She's a Maniac!

Over at EIM the theme this week is "Nymph." Unlike many weeks this past year, I was not at a complete loss as to what to do. However, I learned that there is a tangle called, "Nymph," by Melinda Barlow that I'd not seen before (or was blissfully unawares).
If you have been here before, you may recognize my discontent with patterns featuring triangles.
UGH.
But, I will NOT be defeated!
And as my procrastinator self loves a good distraction; I dove right in!

Nymph Bijoux

Nymphie Twinchies and Zinchies, oh my!
on Waffle box paperboard

Then I pulled out a box of Staedtler Karat Aquarelle, which up to now I had not opened. 

Little did I know what I've been missing!

Nymph
Mixed-Media Fridge Magnets
Aquarelle, Sharpie, Perle Cotton and Sequins

Whew! I even made a French knot with some antique Perle cotton from my Nanna's stash. I could hardly contain myself. That's when I started singing the disco song from "Flashdance," which started out more from the Nymph side of things than the mania. 

Think about it. Uh huh.

But I digress. This is a (mostly) family-oriented venue, after all.

Where were we? Oh, yeah....

I wanted to see what these Nymphs could do in a more traditional setting, so this came about:

Nymph
Before Shading

Nymph
After Shading

Which do you prefer?

Along the way I saw samples of this week's Diva Challenge focusing on simplicity, or at least giving tangles some space to breathe. I enjoy Laura's challenges, but I had not done one in a bit.

So you get this:

Simple Flower
Free!

Totally unadorned, I want you to have this to do with it as you like. If you do decide to use this, please do me two favors: 1) credit me for drawing this simple pattern in the first place and 2) show me what you did with it by link or attachment to:

1xeritas@gmail.com

I'd love to see what, if anything, happens with it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a brilliant day! 

In the Water

This is a spastic time of year for us. We love the excitement, but could use a little less, you know what I mean?
The next couple weeks are going to be spent being in and around water. Gil does underwater portraits and clients like to have holiday photographs. It's fun and a lot of work, but the results can be pretty spectacular (if I don't say so myself).

Jenna
by H2Oh!Photo

I don't get too wet; my job is all the post-processing. Keeps me out of trouble for weeks on end. Thankfully, he's also quite handy in the kitchen and takes on the bird for Thanksgiving, which is right around the corner!

The word of the week at EIM is, "Nymph," and while some of those beauties could be classified as water nymphs, this is my take on it. The botanical name for the water lily family is Nymphaeaceae and I took this photograph at the Conservatory in San Francisco in 2006.

Nymph inchie

Water Nymphs
San Francisco
2006

A bit easier than trying to draw a nymph or anything closely related. I'll have to give that a try when I'm a bit less busy!