LIST 172) Ten good reasons I haven't done a blog post lately

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LIST 171) Hello. My name is Alice, and I love to make things, AND I'd be honored if you'd vote for my video.

1. Here's the video I entered into HP's You on You contest:



2. If you like the video, please go to www.youtube.com/hp and click on VIEW+VOTE.

3. Go to COMMUNITY AWARD.

4. Type in Hello My Name is Alice to access my entry.

5. Click on the thumbs up icon.

LIST 170) Eight illustrations by David Klein

Thanks to grain edit, I discovered the work of David Klein. Went to his estate's website and here are some of my favorites.

1. I really like how Klein was able to incorporate pattern and color into his illustrations in improbable ways.

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4. I also admire the composition of and the hand lettering in his posters.

5. This one may be a little bit of a style departure, but I really like how the boy is handing the girl a bouquet of carrots... and how happy she is to receive them.

6. I wish I could see a feature-length animated version of this Alice in Wonderland.

7. Klein is probably most well known for his TWA posters. This one makes me miss my old stomping grounds.

8. And finally, this poster may be my favorite, but it's really really hard to choose.

LIST 169) Staying cool during a heat wave without spending your cold, hard-earned cash

1. Keep a can of frozen lemonade or limeade concentrate in the freezer.  Stir a spoonful of the concentrate into a glass of seltzer whenever you want a delicious summer spritzer.  

2. If you've got pets, you can turn the A/C off (or at least down) while you're not home and still ensure their comfort.  Give them a bowl of ice cubes in a separate bowl from their regular water dish.  As the ice melts, they'll have cool, fresh water all day.  

3. Hang out at a museum.  They have to keep the artwork from melting, so you'll be cool and cultured.  

4. Get naked, put on a robe and flip flops, place some cucumber slices over your eyes, and pretend you're in a sauna at a very expensive spa.  Remind yourself that people pay good money to sweat it out as much as you are sweating for free.

5. In a visualization similar to #4, put on yoga clothes and do your best tree pose.  Chant, "I am in a bikram yoga studio.  I am in a bikram yoga studio."

6. And my favorite tip: Put on your bathing suit, grab a cold beer, and kick back in a tub of cold water. No need to scrub the tub, because you're wearing a bathing suit and chances are (one hopes), your tub is cleaner than a swimming pool. Put some music on and invite a friend. Instant pool party.  

LIST 168) Ten ways to get bento

1. Comfort food.

2. Food fight!

3. Drive-thru.

4. Eat fattening foods.

5. Have a frog in your throat?

6. Cannibalism.

7. Have lunch with friends.

8. Make faces.

9. Keep your hat on.

10. Relax over a nice meal.

Add these to the growing list of reasons I love Japan.  I found e-obento's site via Craftzine.

LIST 167) Things that confused me as a kid, and for the most part, still do...

1. Why do the same people who think dark skin is inferior get so excited when they get a tan?

2. How can a piece of jewelry be worth more than a house?

    

3. What the hell is cream of tartar?  Besides the obvious fear/suspicion that it comes from people's teeth, how is it a cream?  It looks like powder to me.  And, how does all of this relate to tartar sauce (which appears to be a simple combo of mayo and relish)?!  Furthermore, how does cream of mushroom soup factor into all this "cream of" this or that business?  Does one get cream from mushrooms?

4. Why do bodily outbursts elicit such different responses?  For example, it's always seemed to me that the person who survives a coughing fit deserves more blessings than the person who just sneezed.  Sneezes are kind of fun.  

5. You may try to comfort me by saying it was just a nightmare, but isn't it more frightening that I was the one who authored all that scary stuff up in the first place?

6. Why does my mom tell me not to go out in the rain with wet hair?

7. Why would anyone complain that a dessert is too rich?

LIST 166) Not to scale, but in working order

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Click on images for more information.  

LIST 165) A dozen orange things I saw on the way to my studio

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LIST 164) An addition to list #159: I'm still making arrangements

1. From my mom's garden in Texas

2. Ditto

3. Wildflowers in Tuscany

4. Deli flowers in NYC

5. Ditto

6. Selected stems from a flower shop in Southern California

LIST 163) The catalog game*: Herrschners Fall 2009

If you are familiar with the Herrschners catalog, then you are familiar with their perennially saccharine offerings: kits for latch hook rugs featuring eagles and puppies, cross-stitched ballerinas and lighthouses, grandmotherly acrylic afghans, and things like "Dolphin Sequin Art Wall Hangings." So, I challenged myself to play the catalog game with the most recent Herrschners catalog, and it was surprisingly easy to find ten items I would happily own.

1. Easels are great for displaying stuff when not in use. This one is portable and looks great on a shelf.

2. Basically another easel, but for needlework.



3. You know how much I love an assortment of colors. How about 454 colors of embroidery floss?



4. I know I complained about saccharine imagery, but these 50's kitties are just sweet enough...



5. to embroider on these kitchen towels.

6. I also like to crochet dishtowels out of this yarn. I'm trying to achieve a white, yellow, and orange color scheme in the kitchen.

7. I've been covering one of our kitchen walls in decoupage and I could use more Mod Podge. I love looking at the Mod Podge label too.

8. My godfather's mom used to make these ornaments and send them to us every year. They remain my favorite ornaments on the tree. These seem so 1960's ecclesiastical / Good Housekeeping... in the best way possible.

9. Quilling reminds me very much of that 1960's craft / church bazaar era. I don't know how to describe it, but I also liked when I used to get greeting cards emblazoned with photo-realistic graphics of crafts like embroidery and quilling.

10. I can say without a doubt that this is the best quilled chess set I've ever seen.




*see LIST 154 for an explanation of the catalog game.