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Monday, September 28, 2009

Folsom Festival & Creepy Pets

This weekend I participated in the two day event-Folsom Gourd & Arts Festival. It was a lot of fun and I met so many amazing people. The heat was near unbearable though, but i survived! (btw, anything over 75 degrees is unbearable to me, and the temp was 103 degrees this weekend!). I posted pics of my art and booth on my art website: RoCo Ink

My brother went with me to help me out--thanks, Brandon! and some of my friends even came out and sat with me for a bit--and even tolerated the heat! Thanks Cristin & Kari! Kari's son brought his new pet with him and, well, lets say I was a bit less than fond of the pet, lol. I'll give you some clues about what type of "pet" it was:
  1. It hisses
  2. It is large (for this type of "pet")
  3. It eats fruit
  4. It is way ugly!
  5. You can put a leash on it. Then again, you can put a leash on just about anything.
  6. This "pet" was featured in a photoshoot in a past season of ANTM
  7. It gives me the creeps!
Okay, so it should be obvious what it is, right? Leave a comment on what you think it is, and I will post later (and maybe a pic too!)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Winner of Art Giveaway!

The 2nd Saturday Artwalk at Zelda's last night was great! Thank you to everyone who came out! I loved meeting new people and seeing all my wonderful, supportive friends too. You guys are the greatest!


My monkey (4yr old son, Alex) picked the winner for the Art Giveaway from the bucket, after I shuffled all the pieces it up. It went something like this...

Me: Pick just one.

Alex: Okay....

5 minutest later

Me: Um, you can pick one now.

Alex: I am! (still moving all the paper around with his hand)

5 more minutes later......

Me: Just pick one!

Alex: ok. Here! (with a big smile, proudly gives me one of the slips of paper, then claps). Tell me the name!

Me: The name is Kari

Alex. Oh, I'm not sure about that name. Lemme pick another one...

Me: Um, no!

So with that being said, the winner is Kari Ripplinger!

Yay! Congrats Kari!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Folsom Festival

I got the news Monday night that I made it into the 15th Annual Folsom Gourd Festival! The Festival Director put out a post stating they would select a couple artists to participate in this event for FREE! Yes, free is a big deal because the booth spaces start out at $150. So based on art samples sent, they selected the artists. I was just as surprised as you are when I got the acceptance email! It's a two day event, September 26-27th. Can't wait!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Things You Should Know About Me


1. I'm a writer. For years I wrote "supposedly" funny articles for really old people (like adults 30+). BUT, I've always loved writing stories for kids the most. So now, that's what I do! (sorry old people).

2. April 2009, I signed with my agent, Rosemary Stimola (aka Agent Awesome!) of Stimola Literary Studio. You know what that means, right? Yep, I could have my books in stores soon and everybody, including YOU, could read it!

3. I kind of have two cats. Meaning, I had two cats but then we gave them to family to cat-sit while we moved and, well, I think they're still around somewhere. That somewhere just isn't my house. I know, so sad!

4. I LOVE reading. Not so much that I would like want to marry the books or anything, but so much that I would probably give up a bowl of chocolate ice cream to read a good book. Yes, THAT much.

5. I'm a total chocoholic. Yes, I'm addicted to chocolate. If my furniture was made completely out of chocolate...lets just say I would be sitting on a bare floor right now. And I wouldn't be typing on this laptop.

6. I draw. And when I draw for my books, I guess that makes me an illustrator too (at least, that's what they tell me). I sometimes got caught doodling on my school books and not paying attention in class. Sorry, teachers!

7. I'm married and have 3 boys. NO, that DOES NOT make me an old person (but my husband totally is! He's an entire year older than me. Ha!) Although my three sons (hey didn't that used to be a TV show way back in the really old days? ) think I'm beyond old. In fact, one of my sons asked me which dinosaurs lived in my backyard when I was a kid. Um, do I really look like I'm a gazillion years old?

So that's the really important stuff about me. Of course I could keep going on and on. And on. Because I can be a real chatterbox most of the time. But instead, I'll let you decide.

P.S. If you have chocolate or kittens you would like to give away, please email me!

iPhone Apps and Shriners

I'm currently working on a new project--illustrations for the children's classic fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood. Yes, I'm stepping out of my warm and comforting cocoon and emerging with my art.

This isn't just a book, it is a new iPhone App that is presented by iMotherGoose. It will have text from this adapted story with my illustrations and voice over. The best part? A percentage of proceeds will be donated to the charity of my choice. I have chosen Shriners Hospitals for Children, because they are simply awesome. They have a wonderful program for families and care for the children. For more information regarding Shriners, you can visit their website at www.shrinershq.org.

The iPhone App is expected to be out by end of this year. I'll keep everything updated on here, along with the release date when the time draws near. And then...you'll HAVE to download the app. And if you don't have an iPhone, you will HAVE to buy one.