is it spring yet?

i hope everyone had a fantabulous easter weekend!

creepy bunny and carrot cookies

the weather was good today despite the rain. i'm tired of the cold now and i'm ready for spring! i finally baked the cookies i want to send to my usual group for easter, so actually today was not a good day for the weather to warm up because i was hot in the kitchen all day! just my luck, huh?  i'm really glad i never wanted to be a pastry chef. maybe i don't have the patience. but oh well, i still have lots of fun making them. the cookies in the picture are the best ones out of the group, tee hee. by the looks of them, you wouldn't think i actually know how to draw. besides lack of patience, maybe i'm a little lazy too ^_^

a little sunday fun

i really enjoy making these name tags for gifts. 

it's funny how i can look at those cards and see all of my mistakes and imperfections. i'm always complaining that i'm not creative enough. i just need to practice. i have so many books on being creative (and no, i haven't finished any of them yet). i finally realized that it's not that i'm not creative, i don't practice! i give up and i don't allow myself to make mistakes.

i need to correct my vision. there was a time where i did art full time and i was able to see differently. i was always seeing spatial relationships, colors, tonal values, negative space, etc. i don't know when i lost it but i really want to find it again. i miss it. i think it came before because i was always drawing, i was engaged and passionate about it so i guess it was natural. it's like riding a bike, right? :)

stampin' up again

i went to another technique class given by my stampin' up diva friend lisa. http://stampingwithlisa.com/
it was suppose to be a one hour class but before i knew it, 1 1/2 hours flew by. don't you just love how you lose track of time when your brain goes into right sided mode? i know i do. she let me make my cover page for the book too. i tried to show off my lettering skills :) i still need more practice! i'm just excited she had a hummingbird stamp, i love hummingbirds! i've written my list of cards to make. i'm a little behind with my thank you's and i have a wedding and baby shower coming up soon. so i better get busy!

simple pleasure to self analysis, huh?

one of my friends just took a leap of faith & is now a mary kay consultant. i ordered a stamper for her with her name, website and phone number(as a surprise gift) and thanks to one of my favorite blogger friends, i have discovered a new way to wrap gifts. http://elviestudio.blogspot.com/ initially i felt weird copying her idea but i am one of her devoted disciples in the letter lab :) thank you lori!

there is an art competition coming up for d'art center and today was the deadline for entering. i thought about it, got excited, thought about it some more, procrastinated, thought again, and then finally gave up on the idea (my usual routine). but for some reason, when i got up this morning, i told myself "why not, what's there to lose (besides the entry fee)". so i rushed and delivered my entry in person. unfortunately, i was confident enough to submit only one painting even tho the charge covered up to five. after i dropped it off my mind went on this analytical trip....i think i put the wrong year it was done on the form, i should have used my real name instead of my future name (i plan to change once i get divorced), i should have omitted the frame around the painting in the photo i had to submit, i'm not a professional artist, should i have wasted that $30, what if they do accept my entry, should i just forget about it and wait to see what happens or should i dream it, believe it, and own it......blah blah blah blah blah! ugh! what's wrong with me? i am excited. it's the same excitement i had doing that gift for my friend and creating that name tag. anything i do that has anything to do with art, creativity, writing, taking photos, even giving gifts gets me excited. and it's a great feeling :)

it's my birthday :)

i've always wanted a chalkboard in my kitchen, now i have one

 i took a 5 day weekend from work for my birthday but the days are going too fast! i just wanted to take one of those "stay cations". just stay at home, relax, and do nothing. but it seems i keep finding things to do! sheesh! so i am another year older (and wiser). i have so many things i want to do but i am tired of writing about them instead of writing about actually getting those things done. it's a good feeling to cross things off of to do lists. it's a good feeling to feel productive and i love those days where i've done so much and didn't realize how much time had past. one of my dreams is to one day not have to ever care about the time. it's a fantasy of mine, to be able to go to sleep and wake up whenever i feel like it. work and play all day and just be totally carefree. kinda weird, huh? of course i'd have to be self employed or a lottery winner. don't think any boss would like me to just show up whenever i felt like it.

i know valentine's day has past but i had to get my treats done for my nephew and daughters. i found the sugar cookie & royal icing recipes here:
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/02/14/conversation-heart-sugar-cookies/
mine look nothing like hers but i had a lot of fun. i also made chocolate fudge and rice krispies treats in heart shapes last week. i just hope they don't become stale before they open their packages.

sugar cookie conversation hearts

they look ok, i haven't tasted them yet but i've wanted to bake these for years now 

happy new year..belated :)

i usually write a list of resolutions every year but didn't feel like this year. it always says the same thing.  i didn't want to set up a list of regrets or failures, again. but as i was thinking last night, i realized, i need a symbolic moment to kick start a few needed changes. i spent a lot of time in the kitchen today and i ended up making rice cake soup to celebrate the new year.

bulgogi, rice, kimchi, and rice cake soup. rice cake soup is the traditional new year's day meal in korea

look what i found at trader joes! not too bad, a little on the sour side

strawberry pie, my daughter asked so mommy made it. just add cool whip on top, yum yum

it snowed yesterday! baxter was a little confused, searched to find that perfect poop spot

not much snow but still beautiful, sometimes this is as good as it gets around here

well, here are my plans for a happy 2013:
         1. i entered the get fit challenge at work, so far only lost 5 pounds, and i joined a gym but i'm not disciplined yet. i was able to stop drinking soda, however, i gave in and enjoyed my cherry cokes yesterday and today. i've also been writing down everything i eat, trying to stay within 1500 cal a day (i use to eat that much in one meal). my goal is to lose no more than 25 to 30 pounds but more importantly i want to maintain a healthier lifestyle (so cliche' isn't it). not sure how this is going to work. i'm always hungry!
         2. my ultimate dream is to do something creative at least once a day. it always makes me happy. i still don't understand why i avoid it sometimes. i decided to start reading drawing on the right side of the brain again. i've picked it up more than once but never finished it. so i have decided to try and establish a routine, if i can at least sketch or doodle once a day, that would be great.
         3. finally, i have 2 bad habits i want to stop: hitting the snooze button in the morning and never finishing what i've started, especially reading books (i have over 15 books i've started but never finish).

i hope everyone is having a great start to their new year. it is exciting to imagine all of the great possibilities!

what have i been up to lately?

well...
i think i have officially turned into a couch potato! i should probably be too embarrassed to admit this. but in the last 2 1/2 months i have watched 10 different korean dramas! each one is at least 16 one hour episodes, some were 20 and one of my favorites actually had 30 episodes! that is a lot of tv time. one thing about these shows, they are in korean of course so i have to stay glued to the tv to read the subtitles! they are addicting!

scent of a woman---my favorite! i have a crush on lee dong-wook

bread, love, and dreams---another favorite

you're beautiful---this was my 1st and is one of my favorites

these are the other ones i've watched:

     * secret garden

     * lie to me

     * spring waltz

     * pasta

     * shining inheritance

     * stars falling from the sky

     * full house

now i may be going through a little withdrawl and i'm trying hard not to search for another one to start. i have also spent the last few months trying to learn korean. it's actually a lot of fun but i guess now i'm also confessing to being a nerd. i study korean for fun! tee hee  i really have fun writing the hangul characters and i can actually read a lot of it. if only i knew what it meant :)  but in time, i'm sure i will improve.

still experimenting & happy stuff

not too pretty but it's a start

one of my goals in life is to do visual journaling. i have always loved to see drawings done in ink and watercolor. well, i found a blog where her lettering and drawings are wonderful! http://elviestudio.blogspot.com/  so i signed up for one of her online classes, "letter lab". there's a thing i do in my composition notebooks where i list "happy stuff" on random days. i try to write the title "happy stuff" with different designs or in a different lettering style. my creativity in this department goes only so far. i thought this class would be good for me and i was right. i went out and bought some watercolor pencils, a watercolor brush that you actually put water in the handle, and a small multi media book. i need to practice, practice, and practice more! the watercolor thing is still new to me and proving to be a little more difficult than i want it to be.

as i was looking through my current composition book, i realized i haven't been writing my happy lists. i started doing them to be mindful of what i have to be grateful for and to force myself to find things to appreciate even on those mediocre days.

on sept 26th i planned to do one of those photo an hour days but that didn't happen. i did make some yummy korean food. i tried to eat the noodles with those chop sticks, ugh so sad. it makes me a little embarrassed that i'm asian and can't do it.

today's happy stuff:
     *  passing ACLS re certification class
     *  getting a free lunch during that class
     *  a quiet, relaxing saturday evening at home
     *  the awesome smell of washing a load of laundry
     *  being on the phone with my oldest while she explored the new fresh market store in her neighborhood,
she was having too much fun in there :)

jap chae; bean sprouts; kimchi; cucumber kimchi, & white rice!

finding happiness

i love seeing pictures of random things that look like a happy face formed. like when you can see a face in a potato chip or a smile in some floral arrangement.

i realize that as i walk in my neighborhood i spend most of the time looking at my feet. some of the sidewalks are made of brick and a lot of the walk is uneven due to tree roots and what not. so since i am accident prone, i guess i want to make sure i don't fall. however, i miss out on the beauty around me and i think i miss out on opportunities to see a smiley face in a random area.

not too long ago i wanted to make mashed potatoes so i peeled some potatoes and voila! a happy face appeared in the peel stuck to the inside of the trash can.
maybe i'm being silly, but it made me happy :)

do you see it too?

oops i did it again...

(in my brittany spears voice)
oh baby, baby
i tried something else new!
watercolors!

unfinished and messy 

i signed up for a weekend class at the richmond visual arts center called "crashcourse in watercolors". christopher wynn was the instructor. http://www.wynncreative.com/wynncreative/Home.html
he is featured in the summer issue of the american artist watercolor magazine. i love that he quit his job and sold everything he owned to travel for almost a year. what a great thing to do in life. there's so much to see out there. anyway, he made a joke in class of how i planned to go back to oil painting after class was over. it is a difficult medium to work with. when i started i attacked the paper as if i was painting with oils. big mistake! i wish i'd taken a picture of the first attempt. i was able to recover somewhat. but when i say i overworked that paper, i overworked it! i didn't finish this piece, don't know if i will. but i do have some expensive watercolor paper left so i will try again.

it was a fun class. a little rushed. but it was called "crash course" right? i actually learned a lot! i love seeing journals and sketchbooks with little watercolor drawings in them. i'm really happy i finally tried it. i bought some cheap brushes so it was frustrating seeing so many little brush hairs all over my painting.

so as i was getting in my car once class was finished, i realized i had my camera with me and regret that i didn't ask to take a picture with mr. wynn. i've never met an artist who was featured in a magazine before. i tried to find that issue in the barnes & noble there but couldn't find it. i could have asked for his autograph :)

so what will i try next? i've never done ceramics or sculpture. we shall see. i've decided not to take classes at the university this semester. my student loans are outrageous already. i don't need to add more to it right now. but i will continue to learn and experiment and practice and stay involved somehow. so for the upcoming fall and winter, i will:
     -sign up for another artistic crash course or workshop
     -visit a local drawing group meeting & maybe join them
          i know of 2 in the area that meets every tuesday
     -finish the sewing projects i wanted to do, especially the apron
     -take lots of pictures of baxter to use as a subject for my next oil painting
     -and paint that picture of baxter!

tried something new

i signed up for a screen printing class taught online by an artist who's blog  i found http://www.howtomakeart.com/
the art of screen printing is new to me. it was fun and messy :)
i think i have an issue with not wanting to be wasteful. so if i'm not confident with what i want to create, i avoid it because if i mess up, that's wasted ink, paper, paint, etc. so instead, my art supplies sit and collect dust ??? crazy isn't it? screen printing might be good therapy for me, there is a lot of trial and error in the process.
well, at least i've always wanted to make my own tshirts and now i can say i made one!

my dc adventure

national zoo, washington dc

one thing i'm guilty of is not following through with going to places and events. i mark them in my calendar with intention but usually mark it out later because i didn't go for one reason or another. well, i should say excuse. but this time, i made myself do it and i took a day trip to washington d.c. i found out art o mat was having their 15th anniversary there so i decided to go. here's the link to their website:
http://www.artomat.org/home.html
i submitted something to them almost 10 years ago. it was graciously declined. i realize now i didn't do very good selling myself. i sent them samples of rothko type pieces or should i say blocks of color. i didn't add anything to it. a concept was missing. i should have created some form of experience or emotion or something, anything. i simply painted boring mini paintings. i didn't even consider the packaging. sometimes the packaging is better than what's inside. they have so many artists now. i love love love the old cigarette machines. i meant to ask if the creator, clark whittington was there, i probably stood right next to him and didn't know it. oh well. the next one will be in 5 years. maybe i will see him then.

so below are some of my favorite residents of the zoo.

lonely octopus

cute little critters

didn't realize how ginormous these things can get. they walk like it hurts to move

the star of the zoo; sorry, forgot to find out who this was. mei xiang or tian tian? 

a hot saturday afternoon is probably not the best time to go to the national zoo. we got to do a lot of walking so by the time we got to the smithsonian, i was a sweaty mess. they held the swap meet in the american art museum. of all the places at the national mall, that is the one i just visited last year. so i didn't spend too much time there. i did see the video game exhibit. it's amazing how video games have evolved in the last 3 decades. and i got to play the biggest pac man ever!

once we left the museum, we went up a few blocks to ping pong dim sum. whenever visiting d.c. i have to either go to ping pong or to pret a manger, or both :)  oh how i love to eat good food.

yesterday was a great day. i got to spend it with my girls, well 2 out of 3 of them. we ended up shopping at ikea, which was about 30 min away. before heading home, we ate yummy bbq at famous daves. i've already searched for local art events & they are marked in my calendar. no more excuses. i have fun meeting with other artists and seeing the people who show interest in them.

art o mat 15th anniversary swap meet

courtesy of one of the awesome artists at the swap meet

smithsonian american art museum --- the art of video games

perfect reason to drive 3 1/2 hours away; yummy dim sum

one of my favorite stores; now i'm part of their family!

hiking is for the birds...i wish i was a bird that day

the cascades, somewhere near Virginia Tech University

went on a hike and thought i was going to die! it was a 2 mile trail on rocks and dirt requiring stepping over other rocks and tree branches, etc. up and down. down and up. some slippery close calls and lots of sweat! it was pretty awesome. we chose the more scenic trail but i was too busy watching my step! my heart was racing. i was short of breath. i wanted to be a bird so i could spread my wings and fly :) once i got to the rock that had an engraving letting me know i only had 1/4 mile to go, i really didn't think i could do it. i was so exhausted. but to my surprise, it actually got easier. the trail didn't get any easier, my tolerance improved. my breathing was better, i don't know, i was just more comfortable. it was a great accomplishment! it was funny when i saw i was almost there, i slipped and fell right on my butt. my butt didn't hurt but the next day, my ankles, knees, hips, shins, and calves were sooooooo sore and achy! we took the alternate route away from the falls, apparently it was all incline on this one because it was basically a flat decline all the way back. actually a big relief, don't know if i could have tolerated another hike like the first 2 miles :)

i still can't believe i did it! look at that trail! crazy!

absolutely beautiful

virginia tech

my daughter, the middle child, will be starting virginia tech in the fall studying animal science. she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up and we took this road trip for her orientation. the parents were invited to stay in one of the dorms (not for free of course). i've never lived in a dorm before and always wondered if i missed out on something in my younger years. no big deal. of course the experience of one night as an adult will never compare to a youngin's first adventure away from home :)

so if "go on a hike" was on my bucket list, i could mark that one off now (don't think it is tho). but i did it and i am happy about it!

stampin' up

a few weeks ago i took a techniques class under a stampin' up guru :) http://stampingwithlisa.com/
i think she owns every product the company ever made! as you already know, i love making my own cards so i had a lot of fun.

self analysis

i'd been thinking a lot lately. probably not a good thing. it's funny how the mind works sometimes. initially i was all excited about my future, coming up with ideas and new dreams. then i found myself in a "funk". wondering what i have a passion for. wondering what my niche would be. wondering, wondering, wondering. i started thinking that "real" artists have a passion for something. they have a purpose, a story to tell, a point to make, some political or religious awareness to convey, a reaction to some current event or tragedy.  all of which i don't have. i realized i was comparing myself to other artists, to some "ideal" artist, that image of what a real artist is suppose to be, you know?

well, i'm glad i stopped that nonsense. i reminded myself that i am an artist. i may not be where i want to be but what am i doing about it? maybe that's what started all this thinking. guilt. the guilt i feel when i don't draw or paint when i want to. i always stop myself & i don't understand it. always making excuses. i guess it's like someone wanting to run a marathon but never even ran a mile. how will i ever get myself prepared for that "marathon" if i don't even take a walk everyday?

i had a goal to do at least one drawing a day. but another analysis of myself, i never seem to finish a drawing completely. when i was taking that drawing class last semester i did learn this about myself & realized that i don't put enough time into it. tonight i decided to do some nude poses with graphite on paper. i ended up sketching again. i only did 2 of them with intentions of "completing" them. adding all the values and shadows, actually making a composition out of it but i didn't feel like it. i didn't know where to go with it. i probably only spent 15 min on the 2 & that's including the search for the images. i had to tell  myself that it's ok. i'm happy i picked up that pencil and worked in my studio! i think if i just draw something, anything, anytime, anywhere, it may spark something and i will discover that i want to draw more of it, whatever "it" is. i won't ever discover what "it" is if i don't start somewhere, right?

just walking around the neighborhood

i took baxter for a walk this evening. i noticed his shadow and thought "wow, looks like a great dane".

maybe it's just my imagination :) i do love great danes!

the sky had an interesting look. i tried to capture it on film but it didn't really show off the beautiful blue in the clouds. i could see a glimpse of the baseball field lights so maybe there's a game tonight which means they might have fireworks later. yesterday as i was reading and then while cooking dinner i could listen to the live band playing around the corner. i do love my neighborhood. life is good :)

who ever knew making a pair of pajama pants was so difficult?

if you did know, someone should have told me :)
i found a do it yourself drawstring pants project on martha stewart's website
http://www.marthastewart.com/268829/drawstring-pants-how-to


seemed easy enough. i printed out the template and had to put it together with scotch tape. i cut a "front" and "back" piece and realized that something didn't seem right. the instructions were so confusing to me. i think i might be a dingbat when it comes to sewing. maybe there is just basic stuff you are suppose to know before using a sewing machine or using patterns/templates and i haven't found that lesson yet.

for me, i need more specific instructions. tell me how many pieces to cut. tell me what side to put the template on before i cut it. show me pictures of each step. i don't know, i was so confused. i couldn't follow the instructions. i took my 4 pieces of material and put it together the way i could. i thought of it like a puzzle.

look at the finished piece, do you see a problem? well, all of my pieces were cut the same way. i had to turn 2 pieces the wrong way to make it fit. plus, i couldn't figure out which was the front or back piece anymore. and then i accidentally sewed the crotch area on the wrong side so the middle looked like it was inside out. when i took it apart, the material is so thin and cheap, it ripped in some areas. i kept thinking to myself "i can't believe i'm having fun doing this". oh and geez, you should have seen me when i realized i didn't have holes for my drawstring to come through.

maybe i shouldn't have thrown away the template. i need to try this again the "right way". i went to the website just to see it again. i found a video for it but it wasn't very specific either. i'll figure it out :) i'm going to do some research on youtube before i do another sewing project.

putting the pattern together

final pattern pieces

fabric cut, but something doesn't seem right

something is definitely wrong but i did it!

at least it's wearable :)