Watercolor Submarine Branding

I've been spending a considerable amount of time working on branding for both of my shops. I finally got to a point where I felt like I could take some fancy branding photos of my Watercolor Submarine merchandise. It's easy to get carried away with finding pretty ways to package and present my artwork, because it's way too fun! I've drawn several different logos for stickers, but I think I like the actual submarine the best, which is what I've shown in the following picture. If you've somehow landed on my blog page and have a couple of spare seconds I'd love to know what you think, your comments are more than welcome!

 

The character of the day today comes from Tangents: The fox in the snow.

This fox is thankful for the snow. He can't wait to sink his paws into the fluffy stuff and build a family of snowfoxes.

The Spider Incident - A Horrifying Lesson in Lawn-care

Jason and Tim refuse to believe that the following story is true - whatever helps them get to sleep at night. I swear to you, though, that the following account is 100% accurate. Unfortunately, it is also at least 97% frightening, so those with arachnophobia and small insects may want to avert their eyes from this comic strip.

It all started when I was weed eating around the perimeter of the Schmit Home Solutions shop yesterday afternoon...

SCENE ONE: It was a pleasant day, the sun was shining and a nice cool breeze was blowing. I had just finished mowing the lawn and was taking care of some tight spots that I had missed around the building with the weed eater.

SCENE TWO: I notice something peculiar. A large crowd of menacing black spiders are crawling along the grass line. They seem to have been awoken by the weed eater and are now emerging from their homes in the underworld.

SCENE THREE: Against my better judgement, I continue to weed eat. The gigantic, ugly arachnids are swept up by the weed eater and flung at top speeds in what seems to be a million different directions.

SCENE FOUR: I was wrong about the "million different directions", the demonic beasts have all ended up on my legs. Immediate panic ensues.

In case you were concerned, I did survive this episode (barely). I'm hoping to dream up a solution to this problem, because the grass outside is still growing, and I have a feeling that there will be a repeat event in about one week. Ugh.



Character of the day: Krampton the Krill.
A very small and inquisitive creature, Krampton the krill spends most of his time opening his large eyes as widely as possible so as to learn all he can about his surroundings.

 

Honeybees for my Garden

Last spring I planted a row of chives. I had images of sour cream and chive dip running through my head - that never happened. Instead, I spent all summer neglecting my chives and cringing every time I laid eyes on them. It was a really dry year, and even though I wasn't using my chives, I couldn't stand to see them all brown and withered, so every now and then I gave them a pity water. I figured they would die off over the winter, and I would have a clean slate to start with. But, luckily, I was wrong. They came back big, green and beautiful this spring and are currently blooming. I like the looks of their fluffy purple blooms, and I also love one other little perk that they bring to my garden - honeybees! I'm normally not a big fan of flying insects, but I make an exception for these furry little guys. It might have something to do with the fact that I feel sorry for them, because they are dying off in such alarming numbers. Whatever the reason, I'm glad to have these precious pollinators around. I guess those chives had a purpose after all!

 

Character of the day: The Strange Fish. 

Who is this strange fish? Where did he come from? Where is he going? Intriguing is possibly the only work I can think of to describe him.

A Peony Bouquet

Jason and I had supper with my Grandparents yesterday. We enjoyed our visit, hung some new blinds, ate our fill of BBQ ribs and visited my grandparent's garden. My grandma was nice enough to let me cut some of her peonies to make a bouquet for my kitchen. It's fantastic to have fresh cut peonies around the house - they look and smell wonderful!

 

Character of the Day: Tiny the Squid.

Tiny is, well, tiny. But his small size doesn't stop him from being a ferocious boxer. His mantra: "Float like a seahorse, sting like a jellyfish."

Kristi the Novice Needle Felter

I've been dabbling in needle felting off and on for about a year now. Last April I saw a video of a lady that made these adorable Easter chicks, and I had to try it for myself. I have to admit, though, it's kind of a frustrating process for a beginner. It's difficult to judge how much wool you need to make something a particular size, but I'm practicing and getting slightly better.

Lately my needle felting has had me working on some early Halloween decorations (my favorite season to decorate for, FYI), and I've finally broken my first felting needle! I think that means I've 'leveled up' in the needle felting world (or maybe I've lost a life, I'm not sure.) Anyways, I'm getting pretty darn excited about these tiny pumpkin ornaments I'm working on. I'm planning to hang them from the branches of one of my jewelry stand trees. I always envisioned my 'jewelry trees' to be multifunctional tree stands, I just hadn't gotten around to plotting different purposes for them, yet. I promise to post pictures of the final product once I have them dangling from the branches of one of my trees, but for now, here are a few of my pumpkins. I'm not the best at making perfect copies, but that makes them all unique, and I actually really enjoy the variations.

Cute, right?

Characters of the day: The Dolphins Three. This synchronized swimming team has won the annual Undersea Olympics for the last three years. We're rooting for them to continue the trend. 

 

Mailbox Beauty and Dale the Swordfish

One of my lovely neighbors planted some mixed dianthus in front of our mailboxes last year. Now their second year pink blooms look so gorgeous in contrast with our white mailboxes that I practically gasp every time I walk by. I finally took a picture to share with the rest of the world. Thanks mystery flower planting neighbor for this colorful display!

 

And now to share another of my quirky Aquatic Avenue characters: Dale the swordfish. Dale is a little loony. Believing he is a medieval knight, he often challenges his neighbors to a duel by shouting "En garde!" and menacingly pointing his sword-like nose at them.

Gardening with the Evil Bird

I'm back and recovered from vacation, and I finally have my garden planted. I absolutely love planting flowers and watching them grow, but my garden went in a little late this year (it has something to do with the hazards of operating a greenhouse - your plants always come last.) I decided to try something new this year and planted flower seeds along with my usual plants. Unfortunately, I had a little run in with some of the Randolph wildlife during the process. To illustrate my frustrations I've made a little comic for your viewing pleasure:

In scene one I am planting my beautiful zinnia seeds while a menacing robin spies on me from his perch in a nearby tree. If you're wondering why my head looks so funny in this comic rendition of my planting experience - I always like to wear strangely shaped hats when gardening (for good luck or something). In scene two I have carelessly left my recently planted seeds unattended and open to attacks by evil birds. In scene three I have noticed the robin heartlessly stealing my seeds, and I am crushed. In scene four the foul beast flaps away with the intent to return for more!

I can't talk to or read the minds of animals, so I may be incorrect in some of my assumptions. That being said, I'm pretty sure this particular bird takes extra joy from destroying flower gardens. 

In other news, I've begun to list some of my hand painted seashell trinket trays in my WatercolorSubmarine shop. It's a whole new way to enjoy the Aquatic Avenue Crew - take a look at my Aquatic Avenue Crew Shop Section.