I find it hard to follow through with these wishlists. I love shopping; I love shopping for clothes, art supplies, shoes, hair dye, and pretty much everything else I haven't listed. But while I, like many others, want want want, I try not to be so materialistic. I tell myself I have so much already. These are all wants, not needs. But once in a while, I like to create lists for future reference for when I want to treat myself.
I don't have a theme for this wishlist; these are random wants I came across recently.

01. The Riot Grrrl Collection - This is a new book that was published by The Feminist Press at CUNY with 350+ pages of zine styled riot grrrl pages. This book looks amazing.
02. Beetlejuice: The Complete Series - When I found out recently that they released the entire series on DVD, I knew I immediately wanted this. This is one obscure cartoon from my childhood that I really want to reconnect with.
03. Rookie Retro - Blue/Yellow Roller Skates - One dream of mine will always be to join the roller derby. I was never much of a skater when I was young, and so I'm quite rusty. I want a pair of roller skates to practice!
04. La Riche Directions Alpine Green Hair Dye - I've tried all kinds of hair dye for unnatural colors, but I've never used Directions before. In fact, I never heard of it before a few days ago. I've read good reviews and I want to try their green; it looks like the perfect shade of green I'm looking for.
05. Jeffrey Campbell Hawk Be Skull - I love Jeffrey Campbell. Some JC shoes are too wild for my taste and some are just right. I don't own a pair of shoes like this and they instantly caught my attention. I want!

I've been all about foreign music lately. My song of the moment is this Italian song by Fran Jeffries. This version appeared in the 60s Pink Panther movie and it's fantastic.

I had this old t-shirt from Salem for years. I went through a phase where I convinced myself I could fit into youth small t-shirts. While I did, and still do fit into youth small t-shirts, they're uncomfortably tight. This shirt was a youth small, and I didn't have it in me get rid of it cause I love it so. I took action to make it wearable.
I bought this lace button down from a thrift store about a year ago. I would have worn it as is, but my gut told me to use it for something fun. So I combined the two.

I added the lace for the sleeves. But I didn't want regular sleeves, I wanted raglan styled sleeves.

The lace and the "magic" aspect I think are a nice witchy combination.

So happy I can now wear this shirt without being suffocated with fabric.

A while ago, I posted about my switch to Storenvy. After talking to some friends and gaining insights and working up motivation to actually give a damn, I decided to move back to Etsy, and I'm sure this time it's for good.

I wouldn't say Storenvy wasn't a satisfying experience, but being that I am not one to self promote (not purposely that is, I'm just not good at it) it seemed challenging to get myself out there. Etsy makes it easy because it's the go to site for crafted goods (everyone and their mothers browse through the site) and they make it easy to promote and whatnot without really trying. I need that push and assistance. When I moved stores the first time around, I felt Etsy was a temporary thing. I couldn't really get into it, but now that I'm back on there, I think the flow will be more comfortable. It really is all about trial and learning, right?

So anyway, here I am back on Etsy, giving it another go. Once again, the thrill of a new store makes me feel motivated and I've been really sewing up a storm this summer break. Got to take advantage of the free time I have these days, right?

While on a roll with changing things up, I also went and changed my blog layout. I am totally loving it, and I hope you do too!

I also feel the need to share my song of the moment. I currently have this song on repeat as I continue to sew up that storm.
I love Grimes. Have I ever shared that before? Well now you know. I love Grimes.

This is Orbert. He induces fear in those who litter.

Fall semester introduced a new class into our curriculum: a storyboarding class. Being that it was a new class, it was kind of a mess; the professors were trying to figure out how to come about teaching the class.

This first project was a fun one. We had to create a character out of a random shape. Then develop it further: different views, its movement, and backstory.

Orbert is a cotton candy colored plump little grumpy mcgrumpster who gets easily pissed off, and when he's pissed off, he eats you. He doesn't tolerate littering; he's always on trash patrol. He's got arms made for picking up said trash.

I wanted to take it one step further and create a somewhat 3D version of him. I turned him into a plush doll. Made him out of an old tshirt (the color almost matched my sketches of him), beads for the eyes, shoelaces for the angry brows, and embroidered nose and mouth. In rush to get things done, I even took him on the train with me to sew.

At the end of the semester, my professor gathered some of the 3D characters and put them in the display case in the Illustration wing. I felt special.

He sits at my desk and watches me work everyday. Creeper.

The other day, I was hit with all this energy. I spontaneously decided to bake. I was looking through cookie recipe books and found this easy recipe for delicious cinnamon goodness.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*Note: may need more topping mix as you coat the cookies

Directions:
01. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
02. At low speed, add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla (dough will be pretty stiff).
03. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until dough is stiff enough to handle easily.
04. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
05. After dough is chilled, roll dough into 1 inch balls.
06. Place balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
07. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until a delicate golden brown.
08. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients. Roll the hot teacakes into the topping mix and let cool.

Enjoy!

I posted this on Tumblr yesterday. I wanted to share it here as well.
The past few days (since I've been absent from the blogging world for a little while, I needed to catch up) I've been reading posts from bloggers about self image and self love. Two that come to mind are Charlavail and Amy Morby. Along with recent events in my life, the messages they're trying to get across had me thinking.

This snapchat photo was in response to a snap my friend sent me. At the same time, this photo also expresses a self realization that occurred today.

You know how you’re always told that people are flawed? It never really hits you until, who knows when it hits you actually. It can click at any moment, and it did for me today. When you take a step back and look at people as a whole, everyone is flawed; no one is perfect. Some people acknowledge it, but most people don’t which is why everyone talks s*** about eachother.

My whole life I’ve had poor self image; I never liked myself because people always picked apart at my flaws. I was always too nice to do return the favor which is why it tore me apart every time. I believed it all. Recently I felt those old wounds open up when people started picking me apart again. I let those feelings stew a bit until today when it hit me that I just don’t give a f***. I am flawed and so is everyone else in this entire world. The way you handle that shows what kind of person you are. When you accept everyone else as they are, the better off you are, and the better you become. When you pick apart someone else, you are showing the world who you really are: a hypocrite.

This realization made me stop and think about myself. As long as they’re productive and harmless actions, I will do whatever the hell I want. I’ll wear what I want, I’ll cut my hair the way I want, I’ll shave when I want, I’ll keep up with whatever hobbies I want; the list is endless. We are here to look out for ourselves, I mean we are living OUR OWN lives, aren’t we? Do what makes you happy, that should be all that matters. (Yes I know, we should act selflessly and watch out for eachother, but I’d like to think that’s a given. In terms of appearance and state of mental health, that’s a different case.) Our flaws shouldn’t control our lives, and other people’s judgements and criticisms shouldn’t control our lives. WE control our own lives and if other people can’t handle that, they’ll get a slap from reality real soon, won’t they.

All I’m saying is, don’t let other people get you down. Do as you please, and if anyone passes judgements, just remember that there is always something you can judge about them too, because as I said, no one is perfect. Be happy with yourself. Be happy with who you are, and what you look like. You control your life. Don’t let others get away with controlling it for you.

Here’s to self realization.

This mindset is something that is achieved on your own, for you to come to terms with your own self. It may not even make sense now, but it's something that can make sense if you want it to.
We're surrounded by concepts that are considered standards, it's hard to not let words take a toll on you when you don't fit those standards.

I don't want to make this all preachy, but I guess here are some "tips" to help you come to your own terms:
• Try something different today, be it major or minor. Test your confidence. Yesterday, I cut my bangs and parted my hair differently. It's crazy how something little like that can make you feel like a new person.
• If anyone passes judgement at you, feel free to judge them back, in your head. Be the bigger person, keep it to yourself; let them have their moment of hierarchy. As hard as it may be, don't acknowledge their words. Remember, they are in denial of their own flaws.
• Look in the mirror, make funny faces at yourself, stare at yourself, accept your flaws. When you come to terms with the fact that you are not perfect, just like everyone else in the world, others criticisms will be easier to pass and ignore.
• Read something spiritual that gets to the deeper meaning of the self and the soul. I'm currently reading the Tibetan Book Of The Dead. It's always interesting to learn about getting to the root of the soul and things that should matter more than physical appearance. Life should be about who you are inside, not about your exterior.
• Smile at the world. Be happy. You know something most people don't know: how to love yourself.

And that's Self Realization Friday 101 with Maria. I hope you took something from all this rambling.

I wish I had some underwater adventures to share, but alas, it's only artwork that I'll be sharing.
The past few assignments I worked on, I really seemed to be all about water themes. Aside from the galaxy deep sea diver, this is another example. I wanted to make this project more fun than an regular flat piece of art.

Like how I usually do, I used cardboard as well as magazine clippings decoupaged onto the background covered with acrylic and glitter. Yes, glitter!
Excuse the following photo, it's a bit grainy due to the fact that this was a saved Snapchat photo. I hadn't taken any other photos during the process leaving this one as my only photo. Besides, I kinda like the graininess.

Other than my usual layering method, I, for the first time, used fasteners to incorporate some movement. I used the fasteners on the swimmer's arms, so she can really swing.
I want to use fasteners more often, and that's a fact.

While diving into underwater research (hardy har), my friend and I discovered some information about mysterious underwater noises. I'm kinda really fascinated by it all but a little creeped out at the same time. You can find the most known sounds on Youtube. Here's a video with each of the six known noises.

The 'Train' noise for some reason creeps me out the most.