Did you ever have something inside your head you could not stop thinking about? This has been me for the last three days. I made a post talking about the Maisie Lane Company 160 gsm dot grid book three days ago.

One of the unfinished pages in the book kept popping into my head. This usually means it will be good for me to do something. I am never sure what this something is, except something.

It was Monday night. I was waiting for hubby to go to sleep so I could get my kitchen finally clean from Christmas. I opened my book of dots. I took a good look at the page, taking up real estate in my brain.

I saw the red cardinal sitting in the tree once more. It was from a red marker that bled through from the page ahead. But it was now a cardinal that wanted a lovely, pretty tree to sit in. Honest, that is what it said! Maybe not as nice as that, but you get the idea.

I looked at the clock and did some math. I realized if I started working on making the cardinal a home, I would be up all night. Hmm? Why could I not just go to sleep and do it in the morning, you ask? Because.

For my sanity, I wanted to finally get my kitchen clean. This meant I needed to wait for hubby to sleep so no more dirty dishes would be made. The time on that was about one to two hours more. Time enough for me to start working on the bird's new home.

Another reason I really wanted to start on the picture was I miss painting and coloring. My dumb thumb still hurts like the dickens, so drawing with pencils hurts. Oh, and without using your thumb, it is tough to open jars or anything that screws. Just an FYI.

I figured using watercolor paints would be easier on my thumb, and I was correct. I got out the little ceramic dish I had filled with watercolor paints from my Mom's gentleman friend, Herman, and filled two jars with water. Took out my favorite brushes and set about making a foundation for the house and tree in the form of grass.

I love the color green. It is just a happy color to me. Painting the grass just put me in a better mood already. I added the path, painted the door blue, and fixed the roof. The brown blobs on the water would become ducks down the road. The reflections were already there. Ducks, a Mom, and a baby were needed.

The tree was next. I added deeper browns to the tree and made it a bit wider at the bottom. It was very top-heavy. In the real world, that tree would have toppled over long ago. We can not have a wobbly tree for our cardinal. Once the tree was inforced, it needed leaves. To add leaves, you need to know what kind of tree it is. I had no idea, so I just winged it.

Looking at the tree now, I would say it is a weeping willow with ivy taking over on the left side. Someday soon, someone will have to take the ivy off, or the poor tree will die. That project will have to wait, though. I am not even sure who lives in that house yet. Do you?

While I waited for the paint to dry, it was time to tackle the kitchen. I emptied the dishwasher and filled it once again with the last of the dirty dishes. Wiping the counters clean of stick and smears. I was a happy camper when turning the dishwasher on once again. I could finally see my counters!

Back to the painting we go. Except we were done painting. It was time to get out my colored pencils and add the details. I gave the cardinal a few more friends to play within his tree. The house's roof received more texture and darkness under the brim, so it looked more like it was overhanging the house.

The man who delivered the door smelled an awful lot like beer. Once the door was hung, I realized... everyone loves a door with a bit of character, and I moved on. Mom and baby bird were last to finally make it into the pond. Their shadows had been waiting long enough and were impatient to be stuck back on where they belonged.

A pink Posca paint marker was added to make some tiny little flowers. A few white dots were dotted so everyone could see, and the painting was done!

I scanned the finished painting so I could show you all. Opening GIMP (like photoshop but free), I added borders to all my photos. I really did not care for how the cloud in the sky looked, so I took the smoother tool and smooshed things around until I liked it.

The dishwasher beeped to tell me it was done. I could stick my hand in there and get burned, or I could open the door for a few minutes and then put every dish away that I own. I will let you guess which choice I went with.

It is now nine AM. I have a painting that makes me smile. Life really doesn't get much better than it is right this very second.