My Only Sunshine

The Copic Mole

Last week Hobby Lobby (it's crazy that there are fine art supplies I can't get at fine art supply stores and can get at Hobby Lobby) they had a sale on markers.  I bought a big hand full of Copic Sketch markers.  I already had Prismacolor markers and they are very nice.  The problem is that the skin tone range with Prismacolor isn't all I would like it to be.  The Copics have a very large range of skin tones and they blend beautifully.  I colored this ballerina with my new Copic markers.

She's drawn in my Moleskine.  The marker goes down smooth and the shadowing really works.  There is only one problem...


This is the back of the paper, the previous page, which already had a portrait on it.


This is the back of the other page, my little japanese bunny and kitty.

If anybody has any suggestions for sketch books that will hold up to my new markers better, please let me know.  For now I guess I'll be more careful what's on the back of my pages or stick to individual sheets.

Blind

These are my two lovely daughters a week and a half ago, all dressed up for the spring performance of the ballet company.  Don't they look beautiful?

You all know the cutie on the left, that's my Bug.  Well a couple of days before this picture was taken she nearly scared me into an early grave.  It was Thursday morning and each of the Girlies were getting special hair-dos for "crazy hair day" at school.  I had already done really wacky things to Bitty's hair and was about a 1/4 of the way into a fauxhawk for Bug when things got weird.

Bug was standing in front of me, with her back to me, both of us facing the mirror.  You know, hair fixing style.  I was looking at her head when she said, "Mommy, I can't see."  I started to tell her that she needed to be patient, I would have the hair out of her face soon when I looked up at her in the mirror.  I could see the color draining from the top of her face down as if a spigot at her feet were creating a Bug color pool beneath me.  She said, "Mommy, I think I'm blind" just as her eyes rolled back in her head.  I reached down to scoop her up and her body went stiff as a board.  Not like that light as a feather stiff as a board thing teenage girls play at slumber parties, more like something JJ Abrams might think up.

I carried her to the couch and by the time we got there she was limp as a colorless kid rag and starting to come around.  She told me that she still couldn't see but that her ears had also started to buzz and her skin was starting to feel hot.  I checked her face for a fever (I do this by pressing my cheek to her head, I'm pretty dang accurate this way too) and she was a touch on the cool side.  Then I had the standard reaction for my house, I got her some chocolate and looked for the Blood Glucose Monitor.  It wasn't home so I called the Buster who was around the corner having breakfast with his brother.  He later told me that I didn't even tell him which child had a problem, I just told him, "there's something wrong with the kid, come home NOW!"

When he got home we tested her blood sugar and it was 97.  For those of you who don't live with a Type 1 diabetic, that's a perfect score.  Once I knew it wasn't low blood sugar, and had sat the sweet kid in Daddy's lap to recover I got the other kid ready and took her (and her crazy hair) to school.  Bug missed crazy hair day, it was her first day of school to miss this year.

In college I took an EMS course and became a certified EMT.  I never did much with it, but that training was enough to make me feel pretty confident that my daughter had had a seizure.  I made her an appointment to see the pediatrician and we headed to the mall.  Ok, so you're wondering how I can say she had a seizure and then say we headed off to the mall.  You have to understand, this is the healthiest kid in the world.  That means she never stays home from school.  We have very little time alone, just the two of us.  What do mommies and daughters do when they have some free time?  What do they do when they are stressed out and need some time without the use of their brains?  They go to the mall.  While we were relaxing at the Justice store (as much as you can relax when the sales lady is following you around telling you the sale price of each thing you touch, I nearly had to tell her we had a case of the seizures and it was contagious) we were able to talk about what had happened and Bug was able to tell me how it felt from the inside.  She explained that she had lost her vision several minutes before she mentioned it to me because she thought it would come back.  It had the last time.  Surprisingly I was able to stay calm when she told me this had happened before, when I wasn't around.

At lunch time we went to the pediatrician who is always surprised to see us (like I said, I've got healthy kids) and he confirmed my suspicion that we had a Bug seizure at our house.  He said that it could be a one time thing or it could happen again and that he would like us to see a pediatric neurologist.  He said we were clear to go to Disney World (yes this happened 4 days before we were supposed to leave for Spring Break) but that she probably shouldn't drive.  She thought that was probably ok since she is 9 and can't really even reach the pedals.  He told us we should probably see the doctor in the next two weeks.  Obviously since then we have been given an appointment in mid April.

It's amazing how many people we know have had similar stories that we didn't know about until Bug started telling everyone what had happened to her (and I mean EVERYONE).  April 14 we get to have a sleep deprived EEG.  I say we because I am betting it will freak me out way more than it will bother the Bug.  Thankfully Disney went off without a hitch.  Wish me luck that everything else will too.

Princess Hair

Hey, take a look at The Story of a Princess and Her Hair today.  There is a sweet picture of my little Bitty girl.

Announcement

Go take a look at this link.  I'll wait here.

No really, it's worth a look.  It even has my name on it.  Go see.  There will be a test later.

Back?      No?   Ok, I can wait a little longer.

Cool, huh?  I'm one of the new reporters for Craft Critique and I'm very excited.  When I saw the Craft Critique blog for the first time I thought it was the best thing ever.  It's expensive buying every craft trimmer in order to be sure I have the best one.  Now I don't have to because people who already have them are letting me know how they work.  Even better, now I get to help people in the same way by talking about my experiences.  I do so love talking about my experiences.

So please come on over to Craft Critique, I think you'll like it.

Ketchup

Before we return to our regularly scheduled DisneyWorld recap I need to catch you up on a few things from before the trip.

Remember the Coraline Box Swap?  Well I actually got my box finished and shipped off.  I was pretty proud of myself because it was a BUSY week.

My box was number 32 of 44.  I used a paper suitcase that I bought from Paper Source, I love that store.  I lined the lower portion of the suitcase with red velvet using my cordless hot glue gun.  I love that thing too.




Under the velvet I put a piece of packing foam so that I would be able to pin my tiny little handknit sweater and other things into the box.  I would have liked taking more time with the way I attached but I just didn't get it done in time.  The lovely woman I sent my package to didn't say anything about my things being destroyed by UPS so I think it must have worked well enough.



The sweater was knit from a lovely wool sock yarn that I don't seem to have the label for anymore.  After I was done knitting it I sprayed it with a spray on fabric glitter designed for decorating your own t-shirts.  It added a nice sparkle that was a part of the actual movie sweater spun into the yarn.  Then I added hand cut stars from a lightly sparkly craft felt.  Along with the little sweater I included a glass bead I lampworked myself.  It's Lauscha clear rolled in a deep transparent purple frit.  The bead is my representation of the looking stone from the book and movie Coraline.  In the movie the looking stone is made from candy and I thought my bead looked a bit like hard candy as well.



I also drew my own concept of Coraline to attach to the inside top of the box next to my letter to the recipient.  I had fun drawing Coraline because she is so sassy and expressive.  It was also fun because I got to use my new Derwent Inktense Pencils.  I've used Derwent watercolor pencils as well as watercolor pencils from several other companies and enjoyed them.  These inktense pencils work in a similar way.  You sketch with them and fill in just like any other medium hard colored pencil (harder than a really top notch colored pencil, softer than a student version) and then wash over them with a watercolor brush and water.  What makes these pencils different is the intensity of the image after the water is applied.  Instead of the very soft light color of water colors it looks more like ink, hence the name.  I'm looking forward to playing with these pencils some more.


The letter I wrote was sealed with sealing wax and a black button just like the original Coraline boxes.  This was my first time using sealing wax, it was fun.  As you can see, it dripped a little.  I actually really like the sinister little drip of black wax, don't you?



Here is my completed box.  As soon as there is enough sun out to take pictures I will show off the lovely box I received when I got home from Disney.

The Land of the Pretty Pretty Princess

Last Monday my family and I went to the airport and headed for Florida.  We hadn't been there before.  I didn't have much time to plan but one thing I was sure to do was make reservations for a Princess lunch.  I had read that this was a must do and I'm glad I did.

We had lunch at EPCOT at the Akershus Royal Ballroom.  When our name was called we went inside and straight into a little alcove where Belle was waiting for us.  The Girlies got her autograph and their picture made with her along with a few minutes of private time with the lovely princess.  After picture time with Belle we were taken to our seats for a very nice meal.  While eating, four other princesses came around to say hello, sign autographs, and have their picture taken.  First there was Sleeping Beauty.  Princess Aurora is My favorite and Bug's too.

After Aurora was Jasmine.


After Jasmine the girlies met Ariel.


Last but not least we got to meet Bitty's favorite, Cinderella.

The princesses were so neat.  I was very impressed with how Disney Princessy they were.  That isn't the best choice of words generally, but it works for what I am trying to say.  They were doing voices that sounded straight out of the movies.  They carried themselves like royalty.  They were sweet and loving to the children, and funny.  It was lovely.  My kids are a little old to believe that the characters in movies are real but they were swept up in the magic during this lunch.

I have MANY more pics to share from Walt Disney World and plenty to say about crowds, lines, and the genius of the man who started it all.  For now I'll just leave you with my girlies and the princesses.

Makin Up a Song About Coraline

You may have seen around the net that there is a spunky kid named Coraline making the rounds.  She's the lead character in the stop motion animated film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. 

I have read the book and LOVED it.  Yes it's a book for young people, which is precisely why I read it.  I just happen to have two young people.  I also took the previously mentioned young people to see the movie in 3D which was also fantastic.   If you are already a fan of Coraline you may have seen the the boxes, that were sent to 50 very lucky people, which were promoting the movie.

For those of us who didn't get boxes (I'm still waiting for my official box, you never know) My Little Mochi has created the world's best swap.  44 people have agreed to participate in a hand made Coraline box swap.  I have been paired up and am busily working on my very own box to be sent out this weekend.

This is the Coraline sweater.  It isn't finished, as you can see, because it doesn't have any stars on it.  It isn't as small as the real Coraline sweater, but it isn't much bigger.

This is Coraline herself.  I'm sure she will be feeling more colorful later.

This is my new set of craft metal punches by Making Memories.  I'm making a "Handmade in Texas" label for the outside of my Coraline box.  As you can see from the tiny hand and the silly putty letter labels, I'm getting some help.

THIS is the T stuck in the new device which I am using to stamp the letters.  Yes, STUCK.  I made it halfway through the first project and it is totally stuck.  I have left it on the counter for the big MAN to come home and fix.  What are the odds?

I am not finished.  Not only am I not finished, I am not even close to finished.  I think I can make it as long as my kids don't have anything ELSE crazy happen.  Remind me to tell you about the crazy stuff that happened this morning in the next post, K thanks.  I promise to post more Coraline box pics as soon as I have more to show.

Just call me Grace

Tuesdays are usually really great days at my house.  Want to know why?  We don't have any dance to go to!  Now don't get me wrong, you know how much we are into dance at my house.  Even though the kids love dance and I love that they love it, the actual act of getting ready and getting over there 3 or more days a week can be hard on us.  The kids can't have friends over on those days.  They have to get homework done fast and dinner done even faster.  It's rough.  On Tuesdays we don't have to do all that and we love the time off too.  None of that has much to do with my story other than to say that today is Tuesday but I had to go to the dance studio anyway.

You see, the ballet company has its spring ballet this weekend.  They are doing Coppelia and I am the liaison between the company and the performing arts center where they dance.  That has been keeping me really busy because this is my first performance as the Secretary of the Ballet Board.  Today I had to go to the studio on our day off in order to drop off parking passes for the company dancers and/or their parents.  It should have been a quick and easy run into the place while my family waited in the car.  It didn't turn out that way.

As I got out of the car at the curb I had one of those slow motion moments where you know you have done something stupid.  You also know everyone must be watching.  Most importantly you know that you are going down, it's going to hurt, and people will laugh.  As I stepped out my flip flop edge (yes it is warm enough for flip flops here today, tomorrow it won't be) caught on some new stepping stones between my car and the row of bushes just a foot and a half away.  I had one foot down between my car and the curb and the caught foot up on the curb and I had no place to catch myself.  The only thing in front of me was greenery and I couldn't go backward due to my vehicle.  I fell to my right landing first on my shin and knee and then on my shoulder before I could catch myself at all with my hand.  What's better?  I did this 3 feet from a giant wall of windows into the parent area of the dance studio and on the other side were my husband and two girlies in the car.  Ugh.

I scraped a good bit of skin off my ankle, shin, knee, and palm and I am afraid I may end up with some crazy ugly bruises but other than that I think it will be ok.  It sure could have been worse.  When I got inside the studio I was happy to see that only one person had been watching and she was nice enough not to laugh at me.  My husband wasn't so nice, he couldn't help but laugh.  I don't blame him though, how can a person not laugh?  I'm outside a building all about grace and beauty and I'm falling flat because I don't have good enough control of my feet even just to walk.

Now that you've had your laugh, take a look at these.

More New Gadgets

I'm sure you've noticed by now that Buster and I are HUGE gadget freaks.  I have to admit, it's mostly me.  I've been so busy that I haven't even had the chance to try out any of the things I showed off last week and now I have gotten another shipment of fun things to play with.  It's going to be hard to go on vacation knowing I can't take all my toys with me (well not that hard, we're going to DisneyWorld!).

Today the Slice cordless design cutter was delivered by my lovely UPS man.  Check out this video about how it works.

I also got this stuff, as seen on the fantastic Craft Critique.

I promise to let you know once I have had the chance to actually dig into all of these things.

Oh, and while you are looking at these awful photos, thank you for not mentioning how bad they are.  I haven't found a good place to take pictures in the (still mostly new) house.

Goodies!

I got my order from dickblik.com today.  I'm so excited.  I can't decide what to try first.  I'm betting the Inktense pencils will win out though.  Gotta love Chess Club day, I don't have to pick up the kids until 3:45!