The Good, the Bad, and the Bits of a Busy Week

Have you ever had a week where you look back on it and all you can say is, "WOW!" That's the kind of week I've had. It's been a "WOW" week in mostly good ways, so that's nice.

The Good

One of the nice things that happened this week was that I was able to transplant an ill-placed canna lily from the front garden where it was being usurped by mint into a pot so it could be placed in one of my water gardens. I was so pleased that after my hard work it "thanked" me by blooming right away. I had forgotten what the name of it was, what variety it was, and what color it was (I'm trying not to feel guilt for that) so this bloom of pale yellow with peachy accents was such a pleasant surprise.

The other thing I like about this bloom is that it has that shimmery pearlescent quality to it that some cannas have (some glads and iris have it too). It always reminds me of a garden jewel when I see a bloom like that.

The Bad

Above left is a photo of my "Breath of Heaven" bush just a few months ago. It blooms once a year but always has such wonderful feathery foliage--until this year. Above right is a photo what it looks like now. After watching it dry up and deteriorate for about a month, I finally had to cut it back earlier this week. I don't know if the neighbor's gardener accidentally sprayed it with weed-killer through the picket fence or if it got zapped during our July heatwave. All I know is that it isn't happy and that makes me not so happy. It is one of the plants I put in the first spring we lived here in 2001, so I'd really hate for it to leave now. I'm hoping it will bounce back.

The Bits

The real reason why this has been a "WOW" week has been what's been going on in my design studio. As I posted over on the Creative Studio blog, I was absolutely tickled pink (pun intended) that my new design "French Poodle" won an award on Zazzle for Today's Best!

The story behind this design is really special. The design was inspired by my niece Cammi. I called her a couple of days ago to tell her about my new line of designer Keds. I asked her if there was some design in particular that she would like to see on a kid's shoe. She said that she'd like to see a shoe in pink and black with maybe a little poodle on it.

Cammi told me that she'd send me some sketches in the mail. She wanted me to have the originals so instead of scanning them in and sending them email, she sent them snail mail. I didn't get the sketches until after I had designed "French Poodle". However, based on just the phone conversation, I think that Cammi and I were on the same wavelength. Do you think so too?

Below left is Cammi's Sketch and below right are two of my final shoe designs...

I am thoroughly enjoying this creative process with Cammi. She is such a talented 9 year old with such artistic vision. It is a real joy to interact on this level. She and I have emailed and talked on the phone more this week than ever before. So fun!

I added "French Poodle" to a number of products besides the shoes...

And like icing on the cake, "French Poodle" has gained popularity in a very short amount of time. Cammi and I loved her, but then to have others love her just as much is SO rewarding.

I think Cammi has become my creative muse, because since the collaboration that brought about "French Poodle" my mind has been flooded with so many other designs that I've had a hard time keeping up. I've had to resort to doing really rough sketches in my sketchbook of ideas as they come while still finalizing other designs. It's like Cammi's idea opened up the flood gates for my own creativity. Here's what has come flowing out just this week (and these are only the finished designs):

"Dinner in Paris"


"Peacock Feathers"


"Chocolate Candy"


"Aqua Duck"

Yeah, it's definitely been a "WOW" week around here. Now it's time for me to go back to working on more designing as well as learning Dreamweaver and web design so I can improve my own website. Whew!

To see all my designs, click the image below:

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