Interstellar Whispers

MMXII

2012-01-12T01:51:00.000-06:00

Picture me brushing away a thick layer of settled dust off this blog. Because that is exactly what I am doing! Hurrah it feels good to write words here again, not to mention making a few tweaks to the layout.

I figured the departure of 2011 and emerging out onto a new slate in 2012 is a fare enough reason to work on personal goals and make new ones for the year. Which includes blogging more.

Although before I plan on discussing what 2012 will bring, I'd like to take a few steps to reflect back on what I've accomplished but did not discuss in the later half of last year..

Looking back to August and seeing my last blog post brings me back to the reason why I stopped writing in the first place. Sadly the kitten Brad and I adopted died tragically on October 3d and it was extremely hard to deal with the loss since it has happened out of no where and there was nothing we could have done. At one point I began a writing post to discuss what happened and make a tribute to her but I couldn't bring myself to share such a heart breaking story.. And then I just fell off the writing wagon for the rest of the year.

I would have to say that was the lowest low of 2011 when we had lost not only a friend but part of our hearts. Fortunately life has a way of balancing it self out bringing positivity and opportunities to make up for the hard times..

Since then I've kept ridiculously busy even through the tough times. I found this year that being productive is so motivating because there is so much learned from challenging yourself and getting past hurdles you didn't know you could jump. The amount of personal growth I can reflect upon since just April when I moved out here on the West coast is staggering. And this is only the beginning.

I can give a lot of thanks to my new job at a professional print shop for giving me the drive and knowledge that I can apply to my art. They've taken me under their wings and have taught me so much about the print and graphic design world that it's showed me so many new directions to take my art in. Such as producing reproduction prints of my paintings to sell, trade, and gift which is really exciting!
Big things are in store for 2012. But I'll unfold those plans later.. :)

Last but not least there is always a happy ending. While keeping busy with Brad we managed to feel pretty empty without a pet in our family , especially because we had so much love to offer to a furry friend. So when the time was right we stumbled upon a litter of Savannah kittens that we picked our latest addition to the family from...

DUNE! Named after the sic-fi movie of course .

Somewhat of an image cluster dump for a post but it's great to put it together and see what's been accomplished!

It's good to be back posting. I intend to try and do it more often since I'm motivated to do even better this year. Oh and if your still following and reading my blog thanks again for following!

- Nicole

Time Flies

2011-08-24T12:55:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy Summer that's for sure and it's been good to me.

With trips out to the mountains, the beach & swimming in the ocean, long bike rides, visiting the space observatory on clear nights, eating fresh fruits/veggies/fish , trying new beers, meeting new people, snapping photos, being creative, adopting the most lovable sassy kitten, becoming more focused, having an incredible boyfriend to share the times with, discovering tons of new music, working at custom T-Shirt shop with amazing co-workers, growing a full garden on our balcony, taking hikes in the forest and straying from

the paths... and.. well, a lots of other amazing times.

But just because Summer is slowly fading away doesn't mean the good times and any of those opportunities will simply vanish along with the warm weather. Besides who isn't looking forward to Fall!? It's probably one of the best seasons ever, in most people's opinions.. ;)

*****

So whats new!?

Lots has been happening since the last post on the 3d. And no wonder considering I've really picked up the pace on productivity.

Since then I've picked up a commissioned project to design a blog and some unique graphics for a company I helped make custom shirts for at work.

It was really amazing meeting my clients and learning about their Cake-Pop company, they were really happy to have me work on their logo and web site since they had no experience building them and their company needed to have a professional approach to marketing. Which heavily relies on having a strong identity and also on having a site so people can easily find information regarding your products. They felt like my style would fit their approach so we began to work together right away.

Custom Illustration of the owner as a 50's inspired Cake-Pop Cutie & the Layout for
www.cake-pop-cuties.com

The biggest challenged was not designing but having to deal with their current domain setup purchased through Wordpress. I was intending on working with their blog on Wordpress however to have custom CSS you require to spend $30 which the clients weren't too impressed with. I recommended we move and rebuild it with blogger and forward their current domain to the new site afterwards.
Easy right!?

Not quite. It took a couple days of research, reading, making changes to a Domain Manager, waiting for changes, learning about name severs, custom DNS, CNAME and A records. The difference between a domain transfer and a forward.... all the messy web admin stuff.

Eventually it all worked out and my clients were incredibly happy with the work I produced. It's been a blast working on this project, especially because they gave me a lot of trust and gave me full control over the design other than some small requests that helped me build the right kind of layout.

By the way does anyone know of any good vegan cake recipes? My clients are researching to create vegan cake-pops and they are hunting for any good recommendations. :)

*****

Lastly for the update I'd like to share an illustration I recently finished which turned out to be heavily art nouveau inspired .

I'll be making a run of limited prints of this in the future to be made available in my shop for those that like it
:)

As much as I love painting , it's always good to switch it up to something different and try to improve in different areas..

*****

Well that is all for now. Can't spoil all the fun in one post.

There's always something on the go and right now it's me.

Peace!

Seize the Summer

2011-08-03T12:30:00.001-06:00

Working towards your dreams and goals is a wonderful feeling.

Although I've had to come to learn that patience is a valuable asset during the process. Since building up to a future online shop and website is important to me I have been spending a lot of time on my projects to produce a kind of quality that cannot be rushed.

My personal and professional webpage portfolio is just around the corner from being launched! Just about at the point where I'll be comfortable enough to use it to represent my work when I apply for any future creative jobs. With Vancouver being so plentiful within the arts industry I'm bound to find an incredible opportunity somewhere..

While the inventory for shop stock slowly grows there is still work to be done in this particular place. Branding, business cards, prints, original artworks, more apparel, packaging supplies, and lots more! All of it slowly coming together!

And speaking of branding here's a sneak peek into some of the work I've been doing lately:

Somewhat of a logo but more leading towards a web graphic and business cards.

Drawing. Always trying to draw more.

5 styles already and still planning a few more.

Working on a couple bandana ideas, researching patterns so I can draw something to go along with the illustration.

Last but not least my roll of film for Rhianne's Photo-swap has been sent off to my partner. They've already been posting some of the developed photos from other partner's participating in the exchange so go check them out! Can't wait to see what wonderful photos I get in the mail :)

This Summer has been incredible so far. Tons of productivity and fun all at the same time, and it's not over just yet!

Till next time.. xxx

Monochromatic Analog Love

2011-07-06T11:47:00.000-06:00

Occasionally it's good to push yourself to do something out of the norm. Especially if you are going to experiment for a learning experience.

In this case I'm talking about 35mm film for a camera. The norm of which I shoot typically involves vivid colours and usually sticking to it. It's hard for me to let go of coloured film because of my obsession for it, especially because the results are of endless possibilities.

But up until now I can finally feel the same way about Black and White. It's been a long time since I've shot without my crutch of colours so it was time again to give it another try.

Weapons of Choice:

Yashica FX-3 & Ilford SFX 200 iso 35mm film

Really pleased with the high contrast and the sharp grain from this film. This was a deadly combination to shoot with!

Lunch at Meat & Bread. I could spend all day talking about this place. But I wont.
The beverage on the table is the most amazing natural orange soda ever!

The most riders we had together at once riding along the sea wall and through the city. Vancouver must be one of the most bike friendly cities in the world. You get to see so many unique custom builds too. There really isn't much of a need for a car living in the city.

Brad sitting through the start of a gnarly chest piece cover up. The re-design is pretty incredible all thanks to our friend Mitch at Gastown Tattoo Parlour.

This incredible solid wood coffee table was built by Brad, however it didn't match the living room so we stained it a deep cherry black. Honestly forgot I had B&W film at this point and was expecting this shot to be vivid with the drip of stain. Oh well still a beautiful shot with rich texture.

Totally convinced this film rules at capturing textures. Especially in the forest.

Just love how Brad looks at if he's moving the rock with his mind like some sort of Jedi..
:)

It was a pretty awesome day to turn 23 years old.

This stump is experiencing a total fungal take over!

Last but not lease the famous East Van sign just a couple blocks away from home.

The mountainous skyline is always so epic.

*****

Hmm to use this film again for the photo swap or not to..?

We'll see.

It's a Photo Swap!

2011-07-06T10:57:00.001-06:00

Over the years I have spent countless hours reading incredible blog posts from so many unique writers, and over this time I have collected my favourite writer's posts within my RSS reader. Looking back at these posts and seeing what is common amongst the blogs I find that my taste tends to linger towards those who write with photos and their experiences taking them as well as how they took those photos. So I'm really pushing myself to get more involved with taking analog photos and sharing my experiences in hopes to one day also inspire someone who like myself, lives and breaths taking photos.

Sometime around last year I had discovered Rhianne's blog "For the Easily Distracted.." and an annual project she had kick started in 2009 involving swapping a roll of 35 mm film with another blogger/photographer who are all just as passionate about analog as myself. If you love taking photos you'll love reading about Rhianne and her analog photography adventures.

Unfortunately at the time of discovering the latest swap, it was already closed for participation so all I could do is spectate and enjoy the wonderful project in hopes to one day join in one the swap... *le sigh*

(image from official Photo Swap blog)

Which is exactly what I'll be doing for the 2011 roll exchange! Obviously this time around I was on the ball and signed up as quickly as possible which did land me a spot :) . Can't wait!

So how does it work? Well we all have one month to fill up a roll of film. Any type of 35mm in the camera of your choice. Once the roll is full you send it off undeveloped to your selected individual to trade with. After we get the film it i is taken in to get developed to later on be shared with everyone else's results on the internet via Flickr and the photo swap blog. Really simple and tons of fun.

The only hard part is deciding on a type of film, the camera, and where/when to take shots.
Either way I'm thrilled to have the experience!

Please please go check out the Photo Swap site if your fascinated because of it I have discovered so many more incredible bloggers who take killer pictures. <3

T-Shirt Test Print

2011-07-04T11:14:00.000-06:00

The best part of my current job is that when there is down time I get to work on my own personal shirt projects. Which is really exciting and leading up to building a sufficient stock of items before I open an online shop.

It's really interesting working with fabric and deciding how to position design prints. Lots of clients come in with really weird shapes images that we must do our best with fitting the design onto the garment. Sometimes the garment is a shirt, but other times we will receive tank tops, dresses, aprons... etc to print on. Which makes it all the more interesting to decide how and where to place the design. Especially if the design is in a generic square shape.

Like my last water-colour painting for instance. It's fairly square and the shape is awfully restricting when it comes to being printed onto a shirt. Most cases things are just placed in the most commonly used spot. Front and center. Well I think it's bbboooorrrriiiinnnggg! Like I want to produce something completely unoriginal and lacks any chance of catching the eye. So instead of cutting out the print in a total square and slapping it F/C I did something else.

Brought out my trusty favourite pare of scissors at work and began hacking away at two copies of my artwork. The first copy I cut along the edges giving the spacey sky a better transition from graphic to fabric. Really glad I decided to do that! And the second copy was to trace and cut out stars using small samples from the sky I painted. The graphic looked too minimal to be on the shirt alone and since I was placing the image towards the bottom I felt that the top space needed to be utilized better. With stars!

I choose this incredibly comfy tri-blend navy tank top to print all this on since the blue color totally matched the image and the fabric is ultra soft to the touch. Trying to keep future clients in mind because I think everyone should feel super comfortable in the cloths they wear.

The results were awesome. In fact I loved it so much I ended up wearing it most of the weekend giving it a go and asking a few friends what they thought of the print and overall product. Unfortunately I'm keeping the first printed copy for myself but I am defiantly going to be making this in a few sizes for the shop making it available in small, medium, and large!

Really excited to be making these available to the world. I feel like a lot of care and hard work has been put into making them. From painting the picture to cutting out the edges and stars by hand. Making each individual tank unique and made with love <3

Stay tuned in for more shirt plans and a shop opening in the not so distant future!

Happy crafting,

The Process

2011-06-28T12:42:00.000-06:00

When it comes to illustrating, painting, and drawing it seems that each artist has their very own routine that is unique to each person. It is a process refined through years of practice, experimenting, and picking up useful routines and habits.

For instance when I begin a project I have a fascination of capturing progress photos as I work. Over the years I've found its quite a joy to finish a piece after putting a lot of time and work into it and then being able to go back and see how it all came together.

Recently I just finished a really fun and detailed water color painting I figured it would be fun to post all the photos taken during the process and having them in sequence for this post...

People tend to frequently ask me about the process of my work so I'm happy to share some progress photos for those who are curious!

(lolz at my temp framing job!)

Completed!

Media used: Water colors, colored ink, acrylics, Sakura Microns, gel pen

Feels good to be finished another one. Watch for prints and possibly shirts made from this design soon!

If you have any specific questions about the process or mediums I used, feel free to ask them as a comment to this post and I'll get back to you asap!

Thanks for dropping by.

First Official Day of Summer!

2011-06-21T15:14:00.001-06:00

I'm so thrilled to be able to say it's Summer once again! Waking up to a warm and sunny day was the perfect way to kick start it. All the windows at the apartment are wide open letting in the gentle ocean breeze blow in. This is a huge reason why living on the West Coast has been so charming.

Lot's of exciting things have been happening. It has been an incredibly productive Spring especially after getting settled in. My boyfriend and I keep finding ways to make our home feel even... homelier. The "urban" gardening started out sort of slow trying to get all the seeds to germinate indoors. Mostly struggled due to our spring being so cool and rainy. Our ultimate goal was to get a decent balcony garden going by planting in pots but that wasn't cutting it.

As the days got more sun and the air warmed up the baby herbs were finally getting a growth spurt. Eventually Brad came home with some wood, dirt, nails, and misc supplies and quickly built us a better more ideal balcony garden. We literally can now garden vegetables from a second story balcony in Vancouver. It's easier than it looks and honestly I think every one should have an urban garden out here.

(one of the many Vancouver Farmer's markets)

It's been a pretty affordable project and in the end we will reap some awesome home grown rewards!

So far we've got a few Strawberry plants, and the rest are all some useful veggies we look forward to cooking with in the near future.

In other news.. if you hadn't already noticed the wee little kitty in the last photo. As of yesterday she has been welcomed into our family with wide open arms. So far there's no name for her yet but Brad and I are brain storming up something good that will suit her just right. Most liking it'll be something sci-fi or nerdy haha.

What I can tell you about our lovely lady is that she is just an 11 week old Bengal Tabby cross with the most precious leopard prints all over her back and belly! Super affectionate, friendly, energetic, and EXTREMELY brave. Has no fear to explore, jump, and climb into just about everything. So were going to have to be extra careful as to not let her get into anything harmful because already we love her to no ends.

Well I'm off to go give her some serious attention.

Have a great Summer everyone and don't forget to give gardening a shot if you haven't.

It's honestly amazing.

T-Shirts!

2011-06-21T15:05:00.000-06:00

Lot's of sketching has been going on in my various moleskines as of late.
I've been trying to put some serious efforts going into designing some prints to put on shirts, tanks, tote-bags..etc.

It's been an interesting challenge to decide what process to take. Since I've gotten the job at the custom shirt shop I've been picking up some useful information and trying different approaches in efforts to reach my goal of opening an Etsy with a real strong start and diverse selection.

My first attempt was real fun. I literally scanned the design right from my sketch book and threw it onto a cotton tank top with a special heat transfer process.

Once it was on the shirt it was easy to say the design

wasn't complete.

It had a bottle of fabric medium paint with it's name written all over it.

I spent a bit of extra time coloring it up with some acrylics and fabric medium which defiantly gave it those extra needed details. As well made it more custom and unique since the coloring job is one of a kind.

This type of design will likely be on limited release with only a few versions at a time. But still intending on printing a regular line of designs!

If anyone has any good suggestions or ideas towards the project I would love to hear some good constructive feedback. Or if your interested in a shirt of your own!

White cotton tank size (S-M)

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the latest.

Launch of a new Layout!

2011-05-27T14:22:00.000-06:00

Aaaaaaaaand... we're back!

So if you haven't visited this blog before that's awesome because you've just arrived in time for a new blog layout which so happens to look and feel much better than this blog had previously before. As well if your a returning reader checking out your RSS feeds and noticed this post I defiantly encourage you to come check out the layout for yourself.

All images that are used were either created or taken by yours truly. The photos in the banner have a great dream-esc feel to them which is exactly how I wanted the Interstellar Whispers layout to look and feel like.

And if it's not so much to ask for I would also love to hear any good suggestions that you'd think would improve it as it's great to get a few second opinions.

Thanks!

Lots of new and exciting things continue to be going on lately. Besides working me and my boyfriend Brad have been up to a lot of biking, snapping photos, watching Star Trek, I've been painting with water-colours again, continuously caring for my baby herbs, and really enjoying the spring here in Vancouver.

Best thing was getting our Lomo LC-A in the mail directly shipped from Saint Petersburg. It was fascinating that we were getting the original make and model complete with Russian Cyrillic lettering on the camera. It's been sort of a dream to own this camera so once it landed at our post office Brad and I had to go test it out to see what it could really do in a variety of tests.

As you are about to see the Lomo LC-A is anything but a disappointment.

All photos captured on 400 iso Fuji Film - 35mm
No post processing done other than scanning & resizing for the web.

Against the light it did incredible well catching the colors and foreground.

Held things sharp while Brad snapped shots going fast on his bike.

Makes still life looking incredibly charming.

Small and stealthy enough to stalk a Crow.

A great companion.

Like any camera, it takes time to get use to where everything is located on the body.

... Like the lens and my finger!

Auto mode can easily adjust to low light situations creating up to 2 min exposures. Easily done since it has a tripod mount.

Vivid colors and always a perfect vignette.

....

I HIGHLY recommend this high quality 35 mm lomography camera for any avid photographer obsessed with analog.

You can see the rest of the photos over at my Flickr which I try to update as often as I can.

Same goes for the blog from now on. Now that the layout has become a lot more clean and organized I feel that there will without a doubt be more frequent posting going on. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and read. Feel free to contact me with absolutely anything anytime!

Under Re-design Construction

2011-05-16T11:14:00.000-06:00

We will return shortly with our normal programming. So check back soon!

Piecing it Together

2011-05-05T12:28:00.003-06:00

YES! Cause that's what life is all about, putting together the pieces till it all comes together to form one big picture.

It's hard not to be stoked when finally after a month without employment I get two jobs to work at. Don't get me wrong there is nothing like hanging around at home in a cozy outfit just doing house things like gardening, painting, and exploring the city... But the bills don't go away and I needed to get working.

The great news is each job brings something cool to the table when it comes to gaining life skills and opportunities. Which is why I had to say yes to being employed at two separate places. It's no $20 an hour admin job but heck it does the trick since I'm happy with it right?

I mentioned in the last blog that a Body Jewelry and Modification store took me on and I've begun my shifts over there. They've given me lots of reading material to study as I will be tested on my knowledge on the majority of piercing related information.. such as sterilization, dermal punches, needles, dangers of piercing guns, proper materials, what makes a material implant grade, names and types of piercing that can be done anywhere on the body as well as their healing times and common health related issues to that area on the body, tattoos, infections and treatment, rejection, ritual piercing, how to measure jewelry, use callipers and clamps, proper stretching... AND the list goes on. (Surely you get the picture now)

So now you can see why it makes a fascinating job to get into!

The second employment I snagged is at a custom T-shirt place that specializes is making awesome shirts, selling trendy accessories, hair dyes..etc. They took me on because they needed assistance with designs and photoshop skills as well they are totally open to letting me make and create any shirts I please so that being said I may be printing shirts in the near future to be a part of my upcoming Etsy shop. Really crossing my fingers on this one because I have always wanted to print something of mine on shirts.

So that's what I've been working on lately. Sketching out new ideas and potentially working on some decent sized watercolor illustrations. At the same time before I paint them up I'll use the line work to be finished digitally for any shirts I may want to print.

Essentially life is just filling up with goals I just want to reach!

Like finishing this damn painting!

(Shitty iphone picture does not do 99% of the details justice)

As you can see it's nearly complete. Just the camera, some tattoos, and some final touches before I can finally say it's all done. Feels like it's taking forever but at the same time I'm very proud of the time I've put into this painting and the details.

As for gardening goes the spouts in our small plant nursery have been coming in like crazy but still waiting on a few slow herbs to come up from the pete since they take longer to germinate. Soon everything will be in pots and it'll be warm enough to leave them outdoors all the time. Can't wait!

Once again I'm holding out on my visuals till our garden and mini green house are all finally set up.

That and I can't seem to find a super convenient photo developing place yet. So much pending film for processing argh!

Well time to take a computer break to paint before work later on.

Chao!

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-28T13:00:00.001-06:00

I've been here almost a month now and it's a bit intense to realize how much time flies by so quickly and that things in life can evolve equally as fast.

Each day is SO fulfilling from the places I go to the new faces I see. To put it in simpler terms: My inspiration is bursting at the seams. Along the way I've been attempting to snap iphone Instagram photos as well as film and digital ones too. It's crazy how much you can personally record your experiences but still never quite capture it all.

In good news I snagged myself a pretty easy going job to begin with here. I tried a couple interviews for a few corporate office jobs for better pay but as I began the process the feeling really wasn't a good one after my last job. I came all this way to start fresh why not do something off the usual spectrum.

So I did what felt right. After some crazy running around all over downtown and through what seemed like a lot of businesses, I got hired selling body piercing jewelry in a pretty awesome casual environment.

Woo! I look forward to taking some courses for the job and educating curious clients.

In art related news I've been getting back into the habit of sketching in my Moleskine which is proving to be a helpful exercise. All the while still painting my mega detailed canvas project. Just need to finish it so I can work on my next set of ideas :] .

Oh and since my awesome boyfriend lets me play around with his camera a lot here's a little quick clip I made while fooling around with it. <3

Last but not least I've got a really exciting gardening project going on with a home made green house on our balcony. But I'll write about that later in a separate post in more details.

All in all things are AMAZING. I think it's because in Spring everything just becomes more alive, even us people feel rejuvenated after a long Winter hibernation..

Kudos!

Relocating Elsewhere...

2011-04-09T20:59:00.001-06:00

(WARNING: Image heavy)

Moved and living here comfortably only after one week upon arrival!

Well almost comfortably, minus the few remaining boxes and things that need to go off to donation.

Packing up the Uhaul was a nightmare and wasn't very painless after nearly crushing my right hand to pieces. Which by luck narrowly escaped with just a giant bruise and some minor swelling. Sometimes to get what you want you got to pay a little extra.

The two days it took to drive here went by quicker than I could ever imagine. The first day just seemed a lot slower because in the prairies there isn't much to look at driving in a straight line for 9 hours consecutively.

The day after was another 9 hours surrounded by immense Canadian rocky mountains, snow, rain, and sunshine all along the way to Vancouver. So many kinds of weather all rolled into one day of traveling.

Along the way we got to take a few breaks. Specifically mentioning spending a relaxing evening at the Upper Hot Springs in Banff. Such a treat to relax our muscles after all that packing and driving.

Stopped again for Sushi and Beer in Merit.

mmmm motivation!

More driving followed after as distance to my new home continued to grow shorter. Woo-hoo!

But before we could make it there we took one very last stop just 100km away from the city.

Bridal Falls just neatly tucked away just near by the highway. What a beautiful get-a-way in such a peaceful place..

Moss covered everything, ferns too. With every fallen tree new life sprung up around it providing the new growth with nourishment. Ugh so magical!

A 15 minute hike up hill brought us to the marvellous falls. Yeah, it was cool.

After the falls home was around the corner and as soon as we got there the entire truck began to get unpacked by a team of Bradford, myself, and our kick ass friend/neighbour Mitch. Th extra hand was a life saver I kid you not! Nothing beats unpacking your bed and then sleeping in it at the end of a long trip.

Since then a ton of unpacking has been done and home feels perfect.

Life has changed a lot. Since.. Regina.

Completely different life style and geography. But exactly the right change.

One of the most rewarding changes has been leaving my car behind and doing things on my bike or by public transit. It's been killer exercise and a good way to learn my way around the city.

Especially important to keep fit since I've been drinking so much of the BC brewed beer since I got here haha!

Things have been busy jobless never mind what it'll be like with one.. but I'm on the hunt for a decent job and pumped to get working at a job again and working towards making more art.

Well. It's been a wild ride. So far a really good learning experience. Me and Bradford feel so accomplished with everything and were really happy with where were at. Life is finally the adventure I've been always waiting for.

Pumped to be blogging from a new city.

Stay tuned for more!

Numbered Days

2011-03-21T09:25:00.001-06:00

Only a few more sunsets away from a complete life turn around.

My wonderful work area is no longer. Once again.
Everything put on pause and packed up into boxes for the time being.

Admitting it's so strange seeing my life packed up and reduced to piles of boxes for the second time within a year.

There is lots I will miss, but for the most part I am more than ready to part with it all that is attached to this place.

But still.. there remains many faces that will never be replaced along with the memories had together.

Good bye prairie life, hello West coast!

Big News!

2011-03-07T14:17:00.001-06:00

Excuses excuses.

These are all that I have for my lack of blogging as per usual.

In all honestly my reason for my absence has been a good one. Which comes along with big news!

*drum roll*

(Photo credit : Neil1877)

If any of you follow my Tumblr you'll have noticed the majority of personal posts are all about what's been consuming my time as of late. MOVING!

Time to pack it all up again...

Funny that in the short period of time that I've operated this blog it is now the second move I've had to pull myself through. The major difference this time is I haven't bought another condo but rather renting mine out and moving two provinces away to the beautiful city of Vancouver.

Lets just say it's taken a lot of time and work to plan this out. With every ounce of effort thrown in I truly believe it's worth every bit of it. Why? Well first and foremost the thought of moving there began only as a simple possibility and a bit of day dreaming after spending my 2010 summer vacation along the West coast in and around Vancouver. Just being there triggered feelings and a level of happiness I never quite fully understood until I met locals and witnessed their life styles first hand in such an environment. After a good taste the flavor in my mouth left me wanting more. I wanted to be fully submerged in such a place at this time in my life.

All of which would not have been possible without my boyfriend Bradford who I met on that very vacation last summer in Vancouver. Since that fateful day on the beach it's been nothing but dreams coming true. Over the course of our friendship and what turned into a long distance relationship we came to the decision that one of us had to make a serious change to be together. And in the end it was a no brainer that the person to make the change was me. Which was easy because I was willing to give it all up for a chance a big change and love.

All my life I've been waiting patiently in Regina for the day to come that will allow me to leave and move away. Which I have done so in the past unsuccessfully. This city and I have never really agreed with each other so it's a good thing we are parting ways at last. Too cold, the local residents are small minded, the friends aren't very true, the schools suck, the job opportunities do too, prairie geography is dull, and I demand more adventure.

The other greatest satisfaction of moving is also doing the thing others said you couldn't.

(Which has happened a few times since announcing my plans.)

Like becoming an official BC resident as of April 1st!

Bradford and I have been pushing really hard to get my ass in Vancouver in time for spring and to celebrate my 23th birthday together. His encouragement and direction has gotten me through so much of the frustrations that came with the commitment but I'm also so lucky that with his help it's made it a lot easier to get things going quickly with organizing an apartment for us to set up headquarters in.

As of today we are all set! Only things left to do are pack up my things and wait out the rest of March.

On that note I must leave a warning that this blog wont likely get updated till I've gotten settled in and get a chance to write about the experience. Another month or so...

And since this posts lacks some of my artistic touch here is an animated gif on some of the progress I've been making on my painting, which is still not complete but getting closer.

So excited to start my new life over on the coast and absolutely cannot wait to get settled and get creating again! I have a good feeling about the opportunities that will be falling into my lap in the near future.

See you on the other side!

New Year Art Project

2011-01-10T09:27:00.001-06:00

There is something about beginning a new year that has always felt so special.

Perhaps it's knowing that your life has a chance for a short period of time to restart the clocks and make some changes to that previous annual time line, or maybe even peruse some goals that have been hiding away in the back of your head.

Personally I really enjoy starting the new year with a refreshing and time consuming project.

It's been so very long since I've sat down and worked with acrylics on canvas so it was time to get back at it.

Believe me it feels so great to jump start my paintbrushes again!

I'm pretty sure my little painting warm up exercise on my boyfriend's hat did the trick of motivating me:

He wrote one of the famous Star Wars quotes on his hat while I took on the challenge of painting Admiral Ackbar just beside to even further customize it.
Just seeing how happy he was with it and to hear about the complements he received from it was just so gratifying.

From that moment on. It was on like Donkey Kong!

All weekend long I was stationed at home vowing to not leave for any reason, which not only saves money but also allowed me to be productive. This is so easy to do during Saskatchewan Winters.

There is nothing quite as relaxing as drinking non stop steeped green tea, painting, and watching fascinating documentaries filling my head about nature, science, space, and traveling.

At this point I'm a little sick of tediously painting in the beginning stages of the forest floor and trees but soon enough I'll be having a blast painting in the greenery and even more so the girl.
The goal I'm carrying for this stage of the painting is to overall improve my skills with backgrounds since I'm usually too lazy to put so much work into them. When the painting is complete I really hope it helps achieve a lot more depth and atmosphere.

Lots of progress was made but there are many many hours of painting ahead of me before this baby is complete!

Hope you enjoyed this quick sneak peek into the beginning of a productive year!
Pretty sure the secret is drinking tons of green tea for that extra motivation and pep ;)

Contest Winner Announcement

2011-01-07T08:56:00.002-06:00

The moment all of you who entered have been waiting for...!

Which took a little longer than expected. I'd like to apologize for keeping the majority of you waiting to hear back from this contest. Over the holidays I had to take time imperative time away from the internet and there was no time to post an update on the slight contest extension.

I'd like to thank you all who took the time to enter and visit my blog, it was so exciting to hear from so many new faces that found there way here. Going through all the entries and checking out each of your favorite artist's selections was a really neat experience to share.

Just before I tell you who the very lucky winner is please take a look at just a few (I'd post them all if I could) of these inspirational works as submitted by you guys!

Wonder by Alex Grey

Mermaid by Ambird

Beside The Wild One by Raindropmemory

To be kind to an animal by Kurt Hasley

By Edvard Munch

By Mike Stilkey
(realllllly worth taking a look at more of Mike's work)

Red Domina by Sylvia Ji

By Audrey Kawasaki

*****

Without further a due and by selection from Random.org the winner is.....

Lady Bastard ! Congratulations on the draw. Expect to find an e-mail from myself requesting for a mailing address so you can claim your fabulous one of a kind prize!

Thanks once again and Happy New Years to everyone! I look forward to hearing from some of you again in the near future of 2011 which will be filled with plenty of more projects, posts, and occasional contests.

The Gift of Art: Give-A-Way

2010-12-17T11:24:00.001-06:00

WELCOME to my first ever official give-a-way as a blogger!

Over the past year now I've been slowly working towards being an avoid blogger in hopes to record the creative side of my curious life. ..

So at last I've gotten to the place in this endeavor where I'd like to give people a chance to win some of my original art as well to spread the words of Interstellar Whispers.

Not to mention meet other artists and bloggers alike who would like to share and perhaps collaborate.

In the future I hope to also host give-a-ways featuring crafts and art by others.

So to start off here is what you've got a chance to win....

What: An 8x11" framed original mixed medium illustration drawn back in 2009.

Mediums used: Mechanical Pencil, Prismacolor Markers, Sakura Mircrons, white gel pen, and sealed with matte Kamlar varnish.

Details: The entire illustration is hand drawn, this includes the damask pattern in the background. Sealed so none of it should ever fade.

To view a high quality scan of the image go here:

When: From NOW till Boxing day ( December 26th, 2010 ) gives you ten whole days to get your entries in before the draw. On boxing day I will announce a winner at random by using www.random.org.

How to win:

As a requirement for the first give-a-way please "Follow" my blog through Blogger or Google accounts, this can be done so by clicking the follow button on the right hand column of the page.

Then comment on the post letting me know that your now following as well please tell me who your favorite all time artist is and if possible link me to your favorite piece by them. Remember to include an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you've won.

To earn extra entries in the draw:
(remember that this is a fairly new blog so there wont be that many entries to compete against )
There are two ways to earn extra entries. For each time you complete this add a SEPARATE comment below notifying me that you've done so.

1: Visit my fan page on Facebook and hit "Like" or go to the right side bar on this blog and hit the "Like" on the badge. Post a comment once you've done so.

2: Post about this give-a-way and link back to it from your own blog, Facebook wall, Twitter, Tumblr...etc.

Once you've done so add a comment to this post and the link to where you've shared.

Eligibility: Anyone can win! I am willing to ship this framed illustration to you within Canada, US and international. Once the winner is announced you will be contacted and asked for your mailing address. If you are uncomfortable sharing this information to me it might be difficult to claim your prize..

I'd like to thank you all for visiting Interstellar Whispers today whether your a returning reader or a new visitor! I'm absolutely thrilled to begin hearing back from everyone who participates!

<3<3<3

Have an awesome day and GOOD LUCK!

Modern Holiday Home

2010-12-17T09:55:00.001-06:00

Things have been shaping up nicely around the home, especially with the Holiday decorations.

I've never really been a huge Christmas person, not one much for the usual traditions either.

My very own wee Christmas tree, awesomely equip with rainbow changing fiber optic lights!

That being said this year I figured I'd put in a little extra effort to have some good ol' holiday cheer.

Especially since this will be the first Christmas I'll have the opportunity of hosting a major family dinner and technically have a first real official house warming.

I didn't really get any cards in the mail yet so instead of handing those I put up a couple favorite instax pictures.
:)

Oh and at last my vision came true, after dreaming up these floating shelves for my camera collection...

They look perfect up there, now I just need to fill in the gaps on either side with paintings.

The biggest inspiration to decorate must have been from reading and looking at some amazing blogs where people have shared their holiday decor. Pleased to have also taken the opportunity to share in hopes that perhaps I could also inspire even if just a little.

*****

Last but not least took a chance to snap an outfit for Lookbook which has been collection some dust.

I take pride in wearing accessories and clothing made by independent business owners.

Please take a look at some of the products I'm sporting on my "looks"!

This latest ensemble features a headband and earrings handmade by PixiEGlamouR and a stunning brown houndstooth dress by Replicca.

AWESOME quality and bad ass style. Please check out their shops on Etsy.

Well ... That a wrap!

Heads up cause there's a give-a-way a post-a-way!

Autumn Newly Weds

2010-12-16T09:51:00.001-06:00

So a few of you may or may not follow me on Tumblr but back in October I mentioned that I was to be shooting my first wedding.
I was so thrilled to have a couple of my friends from high school ask me to be their photographer. Thrilled and very nervous since I'm not actually a professional, just a major hobby enthusiast. It was an intimidating challenge but I took it as a great chance to grow my personal creative outlook!

The entire wedding was incredibly beautiful and inspiring.
Catlyn and Andrew are an amazing couple and have been together for as long as I can remember seeing them in the hallways of our high-school together in between classes.
Not only are they a great couple but amazing individules with a great taste for style.
Which you'll see is largely apparent in the photos!

Their color schemes couldn't have turned out better in contrast to the beautiful golden fall leaves that decorated the trees. We really lucked out on the weather.
Please enjoy a taste of some of my favorite shots.

Isn't their amazing wedding cake so adorable and tiny!? Just like the brides mini top hat. I loved that they substituted the traditional cake for cupcakes which ended up being the best ones I have ever eaten! Yum.

Although they weren't actually going for a Halloween look , it just happened to be their decorative preferences and was just before the Holiday.

After witnessing such a heart warming union I can't help but day dream abut my future wedding and the decorating possibilities!

Hopefully seeing these pictures warmed your hearts up a little too.

Art Space Jam

2010-12-15T00:48:00.003-06:00

It's about time that my ass got in gear and started a canvas painting.

Feels like ages since I've made any significant brush strokes.

The work area is finally in reasonable order, the corner of my bedroom was a great space to utilize to my advantage. I've once read somewhere that having your area of productivity in a "U" shape around you is best practice. Certainly is nice to have everything within arms reach. Still slowly putting things up on my walls that are a product of my work as well as other inspiring material....

Show ticket stubs from awesome bands I've seen, drawings and art from close friends, photos that remind me of critical times past, and little knick-nacks.

Weather has been frightfully cold lately, which has meant staying at home has never been so welcome and peaceful.
Lots of time to day dream.

(A snap shot I took the other night, felt like tweaking it so I mirrored the photo to reveal a dreamy like Winter-scape..)
Quickie post for this evening.
Oh and less than 10 more days till Christmas?!
Stoked.
Check back soon because I've got a give-a-way coming up!

Holiday Baking: Vegan Gingerbread Men

2010-12-10T17:43:00.001-06:00

At last after moving in (took long enough to get to this point) I've finally taken the opportunity to do some Holiday baking to share with my family and friends.

Figured I'd write a blog post about it and include the recipe incase anyone asks!

So last night I hung around at home blasting my favourite tunes and got messy in the kitchen.

Really messy... the clean up was my least favourite part heh..

I chose to bake some vegan style Gingerbread men (and trees) since I knew they wouldn't taste much different and it would mean that literally everyone can enjoy them!

Here's what you'll need:

- 3 Cups of all-pupose flour

- 1 Teaspoon of baking soda

- 3/4 cup of non-hydrogenated vegan friendly soft margarine

- 2/3 cup white sugar

- 1/2 cup Molasses

- 1/4 cup soy milk ( or rice milk, or almond milk)

I used almond milk since it's SO yummy and would give the cookies a slightly nuttier flavour.

- 1/4 cup of brown sugar OR barley malt

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the often to 350 F (177C).

In medium sized bowl whisk together the all-pupose flower and baking soda then set it aside.

In another large bowl mix together the margarine, sugar, molasses, your milk alternative, barley malt ( or brown sugar), ginger powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Begin slowly pouring the flour into the bowl containing the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon until it's all well incorporated and a good consistency. Keep pouring in the flower slowly till it's all together, at this point the dough is going to get really tough so if you like getting messy feel free to dig your hands into the bowl to mix up the dough better so that all the ingredients are well mixed.

( I made two batches of cookies: one with gingermen, and the other with little trees. )

Choose your working flat surface weather it be your counter, a baking mat or a pastry cloth.

Prepare the surface a tad with a little bit of flour so that the dough doesn't stick to it.

Begin rolling out your dough onto the surface with a rolling pin till the dough is about 1/3 inch thick or how I gauged it, as thick as the tip of my finger.

From here on you can start using your cookie cutters to begin cutting out the shapes from the dough!

Make sure you've prepared a cookie baking sheet with a bit of margarine on it so that the cookies wont stick once your ready to place them on it.

If you have trouble getting the shaped dough off the counter try using a spatula.

(I was able to do this by hand carefully)

When you've got all your shapes cut out and placed on the baking sheet your ready to pop them into the oven. The original recipe called to leave them in for about 15 mins, but depending on the thickness and your oven it may take less or more. So I recommend checking up on them frequently after the 10 min mark.

Once they are ready pull them out of the oven and place the tray onto a cooling rack to cool off before adding any icing onto the cookies.

Wait... and wait.. and wait..

Then for the best part! ICING!

When I went to go buy ingredients the stores were running low since it is just about Christmas.. So I was unable to get what I needed to make it from scratch. Just a tad disappointing.

Fortunately there was an alternative.

I purchased some Cake Mate Scribblers to do the job.

The stuff doesn't taste bad at all and it was REALLY easy to draw with them.

I went to town and had a blast drawing on them with the scribbler's tiny tips.

Conclusion:

This recipe was incredibly easy to make and quick to bake.

It's not as moist as ginger bread, so I'd say it's got more of a cookie crunch to it.

Over all. DELICIOUS. My two wee nephews gave them a try and loved them also!

I recommend a nice tall glass of Almond Milk to dip them in. Or just plain milk, but thats up to you!

Hope you give this recipe a try because it's really fun to bake and even better to share with others.

Happy Winter Holidays!

Collecting & Hoarding. All That is love.

2010-12-06T20:01:00.001-06:00

Over the years as creatures of habit we often end up hoarding nick-knacks trying to hold on to certain sentimental values and memories that go along with the piles of junk that eventually begins to grow.
Spring comes along, the cleaning begins, and garage sales start popping up all over the city which means more space in our places to collect MORE.

In special cases this isn't true. Some of us INSIST on never letting go to some of our most prized possessions. Instead of selling or giving them away we hunt and acquire more more more!

This is what I do with cameras...

Just before the weekend hit I scored big after doing my bi-weekly thrift/antique store scavenger hunt for cameras.

Right after getting home I laid out my loot on my bed to see how well I did and to further test the functionality of the gear.

My second Canon AE-1 was a steal of a deal since it came fully functional with an operating battery and a full complete roll of film inside waiting to be developed as a surprise. I wonder what kind of shots are on that roll!?

After inspecting the cameras it was time for them to join the rest of my collection which has been waiting to be arranged on a shelf that is yet to be hung.

But the box was full and already overflowing with cameras.

Beginning to ALMOST look excessive I knew I had to lay them out and do an inventory check.

(The collecting began with my Polaroid one step that was an X-mas present when I was just a wee little girl. The real hunt began after my family from Poland brought me back all my Grandfather's old cameras that were build in the 1930's!!! The sentimental value was huge, and from them on the addiction for camera collecting took over my life.)

Currently I'm sitting at 22 cameras, visually this image dis-includes my Canon EOS 40D which took the photo.

From what I know at least 5 aren't functional, and about 10-12 I haven't shot with. Working hard to slowly shoot with as many of them as possible. It's so thrilling learning how to use each unique little camera.

To see the make and model of each camera shown above visit the photo on my flickr page to see the notes associated with the cameras.

One known issue with collecting is organization.

Oh goodness some times I dread that word.

It's too bad my cameras are still awaiting their shelves to be organized upon because it's beginning to bug me that their not sorted out and on display..

Fortunately along with thrifting comes finding cheep solutions to other collection organizing issues.

For example on the weekend I had discovered a lovely trinket shelf that just needed a little TLC and some paint to make it good as new. At first I wasn't sure that my idea was going to work because it depended on the size of each compartment but for a couple dollars it was worth the risk!

My plug jewelry for ear lobes were at risk of getting lost and for the longest time there was no place to put them safely. Untill now..

Ta-da!

The shelf is so damn cute and now I can easily keep them safe and switch my jewelry with ease.

The best part about it is it's recycling used goods making it a completely eco-friendly solution.
...
Wow I got pretty long winded about being collection obsessive but I hope it was an enjoyable blurb to read.

Happy hunting!

The Season's Change: A Conduit For Creativity.

2010-11-19T10:35:00.002-06:00

As the title suggests, the transition into a chilly Winter has occurred and now it is time to hibernate in my cozy warm home. To me nothing is more important than avoiding the wretched cold. Which means more time to take it easy and work on projects.

Before deciding to begin anything major and new for the new year I had to work hard the last few weeks to wrap up something that was started last winter that never was completed.

Crocheting an Afghan!

This blanket was started a year ago and then by the time it reached the point of having all the granny squares completed it was time to pack things up for the move into my new home so this project sat in a box for about half a year.

Certainly no point in putting all the hours into crocheting all the squares without finishing and attaching it all together.

At last, after about another few weeks of on and off crocheting all my hard work paid off in time for the snow.

So stoked now that I've got a really warm blanket to keep me warm on those frosty nights.

Feels so good to be finished. The blanket turned out really well and to my surprise despite the holy pattern it's a really warm and soft blanket.

Happy about the new addition to my home. And speaking of which I've also finally collected enough Polaroids to hang them in a heart pattern on one of my walls!

A good reminder of all the lovely things in my life that are cherished.

So really... aside from crocheting, traveling, photographing, and stuff what else has been accomplished?

Well as far as hobbies goes I've also been trying to get back into the habit of drawing/doodling more so that I can plan another major canvas painting.

Damn, as if there aren't enough hobbies in the world to pick up!?

Take a peek at my most recent illustration.

Initially it was drawn up in my tiny Moleskine sketchbook with purple mechanical pencil lead.

Afterwards I scanned it in , cropped, adjusted the line work and surface color so that I could digitally add the final colors.

Normally I'd use a tablet to do this but since I did this part at work it had to be done by mouse. Grr so tedious.

Viola! The final version ended up a lot different than the original.

Colors certainly bring things to life.

This Winter is off to a good creative start. Now just the challenge of keeping it up and having some fun practicing and learning new things!

What sorts of things have you guys done to keep busy and happy during the lame Winters?

I'd love to hear/see what your hobbies are.

Stay warm and keep crafting!

Globe Trottin

2010-11-18T15:40:00.001-06:00

Back again from yet another traveling adventure!

Which I must say that this has been a productive year for visiting new places.

Looking at my location tagged photo map on the iphone shows how far I've actually gone this year!

This time around I flew off to sunny San Francisco, California. Which was a first time for this lady.

The reason why I was fortunate enough to be flown out to SF was because of work. The software production company for the program that I work in on a daily basis was holding a large workshop for all end users so I was asked to attend on behalf of my employer. Woo, more than pleased to oblige.

The absolute best part about going was leaving home for a while and getting away from the mass amounts of already accumulated snow on the ground.

Also had an inner excitement fit when I landed and got to see how many palm trees were growing around the city. Most of the geography around my home town is too cold of a climate to grow such pretty trees...

Big tourist doesn't even begin to describe how I look when I start pulling out some of my cameras and snapping photos of just about everything that takes my breath away!

In all fairness the purpose of being a major shutter bug was to be able to capture so many wonderful memories, which was a great sucess!

Since the workshop was only a couple of days I got to spend most my week exploring the city on foot and by train. Walking around the greater area of downtown San Fransisco from place to place aloud me to see so much more than what you would from a vehicle...

Take a look at some of these captured memories:

Chinatown Gate Entrance

Pier 39 Carousel

Banksy : Peaceful Hearts graffiti tag! My first time witnessing a Banksy in person.

Perplexed by the insanely hilly streets.

Ah this post is beginning to become a little image heavy so I'm going to leave the rest up to you to check out. There are many more pictures from San Francisco over at my flickr account, please check out the album I made specifically for this!

I'm going to miss SF a lot. It is an incredibly beautiful city with a lot to offer and enjoy. It's just too bad that I wont see myself returning back anytime soon so I'm glad that the time spent there was defiantly made worth while! Hope you enjoyed peeking at some of the many photos shot on this excursion.

But the adventure was not over just yet!

On my way flying back home I was able to swing a pit stop in Vancouver to spend some quality time with my boyfriend Bradford for the weekend before being forced to get back home and to work.

Arrived just in time to see all the gorgeous fall leaves before they they've all fallen..

Double rainbow...woahhhhhh!

A doodle I drew of Bradford and myself .

Always sad to say goodbye till next time.. miss you babe!
BUT on the bright side of things..
We really lucked out with the warm and sunny weather that we were able to enjoy considering it's rainy season out on the West Coast.
Even more so because when I got home it was back to piles of snow and freezing winds...
=[

Well that wraps up another traveling adventure! Without a doubt there will be many more to come.
Along with oodles of photos as per usual <3

Thanks for stopping by.

Mobile Phone Photography

2010-10-27T10:05:00.001-06:00

When it comes to taking pictures... Doesn't matter with what camera whether it be a digital or analogue device, there is always an undeniable urge for me to try it out to experiment and learn with it!

Sometimes these experiments can be incredibly fun and also challenging. Often times I've gotten away with learning many new techniques just from those experiences.

Well yesterday I had one of those amazing "ah-ha!" moments after I opened a boxed delivered to me from Photojojo.com a website that supplies photographers with new and innovated goodies related to anything photography.

Almost completely slipped my mind that I had ordered some photography treats because this order was backed up due to high demand. Well no wonder...

The Art of iPhone Photography: A Guide to Shooting & Sharing iPhone Photos

(Example: Mobile photography has expanded in the market so much that people have published entire books related to it.)

Lately I've taken a fond interest in the iphone and it's capabilities as an everyday life utility.

But more than just a phone, organizer, social communication tool, and what ever else you may use it for it's also a camera.

Never have I thought a mobile camera could be so fun and also incredibly trendy.

The most prominent feature of taking photos with the iphone is when a user downloads a third party application from itunes that doubles as phone photography software. What it does is enhances photos with either higher resolution output and/or the ability to apply filters, change curves, add text ... etc. Just like you could with high quality digital photography and an image editing program.

One of the most popular iphoto apps I would like to briefly mention is Hipstamatic, in my opinion the most successful application on the market for photography lovers.

Producing high quality photos emulating the look and feel of an analog/lomography camera like the Holga or Diana.
I'm sure surfing around the internet you would have already seen a few hipstamatic iphone photos kicking around...
Of course a compact device such as the iphone will never replace a DSLR camera ....
Or could it?

Beyond just software the iphoto industry has taken another icredible approach.
Camera accessories such a lenses have recently emerged on the market so once I caught wind of this I knew I had to jump in and try them!

Which is exactly what came in the mail for me yesterday!
Excited to try them out I decided to do some tests and make a personal review of the products.

The two lenses seen here are just like mini DSLR lenses only much more basic and mini!
The Wide Angle lens also doubles as a Macro Lens unscrewing appart into separate pieces.
And the other is a 180 degree fish eye lens, both came with protecting lens caps to keep them from getting scratched up. They also came with magnetic adhesive rings to stick on around your cameras iris that allows the lenses to magnetically attach onto your iphone or it's protective case.

These shots were taken with the wide angle lens mounted. Got to play around with depth of feild!

After you remove the wide angle attachment lens your left with a tiny macro ring lens.

Which I must say is HIGHLY effective...

The details it was able to pick up are incredible, you really can go right up close to any object with this lens!

I cannot wait to try this on so much more....

Last but not least the Fish eye lens. Which was by far my favourite!

Before ----------- After!

It's really neat to be able to capture more of the area around you with the iphone after being so use to shooting at a limited range.

After thoughouly testing these babies out I am incredible STOKED!

These lenses are so light and tiny that it will be easy to take them nearly anywhere along my side.

Certainly not a waste of money because I know that these lenses will get their use.

For anyone who uses their iphone camera a lot I highly recommend these lenses for making things more interesting. Not only are you able to switch lenses but you can also mix and match iphoto applications to get even more results.

Mobile photography has come a long long long way in just a short span of time!

Bet you can't say your not at least the slightest bit impressed with how it has.

Thanks for stopping by.

Layout Overhaul #1

2010-10-26T10:13:00.003-06:00

Currently working on a new layout for the blog. My absence from blogging has been agonizing but I will return shortly once I've got a blog layout sorted out that's visually pleasing.

Thank you for your patience!

Well .. guess that didn't take long!
In really just a day I was able to change this entire blogs over all image to how I would like it to be.

Here is before the re-design and new layout:

Much more pleased with how it represents my personal style, not to mention it feels cleaner and looks a lot more organized.

Have you noticed the big change?

What do you think??

My Outfit: Friday Edition

2010-09-17T09:54:00.002-06:00

Cause who doesn't like dressing up right?

Quickie post today about some fun outfits I've been sporting as of late. I figured it would be fun to post about them since it's also supporting some hand made goodies and who doesn't like getting outfit ideas?!

Not to mention fall has arrived in our city so I think it's a good time to look at some fall fashions that are stylish yet functional and keeps you warm enough through out those cold evenings out on the town.

I used my iphone to document these recent outfits with using just the camera and an app called Diptic to well.... use the images in a diptych to break down outfits.

(1) : Work attire - Casual

Color Scheme - None
*****

Shirt : Generic Grey V-Neck embellished with a flowery ruffle.

Cardigan wrap: Olive and Green stripes, Incredibly Soft fabric. Crucial for warmth.

Pants: Standard Navy Blue Skinny Jeans

Shoes: New favorite Black Suede 4.5" Wedges.

Necklace: Sterling Silver Owl on a branch.

(2) : Weeknight Outting in layers - Simple

Color Scheme derived from the tights. Blue, Purple, Black

*****

Shirt - Hidden, but a black V-neck with navy blue crows on branches silk screened.

Sweater: Purple Cardigan, Still warm enough out to not require a jacket.

Bandanna: Picked up from a Cancer Bats show, keeps your neck and chest warm in those V-necks.

Skirt: Generic Black cotton pleated skirt. Cotton is my best friend.

Galaxy Tights: Made by Black Milk. Anticipating being under a black light, had to wear them. Way warmer than nylons!

Boots: Sporting these a lot to keep my feet dry and warm during the fall rain showers. Paired well with tights.

Purse: Big to fit my cameras in, Leather patches in a variety of earth tones.

Pouch: Made by The Dainty Squid. I don't go anywhere without it. Keeps my important things at hand when I don't want to dig in my giant bag in the dark.

(3) : Weeknight Experimenting with a new Skirt

Color Scheme: Keep'in in black and focusing on the skirt's color.

*****

Hat: Knitted wool toque I nearly wear every other day for the last year. Kind of attached to it.

Necklace: Handmade Wooden Pendent hung on a delicate wire by 3 Dots Jewelry found on Etsy. <3

Broach: Came with my order from Peeko Apparel , handmade from a button.

Shirt: Scoup neck, ruffled sleeves, and an open back with a tie up.

Skirt: Just arrived in the mail from Peeko Apparel, up-cycled reclaimed fabrics. LOVE LOVE the pockets and warm fabric. Perfect for fall and eco-friendly!

Boots: Same from the previous outfit. But note the zipper which makes them easier to slip on and off!

So much fun! I'm looking forward to combining more outfits together soon.

AND.... Since your checking out this post I do hope that you take a little extra time to follow the links and and support the creators of some fantastic handmade fashionable goodies.

Have a great weekend!

When The Lights Go Out

2010-09-13T16:06:00.003-06:00

And the band goes on..

For this musical blog segment I am privileged to introduce to you all one the most up and coming local bands I have had the opportunity of discovering this past year. So as my passion for music continues, I also urge to blog about these talented fellas and spread the good word/sounds.

Molten Lava
Brought to you by the indie record label : Young Soul & Harvest King Records

Influences/Sounds like: Progressive , Rock, Funk, Slap Bass, SHRED

(Photo credit: Chris Graham Photography)

Molten Lava is really just a couple of guys based out Regina, Saskatchewan who were simply just born to shred. Behind the sound we have Liam Bryant wielding some heavy bass as well as vocals along side Tristan Helgason hammering on the drums and belting his vocals.

In all seriousness though these guys have their work cut of for them. Within the last year they have released a full 8 track album released on disk as well as vinyl by the name of "Sevens and Nines". Since I've picked up up a copy in both mediums at their show I have not been able to go a few days without needing to spin those deadly tracks.
But you must hear them for yourself.

Check out one of their tunes below, or visit their myspace, and probably just buy their album on itunes..

MP3: Molten Lava – “Hand in the Pocket”

(Photos taken with a 35mm Film SLR - Credit: Me!)

If hearing their stuff from a produced album isn't enough and you so happen to live in Western Canada I do suggest trying to make it out to one of their shows along their upcoming tour! Really worth checking out.

Sept. 16: Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's
Sept.17: Regina, SK @ O'Hanlon's
Sept.18: Calgary, AB @ Dicken's Pub
Sept.21: Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
Sept.22: Gibsons, BC @ Beach House Show Lounge
Sept.23: Grand Forks, BC @ The Grand Forks Hotel
Sept.24: Invermere, BC @ Ray Ray's Beach Club
Sept.25: Edmonton, AB @ The ARTery

Let me know what you think, may it be your taste or not!
Any feedback is good.

Thanks for stopping by and giving them a listen.

Alive & Kicking

2010-09-07T12:52:00.003-06:00

Woah I know what you must be thinking spotting a new blog post.

Long time no see right?

Already a few weeks back from my holidays and despite meaning to be on track with blog posts, I've certainly fell off the wagon. What can I say? Life has been incredibly hectic upon return.

But doesn't mean a day doesn't go by where I'm thinking about projects to work on, artists to eventually feature and discuss for a post, keeping an eye out for interesting things to share... you know, the usual!

So what's new?

Well I've almost reached day 100 on my 365 project which has been just flying by! Although I've been making my shots for each day I'm a tad disappointed that I've relied on my iPhone as a crutch to get those last minute pictures in. Somedays though there is no way I'd have something interesting to share while lugging my DSLR around. Not to mention my scanner has been boxed up for weeks now, so none of my Polaroids have been getting in on the fun either...

In other news...

I was fortunate enough to get a call to participate in a really neat project. Some friends of mine were working on a photography project where they were to shoot a scene in attempts to recreate dreams that they've collected from people.

So for this particular dream they asked me to do Lion type make-up on a couple of girls who would be dressed up in a very artsy fashion sort of way.

Take a look at the rad results!

I couldn't get over how adorable they looked in costume!

Very life like indeed! =P

Other than that my all my time is being consumed by moving into my condo. It certainly is taking some time, but there has been a few delays and each week I get closer to being able to live out of my new home.

Shopping cart load by cart load the boxes are moving in...

Just a couple of sneak peek photos of my place. Once I'm all moved in and have things a bit more together I'll write another post with some final photos and the before pictures from when I had first purchased the place.

Hurrah!

Certainly do wish I had some more interesting things to talk about but my life really isn't that thrilling at the moment and projects are on hold till the move in is complete.

Semi-Hiatus status if you will.

But it's almost past and I guess that's all for now.

If you've been stick'in around, big thanks for the patience for there will be good read worthy content in no time! Have a really fantastic Tuesday everyone!

The Return From Summer Vacation

2010-08-18T13:14:00.004-06:00

WARNING : PICTURE HEAVY - SLOW INTERNET CONNECTIONS BEWARE

Time certainly has a way of flying by when you are having far too much fun for your own good..

At least that's how it feels to be back home again. Not to mention two weeks is a fairly generous time to take for vacation, so me and Caitlin certainly couldn't complain about our time spent on the west coast.

Glad to see I have gained a couple of blog followers while I was gone which is really exciting to notice that my blog has gained a tiny bit of interest =D! If you have just tuned in you will have noticed I have been a little absent from my regular posts but am now back and in full force!

Well.. I suppose a lovely vacation summary is due for this entry.. but I'll try not to make it overly lengthy, as I'm sure it's alright to leave some of the personal stories out of it. ...

READ THE ENTIRE STORY UNDER THE JUMP!

So it begun. With the car packed all packed..

We departed on Friday July 30th with a goal of driving to our scheduled half way point in Calgary.

It was an awesome day for taking photos, even from the car.

Double rainbow!

The next day we got up bright an early in the morning and begun the second half of the 20 some hour drive...

This part of the drive was the best because there was tons of stunning mountains along the way. But it was also the scariest to drive because most of the roads were along side steep mountains, with many curves and only one lane of traffic. We were VERY lucky to have made the drive safely.

Once we got to Banff we took a road up a mountain to a look out point that Caitlin had once been to before. It was time for a pit stop!

The view was breath taking..

After the stop we continuously drove and drove until we reached Vancouver by around 10 pm then navigated ourselves to Caitlin's buds place to stay and crash.

Relieved to have arrived safely we passed out.

Day one in Vancouver.

Woke up on the couch to a ton of sun light. Walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. There wasn't any really good breakfast food around so it sufficed. =)

We were pretty tired from the drive but way too excited to get exploring. Caitlin's friend Sean had to work so we were on our own for the day. We detached our bikes off the car and decided to start our adventure...

Pretty sure the most significant thing we noticed different from home was the smell of the ocean air and how wonderful it felt to have it fill our lungs. At home the prairies often smell like dust and burning from farmers and the work they do to their crops...

Eventually we were just tired of biking up and down hills around town which didn't take too long to occur haha. We were about to hit the beach and potentially buy more beer when we ran into a couple of fellas who were doing just that. First day in town and already making friends with strangers!

It was pretty swell meeting Josh and Bradford, after we met and they showed us where the liquor store was we were well on our way to catching some rays by the beach...

So it didn't take long before all of us were really buzzed and hungry. Deciding to fill our stomachs the guys took us to a quick and tasty little sushi joint for a nibble followed by movies at Bradford's place which lead us to the end of our first evening in Vancouver. I was too drunk to ride my bike since I already collided with Josh on his BMX so I slept on Brad's futon for the night...

Vancouver day two - Monday Aug 1st.

Woah, woke up not hung over but still surprised and not use to being away from home. Above my head hung the bikes in the living room, what a nifty place to put them! It was time to begin the day, after getting up I had to navigate myself back to our established Vancouver head quarters...

Once us ladies got our well deserved showers it was time to jump back on the bikes for yet another day of exploring..

Hey what's up Seymour?

Beautiful weather all around, the whole west coast is so lush with green!

... Since we got up and had nothing to eat we eventually biked downtown in search of food to consume and came across a little pub that served goodies. The Cambie.

mmm fresh ocean Salmon burger...

With our tummies full we said "Fuck it." and went to the beach again because it was so hot out. All we wanted to do was relax and drink beer..

Life is good.

Biking those Vancouver hills were pretty tough, but one hell of a good work out that's for sure!

.. So to end another day we stopped off a local produce store and bought a ton of fresh fruit grown in the province. It was healthy and deeeelish!

The next day pretty much consisted of nearly the same stuff, only less eating out and potentially just as much beer if not more...

Don't mind me while I skip along to Wednesday the day we took off to Victoria island..

boarding the ferry...

Cheese!

Once we got onto the island we met up with my ex Jesse (were still friends). He then picked up some skim boards and took us to a little beach to try skim boarding on the water. Unfortunately the tide was too high so we had to come back again the next day when it was lower.. That was that and we headed to his place to crash after a long day of driving and a ferry ride...But still another totally awesome day!

Next morning it was our first official day on the island. We started off with a little hike around in Jesse's 2 acre back yard. It was a lovely patch of forest filled with little hills and paths...

Where he discretely lead us to a little spot .....

If you know your basic horticulture you may recognize that some of the plants growing in the forest didn't actually belong there...

According to him one of his neighbours has been using this spot to grow about 6 pot plants, some of which were completely different strains of the plant.. Such a curious thing to have stumbled upon! At least they smelled really pretty ;)

After we were done admiring the little secret forest garden we headed out of the backyard and decided to try the same beach again from the night before.

Unfortunately Jesse had to work so he just showed us the way and left us to fend for our selves..

The tide was really low when we got there, you could walk out pretty far because of it too.

Found a spot on the beach and got cozy...

Then had a little fun reading a corny harlequin romance novel entitled: "The Virgin and The Unicorn." and poking at slimy sea weed.

After a couple of hours the tide began to rise and it was almost time to leave.

Caitlin was awesome and got a hold of our lovely friend and blogger Alysha who offered us a place to stay and wanted to meet up and hang out!...

But we still had some time yet before meeting with her so we left the beach and decided to explore another place really quick ...

We found a really rocky shore near by and Caitlin began hunting for little tiny crabs to play with while I scaled around the area.

Caitlin made a friend really quickly even though he fought back and pinched her finger. He was really feisty then right after started blowing inky bubbles at us.. Which lead us to believe he didn't want to be disturbed. Did anyways heh..

After another hour of tom foolery it was time to meet Alysha, oh goodness I was excited to meet her!

What a sweet heart! Obviously we all got along really well too. Before calling it a day her and her man Chris hopped on their bikes with us and we went out for supper to eat.. sushi! Yum, personally I could never get sick of the stuff.

Holy moly what a fun filled packed day. A lot of pictures came out of it too! So many good memories..

Full day two rolled around for us in Victoria, it was Friday and Alysha had the day off so the three of us could spend the day together.

We ate a breakfast that mythological gods could only dream of! Alysha made crepes with blackberries she picked that very morning from a near by bicycle path. Boiled them down and used them as sauce. Wish I had room in my tummy for two helpings..

We were really lucky to have Alysha show us around to some really wicked awesome places around Victoria for the day.

Starting off with a little visit to the Marina to attempt to feed ocean seals some fish!

Unfortunately it was their mating season so none were around at all =(

Shucks and giggity gig... heh

Next on the agenda was to head a short distance out of the city to check out star fish!

After this guy got stuck back onto the rock, he literally threw himself back into the water. It was really interesting to watch him move and change.

What a neato texture, they changed their skin from being soft and slimy to being hard and rough. In the photo above you can see that is body is still in soft mode while the tentacles are hard and textured. Must be a protective instinct...

Afterwards we hung out there on the beach for a while enjoying the warm sun and drank a few beers.

....

What we had lined up for the evening was awesome, Cancerbats were in town playing a show that night and Caitlin and I needed to go. ABSOLUTELY no questions about it.

Lucky for us we convinced Alysha to come out and have some serious fun!

We made it to the venue and got ourselves admission for the show..

Needless to say it was off the hook and their set ruled so hard. It was just the beginning of their tour so they had relentless energy. =D

Also we discovered that the world is incredibly small because we ran into Bradford again, only this time he was bleeding and bruised from the pit....err pain is pleasure is it not? =P

After the show we headed back home and crashed after another long and fun filled day..

The next day we woke up and it was raining for the first time this trip. It was still warm out so we didn't mind the wet at all. But it certainly set a gloomy mood as it was sad to have to say goodbye to Alysha and Chris so we could catch the ferry back to Vancouver. We had a really really lovely stay with them and I really do hope we can meet up again soon <3 thanks again guys!

After some many hours of waiting in line, boarding, sailing, docking.. etc we were back at our home base in Vancouver for an extra day.. We originally intended on leaving the day after we came back from the island but Caitlin really wanted another day to chill with Sean and his room/band mates.

Oh, did I mention Sean plays for SNFU and his house was their jam space? Probably not .. it's really no big deal but it was certainly interesting to see...

Sunday August 1st we departed for Seattle!

Welcome to UHMERICA! Land of the free?

Sorry if that's a bit ignorant but were just a couple of silly Canadian girls who found tons of novelty in that and in so much more while being in the states. Actually when we got there someone made fun of us for saying

"Aye" a lot. Sadly it's true, we do. haha!

Pit stop before Seattle. Hanging out at a gas station on the hood of the Geo, beers and sweets.

After more driving and some waiting at the border, then some more driving we made it to Seattle.. We arrived and the sun had begun going down pretty fast. My tummy rumbled so it was time to hunt for food. Somewhere along the search for food and a bathroom break at a Subway we bumped into a new stranger friend who was pretty friendly. His name was Keenan and he had just recently moved to Seattle, so with our new acquaintance we arranged to meet later for drinks to just chill and hang out for the hell of it.

After I grabbed some sushi quick we reunited with our friend and his brother for some drinks and Foosball at a little Mexican bar called "Cha-Cha's". It was a good time, and in the end the guys offered to let us crash at their place since we had not been able to arrange a place to stay.

We were really grateful to have met someone generous enough to let a couple of strange girls stay in their home. It really left a good impression on us.

Morning rolled around and I woke up in one of our sleeping bags on the floor. My back was in rough shape but I didn't let it ruin any of the fun. The guys had to head to work so we gathered our things, got ready, and ate a quick breakfast with Keenan before taking off.

In the mean time I was taking time to touch base with some of my Seattle acquaintances for some meet ups.

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(Here is a sample of Alex's work, a painting of Apnea)

Lunch quickly turned into a meet up with my new friend Alex (aka - It's A Jackal, an extraordinary artist)

He treated us by buying theeeee most amazing lunch ever. We went to an authentic Thai restaurant called "Thai Tom". Best food EVER. They cooked your meals right in front of you too. mmm

Meeting Alex was a blast, he knew a ton of good stories and together we joked and laughed about everything. Especially our Canadian dialect. heh

After lunch Alex requested to do a photo shoot because he wanted to draw us ladies. It was a lovely surprise to have been asked to model and so we took up the amazing offer. Getting to see his art process was really fascinating, certainly learned a great deal from Alex in a short span of time.

Eventually mine and Caitlin's faces will be appearing in his portfolio, what a freaking honor it is!

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A fair chunk of the day of spent shooting and hanging out. Afterwards Alex even graciously offered to take us to some site seeing spots around Seattle...

Here is Caitlin trying to pick the Seattle Trolls nose.

"Which way to the beach?!" "It's data-way!"

Clearly having a blast.. but once again the day came to an early end, we were tired and our time with Alex ran out. At least until the next day when we met up for lunch a second time.

From there we took our selves over to the Pike Brew/Pub for some eats.

mmm micro brewery..

Poor Caitlin wasn't feeling good so she skipped out on ordering food. The trip was starting to wear us out bit by bit..

The evening arrived and her and I were in a pickle. We had no where to stay. Alex wasn't able to help us out with a place to stay so we ended up pulling out the sleeping bags and made Caitlin's Geo tracker into a mini hotel room. My back really hated me after that...

We called this - Geosquatting.

Caitlin got the front seats and I took the trunk and slept on top of luggage.

Morning seemed to have arrived pretty quick after struggling to fall asleep. Somehow I woke up still feeling refreshed and energized. But icky and unshowered. Which was part of the road trip charm I looked forward to at times..

After tidying up the make shift beds we gassed up the car, brushed our hair, and got ready to meet up with Alex for lunch before we headed back to Vancouver.

This time instead of Thai food we had pizza from a place that does it all from scratch, including the dough.

Deeeelish! I ate an interesting kind with goat cheese on it, which ended up tasting awesome. Also the inside of the restaurant was super cool and had the walls filled with Italian movie posters!

.....

It was sad to say good bye to Alex, we had a serious blast in the short span of time the three of us spent together.

Back to Canada it was for us. We honestly really missed it though.

The ride back was way easier, and the boarder crossing was quicker through our own customs. Thankfully.

Vancouver welcomed us back with open arms, so did our friends back at the house.

When we got back everyone was hungry so once again we went out for... you guessed it.

Sushi.

Changed it up this time and avoided getting rolls, the Salmon was a good pick =)

Once we got home we made another fruit salad and ate that till we were stuffed full.

Which ended up being the extent of the day.

We got up and knew it was going to be a chill day. Needing to recuperate we honestly took the day pretty easy on ourselves. Slept in, totally took our time to drag our butts out the door. As usual we had a goal set out for the day. Today's goal? Get new ink?

Caitlin and myself held some interest in a tattoo shop downtown called The Fall and wanted to stop by and have a chat with some artists. The place was really rad because it was not only a tattoo shop but an art gallery as well.

After chatting with some folks at the shop Caitlin got herself a spot in the chair for some ink, I unfortunately couldn't get any time out of the specific artist I requested. So maybe next time!

The design for the tattoo is pretty neat, it's based off of a variety of drawings from her sketchbook with a little bit of revision by the artist.

Take a look!

Before long her work for the day was complete. Color will be finished on another trip by the looks of it ;)

Once her arm was bandaged up we headed back home to tell the others about our little day at the tattoo shop..

That night a few of us got talking about of a variety of art topics and one of Sean's room mates ended up asking me to draw or paint something for her. Tracey ended up pulling out a canvas and all her painting supplies so that I could just get carried away and do whatever. Her only request was a character representation of herself as a Zombie. At first I was really nervous to start a painting since we only had about a day and a half left on our trip but I decided to try anyways because Alex really left me with some inspiration.

Got as much of a start on the painting as I possibly good then that about concluded the day. It was time to call it a night and hit the ol'couch.

August 12th , the last day in Vancouver we had to make count. Tomorrow - the road to home.
It was tough realizing that the two weeks went by so quickly, the last day was kind of sad in a sense. It was our last chance to do what ever we wanted..

So that's exactly what went down.

First on our list for the day was of course getting up then grabbing our bikes because we were picking Sean up from work. He had his BMX bike along so we ended up deciding to do our favorite thing together one last time. Bike around the sea wall and lounge on the beach. It was a hot day, just perfect to spend it in the sand.

The heat really got us beat, so on the way home we stopped for some delicious Gelato ice cream!

After we had desert for an early supper the choice was made that we actually still needed to decide what we wanted to eat the last night in town. Sean was sweet, he offered to cook us a fabulous dinner for the occasion. mmm!

Quick stop for some groceries then off to home it was to begin cooking...

=) He even managed to carry the groceries home on his bike, good stuff!

*****

Got to the house and a deal was made. Sean and Caitlin cooks while I painted!

It was important that I took the time to work on it so it could be complete by the time we were ready to leave west coast.

They did a freaking amazing job too on dinner. They made a grrrrrreat stir fry. Fresh chicken, rice and rice noodles, various fresh local vegetables, and some teriyaki sauce.

It was DEVOURED!

Oh and I continued to make progress on the painting..

Little by little I worked away using acrylics, sharpie extra fine paint marker, and even pencil crayons to carefully shade her skin.

Before I knew it I looked up and everyone had already gone to bed. Oh well, painting ended up being a blast so I continued into the wee early hours of the morning.

It was late and I was exhausted when the painting was finished up, but I was finally pleased with the results despite the short time I had to do it. If time wasn't a factor I know I could have done a much better job. But still, happy with it.

zZzZzzZz...

Departure.

6 AM rolls around and I wake up on the couch from hearing some noise. Sean was up and leaving to hit the airport because he had to catch a flight out to play a show with SNFU. I figured it was a good time to start the day since we had a 10 hour drive through the mountains ahead of us.

I tried to wake Caitlin up but didn't have much luck so I let her sleep for a little while longer while I got myself into the groove for the day.

Snapped a lovely photo of the sunrise from the room Caitlin slept in while she was sleeping heh.. sneaky!

Afterwards I was all packed and ready to go so went back to the canvas because there was some final touches on the painting to make. Quickly took the canvas outside and sprayed it down with a varnish seal..

The house kitty Cletus welcomed me outside at his favorite sitting spot.

G'morning lil guy, going to miss you!

It certainly was a beautiful last morning in Vancouver.. ah pretty dew drops on some bamboo shoots.

Every detail of those last few hours in Van felt so precious.

*le sigh*

.....

Once Caitlin dragged her butt out of bed we packed up the car, cleaned up after ourselves in the house, and it was time to go.

The last traces of us in their house was left in a sincere note to our amazing and generous friends, as well as the completed painting.

.....

With the Geo ready to go...our journey back home began.

At around 7 or 8 pm we made it out of the harshest part of the high way stretch. It was a nerve racking drive that was known for being pretty dangerous. But we did it, we made it out safely. The rest of the drive ahead of us was easy as pie.

So that immediately called for a celebration pit stop!

For the win.

SFVP survived the West Coast Road Trip 2010.

And they lived happily ever after.

If you stuck around to read the entire story I really do hope that you enjoyed it. Writing it all out was tough but so worth it in the end to have such a lovely post to look back on.

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Ever had an epic adventure and wrote a travel journal before? Where did you go? Ran into any snags along the way? Feel free to comment and start discussion. I'd love to hear from readers about what kind of traveling experiences you've had.

Glad to be back and blogging!

Rrrroad Trip!

2010-07-29T13:02:00.002-06:00

This is it. The vacation me and Skatelin have been waiting for! TOMORROW we depart, so this blog may or may not be very active for the next two weeks.

Should take us about two days to get to where we begin the fun in Vancouver..

1807.20 km? No problem for just the first leg of the trip!

This is something both of us have been anticipating for a very long time. Everyone deserves a good break from life and where they live once in a while, and well we REALLY need this.

What we plan on checking out:

Vancouver!

(Photo credit: wurkingartist)

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Victoria Island!

(Photo credit: ireena eleonora )

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Portland!

(Photo credit: dan_photoman )

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Seattle!

(Photo credit: David Gn Photography )

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So much to see and do, at least the two of us took some good time off to accomplish lots!

Wish us luck! Can't wait to come home with many good stories and photos!

Pins & Needles

2010-07-24T14:29:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was an especially good day. I got a new tattoo!

It's not really that big of a deal but I find it exciting adding new art to my body permanently.

This one was the result of playing with an idea... starting with this doodle:

From there on I talked to a very talented local artist who I figured would be the best for the design after looking through her portfolio.

Lindsay (LMH Art) did an incredible job with improving the design and got me in to see her pretty quickly we began talking.

I'm so stoked with how my little Babushka Doll turned out. She represents my Polish heritage. The term "Na Zdrowie" is a common Polish saying that translates "To health." Some ways you would use this is either after someone sneezes, or you cheers some beers with a friend...

It's got a lot of sentimental value so I now I get to wear it with pride.

Cute huh? Next tattoo I'll have to search for an artist with a different style seeing now I've got my little traditional doll.

Well that's all that's new and exciting for now.

Other than it's 6 DAYS LEFT till my and Skatelin's giant road trip which we've preparing heavily for. Stick around because I'll be bringing my laptop with me and should be able to make blog posts from the road.

Have a great weekend!

Paint & Pictures

2010-07-20T11:29:00.001-06:00

Well I guess I kind of took my time to post the follow up to my little shadow box project. Finished it on the weekend at last and I'm pretty pleased with the results. It's going to be difficult to decide where to hang it and what I want to put in it.

As a last minute decision I used left over bathroom paint to do the inside of the shelf, I really like the way lime green and turquoise go together with brown so well!

Ta-da! Also took a Polaroid of it while I was sanding as it, which you can see below in the post.

Honestly there is nothing like keeping busy, it has made me feel so productive with the amount of work that is getting done on my condo as well as having enough time for little side projects.

But I'm itching to paint and to start a serious project well worth my time..

Till then I'll just keep taking photos.

If you have been checking out my flickr account (wont hate you if you don't) you would have seen that I started using my Polaroid SX-70. Words cannot describe how exciting it is to shoot Polaroids again. Its just like I remember only better!

So far so good though. With my first pack of film as pictured above not a single photo worked! The film was just too expired and came out all ugly and brown.

But then I tried out the pack of TZ Artistic SX-70 film purchased from the Impossible Project and I had reached success.

Still not finished with the first pack, and I have ordered 3 more to take with me on my big road trip starting the end of next week.

Check out my snap shots!

It's pretty exciting getting use to a new camera and learning how it takes in light. Makes for a good challenge!

Really pleased with the photos taken so far!

Well that's all there is for now, expect more soon!

Thrifty Thursday

2010-07-15T10:46:00.002-06:00

Hurrah today is awesome because it's my Friday at work and I get the day off tomorrow.

In other awesome news..

I scored pretty good yesterday while going around looking at used furniture and nic-nacks for my new place. Been looking all over for wall shelves/cubbys to display things with and at last came across something that will do just fine!

Ta-da! Here is the sweet medium sized display shelf I snagged for only $5.00! In the image it's only half way through sanding process. Had to stop using the electric sander because I didn't want to get a noise violation for working into the night at my place haha. Can't wait to finish so it can get painted dark chocolate brown to match the rest of the wood around the home. Really stoked to be working with wood and fixing this baby up. Something about the smell of wood is so intoxicating.

So since I got to mention thifting I'm going to post a quick "Things Thrifted that I Love Thursday" below to boost up-cycling inspiration.

Thrifted Edition - Up Cycled

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Thrifted Plates cut into silhouettes by Prettyville!

Such a neat idea, there are always piles of these plates laying around so at last there is a better use for them.

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Too smart, I can only imagine how many companies get rid of tons of office furniture to be thrown away.

Re-upholstering the cushions made that chair wayyyyyy better.

Chair make over by Lily!

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D.I.Y Jewelry holder made from a thrifted picture frame and drawer knobs.

Made by the ever talented QueenOfDIY, learn how to make with her tutorial at her blog here!

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Now that I've seen this idea I think I'm going to have to attempt something similar. That cabinet is the perfect colors for my new place. Such a gorgeous new finish and fabric cabinet door inserts. What a clever idea!

Done by Janapl.
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Last but not least..

Recycled suit cases and children's books. Now you can travel in style while reminiscing about your favorite bed time story!

Crafted by the Wreath Witch.

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Hey readers, what kind of things have you up-cycled if you ever have? Or have you seen something you would like to share?
I'm totally interested in hearing about it.
Have a fantastic Thursday, don't forget that ANY day is a good time to thrift.

Artist Spotlight: Danny Brito

2010-07-14T08:37:00.001-06:00

Today I would like to introduce Danny Brito!

He is an illustrator based out of Miami that I initially discovered while browsing through flickr.

I must say he creates some of the most fantastic artworks of adorable quirky girls and guys often wearing interesting get ups. As an artist myself who focuses on drawing people I immediately felt inspired by his unique style using coloured pencils and mixed mediums.

Shortly after discovering his work I found myself browsing through his Etsy shop that is filled with prints, buttons, charming vintage goodies, broach's, jewelry, and more!

Without hesitation I bought a couple of his wooden pins which just arrived for me in the mail yesterday. Exciting!

Take a look here at one of them which I also photographed:

The original artwork that is on this pin can be found here!

Please take some time and go visit his website and or flickr page (links are provided above in this post). Danny has a lot to look through if you enjoy what your seeing already.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Pretty damn good stuff if I must say and I also look forward to seeing new art in the future!

Hopefully now you do too after reading this spotlight.

Enjoy browsing.

When The Lights Go Out: Forest City Lover

2010-07-10T21:24:00.001-06:00

"When The Lights Go Out"

And the band goes on..

It's a great pleasure to introduce to you , Forest City Lovers

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to check out some awesome bands coming through town along their summer tour. Amongst them was a whimsical group that just stole the show away for me.

Forest City Lovers are a Canadian folk indie pop band based out of Toronto that you guys should really check out. Normally I'm not into really mellow music and tend to steer away clear from it, but this is a major exception. Their live performance was off the hook in the way that they played was incredibly solid and fine tuned.

Their music was warming and made you feel alive inside. The temptation to break out in a quirky dance while they played was fanatical.

They just released a brand new album called Carriage featuring 10 awesome tracks, each of song as good as the next. This is one of those records that you'll never skip a track on!

(Photo credit: Music Trader)

Below are a couple tracks of that new album Carriage, please take the time and enjoy the sampling!

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “If I Were A Tree”

As well here are some snap shots I took from their performance:

I'm really glad to have taken some time to do a spot on this gem of a band, here's hoping that a few of you may enjoy checking them out as well. I'm sure they'd totally appreciate being recommend through word of mouth!

Happy dancing!

The Sketchbook Project

2010-07-07T12:00:00.001-06:00

"Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project. To participate and have us send you a sketchbook that will go on tour, start by choosing a theme..."

As if I don't pick up enough project hehe, luckily signing up today is still early for the upcoming 2011 Sketchbook tour. Which is all the more reason to share this with more people!

There is still tons of time to join in on the fun....

After you sign up to participate in the project, they'll mail you a package containing a Moleskine sketchbook with a barcode on it, your theme to create your book around, and detailed instructions about the project.

(Last year's sketch books on tour via: arthousecoop)

Every artist who completes their sketchbook and returns it will have their book included in the tour. Your book will visit galleries and museums across the country, putting your art in front of thousands of people.

The sketchbook will be given a barcode with a unique number - this allows The Sketchbook Project to keep track of your book and record who views it at every tour date and while it's in The Brooklyn Art Library. And after it's cataloged, artists will be able to log-on and view realtime statistics about their book for years to come.

So neat! Cannot wait to get started when the book comes.
The theme I chose is "I'm a scavenger".
I highly recommend participating this year!

Go to the Sketchbook Tour website for more details and information on the other themes.
Good luck on filling those Moleskines!