I'm finally done with my exams. I thought the day would never come! It's kind of hard to believe that I won't have any reading or writing assignments nagging at me in the back of my head for the next three weeks.
So with that, I would like to announce that my boyfriend has started an Etsy shop for his photography, which you can visit here: Guimon
Currently only postcards are available, but prints are also available on request.
Here's a preview of some of his work! (The olives picture is his work too.) You can see more on the Etsy site or on his flickr.
A few weeks ago, my friend invited me to join her at a craft fair sponsored by the Society of Scribes. It really inspired me to get back into calligraphy - I took a class when I was 13 and really loved it and earlier this year, I made a decision to get back into it. I bought a calligraphy kit on sale at Michael's but it's been sitting dormant on my bookshelf all year.
Anyway, there was this sweet old man at the fair who was taking pictures with his film camera. He asked me to hold up one of my cards so he could take a picture of me with it. He also asked my friend to do the same with her necklace. My friend, who's a regular at this fair, told me that he comes every year, takes pictures, and then mails the pictures out once he's developed them.
Well, guess what came in the mail yesterday??It was very cool - and made my day!
I've made a decision: I am going to live on take-out for the next two weeks until my exams are over. I've tried to cook these past few days, but each attempt has been a disaster and keep in mind that these are dishes that I have cooked successfully in the past! What's causing me to screw up? I have to chalk it up to stress over finals. The eggplant parmigiana I made tonight was...not my best attempt. The eggplant was still hard even after I'd baked it in the oven for over 30 minutes. So, no more cooking until after the 21st.
Actually, my failed dish is a nice way to segueway into my Italian round-up. So here goes:
Little Italy by Jennifer Altman - Altman spent a summer in Italy and fell in love with the country. This book is a collection of her polaroid snapshots of her country and her travel narratives. As some of you know, I spent part of last summer in Italy and though I didn't exactly fall in love with the country, it was definitely a memorable experience. While it was not my first time there, it was the first time that I was abroad for a significant length of time (meaning more than 2 weeks) and it was the first time that I was traveling abroad alone. So of course, this book is on my Christmas wishlist.
Notte Sento - I saw this short film, along with a series of short films on love, with my boyfriend a few months ago. This was the only one in the series that I really liked.
And lastly, this is my latest card for the holidays! It is based off the Italian Christmas tradition, Feast of the Seven Fishes. I haven't decided if I'm going to put it up on Etsy yet since it's so late, but it's been one of my most overworked designs - I started sketching a year ago and even made a prototype but was never really happy with what I came up with. I am happy to say now that it's done! I think.... to be continued :)
I saw this on Paper Source today and was amused. The description reads: "Sure, you could spend $100,000 on a law degree from Harvard or Yale. Fortunately, there's an affordable alternative: Law School in a Box. This prestigious boxed university offers a complete legal education for just $14.95. Your program includes a comprehensive textbook, trading cards, a devilishly complicated legal trivia bar exam, and a rolled diploma with real Latin words. A great gift for any grad or attorney, Law School in a Box is sure to get a laugh."
I'm going to have to take a break from blogging for a little bit. Four reasons:
1. December 7 - 15 page paper due 2. December 10 - Professional Responsibility exam 3. December 15 - International Human Rights exam 4. December 21 - Evidence exam
Wish me luck! I may pop back occasionally to de-stress. Otherwise I'll definitely try to be back before the New Year!
Etsy is constantly telling us vendors to style our photos in a pleasing way. So, today, I followed this advice in taking pictures of my newest card. Here are the results: And yes, I realize that my other Hanukkah card is incorrect. I found that out during the Brooklyn Flea two weeks ago, when a girl told me, "That menorah's not for Hanukkah - it's for Sabbath." How embarrassing! I wanted to explain to her, "My Jewish boyfriend told me the Hanukkah menorah had 7 candles..." but I kept my mouth shut.
Ironically, I've decided to do my "Russian round-up" on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I do remember that day, and I remember it was important, but I didn't realize why at the time. In the days after the collapse of the USSR, these local globes - globes of your country or even city or village - became the rage in all the former Soviet Republics. EnglishRussia has provided a DIY guide to making your own local globe. (Photo from EnglishRussia)
And lastly, I'm happy to announce that I've finished my Holy Supper card! I was told that the lone arm was scary, so I made a few revisions, and voila!
The Holy Supper, which in Russian Orthodox tradition, takes place on Christmas Eve after a day of fasting, begins with the mother of the family blessing each person by drawing a cross in honey on his or her forehead. I've tried to capture this tradition in my latest card, above, although it is still a work in progress.
(On a similar and somewhat funny note, when I showed this card to my Russian boyfriend, his response was, "I didn't know there was a tradition of drawing a cross on your forehead." But to be fair, he isn't Christian. So... :))
My latest card: the Hanukkah jelly doughnuts and the menorah. It took me quite a while to figure out which colors to use! The green is not as radioactive looking as it appears in this photo.
In other news, I'm re-enabling comments for this site. Please be nice.
I've always been at a loss as to what I should do with my used Metrocards. I've wanted to be able to figure out how to reuse them in a crafty way. However, I've never been able to figure out how to do so. However, this guy seems to have figured out an interesting way to upcycle his Metrocards (photos taken by me):
I paid a visit to Fork and Pencil today and dropped off some new cards with them. They are an antiques shop based in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. While I was there, I took some pictures of my cards:
I've been ordering my cardstock and envelopes from Paper Source for almost two years now. Apparently, that's the amount of time it takes for the company to tell me it loves me:
Before making this card, I'd had in my mind the cartoon image of the kangaroo with a visible patch-like pouch. When, I looked at kangaroo photos, though, I was in for a surprise:
Image from this page. (I love how the joey--baby kangaroo--is looking at you out of the corner of his eye!)
And here is my version, based off sketches of various photographs, which, by the way, is not a copyright violation because it falls under fair use. The AP may have wanted to investigate this more before going public with their copyright infringement allegations.
My mother has loved deer (as animals, not food) for about as long as I remember, but I didn't quite appreciate them until a trip to Washington about 10 years ago. We were driving around Mt. Rainier National Park, and we found a fawn that had wandered into the parking lot. My mom stopped the car, and my sister and I got out to feed her. I remember how pretty her eyes were. She ate out of my hand, but she would not let me pet her (she drew back every time I tried). In the pictures, you can see just how scared - and hungry - she is. Her head and neck are almost in a straight line with her back. It was like there was an invisible line that she wasn't allowed to cross.
I don't have the pictures with me, but I did some browsing recently and found some adorable deer-themed items on Etsy and DaWanda:
And how could I forget Anna Carin-Dahl's lovely Woody vases? I discovered her while I was in Copenhagen this summer. This vase is sitting on my shelf right now. Found at Stillebenshop, Copenhagen, Denmark.
According to The New York Times, there's a recent study challenging the cathartic value of crying. While crying may have a cathartic value for some, others use crying as a way to block resolution of complicated emotional questions. After reading this article, I have to say that I fall into the latter category (the protest criers).
On a lighter note, after I read this article, I poked around Etsy and Dawanda and found a few relevant items: Clockwise starting from the top left:
I made this card last year, after Mardi Gras. I didn't put it up on Etsy because it was after the fact, and also because I was unhappy with the way I'd calligraphed the greeting on the card. This year, though, after some work, I'm now happy with the script.
Mardi Gras falls on February 24, 2009.
The colors of Mardi Gras are, in fact, purple, gold, and green, which I didn't know when I made the card. I guess I got lucky!
My sister and I both love manatees, so I created this Manatee Thank You card. I made star-shaped flowers to evoke the image of starfish (and the sea). Flowers will be available in other colors as well.
I call this card "Poppy Dreams." I was inspired from watching the Wizard of Oz movie over Thanksgiving. It only took me a mere two months to put this inspiration to work. (nb: this is a long time in the craft world) Here, I've combined elements from the book and movie: the field of poppies and the silver shoes (since the book was a critique of the gold standard).
Every year for the past four years, I have tried to make a commitment to improving my French (which I studied for five years in middle and high school). It's a goal that's been impeded by a number of other activities, such as depression from work, studying for the LSAT, writing a novel (which was later abandoned), cardmaking, and then law school. However, I recently found out about StickK, a website designed to make sure people stick to their goals. You make commitment contracts for certain goals and assign a referee to make sure you stick to those goals. You can also up the stakes by signing a financial agreement stipulating payment to a friend, foe, or charity if you fail to report on your progress or otherwise break your contract.
I figured, why not? I've now made commitment contracts for two goals: 1) a 16-week contract for improving French and 2) a 20 week contract keeping up with my reading for law school. I'll keep you updated on the results!
Candlemas (February 2nd) is celebrated with a feast to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the Baby Jesus. In France, it's also known as La Chandeleur, Fete de la Lumiere, or Crepe Day. The French celebrate the holiday with a bit of fortune telling. Holding a coin in your writing hand and a crepe pan in your other, you flip the crepe in the air. If you catch the crepe in the center of the pan, you will have good fortune for the rest of the year.
My fondness for crepes has led me to create these two cards in celebration of La Chandeleur.
Image from 
