Quiet Books - Not Always For Toddlers

    For those of you that know me, you know me to be a rather over the top and colorful person. And no, not just my hair is colorful. =P Many of you also know, I love to do things that are rather playful in my art. When tasked with a serious project or one never intended to have little eruptions of laughter around the room, rest assured - I'll make sure there is at least one smile in the room. Either a devious smirk or an innocent lil giggle, I will make it happen. In my fibers class we were assigned to embroider a self portrait. Now this didn't have to be an actual portrait of ourselves, it could be a representation or anything that was "us". Up went  an eye brow and a crooked little smile appeared. Commence Dragulation!

Running Late, Looking Fabulous, AND On A Dime

    These three things aren't exactly something you put together. You either get two of the three or just one of them. So how does all this come into play? Every one of us gorgeous beings with hair on top of our heads have woken up late and thought, "Oh crap... my hair is greasy. I'll just put it up." Problem. It still looks like you rolled around in fried food. I have the solution (and no... it doesn't involve expensive hair products. I will NEVER purchase these canned dry shampoos again!)

Bringing 'Em Back Y'all!

     So trends are known to fade in and out, but honey some trends don't simply fade. They sometimes boldly step in and then make a grand exit. Well it is time to bring back one of those loud statements - epaulettes. Epa-whos? Epaulettes! They are those grand bits of shoulder candy worn by generals and modern pop icons. I say enough with the upper crust exclusively wearing these, and it is time to incorporate them into daily wear. I present to you... epaulettes. 

(ok... please know this one is strictly a joke...)

Being A Little Chunky Ain't All Bad

    So it has been a lil bit since I have posted anything and I have just been bubbling over with excitement about the new haul of inspiration pieces I have added to the many files of fabulous on my computer. What is my latest fashion binge? CHUNKY JEWELRY. Ok, so maybe giant pieces of sparkly and gorgeous things just isn't your bag. Well, my dear, this is where you may want to turn back. Dun dun DUUUUUUUN!

The Results Are In!

    As many of you fellow Pinners and Facebook friends saw in my previous post, I helped clear up the copper and vinegar wood stain conspiracy. Alas I have the results of the 4 mixtures I created. Each with their own recipe and each with their own wood stain sample. Exciting news for any fellow crafter looking to stain wood organically! (Not to mention that when your supplies are all less than $5 you may have just made your wallet grin from ear to ear!)

Pinterest -An Awesome Game of "Telephone"

    As many of you know, I am an avid Pinterest user and enjoy the amazing things you can find on there. However, I have come to realize MANY pins are in fact just repins of previous pins of previous pins where the original had a false caption about the image it posted. Now this has become so common I pretty much look over it and giggle at those who repin with out even looking at the website they so happily added to their board.

The Second Lesson I Have Learned As An Art Major

    Everyone in the art building at SDSU can admit some of the classes they have taken are just not their style of art, or even something they are remotely good at. (If you are one of those majors that's just good at everything... we can't be friends anymore lol) However, I have noticed a kind of family that forms with in the walls of the poorly designed art buildings. Everyone is pretty much willing to help their fellow students, even the guys and girls in the Blick store. Which by the way is MUCH appreciated by us kooky students.

    But the lesson isn't so much about people being good people and helping each other out, it is about the professors expecting you to be good at what they are teaching because their subject is the most important ever and every other professor else can go suck it. Crappy way of teaching right? Well, I guess the way I have explained it makes it sound awful and no one should ever go into the art program because all the professors are rotten people and expect the sun and moon to rise and set on their knowledge. Wrong.

If Metal Shop Has Taught Me Anything...

    If I have learned anything from a tedious class directed by a professor with standards nearly no beginning student could measure up to - it is that when in doubt have a clever story on hand. Rotten advice? No, just... creative. So you forgot to adjust the last of 85 rivets you just did by hand? Artistic license - I meant to do that. Maybe that cut line isn't as straight as your original sketches indicated. No worries, the ability to change your  mind and have a new vision is simply the only logical reason! How about that design you obviously "borrowed" from an artist? No, no, no, it was my interpretation/homage/allegory of the original piece. (Catch where I am going with these "descriptions"? It isn't always about making the most amazingly perfect piece, it is about convincing your audience it is the most amazingly perfect piece)

Remembering The Good Stuff

    Not very often do I look through old photos I've taken. Why? I suppose I just forget that I have them. Maybe it is because I had a great time taking them and processing them so I don't want to tarnish the fond memories I have of the event. Needless to say, those excuses are lame.
   
    As I scrolled through the massive folder (that I ultimately need to put on an external... my poor slow computer) I have come to see what a random variety I have in my photos. Rather than be selfish by talking about the photos and not giving you the slightest clue as to what I am capable of in my professional career, I figured it was time to share them... even if it is just a few ;]

Idle Hands? Never!

    Being bored isn't something I find to be applicable in my day to day life. Why? I'm always making something on my art to do list. This week was a craft-filled week containing mostly jewelry. My inspiration for this week? Margeaux Lange (you MUST see her work), some vintage jewelry I saw at an antique store, and a trendy/overpriced mom's baby supply shop.

Read on to see more

Delicious Fried Marbles

    I never thought I would ever be compiling a recipe for jewelry. Then again, there are a lot of things I have discovered in my crafting ventures I didn't think I would ever be doing. I've discovered a how-to on a blog that had weird unclear pictures and I'm not sure English was their first language. Either way, I managed to deduce the instructions and give a simple recipe out of trial and error, lots... lots of BAD error. How bad of error? I'm still trying to get the feeling back into my index finger from slicing it off. Take it from me, I've made a recipe that is NON-finger slicing.

Going Against The Grain

    On the rare occasion I stamp, I like stamps that are a little quirky, a teeny bit random, and a whole truck load of unique. I have always loved the look of wood grain and have never found a stamp that had what I was looking for. Either far too much detail was in a tiny stamp area or reaaaaaally plain. So what do I do when I want something and can't find it? I McGyver it up!

More after the jump =]

Whistle While You Work (And Maybe A Little Sashaying)

    Being true to being a girl, I love my shoes, especially ones with heels.

Inspiration Round Up

    I may be in the middle of a million projects, as usual, but the constant hunt for inspiration never stops. Pinterest isn't exactly helpful with my artistic ADHD. It IS however, an endless stream for additions to my ever growing inspiration file on my laptop. Inspiration this week? Lace.

I Am A Highly Evolved Eight Year Old

    Well, well, well... how does a twenty-something bring in the new year? By making shrinky dinks. Yes. Those stupid little plastic chips of goodness. I just about giggled when I took out the first batch. A drawing that shrinks down and some how is instantly cooler because its a miniature sized version of itself. Odd concept really... but intriguing none the less. I blazed through all six sheets of this shrink paper in about two days. I just couldn't stop creating goodness on this plastic. So what have I created? Here's a little looksy, more after the jump!