Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

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No, that’s not me running with Casper…I have short hair.

In 1980, Bo Derek was a greyhound owner!  The picture above is from her first feature in Playboy.  The 12-page spread appeared in the March 1980 issue.  Several of the pictures included her Greyhound, China.  Bo is a great animal advocate and has a line of pet care products, Bless the Beasts.

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August’s 4 Faves all come from my friends.  Check out what they like.

My beautiful friend, Amy, with Miura and Zonda

This week’s favorites come from my friends, Amy…she has the first three; and Bunny of Tales and Tails…she has the last one.

 

Greyt Glass

Look at the picture above, then look at Zonda & Miura below.  Aren’t these perfect!  Greyt Glass offers glass panels, ornaments, suncatchers and inlaid glass stepping stones.  Check out their website or “like” them on Facebook.

Gini’s Greyhound Fashions

When I spoke with Amy about why she loves Ginis Greyhound Fashions, “Customer service, customer service, customer service.” Other reasons…coats are made to custom measurements, which means a fabulous fit, and fantastic fleece color combinations, that you get make.  Don’t you love Zonda and Miura’s Santa coats!

 

Voyagers K9 Apparel Greyhound Raincoat

Amy loves the Greyhound raincoat from Voyagers K9 Apparel.  Why?  It has front pleats for easy mobility, the hood covers without binding (very important to Miura), it offers great coverage, it has a reflective safety strip across the back for better visibility, and Amy loves the school bus yellow…a classic color in rain slickers.

Ice Cream

Bunny recommends ICE CREAM as a favorite.  I think we’re all with you there, Miss Bunny.  Bunny’s favorite (and Lilac’s, and Blueberry’s and Morgan’s) is Schwan’s Doggie Sundaes.  Yum!  Visit Miss Bunny and all the Tales and Tails girls here.

This is the final installment of 4 Faves – Friends Version.  But don’t worry, it’s not the end.  I’ll do another “Friend Version” in November.  Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite things this month.

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I’m going through the e-course, Make Art a Part.  This week, I read through the section on “inspiration.”  Kaitlyn talks about where we draw inspiration from…the internet (Kaitlyn presented a wonderful list of some of her favorite sites), nature, art galleries and life. 

After each section, Kaitlyn asks a question that brings the material into your life.  With regards to “inspiration,” Kaitlyn asks, “What is an inspiring moment you would like to capture within a piece of art?  It can be a small moment or a big one.  Brainstorm five ways you could use the inspiration from that memory to create art.  What could you create?”  What a wonderful question!  So often I think of art as something to be appreciated or used to decorate my home.  I hadn’t thought of taking a moment of my life and creating art from it.  Several years ago, my mom gave me a pencil drawing that she had made from a photo of my daughter when she was a little girl.  I would love to create (or have them created) other pictures using differnet mediums (watercolor, oil, graphic art, collage).  I think it would be fun to sprinkle these throughout our home.

This week’s creation exercise was photography.  Three of Kaitlyn’s contributors offer instruction and inspiration on taking photographs.  I practiced nature photography.  I found this beautiful frog resting on the rhododendron plant outside my front door. 

If you’d like to participate in this e-course, you may register at any time.  Once registered, you’ll have access to the full course for one year.  You can complete it at your own pace.  The cost is $45.00 and you can sign up here.  Kaitlyn also had a wonderful blog, isavirtue.

 

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This was in my mailbox on Wednesday.  It’s official…I’ll never have to pay for a small drink at Wendy’s ever again.  Oh, and I’m old.

I find myself wanting less, the older I get.  Wanting less in a world of “more” is tricky to navigate, but that’s where I’m headed.  Here are a few areas in my life that I’ve been thinking about:

1.  Menu planning and cooking – I’m a mess in the kitchen.  I need a really simple plan.

2.  Blog reading – I only have a few blogs that I remember to read faithfully.  There are more that I would like to follow on a regular basis, but I don’t know how to “organize” this area of my life.

3.  Photography - I want to take better pictures.  Reading through my camera’s owner manual would give me a big boost in this area, but what about programs like Photoshop?  That seems so complicated.  What’s the best way to learn?

4.  Lawn and landscaping - There is no other way to put it…I hate yard work.  I want it to look nice with the least amount of work.

I love to hear your ideas.  What help do you have for me in these areas?  What works for you?

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This is a sentimental favorite.  I read it as a very young woman and was captivated by the epic sweep of the novel.  Set in the Australian outback, the story focuses on the Cleary family between the years 1915 and 1969.  Most people who are familiar with the story will remember the forbidden love between Meggie and Father Ralph, but it is much more than that.   It is a story about family, longing, betrayal, ambition and tragedy.  I think it may be time to read this one again.

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This is a smart, charming and funny movie with Jack Nicholson playing the role of Melvin, an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon who falls in love with waitress and single mother, Helen Hunt, and reluctantly befriends his gay neighbor, Greg Kinnear.  The dialog is sharp, witty and often poignant.  By the end of the movie, the humanity of all the characters is clear, and you see the dignity and worth that they (and we) all possess.

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Inspiration:

FreshStyle (Summer 2011 – Southern Lady Special) – Pg 26 (Pet Portraits)

Supplies:

Photograph

Cardstock (2 colors)

Pencil

Scissors

Gluestick

Frame

1.  Cut out the shape of your pet’s silhouette.

2.  Place it on a piece of cardstock, and trace the outline.

3.  Cut out the silhouette.

4.  Cut a piece of cardstock to fit your frame.  Glue your pet’s silhouette on the cardstock background.

5.  Put the picture in the frame and you have a very special, unique silhouette.  The really cool part, you can pick  fabulous color combinations!  My pretty model…that’s Zonda (my friend Amy’s houndie and my Paloma’s sister).

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Greyhounds are awesome couch potatos.  Casper’s one of the best.

I’ll guard these bed while you vacuum.

One for the head, one for the butt.

Paw over the head.

Paw over the nose.

What?

 

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August’s 4 Faves all come from my friends.  Check out what they like.

This week’s favorites come from my friends, Amy…she has the first three; and Carrie (Tales and Tails)…she has the last one.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

What if you could taste the emotions of whoever prepared your food.  What would you do with the insight this would give you into people’s secret emotions?  That’s the premise behind The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, a story that Amy found fascinating.

Soaker Coats

Soaker coats are handy dry or wet.  Used dry, a soaker coat is great after a bath or a swim.  Used wet, a soaker coat can help keep your doggie cool on hot days outdoors.  The soaker coat pictured above is from Chilly Dogs.

Chilly Dogs

Speaking of Chilly Dogs…Amy loves Chilly Dogs coats.  Why?  They offer an “Easy On, Easy Off” design; the coats cover your dog’s chest; and the fit is superior because they’re made to the exact measurements of your dog and sport an adjustable buckle system that allows you to securely fasten the coat around your pup’s body.  Plus, look how attractive they are.  The lovely model…that’s Shadow, one of Amy’s former foster dogs.

A favorite of Carrie’s…vintage bikes.  Want to see more items with the vintage bike motif (or any other motif you can think of), check out Etsy.  The stunning model in the picture below…that’s Bunny.

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I’m working my way through the e-course, Make Art a Part (of Your Life).  This week, I read through the section on “appreciation.”  Kaitlyn points out that if we dislike a piece of art, it’s usually for one of two reasons, (1)  It’s unfamiliar to us and we don’t understand it…it makes us uncomfortable, or (2) We don’t like it viscerally…it doesn’t please us or appeal to us.  Kaitlyn encourages us to determine the reason for our response.  We may not change our mind if it’s a visceral reaction, but if our reason is because we don’t understand it, that can be remedied by learning a little more about the piece, the artist or the process.

Each section of the e-course includes an “interaction” question or two.  In this section on “appreciation,” Kaitlyn presents two pieces of art, one by Jackson Pollock and one by Lee Price.  I’ll be answering some of the “interaction” questions on my blog posts, but one of the feature of the e-course is the opportunity to email Kaitlyn your responses.  This particular exercise, because of the length of my answers, made more sense to email to Kaitlyn.

The Jackson Pollock piece made me think of the movie, Pollock.  Has anyone seen it?  I’m going to watch it soon.  Do you have any other movies about art or artists that have been helpful?

Kaitlyn encourages keeping an open mind when learning about and appreciating art.  She shares ten questions she uses when experiencing art with children.

1.  What do you see?

2.  What else do you see?

3.  How does it make you feel?

4.  Why does it make you feel that way?

5.  What do you think the story is (if there is one)?

6.  What do you think happened right before this “moment” occurred?

7.  What do you think the artist was feeling?

8.  If you don’t recognize any real life shapes, then what do you see?

9.  Do you like this?

10.  Why do you like it or not like it?

Aren’t those great questions!  This would make a great journaling exercise.

This week’s creation exercise was graphic design.  Kaitlyn gives you the choice of 3 projects.  I was unable to download my free trial of Photoshop because I think my computer is getting ready to die and my netbook can’t handle the download; but in the spirit of learning something new on the computer, I spent time learning how to create a treasury on Etsy.  Here’s my first one:

If you’d like to participate in this e-course, you may register at any time.  Once registered, you’ll have access to the full course for one year.  You can complete it at your own pace.  The cost is $45.00 and you can sign up here.  Kaitlyn also had a wonderful blog, isavirtue.