Project Thursday

It sure was. I finished 3 projects I've been working on (and the night is still young).

Who else has been covering their sewing machines with the ugly plastic cover that comes with it? Well I admit, I have been, BUT not any more!!


I made a sewing machine cover out of the 'body' portion of a thrifted sweater that was left over from these cute legwarmers I made for my shop. I just adore chartreuse right now!





I added some green edging from a thrifted t-shirt (left over from this project) and some stitched details with yarn.


Look how cute and spunky my sewing area is now!! Btw, I didn't sew the neck shut because I can reach in and grab the handle. The handle fits perfect (viewable in the first photo).

Ok, the night is getting less young so I'm off to hopefully get some more projects done. I will share the other 2 projects with you tomorrow. night!

jessie b

new Painting

I finished this colorful octopus painting last night.



I love the yellow 'worn' frame. It was gold when I got it.


I'm not sure about the bubbles. I've already painted them so I can't remove them now, but I'm thinking maybe one of these other options (I used a digital overlay to preview).

1. The original. 2. Opaque Orange 3. Opaque Aqua 4. solid Aqua

(click on the image to see a bigger view)


opaque orange


opaque aqua

So what do you think? What should I do with the bubbles?

the Sunday Special - Fave Flavor Combos + Carrot Smoothie

Peanut Butter and Chocolate. That is my all time favorite flavor combination. We actually found dark chocolate peanut butter lately and ooohh is it yummy. We used it as fudge on our ice cream sundays and I'd bet it's the best 'fudge' I've ever had.


Strawberry and Banana is good. How about Carrots and Grapes? Seriously. I like baby carrots and red grapes together. Carrots, grapes and cheddar cheese is a good combo too.

Well, I love experimenting and decided to make a smoothie today. My smoothies are usually pretty healthy anyway, but I want to start baby stepping into even healthier ones. I raided the frig, as usual, to see what I could throw in there. I figured since I like carrot juice, and I like carrots with fruit, that it was the most-likely-to-taste-good-in-a-smoothie candidate.

Carrot Smoothie

makes just over 3 cups

1 1/2 cups of Mango Juice
1/2 cup Plain Organic Soy Yogurt
1 over ripe Banana
1 Pear
6 fat Baby Carrots (about 1 full size carrot)
1 handful of Seedless Red Grapes (20 small ones)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Flax Seed (I don't measure)

It turned out yummy and healthy. By the way, this was the first time I have had soy yogurt. I tasted it before putting it into the smoothie and I have to say, it's pretty yucky just by itself.

So what are some of your favorite flavor combos? The healthier the better!

yay, I was accepted

This morning, I brought 4 paintings to be juried and all 4 were accepted. That made me very happy because I worked really hard getting them done in time. They are now hanging in a little lodge in town.

here's what I made....

Heavenly Tahoe

16x20" mixed media
(I even carved the tracks)

Tahoe Rock Climbing
about 9x9" (frame included)
mixed media

Tahoe Bike Trails

about 9x9" (frame included)
mixed media

Tahoe Beaches
about 9x9" (frame included)
mixed media

And just wanted to show you how much snow we've gotten recently. Last night, it dumped and now the snow on our deck is taller than me.

Wild Hair Wednesday

continued... Last week, I shared my wild pinwheels with you and now you get to see the results!!

so from this.....
I got this!

Curly Dreads

added a sparkly little black bow a friend gave me

and couldn't help but glam it up by adding some big sunglasses

and here's the whole outfit

yep, im standing on the bed :)

By this point, I was feeling so cute and just itching to go show off my new do. The post office just didn't cut it. Luckily, I found some friends to hang out with. :D

follow me on bloglovin'

You can now follow my blog with bloglovin. I originally found out about bloglovin' via one of my favorite blogs abeautifulmess, and she had this to say about it...

"Hi there! I wanted to do a quick little post about the wonders of Bloglovin' for any readers out there who haven't given it a try. It's a great simple tool for keeping up with all your favorite blogs. When I first heard about it, I wondered if it was the same as Google Reader (which I no longer use because it became overwhelming). Here's why I like Bloglovin'... It's much simpler and quicker for me to use. Instead of scrolling through all the posts you get a quick title, photo and opening paragraph for each post. That way it's easier to find the posts that you want to read. Here's what the layout looks like...

The other thing I LOVE is that when you click though to read a full post it takes you to the actual blog. I like seeing the banner, sidebars etc since that is also something that bloggers put a lot of work into. This also gives the blogger 'views' that help support them even if you don't leave comments. You can also 'like' favorite posts as a way to bookmark them for later. I honestly feel like using Bloglovin' has saved me tons of time already and I've started following some gorgeous new blogs that I might not have bumped into otherwise. Give it a try! XO. elsie"

So, Painting on the Road is now on BlogLovin' and I hope to see you there too!

jessie b

31 before 32 update

I'm half way through the year (since my birthday, that is) so it's time to review how I'm doing on my

31 goals before I turn 32.

1. build spunkidoodle.com
2. redesign my blog <---- Yes! more like "finally custom designed." I will likely keep making improvements until I'm satisfied with it.
3. start selling on etsy.com <---- Yes! http://www.etsy.com/shop/spunkidoodle
4. sell a painting to a stranger <---- working on this one. *fingers crossed*
5. write and illustrate a children's book
6. be in a craft/handmade (ie Renegade Handmade)/art show
7. sew a dress via a pattern
8. grandma's cookbook/recipe cards
9. weekly dread love <---- work in progress

10. visit 3 new places/states <---- this is a yearly goal. I visited UT for the first time during the road trip back to Tahoe.
11. get a stamp in my passport/visit Niecey

12. make new friends and local connections <---- Yes. I joined TAL and have made friends through it and volunteered for V-Day and have made some new friends through that. Attended a local meeting for artists about plans for a coop. And attended an annual rotary club dinner and made some new friends and connections through that.
13. make an ear or neck warmer <---- Yes. I have made 9 so far. These 4 are still in the shop.

14. fill all the frames and canvases that left Asheville with me <---- in progress

15. reach day 30 of snowboarding <---- I have 24 days down so far this season. It didn't snow the whole month of January so I only went once that mth.


16. a snowboarding video, once I get better <---- started getting some footage, but it's hard to find a photographer on powder days :)
17. learn to sew a button hole
18. eat something new <---- cranberry sauce, frog legs, and (not battered or fried) calamari

(sorry, kind of gross. i didn't think to take the picture until after i had eaten it.)


(i've had battered and fried calamari before, but never this way)

19. find & try new healthy recipes...e.i. vegeburgers, beets, <---- black bean and acorn squash enchiladas, black bean salsa, pineapple pancakes, spinach hummus,
20. keep up with what my business/life models are doing/accomplishing <---- yes
21. create something in flash
22. alter clothing <---- yes. so far in addition to legwarmers and headbands, there's Nick's patchwork hoody
23. try some new dread do's <---- yes. Pippi style braids, yarn-bound braids, pinwheels, and a few others i haven't shared yet =)
24. a fun photoshoot <---- yes. they were product photoshoots, but there are some fun photos of me too.





25. make a bag <---- starting to plan
26. make a plushy <---- Yes! 2 sleeve monkeys
27. make some spunki aprons <---- in progress
28. checkout some local bands <---- yes. went to see the Jerry Garcia Band, and Mamma's Cookin'
29. get involved in the local art scene <---- yes. joined Tahoe Art League, have some paintings hanging in the Art Center, and involved with the development of an artist coop. Plan to also start volunteering with BATS (Bringing Art To Schools)
30. do something scary <---- YES! performed in the Vagina Monologues

as the 6yr old girl

31. create a schedule. tweek it as i go, but use it none-the-less <---- yeah, I use it sort of :)

Looks like I've completed half of them so far and quite a few others are in progress. That's actually better than I thought I was doing. woohoo!

the Sunday Special - Pear, Almond, Garlic Pizza

Tonight, I got creative with the ingredients we had in the frig. I made...

Pear, Almond, Garlic Pizza

1 whole wheat crust
slow cooked shredded pork tenderloin
spinach
1/2 a pear sliced
my fave spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella
about 5 large garlic cloves sliced
almond slivers
seasonings: minced onion, ground oregano, basil, parsley flakes, and pepper

Just layered it all in that order. Cooked at 450 degrees until the cheese browned.

snow and smoothies

I went out and played in the snow today. When I came inside, instead of some hot cocoa or tea, I had a smoothie. Normally my smoothie drinking goes into hibernation for the winter, but I've already started it up again. Maybe because most places are experiencing spring already and my body remembers and craves them like it's spring here too.

Here's what I concocted.

Mango P.P.S.

1.5 cups Mango juice
1.5 cups plain yogurt
2 pears
7 frozen strawberries
and enough peaches that it brought up the total to 6cups.
about 1/2 tablespoon honey
about 1/2 tablespoon flax seed

makes 6 cups

Wild Hair Wednesday

I thought I'd try something new with my hair. I found this idea over a year and a half ago, before I ever had dreads. The girl who demonstrated it had really small dreads so I figured it would be a little different with mine, but I tried it out anyways.

**PINWHEELS**

The intention wasn't to wear the pinwheels as a style, they were just a means to an end. However, I might, MIGHT, wear them out in public sometime. What do you think? Would it be cute with a light flowing summer dress? Or is it to 'grandma in curlers"-ish?

Stay tuned.... next Wednesday the fun results of these crazy pinwheels will be revealed.

Snowmobiling

This past weekend, we went snowmobiling with some friends. It was a first for both Nick and I. I love sharing firsts.

Just ignore the goofy helmet they made him wear.
That's what they give you if you have an extra large noggin. =)

We had a great time. It was the perfect weather for it. Sunny, clear blue skies.

Yep, that's gorgeous Lake Tahoe in the background.