Dance!

easter tutus for the little nieces...

Some Inspiration for the Day

i'm eating an early lunch today. no ratatouille or decadent ginger chocolate chip banana bread for me, though. just a little frozen meal nuked in the microwave and eaten in front of the computer.

but i found this:

http://picturesandpancakes.blogspot.com/

and this:

http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/index.html

and wandered over to http://orangette.blogspot.com/ for some ideas for tomorrow's potluck.

there's too much to do at work today to be hanging out here in blogland for long, though. just wanted to share some fun sites with you. and i promise i'll post a picture or two of the magical tutus i made this weekend for the little nieces later on this evening...

A Movie for a Timeless Book

:)

(click on the smilie)

Roots and Wings

(roots on switzer falls hike ~ from last weekend)

The house was quiet and the world was calm.
The reader became the book; and summer night

Was like the conscious being of the book.
The house was quiet and the world was calm.
(wallace stevens)

a onesie for Alex

the only problem with making things for munchkins is if you forget about a project, there's a huge chance they might have grown too big for it by the time you finish it. i came across this onesie that was half-complete last night and gasped...!!! I had meant to make/send this to Baby Alex a while ago and forgot. So this might be a t-shirt rather than a onesie for him. When he was tinier, he had wild fluffy hair just like this chick.

a book by orangette!

i am so very glad molly of orangette decided to write a book. i came across her site a couple of years ago (2/14/06, to be exact!) and loved every little bit of it. (though, the hunger pains that resulted after reading it were a bit annoying--'come on, jen, just because you read about chocolate and candied ginger banana bread does not mean you need some at this very moment! you just had lunch!') this morning i was drying my hair, sipping coffee and reading about chocolate cupcakes. i need to find an excuse to make these...

a day on the island

on saturday, my friend stephanie and i visited santa cruz island off the coast of ventura. i saw the channel islands sitting out there in the distance as i drove back and forth to santa barbara last winter and wanted to go so badly. the weather finally cooperated and so off we went. it started off as a very foggy and cool day (as seen in the photos) but the island was so beautiful. i would very much like to live there. except it would take some getting used to as the island is uninhabited and doesn't have running water or electricity. :) if you ever have the chance to go, pay the $48 and take this trip. opt for the second stop at prisoner's harbor and take the naturalist-led hike to pelican point...it is especially gorgeous and green in march/april. :) (sorry that these pictures are so miniscule. I resized them so they would upload faster but didn't realize they would be postage stamp size. oops.)

creative crafty links

(yes, this picture is meant to be blurry. it kind of hurts my eyes, though. hmmm)

today i'd like to take a moment to post some links of some amazing/wonderful/fantabulous/+ other affirming adjectives craft websites that i've stumbled upon lately. i tend to use my blog as a personal address book of sorts at times (i.e., 'i know i came across a great site the other day, oh i hope i posted about it because i can't find it now!') so please forgive me if this is a very boring post. however, it will cease being boring if you follow these links. this world is overflowing with creative people.

http://www.funinthemaking.net/
blog.creativekismet.com
belladia.typepad.com/crafty-crow
craftleftovers.com
http://artsycraftybabe.typepad.com/artsycrafty_babe/2009/03/inspired.html
http://www.themikkelsens.net/sarah/journal/index.html

hopefully, this will get the creative juices flowing for you! :)

coraline mystery box swap

oh. my. goodness.
look what i received today! i am still reeling by the talent wrapped up in this box!!!
thank you so much, jane! you are amazing! :)

(pictured: crocheted/felted Cyclops Squid--i think he will be joining a friend and i on our trip to santa cruz island...hehe, coraline movie images shrink plastic bracelet, and 4 fabric pins of scenes from the movie. fantastic!)

my coraline box

my coraline box before it left for belgium...

craft sites to visit this week

oh, i love all of you creative types!

not your ordinary peg doll kit: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21814361

creative sites to bookmark:

http://www.sandrinedeleuze.blogspot.com/
http://relentlesstoil.typepad.com/

http://lovelydesign.blogspot.com/

well, here it is. all the little things that are going into my part of the coraline mystery box swap. this was a really fun exercise, actually. i liked having a theme to start from, especially since this film provided nearly endless possibilities. i found a great wooden cigar box on ebay to place everything in--very magical. :) then this little box will be on its way to belgium! kind of surreal...

(a hand-drawn and water-coloured coraline bookmark. the doll is kind of creepy with those button eyes. :/)

(seeds & flowers are very prominent in this film so i enclosed a couple packs of california poppies. the centers are glued-on buttons :)...again, hand-drawn and water-coloured)

(i also made a couple of notecards. here is one of Cat. yes, that's his name in the book.)

(we had to include two black buttons so i placed mine in a little box. my original handmade buttons never dried completely so these are just regular run-of-the mill black buttons.)

(the buttons on their velvet bed. :) i don't really like the interior of this box but oh well...)

this is a picture of my family playing Candyland with Emma at Christmastime. Note even the baby is leaning in with interest. Since this is her first board game, it was quite the experience. She had to be reminded over and over that you have to follow the little squares to the castle, you can't just decide to go there. Admittedly, we tweaked the rules and decided that the 'go all the way back to the start square' was just mean (after the very real journey of getting to the end, just let the kid win already.)

ah, memories.