Cara Makes

Critique call- watercolor witches!

2011-11-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

Hey there, ye few and proud who actually still comment on blogs.

A few nights ago I got all hopped up on cocoa and went on a serious watercolor bender and made a donkeycart of paintings. Well. I sort of half-made a donkeycart of paintings. One of the unfortunate effects of paint is that it takes time to draw and by the time it's ready for the next step that fickle jerk Inspiration is partying with someone else (or possibly in a coma, Inspiration never explains its own absconsion) and I end up staring at half-finished pieces that I almost, but don't quite, know how to finish.

So hey, all comments and suggestions welcome! And if nothing else, perhaps shaming myself by posting this horribly unfinished stuff will get me back in the studio on this fine sunny day.

Oh man, I need to fix that hand. A LOT. Fortunately watercolor will let me do that. Aside from that, though-ideas?

Fire and Smoke

2011-09-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I was all raring to get home from Animefest in Dallas and get to work last week.

Yeah, that didn't happen. Not the work; the getting home. Instead I spent last week in various familial and friend-based emergency accommodations, frantically refreshing the local Weather Underground map and looking to see if my home had burned down.

For those who aren't in Texas and may not have been following the news, or known where to look for it: This is why I had to evacuate. My home is downwind of this:

http://2coolfishing.net/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=367416

http://www.kutnews.org/post/view-bastrop-fire-space

and of several smaller fires.

My home now is safe, thanks again and always to the incredible work of volunteers fire workers and-frankly- some decent land management from old-timers around here who still know the right way to firebreak their property. I'm settling back in and bustling around tidying up and cringing every time I smell that sweet hit of woodsmoke that usually means barbecue and winter and good times. Right now, it means someone's life is burning.

Meanwhile, I'm ok. I'm unspeakably and undeservedly ok, and my house is ok, and I'm even beginning to think it may stay that way. I may be delayed in my studio work, because I have some housework to catch up on, and that is more than ok; that is fantastic. I have never loved dishes so much.

I'd like to offer some spine-strengthening fire safety tips or something,so people can take action and feel empowered. But in fact there's very little that laughs in the face of human preparedness like a raging wildfire. Always have a go-bag ready, support your local fire department, and if the day comes that news says go, just GO. There's not much else to be done, unless you're a firefighter yourself; and if you are, my most sincere thanks.

Animefest: WIP and Whoosh Away

2011-08-31T22:48:00.000-05:00

Hello, blogworld! Did you miss me? I've missed you. Alas and alack, health issues have kept me pretty well sidelined this summer. I'm not quite out of the world yet, though! I'm heading out the door to a convention tonight, and when I get back, we'll have a nice big postfeast, all right?

Meantime, look! Stuff I've been working on! I'm not quite satisfied with where these pictures are now, but maybe seeing them on screen, or even getting some feedback, will help?

Art Practice: Foxy

2011-06-28T04:35:00.000-05:00

I've been in a weird spot, artwise, for the last year or so. I'm working constantly, because I keep seeing these fantastic techniques I want to try, and I feel like I'm thiiiiis close to understanding the first thing about color theory, and of course I'm still trying to train my right hand up with animal sketches (though I haven't posted those in a while, the work continues!)

But all this attempted improvement is seriously slowing down production! So one of the new things I'm trying is a faster coloring method taking blatant advantage of the fact that, hey, I have a new computer and it can do things!

My idea of "quick" turns out to suddenly be "four hours of work", but that's because I felt the inexplicable need to make a fancy new drawing instead of something basic. You see my production problem!

Anyway!

I like the look; I'm gonna mess around a little more with basic line art and fix the obvious spilled colors, but I think this one might actually grow into a real piece one day!

What do you think, blogcomments? How often do you change up your work technique? Do you thing it's worth the hassle? Is there even a choice?

Return of Son of Sketches of the Week!

2011-06-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Does anyone still come to this thing?

I have been horribly negligent in my blog maintenance. I know this. I regret to say I will probably continue to be pretty awful about it. The craziness of the summer season plus the need to, y'know, actually MAKE SOME ART to share has kind of commandeered my time. If anyone wants to chat, I'm generally over on Twitter!

But if people want to look at my pictures, they can still come here! Check it out:

I've found a lovely group that provides really fun sketch prompts, so at least I should be back in the swing of that for a while. And some of those might become real pictures! You never know.

Also! I am working on a Super Secret Project. Don't want to jinx it, but maybe Monday there will be some hint.

Kinkajou and A Kangaroo (rat)

2011-05-30T05:43:00.000-05:00

Out of all the beasties I've drawn, this couplet really shows the least distinction between my left and right side. Like, eerily little distinction. If only every pic I set out to draw was like that, I'd no longer have to fear my constantly self-destructing left shoulder.

I must say I am seriously disappointed in The Book of Mammals for giving so little time or attention to the Kangaroo Rat. I'm generally not a fan of verminbeasts, but Kangaroo Rats are pretty awesome. Look at those tails! Or rather, look at THAT tail, since the book only gave me one lousy KR picture. Feh and weeping.

But I'll forgive it for all the awesome Kinkajou action. You can't say Kinkajou and be unhappy, that's a Science Fact. Try it.
Also an (actual) Science Fact: Kinkajous can turn their feet backward to climb down trees! If you could read my notes, you'd know that already! But since I have artistic handwriting (it's not bad, it's an interpretive rendition!), you probably did not.

Share a weird fact with me in the comments!

Koalas Make the Derpiest Faces

2011-05-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Seriously. Every koala pic in the book has an expression that can only be described as "derp".

Except for one, who appears to be laughing boorishly at an awful joke.

An unfortunate fact about koalas: they are very hard to draw without making them turn into Fozzie Bear.There's a certain inherent puppety felt nature to those padded cheeks and floofy ears. I would try to overcome it, and express the true savage beastial nature of the dropbear, but..nah. That pretty much IS their nature, really.

One thing I find interesting as I go on this project: my right hand, while clearly weaker and less practiced than my left, is also clearly still MY hand. My essential style doesn't seem to change much. But the way I look at my references changes a lot from hand to hand; I have very little urge to cartoon or compose, working right handed, but I do have a more conscious awareness of light and basic shape. Not expected, but interesting...

Sketcherie: Lemurs!

2011-05-22T05:00:00.008-05:00

At first I thought, hey, I'll post up my mammalian sketches every day! Then I realized that (a)that would get really tedious, and (b) that would end up with all you poor following folk seeing things like The Day of the Lemmings. To summarize what I learned from drawing lemmings:

Lemmings are really, really boring to draw.

Seriously they're just little circles with dots for eyes. I was bored like a softwood pine under a devastating beetle onslaught. Did I mention I make myself draw every creature for thirty minutes apiece with either hand? Because I do! A solid hour of fuzzballs, ugh.

But see, you don't have to see or hear about that (the above rant was only a sample of my boredom-induced ravings. Trust me, I COULD GO ON.) thanks to the power of ~~procrastination~~ planning! Planning and saving material! Yes!

Instead, here are several pages of lemurs, some of the most fantastically fun and drawable creatures on Earth.

One thing that's really baffling me so far is how to draw the distinction between fur-texture and shading in a grayscale media. One of these lemurs especially had some serious fur ruffles on its limbs- but trying to draw that in, it looks like he's just striped. Fur-portraying advice, anyone?

Hiatus? What Hiatus?

2011-04-26T03:09:00.000-05:00

I haven't been slacking! I've been sketching! Look, some kangaroos. Drawn right AND left handed. Because I WILL get the full benefit of my ambidexterity, consarn it.

Why kangaroos? Why two pages of kangaroos, not to mention the painting drying in my studio? Well...

I have never drawn a really good tiger.

This may not seem like a terribly important fact. Rarely does the fate of the world depend on an immediate skillful rendition of tigerhood. But I really WANT to draw a good tiger. Tigers haunt my migraine auras. They chase me in dreams (where they like lollipops and where vests) and are unspeakably gorgeous in real life, and I routinely get ideas for tiger-based pictures.

That I don't draw. Nor do I draw the random ideas for pictures based on llamas, elephants, harp seals, koati or zebu cattle. I don't draw these things because I can't draw them, and I can't draw them because I don't draw them. Not only am I a Hack*, I am A Hack of Very Little Experience. And this is not entirely my fault- I've had other things to occupy my time in this particular go 'round on the Life board-- but of all the things that interfere with my Arting Fun Times, a lack of drawing experience is the only one I can definitely alter.

At least with the help of good photo reference.

Hence my great glee at finding the National Geographic Book of Mammals in the clearance bin at the local Cheapo Bookstore. As far as I can tell, it exists for no other purpose than to give Hacks a great slab o' photo reference. So I'm planning to spend the year drawing my way from kangaroos to zebras, a new beastie every day. Maybe I'll get some finished pieces out of the deal, maybe not. But at least, when I next want to draw a Koatimundi, I'll have a basic idea of where to begin.

Oh.

And if it takes the rest of the year, I will draw a really GOOD tiger.

* I am a hack, oh yes I am, never doubt it or challenge me on that. But the Talent Rant is for another day.

Happy Anniversary To Meeee!

2011-03-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

I've made my Monday art post, because it's been a while. But the important thing today is not, for once, how brilliant and creative and dramatic I am (nod, people. I need affirmation).

The important thing about today is that it is, against remarkable odds, my thirteenth wedding anniversary! Holy Cats!

Cats are the right thing to swear by, actually- I was never the little girl who played wedding or dreamed about Prince Charming. I had extensive plans to go to art school, become a neurochemistsurgeongineer with superpowers (comics say it's possible, kids!) and then eventually retire from my life of brilliant crime fighting to make immortal works of art in a house with like 85 cats, which I would deploy as my feline deputies around the city when old age made me too limited to fight anymore.

You can see how I thought I'd be too busy for romance.

But then some lunatic jumped in front of my car, and there went all my careful plans.

In retrospect, the superhuman crimefighter plan would have been a lot easier, but I'm glad I stuck with the fella. I hate cleaning litterboxes, I look lousy in spandex...and after thirteen years he still makes me grin when I think about him.

So. I'm going to be stepping away from the computer now. See everyone later this week!

Monday Sketchplosion: I Only Rant At What I Love

2011-03-21T00:30:00.010-05:00

Well, it's been a while- and since I never did get enough votes to break the last tie, I went for the ladies of fate, who've somehow decided they wanted to be all mid-20th C popart at me. Not what I was expecting, so it's taking longer than I wanted.I don't know what prompted that at all.

I DO know what prompted this week's sketchplosion. Much as I love fantasy art, there is a distressing prevalence therein of Skinny Pretty People. Sometimes they have wings, or pointed ears. But overwhelmingly, they are skinny, they are mostly generically European, (or sometimes Irish), clearly intended to be attractive, and they are usually wearing some sort of Renfaire clothing.

And none of these things is bad in of itself- I like Renfaire clothing! I am people! Some of my best friends are skinny! And I have drawn my share of pretty skinny engarbed pics. But altogether at a lump it makes fantasy art seem ironically unimaginative.

Well, I'm taking a stand- or rather a sit, I don't stand- against this invasion of standard forms! Down with the Pretty People! Back to the Faire Folk! I want fantasy art that makes me jump at shadows and study treebark faces and wonder about the artist's ability to conduct their own affairs in public! And if I have to make it myself, then that's just how it's gotta be. Though it probably won't help my credit score.

So, here's what's eating my brain right now:

No need to vote on these, I'm making them all in time, though I will be making some changes.That basking frogthing needs to different colors, just to name one obvious problem. None of those changes will involve fancy costumes though. I have quite enough of that happening on another project, one which I'm hoping to wrap up...soon. Maybe this month! How exciting!

Tyrsday: Happy Bat and Presumptuous Frog

2011-03-08T00:31:00.002-06:00

Some animals this time! And color!

This happy freetail bat is from the cover of Texas Co-Op Magazine, a great local mag for, well, customers of Texas electrical Co-ops. That's a cooperatively owned utility (or business, or what have you) if you don't know-- like owning stock in a company, we all own a part of our electric company! And if they do well during the year, we get money back from our utility bill. Wooo! We love our Co-op company!

Also, pictures of happy bats!

The Mexican freetail bat is kind of a ginormous Thing here,but apparently some people don't like bats! All I can figure is those people are poops. Look at that smiley face! That's not even artistic license, it's totally grooving! Freetails eat their weight in bugs, serve as major crop pollinators, and make adorable chirpy sounds at night. I like to watch them doing acrobatics out around our security light in the summer, picking off the bugs that would otherwise be noshing me to the bone. Go, bats!

Also, a rather smug frog. Frogs always look either smug or panicked.

Tyrsday 2: Thoughts and performers

2011-03-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Most of the sketches I've been doing right-handed have been from photos. I have a collection of wonderful magazines like National Geographic, Smithsonian, Scientific American- all with excellent and inspiring photos. And while it would of course be utterly tack to try and steal use of the photos for gain, I don't think something like this:

is going to be taking food out of a photographer's mouth any time soon.

These two were taken from an article on Mexico; photos of a luchador wrapping his muscles and a musician waiting to play. I don't think either of these proud performers would care that a weak-wrist artist in Texas was inspired by their angles, but: Thanks, guys! You've been a big help!

It's been a long time since I did this much sketching-from-reference, actually, and that's a failing on my part. There's a danger in the sort of illustrative/stylized work I do of forgetting the basics. It's like spending so much time on a trampoline that you can't stand on solid ground. So it's good to reconnect. More than that, though, I feel like all this right-handed practice (believe me, I'm only showing a tiny sliver of it here) is teaching my brain forms in a way I haven't grasped before. I can feel the way I think about drawing changing.

Mind you, all of this awesome new learning is actually making my work in the moment kind of horrible. But that's a topic for another day...

Monday Sketchsplosion

2011-02-28T07:24:00.000-06:00

IIIII'm Back! Whoo!

Sorry to be so long on this-especially as I've really wanted everyone's advice! But as I explained in my last post, sometimes it's unavoidable. You still love me, right, internet?

Being flattened by my own brainpan does tend to decrease my productivity-- but I still finished the most requested sketch from the last sketchplosion! Unfortunately, she sort of turned into this very military chic lass along the way, and, well...

Fonts happened. I really like the idea of her being part of a recruitment poster- but now (a) I'm fighting the urge to make a whole series of God Brigades and (b)I am probably going to be mucking with the fonts for approximately eleventy billion years. They are a weakness of mine.

But I think I can keep wordage out of this week's sketchity choices! A couple are a little more complicated compositionally, but nothing I can't handle. Have a look:

And tell me what I should spend my head-fixed time on!

Sunday Comic: Amazing Blow Up Hedz

2011-02-27T00:57:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I disappear, regardless of weather. When I do, I'm very sorry, folks, but this is the reason why:

It takes just forever to sweep up the headbits, get my neck to stop smoking, and get back to work.

Also, the experience of having seizures while holding a 1200 dollar piece of equipment is much to be avoided.

So what's keeping you from getting everything done? Kids? Pets? Marching bears with shark planes?

Weekly Hooray: Banded Goddess

2011-02-24T10:20:00.000-06:00

Well, February continues grey and weird and unpleasant. In the calendar family, February is totally the grey damp sheep of the family. Blech.

But there are still color-worthy things happening, at least to me, and since this is my blog, I expect everyone to be celebratory along with me. So all together now: Yaaaay!

Why? Well, this week, it's this:

That's Terry Spier-Kalmar's Banded Goddess necklace, given to me out of the crazy awesome generosity of her heart and the wild blogride that was One World One Heart this year.

I'm sure you can see just looking how lovely that is-- but what amazes me is that this is a necklace I would commission if I were able to commission a necklace right now! Wow! Look! Fluorite, my favorite rock(It phosphoresces! It serves as an energy shield! It is used in cookware enamel!Best gemstone ever!) ! A wonderful smooth-nubbly glass goddess for my twitchy fingers to hold when I'm thinking! A magnetic clasp so my same stupid fingers can actually get the piece on and off! And it sits right at the point where I like my pendants. I am, in short, never takin' this thing off. Sorry to anyone else here through OWOH who might have wanted it themselves, but clearly, this Goddess was made for me.

But I bet you can find something just perfect for you at Terry's site, http://www.magicalbeadstalk.com-- she's got all sorts of pretty rocks up for ogling!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Happy Necklace Dance to get back to. Strike up the band!

Friday! I don't have a theme for Friday!

2011-02-17T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well, not yet. I have joined Illustration Fridays, so soon I shall inspiration delivered unto me on a weekly basis, but this week it was "sweater" and I am not thinking about that even a little. Farewell, winter! May the door break yer backside on the way out! I am frolicking even now in my thinnest yoga pants! Frolicking, I tell you!

Still wearing my corset though, because a woman's got to have standards.

Anyway.

I may not have a theme, but Life is offering me one, in the form of Ladybug Army. Seriously. The lovelies are swarming my laptop screen, crawling on my glasses, getting under the stylus when I try to draw on my tablet. I'm thinking I need to invent a goddess of Ladybugs, so I can appeal to her to make them lay off, 'cause this wench does not do collaborative art very well.

Back later today, I hope! And if not...well, thereby shall hang a tale!

Technically, Difficulties: In Which I Rant A Lot

2011-02-14T06:45:00.000-06:00

For those who don't know: My part of Texas got slammed with a major coldfront over the last couple of weeks. I know those of you who live in Lands of Ice And Snow are laughing, thinking "Oho, that silly Texan, I bet she's talking about like 50F" and that's justified, because I will in fact bawl like a toffler who's dropped her ice cream when it hits 50, but: no. I'm talking about 20, 15, 12F.

TWELVE! That is unacceptable, folks.

In a forty year old trailer with no coldproofing. Because, seriously, we're in South Central Texas! Who needs coldproofing! HEAT, that's the problem! Yes! We are so ready for that! Cold? Feh.

...Until all the pipes explode and my paints freeze in their tubes. My paints! Froze right up! Ungroovy, friends. Not that it matters too much, since I probably shouldn't indulge my watercolor lust until we have running water again.

I also froze right up- apparently, being desperately cold is hard on the human body! Who knew, right? So while I've managed to avoid actually getting ill (Living isolated in the woods does wonders for vector elimination) my chronic...well, everything, swung back into high gear. I've spent most of the last couple of weeks half blind and twitchy, which does not allow for great art. But does make for some hilarious housekeeping! Did you know you can boil chopsticks to softness? Well now you do! And so do I!*

Point being, I'm gonna be a leeetle behind on my blog duties for this week, as I fight to compensate for Weather Happening. But then I'll have sketches! And stories! And maybe..uh..other kinds of sketches and stories! It's a blog, I'm sort of limited. But I hope you'll be there!

*Chopstick Drop Soup: Not that good. It has a nice solid flavor, but the wood is full of splinters, fancy that.

Monday Sketchplosion 2: The Projecting Continues!

2011-02-07T04:51:00.000-06:00

Hurrah huzzah, I'm back! Back in the world of the warm and the living! ...And the burst pipes and a waterless house and a few other minor inconveniences. But what does that matter when I've got an internet connection and a quiet house to keep me company, right? Right!

Still, last week's technical troubles did interfere with my artness--but not prevent it! Behold, the Flying Fish!

What do you all think? Especially those of you who voted for the Fish?

I would have liked to spend a little more time with it, but as agreed in the solemn confines of my own skull, it's been a week, however hectic, and the fish, it is done!

This week's selections may seem less varied than last- but that's why I need the advice of my blogworld! When I get two or three basic ideas for a piece, I'll usually get hung up choosing between them-- somehow I feel making both would be cheating as though I could plagiarize myself-- and the end result is that I make neither. It's in these close confines that an outside nudge is really liberating! So, once again, tell me which of these pieces I should focus on this week:

And, by the way-- if anyone's got a decent name for this weekly project, I'd love to hear it!

Deep Freeze Radio Silence

2011-02-03T16:17:00.000-06:00

For those who don't follow my Twitter, or the news-- Texas has been experiencing rolling blackouts the last couple days, as our power system tries unsuccessfully to cope with the horrible terrifying unexpected development of the weather being cold in winter.
Joking aside, and it's hard not to laugh at our extremophile cultural adaption,* this is bad news. There are Canadian cities warmer than us right now. I think it's a sign of the Apocalypse, or at least Ragnarok.

So the rolling blackouts are bad, but you know what's worse? Having no power at all for 12 hours on the coldest day of the eternity! Woooo!And that's what happened to me yesterday, thanks to- no, not cold-- a FIRE at my local power station. The elements have my number.

Anyway. Twelve hours of blanket- wrapped huddling and a pipe-bursted house combined with erratic internet have rather impeded my ability to deliver the hefty blog and shop updates I was hoping for this week. I'll be putting out..er...floods for a few days to come, I suspect. But I'll be back next week, hopefully in warmer weather and with a full power supply at my back!

*As Joel Watson at Hijinks Ensue pointed out, our power grid apparently has no trouble cooling the entire state for five months of 100F + heat, but cries and breaks down like a five year old meeting Santa after ONE DAY of real cold.

Tyrsday: I Am Not Left Handed

2011-02-01T17:17:00.001-06:00

No, it's true! Yes, I draw and write left-handed. But that's not my default state! I was born ambidextrous, and trained away from it by years of school teachers and parental types insisting I just choose one, already, and stop changing hands in the middle of the page all the time.

That I chose to focus on the hand that would guarantee tool failure 90 percent of the time illustrates why even smart children should not be allowed to make life altering decisions. But I digress.

I never did narrow my handedness down on anything besides school-related work, and given my various health issues that's saved my bacon more than once. But even if I didn't regularly have body parts drop out of commicsion, it seems a horrible waste to have one hand that never gets to do fine work- and also it seems like begging fate to come along and disarm me so that I have to spend my remaining days lamenting my lost dexterity (sinisterity?). So this year my resolution is to get my right hand back up to snuff! I've been writing longhand, and if the handwriting isn't perfect yet I can't say it's really worse than my usual lefty doctor-prescription scrawl. But the art, now....

That's gonna take a while.
So come around Tuesdays to share the hilarity of my attempt at self improvement, won't you?

(Tyr, of course, was a Norse God of Getting His Hand Bitten Off By A Giant Wolf Who Was Also Sort of His Stepbrother. And you think your family reunions are awkward.)

Monday Marching Orders! Also: Sketchsplosion!

2011-01-30T23:14:00.001-06:00

ETA: The votes are in, and Flying Fish takes the prize! So now I know what I'm doing for the rest of the week! Especially you voters, be sure to show up Monday so you can tell me how I did!

If you voted for one of the other sketches, don't despair! They aren't scuttled, they're just not getting my attention this week. They may return...!

If you've been following this blog for, oh, five minutes or so, you may have noticed that I have a serious case of Attention Deficit Creator Disorder*. Symptoms manifest as a worrying surfeit of ideas and terrifying lack of finished product.

I don't know what causes it in other carriers, but for me it's like being in love with love-- I love getting new ideas! They're so perfect in my head! The first few revisions are fantastic! The layouts start getting serious. Maybe we start talking about how many colors we'll have someday.

And then, well, it starts turning into work. We end up having the same argument over whether the background should be more detailed five times a day, and their brother idea is so much more charming and never asks me to adjust the angle of his arm five degrees, and pretty soon I've abandoned my old idea for a new one.

And this would be fine, since of course ideas can't chuck all your possessions out the window or ruin your reputation in your social circle. But there's always some things that can't be learned outside a serious commitment. Finishing techniques, larger motives, the sheer satisfaction of calling a thing done, not perfectly but finally.

It's time to admit I have a problem. If I could control it myself, I would...but clearly I can't. So I turn to you, Blog Readers of Misty Myth! Every week I'll share a few sketchy ideas with you, like so:

And you tell me which one needs to be made into a finished piece! The final piece will post on Mondays, along with the next week's sketches.

Need incentive? Once a month, a blog-voter will get a postcard, from me, of one of the winning designs! Frankly I adore getting real mail, and I hope you do too. Because I really need some advice! So tell me: what am I drawing this week?

Who Let The New Year In ?!?

2011-01-30T21:37:00.000-06:00

What? I'm late to the New Year Resolutions and random January-based productivity binges? Surely not! I mean, looking at the calendar, it's not for another week and--

Oh, that's Chinese New Year.

Oh well, I like Chinese New Year, it's fun. Twice the fireworks, and also dragons! Plus this is the Year of the Rabbit! Rabbits are good. Rabbits are...well, terrifying, actually. I'm with Anya on that one. But let's all pretend that I'm celebrating Chinese New Year nonetheless, and I'm actually a jump ahead on 2011, all right? It would be a big relief for me.

Late or early, though, this blog isn't being neglected! I've been planning all sorts of plans, and I hope you'll be with me in the new year-- however you celebrate it- to help them happen! See you Monday!

WIP: Mega Crazy Hyper Holiday Prep Time!

2010-12-08T02:12:00.000-06:00

Let's face it, for the next month, there's only one project that I'm really devoting myself to.

I may have mentioned it in past years, but I adore holiday time. I never feel the least bit obligated to bake and decorate and play holiday songs eight billion times in one month; I love doing these things, that's all. But none of it works without the centerpiece of the whole endeavor...

Seriously, I can't even start to get in the holiday spirit without my tree! And now I can't stop! So this blog may seem a bit...obsessed... for the next couple of weeks. I'll try to keep it shiny for you, at least!

My household has always put up the tree as early as possible in December (this year right on the 1st! Go us!) and takes it New Year's Eve. But I know other people have other traditions. When do you start decorating? Do you use a grown tree or a handcrafted one? When does it come down? And is there a story with that tradition?

Holiday Fun Time with A Vengeance!

2010-12-07T03:51:00.000-06:00

So, you may wonder what I've been doing lately...

Yeah that's right! I been partying!

Holiday season is gearing up, and around here- with my shop being slow in the holidays and all-- that means nothing but solid party prep for a month. So things will be a little less chatty here than usual.
But from here on in, There Will Be Posts! So if anyone is unbusy enough to check their blogrolls, I'll still be putting up something here to entertain you. Maybe even sizable posts! Who knows? I don't!

Except I like tomorrow's post. Come see me tomorrow! And dance along with the ladies in their garb!

We Have A Winnah!

2010-12-03T20:50:00.000-06:00

Well, two winners, actually!

The bookmarks will go to the lovely fantastical KILA! Yes! I happen to know she runs a very nice Etsy shop, which you should go check out, because she's got all sorts of shiny goodies you're just busting to give someone who's been nice to you. Kila, I hope my bookmarks somehow carry with them enough time to actually read something in the middle of all your making and doing!

Aaaand the winner of a piece of art from me is-- MERMAIDEN! This was nearly inevitable, Mermaiden was my single most frequent commenter, and the ONLY person to comment on all the Thursday posts (except Thanksgiving Thursday, and hey, who was online then?!?). Mermaiden also has an Etsy shop, full of wicked lovely things you do NOT want to give even to dear friends, because you want them for myself. Yourself, I mean. Yeah.

So in conclusion, yay for both of you, and I'll contacting you by Etsy convo, and I hope everyone goes to these two shops and gives me everything they buy there, because seriously, great shops.

I'll see everyone again on Monday- this blog's going to be a little different during December, but posting will happen!

Well, Heck.

2010-11-29T16:39:00.000-06:00

Dear blog readers: My internet connection has begun acting-- and this is a technical term, so follow closely-- stupid. I am even now drinking from the shallow and bitter cup of dial-up we keep in the emergency cellar for this sort of emergency. So I can't post images or respond properly to your lovely comments at the moment.

This does not mean I don't appreciate your lovely comments! I am working my way back to the internet, oh yeah, just as fast as I can. I miss you all, and hopefully we shall soon be reunited in the glorious land where images load in less than thirty minutes. Until then, click, comment, and shop the heck out of all the CyberMonday sales I'm missing, ok? I want someone to be having fun today...

Fairy Tale Friday: The Sun's Other Daughter

2010-11-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

Apparently I am a bad, bad salesperson. A good salesperson would have told all her bloggy friends that she was having a sale on prints in her shop over the weekend. And would have mentioned it straight up in every blogpost for like a week, with no hesitation. And probably been Twittering it like crazy and stuff too.

The thing is, I really hate doing that. Self promotion is boring and nasty and makes me feel cheap. But I like knowing when the artists I enjoy are having a sale! Ah, contradiction. What do you think, Dear Readers?

For myself, I'd rather focus on other things. The sudden late arrival of Near-Winter, for one. Autumn's a pretty mellow season around here-- just yesterday, I was running the AC- but there's a certain finality to the latest cold front that promises Fall is gone and Winter really settling in, or at least staying for dinner. Part of it is the fact that leaves are finally falling off trees, and our sunflowers at last gave up some petals. But mostly it's

You see, when the Sun moved away from her first home (with her Wolf, but that's a different story) she had one daughter who took on the family business of running the lights and heat and general utilities for the world. Very responsible girl, the Sun's oldest daughter. But it's a big job, and the Sun doesn't hold a monopoly on the position. Her sister Moon does a lot of seasonal work, too. The Moon lives on the other side of the world (with her Wolf, but that is again a different story) and runs tides and migrations and such essential secondary services.

When Sun and Moon shared a house as a couple of single sisters, coordinating these things wasn't a problem. But once they moved to opposite sides of the world, they and their daughters (Moon actually had a couple of sons first- somewhat unexpected, and they're good children, but this isn't their story either) had to find someway to stay in sync. There were a few very bad years where the two houses just could not get together,even for holidays.

But then the Sun's second daughter started to come of age. Without having the whole seasonal company in her command, she was free to wander about. Since her little sister was always roaming anyway, she found it no trouble at all to take messages to her aunt's house. Both Moon and Sun houses were glad to at last have reliable information in a timely way, at least enough to stop running so many eclipses; and so overall the situation was resolved to everyone's benefit, and without any of that tiresome sibling rivalry that spoils so many mythic families (except for the Moon's sons, but again that is another story entirely).

The only inconvenient thing about the whole affair was that, whether she did her mother's job or not, the Sun's second daughter couldn't help trailing a bit of the family radiance with her wherever she went. This was hardly noticeable when she traveled over regions where her sister or mother were residing; the equator and lands in summer didn't notice another set of sunny footsteps. But lands in winter flash quickly to the memory of summer when the Sun's messenger daughter zipped on her way, and human people in those lands grumble and change coats and wonder why they can't be allowed to plan a bit from day to day.

What I'm saying is, I now have to deploy my entire wardrobe until the end of March, to be ready for the changing travels of the Sun's second daughter.

And also I hate having to act like a businesswoman. Someone go buy my shop out, so I can focus on making more addled stories and art!

Thanksgiving Thursday!

2010-11-25T01:35:00.000-06:00

Hello everybody!

Sorry to go quiet this week- especially this week, when I've got so much I want to be sharing-- but I've been pulling together the Thanksgiving meal in my limited free time, and the turkey-wrangling has occupied all my thoughts. I take my food seriously! So my Works in Progress this week have been tasty but hard to share on the blog.

Today I shall be stuffing my face with the fruits of my efforts. Whether you celebrate Elastic Waistband Day today or not, I hope you have plenty to celebrate- and I'll be back this weekend with some final November posts!

Thank You Thursday: Chocolate!

2010-11-18T09:05:00.000-06:00

I am up way too early.

A small but vital part of my art/computer setup has failed me for the last time. It shall be rewarded as a traitor deserves, but in the meantime I'm being unproductive, even though I'm up early.

I am up way, waaay too early.

And it's cold outside.

And I don't care, because I've got a great big mug of hot cocoa, (homemade, of course; premix cocoa is an abomination) and a cat on my feet.

Thank you, Theobroma Cacao, for making everything better all the time. You are worth way more than all the gold and silver in the world.

Maybe not the tea, but you're buddies with tea, so that's fine.

What's making everything better for you today?

****

(Yes, the comment contest is still on! Remember that comments left today qualify for the custom drawing. Thank you, bloggy readers!)

WIP Wednesday: Queen of Color Roughs

2010-11-17T00:13:00.015-06:00

Dear readers, I really need your help. While I love the general look of my Queens, the details are driving me crazy! Take colors. I'm trying to make two versions of the Queens- one with only the main inks and gold details, and one with a single main highlighting color. Let's have the Queen of Spades show us how that might look, roughly:

And I've been trying to keep to the primary colors (green is a primary color! The three-color model is outdated and wrong!). But that gives me a problem: If Heart is red, Diamond is blue, and Spade is green, what do I for Clubs?

Darker Green?

Purple?

Orange?

And for that matter, what animal do I give to the Queen of Spades, at the top of the post? Clubs has squirrel (well she will) Hearts has a fox, Diamond has a hawk..what can I do for my sword-swinging lady?

I appeal to you, might blog-o-sphere, for ideas!

Mondoodle: Alphabet Cards

2010-11-15T00:02:00.001-06:00

A looong time ago, I drew my way through a pack of 100 index cards in two days. It was pretty insane, and I wrecked my hand for a week to come, but it did get me out of an artistic slump I'd been in for a month.

It did not get me out of this slump by helping me to create especially GOOD art, though. Although some of the cards did in fact turn out surprisingly well, and I found that they were quite a good work surface, most of the pictures were made just to make something. Nothing holds me up artistically quite as much as an utterly delusional recurring urge to perfectionism,

So I made the cards, and promised myself I'd show them to other people, even. As in, "even though they're gonna be awful". So here, the first of some of those surviving cards:

All of these cards have oddly elaborate stories on the backside. But perhaps none have a greater mystery than the Invisible B, which will not load. Why? Oh Letter Image of Mystery!

Sunday Comic: Cat Circus

2010-11-14T07:56:00.000-06:00

Yes, the Cat Circus is real! It's a wonderful charity that helps sponsor care for stray cats, and works to get them permanent homes- at least the ones who don't join the show. It's a fantastic show- but I must say, Hendiana Jones was far and away the scene stealer. I never knew a chicken could be so awesome!

See you tomorrow, cats and chicks- and don't forget, the comment contest is still on!

Thank You Thursday- The Contest Continues!

2010-11-11T16:55:00.000-06:00

Whoo, almost didn't get today's post up! And that would be bad, because it would mean fewer entries for the artwork contest. Ooh yes. You remember, this contest? I want maximum entries, I do!

But the weather is whipping up merry Hob-- anyone else want me to draw a merry Hob, now?-- and these posts, unlike the others, I don't plan out ahead of time. That's right, these Thursday posts are all spontaneous! Hurrah! But that means when the satellite internet is wonky, so is my posting schedule. Alas!

But I do like my theme days, so: these posts seem like a perfect place to talk about what's awesome in my world at the moment. And at the moment, it's this gorgeous storm boiling up right outside. Oh, it's going to find all the leaks in our roof and rock our trailer on its feet when it hits-- but for all that, it's awesome in the original sense to watch the sky turning electric violet and all the pines dancing like stars in a black and white Fleischer cartoon.

And I'm of course very grateful, while that whips up, to be inside at all, even moreso given the existence of a comfy couch and two purring cats holding a war for my lap and a big shelf o' exotic tea.

And of course I'm thankful for you, my few, faithful commenters, who make me get up and get to work even on stormy days. Thank you!

What are you glad for today?

WIP: Card Courts

2010-11-10T08:15:00.000-06:00

Playing cards -traditional four-suit playing cards- frustrate me. They seem so chock-full of obvious folk memory symbolic goodness, with the caste-system allusions in the deck, and the King knifing his own head, and all. But start looking for any detailed information on that symbolism, and it's like chewing taffy. Beyond the whole staves-meant-swords-stood-the-military type stuff, no one seems to know exactly why the cards look the way they do.

Part of the reason the works that come here are In Progress is because I usually feel they're not quite solid enough to finish. With these ladies, for instance, I'm not happy having a pure shape motif. Looking at my Queen of Diamonds, I can see she needs a hunting- hawk.

But what animal should go with my Queen of Hearts? And what should they both be holding as a token of their office? Scepters? Cel Phones? I don't know, but I don't like them empty-handed.

So I toss the discussion to you, dear blog-friends, while I go sketch out my Queen of Spades and Queen of Clubs. Let me know what YOU think- especially since the comment-contest is still on!

Mondoodle : Cowly Owls!

2010-11-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

Some pretty developed doodles this week! I started on these owls back in the owl-cowl crazy days of Etsy. I never did finish them, at least then, because apparently I have an allergy to taking advantage of fads. But they're cute, aren't they?

But my husband saw them and went Squee, almost to the letter, so apparently now I am maritally required to produce something with them. And Etsy has moved on to...what, exactly? I don't know, but thank the Monkey it's not white and cream boxes of owls anymore (that actually sounds way creepier than it was...kinda cool! I'd like a box of white and cream owls...), so I sould be able to avoid the horrors of possible success and popularity.

So, what do you think? Cards? Prints? What should I do with these big-eyed beauties?

And don't forget--

HEY!

Don't Forget there's A Giveaway Going On!

The winner will get a set of my new-and yet unreleased- bookmarks! I've seen these, I've got them in my hot little hands, and they are pretty darn nice bookmarks, laminated, ribboned and all pretty with Carapace art. So if you like my art and like books, you'll like these! And if you don't like either of those things, well, I'm honestly not sure why you're here. Hi?

THE RULES! Wooo!

Leave a comment, any day! And make sure I can reach you through your profile, or leave me an email.

No, seriously, that's it! One comment per person per post can get entered in the contest! But only real comments- no "Enter me" or "Check out this contest"! This one's for my bloggy faithful, not the contest-trawling masses.*

See you Wednesday!

*Dear contest-trawling masses- I will have a contest for you later. I am one of you! I like contests! There will be ads and all!

Fairy Tale Friday: The Winter Palace

2010-11-05T16:41:00.000-05:00

They sing spring out of the ground; they serenade the summer; they hold out against the first chills of fall to keep the nights alive. They are the constant choir of the evening, and yet few wonder, in the frosts and silence of winter, where the frogs have gone. Perhaps it's assumed that they fly south for the winter, or-horribly- that they all die off, like wildflowers, to be reborn in the spring.

In fact the frogs learned to plan for the frogs long ago. When the weather starts getting too cold for sun-loving think-skinned frogs, and the air is too thin for a good song, they go not south but down. The frogs burrow, swim, slide through the darkness of the earth and bottom of cooling lakes. And there on the other side of the cold they meet in their winter palace, warm and safe and with endless entries opened only by frogs,to practice their songs until the next spring.

***
Almost all of my fairy tales are entirely made up (by me!), but this one is only embellished. Frogs really do burrow down for the winter, going into a very profound hibernation to escape the cold. Personally I do suspect they are rehearsing their songs in the quiet of their own minds; but science cannot yet confirm my hypothesis, and the local frogs, reached for comment, only say "ree ree ree".

But yes, the frogs survive. You have no idea how relieved I was, as a child, to learn this.

***
And don't forget, my contest is still on! One comment per post counts as an entry!

Thank You Thursday- The Contest!

2010-11-04T14:51:00.000-05:00

THANK YOU!

This month, my Etsy shop- you may have heard about my Etsy shop, I talk about it constantly-- tipped to over 500 hearts. Now that may not seem like a lot, but it's a lot to me! And I know some of you are reading this blog too. To you, I'm especially grateful- the Etsy shop is where I show off, but this is where I get to talk about it! And oh, do I love talking about it.

So this month I'm going to be doing a little giveaway, just to say Thank You to all the people who follow my shop and blog (rules at the bottom of this post!). The winner will get a set of my new-and yet unreleased- bookmarks! I've seen these, I've got them in my hot little hands, and they are pretty darn nice bookmarks, laminated, ribboned and all pretty with Carapace art. So if you like my art and like books, you'll like these!

BUT!

This month, I'll also be doing extra posts, my Thursday Thank You posts. For those devoted few who actually read my Thursday posts, and leave a comment ON THURSDAYS, there's going to be a separate drawing- and the winner gets a single subject custom drawing, from me! AND Thursday comments get entered into the bookmark drawing!

THE RULES! Wooo!

Leave a comment, any day! And make sure I can reach you through your profile, or leave me an email.

No, seriously, that's it! One comment per person per post can get entered in the contest! But only real comments- no "Enter me" or "Check out this contest"! This one's for my bloggy faithful, not the contest-trawling masses.*

So tell me what your favorite thing is in your shop, suggest a Fairy Tale, criticize a Work in Progress-- I want to hear from you!

And again- THANK YOU!

*Dear contest-trawling masses- I will have a contest for you later. I am one of you! I like contests! There will be ads and all!

WIP: bookreaders

2010-11-03T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it's certainly fall! It took a while (fellow Texans, have we not had the most perversely gorgeous fall?)but it's cold, wet, and grey-skied today. And as the weather cools, an artist's thoughts turn to...books. Well, mine do, anyway. And when I can't be reading, I can draw other people reading!

Sketch version- I like the pose! Actually, I like the pencil lines too. I may use pencil for the final lines on this one...

Lay down some basic colors. Pretty boring stuff, but I want to play with light, so I'm trying to keep the undertones simple.

See? It's gonna get fancified! And also there will be leaves. But that will be later.

Now, I know Thursdays are usually quiet around here, but you may want to stop by tomorrow. Just saying.

Fairy Tale Friday: Why You Need Pumpkins

2010-10-29T06:05:00.002-05:00

Halloween is coming! And of course you've carved your pumpkins.

You have to have your pumpkins!

Carved would be best- it's important that they show some light, so Jack-0f-the-lantern can find them. You know he rides on Halloween night, holding his lantern before him, following its light in place of his missing eyes. His horse lights its own way, with great blazing eyes glowing brighter than Jack's candle. Jack rides, seeking his stolen head-- lost through war or carelessness or to the predations of a greedy grave robber, no one knows. But Jack searches everywhere, and when he spies a carved pumpkin smiling its light out into the dark October evening--

He feeds it to his horse.

What? Even blazing eyed demon horses have to live on something. And if Jack can't find a pumpkin, he'll let his horse wander into your yard, and turn over your garbage cans, and sear hoof marks into the lawn, and generally make a great big mess.

So get your pumpkins ready, folks! And if I don't see you here before then, have a fantastic Halloween!

Mondoodle: Long Leggity Beasties!

2010-10-25T14:22:00.000-05:00

This is where the poem always broke down for me. If we're hiding from "Long Leggity Beasties", does that mean Looong Beasties, who are leggity?

Or Beasties with long leggity-s?

And if it's the latter, I'm a bit offended, having rather long leggitys myself!

I will, though, confess to going Bump in the Night. And the Day. Long Leggitys are not conducive to absolute grace. Perhaps the chant

From Ghoulies
And Ghosties
And Long Leggity Beasties
And Things that go Bump In the Night
Great Saints Preserve Us!

is meant to be a prayer of salvation for breakable items?

Well, this long leggity beastie has work to do-- but perhaps you'll weigh in on this crucial issue in the comments?

Friday Fairy Tale: Monster in Where Again?

2010-10-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

There's still considerable debate about the first proto-monster. Was it a shapeshifter? A ghoul? Some sort of space squid? But there's strong scientific agreement that the most recent subspecies are The Monster Under The Bed and the Monster In The Closet.

These creatures have evolved to fill a very recent ecological niche- household places hidden from view but easily accessible-- and even now, have not spread to every culture. So it's understandable that their habits are less well studied than those of their more famous Elder Kin.

Still, certain truths are known. They are definite, distinct creatures. The Monster Under the Bed had developed long claws and unspeakable, unfolding arms to reach from its confines and snare its prey. Like other cave dwellers, it has no sight and relies instead on smell, hearing, and the ineffable Monster Sense that lets these hunters know when the most vulnerable member of the household is alone. The Monster in the Closet has bright reflective eyes, to take advantage of ambient light in its dark surroundings, and very sharp teeth in what may or may not be a muzzle.

Both can be evaded by the deployment of protective blanketing, and widespread Blanket Awareness has resulted in an almost total elimination of home-based monster attacks, not just in first world nations, but in every bed- or closet- having culture. Yet one point of concern remains: the Monster Under the Bed has a sharply defined territory, never reaching farther than perhaps two feet around its lair. But the Monster In The Closet has been reported behind shower curtains, in pantries, and even behind briefly open doors, its presence detected by the unerring human ability to Detect Monsters (located in the amygdala). This raises the troubling possibility that the Closet Monsters have become home-based generalists, able to occupy any domestic space not currently in view of two or more humans. If this is true, it could easily ambush prey far from reach of a blanket. It could even be behind you right now.

I do so hope we'll both be here Monday.

Mondoodle: Ghosties!

2010-10-18T06:29:00.000-05:00

People seem to think of ghosts as blurs or pale people. I don't think it works like that...but "ominous feelings" are hard to paint! And to be honest, if you saw this:

watching from your closet on a dark night, wouldn't it give you a start?

Well, I would. But that probably has more to do with my fear of housework than my fear of the undead. Darn meddling undead, why don't they clean their own closets!?! I got Halloween decorating to do!

PS No I do not actually have a high school yearbook. Never bothered. Shame, those haircuts were prime fright wig material!

Friday Fairy Tale: Moon Woman Working

2010-10-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have no proof the Moon Woman was a ghost. True I saw her only in the dark morning hours of very moonish nights. True I never saw her eyes, or knew her for anything besides the unfinished labor that consumed all her attention. I could say the same thing of my college room mate. I could say the same thing of old Ms. Manor, who I've never seen outside her garden, covered by a sunhat.

She didn't live in the creek behind my best friend's house. She didn't live anywhere, when I knew her. Best to say, perhaps, that I always saw her in my best friend's back yard, slightly immersed in the banks of the creek. She didn't seem put out by being buried in creek mud. Her movements proclaimed that she was working, and couldn't be expected to interrupt herself for a lazy creek that hadn't the industry to maintain its own banks.

She was always working. Through the sliding glass of the living room door I could see how busy she was, arms constantly reaching and moving and selecting, head tilted in the distinct fashion of a crafter considering the progress of a project. I don't know what she was making; the moon fell along the curves of her arms and shoulders, sometimes even filled the hollows of her face. The work was invisible to the rest of us, as cryptic and compelling as any newborn inspiration. But it took all her attention.

I saw her when the moon was right; and of course, when I went to look. It wasn't my house, after all, and the lighting didn't always allow me to even see the backyard. I caught her eye just once, on a hot summer night when the skies were angry with dry lightning. She had tilted her head as women do when they've looked down too long and can't yet stand up. She shook herself a little, stretched her arms, and then looked at me.

And then she bent back over her work.

I don't know if the Moon Woman will ever be done with her creations. And I don't know that it would be so sad if she didn't. There are worse places than a creek on a Texas summer night; and worse ways to spend eternity than in the glowing moment of creation, calling thought into being beneath the moonish light.

****
(This is a very abbreviated version of a short story I've been working on. Illustration coming soon!)

Wednesday WIP: Water Witch!

2010-10-13T06:57:00.000-05:00

Halloween has me in a witchity mood! Plus I like drawing pointy hats (anyone know why witches wear pointy hats? Or why we think of witches in pointy hats?).

I wanted to have a water scene, and thought of the old dunking-stool. You know, the daft idea that people could separate the witchity from the foolish by dumping them in water, and seeing if they floated.

There seems to have been some disagreement on whether it was floating that meant innocence, or sinking, but my main quibble (well, aside from the horrible idea of drowning people because you don't like their personal practices) is this: You have in your grasp someone believed to have supernatural powers. Someone who, by your own reckoning, can fly, control the elements, and turn into animals.

And you think a puddle is going to ruin their day?!?

I don't *think* so. As a quick sketch in Painter illustrates (fine point pen tool, for those who really care).

I intend this to be a full-color piece, but color needs planning as much as basic composition. Heck, color is composition! I know I want this to be a light, maybe incongruously sunny piece-- something to offset all the gloom and doom or intolerance and panic that attended witch trials.

Also I like green and blue. So a few quick strokes to lay out the basic color scheme:

You can see I also added some background details-- a few fish, some fronds, the edges of what would be a pier if I'd drawn it in first. I like the idea of the witch being serene and untroubled in her bubble, while all kinds of visual noise swirls around. I'll see how much of that I can keep as I work!

What are you working on? Brag in the comments!

Mondoodle: Halloween is Coming! With Ghoulies and....

2010-10-11T05:23:00.000-05:00

Gasp and shock! I almost missed posting about one of my most favorite holidays! But it looks like I'm not too late to the party, right, Ghoulies?

Ah, very nice of you to invite me for dinner but I...don't think I'll have any cake. Or finger food. You just go ahead and enjoy, I'll let myself out...

See you all Wednesday!

(For those who don't know: Ghouls were originally creatures, perhaps once human, that lived off the flesh of the dead. I'm not sure exactly why that's considered so awful, technically we all live off the flesh of the dead, except the vegans, who live off the veg-flesh of the dead. But of course the flesh of dead humans is something else again, and has all sorts of side effects, like Packerism, Donner Mouth, Wendigo Feet, and jail. Don't do it, kids!)

Mondoodle: Etsy Createability Team

2010-09-27T06:25:00.001-05:00

I've got an epic Mondoodle Post coming up for you later today! In the meantime, the wonderful Etsy Createability Team has been debating making up a logo to go along with Etsy's new teams formats. I'm sure it's the wrong size and all, but I couldn't help joining in the fun:

And I've been terribly busy with painting some more big unscannable pieces! Hurrah! But hopefully by Wednesday I'll have some version of them available to show...see you then!

Satter Natter

2010-09-25T01:57:00.001-05:00

Blog Buddy Crystal on Bead Happily Ever After asked some entirely reasonable questions, so here we go!

1. What bad habit are you having a hard time breaking?
Procrastination! Or else having so many projects that no matter what I do, I'm putting something off, which LOOKS like procrastination even though I'm always as busy as I can physically be! But I hate being bored, so...

2. What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Dialing a phone number ooooone more time.

3. What’s your favorite place for daydreaming?
See that first answer? I can zone out anywhere, anytime, any situation! It's hard to tell over the internet because-- hey, why can't I upload my consciousness into a robot body? Maneuver it like a toy, at a distance? I know there's primitive computer interaction technology and-- ah! The over alarm!

...Everyone will be relieved to know I don't drive.

4. When do you feel most confident?
When I've got a migraine coming on. Pleasant, no! But prodrome brings with it the sort of belligerent certainty that causes great wars and starts new countries, and makes me think that this time I can totally write a novel! Tonight! Of course!

...It'll work someday, goldurn it.

5. How long could you go without talking?
I've got laryngitis, so I guess we're about to find out!

6. What makes you mad without fail?
People telling me what to do with my body. "You should get some sleep, Cara!" "You need to eat more vegetables!" "You should try this medication I never researched that you already tried three years ago at peril of your liver!" Noooo, it's my body! And I'm a big girl! I don't WANT a nap!

See, it's making me mad just thinking about it!

7. Best way to wrap your guy around your little finger?
Give him bacon! Actually, that works on me too...

Now go look at Crystal's blog! It's ever so much more dependable than mine, and full of fun conversation!

Friday Fairy Tale: We All Connect

2010-09-25T01:01:00.003-05:00

Since returning from my last con of the season, I've been having trouble with my internet connection. Nothing consistent, just random sudden failure of the connection. It's been baffling. We check every connection, looked at the satellite, ran through all the usual tech support attempts.

We might have gone on forever in frustration. We might have canceled our fast but undependable satellite service, and gone back to the grind of dialup. We might have, but we didn't.

Because one fine bright night, not long ago, a raccoon came scratching at the door. We have an Arrangement with the raccoons; we share food, they patrol the yard for intruders and don't invade our house to steal all our food and download Netflix. So I followed our security bandit out to the fence.

There, stretching in long chirping ladders, was half the frog population of our local pond. At the very top of the chain- at the very top of the transmitter-- was a small cadre of frogs, ribbiting desperately, passing having very frantic frog conversations that they passed down the chain of amphibians.

What, you ask, did frogs want with the internet? I certainly asked. The frogs felt this was rather rude; after all, what did I want with the internet?

They thought my answer was quite dull.

****

It's true that our transmitter has been blocked by frogs climbing all over it. I suspect this has more to do with the bugs that swarm in the area than some sort of amphibious plot to steal our bandwidth, but you just never know, do you?

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2010-09-23T02:05:00.004-05:00

It's officially autumn, and the first real coolish weather has brought in the traditional bucketing rainstorms. Seems like a good time to return from my long and highly unintentional Summer Vacation!

Well, I say vacation. In fact my summer was a wacky adventure full of drama,travel, and some new medication that will hopefully prevent such an inadvertent hiatus again. Just because I haven't been able to write doesn't mean I haven't been busy! In the last three months I've updated my internet connection to oh, 2005 levels, been to three conventions, seen a Japanese Cultural Festival, lost air conditioning not once not twice but three times, painted about eleventy dozen things that are now proving problematic to share, and bought myself a shiny new toy that should make Mondoodle rather more doodley for a while.

And also there have been frogs. How the frogs matter shall be revealed...tomorrow!

So I'm back, I missed you all, and now let's get to the business of pretending I never left!

OWOH Follow Up, and a Note to All

2010-07-01T22:20:00.002-05:00

First off: IF you are one of my OWOH winners? You should have your prize by now. They've all been mailed, and I've heard from three people that received theirs. If it's not in your hot little hands now, please leave a comment here, ON THIS POST, and I'll remake and send it again!

Second: As some of you may have managed to decipher, I live in Texas. Where there is currently a bit of hurricane fallout. No, I'm not near enough the coast to be in any danger, but I am certainly near enough to be getting a lot of storms, and my power and (satellite) internet are kind of spotty this week. Hence the lack of bloggery and general slow correspondence. Sorry about that, and I'm netting as fast as I can to catch up!

WIP: more black and white!

2010-06-22T23:59:00.001-05:00

Yes, my answer to K's challenge continues, this time with a piece that I really like quite a bit:

In fact I am thisclose to posting it up on Etsy, BUT- it needs...something. More of a white highlight? Should the faun fade to dark at the side of the pic? I do not know.

So, comments most especially welcome! This is all digital, so I can handle even pretty radical revision...

I'm not dead!

2010-06-22T03:14:00.002-05:00

Honest, I'm not!

Things that have died in the last five days, however, include
my AC
my tablet drivers
my toilet
did I mention my AC?

Now, I am a heat-resistant native creature, but my laptop and tablet apparently have issues with being asked to function above 94 degrees. So I am way way way behind on everything. Again.

But I shall return, with Works! in Progress! This Wednesday! And maybe even a New Thing in the shop, if the gods do not once more smite me for my hubris.

Works in Progress: Black, White, and Color with Cages

2010-06-16T15:06:00.004-05:00

My Sphinx is coming along:

but I don't know how happy I am with her background. This is of course part of why I do things in stages. While I was working on this Monday, I *hated* the background; now i kind of like it, but I still feel there's something else I might be able to do that would be cooler.

And she has a friend:

Whose background I really *am* dissatisfied with, but I don't know exactly what I want to do differently. So...another afternoon spent playing with background scribbles, I think!

That said- I am *this close* to actually posting something new in my Etsy shop again! Rejoicings!

Still, this black and white is getting to me! I need to play with colors:

Look at all the empty cages! What do you think belongs there?

Mondoodle!

2010-06-14T15:19:00.003-05:00

These aren't very much doodles- or rather they are, but that's the nature of the project:

I actually want to use these as card designs. I've got a lot of art I intend for cards! The only thing stopping me is that I can't find a decent cardstock. All the cardstock I've tried is just too dang flimsy. Anyone have any good paper recommendations..?

I'm Back! Well, sort of...

2010-06-08T19:09:00.002-05:00

Akon was huge! A lot of people ask me if they should attend Akon, and being honest, I have to say: Maybe. It's a city of a con, with mass crowds of people and something happening every single moment. If you like cheerful near-chaos and throngs of giddy geeks, Akon is totally the place to be. If you are of a more sedate nature, you may want to check out more...sedate cons, first. Or hide behind a vendor table all weekend, from which you can view the really amazing costumes in safety!

Sadly, a vendor's table, while strong protection against the teeming throngs, offers no safety to wee little computers. And so my poor innocent laptop was brutally viciously and I do hope not fatally attacked. My laptop being my digital paintbox and editor, I am rrrriight back off the updating spree I was just barely on until I get that sorted out. On the bright side, I should be able to do lots of painting in all the time I'm not on the internet! I'll try and share it, with the Magic of Flash Drives, but be patient, Net People! Lappy 600 and I will get back to business as soon as possible.

I Am Missing A Word

2010-06-03T15:37:00.001-05:00

Actually, I think our entire culture is missing a word at this point.

See, what I need is a word that means "I'm going to be gone for a few days, but I might still be able to get online and say howdy". Disconnected isn't right-- I probably will be able to get online at least briefly over the weekend-- and "gone" or "bye" are both totally wrong. Semiconnected? Hemiavailable? Anyone know the neologism I'm looking for?

Anyway, folkses, yes, I'm going to be out of town, and away from my own home net, because I'm heading to Dallas! For Akon! If you're going to be there too, come say hello-- I'll be in the Artist's Alley with my mad husband, taking commissions and everything! By my excessively green wardrobe you shall know me, that and my scooter. And if I don't see you there-- dang it, I'm still missing that word!

Work In Progress Wednesday: Black and White

2010-06-02T06:28:00.005-05:00

On my Monday post, the ever-commenting K said, among other things:
"You need to make owl WOMEN.

A series of owl women of different colors, breeds...a moonlit meeting or gathering of these wise women.

Hmmmmmmmm...I like that concept alot. I may have to tackle some version of that over time.
But! YOU should give it a thought too!
I think your bold style should be given a try in pure black and white.
Expressive and bold areas of negative and positive space. "

And my first thought was "Hey, that's a great idea! I love drawing Bird-People! And owls are wonderfully insane, it would eb a great challenge to try to anthropomorphize them and still try to get across the species differences!"

But I also thought: "Black and white, though? Me? No way, K!"

See, I LOVE good black and white work. It gets overlooked and undervalued, because color seems to be much more eyecatching to most folks. I'm not saying color is easier, because it's certainly not. But color is distracting, and it IS easy to hide minor structural flaws in bright cheery colors. Good black and white requires a very different skill set, and leaves nowhere to hide. And I am, basically, not good enough to pull it off.

And that's why I'm doing this, here. Because "But I don't have that skill!" is a great reason to avoid attempting surgery, but the worst reason ever to avoid an art project. And hey, who am I to argue with someone who thinks I have a "bold style"? I mean, the guy's clearly delusional, and it's bad to get in fights with crazy people.

So , K, this is your fault, here:

Aaaalll your fault.

(and hey, everyone! Go look at K's awesome art on Etsy!)

Mondoodle: Goddesses some more

2010-05-31T01:18:00.004-05:00

These are probably not going anywhere, at this point-- I'm doing a much bigger and sillier goddess project, now-- but I really like the way the colors on Pele were coming along, and Owl Woman is probably going to make a reappearance, later, so remember that face..

Pele Bathing:

Owl Woman:

Unless of course someone says "oh no, pretty please list that so I can buy it!", because I will not deny my public such.

Also! OWOH packages are all goin' out. Overseas people, if you don't have it by, oh, end of June at the latest? Let me know, something's gone awry.

Also-also, super thanks to those who have kept commenting in this slow era of my blog. Which is K. K, you are wonderful, and your S/M should allow you out of that attic any day now!

Also, if Blogger LETS ME POST* there will be another FAEteam blog post today. So do check back!

* Dear Blogger-- I have Real Internet now, so quit playin', I know dang well it ain't my problem now

Mondoodle: Moonmilk

2010-05-24T06:50:00.002-05:00

A bit of silliness inspired by the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Team's Monthly Dare, "Milk Moon".

Somebody asked me in the comments what I do with my sketches and the truth is, in most cases, I forget about 'em. I have more ideas going on at any time than I could possibly polish up. What I put here and on Etsy is about a third of what I actually *do* for various purposes. So by the time I finish the ongoing projects, I've often forgotten all the potential upcoming projects.

Which is why I keep a sketchbook-- it's the closest my hilariously disorganzed artist-brain can come to a day planner. And it means that every now and then, I actually get to come back to a concept and finish it up!

Mondoodle: Steampunk Sketches

2010-05-03T20:13:00.006-05:00

I must post quickly, ere the internet be denied me again-- stupid phone lines! Stupid storms!--so here, two concept sketches for a steampunk art contest I'm working on, one of a flying medic, one of the burlesque outfit inspired by the medics:

WIP Wednesday: More Paint Jobs

2010-04-28T08:30:00.009-05:00

For those wondering-- with bated breath, I'm sure-- about the progress of last week's painting:

It is possibly finished? I'm not sure, but I'm at a point where it's hard for me to make things better and very very easy to make things worse, so I'm giving the paint a couple days to cure and me a couple days to get some perspective.

And in the meantime...

Experiments in Glazing continue apace. I like the bubbles, I've never painted those before! And the green/gold thing happening. I have overworked the background, maybe? It had a light quality I like and lost at some point, but on the other hand: bubbles! What do you think?
Oh, and also I'm working on another set of four atrociously cute paintings, that I can hardly wait to show you next week, when I'm well past the early euphoria of making something new and into the angst of being sure that my next brush stroke will DESTROY ALL I HAVE WORKED FOR.*

But I've also got a couple new pieces up in my shop, mostly so I can play along with some of my teams. Which, speaking of, if you read this and haven't voted for me? Go vote for me here:

http://etsytx.ning.com/page/march-april-design-challenge

Where my entry is the one that looks like I drew it. I mean, you COULD vote for someone else, because there's other very nice work there. But believe me, given how the background on this is giving me fits:

I need the external validation.**

WIP not picturable: catching up on forums, mailing out OWOH prizes (yes! They're going out THIS WEEK woooooh!), the ever changing FAE blog post, which you should also go look at, because it has shiny.

*Which will involve...photos. Oh joy. Have I mentioned my paranoid distrust of cameras? But these are giant actual canvii, and my poor wee scanner cannot accomodate them. Or these others I've been showing, really. Alack!

**Haha! It's funny because I'm the sane one in my house. Me, with the yelling at the canvas and frightening the cats because the brown isn't RED ENOUGH, curse you Liquitex!
...My childless status is probably for the good of all.

Mondoodle: Mousephant raiding party

2010-04-26T14:44:00.001-05:00

Just a sketch from the Fancy Sketchbook, which I am considering fancyin' up in Painter:

What do you think?

Fairy Tale Friday: Winter Dragon Steals The Moon

2010-04-23T09:07:00.005-05:00

Every year the Winter Dragon stole the Moon, and hid it away in the winter forest until springtime.

The village girl walked to the center of the winter forest, where the hills and the trees and the shining body of the Dragon were all the same thing. The Moon was shining above them, sitting so low in the sky she could almost touch it. She reached out to take the Moon and put it in her lantern, and carry it back to the village. The hills of the winter forest twisted and the trees cracked and waved, and the blue-white eyes of the Winter Dragon watched her with eternal amusement. The Dragon smiled, or snarled, and curled around the Moon, and said nothing.

But the girl asked, with a frozen tongue, "Why do you hide the Moon from us? Why keep it here, to light only your forest, instead of letting it light the sky for everyone?"

The Dragon answered, in a voice like cracking ice, "Because no one else ever notices the Moon, unless I take it sometimes; and beautiful things should not be ignored. But if care enough to come all this way, you may have some moonlight to take with you, and light your way home." And the Dragon put a bit of Moon in the girl's lantern, and sent her home, where she took her tiny bit of light and sent it into the dark sky.

The girl visited for almost a month; and at last the Dragon ran out of moonlight. But the Dragon kept its word as the last bit of silver light was tucked in the girl's lantern, and did not stop her. Instead the Dragon asked "Why do you take the Moon back to the sky for everyone, where it will be ignored?"

The girl answered, in a very plain voice, "Because nothing captive can be beautiful." And she left the winter forest for the last time.

***
Story and art by me, of course!

-Carapace

WIP Wednesday: Feathergirl

2010-04-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

A friend's hired me on to do some more Kokeshi Girls, like the ones in my shop*. Which is awesome, because I love that style; but sort of spooky, because I'll be working on much much bigger canvas than I usually do and didn't really have a feel for it.

So I decided to do a couple practice pictures, of hideously cute monsterpeople. And also I haven't played with acrylics and mediums and color theory in way too long, and wanted to get my glazing on. Digital's fun, digital's fine, but there's something exhilirating about a project where one wrong move can permanently wreck hours of work and also potentially ruin my clothes. So first up, a skysnake:

Woah, that's red! And not just because it's against white main figure, either. But that's ok, I'm doing underpainting here, because my secondary practice in these is to experiment with glazing and acrylic mediums. This time I'm going for a sunset-ish sky, seeing if I can't hint at all those colors with a fairly flat and uniform background. Oh, the times I will have! Loong, looong, wait for it to finish drying times...

Because I have to add in color, like so:

And admittedly that is a fantastic, fiery background. But I don't want fiery. So time for another thin layer, along with more detail painting on my Cloudsnake:

Now that's pretty close to being done-- in fact, I could just do some highlights and touchups call it done, at this point. It would be ok. It would be pretty. But it could be *better*, I think, though I can't quite see the right thing to do to push it there. I don't like the all-pervasive blue in this piece, for one thing; my idea was to have it be high- contrast, like the others in the series (yes, it's going to be a series) and this isn't it. I also wanted it to look like she's against a sunset, sort of-those gold-pink tones I put in and all-- and this really isn't working for me. And I want something to break up the background.

I want a lot from a pretty simple piece! And I also don't want to experiment and totally muck up my lovely complicated background color. Playin' with software to the rescue!

Hmm. Yes, something with gold I think. This is probablya Bad Idea, and I bet I will look back on it with regret, but I look forward to trying it out! Stay tuned to see how dumb I turn out to be!

*Remember my shop? I have a shop. I forget it a lot. It has stuff in it! You should probably go look. I might add more stuff to it sometime! Any day! I am a woman of mystery like that.

Mondoodle: Ox Woman

2010-04-19T10:27:00.003-05:00

Just a quick doodle which may or may not someday grow up to be a drawing:

See you Wednesday!

-Cara

Oh Paperclay, Please Be My Friend

2010-04-18T06:19:00.002-05:00

(crossposted, sort of, with the Fantasy Artists Emerging forum)

I have a big ol' block of paperclay-- that is, the dry just-add-water papier-mache stuff, not the actual-clay-with-paper-in stuff-- and I am dying to use it. It's fun to play with, and just the thing for the ever looming summer heat-- wet, ovenless crafting! Yes! Artists do wonderful things with this stuff. Make masks. Furniture. Custom paper surfaces to do wonderful collage art. It's cheap, it's energy-efficient, it feels wonderfully slimy and cool in my hands. It's like working with mud again, and my inner toddler is infinitely delighted.

The thing is, I am AWFUL with this stuff. Everything I've ever made with paperclay turns into a heap of lumpy paper and sadness. I can get general shapes across, but it takes forever to dry, humps oddly, and has big lumps-- not minor texture, big tumorous lumps-- all through every project. I've read many tutorials on using paperclay, but they all focus on individual projects over personal horrible technique.

What I need is a tutorial on How To Stop Screwing Up Your Paperclay, Carapace, You Awful Cruel Paper Abuser You. What I get are pages on pages of text that assume I am a halfway competent human being who knows what I need to do. I'm not! I don't! And I keep wrecking my paperstuff.

I love paperclay. I want it to love me back. And right now I am outside the window with minstrels singing ballads,beginning to suspect that Paperclay is more into bikers...

Not My Sign: Etsybloggers Carnival

2010-04-15T22:34:00.002-05:00

I do not like the Zodiac.

I specifically do not like the Greco-Roman Zodiac, which is what most people are talking about in America when they ask "What's your sign?". And I specifically do not like it because, whatever they protest, 99.999999 of all people give the wretched thing some weight, even though (1) it is so vague as to be utterly useless, and (b) it was invented by the Fathers of Western Civilization, and they were very insistently the FATHERS of Western Civilization, and the only indicator of my personality at birth that they would have bothered to notice would have been the fact that I was female, and therefor my horoscope for life would have read "Today is a good day to do whatever the man who legally owns you says! Or you're going to Hell, which granted you pretty much are anyway, because we have a very downbeat cosmology, and you'll never be a hero, Fe-Male, but you will go to some special hell for disobedient girl children. Assuming females have souls, the forum's still out on that. We've decided you don't have enough teeth, though! So in conclusion: watch your mouth, toothshort wench, and wash our dishes."

And then I would have been exposed for being sickly.

I will not even START on the Chinese Zodiac. *

I figure, if I'm going to be judged by an arbitrary standard, it should at least be an arbitrary standard based on the culturally agreed-on weirdness of the modern culture where I live, instead of the weirdness of a bunch of moldy old dead guys who didn't even know what chocolate tasted like. Something like:

Winter Crocus (the Optimist)
January 1-February 28
Born to a time of new beginnings fueled by the fading edges of a sugar rush, the Crocus brings optimism, resolve, and a willingness to try new things for at least a month or two. Those born in the sign of the Crocus make wonderful planners and idea people, but are often not so awesome on the follow through.
Great at planning vacations, but don't let them drive.

They are fantastic politicians.

or

Bottle Rocket (The Celebrator)
July 1st- August 31st
Bottle Rockets know the sheer fact of their existence makes them the most interesting thing in the world, because what, grilling is that much fun? Fantastically entertaining, charming, and cheerful, unless you ignore them and let them get bored, in which case they will go off like the Fourth of July and wreck the place.

Also, do not get them wet.

and of course

Fusebox (the Fighter)
February 29th
Neurotic and high strung, people born to this sign react oddly to the simplest questions and comments, like "So when's your birthday?" and "Isn't that confusing?" and "Funny, you don't look like you're five years old, hyuck hyuck".

Yes, these designations are daft and unfair. They're also easily remembered and match the current calendar. And they have the added benefit of being completely unimportant! Truly, a solid companion to the newspaper advice columns, in which the local advice mavens remind us weekly not to eat paste, even though paste is tasty. What do they know, anyway? Ahem.

So, what's your story?

*I actually like Celtic Tree Zodiac(1) quite a bit, but no one knows the Celtic Zodiac. Alas!

** I AM a natural born inferior, of course, but we can none of us help not being beetles.

***Yawns are actually a way of transmitting more yawns. This is Science Fact, and an experiment you can do yourself! Yawn in a crowded room and watch them spread. Then give generously to Yawn Prevention Research, which is funded exclusively through my Etsy Shop!

(1) I'm a Holly.

Spring is Here!

2010-04-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, the flowers are here! The sun is shining through the rain! The weathermen are shocked to discover that every day is now the warmest day of the year so far!* Spring is Spranging! It's the sweetest, most ephemeral time of the year. Winter is a fickle freak season that likes to do-si-do with summer for three months, and autumn's a nice solid citizen. But Spring blooms and melts away overnight, and I've got to enjoy the visit while I can!

My shop and blog, sadly, have not been able to keep pace with the sudden turns in weather. Largely because of the sudden turns of weather. It has been an awesome reminder of the power of nature this past month to have my internet service constantly ripped away from me by howling line-destroying winds and occasional thumbpunches of hail. And by "awesome", I mean javascript:void(0) "soul destroying". But it appears the world outside my yard** exists again, so look for rather more posts from me for a while!

*I am not even joking. One weatherman SAID this. Out loud. Axial tilt apparently still shocks him.

**I have a big yard. The world has to be pretty loud to be heard over the distance.

Wriggle, My Mighty Harbingers!

2010-04-01T06:50:00.001-05:00

The full moon came late in March; it's still shining down outside, bright enough to read by, provided the font is at least 12 point and not something intended for effect only like Skunch or something.

This is the Raven Moon. Ravens are symbol-heavy birds. Ravens have carried the messages of the gods, echoed the screams of battlefields, and burned down barns and storehouses (no,really, that last one is a physical fact.).

Ravens are clever, and inventive, and dangerous in the way only the clever creatures of the world can be (I'm not kidding about the barnburnings). And the members of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy have been inspired by the Raven Moon to come up with all manner of lovelies. Yes, I've got something there too, over on the FAE team blog, where everything is shiny and mystic and enchanted.

But over here, it's just me and--holy snakes, about 140 of ya'll. You know, intimate. So I can just be grubby and a little odd, and celebrate the much cooler...

WORM MOON!

Worms are brainless, useful, and never known for starting fires. They possess amazing regenerative powers, can turn absolute rubbish into fertile soil, and feed an amazing array of fauna including, yes, ravens. Even worm poop is useful! They give us food instead of stealing ours, serve as basic science projects, and help us identify the squeamish, so we don't mistakenly plan to include them in our zombie preparations.

And now it's coming up spring, and the noble Worms are once more free to move through ground no longer frozen by winter, spreading life and goodwill to all who depend on the soil. Long may you dance beneath your Moon, noble if squishy invertebrates!

(As a side note- this is all true. About the moons and the barns and everything. I thought about doing an April Fool's joke, but hey, how would anyone here know the difference between that and my usual posts?

Seriously. If you can think of a way, please let me know.)

(Also also: OWOH folks, I am still getting your prizes together, indeed! But they are alllmost ready to send out, according to my development department, i.e., me. Thanks for your patience!)

In Which Some Things Are Grand

2010-03-21T23:27:00.005-05:00

Hi, folks! Miss me? Sorry to fall off the face of the planet. I have, as I've indicated elsewhere, been Experiencing Technical Difficulties, and all my non-email posting has been painfully curtailed.

But I had to post today. March 21st is important.

No, not because it's the first day of Spring. That's important! But it's not personal.

No, not because it's the day my ISP finally decided to function and reconnect me to the world, after a week of mockingly timing me out of every single forum and thread I frequent (to all my dear forumites: I miss you, too!). That's certainly essential and cause for rejoicing, but I had no way of knowing it would happen.

Today is important because, 12 years ago, I made a ludicrous and ill-advised decisions to stagger down a row of pews, stammer through some vows written by people who died a long time ago, and let a crazy man lead me off into a hall of mostly strangers. I was ridiculously young, he was unemployed, we were both horrifically unprepared for marriage or indeed independent living of any sort.

Today we woke up early so we could celebrate before he had to go to work. Celebration, in this case, consisting of him giving me things and me being thrilled.

And I really am thrilled. It's our silk and linen anniversary, apparently-- he's the one who keeps track of these things-- and he bought me two square yards of jaw-dropping emerald green silk, three sets of buttons in four colors, and a custom four-color linen skirt. And a green band major's shako. Which last is insanely awesome, and which I have been wearing around the house all day. Washing dishes takes on a whole new dimension when one is wearing a green leather shako.

I think there is maybe one person reading this blog who has any idea at all of the full extent of awesome involved here. For everyone who doesn't know, well, it involves a sort of obscure fandom, and a long-stifled urge to cosplay one extremely minor character (she takes over a kingdom with knitting needles! Essentially so she can eat chocolate! And then begins a fantastic artistic career among creampuff trees! It is everything I aspire to.)

So to get me all this, in theme, he had to pay attention to a wee minor fixation, come up with the costume plan himself, hunt down a seamstress (thanks, Etsy!), remember my measurements, and hide multiple packages in the house. And plan it all weeks in advance.

Twelve years ago, I made a stupid, lunatic choice, for a stupid, lunatic reason.

Now I have an awesome hat.

I have an awesome husband.

And good sense and sanity can leave a message, but we're not likely to answer any time soon.

New Thing : Knitting! And Extended Metaphors!

2010-03-02T11:33:00.000-06:00

I am, as per my resolution, trying to do something new every week. Not all these endeavors get posted about, because I Am Lazy, and also, how many recipes do you really want to read? Not many, I'm guessing. Though feel free to correct me. Really!

This week, though, I stumbled by sheerest coincidence (and the graces of Facebook) on a chance to learn knitting. Knitting! A skill I had always longed to possess, but thought the province of wiser and grander dames than I am or ever will be, sheer Witches of Craft, who can also do things like force prickly pear tunas to jell and strawberries to become wine.

As it turns out, I can indeed knit! A lot! With great enthusiasm!

And, uh. Great enthusiasm!

Because I had fully accepted, going in to knitting, that I was going to be awful at it. Really unforgiveable. An offense to the sheep that gave its wool to the yarn I would abuse (or, being that I'm learning with acrylic, possibly the Plastic Bags that gave their lives to the recycler. Whatever.).

So I wasn't even trying to do it right. Once I got the basic knit-purl down, I set about Experimenting. What happens if I drop stitches on purpose? Add them on purpose? Exactly how can I add stitches? Lose them? Can I make the stitches super loose? Can I do this left handed? Both handed? If I fumble massively, can I recover?

And the thing is, I know the answer to these questions, and many more! are available for the price of a quick Google search. But I don't care. I'm not ready to listen to the voice of experience just yet. For me, this stage of a new craft- where I know nothing, not what's possible or impossible or sensible or anything-- is like the rush of first love. I need to make all the mistakes, and make them hard, not to figure out how this particular craft works, but how I work with it. Is it fun even when I'm frustrated? Can I make something good out of a mistake? Is this, in short the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

In time, if it turns out that this is more than a passing infatuation-- and I'm seriously enjoying myself, and there's lots of room for play here, so I think it will be-- then there's time enough to pick out rings and argue over the caterer and fight over how to hang the toilet paper. I'll start trying out patterns, and reading tutorials, and looking for specific gauges of yarn. I'll curse and swear when I miscount a row of stitches, and giggle with glee when I make my first successful felted piece. I'll settle down and explore the deeper joys that come with a committed relationship, like sharing new friends and having something a little more popular to sell at the local craft shows.

But for now, it's just me and some screaming green yarn and a couple of bamboo needles, and we are having a whale of a time.

What's your latest love?

TiLT Bags: Fear The Pretty!

2010-02-28T11:49:00.005-06:00

'Scuse me folks, pardon our dust; I know things haven't been as busy here as they might be. I've been working on my OWOH winner prizes (so fun! But time consuming...) and my Etsy shop, and plenty of other stuff that I'm afraid isn't too relevant here (at least yet..) and the blog is falling down a bit, I know.

Also there was SNOW, the Apocalypse I Am Not Prepared For. So that slowed me down, what with Ragnarok and the killing of Fenrir and the ship of dead men's nails riding across the sky and all.

But I am digging myself out of the Pit of Productivity to help the Etsybloggers team share news of a great threat, Tilt Creations.

Now it might seem, on first examination, that Tilt is just a sweet, very slightly geekish blogger that happens to make gorgeous handbags. That's the impression given by her shop....

Aw, it's pretty.

Or go read her very sincere and chatty blog. Aw, she's sweet!

But look closer. There are dark secrets hidden in that innocent patter. And if you examine the dark corners of the TiLT shop, you find....

ZOMBIES!

Yes, it is my grim but real duty to inform you that TiLT is, in fact, not a sweet crafty woman with a flair for accessories, but a dark corporate concern building a Zombie Army of denim and gabardine! The store, the blog, these are distractions, made to lead the eye away from the nefarious master scheme of TiLT (and look at that capitalization! Clearly an acronym! Total Industrial Life Takeover, perhaps?)!

But we can turn these cover schemes back against the would-be overlords, if we work quickly!Buy every handbag; comment on every blog post! Keep TiLT so busy preserving their facade they don't have time to work on their zombie army! It's our only hope!

No, Seriously. SNOW.

2010-02-23T14:39:00.004-06:00

I was going to share a post about TiLT, one of my Etsyblog buddies, today. But instead I opened the door and saw THIS:

And everything was canceled.

Seriously. There is snow on the ground, it's STICKING, and it's already thick enough to cover cat feet. I don't know if I'm excited or terrified, because this is deeply unnatural, but either way: this is what has my full attention, now.

So enjoy your day, and may your weather patterns be less alarming! I will be making emergency cocoa.

The Problem With Painting

2010-02-22T16:29:00.004-06:00

The problem with painting- and, I suspect, with any craft- is that it takes so darn long. So for instance, I spent alllll day Friday plotting out pictures, and allll day Saturday painting, and I have...this:

...which is to say, a scannerbed full of embryonic paintings. Two, actually; I ain't even showing half the work I cranked out. I know some people out there are saying "Well, why not focus on one painting until it's done, instead of making a whole bunch that aren't", and the answer, dear darling readers, is that paint needs time to dry. Especially for the stuff I'm doing, here, which is a lot of playing with textures and overlays. So the best use of my paint-time is to do a bunch of work in a setting, rotating pieces as they hit the dry-and-wait stage.

The deeper problem, with me, is that I have a brainspan of maybe a day. I can always come back to a project, yes, but my working time before a migraine/seizure knocks me flat is 8-16 hours. And if I can't get a project to a pretty good level of completion before then, I'm liable to forget what the heck I was trying to do, and unlikely to remember in the next couple weeks. I have projects it took siz months to finish, just because I totally forgot about their existence or purpose.

This is why I don't drive, by the way. "Huh, that light's red now! Pretty! Wonder why it changed..."

Anyway, I'm staring at these now, and I think I know where to go with them. But only because I made some detailed careful sketches and notes along the way. So today's question for you, gentle readers (and violent readers too, of all people I want the violent ones on my side) is: How does your internal art department function? Can you work on a thing daily for weeks? Do you need a deadline? Can you crank out whatever you need whenever it's asked for?

One World, One Heart, Six Winners!

2010-02-15T19:01:00.005-06:00

Wow, what a wild crazy blogtastic carnival it's been on the OWOH Magic Carpet Ride! Thanks to everyone who came by and said Howdy, especially those of you who had to cross oceans and mountains and vast linguistic barriers to do it, and especially especially all those from everywhere who decided to follow me afterwards and see what kind of mess I stumble into. I suppose now I'll have to actually be interesting! Scary!

But this post is sure to be interesting to at least six people, because it's time to reveal my One World, One Heart WINNERS! And since you amazing people left almost 600 comments, that's six names drawn! Six fascinating people to get Mystery Prizes! Drumroll please:

JULIE SMITH, who likes ballet, longswords,and foreign films!

BIRGIT, who favors the Old West, Mystery books, and the color Teal!

ANGIE HALL HAVILAND, who like purple, nifty fibers and paper, and cows!

JENNIFER HALL, who likes fabricky craft supplies, Retro Kitsch, and Montsers!

And finally, two people with something in common,

CONNIE! From Chicago! Who likes pale pink roses, postcards, and anything Japanese,

and

MISS KOOL AID, aka Sophie, who likes cats, tea, and vampires!

What do those last two have in common? They also apparently like living the whirlwind life of super spies, who are very hard to get hold of through blatant cover investigations like "email". I hope they appear soon, because those are awesome art prompts! Connie! Sophie! Let me know you're out there! And, well, where. I need a place to send the prizes, you know! If I don't hear back from you by Thursday, I'll have to draw other winners! And that would be sad.

Everyone else-- thank you, very sincerely, for playing along. I loved the answers to my question, and am deeply touched at the faith some of you have in my craftsmanship (I can't create children, folks, no matter how much you love them! Well, I mean, I can. But it would take nine months, and be rather more involved than a simple blog prize can reasonably justify.) In those 500 + comments I've got enough art inspiration to keep any artist hopping for years! And writing, too, since I am absolutely writing to everyone who took the time to leave a personal message. Ya'll are fascinating!

And for everyone who joined in OWOH, whether you left a comment here or not, another thank you. Lisa, the brave founder of the event, calls this a simple blog giveaway, and says it won't change the world, and she's probably right. I visited every blog on the list, which meant about a thousand people- a thousand people who opened their doors to strangers from all over the world, people I would never have encountered or read otherwise. All of us are carrying different labels, different political views; we're all busy with our own lives, and maybe most of us wouldn't talk if we met in person. But for a few weeks, with the room for just one blog post, everyone on the OWOH list was able to tell the world one thing, and everyone shared their passion, their craft, the things they love, for no other reason except to let other people enjoy it too. That's not exactly World Peace, but it is pretty darn awesome.

Thank you, Lisa, and thank you, fellow bloggers!

Seeking Discontent

2010-02-11T15:55:00.002-06:00

It's raining, a slow determined rain that clearly means to stay a while. Our tin roof is singing a low constant rumble counterpoint to the folk rock on the CD player.
I am curled up, with two cats vying for lapspace, strong coffee, and absolutely no motivation whatsoever. Rainy days like this always leave me feeling wiped out, slightly sore, and dangerously content, as though I've achieved some mighty goal. I know it's pure primal animal content, a basic sense of wellbeing in contrast with the weather; and the only thing I did to earn it was to be born into a wealthy nation in the late 20th century*, which was admittedly very clever of me, but not a trick I can well repeat in this lifetime.

Nonetheless, I am just way too happy to Do Anything. I have many blogs due, and I will be busy as a one-toothed threshing machine in harvest next week, when the drawings for my OWOH prizes happen (are you all excited? I am VERY excited! Eeee, maybe I'll even get up to 600 posts and get to pick SIX winners! Come on come on come on, people!), but until I can find enough dissatisfaction with current affairs to lift a colloidal cat, I am afraid this is all the blog you're getting.

Let me make it up to you, and leave you with Something You Can Do At Home:

Cara's Super Fast Home Face Scrub!
Two tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
(all measurements approximate-- feel free to upsize your amounts, mess around with ratios, whatever! Do try this at home!)

Mix baking soda and yogurt. Look at it fizz! It's like a baking soda volcano, only not, you know, so destructive. No little sugar island people watching their homes buried under vinegar lava, or anything. And now you're going to put it on your face! Rub in with a face cloth; wipe off with hot water. This works like a milk bath, with the lactic acid, and the teeny tiny soda crystals give just enough scrubbiness for a quick face exfoliation. It's also really really nice on the scalp, but you'll want to rinse out super well if you go that route.

Edible, non-toxic, and horribly mind-burningly non-tasty. Do Not Eat This Anywhere.

*Yes, it's the 21st now, but I was born in the 20th.

A New Thing: Bubble Paints!

2010-01-30T06:58:00.005-06:00

Wow. Look at all of you out there!In the last week, the audience of my wee neglected blog has doubled! I suppose this means I have to start posting more than once in a month.

To Do This:
mix liquid soap and water in a bowl. Mix until bubbly. Add paint, dye, or whatever coloring agent you favor. Drink mix, maybe?

Put a piece of spare paper behind the bowl, as a splashguard. Trust me.

Grab the paper you want to bubble-paint.

Grab a straw. Put it in the soap mix; blow bubbles. Really go to town!

Lay your painting paper gently, directly, flat side down, on the bubbles. The bubbles may pop, they may melt, they may even cluster on the paper and let you push them around with a brush! The randomness is what makes it fun!

Do Not Do This:
Let the cats in right after adding the paint.

Start bubbling the paint before the cats have settled in and gone into furniture mode.

Inhale in shock when the cats decide to use human feet as their Safe Base in Cat-Tag, noted by swiping with a paw.

Inhale about 50 quarts of soap mix and paint.

Spend fifteen minutes coughing, choking, and wondering if the paint has gone far enough up your sinuses to turn your eyes green in a weird fantasy movie way.

Drink a soda any time in the next ten minutes. Owww, ow, fizzy owwww.

But I think I got a rather nifty set of textured papers out of it! Here are just a couple:

What can I do with textured paper? That's another post...but I bet some of you paper crafters are already making up your own answers!

Etsy Blogger Nico Designs, and Even More OWOH!

2010-01-27T19:43:00.003-06:00

If you're looking for my One World One Heart Post, it's here:
http://caramakes.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-world-one-heart.html

I'm all wrapped up in Magic Carpet right now (whoa, FOUR prize packages coming! Hurrah!), so I'm being a horrible failure as an Etsy teammate!

One of my Etsy Teams, the amazingly active Etsybloggers, spotlights one of its members every month.
This month, it's the sweet Nico Designs who makes the darlingest wee dollies and dainties. You should really go look at her shop, moreso since I am encountering technical difficulties on posting images that aren't born on my desktop. Dear Blogger: WTH?

But even more, you look at her One World One Heart Giveaway! No mystery here, it's an adorable bit of a doll, and something else, which she will reveal when you visit! Go, get some Aaawwww! In your life!:D

One World, One Heart, One Very Important Rule

2010-01-27T18:43:00.004-06:00

Hey, Passerby! My One World, One Heart post and GIVEBACK is just over here!

http://caramakes.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-world-one-heart.html

Wow, the Magic Carpet Ride is blowing me away! Already I've got 300 comments, which means-- yahoo! AT LEAST THREE SurPrizes going out to lucky clever people. I am so excited about this-I can't wait to see what sort of package I'll be assembling! No folks, I don't know either-- it's up to you!

I'm also just dancing my socks off over having so many intriguing and clever comments. I promise, when the madness has died down and we've all got a bit of time to breathe, I will visit and email EVERYONE who's been nice enough to leave me a personal message. And we can plot our Zombie Survival Strategies over gluten-free cookies and tea on lovely pink cushions with a cabbage rose pattern.

But I am not entirely pleased. No, no I am making the stern face at some of you. Believe me, this is a terrifying stern face. You would feel bad if you saw it. Take my word for it. I do not deploy The Face lightly.

But some of you-- just a few!--did not TELL ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Or your three favorite things! This is horrible, tragic, awful, upsetting. Because what if I draw YOUR entry, and I can't get hold of you? Because you did not TELL ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS? Perhaps worse, what if I can email you, but don't know what to send you? Does the zombierifficness of my intro teach you nothing?!? I have no sense of propriety! You might get a bag of bugs, a cupcake, and some old autoparts! Because hey, I like bugs and cupcakes and old auto parts. I do! Or worse, what if you get Zombie Cupcakes? Because apparently that's a thing of mine. And unless you tell me what YOU like, I have no option except to abide by the golden rule. And very few want done unto them as I want done unto me,really.

So, hey, go look at my OWOH post! Riiiight under this one. And please, leave a comment!You don't need a blog or to visit my Etsy store or to invent a Zombie Survival Plan. But you do need to TELL ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

One World, One Heart

2010-01-24T20:01:00.007-06:00

***
OWOH is OVER- at least for this year! Thanks for playing, everyone! I'll announce winners tonight!

***

A giveaway, in which I am bad at introductions.

Hello, One World One Heart riders, and readers new and old! It's lovely to meet you.

Here's the thing, I'm no good at talking about myself from a dry start. Not at all. I need a prompt! Being an inveterate geek, I fall back on: The Zombie Apocalypse. What should you know if you're deciding to share a compound with me against the ravening hordes of brain-eating undead?

Well, , I am indeed an inveterate geek, which means I know the proper zombie engagement procedures. I'm also a fairly stereotypical Texan, in the sense of being ready, able, and quite willing to put bullets in things of a shambling nature. I know first aid and very basic herbalism; I can bake, make simples and extracts, do some basic sewing and pretty complicated cooking, and I'm immune to poison from bees, wasps, and scorpions. I can tell good stories, and as long as I get to have my naps and some decent food now and then I'm aggressively cheerful. I have no major addictions except caffeine, and provided we're still in Texas I know how to get that even without coffee or tea.

On the downside, I am, in fact, a big ol' spaz. Actual seizures and stuff. Aaaaand I'm pretty much a cripple, so it's a darn good thing I can shoot, 'cause I ain't gonna make it through a horde o' Zeds with hand to hand combat. But you shouldn't fight zombies that way anyhow, their bite is toxic and all.

I did mention the geek thing. You read all the way here, you have only yourself to blame.

And since we're unlikely to be locked in a Zombie War anytime soon, you might be more interested in knowing that I love artsy craftsy stuff, and blather about it a good deal. That's my Etsy shop/online gallery over thar, on the side bar. I like fairy tales and science history and stories of all kinds; I read books by the pound. Although rarely the blockbuster stuff, with the exception of King and Pratchett. I don't normally talk about zombies quite so much. And I love, love, love finding out about other people. I'm very nosy. I will probably read all your blogs. Which brings us to...

The Prize! Yay, Prizes!

Yeah, I know. You didn't even read the intro. Or maybe you read to "zombie apocalypse" and looked down here in sheer trainwrecky horror. Well, there's a prize anyway. And how zombieriffic it is is up to you, gentle appalled reader.

See, I racked my brains thinking about what I could give away that lots of people would want. And....I got nothin'. But for myself, I like a suprise! Especially if it's tailored a little to me. So to enter my giveaway, tell me three things that you love or enjoy-- it could "tea,snakes, the color green" or "labor history, gluten free baking, personals ads" or "rainy days, the zoo, atrocious pop music earworms". Whoever I pick-- and I'll pick one winner for every hundred comments, if it comes to that- will get something special, made just for them. It could be a packet of collageable papers, homemade envelopes, a little clay pendant, a spell...it'll all depend on what you like! That way it'll be a surprise for both of us.
And because I am an artist, and understand well the power of procrastination, I'm leaving this open until midnight, Feb. 14, 2010, Central (Texas) Time.

So that's it-- leave me a post telling me three things you love, by Feb. 14, WITH YOUR EMAIL! Gah! How tragic if you don't tell me your email, and you can't get a shiny prize! And be sure to check out the other OWOH participants, following the finely crafted link at the top of this post. I'll announce the winner on Feb. 15, barring a colossal internet denial of service.

Or, you know.

In case of Zombie Apocalypse.

Mysterious Mysteries: Paper Blight of Aught-Whatever!

2010-01-23T23:31:00.003-06:00

A mysterious phenomenon has recently come to my attention. Across the blog-o-sphere I have of late seen crafters telling tales of paper scarcity. Not current paper scarcity, understand, but paper scarcity of youth gone by. Or, in one case, granted, current, but in Finland. Not a total lack of paper, in any such case; but paper too scarce and precious to be used for children's random art projects.

And I can only say: what the hoppy hippy bththday?

This is an extremely mysterious mystery to me, because I've never lacked for papper in the slightest. I have reams of it at this very moment, in a wide and startling array of finishes and poundage. The ready availability of paper, even in my somewhat impoverished youth (we never starved, but we often lacked power or tv or other American standard amenities) has always been one of my many points of evidence for why modern times are the best so far. Paper, at all times, was a freebie, one thing I could always get from the adults around me, like "water" and "soap". No one ever said "Cara, stop wasting paper!". Now, perhaps this was because everyone accepted that I would indeed be marking something, and paper was cheaper than the walls, but I do not think so. I think it was because paper was a cheap flippin' commodity, that could be pilfered with impunity from schools and offices, and that indeed even my teachers tended to throw my way with vague instructions to keep myself occupied.

So, tell me: have you experienced trouble getting hold of paper? Not fancy paper, mind, but standard looseleaf, printer-or-notebook, give it to the kids for school kind of paper. Was it super expensive at some point? Rare? Limited in quantity? If so, when? And where were you when this strange scarcity occurred? And have you any idea why?

The truth must be known!

Resolutions, only a little late

2010-01-21T19:44:00.006-06:00

Well, obviously I did not resolve to be more punctual this year.

I did, however, microwave several bars of soap.

And join a sample box with Best of Etsy.

And participate in hosting a treasure hunt.

Because my New Year's resolution, belated as it is, is to try at least one new thing every week. In this I am being aided vastly by the internet's vast store of home chemistry experiments, and the wonderful array of artists on Etsy who are so generous with their knowledge and suggestions.

So, besides microwaving soap, I have attempted my first object collages, one still in progress:

and one finished and awesome and listed on my Etsy shop, which you should totally check out, if you haven't-- I put a lot of neat stuff there!

You should also microwave some soap. I'm not gonna tell you what happens, but it's pretty dang keen.

Any new things you're trying this year?

New Year Zone

2009-12-31T14:22:00.000-06:00

There's greens and beans and cornbread cooking. And most important of all, there's a Twilight Zone marathon on TV.I could write at length on how New Year's Eve is a natural between-time, the sort of fairy tale borderland of time that starts adventures, and the Twilight Zone is a perfect cultural touchstone for that sort of unfettered unpredictable weirdness. I could go on about that, but the truth is the Zone marathon has just been a part of my New Year's Eve celebrations for year, even on years when I couldn't rustle up any other sort of celebration at all. A New Year without the Zone would be like no New Year at all.

But that dummy's freakin' me out, man.

Etsyblogger of the Month!

2009-12-31T14:17:00.000-06:00

EDarn it, last of the month holidays totally mess up my Etsyblogger posting schedule! It seems rather unfair to make Calkat compete with New Year's Eve.

But I bet she can! At least she can for me. Because over the Clay Shoppe, Calkat makes these:

Don't know what they are? They're polyclay molds! That is, for using with polymer clay,l not, you know, made of polymer clay. Look at the detail on them! I think they'd be great for some of my projects, don't you?

Oh yeah,Calkat also has some sort of very intriguing jewelery shop, and a store that sells, I don't know, some of the most amazing bottles that I would totally dance over if I danced at all.

So go check her out, and hey, maybe you can actually enjoy all the spinny flashy features of her blog. You kids today and your high speed connections, I don't know...

Merry Afters

2009-12-26T06:32:00.003-06:00

I know there's technically a week to go before the New Year starts, but in my head, the year always properly ends at Christmas. The next week has lingering celebrations and lots of cleanup, but it's really just a deep breath before the New Year brings proper time back.

So I'm glad this year, which has been one of my favorite, got one of the best Christmases ever. There was the traditional total lack of sleep (ok, I dreamed about presents and trees for three hours before I couldn't keep my eyes closed...), and a visit from Santa (cunningly disguised as my Father-in-law) almost as soon as my husband and I were both up, and two family dinners, and great gifts shared out all around (I got my first MP3 player! Yaaay, I'm only like half a decade out of touch now!). And for the first time in years, no one got sick, nothing got spilled, and absolutely nothing caught fire!

There was even a wee little cold spell to set the proper mood. Even I like a little cold weather for Christmas.

Now there's piles of goodies to be put away, and decorations to wrap again for future holidays, and a lovely handmade journal to fill with photos and scraps of paper and little notes. And there's a new year to prepare for, and books to read, and a million reasons to celebrate ahead. But for now, I'm going to brew some of my Christmas Tea, and put on the last holiday CD of the year, and enjoy the last few minutes of a perfect holiday and a great year. Thanks, everyone, for being part of it.

On the last week of Christmas, My Internet Gave To Me...

2009-12-24T05:42:00.007-06:00

A truly humbling amount of swag, that's what.

Yes, it's Christmas Eve, and I have a lot to do. But when Santa delivers a Christmas basket of wonders right to my door (or at least right to my cattle guard)

just two days before Christmas? Some sort of attention must be paid.
Look at that basket. That is MASSIVE. It's stuffed so full it can't even be lifted by the handle! It's stuffed so full I had to divide up my photos just to show it off!

So first, the foodstuffs:

That's TWO POUNDS of honey from New York; a sweet little jug of real maple syrup from Ohio; a barley sugar Christmas Tree lollipop (with sprinkles!); a box of cranberry-nut-chocolate clusters;a jar of homemade four-berry jam, a jar of appleberry pie butter, and, weird and wonderful, a little bottle of dangerously concentrated Concord grape juice, so thick a flashlight against the bottle can't shine through. Fantastic!

But wait! There's more!

A wonderful little Victoriana type illustration of a stocking, with a little box holding even more candy treats; a tin Santa ornament; a silver-metal posy, ready to hold goodies of any kind; and, all handmade, a fantastically glittery cranberry wreath that really comes alive in Christmas lights; a Santa basket (and I love that face!), a stained glass tree suncatcher, a polyclay cutout tree with its own bells; a jingle-bell candy cane; and a wee Santa to enjoy all the Christmas trees.

And of course, there's the basket itself, with its yards of ribbon and gold glittering floral ornament which, I must note, turns into a hair pin so very easily.

Not pictured, because it doesn't photograph well: an LED Christmas tree, complete with battery, and a pine-scented sachet, which has already been roped into urgent service.

This is the last post I'm making before the big day; I sure can't come up with anything more appropriate than a magic gift basket! I fully intend to be passed out with a holiday hangover this weekend. So I wanted to be sure to say Merry Christmas to everyone who's stuck with this sometimes-blog this year, especially my Etsy friends. Whether your house observes the holiday or not, I hope you all have reason to celebrate, tomorrow and every day.

*Santa in this case being Jaz of Octoberfarm blog, one of the most amazingly generous people on the planet. Go look! She's even holding *another* giveaway!

Look! A Distraction!

2009-12-22T21:44:00.002-06:00

I am making 12 kinds of cookies, wrapping an insane number of presents, and trying to clean up the house, so I can have the week after Christmas totally off, and veg out with a will. But I haven't forgotten you, my bloggy faithful! For those of you who get as internet dependent as me, here are a couple of Cara-related bits to entertain you:

An interview, discussing Aaaahrt, process, and Star Trek. From when I had time to blather! Ah, the good old days of October!

http://merigreenleaf.blogspot.com/2009/12/talented-tuesday-carapace.html

And a couple of people were sweet enough to feature my Twelve Days of Christmas art!

http://autumn2may.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-eleventh-day-of-christmas.html

http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-ninth-day-of-christmas.html

So go check them out, you know?

And buy a cow!

Bribing You for A Good Cause

2009-12-17T23:45:00.006-06:00

Well, I'd wanted to post up a bunch o' art to go with this, but Technical Difficulties keep happening. And this is important.

See, there are a few things I do every Christmas. I put up the tree, I bake a dozen kinds of cookies, I watch all my Rankin-Bass Christmas specials...

and I donate to the Heifer Foundation.

I don't have a lot of donation-money, so I like being able to focus it in one place-- and I like Heifer because what goes around keeps going around, indefinitely. See, what Heifer gives people is livestock-- cows, sheep, pigs, bees-- and all the training and techniques they need to get the most out of their livestock. And what they ask in return is that people share that gift; the first female offspring (depending on the animal, sometimes the first several female offspring) must be given to another family in need.

Heifer goes beyond just assisting with livestock; they help organize environmental reclamation projects, community groups, and literacy classes. They put an emphasis on helping women particularly, insisting that women be equal partners in any received Heifer gift in even the most restrictive countries. And they do it all by working with local communities, building up goodwill and hope for the long haul. It's everything I'd tell people to do if I had money and any skill at organization whatsoever. So they get my donations.

Why?

Why am I telling you this? You may well wonder. Why the heck should you care what gets my altruism going?

Because I am totally willing to bribe you to make YOUR altruism work. Starting, well, now, if you give a donation of 10 bucks or more to Heifer, I will draw you a picture of a critter.* Any critter. You want a sheep? A giraffe? A hippogriff? I'll do it. I will! I'm crazy! And I'll send it to you, either as a high-res jpeg, if you're just wanting a file, or a card, if you'd like something a little more tangible. No shipping, even!

How?
How will I know you've donated? Because you're going to email me a copy of your receipt (with your credit card info and such removed, of course!)-- just copy, paste, and email to
carapacenator(at)gmail.com
along with what critter you want, and whether you want a card or a digital file. If you want a card, an address for the mailing thereof would also be appreciated. I won't share any of your info with anyone else.

So go buy a sheep or a beehive, or a stand of trees, and let me know about it. I'd love to be totally swamped with critter picture obligations!

Fine Print
*Fine print about the piece- it will be drawn digitally, I keep copyright and reproduction rights,and I am open to comments about what style or color or whatever you'd like, though no promises here. I will do my best to make it a *good* picture, so if you like my art, you should be happy. Pictures will be 3 x 5 or 4 x 4 inches; let me know if you want rectangular or square, or I'll choose myself.

Christmas and Coconut Flour

2009-12-12T13:28:00.006-06:00

Wow, apparently the Internet Likes Recipes. Who knew?

However, as a whole, it also appears The Internet Eats Wheat. If you don't, and I don't, the rash of recipes going up right now is kind of frustrating.

Or would be, if I didn't have coconut flour!

Coconut Flour is, in my never-humble opinion, the greatest flour on the planet. It makes the *best* pancakes and quickbreads I've ever turned out. It makes my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe possible. It thickens up pecan pie way better than wheat flour. And it's super healthy, full of fiber and protein and good happy carbs.

It's also really forgiving; I can't use sugar, being on a hilariously low-carb diet, and have had to improvise every CF recipe to accomodate that. And it works! You know what happens in a wheat-flour recipe if you just replace sugar with a dose of stevia? Sadness and regret, that's what.

Anyway, I'm tired of seeing my gluten free friends casting around for holiday substitutions when coconut flour is as near as the internet! Here, then, are a couple of my favorite recipes, from Bruce Fife's excellent Cooking With Coconut Flour, with notes and comments by me, 'cause hey, you're here for that, right?:

Nut Butter Chocolate Chippers
(These things are better than trail mix. Soft and chewy, they keep like you would not believe. And they're more packed with nuts than a Snickers bar, but they don't *taste* like nuts. They taste like vanilla-y chippy yummies.
Fun fact: If you are allergic to nuts, this recipe will make your head explode liek the guy in Scanners! Festive!)

(note: I use barely-sweet chocolate chips and Splenda or Stevia sweetener in this-- but I don't like super sweet stuff. This is the original, standard low-sugar recipe, for those who aren't so limited in their carbs.)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or almond butter. I use almond butter, 'cause I like it, but I hear it's hard to find in some places without an HEB. Be sure, whatever nut butter you're using, it's the pure stuff, with all the oil still in and without any weird sweetener or sugar or starch or whatever)
3/4 cups brown sugar or sucanant and 1/2 tsp stevia
4 eggs (I never said this was low fat. Coconut flour loves fat. That's ok by me!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (If you hate vanilla; I always use at least a half tablespoon, or why open the bottle?!? But, ah, that's me. That's not the book.)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups nuts (I like pecans. I am required by state law to like pecans. Plus they're the best nut in the world. So there's that. But hey, you can use your crazy other kinds of nuts, if you want.)
2/3 cup sifted coconut flour (Protip! Keep your coconut flour at room temperature! It has juuuuust enough fat to set up like a sandbrick if you freeze or fridge it. Yet it won't go bad on the shelf. Baffling but true!)

Mix softened butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Mix in nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut flour. Batter will be runny (but will start to seriously thicken if you turn your back on it. The awetasticness of coconut flour largely comes from its moisture absorbing magic. Do not take a long phone call after you mix this batter.)

Put spoonfuls on greased or parchment-paper covered cookie tray, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your dollops. Cool and remove from cookie sheet. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Not from the book:
Breakfast cake!
(Now, I think these are like scones, but that may just be me. I freely admit I am not the most qualified judge of scones.
Regardless, this is a wonderful, slightly sweet, very good toasted with butter or painted with jam, yellow cake. Baked in a loaf pan it's actually a pound cake, but I like mine in silicon muffin cups. I also suspect a good thumbprint cookie recipe lies in here...)

5 Eggs
1 t Baking Powder
1 t vanilla
1 lemon
2 oz Cream Cheese
2 oz Melted Butter
1 c Sugar Substitute
1 c coconut flour
Instructions
Beat 5 large eggs. Add baking powder, vanilla, Zest and juice of lemon. Add sifted coconut flour, sugar equivalent (I use 1/4 tsp liquid Splenda).

Then add cream cheese and butter, melted together.

Mix, bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (30 minutes, if you're doing muffin cups)

If you have any questions, ask in the comments- I will happily answer at the earliest chance!

Holiday Recipes, Gluten Free

2009-12-04T13:24:00.003-06:00

All right, if there's snow on the ground (and there is snow on the ground! Snow! Still freaking out....) then it's time to start holiday baking (if only because the oven is a major source of heat in this house!).

You may not know that I'm on a fairly strict medical diet, called the Modified Atkins (for seizures) that limits my carbs hard, and for similar reasons have had to cut out gluten entirely. No treats then, you think? Not a bit of it! Check out:

Christmas Color Cookies

3 large egg whites
2-3 tbsp sugar-free Jell---oh, I mean, flavored gelatin dessert;P of your favorite flavor

Hardware:
Parchment Paper (NOT waxed paper! Oh for the love of all things edible, NOT WAXED PAPER!)
shiny cookie sheet
Electric Egg Beater (although, if you just hate yourself, you can do this by hand...I guess...)

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. If you don't know what that is, it's when you pull the beaters out, and the whites stay sticking straight up.:)

Pour on the Jell--uh, gelatin dessert powder. Beat into the egg whites until fully added (some worry about overbeating the egg whites. I have never ever ever seen this happen, in over a decade of making meringues of all sorts).

With a spoon or piping bag, drop spoon sized dollops of meringue (any size from teaspoon to tablespoon, really-small ones will be more like candy, large ones more chewy) on the parchement paper (doesn't have to be on the cookie sheet- one of the reasons parchement and meringue are such good chums is that you can totally get a sheet of paper loaded and waiting for limited cookie sheets!). But put the paper on a cookie sheet before putting the whole thing in the oven at 225 for an hour or so, depending on your dollop sizes.:)

These cookies will be the color and flavor of the gelat-oh, we all know I mean Jello. But you can add extracts of almond or vanilla or even chocolate to change the taste up-- almond-cherry or chocolate-orange are great! But I like lime and raspberry. What's your favorite?

Snow? Snow?!? SNOW!

2009-12-04T12:19:00.006-06:00

Holy CATS. I was up early, decorating the tree. And then this weird sound came from the outside, and if you're from colder places, you probably know what I'm talking about. But I'm from Central Texas, so I have a thousand words that fail to describe it utterly. And lo, I opened the door, and there it was, like a really gentle hailstorm.

SNOW!

So, like anyone who's lived in Southern Central Texas their whole life long, I lost all my sense and ran out in my total lack of proper clothing to take pictures. I got bunches, actually, but I don't think anything says "We did not expect this" on an environmental level like snow in blooming sunflowers.

So. Uh. Wow. Happy Holidays, with a vengeance!

Featured Etsy Blogger: The Fab Miss B!

2009-11-30T21:21:00.002-06:00

Well, heck, in the midst of my not being well, I nearly missed noting our Etsy Blogger of the month! And that would be a shame, because not only does the Fab Miss B host giveaways, she stocks aprons in her store! Giveaways are of course a nigh-surefire sign of a good blogger; anyone giving away Loot is invested in their project, after all.

As for aprons-- well, they make everyone, of either gender, instantly cuter AND classier. And they're terribly useful. They protect more extensive clothing, and yet often outshine the very items they're sacrificing themselves for. In short, aprons are one of the truest signs of Civilization, and any shop stocking them should be encouraged as being a standard bearer for our times.

So, you know. Go visit Miss B!

Carapace Versus the Orange Gourds of Doooom

2009-11-22T07:15:00.005-06:00

Time to bust out my ethnocentrism and wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving! Even if you don't live in the US. Happy..um..late November? Or you could join us in eating ourselves sick on big plates of food; it's really one of the easiest holidays to play along with. I'll join in yours!

I mean it. I love the holidays. Any holidays. All Arbor's Day of the Chrimukwanukah Solstivus Eve, whatever you got, I'll take it. Every Thanksgiving I can lay my hands on (did you know the first American Thanksgiving was actually in Texas? No? It's true!), Halloween and Day of the Dead, I don't care. Any excuse for strange foods and rituals is a good one!

But there is an element of the latter-month holidays that fills me with dread, one nasty nigh-inescapable blight on this shiniest of seasons. One nasty ORANGE blight.

See, I'm allergic to orange foods. It's not that I dislike them. I *dislike* canned peas. Canned peas do not make me throw the heck up, or break out in hives, or have trouble breathing. But pumpkin, sweet potatoes, even humble carrots, when cooked...they bring the doom upon me. And most of the year, they are easy to avoid. But today, on this festive holiday occasion, they are everywhere. And so I have learned earlier than most to cook my own holiday dinner, and hold Thanksgiving only with those close companions who have shown an understanding of concepts like "anaphylactic shock" and "next time the mess goes in YOUR shoes".

So today, armed with turkey and pecan pie, I go once more to brave the trials of Family Fun. I'm grateful to be able to go to a fairly safe place; and I'll be even more grateful to return home, if I can sneak by the well meaning relatives and stealth pies once again.

May your Thanksgivings be fun, and less full of danger!

Thank You

2009-11-21T22:47:00.003-06:00

Time for another Etsy Texas Challenge! This month's theme was Gratitude, which is noble as heck, but awfully abstract and hard to portray.

I think the team may actually have gone too abstract, and I'm not sure there's going to be enough entries here to run the challenge. But for you, my bloggy faithful, a picture:

There is nothing more hideously critical to the learning process than an audience. So thank you, mysterious people of the internet, for hanging around this rather infrequent blog. Your comments and encouragement are more appreciated than you know.

Look! A Distraction!

2009-11-20T15:31:00.004-06:00

Though I do the wonderful Folk of Etsy a great disservice to call her such....

I'm trying very hard to have a fun post for ya'll tonight, but for now, why not check out my interview with Folk over here:

http://folkcraft.blogspot.com/2009/11/in-craftlight-carapace.html

She asks a lot of fun questions, and I took my own verbose time answering them, so that should keep everyone busy for quite a while. Look over there, while I remember how to type!

Fair Notice With a Turtle

2009-11-13T09:00:00.003-06:00

I am not well.
There's no punchline here; it's not a joke about me being crazy. I have some serious health issues, and they're rearing up to bite me lately. So I may be a bit quieter than usual. A whole big bit. I'll try to keep the blog lively though, and when I post I'm liable to not be in my right mind, so stick around! And if it's ever quiet for two weeks at a go, you can call the Marines. Or the Coast Guard. Or the Glee Club. You know, whatever.
I don't like to talk about it, because it is complicated and boring. But I felt my hypothetical blog readers, needed some explanation for my occasional long quietus. So, there it is.

Hey! Check it out, I'm drawing a turtle!:

Cephalopod Rodeo

2009-11-07T20:18:00.003-06:00

I don't talk about other blogs a lot. This is a shame. And weird. There are many very cool blogs out there, and talking about the good work of other people is always easier than coming up with my own stuff.

For instance, Cephalopod Tea Party, a fantastic blog about cephalopods and only cephalopods (pronuounced SEFalopods, not, like kep-halo-pods or anything weird), dedicated entirely to the awesomeness of our headfooted friends. No random self-promotion, no craft talk-- this blog is for octopods, and squids, and other similar awesome things. And the Tea Party is having a potluck, inviting other people to contribute things Cephish! These being some of the neatest and most artistic beings in the world, I couldn't resist:

Though I of course can't do the chromatophores justice. I did a lot of image study here, though it wildly and profoundly does not show. Now I want a Cephalopod Photo Album.

However, I did not draw a Cephalopod Rodeo. I did not think of it until I had to title this blog post. But I think I now know what the next thing in my Etsy shop will be.

Thank You, Etsy Texas Crafters!

2009-11-01T09:29:00.006-06:00

Oh boy, I won the Etsy Texas Crafters Dia de los Muertos challenge! Well, I came in fourth. Which is better. No, really! See, the challenge has prizes, and every challenge I've entered, the prize I really wanted has been third place or later. It is bizarre, but true! This month it was a pair of luxury washcloths from the lovely Laine, of Cradle And All, who even let me choose my pattern!

Don't those look amazing? It's just the sort of thing I always sigh after and never buy, because I am a sensible responsible household budgeter who is saving all my money for patching the roof. No fun, and not nearly as luxy as these washcloths. I think that's the best sort of prize or present, really, something useful and loveable but not...quite..in the budget. So big thank yous, Laine! And it goes really well with my prize from last time!

Last time? I was in the lower-place prizes again! And I won a Pink Sugar Whipped Soap from Amanda of Fairy Bubbles.

Which is pretty great all on its own, right? But then she went and double-sized the prize just because she's that cool! I love using this stuff; it's like showering in an ice cream sundae, but somehow getting clean, instead of just sticky. And then I smell good, but somehow don't attract ants. Fantastic! You really should try it out. But only if you like smelling good.

I Have No Words

2009-10-29T19:39:00.004-05:00

It is time for me to Enjoy Being A Girl. You do not want to know what I want to be saying today.

So have a comic instead, to explain why I've been away this week: