I Heart Faces: Week 13; Dramatic Black & White

This week at I Heart Faces, the theme is “Dramatic Black and White". It's been a while since I've participated and I wanted to get back into it. I love submitting and sharing my photos to these little friendly competitions and seeing what other people do as well. It's fun! With my 365 out of the way, I have more time to just have fun with it and not get so stressed out about taking photos!



This is a photo of me I took last year that I think looks pretty dramatic. I like the focus on my eye and the way my hair looks kinda dishoveled. It's unpolished, but to the point.

Click on the camera below to see some more submissions to the iHeartFaces contest and to get some inspiration for your photography!



Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My weekend in photos

Yesterday, I went up to visit William in Modesto and then we went to Sonora, California. I am not incredibly familiar with my California locations, but Sonora is what is considered the "Foothills". It's around where a lot of the settlers came during the Gold Rush. Certain parts of it looked really Kentucky like, but just certain parts. It's a lot more hilly than I'm used to seeing in the Central Valley, that's for sure.

Anyway, a few things that I did while I was there...went to a potluck, played with Sofie, William's 18-month old niece, went to old town Columbia (it's an old West-looking town) to watch his sister do poi dancing, visited an apple orchard and distillery (I learned how hard apple cider was made), and planted pomegranates. It was a busy day!

Anyway, here's a few pics. It is absolutely beautiful there. Very picturesque.


William planting his pomegranates. I helped with shoveling and planting. I even got my hands dirty!


This one made me laugh...I didn't realize till WIlliam pointed it out, but Frankie is totally peeing here!


Me on a mossy rock. Can you believe this is in his sister's backyard??


Here's William pondering the great outdoors.


Here's William's sister Heather doing her poi dancing in downtown Columbia . I think they look a LOT alike.


And her cute little girl Sofie. I think she liked me! It was my first time meeting her.

Anyway, just wanted to share. Hope you have a GREAT week!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My photo used in the International Bowling Museum

A few months back I was contacted via Flickr by Museum Arts, a museum exhibition company about using one of my signage photos for an exhibition at the new International Bowling Muesum in Arlington, Texas. Of course, I thought this was really cool and granted them permission. I got the photo of the final exhibition today and it is shown above. Cool, eh? I love that I got to be a part of the exhibition. I've always had a small connection to bowling. Both my dad and Grandmother were on leagues when I was a kid and I spent many a days hanging out at the bowling alley...one of which was the Bowlodrome in Owensboro, KY (love that name!!) I also watched a lot of bowling with my grandmother as a kid. She loved watching it on TV! I found it incredibly boring, but I knew she loved it. It was always on the Wide World of Sports on ABC!

Anyway, here's my original photo. I took this while with my mom 2-3 years back. I made her drive back so I could take it. Loading/tagging my photos on Flickr has given me some pretty cool opportunities. People are def. noticing your stuff on Flickr, even when you don't think anyone cares. If you put your stuff out there for others to see, they will take notice!

Here's the original photo:


Thanks George at Museum Arts for using my photo. I'm honored! Oh, and go on their facebook page and check out some of their other exhibitions! They are amazingly detailed and cool!!!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

I'm on UStream!

I'm on the new streaming web site UStream now! Here's what I recorded tonight! I show how to make buttons and I show off my new button machine!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The most popular posts people read on my blog...

Blog stats amuse me and I enjoy looking at them greatly. I love how instantly you can see if a project is taking off or not and if people are responding to it, and I also love how you can chart over a series of months the things people are looking at time and time again.

As far as my blog goes, I have a few home run projects, a few that surprise me and at least one that doesn't.

The most visited project on my blog is my Colorful Mosaic Wall on the Cheap.



I knew when I did this project that I would get some reaction from it, but I really didn't expect it to be the most popular project I ever did. I guess people connect with it cause it is simple, cheap, and stunning to look at. And I guess people are always on the lookout for cool décor ideas. Another reason I think this one is successful is because it is a large scale/make an impact project. I tend to believe that the bigger the project is, the more likely it is to get noticed (well, of course, it must look visually good). For example, a simple canvas project may get some buzz, but a whole wall project will get even more buzz. For example, this Sharpie room caught my eye a couple years back. Taking a simple idea and thinking about it in a big way does get a reaction!

My next most popular project is this cute Halloween cupcake stand...



I owe the success of this project to a couple of things...first off, I sent this to a couple cupcake blogs and one of them picked it up. Seriously since then, I get like 10 hits a day from this one blog. Also, I tagged it with all kinds of things including, "cute cupcake stand". Now whenever someone looks up that in google, it is the first post to pop up. Since cupcakes are so hot right now, there's a lot to be said about that as well. I keep wondering if I need to make another since this one was so popular.

My other most popular project is my DIY Dotted Tissue Paper Lantern.



I think this one is popular because of how great the photograph turned out + the fact that it looks ultra mod, but yet simple to do.



THis Oreo Truffle recipe is a top draw as well. I just think it goes to show how mixing up recipes in your blog can bring visitors to your blog. Also, the fact that I tagged it a lot of things help people find this one too. And, not that anyone really cares, I got scolded for not attributing Bakerella for this recipe, but I'm pretty sure this recipe didn't originate on Bakerella's site either.

And for some reason, these mini recycled business cards get a lot of attention too. I guess people want an alternative to Moo cards that they make themselves on the cheap. I totally get that. I'm happy I found a solution that people out there are looking to for an idea!



What do I take away personally from these stats? People like cheap crafts that look good, photography of your projects really does make a huge difference, and make sure you tag your projects really well. I will continue to make/do all these things as long I keep this blog alive and well.

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Hancock Fabrics is stepping up their game

Last Friday, I randomly decided to stop in at Hancock Fabrics. I don't visit Hancock's a lot these days. Mainly because I'm not much of a seamstress and I don't go as often as I used to when I would go with my mom. I do go sometimes, mainly for buttons and ribbon and whatnot for crafting, though.

I didn't have any expectations really. Hancock hasn't really aesthetically changed a lot over the years as a whole as I've noticed. It still remains like a local craft store you go to with your Grandma...there is still a hometown vibe and for me that is comforting. I have noticed, though, that they have a lot more décor accents to go with their fabric offerings. They have started to offer more to other hobbyists like beaders, embroidery artists, and needlecrafters. I appreciate that they are trying to reach out to segments of people who are looking for something different.

I don't know if this was a really nice store or what (from my experience, sometimes some stores have certain offerings, while others do not), but I was pleasantly surprised by their fabrics and trims. For example, I loved these fabrics. I really need to break out my sewing machine and learn how to use it!







And I loved this rose trim. They have a great new line of trims and embellishments that are ultra Anthropologie looking...very high end, modern, soft and flowy.





And it must be noted, that this store had the best variety of sewing books I've seen in a long time. Multiple books in each of these topics: felting, button crafts, easy DIY sewing, modern embroidery and repurposed sewing. And of course great resource books on quilting, décor, and general sewing.





Their selection was better than any bookstore or craft/fabric store I've seen recently.

And it's nice to see that some things don't change, these bags o' ribbon were on sale for 99¢. I used to love getting them to make lots of hairbows.



Anyway, it was nice to see the latest stuff they had to offer. It was inspiring!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Weekend Recap

This past weekend, I was pretty busy making buttons and visiting William in Modesto.

I finished up a lot of new Fresno buttons and delivered them to Twee on Saturday afternoon.


I then went to Modesto and visited William. We went rock climbing yesterday and it totally kicked my butt! I am so not in shape to do it. It takes a lot of full body strength. My arms are soooo weak...I've never had a lot of upper body strength, I remember never being able to do the monkey bars!

Today we went to a flower show by the Camelia Society of Modesto. It was held on the grounds of the Gallo Winery. Gallo owns a huge chunk of Modesto and has beautiful grounds and architecture. They opened up their main offices. Here's the main floor with all the flowers.



Here's a couple bloom photos I shot:







I also got to see some old vintage ads that they had on display. I heart them!



On the grounds were birds and peacocks...





This parrot was so sweet. He was outside at the Gallo Winery. I think he's normally kept inside. Anyway, I talked to him, and he put out his little talon for me to pet. Then I was able to put my finger in and give him a little massage around his neck. I actually think he/she really liked me. Such a sweet birdie and pretty too!!!



I later took some photos of William with Frankie.



Aren't they cute? Here's me with Frankie. He is the cutest little poodle!! He acts like he's hot stuff.



I had a great weekend. What did you do?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Cool graffiti fabric

Hey guys! I'm pooped, but wanted to share this cool video with you :) I love new easy techniques!

I spent the past couple hours trying to organize my 365s...I am missing a couple...whoops. I know I only missed two throughout the year, hope I can find the rest. I guess it could be 361/365, huh? But then again, that's pretty lame.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Finished with my 365

I'm finished with my 365. I'm feeling a bit guilty for losing sight and track of the days. So...I have a whole entire collection devoted to my 365, but it's more like 355 cause I am trying to organize all the photos. My friend Chris was so diligent about posting his photos a day or two within the time they were taken, but I wasn't. Now it's coming back to haunt me as I organize them.

Nonetheless, I'm finished. And tonight I took a photo out and about on the railroad tracks in downtown Fresno. Honestly, I didn't realize this was my last day til this evening, but it is actually an appropriate photo to close out my 365. Like the sun is setting on this project.

I'm glad it is over. I think I have quite a few great photos that tell my story throughout the year, while there are quite a few that are less than stellar too. What do I think I learned from this process? Well, I'm proud that I actually succeeded to commiting to something even though it was hard. I'm also a little less afraid to show my true self as well as reveal my imperfections.As far as my photography skills go, I don't know that I improved a lot...I would have if this was my only project on my plate, but when I did go to the extra effort, my photos turned out pretty great. I know if I set out to take a great photo, I can achieve it.

Well, I'm so glad it is finished and I'm glad you stayed with me during this process. Thanks for all the support of my friends as I have attempted to do this project. I want to give you a little more indepth review of my project once I get the photos organized!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Telephone Book Graffiti Lamp

I've been wanting to make this graffiti lamp for a while using telephone book pages. I don't know about you, but I always get these books laying on my doorstep and honestly, I never use phonebooks anymore. I really don't think a lot of people do!

I created a new lampshade for my studio in this very easy DIY lamp project. It's really easy and took me a couple hours to complete (I heart crafts you can do in an evening!!!)

And look, I'm somehow on trend. Have you see Lady Gaga's Telephone video?? She's so inventive and bizarre!!!

Anyway, here are the instructions for the lamp!

Telephone Book Graffiti Lamp

Materials
– Tulip® Fabric Spray Paint in orange and black
– Tulip® Fashion Graffiti™ paint taggers
– Aleene's Tacky Glue
– yellow acrylic paint
– lampshade
– phonebook
– ruler
– X-acto knife
– cutting mat
– foam brushes
– stencils/stickers (I used Tim Holtz masks and large and small vinyl stickers)
– paper towels
– acrylic spray sealer

Instructions

1. Rip out phone book pages. I didn't want my pages to align perfectly, so I cut them at a diagonal using X-acto and ruler on mat. I did this so that I could create a straight edge to align with the top of my lampshade border.


2. Rip apart page as desired.


3. Slightly water down acrylic paint so that it is slightly transparent.


4. Spray with fabric spray for a cool spattered effect. Set aside and let dry.


5. Once phone book pages are dry, water down (slightly) the Tacky glue and spread all over back of each piece covering entire back. Place on lamp, aligning, and then collaging in all the rest of the areas until totally covered. Spread evenly and smooth as you apply to prevent air bubbles.


6. Spritz entire lamp share with black fabric spray. I liked doing small squirts so that it would create a dripped effect.


7. Lay down stickers/stencils and cover over top with various paints and sprays. I actually just used my finger to spread the paints around. I just played different colors/textures until I was happy with the end result.


8.Clean up any messy areas or edges with paper towels. Let dry.

8. Seal with an acrylic sealer.

Here's a detail with it illuminated...



And here's a detail of it with the light off...


And here it is on my new desk.



Hope you enjoy this little project!!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Some of my many buttons

This weekend, I was very busy working on buttons!!! My boy William (yes, I have a boyfriend now) and I cut and made them using my button maker. Yippee!!!

I made some kitschy ones and also some ones just with Fresno sayings. I plan to sell them locally at Twee, my friend Pattie and Melanie's store in the Tower District!

What I like about making these is that once you have the machine and the button backs, it takes like no time to make a handful of buttons. I'm all about the quick and easy craft and the result is so polished and perfect that I get really excited (have I mentioned I'm kinda messy crafter/rough around the edges??). I like that I succeeded at creating something so cool. I got a fishbowl today so people can fish through them. I love being able to fish through a bowlful of buttons or beads! There's something very cool and tangible about discovering a design that is totally you!

Anyway, here are some more or my buttons. As I mentioned before, I created them using loteria wrapping paper.





And here are my Fresno designs...



Hope you guys had a great weekend!! Until next time Swellions!

Alexa