Wednesday, September 12, 2007
easily amused, remember?
If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to hear it does a squirrel grab his nuts and run?
giving myself a good talking to
I was on the front page of etsy!!
(and I don't have any way of proving it because the list has already expired.)
'Sure you were'
Yes I was.
Uh Huh, I promise!
'What did they show? your recycled vintage jewelry?'
No, it was my custom silhouette pendants.
'Sure'
No really, my photo was right there. In the upper right hand corner.
Fine, don't believe me, see if I care.
But I really was on there, really.
hehehe
Have I ever told you that I am easily amused?
Well, my 15 seconds of fame did generate alot of interest in my pendants and even a couple orders!
I don't have much to say today. I had a very bizarre dream last night.
I don't remember all of it but here are the highlights:
I was on an island up north with a group of people I didn't know. I had a bulldog puppy and another gruff biker dude had a yellow lab puppy. We were all sitting on a cliff looking at the ocean and the strange brightly colored birds below when I realized that the brightly colored birds were actually punk monkeys. yes, punk monkeys, terrifying I know. Everyone was laughing at the monkeys and just enjoying their day when the monkeys started to sneak up behind people and try to push them off the cliff! I grabbed my puppy and tried to make a run for it but my path was blocked by a very grouchy and very huge gorilla. I turned back and ran into the house where everyone was staying and there were a bunch of people just sitting around talking. I sat on the floor and joined them (after I told them about the killer monkeys) Then a lynx comes slinking into the room and everyone gasps. It's walking right towards me. It stops next to me and the girl to my left reaches down and pets it and says 'oh what a cute kitty' then I say 'that's not a kitty, that's a lynx' Meanwhile it starts to get friendly with me and is licking my hand and my arm and nuzzling my neck, then it licks my neck and then it BITES ME! right on the throat. Everyone is giggling and pointing and they think it is so cute but I can't breath and the cat keeps clenching tighter and tighter until I feel like I'm going to pass out.
Then, I don't remember what happens.
The next thing I remember is that I am now in charge of my puppy bulldog and the yellow lab puppy. I find an empty room and try to get some sleep. I put the puppies in little, weird, bed things and we all go to sleep. I wake up (in the dream) and freak out because I think I've killed the puppies. I pull them out of their 'beds' and they are just fine. Then I go out to the kitchen and this random guy tells me that the biker dude who owns the yellow lab is missing and I say 'ok, I'll take care of his dog' And then I woke up.
weird.
I read a great excerpt from a book yesterday. In a round about way. I got some Erraticus zines from my friend the other day and this part was about an artist named Annie Yu and this excerpt is on her profile page (but was printed in the zine)
Anyways the book is called 'born confused' by tanuja desai hidier
"Those studded slippers that tilted the feet to be nearly vertical. The deluge continued as I admired the heels - now that I was up close, I saw that they were embedded with coins in different currencies, bits of scrap metal and plastic, pricked balloon and beer bottle glass. Like she'd stepped into life and it stuck."
This reminds me of that other quote I wrote about. The one about bumping into things because you don't know where you end and the world begins. I like ideas like this.
What would your shoes be covered in if they had kept a little piece of everywhere you've been?
xo
(and I don't have any way of proving it because the list has already expired.)
'Sure you were'
Yes I was.
Uh Huh, I promise!
'What did they show? your recycled vintage jewelry?'
No, it was my custom silhouette pendants.
'Sure'
No really, my photo was right there. In the upper right hand corner.
Fine, don't believe me, see if I care.
But I really was on there, really.
hehehe
Have I ever told you that I am easily amused?
Well, my 15 seconds of fame did generate alot of interest in my pendants and even a couple orders!
I don't have much to say today. I had a very bizarre dream last night.
I don't remember all of it but here are the highlights:
I was on an island up north with a group of people I didn't know. I had a bulldog puppy and another gruff biker dude had a yellow lab puppy. We were all sitting on a cliff looking at the ocean and the strange brightly colored birds below when I realized that the brightly colored birds were actually punk monkeys. yes, punk monkeys, terrifying I know. Everyone was laughing at the monkeys and just enjoying their day when the monkeys started to sneak up behind people and try to push them off the cliff! I grabbed my puppy and tried to make a run for it but my path was blocked by a very grouchy and very huge gorilla. I turned back and ran into the house where everyone was staying and there were a bunch of people just sitting around talking. I sat on the floor and joined them (after I told them about the killer monkeys) Then a lynx comes slinking into the room and everyone gasps. It's walking right towards me. It stops next to me and the girl to my left reaches down and pets it and says 'oh what a cute kitty' then I say 'that's not a kitty, that's a lynx' Meanwhile it starts to get friendly with me and is licking my hand and my arm and nuzzling my neck, then it licks my neck and then it BITES ME! right on the throat. Everyone is giggling and pointing and they think it is so cute but I can't breath and the cat keeps clenching tighter and tighter until I feel like I'm going to pass out.
Then, I don't remember what happens.
The next thing I remember is that I am now in charge of my puppy bulldog and the yellow lab puppy. I find an empty room and try to get some sleep. I put the puppies in little, weird, bed things and we all go to sleep. I wake up (in the dream) and freak out because I think I've killed the puppies. I pull them out of their 'beds' and they are just fine. Then I go out to the kitchen and this random guy tells me that the biker dude who owns the yellow lab is missing and I say 'ok, I'll take care of his dog' And then I woke up.
weird.
I read a great excerpt from a book yesterday. In a round about way. I got some Erraticus zines from my friend the other day and this part was about an artist named Annie Yu and this excerpt is on her profile page (but was printed in the zine)
Anyways the book is called 'born confused' by tanuja desai hidier
"Those studded slippers that tilted the feet to be nearly vertical. The deluge continued as I admired the heels - now that I was up close, I saw that they were embedded with coins in different currencies, bits of scrap metal and plastic, pricked balloon and beer bottle glass. Like she'd stepped into life and it stuck."
This reminds me of that other quote I wrote about. The one about bumping into things because you don't know where you end and the world begins. I like ideas like this.
What would your shoes be covered in if they had kept a little piece of everywhere you've been?
xo
Monday, September 10, 2007
I'd like you to meet the band
Elton John
Van Morrison
Paul Simon
The Blues Brothers
Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath)
I can't stop! I told my husband that if he sat still for too long I'd bind him into one of my journals (that way I could take him everywhere)...
xo
Sunday, September 9, 2007
story time
Today is the first cold day of the season and in honor of this frosty morning, I would like to reprint a short story I wrote in college. This story was part of a book titled "My Shoes Are Size 6" (I know it's kind of long, but it's worth it. I promise.)
I Am Much More a Winter Person.
My life makes sense on snowy days. I wake up in flannel pajamas and pull on my biggest sweater, the one that feels like my mom's arms are wrapped around me. I pick out the gray socks that are so thick my feet barely fit in my shoes. I use words like 'cuddle' and 'snuggle'. Wrapped in a thick blanket, I sit by the window and watch the snow fall. My breath clouds the pane of glass, and when I can no longer see, I wipe it away with my hand. The glass is cold and I shiver just thinking about going outside. Under the streetlight the snowflakes dance around each other, twirling and leaping, slowly making their way to the ground. I feel at peace. With the snow comes silence and a strange warmth I struggle to explain. When it snows I feel like time slows to a crawl. The sky and my surroundings push in towards me and hold me gently in space. The beauty and tranquility of it all creates a warmth deep inside me, which protects me from the cold. The flakes continue to fall, and my thoughts turn back to my bed. Six inches taller now that the down comforter is on it. I thank my flannel sheets because if they were not so cold when I first lay in them I would not appreciate the warmth they soon give. I hear the heater click on and I can soon smell the dust burning off of the dormant coils. That is the essence of winter.
Stepping outside, the icy air tickles my nose and stings my eyes. This is my first breath of winter. Words escape my mouth in clouds of steam. Snow and ice cling to the trees where leaves once did, and some boughs bend under the weight. I walk along a shoveled path past a sleepy house and over a silent stream. I lose myself in the beauty snow creates. Everything looks innocent and new. The mountains, now blanketed in white, beckon me. I turn back and promise to return another day. Back inside, the aroma of hot chocolate and burning logs greets me. I remove my gloves and shake the snow off of my hat. Sitting by the fire, I pull the blanket tight around my shoulders and eagerly await tomorrow.
As April nears the snow starts to melt, and with the first blade of grass spring announces her return. The skeletal trees have been bare for so long, their first leaves reintroduce me to the color green. A flower blooms and then another. I see purple, yellow and pink. Spring brings rebirth and a feeling of freshness to the world. These days make me feel like a mother and a child all at once. I tend and I fuss. The word 'clean' is added to my vocabulary and used frequently. The sweaters are packed away neatly while the entire house is reorganized. Spring essentials like fresh cut flowers and young vegetables now have priority. When I'm finished the house is aglow. Sunshine pours in through the window, spilling over the sill onto the floor. Then reaching for my toes it beckons me to step outside. My pale face welcomes the sunlight. Warm and bright, I see things with a new eye. Activity abounds and my inner child begs me to explore. I poke my nose in flowers, going from one to another, smelling everything I can. I lay in the grass and watch the trees sway back and forth. I watch the clouds change shape and move on. A contagious energy fills my world.
The days grow longer as the temperatures rise, and the last day of school signals the unofficial start of summer. Shorts and tank tops conquer the shelves in my closet. I find my swimsuit hiding in the back of the third drawer from the top. Slipping into my blue bikini, I quiet the voice in the back of my head and reintroduce my legs to the sun. I dedicate the first days of summer to achieving a healthy golden glow. Lying on the lawn with my walkman and a bottle of water, sweat drips off my nose into the spine of my book. Ani DiFranco singing in my head, "The heat is so great it plays tricks with the eye, it turns the road into water, then from water to sky..." The smell of chlorine and Hawaiian Tropics permeates the air. A quick dip in the pool reveals what I forgot a cold month ago. I feel at home in the water. Spinning and diving, I jump from the board. Gliding across the bottom of the pool, I test myself to see how long I can hold my breath. Every way I turn, hot, smiling faces greet me. During the summer the days never really end. Lying in the sun becomes reading in the shade. Reading in the shade leads to napping through the afternoon. Evenings start with the smell of burgers and the taste of cold beer then change to campfire smoke and uncontrolled laughter. At the end of the night they slow to full moons and long talks. Ultimately fading to black. Then a burst of gold and the cycle continues. That afternoon, while watching the heat rise off of the hood of my car, my mind relives the past two months, and I realize summer is almost over.
The morning that fall arrives, I can see a new crispness in the light that shines through my blinds. Fall is that subtle bite that calls for a long sleeved shirt. It's the pleasure of feeling a cool breeze caress your cheek as you drift to sleep. It's the excitement I feel watching a thunderstorm. An indecisive season, fall teases me with days of sunshine and then rain. In the background, the trees explode with color as if not to let me forget them in the coming months. They leave me with a spectacular show of yellow, red and gold. Every tree and bush joins in creating this masterpiece and once again I am in awe over the simple beauty of nature. My excitement grows when the leaves start to fall. A chorus of crackling plays wherever I go. The days are cooler and I am delighted to wear jackets again. Ghouls and goblins are followed by family and fowl. I pause to give thanks for all I have. There is a very cold wind from the north tonight and I can't help but feel anxious. I find my mind wandering to snow capped peaks, as I impatiently await the first snow. After all I am much more a winter person.
xo
I Am Much More a Winter Person.
My life makes sense on snowy days. I wake up in flannel pajamas and pull on my biggest sweater, the one that feels like my mom's arms are wrapped around me. I pick out the gray socks that are so thick my feet barely fit in my shoes. I use words like 'cuddle' and 'snuggle'. Wrapped in a thick blanket, I sit by the window and watch the snow fall. My breath clouds the pane of glass, and when I can no longer see, I wipe it away with my hand. The glass is cold and I shiver just thinking about going outside. Under the streetlight the snowflakes dance around each other, twirling and leaping, slowly making their way to the ground. I feel at peace. With the snow comes silence and a strange warmth I struggle to explain. When it snows I feel like time slows to a crawl. The sky and my surroundings push in towards me and hold me gently in space. The beauty and tranquility of it all creates a warmth deep inside me, which protects me from the cold. The flakes continue to fall, and my thoughts turn back to my bed. Six inches taller now that the down comforter is on it. I thank my flannel sheets because if they were not so cold when I first lay in them I would not appreciate the warmth they soon give. I hear the heater click on and I can soon smell the dust burning off of the dormant coils. That is the essence of winter.
Stepping outside, the icy air tickles my nose and stings my eyes. This is my first breath of winter. Words escape my mouth in clouds of steam. Snow and ice cling to the trees where leaves once did, and some boughs bend under the weight. I walk along a shoveled path past a sleepy house and over a silent stream. I lose myself in the beauty snow creates. Everything looks innocent and new. The mountains, now blanketed in white, beckon me. I turn back and promise to return another day. Back inside, the aroma of hot chocolate and burning logs greets me. I remove my gloves and shake the snow off of my hat. Sitting by the fire, I pull the blanket tight around my shoulders and eagerly await tomorrow.
As April nears the snow starts to melt, and with the first blade of grass spring announces her return. The skeletal trees have been bare for so long, their first leaves reintroduce me to the color green. A flower blooms and then another. I see purple, yellow and pink. Spring brings rebirth and a feeling of freshness to the world. These days make me feel like a mother and a child all at once. I tend and I fuss. The word 'clean' is added to my vocabulary and used frequently. The sweaters are packed away neatly while the entire house is reorganized. Spring essentials like fresh cut flowers and young vegetables now have priority. When I'm finished the house is aglow. Sunshine pours in through the window, spilling over the sill onto the floor. Then reaching for my toes it beckons me to step outside. My pale face welcomes the sunlight. Warm and bright, I see things with a new eye. Activity abounds and my inner child begs me to explore. I poke my nose in flowers, going from one to another, smelling everything I can. I lay in the grass and watch the trees sway back and forth. I watch the clouds change shape and move on. A contagious energy fills my world.
The days grow longer as the temperatures rise, and the last day of school signals the unofficial start of summer. Shorts and tank tops conquer the shelves in my closet. I find my swimsuit hiding in the back of the third drawer from the top. Slipping into my blue bikini, I quiet the voice in the back of my head and reintroduce my legs to the sun. I dedicate the first days of summer to achieving a healthy golden glow. Lying on the lawn with my walkman and a bottle of water, sweat drips off my nose into the spine of my book. Ani DiFranco singing in my head, "The heat is so great it plays tricks with the eye, it turns the road into water, then from water to sky..." The smell of chlorine and Hawaiian Tropics permeates the air. A quick dip in the pool reveals what I forgot a cold month ago. I feel at home in the water. Spinning and diving, I jump from the board. Gliding across the bottom of the pool, I test myself to see how long I can hold my breath. Every way I turn, hot, smiling faces greet me. During the summer the days never really end. Lying in the sun becomes reading in the shade. Reading in the shade leads to napping through the afternoon. Evenings start with the smell of burgers and the taste of cold beer then change to campfire smoke and uncontrolled laughter. At the end of the night they slow to full moons and long talks. Ultimately fading to black. Then a burst of gold and the cycle continues. That afternoon, while watching the heat rise off of the hood of my car, my mind relives the past two months, and I realize summer is almost over.
The morning that fall arrives, I can see a new crispness in the light that shines through my blinds. Fall is that subtle bite that calls for a long sleeved shirt. It's the pleasure of feeling a cool breeze caress your cheek as you drift to sleep. It's the excitement I feel watching a thunderstorm. An indecisive season, fall teases me with days of sunshine and then rain. In the background, the trees explode with color as if not to let me forget them in the coming months. They leave me with a spectacular show of yellow, red and gold. Every tree and bush joins in creating this masterpiece and once again I am in awe over the simple beauty of nature. My excitement grows when the leaves start to fall. A chorus of crackling plays wherever I go. The days are cooler and I am delighted to wear jackets again. Ghouls and goblins are followed by family and fowl. I pause to give thanks for all I have. There is a very cold wind from the north tonight and I can't help but feel anxious. I find my mind wandering to snow capped peaks, as I impatiently await the first snow. After all I am much more a winter person.
xo
Thursday, September 6, 2007
there are those who understand
Good morning my magnificent eight.
I've started keeping a notebook by the bed so that I can write down my ideas as I get them (which is always as I fall asleep). It's great except now I never fall asleep. It takes me an extra 2 hours at least to doze off.
I get all comfy and drowsy and then BAM I roll over scribble something and hope I can read it in the morning.
Here's proof.
last night I fell asleep thinking about these 'ready to alter' books I'm making. They are so cool. I couldn't stop thinking about different types of paper to put in them and where to try and sell them and who I should give one to...
They're full of all sorts of different papers and images and photographs and dividers and pockets and more!
I might keep 'Tupelo Honey' for myself... I've always loved that title.
My darling husband lovingly called me scatterbrained yesterday.
I took it as a compliment.
We were discussing the magical lampshade machine. (I went and looked at it yesterday and saw how it works and all the lovely pieces that come with it. It is a very good price for what all it includes.) And he was just saying that I seem to have a short attention span for my art projects. I come up with an idea and make that 'thing' until I'm sick of it or until I get a new idea and then I move on. (What can I say, that works for me.)
But a magic lampshade machine requires a large space and lots of attention and large supplies. I'd hate to be sick of it in a month...
I'm having a hard time deciding (I think because it costs a good chunk of change) It seems like it is the sort of thing you just have to plug your nose and jump right in. But maybe I should go buy a couple pre-made lampshades or a lamphshade kit and try it out first. That's just so boring and anti-climactic.
xo
I've started keeping a notebook by the bed so that I can write down my ideas as I get them (which is always as I fall asleep). It's great except now I never fall asleep. It takes me an extra 2 hours at least to doze off.
I get all comfy and drowsy and then BAM I roll over scribble something and hope I can read it in the morning.
Here's proof.
last night I fell asleep thinking about these 'ready to alter' books I'm making. They are so cool. I couldn't stop thinking about different types of paper to put in them and where to try and sell them and who I should give one to...
They're full of all sorts of different papers and images and photographs and dividers and pockets and more!
I might keep 'Tupelo Honey' for myself... I've always loved that title.
My darling husband lovingly called me scatterbrained yesterday.
I took it as a compliment.
We were discussing the magical lampshade machine. (I went and looked at it yesterday and saw how it works and all the lovely pieces that come with it. It is a very good price for what all it includes.) And he was just saying that I seem to have a short attention span for my art projects. I come up with an idea and make that 'thing' until I'm sick of it or until I get a new idea and then I move on. (What can I say, that works for me.)
But a magic lampshade machine requires a large space and lots of attention and large supplies. I'd hate to be sick of it in a month...
I'm having a hard time deciding (I think because it costs a good chunk of change) It seems like it is the sort of thing you just have to plug your nose and jump right in. But maybe I should go buy a couple pre-made lampshades or a lamphshade kit and try it out first. That's just so boring and anti-climactic.
xo
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
some call me "MacGyver"
Craft Challenge:
6 toothpicks
1 twig
4 coffee filters
and a matchbox
Go!
Just kidding, but it would be cool to start one of those 'challenge' websites. I'm thinking about participating in the new Green Pepper Press Street Team one. And maybe Illustration Fridays too. Who knows, I have very good intentions. That's what my tombstone will read: "Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions."
I have a ton of etsy orders to fill this morning and I am procratinating. A subtext on my tombstone:
"Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions.
We're surprised she actually got around to dying"
hehe
I have the opportunity to buy a lampshade machine.
I went into my favorite local used furniture store yesterday to inquire about a butt load of lampshade wires that they have hanging in the back room. I wanted to buy a couple just to play around with and the nice woman told me that they don't sell them individually because they are part of a LAMPSHADE MACHINE, with fabric and everything, she told me.
Well, I left, disappointed that I couldn't have just a couple lampshade frames. Driving home I started thinking about this magical lampshade machine and I started to get ideas.
Tons of ideas.
Ideas from every corner of the globe.
I could make really, really cool lampshades with my art on them and out of old photographs and maps, the sky's the limit.
I imagined our small 900 sq ft house filled to the brim with lamps. One for every room. Nay, one for every chair!
So I did what any wise person would do in this day and age, I googled it.
'lampshade machine' = nothing
'lamp shade machine' = nothing
'fabric lampshade machine' = nothing
'lampshade ring machine' = AHA!
(photo politely borrowed from beccascustomshades.com)
I think this is it. I believe this invention glues the fabric or whatever to the rings. Instead of doing it by hand and thereby saving a lot of time. I am going to go talk to my furniture lady about purchasing this contraption after I ship my Etsy orders. So I had better go do that.
I will leave you with this:
"If you always do what interests you, then at least one person is pleased."
-Katherine Hepburn
xo
6 toothpicks
1 twig
4 coffee filters
and a matchbox
Go!
Just kidding, but it would be cool to start one of those 'challenge' websites. I'm thinking about participating in the new Green Pepper Press Street Team one. And maybe Illustration Fridays too. Who knows, I have very good intentions. That's what my tombstone will read: "Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions."
I have a ton of etsy orders to fill this morning and I am procratinating. A subtext on my tombstone:
"Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions.
We're surprised she actually got around to dying"
hehe
I have the opportunity to buy a lampshade machine.
I went into my favorite local used furniture store yesterday to inquire about a butt load of lampshade wires that they have hanging in the back room. I wanted to buy a couple just to play around with and the nice woman told me that they don't sell them individually because they are part of a LAMPSHADE MACHINE, with fabric and everything, she told me.
Well, I left, disappointed that I couldn't have just a couple lampshade frames. Driving home I started thinking about this magical lampshade machine and I started to get ideas.
Tons of ideas.
Ideas from every corner of the globe.
I could make really, really cool lampshades with my art on them and out of old photographs and maps, the sky's the limit.
I imagined our small 900 sq ft house filled to the brim with lamps. One for every room. Nay, one for every chair!
So I did what any wise person would do in this day and age, I googled it.
'lampshade machine' = nothing
'lamp shade machine' = nothing
'fabric lampshade machine' = nothing
'lampshade ring machine' = AHA!
(photo politely borrowed from beccascustomshades.com)
I think this is it. I believe this invention glues the fabric or whatever to the rings. Instead of doing it by hand and thereby saving a lot of time. I am going to go talk to my furniture lady about purchasing this contraption after I ship my Etsy orders. So I had better go do that.
I will leave you with this:
"If you always do what interests you, then at least one person is pleased."
-Katherine Hepburn
xo
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
eight
eight. 8. ocho. huite. ocht. otte.
that's the largest amount of people that have read my blog on a given day.
EIGHT!
people. I am worth listening to. tune in. tell your friends.
I have a lot to say.
xo
(your moment of zen)
that's the largest amount of people that have read my blog on a given day.
EIGHT!
people. I am worth listening to. tune in. tell your friends.
I have a lot to say.
xo
(your moment of zen)
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