Well, I was putting off writing a new journal, because then I lose my cool dragon skin, but Thanksgiving is definitely over, so I guess it is time to move on!!

I have too many interests, which makes it hard for me to focus on one thing and do it well. I'm making Christmas presents for a few people, and that is time-consuming but fun.
I do crafts; I like to paint on objects, as opposed to flat surfaces; I like to do paintings and murals in acrylic, but haven't done anything of any great size in a very long time. (Mostly I paint Christmas cards for my friends and family every year.) So, I am kind of rusty with the larger paintings. I submitted Apocalypse Dream to the Last Days Contest, and I'm not very happy with how it came out. So I am kind of dejected about that.

I've played around a bit with my Paint Shop Pro 9 + mouse. I don't have my tablet hooked up because my computer needs help and I haven't fixed it yet. I also haven't really learned how the program works yet, so I'm just dabbling a little here and there and seeing what I get out of it. I came up with a few fun things done over a photo of a hot chocolate stain in the bottom of a cup. It looked like the man in the moon, what are the odds of that?

My real niche, what I am good at, is hand-tooling leather. It is fairly easy for me to come up with designs, and make them work. Tiny detail work is hard, making faces come out right. (I work small, and there are no tools small enough to get good detail on say, a mouth or nose or eye on something the size of a keychain. But I do pretty well with it.
Sometimes I use a needle for that. I'm going to start posting some of my leather art, probably not much until after Christmas. (I have a lot of projects going right now.)

But I will be hoping for comments, suggestions, and ideas from you guys when I post things. How does the artwork make you feel?, Is it practical? {example: on a leather knife holder, I might have a wildlife scene, or a fish (practical) as opposed to butterflies and fairies (not practical to a hunter!) Are there other subjects you would like to see? Your opinions and insights & feedback are always welcome and appreciated!

I wish you all a very heartfelt Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday Season; as well as success and happiness in the New Year!