: D

Pretty set on dying with henna now

2009-10-10T02:41:53Z

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.

These are the peacock falls I love. These ones are on combs and are mostly wool so the maker claims that they can be worn by girls who can only make little piggy nubs. So that's me!

Long ago, I'd tried to make my own dreads

And I got this many before I said 'yeaaaaaaaah... enough of that. I think I'll just buy some.'

Well, now I'm older and have money like I didn't before, but I still think that were I to get a few sets of falls that it would add up so I think I'm going to make a deal with myself to sell my wedding dress and use the money from that.

Who needs a wedding dress when you could have dreadlocks?
If anyone knows someone in Oahu who needs a plus size wedding dress, ring me up, otherwise this baybee is going on Craigslist.

I'm thinking 300 OBO. It's got a full, cathedral length train and pretty off shoulder neckline. That ought to get me some hair, even if I take lower on it. Something is better than nothing when you have a pink garment bag clogging up the closet.

mmmmmmm.... pretty hairs....

BTW, blog update

2009-10-06T23:28:49Z

http://meandrousart.blogspot.com

Controversial homeless doll

2009-10-06T21:21:47Z

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

The doll is (or was) homeless at some point in her character's storyline and it seems to be the consensus that because the doll is more than a homeless person could afford, and isn't raising money for homeless advocacy, that that makes it an offensive message.

The issue, to me, is that people are suddenly freaking out that American Girl isn't raising money for homelessness or that their dolls cost 95$ NOW. Their dolls have -always- been costly, ever since I was in 4th grade and the line was first released. Although I think that it would be noble of American Girl company to be raising money for homelessness, their previous books and dolls didn't raise money for pioneering, womens' rights, World War II, or anything in the past, so why are people so surprised that they aren't doing so now? Doesn't even making a homeless doll in the first place do something to advocate for the message that homelessness exists and effects innocent people?

American Girl dolls were dolls to bring history to life and show the struggles and courage of children 'like you and me' in times past with the messages of friendship and honesty. Samantha dealt with Suffrage, Molly's family did without luxuries or their father during World War II. Gwen is a homeless doll whose story says she had to sleep in a car with her mom after their dad walked out and her mom lost her job.

Is that a cliche? Does it promote a stereotype? That's what some articles say about it, but let's face it: men DO walk out and women DO lose jobs or that wouldn't be a recognized stereotype. Telling the story in a more politically and socially progressive way that is more pleasing to our tastes, as far as the roles men and women find themselves in, only sugar coats the truth and makes homelessness an easier pill to swallow. Furthermore, if we're going to paint an idealized version of loss and struggle, then why not rewrite all the American Girl books? In Addy's Civil War stories, what if slavery was just written out because that's not very PC these days? That'd sure be a more gently homogenized read, but it wouldn't teach a necessary lesson and might even promote the idea that inequality between races in history should be ignored and that racism actually completely over in the modern age- which we all know it is not.

What's important in my mind here, and something that these offended articles are missing, is that American Girl is actually shining a light on homelessness and showing that real, normal little girls and boys can end up homeless. Homelessness isn't a bunch of dirty, stupid, mean people. It's real people who lose their security or people with mental problems without family or friends there to help them get better. Homelessness doesn't make people inhuman, as society often paints the homeless to be. Just like handicapped people aren't freaks or that princesses come in color combos other than white, blonde, and blue eyed, the more that can be done to let differences be commonplace for children at an early age, the better.

I'm a big fan of the notion of opening up a toychest and finding the mermaid doll right next to the doll that I rigged up with a prosthetic leg. I want a native American doll that's not just a white doll with a feather in its hair. And I want worldly characters like Maori doll and non-traditional dolls like a red headed princess that wears glasses and a lavish ballgown at the same time. I'm perfectly willing to tell Flora that one of the dolls has diabetes and has to take medicine sometimes or that another doll is blind in one eye and then play pretend that they're both going to fly in a milk carton rocket ship to Mars.

If anything, I think American Girl could be even MORE progressive and diverse with their dolls and I'd still be into the idea of that. I'd like to see them make a Down's Syndrome doll or a doll with a hearing aid or maybe a burn recovery doll wearing a nice, normal party dress and being around all the other kids without it being a big issue that she has scars on her skin.

People are different, but that's okay. We're all capable of being friends and succeeding in life.

The more we withhold (or act horrified at the idea of) diversity, the more we're missing an opportunity to talk to kids about how all people are still people, even if they're not exactly like we are. Enclosing our children into an idealized world of dolls that look just like them and have every luxury and accessory known to man in perfect pink and gleaming condition may not necessarily make them closed minded, but I think it's definitely missing a big opportunity to teach children to be familiar with and accepting of all different varieties of diversity.

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?

New update, but old stuff. x...x

2009-09-26T00:24:17Z

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.

Writer's Block: My Favorite Quick & Healthy Recipe

2009-09-22T09:40:23Z

What’s your favorite quick, easy, and healthy recipe?

Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

View 311 Answers

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, Sam!

2009-09-12T03:22:30Z

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!

By the way...

2009-09-07T10:41:56Z

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.

Blog Update

2009-08-25T23:54:50Z

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!!

Blog Update: Fixing scratches in wood

2009-08-22T21:16:09Z

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

Home made dishwasher detergent

2009-08-12T23:02:23Z

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.

How To:

The recipe calls for equal parts borax to baking soda and with a dash of sugar free lemon drink mix (because it has citric acid as a main ingredient!) You also need a container to store it in. I have been amassing a collection of baby food tins and plan on using one of those. To clean, add 2 tablespoons of powder and for extra help, use white vinegar in your rinse aid drawer.

Simply measure and stir or shake. Done!

Results:

Let's Decorate:

Supplies:

Dig out some wrapping paper, an old poster, scrapbooking paper, stamp some paper bags, whatever works. I have a few scrapbooking notions and cute new labels I've been wanting to try for mine.

Process:

The box of baking soda Husbie brought home was 8 oz, I decided to use that as a measuring scoop for mixing future cleaners. (Rather than just throwing it away.) I marked inside the box where the top of the powder sat as the 8oz mark and then trimmed the top.

I traced the sides, bottom, and back of the box and made a split up between the side and bottom panels and cut this piece twice. I could have used one piece, but I'm not a great pattern figure-er out-er so I had to do it in a way that made sense to me, even if it's a little inefficient.

I trimmed the sides. This will make sense if you try to make your own. You'll see you need to trim a bit to stop overhang.

I use the roll on sticky tape and tuck in the cut tabs under each other.

I use scrapbooking adhesive tape because glue might bubble up and wrinkle the paper.

Once all sides are covered and stuck down, it's finished.

I had a little card entitled "Experiment" with a spot for hypothesis, materials, procedure, and results. I was hoping it would seem a little bit quirky. Making your own cleaners... it's like a mad science project, right? Ha... ha.... no. Yeah. Never mind. Well, it's still cuter than a yellow cardboard box with the top ripped open.

The line is marked inside to measure to. Yay! One small victory in the war against landfills!

As for the container, that was easy enough. I selected a paper that wasn't one of my favorites... I mean, I foresee people grabbing the tub with wet or damp hands. The paper had a 'grunge' effect where some of the stripes were already worn looking. If it does get wet or slightly damaged, it will be less obvious. Yay! Win-win.

Because my paper wasn't long enough, there's two seams. It's all good though. I used the existing label from my container as a template and stuck the paper down with sticky tape.

Here's the clever part: Take a piece of scrap and fold it in half, in half again and then fold it twice on the angle like you're doing some origami or a paper snowflake or something. Trim the back.

Placing the tip at the center of your plastic lid, mark on the folded paper the edge of the circle you want to cut to. In my case, my lid has a slight indentation that's the perfect depth to hold a piece of paper and cover up the writing.

After you cut on your line, you'll see that the paper unfolds into a circle the size you're looking for. Or you could just go get a protractor. I don't have one. Ghetto geometry!

I stuck this template to scrap paper and cut out my circle. That piece was then attached to my lid.

That's it! I added my own labels and have completed a dishwasher soap mix and my own measuring scoop for mixing home made cleaning supplies.

The recipe is on the back for future reference.

<3

This recipe yields enough powder for 16 loads at a cost of less than 2$, depending on the quantities or stores you buy your supplies at. Comparing Seventh Generation's earth friendly detergent at 15$ for 75 oz, you could make 80 oz of your own for around 10$ or less. But what's better than that is that baking soda and borax are great household cleaners for tons of different applications and when you have them in stock at your house, you'll also save money not having to buy a myriad of spray cleaners and scrubs!

Extra mini project:

I've read about how microwaving orange skins in water can help you clean your microwave without much work. ... Now, I won't show you my before picture, because it was awful and embarrassing...

Having had an orange with lunch, I put half of the peelings down my garbage disposals (after cleaning them with a little borax!) and put the other half in a dish with some water and a good squirt of lemon juice and microwaved it for 5 minutes. (I have a low power micro.)

The water bubbled and condensed all over the walls of the microwave and I wiped it out with one of my recycled t-shirt washcloths while it was still wet. OHMYGOD! Talk about easy! And my house smelled like I'd been baking lemon cake. ;...; Mmmm... lemon cake...

My official position: Both home made dishwasher detergents and microwaving citrus works wonders for house cleaning. I officially plan on ending my overspending on pricey eco cleaning products whenever I can make my own instead! I also plan on giving away tubs of dishwasher cleaner to friends and selling tubs of it (along with a recipe to make refills) inexpensively at my shop as reusable detergent containers as a means to keeping my baby formula containers out of the trash bin and encouraging the idea of repurposing containers and an alternative to buying new plastic goods.

Search online for "how to make" and key words like glass cleaner, laundry detergent, wood polish and more. Most recipes rely on a few key ingredients you can buy inexpensively!

Detergent Recipe::
2 c borax
2 c baking soda
4 packets of no sugar lemon Kool-Aid or other lemon drink mix
(from Frugally Green)

Fifteen seconds of LOL.

2009-05-06T23:55:47Z

My silly health tip o'the ... day? Month? Okay, my FIRST tip ever?

2009-04-08T00:42:04Z

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!

I bought a set of blue and green, adult-sized melamine trays, thinking they were the funniest things, just like our old vintage lunch trays and that it would be a bit of a joke to serve food on them. The first morning I got up to use them, I was all excited and wanting to fill it up and make it look special, but I realised that my first meal was kind of, well, unbalanced. I really had to take a minute to think about what else I could put on there besides cereal and toast. I observed my missing 'food groups', raided the cupboards and fridge for fruits and nuts that I ordinarily would have skipped that morning, and took my tray to the table.

After a few times using these trays and I noticed something pretty important: I had always thought I was good at having a wide selection of nutrients at each meal, but maybe not so well as I had thought! My desire to fill up the tray to look 'complete' had motivated me to view each meal as an opportunity to increase healthy selection of foods, including extra fruit and veg and grain or legumes. Being somebody with a mind that responds to visuals, I admit I was an easy convert to this system because it's so easy to see and understand what you need less or more of at a glance.

Now that I compare with meals I serve on typical plate, I really do find them lacking. When I might have filled up a breakfast plate with a whole bagel and cream cheese and orange and thought that was a decent breakfast, now I know I can't get down a -whole- bagel if I fill the four other cubbies with nuts, egg, fruit, and dairy. Having only half a bagel means that means I instantly cut down 10g or so of fat and 250-ish calories and eaten plenty of other 'food group' items to boot. A normal dinner plate might have been pasta, bread, and whatever space left for salad. On a divided tray, you can only portion a realistic amount of pasta, a fraction of the bread a normal plate would hold, and have space for a whole bowl of dolled up salad, leaving two more cubbies which still need something. (And here's a hint... the tray already has plenty of carbs on it. XD)

The inability to overfill sections of the tray, paired with so many cubbies to fill, means each meal has more potential for health and balanced diversity. It's easy to envision how putting something that's a little more indulgent on is fine, as long as it's not larger then the tray allows and is balanced by other healthy options. The set expectation of five foods challenges you to think about contrasting of textures and an array of colors to make the meal more enticing and satisfying than you get elsewhere.

If you react well to visuals and are looking for a way to help remind yourself to eat healthy, you might want to try it out! You can get trays like this at Target for 3.99$ each or eBay for a variety of prices by searching "lunch tray".

No-Knead Bread

2009-04-06T10:09:04Z

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!

Food safe plastic bowl
1.5T yeast
1.5T kosher salt
3 C lukewarm water
6.5C all-purpose flour

(I used sea salt and I have to say that I would -definitely- reduce the salt in this. Personally, I would have done under a tablespoon, but that's just me...)

Action shot! : D Hubby cuts open the yeast pack. I went to Costco with a friend and got a mondo bag of flour for 7$ and the most insane amount of yeast for 3-4$, so I hope I really like baking bread...

Put yeast, salt, and water into a bowl. As any breadmaker knows, the water is warm to activate the yeast, but not too hot to kill it. .... I'm no breadmaker though, so I hope I don't screw up...

Hubby takes the laptop and shoots me stirring up the mix after adding the flour. We needed to add a touch more water because we couldn't get it to a wet dough. There were too many dry spots. I added about a quarter cup more to the big bowl. All you do is stir up this mix until it's wet and sticky and leave it sit with a loose lid on for 2-5 hours on the counter. Ours was bubbling up even before 2 hours. I think it all has to do with your climate and home temperature.

I'm hoping this turns out because I want to bake a loaf from each, test mine, and if it works, give the other loaf and the rest of the dough to my neighbor who is always super sweet to me. :D They expanded so much! At least I know I didn't break it... We heard pops coming from the kitchen though, forcing the lid off as the gas expanded. Oops! I guess leave the lid cracked. n...n;;

After you have let the stirred dough sit, you can put it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I found out that letting the dough sit in the fridge for a few hours after this proofing will make it easier to work with. I found that out AFTER shaping my first ball. Oh well. The longer it sits to 2 weeks, the more like a sourdough bread it will become.

Sprinkle some flour over the top and dust your hands and pull up a ball, slicing it off. Carefully shape it -without kneading- to make it smooth, but not to lose too much of the gasses built up in it.

If you want to make pita, flatbread, or pizza dough, just pop it in the oven after shaping it. If you want risen bread, then you'll want to let it sit on the counter for another 40-90 minutes. Ours was ready before 40 minutes, having easily doubled in size. It says you should dust some cornmeal down and put the dough on that to help slide it in, but I only had flour and thought I'd be okay. I should have been a lot more liberal with the flour because it stuck a bit, despite best intentions. I sliced the top of the bread, as per directions, then tried to slide it onto a pan and ... eek. Well, I did my best to pry it loose, but I'm still sure I must have loosed a lot of gas it wanted to keep. I kind of suck. x...x Oh well, first lesson!

(Use more anti-stick powder than is shown here! : D This is pre-rising. It doubled.)

Although the author of the recipe turns out crisper and fluffier loafs than I did, It was cooked all the way through and turned out alright, I suppose! I unstuck the dough onto a well floured pan and put it in the oven with a dish and added 2 cups of water to it (although the recipe calls for 1, someone had recommended 2...) and let the water put a little steam in. The recipe calls to be baked on a baking stone that has been heated in the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes and that the stone draws out excess moisture in the bread which is what will make a crisp loaf. Since I don't have that stone, I think I may reduce the water to 1C next time and to be sure I've better dusted the rising surface so that it wont' stick...

(They shrunk down to only a little bigger than the pre-raise size, which was a disappointment. I was worried I'd ruined it and would have a dense hockey puck!)

After 10 minutes resting time, I cut it and thought for a moment it might be just slightly underdone, but I think it's actually just that it's a very moist kind of bread. The bread didn't gum up when I sliced it, so it does seem cooked. It has some density, but isn't dry and heavy like bread machine bread. I think it's a little heavier than it would have been if I hadn't gotten it stuck and killed some of the rise trying to get it off or if I had less moisture going on in the oven from the steam bath or maybe been using a baking stone... and the sweet jam helped balance the saltiness a bit.

Woo! Still some bubble pockets in there! At least it's not a bread brick!

I'm not sure if I feel confident giving my neighbor the bread and dough with it being this salty and imperfect, but it was nice to have tried something new and I think I'll try it as toast tomorrow and see how it all goes. :D I hope with practice, I'll get better.

The recipe for the bread was posted online by the authors of this book: http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919 , which has all different kinds of common and specialty bread. I think that, considering the only home-made bread I've ever made dry bread machine bread or 'takes six plus hours' hand kneaded doughs, that I was able to get something this decent my first time, even screwing up as I did... I'm really pretty interested in the book. If getting dough ready can really be this easy, I'd love to get the recipes for rye, whole wheat, sweet breads and rolls, and all the other stuff they have in there!

Even doing all the steps in one night, I was barely in the kitchen and I still have fresh bread. I'm pretty excited about that! Admittedly, when I smelled fresh bread baking, I was kind of surprised that not long ago, I stirred up some flour slop, and now it was smelling like real food. I think the whole time I was expecting it to totally fail... But it didn't! And knowing I already have a whole bucket ready to go that will last so long in the fridge is pretty cool business, if you ask me! It seems almost like it's too good to be true. I hope you all try it. (With less salt! XD)

Organizing with simple tricks--

2009-04-04T21:55:03Z

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*

After figuring out purging excess junk is the first step to getting clean and that after that, storage and having places for everything is key... I started trying to arrange places for things and routines to keep up order, thinking that would make my house a smooth functioning system... but it still kept getting messed up! I couldn't really get the systems to be practiced! Hubby (and sometimes me!) was really hard to motivate to adopt new habits. His habits were 'come in, dump at the door'. Getting him to cart away his uniform to the laundry basket in the bedroom, shoes into a cupboard, receipts and documents into the paperwork folders in the kitchen, key into the box, and wallet onto his night table just wasn't happening. There was no point in having a place for everything if it wasn't the right and convenient place. Much as it would have been nice... there was no way my organization systems were going to be used if they were spread all over and I tried to get him to adapt himself to the new arrangements. The arrangements had to adapt to him and I think for anyone who isn't naturally a stickler about tidying up, they have to be really easy to utilize if they're GOING to end up being utilized. So! For instance... Here's a very tidy looking recreation I did of my poor shoe hutch:

Debit card, stamp cards, pens, crumpled receipts, empty gum packets, pocket change, old fortune cookie, uniform patches... And I hate to say it, but this really is a staged looking version of the normal mess. Picture gum wrappers, folded up papers, gloves, god knows what. In he comes, pockets turned out, dumped onto the nearest flat surface, and then he starts kicking off his boots. Well! If I wanted to have a cute entry table with my little trinkets and photos, he needed to have somewhere else to dump his stuff.

I hung this basket! He dumps all his garbage and goods into the basket and I come by every other day or so and pluck out the garbage wrappers, collect the pens, and flatten out the receipts and important work papers and store them in the system I have arranged. Would it be nice if he'd sort it all out himself? Yeah. Is it nice though that for a minimal amount of tidying up that I can have a clean hall and not miss important documents or expense records? YES!

Above it are two nails that hold clips that say "Read" and "Do". With so many things he digs through to grab his ID and cards for the day, he never notices if I leave him a note. Rather than graffiti the bathroom mirror with a marker, which he will still sometimes not notice because it's not a regular message board, he knows if there's anything I need to tell him before he shuffles off with the car in the early AM, this is the designated spot he should look for it. And now rather than hope he'd notice my new 'Things to do around the house' notepad on the kitchen fridge, I can tear off the sheet of his chores and hang it up right where he'll see it and I can leave mine in the kitchen where I see it.

HA! Problems averted!

Next problem is my mail! I'm notoriously bad at bringing in mail, getting nervous to open bills, and letting them pile up. This two rack system of "ew x...x" for bills and "ok! <3" for paid and outgoing items just wasn't cutting it. Sometimes I had a letter to write, sometimes it was something I just needed to open and store, sometimes it was junk but needed to be recycled or shredded...

Recreated in tamed version! You don't even WANT to see how bad it REALLY was before!! Mail on the floor, bags of unsorted post box fodder... I mean, just for example, that green envelope in there was an old card I never mailed to my cousin 2 or 3 years ago. I'm terrible at sorting my mail!

My girl friend, Jamie, bought me these clips from my FAVORITE company, Knock Knock. ( http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/accessories/task-clips/ ) They were on a super duper sale, but anyone could make a system like this even using something like paper labels stuck to the wall and a sturdy envelope tacked up under it for no cost. The clips say "File", "Send", "Do", and "Read". When mail comes in, I quickly sort it into clips and leave it be. When it's time to deal with the mail, I can pluck out the pack I need to handle without being overwhelmed by volume. When I stamp or prep mail to go out, I may have done it late at night or in the morning when I'm not dressed to run out to the mail and I think "I'll do that later, then..." and then end up leaving house to do a chore without remembering the mail tucked on a table in the family room until I'm already on the road. Now it's always RIGHT by the door and I can grab it on my way out when I grab my keys.

I also keep extra versions of the clips next to the kitchen cupboard that I store our files in. Sometimes I do filing or paperwork in there but I get overwhelmed with wanting to sort paperwork, so I can just clip it up next to the cupboard and I know I'll get to it later. I'm definitely someone who is not on top of paperwork and business... but I know I'm even LESS prone to face dealing with it if it's sitting in a big, unsorted stack. Seeing it neatly ordered in a "File" clip next to the cupboard seems less scary and I'm more able to snatch them down and slide them into their appropriate storage folders while I brew coffee or wait for the tea water to boil. My kitchen counters, hallway floor, and table stay clear of paperwork and bills!

Two letter-style accordion folders are tacked to the wall below my key box and letter sorters. One is marked "Business Receipts", the other "Purchases". When I come in, all receipts just get shoved in. I can come back and take them out and sit and record them when I'm not juggling a purse, keys, grocery bags, and god knows what else. It means they don't get lost and I can actually enter them in my books and try to keep up my budget and I can focus on getting my bags put down in a proper place without letting the hall become a dumping ground.

No more garbage, no more lost receipts, no more stacks of abandoned mail, no more cluttered countertops and backlogs of 'file me' papers... Now I just need to figure out how to get the uniforms into a laundry basket instead of the hall or family room couch and the sea bags not emptied out right inside the door...

But hey! It's time to celebrate this first success.

Repurposing containers and trash for the power of good-

2009-04-04T06:21:58Z

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:

I cut up a frozen foods box and taped it together then hammered it to my bathroom cabinet...

It was measured to fit my Nurse KT tissue box cover! I could never find a box of tissues that size anymore and tissues are used up so quickly anyway. Still, I liked the cover enough that I could never bring myself to get rid of it, despite never having been able to use it (and I've owned the silly thing for 8 years!!) Now it's a hanky or cloth wipe box. I saved the thick plastic packaging with a hanger that originally housed the baby washcloths I put in the tissue box and I thought it could make a good collection baggy. After throwing a few cloths in, I see it has a decent capacity, so I could just sew a little cover for it and make it all cutelike. Instead of throwing away the bag, it will just become a waterproof liner to hold used hankies.

Okay, so those are pretty simple, but it felt nice to just go 'oh, I don't need to go to the store and buy special containers! I can just cut up a box and voila!'

A diaper pail was on my list of 'to get' items, but I figured why not try using a tub I already have? I mean, why go buy ONE MORE thing? I saved wrapping paper from baby gifts and stuck cuts of it around the outside of the box to obscure the contents and dress it up a bit, but I thought it should probably be a bit more done up.

I used some old paper flowers that I was given, but didn't think were quality enough to use in my ear wraps and some leftover ribbon I had from a project making ribbon roses.

The top uses a scrap of leftover craft foam I had with some photo corners holding in a wrapping paper covered index card so that I could put a label on it like "dirty nappies" or something... the rhinestones are part of a broken bracelet I had where the elastic snapped. I sewed on the ends and put a cheap cardboard tag on that I found in the bottom of a box with some brads.

Now it's finished but... as usual, my overly flowery aesthetic has taken over and has almost made a 3$ tupperware look kinda cuteish. At least a little more than it was before. I'm kind of looking at this box going, 'wow... dirty diapers in here?' The box doesn't have a super strong seal and I worry that after all of this effort to doll it up, it would never hold in scent (even a little!) and possibly even with a liner, the plastic would absorb odors and never be the same again. Maybe this box is better for keepsakes or baby shoes or something...

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!

This project was found on http://mayamade.blogspot.com/2008/09/portable-art-studio-tutorial.html, originally from McCall's Giant Golden Make-It Book.

I usually buy soy milk, but I had some organic regular milk for tea. I suppose you could do this with any container this size, whether dairy, soy, rice, almond, juice, even something like an epsom salts jug. If it has a plastic pour spout, cut it out.

Wrap the bottom with duct tape, folding down the peak to be flat and wrapping around it. I made sure to tape over the spout hole. I also put a strip over the top to use as a cutting guide.

After the wrapping, you cut out the non-taped parts with a razor tool.

I put on two more pieces of tape on the handle, not down the center like the first piece, but off center so I'd have extra to fold over the edge. Not only does it smooth out the cut edge, but it helps to round the handle out.

When it came to the sides of the box, I cut a slit in each corner and a little wedge piece out so I could fold it around the corners without bulk. Who knows if there's a better way to cut this... XD My mind doesn't always work out shapes well, so I'm not sure it's the most effective cut, but it worked well enough.

The carton material is sturdy enough that I don't think it needs tape to supplement the structure. I suppose you could cover it all with tape just for a finished look, but that seems like it would use a lot of tape and not be very cute anyway. After smoothing it down, the raw edges are mostly covered, at least well enough that the box could then be covered with paper or painted over. That might make it a little nicer to look at, but that's something for another day.

I dumped my box decorating supplies into it. I LOVE this little 'toolbox' carton because I often get started on a little project that I want to come back to, but don't want to leave out NOR really have to deal with sorting it all back into their proper organized boxes in the studio. So... I can just dump it all in a toolbox like this and carry it back and put it on the studio shelf without leaving a huge mess around. Whether it's embroidery, crochet, felting, wire, painting, calligraphy... A little box like this can hold a current project easily, but without being so big that it will be an endless catch-all pit that requires an hour to empty and store away once I'm done with it. It would also be a quick way to toss some supplies together to take over to a friend's house or to work on while in a waiting room but without risking things disappearing or getting crushed in a purse or backpack. Plus it just saved a non-recyclable milk carton from the dump and kept me from spending 10$ on a craft caddy, so I'm sold!

Ooooh, questions n.n

2009-03-26T02:45:09Z

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!

It won't let me embed..

2009-03-17T01:30:36Z

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!

What are you giving people this year?

2008-12-19T01:28:33Z

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--!

Lone Woman

2008-11-26T06:03:39Z

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?

Another video..

2008-11-17T11:34:10Z

Well, it's been some time since my last video. I wasn't sure I'd make this footage into a video because I didn't feel like it was that helpful, but with all the film of kitty on it, I thought it would be a good memory.

I have been really getting up and moving again and doing more art and being more active in the day, so hopefully while doing that, I'll have more things I want to make videos about and will make some more uploads. Reading all of the nice comments from people really inspired me to get back to it.

I got this tip from NerdNurture at Instructables (http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Stop-Using-Paper-Towels-Napkins-and-Baby-/) who suggests using two ply t-shirt squares to make household use cloths.

Just as she said, the process is easy. :) Although I don't wear t-shirts and wouldn't have any to use normally, Hubby is always going through white undershirts. They become stretched out along the neck or otherwise undesirable and made perfect wipes.

I cut three sizes, which also allowed me to use up the most material. I could squeeze a few more "small" size out of a shirt that had already been cut of large or medium.

It was a little difficult going around the corners at first. My first one was a mess, but by the time I was well into the pile, I was a lot more comfortable. I realised what good practice this actually is for a beginner at the serger.

The trimmed edges look pretty wild. :3 She suggests knotting the end thread, but I couldn't really get it to knot without getting all tangled, so I just clipped them and I'll hope for the best. Oh well, they're just cleaning rags, right?

I refuse to buy paper towels, but I find myself staring at messes and then looking wistfully at my showering towels and then digging around for something- anything!- to clean with besides those. I have washcloths and a few sponges, but not nearly enough and they're awfully expensive to keep buying. This is a great solution to have a bulk stock for cleaning. I find that the cloths are super sturdy and great in the kitchen -and- they also dry a lot quicker than a washcloth, so if I do a light job and the cloth isn't grimy, it can air dry in a few minutes and I'm not freaked out to touch it, or that it's going to be growing its own mildew patch overnight.

I made the small ones for baby wipes, but I'll probably keep the medium and large for all odd jobs in general, rather than specific ones. They're too close in size, and without a contrasting stitch color, I wouldn't want to designate mediums for my face or something, only to get them mixed up with large kitchen wipes. ew. XD

If you have extra t-shirts, you should give this a try! n...n

Leaf Update

2008-11-13T01:07:57Z

This isn't a super important post and I haven't really checked up on my FList for a few days, so please don't kill me. :D

I was just leaving a quick note for my friends who offered to help me hunt down my special tiny leaves that I can't seem to find anywhere anymore. I've talked to one of my suppliers about a special order, so pending approval of the comparison photos to make sure the product is close enough to match my old one, I'll have my leaves and no longer be looking.

That's the plus side. The negative side is that because of the minimum order process, I will soon become smothered in 3600 (!!!) miniature leaves.

.... So... if anyone ever needs any thumbnail sized green fabric leaves, YOU WILL KNOW WHO TO COME TO. XD

Also on the plus side is that I'll be able to get back to work. <3

Thank you so much to all of you who offered support and volunteered to check your local stores for my leaves. It was much appreciated. <333

Toxic candy warning

2008-10-29T08:42:11Z

You may, or may not, be aware of the recent scare and recall in China of tainted milk products and the subsequent recall of Chinese milk exports in other countries. One reason you may not be aware is that the products have not been pulled in a widespread here in the US, despite China, Australia, the Philippines, and more pulling and banning the tainted products.

The problem stems from when companies, looking to save money, add melamine, and its connected toxins, to watered down milk to fool tests into believing it's a rich, high protein milk sample. Young, and yet unborn, children are at particular risk, which is what makes Halloween time something we must all be particularly careful about.

Tainted milk products have caused serious illness in more than 54,000 children, and even deaths, who were unknowingly being fed infant formula and food products mixed with the tainted milk.

It is important to note that it is NOT just Chinese brand foods and snacks that can be tainted, but any that use milk powders and ingredients that originate from these guilty Chinese factories and can appear in any country. Quite a few factories in China exported milk powder and products which would have been purchased by large companies in use in common grocery store items and treats. Not just items like milk powder, but casein, and other milk items in food could be at risk. The problem is that the FDA is reportedly not releasing information or actual test results, so you don't know if food or Halloween chocolates brands you may have purchased or tainted or not, or which lot numbers might be at risk if they were produced with Chinese milk powders. Even big companies like Hershey, Cadbury, and Kraft own factories in China to assist them in making their products.

While the tainted milk scandal was covered up in China for weeks to keep a good face during the Olympics, it has been suggested that the US FDA is covering up the tainted foods here to keep focus on the elections and to keep from possibly further damaging our wavering stock strength by creating distrust of some of our most popular and relied on food brands.

Please question this, demand answers, and pass this information on. I plan on including informational slips for parents to encourage them to check up on their children's Halloween bags just to be safe. Anyone who can do the same might want to consider it. I just bought a few items today that have milk powder in them, and I will be returning them. I need healthy kidneys much more than I need granola bars. Nobody wants to play Russian Roulette with the health of their family, friends, and especially the innocent children that come knocking for Halloween, so let's do what we can to demand answers to what is safe and what is not!

"China reports 3rd death in tainted milk scandal"
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/17/asia/AS-China-Baby-Formula-Recall.php (early on in September)

"Tainted Milk Recall Widens To Include Some Snack Foods"
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1570911/tainted_milk_recall_widens_to_include_some_snack_foods/index.html

"Australia recalls products in tainted milk scandal"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_he_me/as_australia_tainted_milk

"Cadbury: Melamine found in Chinese-made chocolates"
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/29/asia/AS-Asia-Tainted-Milk.php

Autumn success :D

2008-10-12T04:15:34Z

My very first autumn themed wrap. :D

(Full views are better, so either click for larger, or go to my shop site for super sized shots)

I have to say, I am freakishly pleased with my autumn wrap. Instead of smooth, thread wrapped wire, I have a rough, knotted, grain like paper wrapped wire. My favorite part is how it cracks apart and looks like dry branches! I used pressed paper leaves that I attached to gold colored wire stems last year and kept in stock for hope I'd find enough components to ever make an autumn piece. The other leaves are actually plastic! Weird, right?

While I would never ordinarily think to use plastic because it's really stiff and generally perceived as cheap, in this case, you would not believe how cool it is. It curls up and is nice and dry sounding. I really think it helps this wrap look more wild and fall-like.

Generally, I wouldn't like to be so self-complimentary, so I hope you don't all think I'm being rude. It's simply been a long time since I've made anything that I feel really good about, and a long time since something I've made has really worked in all ways the way I wanted it to. I just feel very refreshed and excited to have made something I've been thinking of for so long and to really have it turn out just the way I saw it in my mind. Maybe even better. Thanks for putting up with my gushing.

Maybe the only problem is that when I make the top edge of my wraps flow straight along the ear ridge, rather than curling down, it looks to sit too high on the mannequin's ear and makes it look ill fitting, but other than that, I approve. :D

Although I've sold most of my favorite wraps and weeded out quite a few others from my collection to keep only the ones I think are the best constructed, I still have a decent handful of wraps and small accessories ready to go and some varied mirrors and candles. I still want to make more and have a couple of projects in progress, but it feels satisfying to look at my lineup. It's like liquid accomplishment.

.... We just won't photograph "The Graveyard"... the box where I have twenty or more wraps I decided weren't up to snuff over the years. Don't know why I keep them. XD Morbid interest? Scavenging possibilities, maybe? Truth be told, even the ones I don't think are good enough still feel a bit like an accomplishment to me.

All is not perfect, however. I was hoping to use scrap laces I had to make a clip, and it.... didn't go so well. ;...;

(shudder...) My first plan was to make it round... then that sucked, so I cut it in half. I had a huge tulle bunch on it, thinking I'd make it seem kind of like a veil, but it just looked tacky and I kept cutting it down until there was nothing left. Everything, everything, EVERYTHING went wrong here. I couldn't even operate on it.

Ever once in a while, despite best intent, one must simply throw it away and start over again.

Determined not to try to force a look that wouldn't work, I was really careful this time and tried to make that layered lace scrap look without getting tacky and I figured that despite my original sketch being made entirely of lace, this was going to need something else or it was just going to end up in the garbage again. I listened to my materials and added a little crystal spray. I think I'm going to hand-bead a cluster of pearls and crystals into the center. It will probably take a while and I've never done anything like that, but I think if I keep editing myself and really bring all my effort to it, it might go from a little scrap project to maybe something really regal looking... who knows!!

(The clip changed into a fan shaped comb and the back curves slightly with the shape of the comb piece I sewed onto it.)

By the way, there's my little cameo oreo rose hair clip XD When I was first making it, I was really pleased with it, but now that I've stood back from all the work I put into it and looked at it with fresh eyes, there's so much going on in it that I wish looked better. I would only call myself 80% pleased and I think that rather than make any more felt flowers, I might needle felt my flowers. I think that although needle felting looks a little bit like a toy in a way, there's a softness to needle felted flowers that really lends well to things like pearls and lace in ways that the flat craft felt does not. I think it actually ends up looking a bit stark. Not to say I wouldn't ever use craft felt again, because I think it's very fun stuff, but... Well, I saw a needle felted rose aaaaand.... I got too excited by it to make any more cut felt flowers!! :D

Well, I guess that's up for the update. I know that's not much, considering my last post was so long ago, but that's how very little I've actually been up to. x....x

Take care, all.

A plea for help!

2008-10-11T12:04:35Z

It's pretty much been months since I've made art worth mentioning, and on the one hand, my fingers are feeling essentially pain free after this lengthy break, but on the other hand my moping at being unable to do the art I want to has broken me down and slowly whittled me away to a bored, unmotivated person who doesn't have the energy to bother getting into anything. Now that I can think about picking up art again, I've found I don't have much motivation. Maybe some of that is the blase of being in my first trimester, but I think most of it is just being so in the habit of being in an directionless funk.

I was pinning up my most current wraps and other items onto my studio display board tonight and it just felt so good holding and looking at my work again. I found myself stopping and looking at pieces and saying to myself 'wow, did I really make that?' Not meaning to flatter myself at all, but I really love what I make. It's kind of silly how much enjoyment and pride I find in twisting up utilitarian packs of floral wire into these weird little things that I end up just loving to stare at. My work doesn't represent social issues and it won't go up in an exclusive gallery or be featured in a trendy city fashion magazine, but it's what I like to do. I knew that malaise or not, I wanted to work with wire again.

I pulled out some supplies and I'm going to make my first autumn wrap tomorrow. I've never made an autumn wrap, but I have wanted to for a -very- long time. Ever since the beginning when I made my first wrap something like four years ago. It was my hope to do every season, but it took me time to find and make all the supplies and components in 'other season' colors. I should have gotten started on autumn hues at the end of August to have caught this sale season, but at THIS point in my non-accomplishment streak, it would just mean everything to me to have even made ONE autumn wrap and be able to offer it, just to know I finally did it.

So, the thoughts have completed... Commence begging:

How do I say this... WHAT??! All I can say is WHAT?! The store I used to buy my wired leaves at has stopped carrying the smallest size and for some reason, I have found it impossible to find the size online. (Believe me when I say it's not from a lack of trying!) I'm not sure the brand of the leaf because I've discarded all my packagings. The store, Michaels, says they aren't carrying them anymore. That kind of leaves me up the creek with no paddle.

The remaining bundles I have I found fallen into a pouch they didn't belong in by mistake and they're now too beat up to use. I essentially cannot make my pieces without the smallest size rose leaf. I have managed to find 10 different leaf breeds in various sizes, but nothing as small as that rose leaf in green satin. I've also tried making my own leaves to substitute, but nothing gets as clean and crisp looking as the little wired leaves from the craft market, which are professionally stamped.

SO!! Here is my plea: Would -anyone- be willing to check their local art or floral shop for tiny leaves? They are quite common in the wedding supply section, because they're most often used as decor for wedding favors and corsage making. Out here on the island, I've exhausted my sources for possible supplies and have found none. If someone were to even make it to a store like Michaels that used to carry this size and get the brand name for me of the larger rose leaves, I could try to look it up, myself. All I remember is that the cardboard flap on the top was dark blue and I think had white printing on it. Vague, I know. Here are some size reference photos.

They come bundled in little groups and there will likely be a few bundles in each package. They run under 2$ apiece and I would be endlessly grateful to anyone who might be willing to buy them for me and ship them out. I will obviously pay for everything, including packaging and shipping beforehand, so nobody would have to front any money- just be willing to go to the store or to check the shelves next time they are there.

I took a few snapshots, but I don't want to overwhelm this post with info, so I'll give my update later. Somehow, I feel confident you can all survive without it for now and that your lives will not end. XD ...I don't know if that statement obnoxiously humble, or passive aggressively self-depreciatory. All the same... Take care, all!

Oh, and please...! Someone help me!!

Day five

2008-08-29T11:54:03Z

SLEEPY!!

Today was pretty busy and so I didn't end up doing some of the things I thought I might with the stationary. Instead I did housework and then gardened and wrote out some cards for friends and family. I also doctored up my favorite plush, Stuffy, who was kind of sick looking and flat.

Toward the end of the night, I realized I hadn't really done anything for my work, so I decided I should do -something-. I kind of banged out a 'onesie' with felt details, ala Lou and Lee style because I love their felt designs. As I was putting it together though, I realised I didn't really know how much a baby would stretch out the cotton and therefore how much extra felt to cut for the give. I think that my design would seriously have to hit the drawing board a few more times. I also tried to put ruffles on the butt, but suffice it to say I think that elastic ruffles would be MUCH better. I can't imagine putting on lace details that weren't gathered and then trying to shove a diaper in there. I don't know a lot about baby figures, but I know those diapers have to be jammed into those bodysuits somehow and they need all the stretch they can get.

Of course, it may have also worked out better if I'd used one of my higher quality jumpsuits rather than one of the cheap cotton ones, but I didn't want to mess up a good quality one while practicing.

Eek! Stuffy, your fluff is junk and you're ... well... dirty.

Stuffy after a bath.

Stuffy's rattle has been replaced, along with a little bundle of his old fluff and is stitched back up, being doubly fat. Wow, you're pink and soft again and chubbier than ever. n...n You must be so happy!

Onesie... Hm. still not quite right... Produced with machine and hand stitching with pearlized vintage buttons using a combination of cream, white, and dark brown. Only about 50% happy with it, but oh well, no real loss. It didn't take long to make and it was a good learning experience. The biggest problem was that I could tell I was getting really tired and just eager to get it done. I caught some of a different row of eyelet lace on the butt for the second time and threw my hands up in the air. When I start catching fabric in the machine is when I know I'm too tired to focus and I should quit.

(*I should note real quick that I'm not actually making dolled up bodysuits to sell. This was just for me for fun. I'm not trying to rip off that designer and I don't plan on trying to bank on their baby-suit vision. I just wanted to try my hand at it since I have all of the spare materials already at home and I'd been admiring their aesthetic. My little suit has a lot of practice to go before it looks as polished as their suits anyway... I'm just playing around with something I found cute. No harm, no foul.)

Although I'm a big fan of 'over the top', I tried to keep this simple and cut out any lace on the front or anything so it could be neutral. All in all, I'd really have to only call this 50% happy. I mean, eh, technically it has all the stuff on them, but whether it's the slightly funny shamed cameo face (that I just free handed, rather than drew out first) or not really knowing how much spare to put on the collar, it's just not quite right. I can't really blame myself without a model, though. I think if I try these again, it'll have to be after I have a newborn to actually measure. I tried dressing my stuffed fox in the suit but uh... didn't really provide an accurate representation! : D

... Well, I'm tired now. Day five technically completed. I'm seriously exhausted. :D Take care, all.