the alisun! revealed! positivity pajaki style...

as you can see above - my lovely and talented (and continually compliment giving) friend alisun proposed a project this month that would force me to pay attention to what people say...especially the nice things they may direct my way. i mean WHAT? yikes. not good with compliments over here. but hey, i was ready to see where this challenge would take me. i have to say right away that i got a fair amount of practice looking someone in the eye and sincerely saying "thank you."

i hope this makes clear why there was secrecy surrounding the project...i mean, i didn't want it to feel like i was soliciting compliments/kind words because that would be cheating right?

but how to create something artsy out of these words...that was also a challenge! luckily, i randomly saw a picture of a pajaki (polish folk art chandelier) and thought A-HA. it's bright and whimsical like alisun and it has a lot of paper components...to write on of course!

OCCY 2015...a may challenge from alisun!

holy moly, it's may already and thus time for another project! this challenge is from my dear friend alisun. we met at the soap factory's haunted basement event and i felt instantly that she was a dazzling lady i wanted to get to know better (cheesy but true)...the term "kindred spirit" comes to mind. plus she's makes me laugh like crazy and she's super talented - check out her work here.

but folks, i'm in a bit of a dilemma. i would normally be crafting a way to announce my next project (and believe me i'm totally excited about this one!!!)...but i'm flummoxed about how to actually tell you about it without your knowledge of it having an influence on the whole thing. confused yet? basically, what i'm trying to say is that there's a chance that YOU could be involved in this project. but, don't worry, it's not like i'm secretly filming you or anything.

so, i'm leaning towards keeping it a SECRET. well, until the end of the month at least. i CAN tell you that this challenge is another one that takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone while also forcing me to be present. is that vague enough? believe me, it's a wonderful challenge from a wonderful lady and i can't wait to tell you all about it in a few weeks. until then, just act normal.

the mary! up up and away!

another project completed!

plus, now i can build a kite without looking at the directions...progress/knowledge! no guarantee that it will fly though. and since i learned about the downside of spray-paint on garbage bags (or not on garbage bags), finishing these kites for mary felt like i was opening the door to something new and exciting. my brain started to dart from one material to the next - kites with fabric, kites with twigs, kites with paper, etc x infinity.