For 'floral fairy tale,' check out 'Cinderlily'

For 'floral fairy tale,'check out 'Cinderlily'
Photographer David Ellwand knew only nature could improve on the story of Cinderella. So he combined his skills in garden photography with computer graphics to create "Cinderlily," a botanical twist on the classic story.
"Cinderlily" a "floral fairy tale" presented as a three-act ballet, features characters that Ellwand created from plant parts with the help of Adobe Photoshop and a vivid imagination.
In Ellwand's retelling, Cinderlily is a graceful but bedraggled dancer in a skirt of wilted lily petals, the stepsisters have unkind-looking pansy faces and the sultan wears iris bloomers and a rose-petal headdress.
Ellwand fashioned his characters' bodies from just stems and stamens, yet he infused them with remarkable personality and grace.
Cinderlily's leaps, for example, were modeled on those of gymnast Olga Korbut. Christine Tagg's text weaves the images into a story.
"Cinderlily" is published by Candlewick Press and sells for $16.99.
Air Wick's new product:freshening night light
Air Wick's new air freshener doubles as a night light, with a sensor that turns the light on and off automatically.
The Air Wick Night Light contains enough scented oil to last for up to 60 days and can be refilled. The intensity of the fragrance can be adjusted.
The product has a suggested retail price of $4.99 and comes in two scents, Plumeria & amp; Wild Rose and Mandarine & amp; Green Tea. Refill bottles sell for about $2.99 and are available in eight additional fragrances.
The night light is available at drugstores, grocery stores and mass merchandisers nationwide.
Measuring device useslaser beam, not tape
Strait-Line tools has just introduced a measuring device that employs a laser rather than tape to determine lengths.
You simply point the device and push the read button. A laser beam pinpoints the surface to be measured and calculates the distance.
The laser tape measures distances from 2 feet to 50 feet quickly with an accuracy ratio of plus or minus 3 inches at 50 feet.
By pushing a button, you can calculate area and volume, convert feet to meters, read measurements and add a measurement to memory or recall it.
The device is $59. For more information, visit www.strait-line.com on the Web.