Heart Rock

I may not be the warmest fuzziest person around but...

I found this heart shaped rock in the middle of the road.  It was a sign.  So I drew on it with a white Sharpie.

More Sharpie Goodness

Here are a couple of pics of my latest foray into jazzing up boring bags with my good ol' Sharpie 

the meta messenger bag

  So you may remember my first post on jazzing up boring purses http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2013/07/say-no-to-boring-purses-with-your.html.  This was waaaayyy back a year ago when i was a blogging newbie.  And a year later here I am, I can't stop blogging or doodling on stuff for reasons I can't decipher.

yawn

Anyhow, this started out as a fairly cool but still lacking pizzazz purple messenger bag that I bought with a gift certificate I received for REI for my birthday.  Which is to say it cost EIGHTY NINE DOLLARS. Totally reasonable for a very well made bag but somewhat intimidating as far as randomly taking a marker to it.  But "no guts, no glory" so I "zenned" it out and I'm super pleased with the results.  I am really loving the silver Sharpie.  It works fantastically on dark backgrounds.  I also added a bit of detail over the silver with a black Sharpie in case you were wondering.

                     Dance Ready
  Awhile back I was in need of a hip pack. But I could only find ugly,boring and/or expensive ones.  Fortunately I was able to find this awesome hot pink purse at Target. Most importantly, it has an adjustable strap so you can wear it as a purse or hip pack. 

 Hip packs are fantastic for impromptu dance

Before

situations i.e. street fairs, or when a great song comes on at the grocery store. Basically anytime that your purse swinging hither and yon could really cramp your style.  

After!

  

Mexico trip!

 Hope you enjoyed these pics from my trip to Mexico. I would like to express my thanks to the anonymous artists who created the beach art and jungle graffiti.  I would also like to thank my friend Karen for moving from a gorgeous little beach town and having six cats that needed to be moved from Mexico to the US thereby requiring the services of Renee and I to help move them. Thank you to Alaska Airlines for having an "only two cats per human" rule.  They practically forced me to take a beach vacation.  Thanks to the bartender at Bar Camaron (conveniently located near the big rope swing) who made us the "mug-o-ritas".  Also thanks to Jo Roxie, the Aussie lady who took the picture of Renee and I at yet another establishment that featured the winning swings/margarita combo.  And last but not least I'd like to thank Rob and Ruby for valiantly holding it down in Portland while mommy went off to "Camp Margarita".  Love you guys!

Easy Pom-pom Garland Made Out of Up-cycled Yarn

Here's a great family friendly craft project that would also be a really good holiday gift idea.

  I love yarn but I don't know how to knit.  Yeah yeah, I know I could totally learn how to do it but ain't nobody got time for that.  So meanwhile I'm relegated to making pom-poms.  When I first attempted to make pom-poms I used the "card board disc" method.  Yikes!  My pom-poms looked like crap.  So I decided to shell out a few bucks for some pom-pom makers I found online by a company named Clover.

 Not only do they work but they're fun and gadget-y in a way that's appealing to kids.  Which was awesome because I initially came up with this idea for a holiday craft fundraiser at my daughters school a couple of years ago.  The kids seemed to really like it and cranked out those pom-pom balls like nobody's business. Although the younger kids (5-6 year olds) needed a bit of assistance.
  I was able to get a ton of yarn cheap at my local second hand art/craft/whatever store called Scrap.(http://scrappdx.org)  It's this awesome place where businesses, artists, and crafters can donate unused and leftover materials.  Keep it movin' people!  Also, in another one of my magical manifestation stories, when I had the original idea for this project but I was in a little bit of doubt about it, I came by a huge bag of colorful yarns.  Literally.  I was riding my bike and someone had put a large bag (about 20 or so skeins) of various colored yarn out on their curb. Which in Portland is the universal signal for "please take this off my hands, I have no use for it anymore". Anyhow, I think unwanted yarn is fairly easy to come by.

The base for your garland

  The other thing you will need is something to attach your pom-poms to.  Fortunately they now make these pre-knitted skeins of yarn.  If you can't find these, perhaps you can finger knit this part.  My 10 year old learned how to do this at school so there's a good chance you know a kid who has this skill.
  Making pom-poms is one of those rare wonderful, trance-inducing, meditative activities that is also enjoyable by the whole family.  At one point I had Rob, Ruby, and my dad all diligently focused on making them for the school fundraiser.  This is also a great activity to do while listening to audio-books.  (And avoiding "screen time")  Our absolute family favorite (we've gone through the series twice) is the Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett.  There are three books all together: We Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and The Wintersmith. http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/index.php/us/books/the-wee-free-men  
 They were available at our local library.  You will not be disappointed.

Pom-poms with their tails, all ready to
tie on to your garland

  Okay, so now that you have made a bunch of pom-poms with "tails" and haircuts to make them nice and round, all you have left to do is tie them to the pre-knit part.
  Cut the length of the pre-knit yarn the length you want your garland to be.  Lay-out the pom-poms in a manner that is pleasing to you.  IMPORTANT: if you have different sizes, make sure to balance the sizes.  For instance, the bigger balls should go towards the center to avoid having a lopsided garland, as they are heavier.
  Helpful tip: use a closed safety pin much like you would use a needle threader to thread the "tail" through the pre-knit yarn strand. 

  It's a great Christmas decoration but I think it can work all year long.

Cat bow ties. Yep it's a thing.

Your cat most likely needs a bow tie
  I'm so in love with this idea!     I may be in in love with this idea but my cats are avowed nudists who eschew even the simplest of collars. I'm afraid bow ties for Mr. Tomkinz and Katerina might result in pee-soaked laundry and other undesirable acts of resistance.  Still, someone's cats could rock this look. I saw these at Last Thursday. (More on this later). Check 'em out at:http://businesscatual.com. Oh, and they're only 8 bucks AND made out of recycled materials. 

  They have really great postcards too.  And probably the largest selection of cat bow ties you'll find anywhere.

  Okay, so Last Thursday, how can I possibly explain you?  It's basically a monthly "arts"  (let's just use that term loosely) unjuried, free-for-all, street fair that happens just a block or so from my house in beautiful Portland, Oregon.  With around ten thousand of your closest friends wearing anything from t-shirts and shorts, to a jellyfish costume, to paint.  Um, just paint. It's very "organic" by which I mean to say it's VERY lightly organized. It can be an unbelievable cacophony of sound and smell.  And if you're not in the right frame of mind it can feel like unmitigated pathos and make you seriously question...well, everything.  But at some point in the evening, I promise you will see or experience some crazy-ass, imaginative, amazing thing or collision of things that will bring you BACK. Ready to mainline life again.  Thank you very much random freaky people.

  Besides,  there's usually organic cotton candy.

Organic cotton candy because I care!

Say "no" to boring purses with your sharpie and mad doodling skills

  So my beloved old canvas purse was dying and I needed a replacement and I was lucky enough to find this fab red bag.  A fine enough bag, but ultimately lacking in pizzaz. Something had to be done.
  Not to brag but I'm somewhat of a master doodler.  When I was still in school and almost everyone else was dutifully taking notes, I was busy honing my craft.  Maybe you were a diligent doodler as well?  Well here's a chance to show off.
  If you're feeling a little rusty or in need of inspiration, do check out my doodle board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/zendances/doodle/.

  

Up-cycling 0ld 70's Art

What to do with those old 70's style brown metal sculptures one finds at a thrift shop, garage sale, or perhaps on their parent's wall.

  So I got the idea for this after "enhancing" some semi-tacky butterfly shaped metal sculptures I literally found lying on the side of the road.  Which was really a cool story in itself as it came at a time in my life when I was going through a major transformation and I needed a little confirmation that I, myself was succeeding in the process of upgrading some of my internal semi-tackiness into something more cohesive and beautiful.  Anyhow, I mentioned that I wanted to do more of this "enhancing" to my friend and ace thrifter, Rachelle, and she immediately found this spectacular ship. (thanks Rachelle!)  Rumor has it that this beauty came out of an old bar in Astoria on the Oregon coast.  Judging by the nicotine stench I find this story to have some plausibility. 

   Step 1) hose down your sculpture.

   Step 2) just start splashing paint around and decoupaging the heck out of whatever metal sculpture thingy you've managed to get your hands on.

             Some More Random Tips

   I found it helpful to lay down a light base color on the entire thing. But I kept it fairly painterly. I like that some of the metal showed through. 

   Fan brushes and a spray bottle.  Fun to play with and great for the textures and drips I love so much.

So much fun!

   I used scrap booking paper, newspaper, and old wrapping paper for the decoupage part.  In retrospect, maps would have been cool too.  Mod-podge is my adhesive of choice.

   I also used some stencils and just regular old painting in case you were wondering.   The sky is the limit.  As I was working on this, I really wanted to let it unfold in the present moment, in the lightest and most joyful way I could muster.  No mulling or planning allowed!  Just being.  It felt really good and it still feels really good to me when I look at it. Tall ships have made appearances in my work in the past.  I think they appeal to me as symbol of the soul with each sail unfurled representing a another lifetime.  Each lifetime providing experiences that propel your "ship" across the multiverse.  Each experience (no matter how "good" or "bad") adding more interest, beauty, and power to your voyage.  Um, at least that's where I went with it.

   

D.I.Y. Upcycled Patchwork Scarf

D.I.Y. Upcycled Patchwork Scarf
So easy!

 Do you have a stash of old scarves that you don't wear anymore because they just aren't the right size for that insouciant, devil-may-care, fling-around-your-neck-in-a-daring-jumble,sort of way?   Well here's your solution!  

 I obviously used three scarves but I think it depends on  the dimensions of the scarves you start with and what you like.  Then find some complementary trims.  Pom-pom ball trim must be all the rage as I was blown away by the range of colors and sizes at my local fabric store.  Fringe, beaded trims, and sequins should be considered as well.

 OK, confession time, The two smaller scarves already had trim.  Which was a great time saver.  Which was fantastic because I had to hand sew the whole damn thing. Actually I find hand sewing quite meditative and relaxing.  Also I don't have a sewing machine.  So there's that.  I'm sure if you had a machine you could kick this out in no time.

 Happy sewing!