Rozzie Land

Five Things On Friday

Happy Friday to all. Where did this week go??

1. Lily is 14 weeks and becoming such a cuddle bunny. She is shedding her puppy coat in chunks all over the house. Here she is after stealing Valentines "chewy".

2. I wish I could share what I've been working on this week.
One of the projects I just finished is like a 'pitch' where the client proposes a book idea along with a couple of finished illustrations. Please keep your fingers crossed that this project sells. I had so much fun and would love to do the entire thing!

3. I finished the artwork for the Highlights puzzler and I have to say, I am so proud of it. I really had to stretch and do new things to make it work. It will be in the March 08 edition and I'll post more about the process then.

4. One of my new favorite toys this week is this little gadget. This is perfect for working with little pieces. I have to say, though, I wish I had spent the extra $10 bucks to get the burn guard.

It's very easy to burn yourself on that long silver part that you don't use.

5. Another handy tool I discovered this week...

Usually, a print out of the sketch helps me gauge my felt and fabric pieces as I build an illustration. But I found that a transparency with the sketch printed on it works like a charm as well.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Thanks for stopping by.

Five Things On Friday

On a couple of blogs I read, they do something each week called, "Five Things On Friday". I'm going to give it a go too.

Five Things On Friday:

1. Our Little Lily is 13 weeks and doing great. She is learning to bark at the door when she needs to go outside. YES!  One of her favorite sleeping places is under my studio chair. She's sleeping just like this right now as I sit here and type. This picture was not staged. Emily took it to show how she collects her toys around herself before she takes a nap

2. We have a rainy day here in Vegas. This is definitely rare and I feel the urge to cook up some beef stew to celebrate. Scratch that. The urge to take a nap is greater.

3. I am working on the final art for the Highlights puzzle I mentioned recently. This is the most challenging piece I have ever done because of all the details. I'm having to really stretch myself and it's both exciting and nerve wracking.

4. All the kids are at school today, yay!  All three have been home with a cold at some point this week. I will not get sick, I will not get sick! 

5. The ABC competition is in full swing. I created some puzzles for Sheri to take on her school visits promoting the competition. Click to Enlarge and feel free to print them out for your kiddos.

Okay, back to work.
TGIF to all! Have a great weekend.

The Doodle Game

Last week on the PBJ blog, I wrote about a game our family calls, "The Doodle Game".

This week, the PBJ's have decided to play a round on the ol' blog.

If you would like to play , hop on over to the PBJ blog. I've added a doodle so visitors can participate. If you post it on your blog, please email me so that I can link to it.(If you don't have a blog and want to play, I can post it on ours)

The rules are simple: Save the doodle to your computer. You can rotate the doodle in any direction to create your picture. Just try to indicate the line so we can all see what the original doodle looked like.

Here is the doodle Laura gave me:

And here is what I turned it into:

ABC Competition 2007- Voting Begins Today

I'm trying to post a utube video.
My apologies if you can't see it.

The voting starts today.Check it out and vote for your favorite!

http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/third_comp/index.htm

Utube video courtesy of Sheri Goad.

ABC Book Competition

This weekend kicks off the annual ABC competition sponsored by Rita Mills. (Voting starts Sept 16)

This year a good friend of mine is one of the finalists. Way to go Sheri!
There is an article about Sheri and the competition in the "Potomac News". That's Sheri with a signed print of the illustration that will be accompanying her story. (Surprise, I'm the illustrator!)

Check out Sheri's blog to see an interview with Rita Mills and learn more about the competition.

Good luck to all the contestants!!!

Birthday Girls

Today is Emily's 11th birthday.  No more kiddos in Elementary school now. <sniff> When did they start growing so quickly?

Last night my parents drove in from New Mexico (12 hours away) for a surprise visit to celebrate. Emily is holding their pom, Brittany, who actually has the same birth date.  She is 7 years old today.

Happy birthday, girls!!

Lily- 12 weeks

Lily is officially 3 months old today! . Pomeranian's experience a few months of the "puppy uglies" where they lose their puppy coat and the adult coat grows in. (She should be through this process by 10 months.)
I didn't realize she was going through the 'uglies'. When I first picked her out she was a fluff ball with lots of hair on her face. When she was able to come home at 9 weeks, it looked like the breeder had trimmed her muzzle and eyes.
I asked her why she had done it and she assured me she hadn't. It's part of the growth process. They call it "monkey face" but I think she looks more like a cute hedgehog than a monkey.

House training is coming along. She will "go" outside but teaching her to ask to go out is proving a challenge. I was spoiled with Valentine who has only had one accident in the nearly four years that we've had her. I'm not exaggerating! I didn't get her until 16 weeks old, though. I think that made a big difference.

They are doing great together! I love how much they play and I can tell that Val really enjoys her company. She does let her know when she's had enough of her hyper puppy-ness but I think she shows a lot of patience with this little fireball.

Val you are such a good girl!

Lily- 11 weeks

How can that be comfortable?
Actually it does look like it could. =o)

Back to school- back to work

Now that the kids and I seem to be settling back into the school routine and Lily is getting into a schedule, it's time to get back to work. Thankfully, an assignment has come along to help get the wheels turning.
It's for Highlights Magazine and I'm super excited about it. I get to draw one of my favorite things...cute BUGS.

Wish I could show you more but I'm afraid it will have to wait until publication which is not until the new year.

Check out my other "back to school" post at the the pbj's.