Sunday, October 11, 2009

whisk me away, i'll be yours for the day.


this song (clean white love by lisa mitchell) has been on repeat this week. the video is just a collage of pretty pictures that someone put together. enjoy!


also, this looks like the perfect snack right now:
mmm.  what are you snacking on today?
melisa

Saturday, October 10, 2009

SMITTEN WITH SATURDAY. <3

eeep, my favorite day to blog is here!
1. pretty packages.





2. THIS BAKING OWL by Skunkboy Creatures.  seriously, i haven't ben able to get its cuteness out of my head since i found it!



3. lovely fall outfits.







4. i love this idea!



5. i wish my coffee looked like this:



6. "dance anthem of the 80's" by regina.



7. this made me laugh.



8. a variation on the "keep calm and carry on" print that i've been seeing everywhere.



9. ampersand.
[&&&&&&&]



10. this dreamy pumpkin.



happy saturday all! 
xxo melisa

Friday, October 9, 2009

"don't let your sketchbook become precious."


life has been crazy these past few weeks.  my boyfriend has been the perfect little home-maker, cooking us dinner on an impossibly small budget.  he's out grocery shopping right now, so i figured i'd take the opportunity to do a quick blog before he comes home and we get back to the second season of sex and the city. ;)
a little over two months ago, i invested in a small black sketchbook for ideas on the go.  it's been suggested a thousand times over that keeping a daily sketchbook does wonders for improving creativity and getting artistic juices flowing.  personally, i started sketching to help relieve my insecurities about my artwork & get over my need for perfection in my pieces.  i sketch nowhere near daily, but it's nice to just doodle on paper sometimes and give life to some ideas.  here are a few of my pages:




share some sketchbook inspiration pls!
:) melisa


PS: the title of this entry came from this little smidgeon of an article.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

hookin'.



it's only fitting that yr granny learns how to make a granny square, right?!  i thought so too, so i skipped class yesterday morning and spent a few hours making this wonky beauty:


i was a little worried, being a knitter, about the transition to crochet but it went surprisingly smooth.  it took me a few tries but then again, everything does. . . :) 


i found katja's tutorial really helpful.  i bounced back and forth from that to the video suggested by the red velvet girls.  if you're considering giving it a try, i say go for it!  know that patience is key and don't give up.  sometimes it just takes that third or fiftieth pause-rewind-play to get over your hang up.



xo melisa

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

vintage lady-love.






a while ago, my gram gave me an old organizer that she was storing in her basement.  it was an old brown book-like box with magnetic flaps that overlapped on its front.  i figured i would use it for important papers--tax returns, old pay stubs, and the like.  at home, i opened it up to inspect it and discovered a huge stack of old black and white photographs belonging to her late husband.  i know this is awful, but i didn't have the heart to part with them!  i wanted to share a few with you of my favorite subject: vintage ladies!











from what i can gather, they range from the being taken in 1930s through the 1950s/60s.  i hope you enjoy them as much as i do!


on another note, i'm really excited to share my own black&white photography with you in the upcoming weeks.  yesterday, i spent an hour and a half outside wandering my neighborhood and shooting photos by myself.  i stumbled upon a beautiful community garden, explored back alleys, and found my way under the el tracks.  it was just cold enough to feel my cheeks flush when i was finished.  experiences like that are really therapeutic for me.  being outside taking pictures always seems to lift my spirits.


what do you do to clear your head?
melisa