{invited}

i didn't do a whole lot today, unless you count doing a favor for my mom something. she's having a party {that i am not invited to}, and she got some really cute invitations from paper source. she realized on monday, though, that she didn't have enough {shoulda been my first hint} and that she wanted to get some more...

i, of course, went with her to paper source {since i had a massive gift card and would take any excuse to go there} and the following went down there:

me: wow, those invites are really cute!

mom: yeah i know, right? hey question.

me {unsupsectingly perusing paper}: mmhmm?

mom {sweetly}: so i was wondering. would you like to use some of your writing to, oh i dunno, make them look pretty for me?

me {enthralled by patterns}: wow look at this one!!

mom: well?

me {still not comprehending}: um, yes?

**my mother does not really talk like this. it's pretty much her words in katespeak.**

i am a bit slow on the uptake. i should have asked her how many, but i didn't. so when she brings me a list after i whip up the prototype my jaw kinda dropped.

sixteen?

now that doesn't sound like a lot, but i'm kind of ocd. when i make something, i want every detail to be perfect. if there is a mistake, i scrap it. my garbage can is always the most full in our house. and since these invites were going to fall into the hands of people i respect, i knew that this would take a while.

and it did.

after scrapping four invites and four envelopes {about 30 + minutes of work} i finally got all sixteen done {in about 3 hours}. my hand hurts like crazy.

but it was fun. i love drawing with all of my heart, and my mom promised that in return we would redo my bathroom this week, so i guess i won ;)

since i didn't really have time to do much else today {i worked at the library all this morning} i figured i may as well share the fruits of my labor.

i wasn't going to include this last one cuz one of the envelopes is washed out but i had to. my desk is cracking me up right now. please note: rubiks cube {i am in love with rubiks cubes...i've gotten down to 2.5 minutes}, jar full of the barrettes you put into two year olds' hair {they have pretty colors!! i have to wear them!! and everyone loves a good plastic bow}, madeline and pepito piggy bank {saw it at a garage sale. madeline was my childhood hero so i couldn't say no. you don't want to know what's in it}, kate sutton band-aids {i almost hate to use them they are so pretty}, cubby full of archie comics {from my younger years}, and deoderant {always good}.

does anyone else have such a desk?

teehee okay i am done now. hope wednesday is brilliant.

-kate

{what? when?!}

hold the phone.

are you serious?

september is gone already? it's really, truly october?!

why was i not informed? where did september go? and, more importantly...

why is it so stinking cold all of a sudden?

that's right. under my very nose, fall, and october, has crept into my town. and somehow, i missed it. when was the first day of fall, anyway?

fall is my favorite season. i love the colors of the trees (as fast as they seem to shed around here), wearing long sleeves, the colors and styles of fall fashions, and the smell of fall. it has a smell, you know. like burnt leaves and pumpkin and apples and molasses. it's truly incredible.

so i thought i'd share a few things, for all of you people who love fall as much as i do, i'm currently loving to help usher in the most beautiful season.

like i said earlier, it's cooling off fast here in illinois. it literally jumped from 74 down to 60 in one day. with a wind chill. this is kind of a remarkable change. so when i got my anthro catalogue yesterday and saw the most beautiful pieces of clothing i can't afford on my meager budget set against these beautiful fall backdrops, i went gaga (what is it about expensive clothing that makes it so appealing?). especially for this hat and this scarf (scarfs=love. seriously. i can't buy them fast enough.).

and...since my dad gives me such a hard time for wearing winter wear in the house (it's not my fault my room is the coldest of them all! my bed covers the heating vent!), these little babies from a fabulous etsy shop would do any person especially sensitive to cold. or if you're like me (okay, i'll admit) and just really love to be hot all the time (and wear winter things), buy yourself a pair. seriously. they're merino wool. sigh.

then you can settle down by your window and watch the leaves change color with this beautiful mug from (my favorite!) starbucks, sipping this tea (my new obsession). i mean honestly. it's perfection.

then, when you've gotten down to the bottom of the mug and still feel like you haven't gotten enough fall fix, feast your eyes on the work of this artist. especially this photograph. and this one. oh, and this one. it's so inspiring, i just don't know what to do with myself.

maybe, with the beautiful things mentioned above, missing september won't be all that bad. october could shape out rather beautifully, if you ask me.

{finally! creativity!}

wow. actual creativity to post. on a weeknight! when i had a class! people, this is a breathrough. i'm as stunned as you are.

but today i had ten minutes of homework which never happens, like, ever. and when i have time on my hands, i start to think. and when i start to think, i need to write things down. so i decided to make something. now, this isn't the first thing i've made in, what is it now, a month? no, i've made some little things i never got around to take pictures of, and *gasp* finally got dain's book done (by the way, she has been making some awesome stuff lately, so go and check her out if you haven't done so before!).

anyhoo!

i was thinking today about how busy i've been, and how it's been all my fault for not remebering what that word means where you say you won't do something. i think it's two letters...possibly starts with an n? can someone help me out?

oh yeah.

no.

so basically i'm doing a billion things. and i was thinking about how i have no room to complain because it's all my fault, and truly, i should be slowing down. because i'm deathly afraid my junior year is going to fly past me and i'll look back and realize i missed it. that i didn't enjoy anything, just spent my time worrying about what i had to do next.

so i decided to break out what i have "fondly" called my "gosh-darn-frustrating-but-so-pretty" stamps to kill a couple of hours and really slow down. and, yeah. hoo boy, did those stamps take a while. but it was a good exercise because i am what you would call a *ahem* impatient person. oh yes. very impatient.

i just love how it turned out so simple, but pretty. i really like it.

i suppose you want to see it, so here you go ;) (the rest of the pictures are on my flickr)



um, yeah, there we go.

and if you're wondering what posessed me to put the urban outfitters card upside down, don't ask. i thought it would be funny to turn it upside down. sometimes my sense of humor is so lame i can't even believe myself. but i like me that way :)

and if that wasn't enough, here are some highlights from my week (boy i am over achieving today!!):

1) i got hired at the library! (this is a good thing) this means that i'll be working 15 hours a week (which, granted, is a lot) but making so much more money to put away for college. and spend on art supplies *insert evil laugh here*
2)picked out one of my christmas presents at urban outfitters. this baby. i am so excited!! this is like, the first time ever that i am actually excited for winter. go figure! (see, when you live in the midwest and get about 30 feet of snow accumlutating throughout the winter, and below zero days, it gets old really. really. fast. especially when winter lasts throught the spring.) but i can't wait to start using that lovely!! *sigh*
3) read three books over 300 pages in three days. truly, it was spectacular. good gosh, i love books. (my most excellent year, suite scarlett, airhead {and yes, pretty much all chick lit. i cried in my most excellent year. seriously, guys, you've got to love mary poppins and the cutest deaf kid ever. sigh.})
4) made a fool out of myself on many occasions, but what else is new?

okay, i've fully over exerted myself today. i hope your fridays are fabulous! i'll be back later this weekend with a september calendar and where i've been inspired lately :)

ciao!

{guerilla art. and my town. good combination.}

hmm. seems like i have a little problem with this deadline thing. i think it's because i really don't like to be predictable. so basically, i think i'm going to stop making deadlilnes. i do believe that you are going to have to be surprised.

another plan deviation.

i was going to share a bunch of stuff today about my trip, how i built a bookshelf (shocking, i know. the dent in my wall is screaming at me, but it actually holds books. now if only i could heal the cut on my hand...), how i finally mailed postcards and a package (again, shocking. but i got to use the self mailer with cool buttons at the post office. suddenly, mail is more fun. can i send someone else something? i had to buy extra stamps!! takers?), the september calender i'm working on, and many more exciting things about my unexciting life (such as the hostages from the bank downtown yesterday and the SWAT team...) (which actually happened. look it up on google)...

but.

my mom came home this afternoon from running errands and told me about a public art project downtown. so basically, i had to go. because i love guerilla art so much, it hurts me. and finally, finally, my town was in on the public art campaign. i started dancing.

for all of you who are scratching your head and asking "what the heck is guerilla art?", well, this is something you need, need, to know. this is technically guerilla art, but i see it in a broader sense, more of like art that gets everyone involved, not just the artist. here is where it all began for me. go there. then go here. then, go here, here {some of these are rauncy, i know, but i love the concept!}, here, and here. and here. hopefully i will start similar projects someday. i've been working on my own guerilla art projects on my own.

anyhoo! (funny how i get so sidetracked. wow.) my town!!

this guy that goes to our church is a graphic designer, and all because of a shoelace, he was inspired to do this fantastically cool art project all about his love for the city. you can find out more about it here. while you're there, select the three things that describe you. if for some reason tates ice cream comes up in where you should shop, i'll scoop it for you, since that's where i work (but i had an interview for a new job last week!!! will be discussed later. hopefully.).

but this mural. is. awesome.

he put all of these stickers on a huge mural, and it's pointillism, people! you can peel off all of the stickers that describe you. if you step back, it reads "what is wheaton?" i took off wild, poetic, bald, and vintage. i'm not really bald, but i thought it was funny. they're also cutting out blank spots to do something else wild with it. it's all terribly exciting.

i did not find the unique sticker. i saw it, but i didn't grab it. my sister saw it. she did not grab it. i got home, went to the website, and found out about the prize. needless to say, we were terribly disappointed. some kid has probably grabbed it by now.

sigh.

but still. feast your eyes on these pictures and then i'll tell you why i love my town so much.

11 reasons i love my town: (11 is a well rounded number, no?)

1) it's a college town. it's so fun to have all these kids running around. they hid the bench in our garage once. but that's another story. there was no raid, thankfully.
2) we're in the guiness book of world records. for having the most churches in one square mile. but, still. it's a good thing, people. really. and as a person who attends one of these churches, i can fully attest to it being a good thing.
3) our downtown is cool. kids try to bubble the fountain. and always get caught. it was fun to hang there in middle school. plus also, there are thrift stores. funness.
4) our library ROCKS. it's in the top ten for small town libraries. and it just got renovated. seriously. it rocks. (and i cave, i'm going to work there. starting in october. in the children's floor. eeeeeee!!!!!)
5) six words. lots of bigger and better hunts.
6) it's a small town. you know a lot of people. it's awesome. it's got such a great feel to it.
7) we get four seasons. snow in winter. 100 degree summer days. rain in spring. awesome crispness in fall. it's so fun. except that i don't like snow, so that can be an issue, seeing as though we get A TON of it.
8) two highschools. cross town rivalry. nuff said.
9) we have the most awesome art store downtown. i can't even explain it.


10) we are a 20 minute train ride away from chicago. a 45 minute drive. do you know how good this is for a high school girl? can we say michigan avenue on the count of three? or ice skating with friends in the winter? yeah. it's really, really great.
and finally...
11) exciting stuff happens here. like when bill clinton came to our high school last year. and when the psycho took hostages yesterday. or when we were on oprah. or when football players from the college go to the nfl (which is sort of a big deal here).

or when we get art exhibits. in the middle of town. for the world to participate in.

seriously, people. i live in the best town ever (which not a lot of people can say!). come to wheaton. it's great.

ciao!

{!!!}

i know. i am bad. i have been missing! and you (hopefully) have been missing me!!

but i will have to disappoint you for a few more days.

i have much to catch up on, much to take pictures of, and much to do.

my to do list is a mile long, and school does not help.

currently, i am trying to learn how to balance my life with creativity. it's very important to me, one of the reasons i have a blog in the first place. to kara and all the rest of you teenage blogger girls in school, i totally admire you. and i am nearly there! i feel so bad for abandoning you, all my readers. right now, it's just a matter of cleaning my room, doing my homework, and charging my camera. then it will just be you, me, and a bunch of paper, people.

can we wait till friday? i have so much to tell you!!

i hope you don't hate me too much. because i love you all.

xxx kate

{nearly there...}

good news! i'm almost over my jet lag!

too bad this couldn't have happened before i started school. ah, well. soooo. updates!

my room still isn't cleaned. only half way. after work tonight i will start creating! i can't keep you guys in suspense for too much longer now, can i? haha. oh! for all of you who gave me your address for a postcard...i have them! i wrote them in switzerland. but because i couldn't speak german, i didn't get stamps. and i was unable to send them from switzerland. i hope you don't hate me! i have them on my desk and will be mailing them to you this weekend. just, they might have an american flag stamp on them, which is kind of weird, come to think of it, but hopefully you'll be okay with that. please?

i haven't uploaded switzerland photos quite yet. but my momma has! here are a couple i really liked (sorry they don't have my signature round corners! i took them from her flickr):

this is the clock tower in town. it's clocks disappeared every other day. i can't for the life of me figure out where they went! it's quite a dilemma.

these message walls were everywhere. i just thought they were the most awesome things ever. people stapled/tacked messages to fences or walls, and tore them down when they were done. i loved them. just loved them.

this was the view from our hotel window. we hiked to that waterfall.

basically, switzerland is the most beautiful place in the whole world. it is the place of my dreams, i think. really.

truth.

haha that painted fire hydrant there? that's sven. i named him. after a viking. and yes, inside of that innocent looking sign to the hotel were dolls. evil dolls. i had nightmares about them.

so that should tide you over for a while!

coming soon: pictures. of many a thing. creative stuff. etsy finds. gifts (thanks allison!! you're such a sweetie!!). other random niceness.

ciao!

{oh my, my, my. you've got yourself one tired girl.}

hello again, my friends!! i'm back from my second european trip, finally.

and very jet lagged. very, very jet lagged.

because i got home monday night at 5p my time. realized it was midnight swiss time. crashed on my bed. woke up at one, realizing that it is 8 swiss time. couldn't fall back asleep. showered at five. then! started school at seven twenty.

that's right. apparantly, my junior year has started.

i've been asleep for most of it.

but i'm slowly leaving this fog behind me and remembered my little blog. eeps! people are waiting for a post! and i have so so so so so much to post about!

oh, my, my, my. can you tell i'm still a wee bit tired?

i am. tired enough to not have uploaded photos yet. or cleaned my room. or even made enough space to pack away all my etsy purchases and make something. because my creativity is itching. itching!!

and dain, you're first, you lucky girl! i loved your list. i'm so excited to make you your book. it's going to be fab. i'm already jealous of you ;)

i know this doesn't exactly qualify as a real post, seeing as though my brain is still muddled, but i thought i'd give you a sneeky peeky (i get kind of lame when i'm tired) of what's to come in the next week (drumroll, please)...

1) details of my fabulous trip. and all the paper i garnered. and/or stole.
2) details of my first week at school. and all my fabulous supplies i decked out in fancy, fancy handwriting.
3) details of etsy finds.
4) details of the bountiful barn.
5) details of dain's book.
6) details of a clean room (hopefully)
7) details, details, details.

and finally!

8) details of a fabulous new blog where i am lucky enough to be on the design team!! hooray! very, very, very excited. but i can't think straight enough to make anything yet. forgive me, patty! i'm working on it!

but right now, i need to sleep.

it's only 6:45.

i think i still have problems.

good night, good friends!!

{i wrote you a note}

goodbye, all! just so you know, if you do want a post card, i will actually get you one. just post your address by 10-ish so that i can check it.

and sorry for all who wanted to see my thrift finds! coming when i get back. see, this is what happens when you put off packing to the last minute.

and sit at the computer blogging when your suitcase is calling your name.

*sigh* i'm coming, i'm coming.

i'll miss you all! ciao!

{i'm feeling random.}

today is going to be quite a day, seeing as though i'm already kind of random, and it's only 9. i have a feeling i'm going to be freaking out by the end of the day. oh well! i wanted to blog last night, but it got to be midnight after i finished my calender (which you'll see in a minute), so i just decided i'd do it in the morning. so.

my night

~my tshirts finally came in! i designed them for our switzerland trip (which is in two days!!), and they came back from rumpleshirtskin yesterday! i really like how they came out. i'll explain it in a second:

okay. so the hills are alive with the sound of music (the music notes), since we're going to be in the alps. i made up the font because i couldn't find a font on my computer to copy that would match the sound of music box. and finally, those people. well, i personalized all of them so that they'd look like the people on my team. we all have a picture! :) can you guess which one is me?

~then, after the meeting (which was interrupted by a huge storm that made the national news this morning {did you see it??}), i realized that school starts two weeks from today and that i really needed to get organized. am ordering my supplies from vera bradley this morning. but last night, i made a calender for the month of august. i love it!! it turned out totally me. i took a lot of pictures (you can see them all on my flickr):

yeah. those last few are the days i'm excited for and i'm not excited for. can you guess which? :/

~so also, at the meeting last night, we formed a band called las papas (yeah, yeah, you already knew i was odd, right?). that will be fun while in europe...but we made up a song about a cow. i was kind of on a sugar high from the fabulous jewel brand brownies, so i drew it on my hand. i woke up this morning and just laughed at the sheer strangeness of it all. so i took a picture.

please don't think i'm too strage. i mean, i guess i kind of am, since i did draw it, but i like to think of it as more loveable, or something. *sigh*

okay, so according to my calender, i have a doctor's appointment in an hour. and i'm still in my pj's (which i stayed in until 2 yesterday! hooray!). plus also, we have to go and find a way to get rid of a turtle leagally today.

wish me luck.

oh! my drawing for the rak from yesterday will take place at 7p tonight. so if you haven't commented on yesterday's post, do it! yeah. okay. ciao!

{she...is creating, reading, and giving...}

so i've decided i really have to stop telling you when i'm going to post next. because that is really not working out for me. and now i feel all guilty about not updating you on my rather boring little life! :)

i kind of forgot how i had to work like 26 hours between the ice cream shop and babysitting this weekend. basically, this leaves little time for creating, let alone blogging! so while i gave myself a nearly strained wrist after getting it stuck in a tub of ice cream, and a serious migraine after playing barbies for 3 hours straight, i silently hoped that none of you would hate me too much for not posting for a while.

and then on saturday, before i had to go babysit, breaking dawn came out! finished that one in seven hours. but i'm pathetically sad because i don't get any more edward and bella vampire drama! i'm pathetic, i know. but i love reading. and i love those books!

i love reading so much that as i tried to shove my new book purchases onto my bookshelf, the back split open. this is a problem. i have to get a bigger bookshelf. and now my books are on my chair, with about twenty i loaned to friends coming back soon. and a bunch shoved into my closet.

books are dangerous. but really fabulous.

anyhoo...now things have calmed down.

but!

surprisingly, i actually managed to make something on friday between babysitting and working. and...i really really love it! wow. it's a bunch of "she" statements that i either made up or was inspired by, all about me. i didn't mean for it to become really long, but it turned out to be like 20 pages, 40 if you count the backs. so, naturally, i was not about to put a picture of every page on flickr. but they are all on my sis, which you can get to from the link on the left. i took some of my favorites to show you:

i had so much fun making this that i decided that i would host a giveaway. at the end of the post, i'm going to write all of the statements in my book. if you leave a comment with another "she" statement about yourself, or just any comment in general, within the next two or three days (giving myself a window!!) i'll do a random drawing and make the winner her own book. the winner can decide what statements she wants or add any others. i could even leave it blank, if she wanted to write them in.

i'll also be in switzerland from the seventh to the eighteenth of august, so i'll be gathering paper there. i'll use most of it in your book, so you can say you have a bit of europe in your autobiography! ;) you'll just have to wait a teensy bit to get your book in the mail.

so comment! i want to hear you guys talk about yourself, rather than just me rambling on about nothing :)

okay, here are my statements:

she always dwells in possibilites. she is the heroine of her own story. she made her own magic. she's got a little world hidden in her heart and hands. she knew there was never a dull moment. she's at the beginning... she looked to the future with bright eyes. she loved imperfections. she knew she'd do foolish things, but she wanted to do them with enthusiasm. most of the time, she was almost too happy to breathe. she could be a fancy pants, but she knew bad style happens. she had her cake and ate it, too. she spun recklessly and sometimes fell down. she always got back up. sometimes, mindless decisions were hard for her. she wanted to travel the world. she appreciated simple beauty. she often paused her pursuit of happiness to just be happy. life was the best party she's ever been to. oh, can she live! she was guilty of running with scissors. of making mountains out of molehills. of painting with her fingers. of indulging. oh, could she smile! easy things were sometimes her biggest problems.but at least she never gave them up. she loved fashion. often, there was love on her mind. she was a rather silly girl.caffeine saved her as her ideas raced late into the night. she was the queen of her castle. she was sometimes confused. she giggled. oh! she was such a silly, silly girl. she knew life went on. she stared at simple objects, reveling in the possibilities. she stopped to smell the roses. and the daisies. and the lillies. sometimes, she felt like there was a storm in her head. she tried her best to live without being afraid. she was right to dream such dreams. she frolicked, twirled, and dilly-dallied. she tried every closed door, just in case. she made a million wishes and believe they'd all come true. she tried her best to be a real artist. she was tickled pink. a pink ruffle. a pink bow. but never a pink eye {sally jean}. she batted away the clouds. she always had hope. she never stopped believing. she knew the journey was the reward. sometimes, all she wanted was red velvet cake. and the only reason she'd make it would be to lick the spoon. her motto was to say nothing, be silly, act natural. she hoped she wouldn't miss anything. she fancied herself sugar, spice, and mostly nice. she skipped to her lou. sometimes, she was reckless. she really liked her feet, but didn't know why. she had great friends, and when they got together they laughed and laughed. she appreciated the fancy, but adored the fancily simple. she sometimes was an artist behaving badly. she loved art. she loved life. she loved herself. she is me.

so yeah. even if you have no blog, have never commented before, or have never even read this until today...comment! i want to make you something so badly (so i guess this is a rather selfish rak...)!!

ciao!

ps. longest post ever on this blog award! woooot! :)

{i can't get anything done}

okay. i had a list. i made it on monday. i wanted to clean my room. get a new phone. make some new minis for a journaling project. catch up on my email. get some school shopping done before i leave for switzerland. among other things.

but absolutely nothing got done, so far. and i have to work today and tomorrow, which leaves me little time until the week is over. i'm starting to panic.

here's another confession: i am the world's biggest procrastinator.

this probably isn't hard for most of you to believe, seeing as though i ramble on about practically nothing in most of my blog posts. actually, right now i'm supposed to be drying my hair. and getting dressed. and attempting to clean my room. here's how my thought process went:

hooray! my makeup is done. ooh, looks good. i'll go into the bathroom to dry my hair. what's this? nobody's on the computer! let's check blogs. ho-hum, nothing updated. that's too bad. oh, no email either. ooh look! a rubber band! that reminds me of a video i saw!! let's go watch it again. oh yeah! that was on the distractions blog! i love that blog. blog. ooh, i was supposed to post on my blog. i made two minis, but i don't like them. so i might not take pictures. what the heck am i supposed to write about? i've done nothing! ooh, i'll post about that! here i go...

and in the meantime, my room is still messy and my hair is airdrying ugly-ish. *sigh*

does anyone else have this kind of problem? now that you've heard how weird my thoughts are, do you think i'm rather freakish?

hmm, that's okay. i kind of am. ;)

anyway...i've just decided i'll take pictures of one of the not-so-loved minis and show you tomorrow. and that's a promise. because i know that you all just pine for more of my ramblings when i'm stuck doing nothing at home. or scooping ice cream at work.

and for all of you people like me who are so easily distracted, here is that fabulous video that i remembered after seeing that rubber band. i kind of love this one.

power to the procrastinators!!

now i really need to go dry my hair.

{confessions...}

okay, i'm awol no longer! sorry i disappeared for a while...it's been quite a week ;) and i thought summer wasn't supposed to be busy? not a chance.

anyway, i thought i'd confess two things in today's post, to account for my missing-ness and my latest mini. and then maybe some randomness, just so you know me better (*chuckle*).

1) i am addicted to books
truly, i am. i devour books, and very quickly. it really is like a hunger, sometimes. that's what's been mainly distracting me this week :) i decided to jump on the bandwagon and try reading twilight, because target was having a sale. holy. stinking. cow! i read really fast, so i finished it in 6 hours on wednesday. i drove back to target on thursday, and bought new moon. i finished that one in 7 (it was a little slow in the middle...). i had work to do after i finished it friday morning, so i had to wait till yesterday to get eclipse. finished that one in 6, too. i am so surprised at how much i actually ended up enjoying them. because they're not really well written (yesssss i am an english nerdlette...thank my mother for that one...), but they're so creative! and addicting. i can't wait till next saturday to get breaking dawn! seriously. read them. and share with me book suggestions! :)

2) i tend to be a perfectionist.
okay, this is one of my bad-kate traits. i am kind of obsessed with not messing up. i work way too hard at school to get good grades-i actually exert so much energy into everything to make sure i don't let people down. or myself, for that matter. so naturally, this year (my junior year) is going to end up killing me unless i lighten up a little ;) (surprising, i'm actually really a very easy going person. i just like to do things really well.) so yeah. i'm kind of fearing failing on some decisions right now. i'm really trying to work through these faults, so i made a mini to get my thoughts out. really helped. you can see all the pictures on my flickr.


3) i'm probably taller than you.
i don't know if i've mentioned this before, but i'm over six feet tall. it's pretty useful. also annoying. if i ever meet you, please try to refrain from pointing out this observation. i really don't mind (that much) if you forget, but seriously. i get told at least once every day (a lot of times by strangers) "wow! you're tall!" i never do, but i'm always tempted to say "really? i've never noticed that before! you see, we don't own a mirror in my house..." yeah. but it can be totally fun (when i'm not sticking out like a sore thumb...), especially in shoe stores. and target. i always try on really high stilettos and walk around the store, pretending to look for my friends to ask about how they look. people are hilarious!! they have such funny reactions! little kids have pulled on their mothers' shirts, pointing, one guy tripped over a shelf one time, people have stopped conversations. it's hilarious. and in europe...well, i think i endangered people in the middle of the street who forgot to look where they were going, just gaping at me. ha! yeah. fun times.

4) i'm hardly ever sad.
it's true. i say this to people all the time, and they totally underestimate how i'm not lying. i really am hardly ever sad. i can get contemplative, and sometimes i do get down...but it only lasts five minutes, tops. i'm really quick to forgive, too...so i'm hardly ever mad at people either. i'm convinced it's totally God's doing. it's like that song i used to sing in sunday school..."i've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart..." yeah. if i meet you, i'll like you. if you make me mad, i'll forget it in a second. but only if you promise not to call me tall (kidding!).

5) i talk a lot.
but you could probably figure this out from my ramblings. :)

okay, that's it for today. ciao!

{thinking...about tonight!!}

sooo...i got creative this morning! i dreamed up a babysitting job. i woke up early early (very hard, since it was raining and rather darkish) to go and babysit, but apparantly it was the wrong day. not one person was up, and i woke them all up. and i embarassed myself. apparantly i was supposed to babysit them two weeks from now, or something. ga. that is just so like me!

but i also got creative in the scrapping department. made myself a little journal to commemerate this week where i decided to just be. it's a journal of all that i have been thinking about this week. i really wanted to use the sewing machine, so i whipped up a bobbin and sewed most of the pages in some way or another. i used that fantastic bag from the thrift shop as the cover. like?

you can see the rest on my flickr. link is on the left. it was totally fun to make. took up a good three hours of my morning :)

but now onto my night. i am going to the american idol concert tonight!! i'm totally excited! my family is totally into reality television. it's totally sad, i know, but we are. this is one of our faves, so the chicas in our fam are going with one of my friends and her mom. ack! it's going to be fab! plus also i love jason castro and can't wait to get a picture of him... ;)

it's going to be fantastic! i'll post pictures tomorrow and give links to where i've been inspired lately. till then, ciao!

{how many can you think of?}

i'd kind of been in a creative slump for a while, but i finally dragged myself to my desk today to make something. i have a long list of projects i want to do sitting there, but seeing as though the week is almost over i decided to do the prompt from the art is found. which is about notebook paper. which i love.

i took eight pieces and layered them to do a lo and then decided i'd encompass one of my own challenges in there. i do these things from time to time to get my creativity going where i set a creative goal for myself. this time i wanted to think of 50 unique things one could do with notebook paper. so i went to town and wrote a list on the layered pieces of paper and added some envelopes for texture/dimension. it's not the best thing i've ever made, but i really had a fun time thinking up all of the different things one could do with paper. so i kind of love it.

how many can you think of?

if you want to know what it says, i can write the list here. but it would take a while and frankly, i don't have the energy at this moment. next i'm going to work on a yes/no mini. i think this should be amusing. i'm also going to make some more atc's to put into my quote book. this will come probably saturday since i have to work tomorrow.

until then, ciao! :)

oh wait! did you see project runway last night? what did you think?? i loved it besides the fact that they recycled a challenge and let two weirdos stay. but other than that it was a pretty inspiring episode. i love recycling to make art! especially how kelly did the bleaching on that vacuum bag. pure. genius.

okay now i leave you.

{*insert excited shriek here*}

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
that is me releasing all the utter fabulousness from my day into this post. did you feel it? cuz that was quite a strong "ah". very. very. strong. it was a good day. here is a recap:

1)i got my drivers license! finally. and i mean, finally! not only have i had my permit for over a year, but also i've been sixteen for four months. it's really about time. plus remember yesterday when i told you that i didn't have my night hours? so i went last night with my dad to drive around for two hours (we got pulled over by the police in a parking lot where i was paralell parking. i was embarassed. my dad got a kick out of it. so did the police. the cop and my dad were making fun of my complete lack of skills. i was mortified then, but now that i think back on it, it probably was one of the more hilarious experiences of my life. seriously. because i was quite a site, seeing as though my dad is a terrible paralell parking teacher!), so that this morning we could go to the dmv to get my license. we get there after a twenty minute drive and realize oh! i left all the paperwork on the island of the kitchen! silly me! soooo after another hour, we get back. to make a long story short, i am now a proud carrier of a certified license from the secretary of state. hooray! *bows to all the fake applause*

2) i got four shirts from a plato's closet for twenty three dollars. if you don't know what that is, it's this totally cool place that carries extra clothes from stores like hollister, forever twenty one, american eagle, etc. or donations from girls with cute clothes who don't want them anymore. it was totally great. i am so excited to wear all those things. is it possible to wear four shirts at once? plus the one i got from american eagle after that? i wish there was. i love new clothes.

3) we had home run in pizza while watching jon and kate plus eight for dinner. need i say more?

okay so those were the highlights. but when i checked my email just now, the day got even better!!! ooh i am excited.

so sistv is starting their project catwalk tonight!!!!!! piggy backing off of the challenges for project runway (best. show. ever!!!!) which is also starting tonight! ooooh in ten minutes! i'd bettere wrap this up. so everyone, you need to read the challenge at ten tonight and email your work of pure stylish art within 72 hours. i will show you mine tomorrow night. and also ramble needlessly about the awesome designs coming out of project runway.

thank you for listening to me ramble away. i'm so happy right now watching aiden and leah pat alligators on the television while sketching project ideas that i just can't think straight. i hope you find it adorably cute instead of annoying, which i am fearing. i promise promise tomorrow's post will make up for it.

dude, i am so excited. five minutes left!

ciao.

*******edited************
okay so i was feeling totally like a loser blogger so i decided that i would give you a couple of links. happy now? :)
1)quizilla: this keeps me entertained for far too long.
2)flip: i love. i've made some seriously sweet stuff on here. and gotten total fashion inspiration from all over.
3)sis: go and start challenges!!
4)project runway: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!
5)papa louie: bahahahaha. another one of those stupid websites that keeps me entertained.
6)polyvore: i. love. this. site. so. much. true true true love.

there. have i redeemed myself at least a tiny bit?

********edited again************
just realized that licsense is spelled license. mom, please don't kill me. holy cow, maybe i do need to go back to school. ack.

ciao for real!

{good day}

okay okay okay. i lied. sort of. i said i'd try to post every day this week. i fully could have done so yesterday, but i really didn't have the energy. because it was like midnight. and i was very very sad.

i was sad because i was supposed to go this morning to get my driver's licsense. but last night i took a tumble down the stairs, ripped my social security card, and then realized that i was short two night driving hours to get my licsense. so obviously we had some work to do today. i was very mad at my parents for making me be honest about my hours, but okay, i guess i see how lying to the government might be sort of an issue. oh well. tonight i guess i will drive around town for two hours. oh joyous.

but today turned out to be quite a fantastic day! my friends are all back from their vacations, so we got together and had just a simply fantastic time at katie's house. i tried a wii for the first time, and was totally hooked to this racing cows game. oh and the boxing. but especially the one with the cows. because seriously, could there be anything more funny than watching this cartoon guy with an afro kick his legs up on the back of a cow every time the cow hit a scarecrow or jumped a hurdle? or watching your totally hilarious and awesome friends make crazy weird movements when trying to seriously maime the other person on virtual boxing? (we're talking seriously hilarious movements. seriously.) umm, no. i didn't think so. it was entertaining in every sense of the word.

also this morning i got this email from sistv about the class (unpredictable requests) held next week by the totally awesome ashley wren (hooray hooray hooray!!!), and i totally signed up. for twenty dollars for ten days, it's totally worth it. so excited! i've never looked forward to a monday before. so seriously, anyone who reads this (probably not that many people yet, but still), sign up here! i totally can't wait to see what comes out of that class.

and finally, like a cherry on the top of my good day, my ap us history test scores finally came in the mail. i was totally totally totally nervous, becuase i remembered how stinking hard the test was, and how scattered all of my essays were, and how wrong all of my answers seemed, but...(drumroll please...) i got a four!! a four!!!!! (that's really good if you didn't know about ap scoring.) i was so happy. am still happy. wow.

so now to the pictures. another great thing that happened last night was one of my friend's dad (who works for a print company) gave me all of these fantastic paper sample books their company gets inundated with from wausau papers. they cost like 9 dollars normally. i was so incredibly happy and excited. the colors, shapes, and textures are fabulous.

also, like i promised, some sketch book snapshots. there's a game i played with my friend marilyn on a plane, and some other random doodles i did. it's more of a doodle book. i love drawing.

wow, that was a long post! anyway, i hope your days are all fantastic! until tomorrow...ciao.