Let’s get pinned. My mood board for the day is whimsically spiced like a cup of my favorite tea, Amandine Rose, which has sadly been discontinued from Teavana (so I’m hoarding my filled tea tin like I’m hoarding the inspiring photos you see below all over my pin boards). Drink a cup with glittery eyes and relax with visions of sugar dolls dancing in your mind.
I sometimes hear I should find something to do when I’m sitting around puzzling over what’s inspiring me in that moment and which way I should move with it (which appears from the outside to be some sort of boredom or stagnation) but is actually me almost in a living/meditating state. I’m taking everything in around me, iI’m imagining and I’m stalling. I don’t usually move fast with new ideas; In fact I usually move so slow that I tire of them before I even get them finished. I also currently favor the idea that in your worst times (most depressed, most angry, most passionate) you make your greatest discoveries about yourself which in turn shells out some pretty brutally honest and amazing work. (ahem, Eminem)
Why is inspiration such a process? And how do you get inspiration? Sometimes.. I’ll admit.. I actually pull the inspiration and motivation to move ahead with ideas from dreams. I dreamt I finally went to Japan to study which let me to finally decide I would study in Japan while in college. I had to do all of the work to get there; my college didn’t really have any programs in Japan in place at the time. It happened! I couldn’t believe everything went as smoothly as it did (this seems to happen sometimes when you follow your heart — things go smooth and easy). They told me to pick several programs and apply because I might not get the one I want, I chose the one I wanted and didn’t even apply anywhere else. I got accepted.
My host family was the most rad family in the whole program because they also just started so they weren’t sure what to expect either and they had a daughter that was just a bit older than me. So that means lots of shopping, events, festivals, sake and karaoke with friends. They are so wonderful and amazing, I’m glad we’re still in touch. Eri, the daughter, and I practically became real sisters (and our bond is exactly the same after all of these years). That little push I needed to live in Japan as the Japanese do was not just a dream anymore, it was a reality.
Some well-known self-esteem experts, such as Jack Canfield, claim that a way of proving you’re on the right path in life: everything, no matter how hard it at first seems (change is often scary), seems to almost come easily and moves along smoothly. Now I’m not saying you’re likely to avoid obstacles if you follow your dreams. Because, in my experience, often times the harder something is to get, the more worth or value it carries. So whether obstacles get in the way or not, always be prepared for them. I’m only saying it feels right.. you just know it’s the way you’re supposed to go. There will likely be obstacles but not impossible ones, rather they are empowering ones.
I also dreamt (No, I do not live in a Dream Castle.) I started a store downtown (dream come true) and a magazine with friends and found happiness and fulfillment in that. I’m an artist and designer first and foremost. When I finally dropped News/Editorial from my major I felt a little remorse, but sadly not enough. Somehow writing was not something I was after anymore, it didn’t feel right anymore. So what did I do anyway? I took heed from my dream and started this mega blogazine that you’re staring at right now. I opened a connected shop and sold pendants, original artwork, prints and the most random handmade gifts. I (sort of) started working towards making that dream a reality.
If fact sometimes dreams you once had come floating back as if reminding you to keep on your journey but to perhaps try another route. Sometimes to become who you want to be you have to re-harness some of your past, favorable qualities that you let fall to the wayside. For instance recently I was obsessing over these more recent prints and images I was creating (never released) and now I’m considering listing them at the store here. They were pre-falling-down-the-rabbit-hole-again stage but became a pretty big series in my life for awhile and I actually enjoyed creating them a lot. I found again that I work well with dolls as models and I decided to mix typography in more like my web-based designs thus furthering my interest in print making once more. Finally.
Some other ways I get inspiration are as follows:
Japanese fashion and interior magazines, vintage woman’s magazines, 20s records, having a cup of black coffee or almond tea to get re-energized, taking a bubble bath with or without a book or candles and champagne, looking through my photo albums, looking through my record collection, hanging out with family & friends, taking a walk, swinging, carrying my camera, listening to electro, writing in my journal or any nearby notebook, getting out a pencil and a blank canvas and, most importantly, love and kisses from my husband and daughter. Every time I have genuine bonding time with my daughter I get an instant dose of inspiration.. I guess that’s why I tend to stay up quite late after her bedtime to work.
So want to pump up the process of getting inspiration by reading a few tips about gaining inspiration from other artists? That’s exactly what I had in mind. Also remember I always ask our featured artists to explain where they get inspiration from.
Four Steps To Finding Inspiration, From An Idea DJ – I especially like the idea of video art, collaging video clips with music and/or audio.
50 Ways to Find Inspiration – I’ve done a lot of these and found some of them that I’d actually like to try. There are tons of great ideas here. I really liked: 31. Ask someone you love what they consider to be the most important thing they’ve ever learned., 34. Ask your parents to tell you what you were like as a child, and remember what mattered to you then. and 40. Spend time with children and see the world through their eyes.. Very positive and inspirational.
16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re In a Slump
I love Rice DK decor, it’s no secret. I love Wu and Wu tins, Jeu de Paumes books and all the colorful and modern European designs with a flair of kitsch. I cannot get enough. My Lovely Lovely UK collection is still in wrapping because my kitchen is not yet ready for the palette nor have we finished deciding how, why and where things will be.
In this stage of our relationship I am NESTING. Nesting to the max. No I am not pregnant but I believe women are nesters in these stages anyway. Stages of the decision that this is going to be your life together, your home, your family. With that I’d like to say that men can also be nesters as my mister plans and completes renovations of spots in our home without me even implying I want him to. He also asks for my opinion and I ask for his. This is tough for 2 artists with VERY DIFFERENT art styles. I’m saying pop surrealism VS contemporary realism. Think bright color POPs vs calming earth tones.
I believe when you settle down and start a new life with someone else that you are combining your lives into one delicious (lemon poppyseed) cake. You must sacrifice yourself to become unified and to ensure both feel at home rather than one being resentful or stifled. So we begin the road to mixing the 2 styles in one big (pink) Kitchenaid mixer and set it to low speed (while I toss in sprinkles for funfetti cake). I found a few articles on the subject of collaborative design in the home with your partner but not many so I feel it’s best at this point to learn from the adventure. Please join us on our journey to create our dream home from our beautiful house (inspiration and mood boards included!) and the things I learn about designing it with mister.
I’ve cleaning and organizing our studio because that’s often what I end up doing in times when I’m stuck at home (such as the ridiculous amount of time we’ve been snowed in lately). Our house and all of her cupboards, closets and drawers have slowly been organized and sorted since I’ve moved in but never so much as lately. I can’t get enough of discarding the old, jaded and faded and replenishing with all things good and sometimes new. In this spare time I’ve also found extra moments to spend sorting through packages, boxes and files filled with photos, letters, nostalgia and clippings. Things I had forgotten about and things I had chocked up as gone — casualties in the divorce, move and hard reset of my life.
Wendy & I at Midland Antiques
I’ve realized that in finding these fossils of my past life I’ve also found a part of myself that was neglected to the inner and outer war that has been going on since around age 15. Losing yourself teaches you a lot about the hardships and the long journey you have ahead of you to try to find yourself again. It teaches you about the you you always hoped and planned to be, the yous that you left behind and want to find, the yous that you’d prefer to grow apart from for the extent of your waking hours.
In realizing these things exist you find you have changed, your life has changed and quite possibly you have found the person you know you will be. I believe this happens to each of us a bit with every new year, we reflect. However, in my experience, unless a grand change is made resolutions will be forgotten and old habits will resurface.
I lost myself once and I am still looking for myself. Who I wanted to be as a young girl, the things I wanted to do and see, the life I wanted to live. I’d gotten so closed in, I magnified certain aspects of my goals and forgot about others. For instance, I wanted to get married and have a daughter but I forgot I had wanted the most grand love there ever was. I forgot that I didn’t want to just be content, that I wanted to experience pure love for a beautiful man, to experience a love like we hear about in fairytales only more real and passionate. Someone I didn’t want to change but someone whose love changed my life. I didn’t just want to have a child but I wanted to bring a child into a love-filled family of magical wonder, a magnificent home life and many adventures lined neatly with security and stability. With parents who love one another more than anything else, with siblings that give, teach, take and give some more.
by David Cunningham
I saw that I wanted to write. I found many old memoir notes and pages of manga dialogue, articles, fairytales and more. I lost the motivation in trying to do anything other than to fix things that were far too broken and then zoning out completely when they appeared impossibly broken.
I saw that my art was a major focus in my life, other than true love and family, and designing everything I do. I saw my plans for paintings, illustrations and web sketches; designs that never made it off the paper and into illustrator because I lost the ambition and self-esteem needed to go.
Now that I am finding myself in so many ways, I figured there were others that have lost important pieces along their journeys as well. Others that might need a little push to gather those pieces strewn along the ground and trudge on through their own adventure of finding their true, superior self. The self they are, were and wanted to be. What have you lost and found along the way?
Happy New Year.
The Animal Crossing team has done it again. I always seem to get sucked into the game but none so much as the original for the Game Cube and the previous DS version, Wild World. I played with my best friend, Kimi side by side and we obsessively tried to experience and own every cute thing available. New Leaf has added to the obsession with a much smoother ability to play with friends on and offline and user-created content which is always a win when done well. I got really excited when I saw PRO DESIGN and could design all tiles of an outfit. WOW. I instantly made a bunny lolita dress in pink and mint. The color selection is also a win.
How do you unlock the QR code reader you ask? You talk to the sewing sister at Able Sisters everyday, Mable for about 6 days and it should be unlocked. With this unlocks endless possibilities of sharing user-created content of your hearts desire. All pixel artists should jump at this new feature– I know I did. I’m still a little too excited. I was getting flustered seeing all the new content in game and trying to get a bigger home for the cuteness. Now I’ve found this code and way later you can even customize items in the game upon selling and buying tons with Resale. WOOT.
Enjoy some cute finds I located around the web and enjoy the New Leaf. So far I give it a 5-star rating~ xx!
By Teacake
Need an easy and sweet little gift for friends? Want to add some deliciously spicy scents to your environment, closets or dresser drawers? Why not make potpourri? It’s easy, comforting and smells wonderful! This year at our Holiday party I made a big bowl of potpourri in one of Mistereducated’s handmade, sparkly bowls. It was a combination of citrus peels from the fruit salad we made, dried orchids from the flowers he raises, roses from bouquets he’s given me, spices, herbs we grew and tended together, etc. It was filled with lots of love and the spirit of our happy home. I placed the bowl in the center of the table and on the edge I placed silky white sachets filled with the potpourri for guests to take upon leaving.
1. Peel orange, lemon or grapefruit trying to keep large pieces of peel.
2. Cut into peel-shaped slivers or your own shapes with sharp scissors.
3. Lay out on a tray with no peels touching each other and let dry for a few days.
4. When dry, add peels into glass jar with cloves, cinnamon sticks cut into smaller sections, nutmeg, small pinecones and dried flowers such as pink rose petals.
5. Add 3 drops cinnamon essencial oil and 3 drops orange essential oil.
6. Lid and shake jar. Keep closed for several months making sure to shake or stir each month.
7. Voila! Open and place potpourri around house in bowls, baskets or in sachets.
1. Grab a pot.
2. Add fresh orange peels from 2 oranges (no need to dry).
3. Add spices of your choice: cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.
4. Put enough water to soak and submerge ingredients.
5. Simmer on stove over low heat to achieve scents, turn stove off when done.
6. Can last a few days if you want to re-simmer tomorrow.
1. Slice the orange into thin, even slices.
2. To dry in your oven, set the temperature to 100 degrees F and put in oven for approximately 4 hours. The dried slices should be brittle when removed.
* Make sure to rotate and shift the drying trays every half hour and turn the food occasionally to ensure even drying.
So I’ve been sketching so much more since I began living with the man of my dreams and realizing life can be comforting in transition, fear, sadness, happiness, ecstasy, extreme business, security, and overwhelming tasks lists. Sometimes those sketches are finally turned into illustrations by yours truly and other times they are filed, colored by the kiddies or lost and tossed. This one made it through to the other side. I was feeling very dark when I sketched this but also very excited about the future, thus she is split into two. Even more curious I died my hair half and half following this drawing. The dark vs cute seems to be a constant theme in my brain.
I’ve also updated my SHOP a bit and fallen in love with some old and new friends also using storenvy.
I’ve also got my digital life getting back on track with the welcome of a new computer to the office, my new lovely laptop (little MacBook Pro) which was a gift from Mistereducated. It is so happy to both work with me and snuggle in my still-in-the-plastic Lamb case that was gifted to me years ago. Such a princess of a laptop. She runs runs runs and keeps my eyes happy with a screen that is so decadent and color rich like a Japanese candy store. AH! I was so behind.
Also many more blog goodies are coming along.. I was forced by slight-OCD to organize my Gmail via Imap in Mac’s Mail app (if you need any help with this I have ultimate tips as I ripped quite a few hairs out in frustration). I had (no joke) a bit over 100,000 mails that needed to be organized into folders so I could have an empty inbox and get on track. I was living like a computer file hoarder. Mister even got me an external hard drive because like a hoarder I put off organizing my files and deleting un-needed files for so long and now every file I’ve ever cherished (except for that time in the 90s when my old PC crashed and lost all my files) is organized and neat on the hard drive. Such a relief! Everything is smooth sailing on candy seas. So alas, I have not forgotten about or misplaced your emails! After my crazy roller coaster ride and life restart I am still getting important items in order but I am now pretty much on top of a cotton candy cloud ready to welcome you for chats, cats and tea. I never forgot about you, I was only lost in the forest for awhile.
Also — I got a pink 3ds for a bit of fun in the meantime and mainly for Animal Crossing because it has always been my favorite game next to Maniac Mansion. If you’d like to be friends just leave your friend code. Mine is: 0662 4261 5265
See you in digital wonderland! XX
Any Hello Kitty fans (fans + geeks + gamers) probably know that Sanrio Digital only plans to continue making Hello Kitty Online for Windows operating systems. So, if you’re really a geek like you say, you probably have a Macintosh or two in your house just wishing to load Hello Kitty’s Dreamland on your desktop. So what’s a girl to do? Well luckily we don’t have to go to all the trouble of setting up a partition using BootCamp and then purchasing a copy of Windows to install (I use Parallel on my desktop Macintosh which also asks for you to install Windows and to log in/out by shutting down and starting up) because CrossOver cut out the middle man and allows us to install Windows applications through their Macintosh application. Wee!
Want to know how to install the goodies needed to play HKO? First get CrossOver for Mac and start a trial OR purchase the full version. Once CrossOver has been installed open the application and start a new install. Select from the last list of “Unsupported Applications” then open the “Community Supported Applications” folder and locate “Hello Kitty Online” which will install all required files including Internet Explorer (for in-game content such as the auto updater and item mall).
After you finish installing everything and downloading Hello Kitty Online content be sure to click Finish in the installer and then the game will finish installing via CrossOver. After it installs open in windowed mode (I always have had issues with Full Screen mode) and either patch the game to check for updates or create a new account (you need a Sanrio Town email account to play) and start playing!
We got inspired to start this online for bloggers after reading a study by Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross, who calculated the average amount of CO2 emitted when anyone visits a website. Our corporate sponsor, Retale, is a digital platform for shopping, so the company is already paperless. Retale wanted to address the emissions that come from the internet in efforts to be a truly green company. Not only is planting trees vital to maintaining our environment, but it also actively fights carbon emissions. We figured the simplest way to combat carbon emissions was to try and replant America’s forests together with bloggers.
The most excited support or situation we’ve had because of this project I think is yet to come. We have only just started collecting participants, although we have done this project in 5 other countries with exciting results. If I count our sister projects, I’d say the most exciting event was the replanting of the Gévezé forest in Brittany, France. With the Arbor Day Foundation, we plant species of trees that are carefully selected according to the location in which they will be planted. We will have more information on the species of trees planted after we send our first round of trees for fulfillment. This is something we’d like to include in the planting update when we get the information from the Arbor Day Foundation.
Bloggers can get involved by writing about our project, spreading the word via social media, and reducing the carbon footprint of their blog by letting us plant a tree for them. The reason why spreading the word is so important is because the more bloggers who agree to participate in the project, the more trees we will plant and the bigger the impact on the environment will be. We need great blogs like Miseducated who have a strong following to set an example for the blogosphere by proactively helping the environment. I think taking a stand to reduce the carbon emissions of Miseducated is absolutely an example of doing what you think is right no matter what others say! Many people don’t realize that CO2 is emitted by websites. They assume because it’s paperless, that there are no adverse effects to the environment, but this is not true. We need to work together to show the blogosphere that a) their blogs are emitting carbon too, and b) they can do something about it.
We make quarterly donations to the Arbor Day Foundation for all the trees we plant to Green Gestures. Right now we are collecting our first 1,000 blogger participants to plant a big batch of 1,000 trees. We plan to update the Green Gestures website with information (and hopefully photos) about where the trees were planted. It depends on where the Arbor Day Foundation has the most need for reforestation. If you’re interested to see which forests they are focusing on this year, you can see a list of national forests on their website here.
The use of paper is related to two major environmental problems: loss of biodiversity and damage to the environment. Paper production contributes to the loss of biodiversity through the destruction of native forests, the expansion of monoculture eucalyptus and pine trees, and high levels of water and energy usage. Paper consumption also generates an enormous amount of trash – much of it is not recycled and ends up in landfills, incinerators, or littering our nation’s landscape. Through our Green Gestures campaign, Retale™ aims to reduce paper consumption (and paper waste) by creating a more sustainable way to shop. With our website and mobile apps, you have instant access to thousands of diverse offers and catalogs from stores near you. Using our digital service means that you can reduce your paper waste by opting out of the weekly ads and catalogs you currently receive in favor of viewing them online.
In addition to providing a digital solution for consumer shopping needs, Retale™ also engages in efforts to help the environment with two initiatives: our “Make a Green Gesture” campaign (described above) and our Sustainable Careers portal. Retale™ also supports the green economy with our Sustainable Careers portal, a virtual service providing specialized listings for environmental and sustainable employment. Through this portal, we aim to help professionals in environmental fields find meaningful employment, and thus contribute to building a society that lives in harmony with the environment.
So I would not consider myself a big gamer, I love Nintendo and the cute games they still make such as Mario, Wario, Pokemon and Animal Crossing themed ones. I play the Xbox with my boyfriend occasionally when we get an itch to dance or shoot zombies. I also have some awesome games on my iPhone that I can easily get addicted to. I even played Diablo, Everquest, Warcraft, Hello Kitty Online and other assorted RPGs or MMORPGs a bit obsessively through the years. I have found though the most common sort of games I play are simulation games (Sims, Second Life, Animal Crossing, digital pets). When I look for new games or new consoles the reason I even consider buying, paying or playing is if there is a rad new simulation or creative style game that looks like a fun new hobby or extension of my passion about designing everything in life. My games tend to revolve around designing or building something, getting creative or just having fun arranging and improving (what my boyfriend considers to be the more boring parts of gaming (even through he is an award-winning artist)).
I first started playing the Sims when the first ever Sims came out for PC (Feb 2000). I was in love. I played it, my brother played it, my friends played it, my high school boyfriend played it. We even had computer parties where we would sit and play the Sims making houses for hours on end like every normal couple (ha). I was pretty young so sometimes after school I’d find myself getting on my computer to play then noticing that 5+ hours had went by and I wasn’t nearly to the goal I had for my Sim that day. Games like this keep me coming back and keep me interested in their growth. When the Sims 2 came out my obsession grew a bit and I found myself more entranced more with my characters rather than just their homes. The Sims 3 brought a heavy obsession with both and designing both as I loved to do for Second Life, which also has a huge fanbase. You can really create anything you can think of and with the introduction of online profiles your friends can follow your characters, creations and worlds easily. Both games have a multitude of customization options and fan-made downloads to create your own experience. No one is limited to what the developers wanted things to look like and even encouraged to create custom content. THIS is the reason that I will continue to play these games when I have free time for gaming and the whole reason I made this new feature-section about games. I am a mac-player as well and I feel most game information for these games is PC-based or non-kawaii based which is something I’d like to improve a bit on.
I’m going to feature content and mods from digital artists who share our style of whimsical, kawaii and kitsch as well as tips and nonsense about improving the gaming experience itself. I will also put my own material here when I prepare a collection of Miseducated-style goodies for your Simland. Some of my customizations are linked below.
Sim CustomizationBelow are Kawaii, Hipster and Lolita downloads for Sims.
