thevillagestar's Xanga

...i'm back...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:10:45 GMT

hi, friends.

i haven't been updating the way i should. i'm busy. sue me. but, you know...i miss having the extra outlet for all my snide remarks. and since i'm pretty sure basically no one actually reads this site anyway, i'm just going to say my piece. there are a lot of thoughts swimming around in my brain, and sometimes it's good to just get that all out. in a forum that doesn't lead to road-rage...or pushing over elderly women in grocery stores...or whatever i might do if i couldn't rant to someone. i'm just sayin. so expect my gloriously blunt scoffing to show up around here sometimes. maybe all the times. i don't know. guess we'll have to see.

...america, the land of baby killers...

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:21:39 GMT

so…i just posted that i didn’t know when i’d be back around here…but i forgot that i needed to whine about the casey anthony trial! actually, i don’t need to whine about the trial itself, because i thought that the jury came to the correct conclusion, based on the legal system that we have in place. and i would know, because i’m a learned legal assistant :P

the thing that i want to whine about is all the people who are whining about the verdict. the comments that i have been seeing are ridiculous. i mean, seriously. we’re talking uber-under-educated and short-sighted and small-minded. and it’s killing me, because i tend to have such violent opinions about things, but i try to be a good person (which generally means just keeping those opinions entirely to myself). but this is one that i need to blather about, so give me a minute.

first of all, let me give some examples of the comments that i’ve been seeing: people have blamed the entire state of florida for not bringing justice about for caylee anthony; they have said that the jurors should be ashamed of themselves; i have seen statements that the lawyers and jurors will be judged in heaven for bringing this case to the wrong conclusion; but i think i most enjoy the people on facebook who have just posted a link to an article about the case, preceded by a “gasp”, “omg”, >.< or :(

now, what i really wish i could find out is just how many of those who are complaining and “shocked” actually followed the trial. and do i really need to point out that every one of them would be crying equally as loud if a finger of guilt were pointed in their directions, and how much they would hope to heaven that they might be found innocent?

everyone seems so convinced that casey anthony did it. perhaps all of these people should grow up to be prosecutors.
and i bet they could totally prove it with their amazing brain powers and super-skills!

do i think she did it? maybe. maybe not. it wasn’t my job to think those deep thoughts. if i’d been on the jury, having seen those closing arguments, i wouldn’t have been able to find her guilty. and i’m guessing there weren’t too many people who needed to be convinced that there was reasonable doubt, since the deliberations lasted all of 3.5 seconds (or 10 hours, but who’s counting?) to reach a unanimous decision. and besides, you have to remember that casey anthony was found guilty for lying and providing false information. so, you know, everyone who’s griping about how that lying b*tch should have gotten what she deserved, you’re right on that front…and she did…so, you know, chill out.

i could list off the duties of the prosecution, defense, judge, and jury. i could point out that the jury members had the unbelievably difficult task of ignoring any prejudices they might have formed about casey anthony herself, to clear the air and only consider her in light of the charges that were held against her. obviously, the people who are in such an uproar could not have done so. and in that, i feel that they have sort of missed the point of the justice system.

in the end, what gets me is the people who are squealing about how this poor little girl has not been given justice.
but i have to ask: what sort of justice is found in convicting someone—anyone—simply for justice’s sake?

…keep me where i belong…

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:57:58 GMT

so…i know. I KNOW. i disappeared. AGAIN. but i do have an excuse!

lex got into med school. which means we’ll be moving here:

yep. dominica. picard, to be exact. which is basically in the general area of that little dot up on the left-hand side of this map with the arrow labeled prince rupert bay.

we went to visit last week—and it’s really going to be a change!

i have to figure out what on earth i’m going to do with this blog…i want to keep the village star up, but we’ve started a blog to keep the folks at home updated about our world travels. so i don’t know if i’ll just be duplicate posting between those two or if i’ll have enough going on to post at both or what…

anyway, if you want to follow us over at the new place, check it out: postcards from everywhere

for now, enjoy your evening!

...dear the rapture...

Sun, 22 May 2011 13:26:08 GMT

i cannot speak for any of the actual heathens, but i assume that the reason i’m still waiting here is that i woke up with a cold yesterday morning. naturally, i would have thought that a cold was something that i could have left behind; however, it seems that i have been passed over due to this untimely illness. i would like to point out that i had no influence over the fact that i caught the cold. if i’d had the option, i would have politely passed on the whole ordeal.

i hope that you will be willing to take a second look at my circumstances, and perhaps make an amendment to your previous judgment call. if you will let me know the next soonest possible departure time, i will take every precaution to make certain that i am ready for that happy occasion.

thank you, in advance, for your time and consideration. i will be patiently awaiting your response.

sincerely,

well, you know who

...instant superhero--just add cape!...

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:46:55 GMT

i know it’s been forever since i was around guys. seriously. but i’ve been busy! and i’m back to show you one of the things that i’ve worked on :) so see? we can still be friends!

first of all, we had the most amazing dinner tonight. it was super, super good. a little indulgent, but fresh—so we’re not in too much trouble! here’s our uber-quick (and obviously vegan) version of stuffed green peppers.

green peppers, tvp, refried beans, tons of spices, and a happy helping of vegan cheese, hooray!

lex also took a few minutes snap some shots of a refashion i finished a few weeks ago. i didn’t get any in-process shots, unfortunately, but i’ve gotten wise on that front, and have been taken plenty of pictures along the way on my latest project!

here’s my fun kimono top turned cape!

this is the type of purchase you make after watching too many daytime dramas.
seriously.

i grabbed this top for 50 cents when lex and i went on our cruise last fall, because i thought it would make a really cute cover-up. instead, it was unfortunately broad and bizarrely cropped, making it an ill fit for my hips. i loved the fabric, but had no clue what to do with it. i tossed it in one of my craft drawers, figuring i might turn it into something at some point.

then, when i got my sewing machine back in march, i pulled the kimono top back out and hung it up, as you see above. i walked past it every day, considering what it might become.

then, one day, i put on one of my favorite cardigans and thought, “ah-hah!” i could use that cardigan as a pattern to create the body size i wanted, then do a few modifications to create a kimono-sleeved cape!

first, i took the sides in to match the size of the cardigan i used as a pattern

then i slit the front and finished the edges

the sleeves were even bigger than this—i took them in at the top to better exaggerate the shape at the cuff

here’s a look with the neck fastened

look at those frogs!

the one thing i’m super-proud of on this project is the fastener and frogs. i snagged these vintage buttons from my ninja’s massive stash, and i gathered the bits of cotton cord from my own supplies. i hand-coiled the frogs, pinned them in place, and stitched them on to create the designs. you can’t really tell from the picture, but the left side has one large loop to capture the right-sided button for closure.

pros:

i like the overall look
i felt a lot more confident in my (limited) skills than i did on my first refashion
the closure rocks!

cons:

i’m a little undecided on wearing it closed, because i feel like it gives my body some odd lines
i have no idea what to wear it with!

i had these glorious visions of some glamorous garment coming from this. i think the look and feel of the fabric just invaded my brain, really. i thought it would turn out looking very 40’s hollywood…but i haven’t quite figured out what to pair it with to make a good, solid outfit. readers, help me out! any suggestions?

...why, hello there!...

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:23:59 GMT

i thought i'd pop in and show off a couple of fun things that i've been working on:

buzzy bee—hand-sewn from felt and awesome

lumpy elephant—hand-sewn from a thrifted pair of pants.
they make a much better elephant than fashion statement.

i’m also working on a huge new refashion project, for which i may leak pictures sometime soon. i decided to get back to my artistic roots and started sketching out a spring/summer capsule wardrobe. i’m working on creating the first piece now…it’s kicking my butt, but i’m loving the challenge!

...wedding fun, round #1...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:24:14 GMT

so, as most of you guys know—gosh, i hope by now that you’ve caught on!—my brother is marrying the most amazing, lovely lady in may. there’s pretty much no way to over-exaggerate how much we all adore erica. she’s sweet, funny, strong, and (best of all) she makes my brother a happy guy. hooray! yesterday was her first wedding shower, held out at the enoree river vineyards, and it was too much fun!

again, for the sake of time and space and energy, i’m just going to post a handful of the pictures. but i will say:

1) erica’s mom made her cry. moms are good like that when it comes to wedding stuff.
2) the shower was awesome—the vineyard was a great venue choice!
3) i did not speak of ferris wheels to my mother and grandmother. but that doesn’t mean i didn’t think about it ;)

enjoy the snapshots!

1) 2)

3) 4)

5) 6)

1) nit and mom take a second to grin for me 2) check out those stacks of gifts!
3) erica opening a gift from aunt b 4) one of the platters from erica’s dinnerware
5) cute tote erica’s mom had made up for their towels 6) mother daughter tears & hugs

erica and me, yay!

...little shop...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:33:39 GMT

rather than write a massive description of the awesomeness that was our show, how about a heap of pictures?

i was the assistant director and audrey II movement specialist. i actually came up with the concept for using people to create portions of the audrey II, which you’ll see in the form of pod#3 (half pod/half person, thanks to the lovely and talented sammie!) and pod#4 (one part giant pod, five parts greenman suits full of awesome actors playing vines!)

...kitty treat can tutorial...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:27:04 GMT

thanks to my ever-present desires to recycle any piece of trash i see, i save loads of junk. after making my herb cans, i decided to plant some herbs for the cats. we’d had cat grass out for them last year, and they were all over it! so, i decided to use these cute, squatty little cans to plant some grass and nip for them. i thought maybe the stature of these cans would lend itself to sitting in a windowsill for the cats to enjoy while they watch the birds…i believe it will also lead to messy floors, but if the kittehs are happy, it’ll be worth it :)

anyway, here’s the tutorial—quick, simple, and fun!

time needed: about an hour and a half

materials:

paint brush
colored pencils or permanent markers
scrapbook paper
2 aluminum cans
tacky glue
scissors or paper cutter

1) first, gather all your supplies. since i knew i wanted to do two types of herbs, i chose a color
scheme for each that would still coordinate with my base paper.

2) if there's paper on the outside of your cans, as there was with mine, go ahead and peel that
paper off. no need to worry if there's any glue residue, since your paper will cover that.

3)    measure your can height. then measure that same length on your paper, and cut a strip of
         paper that is long enough to wrap around your can.
         in this case, my can was about 2.5" tall, and i was using a 12" x 12" piece of paper to start
         with, so my strip was about 2.5" tall by 12" long.
         and there’s bijoux, checking out my progress.

4) i wrapped my base paper around the can to make sure that it would fit alright. it had a
little bit of overlap, but i didn't mind that. if you like, you can always trim the ends to meet
up exactly.

5) next, i poured a glob of glue onto the can and used an old paint brush to spread it evenly
       over the whole can. the glue that i used is a fast-grab kind, so i had to work really quickly.
       the benefit to that, though, is that when i put my paper on the can, it stuck instantly and
       didn't budge.

6) once the glue was spread across the entire surface of my can, i placed my paper and pressed
       it down by rolling the can gently back and forth in my hands. employing that technique
      (plus the use of a nice, thick glue) helps keep the air bubbles out when working with paper
       on cans.

7) here you can see the color combo of papers that i chose for my catnip can. i used to
scrapbook like crazy, so i have tons of scraps and leftovers that come in handy for quick
projects like this.

8) i measured my white paper first, because i had a good idea of the size i wanted for my
labels. this white strip measured 3 cm. i then measured my other two colors: the gold at 3.5
cm and the dark orange at 4 cm.

9) here are the two color combos i chose, with the strips cut to the right size to make my labels.

10) i drew out my labels in some fun letters and colored them in with colored pencils. i wanted
to make the letters stand out a little more, so i went around them with black permanent
marker.

and that’s that! plant something fabulous and fun for your fluffy friend and enjoy!

...i put ketchup on my catch-up...

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:20:58 GMT

hi everyone--i know, i know, i've been rudely neglectful of the site again. my apologies. between making it through the last few weeks leading up to this weekend's wildly successful opening of little shop of horrors and struggling to kick a nasty, nasty little cold bug, i've been pretty busy. thankfully, things should start to get back to normal around here soon!

i found a little bit of time to post some of my newest projects over on cut out + keep. links, if you’d like to check ‘em out:

i also just finished some plant tags for my herb pots…so i’ll know what’s in them! thanks to heaps of scrapbook paper scraps that i’ve hung on to, a little simple hand-lettering, and a handful of bamboo toothpick/fork hybrids lex had, here they are:

yes, i realize that mixed flowers and sweet peas (the flower, not the veggie) are not herbs.
but the pictures on the packages looked so pretty that i couldn’t resist!

i need to snap some pictures of the plants, too—they’re doing so well already!

that’s the best, brief little bit i can do for now—but i’m going to try my best to come around and do another update soon. unfortunately, it’ll probably be after little shop closes…but i’ll be back. i promise!