"You better watch your sassy craft mouth, missy! "

i want this:
is coveting something but not really being willing to create it myself a bad thing? no i didn't think so either.

went with myHubby to 'the ten' last night. what a crazy movie. fun and crazy. it was my pick, so i had to love it. what i didn't particularly love was the rest of the audience. except one other 20's-ish woman, we were byFAR the youngest people in the audience, by like 40 years. no joke. It was at this little indie/2nd run cinema, which happens to be in our local natural history museum. which is sort of odd, and the members all get into the movies for free or cheap i think, so that's why the audience was full of grandmas. and great-grandmas. what a trip. at first i thought it was really funny, and then it was sort of just embarrassing and painful. like when rob cordry is talking about a**-raping his fellow inmate with a wistful look in his eyes. painful. sorry grandma, i didn't know it was gonna be like this. what were these people thinking?

to make it all even worse, the people behind us kept repeating the lines that were funny, and then saying 'what did he say' in an old-person raspy voice to their companions when they didn't hear it and the companion would repeat 'he said he's the 'vaginaaaa man'' 'oh my!' and that was sort of, well, distracting.

how many letters of complaint will they get? maybe i should write a letter of support. because i am one of those people hiding under a rock who misses movies like this when they're out in regular theatres and find them when the come to the museum theatre. and i like that. tho if grandma hadn't gone we'd have been pretty lonely in that theatre. which maybe wouldn't be a bad thing?

spoke too soon

it's hot. hothothot. what a crazy weather year we're experiencing. not so much fall, as August. we all forgot, as it was like 60 degrees, but now it's 87 and hot. so i'm sitting in the fan's gust and loving it. have a puppy at my feet and a dog across the room and it's so good.

finished the process of finaincial aid and home equity loan today-- what a circus. they really don't make any of it easy. but it's official, i'm 'going back to school'-- only part time to start, but someday maybe i'll be a professional designer of beautiful things, not just an ametueur. yeah.

i made these:so that's fun. Mollie designed them for her wedding, and she and her mom helped me make them-- i think they came out really cute-- they were the centerpieces for her gorgeous wedding in Tyringham. fun fun! My mom designed and arranged these gorgeous accent flowers with her friends:

that's the Tyringham Valley, just over the hill from our house. I suppose we live, therefore, on the other side of that hill-- kinda to the right, though.

what a great place! it was in an old barn with this giant chandelier-- loved it! dinner was under the tent and it was just warm enough to be out there with a sweater.


and then there were the boys. My hubby (left) got into some thumb wrestling with brotherThom... tho i guess i started it with brotherBrian first. then they got into some wrastlin' in the parking lot and later at out house. i know they enjoyed it...but hubby left with a bite mark on his shoulder. eek!

well well

it's almost fall here. everyone agrees that it feels like fall since it's cool and sort of dark, but the trees are still green and the flowers are still bloomin', which is nice. Here are some of mine, from my *new* garden:




also, our house is now green! which is more than exciting. we will be putting our shutters back up and they will be orangey-red and i'm so thrilled! i'm also planning to paint some of the details on the porch the same color, and maybe add another color. just cuz i'm crazee.
in other news, doggie#2 went home, but then had to come back. doggie#2 is not back with us, but back in foster care which is so sad, but i guess she's doing ok. we'll be visiting with her soon, and we'll see how that goes. It's sad to see a doggie who loves her family, but her family is not capable of taking care of her. so sad.

ByeBye Doggie#2

our little foster doggie went home today. sort of bittersweet-- she was a pain in the butt, but could also be super sweet and cute. we spent a busy day yesterday together running and swimming (she's a water dog!) at a nearby farm, and she spent most of the evening sleeping in my lap, which is more than adorable. Got to enjoy most of the afternoon in this amazing pool:

They say 'summer is slipping away' but i'm still enjoying it! Doggie#1 loved chasing the birds and running through the fields, though is terrified of the cows and horses.
Doggie#2? yeah, not so much afraid, more angry. So she decided to infiltrate their paddock and take matters into her own hands. She spent a good half-hour barking at the nice cows who weren't sure what was going on. mostly they just looked at her like she was crazy, and we were a little worried she'd get trampled, but alas she came back unscathed. Maybe she was trying to herd them? hmmm....
so this morning we said goodbye. Doggie#1 is lying by my side and napping. i think she's somewhat relieved (as are we) to see her go, but a little confused and depressed. they did have fun together. we wish her well back with her family, and hopefully we'll have some playdates. maybe we'll just have to find doggie#1 a new friend?? maybe.

plateLove take 2

made it to the Berkshire Crafts Fair this morning and fell in love:

Dish by Kristin Sherlaw. silkscreened slip onto porcelain. I'm told i 'have to use it' but i'm not sure i'll be able to bring my self to. i might just continue to sit here and look at it. because i love it THAT much. first really nice thing for myself that i've really picked out. and it's really nice (was lower price because it has a tiny flaw, but since i couldn't find it till i got it home, that doesn't bother me one bit. not one bit!)

i guess i should admit my dish obsession now and get it over with. who knew?

portfolio-making

I recently (ok, yesterday) had the joy of putting together a new version of my portfolio. I was a little scared and i think that's why i put it off for so long. but it was really fun. and very glorious to show it off. i think that's the scariest part-- what if they don't like it? but it's not a critique, and so what if 'they' hate it. i can't make art for everyone all the time. i hate a lot of the art out there. but it's out there. i've been, finally, slowly putting my work out there, and have received great feedback. so here's some more:
"Allium1"
--the most recent addition to my portfolio. Liquid acrylics and ink with a lazertran photo transfer on watercolor paper. It's in a "private collection" now, but i'm thinking i should get some glicee prints made. not that i know anything about doing that. but people love it. i'm also thinking of making it a series.

OH and I was placed as a winnner in the BBG flower show-- 1st place for the second year, this time with 'painted lady butterfly' -- quite a challenge to create a 'lady's hat' using only plant materials AND keeping with the butterfly theme.
A sample of more portfolio images:
This was for an assignment in my Adobe Illustrator Class-- render a 3D object.


Brag Book- created in 2004 at the Paper Source when I worked there. one of my first 'books' and a favorite project of mine.


Self-Portrait for the Berkshrire Fringe's Annual Gala 2006-- the theme was 'the art of the photobooth.' Sold to benefit the Fringe in their silent auction. booya!


Our wedding invitation 10.7.06. What fun... Did we ever know what joys cardstock and double-sided tape would bring? Oh and rubber stamps, don't forget rubber stamps. Give it up for VersaMark!

Ladies and puppies

ahh summertime...
meet Mickey-- the newest addition to the farm. He'll be a great herding dog when he grows to his full size, about 5 times the size he is now!

hugs and kisses

I got me some plate love. wow. not sure where this will hang in the house, but it will need a place of prominence. i'm so loving delving into the world of 'design'-- reading magazines and blogs and dreaming of going to shows and just loving on art and design and becoming imensly inspired. it's so fun!

i want to design some patterns, and design my own plates, place mats, table linens, pillows, skirts, aprons, notecards, notebooks, invites, t-shirts, bags, wrapping paper. ok, these ARE the things i design. yes i do. need to manufacture.