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Christmas Elf Prints by Max Bailey

The sweet little elf above is dreaming of Christmas, while his chickadee friends keep him company. A big yellow moon is coming up in the night sky behind him. It is called “A Christmas Dream“.

In “Final Touches“, Santa’s helpers are very busy putting the finishing touches on a Christmas ornament. Only the most artistic mice get to be Santa’s helpers!

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Mini Giclee Art Prints, Kitties

I’m on my fourth try of a medication that doesn’t agree with me, but is hopefully knocking out this infection I’ve had the past couple of months. So, I’ll try not to say too much, lest I say something dopey, literally. I’ve been saying things like “bathroom” when I mean “background”. Yesterday, when asked what Andy Griffith’s real-life hometown was, I actually suggested, “Mayberry?” Good thing I was in the privacy of my own home. I might have gotten thrown out of North Carolina for that.

I’ve decided to introduce mini versions of my prints. I’m not sure how long I’ll offer them, but I thought it might be a good way to gauge interest. I’ve been struggling a lot lately, trying to decide what to paint. That may sound odd, since I usually have too many ideas, but that is the problem. I’ve been too caught up in what I see is popular as well. I think, “I could do that…but I don’t want to.” I was trying to come up with something whimsical, cute, simple, but it just didn’t suit me. In fact, it was making me quite cranky, which was the reverse of what I was hoping for.

I’m going to stick with the often-offered advice, “Paint what you like to paint.” For me, that tends to be fantasy art, florals, cats, and other animals.

These cat paintings are available as mini prints in my Etsy shop, or on our Ruffing’s website. They are printed on nice heavy-weight, 100% cotton art paper, using archival-quality, pigment-based Epson inks, and are signed below the image in pencil. They come in a protective cello sleeve. From top to bottom, they are “The Guardian“, “Laurence with Primroses and Daffodils“, and “Something Stirring“.
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Big Cookie, Little Cookies

Someone’s birthday is near and so it was time for a big cookie. Hopefully that someone does not read this blog 🙂

These were made using the Nestlé Toll House cookie recipe on the back of their bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Once you make up the cookie dough, divide it in half. One half goes in a buttered 9 inch round spring form pan and bakes at a slightly lower temperature, 350 instead of 375 degrees, for a longer period of time, about 25 to 30 minutes. I found this suggestion in The Family Baker by Susan G Purdy. It’s a fun cookbook full of traditional treats.
The other half of the cookie dough is baked according to the package directions. This way, even though the big cookie is leaving for a far away place, we still have a plate of chocolate chip cookies to enjoy here.
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You know you’re a nerd when…

…you spend the better part of a perfectly beautiful morning inside at the computer, making animated GIFs for no better purpose than to decorate your MySpace page. But, hey, aren’t they cool? I never tried making one before. It’s kind of hypnotic. Yes, I am a bit of a nerd 🙂

Okay, actually, according to this test, I am 69% nerd:

“Your Score: Pure Nerd

69 % Nerd, 13% Geek, 26% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendencies associated with the “dork.” No-longer. Being smart isn’t as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! — THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST