Nilla Sixty-Five

Nilla in the kitchen., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here it is, another Thursday NILLA Day. Here is our one and only taking it easy in the kitchen.


I have to say, the kitchen is Nilla's favorite place. She likes to paw at the fridge when she wants to eat. We joke saying that it is her treadmill.

Occupational Hazards 2

Today at work: BALLOONS BALLOONS BALLOONS cluttering up the hallway and media room adjacent to the ART DEPARTMENT...just another one of those days here at b+B...everyone speculated that the PINK BALLOON SCULPTURE was actually the bottom level of a multi-layered cake...Missy decided to pop out of it, stripper-style, while a cloud of colorful balloons hung ominously above rows of empty chairs, waiting for the party to get started. The rubbery smell of latex was inescapable. Out in the hall, Missy towered over a lonely little BALLOON PALM TREE, floating on a tiny island...

Happy Birthday, Cynthia!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CYNTHIA! Just wanted to give a birthday shout out to my baby sis, who is no doubt celebrating with the rest of the fam back in sunny Southern California today (wish I could be there!). I found an old photo of Cynthia striking a pose with DRAGUN, one of my SHOGUN WARRIORS from way back in the day...ah, memories!

Craftsanity 101 Sponsor!

Me and our clay Tofu Babies and one Nilla and one Molar (Julie's cat that Audrey made)., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

If you check out the CRAFTSANITY PODCAST this week, you will see that I am a proud sponsor! I am so excited to endorse of one of my favorite podcasts. If you have not listened to Craftsanity, I suggest you download some right away. They are full of inspiration and information for crafty people. Thanks, Jennifer, for helping me live a better crafty life!

The above photo was taken last summer when my crafty friends Julie and her daughter Audrey helped me sculpt, fire, and glaze some TOFU BABY MINIATURES and a NILLA. Thanks, Julie and Audrey!

Snuggle Bunny Monday

Look how sweet Nilla and Oreo are together!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here are our pets, Nilla and Oreo together, if you notice it is before renovation with my parents in our craft room. As you can see, Nilla and Oreo are getting along very well. Sometimes they do the same thing and mirror each other, too. Nilla loves poking Oreo in the butt so she hops faster! They are so silly.

Weekend Wind-Down #65

Missy has been getting a major jump start on making a bunch of STUFFED ANIMALS for the big PLUSH YOU! exhibition happening in Seattle this coming October. The first thing she worked on was this GIANT SNAKE, which ended up being a little over a yard long. Missy stuffed the snake while we sat in the living room watching our new CORALINE dvd....apropos to the movie we just watched, the snake is currently waiting for a PAIR OF EYES to be added to it's head:









After getting most of the snake stuffed, Missy drew up some patterns and cut out shapes for a set of stuffed PINK ELEPHANTS that are based on some original drawings she did...so far, they just look like pink blobs...but they'll be super cute once they get stuffed and embellished:













FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Finding out that I'm in Plush You! again!
RAOUL - Finally getting some crafting done.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Being stressed at work.
RAOUL - Not being at the XX Merge music festival.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Nilla and Oreo playing together.
RAOUL - The crack addict that hit me and Jay up for money in the Stevi B's parking lot.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Sprinkle cheese!"
RAOUL - "Body farm"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Pizza last night.
RAOUL - Vegetarian hawaiian pizza from Transmetropolitan.

FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL / CHARACTER / OBJECT IN OUR COLLECTION?
MISSY - Stuffed beardy guy made by Jenny of Prairie Dog, Inc.
RAOUL - My frowning stuffed "Malfi" from Friends With You.

FAVORITE CRAFTING SKILL?
MISSY - I'm starting to do more embroidery.
RAOUL - Sewing by hand.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up.
RAOUL - More cardio!

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Of Montreal, Elf Power, R.E.M., Danielson, Hawk And A Hacksaw, Beirut.
RAOUL - M Ward, Guv'ner, King Tubby, Buffalo Daughter, Tom Tom Club, UUVVWWZ, Depeche Mode, The Breeders, Galaxie 500, Pterodactyl Squad's 8-Bit Weezer tribute compilation, The Moth podcast.

New Kneehigh Zines Are Here!

Kneehigh Donuts, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Hello! I have made six new thrilling titles for my Kneehigh mini series. You might remember the first batch of Kneehighs I made, including Cats I Know, What I wore for Halloween, and the perennial favorite, Favorite Dresses. Now there are some new ones to read! Hooray!

Check out Donuts! and read donut memories past and present. I can't talk about it so much cos I really don't want to spoil these minis.


I never made a Dogs I Know until now. I did not think I knew enough dogs to make a mini, but I guess this shows that I really do. That's Jamie's pup Baloo on the cover!


Speaking of my pal Jamie, she inspired this next zine. This Kneehigh showcases all of my Blythe dolls and some of my friend's girls, too.


Since I know so many cats, I thought I should write a part two of Cats I Know. This tells about the wonderful kitties my family and friends have! Oh, and my kitty, too.


Back in high school I read all sorts of zines. One girl would write and draw what she wore and when she wore it, so I used that idea here. I am not sure of the zine I read, but it was either in Daffodil or Muffin Bones (remember those, anyone?)


Last, but not least, here is Kneehigh Cupcakes, and you guessed it, it is all about cupcakes! This makes me want cupcakes now, so I might just go do that.

I added them to MY PERSONAL SITE and SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE on Etsy! Get reading!

Nilla Sixty-Four

NILLA 5275 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

NILLA and OREO have a funny way of playing with each other...Nilla will taunt Oreo by pawing her toys - in this case, a corrugated piece of CARDBOARD and a jingly LOOFA CARROT. Oreo will get annoyed that Nilla is touching her stuff and she'll lunge at her; Nilla in turn, will swipe a paw at the bunny as she runs away. This is an almost daily occurrence now, usually after we get home from work...

NILLA 5274 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Then, as their playtime winds down, Oreo will lay down by the side of her pen and Nilla will roll around on the rug beside her, occasionally petting the bunny's backside. Nilla gets so excited that she can't contain herself and all she can do is run out of the room...

Blast From The Past: Giant Exhibit

I was recently reminded of a whirlwind weekend trip that Missy and I took out to California in December of 2007 - a jam-packed weekend jaunt that included (among many many other things) a visit to DISNEYLAND and watching the ROLLER DERBY CHAMPIONSHIPS in Los Angeles. Our main reason for going out to California though, was to see the TAKASHI MURAKAMI exhibition at the GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY in LITTLE TOKYO, which happily coincided with the GIANT ROBOT MAGAZINE biennial at the nearby JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM. The Murakami exhibition was awesome to say the least...unfortunately, because of the super tight security, I was only able to sneak one photo of one of his "MR. DOB" installations:



From the Geffen, we took a short walk to the shiny Japanese American National Museum. At the Giant Robot exhibit, there were actually signs posted that said that photography was prohibited...yes! We happily clicked away at all the amazing pieces and installations...









One of several original drawings from comics-guru ADRIAN TOMINE:



I think this piece was done by SEONNA HONG...been so long it's kinda hard to remember:



Missy exploring one of the galleries...the red booth in the corner had these surreal sculptures hanging inside it:







One of my favorite pieces was this PAPER CUTOUT by SAELEE OH, depicting a pair of LAND WHALES. Her framed art was surrounded by paintings she did on the walls and other paper cutouts stuck to it:









A couple of colorful paintings by the awesome SOUTHER SALAZAR:





A giant mural by artist DAVID CHOE, which was peppered with razor-sharp NINJA THROWING STARS that you didn't notice until you got up closer to the wall:







Our absolute favorite room was the one that featured an entire wall decorated with art from GRASS HUT GANG members APAK. We loved their candy-colored paintings and prints and the super cute sculptures and plush objects. It truly was the cherry on top of an amazingly inspirational art exhibition:



















Later that day, we headed out to MELROSE AVENUE, on the WEST HOLLYWOOD-side of town, to visit my sister at her very "MELROSE PLACE-STYLE" apartment complex. On the way there, we encountered a growing MASS GATHERING of drunken SANTA CLAUSES hanging out on a street corner. They taunted cars as they crept along the avenue, creating one of those "only in LA" kinda moments. Driving in traffic and trying to take pictures at the same time was pretty difficult, and I nearly rear-ended the car in front of more times than I cared to...one Asian-looking Santa Claus yelled at Missy as she gawked out her passenger-side window...pointing at her, he bellowed in his best gruff and jolly imitation of St. Nick..."Santa's getting YOU a Wiiiiiiiiiii!!!"

Anti-Pill

We just got back from JOANN'S FABRICS with many many yards of FLEECE...Missy is gearing up for yet another PLUSH YOU! in Seattle, Washington this year! This will be her third year exhibiting her plush dolls along with many other amazing artists and crafters from around the world. To see some of Missy's photos from last year's exhibition, go HERE...and for more info on Plush You! go HERE. Hopefully, Missy will be able to attend the opening again, and this time I hope to go with her and not miss out on all the fun!

People Pets!

Hahaha! This photo of NILLA was featured today on PEOPLE MAGAZINE's website HERE. Check it out while you can...or, check out the original request from People Magazine on my FLICKR account HERE. Congrats, Nilla! Now your insatiable appetite will be known to thousands! Go kitty!

Snuggle Bunny Monday

Oreo front., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here is today's picture of our bunny Oreo. These were taken recently when I was sitting in Oreo's home and petting her. I never thought a bunny could love getting pets as much as Nilla or other animals, but Oreo loves this just about as much as she loves apples. When Oreo is particularly happy, she goes to the side of her home and does a sort of nose dive into the carpet and her body flops so her belly is up. I read that bunnies do not like their bellies rubbed, but Oreo is an exception to this. She also likes having her cheeks rubbed, too.

My friend Julie made the suggestion to me that Bunny Monday should be called Snuggle Bunny Monday. I think it is cos Oreo is so cute and maybe she should get a bunny, too?

Sketchbook Sunday

Pac-Man Sweet Dreams, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Raoul really likes my Pac-Man drawings I did as a child. I think these make a good Sketchbook Sunday for this week. I love the attention to detail in my Pac-Mans. I think these were all copied from stickers I had in my collection.


I am not really sure what "Ga-lup!" means, other than another word for "Gulp!" maybe.


I have always loved Ms. Pac-Man, too. Maybe cos my friend Andy and I used to go play it in the airport (this was when you were allowed past the check in part of the airport) and it was set on a faster than normal speed? But this drawing was created way before the airport hang out days of my high school youth. I love this drawing! Right down to Ms. Pac-Man's mole!

Weekend Wind-Down #64

This past week, our little backyard garden yielded it's first fruit...a lovely little red TOMATO! After it was plucked, we used it in some sandwiches we made. Needless to say, the tomato was delicious. We're looking forward to our other plants to produce more food. Too bad we started our garden a little late in the season...



This section of our yard used to be overrun with pesky ivy...so much so, that the little bed encircled with stone, plus the tree stump, were completely buried. We had no idea that the bed even existed until we cleared out all the ivy and layers of dead leaves. The good thing is, the ivy along with all the layers of dead leaves and organic matter made a nice natural compost, make the soil just about perfect for a vegetable garden. We had planned to put a vegetable garden where an old fire pit was, but settled for this little bed instead. It will take a long time to get the old fire pit cleaned out and rehabbed - the old owners used to burn their trash in it - and we didn't want to wait that long before growing our own food...



In our garden we have about 6 or 7 different varieties of TOMATO PLANTS, including a couple of cherry tomato plants. We've also got two PUMPKIN plants, a couple of CANTALOUP vines, and some BASIL. Elsewhere in the yard we have SNAP PEAS, SQUASH, STRAWBERRIES, and ROSEMARY...



Flowers on our pumpkin plant which we hope will someday turn into big round orange pumpkins, just in time for autumn:



Missy made a little PEA PATCH with bricks she found scattered around the yard:



Some of our CHERRY TOMATOES, still ripening on the vine:



FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting to sleep in this weekend.
RAOUL - Picking our first tomato!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Stress at work.
RAOUL - I've developed this irregular sleep pattern...

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Watching Oreo and Nilla play.
RAOUL - Watching episodes of The Office on Hulu.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - "SWEET TWEET!"
RAOUL - "Sweet tweet from the tweet teat!"

TWO THINGS YOU FORGOT TO DO LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Go to bed early and wash clothes.
RAOUL - Change the headlamp in my car and work on some school loan stuff.

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The grill cheese sandwiches I made even though it was A LOT of cheese.
RAOUL - Super nachos from Willy's.

VEGETABLE OR FRUIT THAT DESCRIBES LAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Peach"
RAOUL - "Cherry"

THREE THINGS FOR YOUR SHOPPING LIST NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Pineapple, rice, bunny crackers.
RAOUL - Apples, soup, orange juice.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Guv'ner, Danielson Family, Laura Marling, Craftsanity podcast, This American Life podcast.
RAOUL - The Velvet Underground, Jan & Dean, Cibo Matto, Santogold, Mytty Archer, Boyracer, Ariel Pink, Laura Marling, Half-Handed Cloud, King Tubby, Galaxie 500, Desolation Wilderness, Tom Tom Club, The Very Best, Guv'ner, Danielson Family.

Thrift Score

We hit up some THRIFT STORES and VINTAGE BOUTIQUES in town this afternoon and this is our "catch of the day"...

We found an old set of 60's era CHILDCRAFT ENCYCLOPEDIAS at the GOODWILL off the Atlanta Hwy, but only bought the one volume that actually had any sort of craft-related projects in it. Cool vintage graphics and cheesy craft projects galore...scored it for only two bucks:



We picked up a used copy of JAN & DEAN's classic "FOLK 'N ROLL" album on vinyl, also at the Goodwill for only a couple of bucks. I also unfortunately had to pass on a Dream Syndicate album because it was way too scratched up:



At MINX we scored a set of four matching vintage VERA cloth place mats (scarves?), designed by VERA NEUMANN...a steal at ten bucks for the set, considering her stuff is coming back in vogue:



...scored this used 17-track KING TUBBY "ESSENTIAL DUB" compilation CD for only five bucks at AGORA...our hot summer days and nights just got a little more irie and tripped out...LONG LIVE THE KING:



Last, but not least, we found this WIRE BASKET at the nearby SALVATION ARMY for just a couple of bucks...it'll come in handy toting and displaying merch at the next big craft sale we participate in:

Slide Show

I'm finally posting some more photos from the 4th of July weekend, which is already a couple of weeks passed. I almost feel as though I'm presenting a SLIDE SHOW of vacation photos long after the fact, and in a way, I guess it is. If anything, it serves as a reminder to me of a project that I've long been wanting to start. I've had in mind to start a "FIELD TRIP CLUB" of sorts, an idea which germinated a long time ago when I still lived in California. The idea was to explore local and regional tourist traps, museums, monuments, and other places of historical interest and to document the experience so that others might be inspired to do the same - either to visit the same places we visited, or to be a tourist in their own backyards, wherever they may be. Living in California, I was always surprised whenever I ran into someone else who had lived there who had never been to say, Disneyland, or even the beach. That had always served as a reminder to not take for granted the many curious things that are around us and...why not check them out? But I digress...more on the field trip club thing later. They day after the Fourth we (me, Missy, and her parents) headed out to a car lot in Conyers to look at a used YARIS that Missy was interested in, then headed out to MADISON to look through the ANTIQUE SHOPS there....we spent quite a bit of time browsing through one of our favorite ones. Missy had fun posing with some of the TAXIDERMY ANIMALS we saw there...



The antique shop was a veritable hodgepodge of gauche knick knacks and various estate sale cast offs to honest to goodness historical artifacts and treasures from antiquity...







We liked the way they displayed their collection of anonymous old PHOTOS, and their ingenious marketing:



Missy tried her hand at the ONE ARMED BANDITS, which really pays out if you're lucky enough (one pull, per customer, per visit, though). I think she won 75 cents:







There was some old tapestries (bed sheets, maybe?) dating back to the CIVIL WAR, which had drawings commemorating different CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS:



I really wanted this vintage TOY GUITAR, but it was out of my price range:













After window shopping and some lunch, we decided to go for the gusto and head over to STONE MOUNTAIN, the world's biggest hunk of granite. Stone Mountain is also known for it's immense stone-carved relief of the confederate triumvirate - STONEWALL JACKSON, ROBERT E. LEE, and JEFFERSON DAVIS - the world's largest bas relief carving. Basically, the "MOUNT RUSHMORE OF THE SOUTH". This was my first time here, so I was a bit excited, while Missy and her parents had already been a couple of times. The automated storyteller informed us that a six-foot tall man can fit inside the mouth of the horse farthest to the left of the sculpture:



Below, picnickers gather on the "LASER LAWN" and wait for the nighttime LAZER LIGHT SHOW which will bring the carving to life (I KID YOU NOT) and tell the tale of the "Blue And The Gray". Needless to say, we didn't stay long enough to witness that spectacle:







Of course, Missy and I were instantly drawn to the PENNY SMASHING MACHINE and PHOTO BOOTH, surefire signs that you are indeed at a tourist trap:







We passed on the tram ride up to the top of Stone Mountain, convinced that the gift shop at the top would be pretty much the same as the one on the bottom. Plus, it was kinda pricey, and we were all feeling kinda cheapy. Instead, we took a train ride around the base of the mountain...it took thirty minutes to travel the five mile circuit, but only a couple of seconds to get annoyed at the REALLY BAD CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY MUSIC being blasted out the speakers in order to "enhance" the experience...



a























After the train ride, we visited even more gift shops before finally calling it a night:







Missy and her mom cold reppin' TOFU BABY with their matching tote bags:

Nilla Sixty-Three

Nilla 1, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here it is! Another Thursday and we all know that means Nilla Day. I took these photos earlier in the week. It is a new Nilla Series of art photos I did, so here they are in numerical order. I hope you enjoy these.

Little Embroidery

misako mimoko teapot embroidery., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Hello. I have been working on a little embroidery with help from my Sublime Stitching book. I got the pattern using the download from MISAKO MIMOKO blog. You might remember Little Dog from my post here. I have to say, this is my first "real" attempt at embroidery, aside from stitching features on to plush toys that I sew. I really enjoyed drawing in stitches, and using Eva's lovely artwork - especially cos it reminds me of something I might draw myself! I am going to enlarge the pattern just a little and stitch another one and add it to a skirt my mom helped me sew.


Here is a detail of my embroidery, too. Oh, how I love my new camera! Check out those French knots, too. I was a little nervous to do them at first, but Jenny Hart's book really does a fabulous job in describing exactly what to do! Heart!

Bunny Monday

Meet Oreo, our bunny!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Oreo is now an inside bunny, and it is the best place for her. I love having her in the house so we can watch her all the time. Nilla loves watching her, too. They even play together! Sometimes I imagine that they are talking to each other without words. They are so cute.


Here is a close up on that ever wiggling nose!

Weekend Wind-Down #63

This past weekend, Missy and I, and a bunch of our co-workers, were in downtown Atlanta at the ATLANTA GIFT MART. Once again, we stayed over night at the trendy HYATT PLACE, and lazily took the shuttle van a couple blocks up the street to the cluster of buildings that make up "The Mart". At the main entrances to each building, people in various costumes handed out free swag in an effort to drive business to their showrooms:



Cameras were pretty much prohibited throughout the Mart, especially in the showrooms, but I managed to take a few photos here and there...Missy and I attended an entertaining and informative seminar about using "social media" as a marketing tool. The organizers grossly underestimated the number of people who would be interested in this subject, and many attendees (including us) were forced to sit on the floor:





Afterwards, we made our way to the top of BUILDING 2, and slowly made our way down, checking out each floor:





We took advantage of the free snacks and goodies to be had at most all of the showrooms...Missy stopped to enjoy a LOLLIPOP...and then a little CUPCAKE...and then a SKEWER OF FRESH FRUIT:







We rested by this cascading two floor-high fountain:





We sat in on a KNIFE DEMONSTRATION and learned the proper ways to sharpen and maintain knives, and the proper way to slice and dice vegetables:







We found more FREE CUPCAKES...and even more people wearing funny costumes:







FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - My family coming to visit!
RAOUL - The moment we came home from the Mart.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Not feeling good this weekend.
RAOUL - Walking the Mart.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - The ice cream at Ryan's!
RAOUL - You and your dad laughing at the turd-shaped ice cream at Ryan's.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - "Come here, boy!"
RAOUL - "Go getcha self a switch"

WHICH WEEKEND WAS MORE DRAINING: ATHFEST, 4TH OF JULY, OR GIFT MART?
MISSY - Gift Mart.
RAOUL - Athfest.

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - The pasta with chick peas that Mom made.
RAOUL - Mexican dinner from La Parilla.

WORST MEAL OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - I can't think of any.
RAOUL - Breakfast at Hyatt Place.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Bunny bedding, a cookie, and carrots.
RAOUL - Soup, hummus, orange juice.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - I think I just mostly listened to Craftypod and Craftsanity.
RAOUL - Buffalo Daughter, Seefeel, Vampire Weekend, Abe Vigoda, The Arcade Fire, Motown mix cds, Mayer Hawthorne's "Hawthorne Radio" northern soul mixes on the Stones Throw podcast.

Happy Birthday, Belinda!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my sister, BELINDA (a.k.a. MARIA BELINDA, BIN, BOOM BOOM BELINDA), who had a birthday this past friday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Here's a photo of Belinda pulling our baby sister, CYNTHIA, on a cart that my dad cobbled together with some old METAL ROLLERSKATE WHEELS and a plank of wood. I remember those metal skates being super dangerous...woo! This was taken in the backyard of our house on Norwood Place, in Orange, California - one of the first places we rented when we first moved to California from the East Coast. This was in the early 80's...that SEPIA TONE is for realz!

Sketchbook Sunday

Strawberry Shortcake art that I drew as a child., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

My parents came for a visit recently and brought a box of my art from long ago. I love looking at the old notebooks the most so far. I have lots of drawings I made of our toys and some that I copied from scratch and sniff stickers. Remember those?

As a child, I loved Strawberry Shortcake! I still love her, but I love old school Strawberry Shortcake. I am not too sure I know alot about the new Shortcake, but to me it is not the same. Above I wrote all the characters names and their pets. Strawberry Shortcake and her cat Custard peek from the bottom of the page. I think she is imagining a strawberry shortcake or ice cream in the thought bubble. I am not sure.


One of my favorite characters is Apricot. She had a pet bunny called Hops-a-lot that I drew here. I think these drawings are all from 1982 or so and that is when I was in first grade. Hops-a-lot was done in pencil on notebook paper.


Raspberry Tart had a monkey called Rhubarb. Here I drew her in my notebook on page three. I love the combination of black and blue ink, too. My brothers and I would draw with almost anything we had on hand. I even have drawings in my notebook that are done in erasable ink. What a great medium!

After posting these drawings to flickr, I was asked to join the Growing Up Strawberry Shortcake: 1979-1985 photo group. Wow, looking at that brings back lots of memories! I can smell those dolls now!

Operation Cutify - Craft Room Storage

This past week, Missy's parents were in town for the 4th of July weekend...we decided to finally tackle the fugly CLOSET SPACE in our CRAFT ROOM (which also doubles as our INSTRUMENT ROOM). The space was once a very long and shallow closet with sliding doors at one point. When we bought the house, these doors were inexplicably missing, exposing instead two slap-dash shelves and two horizontally-placed poles that were bowed under the weight of too many outfits being hung on it. The shelves and poles were removed before I realized, "wait! I have to document this!". Missy's dad, John, used a crow bar to remove the supports that once held the poles and rickety shelves. Much to his chagrin, the supports were sloppily nailed into the brick wall, which is actually the back our fireplace:





Next, the rails that once guided sliding doors were removed. The trim was sanded down as well as various holes and cracks in the closet space that were spackled, before painting. While the spackle dried, Missy's dad revived a pair of INTERIOR LIGHTS that hung on ceiling in the spaces sandwiching the brick wall:









Missy celebrated our progress before we called it a day...the next morning, Missy and her mom, RITA, painted the closet. The back wall and trim was painted the same color we have been using on all the other trim around the house - the one unifying element in all our brightly-colored (and soon-to-be brightly-colored) rooms. They tested out the LAVENDER colored paint that will eventually cover the rest of the room, applying it to the wall around the trim of the closet:















After the paint dried, John expertly installed an ADJUSTABLE SHELF SYSTEM that we purchased from HOME DEPOT. The parts were super affordable and luckily for us, they had pre-made shelves that pretty much fit the spaces perfectly, saving us from have to have shelves specially cut:









Voilá! Spiffy new storage space for our crafting supplies, merchandise, and instruments! Now for the really hard part...re-organizing all our crap and putting it up on the shelves in a way that is sensible and somewhat pleasing to the eye...stay tuned!

Nilla Sixty-Two

Nilla in relax mode., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Well, we had a nice visit with my parents this past week! We had so much fun, but those days just flew by so quickly. I still had more projects to do with my fam... Next time, right?

Here it is Nilla day again, so here is your weekly dose of our beloved kitty! This is a great picture of how Nilla can get really relaxed. I love the look on her face. She is relaxing on a cardboard box, one of her favorite things ever, in the sunshine.

Flossy Says Thank You

I was checking my favorite design blogs this morning, as usual. Much to my surprise Design is Mine and The Small Object both featured my Flossy the Pony Bobbin on their blogs! Thanks so much, Summer and Sarah!

Missy Vs. Helicopter

It's been a busy few days here at Rancho Cocoa...Missy's parents are in town and we've been busy "doin' stuff"...hopefully, tomorrow, we'll have a new and belated WEEKEND WIND-DOWN. Until then, please enjoy this footage of Missy crashing a miniature HELICOPTER into herself...

FOURTH 4934 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Last Weekend

(TWIN TIGERS tearing it up on the main outdoor stage on Washington Street, in front of the 40 WATT club)

Another busy weekend on the schedule, as Missy's parents are in town for the 4th of July weekend. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, Y'ALL! Last weekend we were out and about downtown, soaking in (literally) the sights and sounds of our yearly ATHFEST music and arts festival. The heat and humidity was oppressive, but it was worth it. These are just some of the things we witnessed during the festival...



You CAN NOT have a proper festival in Athens without some elaborately decorated ART CARS showing up...we especially liked the pinkish minivan adorned with rock 'n' roll and country icons...











The BRAIN FREEZE ICE CREAM TRUCK - owned by a neighbor up the street from us - made an appearance and we took advantage by getting some ice-cold goodness:



We checked out the still-smoldering remains of the historic GEORGIA THEATRE which was gutted by a fire a couple of weeks ago. The roof was totally collapsed and burned away, and we could see the sun shining down on the charred interior...





There were musicians and performers oozing out of every crevice of downtown Athens, including the mobile PIANO MAN:



As the sun went down and the night wore on, things would just get more surreal...

ATH 4875 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

We walked off the grid to the other side of town to catch a bunch of bands at NUCI'S SPACE...on the there, we stopped at THE STEEPLE, the only remaining part of the church that R.E.M. once used to practice, perform, and live in (and yes, MICHAEL STIPE was indeed spotted about town, checking out the Athfest festivites)...





We stayed for the entire show at Nuci's, which kicked off with a performance by LIZ DURRETT and her band...



She was followed by an energetic sets by ELEPHANT 6 performers CIRCULATORY SYSTEM and local darlings THE MODERN SKIRTS...It was jam-packed in there and sweltering hot, with Circulatory and Skirts fans vying for space. It was funny, because you could totally tell which fan was which...middle-aged dude with mutton chops? Ciculatory fan. Co-ed who looks like she's an understudy for "The Hills"? Skirts fan. Skinny punk rock kid wearing a dingy No Age t-shirt? Circulatory fan. Brah with the pucca shell necklace, flip flops and red UGA polo shirt? Skirts fan. Dude with a mohawk? Circulatory fan. Dude with a fauxhawk? Skirts fan. Tall tree creature from the Lord Of The Rings movies? Circulatory fan. Fresh-faced sorority girls taking pictures of each other with the band as their background? Skirts fans. 30 years old and older? Probably a Circulatory fan. 30 years and younger? Probably a Skirts fan...

ATH 4848 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

ATH 4855 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

ATH 4862 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

It got so hot and crowded inside that Nuci's was forced to open up one of their walls, which was a garage door...



On our way back to Washington St., we ran into Jesse and members CAPTAIN #1 hangin' out on a street corner busking...and actually making a good amount of money!

ATH 4862 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

We also saw an unidentified punk band (AMERICAN CHEESEBURGER?) playing out of teeny-tiny OK COFFEE:

ATH 4870 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Saturday night, we were back at Nuci's Space...my band, THE SLOW ROWBOAT performed, along with our friends CAPTAIN #1 and a new band called REPTAR...I didn't take any pictures of our band, but I did take a photo of the stage plus our equipment and empty chairs before we went on:



Captain #1 played after us and closed their set with a conga line...

ATH 4883 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Punky and funky Reptar closed out the night and kept the kids dancing from that point on....

Nilla Sixty-One

FOURTH 4924 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

NILLA vs. HELICOPTER

And The Winner Is...

Last week, Missy and I attended the 2009 FLAGPOLE MUSIC AWARDS which kicks off the yearly ATHFEST music and arts festival...because Missy is a regular contributor to FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE, she's always on the guest list...and I'm always her PLUS ONE! The evening opened up perfectly with local poet, JEFF FALLIS, reciting his ode to "The Classic City", a poem called "THE TRUE GOLDEN ERA"...the poem describes perfectly the bane of anyone who has moved to Athens, or who was born just a little bit too late - that things were always better "before you got here"...he listed major events that are forever woven into the fabric of the local history, along with a list of local landmarks that are no longer here...of course, I was glad to bear witness to at least some of the events and landmarks listed. For anyone who lives or ever lived in Athens, the poem is "right on"...a total treat...

AWARDS 4605 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Afterwards, hip hop group, DEAF JUDGES, got things jumping, and then the hoop dancers demonstrated their HULA HOOPING skills. Then, we were treated to a surprise appearance by MADONNA and BRITNEY SPEARS (local singer-songwriter, MADELINE ADAMS, played the part of Britney, but I had no idea who the other girl was)...







There was a performance by local professor and folk documentarian (and GRAMMY AWARD WINNER) ART ROSENBAUM before THE MODERN SKIRTS accepted their award for "Best Album Cover Art"...

AWARDS 4772 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

CASPER & THE COOKIES performed, followed by a presentation of the award for "Best Music Video", which was won by HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER...we had posted that video to the blog a little over a month ago HERE:

AWARDS 4784 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

We closed out the night with performances from all-girl group, CREEPY, and local shoe-gazers, DEAD CONFEDERATE...we actually left before the end of the awards ceremony, missing at least two more bands and awards for a bunch of other categories. We had work early the next morning, and a couple more music-filled nights that would stretch into the early morning hours...

AWARDS 4797 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.