#blessed

Hello!  ¡Hola!  I didn't get back home from my mother's until Monday, because I was helping my brother to get her home health care.  Hence, I played catch-up between church work, home chores, and playtime in my home-office/art-studio.

For my first project, I have a postcard inspired by Sunday Postcard Art - Arrows by Mandy.  (BTW, thanks for featuring my Owl.) For my base, I used an old Sonburn Brass Rubbings postcard. I used an old Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Arrows stencil; an old Sizzix Tim Holtz Honeycomb die; a Stampabilities Retro Van stamp; Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens; a Funcils Black Oil Marker; Tim Holtz Distress ink pads; assorted paper scraps; and Talens Opaque Watercolours.  I'm also submitting this to Neglected Stuff June 2026 Challenge and Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #519 - Any Occasion.  I think the Dr. Seuss quote will make it a good graduation card.

 

I made this card for my grandson's, in celebration of the upcoming 250th Birthday of the USA.  With the Kreativ-Tanten Challenge #114 Sketch in mind, I used a Spellbinders Holiday Express die set, an old EK success star punch & an old Fiskars star punch for the train; a generic circle die, an old Sizzix Tim Holtz Stars strip embossing folder, an old Tim Holtz Design Rule, an old Tim Holtz pick, an old K&Company Americana Specialty Paper pad, & paper scraps for the background; and an old Martha Stewart red banner.  I am also submitting this too AAA Birthday Game #86-For Boys and Shopping Your Stash SOS576 Summertime.  The boys are young, but hopefully one of them will cherish the card in the future.

       

I actually did this illustration in my art journal last month, but forgot to post it.  It's a Chibi, "short" in Japanese, which is a mini version of anime and manga characters.  This is my 2nd attempt, based on a book by Yoai that I've been reading.  I used a marker to do the line drawing, and colored it with watercolors and colored pencils.  I am linking to Path of Positivity Ch#142 -Anything Goes, What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #889/109 and Friday Face Off 6/19/26.

            

These last 2 pictures are fun discoveries.  The first picture is of a Mesquite Tree in our neighborhood park.  My wife and I walk there regularly, and were delighted to find this collection of mini bird houses hanging from it.  We don't know who painted them, but it seems like they were done by children.

The second picture is of a Texas Spotted Whiptail.  I found this lizard swimming in my pool, so I rescued it.  They usually scurry off when they see me, but this one was grateful, and let me take a picture of it.  I am linking these photos to Saturday Critters #653, My Sunday Best #486, and Mosaic Monday #193.

In closing, I want to leave you with a summary of the sermon I wrote for the Third Sunday after Pentecost:

Abraham and Sarah's story is often interpreted simply as God blessing them with a child at a late age.  However, truth be told, bad things happen to good people.  So perhaps the blessing wasn’t just conceiving Isaac, but God walking with them through their prior years of yearning.  So are we.  God is with us when we struggle and when we succeed.  God is with us when we laugh and when we cry.  God is with us as we pray in grief and as we make a joyful noise unto him. God’s presence is a blessing, not by necessarily changing our circumstances, but by accompanying us in them.  We are #blessed.

Thanks for visiting!  ¡Gracias por visitarme!  Please leave a comment, and I'll reciprocate, so we can get to know each other.

Shalom,

Arnoldo+