Sunday, January 31, 2010

Focused

For Illustration Friday.


She's a little too "focused" on what's in front of her...

Saturday, January 30, 2010

And the Winners Are...



Which are:
Krista said...

I want to win more!! So cute! I'm keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed!

and
Spuds said...

Are Spudly Dudes allowed to enter?

Now you may be saying to yourself, "Self, wait a minute, there were 8 comments!" and yes, you would be right. Except one of them is my dad, and he can have one anyway! ;)

So, congrats Krista and Spuds!
Except I always feel bad when people don't win, so I may have to do another one soon.

So Krista and Spuds, email me at admin@olivehuedesigns.com and let me know which print you choose and I will mail them out asap!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Last Chance for Giveaway

Today's your last chance to enter my giveaway. You can leave a comment here or on this post. Tomorrow (Saturday) I will use one of the online random number generators to pick two winners. Each winner will get to choose one of my newest prints. I'll even go ahead and include Stilts and Some Bunny Loves You!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

You're no bunny til...

...some bunny loves you!



Tuesday, January 26, 2010

What's with...

...people thinking they are invincible and invisible when they are surrounded by a few thin sheets of metal, four rubber tires and some glass? I have seen idiots people in these:

and these:

going 80 mph and whizzing in and out of traffic like they think they are actually in one of these:

Seriously. What's with that? You may be the world's best driver, no tickets, no accidents, no rock chips in that windshield of yours, but what about the guy next to you? All it takes is one stupid move on the part of you or any one of the other morons people on the road with you and
BAM! there's one of these:

Wake up and smell the espresso people! You are making my commute in the morning a life threatening event on a daily basis. My thought process when I see one of you jerks is something like this:
"You dumb ass!
What the hell are you
doing?
What the...???
LOOK OUT!

I hope you don't kill some innocent person when you wreck that shiny new car of yours.
Asshole."

Is
that wrong of me?

I don't know. Having survived a horrific 6 car pile up a few years back (the driver who caused it all was driving a borrowed car with no license, next to no insurance, and was high as a frickin' kite. She sent 3 people [including me] to the hospital; I lost my job, my car, my boyfriend [well, okay, that was a blessing!] and my apartment. Oh yah, and she had her 2-year old son in the car, no seat belt...) I have no sympathy for idiot, moron drivers.
Sue me.


I saw some guy a couple days ago, texting while he was driving, coffee in one hand (that does take talent, I'll admit) with a laptop on his lap!!!

What's with that?!?

And on top of that -
What's with drivers who think they are invisible, even though they are surrounded by...wait for it!... windows!?

I'm sure I have done my share of car stereo karaoke. I mean, I used to be in a band for pete's sake, and my practice time was little and far between so I made the most of it. However - I hardly threw my head around like I was auditioning for American Idiot Idol. I have seen people (usually girls) gyrating behind the wheel like their life depends on it. Like all they need is a stripper pole and they would be on the way to winning some loser talent show! Really? Your playlist is that good?
Huh. Well, okay.
But how about this?



Seriously.

Today I was on the way home from work and got stopped by a red light. I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw some loser behind the wheel of his red POS truck, "digging for gold". In China. With a backhoe.


Okay, not really - there was no backhoe involved.

But he was up to his second knuckle, I kid you not. And before I really had processed what was going on and could look away, he glanced at what he pulled out of there and then...and then...he ATE IT!

What's with that???? You are stopped at a traffic light! Surrounded by windows! In plain view of everyone else at the light, looking out their windows!

Dude.

Of course, he really was not an attractive guy to begin with. His truck was a piece of crap. He looked like he cut his own hair. There is no doubt in my mind he does not have a girlfriend.

Man, I need to learn to text while I'm driving. Then I would have better things to do than look out my windows.

Stilts

...aka "Clumsy" pt 2.
I could not get "clumsy" out of my mind.
Probably because clumsy and I are so well acquainted!



Monday, January 25, 2010

All the Little Girls in a Row...

Ho-kay...
I had told a couple of you fabulous readers that I was going to have a giveaway this week. It's Monday, so I guess that's as good a time as any!

So - here's how it works: If you are interested in winning one of my new cutie pies, leave a comment to this post.

That's it!

At the end of the week - let's make it Saturday, the 30th, I will randomly pick not one but TWO, yes 2! winners of an 8x10 print of their choice of my new girls!



See ya Saturday!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Clumsy

...for Illustration Friday.
(I really need to do these more often...)





Thursday, January 21, 2010

Goldilocks

...and her three (teddy) bears.



Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Hope for Haiti

This morning I was watching the news and, of course, they had more footage of the devastation in Haiti. I told Secret Agent Man that I wish I knew where to send money that would provide resources and/or supplies for Haiti, that would actually get the money and/or supplies where they are needed, and not just line someone's pockets or buy supplies that would sit and rot in a warehouse somewhere, like what happened in Africa some years back.

At work, taking phone calls from stupid, petty people about stupid petty problems ("...my neighbor threw a beer bottle in my backyard..." Really? Get over it.) I glanced at the TV and saw more footage with "journalists" wandering around talking to people...and a few, it almost seems, are excited by the "big story" they are covering. Most however look sick and helpless and I can imagine frustrated because, I'm sure, most of them want to do more than "report". I'm sure, if they are decent human beings, they want to actually help people and are unable to because there are few if no options.

Again, I stated to a co-worker, I wished that I knew who to send money to in order to help, somehow, even it it's to provide clean water, or towels, or bandages, or
whatever.
Tonight, more news.

Then I decided I needed a break (from news, from work, from all the little negative bits of life) and I logged on and was reading through some of the blogs that usually make me laugh. Some of them did, as expected. And then.

And then I went here: Words of Wisdom from a Smart Mouth Broad.
And she had posted about the son of a friend of theirs who is a Program Director for Hope for Haiti. He sent out an email. He wrote:

The first 24 hours in Cayes after the quake were unbearably calm. A
cloud of fear, sadness, and loss hung over the city like dust hung
over Port-au-Prince. Thanks to local radio and TV, people knew of the
damage. They knew the worst, and they all just waited -- anxious, but
calm -- holding out hope that their loved ones in PAP were alright.
During the second 24 hours -- 48 hours after the quake -- the city
began to pick up notably. Streets, stores, house fronts, and gas
stations were panicky and hectic. It seemed downright chaotic compared
to Tuesday’s heartbreaking calm. Compared to the capital, the disorder
in Cayes is nothing. But there are fears that this might change in the
next few days.


Gas is running out. Food stores are closing. Banks have yet to reopen.
And starting today, bus loads of survivors seeking refuge from the
chaos in PAP are pouring into Cayes. People with sacks and baskets
of belongings leave the bus yard, walking slowly from oblivion into
uncertainty...

As of today, there are 109 people who were wounded in Port-au-Prince
seeking care at Cayes' General Hospital. That means they traveled over
4 hours by bus, bloody and traumatized, to a place where health care is already
hard to come by. Because the hospital is sorely understaffed to begin
with and because many doctors went to PAP to help, there was one lone,
retired hero of a medic doing amputations on gangrenous limbs
yesterday. All day long.

The organization I work for, Hope for Haiti, has a large reserve of
dried food and hygiene kits in Cayes that can be used in the
refugee-style camp that is being constructed this afternoon for the
wounded. The UN's goal is to prepare a tented area and temporary
housing in local schools and public buildings to accommodate about
1,500 people. The injured along with their family, friends, and
caretakers will go to tents on the town soccer field, while others who
are unharmed physically but have nowhere to turn will go elsewhere. We
are working on setting up a canteen to prepare meals for them, and
seeking medical supplies and personnel to help out. Transportation is
a problem, as the domestic airport system is not fully operational.
My goal over the next few days is to do what I can to help coordinate
this effort...

On a more human level, people here may be safe, but they are still
devastated. Almost everyone knows someone who's died. And the spirit
of positivity that so many Haitians exude and which I have grown to
respect and love is severely dampened.
"Ayiti krase" -- Haiti is crushed.
"Kè mwen sere" -- My heart is squeezed tight.
"Anpil moun mouri" -- So many people dead.
There are just a few of the phrases captured in my memory and burned
into my heart from friends in the area...

My organization has mobilized an enormous, impressive response in
Port-au-Prince. We have an emergency clinic set up in a hotel in
Petionville, and as of last night had about 150 people being treated
in the parking lot. Today, 2 planes filled with doctors, nurses, and
medications were supposed to arrive in PAP and rendez-vous with the
make-shift trauma center. I still don't have word as to how that went.
Funds are still coming in, as are medications and supplies. Donations
are still critically important, as this disaster is going to require
an incredibly intense recovery that will persist long after the
current media buzz dies down.

So tell people to mobilize. Tell them to spread the word. Tell them to
give whatever they can of themselves if the face of such cataclysmic,
arbitrary, and ultimately unpreventable injustice. Tell them to say a
prayer. And then to pass it on. Awareness and advocacy are forceful
tools. And moving mountains is the feat ahead.


Thank you to everyone concerned, airing this story, reading, or
listening. The Haitian people need and deserve every ounce of empathy
and support you can muster.

In gratitude and solidarity,
Patrick



He also states that 97% of the donations go to programs in Haiti. 97%! That's amazing.
I think this is fantastic
So go read the full posting - here. And then go here - Hope for Haiti.
Give a little.
It won't hurt.
I promise.

Tea Party


Snow White and the Seven... uh, garden gnomes?
Well, sure - why not?!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Rain Rain Go Away

...we want to go out and play.





Alice

I think I'm done with this one. At some point I want to do a couple more in Wonderland. Maybe with the Mad Hatter. Or playing flamingo croquet?


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Still working on Alice, but...

I had this idea a couple nights ago as I was drifting off to sleep and this morning I just couldn't get it out of my head. Another in my "new style"...






Monday, January 11, 2010

Further efforts on Alice

I have added the infamous White Rabbit and a couple of 'shrooms. I have also modified the Cheshire Cat a tad, to make him look a little less maniacal. Rabbit is a little spooky, but mostly I want to know how he gets his big ol' feet into his pants!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Threats and Promises

So, a while back I was ranting about my stupid cell phone. It is super touchy and I can never seem to actually be in the program I want to be in, if I touch it wrong in the middle of a call it hangs up, and it frequently takes pictures when I think I'm nowhere near the camera function. (Personally, I think it's possessed...) A couple days ago I found that the on/off button was not working. Well, barely working. All day I struggled to turn it on and/or off. (This model has a kind of "sleep" mode, you have to turn the phone "on" to use it, and then "off" when you're done or it will, well take pictures I guess...) Anyway, I said to Secret Agent Man, "Honey, I think it's time for a new phone finally." He said "okay". So my plan was, since we were going to the mall the next day anyway (to see "Avatar" and hey, if you haven't seen it [in 3D of course!] you better get your butt down there and see it. Best. Movie. Ever.) I figured we could stop by the Verizon store and gets me a new phone.

But no. The threat to do so must have hit home with whatever little poltergeist is inhabiting the phone because it immediately started behaving itself. Seriously, I have not had one little problem with the bitch it since then then.
- sigh -

Have you ever noticed that happens?
The same thing happens with my hair. About half way to my next hair appointment it will start driving me crazy. My bangs are in my eyes. It won't lay right. It won't curl right. Whatever. Like it's possessed. (I'm sensing a theme...) So I'm all frustrated for a couple weeks and then the day I head into the salon - poof! It's perfect hair. Fairy tale 'do, like something out of Sex and the City. Seriously! Goddess hair...
- sigh -
I'm thinking that what I need to do is schedule a hair appointment for every day. Just to scare it into behaving. Of course, then I'll have to call and cancel all the time. Or maybe I could schedule one for everyday but have them mark in the book that it's really just this one. Think they'll go for it?
Me neither.

Alright. I have also been working on a new jewelry piece with some lovely beads I got from Artbeads.com, part of their giving me free stuff to blog about. I have also purchased some more Swarovski from them as well. I got some of these, and some of these and these, and a whole bunch of various ones of these, to make a big spring-themed necklace. I finally have them all wired and hopefully will have it together in a day or two. By the end of the week at least.
Necessary Legal Stuff: I have received the above mentioned products from Artbeads.com and am honestly reviewing them. I have not been paid for my endorsement.

I have also been working on some new artwork. In a never ending attempt to make something people will buy, I have been trying to get away from my standard realistic(-ish) look and go for a more illustrated, artsy feel. I wanted to do an Alice In Wonderland -themed set of prints but was struggling with the way I wanted it to look.
I tried this:


but (even though otin will think she's hot) it wasn't really the feel I wanted. Plus, it was the same old, same old.

Then I tried this,


but it didn't take more than a couple minutes to decide I just wasn't feelin' it either.

Then I looked at some dolls, and some other people's art and finally settled on this:



I love her.
I think I'll keep her.