They say it's your birthday!

I want to wish my better half a very happy birthday today!

Happy Birthday Dave!!!!

I am always grateful to have you as my partner and I'm thankful every day for your love and support.

My sister, Melanie, celebrated her birthday Saturday. I made her this card and little wall-hanging.

Happy Birthday little sister!

On Your Newsstand Now and a New Song

I was pleasantly surprised to get these two lovely magazines in my mailbox this month because it meant I've had some artwork published! It's always so exciting that is really a private little thrill that no one else really understands.

Stampington's Handcrafted magazine reprints projects and articles from it's HUGE line-up of publications.

I have bought stacks of these magazines in the past few years and I found many projects I must have missed the first time around. I have an altered book on page 168.

Lots of inspirational art and cool project ideas and instructions in this book!

In the new issue of Somerset Home I have an altered frame on page 53. I am amazed at the

wide range of artistic items with functional uses. I love all the ideas for framed art and stitched

art. I will be using this book as a jumping off point for some new projects!

My husband e-mailed me a song while I was at work last week. He said he heard it and it reminded him of me! I am going to add it to my playlist, so click on Follow Me and have a listen.

Adding color!

This week I added color to my graphite pencil sketches. I layered colored pencils and acrylic paint. I am trying to go with a distressed look but still show the shading to get some depth.

In my class, this is the middle step. Next, I need to work on a layered background and add
poetry. I thought I'd post these and get some feedback on this stage. I loved how the pencil drawings looked and they really changed when I added color. What do you think?

It's a Beanie- Baby!

Take a look at what my sweet cousin Tina made for me! I told her I liked the color of some of her yarn and she made me a perky orange beanie! I love it and will love wearing it this winter.

Even though it's swelteringly hot here, I couldn't resist trying it on for size. What do you think?

I started back to school with a brand new class of second graders today. I think it's a very nice class, but it's such a slower pace at the beginning of the year. I'm still working on my portraits for my Suzi Blu class and I'll post more later.