Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! =) Today was my turn to blog over at Pink Paislee, there's always constant inspo over there on the blog cuz we keep it fresh!! Anyways, Wednesday topic is "Wednesday Words", so my little take on that was to make the words center stage; fill your whole page up with them, use a fab quote and make it big....It was fun! =) I scrapped another Juno song, cuz, dude...Kimya rocks. Here it is:
And this is super-inspiring me:I grabbed the pic from Elsie's blog, it came from Juxtapoz magazine...=) Lovely!! It just makes me want to create! Also, so is Elsie's blog...she's posted lotsa yummy eye candy over the last few days! Annnnd...we saw this last night:
Duude.....my fave 3D movie ever. I'm not one for 3D movies, let me tell ya....but Horton used to be my fave story ever!! I remember reading it and my outlook shifting a little, which is monumental when you're like 7...lol...anyways, they nailed the Suess style down like crazy (like, the Who's looked like who's and not people with who face parts stuck on them). =) The art direction was fab..the textures on the vulture were amazing!! His feathers blew me away...it was well animated, and everything looked soft. Like you could reach out and touch it! =) (sigh)...usually I sit through a 3D movie and just gag at the unnecessary camera moves and crappy look of them, but this was fab...I was just wondering how they made it look so good...=) Yay, Horton!

Other than that, I have some exciting news...eeek!! Tomorrow will be full of spills....and my taxes are done, annnnd there are some of those monster prints in my Etsy shop...annnd my taxes are done and it's all good! =) Happy hump day!

Fall, teasers, and a monster house.

Could that title be any more random? he he...First of all, I have to say 'hi' to some new readers! I noticed a few new people around in the last week or so, so I wanted to say Hi, and thanks for stopping by my lil place in cyber space. =) It's always cool to see new blogs and new artsy people...so say hi, I'd love to visit you, too!

Annnd...onto 80's picture(s) of the day number 8 (this top one just cracks me up...):Hah. omigoodness...I look sooo dorky in the top picture..lol. And my lil sis is so cute! =) I have to say, I do love the sweatshirt I have on, though! My mom took these lovely pictures, of course, back in 1988. I'm so happy my mom loves photography...she has awesome photo skills. =)

Annnnd...I finished this little guy up today:A custom-order Monster House print for the lovely Barb...whose kid is going to have the coolest monster room ever!! he he...=) I drew it by hand and colored/used commercial textures to make it pretty in Photoshop. I haven't listed any in the shop yet, but there will be cards and prints coming soon! And I've also had to step back from accepting custom orders for May, I just don't have any time...but feel free to convo me cuz I'll go back to doing them in June...they're fun! If you'd like one of these guys, though, feel free to convo me at Etsy or drop me a note at michelle.a.clement@gmail.com

Hmm..what else? Busy, busy with projects...May is getting busier and busier...lol...I have to take a step back an evaluate what is really priority and what's not...make sure I have time to sleep and such...lol...why can't I just stop time and do all the 50,000 things I wanna do?? lol..I'm loving bagels and strawberry cream cheese today...and I found a Vanilla Spice body shop soap in the cupboard that I'm also loving...And Justin Bobby was looking super-hot on the Hills last night...Not a fan of how the girls are acting with Audrina, though...I like Audrina! Yesterday, our power went out randomly for like 5 hours, so I'm trying to catch up on answering e-mails, building backgrounds and characters in Flash, staying up-to-date on this project, sending off some Etsy orders...So soooo excited about the first of May, too! Let's just say..it's an exciting scrappy month!! Eeeek! I can spill soon! =)

Hope everyone is great! I'm off to see "Horton Hears a Who" finally! My fave Suess story ever!! Happy day!

Egg Wars!

....but before that, 80's picture(s) of the day numba 7!he he....I actually think my shorts are kinda cool..colorful dinosaurs? And this is one of the rare times that I actually look way bigger than my lil sis...she's like 18 months younger than me, but when we're older we look pretty much the sameish size. =) Anyways, this is at my grandma and grandpa's house...I was pulling my sister around in this toy all day, and finally I was like..."Dude, you pull me around.." (I actually can't remember, but I'm sure this is how it went...) lol...and she's too little, so obviously that didn't work too well. he he...

And now, Egg wars! Today is Eastern Orthodox Easter, the Easter hubby celebrates...so last night we dyed eggs and this morning had some fun with em! It's a tradition, goes like this:

Decorate some hard-boiled eggs:
Choose your contender....(you wanna make sure your egg is strong and doesn't have any cracks in it...and/or just plain looks cool). Here's my pride and joy:And Z's fave little guy:And then, one of you holds the egg in a fist, top rounded edge up, and the other person hits the top of it with the top edge of their egg...and vice versa for the bottom of the eggs. Insert random action shot here:And whoever's egg cracks loses! (Yes, it was me...my pretty egg had a crack in it already, though..he he...and then we had a re-match and we came out even, so it's a tie! lol..)And then, I don't do this part of the game...lol...but Z peels the eggs (which have been sitting on the counter all night and are have a lil dye seeped into their middles) and eats em for breakfast...eeeew....my stomach is just not strong enough for day-old had-boiled eggs, man..but he loved em...and I loved my cheerios. =) And that was our morning! So happy other-Easter!

Today I'm working, I had a chance to scrap with my Scrapmagie kit yesterday, I hadn't scrapped forever!! But today I have to draw some background concepts and stay on top of my work work...we watched "We Own the Night" last night: pretty cool but sad movie. I'm excited to finally see "27 Dresses" when it comes out on Tuesday...I'm mad feeling some back pain right now cuz we went out with some animators for a grad on Friday night and I fell into bed like a brick in an odd position and must've not moved all night, so I'm all stiff...hah...oh, what a few cocktails will do...=) It's been a fun weekend, though! Off to drink more coffee and get back at it! Happy day!

Friday!

It's Friday already, whew! And here's 80's pic numba...6:...this one makes me smile....=) Love how we always had pigtails...and my sis is so cute!! he he...That's my lovely Italian grandpa behind us...=) I don't know where we are, exactly, but that's my grandparents' trailer, and we have good memories of travels, visits, and treats associated with it...=)

No scrappage yet today (Yesterday I totally thought I was irritable and getting grumpy cuz I haven't scrapped in a while...he he...) So I'll share some yummy finds of mine:

Sushipotparts - I just ordered a little pile of yummy vintage goodness from there. (sigh). It's fabulous! I can't wait to play!!
I got these cute Timmy the Pirate earrings from local Vancouver seller, The Tiny Fig. Also got some cute cupcake paper tags and stickers, too! Lovely!

Annnd...with that, I'm out! I'll have some cute monster custom orders to post soon, just slowly wading my way through projects and those are the first to be done. Waiting for some kits, so scrappage will come soon. We got Z's taxes done and sent today, and mine are pretty much done..so whew! Feeling organized and on top of things, which is always awesome...We're going out to an animation grad tonight, yay! Beer and cartoons, it doesn't get much better than that! So this I say to work tonight:
Hah. Happy weekend everyone!! And thanks for the lovely comments and sweet notes about the digi kit! =) Can't wait to see what everyone makes with it!! =)

Cows and Vintage Appleseed

80's picture of the day numba 5:he he...Oh, cows...maybe that's why I love them so: My mom's cousins and aunt and uncle lived out on a farm in olds, Alberta, and everytime we visited Calgary (before we lived there) we went up to visit - tons of cows, tons of feeding baby cows, we even had our own cows named after us, I think...lol...and pigtails and overalls were almost always in order for a visit to the farm! =) I'm the little one in the picture and that's my mom's cousin Carol with me...=)

Anyways, for today...I totally forgot that I had made and not posted this vintage-inspired digi kit a while back:
Yes, I made it...my first go at designing digi, so I scanned a bunch of cool things (like paper towel and wrinkled graph paper) to get the textures for my papers. It comes with 10 patterned papers - 5 textured solid colors and 5 patterns. Lots of collage, ledger, and some cute apples. 6 mini patterned papers, 2 'paper tags', one apple 'sticker', 2 wooden dominoes, and a lot of bright and vintage buttons! Go check it out for sale in my Etsy shop here if you're a digi girl, it's pretty cheap as it's my first kit! And if it says "sold", it will be relisted...just check back shortly or e-mail me for more info! (michelle.a.clement@gmail.com)

The second is a digital example page I made using the kit - its kind of a nice change every once in a while to play with digi...it totally builds up my Photoshop skills, anyways! =) Thanks for peeking!

Sooo...back to work, I go...the chiropractor fixed up my back and I'm almost done drawing my storyboard for the freelance gig. Oh! I just got my Scrapmagie kit in the mail today, too, and it rocks!! =) Lovely Fancy Pants Glitter cuts, new Hambly, new Prima...yummy! I feel like I haven't scrapped forever!! Anyways, everyone..happy day!

So, athleticism...

Is not my middle name...hah. My hubby, (who's smoked for the last, what, 15 years??) can outrun me. I mean run circles around me, not just outrun me....lol...I told him I'd tell the blog readers that he did, in fact, beat me with the running, after all my big talk...lol...He neglected tell me that maybe 7 years of baseball way back when might be to blame for his crazy running stamina...so anyways, It got me thinking about my past physical activity (alas, 80's picture of the day numba 4):
You know, ballet is demanding...but it sure is not the same kind of demanding on the lungs that running is...I always considered it a sport, but it's more of an endurance/flexibility/technique thing as it is a get-the-lungs pumping thing....and then I thought, dude...as long as I'm getting up in the morning and working out in some way shape or form, its' better than nothing! Plus, Z distracted me with his bright, bright yellow shorts and crazy 80's arm aerobic moves...he he...so I was cracking up the whole time....we have yet to find him a yellow sweatband, but it'll happen...lol...so that was our fun morning! What's your 'sport of choice'? I really hate sports. I'm much more of a stand-in-the-outfield-and-tan kinda girl...lol....Phys. Ed was hell in junior high and highschool...blah!

Anyways, I'm making a storyboard right now and finishing up some custom-order monsters (cuz within days, I'll not be able to take any other projects/orders/etc. seriously til June)...and wrestling with taxes...we have like 7 days left here to finish em, and it's a lil complicated cuz Z has to file and he's not from here and there's all these extra forms and things we have to do that we just realized...eek! Not too fun...but it'll be over soon! And I should have some scrappage to share soon! =) Happy day!

A kabillion things....

Yay for 80's picture numba 3:Well, okay...early 90's, maybe...like 1990...but the 80's clothes have carried over...lol..=)
These pictures were taken on a hill overlooking my hometown, Penticton. The best, best city to spend the summer in ever. If you come up to BC, you must go there. =) Tons of partying, beaches, camping...+40 (Celcius) degree weather...aahhh...nothin like having a nap on a beach hungover...lol. So back to the pictures, that's the gorgeous Okanagan lake behind us, and Kelowna is way off in the distance. So now you can see where I grew up, sorta...lol...there's a few more in the flickr account...=)

I'm killing time before my chiropractor's appt, so rolling with the idea of 'getting to know me', I'll do this lil tag Rachel had on her blog the other day:

What was I doing 5 years ago?
2003...hmm, I was still in highschool...almost graduation time...we were talking about grad incessantly at this point...I was still in love with my first tattoo..we were still going to bars/clubs..we were so excited about grad camping and just camping in general. I was actually single for once, and loved it! We were also taking those career quizzes, I remember...trying to distinguish what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives, where to apply to school...etc. I still think it's absurd to just pick one thing to do forever, and to decide this at 18. Geesh!

Five things on my to-do list today ( or things I did today):
1. Go for run/jog - check!
2. Phone meeting at 11 for freelance project - check!
3. Drink lots of coffee - check!
4. Listen to girly music cuz Z's not home - check!
5. Draw; revise characters, storyboard, design backgrounds...finish some monster custom orders

Five snacks i love:
1. chocolate chips
2. almonds
3. reeses pieces cereal
4. granola bars
5. yogurt

Five things i would do if i were a billionaire:
1. pay of my loany-loan-loans
2. start a business!
3. travel all over Europe and go to Bulgaria to see where hubby grew up
4. Buy homes for my whole family! lol...but nice, humble ones.
5. Live off of a beach...

-Five bad habits I have:
1. overworking myself
2. not recycling as much as I should
3. not returning phone calls
4. letting the dishes pile up for days
5. procrastinating

-Five places i have lived:
1. Penticton, BC
2. Calgary, AB
3. Vancouver, BC
4. Italy?? he he...I wish!
5.

-Five jobs i've had:
1. Flyer Delivery
2. Kids Clothing Sales Temp
3. Sales Associate at Purdy's Chocolates
4. Sales Associate at Scrapbooker's Paradise
5. Animator/Animation Revisionist/AFX artist at Studio B

....there ya go, a teensy peek into me! =) Oh! And Marina at Scrapmagie kit club announced yesterday that I'm guest designing over there in May! Go check out the lovely kit peek, and thanks, Marina, for writing such sweet words about me and for inviting me to join you!! omigosh...she's right, I am always smiling...he he...she has some other lovely Guest designers, as well! So cool...

..And the Dozens announced the new additions to the DT!! yay! Congrads to Jamie, my fellow Scrapmojo girl Lindsay, and the very talented Vee!! =) Annnd...if that's not enough, Lisa Garay, whom I worked with over at Fancy Pants, is guest designing!! Omigoodness, she rocks...=) So it'll be a fun month over there!! Check out the blog for fun bios and such!

The Hills: how awkward was that bar booth?? All of them together was so uncomfortable...yeeks! And poor Audrina, they could have made her feel more included in the moving-out plan!

Annnd...with that, I'm out! I have lotsa drawing and project work to do today - yesterday I was feeling overwhelmed and bouncing from project to project, not really completing anything, wondering how I managed to book myself super-full for May...lol...just generally scattered and stressed...but today, I'm settled...I organized and scheduled things...I'm ahead of schedule on everything, so there's no reason to stress...I always get it done somehow, and as long I have fun and save time for hubby, too, it's all good...whew! Feeling blessed to have so much artsy work to do...=) Sad that I've had to say no to some things (I have actually said no to a few things, lol...I promise!) but that's how it goes....also, 8 days left for taxes here and I'm kind of excited (did I say that??) lol..cuz I get a hunk of money back this year...yay all around! Happy day everyone!!

Ah, Monday....

Morning! Here's 80's picture numba two for a smile:(My mom got her negatives developed onto cd, that's why these pics are so crisp and awesome!) You can't get much more 80's than acid wash denim, no? he he...we are pretty cute, considering...lol...this is my lil sister and I wearing our best new clothes for the first day of school...always loved the new clothes part of going back to school. =) he he...

And here's the Mojo challenge page, new one up yesterday:
The challenge was based on Juno (so cool, man) And so you had to use one of the soundtrack song titles as your layout title..and then pull inspo from one of the links on the blog, the poster was my inspo for the page. =) Also, finished up some Pink Paislee projects with my new goodies! oh, how I love those acrylic stamps! Here's a few Paislee cards:
There's another Paislee project coming up, but I can't post it til next week, when it's my turn to add to the Paislee blog. Stay tuned!

And also, I just have to say thanks for the love, everyone!! I was so stoked to see that the monster pack over at the Dozens has SOLD OUT!! oh my word....Thanks a bunch, guys!
I created a Flickr group for sharing projects made using goodies I've designed, cuz I plan to start selling things through Etsy one of these days, too...so if you upload to Flickr and would like to share your happy cab/monster goodies, join here! I also updated my Etsy banner...it's much more bright and fun now, I think....he he...=)

That's all for now...off to work I go! I went for a run this morning, realizing how close it is to bathing suit season..ack! Z's planning on joining me for morning jogs, we just have to get him some running shoes and gear first...he thinks he can outrun me with his smoker's lungs...I say, Hah! Should be fun together, anyways...he he...not much today, working on some background drawings/concepts, a few special drawing orders, getting a much-needed haircut and doing much-needed laundry and groceries. Also need to go to Chiro, my back is killing me! I get this weird kink in my shoulder when I draw, it sucks! Oh, Monday...Hope everyone is well!

80's picture of the day!

Okay, so my cute mom sent me a whole pile of pictures of my sister and I when we were little on cd the other day, and I just have to share...he he...they crack me up, and I know my sister reads this so I totally thought it would make her giggle to do an "80's picture of the day" for a while til I'm out of cute pictures I want to share....so here's numba one:This one is strictly here for the '80's clothes and my sisters cute hair bun....lol....Oh, neon...That's me with the blonde, blonde hair and stripey orange pants!

Annnd...a mojo peek....=) I'll post the page tomorrow:
It's my fave challenge yet...you'll know why when you see it! =)

And here is a set of "thanks!" cards new in the shop (same monster designs, just only the 2 designs with the thank-you message) :How's everyone's weekend been? Z and I both had work to do, so most of yesterday was spent working and drawing and drawing, which made me hanker for a chance to make another animated lil film...lol...which is good, actually, cuz I kind of lost mojo after school was over...Anyways, that was fun! I can't wait to share my drawings, super-cute creatures I tell ya! And we had the occasional walk to the library or just out to get some sunshine...and we did watch "The Full Monty" and "March of the Penguins", both of which I'd never seen! =) Today I get to work on a super-secret project before my time gets really busy with this freelance gig...Today is Z's "name day"...sort of like a birthday, but in Bulgaria everyone's name has a special day you celebrate...so presents and cake are in order and I'm going to steal him and take him out for cake and coffee this am! Whee! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Thanks and Luf you!

Yay, my babies are printed! See?...they've been in the works for a while, they truly are a labour of love...=) he he...I think I drew the original designs for the dozens' monster designs, and then I realized that Valentines/hugging hearts was kind of over, so I just kept the drawings...and then last month I found them and I finished them up;...I cleaned them up by hand, scanned them, and painted them in Photoshop. I just added layers of commercial textures and played around with effects for the textured backgrounds. =) My mom will be happy to know that I'm getting lots of use out of that drawing/light table I got from them! he he...Anyways, these little dudes are in the Etsy Shop today - the mixed set, 4 cards; 1 of each design. There's only one there for now, I may list more later! There's also going to be a set of 4 of the "Thanks" cards, and a set of 4 of the "Luf you" cards listed over the weekend. =) And I can totally take custom orders, say you need like 25 of these "Thanks" cards or something...just let me know! =)

So that's my happy, colorful, addition to blog world today! I'm having soo much fun working from home right now! I got a contract freelance job that will keep me super-happily busy for the next month, and I've been drawing more than I've drawn in a loong time..it's fab! =) I'll spill the details further into the project!! he he...=) Oh, happy day....I love being an artsy, dude. Off to make blog rounds, drink more coffee, and then get back to work...Happy weekend everyone!

Thursday already?

Oh, dude....where did the week go?? Anyways, I hope some of you got The Dozens' kit the other day at the release!! I'm super, super excited...look at all the other cute monster stuff in there, too!! eeek! So sorry if you didn't get a kit...=( But Dana has a lil monster pack with the paper and stamp I designed up for sale on its' own, anyways....you can check that out here (scroll down to the bottom). Yay!! Anyways, here's the main Dozens' kit and the project rainbow-file-folder kit (the bottom picture), I think there are some project kits left still:Soo excited to get that baby in the mail! Annnnd...here's the last of the owl/Emma's Paperie card for my Etsy shop:It's listed right here. I lightly colored in the owl rub-ons with watercolor pencils, it's so quick and easy! Annd I'm *sooo* excited to share the cards I have to share tomorrow....just got them printed this afternoon....yay! =) Monster love, all around! Anyways, that's all I have for today! I feel like I need a small disclaimer for telling everyone to go see Lars in yesterday's post...lol..I rephrase: Go see Lars if you have an open mind and can laugh at a man in a serious relationship with a sex doll. Seriously, it's funny good, though. But I thought I should warn - don't see Lars with your grandma or anything! lol....Hope everyone is great!

One of a Kind...

This movie is lovely and definitely one of a kind:I highly suggest you go see it. now. lol....=) It was awesome...really funny and sad and amusing all at the same time. So good! If you need a little dose of weird-in-a-good-way in your movie night, it's perfect. =)

The artist, Sonja Ahlers, that I linked yesterday - I finished her book and read her bio and she's from Vancouver...awesome!

I added a card I made a few weeks ago using Emma's Paperie goodies to the Etsy shop this morning:I still have tons in mind for the shop at various stages of design....and some things even ready to print, but there's just no time to get to it...soon, hopefully! And yes, it involves monsters...ha ha....Z and I were joking that if I ever start and animation/design company is should be called "I can draw cows and monsters"...lol....They are just what I doodle and most of the time, they just pop out of my pencil when I draw...lol. I added a few more drawings I found from my trip to France to my art blog last night, and they're cows and monsters, too...lol...Too funny....

Anyways, I've also been collaborating with a local artist on a new card venture - Green Banana Cards. Basically, a handful of local Vancouver artists draw designs, and then they are sold to small stores around the city for them to sell - $1 from every card is an environmental donation, and the cards are printed on recyclable material...it's a super-cool idea! So here's my first design for Green Banana; a Mother's Day card...it was super fun! I drew it by hand, scanned it, and then added commercial textures and color in Photoshop. =)
Anyways, I don't want to jinx anything, but I have work to do today...eek! =) And I was writing my schedule down last night and just noticed how crazy busy but artsy May will be for me....yay!! =) lol...guess I should get used to staying up til 2 Am...Oh, the artsy life...=) he he...happy day everyone! Thanks, as always, for your sweet comments!

Happy Juno day!! Plus an update...

Numba One: Dozens kits go on sale at 10 pm EST tonight here, see here for deets!! That's 7 pm PST....Not sure how many, but it will probably be limited! =) Just wanted to let everyone who was wondering and asking me know the release time!! Thanks so much for the kind words and interest in the monster paper...yay!! Makes me a very happy girl! =)...I'm thinking of setting up a Flickr group for Michelle things, cuz I'm making more 'products' for my Etsy shop, what do ya'll think?

Numba Two: Happy Juno Day!! Duude....I have a conference call this morning, and as soon as it's over I'm gonna run down to HMV and pick up my very own copy to watch over and over and over again!! yay! Anybody else buying it today?? Am I the only crazy one? lol...
Sooooo excited!! Also, Beauty and the Geek tonight...excited about that. And this movie I've been dying to see, "Lars and the Real Girl" also comes out today...yippee! What about the Hills last night? Anybody watch? I can't believe the Heidi/Spencer weirdness...are they going out still? I would think if you asked a guy to move out the relationship would end and/or never be the same again. Hmm...

Oh! Also, thanks to Becky Novacek for picking the apple album for the Catwalk this week....eek! I don't usually blog about those Catwalks, but it's just too cool! And to Nikki for putting one of my Sassafras pages in the newsletter!! omigosh...I was stunned!! =) Thanks for making me smile, girls!

Anyways, I had a project to post, but the day is escaping me, so for now I'll share this awesome lady: Sonja Ahlers. In the vein of Sabrina Ward Harrison, she rocks, dude...I found this book at the library the other day in the graphic novel section, of all places:
It's a totally random, but insanely well thought-out random, book of excerpts and doodles and goodness that spanned a few years. Definitely throat-provoking and wonderful...=) Check out her website for more inspo here. This page of her current work is crazy inspiring me! Lovely....

Anyways, for now, Happy Juno day!! =) he he....