On a recent trip to Austin we stopped at Spicewood Springs to let Winston and Birdie play in the water.  Easily tired, we loaded them back up in to the truck and took off.  A few mintues later, they were out…in whatever way they could get comfortable.

Election night I just couldn’t bring myself to watch the blow-by-blow’s on TV, so I ended up in my office at home trying to get organized.  I seem to have caught the bug.  It spilled over to the spare bedroom the next day, and then yesterday it caught up with me again in the pantry.  It even involved a trip to The Container Store. 

All of this has landed me on Pinterest waaaaaaay too much in the last several days, which has caused another problem. 

I think I’ve self-diagnosed myself with craft-project-ADD.  I know, sad but true.  My attention has been pulled in way too many directions and I have a small but growing list of things that I want to either make, paint, draw, or otherwise create.  Granted, there are some new recipes in there, which in my opinion you can never have too many of. 

A fortunate by-product of this has been that I’ve been able to clean out a lot of crap that I’ve been holding onto for too long.  I found my first cell phone (not quite a brick, but close), my old palm pilot (remember those?) and my 1^st generation iPod (which I have to admit, I’ll never throw away). 

Now I have plans to paint the office, I got Chuck to install a new hanging lamp, and I’m promised that there are book selves on the way.  No worries, it only took me two years to get it together… 

P.S. Last night I got to try a new recipe that I saw on Pinterest.  I’ve been itching to do it actually.  Almond flavored cupcakes with almond flavored homemade butter cream frosting.  Topped with sliced almonds.  May seem like over load…but I just wanted to try it.  Plus, it was my first foray into cake/cupcake decorating.  I guess it’s all just technique. 

A few years ago at the Fort Worth Art Festival I discovered a booth that had the coolest handmade leather journals.  As you may or may not know, I get pretty “geeked-up” over blank paper, which includes journals of many kinds.

 The artist was Mychal and she works out of her studio in Austin, Texas.  Her books were beautiful.  They felt good when you held them, solid, well put together, as if they would last forever.  They have paper that is handmade and leather that she works herself.  She had many colors and sizes available.  And judging by the number of people at her booth, she was doing very well. 

 As a surprise I was given two of her journals and have added to my collection since.  I now also have one of her photo albums, which has black pages (the best kind to highlight the photographs in my opinion). 

 Each album is crafted by hand, binding and all.  you can even have small details added to your journal.  Mychal travels around the country to many different festivals, but is always available by phone or email.  You can even find her on the web and Facebook.

 Visit http://ionahandcraftedbooks.com/ to see more!

Lauren Nelson over at The Urban Hippie has caught my attention.  She is a photographer, writer and blogger who looks at what matters most…life.  I stumbled upon her blog looking for some interesting new ideas about art journaling (another one of my new “hobbies”…and apparently her’s too!).  Lauren has a seemingly independant streak which I find appealing.  If you have a few seconds, take a peek at her blog http://theurbanhippie.wordpress.com/.

Made by Lauren Nelson at The Urban Hippie blog.

Her name is Lois Van Baarle and I have been watching her art for the last couple of years (in a non-stalking way, of course).  I always look for new artists with different styles, but I have found myself always returning to see what loish.net has created next.  From the Netherlands, she has lived abroad and so has been able to view different types of people (which is mainly what she draws).  I have always enjoyed her muted colors, whimsical themes, and facial expressions.  While finishing her college education, she partnered with a fellow student and created a small piece of animation that showcases her work.  Ms. Van Baarle’s art is already so expressive, but the animation adds depth and movement.

Visit http://loish.net/ and see for yourself!