Self-Portrait Challenge - 01.30

Try to find ME and find time for ME in my completely messy, chaotic, disorganized life! I spent all day trying to hook up a new (used G4) computer and get a new scanner hooked-up, getting computers to talked to each other. Lots of dust and cables and frustration! Arghhhhh! More resolutions Self-Portrait Challenge.

6 Weird Things About Me

I have been tagged by Yvonne for 6 weird things about me.

1. I could eat the same meal everyday. My favorite being Mexican food, refried beans and taco salad. If I am eating humus, sun-dried tomato, feta and pita bread … then I could eat that all month. This is not a good thing for my family who would like to eat something different on a daily basis.
2. I like to wear the same color outfit. I have several that all the same color from turtle neck to pantyhose. (I am sounding very boring.)
3. On my day off, I love to slip off into an afternoon nap while watching a movie with my mom. She sits in a recliner with Pica and I get a big blanket on my big chair. Cold, rainy, a movie that I know my mom will like … and off we go…
4. I have one pair of paint-pants that I could (and usually do) wear everyday. Soft, black, worn, completely covered in paint. I wish I had 10 of them.
5. I love to clean house. Not pick-up or straighten, but clean! With a toothbrush and toothpicks in hand. I also love to iron. I know, I am crazy.
6. I am completely goofy over old mysteries. Charlie Chan! I love Charlie Chan, The Thin Man … those make me very happy.

That makes me sound so boring … maybe not so much weird!
I am tagging Rita, Tara, Paula , Jill, Janet and S'mee ... you are all tagged! ;)

Making "Love"

I am putting together a "making Love" set over on Flickr. I want to put together a small book with some of these images. I will be adding to them this week, have several more ideas. They are pretty large images, print them out and make your own! I will post a book pattern later this week.



This one is my favorite so far.

Beautiful Sunday - 01.28

Brainstorming Barns

Katie and I dream about having a "barn" house all the time. I need all of that space! I would put all of that space to good use!

The barns of Northern France. Travels with Chuck Whitney, "The Barn Consultant". Barn Living, barn contractors. Featured barns at the Barn Journal. Some ideas on FabPreFab. Some finished projects at Heritage Barns. This building is wonderful! Studio Barns. Stunning Timbercraft Timber Frame homes a little out of my price range. Barns for sale at Antique Barns. and Barn locator on Barn-Living.

Yankee Barn Homes. How To Take One Old Barn and Call It Home, from This Old House. Maybe I could live here or any of these?

Historic barns nestled in the countryside of McDonough County, Illinois.

Broken Clavical

M had a great morning of doing tricks on the slopes but the afternoon didn't go so good. Broken clavical. ;( I swear Pica knows that something is wrong with him ... staying very close to him.

Chocolate!

It is getting to be that time of year for cooking up something special and chocolate.

Chocolate - the food of the gods from Pasty Wiz Food Resource Center.

Godiva Chocolatier recipes.

Chocolate archives from Chocolate & Zucchini

Ghirardelli's recipes.

I love Chocolatier Magazine, my favorite chocolate and some recipes from them.

Animal Sanctuary

Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary, watch the video, very sweet.

Sewing Patterns

I like Erin Mahoney style.



Antiquity Press patterns, Hat shapers, The Sewing Workshop Pattern Collection.

Art Gone Bad

Art gone bad from Huge Magazine. Musuem of Bad Art.

So much thrift store art there is an entire site for it. Musuem of Fred, Hi*Art, thrift store art gallery online. A selection of paintings from Barn Toulouse -- “Art worth spitting on”.

Flipped Out

Amazing work by Ray Caesar. Hally Lou in the red dress is my favorite! Portraits by Travis A. Louie. Miss Mink is a good kind of sketchy, and Joshua Blankenship portfolio (via 49 sparks)).

Prom Night Fist Flight -- a digital illustration and typography playground.

The Seattle Library’s Zine Symposium. Artpad and Benetton Flipbook Deluxe! Go post some graffiti (on the right column) on Fabrica.

Tin Art

New Mexico Artist, Jeri Moe creates truly unique sculptures from recycled tin.



Switch plates and outlet covers made from old tin cans by Tin Can Sarah.

Ocean's Escape

Wow. Our very own, very creative, much-loved link, Sarah e. Smith has a beautiful photo submitted on JPG magazine (I saw on my email newsletter). Go join and vote!

Rare Fish Rare Find

While researching more about that rare species of shark captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week, I stumbled across some wonderful Japanese art works. I wonder if the shark was old and lost in the shallower waters.

I found "Edo-period illustrations by Kurimoto Tanshuu" on Pink Tentacle. Do yourself a favor and explore all of the links to the extraordinary works. Flatfish

Kiss Ass Quilts

"A one-of-a-kind rock quilt won't match your curtains." Created by Boo Davis, a designer, illustrator and quiltmaker living in Seattle. My friend at work turned me onto the site he just put together. I squealed with delight when I saw them! Kriss also told me about Ina which is the first audiovisual archive center in the world and the first digital image databank in Europe. (and I just discovered they have an English option!). Can you imagine all that archival material! Two kick ass sites in one day, it was a good one. Merci, Kriss.

Mono Face

I found this from Mono on Clicked today. Hysterical.



I keep forgetting I am LinkIn! Here are Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn.

The Scent Of January

I wish you could have a whiff of this! ;)

Rock On

I had some business cards printed from Overnight Prints last year. I decided to do another small batch using a couple of different images. I was very happy with the quality the last time. You can't see the detail, but the rock image business card, I blurred the name just a little. I wanted to switch up from last year's Peony.

Self-Portrait Challenge - 01.23

I have felt so overwhelmed with life well before last October that I want a little playtime to return to my brain. I want "lightness" to return to my life, not feeling like I am so burden with duties and challenges that I hardly ever smile. Fun! Play! Should be the order of the day ') Brainstorming. Onced my work drive-time was full creative projects, over-flowing with new ideas, now I only think of work and my long list of what needs to be done at home. My resolution: Lighten up, "Kim, don't take it all so seriously!" More resolutions here.

The DWR Champagne Chair Contest

As much as I love these little chairs, you would think I would remember to enter this contest! Holiday Champagne Chair 2003, 2004, 2005.

All about The DWR Champagne Chair Contest

What makes a great champagne cork chair great and the finalist?

2006 winners of DWR’s annual Champagne Chair design .

Brilliant! How to make your own.

Viridiana made some on 43 things.

This is one of my favorites.

Hot Pockets

The cutest little paint chip envelope at craft log. The instuctions at designverb, thank you both very much. I can't wait to make my own.

Paper envelopes sleeves from The Small Object.

I love this idea - Wall Calendar, via Design Verb, read the rest of the fun chalk ideas here.

Soule Mama made these adorable Bedtime bags!

Magical Metal

The metal sculptures of Dinosaur Not So National Park in Erie, Kansas. Truckhenge at Topeka, Kansas. The art of Bob Mix. All found on Kansas Travel.



Don't miss seeing this Vandalia Dragon!

The Argument, Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Wrench Buffalo.

Antlered Deer by Wendy Klemperer.

This one looks pretty scary.

Eco-Living (And A Little Rant)

Were mesmerized with the Hobbit's dwellings in Middle Earth in 'The Lord of the Rings'? Did you want to live in the Shire? Think they had a magical life? You will love looking and these websites and conjuring up in your mind what it would be like to live in a eco-friendly house. I am not sure I could sustain a life with only an outhouse. The idea of a simpler, quieter life does appeal to me.

Frankly, I have not understood the way we build houses, especially in the last 15 years. Pre-menapausal me, before I felt like I had a volcano bubbling inside somewhere, I would take very long, very hot baths. I felt so guilty about wasting that perfectly good grey water that I would haul it one bucket at a time downstairs to the backyard. Why is it that we don't have some little switch somewhere in the bathroom plumbing so I can send that water to the flowers? Why did they built this house in 1960 with NO insulation? Why aren't solar panels included as standard home-building procedure? Why don't gutter systems come equipped with a rain barrel? It should be all inclusive and most important affordable!

As a side note, I think our government keeps us so confused with wars and talk of wars. I think most of us are so busy driving back and forth to work, making money to pay our bills. We are so busy with the business of survival, we do not have so much time to think about the future of a more earth-friendly existence or doing much about it.

Life in an eco-roundhouse, a house, made of wood, turf, straw and recycled materials, is designed to make as low an impact on the environment as possible, on BBC.

Simon and Jasmine's exquisite house in West Wales.



Matavenero is an ecovillage in North-west Spain.

A gallery of low-impact dwellings.



The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre has been evolving since 1989.

Building straw bale project. Sonoma home built with straw bale.



The baleraising of Lou Harrison's Desert Retreat. Greenbuilder.com's Straw Bale Home Tour. Article about Down to Earth Homes from Mother Earth News.

A very expensive home built out of an old missile silo.

Pre-fab by Weberhaus. KitHAUS K1 module from Prefab homes.



Green roof tiles by Toyota Roof Garden. I saw the Library in Ballard has grass on their roof. I think it a looks beautiful and more about green roof at Ecotist.com.

And how many times do I have to tell my son and husband to turn off the lights when they leave a room?

Brunch In Ballard

Market Street, Ballard. Wonderful place to meet for brunch and head off for window shopping. I explained to Joel that 9:30 a.m. is not the "brunch hour" and even though my stomach was my fully awake to enjoy it, I ordered vanilla, hazelnut french toast. Ballard also host Art Walks, a great way to spend an evening.





Always need to walk into Lucca to see new inventory. Veloira (I found this googling Damsalfly (below), one of the stores we ventured into.)



My friend Bo, is always encouraging me to rent studio space at Venue, work studios + boutique. I explained to her I would have to produce art work and SELL it, not give it away, in order to pay the $500 montly rent due.

Re-soul, for urban individuals, filled with footwear and modern accessories. They were very nice to let me take pictures and show me lots of wonderful jewelry by Romin Kappos and Soul Flower. I lusted after a big, organic wooden ring, unfortunately too small.





Shop under chandeliers and metal trellises at Brazillis. Wonderful boutique with equally wonderful art by Margot Lovinger. You can't see the detail of her art on the website. But IS amazing. Here is a explanation from her site about her work:

"Each piece on this website is composed entirely of fabrics, thread and embroidery floss, and, in some cases, beads. No paints, inks, or dyes are used. All sewing is done by hand.

I begin with a cotton canvas base, to which all the successive layers are sewn. The first layers are usually cottons and silks. In these early layers, I rough out the composition and establish the major shapes and colors of the work. Next, the subtle modulation of color and tone are achieved by the layering of sheer fabrics, such as tulle, netting, organza and chiffon. Each successive layer changes the hue of the layers beneath it, much the way a transparent color wash changes the layers underneath it in watercolor painting. Stitching in cotton, silk, or rayon thread or embroidery floss is added to create texture and define shapes. Finally, each piece is stretched over a wooden frame."







Passed a corner design shop, Hale Design and wandered into the New York Fashion Academy. I want to take a pattern-making class at New York Fashion Academy. I will do that right after I finish my digital photography class. ')

And of course, Curtis Steiner's (looks like he is not only an artist, calligrapher, designer, stylist, but is featured in Maggie Conley's photography as well!) Souvenirs. My favorite place to go ooohhh and ahhhh. A must visit when you are on Market Street. Dr. Fluffy Jones blogs about Souvenirs. He has a collection of vintage fabric crowns that are to die for. I could kick myself now for not taking a photo. I am so mesmerized when I am in there, I completely forgot. And of course, I can't remember the artist either.

Also found this on the internet today.

I had a Saturday off. I meandered on the way home, enjoying the moment, taking streets I wouldn't normally take. Exploring neighborhoods, gardens, drive-by window shopping. Stopped by my favorite thrift stores. I have sworn off thrift stores for several months. Really hate walking in and seeing a store full of shoppers. My first thought "They have all ready gotten all of the good stuff". Yes, that is always my first thought! I know, small and nasty of me. I found only a couple of dollars worth of goodies. Big spools of thread I will use for my cards. Games for 99 cents. That is about all. Then, again, I have no place to store another cheap treasure in my home. Which is one of the reasons I did not buy a cabinet and three laquered chinese boxes at Damalsfly today. Must clean my house so I continue to shop, I am living in a sad state of affairs.

Orange Break From Grey

Some Fun Stuff

I'll post some stuff for Katie, who is on the road on assignment and we can't chitter-chatter about what I found. Together, we have started at least 20 companies (in our heads and hearts).

Beautiful collection of furniture from Red Egg.







ABC Home (her favortie New York store)

Candy wrapper bags from Ecoist.

Big blue chill for fridge fun.



Fingerprints on the wall, and not from your kids that you have to wash off.



Corrugated cardboard Chihuahua, but does he barks?

“Régence” style table leg, tresle and plywood Moose from Big Game.





I have purchased these frames from Edge Home before for gifts. I love them.

Slow And Steady

Another small milestone for my blog. I reached 150,000 page views, okay, many of those are google searches. And too bad for the person who stumbled upon my searching for "something HOT to say". The 150,000th visitor was from Lewsiville, Texas. Fitting since I lived in Lewisville, attended Denton High School and Cougar Jr. High!

Arf Arf Arf

Arf, Arf, Arf .... Guard Dog and Nosehair by Bill Plympton on You Tube.

Spirographs and Moiré

Patterns are fascinating. I probably was addicted when I played with a Spirograph as a kid. Someone has taken a lovely photo of one here.



Spirographs explained by Mathematica. Nature's spirograph and embroideried one. Lisa Solomon's Spirographs. Camera spin creates wonderful patterns.

Draw yourself a SpiroGraphs here or here.Cool things for kids - Super Spiro.

Fractal art by univrsltransl8r, below.



Moiré Pattern explained by Wolfram Mathworld and Moiré Pattern Generator.

This will give you a headache, so don't watch it very long.

Geometric Tessellations and Labyrinthine Tessellation.

Pattern sampler with SymmetryWorks.

They Got You Covered

Fortune Magazine covers by Ernest Hamlin Baker.

Black Mask Magazine vintage covers from Magazine Art, a visual database of magazine covers

Life April 14, 1921. National Lampoon Covers, 1970 – 1998. Vintage Science Fiction Magazine Covers.

Esquire covers 1934. Condé Nast Art. Rolling Stone covers. Time magazine covers.

Mad magazine covers. National Geographic Society magazine covers. Assorted vintage covers. Vintage magazine from Enjoy Art.

The CEO of Apple Computer on the covers of magazines. And Madonna magazine covers, 1986-2004.

Aspiration

While thinking about Otis' painting career and my lack of ... a little post of what I aspire to be doing. Someday.

Marlboro art, discarded cigarette packages on linen by Robert Larson.



Ed Martin, Paintings by Tobin Karicher and Lynn Beldner.

Kathryn Van Dyke, Thought Pattern Revisited - Feeling Forms, from Wirtz Gallers, as seen below.



Lucy Puls, Ad Hoc Locum (Dragonflies), fabric image, artificial foliage, cement, plastic containers, plastic dragonflies, as seen below.



1 Robin and 2 Wrens by Kathryn Spence, thread, trash, lint, string, wire, fabric scraps as seen below.



Joyful art by Sylvia Fragoso.



Maryly Snow's Seven Hundred toothbrushes.

Kelly Tunstall and her wonderful blog.



Art Openings, lots of tips for artist and art opening protocol 101 at ArtBusiness.com.