In case anyone was not aware, I am in a band.

I am in the band of one Mr. Jay Ackley.

He has written approximately 1 billion songs, which he recently decided to compile into one volume in response to Christmas-related demands from his mum.

He requested some robot-themed cover art from me and this is what I made!

The illustration is ink and marker on paper, with a bit of gradient and text added in on photoshop. Concept is all Jay.

You should listen to Jay’s music!

Life is busy!
I have so many projects and jobs!
I am very fortunate.
But also quite tired!

I am also obsessed with scanners. Does anyone have recommendations? I would love to have something to go by other than “this is cheap” or “I used this one once and it wasn’t awful”.

Here’s some Remix lineart awaiting color that I tested the computer lab scanners with this morning:

I am trying to draw more dynamic figures! Thus awkwardly acrobatic fighting Remixes are growing all over my sketchbook.

Also here is a toy I made for my Flash final.

Well, as they say, you win some and you lose some. This, at least, is the cliché I keep repeating in my head so that I don’t lose all hope and throw all my newly bought needles, thread, felt and other materials in the trash and give up forever. My pessimism is really just coming from frustration, and mostly due to the fact that I spent several hours this week trying to recreate Martha projects (probably my first mistake) without much luck. Steve says I just need more practice. Which may be true. But it’s hard. And I need a sewing machine.

Anyway, in the spirit of transparency, I’m still going to show you the two disasters because it just wouldn’t be fair if I only showed the succesful projects on here, now would it!?

My first attempt at crafting greatness was to make a fat cat stuffed toy, inspired by none other than my fat cat Wine. I used my own template, which was just a doodle of a fat cat and sewed everything by hand. I do own a sewing machine, a great hand-me-down from my mom, but it’s currently sitting in my parent’s basement in Michigan along with all of the crucial tools that I needed for this project that I rebought at Michael’s last weekend. Admittedly, a sewing machine would have shaved, oh let’s say about 2 hours off the time of this project, but it was therapeutic and I thought it would give it that cute handmade charm. Now I know why the woman at the craft store looked at me like I was insane when I asked where the hand-sewing materials were.

Professional fat cat and muse, Wine.

Finished product

So, the first step, as I mentioned before, is to doodle your template on paper, cut the pieces out and then trace them onto your material. I used plain old felt in lime green and yellow (Steve picked out the color combo – I think he was craving starbursts or something) and used a pretty cool dual-sided marker that I snagged at Michael’s that has one side that is disappearing ink and the other that is washable ink to trace the template. Then I hand sewed the two pieces of felt together around the outline before cutting out around it. I did it this way just in case I messed up. Make sure you pin the felt together so you don’t end up with bubbles and leave a gap in the stitches that is big enough to flip the whole thing through. This is because you are sewing on the inside of the toy and you need to be able to flip it right side out with  minimal sewing left to do once it’s stuffed and ready to be finished. A word of advice about this – put the gap in a place where the sewing will be in a straight line. I didn’t realize this and put the gap in between my ears and ended up spending hours trying to sew the ears with a slip stitch from the other side and it was extremely frustrating! Oh, and one more word of advice: if you have cats, don’t ever, under any circumstances, sew around them. I can’t tell you how many times I would be in the middle of intense sewing and would be suddenly attacked by my cat out of nowhere, claws out, attempting to steal the thread from my hands forever. So yeah, save yourself the misery and lock ‘em up before you even get the needle and thread out.

Once you are at this stage, you flip the toy right side out through the aforementioned gap. A tip I read online is to keep a wooden chopstick handy to push out all the little arms, ears and other corners and it helped. Then you just add the details – you’ll see from my cat I added a face, which I just did using embroidery thread and a heart, also sewn on with embroidery thread.

The next step is to stuff it. I used poly-pachyderm because it was the only thing I could find at the madhouse known as Michael’s, but I think there might be others out there that are softer you can try. Apparently you are supposed to use little balls of the stuff to avoid clumping, another little fact that I didn’t know about until after I had stuffed the thing as tightly as I could (and yes, I got clumps). Finally, sew your gap shut using a slip stitch (please don’t ask me to explain this because I can hardly even do it myself – google has some great instructional videos though) and voila! a stuffed toy.

Now, since I wasn’t super happy with my fat cat (it looks like it has a stomach tumor, I don’t like the face, the stitches are visible and the ears look more like horns than anything else) I decided to give this whole sewing thing another try a few days later. This time, I vowed to strictly follow a Martha pattern and her instructions and to keep it as simple as possible. I tried the chicken template shown here and had a bit more luck (using my lessons learned from last time). The steps are similar to those for the cat and I found the sewing pattern pretty easy to follow. Still, a sewing machine would have made this project a cinch, but I’m a glutton for punishment so I hand sewed it again. And yeah, the wings are asymmetrical, the stitching is a little uneven and I don’t like how I attached the ribbon that it’s hanging from. But for now, it is shamefully proudly hanging in my kitchen.

Chicky

So, am I crafter? Definitely not yet. This stuff is harder than it looks! But I’m not giving up yet and hope to improve after getting my hands on that sewing machine again, so stay tuned for more crafting blunders.

I read once that everyone’s ideal career is doing what you loved to do when you were 11 years old. If I had followed this logic, I’d be a teacher who likes to sit and cut out collages from magazines for hours at a time. But, since you can’t really make a living on collages (well, or so I thought – keep reading), I never really considered this a rational career possibility. So you’ll imagine my joy when I came across this post on Queen Martha’s site, which shows a simple, craft project that you can do at home to make the most adorable children’s room decorations that basically consists of cutting out old pieces of paper and creating something new out of them. The idea is based on artist Lorena Siminovich’s wood projects, which truly are the cutest things you’ll ever see, and the video on Martha’s site shows step-by-step instructions for how to create them. (Also check out Lorena’s blog for other cute ideas and updates on her limited edition projects).

So with these instructions and inspiration in hand, I made my first attempt at a decoration for lil’ Lambert’s room (which we still don’t know where it will be, but that’s another story). I made two and I think they turned out okay, given that it was my first time doing anything like this in forever and my first time working with the amazing product called Mod Podge, but of course when I look at them all I see our their flaws. You don’t need many supplies, basically just a variety of paper (I used some card stock but also magazine clippings), mod podge, a brush to apply the mod podge, a block of wood (they have unfinished but nicely trimmed ones for only $4 at Michael’s and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes) and a design.

The post on Martha’s site offers a few easy to use templates for the design of the block, but I ventured out and wanted to design my something of my own. Plus, I just love things with rain drops, rain coats, and rain boots – don’t ask me why – and wanted to somehow incorporate that into the design. So, I first started out with a rough sketch (this is not the one with rain stuff…).

Rough sketch of balloon boy and dog

You eventually use your sketch as a stencil to cut out the shapes that you then decoupage on the wood, so I tried to keep the shapes as simple as possible (I’m not a great cutter). Then, I basically cut out the pieces of the sketch, laid them over the paper I wanted to use and cut. For some of the smaller, more detailed pieces I used an x-acto knife. I really enjoyed combing through the magazines trying to find different patterns and colors to use – I even found an ad for a pair of boots in my Anthropologie catalog that worked perfectly for my rain girl! What you end up with is a bunch of pieces that look something like this:

Rain girl and other pieces

The next step is to arrange the pieces how you want on the board, and then start applying the glue to the back of each one. You also have to brush the glue onto the top of the pieces too, so make sure you do a little planning in your head so you don’t end up putting the pieces on in the wrong order. Also, make sure you are careful with your brushstrokes and don’t let any pieces of dust, cat hair, etc get into the finish. Even though the mod podge dries clear, you will still be able to see the imperfections in the right lighting (something I was not prepared for). And be careful about overlapping different thicknesses of paper to make sure everything is smooth – my little boy’s hair kind of ended up bubbly because I somehow rippled it and now it’s all I see!

After you get everything stuck on, brush on a good, even coat of the podge over the entire block. Let dry for about an hour, and repeat. I think Lorena uses a better varnish over her’s which might make them a little shinier and less textured, but you can decide how far you want to take it.

Anyway, the finished products are below. I can’t wait to hang them in the baby room. The only thing left to do will be to attach some sort of hanging thing on the back, but I’ll cross that road when I get to it.

Rain girl in $400 Anthropologie boots

Balloon Boy with Dog

(Is it possible to say that line without singing it?!)

I really like my home. Some days I have to remind myself of that when I get overwhelmed with all the things that still need to be done around here. But the work involved in owning an old house is balanced by a warmth & sense of being part of an intimate history. I like knowing so many other families have loved & argued, been born & died, enjoyed meals & good times together under this roof – it’s comforting to me.

This is our livingroom ceiling (excuse the ugly fan - we didn't choose it). It amazes me how long someone must have spent putting together this ceiling.

But most of my favourite things are the items in my house that make it feel like home – things that keep us warm regardless of what roof is over our heads.

Grumpy Bear snuggled down deep under a quilt his mother made us. This quilt is so heavy & warm - nothing more heavenly than hearing a winter storm outside while lying snug & warm inside.

Things that are just plain fun.

Diaperbutt's toy collection - his favourite game currently is to empty the blocks out & spread them around the room as much as possible.

And things that give me a sense of satisfaction because I made them with my own two hands to take care of my family.

The basket of diapers full & ready for use. The yellow flannel I was not so thrilled about when I made them is starting to fade to really nice shade now.

Or things that Grumpy Bear & I & our wonderful friends & family worked together to make our home more nourishing & welcoming.

The shelves over the sink are one of my favourite aspects of our kitchen. We still need to find shelf brackets that we really like but for now these will do the job (& the electrical you see hanging down is shut off - waiting for future under cabinet lighting).

And although we joke often about their “badness” level our house would not be the same without our furry four-legged companions. There is little that feels more “right” to me than to sit quietly in the livingroom hearing the deep breathing of sleeping animals scattered about the room – it’s pretty hard to not feel all is right in the world when they are so content.

Sweet pup.

I just started watching Nicktoon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, as visiting home means I get to bask in cable television.

I think I am a fan of it! The plot’s fairly predictable, and it’s mildly cheesy on the dialogue side like any kid’s show, but there are boatloads of strong female characters, a nice greyscale between good and evil, and even the requisite angsty power-hungry and honor-obsessed teenmale cries and admits that he loves his uncle periodically.

Plus, the fighting involves mostly elemental manipulation in martial arts form, resulting in very graceful fight scenes with all kinds of fluid wind/fire/etc motion throughout. Combine that with stylistically simple but consistently well-crafted animation and it is really a quite beautiful show!

       I got the idea for the Egg Galaxy(E.G) after I watched, for a hole week, “The Universe”(tv show).

It got me thinking about the fact that human beings aren’t eternal, but their thoughts could be. A thought is an incredible thing, it can expand like the Universe, but it can also fade out like a dying star if you don’t nurture it.

The only way I could express that,was by making paintings of the people I loved, but instead of faces I painted Galaxies or Nebulae.

But I wanted them to be real.

Not just some colors on paper.So I started making dolls out of egg shells, the dresses  out of  wood and corn leaves, just like in the old Romanian tradition of  making dolls.

Every E.G. is unique and it can make an incredible gift.( If you’re interested leave a comment and I’ll get in touch with you)

          Vara asta, in timp ce maturam un deal din praf si jeg sub masina din garaj, am dat peste

o chestiuta interesanta.Initial am crezut ca este un cocon(pentru ca nu am vazut niciodata unul). Mare mi-a fost mirarea cand am realizat ca e doar carapacea unei molii mancate, probabil, de un paianjen.

 

 

 

Iata și cateva imagini din Universul meu si unele lucruri surprinzatoare din viata  romanilor mai speciali asa…un pic:

http://dust.jalbum.net/puf/

 

A lot of wonderful people have visited me and a lot of people have been extremely kind to me lately and I guess it has been a little overwhelming.

I am trying to use my words more these days, I even carry around a tiny notebook to write things in and everything, but it is not my forte. It is confusing to be in this city? post-college? real? world with its personal space & social boundaries and to realize I don’t know how to communicate without p.d.a.

Hello everyone who isn’t there!

I’m trying to win a contest over at www.instructables.com.  Please, if you would be so kind, head on over there and vote for my lovely instructable about my Proton Pack.  The direct link to the ‘ible is here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Ghostbusters-Proton-Pack-with-Arduino-and-LASERS/.

Thank you all for your help!

Another reason I’ve decided to start this blog is because I’ve started treating instructables.com like a blog.  I quickly realized that I really shouldn’t have posted this there.  It is intructables related, but not an instructional video.

So here it is, I’ve been building a little tabletop pinball machine.  After I got the mechanism built, the cat wanted to play with me.  It was actually pretty fun!  I played with him for probably a half an hour, and then some more when India came home.  I thought it was pretty funny, so I made a little video of it.  Share and enjoy!

Scissorsbot in Love is a regularly featured character in any class notes I take ever.

Finally finding something to do with all these roadtrip photos.

It can be so satisfying to work on a handmade project. All the time the work is in your hands you tend to reflect on the person you’re making it for, dream of the possibilities of how it will turn out, how it will be used. Plus it’s just a little bit of fun to actually make something yourself.

And then it turns out … well, not quite how you envisioned.

I saw this sweet little felt book of family photos for Diaperbutt to play with. Reminding him of the people who love him & keeping those who are far a little closer. I envisioned sweet embroidery decorations & creative touches to each page.

Instead of it only bares a wonky resemblance to a book. None of my machine stitching is straight (why is that? I’m really not sure) & my embroidery looks rather childish. Some of the pictures didn’t quite come out the way I would have liked & the whole thing is not nearly as creative as I would have liked.

I end up finishing it almost a whole week late partly due to my feverish boy’s constant need to be on my chest & partly because of becoming discouraged at how the whole thing was turning out & more than partly because my sewing machine was out of commission for a couple of weeks.

But it is done & I hope that his less judgemental eye simply sees smiling, loving faces & bright colours. And maybe, just maybe, some of the love I put into it shines through.

Decided to play around with watercolors a bit today. I don’t really have the discipline for using them properly, so I mostly just think of them as stain. It’s fun to use them on actual watercolor paper though, they kind of look awesome no matter what you do.

Watercolor & technical pen, 18″x24″.

I like this minimalist line drawing over a wash thing. Maybe more to come. Hopefully less of a mess.

Also, I really like electrical towers. What is your favorite manmade accessory to a landscape?

After my last post about my sewing machine difficulties I regrouped & went at it again. Somehow rethreading the whole machine & fiddling with the tension a little fixed the problems I was having. Who knows how as I hadn’t changed any of those things halfway through my project but…

So I finished my skirt!

Front view.

Wearing only skirts & dresses was really easy in the summer. There are so many choices & it was easy to find new ones to add to my wardrobe. But now that the weather is getting colder I’m finding my wardrobe much more limited. There just isn’t much selection out there in long, heavier weight skirts & let’s face it with my build & the weather here short skirts are less than practical.

But I did have some jeans that fit (but I hated ’cause they just were not flattering & were uncomfortable to boot) & some old jeans that didn’t fit. So now I have a skirt!

Back view

I followed the directions from this blog (which is not a blog I normally read but an internet search for turning jeans into skirts brought me there). The directions are pretty easy to follow & although I’m at odds with the body in the skirt I’m pretty happy with how the whole thing turned out.

I like sewing. I’m even getting to be pretty good at it. But I SO wish I was more mechanically inclined…

…’cause when  the freakin’ machine bungs up on me I’m at a complete loss how to fix it.

Once again my project is derailed ’cause my machine is not cooperating. I’m taking a break from trying to fix it or my neighbours may find a sewing machine has flown out my window & into the street.

I think it angers me more that I don’t know how to fix it then that it’s not working.

In which I found a scrap of fabric, and, feeling crafty, decided to take the word “collar” entirely too literally:

Regional Manager Mojo has reviewed the numbers and prepared a PowerPoint of the quarterly report.

Juno from Human Resources congratulates herself for a sexual harassment sensitivity training session well-done. Time for a margarita.

Juno seemed to like the collar so I left it on her for a while, but 20 minutes later she appeared without it. Upon investigation I discovered she’d scratched it off in the litter box and then peed on it. Can’t say I blame her: sometimes the rat race can get you down.

During my lunch break at work yesterday, I made a light switch using a piece of A4 paper, some sellotape, a pair of scissors and a pencil.