Currently: June 29, 2004 link

WOW!! I'm smitten! (link via Tania) This has to be one of the most glorious splash pages (or whatever they are called) I have ever seen. I also love the felted handbags, of course.

I was searching internet yesterday looking for pics of Victorian houses and I came upon this awesome house:

It's called the Spadena House, or The Witches House, and it's in Beverly Hills. Here is more info about it. I want to live there. I reeeallly want to know what the floor plan is like, and what it looks like inside.

June 22, 2004 link

Check out Our hero battles twenty-six alphabeticised terrors by Tom Gauld. It amuses me to no end.

I have seen two lamps shades within the past month from designers in the UK that I absolutely LOVE:



The lampshade on the left is from Design by Rose (flash) and is called "Moth Lampshade."

The shade on the right in from Mixko (also flash) and is called "Delight". It's made from felt, which of course, I REALLY love.

Felting is a craft that I have a love/hate relationship with. I see items like the lamp shade and I get really excited to make some felt, and then when I actually get around to tinkering with it I remember what a time-intensive, wet, sloppy mess it is. I also think part of the problem is the fact that I am not doing it quite right. I go forth without much of an idea of what I want to make because I am so excited and just want to make SOMETHING and I don't plan and therefore come out with not much of anything. I checked out this book from the library, and the author, Chad Alice Hagen is a wonderful felt artist and has a very cool process that I am going to try. I think that I am drawn to felting as it's an exercise in patience, which I lack a lot of times, especially when it comes to crafting. Sewing is another thing I tend to whiz through and end up with crap. NO MORE!!....hopefully.





June 17, 2004 link

I keep seeing these silk-screened images from Atelier LZC:



They make some amazing items. The site is flash, so go check out the catalogue section. Actually, check out everything,...it's all wonderful.

I am also utterly charmed and amazed by the art of endfile. Go to "Catalogue" and then start with the stitched message samplers.

Other random items keeping me busy:

Eats:
We bought a fancy shiny new gas grill a couple of weeks ago and I have been searching for grilling recipes or a good grilling cookbook. I feel so adult. My favorite so far is corn on the cob.

Crafts:
Top secret "Thank You" item. I have the pieces cut out and sewn together. It just needs to be stuffed. Next week, Karan is going to take me to the relocated Shipwreck Beads so I can purchase the finishing touches. Will post the completed item.

Art Stuffs:
Pretty exciting developments...I have been asked to work on the next book in the series after Knit Wit. It's about quilting and I am totally thrilled.

Reading:
I have just finished the Jane Austen books, the last one being Mansfield Park. I am now trying to read Bram Stoker's Dracula. I am also trying to read One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I have lost interest.



June 14, 2004 link

Winner!



Third time's a charm. I finally....FINALLY won the coveted Mambo For Cats album illustrated by Jim Flora. It cost me a pretty penny, but it's the jewel in my Jim Flora crown. It will soon be home to join it's brothers:



I need to buy some more album frames from Urban Outfitters. I have also decided that I need to get a sixth album so that I can hang them in a nice symmetrical grouping. My best friend Sweet Caroline's eagle eye spotted a poster hanging in the house of Mikey and Sully in the movie Monsters, Inc. that is extremely similar to the Mambo for Cats album. The poster says "Jazz" and I am positive the artist or artists responsible meant it as a tribute to Mr. Flora.

I like I like. Furthermore, I like has introduced me to an artist I have never seen before that is similar I think to the style of Mr. Flora: Miroslav Sasek. I have added the This is....books to my ever growing list of things I think I need.

I have absolutely fallen in LOVE with the textiles of Oromono. I can't decide whether or not I like the Sea Bloom or Anemone pillows the best.



June 11, 2004 link

Pond update. For Julia and others interested.....the first thing we did to make this pond was to fill the barrel half and empty it over and over again until the wine smell was gone. If you get your barrel from the store I am not sure you need to do this. Ours came straight from the winery so it was very pungent. We then filled it with water from the hose and plopped in two water hyacinths. TA-DA! Done.

One of the hyacinths has died but the other is very healthy. I read all sorts of info about the correct way to do a water garden and it started to get overwhelming. I am sure there is a "right" way to do it, but my way seems to be working just fine so far. There was a little bit of Fairy Moss in the water hyacinth bag we got from the garden center that has survived and multiplied as well. We have also noticed that the pond is now a nursery to many fantastic water creatures. I am certain that we are breeding several healthy specimen of sea monster, water nymph, giant squid, and perhaps a mermaid. It's hard to tell as they are so small and squirmy.

Actually, we are expecting parents to a nice group of mosquito larvae. My dad informed me of a pill that we can get at Home Depot that will kill all of the squatters. I thought about getting a feeder fish, you know, the kind they feed to lizards and stuff, but I would rather not have to deal with fish. I don't want a pond with fish, just plants. What I reeeeally want are a couple of glass pond floats. S'pose I could breed a couple of those?

P.S. I think this button of the month club is a novel idea.




June 10, 2004 link

Here are some watercolor experiments of people:


I bought two weight of Arches smooth watercolor paper: 300 and 140. I think. The armless lady in the green dress, and the purple gal with green eyes were painted with cheap-o gouache I had laying around whereas the other two were painted with shockingly expensive Windsor Newtons. The teacher for the watercolor class I took last month suggested starting with only three colors and mixing to get everything else. I can see the logic in that since the paint is kinda pricey. I think I like the gouache better however, so I am going to make another trek to the art store and pick up "Artist Quality" gouache. I also bought a Rapidograph pen, and accidentally threw away the key that came with it. D'oh! You use the key to take the pen apart to clean it. I hope they sell spares.

Last month the fabulous Kim sent me a link to the cutest knitted baby stuff: Bla Bla Knits for Kids. I really love the monkey booties. It reminded me of a link Looblylu posted a while back: Anne-Claire Petit crocheted animals. (click on Animals collection) I love those animals so much.

I am going to go to the library this weekend to see if I can find a crocheted animal book of some sort. I have decided to read C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia since I never have, so I need the next book in the series. I am also trying to read some of L. Frank Baum's Oz books, but those aren't quite doing it for me.



June 8, 2004 link

I am seriously in LOVE with this Gnome fabric created by Munki Munki currently being sold at Reprodepot Fabrics. I bought these cute green shoes from J.Crew to go with my dress for the wedding (see below) and I have been looking for something else to wear with them. I think a Gnome summer dress would fit the bill.

Thanks for all of the airplane/sick suggestions, I did some searching on the web and found that I should be drinking way more water that I was (which a lot of you mentioned). I know that planes are dehydrating, but I try not to drink much so that I don't have to get up and pee every two seconds. I guess I should get over that. I also read that I shouldn't touch my face, especially the nose. I try to wash my hands like a zealot, but touching my face is such an unconscious act. I am also going to take Sarah's suggestion of the saline nasal spray.

LJC posted a link to Daojonz last month and like her, I also got overly excited. My favorite is the Scary Girl Chihoohoo. Nathan J is a favorite of mine.

June 7, 2004 link

Man oh man! I have been gone forever! I needed a little hiatus to refresh my juices and it was longer than I anticipated.

J and I just returned from Boston where I was the Maid of Honor in my best friend's wedding. It was a hoot and a lot of my time last month was spent making arrangements for that. Everything went pretty smoothly except for the Saga of the Green Dress:

The first one was backordered...the second one wasn't going to arrive in time, the third one was WAY too big...and with only a couple of days remaining, I had to order the forth dress and alter it to fit. The dress was not made for a petite woman who is extremely short-waisted so I either had to fix it myself or stuff my bra with some really large sagging boobs. The wedding was awesome and we met a bunch of fantastic people.

I managed to get sick from the plane ride out there....AGAIN. Every single damn time I have flown this year I have gotten sick. Someone told me about a product called Airborne. I am going to have to start traveling next month for work and I really do not want to get sick again. Has anyone had any luck with this stuff?




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