how october is turning out thus far....

 

• Sparkling Pumpkin Apple Cider and Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream for us to enjoy
• Haunted cobwebs and cheesecloth to adorn the front porch 
• Old horror movies and silent films
• Good ol' Ragtime music, keeping with the theme of Nattie's costume for the month
• Our first Halloween party attended and another one to enjoy this weekend
• Softball games with both cold and hot weather
• The best news of all, the anticipated question answered: We are having a little mister (as Nat calls him already)!

September...

Good things:

1. The beginning of my second trimester
2. The start of Second Grade
3. The excitement of Fall's weather approaching
4. Evening visits to Disneyland
5. Leaves scattered across the ground
6. Prospects for a certain spooky holiday
7. His provisions and His providence, all the time

A little stylish award for me, thanks!

I have been given a Stylish Blogger Award from Blue Terracotta (thanks so much Laura)! So in keeping tradition of the award, I share with you seven things about myself and fifteen recently discovered blogs...

1. I have an affinity for lively Indian music and always dance to the theme song from Outsourced.
2. I do not like spiders but I do love the intricate patterns from spiderwebs.
3. I am thankful for the opportunity to be childlike again when I am with my daughter.
4. I like silhouette art but have a very strong dislike for actual silhouettes (not art) of people (it bothers me when I can not see someone's face).
5. I've been forgetting my actual age since 31 (who doesn't right?!) For the record, I'm 32. I know that because my friend just corrected me in a comment below (I originally put 33, geesh)!
6. I once was a tiny little thing and am working on getting healthy again for myself and my family (maybe not so tiny but small enough)!
7. Very random something about me, I once met Elijah Wood at a Gogol Bordello concert. I was a tad tipsy (yes, a tad!) and went up to him, rubbed his shoulder and said "I am so happy that you are here". He smiled and laughed and said "I'm happy to be here too!" ;P

Now, even though I am downsizing, here are fifteen recently blogs I've 'found' that are quite enjoyable!

1. An Apple a Day
2. Anna Emilia
3. Carson Ellis
4. Cooking with my Kid
5. Dutch Drift
6. Just something I made
7. Kate Blake
8. Le Petit Echo Malade 
9. MousesHouses
10. Seven Spoons
11. Simple Village Girl
12. Something's Hiding in Here
13. Spoonful
14. The Mountain Rose Herbs blog
15. You are what You love

winter blessings...

This Christmas season, I am thankful and grateful for many things, both big and small....

• handmade gifts from my daughter
• the simple beauty of lights to bring cheer
• painting toe nails and laughter
• finding happiness in small things
• pretending you sleep in a magical room
• the children in your family
• finding places you never knew before
• gathering of very good friends
• grown women loving funny socks
• wishful thinking in beautiful photos
• happy hopes for new endeavors
• making due with what you have been given
• home cooked food and delicious home baked goodies
• the enchanting rain
• thrift store seeking, shopping and gifting
• tea tea and more tea
• slowing down to treasure precious moments flying by
  

 and most of all, for Luke 2:10, 11

Merry Christmas to all my friends...

what october has brought and a small giveaway

october month has brought these things...

• updated the black hare with a new look, new links and several posts; motivating myself to continue to make the black hare an active place
• reviving my listography to keep track of things like remembering graces both small and great
• feeling good about finally sending mail off to drucilla, helena and mathyld
• halfway through october and we haven't made any halloween crafts; thinking of ideas to do with her
• happy that the weather has finally cooled with a few good days of gray, rain and a bit of thunder and lightening
• working on my cursive, it's a dying tradition but I will try my best to keep it up with writing letters, cards and such
• really enjoying the new HBO show Boardwalk Empire and loving all the inspirations it is bringing
• remembering how I use to draw littlebigDead stuff during the months of September and October and drew a new one today
• thinking of all my favorite halloween photos of Natalie and how I need to gather the last seven years of her costumes photos to compile in one place

Lately I've been drawing on kid's kraft papers that offer the kind of look I've been wanting in some of my drawings. The only thing is the paper is not quality stock paper and it's a bit thin. I think I have found my solution in another stock paper that I have yet to purchase. Until then, I have the kraft papers for some nice illustrating time.

I am going to do a giveaway of the above drawing to one person who comments here with their email address by random selection. I'll keep the commenting open until Wednesday October 27th. I will include a few other things as well so it will be like a tiny care package. Spread the word via twitter or on your own blog for additional entries. Just please sure to leave the link so that it can be verified.

little things often reap the biggest rewards...

• baking with bubelah while she 'hosts' her own cooking show
• filling up time with more useful and productive things for all of us alike 
• feeling grateful to be a part of creative avenues like featherheart trading co.'s labels and business cards
• feeling equally blessed to receive a packaged filled with natural goodies from featherheart!
• a new commission to begin very soon
• a few days of autumn gray, rain, tea & homemade muffins and cookies
• encouragement, reassurance and admonishment for mothers
• late evening bike rides (with more to come!)
• the simple joys of making jiffy pop with a child of the twenty first century and seeing her absolute delight over it
• a small vintage etsy indulgence to arrive via post shortly
• the pleasure of perusing a new GloryBee catalog
• visiting old friends and being able to be at a service with them
• the complete enjoyment of being at a shower to celebrate a friend's upcoming nuptials
• long talks with kindred spirits
• decorating the house with homemade halloween crafts
• looking forward to friday morning when a few friends will come over and visit!

tuesday things

Thank you Polly for the award!

Before some serious work to get to, a few things to share:

1. I am nine sales away from one hundred!! Very exciting, so something a little extra in store for the one hundredth buyer :)
2. The Dreamery Studio, my newest etsy fave store, Where vintage book pages meets illustration art!
3. Absolutely adorable brown hoot owl wings and hat set for children by Naturally Crafty Shop
4. A new commission job to begin!

Be back soon, happy Tuesday!

autumn, you may let go of summer now

Autumn is officially here in technicality but not in weather. Yesterday the Los Angeles area set an all time record high (it was 112 degrees out here). I've started my walks again in the mornings but it's crazy that at 8 o' clock in the morning it's already in the '80's. Before I really begin to boil here in the house and set out to do some errands for dual purposes (1. to get some things done. 2. to find some relief in air conditioned places), I wanted to share a few things first:

This is not the greatest scan but just to share. Here is a piece that was commissioned to me by a old friend. It's a 'portrait' of her and her husband and it's in celebration of their recent anniversary. I really enjoyed doing this for her and doing it in just black india ink. I think I need to do some more work like this!

We went to one of my absolute oldest childhood friend's wedding a couple of weekends ago. It was such an amazing celebration. She is Ethiopian and being a witness to how they celebrate weddings is such a refreshing experience. This was actually my third Ethiopian wedding I attended but the first for Rick and Nat. He mentioned how this was the first wedding he has been to in a long time that didn't feel like a funeral. I was so happy to be there and to see a few other old time childhood friends. I didn't get to take photos because my camera's battery was low but I did manage a few shots of Natalie prancing down the steps of the church they got married in.

One of my favorite local places to visit is the Grand Californian Hotel in Downtown Disney. The architecture is in the Arts & Crafts style that Rick and I are completely drawn to. The place really is grand and I never get tired of being amazed when looking at the ceiling. I may find myself going there alone during the day for drawing, inspiration and respite. I really encourage looking up the link to really see how amazing this place is.

Other things to share (that are also on my pinterest):

• a tutorial on how to make paper maiche black birds from 'that artist woman'
• miniature rhino's post about a pen pal swap
• speaking of pen pals, adding a new one to my list, miss polly bland (letter is in the mail)!
• a cute animated vintage dancing duo blog badge up for free grabs by 'just something i made'
• this awesome vintage illustrated owl book mathyld shared with me from 'vintage kid's books my kid loves'

More later, but now time to move on....
:)

sweet friends and favorite things

This is Kitty and Jean-Luc, my most recent listing in the shop. I was pretty excited to try a scene I've never really done before with two wildly different friends. I imagine them finding solace and respite in one another in a secret place away from all the world.


I also introduce you to Agnes and Beatrice. I've been mulling around the idea of some creature friends who live in the South. I imagine them living in and around one of those magnificent plantation houses surrounded by trees and marsh. I see the house filled with vintage wallpapers and delightful antiquities and outside, willow trees and lush vegetation hiding secret places for them to wander and explore. Or at least, something like that :)

And now, a few (personal) projects at hand:

1. a diary
2. a place for letters
3. bygone inspirations

1. Because sometimes I just need that one extra place that fulfills my needs in a different kind of way. Apart from everything else, so I can pour, vent, share.

2. Because letter writing is an art I do not want forgotten and I want to share that with friends and everyone else. Like an old vintage box where letters, diaries, and photos are shared from more than just one person. If interested, please email me. The more the merrier!

 3. Because I like old things and art nd I know I am not alone.

And a few favorite things as well:

1. tweets of old 
2. cherries and blueberries
3. charles spurgeon tweets
4. playing solitaire and freecell on my phone (with the occasional cribbage game as well)
5. hopscotching and playing ping pong in the backyard
6. iced jasmine green tea with apple juice
7. pj deciding to chirp and sing at the most inopportune times (but still sweet and cute)!
8. the best summer weather ever!
9. manila drawing papers
10. natalie playing 'guitar' and glass bottles with a stick, serenading in my room to raise money for her laptop (yes, my mom said they would save up to get her one for christmas)...

mornings.

• open windows
• gardenias in glass bottles
• old timey music
• magpie apples
• fireworks
• bicycles
• new sketchbooks
• prayer
• faith
• hope

eat, drink and be merry

• lavender earl grey tea
• fresh bluberries in oatmeal
• tuna salad with sprouts on whole wheat
• pear hint water
• apple beer (for her)
• victorian lemonade (for him)
• curiousity cola (for me)
• organic cinnamon mints
• strawberry coconut milk kefir
• almond dream praline ice cream
• fresh strawberries, bananas, cucumbers and more blueberries
• and chicken tacos tonight!

the village at owl...

the village at owl original illustration

thankful for...

• new endeavors and opportunities
• getting a bike for mother's day
• getting dirty and planting flower seeds
• the constant motivation within to keep walking
• my husband and his birthday
• collecting beautiful shells at the beach with my little girl
• His providence and knowing that He is watching over all things
• movie nights (or spa nights!) and sleepovers with my daughter
• renewed friendships
• being grateful for the sun and it's warmth (until it gets overbearingly hot here in socal!)

who wants to build a tepee with me?

I have this urge to make tepees whether it's small, in craft form or large where we can all climb in, play games, draw and tell stories. Either way I want in, how about you?

all images from Plains Tepee-How to make, erect and decorate a tepee

other links:

how to make mini teepees by that artist woman

sew a teepee for kids by craft gossip

paper bag teepee by crafty shops

make your own teepee by smile and wave

the bean teepee by it blows here

50 ways to get outside and play: build a teepee by the real rumpus

how to make a teepee by monster guide

I am sure there are many more....if you know of any, please share!

If I ever get started with actually making a big teepee I should start some some sort of group like 'Teepees in the City" or something...that's just me thinking out loud :)

pyramid inspirations...

happy/thankful for...

+ flower fairy portraits and a stick bug portrait (twigs and googly eyes!) Nat made for her teacher

+ earth day; making coffee ground fossils with leaf imprints with Natalie and lighting candles at night for a little earth hour before sleep

+ makeshift wire nests to put leftover stings, felt and fabric pieces, hemp strings and other things for little feathered friends to use for making nests

+ finding more and more inspiration, through people, through lives and through stories

+ sending treats to a very creative and nature loving family and being the giver of inspiration to a sweet fauna

+ making a little change of my own and changing finding moths in my pockets to ursula the bear (for more sentimental and creative reasons) and liking the 'stories' I find to share there

+ a text message from my husband telling me how much he appreciates the things I think to do with our daughter ♥

+ winning my first team challenge with Indie Free Spirits, getting a little goodies in the mail as a prize and having my etsy shop badge and interview posted on both the Indie Free Spirits Team blog and on Mermaid's Closet

+ drawing a lot more (again) and finishing the above untitled piece. I still do not know what to title it but I will share that it was inspired by Mathyld and her decision to become 'under the pyramids'

if i was...

if i was a month i'd be november

if i was a day of the week i'd be thursday

if i was a time of day i'd be dusk

if i was a sea animal i'd be a seahorse

if i was a direction i'd be east

if i was a piece of furniture i'd be an old chair

if i was a liquid i'd be the sea

if i was a gemstone i'd be topaz

if i was a tree i'd be a willow

if i was a tool i'd be a paint brush

if i was a flower i'd be a hellebore

if i was a kind of weather i'd be rain

if i was a musical instrument i'd be a banjo

if i was a color i'd be earth brown

if i was an emotion i'd be longing

if i was a fruit i'd be a anjou pear

if i was a food i'd be my spinach, sausage and bean soup

if i was a material i'd be cotton

if i was a scent i'd be tuberose

if i was a flavor i'd be sweet

if i was a sound i'd be a 'ssshhhh'

if i was an element i'd be wind

if i was a mammal i'd be a fox

if i was a phase of the moon i would be full

if i was a berry i'd be blackberry

if i was a bird i'd be blackbird

if i was a book i'd be the lion, the witch and the wardrobe

if i was a place i'd be a forest by the sea

thank you dear heather of moonshine junkyard for sharing your lovely list (and for those who were before you too, the girl who married a bear and a cup full of sunshine...)

for art and photo credits, click on pictures...