You Awards (On sticky)

Advertorial

You know, I've thought that I have a really cute butt, but there seems to be no contest for me to join to show off my ... erm... favourite asset! Perhaps you also suffered the agony of braces for years and want more than praises for your teeth? Or perhaps you have a really toned physique and you think you deserve more than just appraising looks for it?

Well congrats then coz it is Watsons' annual YOU AWARDS, the award that's all about you! And you can actually win money for looking good!

Watson came up with a grand total of 8 categories for people to pit against each other! No 'butt' category, but they do have:

Healthy Hair
for hair that gives you confidence throughout the day

Fit Figure
for the body that is taut, toned and full of energy.

Flawless Face
for a face made amazing with make-up magic

Healthy Skin
for a skin that glows with health and radiance

Friendly Face (Female)
for the face that speaks the universal language of friendship

Friendly Face (Male)
for the face that speaks the universal language of friendship

Sunny Smiles
for the smile that lights up the room when you walk in

Sporty Physique
for the body that loves exercise and the great outdoors

So many!

With 8 different awards it's much easier to win isn't it? Honestly, just pick whatever you think has the least people join and go join it! OK I can't decide which one that is... I guess less people have fit figures? But I can't join that...

Ahem. Anyway, to entice you to read on I have to let you know the amazing prizes!



Wait for it...



Wait...

$2,000 for the winner of each category

PLUS

1 year modeling contract for Glow magazine

PLUS

1 year's supply of the sponsors' products!

Great prizes or what!

And to register is surprisingly easy! Check out the simple registation page here.

All you have to do is to keep a Watsons receipt (any amount will do!) and fill up the form by telling Watsons why you think your feature is unique in 400 words or less.

And then post up 2 photos of yourself! Easy right?


Now, just because I'm a Know-it-all like that, here's some pointers on how I think you can have a better chance of winning 2 categories... Flawless Face and Sunny Smiles!!


First, dress up in nice clothes and preferably a noticeable accessory! First step to being shortlisted is to be noticed!! (Mine is the hairband)

You have to put make up though, being bare-faced is obviously lame for a make-up contest.

Ugly without make-up

Everyone who knows me knows I've been using ZA's two way cakes ever since I was 13! It has always been my favourite!

Recently Andie introduced to me Revlon's awesome liquid soft-flex foundation and it has officially joined my make up family!

It's really, really cool! The foundation has a crazy magic formula that lets it stay on your face for HOURS AND HOURS. The texture is a little like... deodorant. You know how when you put deodorant you can't really 'rub' it off? It's like that! But powdery!

And miraculously enough it doesn't ever (EVER) let your t-zone shine, no matter how oily your skin is. Marvellous.

However, I don't like the colour as much as I do ZA's powders, so I do a mixture of Revlon on T-zone and Za all over.


(And btw these are really my own opinions Revlon is totally not paying me to say this)

Put a little on your sponge just like that.



Spread it evenly... Apply ZA...

And your base is done!



Glam up your peekers with loads of mascara!

On my lower lashes - Loreal's lash fibres and Rimmel's mascara as the second coat because it's a nice shade of brown.

And my eyes are done!


Next step is for Sunny Smiles!

First you go brush your teeth real clean!!!


And then...

Remember to apply lip colour because nobody wants to see pale and cracked lips!


You can cam-whore while you are at it:

There! You are all ready to take photos! First for your Flawless Face Award...

Have a few for selection.

You can try the classic act chio pose...

Or I'd suggest a pose more special so that you get noticed!



Like this? :D


And as for the Sunny Smiles Award...

Just make sure you are feeling really happy when you are taking it, because a smile can always reach your eyes, and those are the best kind of smiles!


Now that you've got your photos, make sure the pictures you have are clear, sharp and bright!

Then you can send them in HERE.

Recruitment is open from now till June 10th only so hurry!


AND WAIT!

If you are not interested to join in the contest, you can still join in the fun by voting!

Voters also get prizes! The 8 lucky voters who correctly vote for the correct category winners will stand to win attractive product hampers each worth up to $50 in value and a $100 Watsons Voucher!

However, voting only starts on the 18th of June so there's a long way to go.


If you are joining, Good luck! =D

another tutorial watercolor

this is a full sheet watercolor -- of a swamp botanical that i've been painting the last few days.

it's not done.. and probably won't be done for a while... as i am fatigued with it... i don't like solving a paintings when i am not enthusiastic.

i always find it best... to set aside paintings in mid state -- after the struggle... and let them 'rest.' they can sit around the studio -- out of sight... until a time when i look at them.. and feel compelled to answer the last problems with 'fresh eyes and insight.'

over the last year... i have come to see that this is the best way for me to work.

it's as though.. i have the 'gun-ho' attitude through the beginning and middle of painting... then lose the tempo.... or become distracted.

to finish it.... in a less than devoted state.. would be a disservice to the work and the message.

returning to a painting after a rest time... . allows me the clarity of perspective as well as the ability to make decisions that are 'right' and not timid~!

so... stay tuned for the last state of this piece later in the month.


Dizzy
watercolor
40" h x 30" w Arches 300 lb cp
2009 unfinished

HOPEFUL

Heather Wynn of swoondimples.etsy.com offers words of inspiration, love, and hope in her creations. Her designs are original and lovely, and the messages are simply disarming.

More about Heather and her art is in her blog, swoondimples.blogspot.com

That Rose Campion--she seemed like such a nice girl!

Lychnis coronaria (Rose Campion) Photo: Stockxpert

Rose Campion. She sounds like a demure little plant, doesn’t she? Her Latin name is Lychnis coronaria. Again, nothing to give you a clue about her feisty nature.

Lychnis coronaria’s looks are nothing to write home about. She grows from a basal rosette of fuzzy, gray-green leaves and sends up many branching stems almost three-feet tall, with small, magenta flowers in early summer.

She’s no Homecoming Queen. So where does she get the tremendous self-confidence required to take over one of my perennial beds?

She came to my garden more than 15 years ago, as a gift to the previous owners. They were quite amused when she self-seeded in the shady edges near the back fence. She's a biennial, so one year would pass with few appearances from her, and the following year her flowers would be a happy surprise.

All that changed when she moved up in the world and got a toehold in a perennial bed.

No one invited her, she just showed up. Wanting to be polite to a new girl in the neighborhood, I let her hang out with the much prettier and more popular girls, the Tall Bearded Irises and herbaceous Peonies. Apparently the compost tea went to her head like wine.

Next thing I knew she was being rude to the perfectly nice Shasta Daisies, who never caused anyone any trouble.

Now she’s everywhere, grabbing attention as if she were Paris Hilton. I think she even has a Twitter account.

Only the mule deer seem able to ignore her.

Some of my gardener friends say they’d like her to come visit them, since she doesn’t mind the blistering foothills sun and doesn’t need a lot of water after the first summer.

Just watch out. She seems like a sweet little thing, but she’s a Mean Girl at heart.

© Daffodil Planter 2009. All rights reserved.

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EDUCATIONAL

These original hair sticks and Steampunk Squid necklace are from the shop of Sheryl Westleigh, noadi.etsy.com.

Sheryl is inspired (in her own words) “by a love of marine animals (especially the cephalopods), science, and all things weird and wonderful” and is eager to share her knowledge. The listings in her Etsy shop read like a fantastic illustrated encyclopedia of marine life. Here is for example, an excerpt from her description of the octopus hair sticks: “Octopus are cephalopods like squid, cuttlefish and the nautilus. They are extremely intelligent non-vertibrates including having problem solving abilities. There are over 300 different species ranging from the penny sized Octopus Wolfi to the 14 foot diameter North Pacific Giant Octopus”.

CONTRASTING

Contrast between smooth and rough is a signature element of Jan Geisen.

...At least for now! Jan says: “Polymer clay is such an amazing medium that I still haven’t exhausted its possibilities, so you will probably see my style change as I discover new ways of working with the clay.”

I love Jan's current designs and hope the future ones will be as interesting as these.

See more of Jan's work at her web site, www.jangeisen.com.

Happy Day

Today I delivered a watercolor that I sold to a terrific client. She and her husband had also bought a few paintings of mine before. The acrylic on paper is a large painting I did about 12 years ago -- titled Insomnia.

I really enjoyed seeing it!

The Tulips for Emily watercolor will go in her dining room.

It was a lovely day -- visiting with her -- and seeing her beautiful home.


Insomnia
acrylic/paper
70" h x 50" w
1992


Tulips for Emily
watercolor
35" h x 28" w
2008

Bali!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gonna go to Bali for a sponsored 4 day holiday! Lucky or what!

I've always want to go there but this is my virgin trip. *crazed smile*

I'm gonna be honest with you guys... Don't think I'd update the blog blog part of the blog, but for sure I'd update the Photo of the Moment and Twitter!

So come come to check for my holiday pictures before I even blog about them normally! :D

I checked and the roaming data price is 2c per 1kb. How much is that exactly? I guess I just won't be excessive.

Anyway I'm so happy coz I can take beautiful shots with my new camera! So excited!!!

I already put it into a waterproof bag (Juicy, no less) to prevent the same thing from happening to my old Cybershot (ie drowned in sea water together with phone). FML.

p/s: I cannot understand why any of you think that the jerboa is not cute. Just because it looks nothing like we've ever seen before doesn't mean it's not cute what!

NAIVE

The primary source of inspiration for Isabelle d'Hauterive (Isabel Art) is her childhood memories, and it shows in her figurines – cute, somewhat naïve, and bursting with energy.

Isabelle's artist statement is one of the best I've seen. She says: “My artistic vision has but one goal: Giving life to an emotion that incites a smile.”

Make sure to visit her web site for more smiles.

Vote for your favorite summer herb

It's 86 degrees, the end of May--all danger of a late frost is past. Time to plant tender herbs in Zone 7! 

I know I want sweet basil. 

I have five redwood planters that came with the house and they'll be my summer herb garden on the deck, near the kitchen door. One for sweet basil, one for peppermint, one for chocolate mint.

What to grow in the fourth and fifth planters? Our garden is already full of rosemary and lavender. Does anyone go wild for cinnamon basil? Lemon verbena? Maraschino cherry sage? What's your summer can't-live-without-it herb?

Cast your ballots and I'll plant the top two winners!

To vote, click on the word COMMENTS below

Wishcasting: What Treat Do You Wish For?

Hello Dumplings! *
It’s Wishcasting Wednesday and this week our Wishtress Jamie tempts us with the question:

What frivolous treat do you wish for?

Delightful.
Indulgent.

I love it.

However, upon further examination my wish is more a fulfillment of fantasy than frivolous whim—a quenching if you will. I wish for an opportunity, just one chance, one amazing night for my jazz combo, The Famous Graves to step out and show the city what kind of guts and rhinestones we’re made of! One night with all the trimmings; the blue light, the crimson carpet, the chrome microphone, the satin gown that makes Julie London jealous and an audience that understands—craves—what’s being shown to them.

Anna, Patrick, Alex and Myself. Photo by Rick Penaloza. Click for more photos.

--A night that makes the crowd pine for a more glamorous moment in time where Torch song was Queen, clean shaven men spoke in cigar smoke and the red lipped ladies smoothed out their gloves while snorting diamonds.

A night dripping with decadence.

I wish for The Famous Graves to get the Chance we need.

I’ve got my fingers busy working on arranging such an evening for Milwaukee’s Fall Gallery Night with the help of other local artists, music lovers, fashion designers, movers and resident shakers! I'm going to be pouring all the energy, magic, resources and juices I've got into this one--Wish me luck, my pretties!

Now, what sort of delicacy do you wish for yourself?
Wish Lavishly, darlings! May all of your musings manifest!

*

P.S. My latest fiber and dye works posted here if you want to peek!

I want I want I want! Pygmy Jerboa....

Saw this link from Perez Hilton's tweet.

This cannot possibly be real. It's the maddest cutest thing EVER in the WORLD!

My god I totally want one so bad!!!!!! How can there be something real that's so cute?!?!

It's so cute it's actually making me feel a bit sick. Like seriously!

*makings coo-ing noises*

*whips out credit card*

So where do I buy one??

LUMINOUS

Desert Talismans, the shop of Dawn Wilson-Enoch, amazes me in many ways.

Look for example, at her polymer clay bracelets, combining gently-tinted translucent polymer clay, new bronze clay, and sands from deserts in Arizona and California.

I enjoy the tribal aesthetics and clever construction of her necklaces and earrings, and can study them for hours. Although the ones in her shop now do not include polymer clay among the list of materials, I am almost sure that Dawn uses it in her other works. There are many organic elements in her work that made me look really close to check if they were made of polymer clay or something else.

What I love the most about this shop is its general theme, the feel it creates, the reflection of Dawn's passion for deserts that shows in every design, every picture, and every description.

The Most Wonderful Dream

Hello DearHearts~

It's been an UP DOWN UP DOWN wonky tonk week--meetings, rehearsals, work, crazy dreams, an apartment purge and a roadtrip to the Twin Cities! I plan to take the rest of this week to hibernate, rejuvenate and update. I feel similar to a deflated spit filled balloon at this point: very busy but not particularly productive. A spot of Molly Time is in order. I've been slowly but surely been documenting work and preping surfaces for new summer time painting projects. And finally, FINALLY, I have the completed fibers projects documented. Huzzah! Here She Be!

"...the most wonderful dream..."

paper rope, yarn, cut papers, cheese cloth, glass beads

"By employing the natural tendencies of the materials and borrowed references from origin myths, I have chosen to illustrate my own fabricated creation story. According to Australian aboriginal myth, The Dream Time was an amorphous period prior to the creation of the cosmos. It was a time of incubation, great energy and divinity. I chose to use the spiral for its symbolic associations with beginnings, growth, continuation and infinity. The central figure represents a sleeping goddess, whose posture alludes to infancy, as she dreams the universe into existence one tendril at a time. The swirling shapes are reminiscent of plant roots, cobwebs, and organic matter with references to unrefined growth and naturally occurring materials that are simultaneously in a state of expansion and decay."

*

"Hecate's Veil"
Cotton cloth, cheese cloth, dye, glass beads, sequins, bells, found objects

The veil on its wig stand.

The veil in action.

"The Greek goddess Hecate was a mysterious deity whose realms included all things dark and strange. She was called “Queen of The Night”, the Dark Moon and Keeper of Witches. Her subjects included sleeping dreamers and the wandering spirits of the deceased. Though she watched over the dead, she is not a bringer of death, but instead called upon to ease pain, help in passing on into the next world or insight in making decisions. Because of her incredible powers of foresight, she was credited with bringing mortals information in the form of prophetic dreams. It was said she could part the Veil of Time to reveal messages to those who appeased her. This piece draws upon the goddess’s bizarre and unsettling nature by using a subdued pallet juxtaposed against bits of sparkling materials reminiscent of dew and cobwebs. In making this work, the artist’s objective was to create a garment that might be worn by the goddess, a priestess performing a rite in Her honor or an Oracle inspired by Hecate’s wisdom. The viewer is invited to wear the piece and experience its textures, sounds and smells in a more intimate way. "

Silly process story: I wanted this project to be interactive and I thought it was important for this garment to have a particular smell. So, I rounded up a sage bundle and some bay leaves and built a little hot house for the veil to rest in while I burned some herbs to give it just the right earthy funk. Now normally, a sage smudge only burns for a few seconds before going out...normally. I walked away from the project to go stir a dye bath only to return to my project--you guessed it--on fire. The ENTIRE sage bundle had burned to nothing but ashes including the twine holding it together! Luckily, the project burned in the best way possible, looked rad, was super SUPER stinky AND my apartment didn't burn down! My apartment, even after two weeks, still smells like a camp fire.

Was Hecate watching?

Perhaps.

I like to think so anyway. ;)

*

Until next time, my Pretties--

Much Joy and Merry Making!