Cake Toppers & Christmas Ornaments...

...are taking over my life! Friends getting hitched, Christmas coming up - I'm sewing and sculpting like mad! I just wish I had more time to do it.

Cake Toppers

May I introduce you to the groom? Mr. Badger.

Little Miss Penguin, the bride.

The lucky couple.

 

Christmas Ornaments

 

Happy Holidays!

Chobap

Hiya, folks! Fancy meeting you here, eh? I've been a bit swamped, and started avoiding some things. I didn't really mean to. It just sort of happened.

I've completed a couple projects, and feel a little less like I'm drowning, so I'm going to try to get back into posting now and again. I miss my old blog, and your comments.

Now, as I'm sure many of you have gathered, I'm a hopeless klutz. That being said, I drop my phone left and right, and pretty much any direction you can think of. I've accidentally thrown the poor thing (and I mean shot-putted) behind the bed, under my Jeep and in lots of other hard to reach places. My poor little DROID has seen the pavement more than a couple times, much to my chagrin. I don't know how I do it. It's a bit like there's an invisible force trying to keep us apart.

So...I searched the world over, and finally got a phone cozy worth coveting. I name everything, so I call her Chobap. If you're not familiar with the this pocket of yummy veggie friendly goodness, I suggest checking out that link. I was introduced to chobap in Korea, and fell in love. It's actually a Japanese dish, and I already have a real kitty named Kimchi, so I thought another Asian dish would be a good name for a kitty phone cozy. And she's a pocket! Yeah, I know. Just let me think I'm clever...

All the way from Japan to protect my trusty little phone.

made by Tokyo Inspired

Really In a Stew!

I googled ANGRY BIRD & found this image here.

Disclaimer: I am ranting in this post. I love many a person with free-time, stay at home wives, and/or mothers. I know we all have different priorities. I'm currently frustrated, so please refrain from taking offense to anything I type. Thank you.

If any of you pulchritudinous* people out there have read this old blog before, chances are high that you're aware of my tendency to overbook myself. To say I have a lot going on would be an understatement. I'm an artist, a secretary, and a program director. I'm slightly obsessive compulsive, and I have a problem saying "No."

All that being said, I'm not alone in my way too busy for a day-jobness. I had the following conversation recently.

BFF: I'm so tired of database work! I want to be at home sewing!!!
Me: Yeah. I keep thinking about things for etsy, the cake topper/guest book I'm working on, the book I'm illustrating. There's just so much to do that work gets in the way of, and it's insane! I even find myself being a little catty towards people who stay home. I know mom's that have kids in school have plenty to do, but I start wondering how they can have NO ARTSY CRAFTY ANYTHING! No hobbies!
BFF: Me too. It irritates me that other people have all this time on their hands, and I have none. When I do nothing - I feel guilty.
Me: I know.
Me: Why can't all the world be like us? It'd be a much better place...There would be biscotti and puppies...Starbucks and photography...
BFF: Warm woolen mittens, and brown paper packages tied up with string?
Me: Yes! Yes!! YES!!!

Now, this may seem a little off subject, but it's not. We have so much to do, and no time to do it! We're also ever so mildly insane, as you can see from the above conversation. If I were you, and I had free time, I'd come up with a hobby real quick-like. There are more of us, and we're likely to lash out eventually.

*That means you're beeeyooootiful. I used the thesaurus to find a new word for lovely to behold, and I thought that pulchritudinous was pretty interesting. Kind of an ugly word to have such a nice meaning, don't you think?

River Rats

A friend recently joked that my husband and I should just move to North Carolina, since we've been spending so much time there. You see, Mr. T, my husband person, has taken up white water kayaking. Like many of us do when we develop a new interest, he has a tendency to obsess.

We've always enjoyed camping, but it used to be an occasional thing. Now that he's attempting to kill himself learning to safely navigate white water, we go all the time. We've been so often, and survived, that I've gotten over my fear of careening over rapids. Well, I've gotten over my fear of careening over some rapids, and I get on the water every chance I get.

This weekend I'm going rafting with some friends, while Todd kayaks beside us. I may possibly take a duckie (an inflatable kayak that's a lot harder to flip that an actual kayak) down one of the calmer rivers, or try surviving on a Shredder with a trusted friend. We'll see what happens. If I live, I'll blog about it.*

Every trip, we stop at the Ocoee River, in Tennessee, on our way home.

We scramble down the side of the sun-warmed highway to the cool riverside rocks.

We crawl alongside the river to find a cozy, shady spot to watch passing rafts and kayaks.

Smushing together on a comfy-ish rock, and dangling my feet in the cold water, is my favorite.

If I had long arms, I'd take better pictures. Look at the distance he gets!

I'm not sure if we'll be moving there anytime soon, but it's definitely one of our favorite places to be. If we do decide to relocate, I'll have to take a few people with me.

You know who you are, and I'll let you know, so you can pack.

*See that healthy amount of fear?

Art Finds

In honor of this month's Art theme, I figured I'd share a few Etsy finds. There are so many talented artists out there, and Etsy is where you can find a lot of them. Beneath each image you'll find a link to the artist's etsy shop. Click away, friends.

Denise McMurray

Amber Alexander

Kite Flyer Art

wostudios

MadShiny

For those of you that don't know, that last one's mine, and you should totally buy my art. I had to throw a little shameless self promotion in there. ^_^

Sex Bob-omb!

image credit

I know I'm a little late on this whole Scott Pilgrim vs. the World thing, but my, my, my. It was fan-tas-tic. My dear cohort, Ari, and I can assure you all that it was well worth the wait.

Bryan Lee O'Malley and Edgar Wright are totally my heroes. How can you go wrong with a comic turned action romantic comedy with an amazing cast, soundtrack and chocked full of pop culture references? You just can't.

Did I mention the amazing soundtrack?! Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Beck, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Cornelius, Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, and David Campbell all had their glorious hands in it, and it totally made the movie. Must. Have. Immediately.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of the most creative/quirky films I've seen in years. If you were at any point in time an overly dramatic, angst-ridden, insecure teen that had a crush, dated, got dumped, played video games, listened to music, played in a band, loathed sell outs or swallowed your gum and worried about it's seven year exodus through your intestines...then Scott Pilgrim is for you. It's. Your. Life.

P.S.
My little camping trip into the NC wilderness screwed up the whole NaBloPoMo thing, but I'll still be posting predominantly about various artsy things this month, so come back, m'kay?

Sneak Blogging

This whole NaBloPoMo Art theme has really got me to thinking about how much I miss art school. Don't get me wrong, I thank God every single day for sparing my sanity throughout all those studio classes, but I miss assignments. Your professor gives you a problem to solve, and there are endless possibilities. I've been missing someone else laying the rules out for me, and thinking about saving up to take a class again.

Well, to my surprise, the art club at the university I attended is about to offer uber cheap life drawing classes! Score! Ari (the-happy-cactus.blogspot.com) and I are totally going to play art school, and you will be seeing some fresh drawings/paintings. Squee!

P.S. Please excuse the lack of pictures/links, as I'm on a camping trip & sneak blogging on my DROID. Shhh...

How Do You Do & Shake Hands

image credit

Are there any brave souls out there that have stuck around long enough to notice that I'm incredibly outgoing, but terribly insecure?

This is where I pretend a ton of you are nodding your heads, and I feel all warm and fuzzy.

Ahem. You know the type of person that will talk to a complete stranger, right? In line pretty much anywhere? Yeah, that type. Well, that's me. I'm all smiles, and great at striking up a conversation. I'm curious about people, and I love communication. Adore it, actually. However, immediately following any given spontaneous exchange I start dissecting the entire interaction, and doubting myself.

I start wondering if I made a funny face when I said that my grandmother was German, and forced me to eat cow tongue as a child. I begin hoping that the business man didn't notice me noticing the crusty stain on his tie. I end up feeling really bad about how I made the chick in front of me uncomfortable by telling her I loved her bra, because you could totally see it was polka-dotted...through her shirt. I have no filtering system, people. It's bad. Why in the world can't I just take my own advice and hush?!

Anyhow, I'm rambling. My point is that my outgoing/insecure personality flows right into my artwork. I'm all about creating. Another form of communication? Yes, please! I can't keep from making art. The problem is what happens after it's made. The audience comes in, and I start spazzing. It's exactly like an actual, physical conversation with someone. I start over-analyzing immediately. You'd think the Studio Art/Art History degree I worked my rear end off for would make me a tad more confident, but no.

Anybody out there with any handy dandy advice on building confidence, or how to communicate normally? I'm all ears eyes attentive and stuff.

Vers-ART-ile *evil laughs persist*

Versatile?! You want versatile?! Well...oh, who am I kidding? I had this entire post ready to go when I hit Ctrl Z, and the entire thing disappeared. I spazzed, refreshed and my heart broke. I'm brain dead from working all day, and, to tell you the truth, I don't feel very versatile right now. However, I still wanna thank Barry for thinking I am. Thank you, Barry.

The plan was to display my alleged versatility by simultaneously covering the bases of this award, and this month's NaBloPoMo theme. Basically, I would be amazing, yet humble, and you would all ooh and ah. I could carry my Versatility Award high above my head, and all would be well with the world.

Then I deleted it. So...yeah.

The Versatile Blogger Award has a few simple rules.
1. Be polite, and thank/link to the blogger that nominated you.
2. List seven facts about yourself.
3. Pass it on to some other wonderfully versatile bloggers.

I may be a moron, but I'm polite, so rule one is already covered. On to rule two. It might not be the most insightful list, but I'm brain dead from working all day.

1.  My first crush was David Bowie. It was 1988, and I was six.
2.  I have really, really curly hair.
3.  My eyes are green.
4.  Night swimming is one of my all time favorite things.
5.  Gustav Klimt is my favorite painter.
6.  I've been a vegetarian for 14 years.
7.  I'm an artist.

Aaaaand for rule three, I choose the following versatile blogger ladies.

- Ari from The Happy Cactus
- Amanda from My Life of Spaz
- Mel from Melanie's Randomness
- Shannon from Tattoos & Cupcakes
-Awmber from Awbviously Awmber

P.S. In order for this to pass as Art themed y'all have to check out the Gustav Klimt Wiki link, or peruse my Etsy store. I mentioned art, so that counts, right? *mwah*

A Theme After My Own Heart

Any of you lovely readers ever participated in a NaBloPoMo? Are you perhaps wondering what the heck I'm blathering about? 

For those of you who may not know, NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month. It's a month long writing exercise inspired by National Novel Writing Month, Or NaNoWriMo. It's pretty simple. You simply post once a day every day for a month. You can follow a theme, or just post willy-nilly. It can be anything your little heart desires.

That being said, I probably have too much going on to be dedicating myself to posting every day this month, but what the hey. I just couldn't pass up September's theme. 

Check back every day this month for your daily dose of ART! I'm starting things out today with a little shameless self promotion. I've overhauled my Etsy shop, and added more of my incredibly affordable water doodles a.k.a. hand drawn watercolored illustrations. Feast your eyes upon some of my newest listings!

Percival Pinfeather

Escape II

Love Bird

To The Moon

Pics or It Didn't Happen

Oh, it happened. All of it. You want photo documentation of why I've neglected my blog so? Well, you got it.

There were:

Picnics in parks...

 

canoe trips...

bicycle rides, swimming, and sunbathing on blankets in the yard.

 

My adorable husband...

played his guitar...

 

while I sang praise songs, and squinted into the sky on steamy Sabbath afternoons.

We took our favorite teenager camping/rafting in North Carolina, and she survived to tell about it. She's not the most outdoorsy gal, but she's always up for anything.

I  purchased the coolest tee shirt on the face of the planet. It's a man's, and it's too big, but I don't care. It's Kermit, and he's rocking out. I had no choice.

Some friends of ours went out of town for a week, and the husband person and I had the pleasure of puppy-sitting for them. We went to check on these adorable mutts every night, and spent the weekend at their house.

Barkley is the fastest tongue in the South, and quite the cuddler.

His mom, Lucky (aka Lucy Fur), has a bad reputation for escaping the backyard, but I think she's just misunderstood. She runs to the neighbor's house to see another of her puppies. She's such a muppet. ♥

 

All in all they were wonderful hosts. We were licked, wiggled upon and generally adored.

And, of course, my creative compulsive disorder has been running rampant. Not only have I been preparing for an upcoming Sidewalk Art Stroll (Next Thursday!), the lovely Ari went and had her 28th birthday. I made her a water doodle portrait...

 

...and some Muppet magnets. I already made her Kermit & Pepe last year, so now she has a whole slew of them. Gonzo and Beaker are my favorites. What about you?

 

Then there were the puppy portraits for a friend of a friend. Psst! I love me some friends of friends. I get more commissions that way.

I'll be sure to post about the impending Art Stroll after the fact. I'm working on getting prints of all my waterdoodles into my etsy shop before the event. We'll see how that goes! 

Oh! And my dear friend, Debra, took my husband and I to the Star Wars Exhibit at The Space & Rocket Center, where I met the love of my life. *blushes*

R2

 

I'm certain I'm leaving things out. It's been all kinds if hectic, but I can't complain. Life is good, and I thank God.

Bodacious Bloggers

It's about time for another one of those bloggy hiatus posts,  wouldn't you say? Poor little Mimsy patiently waits to hear from me, but I'm too busy painting and neglecting her to notice. You all know the story, right?

I've been working on painting three puppy portraits for a couple weeks now. I'd have had them finished a long time ago, were I not employed full time. Le sigh. I'm also plotting/sketching characters for the children's book I've been asked to illustrate, about which I'm still totally stoked and already mentioned here. Then there's The Sketchbook Project I mentioned a while back. Haven't touched that yet. Oh! And the lovely Ari and I are planning on entering a sidewalk art stroll next month, so I've got to be getting work together for that as well. I need more time. So much to do, so many places to be.

What about all you bodacious bloggers?* Have y'all been so busy with summer shenanigans that you didn't mind a few less posts to read? I hope so. I know you hang on every sarcastic word around here...

Speaking of around here...my house looks like it was ransacked. Mr. T (That's the husband person, for any new readers out there.) (HI, NEW READERS! <3) and I just got home from a camping/rafting trip in North Carolina, and are beyond beat. My face and shoulders are ever so slightly crisped, and, now that I've showered, I'm ready to sleep 'til Tuesday.

I miss your blogs, people. I'm sure I'll be catching up soon, as well as posting pics of paintings, doodles and camping trips. *mwah*

* Yeah, I said "bodacious bloggers". What of it? I like alliteration, and I'm too sleepy to be cool. Just go with it

Newfangled Contraptions

 

Do y'all know the legend of Paul Bunyan? Well, I had no idea, but today is Paul Bunyan Day!

I realize it may seem a bit odd to be excited about an American Folktale, but I can't help myself. I grew up with this story, and it's part of who I am. Did y'all ever watch the Disney cartoon? Well, you simply must! Even if you've seen it, watch it again.

Part 1

 

Part 2 

The things I read and watched as a child made such a huge impact on who I've become. It's amazing what we absorb, and how we weave it into ourselves, isn't it? Why, after watching this again, I realize that this Disney telling of Paul Bunyan & Babe is where I first heard of the Aurora Borealis, and probably why I've always wanted to see it.

It's things like this that remind me why I want to write and illustrate kids' books. I want desperately to help kids use their imaginations, to think, dream, learn how to express themselves creatively and just be happy. 

What stories have helped shape who you are?

Take The Cake

The always sincere Melanie gave me a Happy Award a while back, and I truly appreciate it. Seriously, Mel. *mwah*

I'm tellin' ya, I'm just amazed at how many awesome people I've met through blogging, some actually and some figuratively. Communication and relationships have always enthralled me, but you guys take the cake.

Okay, the deal is, if you don't already know, anyone given this particular award has to list ten things that make them happy. Then they get to pass it along to up to ten other bloggers. Here goes some of my happies...

1. Certain smells and sounds bring me a lot of joy. My absolute favorites? Puppy breath, wiggles and grunts.

2. Campfires thrill my soul from start to finish. They have a life of their own, and mesmerize me.

3. Driving along country roads with no apparent destination, windows down, playing in the wind.

4. Silkie chicken hineys. They're just so darn fluffy.

5. Answered prayers, and just knowing God is there, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

6. Night swimming makes me feel really, really alive.

7. Lightning bugs are magic, and make me feel like a little girl with no worries. I heart bioluminescence.

8. Pinwheels have always brought me joy. I mean, what kid doesn't love a shiny, blowy pinwheel? As an adult (of sorts), I love how they show evidence of something unseen.

9. Family resemblances have probably been mentioned here on Mimsy before, but they're worth mentioning again. My family may not be the closest, and I may not know my father very well, but I look like him. When I look in the mirror, I feel like I belong.

10. Otters holding hands. 'Nough said.

Now, for passing this thing on...I'm not going to choose ten bloggers, though I can definitely think of ten of you that make me happy. Today, I'm sticking with several lovely ladies that I've just realized have quite a few things in common.

Shannon - Shannon & her HB may not live next door, and I may have only met them once, but I simply adore them. We share a love for life that pretty much links you instantly. Thank you, Shannon, for being YOU, and for making my blog so incredibly ME. I love it, and you. Can't wait to see you guys again.

Ari - I don't even know where to start with this one. For anyone who doesn't know, we met when we were fourteen, at a mutual friend's birthday bash. We lost touch for a few years, met again in college, and have been pretty much inseparable ever since. She's my creative partner in crime, and we're seriously thick as thieves. We share so much of our lives, and I don't know (or want to know) what I would do without her. Love you, my little prickly pear!

HisDaughter - This little lady amazes me in lots of ways, especially with her mad mommy skillz. I've only met her a couple times now, but I know she's making a difference in people's lives everyday. She's refreshing and alive, and I just smile thinking of her. We have to hang out soon, lovely lady!

Madam Rasberry - I've talked about the soul mateness before here, in case anyone gets confused. She's my soul mate, and my oldest friend. We are part of each other, and just the thought of her makes me...all kinds of emotions, and happy is definitely in there. I love you, friend.

I may love them for different reasons, but they're all A-dorable, loving, sincere, bright, creative (Yes, Jodi, you are creative.), fun, and madly in love with their canine counterparts (Again, Jodi, Dixie counts for you.). Didn't know you had so much in common, did you? Hmmm...I think I may have inadvertently discovered the secret to making me adore someone...

Whoa Nelly!

June is kicking my butt, bloggers. Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I think I might be losing it.

See? It's in the eyes, I think. And please note that I'm wearing a sundress. There has been much nakey talk about this photo. NOT NAKED.

Besides being an incredibly busy month, as discussed here, it has also been pretty harsh. Saturday night, while enjoying dinner with friends at a little Italian joint, my husband's truck was broken into. The culprits stole my purse, and my makeup bag. *cries*

I loved that big green Target purse, and Etsy Russian nesting doll makeup bag. Something I loved even more than them? All the stuff I keep in them, including my driver's license, social security card, and the keys to my home, office and vehicle! Yeah. Awesome.


I'm still in the process of getting things replaced, warding off credit fraud, identity theft and coping with the loss of the things that I'll never get back again. I kind of feel like I'm missing a limb, so please excuse my lack of posting/reading your loverly blogs. The Busy and The Blah are something I have to work through, but I'll catch up soon. My birthday is this Sunday, and I'm hoping to have worked through a lot of this mess by then.


*mwah*

The Wonderful World of June

I'm just going to go ahead and count May's NaBloPoMo a success. So I didn't post every single day, and I sort of forgot about the theme. Phooey! It got me back into writing pretty regularly, and that's what it's all about, right? I'm going to keep telling myself that I'm not a procrastinating failure, and move right along.

Right along to the wonderful world of June! This month is going to be chock-full of good times, and I can hardly wait. Let me break it down for you.

Birthdays! 
My Soul Mate's dad is turning fifty this month, and he's a pretty important fella. Since I met Jodi on the school bus, when we were eleven, her parents have been a very important part of my life. I've mentioned that my dad's a good guy, he's just never been very present in my life. Well, Jodi's dad has been there...always.

Jodi's also got two younger siblings, which I refer to as my Pseudo Little Sisters. Leah is the oldest, and Kayla's the baby. Well, the baby is turning fifteen this month. Feel incredibly old much?! I was at the hospital the day she was born, bloggers. The day she was BORN.

Since we're feeling old* here, might as well go ahead and get this out of the way. I'm turning twenty-eight on the twenty-seventh. Yes, that's right, I've now surpassed the twenty-seven on the twenty-seventh mark, and may possibly go into a deep dark depression. I doubt it, but it could happen. I'm keeping my options open.

What does all this birthdayness mean?! It means that my Soul Mate, complete with wonderful husband man, will be coming home for birthday celebrations! Yaaaaaaay! I'm thrilled to the core about this. I haven't seen them in over five months, and I'm going through withdrawals.

Projects!

I'm going to begin working on a couple of really exciting things this month, too.

First, there's my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project. It came in today, and I can not wait to get started! I really can't express how much joy it brings me to know that some of my work, however rough and unfinished, will be exhibited in museums throughout the U.S. I'll probably be subjecting you to sketchbook entry posts, so brace yourselves for doodles.

I'm still in shock over this second project. I've already ranted to some of you about it, but I've got to give more details. Last week, a man came to facilitate a training at my place o' business. On his first day with us, he saw some of my artwork, talked with me a little bit and then...asked me to illustrate a children's book for him!!!

He recited the story he'd written from memory, and I'm in love with it. It's right up my alley, and totally something I can stand behind. I've already started working up some characters, but it's really in the early stages. I'm currently waiting to receive my edited copy of the book, so I can dig in.  I'm seriously waiting for someone to pinch me, and hoping and praying I don't wake up. I want to write and illustrate children's books so badly, and I think this is a wonderful start for me. Squee!

*Let me clarify, before someone thinks I'm calling them old. I'm merely in awe/thankful that I've been on this planet for twenty-eight years. I tend to go with the "you're as young as you feel" idea. I mean, look at the men I'm drawn to, for goodness' sake. I'm attracted to guys in the 34-50 range, which I most certainly do not consider "old". I just wanted to make that clear. And Todd? I guess you lucked out, young man. :P

Shenanigans

I am having way too much fun to conjure up an actual post. I apologize, NaBloPoMo. Really, I do. My favorite teenager is spending the weekend with me, and I just haven't the time! We're too busy being awesome!

A Sight To See

Oh, yesterday was a day, folks. A good day, but a day. When I left work, heading to get my tires rotated, and eat dinner with my loverly husband, it looked like this.

About 5 minutes later...it looked like this.

While we waited for my Jeep to be taken care of, we decided to take our chances riding bikes at a local green way. We checked the weather, and 40% chance of rain wasn't going to stop us, so off we went. 

About 4 miles before we got caught in a downpour. (We just rode 4 miles. Please excuse the hot mess.)

 

Luckily, we were close to an overpass! We ducked inside like good little wayfarers, and hung out with some pigeons. We also spotted a teensy snake swimming in the water you see there. When I approached to take his picture, he politely refused and swam to the other side of the stream. Hmph.

 

We waited it out, checked the radar on my handy dandy Droid and were back on our way in no time. We finished the trail, which was a little over 4.5 miles, and headed back the way we came. Right as we returned to the very same overpass, the bottom dropped out and it poured again. 

We waited as long as we could, but we ended up finishing the last couple of miles in a light sprinkle. We were drenched, but it was hilarious.

 

By the way, my husband's a genius. He left his dress shirt in the truck (rode in his white undershirt), and brought me a clear poncho (I felt like a Hefty bag.).

9 miles later, our clothes were pretty dry, but we sure were a sight to see.

Chicken Little

I thought it was about time for an update on our little silkie babies.

Ponyo and Sosuke have now moved in together. Since Momma chicken (Noir) would only take care of her wee black birdie (Sosuke), we had to move the two babies in together. Ponyo was so lonely, and starting to think she was a person. :P

Wanna see 'em in their humble abode?  They're currently residing under our carport, so excuse the gorgeous surroundings.

It cracks me up that the one we had to help out of the egg (Ponyo), has turned out to be the biggest. They are definitely funky chickens.