Merry Christmas!!!

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Wishing you all a merry Christmas filled with joy, laughter, & yummy things to eat!!!

More Aquatic Alphabet

K = Killer Whale

 

 So, as I mentioned last week, I found a new illustration challenge through my PiBoIdMo group called Doodle Day. For the month of December, they are drawing aquatic creatures for each letter of the alphabet. I began on December 2nd with "B." Honestly, with the normal holiday craziness (I actually went to the same store 3 times in 24 hours & returned an item TWICE before I got it right!!), I didn't expect to get much past "B." But I've really found these to be fun!! So I've squeezed them in whenever I could. (I was working on the jellyfish until 11:30pm Tuesday night!!)  I admit I've missed a couple, & know I'll miss several this weekend, & several more after that.......

J = Jelly Fish

 

 But I'm really liking some of these quirky guys..................and I think I need to make more............... 



                                               D = Dogfish

What do you think? You can see the rest of the series thus far on my Facebook Page. And if you enjoy this blog, DO consider subscribing (button under the tiger on the right). Thanks for stopping by! May YOUR holiday shopping go smoothly!! ;)

Illustration Friday - REFRAIN & some new toys!

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 I have wanted to try Copic Markers for a LONG time, but they were an indulgence I just didn't feel I could justify yet. Well, my incredible boyfriend (& biggest fan) COMPLETELY caught me off guard & surprised me with a small set last weekend!!! I NEVER thought I'd own a set of these! I was SO excited & completely blown away.....and yet, I was TERRIFIED to actually try them out! I'd heard such great things about them - what if I couldn't do anything more with them than I do with my Prismacolors & Bics?? What if I like them so much, I want more? (A set of 70 runs about $400!!!!!! Gulp!!!!)

So it took me 5 days (& a lot of prompting from my boyfriend!) before I got the courage to open the package, but finally, tonight I did....

And I am in love.  

Uh-oh. 

Winner!!! And a new challenge!

B = Beluga Whale

The month of November is over, & so is the Picture Book Idea Month Challenge. (PiBoIdMo). I am happy to say, I achieved the goal of coming up with 30 ideas! In fact, I actually came up with 40! The best part is, they don't all suck!!! Seriously, there are a couple of gold nuggets in there among the rocks that I fully intend to take next steps with. Will editors find them as exciting as I do? I don't know, but I think they're worth giving further attention to. But more importantly, I became much more cognizant of ideas as they popped into my head, & diligent about writing them down before they vanished, as they often do! My PiBoIdMo notebook still has some blank pages in it, so I'll continue to fill it with ideas, & hopefully make a habit of filling notebooks!! It was a fun challenge, & definitely a worthwhile experience, between the generation of ideas, development of new, positive habits, and connecting with & supporting other writers!!!

C = Crab

So you would think, after the pressure of a daily challenge (versus the weekly challenge of Ill Friday), I'd be DONE after PiBoIdMo. But no, I discovered a NEW challenge! This one is called "Doodle Day." It is run through a Facebook group, & was started by one of the PiBoIdMo participants. The challenge is to do a quick drawing of a sea creature for each day of December, in alphabetical order. I discovered the group on December 2nd, so I started with "B" and my happy Beluga whale. Yesterday was "C." I think that one is self explanatory.  Do I think I will be able to keep up with this? Especially in addition to Ill Friday, & all the chaos the month of December usually brings? Hell no! But I felt inspired the past 2 days, and anything that keeps me drawing is a GOOD thing in my book! So I'll do it when I can, and when I can't.....oh well. Because I didn't have to take an oath with my hand on a picture book for this one!!! :)

I think "winner" might be a stretch, but I DID achieve the goal!!!