Just a Quick Note

Hello everyone!  I hope that your weekends were wonderful and that your weeks are off to a great beginning!  Once again I had to work quite a bit this weekend.  Urrrrr!  I really wish that making money wasn't so imprtant and that I could just create all the time!  Someday, I suppose.  This week I have a lot going on.  Tomorrow I am submitting some ideas for a website project in one of my classes.  I am also submitting ideas for a costume for that same class.  I had to make up a mythological creature.  Come Tuesday I will be attending an advising session for Graphic Design.  Basically I will be learning about my options in the upcoming semesters.  Wednesday is a pretty casual day.  Thursday I will be turning in the majority of my process book stuff and getting it ready for the midterm book I will be binding.  I hope that Friday ends up being casual too.  I have some catching up to do in a few other areas.  Our friend will be coming back home after being away for two months.  He was in Arizona with his girlfriend...fiancee....wife!  They had been talking about getting married for a while so he went down there to officiallyy get engaged and do the courthouse wedding thing so that they can have all the legal stuff out of the way before she gets reassigned to a new base (she is still in the Army).  We are excited to see him!  I'll be working only a little over the weekend, but it's a night so that isn't too bad.  It should give me plenty of time to study for midterms which aren't this week, but next!  I know...Already!
In the next couple weeks I will hopefully be making a dress or two to wear during our Spring Break trip to Florida for a wedding/Army friend reunion.  I'd also like to get a few other surprises done.  Fingers crossed.

Don't forget about the giveaway.  I still only have one person signed up for it.  Also, don't forget about my "Friends I Love to Feature" Posts that I would like to start.  If you are interested in getting some notice, send me a note and I would love to feature you on my blog.  I didn't realize that I would practically have to beg for people to put in this feature.  Come on, don't you want some free exposure?

Have a great week!
Loves!

Check out this furniture designer!

Do you live in a small apartment?  Do you wish you had twice the space that you have?  Okay, you MUST check out this Italian furniture designer.  They design furniture that usually serves at least two purposes if not more, and get literally fit anywhere.  These pieces take up about 12 inches of space!!!



Loves!!

Process Book: SURPRISE!!

Hey all!  Sorry for not following up on my promise to have this done by Wednesday.  Yikes....it's been a crazy week!  So, without anymore blabbing, here you go:

The remaining Curious:

And The beginning of Surprise:

 Click on the pictures to see the sources!

And now for Tiffany's Dress.  Mr. Fantastic is about the same size as her and since we don't really have many people around here that we know yet, he was an amazing sport about helping me with it.  Please do not think that he normally dresses like this!!

 And Lastly, I have a poster without words.  We were instructed not to use words when we ripped, not cut, paper pieces out of magazines to form into pictures to represent a specific place or event.  Can you tell what my event is?

 In other news, today I had an Astronomy test.  Wow!  I'm not sure we even learned about half of the things on the test.  It was really difficult.  I might have gotten a 70% if I am really lucky!  Apparently in the other class the grades ranged from 20%-105% That's crazy!  At least I get to drop my lowest score.  I always think that the first test is the hardest because you have to learn the teacher's patterns.  I will do better on the next ones!
I did well on my art history paper though.  She commented that it was well written with a sophisticated style!  I think that is good!  I got an A!
That put me in such a good mood that I came home from class and spent an hour cleaning the house.  This is not a common think for me to enjoy doing.  I have to work though tonight, so I had better sign out.  I hope that your weekends are wonderful.  If you are having the pleasant weather that we are having, please enjoy it for me as I have to work inside with ruthless customers!
Loves!

Friends I Love to Feature!!

I really really really want to start a feature post about some of my blog friends.  My idea is to have a feature post weekly or bi-weekly about YOU!  That's right.  I would like to feature you on my blog.  I think the bloggy world is so wonderful and has done so much for me.  I've met a lot of wonderful and talented people and I want to share you with the rest of the bloggy world!  If you are interested in a feature post, please contact me by email at ZoiHoku143[at]yahoo[dot]com.  Use "feature post" as your subject line.  Together we can put together a really great feature all about you.  If you have your own blog, website, or shop, I'd love to put that in the feature as well.  think of it as free advertisement!!  Again, if you want to be featured on Then We Started Living, email me!!
Loves!!

Process Book: coming Soon!

Hello lovely friends!
I know you are probably expecting a process book post tonight.  I must apologize though because I don't have it prepared.  This week is CRAZY!  I had to work literally all weekend....yuck!  I am also working on finishing Tiffany's dress.  Her dance is this weekend and the dress still has to go through the mail.  I know - I'm totally pushing the time frame.  I'm sorry that the blog post will have to wait.  I will get it up by Wednesday though!  I promise.  I'll also post up the dress, some artists that are inspiring me right now, a poster I am working on, and a few pretties that I have found.  Don't forget that I have a giveaway going on.  So far only one person has entered it.  You don't all think it would be really great to get something handmade and pretty from yours truly?  Please enter it. Alright, have a spectacular week!
Loves!!

Feed Your Soul: The Free Art Project

I came upon something today that made my heart so so so happy!  It is an amazing project that I would never do justice to if I tried to tell you about it.  So, I copied and pasted their "About" page:

News flash….the economy sucks. The stock market is up & down, people are losing their jobs and homes, all sorts of businesses are closing down & nobody seems to have any idea what the hell is going on. That’s the bad news…

Now for the good news. Even though the economy is tanking, it’s more important than ever to stay positive. We shouldn’t dwell on the negative news, it’s just not doing our souls any good. To that end, I came up Feed Your Soul: the free art project to hopefully bring a smile to your face and brighten your day.

“What is this Feed Your Soul: the free art project?”
Well, every month I will share FREE ART with you from artists that I have invited to participate in the project. Each invited artist will contribute one print that you can print out on some cardstock and frame or even just thumbtack to the wall.

“Why are you doing this?”
Well, I love art and I know you do too. I also know that when people start to tighten up the purse strings they tend not spend money on things that aren’t necessary for survival, things like books, magazines and art. But, art is important for your soul. It helps rejuvenate, it’s thought-provoking, offers inspiration and can generally brighten an otherwise dreary day among other things. In addition to helping brighten your day and put a little spring in your step, I want to help promote some of my favorite artists.

“Which artists are going to be participating?”
Go here to see a schedule of upcoming artists.

“I’m an artist, can I contribute?”
I’d love to take a look at your work, just send me an email,

“Okay, so where’s my free art?”
Just visit the Downloads page to see all the available downloads.

“What about legal stuff?”
You can print and share these downloads for personal use. You may not sell them or use them in anyway for profit. You may share them on your blog, email them, twitter about them, etc just make sure to give credit to Feed Your Soul: the free art project and the artists.

“Who are you?”
I'm Jen Wallace the writer behind the blog Indie Fixx. Indie Fixx is a celebration of the creativity, tenacity, and general spunky goodness that is the indie design movement. The indie design movement is made up of artists, crafters and designers who make a literal smorgasbord of delectable indie products. Once you shop indie, you’ll never go back.

“How do I contact you?”
You can send me an email.

I hope you enjoy and remember to feed your soul with some art! You can see some of my framed prints all ready to hang on my wall below.

Now, if this doesn't make your heart happy, then your heart is made of stone!!  Hahaha!  I'm just kidding!  But please go and check them out!
Here is the link again
This is just the thing that I needed to make my day!  I have to work literally all weekend.  I start tonight, then I go in first thing in the morning and work all day, and then I work all day on Sunday, and then I have a meeting Sunday night!  yuck!  So this made things a little better!
Loves!!!!  Oh, and have a beautiful weekend!

Pixies and Bears Giveaway!!

Pixies and Bears is having a giveaway!  Look at these amazing presents and then head over there to enter!!

Winner 1 

 This gorgeous crocheted Hello Kitty Hat made by Val from StinkerDoodles (can you tell she had fun modeling it for me?)

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Winner 2

 Your very own monster. You get to pick colors/name and gender :) Made by ME :)

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Lots of pampering goodies from Sandi of Nioi. 4 lip butters, soap and the newest discovery of amazingness.... EZ butter... butter for your whole body!!

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Winner 4

 Beautiful garlands and a cute clutch from Valerie at Pareltje

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Winner 5

 A chunky Infinity Scarf Cowl made by Tiffany from thatgirl1223

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Winner 6

 Pretty headbands with interchangeable hair-clips from Val at Stinkerdoodles

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Winner 7

 An up-cycled Moleskine journal covered in pretty fabric and felt made by ME :)

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Winner 8

 Pretty hair accessories made by Valerie of  Bloempjes

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Winner 9

Lots of scrapbook goodies and a felt cozy cover for your pen

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Winner 10

 Pretty thrift store tea cup finds from Val

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Visual Anthropology - Students Today

I've decided that a lot of the time that I am in class, I am not really learning anything.  Half of the time I spend at school is a waste of my time.  Although I love learning, I hate wasting my time.  This is a very very true video that shows just exactly how college really is for us college students these days.


Loves!!

Speaking of love!

So that guy that I talk about quite a lot....He's pretty amazing!  I love him bunches.  We share so many great adventures and always have a wonderful time together.  I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  Here he is in all his greatness, in all his goofiness, and in all his fantasticness - My Valentine!

Loves!!

Process Book: CURIOUS

This week I was intructed to be inspired by the word curious.  What makes me curious?  What is curious?  What am I curious about?  Here are some things that I came up with:

 

My own photo taken at The Curious Heart Emporium in Nashville

 Also this week I had an interesting assignment relating to Valentine's Day.  We were instructed to make a 3X3 inch valentine without using typography or literal pictures.  We were also told that we could not use anything cliche.  This was a really hard project for me.  Here is a look at my process though.  The first color image is the first card that I made in class.  It was far too literal I thought.  I started thinking about other things that I could do and kept coming up with literal and cliche things.  When I came up with balloons I got a brilliant idea - the balloons overlapped and reminded me of a Ven Diagram!  You remember those elementary school diagrams we used to make showing a this mixing with that and what they have in common.  My thought was that in a relationship, you have a little of one person and a little of another person and together they make up a couple!  To illustrate this, I used a little red and a little blue which together make purple.  So Happy Valentine's Day the Ven Diagram Way!!!!  WooHoo!

Have a lovely week of love.  I will be back tomorrow night with several postings so get ready!
Loves!

We Are All Connected

This is a really simple and beautiful video showing some artwork done for the World Wildlife Federation.  The artwork is amazing.  The idea is wonderful.  The video is worth your time!

WWF - We Are All Connected from Mato Atom on Vimeo.

Creating a Feature Post

Hey everyone!  One goal that I set for myself this year, was to create at least one feature post for my blog.  This will be based on a specific subject and posted on a specific schedule.  The other day while I was posting up my Process Book inspiration, it occurred to me that it would be a great subject to post about on a regular basis and therefor become my first feature post!  I have decided that every Monday I will do a post about the previous week's inspiration that I collect and make part of my process book.  These posts will contain the bits and pieces that I have gathered throughout the week.  Please be patient with me as I have not yet decided on a catchy title for this regular post, but I will keep you up to date when I do come up with a good one.  Of course, I'm always open to suggestions.  If you have a suggestion for the title of my new feature post, please leave it as a comment under the sweet dialogues link at the bottom.  Until I come up with something better, I will stick to simply calling it Process Book [blah blah blah].  Also, if you didn't catch it earlier, I posted up a fun little idea I'm participating in call Pay It Forward.  In a way, it's kind of a GIVEAWAY!  Check out my Pay It Forward post below if you want to be a part of something sweet.  For now, I will leave you with a new picture:

Loves!!

Powerful Commercial

When I saw this commercial, I had to admit that I was very immpressed with it.  When I say it, I don't mean the phone, I mean the commercial.  In very few words, the commercial grabbed your attention and made a statement.  We have all heard the "Can you hear me now?" slogan that Verizon uses.  This commercial used our familiarity with the slogan and made a very effective ad.  I loved it!  It was probably my favorite Superbowl ad simple because it was executed so well.  The point was clear. 

Loves!

Pay it Forward!!!

 

I promise to make a handcrafted item in 2011 & mail to the FIRST 5 people who comment that they would like to join in, only asking in return that you post this on your blog and offer 5 people something you make by hand and mail to them this year.

Sounds like fun doesn't it?

Not sure WHAT I will make yet but I can promise you that I will put my hands, time, love & creativity into something cute!

I hope you decide to join in and Pay It Forward with crafty love!

Process Book: JOY

This week my inspiration is supposed to be inspired by joy.  I think it is funny when we are instructed to be inspired by a certain topic!  How exactly can one tell you what you must be inspired by and also expect it to work?  Well, luckily I was able to find some joy inspired inspiration this week.  Here are some of the things I put in my process book for the week: (click on the pictures to find out where they came from)

Received in the mail

Received in the mail

Received in the mail

Received in the mail from Lauren