scavenger hunt success

a complete success.
that's what the 2nd annual disneyland scavenger hunt turned out to be. simply fantastic after what was a trying, exhausting day.
congrats to all who came out..the biggest turnout ever w/ seven teams participating.

this year's hunt was harder and longer than ever before ..
and to all those teams who had fun w/ it all, great job!

now we can't wait for the christmas edition!

giving is living

something that manny inspired me to do (only through visiting his site) was to start globally giving. so i made my decision and found my cause..something that's close to my heart..building leaders of afghanistan through the women who live there. another reason why this is so important to me, the leadership training is located in herat, a city in afghanistan where most of my dad's family were born. herat was one of the hardest hit cities early on in the war, and where most of the focus on rebuilding the country has taken place. such a wonderful cause, thanks manny.

everyone's invited...

here's something to cheer about!


the 2nd annual


summer edition

disneyland scavenger hunt


saturday august 23, 2008 8:30am - 3:30pm

there will be plenty of time after the hunt to enjoy disneyland park on your own time

this is the perfect opportunity for you to have a greater appreciation for the disneyland theme park

the fee for the scavenger hunt is $5 per person
(on top of the fee for entry into the park)

for more information on ticket sales with the disneyland resort
check out
the disneyland website

teams will be determined by the amount of participates signed up for this event

please contact paul or mariam if you have any questions concerning sign ups


you can comment here
text
call


if you would like to sign up

deadline to sign up is

august 18
so get in early!!


paul @ 310.408.5179 & mariam 310.999.9986

Thundercats GO!!!

so today i got a text..the entire contents of the message was "thundercats go!" and i knew deep down exactly what that meant..i was going to be watching the dark knight at a special screening. and what happened tonight around 11:30 do you ask? i was sitting in theater 10 getting excited as i watched the opening scene of the dark knight.

let me tell you, this movie isn't just an action/adventure movie..its a return to the original darkness, that burton-esque batman. no, danny elfman didn't score the soundtrack. but the feeling was there. every single actor in the film brought that quality to this movie! and it was awesome!

you're not going to be reading any movie spoilers in this blog..i'm just here to let you know my opinion, and brag a little bit for being able to see the movie the day before it even opened in theaters!

and the main reason why i'm so inspired to actually write this is because of heath ledger. now i'm not a super fan of his, or i wasn't before this movie. but this actor brought all the stops to the table in this role!

he owned it.

he may not win any oscars for it, but it sure deserves to be up there in the nomination. his joker is just pure evil and honestly scary, but in a funny way. he makes you gasp when he performs "magic tricks" and then turn right around and laugh.

my favorite scene involves the joker beginning inside gothom general hospital and ends on the street infront of the hospital. that performance alone deserves an award!

i may have fallen in love all over again w/ the batman movies tonight, but i got to experience the first hand tour of what the movie goes through before any viewer actually sees it. and that to me was the highlight of the night.

welcome to the projection room..where film gets spliced and taped back together then rolled up and strung through the projector. now anyone who's ever worked in a theater is probably thinking what's the big deal? hello..this is where the magic happens and you're in control of it!

so there starts the process of making "the dark knight". it may not seem much but i was amazed!

and what was paul's highlight of the night?

this box..full of popcorn. FREE!

'nuf said.

adore your pet? DIY a masterpiece...

something that i've found myself doing is trying to find any episodes of "creative juice"on the diy network. since i don't have tivo, i try to rush home after work to watch any available episode. cathie & steve always give great crafty ideas on their weekly show. and since my best friend and her new husband just got an addition to their rapidly changing family, a puppy, i decided to make this posting about dedicating artwork to your loved pet.


all these tips and tricks can be found on the diy network website, but i occasionally love to search cathie & steve's site for their updates on diy crafts.

these are what you will need to create your warhol-esque image of your pooch:
4 12"x12" stretched, gessoed artist canvases
craft paint in 4 colors (either bright or muted)
foam paintbrushes
découpage medium
4 14"x17" color copies of a black-and-white image
10 yd. decorative trim (narrower than the edge of the canvas)
matte medium
picture-hanger piece
small picture-hanging nails
hot glue
scissors
ruler
waxed paper

1. choose an image and use photo-editing software to make the picture black and white, adjusting the brightness and contrast until the image is completely black and white with no gray

2. print the image, take it to a copy shop and enlarge it to fit the length and width of the canvas (ours was enlarged 140% to fit a 12"x12" canvas). make 4 copies.






3. cut the images to the exact dimensions of the canvases.



4. apply a liberal, even coat of découpage medium to the canvas. apply découpage to the back (not the front) of the image and carefully apply the image to the canvas (don’t start pressing until the image is properly aligned)smooth out any the air bubbles (you can use a flat-edged object to help flatten bubbles, but be careful not to gouge the paper with the edges) and let dry.



5. paint the image using acrylic paint that has been mixed with matte medium (one part paint to slightly less than one part matte medium).


6. allow to dry. use more than one coat of paint if the first coat looks streaky.



7. when the paint is dry, add embellishments to the artwork. ribbon or trim can be used to enhance the border of the frame. attach a picture hanger to the back of the canvas. repeat for each canvas.






art doesn't have to be as complicated as everyone believes it to be.. and there are always shortcuts to every masterpiece..

check this other
cute idea out from cathie & steve!











this just so everyone can see how cute my little niece puppy is ...
all images used on today's post are from
cathie&steve.com
except for bailey

the talent featured from etsy.com

a favorite site of mine is etsy.com. it dedicates itself to handmade and vintage redo's for the crafter at heart. anyone is welcome to buy and sell off of etsy. one of the main reasons why i'm writing this blog on etsy is because of two fabulous designers that live in the south bay area.
this site loves its locals and being two creative strong women who in their personal way make etsy a greater selling website...

hicutiepie



&


prettycave

Weddings on a Budget - Part Deux

coming together, bringing everything together for a final result is the hardest part of any creative task. as i have come to realize, bringing a wedding together is no different. sending out invites, assembling party favors & menus for the reception, the small details which enhances the elegance in simplicity.

janine & ian's wedding didn't have a place setting at the reception tables so instead they opted for the menus to be placed under party favors for every guest. it was just one more way of making the event unique and elegant all at the same time. the cute little boxes were inspired by tiffany&co. boxes. such a cute touch to an already detailed event. thanks once again to xpedx in carson, ca for supplying the heavy duty paper which supported the red cardstock of the menus. what came out of every little hard working, detailed touch which started out with ribbon lined boxes w/ no bows...

but ended up on the table of the reception as...

one more important step which any creative mind can't forget is to document every step along the way. no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, the photos and pictures of hard labor and delicate attention to detail make the post wedding experience a lot more fun to reminisce.

Weddings on a Budget

here's the how to guide for every classy lady out there who doesn't want to spend tons for an eventful wedding. this website isn't dedicated to the celebration of marriage, by any means. but this posting is just one of many which ties in crafty & budget.

anyone can get married and spend the cash that probably would have allowed that extra week on the honeymoon or a down payment on the cute little suburban cottage. but why would you want to when you could do mostly everything with the help of your friends and a little flowing creativity.

now i, myself am no crafty-maven guru. i have particular tastes that tend to sometime block creative spirit, but i am open to help which is out there, especially when it comes to a subject i have no concept of, planning the budget for a wedding. however, when it came to my best friend, janine, there was no question that i was going to use any talent that my bachelor of arts in studio art had to offer for this event. with a small, budget, the bride, the groom and i had the challenge to transform this event into something only a $30,000-50,000 wedding would provide.

and it all started with a little design which was the inspiration for the entire night. it was used everywhere from the invitations to the place card settings. something so simple as a design made in illustrator set the theme from simple to elegant.

the invitations were no easy feat either. multiple design changes, font styles and trips to the local paper warehouse meant weeks of decisions before a final invitation could be sent out to the many guests invited. what came out of all the sweat and tears was simply a beautiful piece of art, which was called the invitation.

and it was all thanks to www.cardsandpocketstore.com for the fantastic & might i add.. CHEAP pocket folders, xpdex in carson for the sparkly cardstock and matching envelopes and the craft stores in downtown los angeles for ribbon.

next creative installment of the wedding edition for arouse the creative mind coming soon.