Archive for the 'life' Category

Birth-Day!

Published
by
robayre
on March 9, 2010
in General Update and life
. 3 Comments


This morning at 6:40 a.m. I received a phone call from my brother telling me that their baby was just born. A boy. It’s the first grandchild on both sides. Also, I’m an aunt for the very first time.
The whole family is so thrilled and excited. I walked around giddy and smiling all day long.

-The delivery was as perfect as one could ask for.
-We discussed nicknames. His initials are D.R.W. With the D and R it’s like Dr., my sister and Matt were saying it would be cute to call him Doc. My dad said that his father’s childhood nickname was also Doc.
-My dad was recalling the day I was born, he left the hospital and it was a foggy morning. Well, today was also a very foggy morning.

-I went over to my brother and SILs to take their dog out for a walk. When I was leaving I noticed a bright red cardinal fly right in front of me and land in the neighbor’s tree. I always like to think cardinals are a good luck sign.

I’m so happy for my brother and SIL, and I can’t wait to spend time with this new little person, watch him grow and see who he becomes.

Day Twenty-Eight - Page Spread

Published
by
robayre
on February 28, 2010
in General Update, Projects and life
. 0 Comments

It’s the final day of Thing-A-Day. This month was just sooo busy, and I am glad to welcome March.  If you hear a loud sigh, that would my exhale, letting go of a lot of stress that has built up this winter. I am so excited for spring, and the month to come AND for the madness of February to be behind me. Good things are ahead. Very good things. I can feel it :D

I woke up this morning ready for March, and it wasn’t until the day was well on it’s way that I realized “oops, you are jumping the gun Robyn, you still have one more day left of February”. With that in mind, today I present to you another page from my mini book. The left page is cut out of the fabric paper I made a few days ago.

It’s been so mad these last few weeks that I honestly haven’t even been able to keep up with everyone else’s posts. I look forward to doing that this next week. I hope everyone had a very productive and inspired month! I had a great time contributing and completing my third Thing-A-Day.

See you again soon!

Day Twenty-Four - On rings and how we spent our evening yesterday

Published
by
robayre
on February 24, 2010
in General Update, My Artwork, Projects and life
. 2 Comments

Today I received some new ring blanks I purchased recently. I was very excited to make some paper wrapped spiral rings, like the pendants I’ve made and had success with before. They will take about 24 hours to harden and then if everything goes well, I’ll be adding them to my Etsy shop.

Once they were all assembled, I was so thrilled with the circle ones that I almost gasped at how beautiful they were.

Onto last night. (Mim and Rachel, you might want to brace yourself)

(picture by roll_initiative on flickr)

My brother, sister and I went to go see Neil Gaiman speak at a nearby high school.  If you are not familiar with Neil, he is the author of Stardust and Coraline, as well as many other books, graphic novels, his blog and even twitter. I love seeing and hearing creative people talk. It always inspires me to much that I just want to rush home to my studio and start working madly at my own art. Listening to him talk filled my inspiration well.

He first read from Stardust (which I read some years ago) and then Anansi Boys (which I want to read now after hearing him). Then he did a Q&A with the audience. I just want to share a couple things from last night.

(Let me preface this by saying that it might not have really played out like this, but it sure sounded like it to me)
Audience Member: What is your favorite thing?
Neil Gaiman: What is my favorite thing or theme?
AM: Thing
NG: I’d have to say my favorite thing is Amanda Palmer
Audience: Erupts, goes wild
AM: Actually, I said theme
NG: Oh, I really liked that question, what’s your favorite thing
hehe, I just found a twitter referencing it :)

He spoke of how, growing up, people like to do things until they are informed by others that they can’t do those things. It’s a topic close to my heart. One of my favorite quotes is “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso. Neil shared an anecdote that each child is born with the ability to be a tight rope walker, and it isn’t until people tell them that they can’t, they wouldn’t be able to do it.

I could have listened to Q&A with him forever. Girls, now I can understand your crushes. Plus, I just read he’s a bee keeper. sigh.

Day Twenty-One - Spinning

Published
by
robayre
on February 21, 2010
in Fun, General Update, fiber and life
. 1 Comment

Today, for Thing-A-Day, I spun for a couple hours. I’ve been working on this super thin yarn that will be plyed with another to make a crazy sock yarn. Normally I spin barefoot, but I just got home so I still had on my shoes. Normally I’ll just spin from a long roving, but because I want the colors to alternate a lot, I’ve been pulling bits the staple length and spinning from those. There are a total of 17 different colors and they are all a really nice merino wool.

I posted an animated gif file I made while spinning earlier this month, but you really can’t see much of a dent on the two hours more I’ve added. It’s so thin that it just doesn’t add up quickly.

The colors may not look that great right now, but once plyed, the finished product will look closer to this other yarn (below) that I spun, only all of that was dyed with kool-aid and it’s a much chunkier yarn.

Tonight my best friend and I went to go see Gaelic Storm (for the second time) at the Historic Egyptian Theatre. We had a really good time and now I’m in a St. Patrick’s Day mood. I always love going to concerts like that because the audiences are so energetic. Mostly, I think it’s the Irish crowd, because it’s the same vibe when I’ve gone to see Black 47 and Irish Festivals.

Here is a quick snapshot of what it looks like inside the theatre. We were sitting on the balcony.

The band performing. One thing that was REALLY cool was that the lead singer told the audience that he met his wife for the first time at Eduardo’s (a well known local restaurant). She was a grad student at NIU. How cool is that? Singer from Ireland, tours the world over and he met his wife in my own town.

And finally, the gratuitous shoe shot. I had to use the upstairs restroom and just loved the checkered flooring in there. Someday I will have black and white checkered floors in my home.

Day Seventeen - Faux Bois Magnets

Published
by
robayre
on February 17, 2010
in Coverage and life
. 2 Comments

Today I was going to make some art buttons, but as I rummaged through my papers I saw some of the same wood pattern that I used on yesterdays TAD pages. I just was going to make faux bois buttons, but then as I was working on them I thought it might be more fun to turn them into magnets.

I have to shout out to Rosa for notifying me today that my Random Acts of Kindness painting was featured in an article on Etsy about…you guessed it…Random Acts of Kindness. Check it out here. It’s a great article with TONS of awesome feel good and RAOK links.

Day Fifteen - More Pages

Published
by
robayre
on February 15, 2010
in General Update, Projects and life
. 1 Comment

Today I did a couple more pages in my little book. The left page is covered in metallic blue star stickers and the right is watercolored, then sprinkled with salt for texture. On top of that was silvery glitter pen and pastels in swirls.

When I went to take the picture at first the camera didn’t focus. I retook it, but when I saw the blurry one I actually liked it because it kind of went with the dreaminess of the image, so I put them together for a diptych.

For the first time in my life I have laryngitis. I’ve always thought it would be cool to lose my voice, just to see what that was like. It’s kind of funny and it doesn’t hurt so no harm done. Matt says he enjoys it because now he can get a word in, lol.

I just realized it’s the second half of the month of February. Halfway through the Thing-a-Day challenge.

Day Fourteen - Happy Valentine’s Day

Published
by
robayre
on February 14, 2010
in General Update and life
. 2 Comments

For today’s “thing” I bring you this picture I took. I cut out all the little hearts just for you.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Day 10 - Buttons

Published
by
robayre
on February 10, 2010
in Projects and life
. 6 Comments

Today I made all sorts of fabric covered pinback buttons for thing-a-day. Just for fun, I will send a button to the first three people who leave a comment here and tell me which button they like best.

I woke up this morning to my bed shaking. I laid there while I wondered what was going on, turned over and watched the rattling windows then contemplated if I should run to the doorway, the bathroom or downstairs. Decided to just lay there. After everything stopped shaking I went downstairs to see if we had an earthquake. At first I couldn’t find anything, but as I refreshed the pages then it finally popped up. Sure enough, we had a 3.8 earthquake which very close to my city. On the radio this morning they were talking to some “expert of something or other” and she put it this way: “As long as it’s just a small earthquake and no damage was done, the result is just a little bit of excitement.” I was sad because Matt was playing video games late last night and ended up falling asleep on the couch in the basement. He’s a deep sleeper so he missed the whole thing. If he had been in bed you better believe I would have woken him up.  Today the most frequently heard thing was “It sounded like a snow plow ran into the house”.

Okay, off to bed.

2010 Yearly List

Published
by
robayre
on January 31, 2010
in Projects, goals, life and lists
. 2 Comments

It’s the last day of January and I think I’ve finally finished my 2010 to-do list. Of course, as soon as I hit publish I’m sure I’ll remember more things I wanted on the list. Here is last year’s list.

1. Buy a marble and start my glass marble collection
2. Make 5 simple animated gifs to post on my blog
3. Buy a vintage globe and a huge map for the bedroom
4. Leave 100% tip at a restaurant
5. Leave change in coin machine 5 times
6. Send a care package to a soldier overseas
7. Build a storytelling shadowbox diorama
8. Upload a youtube video with my face and voice
9. Participate in wardrobe remix photography 4 times
10. Visit a drive in movie theater
11. Visit two photobooths
12. Old timey picture
13. Document a tree changing colors, start sept. 1st
14. Purchase wool and spin yarn and make vest
15. Buy tall boots
16. Eat falaful
17. Visit the museum in sycamore
18. Fit into a size __ or reach __ lbs.
19. Create a paper moon photo set up to take portraits in
20. Publish second zine
21. Go to teddywedgers for pasties
22. Go to the kane county flea market
23. Record “storycorp” style interviews with family/friends
24. Rearrange furniture in twice
25. Work in small scrapbook art/journal
26. Go to lothson’s chicken
27. Pay off debt
28. Have a bonfire at the lagoon
29. Eat at two (new to me) truck stop diners
30. Organize a glue book week
31. Go camping this summer
32. Finish my mom’s challenge book

Leftovers from 2009 list

1. Found Art balloon idea
2. Visit one photobooth
3. Hot air balloon ride (already paid for)
4. Release art themed geocache
5. Complete C25K and run 5K
6. Decorate a mini journal (missed the opportunity from last year)
7. Go to a Wolves game
8. Redesign my website.

Cool stuff and thanks

Published
by
robayre
on January 22, 2010
in Artists, Cool Links, General Update, etsy and life
. 1 Comment

I’ve received so many things lately and I wanted to post a long overdue public thanks and share some of these wicked cool items.

I was sent a copy of The Happy Book by Meg Leder and Rachel Kempster. I’m all about Happy so I was glad to receive it. Imagine if the Listography Journal and Wreck this Journal had a teenage daughter. I think it might be The Happy Book. It’s one of those books that encourages you to carry it around and fill it up and the more you use it the less it will look like what it did when you brought it home. The Happy Book is filled with almost 200 pages of prompts for you to fill up, paste-in, list and draw all the happy and positive things in life. One of the rewarding things about this book, and others similar to it, is that you can pull it out later when you might be feeling down in the dumps and it will hopefully fill you with joy again. The manifesto of the book is “Thinking about what makes you happy, makes you happy. Writing about what makes you happy, makes you happy. Reading about what makes you happy, makes you happy.” I had an idea when I was first reading the introduction that I’d like to keep the book in a somewhat public place (car, coffee table or carry it with me in my bag) and encourage my friends, family and acquaintances to also fill out pages in my book. That way when I opened it up it wasn’t just my happy thoughts, images and experiences, but other’s as well, and I would be able to draw fresh inspiration by other’s happy things.

It has been years now and I am still so grateful that Rosa Murillo saw my website and sent me an email introducing herself. We have become friends and I treasure that. She calls me, I don’t answer (hehehe), but we’ve skyped a couple times and I am always thrilled to see a new blog post on her site. She is such a creative inspiration to me (although she’d probably cringe at my liberal and frequent use of that “i” word). She sent me a wonderful package before Christmas and it contained the ring above. I don’t see anymore in her shop right now, but she’s made a bunch here. I commented on one and low and behold she sent it to me. I love it! Of all jewelry I love rings the most. But not just any ring. Believe it or not, I’d put my nose up to a tiffany diamond ring, but I can’t say no to a piece of artwork adorned on my fingers. Thank you again for the lovely ring, Rosa! I’m compiling a package for you and hope to send it soon, but really, what is soon? You know me, and that might not be until summer, wah wah wah.

This ring came from my new penpal (through the penpal party) Angie of PangeaStore. I have a special place in my heart for lockets. It probably stems from watching the movie Annie too many times as a child. At any rate I admired the rings from Angie’s Etsy shop that have eensie teensie little lockets on them. When her next letter arrived it had one in it! oh my goodness. It’s a ring, it has a locket and it’s miniature! I know, I know, I almost fainted. I’ve been thinking about what I need to put inside of it. I was going to just print out tiny pictures, but then this week I saw this post on the Black Apple about lockets with tiny drawings in them.

And finally this week I stopped by the P.O. Box and was delighted to find this scarf from Trisha at Made During Sleepytime. I had entered her giveaway for this super cozy and stylish scarf and WON IT!  I wore it all today and love it so much that I think I will need to follow her tutorial and make myself a couple more. Honestly though, Trish, you should sell these. I’d probably save myself the aggravation of sewing it and just buy more from you :) Love it!

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