Remembrance of Fall

Some photos I took in September, to edit I used www.picnik.com,  a great editing site! (plus it's free for basic features).

A Little Box

Something I made for my mom this holiday season! I found this cute little box at Hobby Lobby for about three dollars and started with a real light white wash. This was followed by the watercolor of the flowers which I highlighted with acrylic paint.

Now for what I put INSIDE the box! Need: 2cup Epsom salt, 1 tbsp water, fragrance, mixing bowl, mold and food color! That's right, I made bath salts for my mom. I did it rather unconventional however. First off, one should mix the Epsom salt, water, fragrance and food coloring all together. That went fairly well except for the fact that I didn't have food coloring for my first batch, so when I mixed it all together I got a nice pink rather than a "Cheery Christmas" red. Secondly, pack firmly into molds. I didn't have any molds. The website which I found this recipe instructed the creator to pack firmly into circular bath molds which snap together (like plastic Easter eggs). From there they were to set dry for a day, then the top half was to be removed (with the idea that the sphere shape would remain intact) and then leave the whole to rest for another 3-4 days. Well, ice cube tray... bath mold... no difference right? Wrong. I could not get the dang things to hold their shape for the life of me! I let them set close to a week with no results. Granted it would've helped if the ice cube tray had a second part to allow air to reach the whole bath salt. It probably also would have helped a great deal if I had a regular, cubic, small ice cube tray. I had long, fairly wide cylinders. Face it, no air was getting to the center of that sodium concoction.

However, it all worked out well I believe. A few days before Christmas I decided waiting was ridiculous at this point. I had tried everything short of sticking it in the oven. Well what in Pete's sake is wrong with having it just the plain salt? and instructing my mom to scoop two spoon fulls, or as much as her desired fragrance, into her bath. I got a huge mixing bowl. Poured my poor mixture into it and began to use my hair dryer in an attempt to prevail against this truly evil foe.

I lost.

I used the high setting on the hair dryer. Wet, fruity scented Epsom salt went EVERYWHERE!

Round two: Used the low setting and held the dryer close to the salt with my arm wrapped around the bowl to prevent any projectile chemicals.

It worked a lot better :) And so I continued, adding in more salt, and water as needed to make it soak in. Do not bother to ask how much I put in, I just poured the Epsom salt in and added a little bit of water at a time to keep the mixture moving; the salt should be wet but not runny. I added in even more fragrance than water, and even more food coloring than fragrance. It smelt wonderful I must say. The fragrance I also got at Hobby Lobby (fragrance- $2.99 from Hobby Lobby, Espom salt- $3 from Walmart, Water- free from my tap, a fruity smelling bathroom and Christmas adventures- Priceless). Strawberry and Sugar Cookie. It smelt glorious and I have to sway a bit as I entered my bathroom later that night. The dulcet smell, I could not get enough of it. Did I mention that I was doing all of this in my bathroom? My mom was in the kitchen so this was considered a covert affair and face it, I knew I would make a mess so at least it would do the least damage in the bathroom. After I had used most of my salt and fragrance, with the bath salts being mostly dry, I felt a sense of accomplishment and scooped some into my mom's box. Concluding the momentous occasion by wrapping the gift.

Christmas Day my mom opened it.

"Oh that smells wonderful, Katie!"

I couldn't resist smelling it.

I should have put the bath salts in a plastic bag. The salts now smelled pleasantly of the wood which had been holding it these last few days. Not a hint of strawberry or sugar cookies there.

:)   Touche Epsom bath salts. Touche.

Tonight's PlayList...

If you have not listened to any one of these songs, I would highly recommend them; however my taste in music is quite varied and I enjoy a number of different songs :) 

1. Until the Day I Die- Story of the Year
2. Cigarettes- Lucky Boys Confusion
3. Set it on Fire- My Darkest Days
4. You Had Me at Hello- A Day to Remember
5. HeartKiller- H.I.M
6. 4Ever- The Veronicas
7. Mr. Brightside- The Killers
8. Country Grammer-Nelly
9. Check Yes Juliet- We The Kings
10. About a Girl-The Academy Is...
11. The Ballad of Mona Lisa- Panic!@the Disco
12. Sadie Hawkins Dance-Relient K
13. Best Theory- Jimmy Eat World
14. Tilt Ya Head Back-Nelly feat. Christina Aguilera
15. Untouched-the Veronicas
16. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is the Press Coverage-Panic!@the Disco
17. Love Chaser- Sunseth Midnight
18. Maria Maria-Santana
19. Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year- Fall Out Boy-

".... Cuz I'll keep singing this lie if you keep believing it, are we going up or just going down? It's just a matter of time until we're all found out, take our tears, put them on ice....

                " .... Cuz I swear.... I'll burn the city down to show you the light...."

The Fountainhead

I went through my "stats" about page views and saw that I had 8 viewers (or views) from Russia (I deeply adore to think about the prospect of people, from ANYWHERE! actually reading my posts). This got me thinking about the book I'm currently reading, The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand, who for those who may not be familiar with her, was born in Russia.

I will be completely honest in the fact that I have no idea why I am posting this, except as a release for the build up joy and contemplation I am experiencing as I read The Fountainhead. Please note that I am only approximately halfway through the book! At first I did not like the book, however there was something that kept me reading, and now I have a hard time putting the book down. Then... there's times where I am forced to take breaks from it, from the characters, the vivid pictures and the complex, yet wholly simple, characters. It is indescribable, this feeling. I'm not too sure what makes me put down the book yet it is a feeling that I enjoy. The feeling which makes me giddy. That I can keep reading. I feel a slight ownership of the characters because there is a complete sense of realism that is attached to them.

Ayn Rand worked like an artist (who am I kidding, she was truly an artist) as she tells the life of Howard Roark as an architect and as a man. There is hardly a proper way to describe Roark, however, Rand said well in saying Howard Roark was the ideal man, man as "he could be and ought to be." His understanding extends to a multitude of subjects on a multitude of levels, yet, he still possesses innocence and a belief in what is right. He understand everything and then nothing which makes him almost pure.

Adorable Kids

Dear little girl,
               
           I was born on my birthday too, that's so weird!

                                 Sincerely, Little kids are so cute....




Saw this on www.dearblankpleaseblank.com and found it completely sweet. As well as reminding me of Christmas Eve Mass which I attended this year. It was a candle light service which I enjoyed deeply, along with the privilege of sitting behind a little girl of the most adorable and innocent nature. She squeaked with joy as we passed on our lit candles, overjoyed with the prospect of holding one herself. She wore her Sunday best outfit, a cheery dress. I had no idea where she got all her energy from! All smiles and giggles, yet extremely well behaved and fairly quiet through the service. At one point of the service the priest came and splashed the people with Holy water to remind us of our baptism. He splashed A LOT of water! It was quite funny because my dad was sitting right next to the baptismal font. Right in the face he got splashed... that woke him up! The little girl once again squeaked as the water hit her face. When my dad asked her if she got wet, she grinned and nodded vigorously. 


To all the children out there... keep being cute, innocent and full of all the creativity and wonder you currently hold... 

Old Ornaments

As I promised, my previous ornaments. I particularly love the red and white one. This one was also painted from the inside. The green one is speckled from the outside and is actually a shade darker than the picture shows (with the shine of the bulb I could not get a just picture). I used a sponge to get the look on the green ornament, with various shades of light green, finishing with a glitter paint. I made two other ornaments the year past. Another green one, which is much darker, painted on the outside. It is a solid green with four white stars, one on each "side." (Wait... globe... sides?!) The other one can be vaguely seen in the left side of the red ornament picture. It is a simple white with "2010" in gold and stars.  

                     I hope everyone had a safe and happy Holiday :) 

Map Coasters

Well here's one of the gifts I finished making in time for Christmas! Coasters! It was very simple to do and it turned out great, or so my dad tells me ... haha...haha.

ANYWAY! Supplies: a map, four pieces of wood or cork (I used wood squares from Hobby Lobby), paint (if you desire), a glue, and possibly a varnish.

How to: I started with choosing my locations, it's nice if there's memories or connections to the areas you choose. Because I was making these for my father I chose places he had gone to school or lived at. From there I cut these locations on the map. Next, I had to prepare the pieces of wood. I used plain white acrylic paint on the wood, for looks and to help make it resistant to stains. While the paint on top was still wet, I placed the pieces of map on it, using the paint as the glue (I was not aware we were out of glue!)
The website where I got this idea suggested Mod Podge glue if availble. (I find no problem with paint or regular glue as long as one varnishes the completed item. After that had dried, I used a liquid thinner/varnish (I recommend Liquitex "Gloss medium & Varnish") and went over the whole work, with extra care around the edges of the map to secure it's hold. Afterwards, as a final precaution, I used a spray woodworking varnish (found at almost any hardware store). These final varnishes will help make it water resistant (hopefully decrease the coffee stains also!) and gave it a nice glossy shine.

The Most Beautiful Love Story

For Christmas I got a book, a book which I now hold as dearly to my heart as it's precursors did and still do. The book is The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy, by Maya Slater, written as Mr. Darcy's diary during the whole Love Scheme between him and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. For those who are unfamiliar with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, read it. Even manly men. Read it .... NOW. O.K. at least watch the movie. There are few books that could do this to me, I started reading this morning when I got the book, I finished it by this evening, hardly putting it down.

Let me give you a little run through of the Pride and Prejudice  plot. (Feel free to skip if you know the story, if not, feel free to skip the following paragraphs if you feel fit.... if you promise to read the book ;] )

The story centers around the Bennet family, particularly their second daughter, Elizabeth. The family consists of a comic, and at times frustratingly silly (at other times, tragic), mix of personalities. The patriarchs, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, have a clashing marriage. Mrs. Bennet was very lovely in her youth, and as the story hints at, flirtatious. She caught the attentions of Mr. Bennet and they were married. Afterwards, they came to realize their differences. Mrs. B preferred the town life and social excursions while Mr. B was content with solitary study and at times intellectual conversation.

The eldest Miss Bennet, Jane, is a beautiful girl. She has "classical" beauty, fair skin and hair with a quiet, charming demeanor. She is always willing to think the best of others. She in involved in the story by being her sister, Elizabeth's, main confidence, and by her being enamored with a friend of Darcy's, Bingley, and he with her. Their love goes astray with rumors and suspicion that she is after his money and they are torn apart.

Elizabeth is the second eldest. She is the intellect along side her father. Her hair is dark, her eyes also are dark and shine. A captivating aspect of her appearance. She loves the outdoors and is often scrutinized but "socially accepted and privileged" women for her unkempt and muddy appearance. Others are drawn to her natural beauty and her tanned skin. Eliza Bennet is witty, charming and well read; hardly modest and will be heard, yet she is hardly pushy. The story primarily focuses on her and Darcy's sparring and then eventually, love story. While at the same time, both her and Darcy, trying to look after Jane and Bingley.

I would love to be as spirited as Elizabeth, her strength what makes her beautiful.

Mary is hardly mentioned in Pride and Prejudice, and only once or twice and not by name in Darcy. She is viewed as unsociable and expected to be the "old maid." She loves the pianoforte and insists on it being known, as well as her slightly out of tune voice. Unfortunately, this results in her being mocked. Mary grows into a stunning young women though, in the spin off I believe entitled, The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet. I enjoyed this book as well, but it did not hold stay to the romance of Darcy. (Note: Due to the fact that both spin offs were published a considerable time after Ms. Austen's death [only a few hundred years!], we cannot know if this is what was intended for the characters) What I disliked about Miss Mary was the fact {SPOILER ALERT!} that the author does not have the Darcy's completely living in a happy marriage, Jane is sick with Bingley hardly around and Lydia is quite frankly, a whore and a drunkard. What I DO like however is how Mary finally has a happy ending and is strong in character. (With all I've written of Mary, one would think she played a larger role in Darcy!)

Kitty and Lydia can be grouped as a pair. Both completely ridiculously and probably very similar to their mother. Lydia is the youngest (16 years) with Kitty being a year or two older. Nevertheless, Lydia is the "mastermind" between the flirtations which both her and Kitty participate in. They are flirts, ecstatic whenever the soldiers visit town and can come to a ball. {SPOILER ALERT} Lydia then scandalizes the family by eloping with the devilish Mr. Wickham who was at first flirting with Elizabeth.

STOP SKIPPING AT THIS POINT IN TIME!

The story is frankly, the love story by Darcy's point of view. It elaborates on his love and at times his hurtful hate of Elizabeth caused by her, at time, Prejudice against his Pride. I find it enchanting to hear of his slowly changing description of her, the quiet writings of a far off dream. Then when she rejects his feelings, it is quite humorous to see how it affects his pride. It results in a multitude of entries exclaiming things on the line of "HOW COULD SHE THINK ME UNGENTLEMANLY!" The story also shows of his love of his younger sister and his joy in his friendship of Bingley. It is thoroughly enlightening to read about this romantic "tall, dark and handsome" man. To see his love grow and knowing, from reading Pride and Prejudice, how slowly.... Elizabeth begins to think the same thing of Darcy. They are so alike in many ways. and so different. They make the perfect pair. In my heart, I ever so much wish that they did exist, even if in a far off land, and that their relationship was as perfect as I imagine it.

Wow, that's a lot of typing, I'll go over it once again tomorrow to check for errors. If you read it before then... please pay them no mind! Merry Christmas!

When Christmas Dinner Goes Wrong and You're Forced to Do Chinese Food

Yeah... Watch it :) I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU! This is from the Best Holiday Movie EVER! The Christmas Story, classic right?

Christmas Ornaments

Today I decided to work on ornaments for our Christmas tree. I bought plain glass ornaments at Michael's for half off after last Christmas. There's a variety of ways to paint them. Last year I tried the paint on the outside, and that was considerably easier, but then I tried to be a bit more ambitious and paint the inside, which turns out very nicely. It makes the paint look a lot cleaner and it has a "shine." These are some that I did today and I'll try to upload some that I did last year. The pictures don't show it off well at all! For the greens I used a variety of colors, starting with a gloss medium which I poured in and mixed with water, then rolled the ornament so it would be covered with this mix. Then I started to slowly drip my main "medium" toned green in and got the inside covered, then I added a dark and a lighter until it would swirl in a marble like way, finishing with a teal color and a lime green. The 2011 was painted on the outside of the orb, (I still need to work on the writing or drawing on the inside [and having it legible]). The white is VERY pretty in person. It's the same orb and started the same way, only i used the white paint to drip down almost like icicles (Or something along that sort!) and then I'm going too look for either some snowflakes that will fit in or else some blue glitter. 




With so much water being used it is hard to make sure that the paint stays all over the orb and that there is no open space (unless desirable as in the white orb). To do this, I stuck in a movie, relaxed and sat twisting and turning the orb, in intervals using a hair dryer to assist the drying process. 


It's a fun project and sure gets one into the holiday spirit! Happy Christmas Eve everyone :) 

So what can I make with these items?!

Sherlock

Yesterday, I battled through the snow and ice to see a movie. The movie was the new Sherlock Holmes. I admit it was a good adventure movie, the graphics were amazing (including the slightly overused and melodramatic usage of slow-mo) and there was plenty of eccentric comedy to keep the laughs up. As with the first, it is interesting to see how the film makers broke everything down as if it was going through Holmes and Moriarty's mind. I enjoy being able to follow their thoughts like I would do when reading the actual books. I won't spoil the ending but I will say, it was fun to see how it partially followed the original books.

All together Robert Downey Jr. shown as an upbeat Sherlock and I was glad that Jude Law as Watson stepped it up to be a hero at the end.

Trivia: Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn and Javier Bardem were all considered to play the evil Dr. James Moriarty. (I can't see Brad Pitt as being an evil mathematical genius, and Gary Oldman is just too nice! Between being a hero in both Harry Potter and Batman, it would be strange to envision him as Moriarty. Javier Bardem wouldn't be bad, Somehow though... Sean Bean sticks out as  good Moriarty, I mean, a James Bond villain coming back!)

There are many other movies about Sherlock Holmes, Wiki actually tells us that there are 44 Sherlock Holmes movies made throughout the ages. One that I would recommend though, if you're willing to let go out your original "new movies" view of Homes and that is The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. If you have time, check it :)

Fuzzy Penguins and Sharpie Penguins

I got one of the most amazing Christmas gifts ever yesterday. A giant stuffed Penguin. A giant fuzzy stuffed Penguin. Basically, it can only be described by a "Despicable Me" quote... "IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GOING TO DIE!" So I decided to incorporate this wonderful gift with a shirt that I made this summer. I used sharpies to draw the figure and I believe it turned out quite swell. The only problem with using sharpies is you have to be very careful in washing it. The colors completely fade and merge if one machine washes it. Also, with hand washing you have to use extremely mild soap/detergent and it cannot set in the water long. Note that it also depends on how much color you use. Multiple colors you have to be very careful on, but then another shirt, I just had a friend sign small and that I just throw in the wash.

(I went there)

This put a downer on my morning

Cancer is terrible, I've had both family members and friends die from the disease. This just reiterates the fact. No one should die this young. Miss Venezuela died this past weekend from breast cancer at age 28. May our prayers be with her family.

http://news.yahoo.com/former-miss-venezuela-dies-breast-cancer-28-193031133.html

Jack anyone?

Dear Nightmare Before Christmas,


       So are you a Christmas movie or a     Halloween movie? 
        
                                  Sincerely,
                                   Confused

These are for one of my best friends, who is another fan of Tim Burton. (He scowls at me whenever I tell him I've never seen the Nightmare Before Christmas!) Also note that the above in orange is from a grand website which entertains me quite thoroughly in school, www.dearblankpleaseblank.com .

Back to business! All of the shirts and crafts I make are quite easy and very fun. The gloves are one size fits all and I got them at Walmart for a heavy price of $1.40, and can you believe it? It was for ONLY two sets of gloves! From there it was just a matter of painting the face on. Thankfully, Jack Skellington is a fairly easy character. The shirt was only a tad more expensive. I usually pick up Fruit of the Loom shirts, $12-$15 for a pack of 7 shirts. However, I needed a lot more paint for the shirts because it is good to do at least two coats of paint. Most shirts I can do freehand but on some harder ones (more detailed Audrey Hepburn one) I use a projector, from there trace the image and finish by painting.

Helpful hint: use large manuscript paper clips to secure your fabric backboard of some sort,  use a sturdy canvas but cardboard would work just as well.

Going back to the Beginning

Have you seen this Wizard?

I have always loved art so it's no surprise I took it too the next level. I started with decorating my old jeans 
that were full of rips and stains, that was back in my sixth grade. Then I moved on to shirts when Harry 
Potter came out. For Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 I felt the need to relive some old 
memories. Some... Black memories. 

And so the shirts take off!

Once I had made my first "Christmas" shirt I decided to continue. I truly enjoyed it (and will continue to enjoy it... only about five more shirts to go!). I picked out actors, actresses and idols to feature on my shirts. Johnny Depp is going to one of my lifelong friends who is a fan of everything Tim Burton or Johnny Depp (Notice I said 'is going', I'm the teensiest behind on mailing/delivering gifts). Next came a pair of shirts honoring Audrey Hepburn.

                        Finally (for now!) come Mr. John Lennon and a simple Hermione Granger.
  I like the Audrey Hepburns and Hermione, but I'm not that fond of John Lennon, but then again I'm not a    
    Beatles groupie ;) They made excellent music, but I just prefer the Beach Boys (FOR THE WIN!)

Christmas Trials

Christmas can be stressful. There is quite frankly, no denying it (unless it is completely a relaxing time for you in which case you perfectly well can deny it). Usually I am always scrambling around last minute trying to work out gifts for everyone. My father is the absolutely hardest person to buy for. Everything I know he would want, I would be to terrified to buy (example: I would end up buy the wrong power tool/golf club/<Insert any other object here>) or it would be way out of my budget.

Usually, my mom is a little easier to buy or make things for (an example of what I made her will come later once it is complete!)

My friends are usually very easy to buy for. Mostly because they like the random, kookie things I do. So this year I decided to mix it up (In the past I have went shopping for them or made them necklaces and key chains) and so I revived my love to express myself through .... FASHION DESIGN!