First set of bear pillow and booties for A Bear & A Pair. This morning I worked on tags - good thing Kim caught a grammatical error on the first batch of tags I made. I missed an “a” before pair. This is what happens when I rush and get really impatient. But, the mistake was a fortunate one because I like our new tags a lot more. We are using a more natural looking ribbon with raw edges. I switched green ink to brown, and I was able to make the label two-sided. Front has a bear & a pair, the back has our bear face logo. Fantastic.

We’re still working on the booties.. we may scrap the current design for something a little more sewing machine friendly.

If you’re interested, we’re selling these sets here: abearandapair.etsy.com :)

A trade with Mark Walat resulted in me receiving super cool stuff from a way talented guy.

Anicase (Siberian Tiger) and Jed McGowan’s Lone Pine. Excellent book.

I would love to trade more drawings!

a bear & a pair

That’s what we’re calling it. Bear pillow + a pair of slip-on shoes for babies.

Thanks to my mom for her amazing sewing skills, this will be a mother & daughters collaborative effort.

Our first set is being donated to help fundraise for a local school. Hopefully this will help us get the name out. I’m setting up an Etsy shop right now, but will wait for more bears to be made so I can take some better photos.

I lost my Kindle. I’m very bummed. Since purchasing this device several months ago, I’ve read 9  books which is more than I’ve read in years.

I used to be one of those who was against reading off a device. I would argue the tactile satisfaction of holding a book in your hands, turning the pages, dog-earing specific pages for reference, and having shelves and shelves of books would all be lost if we were turning to electronic gadgets for reading.

It wasn’t until I saw someone using a Kindle that I was inspired to try it. I love it. The Kindle has been my best purchase so far. I take it with me everywhere - or rather, I took it with me :(

I still want a library in my dream house.. I also still read books and will continue to buy books. Especially for RJ and my kids when I have them. Books will never be lost to me. They are and always will be an essential part of my learning and entertainment.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is one of my favorite places to visit. It isn’t the biggest and doesn’t have a ton of exhibits, but there’s something about being there with the fish that I like. The crowds were out in full force, but I was still able to get some good shots.

The tiger is from a booth that was promoting conservation of wildlife. They had lions, alligators, a polar bear, some other pieces of deceased animals and it was freaky. Even though I knew they weren’t alive, I felt at any moment they’d spring to life and I’d be lunch.

I didn’t win the TDAC contest, but I am glad I submitted an entry. I’m looking forward to their next competition..

I’ve been drawing. During meetings, conference calls, random breaks throughout the day. I used this app called Signote to make the drawing above. I superimposed a drawing onto a photo I took at the beach. It’s a pretty neat app. Nothing like a bunch of stray cats on a barnacle beach right?

How do I motivate myself to start new projects?

Pretty much by scouring the internet for inspiration. There is so much out there being done by so many people. The tiniest hint at an idea is all I need. I like when ideas snowball and become this frantic race to Make Something Now. Too bad it happens most when I’m at my day job.

I’ve been searching for a new compact camera. After a couple days of research, I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with the pancake lens. PANCAKE! I mean, c’mon. How awesome is that going to be to tell people I’m shooting with a pancake lens. And then, to draw happy pancake bears all over my photos.

I will admit, I’m a bit delirious… 

Lasagna is calling me!

They Draw and Cook are hosting yet another contest. This time, it has to do with Kraft. Now, I grew up eating Kraft American grilled cheese sandwiches, mac & cheese and their range of dressings - when I read about this contest, I immediately knew what I was going to draw. My mom’s 7-layer dip. I’m pretty sure my mom wasn’t the originator of this recipe, but it’s definitely something we would have at birthday parties. Through the years, several variations have been made - some have included more gourmet ingredients and some are downright “ghetto” - using Frito Lay bean dip + nacho cheese. Regardless of what the ingredients are, 7-layer dip is Mr. Popular.

It was nice to have a project to set my sights on. I’ve been floating kind of aimlessly lately - mostly due to my rampant reading, busier social life and obsession with Triple Town. I have to say, the iPhone 4s camera isn’t helping either. I’ve not picked up the SLR in over a month.. so sad.

Things are gonna change.. time to get back into the routine of making stuff and documenting along the way.

It’s rare that I’m caught in the act.

I am a horrible model. LL asked me to pose for a photo and I became a statue. Stiff, awkward, wishing I could disappear into thin air, smiling then not smiling, looking off into the distance and then feeling very self-conscious, she takes a photo and all that is completely evident in the photo. I look like a mannequin!

Luckily, LL takes amazing photos and has an incredible knack of taking pictures of me when I least expect them.

So, here I am, behind the scenes. I was shooting a Joshua tree with a particularly hairy trunk using my handy-dandy swivel screen to help with the angle. Of course, a quick review to make sure I didn’t fudge it up!

One of my favourite photos I took of Leilei during our Joshua Tree excursion. I wasn’t at all prepared to take portraits, but the sun worked with me and with a bit of playing Twister with the rocks, I was able to get some nice shots.

Being out there, on the big open desert, made me realise how lucky I am to live in a state with so much to see and do within one day.

I plan on returning to Joshua Tree and staying a night or two. I can’t even begin to imagine what I could shoot at night, with those big open skies.. 

The gloss enamel I sprayed onto the beads is not working well. The beads are sticky, gummy to the touch. I researched different sealants for polymer clay and concluded that Varathane wood finish might be the best bet for me. Especially since I want these beads to be worn by people for a very long time.

A trip to the hardware store is in the works!