Lluna

For Yurine-San who won my 22 222 hit kiriban on devart

I finished this off in an afternoon. Feels good to do a one day piece, and I like her :)

Save the World Sunday

No more Plastic Wrap! I mostly just used it for baking (wrapping dough to refridgerate, covering dough while it rises ect.) but no more. Well I ran out and never bothered replacing it. I've been using my produce bags when I need some thin plastic, and my old tea towels for covering things. I figure people survived for thousands of years without plastic wrap, I'm sure I can manage.

Friday Five

Okay, I did have time

1)Leaf Furniture by Tejo Remy (via Inhabitat). Because as I always say, you can never have too many bookshelves.



2)Tumbled stone candle holders and hand dipped candles by Zanisa. Because I like to collect rocks :P


3)Bale Living So cute, the paper towel holders almost make me wish I still used paper towel. I've been using old tea towels to absorb grease after deep frying and such (I mention this because Barb was concerned)



4)Yumbrella Bowl by Benjamin Hubert. Also fun to say! (ella ella eh eh eh)


5)Norwegian Forest Lights by Cathrine Kullberg. Made with birch veneer

Alice and Bella: Circus

Ah, I have my friday five picked out but I'm running out the door to my aunt's to see Barb (and everyone else :P). I've been working all day on finishing this off in time for it to be included in the Children's Illustrators Society for September. I might fix some little things later but for now, here you go!

October Calendar

A wallpaper/calendar for you! If you're into that sort of thing. I'm going to try to do one every month. For fun and excitment.

Click to download:
1024x786
1280x1024

Let me know if you want a different resolution!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

So this afternoon I went for a ramble about the neighbourhood as it is fall, most lovely of all seasons. And there are some beautiful gardens and yards around here, sooo pretty. Tons of flowers still and green everywhere. But I found enough autumness to make me smile, so I'll share with you.

DIY Window Fun

Tools Needed
-Contact Paper (like MacTac). I used a frosted glass look. My design used 3/4m.
-Pencil
-Measuring Tape
-Scissors or Craft Knife
-Window Cleaner
-Credit Card

1) Find a boring window. Look how boring my window is. And it's a townhouse, which makes it all the more tragic. I like to stand out a bit.


2) Spread the Contact Paper out on a table, backing side up. Use the pencil to draw the design you want. I chose bamboo because it's just a really easy set of shapes. If you aren't the artsy fartsy type, you could trace a design or use a stencil. A stencil would work really well. Use the measuring tape naturally to make sure that your amazing design will fit well.


3) Cut the shapes out. If you are afraid that you'll get them mixed up you can number them, or stick them up as you go. I used scissors, but next time I'm going to try harder to find my pretty craft knife. Hard on the hand with all the cutting.


4) Clean the window, we will be sticking them on the inside of the window, but I cleaned both sides because the outside was nasty. Please ignore the streaks in the photos, geez, flash makes them look a lot worse.


5) Unpeel the bottom of the first shape and carefully stick it to the window. Then use the credit card to smooth the rest of it down to avoid bubbles. The backing will push off as you go. Repeat with the remaining shapes.


6) Enjoy your pretty window! Boring no more!


Oh hey look, it's me :) Hiiii. And I actually did one stalk on the other window too, but it didn't photograph well through the screen.

Save the World Sunday

So this week's greenness is that I'm no longer shaving my legs. Because I've decided to embrace my natural and earthy state.

Oh wait, that's not it, I'm just not shaving my legs while I'm showering. To conserve water I'm running a half inch or so into the tub and using that. This has two additional benefits: 1)I'm doing a better job and missing less sections of my leg (how embarrassing) 2)My feetsies get an nice soak and I give them a pumice rub.

Erm, too much info?

Friday Five!

Mommy, my bread keeps not rising well. Why?

Also, I did I super fun craft project today that I will post for you guys tomorrow, but for today, here's my Friday Five:

1) Pebble Rug by 2 Form Design (via lifeiscarbon). It's made out of wool. I love it.



2)Designer Computer Mice by MouseEnvy. The koi is my favourite of course.



3)Pigeon Vase by Three Potato Four. For my white ceramic love.



4)In Touch Message Board by Philips. So it's a mirror, and the you touch it and it becomes a message boards where you can either leave a text message or record a video message of yourself. I think. The future is now!



5)Wonderful Graffiti - so the idea is that they print words for you to stick on your walls. Like decals but it's completely customizable with size, colour, font and all. And the playroom interface is very fun, you can make a virtual room to match your place and then try out different designs in it, and it tells you how much it will cost as you go. Cool beans. I love words on walls.

Spoiled for the Ordinary

So this is a blog layout I designed for Jason Joyner based off a photo he had taken of a fresco. Did you know that fresco's are painted on fresh damp plaster? That's how they get the vivid colours. The things you learn on Hanna's Blog. Anyway, it's a bit of a different style for me, so it was a good challenge (boy colours! wierd.)

Check it out at: Spoiled for the Ordinary.

And remember, you too can have a pretty blog for just $30! And yes I take payment in books. Also beads sometimes. I'm flexible.

Hanna's life is coold

Rainy rainy it is again. Although we didn't get snow like you poor suckers in Lethbridge! Ahahaha. Sorry. I should be nice or it will come over here to get me.

So yesterday...I worked...for two hours as always. I'm teaching private lessons to a little boy (well 7) who is petrified of the water. We're making some good progress but still aren't into putting our eyes in. He was wearing goggles and I asked him to put his eyes in. He leaned over until the tip of his noes was touching the water. He tried and tried to get his eyes closer, then just gave up and pulled the goggles down until they touched the water. "I did it!" Hrm, that'll take some more work.

Also I made cinnamon rolls. I was unimpressed, apparently it'll take some doing before I'm a star pastry chef. They were too buttery and didn't rise. Screw Martha Stewart, I'm finding Gramma's recipe next time. Craig is in love with them however, so it's not a complete loss. He was pretty much a happy camper because I also made some sort of lazy risotto thing with summer squash and sausage...because that's what I found lying around. I make the best meals when I'm scrapping together ingredients from the fridge. Pity I didn't make enough for lunch...mmmm...

So today I had my interview at the Castlegar pool, it went quite well I think, but lifeguarding interviews don't phase me anymore. Bring on the tricky questions! I got home and read some more Harry Potter (so far it's kinda depressing...I hope it picks up a bit in the last half) and started making bread. The multigrain rolls are yummy and all but too small for sandwiches I've been informed. So I started making sunflower seed bread because I luuurve it and then realized that I do not, in fact, have sunflower seeds. I considered using pine nuts, but they are kinda pricey and I then remembered that the little store across the street that I thought was just vitamins and herbal supplimants has food type things. According to a friend of Craig's.

I threw on my coat and then the phone rang. Hooray! I am the proud owner of two jobs! This one is also with the same union, so the nice pay is the same but so are the crappy hours. However, I will hopefully get the supervisor position when it comes up. Oy. Keep praying for me.

So I then I ran over to the store, and it's fantastic, tons of nice bulk things and amusing ingredients. They even have a little flour mill where you can have flour ground. So I bought the sunflower seeds as well as a package of soup and some eggs because I couldn't bring myself to pay with interact for 85 cents. Then I got home started putting things in and realized that I do not have wheat germ. I have wheat bran. Not the same thing at all. So I found some change, threw on my coat and ran baaack through the rain to get wheat germ. Yeeeesh, well the bread is rising now so all should be well.

You notice how much I talk about food? Clearly I need to get out more. Before I become obese.

Oh haha, I forgot, this morning the phone rang while I was upstairs so I ran like the wind down to get it (losing a slipper in the process), hoping it was the pool giving me a job. It was actually a Jehovah's Witness who wanted to tell me about the bible. I listened to him as I went back up to find my slipper, but before I could tell him that I've actually read the bible myself, I tripped on the stairs and accidentally hung up on him. Whoops. I mean I was going to hang up anyways, but I try to be polite about it.

Hm, no work tomorrow either. Wonder what I'll bake...

Hooray for fall!

So it was all damp and cold out, which was fantastic because I didn't have to work. So I stayed in a baked buns and made yummy yummy lentil soup for dinner. I also have some pastry dough in the fridge. Mmmmm domestic bliss. It's part of my more time than money plan, because really, I'm a good baker, I shouldn't be paying $4.50 for a loaf of bread. So I'm gonna try and do all the baking myself, at least until I have more money than time (ahahaha).

In the meantime I have the new Harry Potter book out from the library so that should keep me occupied until...tomorrow maybe?

So of course, as it is fall, I needed a nice autumny layout, what do you guys think? Because personally, I luuurve it.

erm. okay...

You Are Pumpkin

Realistic and practical, you see the world for how it is. You know what it takes to succeed in life... And you're happy to help others reach their goals.

What Color Orange Are You?

Day and Night

Ha! I finally have something to post! I've been halfway or mostly done a few projects for a while now so it's nice to have broken through and finished something again.

Feels so good to have some art to post again! More to come soon, I promise.

So this is for the current event at Pixelbrush in which we had to reinterpret a piece by another forum member. I chose this image. I liked the idea of day not just being light and night dark, but that day is lively and full of colour.

If you want to see a little animation I made of the painting process, go here

Save the World Sunday

So I am pretty happy at the moment because it seems pretty likely that the pool here will hire me to work days when the preggy girl goes on her mat leave. So keep praying and hoping for me, because that would be a whole lot better than the current situation. Although, I'm kinda in love with grocery shopping in Nelson...the Safeway is all new and shiny and Starbucksed up, the Save on Foods is super fantastic produce-wise...yellow zucchini, kale, fennel, all the other pretty things I love. And then there's the Kootenay Co-op and the french bakery...it's just fantastic. And I still don't get why all the grocery stores here suck. Why? Oh well, I'll still go over every other week or so to visit my Gramma, so I can pick up groceries then :P.

Speaking of groceries, what I'm working on at the moment is less packaging for my groceries. I'm trying really hard to buy food that is:
-In bulk, so I can reuse the bags and put the food in a container at home.
-Recyclable containers, glass if possible.
-In largish quantities so as to have less individual packages.
-Paper bags when I can

Also I am buying yogurt in big tubs instead of little minis and pudding in a mix so I can split them up into reusable containers at home. Because I like them for lunches.

This also helps with the poverty budget.

Any other suggestions to cut down on packaging? I already use fabric shopping bags. And I bought two reusable insulated bags so my cold stuff survives the commute.

Friday Five

So, starting a new job doesn't seem as hard as it was last time I did it. I guess it's due to a few things: 1) I already knew two of my bosses...and they like me. 2) I'm pretty confident in my abilities. 3) At my last job there was such a stupidly high turnover rate that we had new people every week practically. So I'm fine with just jumping in and making friends...I just need to learn how to apply that to the rest of my brain.

Also, a few people have mentioned that I seem really positive about my craptastic hours. That's because I don't really like being depressed. It's not in my nature. So I'm done with it. And I usually am happy at work because...I'm working! Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me, I still need it! Hopefully that other pool comes through because...well I need money.

On that note, here's my Friday Five...full of things I can't afford but are still pretty!

1)Hudson Furniture. They do these great pieces with huge hunks of wood in them...check out the beds too, so pretty.



2)Topograhy Plate by Kyouei Design. The description reads "please pour the soup into this plate. mountain range and a lake are completed.
and the bottom of a lake appears when you eat the soup.
please enjoy the taste, the landscape and topography of the plate.
when you use it as a salad dish, it becomes a forest.
you can create a landscape on your very own table."



3)Dozi Paperclip Holder by Moma...look, it's a porcupine!



4)Lanterns by notNeutral....preeeetty.



5)Lili and Oscar by United Pepper. Look! Lili is a webcam and Oscar is a usb hub, so cute!

Quicky update

Not much to say. The pool is fun but I hate the shifts. The driving is fun but I hate the wasted time. The Castlegar pool called and asked me to come to the staff inservice on Sunday which is amusing as my interview isn't till Wednesday. Tragically that means no church again, and we still haven't gone at all...so we don't even have a church to miss. *sigh*

Have been trying to draw but end up watching anime with Craig all night...currently on episode 36 of Bleach!

Life life life

Hrm. Well this weekend was lovely, my new cousin is adorable of course (as my auntie says, we don't make ugly babies in this family). She's only two weeks old and is all little and squishy still. It was also nice just to hang out at my parents' for a bit. I can kinda pretend I'm still a kid when I'm there. Plus I got raspberry pancakes, so it's a pretty good deal.

Sunday morning I caught a ride home with my aunt and uncle as one of my cousins had a football game nearby. I was a little loopy on the sleeping pills (I've been having a rough sleep time lately...the stressyness is getting into my subconcious) which was unfortunate as I only had time to walk in the door, give Craig a kiss, grab my bag and drive to Nelson to the pool for orientation. 40 min drive while slightly loopy along amusing BC roads is not recommended. I am however, alive and well.

The training went well, it's a nice pool, very positive and well organized. However, I'm averaging less than 10 hours a week, and with a 40 min commute it's not enough. Thus the stressyness. I've been going a bit crazy actually, but I'm feeling okay at the moment. They think it will pick up quite a bit next month and a couple guards are leaving, so finger's crossed. It's all based on senority, which is a bit tough as my 9 year of experience don't count for anything. And I need money. Oh well, we'll see what happens, maybe I'll land a job closer to home yet.

Nothing much else to say, other than that Last Bite by Nancy Verde Barr is a very enjoyable book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light and amusing romancy/mystery style book. Or if you are a foodie. Makes me wish I were Italian.

Ciao!

PS, I have a 1/2 litreish water bottle in my toilet tank. Full of water. Helps the toilet use less water and it all runs the same. For saving the world yesterday and all.

And the downstairs

Because you've been dying to see it I know.

So this is the living room/computer room. It's not exactly my favourite as far as decorating goes...but I can't afford to change that at the moment.



And the kitchen. The countertops are of course pale pink. Gah. So instead of fighting it I'm doing a pink and green thing. It works.



I just got called back and offered a job in Nelson. 20 hours of split shifts. 40 minute commute. Bah. At least it's something though.

I'm going home to see my new baby cousin this weekend, so I might not have time to do the Friday Five...we'll see when my parent's arrive.

The Grand Tour Continues

So this is the upstairs hallway...standing in the TV room, facing the bedroom, bathroom on the left, stairs on the right.


The bathroom countertop is pink, and my stuff is blue. So I figured why fight it? My koi girl matches well anyway and I'd like to continue the koi and lotus theme in here.


The TV room...it's kinda a mishmash of the furniture from the living room and the storage from the office. It doesn't all quite fit yet, I moved a couple boxes before I took the picture (cheating I know).


The stairwell...I tacked up some ribbon and hung photos on it. I knew I collected ribbon for a reason! What's downstairs? Find out tomorrow.


So in other news I spent yesterday in Nelson. I had a job interview which went well. It's a long commute though, so I'm conflicted. Afterwords I wandered about a bit with my portfolio to see if any of the gift shops would be interesting in selling my art. One said no, but if I made cards they'd take them. The other two managers were on holidays. hmmmm.

Then I had lunch at a crazy hippie organic vegan place. I had a samosa and a blackberry smoothie. It was excellent. The people really were crazy though...but in a friendly and nurturing fashion.

Then I spent a great while getting lost trying to find my Gramma...she was recently moved to a senior's home and I have only been there once. I did eventually find it (by instinct, I totally forgot to look it up on the map before I left). She gave me chocolate. Then my uncle and my cousin's kid...who we'll just call my niece because she pretty much is...stopped by as well which was lovely until while cuddling me she headbutted me in the back of the head. Concusion much? Ah well, it was her first day of grade one, so I guess she was excited.

Then today I wandered to the City Office to apply for EI, only to be told that I had to do it online anyway. Hmmmm...so I did. Just in case. Also I went to the used bookstore and the library. That's my day.

The Grand Tour - Bedroom

Well I officially finished unpacking yesterday so I thought you guys might like a tour of the new place. Today is the bedroom. Yes it looks a lot like our old bedroom. They're both just white walled rooms so that's how it goes.



Ha, and I didn't even clean it, it was already that clean. I've even been making the bed everyday, which is not as normal for me as it should be. Geez, I need a job.

Business Card for Mar

I totally forgot to post this as it was done during all the pre-move mess. This is a design I did up for Margaret Fisk, who is a friend of my mommy. She paid me in signed books by Wen Spencer which I am currently enjoying.

So as proof that I can design things without pink and cute shoes:

Save the World Sunday

I'm making Vietnamese Pork for dinner. I always feel like I should win a medal when I make it for the amount of onions I put in. It's pretty much the only way I like onions. Except maybe french onion soup, but I won't lie, I mostly just like the cheesy croutonness.

Anyway, this week I'm giving up paper towel. Okay so I actually did this last week and forgot to post it, but what can you do? I have about a million rags that I discovered while moving and I figure that should work. And honestly I like how they clean better anyway. Except windows...and ideas on windows? Maybe I just need a different kind of rag...

Friday Five

I was working on this last night when a big storm hit and the power was popping on and off. Lost two hours of art. Why don't I save more? Why?

I'm other news my tooth and back are mostly better...75% I would say.

1)Sanna Annukka. A Finnish artist. I am in love. Feel free to buy my prints for my birthday!



2)The cutest beanbag chairs ever from Cocoon Couture. Okay mostly I want to know where the cute wood cutouts come from.



3)See Jane Work. I love this site. I have a strange love of office supplies. But mostly I want this notepad!



4)Beautiful wine glasses by Naomi Thellier de Poncheville. The sandblasted pattern is shown when they're full.



5)Cake pan by ding3000. The idea is that it bakes the cake into different sized slices so everyone can get just the size they want. Unless everyone wants a big piece I guess.