little BIG pants

i love matchboxes

i ordered this sweet book about two days ago and it came already! it is brilliant. i love the artwork on these ol' matchboxes. the latest issue of print magazine features the inside of a book jacket with a bunch of matchboxes and it reminded me how much i love these. a few years back i used to bid on them on ebay (a passing obsession) i did win one lot of "le petites" that are just little gorgeous gems. in the print article the artist said something that struck a chord (ding)...they are like opening little boxes of treasures, isn't it the truth (except one most always finds matches) but what if we would collage inside of them....ah the possibilities......... think of it folks!

moo cards are here!

they came! didn't realize they were printed in the UK, suppose the reason for the delay. the card stock is super heavy but the printing isn't that great  a bit dark and not as crisp as i had hoped. the way i cropped them was cut even further- notice my poor dad's feet are not there. but all in all i'm glad i got them - they are fun and it is so nice to see a printed product!!!!

Beauty and Glamour

ah the oscars, i'm a sucker for the opening and red carpet (usually train wreck interviews) but love seeing the dresses

Best Dress- Nicole Kidman, i loved the bow at the top and flowing down the back and RED!!!!
Worst Dress- Anne Hathaway-lace meets bad bow prom dress
funniest moment-song by will f. and jack b. "i'll kick your butt with my nickolodeon award"
funniest ellen moment-"is it hot in here...ah looky here, a script i wrote"

i actually liked the dancers this year doing the tableaus behind the screen, very clever indeed!

above is my first effort to force bulbs and looky there, it worked! the whole downstairs smells of hyacinth...its almost too strong for me.

inspiring images

had to post this stuff because well, just so neat-O!

this is the tip of a pencil - carving of a girl from artist diem chau via colour between the lines

photo brooch from jewelery artist Bettina Speckner via camilla engman blog.

marie antoinette dolls from heatherlouise factory via camilla engman- these just make me laugh.

there's a storm a comin'

hubby, h. and myself are hunkering down for the big one that is supposed to hit minnesota here tonight. we got a bunch of groceries, rented some movies and now j. is picking up some wine to go with our risotto and trout that will be our dinner ce soir. we were supposed to meet the whole family in fargo this weekend but had to cancel because of the weather, i am so bummed.

can you believe i'm still painting that darn front room! it is my goal to get it finished this weekend. hubby installed all new light sockets so slowly but surely. on the docket besides the obvious home projects is possibly learning some new tricks in photoshop...or should i say just tricks since i basically know how to open a photo, resize, clone, stamp and thats about it. a girl has got to start somewhere. btw where are my moo cards i ordered them like two weeks ago....oh i fear they may be lost in the mail?????? and still waiting for blueprint mag to show up. i leave you with another photo of my penguins, the creek was frozen over so i could get some unique angles.

bunnies, lambs, & squirrels

took over 200 + pics today of my schleich animals- still trying to get the lighting right. i meet with a printer tomorrow to go over paper and the capabilities of their presses to print up some of these "animal" pics into precious cards. i'm really loving them but if i say to the average person on the street "i've been taking pictures of 2" plastic animals" they wouldn't get it- i hope somebody gets it out there or i'll be stuck with a lot of blank correspondence...

watched the "departed" last night- I LOVE LEONARDO!!!! my sister thinks i'm crazy but i think he totally is great in the movie and definately has potential to push out ed norton as my wallet man considering the last pic i rented from him "down in the valley" UGH! skip it, i fast forwarded most of it. added bonus about the departed is alec baldwin has a bit role and is, as usual, BRILLIANT.

plugging away

just plugging away on the ol' house, did some ceiling painting but nothing much else...had the above wonderful desert wine on valentine's day with pecan tarts. i've never been into desert wines but i had a swig of the (what i thought was a sweet) riesling we had with our dinner with the desert and it (riesling) tasted AWFUL and bitter. then i took a sip of this and the wee bit of bubbles just danced across my tongue. it wasn't too sweet and very low in alcohol (5.5%) if you are lucky enough pick up a bottle at my favorite wine store in st. paul- the wine thief.

counting my blessings

on this valentine's day i'm reminded of all the things i am blessed with and love

1. feeding h. while we watch a bunny eat below the bird feeder
2. the health of all my loved ones
3. staying at home with h. and not punching a clock
4. Chataeu Maris Minervois Wine (my new favorite)
5. living in my small town
6. looking forward to seeing the whole family in a few weeks
7. dreaming of all the things i want to make
8. my husband who works too hard so i don't have to
9. being inspired by the everyday (like h. waking up from his nap and giving me a smile that would melt any mother's heart)
10. good food that warms the soul and creates memories

a squirrel would be so lucky!

i was told of this exhibit from a wonderful shop owner in my small town who recently was in NYC for a buying show and took in "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting" at the Musuem of Arts and Design. the above pair of gloves, which the lovely shop owner refers to as "squirrel gloves", was knitted by Althea Merback. she has a website called Bugknits. i can't help but think that her little eyeballs are in such pain after one of these projects. YIKES! i love when people do crazy stuff like this. it truly is art for art sake....i mean who is going to wear these? how about a itsy beetsy kangaroo just out of the womb while he growing big and strong in mama's pouch??? yes, that works.

a map of my creative thinking

i hate to open with this picture but it is essential to this post and the telling of how my mind works. i saw the below ad in the latest issue of Elle Decor

notice the "Clue" card, "in the kitchen" . i loved this game as a kid. i used to stare at the front cover for hours and now as an adult i just love the design of all the cards, the case file that held the "whodunit", the scratch pad and the board (1972 version of CLUE)

so i immediately started thinking...can i do my own take of the game clue, using friends and family as the 6 suspects. funny...maybe, then i thought maybe using toddlers and dressing them up and the whodunit would be like "little boy blue, in the sandbox with the dirty diaper" lame...most likely. so i kept thinking and thinking and ran across the abc thumbprint chart by sarah neuburger from the small object . j and i bought the chart and the thumb war battle of 1596 for h's room, so cute.

well, sarah also crafts these adorable little "peeps" out of old fashion clothespins. I thought how cute would it be to reinterpret the clue characters via the clothespins, then i thought that would just be a huge copy cat no no....but what about with corks? hmmmmmmm. which leads me to MAMIKO KATAOKA. She makes little dioramas and "peeps" out of, you guessed it.....CORKS! and they are brilliant!!!!! see for yourself. i guess there are no new ideas but just new interpretations!

 

penguins, paint and ed

still painting but ran outside in 2 degree weather to take this pic. i was sprawled across our creek on a precarious rock trying to "capture" the moment of this antarctic scene. the creek was barely frozen over and i was hoping for some open water but must wait until this cold snap ends. i wish the light was better but i was freezing and just snapping away hoping my camera didn't snap from the cold. i do love the shadow the front little guy adds.

on a totally different note- I LOVE ED NORTON!!!!!!! watched "the illusionist" last night and love him even more. i saw him recently on "sunday morning" and he is just so smart, down to earth and charming. mostly i love his little bags under his eyes (me too!) and his side ways smirk (see above pic). Ohhhhhh lala! terra might have a new wallet man!

antique and fabric love 2

some finds from the local antique shop. i actually got to look this time as the mother-in-law is visiting and watching h. i bought the above card because it is just so beautiful the red ink, the perfectly cancelled stamp. it would be a great specimen to blow up like the first issue of blueprint featured. where is the darn next issue? i've been waiting and waiting...

love the cowboys! and this below fabric from moda, isn't it sweet!