Guest Artist

The Eldest baked the cake. The Young One wrote the sentiment with writing gel. Didn't she do a great job? Her Uncial is delicious!

Wordless Wednesday - Cat in the Bag

Graceful Envelope Contest

It' s official. The slim, white, business sized envelope from The Graceful Envelope Contest was sitting in the mailbox. I didn't need to open it. The size was the tip off.

Winners receive a large manilla type envelope with a lovely certificate with their name calligraphed. I know. I've had 2 wins and an honorable mention.

Non-winners receive a slim, white, business sized envelope with a rejection letter. The opening of the letter contains info about the theme (this year to "Address the Environment"), how many adult contenstants entered, the names of the judges, the criterion for judging: "interpretation of the theme, skill in lettering and illustration and effective use of color and design, among other criteria. And then slam dunk:

"Unfortunately your envelope was not among those selected for the exhibition."

I had high hopes for my envelope. Inspired by the wind turbine at The Young One's school, I came up with the idea of a pinwheel. Pinwheel against the sky and I knew the flag stamps with clouds was what I wanted to use. I made the pinwheel from the plastic, outer wrapping of a case of bottled water. The pinwheel was difficult to fashion as it was 1 3/4" and held with a tiny brad. It could even spin!

The hand chosen was Gwen Weaver's "Weaver Writing". I liked those big open airy loops. Like balloons. Sort of. I used Ziller's Midnight Blue ink with a Nikko G nib. The Nikko G is getting to be my favorite.

I did several watercolor washes on Arches Text Wove. This was the one I loved best. Sponging the clouds was a surprise when I could see a face. Maybe I shouldn't have added blush to the cheeks.

That's the problem with not winning. Second guessing. Why didn't the judges find my envelope crushingly beautiful? Deep sigh. Forlorn look. Oh well, there's always next year.

Though I'm disappointed I didn't win, place or show, I am pleased and proud to announce my teacher, mentor, friend, and colleague, Gerry was awarded Best In Show.

The winning envelopes haven't been scanned and put up on the site yet, but you can still read the list of winners at 2009 Graceful Envelope Contest I can hardly wait to see Gerry's envelope.

Seven

Another award. The Honest Scrap Award. Thanks, Erica This week, Seven plus one

So the rules of the Honest Scrap award are to reveal Eight Honest Things about me.

1. I live in fugly shoes (aka Crocs). I own three pair, black, red and blue with a fuzzy lining for Winter. Sometimes I even wear my fugly shoes out in public. My daughters cringe.

2. I don't like to eat in public if I'm by myself.

3. I don't parallel park the car.

4. I got married on Robert Redford's birthday.

5. I want a Viking funeral. That's Viking as in Norsemen, body laid out on a Viking war ship with a flaming arrow shot into the death sail. Not anything to do with the football team.

6. I have never had a manicure or pedicure.

7. I have a horrible sense of direction and can't tell left from right.

8. Until this year, I never cleaned the bathroom. Bathroom cleaning really isn't a Little Princess job, but I love my newly, remodeled bathroom with the sleek wipe down surfaces.

Anyone want to play? Snag the award, post on your site and then let me know so I can read your answers. Help enable the nosy. (-;

Mermaid or Whale

Got this in the mail from Iowa. Thought it was a hoot so here it is:

Recently, in large French city, aposter featuring a young, thin and tan woman appearedin the window of a gym. It said: THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?¨

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sealions, curious humans).. They have an active sexlife, they get pregnant and have adorable babywhales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim inthe seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtuallyhave no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in theworld.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, theywould be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't havea sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore, they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store? The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but Iprefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a piece of chocolate with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate somuch information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Goodness, look how smart I am.¨

A Blog Award

Thank you to Erica from On The Write Path, for awarding me the Superior Scribbler Award. What a rush! And look at that! The Little Scribbler is left handed! How cool is that!

So here are the rules of the award:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

My blog winners are.....

1. Alesia at Alesia Zorn Calligraphy

2. Poppie at The Creative Spirit

3. Bev at Alphabeas

4. Ann at Ann's Dancing Letters

Erica, I'd send this award back to you. So if you want, pick 5 more blogs to send the award to.

Thanks guys. I love reading your blogs and seeing what you are working on.

Final Tattoo Design

I had been asked by a friend to design a tattoo for her. Size approximately 1" high by 2" wide. She had found a site that had angelic symbols and she liked the symbol for hope instead of the traditional anchor. I did several variations on the theme. She finally chose one that incorporated the angel symbol, script, and a butterfly.

My friend traveled from Iowa to visit and to have the tattoo done. On a reference from another friend, we traveled north of the city to Zaza Ink and the talented and capable hands of Kerwin.

I had no clue what was involved in tattooing. Kerwin explained that over time, fine lines as used in calligraphy would blur. He looked at my design and informed my friend that to prevent blurring he would have to make a few alterations. The antennae of the butterfly were too close together and the upstroke of the descender of the "g" would have to be lowered. Other than that the spacing was fine. Color me beaming.

At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch the process, but curiousity got the better of me. The original design was photocopied and then transferred to the skin using some goop. I never thought to ask what the goop was. The design was transferred to the skin and looked like a temporary tattoo.

Kerwin went over the design and meticulously drew the strokes and touched up the thick and thin lines. He worked from right to left.

and brought my design to life.

What a rush to have my work on living canvas.

Wordless Wednesday - Tattoo Design

Mii

It was pointed out my Mii wasn't a true representation because she wasn't wearing fugly shoes (aka Crocs). Through the magic of Paint Shop Pro X2, I've corrected this oversight. Added my new red fuglies to my Mii.

Thanks to all who pointed out she was missing something.

Wii and Mii

July is birthday month so we got a gift we all can play with. We got a Wii and a Wii Fit to help us get off the couch.

You start by making a Mii, an avatar for you to play the Wii games with. Besides picking hair and eye color, you pick your favorite color for the clothing and can size your Mii. Here's Mii, short and chubby and accessorised with my blue glasses.

Wii Fit has yoga and aerobic exercises, core training and balance games. Wii Fit helps you set weight goals and keeps track of how you are doing on a daily basis. You get to pick a personal trainer to work the yoga and core training. I chose a male and call him Jack after the tv exercise guru of the 60s Jack LaLane. There's a female trainer, but looking at her cartoon figure in her tight and cute yoga togs made me feel like I was working out with a Barbi doll. As you do the exercise she exclaims "Picture your ideal body!" and I look at her tiny waist and grapefruit sized boobs and think that ain't gonna happen. So I work out with Jack.

The Wii Fit board can be cheeky. She has a child-like voice and when you step on her she goes "Ohh!" as in "Ohhh, you're heavy." or "Ohh, 6 elephants weigh less than you do." I don't think she's quite calibrated correctly as she chastised me for gaining 7 pounds in one day!

Still, it's fun. Like having a holodeck except the computer doesn't go haywire, the Miiples dont' go rogue and no one dies like a red shirt. Though one can die an epic death when trying to walk the tightrope in one of the balance games. Too funny!

You can create your own Mii to use as an avatar even if you don't have a Wii. Visit http://www.myavatareditor.com/ When you're done playing, export your Mii to your hard drive as a .png or .jpg

Seven

Erica's Friday Five, about five things that happened to her when she was expecting was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. Friday was The Eldest's 21st birthday. Seven things I remember when I was expecting her:





1. I had morning sickness, afternoon sickness, and night sickness for the first three months.





2. The smell of Lysol made me hurl.





3. I was very grumpy for most of the day before The Eldest was born.





4. The night before she was born, I spotted. Doc sent us to the hospital (45 min.) away. No worries. Go home. It must have been a slow night because before we left, one of the nurses decided to put me on the monitor. "Oh, my! You're in labor!"





5. I called my friend from the Labor Room to ask her to tape Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman. Priorities dontchaknow.





6. Labor started, stopped, started, stopped. Some 24 hours later, ended up having a C-section.





7. When The Eldest tipped the scale at 8 lbs. 10 oz., one of the nurses said, "This baby's ready for school."

Any war stories you'd like to share?

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting Out The Storm

Wordless Wednesday - Raindrop