Pumpkins!

Today Adam and I went to pick pumpkins with our pals James and Kathy. It was super warm out today and almost seemed really out of place for such a fall activity. It was nice, but there was no chill in the air like there by all means should have been when on a hay ride/picking out pumpkins! The place we went to was really nice but clearly we are a little late to the game. We all found good pumpkins, but it was slim pickins'. I kept telling Adam that the field looked like it was where pumpkins go to die. Adam and I bought a bag of what is possibly the best kettle corn either of us have ever had. In fact, I'd even say some of the best popcorn we have ever had period! So yummy!

We went home for a little bit after and then over to James and Kathy's to carve our pumpkins with some other people.
I carved Manny Calavera into my pumpkin (the little green one in the top pic) and Adam carved a thumbs up. I'm going to clean mine up a little bit more tomorrow and then take some better pics of them all lit up.

What should I be for Halloween guys?!

Pooch!

This is a post about my cutie pie pooch, Austin!


Boy do I really love this (not so) little guy. It's funny how fast you can become attached to an animal. Even though we've only had Austin for a few months it feels like so much longer! Adam and I can't imagine not having him in our lives now. He's just so happy all the time. Every time you walk in the door, even if you've only stepped out to grab the mail, he's so excited to see you again! Like you've been gone for days! He's not much for kisses, which is ok by me, but instead he likes to snuggle into you. I'm pretty sure he'd sleep with Adam and I every night and be doggie heaven if we let him. But since we only have a double bed, he won't be doing that any time soon!

I think I'll stop myself now because I'm pretty sure I could just go on and on about him because it's 2 am and I'm still pretty awake. Point is, he's adorable and a really, really good dog!

Finally! Yay!

Ok, there will be images and stuff but just bear (bare?) with me first!

I just e-mailed and got a speedy reply from Anne, the registrar of the art school I went to, about the status of my diploma. ( I always say degree but Adam always has to remind me that the diploma is the piece of paper, whateves!) It was supposed to have been mailed to my Mom's house at the end of August and nothing ever showed up. Even though I walked in graduation last year I still had one more class to take, which I did this past spring. I had pretty much assumed the worst and that even though I had already been told everything was all settled up and I was done something had gone wrong. It just seems to be the cards I'm dealt a fair amount of the time and I very much mean that in the least dramatic way possible. If there's going to be a miscommunication about something or something getting lost...YO! It will involve me! So yeah, I'm not sure what happened but Anne said she would send it out right away! I guess she called me a few weeks ago, but I never got her message so she might have had my really old number. I was just so happy to hear from her because the last couple e-mails I sent months ago were replied by people who I didn't know and when you went to a college with around 500-600 people including faculty and staff, you know pretty much everyone.

It feels nice to get something big like that out of the way! Especially since the entire rest of my day will more than likely be spent playing Fable 2. I have been waiting anxiously since I first heard about a sequel a few years ago for this game. I often get excited about games but not THIS excited. I'm keeping my cool pretty well on the outside, but inside I'm completely geeking out and losing it. You know that character on SNL that loses it over surprise parties? Yeah, that's me on the inside RIGHT NOW.

I guess I will use this as a way to segue into video game related crafts. I've seen a lot of Portal and Weighted Companion Cube stuff but this has to be one of my favorites. I'm actually in the process of making one for Adam and I right now! You can get the pattern here! I think for a lot of people it's a nostalgia kind of thing because they grew up playing Nintendo or Atari or whatever, but that's not the case for me. I really love the idea of hand made items that honor such a digital format. It's old vs. new media and it's perfect! I think video games can be such an amazing art form and so insanely creative and unique. I have about a million more things I want to write about this, but I am starving so I'm going to eat some food and resume this post another time!

Sleeepy

The last few days have been kind of cloudy and it's making me want to just hang out under a blanket, snuggle with Austin and do nothing. I'm sure Austin would be up for this idea too, but he's not allowed on the bed. Anyway!


Here are some more patterns. There are a bunch more on my flickr. I just checked the mail and now Adam and I are officially Oregon voters! Yay! This will be the first election we both vote in and we are pretty excited. Obama, duh!

Yay!

Today I tried out doing some hand drawn images for patterning. I'm really pleased with how this one came out. Since the scanner is still not hooked up I just tried taking a picture of the little drawing and then traced and colored it in illustrator. So much fun you guys!!

I also have to share my excitement for the gel pens I bought today. I know they are just Pilot, nothing fancy, but they have such a nice fine point and the ink doesn't skip! I feel like I'm always on the hunt for pens like this that work really well and don't cost $3 or $4 a pop! So I guess what I am saying is that if it's possible to have a crush on a set of pens I got from Target than my heart is yours Pilot G-2 with size 0.38 point!

17

This patterning stuff has been really inspiring for me. Everything I'm making right now is still really basic and tiled but I found an awesome and amazingly easy tutorial today on making hand drawn repeating patterns. I cannot wait to try it out! Hopefully I can find all the right cords for the scanner and hopefully it will work so I can get started! I have seen so many cool websites and so many great books that I want today! Why must design books be so expensive!?

Here are some swatches of the little tiled patterns I've been making.


Lastly! I find these two designers/illustrators super inspiring! Julia Rothman and Sanna Annukka .

Something New

I've been trying out some new stuff the past few days with my illustrations. I'm feeling really good about what I've been producing so far. It feels really good and creative in a whole new way. I think it's just what I needed.





So yeah, there are a few! There's a few more on my flickr too.