New Logo Designs

Been working on a couple of logos. The first one was done for work; the second one was done as a freelance project. Fun stuff.

Halloween Nails :D

K, so I just wanted to show off my Halloween-themed nail polish this year because I think it turned out pretty awesome. I pretty much used this how-to but first did a coat of red then sponged on the red+black gradient. It was super easy! I'll definitely be doing this again some time. :)

 

WWII Letters Home

Not too long ago, my parents gained access to a collection of letters written by my father’s father and his family during WWII. To help preserve the collection, and to share the letters with family and whoever else would like to read them, I created a blog and have been posting them all online. So far I've only posted the letters from 1941 (the year he was sent to basic training), but I'll continue to post the others -- and there's LOTS -- as I get the chance to scan them all in.

Letters Home: One Family's Correspondence During WWII

The earliest letter we have (which I recommend starting with since, when read in order, these letters read almost like a book) is somewhat heartbreaking because JD (that's my grandfather) is talking about how horrible boot camp is and hoping that he'll be able to get out of it. He mentions in the letter that a bunkmate of his has even threatened to cut off one of his hands (the bunkmate’s hand, not JD’s) when he goes home on temporary leave so that the army won't want him back. Not all of the letters are as "heavy" as the first one, but throughout that first year of letters, JD and his family continue to search for ways of getting him out of service.

My father initially wanted me to omit the letters that spoke of trying to get JD discharged, but for me, those letters make the people in them seem more real, tangible, and sympathetic because they show the reality of the situation they were in: a son and brother drafted into the military who, just like every other man drafted at that time in history, is justifiably and undeniably afraid of going to war. Admittedly it's not the most honorable or flattering side of the story to show, and I know this aspect is not one often talked about when it comes to the Greatest Generation, but I found it to be so relatable and almost like a window into these people’s lives.

Fortunately my dad and his brothers decided to allow these letters to remain on the blog so that others can see in them the same thing that I do. Because ultimately JD did end up serving his country, and he did so honorably and bravely.

Etsy Update

Having sold five of my Viva la Rebelución prints over the past month, I consider my Etsy shop to be a moderate success! :) I even got my first positive feedback the other day in spite of the print arriving damaged due to post office mishandling. Sadly, however, I heard from that seller yesterday and she told me that her husband accidentally threw away the print because it was still in its packaging and he didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm saddened to hear of the untimely demise of one of my paper babies, but I know others will be well taken care of and live long happy lives. So here's to you, Print No. 20 of 21! I know you're hanging happily framed in the eternal gallery in the sky!

In related news, I'd like to sell some of my other prints that I made in college, though I'm not sure they'd do as well since I don't think there's quite as much demand for them. But who knows? They might wind up being more popular than I think. We'll just have to see...

Introducing “Our Pet Diaries”

For a few years now, the hubby and I have been keeping "pet journals" for our dogs just so we can make note of fond memories as well as any health things that come up with the dogs (and the cat is in there too). After I was cleaning up my Documents folder one day, I decided that it would be easier to update the journal if I just turned it into a blog! That way I can add tags to each new entry which will make it much easier to reference and organize. After a couple weeks of converting everything over into the new blog format, it's finally (mostly) up to date!

Check it out!

So I've finally set up a shop on Etsy...

...and my first items for sale are a series of linocut posters featuring "The Colonel" in black and red on white Stonehenge paper. Any true Ole Miss fan would be proud to own one, so check it out! And, um, buy something. >_> Just sayin'.

Click here to visit my Etsy shop!

How to Make "Game of Thrones" Lemon Cakes

As HBO's Game of Thrones premiere quickly approaches, I know many folks (myself included) are planning a get-together to celebrate. HBO was kind enough to give us a wonderful Lemon Cakes recipe that everybody can include in their party spread, so I decided to give it a try in order to determine exactly how good, fair, or blah it really was before serving it to my guests on Sunday. I called up my mother (she's the hand model in all my pictures below) and we whipped up a batch.

Since I had a hard time finding many people online that had made this and then talked about it, I decided to report on it myself. See the details and a two-years-later-update after the break.

Halloween 2010 :D

So I've gone a bit nutty with a costume this year for Halloween. I don't usually dress up or even do much beyond hand out candy (and maybe walk the dogs around town at night to look at all the folks dressed up in the bars), but I was hit with a stroke of inspiration while on a trip to Universal Studios. We went at the beginning of October so we got to enjoy Halloween Horror Nights, and I saw this chick:

(That's my husband in the picture with her.)

So I've pieced together that costume and will (hopefully) be out and about for all to see this weekend. IT'S GONNA BE SO AWESOME!! x3