only in the movies

thank goodness for great neighbors!

when you get locked out of your house @ 6am wearing only a towel they take you in, give you a t-shirt and footies, a cup of coffee and even invite you to watch a movie. yes, this happened to me this morning. thank god i threw on the towel - thank god i threw on the towel - thank god i threw on the towel! if i had not i would be cowering in my garage after crawling through the doggie dog waiting 24 hours until my husband got off of his shift. i need to get them a clever thank you gift. any ideas?

BURN

BURN Trailer from Tremolo Productions on Vimeo.

Tremolo Productions shot this teaser for "BURN" last fall about the Detroit and it's brave Firefighters. It's beautifully shot and really needs to be made. The media tends to focus on Detroit's despair but it still has a beating heart. These firefighters (my husband included) put their life on the line to keep Detroit alive! They are asking for $10 donations to continue filming if you care to help. Thanks!! For more info visit detroitfire.org.

skunky meal

skunk heads out for a picnic breakfast!

i'm working on getting looser with my paintings because for one, it gives the piece more movement and i think a better feel and secondly, i can paint faster. if i ever do get a chance to illustrate a real book i will be working full time as well so i need a technique that works for my schedule. the skunk above is my second attempt and using the rough sketch took me about 3 hours.

*******************

this skunk was my first attempt. with all the layers and drying time took me 8 hours. although i like the brushier skunk better, i do prefer his log house.

what do you think?

HappyDoodleLand giveaway!

Flora is hosting another giveaway! Check it out...

summer vacation: DAY 4

finally level.
can you see the stone steppers leading to the deck stairs? can you smell the blooming flowers and plants being enjoyed by the hummingbirds and butterflies? i can!

this is wall #1. yes, there will be a wall #2. i compare building a boulder wall to giving birth to a child - you have to let some time pass so you can forget about how painful the first one was before you consider making another one. we must be gluttons for punishment, we've already put a call in for more stone.

summer vacation: DAY 3

more sand was needed as the wall slowly grew.

did i mention it was hot?
oh, and 90%+ humidity made for some grumpy stone workers!

summer vacation: DAY 2

this is the beginning of the day. we had some sand fill dropped off. the goal was to get the front steps and the side deck level. the deck railing will be removed and steps put in it's place.

summer vacation: DAY 1

how i spent my summer vacation - building a stone wall.

now mind you, my husband and i have never built one before so it was a slow start. the 6 ton of boulders and rock were a bit intimidating...

ellie towels & getaways

oh how i love to see my fabric used in other people's crafty projects. here is another great one done by Laura of Katydiddys.

adorable towels by Katydiddys

now, Laura is not only super creative but she will help you with your creative endeavors. I recently took her e-course (Multiple Streams of Income) which was very affordable and chuck full of info to perk up my freelance career. so please check her out if your interested in growing your art and growing as an artist/business person and stop by to see what crafty things she will do next.

now i am jumping into my car and off for a week of summer fun. i guess if you call building rock walls fun. i'm sure we will slip in some 4th of july celebrating in there somewhere. i'll try to share pics of our progress!

may your strawberry pickin' be plentiful and
may not one strawberry make it to your carton!
(addie knows how it's done)

musical owl?

he can't play.
he just carries
it around and
dreams about
joining the
symphony.