We Like to Ride Our Bikes!

Good Morning!

There have been a few changes to the shop.
All digital items are now instantly available through Etsy.
No more waiting for me to ship it.

That will change the way I offer free stamps. There isn't a reason to use the digital download service any more...so free stamps should be easier to get now. However, past free downloads will have broken/expired links. I'll try to get them fixed by summer (or as soon as I can this summer).

So, today we try a new way of downloading them. I'm not going to zip the freebies any more, you can either right click and save the file, or you can click the link provided and download it from the site where it is hosted.

Let me know if you have any questions.

You can download Gracie and her bike "here".

Happy Tuesday!

Rhoda

Fun Friday Night

Our Friday night date nights just became a little more interesting.

Actually, they aren't really "date nights" any more. They are now "family fun nights".

A couple of weeks ago we took Chris' bike in to the shop to get it ready for summer. When we stopped to pick it up, there was a new bike outside. A new "used" bike.

We have been to a lot of bike shops together. We have looked at A LOT of bikes.

They all looked like bikes to me. Except this one. This one spoke to me. And it told me that it really, really, REALLY wanted to come home with me.

I listened.

That means that Kyla gets my blue Yamaha. And that Hayden didn't have a bike.

His question: "Does that mean I just have to chase after everyone on my pedal bike?" :(

Well, we couldn't have that. So I took all my hidden money and bought him a bike too. Now, we can all go out and play!!

And we will. Lots and lots of playing!!

Bring on Summer!! :)

Rhoda

Sewing Machines...

I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine.

Love:
I can stitch paper like no ones business.
Shabby Chic journals that I make using a sewing machine make me smile.
Straight lines and a few little stitches are easy enough.

Hate:
Untangling the string.
Starting a project and then the bobbin runs out. Never fails.
Thinking I am doing wonderful, and the string isn't even through the needle.
That ball of junk that wads up under my project.
Anything that isn't a straight line ;)

There must be something inherent about a sewing machine though...because even before I knew how to use one, I was drawn to them. I really loved the old pedal one that was in a spare bedroom in my grandmother's house.

Sometimes I walk by mine, and feel it pulling to me. Saying "please come and stitch something".

These new images in my shop are for any of you who feel the same way (or love your sewing machine even more than I could possibly imagine) :)

I set this listing up using the new "Etsy Downloads". Let me know what you think...I'm hoping it makes transactions even smoother than they are now.

Have a great weekend!

Rhoda

It's Time To Read...

It's that time of the week again.

This week I thought I might share some of the older "Little People" that I drew. I think I made this one last spring. I dedicated it to my sis. She reads as much as I do...and we are always sharing titles and spending hours in the bookstore together.

Our perfect day: lunch and a B&N date. Hours to spend sitting in the aisles browsing the stacks we pulled off the shelf. coffee. easy enough :)

She is fun to color, and probably one of my favorite stamps. You can download this stamp "here".

Enjoy!

Rhoda

A Little Character...

Phew! It's finally Friday :)

It ended up being a relatively calm day, which was a nice break.

My first hour kids wanted to color, so I took out the Copic collection. They saw the blank paper and couldn't decide what they wanted to draw.

One of them told me "I just want to color, not draw". I offered to do the drawing, and we were off. We started with picture number one, and then I spent the rest of the morning listening to "draw me next", or "now can you draw insert name".

They are high school kids, but you would have thought I was surrounded by Kinders :)

Part of our collection:

And a few of them close up:

A few times we were just rolling on the floor laughing. A piece here and there was just so close to right...funny how a person can be simplified into a cartoon, and still be recognized.

Loads of fun!

Rhoda

Turtles Color Digitally...

Happy Tuesday Friends :)

I finished my digital coloring today...and then I colored a few doodles with markers. My creative expression was all over the place!

I'm not sure I really want to continue coloring this image (since I have been playing with this same picture for over a month now).

Paint on this one might be out of the question.

Maybe I'll come up with another image that I would be willing to paint, color, and digitally render. The more I look at this one, the more pieces of it bug me. I suppose that is a good thing, it highlights the parts I still need to work on. Right?

In my previous post you can see the same image colored with marker...I like different parts of each of them. Not sure I can pick a favorite...and that's okay. It just means I can bounce back and forth between the two mediums...

And...since it's Tuesday, I have an image to share with you. He even comes bearing flowers:

You can download him by clicking "here".

Hope you have a wonderful week :)


Always,

Rhoda

Playing with Mediums...

Morning.

Happy Monday!

I've been playing with markers and ipads again. Now I'm deciding if I want to try painting the same image in acrylic as well. Not sure how many times I want to color the same image. I might draw something else and try all 3 mediums with it. Still deciding :)

Here's my image colored with Copic makers:

I've almost finished the coloring on the iPad for the same image...just need to finish her clothes and hair. I'll post it when I am done. You can tell me which one you like best :)

Have a great day!

Rhoda