Wednesday, September 22, 2010

My baby is in high school

14 years ago, I was worrying about what to dress my darling little baby up as for Halloween. She wound up going as a pumpkin. It was a homemade costume made for a 4 year old, so it was HUGE and round- only her little head poked out- but she won 1st place in a costume contest with it.

Now I'm worrying about how to do her hair for homecoming. Homecoming. She's 14, and a freshman this year. I stopped and thought about it a few weeks ago, and was shocked- from here on out, I'll have a high schooler every year for 10 years. 10 YEARS!

Someone tell me how she leap frogged from this:


to this:


I'm wondering where the time went? Sure- everyone tells you it goes fast. But while it's happening, it doesn't -seem- fast. It seems slow. Very slow when you add in my two younger kids. Now? She's a freshman, and looking back, I can't help but wonder...  didn't she just graduate from Pre-school?

Monday, September 20, 2010

Talented Tuesday & ArtPrize!

This week, ArtPrize begins in Grand Rapids. This is like the ultimate in talent, so I felt it a good time to share some photos from last year's ArtPrize. ArtPrize is a HUGE art competition, using all sorts of artwork- from paintings to sculptures, and so much more.

Last year was the first year, and it drew hundreds of artists from all around the world. This year, it's even bigger. My favorite part? The sculptures and murals have made for some fantastic photo backdrops this year, and quite a few of them became permanently added to beautify the city.

First up, here are some that stuck around, which I've used as settings for some portrait sessions:

 This sculpture did not become permanent, but I loved it. It was a great place to take photos- very visually interesting.

This water wheel was installed in an existing water fountain in front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. It's still there, and it's also a nice back drop for photos. I've done several shoots with this as a back drop now.

 
This mural is fantastic. It's made with mirrors, tiles, paint, and photos on tile. It's huge, and lines the side of the children's museum. It's also got some 3-D aspects to it, and makes a fantastic photo backdrop.

Here are some photos taken during Art Prize last year:

(this? It was HUGE! That's a vehicle bridge it's straddling- it was up through the winter and Spring- we saw it again over Spring Break, but then when we were over there in June, it was gone)

This was fantastic- it's a sculpture of Francis of Asissi, which is surrounded by druid like monks, circling it. This was in the lobby of a building. The artwork is all over the city- in parks, on sidewalks, falling from the sky (one guy released almost a million paper airplanes all at once from the top of a building), and more. 


The show is judged- by the public. Each entry has a number, and people can do text votes as they walk around. The top ten are then juror voted on, and there are huge cash prizes for the winners.

One of the favorites from last year, I never found, though the photos were gorgeous, especially at night:

These piles are made of salt, with sepia toned images of people from the Grand Rapids area photographed on top of them. Dangling over top of each one is a bare, clear light bulb. The artist was from New York, if I recall correctly, and because it was an inside event, it wasn't seen or heavily voted on for the first half of the voting. The design is called "salt & earth" by Young Kim.

It finally got a HUGE upswing in votes near the end as more and more people started talking about it, and it got an honorable mention prize, but did not win the competition.

Anyway, the competition is huge, and the talent is remarkable. Some of these are people who  do all of their art in their spare time, what little they have. Others devote their entire lives to creating art. The artists are out and about, talking to people about their art as you go through to see it. If you are in Michigan, I strongly recommend spending a day just walking through Grand Rapids for this.

And on to your own Talents!



The Rules

1) Post a blog about something you've made- a refurnish, recipes, a craft project, a sewing project, room decoration, anything you've done!

2) Add a link to your blog post- not to the blog itself, but to the individual posts! You can post more than one project, just add more links! The links should look something like:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/love-banner.html

and NOT like this:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/

3) Add the code above to each post you link to the Link Party, so that others can post their projects here as well! The list will accept new links through Saturday, so if you make something new, come back and post it! Don't forget to look at the links on the list, and let people know where you found their post at!

4) No selling things through the Link Party- do not hook up your Etsy shop, or Facebook shop, or eBay account. This is not the forum for that.

This Linky will remain open and accepting links through Wed night, so feel free to come back and add more links if you post new things!!


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Halloween Wreath

So last weekend, I was amazed once more by the wonderful projects I find over at Dollar Store Crafts. Seriously- lots of frugal minded crafters out there, and I. Love. That. This time, it was a wreath made with bath puffs. Love it!



I know I've seen others use the bath puffs before, so it's not completely original (what is, anymore? I'm pretty sure every thought that enters my head on any given basis is simultaneously being thought up by 12 other people world wide!- yes, even that sentence!), but it is looooovely. And orange. I was surprised that A) someone found bright orange bath puffs in time for Halloween, and B) that I was also able to find them. Usually, when it comes to something like that, I'm SOL.

I picked up the items needed, but my DT does not have yarn. Sadness! I wound up getting some black fuzzy stuff on clearance at HobLob for like $3. Then, we went next door to Big Lots, where I think I found the exact same yarn that Heather at DSC used, also for $1. I picked it up- I liked it better, with it's little rust & orange colored hanging ball thingies. Technical term.



There are detailed instructions at DSC, so I won't add those, but here's what all I used to make mine:

1 Medium Twig Wreath- Dollar Tree
1 Big Fuzzy Black Spider- Dollar Tree
4 Orange Strip Bath Puffs- Dollar Tree
Black Fuzzy Yarn- Big Lots
Gemstones- Dollar Tree (I was ECSTATIC! Dollar Tree got GOOD gems in again! The ones from over the summer SUCKED!)
Hot Glue- On hand



All in all, I spent $8 on all the supplies, and I have a lot of yarn and gemstones left over. I had also picked up a black glittery skull, which I liked, but then I made it into a Dia De Los Muertos skull instead, and no longer liked how it looked on the wreath, so I went with the spider.

 I added small gems and two larger gems to the spider to make him puuurty. I also added small purple & clear gems through out the wreath, so that when it's hanging outside, it will catch the light with a bit of sparkle. I'm all about the bling.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Bad Heather! No Talented Tuesday?!?

I forgot!! It feels like Monday to me, and now I'm running behind and have to leave soon. SOOO Sorry, but alas, no Talented Tuesday today :(

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Love me some Dollar Store!

Today, I hopped on over to two different dollar stores to get some items for my Halloween wreath.

I haven't completed the wreath yet, but here's a spoiler of what it will include!


Check back later this week for more details!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Talented Tuesday

Today is the first morning of school. I have to admit, this early morning thing isn't much fun. I'm typing with my eyes closed. I've been taking sleeping pills for about 2 weeks now because my insomnia is bad. My pills were not meant to allow me to be up so stinkin' early.

On to something more fun.

First up, some great items from last week's list.

In honor of school starting today (oh, my, I'm so stinkin excited!!), a coke bottle gift for the teacher. This comes from Pony Tails & Fish Scales.


This SUPER easy Vellum luminary would be great for weddings, Christmas, and Halloween! Find some pretty, designed vellum, add a battery operated candle, and line the porch, windows, or decorate the dining room table. This comes from The Craft In Me.



Last up is an adorable tea towel apron from A little of this --- A little of that. This apron would be quick, easy, and customizable to your kitchen, holiday, and personality.




Next up- a WINNER! Last week I held a contest for 1 lucky person to win a $50 gift certificate to the jewelry website, Novica.

Novica is a site that caters to artisans, as opposed to big box store items. The items found on the site are hand crafted by talented individuals from around the world. You can see my own product review and site review on the page itself here.

And on to the winner. Only a handful of people joined the contest. The winner was chosen using RANDOM.ORG.

The random winner is number 5 out of the 6 qualifying comments for the contest.

Mama Lusco on September 7, 2010 12:12 AM said... I'd love to get these silver earrings: http://jewelry.novica.com/earrings/favorites/sterling-silver-dangle-earrings-evening-dew/174088/
 
Thanks for the giveaway. luscofamily @ XXXXXXXXXXXX
 
 Congratulations Mama Lusco! You've won a $50 gift certificate to Novica.com for jewelry of your own! I will be emailing you the gift code.


 And now, onto the business end of the post: Talented Tuesday. Show off your talent, ladies- I know you all have it!



 

The Rules

1) Post a blog about something you've made- a refurnish, recipes, a craft project, a sewing project, room decoration, anything you've done!

2) Add a link to your blog post- not to the blog itself, but to the individual posts! You can post more than one project, just add more links! The links should look something like:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/love-banner.html

and NOT like this:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/

3) Add the code above to each post you link to the Link Party, so that others can post their projects here as well! The list will accept new links through Saturday, so if you make something new, come back and post it! Don't forget to look at the links on the list, and let people know where you found their post at!

4) No selling things through the Link Party- do not hook up your Etsy shop, or Facebook shop, or eBay account. This is not the forum for that.

This Linky will remain open and accepting links through Wed night, so feel free to come back and add more links if you post new things!!



Monday, September 6, 2010

Free $50 Jewelry Gift Card Giveaway!!

Last week Tuesday, I posted a giveaway, but I think it got lost in the shuffle of Talented Tuesday being back.

So- here's the details:

It's simple, really. Go to Novica's Jewelry section. Pick your favorite piece, come back, and post a direct link to it, with the name of the item.

**IMPORTANT** Leave an email address in your post. If I can not email you, I can't give you the gift code!!!

1 lucky winner will be drawn during next Tuesday's Talented Tuesday to win a $50 gift certificate to Novica, to use as you see fit. The certificate expires November 30, 2010, so it needs to be used up soon. Treat yourself, or use it for some Christmas shopping, but enjoy it- my gift to you!

You can read all about my site & product review here! I got a gorgeous necklace, and love it!

To ENTER, go leave a comment on THIS post:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/2010/08/talented-tuesday-yes-really.html