New Photography Pieces

Much of yesterday and today's "downtime" were spent tinkering around with some older photos I took during my 2008 Ireland trip. Two are finished, not sure if I'm going to bother with the others.

If you notice in my shop, much of my pieces have a dreamy, washed out, lo-fi feel, so I'm trying to keep with the general theme. I don't own an iPhone, nor have I ever used Instagram - all of the effects you see below were made from scratch.

The Irish landscape images were altered using adjustment layers for contrast, saturation, vignetting, and curves. Extra layers were used for overlaying airbrushing (one layer per color), which were then blurred and set in varying modes to achieve the light leaks one would get from old Holga cameras. The black "viewfinder" frame in the first image was actually an original stock pic I took through my Kodak Duaflex II camera, layered over the image.

Thoughts? Critiques? I'll try to get them listed in my photography shop later tonight and will post the links here.

"Drifting Through the Haze"

"Road Tripping Across the Countryside"

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Post-Valentine's Day Post

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day went well. The SO and I agreed that we shouldn't be arsed with getting each other flowers, cards, etc. this time around, so we stayed in all day relaxing. We started the early afternoon (yes, we got to sleep in!) with breakfast in bed of bacon, eggs, and french toast with a bit of honey (my guy took his bread regular toasted).

For dinner, we whipped up some champ w/ sauteed onions and mushroom, and grilled big-ass slabs of steak.

Totally conquered, like a BAWSS.

For dessert, which happened a few hours later due to being too stuffed, I made chocolate-dipped strawberries. They didn't look as presentable as I'd hoped, but they still tasted groin-grabbingly good.

And to cap off the night after a nice massage, a glass of this:


One would think that after omnomming on so much calorie-laden food, an extra couple of pounds would be expected on the scale the following day, but...nope. Lost about .4 lbs and down to my lowest weight so far. :D Go me.

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I haz been featured!

Or rather, Mr. Llwynog, the fancy red fox has been. Many thanks to Rachel W.K.! Also, check out the fantastic prints made by talented Etsy artists.

Click the image to check out the "Foxy Love" blog entry by RWKrafts. To purchase the print, go here.

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Haven't done this in a while...

O look, I actually drew something that's not work-related. I rarely get to kick back with my sketchbook and draw for fun. Recently, I've been playing catch-up with orders and tons of messages that have been unfortunately neglected due to some bug I caught last week. Spent much of my time trying to keep warm either by curling up under tons of blankets or hobbling around the house layered in coats and sweaters like a hobo.

Many apologies to those who had their orders delayed. I did not wish to get my nasty germs all over your items. Hopefully in the future, illness will not rear its ugly head in my household often.

So yup, I was inspired to make a relatively quick/crappy sketch (shown below) after being amused by what the admin said (as quoted in said pic) in a comment on J'zargo's FB page.



Sorry if J'zargo looks wonky here, it's been years since I drew any anthropomorphic-related art. Hopefully the kitty-mage of awesomeness won't go all Palpatine on my arse.

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Kimono Photo Shoot!

Recently, I got my coveted shishi nagoya obi in the mail:

Awww yeeeah!

...and I took some time off to get dolled up in kimono and do a little photo shoot. I wore my red/cream yabane komon with my new obi, accessorized 'em with a navy/white han eri, pale green shibori obiage and dusty red/green obijime. I also wore my white zori with mustard yellow floral print hanao (thong straps of the zori sandals), but those aren't pictured due to the room wasn't big enough to get all of me in frame.

Also, I really need to buy more obi accessories and zori, because I'm severely lacking in those departments.


EDIT: It's been so long since I wore kimono that I forgot to keep the sleeve openings at the back, not leave them at the front. *headdesk* My bad. Will definitely keep that in mind next time.

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100th Fan Giveaway!

Okay, so my last giveaway with the Temple Bar print wasn't successful. Perhaps this Bob Corgman scarf will be more enticing:

You can win the scarf simply by doing this: "Like" my Yay for Fidget Art! FB page.

The 100th person to fan my page eez de winnar.

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New Prints

It's been a while since I've listed new photography prints. I was rifling through the hundreds of pics I took during my previous trips to Ireland and stumbled on a few that I couldn't resist tinkering with in Photoshop.

Click the images to head over to their listings.

"Clock Tower" 8x8" Print (5x5" version coming soon)

"Irish Summer at Dawn" 8x8" Print

5x5" version available here

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2012 Resolutions and Year-End Review

And so, another year passes. 2011, you have been a harsh mistress and you won't be missed. I know that many of you have had a rough year as well. There have been a few highlights, but overall - pretty blah. Here's hoping that 2012 will be more forgiving.

The list below not only contains my next set of resolutions, but also a review on what I've accomplished.

1) Reach my goal weight - I've lost about 33lbs. this year and whittled down from a size 8 to a size 4US (or 3/5 juniors). Yay! So I've accomplished my weight loss goal (20lbs.) and went 13 lbs. beyond that. My friend, Jane got me hooked on MyFitnessPal (username is mjrojas if you wish to add me), a free online diary where you can keep track of your daily fitness and caloric intake. Using this diary has made me become more conscious of what and how much I eat, as well as motivate me to exercise more. It's been very well the far most effective weight loss plan I've ever used - and I've done 'em all!

Now all I need is to lose the last 15lbs., which I should achieve come this spring. I wanna buy up and rock some skinny jeans in all the colors of the rainbow!

2) I've surpassed my 300 sales goal, that is if you count all sales outside of Etsy. I'm still adding up the total, but I know it's far more than 300. Perhaps I should go for 1,000 in 2012?

3) Accomplished goal #3 by partaking in Underground Artists Market's fall craft show. Not that many people showed up due to the freak snowstorm that weekend, but I managed to make some sales and network with a some wonderful vendors and and a few customers.

I'll definitely try to participate in more craft shows, especially People's Choice. I will need to invest in an EZ-Up tent and stuff to outfit said tent. I still prefer indoor craft shows, though. :P

4) I didn't get to take Marduk out for as many walks as I'd like to this year, due to work and personal stuff, but I'll try harder this time. I'd love to take up hiking, just some easy trails for us.

5) Again, did not achieve the interior re-painting for parts of the house, and I still have the floor left to scrub and paint in the art studio. Will try to get the formal living room done this January and go from there.

6) I finally got around to replacing the nasty 20+ year-old carpeting in the den with some gorgeous acacia hardwood flooring that I got on clearance at SimpleFloors. I still have to find proper matching thresholds (the most difficult task) and install those, but other than that, it's all done.

7) Hallway bathroom renovation has not been done yet, although I don't really count this as a goal. I did acquire some new hardware and accessories and have also found the toilet, tub, vanity, tiles and fixtures I want to buy.

8) I did manage to work on some kimono and kanzashi stuff for myself and for a few clients. Hope to make plenty more of the stuff this time around, I've been drafting out some concepts for a new collection. I even snatched up a nice ro silk momiji bolt that will be turned into a hikizuri.

9) Did not get into RCIA this year. My friend, Ant has attempted to contact the local parish several times but got no response. I even went down there by myself to find the office closed. By his last attempt, it was already too late. :/ Oh well, just need to make more in-person visits.

10) Need to better organize my shtuff - take care of things right away, not at the last minute. Trying not to pile so much work on my plate.

11) And last, but not least, is to try not to overwork myself and relax more. I really need to get back to doing more personal artwork and try to venture out of this boring town. I could kill for a vacation right about now, or at the very least, a nice day at a spa.


What's your New Year's resolution?

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And yet another holiday sale

For those of you who missed my Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, fear not - I'm holding another special:

US Buyers: Free First Class domestic shipping! Enter USFREESHIP at checkout.

International Buyers: Get 10% off your entire order! Enter INTLTAKE10 at checkout.

Good until 12.31.11. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Sorry, holiday special does not apply to wholesale orders. Please use the appropriate coupon code as accordingly.

(Click the images to head over to my shops)

Kanzashi Shop

Yay for Fidget Art!

Photography Shop

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New shirt design

Mock-up of my latest design - a fat, little kinglet perched on a branch of blossoming ume. I'll probably tweak with the design a bit more like adding a few falling petals and whatnot, but this is pretty much what I was going for.

I can totally see this being printed on the front of a zip-up hoodie or other cute winterwear. What do you guys think of the design?

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