Instant Gratification Rocks

So I don’t know about the rest of the crafty world, but when I have an idea or need something for a project or just need some inspiration, I don’t wanna wait for processing, shipping, or the stores to open in the morning.  I want my stuff as soon as possible, warp speed, immediately.  I don’t think of whatever said item is as a want- I am a creative person, I live on gesso and art magazines (well, sugar and caffeine, too), supplies are a need.  Kind of like water or Radiohead, I cannot survive without my supply fix.  I will even give up Starbucks if I need a new paint brush or something; those who know me well know that this is a huge sacrifice for me…  Imagine my joy upon discovering the digital supply market!  That’s right folks, digital downloads for immediate gratification.  In honor of the impulse buy, I present you with a few of my late night discoveries:

Digital Collage Sheets.com  Love this online shop, with massive, beautiful freebies to draw you in and a vast array of images compiled into awesome collage sheets.  Oh, and did I mention that your purchases are immediately available for download?  Be still, my hoarding heart…

AmeliaLuneDigital on Etsy  Every collage sheet in this shop is one dollar, with additional bundling options that include free sheets based on how many you buy.  Seven for the price of five, fifteen for the price of ten, etc.  Each sheet contains multiple images that are high quality, gorgeous, and timeless.  Plus, the shop owner is true to her 24 hours or less policy on delivery- I got my order within about five hours of purchase and was happily printing away the wee hours of the morn.

Graphique on Etsy  These vintage inspired images are works of art in themselves, and right now they happen to be on sale!  Normally 3.50 apiece, Graphique heard their customers cries and is offering all of their more than 1600 images for one dollar each.  Not only do they offer a huge variety of items varying from ephemera, to Parisian, to words and graphics perfect for altering fabric totes and t shirts for wedding parties, Graphique takes custom requests as well!  Another plus?  The images can be resized by the buyer without much hassle (I have not found an easy way to resize any other images- print, scan, crop, save, open in a new program, resize, save some more…  ugh…).  The only downfall I see is that the shop only offers single images- a problem for those of us who prefer an assortment due to a lack of decision making ability.  However, even I forced myself to narrow my selections down to just three beautiful choices.

*Note- Due to the time consuming nature of building a website, Graphique has had to take a tiny hiatus from creating custom digital sheets; since it took me over three hours to get no where trying to even create a rudimentary digi-collage, I completely understand!

And finally, for those who believe “the best will come to those who wait”, I give you the exquisite works of Roberta Altshuler, artist and designer extraordinaire of ERA Graphics.  While my own transparency fix doesn’t typically take more than a day or so (its good to work for the supplier!), as far as I am aware, Roberta’s images come in physical sheets only.  And although I hate to give away all my secrets, these illustrations are too good to keep a secret, and definitely worth waiting for.  You can see (and even order!) the full color Focus cards HERE from the Queen of SkyBluePink.  Each card features a single word surrounded by beautiful, ornate illumination, and are incredibly inspiring just to look at.  However, the Queen and Roberta, being a pair of smart cookies, saw their crafting potential and now offer the full set of focus cards as well as various other renderings as transparencies.  They make really great image transfers (I used sculpey liquid polymer clay, two thumbs up!).  To see all the transparencies by Ms. Altshuler, CLICK HERE and scroll down.

And now I gotta go to work; hopefully, I’ll have a little spare time to play with my new toys!

*Note:  Much to my embarrassment, I managed to get Roberta’s name completely wrong in the original post, despite having looked it up to be certain; my humblest apologies to Roberta Altshuler, not Altman:), and thank you to HRH for pointing out the mistake.

Its Not Just Me!

I thought I was the only nut who obsessed over mastering many different artsy crafty creative things.  However, just stumbled upon a post on CreateMixedMedia.com that proves the existence of other equally obsessive life forms!  Maybe we should form a 12 step program?  Group “therapy” sessions so as not to annoy those ordinary people who want to talk about silly things like politics and the economy…  I know, I know, there are art retreats and workshops and classes, but those require things like money and babysitters, which leads me to a rant on privilege, class, and perhaps gender in the art/craft world, which is a post for another day…  Rather, I will end on this- It is nice to know I’m not alone!

They Say We’re Obsessed Like Its A Bad Thing- Rice Freeman Zachary

Technical Difficulties…

Okay, so trying to figure this theme out, only now I don’t like the way it looks! Any suggestions? Oooh, and guess what? Got my very own domain, welcome to artsybibliomaniac.com!

Good intentions…

So, I intend to give the old blog here a little tlc here soon…  You know, brush off the cobwebs, maybe give it my signature organizational makeover (the studio gets one every few months; I start going through all my supplies and stash and reorganize everything more “efficiently”, typically inspired by some really adorable storage product I HAD to buy), and maybe even try to add some content on a regular basis.  Short content, maybe some pictures or something (baby steps, people, baby steps!).

Notice I said “intend”…

Legal Musings: The Anthony Edition

Maybe I should have gone to law school after all.   I called this one three weeks ago.

The nation seems to be in a state of shock over this Casey Anthony verdict; I am relieved that the justice system is working as it was designed to, that a woman was not convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death based on a circumstantial case.

The prosecution did not prove their case.  Period.  They were relying on the emotional upheaval and biased media coverage to ensure a guilty verdict.  Honestly, I am surprised they didn’t get one; however, once you are one of those twelve people holding another human being’s life or death in your hands, perhaps you are more apt to take “beyond a reasonable doubt” seriously.

The Murder 1 charge was just ridiculous, especially given the evidence.  Had they gone with manslaughter, the state might have gotten that conviction.  After all, Ms. Anthony was found guilty on four counts of lying to the police, which means the jury doesn’t trust her, and they probably think she killed her little girl, be it through neglect, abuse, rage, or even cold premeditation.  However, the state’s case was so poor that the jury had no choice but to side with the shady lying kid killer.  I know I wouldn’t want to be responsible for taking someone’s life if there was any possibility the child’s death was an accident.

Of course, I think the death penalty is inhumane- not because I want to protect sociopathic killers, but because it makes those of us who are not killers less human.  So, Ohio, if you call me up for jury duty, don’t put me on a death penalty case, its just a waste of everyone’s time.  (Does Ohio even have the death penalty still?  I think we do…)  I choose to maintain my humanity.

My point is this- the not guilty verdict doesn’t mean that Casey Anthony isn’t guilty.  It means the prosecution didn’t do its job.  Like it or not, the system worked as it was designed.  The justice system is weighted in favor of the defendant.  The burden of proof is on the prosecution.  Its supposed to be that way, to ensure that the innocent don’t end up serving sentences for crimes they did not commit, and as time and DNA evidence have shown, it doesn’t always work.  Innocent people have served life sentences; innocent people have been executed.  So I am relieved when the public opinion, when emotion, when the media coverage does not decide the case.

Besides, there is no such thing as justice when a child dies.  Nothing is fair, the world is not right, comfort is a laughable concept.  Children go missing, are murdered, abused, on a daily basis.  Most of them do not get national media coverage; chances are we don’t even notice them if they happen to be mentioned on our local news channels.  Justice is a figment of our collective imagination.  Caylee Anthony was a beautiful, special child; they are all beautiful, special children.  Be enraged about that.

I know, I know, I save my rare posts for the most random (and apparently controversial) things…

Featured CAHC Shop For May!

Check out my girl Jessica, paper creator extraordinaire, on the Cincinnati Area Handmade Creations blog!  Her shop, Paper Acorn, features awesome hand crafted paper creations like acorn boxes, luminaries, and my favorite, little paper butterflies that perch on wine glasses.  Perfect finishing touches to add a little something to a shower, party, or especially a wedding!

CAHC Feature for May  <— click there!

I really really want this butterfly….

Frustration

The small details add up.

Spring has finally arrived in Cincinnati.  Those April showers you hear about?  This year, torrential nonstop buckets of rain.  Every time I leave my house to go to work, it rains.  Every time I leave work, either on break or to go home, it rains.  I feel like Eeyore, with my own personal little rain cloud following me around.  Oh, and it gets worse!  Cincinnati is on the Ohio River, as well as the Great (or Little?) Miami, and every road I turn down, especially when I am trying to get to work, and trying to be on time, seems to be flooded, or I am stuck in traffic because all the other ways to get anywhere are flooded so the entire population of Cincinnati (at least my side of town) has to use the road that my house is on to get to work!  Did I mention I’m burning four dollar per gallon gas while sitting in all this traffic?

I am slightly annoyed.

Another small detail:  I have a several designs in my head.  The chain mail weaves I plan to use to make these visions a reality require certain jump rings.  The rings I have will not work for these designs, so I spend a lot of time perusing the pages of my two favorite suppliers, C & T Designs and Blue Buddha Boutique, trying to determine what I need.  However, since I am sitting in traffic, burning that four dollar a gallon gas, I cannot stock up on the rings I need.  I am the diabetic kid locked in the candy store, the recovering alcoholic gazing at the beautiful bottles behind the bar.  I am an artist lacking the proper tools.  And because I am unable test out the designs right now, I feel paralyzed whenever I sit down to create anything. 

Paralysis is bad, very very bad.

And then, of course, there’s the shop.  Nothing is moving.  Items are loved, but no one is buying.  I have been featured in several treasuries, and still, no one is buying.  However, if I wear one of my pieces, it will be bought off my wrist, or someone will order the same bracelet with different colors.  I offer discounts, have sales, donate pieces for auction, I’m even captain of a local team, and yet, no one is buying.  Do I want to dominate the world and be some huge corporation?  Absolutely not!  I just  want to keep on creating and have enough money to invest in supplies so that I don’t get paralyzed.  I don’t even have any desire to quit my day job, is breaking even really too much to ask? 

I am almost out of coffee at home…

And Starbucks stopped making my favorite drink, the Ristretto Bianco, because apparently the pitcher essential to the creation of the beverage has been recalled for safety reasons…

No one in my house seems to know where the clothes hamper is…

And my darling Mr Fix It husband has torn apart his new, beautiful car to install some fancy gadgets and speakers, so the interior, tools, and gadgety stuff is strewn about my house; I am too afraid to clean it up in case something vital gets lost…

My kids keep finding the Easter candy, which I keep hiding, and bounce around hopped up on sugar…

I’m not getting anything productive done and its stressing me out, which leads me to stress more and pace and still not get anything productive done…

I keep trying to get up early enough to run so that I’ll feel less stressed and more balanced, but I don’t seem to be able to hear the alarm clock before 6:15, and I have to be out the door by 6:10 if I am going to get to work on time…

And my husband works too late for me to go for a run in the evening…

So I am updating my blog!  Now, off to iron pants and fold laundry…

A Letter from a Diehard Bengals Fan to her Beloved Team

The third grade girls I coach in soccer whine less than you do. 

You want to take your ball and go home if you don’t get your way, Carson Palmer?  You wouldn’t be on my team.  I don’t tolerate quitters.  I also don’t tolerate my kids being disrespectful towards their teammates by insinuating that a losing record is everyone else’s fault.  You play like you’re scared, Palmer; if a third grade girls’ soccer coach can see it, the opposing team can too.  A new team is not going to change your fear.

Not that Palmer is the only guilty party here; unfortunately for us Cincinnatians, we have quite a few quitters on our team.  Y’all think the grass is truly greener elsewhere?  Then go, take your fair weather sportsmanship, and quit wasting our time.  You guys might be sick of losing, but you haven’t been losing nearly as long as the Bengals fans here in the Nati have.  I’m not running off to support the Steelers just because my players are more concerned with their Vh1 reality star status than playing some real freaking football.  Now you all want to be traded to other teams because you can’t work together to get the job done?  Forget being traded- if I was such a failure at my job, I’d get fired.  How about you boys lose your giant contracts because you can’t win a game?  Forget the blame game, you guys just can’t do your job and other teams shouldn’t have to suffer, either.

By the way, Ochocinco, how ridiculous are you going to look when your jersey has the number 70 or whatever on it?  Remember the lessons we learned from Michael Jordan’s first retirement…  Quit showboating and learn to catch the ball.  I don’t care if you can race a horse, if you date women on TV, if you change your name, all I care about is whether or not you can play football.  As far as I can tell, you can’t.  How about you do something about that? 

Whatever happened to the love of the game?  From where I sit, all I see is the love of the almighty dollar.  You people make more in a game than I make in a year, and here you are whining about your losing season.  With that kind of attitude, why should any of us fans shell out our cash to fill a stadium to see a team with a loser’s demeanor get their asses kicked?  I can spend two bucks to see a pee wee football team play and I’ll see more heart and more professional conduct than I will at a Bengals game.  Next time you need your ego stroked, look at your paystub, if that isn’t enough, nothing will be.

I keep hearing about all this talent we have on our team.  Every once in a while, I get to see it.  More often than not, I get to see the royal screw ups that happen when a bunch of talented guys cannot work as a team.  Yet every year, here I am.  The Bengals as a whole have been a losing team for most of my life, but I’m still here, waiting for that winning season, that successful combination of talent, hard work, leadership, and commitment to coalesce into the ass kicking football team I know you guys can be.  Of course, we all know whiners can’t kick ass at anything; whiners get their asses kicked.

As for our quitters, quit then.  You aren’t here to be part of a team, you take no personal responsibility, all you care about is yourself, you have no commitment, no loyalty, and we don’t need you or want you.  Get out of our city.  I’ll take a modest committed hardworking player over a diva any day.  And that is exactly what you whining quitters are- little divas.  Cincinnati doesn’t need you.  You quit on us; no way you’ll be winning this fan back anytime soon.

And if you decide to stick around, maybe my third grade girls can give you guys lessons on how a real team works- I guarantee there will be minimum whining.  My whiners have to run laps.

Secret Snow Dance Society Claims Credit for Today’s Historic Event

“Amateurs do a snow dance.” one inside source revealed.  “The secret of our success is all in how we shuffle…"

CPS, Other Districts, Close Ahead of Snow

If you were unaware, it is my pleasure to inform the world that, due in large part to my own exhausting efforts involving the super secret snoopy snow day shuffle (two parts snoopy dance, one part Carlton, you just have to be there) as well as some tender heartfelt scenes during which I implored "Are you there, Snow?  It’s me, Lauren…" and "Why Snow Why?!  Why does the weatherman tease me so?!!", Cincinnati Public Schools, driven by some unseen force, some divine intervention (Thou hast not forsaken me, Snow!!), is CLOSED today.  To all my fellow educators and friends who still cackle triumphantly from home when your school closings flash across the screen- I salute you!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun with Wire and Other Adventures

I have found a new love- jewelry.  I never realized the artistic and creative potential of wire; I thought all handmade jewelry consisted of beads on string, which can be pretty, but is rarely what I would wear.  And I don’t like to make anything I wouldn’t buy myself… 

But, I adore hardware and charms and baubles and started amassing a smallish (compared to some) collection of nifty things from the jewelry supply section of Michael’s and Hobby Lobby, then started reading up (that’s what a bibliomaniac does), Voila!  A new obsession is born!  The upside- faster stocking of the store, plus very impressed moms on Christmas.  The downside- to do things the way I like to (I make almost everything myself, with the exception of the beads, and really want to take on metal smithing) can get pretty expensive.  Plus, I seem to be developing a minor case of carpal tunnel!  Does that happen that quickly?  Seriously?

Anyway, photos!

View Full Album

Most items pictured are for sale in the Shop

Oh, and I made a Facebook page for the shop; I have no clue what to do with it, but you can become a fan Here.  Or maybe you can tell me what to do with it!  That would be fabulous as well…