Almost Labor Day...

Only a few weeks left. Yikes. Summer is drawing to a close way to fast!!

I did manage to make it to my favorite swimming hole on Saturday. It wasn't quite a full day there. Kyla stepped out of the water, right onto a bee. She's been stung before, and I was pretty sure she wasn't allergic. We kept an eye on it, and about 10 minutes later her toe was purple. It was about 15 minutes to town, and I didn't want her to have a reaction that far out. While we were walking to the car her leg went all purple and spotty. Not good.
Drove to Salmon (keeping it mostly under the speed limit) and bought some Benadryl. The pharmacist said that as long as she wasn't having problems breathing, it was okay. We hung around my dad's until the antihistamine kicked in and made her all drowsy. Then drove back to the swimming hole (she napped in the car).
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Thank goodness. Just a calm, lazy day, by the river. Ahhh.

Sunday. Chores. Blah.

The hubby and I re-stained the back deck. He did the front one on his own while I was off playing. And our lovely kids, they mowed the lawn, raked, AND cleaned the house. They just might be keepers :)

Here are my newest creations:

You can get them in color...

Or you can get them in black and white so you can create your own colors.

I can't wait to make some prints using these!!

Don't forget to check out the post about becoming part of my creative team. You get free graphics in exchange for posting your creations and linking back to me. It's a win, win.

Happy Monday,

Rhoda

Nostalgic...

Summer is drawing to close. Wishing we had gotten some more summer evenings out in the pines.


Guess I will gaze on this and just dream :)

Rhoda

River Time

Salmon was great.

We did go fishing (twice) and didn't catch anything. Still had fun though.

The owl is still doing okay. He is attempting to stand up on his own. Hopefully, the swelling on his brain will go down and he'll make a full recovery. Fingers crossed that there isn't any neurological damage.

The kids and I attempted to go swimming at the public pool. The first night, there were to many thunderstorms. The next night, the pool was closed. Go figure.

We enjoyed natures pool instead and played in the river:

A little chilly. But still fun. Poor Hayden. He has no body fat, and gets cold so fast. He's not in the photo, because he is laying in the sand behind me :) Problem is, when it's time to go, you have to rinse off again. Brrr!

I think another trip to the river is in the works. My favorite swimming hole has the best sandbar this year. I played there yesterday. Heaven.

The shop is filling up. I've tried some new things. You can now find Illustrations and Phone Wallpapers.

They look great on an iPhone, and should look just as great on an Android. What do you think?

Rhoda

P.S. Don't forget to check out the post and join my creative team. The opportunity ends on August 17th.

This is A Close Up?

Oh how I wish my tone came through when you were reading my words some days. Or maybe it's better that it doesn't.

We quote movies and cartoons. A lot. And they pop in my head while I'm writing. Sounds funny to me. Just regular words for you. Oh well. A draw back, but not a major one :)

**the title is a comment Daffy made to Bugs in a Looney Tunes episode**

Okay. Back on topic :)

We decided to be spontaneous and drive over the mountain to the grandparents. We only have a couple of weeks of summer left. Time to get a few more adventures in.

While we were eating dinner, Papa presented our first one. He had a surprise in a box downstairs.

Here it is:

Papa used to be involved in raptor rehab. He was the one the Fish and Game brought all injured or sick raptors to (eagles, hawks, owls, kestrels). He retired from it about 9 years ago, but now and then, they still bring him one.

This poor guy was hit by a car. He's improving. Gaining mobility in his legs again. Eyes are dilating better. He makes a popping sound with his beak to warn us away when we start to open the box. And while Papa holds him, he gazes at us all intently.

The kids get to help feed him this morning. We are all hoping his injuries are temporary and he'll be better in no time.

Fascinating to see them in real life (I've had the opportunity a few times now). It fuels the inspiration to keep drawing them.

We are heading out later to go fishing. Who knows what adventures await us?

Have a great day!!

Rhoda

Did You See?

Happy Monday!

Did you see all the fun things I did over the weekend?

Bikes, Halloween Kids, new Illustrations, blinkies and more!

Here's a recap of whats been going on:

I added new things to the shop. Art illustration prints.

I added some Halloween Kids and Bicycles to the inventory.

And, I made a blinkie! Just for you. I'm hoping to add more in the next week or so. It was my first time making one. Who knew you could do that with Photoshop! Fun, I tell you...FUN! :)

You can grab the code to use in message board forums, if you want. Over on the right...

Don't forget that I am searching for a few good creatives. You can view the details in this post.

Okay. That's all for now. You know I'll be back with something. I just can't help it. Suggestions, comments, etc. are more than welcome!

Aww Poop!

I don't think that will be worn out any time soon. Makes me giggle each time I say it (and see it written with a fuzzy monster!).

Time for something different. A quick how to with two of my newest sets, and some cardstock. A mini tutorial for you.


Supply list:

• Cardstock
• Pattern papers (theme of your choice...Halloween, Bright, Birthday, etc.)
• Glue Stick
• Scissors
• Favorite Black Ink Pen
• 3D adhesive dots
• ink pad (optional)

Start by printing out the Monsters and Halloween Eyes. I resized mine to between 1-2 inches. The eyeballs are about an inch wide. I printed one of each so I could cut out extra pieces to "pop" with the 3D dots. Your choice.

After you print them and cut them out, ink around the edges if you want. Pop dot extra pieces if you decided to cut them out as well. Here are mine:

A close up:

Next. Cut your cardstock to the card size you want to create. I cut mine 6 in. by 9 in. When folded, they are 6 in. wide by 4.5 in. tall. Decorate with pattern papers, brads, eyeballs, and monsters.

See!! It sticks with you doesn't it. Makes you giggle, and want to repeat it :)

And the others:

So? Are those creative juices flowing now? Ready to go create something? Well get going then!

Be sure and come back here to post images of your fun creations.

Don't feel like making them yourself? Prefer premade...you can get these here.

Have a great weekend!!

Rhoda

Are You Creative?

I'm looking for a few good artists. Someone who likes the products I make, can be creative and unique with them, and is willing to invest some time and creativity to help promote Rhoda Design Studio

Does this sounds like you? Can you can meet the following criteria:


then leave me a comment or email me (rhodadesignstudio {at} gmail {dot} com), with a link to your blog, one of your most recently updated galleries, and current teams you are on. Please don't over extend yourself. If you are already on a handful of teams, please pass this post on to someone else who's work you admire that might have more time to invest.

Looking forward to all the creativity!

Rhoda

Work with Play

Thursday already? I'm afraid that August is going to fly by and before you know it, we will be back within the walls of school. It's the cycle.

I'm working on some fun new sets. I'll keep you posted. Would you like to see my office yesterday?

Yep. Those are my tootsies, in the creek. I took one of those plastic deck chairs down to the creek with me and put it in the water so I could sit and work while the kids went exploring.

Cool. Refreshing. Fun. Out of the house! It's the best of both worlds :) Nature and Limited Technology.



And for the evening?
A mountain bike ride up to the Como Falls. It's a little rockier than I like, but we all made it. We had the lake to ourselves other than 2 boats and 2 hikers (who were leaving when we were heading in.)
Our dinner was on a flat rock, looking out over the lake and mountains. The kids playing in the water in between bites. Perfect. Sorry no pics. I was to "in the moment".

Have a great Thursday!
Rhoda

Thank Goodness for Coffee

This treasury was just posted. It says exactly how I feel in the morning. Terrible. I know, but I even start anticipating that first cup of brew before I go to bed!



Be sure and click around. Add some favorites :)

Find an Adventure...

Good Morning :)

Montana has cooled down a bit (thank goodness). Thunderstorms at night. Rain. It's just to bad that it waits till we are sleeping. I'd like to be awake to see the awesome power of mother nature!

It's about time to find another adventure. We've been home and not as active for over a week now. The kids are getting a little stir crazy. Not sure what we should do though. I'm even feeling itchy to do something, and that takes a bit!

My plants out front are begging for some attention. A pic of my chamomile container:

so, before I head off to take care of them and then search for adventure with the kids, I figured I would leave you with a fun idea sketch:
Happy Tuesday,

Rhoda