I am the Diva challenge #83 - Duo tangle Assunta/Mooka

I was scared witless by Laura's challenge this week over at I am the Diva!   We were only allowed to use two tangles - Assunta and Mooka, both of which are quite tricky to master.  Oh well - in for a penny, in for a pound, as we say over here in the UK!  I was determined to have a go, whether or not I could do it well.

I decided to "biggify" Assunta, and do a wild Mooka within it.  The whole thing turned out much bigger than I usually do, at around 11" x 8.5".  I used watercolours to brighten it up a bit, and I must say I like it quite a lot!

Here's the result - thanks for looking and please leave me a comment - I love it when people talk to me as otherwise I get quite lonely!

I am the Diva Challenge #82 - UMT v.VII: Brayd

This week the challenge provided by Laura at I am the Diva was to create a tile or ZIA using Shelly Beauch's lovely tangle Brayd.

I've never drawn Brayd before so I had to really concentrate - but I was very pleased with the result.  For the "hair" inside Brayd I drew Beadlines in a pale grey fineliner pen, and other tangles I used were Dustbunny, Tipple, Mooka, Fishnet (sort of!) and Bluebonnets* - at least I think that's what you'd call those lovely leaves I seem to draw more of than anything else.  Like I always do, I used Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens in shades of grey to shade and to add a little bit of colour to this one I used Kuretake 'Brushables' pens. 

*Update:  I just found out that the leafy shapes are not Bluebonnets but an official tangle called Flux (note to self - revise tangles and their proper names)!

Thank you Laura for this great challenge, and thank you Shelly for creating Brayd for us!  (and thank you also to anybody who feels like commenting.)

Goodbye Denise

My sister died peacefully yesterday, August 4th, with our brother at her side and the rest of her family not far away.

She will now be in the loving arms of her devoted husband Roy, who passed away in 2002, and one thing I know for certain - Denise had a hard life in many ways but boy was she loved by that wonderful man.

Goodbye Denise, my big sister, my friend.  Our relationship was not always easy, but we both knew how much we loved each other and we were able to share a loving moment just a few days ago when nothing else mattered but that.

Sad times

I wish I could be more upbeat but life has taken a sad turn for my family this last few weeks.  Firstly my sister was diagnosed with lung cancer, which has spread to other parts of her body including her brain.  As she already had COPD this was the worst news we could have had, and after collapsing with a blood sugar spike she is now in hospital 600 miles away from where I live, trying to gain enough strength to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy.  I made the journey to see her a few days ago and we had a lovely quiet time together when we were able to say the things we needed to say to each other.  I was lucky to be able to do this, as I know many people don't get that chance, and for that I will always be grateful.

I notice that both this week's "I am the Diva" and the "Zendala Dare" weekly challenges are dedicated to fighting this awful disease, so I will try to find enough time and motivation to participate, however if I don't manage to fit them in, please forgive me.

My other sad news is that our beloved 14 year old tom cat Gus died this week from congestive heart failure, which he had been fighting for several months.  He was such a lovely-natured, affectionate cat, and we are going to miss him so much.

Gorgeous Gus at the prime of his life.

Goodbye Gus, our old friend.  You were a brilliant boy and we'll never forget you.