the best of intentions

i had hoped to share more of christmas before taking off for the the new year festivities but i really just need to take a break. i got a little overwhelmed today trying to get everything together, while still working an 11 hour day (i work 11 hrs./day 4 days/wk.).. i'm just a little bit tired and want to enjoy myself (+ relax!) on the trip. we're leaving for kansas first thing friday morning to visit with alex's family + will return monday. i hope you have a fun and safe new year's eve! i'll come back sometime next week to share some of the things i'm most grateful for in 2006 and some of my goals for 2007! also, i'll probably pop in with flickr to share photos while i'm gone if you want to check there. love + hugs! joleen

a special gift: love monster

this is my youngest charge with his christmas gift from alex + i. i am so excited to share it with you! this is one of my most favorite holiday projects because, while i made nearly all of my gifts, this sweet love monster was a collaboration between my husband and myself. he helped select the fabrics we used; he turned arms + helped me decide their length; he chose the buttons for the eyes + sewed them on the face; he stuffed, stuffed, stuffed. :D click here to see more of it.

Oh, happy day!

i hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine! i just love that photograph above (even if i look a little wonky!)- my mom bought us matching pj's which was oh-so-fun. it was just SO wonderful to spend time + holiday fun with this beautifully spirited group of people. i feel incredibly blessed to have such a close + special family. i cannot wait to spend new year's with our other family (alex's parent's, etc.)! below, aimee and i are being our super silly + sexy (if i do say so myself ;)..heh ) selves... for today's wardrobe remix. you have no idea how wonderful it is for me to have a sister as my very best friend. more christmas goodness throughout the week, i'm sure. thank you for all of your sweet comments regarding our family photograph in the previous post + for your well wishes! xo!

Merry Christmas, Friends!!

Love,
The Thiessen Family

Holiday Survey

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate with marshmallows and a peppermint stick!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped.
3. Colored lights or white on tree/house ? We don't have a tree this year but we still have lights everywhere. They're all white but if we had lights on the outside they'd be colored.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? We didn't this year because I didn't see any at the checkout.
5. When do you put your decorations up? The weekend after Thanksgiving.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Do deviled eggs count?
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Staying up really late with my sister, trying to sleep but watching Christmas movies instead. :D
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth? ( I like Heather's answer)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We open immediate family gifts on Christmas Eve and Santa gifts on Christmas day.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Usually lights + ornaments (new ones and childhood ones for both of us).
11. Snow… love it or dread it? Love it! But, that's because we live in SoCal where it does NOT snow... so it's fun to visit.
12. Do you know how to ice skate? Like riding a bike. LOL
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I've had so many! I would have to say that there have been two gifts that I remember most not so much by the gift but the way they were presented. When I was 5 or 6 my parents rolled out a mint green scooter and I thought that was THE coolest surprise! When I was (hmmm 9-11?) I got my first (previously loved) sewing machine. It was given to me in the way of a scavenger hunt. My family is genius I tell you!
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family- who wouldn't say that? ;)
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Fantasy fudge, thank you very much.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? My family still spending the night at my parents on Christmas Eve. That tickles me.
17. What tops your tree? a silver glittery star.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Well I ain't gonna lie... (ha!) I really like both. ;)
19. Favorite Christmas Song? My Grown Up Christmas List
20. Favorite Flavor of Candy Canes? Peppermint-duh!

Thanks Heather, that was fun. Now it's your turn!

wardrobe remix

{click on the images to enlarge}

One of my goals for 2006 was to participate in a project called wardrobe remix for at least 14 days. With only 14 days until 2007, I began on Sunday- talk about procrastination. ;) You may recall that I did a similar project in May, called month of moi, where I took a self portrait every day. This project will focus more on fashion and how I interpret that to be on a daily basis. I thought this would be a fun little documentation. You can see 'em all here.

PS - I look angry in today's pic (top)- I'm not, I'm just really tired + my tummy hurts. :/

i love...

my family! :)

happy monday, friends!

abuse

{sad bear purchased from hotdog n' bun booth at felt club.}

i was sitting in a restaurant booth with alex today at lunch, looking out the window when i saw a young man begin an altercation with the woman he was with. horrified, i saw him in her face, yelling at her and pushing her into the car they were standing against. then he shoved her into the passenger seat and began to hit her. he ran around to the driver's seat and like that, was speeding along. shocked and horrified, a scream was going on within myself. hadn't anyone else seen what was happening? couldn't i have run out the nearest exit and yelled for him to stop? embarrassed may have made him worse once they got home, i suppose. my heart broke for that girl and i cried silent tears for her into my lunch. how do people find their way into abusive relationships? it's seems uncommon since, like most negative things, it's rarely talked about. still, i'm sure it happens more often then we think. feeling helpless, all i could do at that point was pray for her and her situation- and thank god i've always felt treasured in mine.

i ♥ shoes!!

oh, how i ♥ my new leopard print wedges from target! target has to be my favorite shoe shopping place because i find so many shoes that are super super cute, always with the season, and inexpensive- so i don't feel bad if wear out more quickly (which i find they don't, really). i was just browsing online and my goodness!! there are so many adorable shoes that aren't in my store! i hope i get target gift cards for christmas! lol ;) here are shoes i'm oogling:
♥ sibley cork platform wedge
♥ tosca modras wedges
♥ delila gatherd pumps
♥ annabell canvas demi-wedge
♥ tessi polka dot basket weave wedges
♥ sasha menswear skimmers
♥ blue mod dots rubber rain boots
♥ andrea platform pumps
♥ chiara tall shaft boots
♥ tysley platform wedge
♥ sarah buckle skimmers
btw, i've recently started a new set over my flickr called i ♥ shoes and of course will be adding to it. ps- i'm a size 9. ;)

Plug

First off I'd like to say thank you again to my Brad for thinking of me in this gift. His sister recently passed away and he was given a box of her belongings. From this my parents gave me a porcelain doll and a jar (vase?) of these wooden spools of thread from the box... which I LOVE. I just did a photo session with them for fun and for the current (FIBER) issue of Portals (which we're putting it to bed this weekend. Yay!) I have to say that it is honestly my favorite issue so far. I am so excited about it and really think you're going to love it! Don't forget to pre-order your copy here.

Prima Dollies

{Photograph used with permission of snoopygirl! Thank you!}

These are Prima Dolly Ashlette, Prima Dolly Ginger, + Prima Dolly Violet. Violet was the next beauty on my list and lately I've been watching her on eBay. I found this auction that was offering all three PD's for a really great deal, including international shipping. I told Heather about it who said that Sharon was interested in getting a Blythe also. (Heather has two now). So, I had to ask Alex to tell me if I was already getting her or if I could move forward with the auction. He said that he had, in fact, purchased her for me (aww!) but that the deal had just fallen through (boo!) and to go ahead and move forward. Yay! So, on their way from Hong Kong are these three beauties- sisters- fraternal triplets if you will. I've gotten permission from both girls to go ahead and open the boxes so I can take photographs of our sisters together before they move on their way. I cannot wait! :D

My Favorite Passage In A Very Good Book

"Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry... have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere--be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

-Francie Nolan
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by, Betty Smith

ohh and psst...
took some pics of Inka today that you can see here. ;)

am i really posting for the third time today?

why yes. yes i am. i can't wait until tomorrow to share this utter cuteness with you. i recieved this weeks ago but it took me a while to notice it in the box and wasn't until today that i set it all up to take photos. what took me so long?? this super cute lil' gnome is from beshka. she sent me this wee kit that came with the 3" gnome, a mini rectangle of astroturf (ha!) and different postcard images for backgrounds. i LOVE this! thank you, beshka! :D

holiday hubub

{click on the image for photograph credits}

this morning i put together this mosaic of christmas inspiration, which is also my new desktop image. what that heck happened to my holiday mojo?? do you have it? it got lost about two weeks ago and now i'm frantically trying to locate it so i can finish everything on time. i've now come to grips that not every gift this year will be handmade. i am happy that a lot will be if i could just finish things instead of leaving them all half done. today i am finishing up with issue #4 of portals (hallelujah!) and then i can focus my attention to christmas for the next week and a half. this upcoming weekend will be santa's workshop at casa thiessen- that's for dang sure. how are you doing with your gifts? am i the only crazy, frazzled, panicked one?!

Questions Answered, Etc.

{Our first dolly family photo!}

First of all, thank you for your super sweet comments regarding my hair. I don't know how "brave" it was. I kind of viewed it as rebellious thing. Against myself and my ideas of structure. Against anyone who doesn't like it. It wasn't about being even or "perfect" but the epitome of carefree! Plus, it grows back so quickly- any damage would have been temporary. ;)

So there are just a couple of questions from the recent comments that I'd like to address. I'll do it here in case you were wondering as well. Soleclaw wanted to know why Maileena didn't go to the meet. There are two reasons. One was that I was running a wee bit late and she wasn't fully dressed. It didn't occur to me to finish dressing her there... der. So, she had to wait in the car.. *sniff* The second (and very embarrassing!!) reason makes me feel oh-so-bad that I haven't been able to share it with you until now. The day she arrived I thought I would welcome her with a special dress. So I had her on the ironing board while I was fitting her and then took her over to the table to work. I noticed there was something on the bottom with her hand and when I went to take it off I realized that I had burnt her with the iron. Oh the shame! I cried and cried. If there is anything good about what happened it's that you cannot notice it unless you're really looking... see here how her right hand is bent a bit? The other good thing is that she is my only girl that can hold things like this.

To the person wondering what Blythe dolls were, check out This is Blythe for just about anything you'd want to know!

Karissa and I took a short trip to the beach today. It felt like going home and hurt my heart to leave so soon. There are more photos from our trip here, including one of us sitting in traffic for 3 hours. Argh.

Ok, I'll try to think of some new topics for the rest of the week... ;) Thanks for indulging me.

chop, chop, chop!

on a whim tonight i began chopping away at my hair... no plan or anything. ended up with a big pile of hair on the floor and this new hair style. i threw on a red top for these shots so i could participate in this month's self portrait challenge (it's been a while!). ;) i have more blythe photos to show you but i'll give you a day's break. heh!

maileena

maileena was sad because i didn't bring her to the dolly meet yesterday so i snapped a few shots of her today. she's wearing her new, beautifully handmade coat and hat by momo and knit scarf by me. :) how much do you love that hat fabric?

socal dolly meet

whoa- what a turnout! the socal dolly meet on sunday was a huge success. i believe there were 19 of us there and something like 54 dolls? wow. in that big group shot at the top there are 50 girls and i know some didn't make it in. this being my first meet, it was interesting to see how people were about their girls. let me tell you every single dolly there was dressed to the nines (whatever the heck that saying really means! lol). i was feelin' some dolly insecurities for sure. ha! anyway, here are a few of my favorite shots of the day. the girl in the middle right photo with white mohair and yellow glasses- swoon! it took everything i had not to try to hide her in my bag. ;) it was love for sure. unfortunately, because it was so overcast, i have a ton of blurry shots- including all my individual shots of her. boo. anyway you can see a few more the rest of my photographs from the meet here. the photo below cracks me up. recognize darina? i feel like she was thinking, "are you sure about this??"

just some bits of randomness

♥ Last night I created a new mini art journal in honor of the Kim family. It's 4.5 x 6 canvas paper that I spiral bound. I titled it "Treasure Life" and each day until it's full I plan to document something I was grateful for that day. A physical reminder to live + cherish life.
♥ Just started reading up on unschooling, after first hearing the term from Amanda and again from "BellaBlue". I am completely intrigued.
♥ Portals Zine Issue #4 FIBERS is now up for pre-order. Please wait on Intl' orders as there has been a mistake in pricing and we need to get that remedied. Thanks!

♥ I am a third of the way through Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith that I started this morning and am soaking in every word of it.
♥ Wanna meet this weekend? I will be at the Felt Club on Saturday perusing about. I've also arranged a Blythe Meet on Sunday in Japantown (Los Angeles). You can find all the information for it at that forum thread. Email me if you're coming to either so we can make arrangements to meet up! :)
♥ Christmas Cards are on SALE this weekend Fri. - Sun. FREE shipping if you order two or more sets! Each set is on sale for $10 through the weekend. All orders will be shipped Monday.

deeply saddened.

i'm having a hard time coming up with the right words.

so i'm sending peace and love to the kim family.

{reflection}

lately i've spent a lot of my time thinking and reflecting on my life. really, what a great life it's been so far. it does not escape me that i have such wonderful and supportive family + friends. i am truly blessed.

after a chaotic year of transition and uncertainty (LIFE!) we are finally settling down to a sense of "normalcy" and stability. i've now been a nanny for this current family for two years. i've been there for every step and stage of development since C was 3 months old and V was born. it's amazing, the experiences i am awarded in being part of this family. it has opened my eyes to so many things. it has molded me and my life will never be the same as it was before.

this year has brought with it every extreme emotion under the sun- from utter despair and confusion to elation, euphoria, bliss. my relationship with my husband was greatly strained for a while and now we're past that and more in love than ever. just when i think my life couldn't get any better, it does. i just have to get over the bumps; the funks. and i do because i have that great of a support system.

a support system and network of friends that encourage and inspire me to be the best me- to have goals and dreams and to strive for them daily. people that are real and face tribulation head on because it's the human condition and not something that should be feared but shared. i consider this year and think ahead to the things i want to accomplish in the next. i have to ask myself, why wait?

{as is}

the truth is we all ache.

we all have growing pains

and wonder if we are

okay and enough + loved.

the thing is- we are.

really.

without the silver shoes

and the lepord print sheets.

we are enough without

all the things we buy

to make us much more

than we are or need to be

we are simple

and complex

and rare

as is.

-sabrina ward harrison

Issue #4: FIBERS

Due to a variety of reasons, we've extended the publication of Issue #4: FIBERS from December 15th to the 30th. We should have the purchase button up on our Get It section later this week. This issue is coming together absolutely beautifully. Seriously, you're going to love it! Be sure to reserve your copy early as we're expecting this issue to be the best yet and you won't want to miss it!

We're starting to get to work on Issue #5: ReUSE, ReCYCLE, ReCREATE so please visit our Calls for Art page for submission + swap details. As always, we accept any type of submission all year long so please do not hesitate to look ahead to other issue themes and send your artwork, photography, articles, and creative writings. Please make sure that these items are previously unpublished. Thanks!

happenings

{alex took this photograph of me + aimee on thanksgiving}

hi friends!
i hope you had a wonderful, fabulous, super duper weekend. i had a very busy weekend but that's not news to you, i'm sure. we spent most of saturday running errands but at night we had ourselves a little holiday bake-n-make-a-thon. today i worked- the kids came over at 10 this morning and they ended up staying the night tonight. this is alright by me- OT is always good + it means i get to stay in my pj's longer tomorrow morning. :) i've also spent today finishing up the last of my portion of portals: issue #4. i still have an article to layout and am waiting on some photography permissions + article contributions before i can be completely done. i believe heather will have the issue #4 purchase button up this week. for now, you can purchase issues #1-3 as a gift to yourself or someone else on your holiday list! :) i know all of you are as busy as i am between your regular schedules and added holiday chaos but please, please take a moment or two to pray & light a candle for the kim family.
be safe. xo, j

update: praise god! kati and the girls have been found, alive. mr. kim is still missing- please remember him in your thoughts + prayers!

100,000 views

Recently I noticed that i was nearing 100,000 views on flickr and began monitoring it for this milestone. I was tickled to see that it surpassed that mark today. I just wanted to thank you all for viewing, commenting, and supporting my photography, artwork, crafts, etc. Me. Thank you. We all know I love flickr... and here are my favorites (almost 6,000 of 'em!). Happy weekend, everyone. Be safe! xo.

holiday diy: with kids

just a quick post seeing as it's nearing 1 am and i have really got to start getting to bed earlier this week! oh wait, what week? it's already friday. sheesh. time flies when your sick, huh? the last couple of days at work have been full of holiday fun with me and C. we stocked up on finger paints + glitter, cardstock, foam sheets, and stamps. together we've created holiday cards for this wee one to give the people that love her. what better way to warm the heart of a far-away relative? today we made scrumptious sugar cookies from a packet. these are super quick to bake and perfect for little hands. at two these things are new to her- she loved squishing her hands in the dough (and cleaning often), rolling it out, and pushing down the cookie cutters. After they cooled and were frosted (by moi) she loved adding sprinkles and candies.

ps- you should check out moki's merry make-along (photos link directly to blog entries)