the wendy! january challenge video...

holy crap, this project was really fun and so out of my comfort zone...from creating the dress, to wearing the dress in public, to ice skating, to editing this ridiculous video...it was a riot. and what a way to kick off the year. i know that i never would have done any of these things without being challenged by wendy!

so here is the final video...wendy you inspired this, i hope it makes you laugh! (embrace the ridiculous!)

thanks again heather...and edith piaf!

challenge update...THE WENDY!

what a fun and exhausting day working on the next part of the january challenge from wendy - THE VIDEO SHOOT! luckily, i finished the outfit last night - pictured above pre-spray paint. onto the dress i picked up at the thrift store (which was my base): i added strips of old catalogs in three layers, fabric from a quilting class i took in 2005, seam binding, plastic from tofu containers and some of my own blood since i was kinda hand-sewing blind for the most part. 

OCCY 2015...a january challenge from wendy!

JANUARY! my first challenge is from my friend wendy...pictured above looking all sassy. she lives in philly, has two sweet adventurous boys and gives great hugs. i miss her...obviously.

a new year...a whole bunch of challenges!

at the end of 2014, i was feeling pretty stagnant in the creativity department and thought what? what? what? can i do to get out of this rut. then i realized that i'm surrounded by incredibly creative people who can help me figure this out and thus OPERATION CREATIVITY CHALLENGE YO 2015 was born. it's basically 12 different challenges (one per month), all chronicled here - to keep me honest. 

ok, backstory...in november, i sent a letter to a varied group of friends/family (lovely volunteers) asking for help:
1. I am to do one challenge per month - theme/parameters assigned by YOU. 

2. I will chronicle challenge related progress/finished product over the year on my (currently very dormant, but appropriately named) blog: myfantasticdistractions.blogspot.com. If I can remember how to use Blogger. [if you are reading this, i've accomplished that...yay!]

i included a postcard that listed their name and assigned month....the rest was up to them:

Do you want me to create something with the theme of dryer lint? I will attempt to do your theme justice. Do you want me to only use green yarn and lima beans? Will do. Do you want me to write a poem about a cat? I could probably do that. Do you want me to perform a dance about Vladimir Putin at the Mall of America. I’m not sure how excited I will be to do it, but it will be done. You can be as broad or as specific as you want.  

i tried to stress that the things i would be creating could be bad (AKA not good), but the point is that OCCY15 gives us BOTH an opportunity to be creative. it’s a win-win. (see the whole year of returned challenges all taped up on my door in the picture above)

and wow, i got some truly AMAZING challenges...from music to furniture to bike rides...each one so unique and cool! for reals. i think its going to be a fun (and funny) journey, please join me!

rebirth...with a challenge.

so, it's time to bring the blog back to life with a challenge! my personal creativity project challenge, which I have titled "operation creativity challenge yo - 2015!" whew, I just said challenge a lot.

so get ready for a really fun year...chronicled right here. 

time to retire...

it's time to stop blogging...maybe not forever, but for now.
i will still be over on pinterest and tumblr.

winter bleh...

i'm having some serious winter bleh AKA struggling with the cold/dark...and seem to be losing hope that it will ever be warm again. i know it will, but these frigid months are just dragging on and on. since i can't control the weather, i'm trying to think tropical thoughts AND i started my run training again. exercise is a good way to get warm...that and the sauna at the gym. i hope you are staying warm today!

gone fishing...kinda

i'm so busy and headed out of town this weekend...my poor blog is getting the short shrift. please enjoy this iconic image and accept my sincere apologies.

source

a picture & a poem: mark sanders

The Cranes, Texas January - by Mark Sanders
------------------

I call my wife outdoors to have her listen,

to turn her ears upward, beyond the cloud-veiled

sky where the moon dances thin light,

to tell her, “Don’t hear the cars on the freeway—

it’s not the truck-rumble. It is and is not

the sirens.” She stands there, on deck

a rocking boat, wanting to please the captain

who would have her hear the inaudible.

Her eyes, so blue the day sky is envious,

fix blackly on me, her mouth poised on question

like a stone. But, she hears, after all.

                                                           January on the Gulf,

warm wind washing over us,

we stand chilled in the winter of those voices.

source

inspiration: clever words!

a thought for a snowy monday...

friday fab/five: women who inspire me!

ear candy: dr. dog!

i'm missing philly this week...so west philadelphia's own dr. dog seem to be the balm i need, which is good since the "random" function in my itunes plays them a lot. they are kinda awesome, so these black and white diamond slice earrings by lexluxe seem appropriately equally cool.

a picture & a poem: carlo betocchi

Summer by Carlo Betocchi
-----------------------

And it grows, the vain

summer,

even for us with our

bright green sins:

behold the dry guest,

the wind,

as it stirs up quarrels

among magnolia boughs

and plays its serene

tune on

the prows of all the leaves—

and then is gone,

leaving the leaves

still there,

the tree still green, but breaking

the heart of the air.

poem source

inspiration...blake cody rogers!

painter blake cody rogers creates pieces of art that evoke summer heat and vivid energy...to me at least. so beautiful! i love the pinks and i'm not usually a pink person.

ahhh...monday

friday fab/five: wishing for summer...

 it's supposed to be a high of -9 on monday (and a low of -22)...
how could i not be daydreaming about swimming and sandals!

1. bathing suits: i'm more of a bikini gal, but this one-piece from madewell is pretty cool!

2. sun hats: at the urging of my dermatologist i finally became a fan of wearing a
hat to protect my face from the brutal summer sun...now i feel very stylish.

3. sandals: it's probably time to break my addiction to flip-flops...
these cute red sandals from modcloth would help with the withdrawal.

4. swimming: i want to immerse myself in warm tropical waters...especially right now
as i wear 4 layers of clothes. this beautiful picture is of a cenote (a surface connection
to a subterranean water body) in chichen-itza, mexico.

5. sexy jewelry: gold on tan skin. need i say more. (rootsandwings jewelry is awesome)

images 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

ear candy: alt j

diggin' the digital sounds from alt-j....they're kinda like a mash-up of dreamy computer jams and cool vocals. these chevron earrings from scarlettgarnet seem naturally rhythmic to me.

a picture & a poem: shane koyczan

6:59 AM by Shane Koyczan

------------------

I’ve been told
that people in the army
do more by 7:00 am
than I do
in an entire day but if I wake
at 6:59 am
and turn to you
to trace the outline of your lips
with mine
I will have done enough
and killed no one
in the process.

poem source

inspiration...noemie goudal

Les Amants (Promenade), 2009

i kinda want to step into these lush, large and captivating photographs by noemie goudal. looking at them makes me feel lonely and content and breathless all at the same time. which is a good thing.