Saturday, June 29, 2013

Awkward Bird

This morning I followed a quick tutorial by Carla Sonheim on making PanPastel Critters.  It was very freeing & fun to do.  Here's the critter I made:

Scanned version:

Click to view on black!

Somehow the colors are weird; the pinks are more purple and the blues are too blue, but the other colors are fine, so trying to adjust with less blue messes them up.  :\  Blargh.  *shakesfistatscanner*

Here's the sketchbook version:

Click to view on black!


I hope you click through and give it a try yourself!

Friday, June 28, 2013

June Guys

As you all know I am more of a cute bunny-slash-pretty lady kind of artist, but I am determined to become more proficient at drawing men; so I decided to participate in the June Guys 2013 Challenge.  I like the fact that its a very laid back challenge with no pressure to do one every day or even every week... as you can tell!  LOL!

Anyway, it's been a crazy busy, stressed-out month, but this week, I've found some time & energy to dabble in a lot of different projects - some polymer clay, some painting, some drawing... - and last night I finally sat down and started a sketch of one of the guys I had saved to my Pinterest just for such a purpose.  I am a bit disappointed in it myself, as it really doesn't look much like him at all, but I do think it's not too bad for someone branching into new areas!  ^-^

Here's the scanned version:

Click to view on black!


And the version straight from the sketch book:

Click to view on black!


Here is the image I was sketching from.  I know where I went wrong, and can't wait to find time to try again!

Don't forget to check out the other June Guys:
June Guys

Photo Friday: 'What I Found'

Rain on the Steps

Click to view on black!

I went to go take a photo for today's prompt and found it had just started to rain... It made a nice texture though!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Photo Friday: Season of Sun

I discovered a new setting on my camera while on vacation last week and played around with it some.

JoAnn, poolside

Click to view on black!

Sun through the Elm Leaves

Click to view on black!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Product Review: Lay's Stax Que Rico Limon Potato Crisps


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I was so excited last week when we came across ANOTHER plain old lime-flavored snack!  No hot chili pepper!  And I have never actually had Lay's Stax, so I was pleasantly surprised that they are thicker than Pringles and come in a container I can get my hand in!


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These chips have SO MUCH FLAVOR!  Just look at it!  This is the amount of flavor I expected on my Wheat Thins!  But truthfully, it almost seems too much on the thinner potato crisp; I definitely cannot eat a whole serving in one sitting.  The flavor is SO tart that it singes the roof of my mouth and my tongue, and makes my lips & mouth feel all shriveled up, but it is SO good!  I think if I paired them with something cool & creamy (sour cream, guacamole, ranch dressing...?), the flavor would be just right, and I think the chips are thick enough to handle dipping!

I will definitely buy these again and relish my little half-size servings.  So with great pleasure I grant these Lay's Stax Que Rico Limon Potato Crisps...

Two Ears Up!

Friday, June 07, 2013

Photo Friday: Body of Water


Click to view on black!


Yes, I went for the cliché!  Hahaha!

Monday, June 03, 2013

365+ Rabbits


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My days seem to be flying by right now...

Product Review: Lime Wheat Thins Snack Crackers

Wow, Wheat Thins!  What have you done?  So many flavors!  I wish I could try them all, but worry I won't like them.  (Then what do I do with the rest?) 

However, when I saw these lime crisps I could not resist.  LIME flavor, without the added heat of CHILI.  AMAZING CONCEPT!  (Yes, thank you, Tostito's, for being one of the first to do it!  Now if only we could convince everyone else that they will sell more lime things if they leave out the heat!)


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First you might note the little sticker in the upper right corner of the box; that is for a promotion they were running via social media.  Send them a photo of your box (which I had already taken for this review) and then after they reply, you can "make a claim" on the loss of your box (which means you could enter a contest to win a full set of all 8 of the new Wheat Thin flavors).

Sadly, these crackers were just as disappointing as the Smokey BBQ ones we tried.  They just don't seem to pack enough of a flavor oomph as they need to balance out the "Wheat Thin" flavor; not that there is anything wrong with "Wheat Thin" flavor, but I like my snack flavor to be consistently flavorful throughout.  (Gosh, that sounds funny!)


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As you can see there is a little green & white powder on the cracker, and it gives a great lime flavor, just not enough in my opinion for a cracker.  After the initial flavor rush of the first bite, it's just boring Wheat Thin flavored.  :\ 

I really like the lime flavor, they have great potential if they add more, but for now, they're not really worth the carbs for this diabetic.  So it is with regret that I must give these...

One ear up!

6-22-13 ETA: I followed through with their fun little contest and got a coupon for one free box of Wheat Thins this past week along with this note:


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We picked out Cheese Crunch and love them!

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Makeup

I don't often wear it, but after working at Sally, I like to wear it more than I did before.  However, I don't have much, and much of it is definitely older than the make-up companies recommend.  I know, I should throw it out, let go of the old, make room for the new... Someday!

So anyway, here it all is!

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On the bottom left are all my brushes, most probably from before I got married, but the pinky-purple ones I bought just a few months ago.  Right next to them, in front, is my new e.l.f. Eyelid Primer, that I love very much, and a tube of Palladio powder finish foundation, which I do not love at all, but it was one of those free perks of working at Sally. 

Above that in the middle kinda, are 2 pencil sharpeners, one that I think I "inherited" from my mom when I moved out (early 90s?), the other came with my new Hard Candy Shadowholic eye crayon (Mirror Mirror) which is VERY SPARKLY.  And speaking of sparkly the lipstick tube right next to the sharpeners is actually an old body glitter in Lime-Silver (but it looks like Gold and Silver on your skin.)

Above those and slightly to the left is Chanel's Poudre Lumière Perfecting (LOOSE!) Powder (Dawn), that I bought for my wedding (1999), and a sample of the Teint Naturel Liquid Makeup to put over it (she gave me a ton, I guess we're lucky there aren't more). 

Above those in the little jar is Clinique's blended face powder in Rose Glaze (also LOOSE!) which I probably got about the same time.  The blush next to it, I also "inherited" from my mom, but it's my favorite blush and as you can see it's not gone yet!  (It's Revlon Naturally Glamorous Blush-On (In The Pink).)

Then we get to the eye shadow!  The pink & beige are from Prescriptives (Hot Pink & Seafoam) and the quad beside them is from Avon (Washed Sun, Silk Rose, Silk Orchid & Washed Pink), both probably from shortly after getting married. Directly in front of those two is some brow powder I bought last fall for my Rose cosplay; I actually use it sometimes too - just not as much as for her!

Beside that you can see two little pans of purple & green, and another quad in black, white, grey, and some pinky-brown color, from working at Sally, and my new Hard Candy Shadowholic eye crayon (Mirror Mirror) which I might have mentioned is just a little SPARKLY!

Then in back there is a gift set that I definitely got before I got married.  It is by Covergirl and has the Soft Grey eye pencil, Roseberry Cheekers blush, and Luminous eye shadow in Rich Violet, Cabernet, and Primrose.  The lipstick & mascara disappeared long ago.

And leaning up against that is a tube of body glitter, also probably a decade old too.  Then to the way right are my lipsticks:

A pearly pink (Coco Chanel Cristalle Pink) that I also bought for my wedding, a dark purple (Burt's Bees Spontaneity) I bought when I first moved to Oswego (2003), a mysterious purple that I have no recollection of buying, a Clinique Lip-Shaping Pencil (mahogany) probably from shortly after getting married, a red sample from Avon (Berry Berry Moist), and their delicious Sweet Spells lip balm, also both probably from shortly after getting married.

And finally in front are my eyeliners!

I have a silvery smoky grey too, but it's in with the set for this photo.  As you can see, I am big on the purple & green.  I've always used black, and I couldn't possibly tell you how long I've had the top 3 in this picture (and the smoky grey).  The Wet'n'Wild ColorIcon ones I bought about a year ago when I was at Sally, which is also when I bought the glitter mascara which you can just see the corner of here.

And if you just read all that, you deserve a cookie!  XD  Next time I share girly stuff like this,  it'll be my nail polishes... ^o^

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Conscious Box

Back on Earth Day, I entered a giveaway at TheIntuitiveParent.com to receive a free Conscious Box courtesy of Educents and was lucky enough to win!  Since I had never heard of it before, I was very pleased to find out that the box would be filled with samples of healthy, ethical products.  Here is what I received:


Click to Embiggen!


I haven't had a chance to try everything yet, but the snacks & candy are gone!  LOL!  In the box are some lovely postcards -- OMG those cookies!  I was sad there weren't any in the box. -- and coupons for natural products, along with a sample of a PrideGreen 13 gallon biodegradable trash bag.

Right in front of the box is a beautiful temporary tattoo from ConsciousInk, a bamboo & biodegradable bristled toothbrush from SurThrival, a Miracle Mud face masque from 7th Heaven, and a sample of Goats Milk Chocolate Mint Soap from L'Ecuyer's Gourmet, that I actually thought was fudge before reading the label!  LOL!

There was a tiny heart of raw chocolate (in the front right of the photo) from SacredChocolate, a sample of Tulsi tea from OrganicIndia, a small package of Whole Grain Minty Mint Crispy Wafers from Qbel, and Cinnamon Apple Clusters from Peeled Snacks, which were all delicious, as were the cashews from Sahale Snacks.

Things that were also included that we haven't tried yet:  Cinnamon Cranberry Breakfast Cereal from TeeChia, a packet of EatWhatever for your breath, a Cuppow (need to find a canning jar not in use!), some Dill Dip Mix also from L'Ecuyer's Gourmet, Vegan Parmesan by Parma!, some raw organic hemp seeds from Ojio, and a packet of organic French Roast Herbal Coffee from Teeccino.

I can't wait to finish trying everything!  Many thanks to Robin at TheIntuitiveParent.com and to Conscious Box and Educents as well!

June Guys

You may have noticed that I don't draw many people in my art, and that when I do they're usually of the female persuasion, or if they're male, they kinda look like a child with facial hair.  So in order to improve, I've decided to take part in a little blog challenge I stumbled upon the other day:

June Guys

Hopefully by the end of the month, I'll have the hang of drawing hunky guys!  ^-^  Stay tuned for more Guy Goodness!