This is my sixth humble hand drawn fortune cookie wisdom calendar! I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? The calendar is still humble and still hand drawn but there will be a little upgrade this year. It will now be professionally printed! I like the idea of my little calendar taking this baby step and growing up a bit.
A few of the hand drawn originals, ready to be scanned.
The calendar can be pre-ordered and if you sign up for an MBS newsletter you can get a coupon code for 10% off, but hurry, it's only good through Oct. 21st.
I can't wait to get the calendar back from the printer!
We had a frost warning so I cut all the flowers that were still blooming in our little backyard garden. Now we've had a few days of Indian summer and the snapdragons and morning glories are back, at least for a day or two.
Fun with candy corn. Hope you all have a happy halloween!
so i wanted to make this beautiful hanging chandelier that i saw on pinterest. it calls for a hula hoop and icicle lights as the 2 main ingredients.
i had an 8" embroidery hoop and a brand new regular strand of christmas lights.
this is what happens when you use what i had.
i also used the same strings that i tied to the dining room light, to hang the fortune cookie wisdom calendar from for fun, below.
the calendar pages are light and float in the breeze.
the christmas lights are heavy and sink to the table when you don't make the knots tight enough.
you might ask yourself, why bother to start a project if you don't have the right ingredients. all i can say is i'm an impatient sort of gal.
this is what it looks like if you actually put some effort into it.
here's a behind the scenes shot while photographing the calendar. we're in the process of painting, please be kind! it will eventually be all a creamy white that will brighten this dark room. and i just had to show you my auction find. this amazing unfinished, but signed painting. i just love it. i've bought some beautiful canvases at auction and as an artist i find it kind of sad because they go so cheaply. but then again, i get to have some awesome pieces.... hmm....
i've been quiet here for awhile but there's been lots happening. much thinking and testing out this empty nest thing that seems to be going on without my consent and despite the dragging of my heels. i can remember laughing and rolling out cookie dough with my daughter when she was 3 years old. now she's just moved out and gone to the big city and even though it was time for her to go i still miss her like crazy. middle son is away at college and youngest son is in the process of applying to colleges. i find myself thinking, at odd moments, - this time next year you'll be preparing for thanksgiving on your own lisa. or - you're going to be doing a lot less laundry next year. don't get me wrong, i'm thrilled for them. after all isn't that the job of a mother, a parent? to raise your kids the best you can so they can go out and be awesome people and live happy lives?
i know this. i do.
maybe i'm just having trouble figuring out what i'm gonna do with myself. like, um, maybe that means i have to get a life. hmmm...
i just found out that my calendar has been featured at mercantile muse. pam holds a link party every couple of weeks and i've been lucky to have been featured there once before. on her blog she shares moments in her life with great humor and sensitivity. she has also built a strong community by sharing what she knows, everything from recipes to business tips including her awesome link party.
and i just feel the need to say out loud that i haven't started my christmas shopping yet. not one gift. anybody else in the same boat as me?
i hope not.
here's a tiny peek at the second annual fortune cookie wisdom calendar.
this is my current favorite fortune. may it be true for all of us.
and in the spirit of getting serious here's a great post from d'lites by dorene on how to write a newsletter and why you should. great stuff.
and you might want to wear a hard hat around here because this blog is under construction and there will be dust and debris. expect to see some paint and wall paper samples as i try out new things all with an aim towards a more organized blog.
it's time to start on the second annual humble hand drawn fortune cookie wisdom calendar! kind of a mouthful, yes? i like the sort of pretentious unpretentiousness of the name that describes the style of the calendar so well. i made one last year (the first annual) and it was so much fun i decided to make it an annual thing.
here's a few months from last years calendar
realistically i should have started this a month ago but i'm going to work my butt off to get it done quickly. here's my inspiration.
so, when you open your fortune cookie, do you eat it or is it all about the fortune inside? is it bad luck not to eat it? and no, my chinese food take out place doesn't know my order by heart. not yet anyway.
oh the joys of pixlr. guys, i'm sure you all know about this awesome photo editing site, but i've just found it again and am actually teaching myself how to use it! don't laugh, it's hard for a woman who used to do graphic design with a rapidograph, a waxer, an x-acto blade and a compugraphic typesetter. we were known as paste up artists, but me and my oldest friend called ourselves paste heads way back in the mid 80s. it's actually very frustrating having an idea and knowing how to do it with my hands but not on a computer. anyway, i'm so happy to have figured out how to do these collage thingies. which color do you like for the lines - the black or lime green? i need help!
what's in the collage thingies is something i've been wanting to try since doing the plaster work during our bathroom renovation. i loved the texture of the walls after patching them up and thought it would be awesome on a canvas. i started with a painted black canvas and spread a pre-mixed spackling compound all over it and then before it dried, wrote in it with an old ice pick. it pulled up some of the plaster stuff and i did press down some of the really bumpy stuff but i think it's kind of interesting. i'm letting it dry and we'll see how well it holds up and sticks to the canvas.
here's a little bit of the soundtrack to my day. love to hear what yours was.
