100 things {big & small}

I got this from Sara, who got it from Lucrecer, who got it from someone else's blog...you know how it goes...now it is your turn! Leave a comment if you post a list on your own blog.

Bold the things that you have done:

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo's David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone's life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Read an entire book in one day

{here on earth}

{eek! it's been a whole month since I last posted!}

Here's a full-circle story for you: my friend Monica recommended Earth: the biography which opened the startling realization that I completely missed out on anything space-related during my no-television childhood. So I thought I should re-learn some physics. And maybe some astronomy, and then maybe all this astro-physics stuff wouldn't be so inaccessible. Yeah. So, bottom line: I'm a little more informed, but it should go without saying, I'm light-years away from any kind of true understanding. It's comforting, though, to know that I'm not alone in my on-earth, human ignorance. While I was doing all this up-ward gazing, trying to squint through the light pollution to spy Venus, I also concluded that there is a whole world right here at my feet. Places I really want to see that are accessible; I don't need a rocket booster strapped behind me. Even places in my home city. Part of my house. My brain. Enter Ashley's latest class: {Evidence}. Oh, geez, the relief! It was a put-down-the-crazy-space-text-and-make-something-meaningful refresher. I'm happily cruising thought my 12th entry in this journal, and it's only been a week! Wish this class could continue on, but Ms. Wren supplied us with everlasting prompts for when I need to be grounded. Peace.

Good Acoustics & a Scare! {the friendly kind}

Yay for paper collage! This little number was requested by a friend for her husband who plays--you guessed it: piano, guitar, & drums. I built the paper collage, then heat-transfered it to the t-shirt. The pick was scanned & digitally added. Good stuff, eh?

And I made a hang-tag for the door with some previous SIStv style phyle pieces. Perfect for Halloween. We're engineering BIG costumes here this year; what's on the docket @ your house?

Love Makes You Real

It isn't like me to reference television, but I've been in a creative rut...{I promise there's a point to this ramble}...One of my favorite episodes of Friends was when Rachel was waiting for Ross to go see a movie, and he's just been told his fiancee that he must choose between her or Rachel. Rachel busts in with: "Come on, Stella gets her groove back in, like, twenty minutes!" So whenever I go a stretch without making something, I get cranky, and a little nervous that I just don't have my groove. The actual inspiration for this little hanging is The Velveteen Rabbit, but I'm also glad for Friends & reminding me about my groove. And if it's been awhile since you read The Velveteen Rabbit, find a copy with rich illustrations and settle in.

Put down the broom & Make Something!

Stop folding laundry & Make Something.

Drag yourself away from email & Make Something.

Order in & Make Something.

It's nearly crisis-mode. After a huge project, I need a little recovery time, a clearing of the decks, if you will. Well, the decks are cleared. The kiddos are quiet. The dishes are done. And dinner is set. I just ordered a box of creative jump-start: Kerry Lynn's premiere collection from Kenner Rd. I'm thrilled for my friend & wish her buckets of success. Now, if only my USPS people were sprinters...

k2tog, and other messes

For you non-knitters, that's code for--I'm up to my ears in a pile of yarn! Pictures to come...I am recovered from the wedding papery of my dear friends Karen & Scott, and now turning to another wedding project once I get my sweater off its needles (grrr). When I have something to show for it, you'll see it here. Speaking of stitches, the 2 yr old got his first one the other night right along his vermillion line. A character mark at two. {And a few MORE grey hairs for me; thanks kid}.

Big Thoughts about Pineapple

After reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle," I found myself *really* paying attention to where in the world my family's food is coming from. It should have been simple for produce since so much is grown within 200 miles of us. But I was surprised how far my strawberries were traveling, my mangoes, my boys bananas. Granted, California isn't the perfect climate for mangoes & bananas, but do we need bananas every week when our local produce is grown, picked & skipped in from a central valley farm? As opposed to grown, harvested, packaged, handled, shoved into a container, left in the dark of a container vessel for the trip from Hawaii to Oakland (best case), handled some more, treated to grocery store flourescent lights and fickle produce shoppers until it lands in my cart & is toted home? Yup, I'm thinking big thoughts about pineapple these days.

Rubber Stamps, anyone?

I got a little envelope from Steph (or LivingRoomFloor, as she's also known...) and it had a great image stamped on the front. I thought I'd point you toward both Steph and these folks. I made the house for one of their rubber competitions; didn't win, but I love what I made.

PS: hey acrylic stamp folks! I think you're great too.

Dear Manufacturers,

Dear Manufacturers, (Martha Stewart, Fiskars, Paper Punch, Paper Source, etc.) I have a request. I need a punch that'll make the above opening. They call it a "euro slot punch" in, well, Europe. I think we can come up with something better. A girl can hope! Warm Regards, Cortney

Lalalala, Lucky Numbers, and a little Foreigner

It's been a regular confetti party around here! I'm finishing up the papery for a good friend's wedding, and am making silhouetted/negative table numbers. Although the picture is NOT as charming as these little babies are in real life, I *love* how they look! The white card is mounted (with pop dots) on a silver tent card, so there is a lovely shadow, and the silver will catch the candlight nicely.

My Lalalalala is a scrapbook page that I started back in June, and took a w-h-i-l-e to finish up. I miss those Gigi-inspired "Today I Will..." posts!

Remember Foreigner? "Juke Box Hero" Well, the 4 yr old is crazy-mad for juice boxes, and I was recently asked what advice I'd give to the new families who are entering our nursery school this fall...steer clear of the almighty juice box! This is a page for his nursery school graduation book (which doesn't happen till summer '09, I've just got a jump-start on the whole thing since I love all things paper. Love). More grad book pages to come, I'm sure...

Laugh Till You Cry

I'm a listener. And because I grew up with National Public Radio, I also talk at it while listening. But last week's episode of This American Life nearly required me to pull over and laugh till I cried, well, the first segment anyway. If you don't know this radio show, go here and acquaint yourself with Ira Glass & Co. And if you've got 59 minutes of airtime, download #293 "A Little Bit of Knowledge." You will laugh. You will cry. And you'll be hooked.

Rocket Ships & Speed Trains {heat transfer}

The first half of July was full of birthdays around here. I am now addicted to heat transfer for a environmentally friendlier gifting & favoring at said parties. Here's the scoop: I made the images from paper collage, scanned them in, added some text digitally, printed on inkjet tranfer paper, then ironed on the bag and t-shirts. It came out beautifully on the organic cotton tote bag because of the denser weave. The t-shirts aren't too bad either, but jersey isn't the most compatible surface...(note to self: next time, screen print! and find source for organic cotton children's t's) But what was so fun was the trajectory of the collage, and how different it looks on fabric. I have BIG ideas for a wedding favor line...

Speaking of weddings, I've been creating the rehearsal dinner invite set for a good friend. And while I'm still learning the process of designing for a client, I'm thrilled with the results.

And lastly, a complete non-sequitur: This morning, while soothing a toddler, James Blunt sang to us from Sesame Street. The tune "You're Beautiful" was altered to "My Triangle." Charmed. Made my morning.

a little mixed-media inspiration

If you've read Real Simple magazine, you've seen Kat MacLeod's work. She's an Australian illustrator who's work I adore. Check her out here. I'm still searching for her website/blog...

Studio in a Drawer

Space is the problem. Children present challenges. And the day just flies by! You see, my creative spaces are in the lower levels of our house, and for most of the day, the kiddos and I are upstairs. Eating, cooking, cleaning, playing. Therefore, no crafty stuff happens till dark; till I'm nearly asleep on my feet. The solution....studio in a drawer: Now I can work a little bit on the book from her class. I can make a few tags or a birthday card. I keep the basic tools in here, and a couple ziplock bags with scraps. I have a paint deck and some vintage coasters and roladex cards. My favorite pens and some adhesive. It's keeping me sane.

Inchies; a process

Inchies--they're everywhere! I've seen them surface on the trading boards, they grace this summer's Somerset cover, and so I thought I'd share one of my processes for creating them. But first, a definition: inchies are 1X1 squares of collaged, stamped, drawn art, usually signed on the back. Some people swap theirs around. Some use a set to adorn a journal, card series or scrapbook page. The latest set I made landed a premiere spot on an ATC {artist trading card}.

1. I flipped through a couple magazines {Real Simple & Domino for this set} and glued snippets of color & wonder down to pink cardstock.

2. Then I went over the whole page with tiny scrap of paper, small rubber stamps, hole punches, and bits of ribbon & filled in the gaps.

3. I trimmed the edges, then cut 1 inch strips with a paper cutter. It's not precious; just go for it!

4. Then, crosswise, chop into 1 inch squares. Voila. Inchies.

An Introduction

It's called a Bio Poem, and maybe you've heard of it before. But it was introduced to me by AW, and I'm really intrigued with the possibilities. {Might be interesting to write one a month, and see the variation...) Try one yourself: Line 1: Your first name Line 2: Who is...(descriptive words) Line 3: Who is brother of sister of... Line 4: Who loves...(three ideas or people) Line 5: Who feels...(three ideas) Line 6: Who needs...(three ideas) Line 7: Who gives...(three ideas) Line 8: Who fears...(three ideas) Line 9: Who would like to see... Line 10: Who shares... Line 11: Who is... Line 12: Who is a resident of... Line 13: Your last name.

And thus begins my adventure in blogging.