Taco Tuesday: slurp.

Keep it clean, folks.

Happy Winter Solstice, or whatever you want to celebrate when the days get short.

Make it furry and bright, whatever it is.

And messy.  Definitely make it messy.

polka dot ascot owl

 

 Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

This one I actually sent in to Mail Me Some Art, for the brown postcard swap.

Hopefully, there will be some new swaps in January.

:)

Taco Tuesday - how to give a cat a psychological complex

It started as a joke...for the humans.
Anytime Taco was being bad (and that was often while he was a kitten)
we'd just use the remote control to flip the lights on and off.
It wasn't all that ominous until we also started saying things, like, The fan knows. The fan watches all.
There may have been some ghostly woo-woo-ing.
Everything is better with sound effects.
Maaaaaaaaaaybe we kicked it up a notch by switching the ceiling fan on, or up to a higher speed.

We didn't think all of our efforts did much except, perhaps, distract him from naughtiness, like stealing papers or chewing cords or what-have-you.

But then I started to notice that anytime there was a loud noise - construction from next door, a thump, truck traffic from outside - Taco would exit the room very swiftly.  Or, if I was holding him at the time, he'd twist and turn and struggle to get away.  By the time he got to the floor, the offending noise would be over.  Then he'd either glare accusingly up at the fan (obviously only when he's feeling cheeky) or stare up in fear, and sort of slink out of the room.

Now, pretty much anytime he's startled, he'll visually check on the fan while taking cover.  Sometimes being under the coffee table is enough "cover".  Sometimes he has to leave the room.
I have, on rare occasions, seen him belly-crawl across the room, as if to escape the notice of the fan.
But only in the summer, when the fan is actually moving.  That's when the threat of the fan weighs most heavily on his little kitty brain.
Taco is terrified of the ceiling fan.

 I feel a little bit guilty about giving him a complex...but I have to admit...I also feel a little bit accomplished.

So, remember, kids, be good, not because Santa knows if you've been naughty or nice,
but because THE FAN KNOWS ALL AND THE FAN SEES ALL.

Taco Tuesday - He's ready for his close-up!

Taco enjoys hanging out under tables, especially if there are piles of footwear nearby.

He also enjoys table legs.  Apparently they are good cheek-scratchers.

Oh, well. It's just about nap-time. See ya later!

Am I absolutely obsessed with cat faces right now?
Yep.
I just put these babies up in my shop today.
MORE CATS! MORE POSTCARDS!

chalkboard owl named Winston

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!


This adorable entry is from Lynn. (It's her second AnthroMAP card! Yeah, participation!)

I love the texture of the green board.  And the pinwheel hat - who doesn't love silly hats?
And the tiny bits of finger-like wings peeking through the sleeves? Perfect!

Lynn wrote,
"Winston did not enjoy giving book reports.
He was more of a numbers guy."

I believe it, especially with that teeny tiny pocket protector!

self-love through selfies

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And if I behold me, what do I see?

Well, me, obviously.
And Fangtooth, that's my shark puppet.

Sometimes I need a partner in crime for my selfies.  A little furry encouragement, if you will.

I actually don't like taking selfies all that much.  They make me feel very self-conscious.  And I know that I have to take about 50 billion before I get one that looks okay enough to show people.  That's a lot of editing, man.

But you know what I do like? Drawing. Taking pictures.  And it doesn't matter so much if they come out well (hence the 50 billion deleted selfies) because I enjoy the process.

Yeah, I hardly ever draw people or photograph portraits.  Usually I capture things...or just Taco.
But sometimes I run out of steam, creatively, and self-portraits are a really good exercise when you run out of subject matter.
Plus, you get to enjoy all that spotlight intensity without any stage fright...it's just you, after all.

I had a mirror, watercolor pencils, and some time to kill.

It's totally okay to stylize your portrait.  And make your eyes greener while you're at it, why not?

Or just go for the mostly-conceptual: I am a rainbow.
You guys, that's like art-magic - I just turned myself into a rainbow.


But MOSTLY - here's what I think about self-love.
Don't worry about it.
Do what you think is totally awesome, whatever it may be, and eventually, you'll realize that you are the totally awesome human being doing all of those awesome things.
Which sort of makes you awesome.

{self-love link up for uncustomary}

Happy December!

On the first day of the new month, I kicked into high gear for the holidays.
It's time to craft it up!

...Or in any case, it was definitely time to start making gift tags. 
Which I did.

In serious abundance.

How cute is this mix tape gift tag? SO CUTE.  I got it from the Yellow Owl Workshop, which is so full of adorable that it makes my eyes cross.

In the interest of giving, I'll be including these free gift tags with any orders at my shop this month.

My mom always managed to get to Christmas Eve without having wrapped anything, and she'd be in a panic about not having any gift tags at midnight. So this is definitely inspired by her.  :P

You can pick whether you'd like the Christmas ornament, or the all-occasion mix tape by leaving me a note during checkout. 
And if you don't say anything, then I get to pick! MUHAHAHA!

Have a Happy Everything!

about those Monthly Marvels the kids are all talking about...

I signed up for a Monthly Marvel in October, because I heard it will arrive by mid-month...and you know what's mid-month in October? My very own birthday! So that was my birthday present to myself this year.

First of all, it's quite an experience.  I woke up on my birthday, and headed out to the post office (where else would I want to hang out on my birthday?) - but WAIT. There's something at the bottom of the stairs.
It's big.
It's round-ish.
It's orange.

Hmm.
It's a pumpkin! Maybe my neighbor's kid forgot it?
Nope.
It's for me. It's got a mailing label that says so.

I tore back up the stairs, pumpkin clutched in my greedy little hands.

I managed to take some pictures before breaking in to the lid.

What a happy little pumpkin.

Here's the lid, which Mary had to fabricate.  I've never seen a pumpkin bucket with a lid, have you?

A first look inside the pumpkin reveals a Halloween-themed mixed CD, which I enjoyed greatly.
I might be partial; one of my favorite songs of all time happened to be on it.
(That's "Rock Lobster" by the B-52s, in case you were wondering.)
Plus, it's always good to have a CD full of dance tunes hanging around.  You never know when a dance party might break out.

More Halloween things than you can shake a stick at!
My personal favorite was the ring with a tiny glow stick in it.  Very fancy.

And of course, here's Taco, trying to get in on the fun.  He liked the glitter pumpkin and the dangle-y skeleton.

So, basically, if you're looking for a literal bucket full of fun and surprises to arrive on your doorstep, Monthly Marvels will surely quench your thirst for a mail adventure.

I kind of already can't wait for February...I might hazard a guess that it would be a better Valentine gift to myself than anything I could pick out.  :)

Thanks, Mary - you're doing a cool thing.

a halloween costume

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

If I were John's mom, I'd lighten up.
I made this postcard for the brown postcard swap, over at Mail Me Some Art.


(I don't really use brown all that much, but it's a little easier when the creature in question is generally brown. That's right. I cheat at art. All the time.)

And lately, and by lately I mean for the past 48 hours, I've been quite taken with cramming as many postage stamps and stamp-like things onto an envelope as I can manage.

I also really enjoyed the pastels & neutrals on the smaller envelope.
 I don't know what's wrong with me; usually it's all rainbow this, and neon that.
Maybe my eyeballs just need to take a breather.
(And in case you are feeling confused - that little envelope is so totally covered in rainbow bright colors what is she talking about? - that's just a card to cover the address. Ha. Gotcha.)

celebrate brazil

...and the things I learned while I was there.

+ Baby ocelots are painfully adorable (and extremely difficult to photograph).

- It's really scary to have your name announced over the PA on an airplane, especially in a language that you don't understand very well.

+ Toilets with a bidet-spray-thingie are pretty much the best invention of modern plumbing.

- When you buy an airplane ticket, the name you give them really should match your name on your passport.  They seem rather un-fond of cute nicknames.

+ Jaguars really do want to be friends with me!

- Don't cross the street and expect traffic to slow down for you.

+ Caipirinhas are extremely alcoholic.

- There exists a cheese that withstands the heat of grilling without melting.

+ Fresh fruit make the best juice ever.

- Money can fix a lot of problems, but it can't buy you ranch dressing if it doesn't exist.

+ "Dessert pizza" sounds foul but it it actually pretty tasty.

- Straight up mayonnaise isn't the worst salad dressing in the world, but I certainly don't recommend it.

+ Don't worry, you guys! Wal-Mart really does exist in Brazil.
*groan*

- These things (pictured above) are pork rinds, I guess, or close relatives of them.  But they did have the name of the city where we stayed right there on the bag.  Kinda yucky-tasting.

+ Shoe string fries are pretty addictive no matter what you call them, whichever language is on the bag.

- Green peas come in a bag, you guys! I was floored.  If I find a veggie in a bag, and it's not fresh, I expect it to be kept frozen...but no...this just hung out on the shelf.  Much like the milk, before it's opened.  (I had no idea that you could even DO that to milk. It's always in the fridge section at our grocery store.)

+ So, we thought this would be just like crushed red pepper flakes, which we use at home when we cook...but this is WAY hotter.  I'm just saying, a tiny pinch in a pot of food made my eyes water while I ate dinner.

And THAT, my friends, is how I celebrate learning things from traveling. For Mary, of course.


P.S. All those foreign food package photos are for you, A-M.  The grocery store was a serious challenge!

cut loose with an eyepatch

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

This one I actually sent out a couple of months ago, because of this crazy listing I have in my shop.
That's right, you don't have to send mail to get mail; you could just throw some cash down.

I don't know about you, but somehow the tie and eye patch combo seems rather dapper.
I'm not totally sure how that happened.

ice cream dream

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!


This time, it's teeny-tiny.  They're called MOO cards, apparently.  I'm kind of assuming that the name comes from the company that prints teeny tiny business cards.

I made them because one of the companies that I looooooooooove as a source for hilarious/intriguing rubber stamps is running a contest.  I entered, of course.

The expression on that dog's face is priceless.
From left to right, they are titled "Soleil" and "The Joker" and finally "Ice Cream Dream."

Or maybe it's a nightmare when you dream that you are nothing but a scoop of ice cream.  I don't know.

I am really, truly glad that I snapped this photo right after I finished drawing these cards, because *somehow* they all disappeared from the coffee table.
 Either my artwork went for a walk by itself
(highly unusual behavior - my artwork tends to be more of a couch potato)
...or someone four-footed and furry took them for a walk.
Ahem.  Taco.  He brought back "Ice Cream Dream" from wherever it was hidden...only now there is a fang mark in the corner.

Such is life with a feline.

cats have many secrets

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

Tentacles!
Hooray!

This one I sent out as a reply to Ann-Marie, who is fantabulous-ness personified.

flapper dress shopping with an owl

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

"After a very successful shopping spree, Cheryl was feeling fine and ready to raise the roof."

This hot little number came from Lynn, who keeps an interesting blog over at Sunny Room Art.

Ahh, fringe-covered, flapper-inspired dresses, and shopping! What's not to love?

I need to remind myself not to go on too many shopping sprees this month, because I tend to use my birthday as an excuse to buy things I've had my eye on for a while.
Ink.
Pens.
Art supplies.
Tea.
Clothes.
The list is nearly the same every year, in terms of categories, although the products change.  This year I want a pair of leggings that are purple and black and yellow and covered in a linear, tribal, triangular pattern.  Shh, don't tell, but I already bought them. The temptation was too great.
(Also, they will look fabulous with boots and dresses!)

Cheers to shopping sprees you can afford!   *clink*

math people

'Nuff said.

I sent this dude off to a friend a few months ago.
The background is a few pretty messed up sudoku puzzles that I did, back when I was on a sudoku kick ... (literally all summer long).

(How is is this anthropomorphic?
Maybe math brings out our inner animal.
I always used a trusty textbook to squish nearby threatening - possibly poisonous - bugs.)

victorian lady kitty

Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

I did promise that I would show Marsie's second submission.
Here it is!

Isn't she a lovely Victorian lady?
Look at all that gold! So shiny!
I'm really digging the gold lace doily pieces - it adds a nice texture & shine.
Thanks, Marsie!
(Don't fret, my replies are on the way, now that I'm back home!)

brazilian birds

 Okay, we're hanging out in a city, so we don't see a lot of wildlife.

This is the wildlife that comes to visit me.

But we did go to the zoo!

Don't worry, I took some photos.  (Two or three are even good enough to share!)
I tried to get a photo of the baby ocelot, because it is the cutest thing on Earth, but they all came out blurry.  It's exactly like when you try to take a picture of a kitten - he's always on the move.
Anyway, here are some more feathered friends.

Two black swans having a bit of a chat.

This ostrich wanted to have a chat with us.

I'm pretty sure he wants to be liberated.

This guy's got an impressive beak.

This bird has no head!  The amazing head-less wonder!

It reminds me of those scenes on tv shows where a criminal gets handcuffed and walked to the police car, but tries to duck his head out of sight.
He's a condor, by the way.

jaguar gentleman - in the mail, and at the zoo

This well-dressed dandy was a delight to find in my mailbox from one extra-special Marsie!

Stay tuned, because sometime in early October I will manage to clearly photograph Marsie's other submission to the Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project  - and it is beautiful, I assure you.

Marsie, as a mini-apology for my slowness in posting, please accept this photograph that I took on Saturday at the zoo in Sao Carlos, Brazil.

I really wanted to pet him.  I am pretty sure he wanted me to pet him, too.
Isn't he just gorgeous?
I love jaguars.

brazilian cars

So, we've been here about a week, and I heard that unmistakable crunch of metal...
It was a car accident, of course.
I wasn't surprised though, because the driving style here is to go fast, brake late, and try to ignore the existence of pedestrians.  I'm a bit miffed about that last one, since I am a pedestrian here all the time.

But anyway - from my bird's eye view up on our balcony, I could actually see the aftermath of the accident.
Don't worry, nobody was hurt.  Everybody hopped out of their cars and worked together to roll the disabled vehicles off to the sides of the road.

It's a pretty awkward intersection, so it's not hard to see how this happened.
My favorite part was when some dude - who wasn't involved in the mishap - and who wasn't even wearing shoes - just hopped out into the middle of the road and started directing traffic.  He actually did a pretty good job.  After the police arrived, there were two officers directing traffic, and they weren't facing each other...so they may have both told their oncoming lanes of traffic to go ahead at the same time.  Hmm. They sorted it out, though, after a minute.

Personally, I'd like to know how many flat tires needed to be fixed the next morning.  Hundreds of cars must have rolled through that pile of broken glass.

Across the street from the accident (and directly below the balcony) is this junkyard. 
If their cars are really messed up, they don't have far to go!

There are a TON of Volkswagen Beetles, though.  Actually, most of the cars on the road are pretty compact.  I've seen a few SUVs and minivans, but they certainly don't dominate the road here, like they do at home.

So that was my official concession to my New Jersey heritage - a quick chat about traffic.

If you drive, please be kind to pedestrians.  I get tired when I have to run across every sunbaked street.

Tchau!