time flies....

yes, yes...it's been a while once again.  i won't dwell on my lack of writing productivity...it's the same story- real work/Sock Land is crazy busy, i've been busy and tired...yada yada yada.
but, life is good!  it's 4th of July weekend (cannot believe the year is halfway done), and i'm sitting in the sweltering Oklahoma heat on my newly revamped patio, and thinking of all the things i'd like to do this weekend.  relax, read, spend time with the fam, and SEW.  i'm applying for an end-of-summer arts market, so i need some new product, and lots of it!  i'll share what i get on with at the end of the long weekend!   stay tuned.  (yes, i've said this before and not come through with posting anything...this time is different, i swear!)

and, as previously promised, here are some pics from my art journal...which has been my only creative outlet the last few months. 
(apologies- my Blackberry doesn't take the highest quality photos...but i can't seem to find my camera, so this must do for now.)

"leave no black plume as a token of the slime thy soul has spoken. leave my loneliness unbroken, quit as those who quit before.  take the talon from my heart and see that i can care no more..."  -Edgar Allen Poe

 

let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  -Marcel Proust



"hope is the thing with feathers..."  -Emily Dickinson



a little obsessed with the whole gypsy thing right now.  Stevie Nicks, Florence Welch, and other random gypsy-esque girls.  P.S. anyone watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on TLC?  crazy and amazing!

and finally, a lovely handmade bookmark by my sweet, talented mama.  it saves my place in my art journal...surrounded by loving thoughts.

it's not the death of a blog...

i'm just uninspired!  and in pain.  i broke my foot a month ago, which led to a surgery where i had to have a screw put in a joint/bone (ouch).  in all honesty, you'd think that with all the endless hours of sitting on my couch with my foot elevated, i'd have had the time to do some blogging.  but i definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind.  i admit, i've abandoned my dear blog.  but i think of it often, if that counts....?
i've also abandoned any further work on Gypsy Bird...a borken foot is not conducive to a sewing extravaganza.  blurgh...
i have watched hours and hours of 30 Rock episodes on netflix.com.  that show is so great.  gotta love the endless negativism of Liz Lemon.  and i admit, i've been reading lots of vampire books.  gotta keep up with that obsession!  and i've started a new thing with art-journaling.  it's interesting, and a great way to get creative while sitting on your kiester.  i'll post pics of some of my pages if i get brave enough to share...it's a bit like a diary. 

but, i'm getting back on track here.  well, i'm trying....we'll see what happens next!  in the meantime, would you like to see some fairly disgusting pics of my broken foot?  scroll down if so...if not- well, i apologize.  :)  this is all that's been going on with my life!  (p.s.- please pardon my hobbit feet...this injury happened pre-spring pedicure.) 

day of injury...shall i explain HOW this happened?  Sock Land hosted a 1 minute free throw competition in celebration of March Madness.  in 1 minute, i was hit in the face with a basketball, and then in flustered humiliation, i tripped, rolled my foot and broke the joint of my 5th metatarsal.  but i got up and attempted a few more shots!  and missed.  i am not an athlete.





evening of day 1.  swelling is spreading out and bruising. 

day 2.  further swelling, bruising and general disgustingness.



day after the surgery.  in a very uncomfortable splint.  note: see my laptop on the left?  that's Jack D's arm in a shot from 30 Rock.  :)  told you i'd been watching!



a week after surgery.  splint removed - stitches about to get taken out.  so sick!

looks like some kind of freak show huh?  really, i know these are so gross...but it's a bit fascinating i think?  and here's an update...i finally gave myself a pedicure, thank God!  i look almost human again.

well, sadly this is all i have for now.  i'll have something artistic or maybe i'll attempt funny next time.  til then!

p.s. i must say GO THUNDER!  i'm typing this while watching the final moments of game 5...OKC Thunder kicks the Nuggets!  great game...great team! 

to friends....

just a quick post to get back in the swing of things.  here's an uplifting quote i came across last night:

"let us be grateful to people who make us happy;  they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-Marcel Proust

how lovely....

ahhhh.....

today feels...sort of, perfect.  i feel (dare i say it) happy!  inspired.  kind of serene.  the weather has just been amazing this week.  and although during the week i sit in a cube inside a building with no windows for 9 hours a day, it's still been comforting to know the sun is shining and the weather is nice.  i woke up very late this Sunday morning to a sort of cloudy day, but it's still bright and warm.  the house is quiet, save for the whirring of ceiling fans and purring of kitties.  oh how i wish this was my every day life! 

my two fabulous artist buddies and i spent yesterday afternoon dyeing.  oh, dyeing fabric that is.  it was so great to finally get out all of my dyes and chemicals and silk that i haven't touched since Grad school.  Mom and i have talked about dyeing about one hundred times, but it just hasn't happened.  so finally the motivation struck, and the gals and i hung out in my back yard in crazy aprons/lab coats & rubber gloves, and made a mess, experimented with colors, and made some really beautiful fabric!  doesn't get better.

and now i sit and think...what am i going to do with the dyed fabric?  linings for bags?  not sure if china silk will hold up for long-term use.  but with the right amount and weight of interfacing it might be okay.  i'm also thinking of using the little "test" pieces for appliques on exteriors of bags.  or just making some fun mini-fiber art pieces.  doing some embroidery/applique/beading....
who knows.  i'll post pics when inspiration strikes!

revamp....

new design for the blog!  needed a bit of renovation i think.....

time flies....

how does more than a month go by so quickly?  real life (and laziness) has certainly gotten in the way of my creative and blogging adventures.  but that's how it goes.  must press on and make more of an effort.  make any effort at all really! 

so i sit here on a sunny Sunday morning, sabotaging my diet by eating loads of Valentines chocolates and thinking of all the things i want to do.  (let me first clarify that i do not have a "valentine" for myself...my sweet sister-in-law and bro gave me yummy Ghiradelli chocolates.  mmm, caramel filled milk chocolate.  i'm sure i'll have a delightful  batch of chocolate-induced acne after this little slip...eh, it's worth it!)  it's an improvement that i'm thinking of  things i want to do, rather than need to do, i think.  so it's a new start.  once again.  we'll see how long the inspiration lasts!  maybe it's the sunshine?  after blizzards, below freezing temps, and lots of clouds the past 2 weeks, it's supposed to be sunny and in the 60's this week (yep, that's Oklahoma!).  so hopefully the jump into spring will provide some lasting motivation!

and now, i would like to confess...i have a sickness:  a desperate compulsion to purchase every book i think would be interesting to read.  i recently decided to move the 3-foot stack of books that are just waiting to be read, from towering next to my bed into my already stuffed bookshelves.  in hindsight, i  realize this might be a problem, because now i forget i have all these books to read, and continue to buy more.  damn you, amazon.com! (no no, i didn't mean it!  i love you amazon!)  so i made a list today:  29 novels, and 19 how-to/self-help/diet/religion/business/inspiration books on my to-read list.  daunting.  time to give the tv a break and get to reading!

and sewing.  my studio beckons.  my poor Bernina is literally collecting dust.  shameful!  so once again, it's re-activation time.  create, read, move...live. 

off to do one of those things!

real life....

taking care of real life stuff so far this week...bills, bills, bills...cleaning, organizing, un-Christmas-decorating, budgeting, blah.  and watching a little too much tv maybe.  The Bachelor is bananas...really, a girl with fangs?  we all know i am a lady with an appreciation for vampire stories and nonsense...but FANGS?  wow. 

anyway, just wanted to hit you up with another quote i came across tonight in one of my crazy sketchbooks....enjoy!

"sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn that anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you."

-David Whyte

thanks for tuning in!  this weekend i'll be doing more sewing, and updating the blog, the site, and Etsy!

check back!