A Swap with Sullivan, yay!!!

Recently I did a swap with the owner of Sullivan, from The Life & Travels of Sullivan McPig blog, and it was so much fun! I love getting new & interesting things-especially from faraway lands. Ha ha...well, you know what I mean because it came alllll the wayyyyy over to Detroit from The Netherlands! And that's pretty far to me. :}

So this is what I saw when I opened up my box. Yay and a few wrapped gifts-did I ever say how much I LOVE surprises?!!? I saved those for last. Here's what surprises were in my box....OH, and the only thing I knew for sure I was getting was some buttons because Sullivan's owner's OH (other half) designed one. If you click on the pictures to enlarge 'em, he did the one that's green with a white goat design, very cool! I love everything inside. OK, finally, here's the stuff I received below...

Just LOOK at all this cool stuff! Everything from yummy black licorice (so so good, not like the typical licorice around here for sure!) to cool children illustrated cards to a CD by a Dutch band called Within Temptation, which reminds me, I have to put 'em into Mike's I-tunes. Doh!!!

Of course I loved everything she sent but these are some of my very faves. They include: a small stitched bag (that had the pins in 'em and that Carien made too-which is even better!), Cute As Hell notebook, the licorice, Hello Kitty candy spray-woo for HK, a small black figurine, and the pig game with cute lil' rubber-y pigs, awwww. I don't understand what to do in the game though (I think it was mentioned in one of Sullivan's blog posts)...since the directions aren't in English. Thanks so much Carien for the lovely gifts!

If you'd like to see my gifts to Sullivan & Carien, please click HERE. OK, it looks like a lot and...well, it is a lot but it's lots of lil' things & letters/cards/stickers/things like that about/from the USA...and Detroit things too like C-Pop's business card to stickers from one of my fave toy stores Pink Ghost. Thanks again & if you haven't seen Sullivan's blog before, you should check it out. It's a lot of fun! Take care everyone & have a good day.~

ART: Progress, In Progress, & Things to come (Part 2)

Hi friends. What you will see below is work I made/changed/or I am in the process of making still (ALL for my Etsy shop, which will be coming soon). I did most of these this weekend. Oh & there's a sneak peek (not revealing TOO much) at the bottom, showing what the WINNER of the Giveaway (which the date has changed, please note) will receive as a bonus...it's a piece of handmade art from me-sorry, it's not going to be a box. :( But I think whomever wins, will like this too. Take care & enjoy your Monday friends.~

Gray/pink/blue-ish glitter box with embellishments added now.

Hand mirror with white paint, blue glitter, and jewel added.

Blue glitter box with white paint & blue glitter added to half of the lid.

Small box (remember the one I was REALLY unhappy with?...it's THAT one!).
With embellishments added.

Inside the above box...Alice pic & mirrors.

Mixed media collage in photo frame.
Titled "The Birthday Girl."

Detail of "The Birthday Girl."

"Alice Trouble"...mixed media on wood.

Detail of "Alice Trouble."

Box in progress....white paint on top of lid with red, white, and blue sparkle stars.

The SNEAK PEEK is below...

Hmmm.....???....!!!.....?????
Please place a guess by Tuesday night...I will announce the winner either that night or the following day. Thanks & take care.~

Garden, Roxy, & Art/Handmade stuff as Gifts

Hi peeps. This is a painting(s) I made recently titled "Garden." Not only did ROXY win my Sanrio Prize Pack, I also made her this painting. (And it was a surprise too!) I met her quite a while back on a message board/website and right away I knew she was pretty cool. We chatted about art quite often. Then when I made my blog, she was one of the first people to follow (though she is anonymous)...but she does leave her name when she comments-that helps. :)

Anyhow, she always gave me such nice comments about my art and asked many questions about it...and I LOVED that. She's one of the few peeps I know that seems genuinely interested in my art...{and ART in general-she knows what she's talking about!}. She also has a pretty good idea to what I'm trying to express with my art. (Though a lot of the times, I'm really just painting from my gut-is that possible?-and not thinking too deeply into it. But usually after her comments, I'm like "Hm, she's sorta right about that!")

So it was funny that she won the prize pack because she asked a while back if I would give her a postcard of my art for her b-day. Like I said, I don't get "commissions" (not that I've ever charged anyone for a painting, except at my one & only art show)...so I was very flattered that she asked me this. (What's the saying...flattery will get you everywhere! No, that's not really true here.) I just wanted to make her something for always being so sweet! And to let her know I appreciate her comments & to give her an early b-day gift.
^_^

So I got to work on this painting when I saw she was probably gonna be the winner of the prize pack. As I said in the post for the winner, she was only .25 cents off, so I knew it was gonna be her. And I did have a couple ideas for this painting...

I usually work with bigger canvas...16 x 20 atleast. And working with an 8 x 10 piece wasn't working, (EVE paints BIG!)...so I decided to break this piece in 2. Roxy told me some of her fave colors (she didn't know what I was gonna do...but I think she had a lil' bit of an idea)...and so I used them-blue (sky), purple (lilac), and green...

I also asked her "Butterfly or Flower?" She chose Butterfly. But I decided to use ALL my glue-on sparkly pieces instead cuz it seemed to "work" with the whole piece coming together...

So it ended up being like this. If you put it side by side, it matches up...and you can turn it inwards also (as I've tried to show above). However you'd like to display it really.

And there's things done on purpose. (Which progressed as I kept thinking what is the concpet here?) Like the flower being in three pieces (which I cut up)...butterfly two pieces...and dragonfly one. And the flower being in the green, dragonfly being in the blue, and hm...it's up to YOU to wonder why the butterfly is placed in purple in the middle-in half. Hmm....

Roxy said she really liked it and I'm SO glad. She even sent me a pic of her holding it, that made me smile! (And I never even seen a pic of her before today either!...and we've been chatting for quite a while!)...but she didn't want me to use it, & that's o.k. I understand cuz I am so unphotogenic in stuff (unless I take it or can change it). Just don't like cameras/video cameras/etc...!!! Booo...;}

Also...

...Roxy told me a lil' while back (when I posted this pic above when it was in-the-making) that I should just finish it up and give it to my therapist-whom it was being made for (and Roxy GOT what I was tring to say w/it too). I was weary on it at 1st 'cause I didn't think I could do anything else to make it better imo. But I took her advice and finished it the same couple of days I did hers. {Please click HERE to see the in-the-making piece that left me stumped on where to go next.}

The dragonfly helped a lot-1st off, it now covers up the glue spot that looked awful before. That dragonfly was the missing link to this piece...so I think it came out alright. I don't have a name for it yet but I don't think it needs one really. I'll see how I'll feel before I see her again. And that'll be next week. Hope she likes it!

My therapist is SO great, I couldn't ask for a more helpful & cooler one. And she has lots of art done by patients all over her walls...and she knows I like to paint. So she will be getting something from me to add to her wall, finally. (Oh & this is a smaller piece but it worked this time around.) Only took me a year to get on this...mainly because of what I will say below...

Only until recently did I start making art for people. I thought giving my art as a gift was weird for one MAIN reason...and that is-will this person like it? They can tell me everything they would like incorporated into a piece...and I can know their 'style' of stuff they like but in the end, it's still taking a BIG chance. Yet I know that whomever the person is (friend or family) that they would appreciate anything I'd make 'em.

I also appreciate any kind of art/handmade gift a friend/family member would give me because it's always the thought that counts, right!?! And usually those are the cooler gifts to get anyways. This has been true with my very talented & thoughtful friends Jennylee and Juno.

Darn, it's late...I gotta be ready to rock for the Kills concert tomorrow night...I mean TONIGHT. So I must get my beauty sleep, ha ha. Take care everyone & happy start-of-the-weekend. So glad it's here, it's been such a long week for me.
Adios for now curious ones.~

B-Day Part 3: Presents

Hey all. Here's my 3rd, and last, installment about my b-day. The picture above is a picture (framed) and given to me by a close friend. She's an awesome photographer & I always told her I'd like one of her pics one day. Well, she gave me one of the coolest pictures/gifts ever. What you're looking at is not manipulated at all. Hard to believe, I know! She took this pic while looking out a window in an abandoned building and the bright orange on the side is the sun hitting the wall. I couldn't believe this pic was for "real." But I trust her considering I've had weird things happen when I've taken photos.

Here's a detail pic of it. I love numbers...well, certain numbers like 13 or 6, so I just love how there's 313 written on the side of the building. Again, no manipulation where the windows are...guess it was the sun hitting there too. You can't see it in this pic but one of those orange lights coming out of the window looks like a man's image, kinda creepy. Definitely, one of the most thoughtful & artistic gifts I've ever received. ^_^ Thanks my (shall remain nameless) friend!

Next, a gift (or rather bunch o'gifts) from my friend Beka. I received her package when I got home from work yesterday & it was a wonderful surprise. We both share a love for Hello Kitty (& Sanrio) so she gave me lots of cool HK goodies & non-Kitty ones too. She also gave me 2 balloons, one blue & one yellow, which I had to blow up-but of course. How thoughtful of her! So this one you see above is on top of the package she sent me.

She sent me lots of lovely things...and I can't thank her enough. Pictured above is 3 of the coolest things she sent me. 1) Hello Kitty as a Ninja keychain 2) Keroppi box 3) a Cactus Pup-which I always wanted one, how did she know that?!! I loved everything she sent of course, these were just my faves. Thank you so much Beka, you rock! I didn't really have anything to open on my actual birthday (makes no sense right?!) so getting your package was really wonderful because most of the gifts were surprises, yay!!!

***Other gifts I received over the course of my birthday were 2 awesome art prints, a Joy Division documentary, and a Frightdoll CD from Mike. Then, Mike's parent's gave me a gift card for a mall I really love to go to (where the Sanrio/Hello Kitty store is at). As I said in my previous post, my parents gave me $$$ and my younger sister gave me a giftcard for a movie theatre. My dear friend Cyn gave me an awesome package full of goodies last week (did a post on that). One of my other friends took me out to dinner a couple weeks back and I'll still be getting something from my older sis as well as Mike's grandparents soon. Oh, & Jennylee is making me a piece of her art too, very excited about that! So overall, I got a lot of great & thoughtful gifts. And the day was just really good in general (even work was good yesterday!). ^_^ Thank you, thank you, & thank you everyone. You made my birthday such a lovely day in so many ways.~

I have some great friends...

Hey there. Yesterday I received an early birthday package from my good friend Luna. Ooo, I was very anxious to see what was in this box. And she sent me lots of cool stuff...

...as you can see. It was a heavy box because she gave me some B & BW stuff, nail polishes, bath salts (those are the ice cream cones), a cute aroma Panda candle, and more. I loved everything. She made me feel a lot better about hitting the BIG 3-0 soon. It's not pictured but my fave thing had to be the Hello Kitty charm with "30" on it. That was so cool & very thoughtful. Thanks so much Luna! You're such a great friend. X's & O's to you. ;}

Here's some paper stuff she sent me too. And I also got the "Oh you lucky diva!" card from Torrid for $10 off my next purchase. I don't go there too often (very pricey) but w/that card I can get something for $10 & it'd be free, so I can always get something small. So that rules. Yay, for early b-day gifts! The BIG day is one week from tomorrow. OMG, I can't believe how close that is! I guess I'm as ready as I can be at this point. ^_^

Eve's Red Bag: Valentine's Day Special

Hi everyone & Happy Valentine's Day to you. I hope you have a lovely day. This RED BAG is my valentine special because Mike got me these Dunnys for Valentine's Day. Do you remember that I was going to get the art prints? Well, I'm still going to get those, but I couldn't wait any longer to get some Dunnys so I'll get the prints eventually.

So I went to Urban Outfitters, the only place I know around that carries Dunny. (Yes, the box says that-Dunny...or peeps call 'em Dunnys too.) I wanted to try my luck even though I could've ordered a few of the ones I really wanted online (those were opened because all Dunnys are blindboxed). But they were so pricey between the extra couple of dollars for the one you want & the shipping. So I decided to try my luck. And this is what I got...

This was the 1st one I opened & I was thrilled because I really wanted him! Oh, this series of Dunny is Ye Olde English (aka: UK designers making them). This one above is called Rainy London. I like his sweet suit, umbrella, & hat...and especially that his face is clear besides the raindrops on it...awesome. I hear it rains a lot in London, am I right!?? =]

This was the second one I opened. Yay, he's sweet, and I did want him (saw a picture beforehand). And he's one of the 'mystery' ones. He's made by Shok 1, and he's supposed to be a red double-decker bus. The tourists on the top of his head are screaming because they must be getting a crazy tour.

This was the 3rd one I got (and the last Mike bought me). Darn, another Shok 1! How could that happen? Not one, but two mystery ones, weird. I wasn't too bummed because I could display him from the back because most Dunnys backs are designed too. Or trade him eventually. Still, I wanted one more...and hopefully not a duplicate. I told Mike I HAD to get one more (we were sitting at a bench because I just HAD to open 'em ASAP). I bought the last one with my own $$$ and so I got...

...Captain...or General. I don't think he actually has a name, but I think he's made by I Love Dust. Ooo Ooo, he was a good one because 1-He's awesome looking & I really wanted him and 2-He's kinda hard to get, so YAY!!! I was very happy with all my Dunnys. My luck was good this time around...minus the duplicate but that wasn't a bad duplicate to get. There was a black skeleton Dunny I was hoping for, but you can't get everything you want, right? Maybe I'll get him later on.

OH, and as an extra bonus, these Tokidoki mint boxes were staring at me as I waited in line by the register. They were marked down cheap so I got a couple for myself...plus one for my friend Luna. Score! I only have Tokidoki stationery so yay, I'm slowly adding to my collection. Again, I was very happy with all my surprises & gifts. I usually don't have the best luck at Urban Outfitters, but that day luck was on my side for a change. ^_^

The Joke's On You

full viewlabyrinth poster (right) & then joker

the very dark bottom-love it!

i received a very special gift today. it had no return addy on it so i was wonderin' who could it be? i LOVE surprises btw! but i had a pretty good idea, still i didn't want to say thanks & be wrong, ya know? be kinda weird. but yes, it was from my good friend Luna (from Luna's Passions). i love it lots, it's one i've never seen before, so i hung it up asap. it was a lovely surprise & thoughtful gift. thanks again Luna/Cyn!

My 1st Xmas Gift

my friend made me an awesome xmas gift this year. it's a quilt-like blanket with patches that represent either something about me or something about her. she put a lot of time, effort, and thought into this lovely gift. she gave it to me early because she asked a while back if i would want it before xmas (if she got done), and i said sure. this is probably the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me. i love it so much. thank you shannon. you are a really great friend!