wish us luck!

{house hunting tomorrow + yard sale saturday}
leaving you with a bit of color
click on the image for photo credits

{self portrait challenge} - introductions wk. 5

took a break from preparing for saturday's yard sale for some fun in the sun with the peanut. what's better than blowing bubbles in the breeze? nothing, i say! :) and so for week five of introductions for the self portrait challenge i exclaim: i am a nanny and everything that that term stands for- caregiver, teacher, playmate, nurse, personal shopper, cook (ha), maid, and friend. just to name a few. ;)

{click on images to enlarge}

NEW at {love, joleen}

New handmade pouches + wristlets at {love, joleen}! Most likely my last update before our impending move. I used some fun prints - vintage + modern, and recycled denim (from my worn favorite jeans)!

Spent a lot of time in my garage this weekend - packing, trashing, sorting. We're having a yard sale on Saturday and still so much to do. I still have a few art commitments to wrap up. I'm definitely feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point. I'm just trying not to panic. Panicing has a way of paralyzing a this person. I'm just trying to take things one at a time and remember to breathe!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Update: I feel a bit better - I just found out I can work from home most of tomorrow... phew!

{thrift scores}

yesterday around noon i sat down to read blogs and didn't even finish this post when i got my purse to go to my parent's new home in apple valley. whoa! what a jaunt that was! it's supposedly 1 hr. 32 min. drive but with the holiday travel it took a whooping 3! it was worth it though. :) nice to see family + my parent's house. then mom and i went to tuesday morning so she could make an exchange + then next door to goodwill.

i went straight to the linens in search of good, vintage material. it's so hard to tell these days what's actually vintage and what's a modern replication but tags are usually a good indicator. these tags shared cotton blends that are no longer in use today. my mom guessed that these are all three prints from the 70's. you can view them individually here, here, and here.

this was a blanket i found that was handmade, i'm pretty sure from two flat sheets. i loved the print of this! there is quite a bit of wear but i do intend to use it if possible. we washed everything before i left last night, and the wash cycle brought out the horrid smell of moth balls, so this one is being air dried in her backyard (provided it didn't blow away last night during high winds).

there was a whole lot of these children's books. i wish i could have bought more. these two stuck out at me most with their fabulous colors and sweet illustrations. the entire set is in fabulous condition, most of them still with the book jackets! the copyrights on these two are 1958 + '59.

this was definitely THE find of the trip. i'm not exactly sure how i ended up with it seeing as my mom actually found it and is quite fond of it herself. it's a handmade skirt with hand embroidered panels. i was hoping to actually wear it if i ever lost this extra weight but when sarah tried it on for me to shoot, it was clear that this will never actually happen. i'm not sure what we'll do with it yet. maybe just hang it up (in it's entirety) for display? maybe cut the panels and use it in a quilt? below are details of most of the panels. more from the thrift store another time...

{sent swaps}

{my swap for may's paint your world swap happy trade. color theme: black, hot pink, + yellow. veiw details here.}

{my swap for june's color-iffic swap-o-rama. color theme: black, white, + "_____" (i chose aqua). view details here.}

*note*

♥ FREE shipping at {love, joleen} thru Monday!
♥ Don't forget to reserve your copy of PORTALS zine today! Issue #2 is selling fast + we don't want you to miss it!

ps- okay, I really must go eat something other than skittles + a white chocolate mocha frap.

{introductions part 4}

{click on image to see larger}

let's pretend that it's thursday because i haven't gone to bed just yet. that photo of me is the original to this crazy pic. :) gonna use it as today's self portrait + this week's contribution to the self portrait challenge. more for the {month of moi} here.

lots to do

Okay, this blog is turning into "the tales of the biopolar" or something. Ha! I am feeling much better today. It's been a productive day so far, helping pack up my charges things for their move. I was feeling really overwhelmed trying to wrap up with my swaps + trades, thinking about having to clean + pack, and get ready for a yard sale. I thought the yard sale was on Saturday so I was very relieved to hear that it's the following week (we live in condos and the home association has semi-annual yard sales). Tomorrow I'm watching "C" at my house so I can get everything I need to packaged and shipped. I'm really looking forward to checking a bunch of these items off of my list. Like I've said, if I knew I was moving I never would have signed up for so much right now. But I didn't and I did. Oh well. I am feeling much more optimistic about the move. I'm not excited about it by any means but I'm feeling a bit better. I think I should have told you that this move is also a temporary one. They're building a home in Oregon and have plans to move again in about a year. The idea of so many moves is probably what really upset me. I know it'll be okay. I know I'll probably love our new place once we find it. Anyhow, here is some happy mail I'd like to share with you! There is more, which I will post either later in the day or tomorrow.

{These goodies are from Carol in Brasil. This is what i sent her but she hasn't recieved it yet because the Federal Revenue and Customs Administration there is on strike. Yikes!!}

{Sarah of geek + nerd made me this sweet 'lil bird as a belated birthday gift. I love it! }

p.s. - backtack iii

i finally made it to the fabric store on monday for my backtack iii project. i fell in love with that top alpha print and of course i'm a polka dot girl so it was only natural for me to get that too. i used wool felt for the back, beak, and wing. one of the specifications for the project is to use 5 buttons - i have two for the eyes and it would be just ridiculous anywhere else. moki suggested i make the bird a little leaf brooch with the remaining 3 (if i understood correctly) and that's precisely what i plan on doing. the bird is of my own pattern and was intended to look something like this one that i made my sister just about a year ago but the tail is a bit discombobulated. maybe i'll show you that another time. ;) i've been planning to make these for {love, joleen} for about as long. will try to make up a bunch sometime this summer. hmm, maybe for a certain soon to be two year old? without the button eyes, of course.

hello?

i didn't blog yesterday because i was pretty busy. i took this photograph in 2004 and it's precisely how i feel about the prospect of yet another self portrait. i'm just feeling entirely too "bleh". so bleh that i've basically just sat around today, watching television. how productive of me, eh? anywho, here is yesterday's portrait which is much more peppy, i promise. :) now i'm going to go nurse this headache i've got. until we meet again.

{day at the beach}

the weather today was absolutely gorgeous! this afternoon C and i went to the beach, just the two of us. it was a nice little retreat. we went by my house for my camera so i could take photos to show you! here is my view pulling into work - which is 1.5 miles up the hill from my house, and here is my absolute favorite photo of the trip. gah! i can't even tell you how much i love how this photograph came out. the blurriness, the lighting, the birds, the ocean - beautiful, i say! :)

this photograph serves as my self portrait today. view more from the {month of moi} here!

{nature's beauty}

i am often amazed at my own sensitivity. most people know i'm an emotional person but beyond that i think i am just so easily moved. photographs of beauty often move me to tears- they bring me joy + make me sad all at the same time and it's wonderful. the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" rings incredibly true for me. i can get lost in a photograph - i think about the subjects in real time: what were the sounds? what were they thinking? how were they feeling? what was the photographers goal + was it achieved? today i'm loving muted tones + white light. i'm also really loving the photography of 18 year old (!) laura taylor. i'm trying to earn money in the shop so i can buy two of her sets for my home. (shameless plugging, huh? *wink*)

ps- these mosaics of my flickr favorites (now 3,076 photos and counting) were created using fd's flickr toys. click on them for links to individual urls.

{sigh}

It's kind of been a crazy day today. We hadn't gotten much sleep in the two previous and didn't make it to bed any earlier last night. Imagine our surprise when we woke up at 1 pm this afternoon! Oh my.. I hope we're able to get to bed at a decent hour tonight since we have work tomorrow. I was really trying to just have a good time + relax when we went to LA but I woke up today feeling extremely overwhelmed. I think I've been a bit unfair when I've said I'm stressed but not exactly why. You know I'm a busy woman and most of it I bring on myself, but there is one HUGE thing that's looming and has me quite upset. I'm moving. You may recall that we just relocated here mid-September to be close to our jobs. You could say moving again is my choice but it's not if I want to keep my job. It's put us in the most awful of situations since Alex and I are both employed by the same people. I probably shouldn't write about this but I am because I'm just too upset about the entire thing. We're moving to the Palm Springs area and I HATE the heat. The thought of moving to the desert makes me want to cry- has made me cry. We're moving June 15th and I've definitely been ignoring the looming date.. pretending that if I stay in denial maybe someone will come out and say, "Just kidding!"

I have posted two more FABULOUS {Paper Samplers} in the shop! You really must go check them out! I hope you had yourself a Beautiful Sunday!

fun with friends

weekend with friends
in los angeles
in an apt. we used to live in
that we called the pink castle

we saw the da vinci code
stayed up until 3 am

went to beverly hills
bought lots of yumminess from paper source
a sweet tea cup + saucer from anthropogie
ah, love those stores

went to santa monica pier
forgot to bring my camera
took photo booth photos
twice
ate dippin' dots ice cream
yum

we had fun

working on new paper samplers for {love, joleen}

glam up, girl!

sometimtes a girl just needs to wear vibrant lipstick ... even if she never leaves the house...

was looking [far back] in my closet today when i saw my BCBG prom dress - would still wear it today if i had the occasion...

more self portraits for the {month of moi} here.

alex: can you please stop photographing me??
me: ah, but you're so cute! :)

and, i just thought i'd share the love. photo credits: 1. simply panache, 2. bunny and lucy, 3. sincere imitation, 4. my heart is where the kite is, 5. Untitled, 6. ≈ Heather Shanti & Rain ≈, 7. last sunday in april, 8. wedding shoes, 9. heresoneimadeearlier

{light}

"Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind,
and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."

- Joseph Addison

{today}

i've spent much of my day crossing things off of my to-do list: packaging orders from {love, joleen}, a package for erin, my pretty bird and tea cup swaps, etc.; going to the post office; depositing my paycheck at the bank; grocery store; laundry; brunch with alex... and i've spent much of my day just sitting around, listening to the podcasts on design*sponge, and being inspired. i believe i'm at a cross roads in my life. i've come to the realization (thank goodness) that i am not meant to just be/do one set thing. i think sometimes people need to be told that this is okay! it's okay not to have a "niche". it's okay to change your mind.

i want to go back to school and study art - textile, graphic, photography, etc. i want to create + be home + stress LESS. i want {love, joleen} to flourish. i want to create items with good design. i want people to love what i create. i want time and focus. i want to be a children's photographer. i want collaborative projects like portals zine to continue to do well. and i want future collaborations like rubber stamp lines to happen. i want to know what to do and i want to know when to make it happen.

ps- it's always when i forget to tell you, that someone asks :) - my (throw-away) top is from forever 21 (bc if you've shopped there before.. you know it's not for the quality). and the polka dot top here is actually a dress that i bought from express 2 years ago on my honeymoon.

{old friends}

i purchased the most beautiful vintage paper pack from pam garrison the other day. it was such a lovely surprise to have my envie already waiting at my door when i got home from work. pam is amazing anyway, but i was so shocked to see how BEAUTIFUL the envelope was. she posted a little peek here. she hand drew our addresses and added a sweet little bird illo. so splendid. i couldn't wait to use my paper and this is what i ended up creating.

it's on 5" x 7" canvas. the floral wallpaper and ledger paper (that i used for flower) were in the vintage paper pack. the cutout, white, fluffy wallpaper is from my grandma's house. the birdy and that sweet image of the little girls is from hannah grey. and those beautiful black plastic buttons with rhinestones were given to me by my MIL from her parent's sewing kit. pretty fabulous, eh? i love artwork full of history. like an old friend.

{click on the image to enter the shop!}

introductions - part iii

dear friends,

don't worry! i'm okay. i just want you to know that i don't always dwell on the ick. in fact, i wasn't even planning to post about self image in the last entry but when i uploaded that photo from my camera i just had to tell someone. i guess the more i open up, the more you'll understand my funk. i'm not saying i shouldn't try to get out of it. i'm just saying it's not unmerited. but, you know, that's life. and life is wonderful like that. times you feel funky and mopey and times you're jump-for-joy happy.

we're still introducing ourselves over at self portrait challenge and you know, you can join in too! the more the merrier... well, some people say. ;) ha! if you missed the last couple of weeks you can find them here and here. you can also view more of my self portraits for the {month of moi} over here.

10 things i ♥ today:
♥ butterfly kisses card set by mav of port2port
♥ handpainted + personalized bird chalk board by moki
♥ the time traveler's wife by audrey niffenegger (reading + loving for the 2nd time)
♥ amy's sweet shop - inspire co.
♥ totally smitten with the photography of jessica/insurgent muse
♥ the children's portrait photography of audrey woulard of chicago (found through moki)
♥ the blog of sabine brandt
♥ the quilts of gee bend at atlanta's high museum of art (fabulous! more soon)
♥ my flickr favorites (all 2867 photos + counting)
♥ delila's whimsical faery wands

no title.

ew. i hate myself from this angle. i'm having a lot of self-loathing lately when it comes to my appearances. you'd never know it by this challenge to photograph (and post!) myself daily but i am incredibly self-conscious. i'm usually very quiet + shy until i really get to know a person (then it's a whole 'nother story). i always hated giving presentations in class, even though i did very well. i don't like to be around a lot of people, especially when they're looking at me. i feel like they're noticing my massive arms, my stretchmarks, my ever growing chubby cheeks. yes, i know i look like i'm 17. no it doesn't help to say, "well that'll be great when you're older!" i know i can do something about it. i know i can eat much healthier and move my ass from time to time. i know i'm going to 'turn into a pizza'. i feel stuck. it's all part of IT. the Funk.

{website}

eeee.. alex is so cool! he helped me make an image map for the homepage of {love, joleen} so now it's back up and running. instead of shopping through lovejoleen.com right now, the shop button will take you to my etsy shop. yay! ok, goodnight! xo!

{busy ... bird?}

I've been a busy girl! There are now art prints + original artwork available at {love, joleen}! Some oldies and new ones + I hope you like 'em all! I was looking through images for the shop when I noticed I caught myself in the reflection of one illustration. Happy accident! This is serving as my self portrait today - you can view more for the {month of moi} here.

View this piece here.

To everyone with the most important job- thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day!

PS- I've just added more to the shop!

{love, joleen - etsy shop}

Today's self portrait is just to show you I've been busy today with new things!

I've created a new shop on etsy and have posted new items! You're always telling me I find such fabulous papers (it's true!- hee!) so I've put together two different types of "Paper Samplers" for you! Each paper sampler comes with an assortment of specialty papers, wall papers, gift wrap, and ephemera. Most pieces approximately 5" x 7". Ten pieces included and packaged in a clear, protective, plastic envelope. I've also listed my Raindrop Stationery Flats. These stationery flats are printed on high quality 14 pt. cardstock and have a satan matte finish. They have a sweet little raindrop illustration and rounded corners. This set includes 10 stationery flats and 10 white envelopes. They are beautifully packaged- tied with a grosgrain ribbon and placed in a protective gift box. I hope to add some more throughout the weekend (like my birdhouses) but I wanted you to be the first to know that those were up! I hope you like them! xo!

{beauty}

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my changed look. It's like when you clean your house and you sit down to enjoy it. It was my way of clearing my mind a bit. Starting new-ish with a crisp, white, blank slate.

Today has been a busy but good day. Last minute Mother's Day gifts (ack); Last minute embellishing; Lunch with my husband; Trip to the post stop. Tonight I have a date with my best friend, Candice. Dinner and a movie, just us girls. Yay! :)

My self portrait today was fun. I played a bit with my lighting and used our tripod. Believe it or not, I've never even used it until the party. I am trying to learn some new things. I really liked how this photograph turned out but notice my awful posture. Alex says I'm going to be one of those hunched over hump old ladies. Eep. More self portraits for the {month of moi} here.

I am so excited because today I recieved the most fabulous art piece. It's called Isobel #2 and I purchased it from Emily of The Black Apple. She has the most wonderful items + artwork in her shop. I hope to add much more of it to my collection. :) It was packaged well and the shipping was fast! I immediately framed it and put it on my wall, which you can see here. Thanks, Emily! I ♥ it!

I've spent the last couple of days looking for beautiful and inspiring images- mainly artwork and photographs. Here is a mosaic I created using beautiful images I found on flickr. I've been thinking about "beauty" a lot and what it means to me. I love that the concept of beauty is a personal one ("beauty is in the eye of the beholder"). It's my own and no one else's and when we concur it can be all the more magical. I relate beauty to peace and I need more of both in my life right now.

{exhale}

ah, that's better. sometimes you just need clean lines. simplicity.

{color me swapalicious}

i've been in a few more "color" swaps recently and it's been fun! remember the fabulous goodies i recieved from abril for our hot pink + aqua swap? now that she's recieved mine i can show you what i've sent:

the theme for may's color-iffic swap-o-rama was orange + yellow and this is what i sent.

and lastly is a package i've sent to a friend in portugal for a "rainbow" swap we arranged.

{looking for good}

today isn't really any better than yesterday. actually, it started off much worse. i'm not trying to wallow but i think sometimes i't's okay to have a bad day. sometimes people are too quick to try and "fix" things or to say chin up when i just want to have a good cry. i need the bad days, too, to deal with some of the things i've been through or am going through now. besides the usual, my charge has shifted to full on two-year-old behavior. she's hit me for the first and second time out of anger, this week. she's started undressing herself which resulted in a freshly bathed babe, waking up with no pants or diaper on, laying in a pool of her own pee. ew. just dealing with those "normal" things and so much more. i've decided i need to start talking about these things, and caring just a little less about who reads. this is MY space and i have the right to share with friends. *sigh* ok! changing gears here...

i want to post some "happy" things in hopes to help me out of my funk. i think i've become a bit obsessed with carving my own stamps! there are more here, here, and here. and speaking of stamps- our winner of the contest is nienke of red colander!

please email me at joleenieweenie AT hotmail DOT com for your prize! (i'm still keeping it under wraps until she recieves it!) this is going to be like the world's longest post because i want to show you some things that make me happy. you can view more here.

my camera battery is dead so i'm not sure i'll get in my self portrait today. just in case i don't, here is one i took of me and alex a few days ago. i love this man.