Blown Away

i am truly speechless at the AMAZING feature that the ever so talented macri.photography
just posted on her blog.

i really don't even have words to express.....
here is the link and my favorite photo of hers:

THE BLOG
macri's photo
VERTIGO

SketcHes oh SKETCHY

so here are some of the pieces of my sketchbook that i'm thinking of putting to luggage.....
what say you friends? too out there?

Time 2 Get out of the RUT

so

here is a preview of things to come
pieces just waiting to be upcycled and
customized for all of you

cool kids out there- all ages!

i'm super excited...... and this is just the tip of the ice!!!!!!!!

STUCK AND COLD

I FEEL WASTED
alcohol free and wasted by this life i lead......
i feel vacant
so vacant that i guess i really can't feel anything at all
like the photo i snapped up there
.VACANT.
but i still know how to love
"i'm in love with anything that's living"
if you know that quote off the top of your head i will
give you 2 hundred million fake dollars.
i'm here to blog and i've got nothing to
say at all...........

Let's Travel Back in Time.....

above is a phenomenal photograph

"A shot of some old Vintage Luggage taken at a restored steam railway"
titled: Cargo (3) by

BillyCurrie.ETSY.com

i've been researching vintage luggage, how it came to be, what

it's made from, what it used to be made from etc.
so here are the interesting facts i dug up......

• Back in the 1920's and 30's, to have a set of custom-made luggage was a luxury afforded only by the rich. The concept of travel was different then too. Young men traveled the world to finish off their educations and women traveled to get some relaxation time from their hectic and straining social schedules. Most luggage was made from wooden boxes and covered in the finest leather cowhides. All trims were hand stitched and lined with silks and canvas. A good set of luggage wasn't high up on the list for the average girl during those times
  
• In addition to clothes and larger items kept in huge trunks, a minimum of eight pairs of shoes were kept in shoeboxes alone. Women had a separate, usually much smaller, piece of make-up or toiletries luggage. Make-up was fairly expensive and women had to special order their shades through pharmacies and department stores so that their shipments made it several weeks before it arrived. It was not uncommon to spend several hundred dollars on specific types of luggage for all their personal needs.
  
• Luggage was bought mainly by women as part of her obligation to her "man". One of the obligations of new brides, according to an article from Cosmopolitan magazine in 1935, was her responsibility at making sure that the "box room" or luggage room was well maintained by the servants. It was her responsibility to make sure that the luggage was well-taken care of - waxed, polished and cleaned inside and out.
  
• The average cost of one piece of luggage during the 30's and the late 40's (before Samsonite) was about $350.00 - the current price for a shoulder bag from Louis Vuitton (which, today, is made of cardboard and canvas). Women would pay these exorbitant amounts because their luggage sets would last them a lifetime. Most of the luggage being made today is disposable within a few years of using it.
  
• During World War II, most luggage manufacturers were discontinued because they moved away from the high expense of leather. In the late 40's Samsonite factories starting making camouflage for the army with industrial sewing machines until the end of the war.
  
• The entire market changed when Samsonite discovered that they could use canvas for luggage, and completely took over the competition. A popular model of the 1950's was the white hatbox, used for things like gloves, scarves, and hats. It became known as the "model's hat box"-because, one supposes, every model needed to have a white Samsonite hatbox with all of the aforementioned items.
  
• The idea of "keeping luggage" changed during women's liberation. Although many women in the 1950's and 60's were still carrying their mothers and grandmothers matched luggage sets, it had less to do with status than it did convenience. The world began to see fewer hard wood leather cowhide pieces of luggage, and more cardboard for "bargain prices".
  
  *all of the above info i got from a really awesome article
  to read the entire thing you can go here:
  http://www.gonomad.com/womens/0406/how_to_refurbish_vintage_luggage.html
  
  well, since that was quite the list of info i won't rant on too much,
  but i find it fascinating how life evolves,
  the way things change, how we are so fast-moving these
  days, that we have massive machines
  that just spit out cheap and NOT so duarable
  luggage with zippers that break on their second pull
  and why oh why are they all black or a bad
  floral design? not all floral
  is bad but they seem to make them ugly
  on purpose with those designs!
  
  hope this blog finds your mind stimulated....
  does that sentence even make sense?
  oh well, i don't care
  you get my point.
  luggage upcycler out kids!
  
  1 piece of advice, of the musical sort:
  go listen to RYAN ADAMS song DEAR CHICAGO
  off the album DEMOLITION.
  you are welcome in advance:)

CusTomiZing CASES.....

i don't have all that much to report but what i've got is GOOD!

the whitty, talented, jewelry wizardess (and yes, i
believe i just made that word up)
Amy of
ThePeachTree
bought this fabulous LIME GREEN train case from
my shop last week. together we picked out a most
gorgeous design to add a bit of a kick with a side of
feminine! now, i just steered her to a few places to find
a design but ultimately she chose this unique image.
i cannot wait for her to receive this bad actor!
it's going to look so majestic sittin' pretty
in her studio apartment
a place i would love to be right now
sippin tea and sharing laughs
man, i LOVE my job
i get to draw in my pajamas
in my cozy office
elliott smith blastin' from my ipod dock
with a warm cup of coffee to sip on

now kids, go to amy's shop and buy yourself
some jewelry!!!!
go on now..........
or tell someone in your life who
may be buying you a valentine's day gift
that you want something from her shop.
HAPPY SATURDAY AFTERNOON FROM FLORIDA!
smooch to you amy:)
and to everyone else of course.
here's my favorite piece from amy's shop right now.....
~MARTINI~

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16056030

EXPRESSIVE CHALLENGE FEATURE

hey hey hey!!!

i got an email from the creative & nicest nicey rikrak of

RikRak Studios

she was writing to let me know she is going to feature me in her blog. the challenge she extended was a creative challenge indeed.

here were the guidelines:

"choose 4 things that most inspire your art or craft. the things will need to be in image form (a photo or drawing or some sort of visual jpg) ...it might be a material. it might be an idea: like patterns. it might be a colour. it might be a tool. it might be a song, a person, a shape, etc.. then explain why"

here are my 4 photos and answers

i'm looking forward to see what she does with it all:

(ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ME)

1.Red Letters Case because the COLOR of my case & the WORDS because language gives all an outlet to artistically express and move the soul

2. POSSIBILITY because that is ENDLESS & this photo is of my sister, my flesh and blood, the ties that bind astound me

3. MUSIC Express HER because music inspires me minute by minute. this is taken of my best friend. the pain in her eyes represents the daily struggles of life, her expression looks of someone in anguish but who is emotionally purging. it's cathartic.

4. Pick-up & JUMP because that is what i want to do. to just give all of my heart to those around me. to pick up myself and jump off to a place of giving it all away.....

5. i didn't get to use this last photo- it was up in the running but didn't make the final cut.
this photo is youth, color, light, childhood, the dreams i had in the magic black of the night

6 RANDOM FACTS

okay so i've been tagged but the talented and hilarious Lillyella to share some random facts about myself.

The Rules:Link to the person who tagged you
Post the rules on your blog
Write six random things about yourself
Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
Let each person know they've been tagged

i'm up for playing so here it goes.....

1. i have a nose ring and 2 small star tatooes 1 in each ditch of my arms. what's a ditch you ask? it's like your elbow pit- right below the bend line of the inside of my arm- the highest point of my forearm basically.

2. i have anxiety issues and am thankful for knitting. i seriously went through a period in my life where i was incapable of focusing on anything other than my anxiety and that's when i found knitting- the most cathartic thing EVER! i literally don't think i would have gotten through back then without it. oh yes, i'm ocd too but i like that part:)

3. i never graduated from college. i was torn between my focus being pre-med or art. talk about polar opposites! i was taking both psychology classes and drawing classes at the same time and decided i was never gonna finish or commit to one. i ended up reading through all of my abnormal psych book after i finished the class and still do lots of research and reading on the web- but i would never want to be a doctor. people and their minds just FASCINATE ME SO VERY MUCH!

4. i am left-handed

5. music music music music is life-giving. i NEVER EVER listen to the radio- i despise it in fact. people always say "you know that song on the radio" and really i don't because i ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO LISTEN TO IT! i don't even know stations.

6. i hate tv BUT i love tv on dvd- only on dvd. my favorites include 24 and Felicity- oh i love felicity and jack bauer is so freaking stealth and hardcore i can't take it. also, i want david palmer to be president. enough with the all-state commercials- run for pres already!

okay, that was fun.
now i gotta tag 6 people? here they are.... i'm off to let them know
Samaria Project
The Vintage Closet
The Peach Tree
Walrustusk
F2Images

TURNING MY TRICKS

2 choices i have, perhaps 3

what to do, what to do?

i thought that when 2009 hit the answer would drop like a bomb into my lap- no such luck.

but i don't believe in luck.

i wish my head was as organized and clear as this photo

i worked so hard to open my own photography business- 2 years of clicking my heels and digging my hands into the water and mud. then i found a place to put my stuff. a place for my photos, my knitting and now an exhorbitant (sp?) amount of luggage. but my rapidly fraying rope gave out in december and here i am. new year, new start, NO CLUE!!!!!!!!!

i want to curl my fingers around the answer, around the decision, around and around.
but all i've got right now is bright red palms, fingertips stretched out to the ends of this earth and sticky joints.
but hey- this light and window is cool looking right?
someone, please, draw all of my lines.....