Holiday Peeks

Ok, shoot me, I've neglected this blog...but I promise it's going to get better. I am heading out of the country next week and will have some fun things to post when I get back!

But for now, making holiday gifts has been consuming most of my free time. At least 4 of my gifts are inspired from Pinterest, but until the big day I cannot reveal them in their entirety! So....I have created some artistically distorted images for you to stare at until you have a seizure peek at. They might be obvious, but hopefully it will still be a fun surprise. :-)

The Pinterest Challenge!

I've seen this around the interwebs (mainly here and here) and have been meaning to share my Pinterest Projects with you all as well! Choose a pin or repin from one of your boards and CREATE it! Then document or blog about it, and (if you wanna be like me) pin your creation! Simple as that! And seriously, who doesn't like a challenge!? So, for all of you who are as horribly addicted to Pinterest as I am, let's conquer this challenge together!

One of my very first pins was of a mason jar turned soap dispenser. I fell in LOVE with this! So, when I went back home for a canning weekend with my grandmother, I stuck a few of her super old canning jars in my suitcase! A couple days later....ta da!



A few weeks later we were invited to a 30th birthday party extravaganza! I immediately remembered a fun gift that I had pinned earlier and knew I had to create it. Of course I put my own spin on it and added a classy bottle of scotch and some cigars (hidden in the back). :-) Next time I promise to take a few in-process photos so you can see how I did it....it involved a LOT of hot glue.



Well, my fellow Pinterest-ers, the challenge is upon us! I will be going through my pins and picking a few more to bring to fruition. Boom!

My LillStreet Adventure

I recently found out about the LillStreet Art Center in Chicago, and it happens to be only a few train stops from my apartment! This is GREAT for my creative impulses, but SAD for my pocketbook as I am pretty sure I am going to take up residence in that place!

The first event I took part in was the One Million Bones project that I talked about in a previous post. I ended up bringing a stack of anatomy books and spent the afternoon sculpting bones out of clay! It was fabulous!

The table was starting to fill up! They had a weekend goal of 400 bones.

Yep, someone even created some fuzzy bones to donate to the cause! Love it!

The only restriction we had was that bones could not weigh more than 3 pounds. Otherwise bones could be anatomically correct or left to the creative mind. I sculpted a vertebra that ended up with a rather long spinous process by the end! And I also sculpted the ear ossicles, in a much larger scale of course!

My vertebra with a well-endowed spinous process!

Larger-than Life ear ossicles!

I kinda rushed these ossicles at the end, but I think they turned out alright considering my lack of clay knowledge. I guess this means I will have to take a clay sculpting or pottery (or both!) class at LillStreet next session!

I actually just started a jewely/metalsmithing class at LillStreet. They are 3 hour classes once a week for 5 weeks. Last week was our first class and already I'm loving it! We learned the basics of sawing, filing and texturing metal. Here's my first creation!

Anatomical Heart pendant. Not to shabby for a first-timer!

I knew I missed the classroom atmosphere, but wasn't sure if more student loan debt another degree was in my future. This definitely feeds my creative hunger! Love to Lillstreet!!

Cats in the Cradle

I recently posted my "30 Before 30" Bucket List (see tabs above). And I guess that topic has been on my mind a lot, perhaps that funk I've been in. But whatever the reason, I've been reflecting and realized I need to take life by its bullhorns and live. Had a long conversation with my mom on the phone this morning (she is by far one of the most influential people I've ever met. I wish she'd write a book to share her wisdom with the world).

Life is short and as far as we know, we only get one shot. So live it, and live it to your fullest. She reminded me of the song Cats in the Cradle. I'd never actually listened to the verses before and realized it's a sad reminder that life can pass you by. You don't realize this time of your life is important because you are so enveloped in a routine or your career...And by the time you do realize it, that time has passed. Whether it be children, a spouse or just yourself, time is limited. Don't wake up 25 years from now realizing you missed out on living life.

And ps, Harry Chapin has some good songs! I just added him to my playlist on Spotify. Love the interwebs!

Cat's in the Cradle

by Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, "I’m gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man in the moon When you comin home, dad, I don’t know when, But we'll get together then, Son, You know we'll have a good time then.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on lets play
can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do" He said "Thats okay"
And then he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said "I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m going to be like him"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, dad, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Son, You know we'll have a good time then.

Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, Son, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Dad, You know we'll have a good time then.

I’ve long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day........
I said "I'd like to see you if you don’t mind"
He said "I'd love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It's sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It's been sure nice talking to you........"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me..............


And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, Son, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Dad We're gonna have a good time then.

One Million Bones Project

Lately, I have been in a funk, snarky even. Perhaps it's the change in seasons (however I adore autumn) or perhaps it's me going through an "I'm almost 30 life crisis". I decided it's the latter.
So, to combat this disease I got drunk at a bar while watching a horrible football game. No really, I did. But I also came up with a bucket list of sorts to accomplish before I turn 30. It's called my "30 BEFORE 30" Bucket List. (I will go into more details about a few other items later).

One of the items was to participate in some sort of art installation or activist project. There happens to be one right up my alley in Chicago this weekend! (I may or may not have planned that just so I could cross something off the list...)

ONE MILLION BONES PROJECT
October 15-16 10am-4pm
LillStreet Art Center - Register HERE

One million bones- made by artists, activists, and students- will flood our nation's capital in spring of 2013. One Million Bones is a collaborative art installation designed to recognize the millions of victims and survivors who have been killed or displaced by ongoing genocides and mass atrocities in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burma.

Making bones? BONES!! Freaking awesome! I plan to be there Sunday to create my contribution. Who wants to join me?!?

I couldn't resist...

I've been away, doing very important things like surfing pinterest, watching hulu, and getting stranded in iowa. (seriously, the effing car wouldn't budge. 600 smackers and 1 personal day later I'm back in Chicago surfing pinterest and reading newly found inappropriately awesome blogs like thebloggess.com ).

And I couldn't resist.

Kudos to Barb "Ray-o-Sunshine" for this gem.

Wedding Crossword Program!

The wedding program - often one of the last things on a bride's to-do list. In this case, it was the groom's responsibility. He was a smart one and enlisted the help of my husband who crafted a beautiful arrangement a mere 2 days before the ceremony.


Picture this: You arrive early to a wedding and are seated next to the amazingly attractive cousin of bride. You are desperately wishing you had something to spark conversation and avoid awkwardly introducing yourself or using some horrible one liner. Remember that pencil you were given with the program? Open up your program, ooo and ahh at the wonderful design...


Now turn it over to the back and take a look at the crossword puzzle! I think it's an adorable way for guests to mingle while waiting for the ceremony to start! You never know who's going to have the answer to 13 Across: Color of Bride's car.