Happy New Year Everyone.  Hubby and I are staying home.  It is snowing and very cold out so staying home doesn't sound so bad.  We got a lot done today.  Mike rotated my tires and changed my oil.  I started taking down the tree with every intention of being organized while doing it.  Normally I just throw everything in a box and shove it in the basement. I am trying to thin my hording out.  Gave some ornments to a friend, gave some trees and greenery to the church.  The basement is starting to look better.

Have some eggnog and rum for me, I will be having one too, after all I wouldn't want it to spoil.  If you are in the neighborhood stop by at midnight and watch Mike set off some fireworks, maybe not, it is very windy right now.

Snow flakes!  Not much to say about this one.  I received some new drawing pens for Christmas and had to try them out.  I used Quick Quotes, Powder Puff Chalking inks for color and a Stampin Up marker Sahara Sand....hey I just thought of this.  I will add clear glitter on some of the snowflakes to make them sparkle.

This one was a bit of a disappointment   I was trying to learn a new pattern.  I have to show the good and the bad, this way you won't be afraid to try zen tangle.  I am stalling.  I just dragged an old bookcase to my craft closet and I am supposed to put all my stamps on the shelves so I can get at them quicker.

Hope you all had a great Christmas.  I did.  Now comes the task of cleaning up the decorations.  Of course I got side tracked on my craft table and came across some more drawings.  This one I did during lunch hour.  I was trying to learn to draw a dog.  I found a Pug drawing on Google and copied the instructions and ended up with this.  The Ice Age cartoons, I just threw in because they were fun.  At the time my granddaughter and i were hooked on the video game on our Nook's.  Mike and Joy, this one is for you to remind you of Puggie.  Love you guys.

My neck has been hurting me for about two weeks now.  I woke up with a headache starting and my neck hurting.  I took some pills and couldn't fall back to sleep.  I went to my craft desk and circled some objects onto a sheet of paper then took the pad of paper and black pen to bed and started drawing this.  It made me tired and I fell asleep.  The next day I finished it and came up with this weird thing.  I felt it was appropriate for the middle of the night imagination....bed bugs, aliens or night time monsters????

All the circles and it being near Christmas, I couldn't resist turning some into ornaments.  May you and your families and friends have a Blessed Christmas.  Try to remember that we are celebrating Jesus's Birthday and not just presents and parties.  If you are invited to someones home, perhaps bring a cake and sing Happy Birthday to Him.  We have to teach the younger generation about God.

Merry Christmas,
Joan

 This totally blew my socks off!  I drew this one for a sister like friend, Nancy, because she said she wanted a drawing.  I never dreamed it would be framed and hanging in her home.  On top of that, when she took the drawing in to get framed...well this is what Nancy wrote:

"My neighbor is a professional framer at a frame "shoppe" and did this for me. He takes all the credit for choosing mats and frame. It seems that you were quite the topic among the others there which included 2 serious artists. They were fascinated by the mixed media and style, one man in particular! Sooooooo, my dear friend, you ARE an ARTIST! Love ya! Nancy"

I am totally amazed, and enjoyed my one moment of fame...lol.  I hope you don't mind me positing this Nancy, you are now famous too!

I dedicate this drawing to my sister Jan.  She told me that she likes the drawings where the face is started and then it twists and there is another face started.  What is the name of the artist who does that?  What type of art is that?  I tried to Google the question and couldn't find the name of this style drawing.  Love you Jan!

I did this drawing today while talking to my son on the phone.  I was floundering on a direction and then it hit me...do nautical because he has always wanted a boat. Love you Michael!

I was happy when my son-in-law asked me to design a logo, that he had in his mind, for his motocross bike.  I can't find the scanned in finished drawing but here is a photo of what I came up with.  I hope he follows through and sends it in to be printed.

OK, you all requested this to be posted so here it is.  For Madison's birthday I took seed beads and glued them down so she would have a textured photo that would match her zebra decor in her room.  I colored in the background with pink and green to pick up the accent colors she used in her room.  Then I had to add some bling to make it special and added pink, silver, green and orange diamonds.  I was so tickled that she "really" liked it.   I love you Maddie.

I drew this one when I came home from a week vacation at Myrtle Beach with my girlfriends and sister.  I like working with black and white, there is just something special about it.

A group of us went to the Mini Mega Meet at the Seagate Center in Toledo, Ohio.  There was tons of stuff to do and lots of Scrap-booking things to purchase.  We took two classes, one was how to blend with Copic Markers, and the other was Zen Tangles.  Between my friends who showed me and the class, it seems like I am doodling all the time now.  One of the girls, Donna invited me and my hubby to her Thanksgiving Dinner. I  made this drawing to thank her for sharing her family with me.  She actually hung it on her refrigerator   I hope I have encouraged her to keep Zen Tangling or Doodling.  Thank you Donna and Bri for the wonderful dinner.

Found this photo on the computer and had to share it.  These are the replacement kids I had when mine human children left home to make their own futures.  The dog is part Lhasa Apso and Shihtzu.  She lived with us for over 17 years.  She was the runt of the litter, the one no one wanted. She survived the longest out of the litter and was the smartest dog I ever knew.  The white cat is a Blue Tipped Siamese named Katie.  I saw her as a kitten and really wanted her however I did not want to pay $400 plus veterinary bills.  A few days later the breeder called and said I could have it for free!!!  The Tabby cat on the bottom is Winkie.  She lived on a farm with lots of cats who were going to be destroyed.  She had a weepy eye that would close, thus her name Winkie.

Hope this cheers you up Laura.

This drawing was created for my long time friend Laura who I grew up with on West 52nd Street and now lives in California.  She is the one who showed me how to doodle in a journal we made.  In one of her posts she mentioned she was feeling down and tired from the move to her new home.  She was responsible for moving her mother into a new home at the same time.  I felt this was as good of an excuse as any to doodle a picture for her.  I had to be different so I colored it in with just about every marker I owned.  I then added Stickel glitter to some items such as the fish and owl.  I put plastic flowers on her hat and filled all the eyes in with a clear glaze to add dimension.  You can't really see all of this unless you can see it in person.

Her reaction was worth it. She truly loved it and posted a beautiful message on her blog.  She called me her little sister!  I have always had my "real" sister Jan, the next door neighbor Nan and Laura who lived a few doors down.  They were all older than me, yet didn't mind me hanging around with them.  I find it an honor to be among the West 52nd girls.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.  As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

                                        1.   Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

                                        2.   Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.

                                        3.   Live simply and appreciate what you have.

                                        4.  Give more.

                                        5.  Expect less from people but more from yourself.

For some reason I started to have a real passion for drawing.  It started in a condo at Myrtle Beach.  There we had a reunion of childhood girlfriends that pretty much haven't seen each other for maybe 40 years.  We are the West 52nd. Street Girls!  We decided to each bring a craft to teach or show the other during our one week stay on the beach.  Between shopping, eating and walking the beach we found time to gather around the table and do crafts.  I learned how to knit a scarf with only five stitches.  We made crystal bracelets and we each sewed a journal together.  That really peaked my interest.  I am an avid scrapbooker and knew I could use this.  Since Laura, showed us how to Zen Doodle I have been hooked.

Below is an example of about my third drawing.  This is a different version of my doodling.  The designs are spaced further apart making it more like a drawing.  I have hidden words into the photo to make it personal.

It started during my lunch hour when I wanted to know how to draw baby animals and found some lessons on Google.  After I knew the kitten would come out half way decent, I decided to make this one for my childhood friend, Nancy.  She has been my friend since I was born on West 52nd Street in Parma, Ohio.  She has come in and out of my life as the years have gone by and have always kept in touch.  She said she wanted a drawing from me so this is what "came out of me" for her: