This is my fourth year participating in the Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) Challenge. Theoretically, every day in June and July I will create a piece of art on an index card. (I’ve already missed a few days–I’ll tell you a little more about that in a second.) I plan to post my cards every Saturday.

Yeah, I know, I missed posting last Saturday.

That’s because on Wednesday, June 5 I went to the hospital for what I hoped would be outpatient surgery. Unfortunately, there were complications, and I didn’t go home until Sunday.*

I love this challenge because the demands are small. As in 3 x 5. It also motivates me to try new things.

I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy, but it seems so daunting. You have to learn how to hold the pen or brush so that it consistently makes the thick-and-thin strokes that are characteristic of calligraphy. There are alphabets and flourishes to learn and practice. Carumba! 

But I can start small. I don’t have to learn a whole alphabet. I can just write stuff and embellish it a little. So I decided to combine the ICAD challenge with another project I’m working on–memorizing scripture.

Day 1:

My son Andy gave me a set of alcohol markers. The lighter colors are very suitable for backgrounds on the index cards. I can mark on top of it with pencil and erase it and it doesn’t get messed up.

Day 2:

Day 3. I experimented with a Pigma Brush pen instead of my usual micron pens. The brush pen is tricky to control. It will take practice to make it look nice. I added some flowers to dress it up:

Day 4. This is my favorite so far, I think because of the colors:

Day 10:

Day 11:

Day 12:

Day 13:

Day 14:

*(Everything’s good. I had a mass removed from my abdomen. It had infiltrated the blood vessels to my small intestine, and the doctor had to cut out a section. The tumor was not malignant.)