...♥

Illustration Friday Prompt: Resolutions

"One resolution

I have made, and try always to keep,

is this:

To rise above the little things."

~John Burroughs

"Character

is the ability to carry out a good resolution

long after

the excitement of the moment

has passed."
~Cavett Robert

"Happy New Year..."

May your 2011

be fueled with artistic inspiration and energy

and

may it be decorated

with healthy, bountiful days.

♥

May

your breaths be pure and long and deep

and may they

fill your spirit with the exhilarating

"Ahhh's" and "Mmmm's"

of sweet serenity.

♥

May your eyes endlessly feast on

magical moments and miracles of nature...

and

may they sparkle in joy and wonder.

♥

May your heart

nestle softly in smiles and happy memories

and may it

be blanketed in the warmth and coziness

of friendship and love.

♥

These are my wishes for each of you...

from my heart

to yours.

♥

"Pens, Patterns..."

...and playful practice. :)

Several pieces positioned upon another page

in my Artful Musings Journal

drawn entirely lead free

diving straight in with ink...

and

not a single preconceived thought

in my head...:)

Fun!

Click on image...to enlarge...;)

♥

(BTW... Arizona had BIG SNOWS

in the "high country"...Flagstaff...last night...(2+ feet)!

Closer to home...

the tops of the mountains surrounding the valley

to the north

are snow packed...and soooo gorgeous!

In addition...we even had

a few flurries which danced by and amused us

here in the desert today!

Hmmm...

palm trees, cacti and snow flurries...

who would have ever thought?

Happy Birthday Mom! :)

We each wish you a day packed to the brim

with joy filled smiles...warm hugs...

lots of smooches...

and the happiest of memories. :)

Fly high and enjoy!

♥

Much love from

Dad,

Peg and Scott,

Jack, Sharon, Vanessa, Lauren, Steve, and Myles

Mark and Katie,

Susan, David, Joya, and Jillian!
♥

"Our birthdays

are feathers in the broad wing of time."

~Jean Paul Richter

"Tiny Tidbits..."

...abundant enough

to delight each of the senses...

decorated our wonder-filled day of magical

family memories.

Our festive Arizona holiday season was

officially

kicked off with a bang

"Chuparosa Christmas" style

yesterday.

Life is, indeed, certainly good!

“You never know when you're making a memory.”
~Rickie Lee Jones

American Singer and Song Writer

"Feathers and Boughs..."

...are combined together in my Zen Journal to create

a twist on the old familiar wintry

snowflake.

This was started at the Grand Canyon

in November...

and just completed last night...

almost a month later!

Good Grief!

:)
And, of course...
(with the aid of Microsoft Digital Editor)
I had to flip her to enhance her more traditional
frosty flakiness.
I just couldn't help it!

“They say that every snowflake is different.
If that were true,
how could the world go on?
How could we ever get up off our knees?
How could we ever
recover from the wonder of it?”
~Jeanette Winterson

"Jump Starting My Muse..."

...some seasonal scratches and sketches

in my artful musings journal

while watching less than wonderful

repeat programming

on television.

Now, tonight...well...that's another

story...

"White Christmas" is on!

YAY!

"Just A Few Flakes..."

...to celebrate the magic of the first winter snowfall

today

back "home" in Sycamore, Illinois.

(I just saw the Facebook photos of JGL's backyard...

it is a wonderland! )

Ahhh...

those first gentle snowfalls...this is a time

I really miss the Midwest...:)

♥

However,

interestingly enough...

a serendipitous southwest snow encounter

occurred as

my brother and sister and their families

drove up to the high elevation

of "rim country"

here in Arizona to cut down Christmas trees

today!

They found gorgeous deep snow, beautiful trees,

and 50 degree temperatures.

(And...I just know...

the little ones were in "snow angel" heaven!)

Me?

I chose to stay down here in the west valley...

at a balmy 75 degrees,

no snowfall...

(just a few (watercolored) flakes...)

fresh rosemary in the air...a chair on the patio...

a copy of Eat Pray Love in hand...

the sound of Gambrel quail chatting away.

Mmm...:)

No matter where

friends and loved ones were today

it certainly seems like

a lovely, magical Saturday was had by all...:)

“Begin doing what you want to do now.

We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand...

and melting

like a snowflake.”
~Francis Bacon, Sr

"She's at it again..."

...her brush dipped in a cottony white palette

painting delicate strokes

across a crystallized cerulean blue

Arizona canvas.

Ahhh...

such is December in desert

as

viewed from my very own backyard.

See more Skywatch Friday photos

from around the world

here.

"Family Time...Well Spent"

We (Scott and I)

visited mom and dad for dinner on Sunday.

(Mom made her special chicken...YUM!)

And...

then went back again on Monday

to help decorate their tree

along with my sister and her 8 year old twins.

I took my sketchbook...

to the absolute delight of the twins

who

immediately filled in a page...:)

It really felt good to get back into the sketchbook
mode...I have let my sketching skills
go by the wayside this past year...
and
they are in desperate need of attention
and polish.
What better time than the holidays to
jump start a renewal program!
All my entries above were made "lead free"...
drawn in ink "straight in "while
either standing at the kitchen counter
or seated with book in my lap.
I just added watercolor
and the floral detailing on the twin's page tonight.
Ahhh...
what a delightful couple of days we all had.
it was such great fun to simply go
across the valley and be
"home again"...:)

“A man travels the world over in search
of what he needs,
and
returns home to find it.”
~ George Moore

"Farewell November..."

...and

a late Blooming Tuesday entry...

ala Tlaquepaque...Sedona, Arizona style.

(Yes...alas...'tis yet another beauty still awaiting

placement in my sketchbook!)

Hey...

where in the world did autumn go this year???