three day weekend=cool beans

So this weekend I am hoping to get more quiltlets done and posted in the shop. When I made the first one I really didn't like it very much, but to my surprise some people out in the blog world want more. Ok people, I am on it. They are starting to grow on me too.

Walked home from school today listening to Viva La Vida by Coldplay...so I was singing to myself..."Now in the morning I sleep alone, Sweep the streets I used to own." I turn the corner and see: male subject sweeping the street. I laughed to myself, maybe a little too loud. I felt kinda stupid, but I mean it was pretty funny. Ok, fine... maybe it was one of those things where you had to be there, but come on...maybe a little chuckle?

"Good ideas will spring forth naturally from your mind in the coming week." --my latest fortune cookie...i will let you know if i get any.

I finally fell to the hands of peer pressure...I started reading Twilight. So far so good. I still haven't hit that moment where I become totally engrossed and cannot possibly put the book down, but I can feel it coming.

Sent RAKs to some lovely girlies. We kind of did an RAK swap if you will. Kate commented on my quiltlet so I gave it to her and she sent me a print from her etsy shop and a mini art journal. Dani drew my number for an SIS TV gift certificate on her blog so I sent her a little quiltlet too. Sending and receiving mail is so much fun!

Enjoy your three day weekend people! Do something creative and love it!

life is good.

today i had one of those life is good moments. it happened a bit like this...walking home from school listening to this song on the iPod, wearing a new dress for the first time (this is big for the girl who wore t-shirts and sweatshirts all last year), warm sun on my skin, breeze in my hair, i was feeling pretty cool i am not gonna lie...then it hits me...that moment when i think man, life is good.

i continued to walk and then i thought hey you "life is good" t-shirt peeps, try to put this on a t-shirt! try to capture this life is good moment complete with the song because the music part is a key element to the whole moment i experienced. later i realized no, these kind of little happenings cannot be captured on a t-shirt or in a photo. these moments are something personal and special, something only an individual them self can experience and remember.

my english teacher posted a prompt on the board this week. she hasn't mentioned it...it is just there. it says "make this week count. write a list of things that matter most in life." here is my list.

God, family, friends, "life is good" moments, love, happiness, finding your inner voice/being true to yourself, giving to others, loving what you do. i don't think my list is very complete, but i think it is a good start. it sure is something to keep in mind in the whole scheme of things.

on another note, i have many things in progress. more "opportunity" quilts on the way and my amy butler bed quilt hanging on the design wall.

Tutorial # 8: What I did last summer (in photos)

first things first...my new shoes.
page one for rachel's class. I cut out all the photos into squares and then framed them with various papers i collected over the summer: receipts, menus, food boxes, scrap paper, catalogs, mail, brochures, tickets, clothing tags, you name it.

page two.

page three. i think i have a slight obsession with sunglasses.

page four.

sorry about the flash in the center of each picture. i didn't have any natural light to work with at the time.

p.s. as i mentioned in the previous post about that one song...well it wasn't a coincidence. it seems as though that song is played every 15 minutes on the radio now a days because i think i heard like ten more times today.

"I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too, Thursday I don't care about you, it's Friday I'm in love" --The Cure

So Friday was a good day. Let me rephrase...Friday was an absolute blast! I woke up, got ready for school, ate breakfast, then went to check my email...you know the usual. Then I see this email about a new comment on my blog. It turns out that Kelly Rae Roberts purchased this quiltlet over on my etsy. I flipped out...literally. I mean the Kelly Rae bought my quiltlet. I ran downstairs yelling to my mom and dad, "Kelly Rae bought my quiltlet on etsy!!!! It is my first sale! WOOT!" Of course my dad says, "Who is that?" I reply, "Kelly Rae...the amazing painter who has her own book coming out this month. The Kelly Rae who posts her original paintings on etsy and within the hour they are gone. Yes dad, that is Kelly Rae and she wants my quilt." (you get the picture...I was off the wall. I walked to school with a skip in my step and I was wearing a really cute outfit so it made all the difference.)

The school day flew by and I had successfully survived my first half week back.
Then it was off to my first concert! Maroon 5, Counting Crows, and Sara Bareilles. It was so cool! Sara sang her Love Song.

I took pictures through the binoculars.

Maroon 5 "nailed it". (the words of Jack Black in The School of Rock.) Like really, they were killer and I sang so loud to every song.


Counting Crows were great too even though I really didn't know that many of their songs. I still had fun pretending that I did as I moved my lips and then yelled out on the long notes.

Friday was amazing. I loved it! It might have something to do with the fortune I got earlier in the week. I don't really remember the exact wording, but the main gist of it was good times are in the near future.

One more funny thing completely unrelated to my awesome Friday is tonight when I got in the car to go to Cooper's house this new song just came on the radio and then when I left some two and a half hours later it came on right as I got in the car to go home. I liked it too. It is called "Rise Above This" by Seether.

first day

it was my first day back in high school..my jounior year. hmmm let me see... I have an AP English test tomorrow, syllabuses (sylubi?) up the wazoo, summer gossip is raging (who went out with who, who broke up with who, who made out with who, who threw a mad party, etc, etc), and I can't get the school fight song out of my head after tonight's school corn boil function. Right now I am just greatful I was not voted corn boil queen so I didn't have to participate in the corn eating contest.

(deep breath)...I will start this year with an open mind, no complaints.

even more art journal pages

tutorial #5: "August means..."
tutorial #6: "observations". i did this page right after i got in a fight with my parents and was in my room thinking about what they had just told me.

tutorials #5 and #6 for rachel denbow's class. both pages were written with acrylic paint and a small paint brush.

oh summer where did you go?

Dear Summer,
Thank you for the good times. The times with friends, the times to be carefree, the times to create. Thank you for the memories.
we ate.
we sat around the fire.
we made art.
we took way too many self portraits and other pictures.

we ran free.
we played.
we left cameras on benches.
we felt the sand between our toes.

Oh Summer, it's been swell. I wish you could stay forever, but all good things must come to an end. I hope that when you return in the 09 you can bring me as much happiness and as many memories as you have this year. Bye for now. It was good while it lasted.

Peace out.

Kayla

PS michael phelps is a freakin machine. there is no way he is human.

more art journal pages

Art journal pages for rachel's class.

Tutorial #4 Her journal knew all her thoughts. Used up some amy butler fabric scraps. I feel like I never throw anything away anymore.
Tutorial #3 "sometimes"
fabric clothing tag=amazing...

I used a honey nut cheerios box as chipboard and then covered the print side with a pretty page from an anthro catalog.

the air smelled like fruity lip smackers

not even joking. last night I was driving with the windows down when that distinct smell came over me. it was a cross between fruit punch and strawberry...not sure which, but it was there.

above are self portrait assignments for my art journal class with rachel denbow. the first one you were supposed to take a photo from above. i like how my new shoes look so tiny. the next one is taking a picture while spinning in a circle to get a blurred effect. fun if you keep the spinning sessions to a minimum. BTW...those sunglasses are from anthro and I love them!

yeah for thursdays! boo for school starting next week.

etsy please

I have opened shop! There are only a couple of listings for now, but it is there. I hope to have more items posted later including some baby quilts and who knows what! You can find it here. Thanks for looking!

opportunity

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." --Helen Keller

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" --Hamlet Act 3 scene 2

So I needed to finish my summer reading for AP English this year and I was procrastinating like nobody's business. Today I made myself just finish Macbeth all the way through, but I had to make it fun. (Sorry Shakespeare...I love you, but when I have to do something for school you just seem less cool.) I decided to go downtown and read outside on various benches. After reading a couple scenes, I would change scenery myself and walk to a different bench. It did make it more interesting. The best part was when I finished and treated myself to some mint chip ice cream. yum.

Number 2: Jackson Pollock

Number 2 on the list...make a splatter painting like jackson pollock

I have a paintbrush and I know how to use it.
The beginning...whiteness
completed triptych
did i make a mess?
you bet i did.
the end.