Feature Feature =D

Yeps I was asked if my Red Lover's Knot Origami Ornament could be featured on this totally cool site dedicated to young adults and teens SweetDesignsMagazine this February. It's geared towards girls with great articles about fashion and beauty, health and all these concerns and topics that young people face today. It reminds me of all those magazines geared for girls like Cosmo Girl, Seventeen Magazine or Teen Vogue. It's a great place that also concentrates on handcraft and eco friendly finds. What's great is that the founder of this site and also part of the
Graphic Gurus, TeamEtsyMentors, TeamZine, Teens and Young Adults Teams
Stephanie owner of the graphic shop Sweet2685 promotes handcrafts in YA and teens. Which is fantastic! I'm always impressed and amazed at what some teens and young adults have accomplished... those are always the people and stories I love to read and aspire to!

until then... Live to inspire

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year! Yeps its been busy busy around my home with the cleaning and the cooking and all those preparations! This year is the year of the Ox/Cow! My three little Meekiyus above are inspired by the new year!

Cows/Ox are known to be diligent, patient and rather remain silent. They are consequent and reliable as friends. But also easy to irritate and tend to be stubborn and obstinate. Stubborn as an ox some say?
Best matches are persons born in the Year of the Snake, the Rat or the Rooster.
The Year of the Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009

Wonder if all that is true? Who knows? My boyfriend is an Ox and I'm a Rat and we get along well... then again he's a Virgo and I'm a Sagittarius and that match is supposedly bad. lolol. There's a saying that relationships are both sour and sweet. =D

That's the lucky decorations my sister and cousin make out of Red Envelopes. Red Envelopes contain money that you give out to your friend's children or young family members. Supposedly if you're married or over a age you're suppose to start giving instead of receiving. Only people older then you can give to you so you're not allowed to bust your little siblings for Red Envelopes. The point of Red Envelopes is that if you're generous to others it will come back twofold though the year. Thus the more you give the more you receive.

Actually we have all these Red and gold decorations everywhere around the home. Both are lucky colors. Most of the words are the same "Happiness, Longevity, Health, Wealth" all that jazz. Also there's this thing where you have to the leave the lights on in your house not including bedroom lights on for the night, this supposedly scares "bad luck away" and "good luck" which is attracted to light comes to your house when you sleep. Sort of like Santa Claus... I guess... he's red too so... =D
Oh oh all the food. The picture above is only an inkling of all the traditional food prepared for the two week long festivities. There's always roast pork where the skin is thick and crispy, boiled/seared chicken with the head on and for some reason a dried date in it's beak. The ones above I've numbered.

The first one is the staple bok choy which is stir fried and slightly steamed with a bit of garlic and dried shrimp. It has this fresh taste with a slight tinge of garlic.

The second and fourth is the same dish of chicken stir fried with cashews and I love slightly cooked cashews. It retains the taste but is softer and it's great extra crunch to the softened chicken.

The third is tiger shrimp with I think chives and I love how it's butterflied because it allows the juice and flavor to be cooked into the tender meat.

The fifth is this noodle that's made of plain clear noodles and soy sauce with chives, dried shrimp and some other things. I absolutely love it because it has such a unique flavor. The noodle itself has this ability to be either soft or crunchy so it's like a surprise each time. They only make this during the New Year. =(

The sixth and last one is cuttlefish with celery. Cooked just right the meat is tender and no rubbery. If you say eww to cuttlefish, octopus or squid you really need to try it stir fried with the right seasonings. If the looks of tentacles freak you out just close your eyes. =D

Until next time... Happy Chinese New Year!

Spring Ahead!

Okay it's still the dead of winter here in NYC but today it's actually mildly warm and the sun was shining brightly and it reminded of a little Meekiyu I had left to put up at just the right time. This little girl was inspired by those festivals during the spring, summer and early fall in Japan where everyone was dressed in kimonos and there were all these goody stands and games. One of my favorite game which requires skill not just luck was the goldfish paddle game. Now in NYC we have our share of fairs the biggest one being the September Fair or Feast of San Gennaro and they have that goldfish game where you throw a ping pong ball onto a whole bunch of small goldfish bowl and if it hits inside an orange bowl you win a goldfish. Mind you the ratio of orange fish bowls to empty ones was like 1: 50 so your chances are not so good.

So you use this thin rice paper paddle and you try to flip a goldfish into your bowl of water from a large pool of live goldfish. It takes a lot of patience and skills to do so. This is very popular in Japan and the picture above is from a English site about Japan called Metropolis that features all the wonderful little things you can see and do there. If you're stopping by Japan anytime soon I guess you'll have to do with the throwing a ping pong ball in a random goldfish bowl and have loads of good luck. I won twice and my goldfish Golden LionHeart and Fish'ums (my sister named them) spent a good six years just swimming, eating, pooping and chilling.

Until next time ... Sometimes it's just our luck... =D

Big World, Big Shoe

Yep it's a Big World and a Big Shoe. The weirdest ideas come to you when you least expect it. My new print above just popped into my head when I was at work. Working in a college campus you see students and teachers bustling around tying to meet deadlines and intent on their work and it occurred to me do they feel like they have big shoes to fill and they sometimes feel not big enough to fill it? I know that feeling ran though me ever so often on this street called life. Makes one think.
Oh and the shoe is my sister's converse pictured above teehee. She got a hoot out of it when she saw her shoe on my art. She is one of my biggest fan and also critic. She won't hesitant to say something sucks but she always has good reasoning on why she thinks that way so it's constructive criticism.

Until next time... don't fill another one's shoes, instead make your own footprints...

Almost School

Yeps almost time for the new Spring semester to start though I go to school and work at school I'm on campus almost all the time. Everyone else has already started school so I'm just relaxing and getting ready for another fun filled days in class. This reminds me very soon I'll be like the little "I'm Not a Nerd" origami ornament above once the books and studying start flying! I love the exaggerated emotions that cartoons especially Japanese animation characters have and they do indeed represent all those silly emotions.
Oh gosh I loved the Little Miss and Mr. Series by Roger HarGreaves. They are the perfect little books of silly emotions and lessons. I remember reading them all and who doesn't like Little Miss. Chatterbox? Always reminds you of someone you know or maybe yourself. lolol. =D They're one of the books I enjoyed as a child along with the Berenstein Bears, Amelia Bedelia, The Little Golden Books Series just to name a few. Man looking these up on the Internet reminds me there's really no substitute for having the tiny book in your hands flipping though the pages.

Until next time... never lose the child within... =D

A Chilly Romance and Messy Day

Goodness today was so very very cold! It was snowing quite a lot in the morning but it disappeared. Outside in the cold I was just running some errands like grocery shopping and delivering food to my sister. I also went back to the school where I was hesitant about scanning my newest piece since it would take a long time to complete. I've started to dabble with Photoshop a month ago and I must say I absolutely love it. It allows me to create all the textures and colors I want and if I mess up or want to revamp it it's easy to do.

However what I took for granted was the actual time I need to get my pieces EXACTLY as I picture it in my mind. For example the one above was a pencil drawing that I inked and scanned. My first attempt I spent 4 hours on it and was somewhat dissatisfied and just left it. A few days later I brought it up and reworked for another 3 hours and Eureka! I finally got that lush soft romantic pink/purple sky. The more I use it the more time I invest in making the tiniest details and the texture.

Someone actually compared it to Hayao Miyazaki's work... I'm so floored not only is he such a unique artist his vision and works are so magical and different. He's considered the Walt Disney of Japanese Animation. If you haven't seen any of his movies you must must... it appeals to both young kids and adults of all ages. My whole family loved Howl's Moving Castle from my then 7 year old brother to my (not so young) parents.

My next piece which I'm planning to put up in an art auction is going to be a mixed media of digital and paint/ charcoal. That's going to be a secret until I finish it. =D

Until next time... live as if there is no tomorrow and learn as if it's forever.

Cold Day Hot Food!

Brrrr! It's freezing here in NYC and no fluffy snow to really show for it. Well on cold days like the ones we've been having I love to eat a big bowl of spicy curry! Unfortunately even though I love curry I can't stand too much spiciness. The new print in my shop shows exactly that! My coworker makes an awesome very spicy Indian curry and there really isn't anything better then homemade. My mom also makes curry but her's is much more tamer.

My favorite curry is dish called Katsu Curry from a small Japanese Restaurant called Zen. It's made of this not so spicy curry that has potatos and this deep fried chicken over rice, it's simply wonderful! They don't have a website I linked the restaurant to a review website. I started reading some reviews and there's always people who just have a bad experience or didn't like the food. I guess to each is their own. I was introduced there by my ol roommate and for the past 4 years been there on and off.
Their sushi is pretty good and the raman as attested by my friends is great and the prices won't empty your wallet either... big plus to me. The little I Love Noodle Girl is the newest little origami in my shop and I made out of my noodle love. Also shows I'm not neglecting my store =D There's too much food to love!

Check it out if you're in the neighborhood. St. Mark's Place is the area around 12th - 9th street and 1st avenue aka East Village. It's right next to Astor Place, a few blocks from shopping central Broadway and north of Chinatown. This is where Zen is located and it is chock full with tons of restaurants, small eateries, odd and end shops so I suggest you take a look around. Around the area is a Japanese supermarket that has all these little things from chips to noodles to tiny delicacies. Their tiny cakes are really scrumptious though pricey to me. While you're there check out the new yogurt shops called Pinkberry. There's also the world's best fries in a place called Pommes Fritas. They have so many unique sauces to choose from and the huge fries come out piping hot. It's making my mouth water as I think about it. Look at all those sauces! There's also this very interesting little store called BAMN!! where food like hamburgers, chicken pot pies and fries etc are placed inside an automated machine much like those chips in those vending machines. You pop some quarters and the door opens and you get your food. Very weird but very cool. Use to be 24 hours but they've limited their times now.

There's also two comic book/toy stores that sell all these odd and end toys you won't find anywhere from Godzilla models to Family Guy plushies. They have a great collection of American and Japanese toys/figurines at ToyTokoyo and St. Mark's Comics. There's also a karaoke bar Sing Sing. Actually there are a lot of bars there and around 7pm there are a lot of people and it gets more as it goes into the night. Good thing is there's free parking around the neighborhood... bad thing is finding a spot ( I hope you are a great parallel parker) There's way way too many things to mention but if you stop by NYC and have the free time I suggest you make your way to St. Marks... you won't be disappointed!

Until next time... explore and eat hearty!

Daydreaming

This is the newest print up in my new shop Lipeony and I love this one and experimented a lot with color and thought this pink hue would be best. She reminds me of a bit of Rapunzel because of her long hair and the Little Mermaid because of the pearls and starfish I drew entwined in her locks. When I made this I was basically daydreaming and it's usually involves waiting for a dashing handsome dude that saves me from boredom. Teeheehee. My boyfriend is awesome but sometimes the imagination likes to spin out fairy tales. HeHe.

Till next time... Never settle for less then your dream.

Tagged A Dancing Hamster

Above is my newest print. This one I had in my head for a long time and it took a long time to properly translate it on my paper. Sometimes it's frustrating that my hand and pencil doesn't do what my mind sees. You know what they say practice makes perfect. I really love this print because it was inspired by my cousin's hamsters he use to have 2 and the crazy hamster song that sounds like Hamsters on helium and high on coffee. Here it is on youtube with some funny hamster photos.

Well I've been tagged by the super awesome http://mooremagnets.blogspot.com/. If you guys recall I highlighted her fantastic magnets that can be found at Mooremagnets . Check out her shop =D. What does it mean to be tagged well here it is below...

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you
• Post the rules on your blog
• Write six random things about yourself
• Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
• Let each person know they've been tagged

1. I thought at one time that the little mouse in our house would party in our kitchen when everyone was asleep. =_=

2. My most treasured cup is a Batman cup from McDonald's that I got when I was in 2nd grade.

3. I think my name is way too long... when I wrote my name in elementary school it would never fit in that little line after Name.

4. I described being in an MRI machine as being in a coffin but louder... half my class was speechless and the other half was laughing.

5. I named my little brother. =D

6. When me and my sister had bunk beds I fashioned a long stick of taped pencils to poke her. She wasn't amused. =D

http://the13thgypsy.blogspot.com/
http://ulixis.blogspot.com/
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/
http://chelstastic.blogspot.com/
http://hopestudios.blogspot.com/
http://sleepyhollowfolkartoriginals.blogspot.com/

those are my picks... teeheehee

Until next time... keep dancing you crazy hamster =D

Better Late then Never

Happy New Year Everyone!
Okay okay I'm late... well depends on whose calender you follow... Chinese New Year is around the corner on January 26th and I can't wait for it to come. In New York City there are technically 3 "Chinatowns" the largest being in Manhattan, one around 50-60 streets and 8th avenue in Brooklyn and Flushing in Queens. If you ever have the time you should stop by them since each one has a different feel to it. Anyways when the day rolls around I must remember to bring a camera and take pictures of all the elaborate parades and lion dances plus the decorations and food... food... food!

To celebrate this I made a new item listing in which you choose three Zodiac animals of your liking. The above photo shows it all. I'm one of those people who love reading about horoscopes and what not so it's always intriguing to see what they say about you. ChineseZodiac.com is a pretty good site about the traits of each animal. And my New Year Resolution... is to pursue my art... and with that I opened my 2nd store Lipeony that has all my art in it. I've been thinking about it for a few months and my drawing and origami styles are very different. I know it will be hard work but I'll update on how it goes... I know a lot of people have thought about it. To me it was the distinct style of my two loves that made me not want to combine them.

With origami I like it loud, bright colors and patterns but my own art is soft and subtle. Someone said it reminded them of watercolor which I've actually never tried. The above print was made at a whim but when I finished the pencil drawing I loved it because it was so simple yet showed exactly how I felt about art. Little girl BIG IDEAS. It takes me much longer to create these prints then the origami. I love how both shops represent a different style and parts of my personality I suppose.

Till next time... even if you feel the pencil is heavy... you have the will to take it and create with it!