Happy Birfday, Crafty!

Today is a special day indeed.  My friend, Crafty Hands, is celebrating her 2-th birthday.  Nearly three whole decades of the joy that is Crafty. Three decades of a lovely Crafty forming, growing, evolving, and becoming.  In celebration of all things Crafty, here are just a few of the lil' things that remind me of the birthday girl:

 

She bakes... (wonderful, wonderful cakes!)

 

 

She loves... (her mischievous Corgi, Yoda)

 

 

She rages... (against cruddy L.A. drivers)

 

 

She creates... (the most amazing costumes)

 

 

She sculpts... (the most creative figures)

 

 

She sews... (patterns and clothes galore)

 

 

She knits... (like a squirrelish fiend)

 

 

She crafts...  (with her hands).

And all she does, she does with love.  

Or anger.  

Whichever is the stronger emotion of the day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAFTY!!!

The Photo Crashers

You've encountered them before.  Photo Crashers.  The classy gents and ladies who ruin your photo by beaming ridiculously in the background, holding a pint of ale in one hand and making an obscene gesture with the other.

The phenomenon of "photobombing" is apparently not limited to our species.  It's a problem of epic proportion in the animal kingdom as well...  The proof is in the pudding (thank you, Huffington Post):

Taking the bullet...or hogging the shot?

 

The guard: "I want a sandwich."

The goat: "Hmmmm...?"

(Is that a ghost in the background?!)

 

Photo Crasher:  "Yaaaaaah!  Whaaaaazzup!"

Cat:  "Really?  I mean, really?  Over it.  Going home." 

Penguin 1:  "...?"

Penguin 2:  "....!"

Seal:  "Yaaaay!"

W is for Wednesdays

W is for...

Warthogs

Where the Wild Things Are

Waistcoats 

 

Well-Mannered Boys

Wire Walker

World Without End

Happy Wednesday, folks.

I need cake

I got into a car accident this morning, so I need chocolate or cake.  Since my friend is recovering from surgery and I can't demand sympathy cake from her, all I can do is salivate over these works of exquisite art from Rosey Sugar Palace (Brookland College Flickr set):

 

 

 

 

 

Let's have cake and eat it too!

A Curious and Crafty Cat

Hats off to Japanese stop-motion animation and crafts.  Komaneko the Curious Cat is the culmination of these two art forms.  If I could live in Komaneko's world, I'd abandon everything in this reality to do so.  The detailed design, the craftsmanship, and the concept behind this stop-mo animation is amazing.

I invite you to take a peek this weekend.  And after watching the first installment, I dare you to stop...

Happy weekend, folks!

Komaneko - True Friend (Part One)

P.s.  My dog ate my last pair of business heels.  Yep.  My last pair of professional black heels...torn asunder by Sir Dooley. Sigh.  Well...at least it gives me an excuse to go shopping!

Happy Thursday

Today, the skies are gray and heavy with rain, a view I would love to take in all day long.  Unfortunately, my window is just a sliver along the top of the wall, leading to a view of the fluorescent lights in the hallway...and a neon green Exit sign.  That sign taunts me on a daily basis.

Still.  Our building decided to surprise us with a rainy day breakfast por gratis.  Yippee skippy for free food!

My healthy choice of the day.

The free breakfast makes corporate life a bit more bearable.  So does sharing the little details I've added to my office to make it more...homey.  Such as:

 

My three little accomplices.  

They live life in complete and utter denial.  

Just the way I like it.

My Signs. 
As you can see, I don't abuse my Office Supply privileges.  
At All.

The Week's Plateau

Oh Wednesday, have mercy.

Please help Haiti...

The death toll is rising, the devastation is horrible, and the survivors are severely wounded.  Any amount of donation you can give would help a lot.  Please do so through reputable organizations, as there are always opportunists waiting in the wings to feed on the bleeding hearts of compassionate individuals.

You can donate through well-known organizations such as:  Unicef, World Vision, and Red Cross.

The Red Cross has also made it easier and more convenient for you to donate by allowing you to text the word "HAITI" to 909-99.  This will immediately send $10 to the organization, and you will be charged $10 on your cell phone bill.  Easy peasy.

Also, you can visit Lovely Cluster's blog and find a number of stores that will donate a huge percentage of your purchase price to the Haiti rescue effort.

My friends know I'm a pessimist when it comes to humanity in general.  I believe in the goodness of the individual, but crowds give me a mental hernia.  Yet...in times like these, when I see people helping strangers in far off lands with nothing but compassion and love in their hearts...it gives me hope.  A lot of hope. 

Joining the Circus

Old sketches of mine. 

Photoshopped the sketch last night.  I added color, fringe, sparkle, and designs - You'll have to click on the image to see all the details. 

Sources of inspiration include Esther Williams, The Great Gatsby, and "Chelsea, Let's Go Join the Circus" by Agent Ribbons.

Book Love Monday

Book Cell
Originally uploaded by Clear as Crystal

Unearth your books.

You won't regret it.

eye love you

A "lovely" sketch. 

The sketch actually lived through 3 incarnations:  First, it was a doodle on our calendar.  Second, I re-drew it with some changes on paper.  Third, I re-drew it yet again on Photoshop to test out my new Wacom tablet.  It was then colored on Photoshop, and framed via Flickr and iPhone's Joy Camera.

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!

Year of the Tiger

Year of the Tiger

The Chinese Zodiac has a cycle of 12 years.  Those of you born in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998 can celebrate this year as your year.

 Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright...

You are the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac.  You are unpredictable, rebellious, colorful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous.

You can be restless, reckless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish, aggressive.

Your motto:  I win.

Your element:  Wood.

Your Gemstone:  Diamonds.

Enjoy your year.

The Great Penguin

In this blog, I am paying my respects to the art of Andrew Wong.  Andy is a unique illustrator hailing  from Manchester, UK; he graduated with hono(u)rs from the University of Central Lancashire.  His artwork is reminiscent of the whimsy of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the giants in anime illustration.  Not only do I enjoy Andy's expansive imagination and quirky characters, but I also love his use of colors and lines.  In addition, he premieres penguins in his work - who doesn't love penguins?

Andy has submitted his recent work, titled "Sapp the Sapling", to Patch Together.  Please vote for his work so that his art can be transformed into a vinyl figurine:  Vote A Billion Times!

Vote for me!  I'm a tree!

Also, you can follow Andy's progress through his blog:  Moombaduo.

Happy Wednesday, folks!

Salutations to Crafty Jill and Hubbel Pie!

Ah, the wondrous power of peer pressure.  After suggesting, cajoling, threatening, and pressuring my good friend to start her own blog, she finally caved and started Jill of ALL Handy Crafts.

Crafty Jill is a dabbler in all things arts and crafts.  She can draw, sculpt, mold, stitch, sew, bake, and decorate.  You name it, she can probably do it...or learn to do it.  In essence, she is the exact opposite of Yours Truly.  Apparently, my snowflake cut-outs still give certain individuals nightmares.

  

Not your Aztec Snowflakes!  Auuugh!

Anyhow, check out Jill Crafty's blog!  She just started, so let's show her some support and lurve! 

Also... how about a slice of Hubbel Pie?

This is my friend, Hubbel.  Hubbel is talented. Hubbel is also a very nice guy.  Truly.  He once bought me the most deelicious Mexican tapas dinner, for which I will be eternally grateful.  Now, independent of this lovely memory, I'd like to support Humble Pie, a movie he wrote and starred in, because it's so darned good.  You can watch the trailer here:

Please support dear Hubbel by watching his critically-acclaimed movie! Ya can check him out on Netflix as well.

Thank you, come again!

Happy Birthday, Sir Isaac Newton