Odds and Ends

A few exciting things have been happening in the last couple of days, so you are getting a mishmash of things today. Today, I found out through a comment someone left me on my last post that my entry into Illustration Friday was chosen as the Pick of the Week for this week. How did this happen?! Totally unexpected and making me feel so proud! Thanks for all the congratulatory comments I've already received from you!!

Then, yesterday, I received my first commission for one of my women portraits adding a cat to the mix. I am soooooo excited (and proud again) and also a little nervous! I want it to be wonderful!
The other day there was so much talk about Etsy treasuries on Twitter that I decided to try to put one together. You can click on the picture to see it larger. I really love the color combination, but I didn't realize I included two pieces from the same seller and forgot to include one of my own. Made me laugh! It was great fun though and I can't wait to try it again! I'd include the link, except that it will be expired by the time I post this...

And now for some pictures from the last few days! I was trying just now to take a photo of a butterfly flitting about our garden and the camera did something strange that makes it look like it's foggy and dark here...kind of a cool picture though.
This is how it really looked - bright and sunny and colorful. I loved the underside of the butterfly.
No words needed on this one!
When I went outside the other day I saw that our gardenia bush had two flowers on it! I cut one off and made a little bouquet I could enjoy inside. Our flowers are starting to look pretty tired and hot these days, but I was still able to find a few nice ones!
These were leftover from my birthday flowers our friend and neighbor brought over. I love zinnias and even like them when they already look slightly worn.
I pulled off the petals at the end and am drying them for seeds for next year. As I was looking at the petals, I noticed the pretty plate I have them on and thought I'd take a couple of pictures to show you. It reminds me of the plates I used to have as a kid. I was a very finicky eater when I was little (wouldn't know it now...) and my mom would get me plates with pictures on them that I could uncover as I ate what was on them. I don't know if it worked, but I always liked the plates...
Another plate we are using to dry a few shallots from our garden.
And last but not least a picture of Winslow and Ramses having a sweet moment.
Wishing you many sweet moments today and going into the weekend! I love how you visit my blog and keep visiting and commenting even if I don't make it to your blogs for a couple of days. You are just wonderful, and I promise I'll visit you all in the next couple of days!!