all I want for X-mas...

So I was talking to Mr. Martini's mom about his X-mas stocking. He "misplaced" the nice one she gave him last year. I didn't have the heart to tell her that men just don't care about X-mas stockings. 

Mr. Martini said he would care if they had porn and beer in them. 

This gave me the idea to make him a personalized *adult* magazine last night. (Thank you for letting me cut your magazines up, Kevin.) 

He absolutely loved it.

In return he is going to do a small oil painting of a girl and a cupcake for me. Pictures when he is finished!

BABY, it's cold outisde!

I like how the windows in this old house rattle a little bit when the train goes by. I also like warm rice pudding and cuddling.

Today's Art Journal Entry-click for larger image

hey purple haired girl...

Note to self: Don't take pictures of your ankles when you are on your period. Bloat.

So it is Friday night and I have put Mr. Martini to bed. Now I'm half ass working on my X-mas gifts. I'm taking a break from altering a doll for my son's girlfriend.   

Kyle + Kali. Aren't they adorable?

It has been good to get out of Almania. I get awfully antsy here. Okay, not just antsy, but a little bored and lonely, too. A few days ago I saw a girl with purple hair driving an old limo here in Almania and I thought about walking up to her and asking her to be my friend. Just like in grade school.   

I think I am going to call it a night. 

that little feeling of accomplishment

I started digging through my suitcase of old photos this morning. And of course my wallpaper samples. Proof that if you give me old crap you don't want--I will use it. I made this ornament/gift tag real quick to get some ideas flowing. Check out the hairdo on this momma! 

So far I have thought of only one new year's resolution: To make something everyday, from start to finish, and document it. Hopefully this will give me the little feeling of accomplishment when I have big, long projects going. 

let them eat cupcakes!

I woke up this morning with a strong desire to make cupcakes. I love baking them, decorating them and eating them. Unfortunately, my car won't start and I don't have the supplies. So, while having my morning coffee, I cooked up these little babies from wallpaper samples. 

There are several tempting books on cupcakes at amazon.com and lots of cool cupcake picks all over the net. 

Aren't these sweet?

For Mr. Martini....

BEEFCAKES!

I would love to have one of these stands!

Highlight of my morning, maybe even my day: "This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" I've been talking about shoes as weapons for years. Try to fuck with me when I am wearing my six inch stripper heels! 

While walking through the cemetery yesterday I spied some flowers through some cracks in a fence. I went to investigate and found this mass 

grave of flower carcasses. So this is what happens. 

Yesterday was so warm I was wearing a tank top and now I am freezing my tush off. Apparently it snowed in the area last night. 

I started working on my X-mas cards. "You're starting on your Christmas cards NOW?!?" Yes, I have waited til now. I generally don't start really getting into X-mas until about the middle of December. If I start too early then I burn out.

Usually my X-mas cards have been a big production--designing and silk screening them, for instance. This year I am going to make less and do them one at a time. Below is the results of me fooling around with various tags I made using cardstock, old wallpaper samples, 1970's catalog women, stencil + spraypaint, wrapping paper and various other things.  

Turns out that the deadline for the Dirty Show isn't until today, which is a very good thing because we realized it really wasn't done, so Mr. Martini is working out the kinks. Ultimately I am going to stitch on the canvas, but it is so large that there is no possible way that I would be able to finish it today. So it will have to stay "as is" until we find out if it is accepted into this show.  

lazy sunday

I think the biggest reward in shopping for an X-mas tree last night was that I got to come home and wrap presents. I love wrappings and trappings.

Took some photos of Robin today. We got some good shots that I will probably alter later on.

Mr. Martini finished the canvas for the Dirty Show! Now we just have to photograph it.

It is crazy warm here today. I'm going to take a walk in the cemetery.    

  

art journal-click for larger images

Left: Playing with stencils Right: Oklahoma nights

Left: The photograph is attached with a brad and moves back and forth Right: Lend me youir ear

Left: To my sister Right: "The molecular structure of a moment."

Playing with paint and rubber stamps

Tiny things ARE cute!

Just the other day I was wondering where I could find some small deer figurines and today I literally stumbled on a website that has exactly what I was looking for! Tiny Things Are Cute has a TON of vintage tiny things that are right up my alley--cupcake picks, poison labels, little monkeys and so much more. I am in love and had to share! 

Glitter and Doom

Sometimes it is is nice to sleep til noon on a Saturday.

The weekend has been very chill so far. We went out for dinner last night and came back home to settle in for the night. I lit some candles and incense in the studio and we worked on some projects.  

Mr. Martini is still working on our submission to the Dirty Show. He actually only has until tomorrow to finish it, so he has been busy with it since he woke up this morning.

I started putting together packages for some swap-bot partners. I'm just about done with the first one.

There is stationery and envelopes made from old wallpaper samples. The boxes contain some sweet surprises, but I will leave it at that in case she comes peeking over here.  Sorry for the dark pictures. I was working in very low light.

I think I will wait until after X-mas to do any more of these. I have some gifts I need to be working on.

We are going to go pick up an X-mas tree at Target today. I am excited. Though I am still a little sad that my ex boyfriend left my nice aluminum tree from West Elm in the storage area of our old apartment when we were moving out. 

To the left is a box I am working on for someone else. It is a nod to Tom Waits and his Glitter and Doom tour. 

We have been loving the internet radio site www.pandora.com. You can type in an artist that you like and it will create a radio station with related artists for you. So far the Tom Waits station is the big winner in my book.   

My Nay Nay is on blogger now! Check her out at KozmicBluesBaby. Add her! She is going through a really hard time right now, but like I said before, she is an amazingly strong woman. And the only other person I know that can whip out a pot bellied pig story--she has some great stories. Because she has lived one hell of a life.   

all that glitters....

I have been cleaning up the studio and ran across a few pieces of jewelry I got from a bag that a friend gave me. The items belonged to his grandmother. He also gave me a gorgeous old crochet bedspread and a suitcase full of fantastic old photos. This JFK pendant is my favorite piece. I was wearing it for a minute and the chain broke. I also have a pair of vintage owl earrings that will be going to a Swap-Bot partner. They are adorable. 

Last night I amused myself by making a snowglobe from a baby food jar--just like in 1st grade! Mine has gold glitter and an astronaut floating around. 

I love these glitter dipped deer from Target. They remind me of the Robot Love series of canvases that Mr. Martini and I are working on.

Today was a fun mail day. We got boxes from Swiss Colony from a family friend of Mr. Martini and I received some rosaries that I can use for my pocket shrines. Word on the street is that the local art collective Art Amiss! is putting together a Craft Amiss! event. I'm thinking that I definitely want to have a table at that and pocket shrines will probably be one of the items I'd bring. 

Lately we have all been debating Craft vs. Art around here. It gets complicated when you view it as a gender issue. It is certainly good for us to be talking about this and I hope we continue to do so.       

fly away birdy... your house is on fire, your children are alone

I made these sweet little bird ornaments out of old wallpaper samples this morning. I don't think they will go with what we are doing for X-mas, though. 

Went to the Fort to visit my sister. We talk everyday at least once, but it is still special to sit down and talk face to face. She is such a strong, freethinking woman. She amazes me. It is good to have family that you can call a true friend, as well.

I've been looking at a lot of websites relating to shabby chic. Actaully, I've figured out what I like most and that would be shabby chic+hollywood glam+punk rock. Anyway, I'm pretty excited to get started on hitting all the antique shops that are close by. Hopefully I can drag Mr. Martini along with me while he is on his 2 week vacation. I love this online shop: A Bit of Paris 2 U. So effin tacky!

cake... or death?

Whitney told me about a website called Swap-Bot, where items ranging from Artist Trading Cards to socks to lists of favorite things are traded. I signed up under the name DangerEyes and joined a Chocolate swap. Not only do I love chocolate, but we have an old fashioned candy/chocolate shop just down the road. It has been here for years and is well known in the area. I plan on taking the kids there on X-mas eve to pick out some treats. I think it will be sweet. 

I started filling out a wishlist on amazon.com.  

Kevin and Whitney came over today and we took photos and ate cake in my bed. Just like old times. 

Art Journal pics--click for a larger image

pocket shrines

Today was a boring, overcast day. I decided to make a couple of pocket shrines to fill the time and cheer me up a little. I apologize for the picture quality-patience is not mine today. These are very simple shrines. I may make others with more detail.  

Here are the covers. The boxes measure 3" by 5" and are about a half inch deep. The one on the left is a shrine to Frank Zappa. I used some of his amazing quotations to focus on. The front says, "Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."   

The one on the right is a shrine to John Waters and Divine. It says: "Divine Trash"

  

The inside. I used paint, glitter, stickers, fabric, rubber stamps and paper to make this one. I also cut a bracelet in half and glued it to the front and back covers to make a closure. On the left is the king of trash. The image on the right is actually a fabulous rubber stamp of Divine. Where in the hell does one find a Divine rubber stamp? Viva Las Vagas Stamps!

This one contains some of my favorite Zappa quotes.

"In a fight between you and the world-pick the world."

"If your children ever find out how lame you really are, they'll kill you in your sleep."

"May your shit come to life and kiss you on the face."

"Beauty is a pair of shoes that make you wanna die."

"Without deviation from the norm, progess is not possible." 

Lately

I decided to spraypaint my bedroom door gold. Next I will stencil it. Why am I wearing a pink tutu and a tube top? I really don't know, but I had fun. There were a lot of fumes. 

The wallpaper in my room, like everything in my grandmother's house, is hideous. I am in the process of covering the walls with fabric to cover it up and add some colors that I like. The dollar fabric table is a treasure trove of funky stuff. 

Occasionally I like to assemble pages in my art journal that are ready for writing in if the moods strikes me, like these. 

Since my cell phone broke I have been relying on this handbag phone. No caller ID, no answering machine. 

Saturday night Mr. Martini and I had a dinner date at the Bangkok Cafe. Yummy.  

Habits

Habits. We all have them. Here are some of mine.

I talk on the phone. I text. I surf the web. I take photos. A LOT. 

My phone broke last night. What will I do?

Nat Sherman All Natural Cigarettes. "Natural does not mean a safer product." 

Rasberry Green Tea. It tastes really good, has 5 calrories and vitamins... but I can't pronounce the ingredients.

A man in a habit. 

I take photos and stencil on them.

look see

More art journal pics.

fig. 1: Mastication fig 2: "Nothing is fun anymore."

fig 3: The things that they put in my head. Fig. 4: I was into drawing anatomical pictures for awhile. Aren't my intestines lovely?

Sexy pink colleage. Eyes.

more art journal

Kinsagashi! asked what the dimensions of my art journal are. My current journal is  10" x 7" and my last journal measures 9 1/2" x 6". I like working in spiral bound journals so that I can open the journal out flat and paint on the pages. 

I took photos of my last journal and will be posting a few pics at a time here. These are not in the actual order.

page 1- photograph of the world's smallest woman at a small time carnival. page 2- playing around with watercolor pencils.

page 3- "Diagram 1: It would seem that over time these two vital organs of the senses diminish in their capacity to function. As one organ shuts down (left) the other (right) responds in kind." page 4- The Star Child

page 5- altered photograph. MLF= Mary Liberation Front. page 6- I got pneumonia. Again.

Local Art

Very excited. The new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville is hosting an exhibit by PostSecret December 13th through February 1st. Who wants to go?

Some of you will remember my 32nd birthday, when I was given the PostSecret book and everyone filled out postcards with their own secrets in the bathroom. That was a lot of fun. 

Local artist Sam King made this video. I like it.

Junk from Sam King on Vimeo.