The Vagaries of Home Fashion and Good Sense.

I cannot tell a lie. I am a catalog lover. If Pottery Barn is really just Porn for the materialist, than my inner spoiled brat is a total perv. Yesterday brought their latest missive, sporting about twelve new bedding patterns and thus awakening all sorts of wanton covetousness....but it also gave me pause.

What, in the name of all that is holy, is going on HERE?



I just don't get it. 

I mean, I may be a catalog lover, but I am also a book lover. And for the life of me I can not fathom why anyone would shelve their books in the least convenient position possible.

Unless, of course, Pottery Barn is aiming their wares at the customer whose tastes extends beyond just catalogs to the real hardcore stuff that cannot show it's titles in polite society.

Yep. Those HAVE to be Auction catalogs. It's the only possible explanation.

Inspired by Monday: Tia's Pub Dare

 

This is my first entry in the official "Tia's Free Reign Pub Dare" challenge, in which T-t-t-TIA has dared us to create an entire page without benefit of glue, tape, Hermafix, or other conventional adhesive. On the upside, this dare reminded me to make use of my various slot punches and novelty eyelets. On the downside, I was so distracted by the adhesive issue, that I neglected such niceties as balance, flow, and journaling. I'll let the odd columnar structure stand, but I think I may add a little hidden journaling behind the photo. How else would we know that my daughters and their cousin are in the very same tub that I shared with his father some thirty years ago? And, of course, we must document the fact that Thomas now asks for his cousins whenever it's bathtime at Grandma's......

Blog Spammers

Yes, they, too are consigned to the Big Flamey with my friends from Media Tickets and the desperate Nigerian Widows.

Hopefully the comments on my last post won't repeat themselves....I apologize to anyone who got stuck trying to wade through a sudden list of links to sites about the World Dairy Institute, Penile Enlargement, or Bridesmaids' Gifts.

UPDATE: I've enabled the "Word Verification" for Comments. Comments are still open to anyone, but you'll have to copy a short code into a box in order for your comment to appear here on the blog. This will block out the automated spam commenters.....

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming....

Inspiration -- What's in YOUR wallet?

...Or, if you prefer, CD changer! I love my CD changer -- that component (yes, I still use stereo components, however antiquated that may seem. How else would I be able to doggedly maintain my turntable and sizable vinyl collection?) has always been my favorite. Pick 5 CDs, shuffle, and play! Bigger jukebox systems (or, dare I say it, an iPod) just have too much variety for a good shuffle....but the 5 CD shuffle always yields a good mix.....I put in a new batch yesterday for housecleaning and fun ensued:

*1Pearl Jam, Ten
*2Oingo Boingo, Best o'Boingo
*3Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews Disc 2
*4Killers, Hot Fuss
*5U2, Achtung Baby

My vacuum and I danced the afternoon away. A suitable replacement for the Dinner Tunes that were in there previously, featuring Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Norah Jones, Nick Drake and the Wiggles. Don't ask.

What's in YOUR Changer?

Baby Toes

OK, How nibbleable are these? Is nibbleable a word? It is now! 

Sleeping Angel

While we were at the lake, both of my older daughers got a wee bug that made them spike a fever and sleep, sleep, SLEEP. Fortunately, the baby didn't get it....I share this photo because I know I've been sharing so many baby photos lately and I just wanted to brag about my middle baby. Even in this underexposed and slightly blurry shot, you can see how sweet and beautiful she is. Am I lucky or what? 

Inspired by Monday, Observed: I'm It!

I was tagged recently by the ultra-fabulous Kristin Holly, who challenged her victims to share 5 of our personality quirks with the blog-reading universe....She chose well, seeing as I am just a bundle of idiosyncrasies........

1. I don't like sweet drinks. Coffee, hot or cold tea, even soda -- no sweetener, please.....(and artificial is even nastier than real sugar. Yech.)

2. I am insanely ticklish. You know how they say that it's all mental and nobody can tickle herself? It's not true. I can.

3. I love dairy. If you can put cheese on it, spread it with butter, or slather it with whipped cream, I am so eating it. But, of course, I don't drink milk. THAT would be gross.

4. I have a little bump of cartilage next to my left ear. People are constantly asking me what it is. I like to tell them that it is a little extra bit of brain, and if I touch it, my right toes go numb. Suckers.

5. My arms and legs natually hyper-extend. (meaning that when I "straighten" them all the way, they are slightly bent backwards.) When I did musicals in high school, the choreographer always asked me to bend them slightly because I was going to creep out the audience. She also asked me to always stand in the back, but that's another story for another time.

Hmmmmm....let's see, who to tag...OK,

Lisa the Gluestick Girl
Molly the Red
T-t-t-TIA!

Have some fun!

The Evidence

Here is where I've been and what I've been up to......I'm in the process of catching up with emails, etc......Blogging to resume shortly! 

One Month

One month old today, and sweeter than ever.... 


One month ago today, a wee lady joined our family. In some ways, time has flown and she seems to have grown before my eyes, and in others, it feels like she has always been a part of my heart.

Inspired by Monday -- Empty.

Empty 


I haven't done Illustration Friday for a while.....so I dipped back in today....this week's theme is "Empty."

I am not such a fabulous freehand artiste....it's supposed to be a glass, half empty, or half full. I used a Rolling Stones quote, despite my philosophical feelings about that group of geriatric drug abusing corporate "rockers." Unfortunately, my quick review of the Violent Femmes catalog yielded no equivalents....

Inspiration Friday -- More on Art Journaling....

jh 

OK, another day this week for the Art Journal style. As Miss Michelle Scrapability points out here, Art Journals are an art FORM, not necessarily an art STYLE. So, what the heck do I mean by the Art Journal STYLE? I consider certain stylistic elements that are popular with Art Journalers to be the hallmarks of the Art Journal style of scrapbooking....These elements include:

Bright Colors and general experimentation with color
Use of materials from the world of Fine Arts (Gesso, artist-quality paint, etc.)
Handwritten journaling and embellishment, even artistic "doodles"
Multimedia materials used in unconventional ways
"Artsy" photography

As vintage "collage" style grew from the influence of Altered Book artists, I believe that we are seeing a new style blossoming from the influence of these Art Journalers. Want to see more? As I said, Shimelle is the GODDESS (yes, Shimelle, you can quote me, but I must warn you that husbands and children are shameful in their lack of respect for GODDESS status. Believe me, I've tried to teach them otherwise...) Check out her Art Journaling website here at Written Down. There is a lot to see there!

Clean Baby!

This was taken tonight, in that blissful small window of time that occurred between bath and the nightly Massive Spit Up.  

Dispatch from the Hall of Justice, Mommy Style.

Today, I simultaneously

1) Nursed 3 week old daughter
2) Pushed shopping cart down aisle at Target with remaining hand
3) Evaluated construction, measurements, and general value of shelving units
4) Admonished 3 year old daughter not to climb on beanbag display
5) Further admonished 7 year old daughter not to admonish 3 year old as that is Mommy's job.

So, when will they issue my cape?


Coming soon: More on the style discussion....What is the "Art Journal" style, anyway, and what do other obsessive scrappers think?

Inspired by....Art Journals

Nobody who knows me in real life would believe that I can be a wee bit anal about things. Obviously, my fussiness does not extend to the piles of STUFF that surround me at my desk, nor to the large-fanged dust bunnies that lurk in every corner of my house. And as for the "Inspired by Monday" feature's appearance on Tuesday....well, let's not go there.

But, let's talk journaling. It may be the writer in me, but I just can't let go....most of my layouts feature computer journaling with a nice, narrative form, complete sentences, you know the drill. I can't seem to locate my Inner Joyce (Yes she said the font is lovely yes she said yes) or even my Inner Hemingway. (Sentences. Very. Short. Pass. Me. A. Drink.)

But the hot trend in Scrapbookin' style is coming from the freewheeling Art Journal ladies like Tia Bennett
or Elsie Flannigan, and all the other {cool} girls are indulging in classes from Art Journal Goddess Shimelle Laine......And my layouts are still bordering on De Stijl. What is a boring old graphic nerd to do?

Well....this is my experiement, done partly in response to the Pub "Scraplift Elsie" challenge. Instead of an out-and-out lift from one of Elsie's layouts, I chose to begin with baby steps and just experimented with handwritten, stream of consciousness journaling.....Maybe next time I'll add in funky doodles and bright ribbon and still stay true to my own style. Anyway, thank you to all these talented and less uptight Art Journal queens for the inspiration. This layout features a photo of my brother (who, I assure you, is a nice-looking and fully functional adult, despite what his toddler appearance may suggest...) and I in 1974. Stylin' kids were we! Journaling is a list of some of our favorite things at the time, from Golden-Age Sesame Street to Richard Scarry books to Free to Be...You and Me! Far Out.