Arts and Dafts

Tim Burton at MoMA!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:45:36 -0500

I can't tell you how excited I've been getting for the Tim Burton exhibit at the MoMA. When I first saw an article about it a couple of weeks ago, I nearly fell out of my chair.

To see Tim Burton works virtually come to life...*drool*

So imagine my surprise and excitement when these photos of the install popped up on Flickr! Check it out...and don't forget it opens on November 22nd and runs through April 26th. Will you be there?

Mysterio Predicts Your Christmas Presents

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:11:53 -0500

The results made me giggle so I had to share Mysterio with you. So what are you getting for Christmas?

Actually, now that I think about it...I can totally picture the fella giving me Cat Lover mag. *sigh*

Etsy Wednesday - Vintage Leather Gloves from Le Nouveau Noir

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:53:58 -0500

WHO: Le Nouveau Noir

WHAT: Beautiful vintage accessories with a twist. The gloves you see at top are absolutely stunning, make sure to go check them out. They're not only a modernized take on vintage leather opera gloves, they're totally versatile. The cuff can be worn up, slouched or flipped where the rivets and hand sewn design create a whole new look.

WHY: First of all, it's winter and we get to start wearing all our fun winter accessories again (i.e. gloves, scarves, hats, etc). Also, recently I've been noticing a lot of fun little leather gloves around and on television, so I thought I'd search some out on Etsy.

Why buy a plain ol' pair when you can have these?

HOW MUCH: Sadly the shop only has 4 items currently, 3 of which you see here of course. The longer opera gloves are $60 while the shorter, fingerless gloves are $50. So go get them while they're hot or wait until she restocks.

FYI - There are helpful instructions on how to measure your hands for the gloves on each individual listing.

Monday Moment - Sharing an Umbrella

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:13:27 -0500

Taken on 42nd street in Manhattan during our weekend rainstorm.

Like this photo? Help the cause and buy a print! (Just click the "Buy Print" button under the photo on the photoblog.)

Gotta See It - Your face as a mask...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:14:33 -0500

I know it's not Halloween anymore, but I couldn't pass up sharing this with you. Is this not the coolest...and perhaps creepiest...mask you have ever seen?

Artist Eric Testroete made this for his Halloween costume and I seriously think I want to copy him next year....if I thought for a second I could do what he did.

Etsy Wednesday - Stunning Handmade Jewelry Boxes

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:22:18 -0500

WHO: Jim Jenkins Designs

WHAT: "One of a kind, handmade, wooden jewelry boxes that have been called 'Functional Sculpture'." Every single, beautiful piece you find in Jim's shop is completely hand crafted making them 100% unique. He uses many different types of wood including Purple Poplar, Black Walnut, White Oak, Maple and even Eucalyptus.

Go to the shop to learn more about each individual piece (click the images above to view those).

WHY: Have you ever seen jewelry boxes like these? I can honestly say I never have and I seriously want all of them. Heck, I'll even get some jewelry just to fill 'em up.

HOW MUCH: Prices range from $90.00 to $485 for the bigger, more intricate pieces (like the large one pictured above.)

Gotta See It - Real Life Lichtenstein

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:35:56 -0500

How cool is that? Go here if you don't know who Roy Lichtenstein is. Also check out the original famous blond of his work.

via: Illusion 360

Monday Moments - Moments

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:12:50 -0500

I started Monday Moments awhile back and since then I think I've seriously lost touch with what I intended them to be. Over the last year or so, perhaps as my love of photography grew stronger, the power of one second...one tiny little moment, has become something I can't stop thinking about.

It really only takes a second for everything to change, to make a day memorable, to create a memory. And when I think about all the little moments we have every single day that we very soon forget, it kinda bums me out. Hence taking a Monday to think reflect on those moments.

This video I found really captures what it is I'm trying to say. Watch it. You won't regret it.

Gotta See It - Stabby Hat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:05:07 -0500

It's been a really really long week at work. (Yay 14 hour days!) I think I could really use one of these...

I'd say that's a perfect mix of arts & dafts.

Etsy Wednesday - Leah Giberson

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:01:08 -0500

These are paintings. Seriously.

I absolutely love Leah Giberson's Etsy shop. At first glance, I really did think they were photographs. I had to look at the larger versions and read the descriptions to really convince myself otherwise. Once you get a closer look, you get to see the great textures of her canvas and paint.

Of course, they also look a little like photos because she uses them as references. Check out her Flickr where she shows you some of them side by side.

Everything here is totally affordable, uniquely beautiful and just a perfect and simple decorative touch. Why the heck wouldn't you want one for yourself?

Monday Moment - Gripe it out

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:22:58 -0500

If it weren't for the little moments like the one pictured above, I'm not sure how I would make it sometimes.

Yeah, that's right. I feel like griping today.

Life's not so pleasant distractions are getting me down. Sick cats, financial issues, surrounded by a general lack of motivation and some other things I can't mention here in a public forum. You know how it goes. People pissing other people off, etc.

What's bumming me out the most, and perhaps this is a girl thing, is that when a problem arises, the rest of that day is inevitably shot to hell. I know I'm behind on blogging, photos, etc and I actually woke up pretty stoked to get some of that done...until the cat made a sound, which snowballed into an issue and avalanched it's way into 'gee what are all the other problems in my life?"

It's a bitch trying to be creative when all your brain really wants to do is dwell.

Dwell, dwell, dwell.

And of course, half the problems aren't mine directly...they just effect me...directly. Which I guess makes them my problems.

Unless I pack up and run away to Fiji or something.

What's Fiji like this time of year?

Listen, this is hard for me, this whole getting it off my chest thing. I'm totally one of those people who says "everyone's got problems so suck it up." But today I just can't find a straw.

So instead I say, "Suck it."

Etsy Wednesday - Beautiful Art by Hide N Seek

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:23:43 -0500

I am in a seriously wintry mood today and the Hide N Seek Etsy shop is the perfect match. Let's face it, with Halloween about to end, we're just around the corner from being completely bombarded by the Holidays. Why not give in and get started?

At first I thought it was just a shop of lovely prints, but as I dug further, I found these adorable pocket mirrors (as seen above) for only $7.00! Why use a boring compact when you can have one of these?

There's also packets of stickers, beautiful round cornered postcards and gift tags n buttons all with the lovely characters found in this shop.

Of course, you can also get yourself 5x7, 8x11 or 16x11 prints.

Best part? Right now the stickers, postcards and prints are all on sale up to 50% off! So quick, don't wait on this one! Go stock up!

Monday Moment - For sale!

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:34:08 -0500

Hey! You see that up there? That's a screen capture of my photoblog! For the first time ever, I am selling prints of some of my photographs! (Big thanks to Fotomoto for making such an easy to use and awesome service for us photographers.)

So here's the deal, every bit of money I make on my prints will be going towards new equipment:

Laptop (y'know, one that has more than 60 gigs of hard drive space and can handle post processing more than one photo before I have to reboot it)
A couple of new lenses, primarily a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8
A flash, any old flash that is compatible with my camera
Lighting equipment so I can start to learn how to use it

My goal at this point is to continue what I'm doing of course, but also to start learning how to take headshots. It's the most natural next step I think I should take, having a background in theater and all. I'll be practicing out in the natural light with the current equipment I have, but I'd also really love to start learning how the "pros" do it.

FYI, not every photo is for sale. If you see something you really want a print of and I don't have the "Buy Print" link on it, just send me a note. Some of them are not for sale because of legal reasons (like no model release for example).

Either way, please keep visiting my photos! I can't tell you how much the positive feedback I've been getting has meant to me. Don't forget to subscribe if you don't want to miss out on the new stuff!

Speaking of sharing, I don't know how many people out there actually send E-cards anymore, but you can do that for free with any of my photos. There's a link under all of them to do so. It also helps me out by making new people aware of my stuff.

Thanks again for all of the support!

Gotta See It - Short video that cheered me right up...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:05:04 -0500

Just a fantastic little animation from Randall Munroe of xkcd and Noam Raby with a sweet tune that really cheered me up from Olga Nune.

Etsy Wednesday - Miniature (and full sized) Hats

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:54:46 -0500

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I checked out the Anime Fest on our dinner break just to pass the time. Our favorite part was seeing all the amazing Lolita costumes and best of all...the tiny hats!

Of course, I completely forgot about my temporary obsession (as I tend to do) until I came across the Gypsy Lady Hats Etsy shop.

Obsession renewed!

Oh, and in case you're not into the miniature thing, all their small hats are replicas of full sized hats.

They're a little pricier than the items I normally show on Etsy Wednesday, ranging from $50-$145, but each hat is created with the finest materials. So you know you're not only getting something unique (or custom if you desire), but also of the highest quality.

Come on, you know you want to take a peek!