Well I must take a breath, it certainly has been quite a long time since I have enjoyed sitting in my writing/creating room, drinking my coffee and just enjoying some peace and quiet. Life here in my home has been this crazy rollercoaster of emotions and unknowns, but somehow I am surprise that when I go to bed, I wake up to greeting the world once again. Lots of changes with my home business - I am now global and working on becoming mobile by fall of this year (2015). Who'da thunk it. LOL. I have been working on obtaining my VA benefits for an in service connected disability and looks like I will finally be getting things looked into. I have been extra crafty, but more so with a paint brush and not so much a pen and paper or a keyboard. I wanted to free myself from a multiple of stressors and so for weeks I'd go on line and learn new painting techniques, but of course it's not fun it I don't add a challenge. So what I did was watch tutorials that are done with oil paints, but created the designs with acrylics, and as most artists know - acrylics don't leave much time for blending do to their rapid drying rates. The first two paintings are oil tutorials that I followed along and learned on line, but did them in Acrylics. Will say the result is wonderful. I found a way to make it work without the expensive costs of acrylic medium gels etc.
After complete these two paintings, my own art ability finally kicked back in and I created my own designs for two special people. The first one (to the left) was for my father-in-law and his love for wheat harvesting on his farm in Nebraska, I wanted to do something in more of a silhouette design and this is what I created. 
Then I created a painting for a friend as a memorial tribute to his wife who had passed away years back and her ashes were scattered over a rocky area called "Eagles Nest" that is located on his farm in Nebraska. 
And then it happened, my paint brush just couldn't stop and before I knew it I had created several more pieces of art and taught myself how to paint with watercolors and finish with pen and ink. 
And now I have created more products that you can find on my Etsy.com online store. Store name: Ukanducrafts. So you see, I haven't forgotten all of my loyal readers, I just needed a break and that resulted in my finding new talents inside myself to share with others. The item to the left is called an in and out ornament. I painted the inside to give it the 3-D look and then also painted the outside. I did the boat ornament below - the very same way. 
Don't be fooled this painting is only 2.5 x 2.5 inches in size and is on a miniature easel. It is my signature snowman that I have been painting since 1994. He's come a long way. 
And last but not least - my love for Halloween boiled over and I took some balsa wood laser cut unfinished masks and gave them a new twist. Also available on my Etsy store. Thanks for reading and I'm so happy to finally be able to find both my words and my creative side once again. Blog ya later alligators.
