Paint With Me Thursday: Dandelions

Well hello again...seems like it's Thursday once more...

This week the theme over at Simply Feather was dandelions (which totally made me utterly happy...dunno why...just did..lol). I managed to tear myself away from Lost (my new favorite show..my hubs and I are on season three) to do some drawing this week. 

They were supposed to be white...but that wouldn't have worked out so well..so just roll with it..lol...(lol and as you can see the hubs fixed the scanner *fist pummel* *yessss!*)

So that was my drawing for the week...Steve and Bree were like what's the theme and I said (the way I say it) dandy-lions and Bree thought I meant a  spiffy lion..so this was for her and I am utterly embarrassed by my shoddy drawing skills..so no laughing okay...well you can laugh a little..

A "Dandy" lion..

he's supposed to be wearing a tux or a suit..lol I drew it and even I don't know what the heck he's wearing. 

To see more dandy art, please visit Simply Feather

Paint With Me Thursday: Black & White

Howdy doodle, doodlers...it's Thursday again. 

Woo Hoo! (I know, right?)

Over at Simply Feather, the theme this week was black and white. If I'm being honest (which I am) I struggled with this one for a bit. I was like, hmm black and white, like only a black and white picture..or what? 

So I did what I normally do when I'm stumped. 

I Google. 

Yes..I said it. I Google...it almost sounds like a dirty word...like something you'd do alone, locked in the bathroom with the lights out, crouched over your laptop perilously pecking at the keys - g...o...o...g...l...e... all the while your husband is beating at the bathroom door yelling, "Hun, are you alright? What are you doing in there?"

Then you glance at the door furtively and whisper, "Go away, I'm....Googling."

*Pause to reflect on my goofiness and the fact that I just made Googling sound like a dirty word*

Okay, moving on and back to the art. Google didn't really help...so I kind of just winged it..normally winging it works...I start with something mundane, just the pen or pencil moving over the paper and then the ideas really start flowing. This is what I started with:

Just because it was raining and I was inspired...but it wasn't really working for me so I did this:

I had no idea what to do with it...so I turned to my trusty friend Photoshop and whipped this out:

What I was aiming for in the first picture...different words that are associated with the colors black and white...but it still wasn't right. I spent the earlier part of the day painting random flowers and I ruined a sheet of the paper I use..I didn't want to toss it so I reused it and did this:

 "In a world of black and white you were a brilliant shade of red."

It's seven shades of ugly, yes I know...but it felt...right. So again I turned to Photoshop and this is what I came up with:

"My life was cut and dry, black and white. I knew who I was, where I was going. Then I met you. In a world of black and white you were a brilliant shade of red."

This is a line from a story I'm writing...it was inspired by a black and white photo of the woods and smack in the center of the photo is a brilliantly red balloon. I saw it and that line, "In a world of black and white, you were a brilliant shade of red," just popped into my head. 

To credit the person who drew the people..I'm sorry dude, someone had this image on photobucket and I used it. It's not mine, I am in no way that creative so kudos to whomever drew it. You are a rock star. 

So there you have...I have thrown my scary art at you, I have thrown my lamespice sense of humor at you and probably bored you to tears with my nonsensical rambling. :) My mission here is complete. (lol)

To see more art please visit Simply Feather and check out some of the wonderful art these women (and men?) come up with each week. I am truly in awe of the talent...I think I'm going to hunt down the talent fairy and steal a sprinkle or ten of talent dust..lol.

Til next week!

*Quick note: the font used in the Black and White with the brackets is called Pea Jamie*B* and you can find it here

The font in the "World of black and white" piece is called Joe Hand 2 and you can find it here

Paint With Me Thursday: Words to Live By

This was a toughie...I don't really have a particular word to live by...so many words encompass who I am, what I do and how I do it...it was tough to pick just one. So I went broader. I live by so many words because I believe that I can do anything I set my mind to.

My words?

and because I have chicken scratch and shoddy camera skills..here is what it says.

I am...

Strength...I can stand proud in the face of all that scares me
Writer...what's your story?
Daughter
Love
Mother...a precious little one calls me mom
Music
A little bit of rock-n-roll and a whole lot of blues and a dash of jazz
Hope..for myself, my family and the future
Friend
Creative
Wife...of four years
Faith...my God is an awesome God
Perseverance..put one foot in front of the other
Sister

To see more ridiculously awesome art..please click here

Paint With Me Thursday: Toys

This last week really seemed to fly by didn't it? Eh maybe it was just me. So anywhoo, this weeks theme was toys. My immediate thought was to do some rendition of the boot from Toy Story

But I am in no way that talented...lol. So I took an easier route..

the reappearance of the girl and the tree..lol..I like her, she's easy to draw..in the fire are toys, a doll, crayons, coloring book..alphabet blocks..all toys from her childhood..sort of inspired by a bible verse, 1 Corinthians 13:11 which reads (depending on your version) "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put away childish things."

In case you can't read it, in purple in the fire it says "Dreams" and down toward the bottom in the squares it says "Good bye Yellow Brick Rd."

so that's it...

To see more art click here

Little Miss Sunshine

 This is my daughter, Bree...she's a total goob and a great lover of having her picture taken. Yes, she is sitting on the room of the log cabin, no I do not approve, and no I didn't pay for it. If I did I would have been pretty peeved to her tiny heinie up there. I still don't want her up there, but I figured, hey I'm out here, she should be okay.

I was supposed to be working on my garden, rather the wild bushes that were growing along the side of my house and beginning to make their way into the dryer vent all the while keeping an eye peeled for the giant creeptastic spiders that like to lurk in the dense under brush of my yard.

 From atop her rooftop perch she scouted for spiders. Not like she could see them from all the way up there, but eh, who cares...I need all the help I can get. :)

 Well, I finished and told Bree if she wanted to be on that roof she needed to put on some play clothes before she ruined her school clothes. She changed and climbed back on the roof. This is the look I got.

 Here in Florida, it's been pretty warm lately. After sitting on her roof for about twenty minutes, she decided she was hot and needed a dip in the pool. Five minutes after sitting in water cold as ice cubes, she got out to "tan" and sip some mountain dew. I love this picture.

After being outside for a bit, the hubs decided to come join us. He took my camera and snapped an impromptu photo. Cut off half my head, but I'll live....what you can see of me is hilarious..I look like a goob.

 This is my next favorite pic...she looks so pretty and sooo much older than her seven and a half years...which scares me...I don't know which I like more..color, or black and white..

 Please join me in side splitting laughter...i have NO idea why she made this face, but she did and it makes me laugh in tiny giggles whenever i look at it..

That's it...today was, if there ever could be a such thing, a pretty perfect day...anniversary was wonderful...my husband bought me flowers AND jewelry..which he never does...in all our four years of marriage the only jewelry he's bought me was my engagement ring and my wedding ring. I told him I would have liked pinking shears, (because lets face it, if you sew you NEED pinking shears..) but no, he wakes me up this morning with a gold chain with an emerald heart on it and matching earrings...it was great..and so unexpected..so happy Thursday...hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend

Paint With Me Thursday: Mood

this weeks theme was to explore a "mood." I had a really hard time with this, because one day I was happy, another i was ecstatic, scared, anxious...the list goes on and on. So I did a few different things...I did a computer doodle the other day to express my love to my husband, our four year anniversary is today and I looove this song: I And Love And You by The Avett Brothers. That's where this one came into play:

the whole thing was made using different photoshop elements 7 brushes. It's pretty simple, but I'm much more adept at making stuff with photoshop than I am with a pencil and paper..lol...

 I did this the other day because I was irritated...I was aiming for a rose, but my husband and daughter said it looks like a strawberry..so..to each their own..lol

and last...my "real" piece for the week...I think it covers the whole high/low thing I've had going on this week.

I know its hard to read...I really need to fix my scanner (the glass part was broken when we moved..I stepped on it but shh don't tell my husband) but the head stone says "Here lies the ghosts of all the things you will NEVER be able to have now...rip" and the girl (if you can tell she's a girl) her thought bubbles say "it will be alright....they're called dreams for a reason"

and there ya have it. To see more art please visit Simply Feather

til next week!

Who are they?

In a recent post here, someone made a comment about not knowing who Stefan and Damon Salvatore or Sam and Dean Winchester were.

(Pause for dramatic effect..lol)

And I thought well hmm...not everyone is a cornball like me...lol...and not everyone likes uber handsome but-oh-so-devilishly-bad vampires or all that supernatural nonsense...I do however love all that corny nonsense. So this here post is a glimpse into me...

Once upon a time a author named L.J. Smith wrote a book called...(dun dun dun!!!!) The Vampire Diaries. I think book one is titled The Awakening, I say think because I haven't read it. One friend said it was kind of lamespice, another said it was good but it made her hate the show. Whateverspice, its all good. I didn't read it because I didn't want to. But back to the matter at hand. This fall the CW converted it into a TV show starring Paul Wesley as the ever broody, totally smexy Stefan Salvatore..aka the good brother.

Now at first I totally loved Stefan because Damon was a dick. Until this episode: The Lost Girls, where he pranced around on some structure in the house looking delicious (it didn't hurt that the song was awesome too, Anberlin's remake of Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence).  He might not be everybody's cup of tea, but he makes fun of Edward Cullen and Twilight and New Moon which totally cracked me up..yes I am one of "those" people..aka the ones who like Twilight and all that jazz..but it was still funny...I'd take the Salvatore brothers over Edward Cullen anyday...'nuff said.

So anywhoo, this is Ian Somerhalder as the viciously delicious Damon Salvatore, aka the jerky brother...

I'm not sure what exactly the point of the show is...lol...but Stefan's in love with a girl who looks exactly like his ex-vampire girlfriend Katherine, who was a skank and slept with both brothers. Damon's been looking for her and Stefan just wants to be a normal teenage and, like, be angsty and broody and makey-outey with Elena, the chick who looks like Katherine. It's entertaining and they sucked me in....lol..I'm such a drone...

Moving on to the next part of my post..Sam and Dean Winchester...(huge dreamy fan girl sigh..lol...I'm 27 going on 10..but shh don't tell, it'll just be our little secret). A friend of mine turned me on to Supernatural..gah I don't even know how..I think there was a Thursday night when nothing was on but Supernatural so I started watching was like, um hey, this Sam guy is way hot..so I rented all four seasons and went nuts. The rest, as they say, is history.

So for starters we have Jared Padalecki aka Sam Winchester aka "I swear to all that is Holy if I EVER see you walking unguarded down the street I will utilize the super spacious trunk of my smart little Focus and kidnap you."

for realsies.

And then Jensen Ackles aka Dean Winchester...he's a cutie too, but in an abrasive way..lol..

                                Dean                                               Sam


Ignore the puzzled expressions, it's a screen shot from Thursday's episode...you'd look confused too if you were standing in Eden talking to Joshua and he told you God decided he didn't care anymore...that and their cast photos are from like, five years ago..and it looks like Sam hasn't had a haircut since then. If anyone out there in cyber space knows this dude...please, beg him to get a haircut..the shag-a-doo is so not working for him..lol..

So there ya have it. Stefan and Damon, Sam and Dean...all in all that equals a damn good Thursday night...lol

Paint With Me Thursday: Nature

Okay, at the risk of sounding like a total nerd, I am totally in love with Simply Feather's Paint With Me Thursdays. It's like the icing on super delicious cupcake because let's face it, Thursday is the best day of the week. 

for realsies. 

I know many of you disagree and say Nikki are you nuts? Friday is totally the best day of the week. I disagree. Thursday are the best. Well Thursday nights are the best. 

Stefan and Damon Salvatore

then

Sam and Dean Winchester

then 

McDreamy and McSteamy

then 

the drama that is Private Practice

then
the adorable Aussie turned "psychic" turned CBI profiler, Simon Baker aka Patrick Jane aka The Mentalist.

Yeah, my poor DVR DESPISES Thursday nights because that's the one night of the week it works like a dog..lol. 

Anywhooo..back to Paint With Me Thursdays...

I like to write, in fact I write a lot. Its an escape...most of the time. Sometimes its a pain because I'm fresh out of ideas. A while back I bought an art book that I dubbed my idea book. When I get stuck with a chapter or plot or character I doodle and draw random things, sometimes they are associated with my story, others, they are just for fun. 

But lately I have been doing more doodling, and it helps with writing. Or at least I think so. But that's neither here nor there.

So now I'll quit yapping and get to the point of this here post. :)

This week's topic or subject, whatever you will call it is cool with me, was nature. I have a vase of sunflowers on my mantle that were the inspiration for my "drawing" this week.

So that's how nature inspired me this week. Maybe I'll sit outside and let nature inspire me some more!

To see more art click me! click me!