This just in . . .

Julie Matysik at Sky Pony Press has bought a picture book from Sarah Frances Hardy (Puzzled by Pink). In Paint Me, a girl who begins the day painting a portrait of her dog gets swept up in the act of painting until she has painted everything she comes across. A spring/summer 2014 pub date has been set; Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media was the agent.




And I'm pretty much OVER THE MOON!!!!!

Playroom Redo

A few years ago, our playroom was featured in Southern Living magazine. The photographer came to take pictures of some other rooms in our house, and while he was there my girls (look how young they were!) were in their playroom cutting and drawing the whole time. After shoving lots of clutter behind him and away from the camera lens, he snapped their picture and they made it into the magazine. Voila!

Here is the same room today:

As my girls have gotten older, their playroom has turned into a junky closet where they store all of their games and art supplies. Now, they only use that room for internet surfing and homework that requires their computer, and they bring games and projects into the kitchen.  

Soooo . . . in a few short weeks, it's bye-bye playroom!

Our house is an older house which had been cut into three apartments when we bought it. The playroom had been added on as a kitchen in the 1970s, and it's the only room that we didn't redo when we did our massive renovation about ten years ago. The room is pretty much rotten and poorly insulated, and we had always planned to take it down eventually.

And now, we've inherited a beautiful, very long dining room table that won't fit into our current dining room . . . also in Southern Living a few years ago:

So now our old dining room will become our den which is currently in a narrow room that is more hallway than functional space. We're so excited to finally have a room in which we can all fit to watch a movie as a family.

Fingers crossed that the Historical Preservation Committee approves our plans . . . . I'll keep you posted!

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Also, check out my studio featured on Creative Spaces!

Choose Your Own Adventure . . . Happy Birthday, Erik!

If you have arrived in the middle of the adventure, you may start at the beginning by going HERE (http://susannahill.blogspot.com)

Erik chooses the path that leads to Mystery Mountain:

Before they went more than two steps down the path to Mystery Mountain, Benton walked off the path into some lush, if rather wet, tall grass, and bent his head to crop some of the delicious greens. Erik promptly slid down Benton’s neck to land kersploosh in a puddle hidden by the heavy undergrowth. 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Erik said.

Benton nickered an explanation, but his words seemed to go over Erik’s head, so he illustrated by flopping down on his side in the damp grass and rolling back and forth, his hooves flailing the air. When he stood up again, he gave a mighty shake, showering Erik with clear, cold water from the grass. Benton was much cleaner.

“Good idea, Benton!” Erik said, pulling some of the grass and wiping off the worst of the mud. “But this isn’t getting us any closer to finding my present. Even if we are more presentable. Get it? PRESENTable?” Benton just shook his mane.

Erik pulled himself up onto Benton’s back and nudged his sides. He had to nudge several times before Benton was willing to walk on into the dark as night forest that lay ahead of them.

The path narrowed. If Benton had been much larger, it would have been a tight fit between the trees. Could Lady Josie really have come this way on the black horse? “Look, Benton! There’s a hoofprint! We must be on the right path...”

Something swooped by them in the dank darkness. “That was just an owl. Right, Benton?” Erik said aloud. “Right?” Benton didn’t answer. He was too busy laying his ears back on his head at the creature that blocked the path in front of them.

“WHOA, Benton! What IS that?” It looked like a wolf, or an ogre, or something that neither of them really wanted to encounter close up.

Erik looked from side to side, hoping that the path might have a fork in it. Usually when you want a fork, you can’t find one (ever have to eat your dinner with a spoon?) but almost magically, there was a fork. The road kind, not the dinner kind. A sign pointed in two directions. Ahead of them, past the wolf-ogre, was Mystery Mountain. Off to the right was Otterley Creek. 

“Otters? Lady Josie likes otters. Do you suppose she went that way, Benton? Or did she try to get past the ogre?” Erik leaned forward to get his pony’s advice.

Benton neighed, but his answer was carried off by a strong wind that whirled past them. Erik would have to decide for himself.

To face the ogre, go HERE http://mylmnopreadstokids.blogspot.com

To go to Otterley Creek, go HERE http://joannamarple.com

The Winner is ....

And the winner of the beautiful NUTCRACKER illustrated by Maurice Sendak is Betty Person.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

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Maurice Sendak Nutcracker Giveaway

'Tis the season!

One of my daughters is a ballet dancer and she has danced in the Nutcracker since she was four-years-old. A couple of years ago, her dreams came true when she got to play the part of Clara. Such fun!

But a few months ago, I realized that since she'd always been in the Nutcracker, she'd never actually seen a live performance. I'm happy to say that this past weekend our schedules worked out (which is tricky during this busy month) and I was able to take my daughter to see an absolutely beautiful performance of the ballet in Jackson, Mississippi.

I'm officially in the Christmas spirit.

So ... you can imagine how excited I was to receive this beautiful book as a gift from Random House. And it is stunning.

How many of you knew that not only did Maurice Sendak illustrate E.T.A. Hoffmann's story upon which the Nutcracker Ballet is based, but that he designed the set and costumes for a performance by the Pacific Northwest Ballet? The performance is available as a movie, but I'm sad to report that it is only available as a VHS. Here's the trailer, though, which absolutely gives me CHILLS. I would love to see those backdrops, billboard sized. And those costumes!!!





In the NUTCRACKER book which was just rereleased by Random House, Maurice Sendak uses costume designs and backdrops that he created for the ballet as illustrations, and he painted additional pieces specific to E.T.A. Hoffman's story. The book itself is a piece of art, printed on beautiful paper. It is one of those books that the reader is meant to linger upon, savoring each detail and each piece of beauty that can be found on every page.

A perfect Christmas gift, yes? And I'd love to be able to give this copy away to a lucky reader, just enter the giveaway below. It closes on December 17th, so be sure to enter and spread the word!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you don't happen to be one of the lucky winners or have more than one person in your life who would love this masterpiece, click here to order. And support your indies!!!

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Middle School Beauty Review

Yes. You read the title of this post correctly. I'm going to write about the Beauty Review that is happening at our public school this weekend for Middle School girls. Just curious . . . do you think that there could be a worse age to put young girls through a contest where they are judged based on their appearance (and proficiency with the use of body glitter)?

Okay, maybe those toddler beauty pageants are worse. But still.

I haven't heard much about it from my oldest daughter who is in eighth grade and is a member of the club which is sponsoring the event--an academic club which requires a 94% grade average and service hours every semester (don't even get me started)--except that she is staying far away from anything having to do with it.

My seventh grade daughter is very different from her older sister, however. She is very girly--she loves ballet, flowers and pretty clothes. I was relieved that she never mentioned the pageant to me or asked to be a part of it. But earlier this week, she was in a bit of a mood, and I asked her what was going on. She said "nothing" but then later mentioned that she was "so sick of hearing about the stupid Beauty Review". I told her that I was proud of her for not signing up to be a part of it, that those were not our values, and we talked a little more about it.

Apparently, those middle school cafeteria conversations that used to be about soccer, school projects, and play rehearsals had shifted. Now everyone was discussing whom they thought would win (i.e. who was the prettiest girl in seventh grade), and the girls partaking in the pageant were dishing  nonstop about their dresses, shoes, makeup  . . . and what time to get to the hair salon for the perfect messy updo.

Before you ask, I've made my feelings known to the sponsors of the event, and I doubt (hope) that we will have a repeat next year. This year, though, it's a done deal. And I've been surprised by how many of my friends are letting their seventh grade daughters' participate. It's like it's become one of those "everybody's doing it" things, and it's really weighing on me. I honestly thought in 2012 smart women had progressed beyond this kind of stuff and we could stand in solidarity, but my friends have shrugged saying that it's all in fun, harmless, and something their daughters wanted to do.

So, you can imagine how happy I was to find this sheet of paper on my daughter's desk this morning.

I think we'll be okay in the Hardy house.

And . . . whoa!! I think I may have the seeds for a middle grade novel here. Hmmmm.

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Stay tuned for a Christmas giveaway next week . . . .

My Favorite Things (with Apologies to Ina Garten)

I absolutely love Ina Garten's cookbooks . . . with one exception.

It has always bothered me how she feels it necessary to state in each and every recipe that you must use good olive oil or good quality strawberry preserves. I can almost hear her in a nasally, Hampton-y voice stressing those adjectives which serve as an admonishment to anyone who would dare to use, say . . . Kroger brand butter (not that I ever would--kidding, of course I do).

But recently, I was talking with an illustrator friend of mine about my favorite materials to use when painting, and I found my self pulling a full-on Ina Garten. It went something like this . . .

"You know, you always have to use the best quality gouache. Those cheap student brands just don't have the pigment density. And don't even get me started on synthetic brushes. I would die without my Winsor Newton sable paintbrushes."

Yeah. Snobby much?

Sorry, Ina. I get it now.

So here are a few of my favorite things to use when illustrating (feel free to use your best Hampton's accent went reading through my list):

Prismacolor Pencils--blend perfectly with an almost clay-like consistently and great colors.

My Winsor Newton sable brushes. These are the only two brushes that I ever use and they are perfection. Mwah!

Strathmore series illustration board. This is hands down the best, most durable, non-pilling illustration board around. Love it. Seriously. Nothing else will do, dahlings.

Winsor Newton and Holbein Gouache are my favorite brands. I use gouache a bit like watercolors, but I like the density and opaqueness of the pigments in gouache. The cheaper brands are crap. Take my word for it--I had to buy some locally when I was in a pinch.

The bottom line is this (and now you can read in a Southern accent): If you use cheap art materials or materials that you're not comfortable with, you will wind up fighting against them when trying to create. Don't make the creative process any harder on yourself than it has to be.

Go forth and paint! And be sure to use the good stuff . . .

sf