the end... and a beginning

wow.

dang.

D A N G!

that was a week well spent, methinks.

they're gonna need at least two movies to make that good.

*yes, that is a tissue next to the book... yes, it is used... yes, i cried.

i have to thank my good friend Alecia (the first "cool" person i knew who ever read Harry Potter), who made it acceptable to read children's literature, years before it was the "in" thing. i know there are a lot of harry and jk rowling nay-sayers out there, but for me, as an illustrator and someone who is constantly told "enjoy it while you have it, because no one reads anymore", i am ecstatic that someone, something, came along and encouraged and rewarded reading again. i am now climbing down off my soap box because a very sweet boy is looking to take me out on the town, for dates, i'm afraid, are few and far between these days. did i mention i woke up to this the other morning?



and this



and this




sigh.

love is magic.

also magic... people who dedicate their lives to animals.
(a segue for the next post... you'll see)
xo, danamarie

AAAAAAA!!!

I'm 70 pages from the end and sort of afraid to go on. Everything's happening so fast, such tension, things are "being revealed"; I'm having a hard time not reading ahead and I am so not wanting the story to be over. I am going for a walk. Is there a Harry Potter support group out there?
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the best laid plans...

so, THIS is what my day was supposed to look like. On Friday i was FINALLY able to procure book 7 from the library (i know, i know, but when it came out last year i was teaching summer camp and all the kids were reading it--- i needed some distance from some of the spoilers i over heard. And of course there's that pesky expense of hardcovers... i thought for sure it would be out in paperback by now) and i came home with the plan of using my "week off" (HA HA HA HA HA) doing nothing but lying about reading Harry Potter in the air conditioned splendor of my living room. I'd only take breaks to rest my eyes and knit a few stitches on this lovely, pale colored knitimal i've been dreaming of. and my whole day would be fueled by multi-grain cheerios™, blueberries and skim milk. these are trader joe's blueberries and they are SO big and so sweet, a sleepier me might confuse them for candy.

this plan of harry and yarn and blueberries lasted all of 20 minutes and then something, some small, stupid thing, toppled from heights unknown and landed with a crash behind me.




might it have fallen from THIS? this tragic mess i've created over the course of i dont even KNOW how many months. it's primarily stuff i've filed into the "already dealt with but needs to be sorted and filed" category, which btw, is my most loathed category. plus, sorting it (which i DO like, because its like a trip down memory lane... oh, remember when so and so bought that knitimal? oh and remember when i participated in THAT show?) would ultimately lead to putting it somewhere, and in this case, somewhere is a stuffed to the seams filing drawer, just brimming with other stuff that needs to be sorted and filed and worst yet, recycled or shredded. i'm not into shredding. and when i make a to do list, those kinds of tasks always fall way at the bottom (far below reading for pleasure, which happens like... never, or even cleaning the dog's teeth, which i am proud to say, happens at least twice a week).

so, of course, having an 8 month old puppy, i had to leap to my feet to find whatever fell and put it back right... not "put it away", but shove it back into the pile again.


and doing THAT only made me look around and realize that THIS was a problem too.


what's even going ON here? i'm almost positive that there are 3 rolls of cling wrap in there because i just kept buying more, rather than actually look for where i had put the first one. or the second. baggies, paper towels, opened tubes of paint, tissue paper, padded envelopes, customs forms, sculpey... insanity. this is what crazy people's houses look like. yeah, i can use the whole "i'm an artist" thing, for a little bit, but eventually, i'm just a crazy person.

i spent some time near the desk, which meant looking at my planner, which lay open (i had MEANT to hide it this week) and reminded me cruelly that i had several phone calls to make, at least 2 bills to pay, and a whopping 5 different "places i am supposed to be, if only they are actually confirmed" events, classes, workshops, and such that i needed to reconcile. thus, i spent the next 3 hours making calls, moving piles around, checking email, sorting papers, erasing-rewriting-erasing-rewriting-cursing-erasing-and rewriting dates and events in my calendar as various pieces of half information floated in and out of my inbox. and after hours of rediscovering things i'd saved for various projects (like, oh, knitimal halloween masks, for example), i ended up with this:


lovely, but only a start.

and of course, as i am just reaching the boiling point of frustration, i hear the familiar sounds of mason literally racing up and down the hallway, slamming into walls and charging through doors. he does this sometimes. like a weird solo man relay race. he just goes nuts.

and then i realize i'd left the bedroom door open...

ok, so last week we finally retired the 10 year old mattress that has been destroying my spine for years. look how sad and bare springed and uneven it is. poor sad old mattress. here it is awaiting is death in the hallway.




and HERE is the B-E-A-U-t-i-F-u-L new mattress (a sealy posturepedic parker grove pillow top, if you must know, and you must, because it's glorious). this "limbo" place i'm in with planning my autumn has been making it hard for me to fall asleep, but ooooh, once i'm out... i am O U T.




the only trick is... mason.


this bed is much taller than the last one, and even though he has "his steps" to get up to the bed, even with his steps he's still inches off without leaping... which, as i'm sure you know, is not the best idea for dachshunds (and is, naturally, his most favorite thing to do in the whole entire world). so, we have to watch him around the bed now... because he's a dachshund (nature's perpetual teenagers) and he just loves being stubborn, headstrong and physically daring.

when i go into the bedroom, i find this:


also known as EVERY SINGLE TOY THE DOG OWNS; the quilt in a bundle, the pillows on the floor, his steps pushed perfectly up to the side of the bed and bits of kibble hidden beneath the sheets. the dog has spent the last (let's see... when WAS the last time i saw him? when i unearthed that 4th roll of cling wrap, was it?) 2 hours, running each and every one of his toys, ropes, dolls and bones up the steps and has made a little nest of craziness on our beautiful bed.

of course, every time i throw one off the bed, he runs down the steps and grabs it and runs back up.
i gave up after 3 tries.
he looked so happy.

i broke two frames.
ate way too many strawberries.
nearly choked on a lemon seed that had been hanging out in the bottom of my water bottle (darn you squeeze of lemon in my water!)
and then spent 2 hours curled up in a ball on the couch nursing a headache.

even still. i managed to read through nearly 200 pages today and wow. (DON'T SAY ANYTHING), but wow. harsh.
**********


regarding the rest of the week: i DID have a plan to unveil both a new project and a related new charity for the month (notice my monthly causes tend to start 2 weeks into the month? what the hey, it's still 4 weeks, right? but i am just BEAT. i NEED to take the next couple days for myself (i won't even get into how long its been since i've had anything close to a vacation, and with the cost of gas and whatnot, i'm thinking a 3 day siesta on my couch is really very little to ask for). SO, i will be away from email & blogging until Saturday at the earliest, but don't worry... i'll come back with great news to share; an updated etsy shop, a wonderful new charity to support; refreshed, re-energized and renewed... like a phoenix.

speaking of phoenixes... mr. potter awaits me.
xoxo, danamarie

book signing!

want a signed copy of "The Different Dragon"? here's your chance! i'll be at happy hon books in dundalk, this coming Monday, August 4th, from 12-3pm for a book signing (and small trunk sale... maybe magnets, decals, stickers, coloring books, that sort of thing). if you're in the area, come on by! xo, danamarie

happy hon books
13 center place
dundalk, md
410.288.0077

Dachshund with a sense of dachsign (design for long low to the ground animals)

If you see a chair with 3 thick quilts stacked on it, you jump up there and curl up. Instant height AND so attractive!

This is all thanks to some renovations in the "home" part of Greenstarstudio (to be blogged about at a later date) & some hefty studio time to restock the shop. For now, enjoy the cuteness on high.
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it's official: We're the (B.E.S.T)!!

"Our hearts swell with B'more pride whenever we log onto The Baltimore Etsy Street Team's site, baltimore-etsy.blogspot.com. This is a compilation of all the local designers and crafters who have pages on Etsy, the popular online marketplace. The talent is awe-inspiring. Some of our faves: TheBrokenPlate takes vintage and contemporary dinnerware and gives it new life as a necklace or a ring. And vwstudios, where images on clay are created using a process that includes photography, painting and printmaking."
-from Baltimore Magazine's Best of Baltimore issue 2008 (Best Locally Made Crafts)
***congratulations to all my fellow BESTers on our lovely award! we really ARE the best!***

ah, wilderness!

check out my FIRST etsy treasury... featuring (primarily) Baltimore Etsy Street Team members.
BEST on Etsy

click on it, and comment so we'll get bumped up the list!

congratulations AND surprise!!!

first things first--- a huge congratulations to Delores Rubin! She's the lucky lady who's name came out of the hat (actually, i used a tupperware bowl, but it still counts) and won herself a $40 shopping spree in my Etsy shop (delores--- email me for info on HOW to use your gift!).

and then there's the surprise...

remember my random acts of NICE initiative? well... it's BACK!
how so?
well, i'm extending a little somethin'-somethin' to the other lovely folks who posted comments and which got them in the running... and not JUST to the folks who commented on the "wanna save some $$$" post, but to EVERYONE who's posted this month!!! now i know you know who you are, but in case you don't, the list is:
*julie c.* natalie* liz b.* jasmine * moira* jessica brown * divina lucas * robin robin * leeana butcher * kel * sarah (small fox)* pret a voyager* stacey (three red trees)* & *caitlin*

what kind of somethin'-somethin'?
how about $5 off for every $15 you spend? ($5 off $15, $10 off $30, $15 off $45 etc) yep.
send me an email you special guys, you, and i'll give you the code to use in the shop.

see!
nice things DO happen!!
have a great night out there.
xo, danamarie

artscape orphans

its true.
artscape nearly wiped me out.
actually--- if i hadn't sewn at blister causing pace on Friday & Saturday night, i would only have 4 Knitimals left. Lucky for you, i have a few more than that to offer!


(l-r) Baisy $200--14" ear to toe; Wilbur $90--12" ear to toe; Lawton $70--10.5" tall



and a picture with the flash (this is why taking pictures at night is so lame)



(l-r) Campbell $160--14" ear to toe; Pickoos $88--11" ear to toe; Daryl $120-- 17.5" ear to toe; nayte $56--12" tall


and again, with flash




(l-r) beeel $45--6.5" tall; windo $48-- 9"; x.o. exoh $48--6.5" tall (and i should say this about x.o exoh, since the flash burned it out, he's knit with a different stitch around his eyes, so even though he's all red, his eyes, the sewn on "pupil" parts are actually in the middle of larger (about an inch and a half diameter) raised stockinette stitch circles. i think that's cool, since i don't do that often).

there you have it!
you guys get first dibs (AND a 10% discount!!!) before i list them on etsy. if you want to take any of them home, send me an email and i'll send you an invoice.

for anyone looking for non-knitimal goodies--- please stop by my etsy shop (there are also a few knitimals looking for homes there); i will be updating the shop next week... when i recover from what the other BEST girls and i have taken to calling the "artscape hangover". this week i'm at summer camp with 3rd graders... and possibly the flu.
xo, danamarie

artscape: recovery recap

i have to take a second (and really, despite all my plans to make some giant, beautiful artscape post, i just can't muster it. i feel SO sick... hoping to goodness that its not the flu, but fearing it might be, so it will just be a second) to thank all the wonderful people who braved the icky, sticky, nasty 100 degrees of humid grossness this weekend to come by--- i met almost 200 new people, who all took home home greenstargoodies and i think that's just plain great.

it was SO hot this weekend... and getting up at 4am to be on site for our tv spot by 5:30, meant only one thing--- the breakfast of champions (if there were no other reasons to move to new england, it would be dunkin donuts. i love them with almost all my heart)



it took me 2 sticky, sweaty hours JUST to hang my banners. this is my frustrated face.



but eventually, i DID manage to get it all set up and i couldn't have been happier with the result (look at the new banner in action!).



i was told over and over again what a happy, unexpected & cheerful booth i had. the word cute (for those of you who were counting... and i know at least one girl was (sorry i didn't catch your name, but you know who you are!) was thrown around a total of 98 more times, after you first pointed it out to me... i DID keep track for you like i said i would!) and all but a handful of knitimals were snatched up and taken to their new homes. among the other hot new items--- t-shirts sold like hotcakes (a phrase i've never understood--- how bout this "t-shirts sold like Knitimals!"), it looks like every household in baltimore will be using Knitimal Soap in the coming months and there are a lot of happy babies and kids out there with very cool new decor for their rooms. (Speaking of which--- special thanks to Danna & Kira for bringing baby NATE to meet me. Oh my is he ever a handsome devil! If anyone wants to see the mural i painted for a then-not-yet-born-baby nate, you can do that here)



i'd also like to thank Christy for including me in her favorite things.

and now that it's done, i'm going to take a week "off" from blogging and such, but welcome you to peruse the etsy shop and enjoy a 10% discount if you use the code: ARTSCAPE10, in the message to seller box--- i will refund the 10% after you've checked out and paid--- valid through August 1st.

AND, let's not forget this:

***want to be entered into a drawing to win a $40 shopping spree in my etsy shop? visit my blog & post a comment on the "wanna save $$$" post, and you'll be in the running. the winner will be drawn on & announced on July 24th, and announced via email & in my shop header. And yes, please feel free to forward this along to anyone who might want to be considered, or who might want to enjoy "virtual artscape" on etsy*** you have one more day to post a comment to enter the drawing! good luck!

xo, danamarie