Artist Focus: Sarah Jean Conroy

      I'm a little biased when it comes to Sarah's work. She's been my best friend since the first day of high school. She taught me how to draw. Her new work completely took me by surprise though. I don't think I've ever seen anything that I've ever loved more. It's dynamic and visually arresting. Kind of like her.

     Sarah is a twenty something from New London, CT. She works as an art teacher for alliance for living. An amazing organization that provides services for those affected by AIDS. She also has a thing for Steve Guttenburg and guys that know all the words to the final countdown.

Here is a small sampling of her work, sadly I think most have been sold.

If you want a painting or just to talk about molecular physics you can contact Sarah here: Sarah Jean

Embroidered Valentine Card DIY

I've spent today making easy embroidered Valentine's to send to the family. I thought I would share the idea and some tips. The hardest part was finding an appropriate phrase to encompass all the people in my life. I thought "Love" was a lot less creepy then sending "Be Mine" to my fiancés mother.

I was super inspired by Frankie Magazine and their simple hand stitched Valentines Day Cards.
All you need is some needle and thread, card stock and pretty buttons.
Tips: I found it a lot easier to punch the holes first and then sew.
You can cover the inside with more paper to hide the stitches, but I just let mine be. A little mess never hurt anyone. Enjoy!!! And Happy Valentines Day!

***Update***

Heres a few more finished products, including a birthday card

Growing Moss and a larger winter Bouquet

Last post I showed a miniature winter fress moss arrangement, that is happily still growing strong. Today I woke up to beautiful roses from my fiancé Jake. 

Beautiful but needed a little help. I took off in a bathrobe and no shoes to collect thing around the yard. It's rainy and muddy. It's Portland so this was probably not the best idea. My neighbors already kind of give me funny looks anyways. I picked some pine branches and something with thorns on it. (identification would be wonderful) and then went to gather moss. We have a very beaten grape trellis that moss just thrives on. I threw it all together and in minutes had this:

I used a little twine as a bow to keep within the rustic charm. It would be perfect if you were giving this as a gift. The only thing that bothered me is I've been using up so much moss on my projects and I think the garden would look awesome covered in it. So I found this simple recipe on How to grow Moss.

Moss Making Recipe:

• 2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of chopped-up moss (Fresh or Dried)

Mix until creamy and spreadable. If the mixture is too thick, add a small amount of water. If it’s too thin, add more moss.

Paint the mixture onto the new surface. You can allow the mixture to sit for a day or two, to start the process. You may get mold first, but by about week 6 you should see signs of moss.

I'm going on a moss making spree. This can be added to anything on stones, wood and brickwork. All with little effort and that enchanted forest feel. Will update as the garden starts to come to fruition.  

Simple Flower Alternative for winter

I live in Portland Or. In the winter it is wet and cold and unsuitable for me to adapt, let alone flowers. It doesn't deter my desire for some fresh greenery in the house. I just took a vintage medicine bottle, some dead sticks from our grape vines and moss (it grows on everything here). I filled the bottom up with water and arranged it in a way that was pleased my eye. I kind of just filled it with water on a whim and was quite happy that the moss seemed to thrive. A week later and it is still going strong. This isn't really DIY just an idea if you're desperate for some indoor plants and don't want to spend any money. I hope to do a bigger version soon.

Photographer Frieke Janssens Smoking Children Series

The imagery is absolutely stunning and the styling perfection in this series. The whole thing was inspired by the smoking chubby kid from indonesia whose video went viral awhile back. Hmmmm... I guess inspiration can come from anywhere. It's important to note that the children were never exposed to cigarette smoke and the meaning behind it is anti tobacco. Here's a couple of my favorites and the making of video.

The artist's website for all the images:
http://frieke.com

Muse Monday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Gall

 http://blow-up-doll.blogspot.com/ is my go to spot to discover new garage/girl pop music. It is fantastic.

I may die over this if I have to wait till March.

So the new Wes Anderson film is coming out. It looks absolutely perfect. I don't think I've ever been so jealous over a twelve year olds wardrobe. If the decorating of my house goes to plan, my dream of living in an Anderson film will come to fruition. But maybe not, unless the Belefonte was furnished on craigslist and prayers.