So I was thinking maybe I should just do some really sweet, fairy tale princess, earth girl, nature spirit kind of hairstyles with slightly ratted braids and flowers woven in. You know, something like that would be still really different and lovely and not be something you see just anywhere. I could have my healthy hair cake and eat it too!

After that, I was thinking of different hair accessories and remembered my dead favorite dreadlock maker and her peacock falls that I've wanted for probably two+ years now. I have a real love of dreadlocks, to the point that I was an inch away from dreading my own hair at 19. In the end, I found out about removable falls (and in particular, wool falls because I've worn some INCREDIBLY HEAVY dead falls and now my hair is far too short to hold anything much.) Well, not only does the girl I love still do the falls I have wanted for so long, but she does a design that is so much like I imagined doing to my hair! I could even tuck some flowers or leaves into the braids anywhere I wanted to. n.n





Omg, I love it! They really make me wish I was going blonde! But wouldn't brown and baby blue, maybe a little darker blue, and a touch of soft gold be really pretty too?


There's such sweet fantasy and whimsy in these! I love the idea of changing up my hair with wigs, but I can't realistically wear wigs every day, especially in Hawaii. These are just so fantastic. I can't believe I forgot about the avenues of hair expression in falls and extensions! They really allow you to take a head of naturally colored hair and add extra wow. I think this pops even more than just colored hair and is much less upkeep. AHH, so excited.

( Others under the cut )

Apparently there's controversy around a new doll from American Girl company which manufactures high cost dolls and books.

( Cut to keep it tidy )

Personally, I won't buy American Girl dolls because I don't like buying character items from companies that promote a "buy them all, and all their accessories too" mentality. I think you could just as easily make up your own doll's homeless story if that's a message you wanted to talk about with your child. But that aside, I think it's obvious I don't see the same problem with this that other people do. What do you think?

I updated my blog again but it's a post on the boy polyvores I made. I took a few new pictures of things that would be new to look at if people want to check it out- but more than that I made a request to see what polyvores you guys would make so I'd love to see you over there giving me your collages.




Come show me please!


After this, I should be getting into some new material. I am midway through some sewing projects that should be up in not too long and I also have a few mini tips for things like making your own lightweight bags for produce at the grocery store to keep from using plastic and potentially a recipe for a vegan stew that's super similar to French Onion.

Easy! Green Smoothie! A blender filled with greens of choice and water, tea, or juice. Blend down for a good long time until smooth, then add banana and fruit or vegetables of choice. I like frozen banana to get it nice and thick. Good veg choices are carrots, tomato, and avacado. The more fruit, the sweeter and more traditionally smoothie like it is. The more veg, the more mellow the taste will be, but be sure to add a banana if you want to cover up the taste of greens. (It's the secret ingredient to make it all taste good.) Use blueberries or blackberries to change the color from green to blue or purple.

I finish it up with extras like flax seeds, wheat germ, coconut, goji berries, maca powder, agave syrup, or sometimes a little plain yogurt. Little scoops of things like that you don't really taste, but up the nutrient value (as if it needed any help.)

Not only are they super quick to make, but they're filling because they're high in fiber and plant protein, are pretty tasty, and travels well. I like to make a container and keep in the fridge so Mike will actually eat before he goes to work and so if I'm busy with a project or baby, I can still eat something without a lot of effort and it's not bad for me. I'm a super fan. : D

Also: Blog update

It's been a long time since I did anything on the blog because I was feeling down in the dumps for a while but I'm trying to get back on the pony. The next few posts there might have some things you guys already read or heard about (this post is the recipe for the laundry detergent and I'll also be posting the boy clothes polyvores) but I'll also have some posts on new things. I'm going to be starting a "purse per week" project and making some homework requests so I hope you'll check out my blog and become a follower to give me your support and feedback. It means a lot to me as this is a pet project that I hope will really take off!




Clickie for blog!

Happy Birthday to the Magic Miss Sam, the prettiest future librarian this side of the desert! Sam has been a friend of mine for a few years now and we've had lots of nice chats where I've gotten to enjoy her creativity and natural curiosity. She's a dedicated hard worker, even though she tends to have a lot on her plate, and has a lot of love to give. I love that she's such a book worm and always keeps trying, even when chips are down.






Sam, I hope that you have had a good day today and that you were out busy and running around having a fabulous day of happy birthday-ness! All the best to you and I wish you well!

Have you clicked on The Hunger Site lately to donate free food? Or played Free Rice today? To remind yourself, try adding them to your bookmarks bar right next to the websites you visit every day.

Sometimes I get going through life and forget there are such easy ways to give for free. Today I was reminded, so I thought I'd pass it on.



I don't think charity is one of those things you talk about doing, but if it's mentioning it for the basis of encouraging others to help, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Ours isn't a world that thinks of charity very often. We don't do it out of cruelty. Sometimes I think we don't do it because we think there's nothing we can do and get overwhelmed with how bleak the world seems. But when we face it, we have to do something. We can't ignore it.

Well, as I've said once before, and I'll say again, even a dollar helps. (Click to donate one dollar to fight world hunger.) Collections are everywhere, for everything. Don't feel embarrassed to drop your three pennies change into the jar because it's not a bill. That's three cents more than they had before you did. When they ask if you want to donate a dollar at the check stand, just say yes. What's a dollar? And when they hand you the card to write your name to say you donated, just draw a heart and smile. It's all good. :D



Today I was feeling really awful and I couldn't really figure out why. I was just laying around and feeling grumpy and that bothered me. I remembered that other people have trials I could never imagine and, while I can't walk to their houses and give them a hand, I did what I could do to reach out through a charity. Nothing, quite like doing something charitable, perks me up and takes my focus off of myself. Nothing, quite like taking my focus off of myself, stops the wallowing in blah-dom when there's not even anything wrong with me.


When the world feels like it's filled with unspeakable evil and coldness, it's important to remember that there really IS a lot that can give us hope and it's not huge miracles and millions of dollars pouring from the sky. It's kindness and people doing for people other than themselves.

So read some hope from the above link, donate some free food, and if you can do more, do it. And once you're done with that, text someone, write a letter, or give a call. Just tell someone something you like about them or that you care. Make the world feel better, including you.

It turns out that a lot of people were having problems with people not being able to comment and followers not showing up on Blogspot. I repaired the comments problem, but you can only see followers when using Firefox. IE and Safari both seem to have problems... I don't know why yet...




Go!

The latest blog entry is a baby toy makeover which may not really be anything useful to anyone here but I have a link to show some mini books I just finished. n...n! And since the comments are fixed, if anyone was trying to show me love before and it didn't work now, go back and try again and it should work- please, please tell me if it doesn't so I can fix it! I'm trying to iron out the kinks so I can make sure it all works before I go public with it. Thanks!!

I've updated my blog with a post showing how to repair scratches and dings in the kinds of faux-finished press board kinds of wood that a lot of us have.

The steps are over at the blog

So... the other day when I ran out of my dishwasher detergent, I was hoping to avoid taking an out of the way drive to the health food store and breaking out many dollar signs for another box. Tricky me, I thought maybe if I use just a little squirt of dishwashing liquid then maybe...

No.

Never, ever do that.

I spent the next 20 minutes cleaning up soap suds from my kitchen floor and washing vegetable oil through the machine to kill the soap. Besides being an artist, I also do the work of a homemaker, yes... But I never said I was good at it.

So that was it. Go get another box of detergent or scour the internet. I opted for scouring the internet.



( Recipe and making diary )

I was just reading a friend's journal talking about trying to prepare healthy meals and I remembered these trays I got and (although I know it's a little bit of a weird entry...) I had to repost about them here because they're probably the best and most helpful kitchen health tool I've ever obtained.



Be underwhelmed!


( Okay, but stick with me here... )

Well! I don't think I've ever made bread before. Recently I've wanted to, but my hands are too sore for all that kneading. Lo, I come across a recipe for no-knead bread that you store in the fridge and just pull off a hunk to rest, then bake, when you want it.

So... I gave it a try.




Could have been worse!

( Steps and recipe )

This is going to sound pretty silly because I'm 26 and you'd think that after living on my own or functioning as a homemaker for 8 years, I would have learned this already: One secret to organizing is not to create a system and start trying to use it, but to observe the way you function and creating a system to fit that!

OHMYGOD. *slaps forehead*

( My new tricks )

I'm trying to make good on my decision to look at all my recycling and packaging with new eyes and have been spending a lot of time scanning blogs for inspiration. The goal is to doll up plain containers I already have or re-use containers that might have ended up in the trash or recycling.

There were a couple quick projects I did to try to get into it:

( A few pics )

After I tried those couple of containers, I wanted to use up a milk carton I had. I was thinking that if I cut off the top and weighted it with some sand in a sewn baggy, it wouldn't be so flimsy and could be covered and make a decent tool cup, but I found a project that is WAY better!

( Cool quick project! )

President Obama announced a feature on the White House website that allows citizens to input their questions on the economy, and related to the economy, and allows everyone to vote on which questions matter to them. The top questions will be answered in future online videos.

I just signed up and it looks like there's still a little time left to vote on questions... so if you haven't yet signed up, give it a try. <3





I haven't really caught up with everything on LJ yet, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pass this along. <3 Take care!

But I was just watching some fun videos on YouTube. This one is called "Handmade", and while the title isn't exactly forthcoming with tons of details, it was a really inspiring expose on crafting in Japan. Not sure how old it is, I know that the sweets things have been around for a good while, but there were so many bright colors and unexpected things (like the felt peace patterns one girl made) that I felt really inspired by it. It was so different than the most popular Japanese craft projects you see and it made me regret that I walked through the felt section at the store today without getting any, although I'd contemplated it and then thought 'but what would I do with it?' and walked on.

Like I said in the last video, I'm trying to see plain things as more decorative or to make simple things more personal. I'm also trying to reinvent my art studio so it feels as pretty and colorful and invigorating to create in as possible. No more clear and plain plastic tubs on wire frame shelves for me... I need LIFE in there!

I think that's something that effected me most at working at Sanrio... we use things every day, so why not let them be cute or beautiful? It's what I'd always hoped to do artistically by making things like mirrors and boxes and candles for the home instead of just personal jewelry and I feel like it's my ultimate goal to arrive at in the end. Seeing people make things for themselves to express themselves really makes me want to get up and do it too. You'd think that with as many projects as I've done that I'd never have trouble picking up and trying something new, but sometimes I get the same trouble of forgetting all the creative things I'm capable of doing and really just having fun with it. I'm kind of shocked by how many things I use in my daily life that are painfully dull and utilitarian... I need to flex my 'make common stuff cute!' muscle, starting at home with my own environment, I think.

Japan seems to have so many craft and DIY books that have cute and elegant things. I feel like American DIY is still very much retro/punky/college-girl-with-rectangle-glasses-and-knit-nerdcore-scarf looking... I appreciate all kinds of crafting and DIY art, but I really love beautiful colors and sweet or elegant finished products. I think I'd be in trouble if I got in the crafting section at a Japanese bookstore... I've been before, but only at a time I wasn't as interested in craft and artwork. I didn't understand how popular it was those years ago to really appreciate all the titles they had... but anyway, thanks to fun videos on YouTube, I can get inspiration on new projects without having to go book browsing. :3 I seriously want to pick up at least half a dozen 'how-to' project books every time I'm at the craft store, and this being Hawaii, there are commonly tons of Japanese titles you don't typically find other places I've been without making it to specialty shops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PNTTvPoz_0

Check it out if you want to feel artsy!

I haven't yet caught up on reading my FList yet, but I wanted to make a quick post about a great site to visit. It's called::

http://www.helpchildsoldiers.com/

and is an informational, petition, and donation site for War Child Canada, a registered charity and raises awareness and advocacy for child rights as well as humanitarian aid for children in war-effected areas.

Although it's not an unknown fact that countless children are being used to fight wars and being terribly abused in the process, it's not something that people often think or talk about. While homelessness, poverty, suffering, slavery, abuse, starvation, and violence are easy to be out of sight and out of mind, forgetting to think about it will never make it go away. Whether help is needed down the street or across the world, we need to remind ourselves to be mindful and ask "how can I help?"

It's always a good time to do something charitable, but particularly in the "Season of Giving" it seems especially appropriate to do good for our world any way you can. We may not be superheroes who can heal the world problems with a snap, but there are always ways we can help. Every action, letter, and donation adds up to something big.

I know we're all believers in the idea that it's the generosity and caring for loved ones and our fellow humans are what really make up the goodness of the season, rather than the actual gifts we charge and wrap in our bright paper. In that light, I can never think of a better way to be in the proper spirit than in donating time, goods, or monetarily to causes because those are the gifts that really mean the world.



If you haven't chosen a charitable cause yet this year, why not consider the one above, or choosing an organization to support this season? It would be maybe the most generous gift you could give anyone to create a holiday tradition of making a gift of donation, by volunteering your time for service, or to write letters or e-mails to your friends, news media, and leaders to spread the word and encourage they address humanitarian or charitable issues that need more attention.

There are endless charities and causes out there. Do you have any charities you regularly support or issues that you regularly fight for? Share your favorite charity--!

When I was a little girl, one of my top favorite books was Island of the Blue Dolphins about a woman who was left on San Nicolas when the rest of her nearly decimated tribe was boated off to a mainland missionary. Although the book says that she jumped off the ship to save her brother who was left behind and some tellings of the stories say that she jumped off to find her baby, it was supposedly much more likely that bad weather caused the ship to hurry off while she was away in the mountains without an accurate head count.

After reading the book, I wanted to know everything about her, but without the internet in those days, the most you could find was, well... not much. The fictional book was about the only thing at the library.

For whatever reason, it popped into my head and I started searching the internet and was lucky to find a wax cylinder recording of her "Toki Toki" song. It is being sung by Fernando Librado in 1913, who heard it from Malquiares, who had originally heard it from the Lone Woman.

The translation was done by a Chumash, Aravio Talawiyashwit, to read:

"I live contented because I can see the day when I want to get out of this island".

The website I found the song on says "the exact meaning is unclear, it is believed that the Lone Woman sang this song to express mixed feelings: of sadness at leaving the familiar and of joy at having human company after a lapse of 18 years."



Hear the recording:: http://www.sbnature.org/research/anthro/chumash/sounds/toki2.wav


It's interesting that the only real physical record of her wasn't even of her voice, just what she said. Because her baskets and items were lost in a fire at the holding museum and her cormorant feather dress was lost on its way to the Vatican, this retelling of a retelling of her song seems to be all there really is. Crazy. I thought about how many artifacts still exist and almost feel indignant that none of hers do. It really made me think about how many great pieces of history really -have- been lost and how relatively few still exist. Those that do we really take for granted that they're still around, don't we?