Burst, a new word, and cupcakes

Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I finished my work entitled "Burst" this weekend. It's bubbles bursting into sunbursts. It's mostly pencil crayon and water colour paint. There's all sorts of sparkly glitter, but most of it didn't actually show up in the picture. I had a lot of fun with this piece, though it was nerve-wracking to cut into the large bubbles that I drew/painted since I'm terrible for being afraid of "ruining" something I'm working on. It's good for me to push myself outside my comfort zone though and I'm pretty happy with the result. (see the wordplay copycat pool for everyone's pics).


Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Even though I think perhaps my friends were less into this than me, I am going to announce a new word, since it's a good way to motivate ME to try something new. So, a new word. When this idea first occurred to me, I made up a little list of words that I thought would make interesting themes, and the next one on that list is ... shadow. I think 2 months was enough time to both let the ideas percolate and fit in a little procrastination without getting stalled, so I'm going to aim to be done for the end of May. Play along if it pleases you.


Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Artsy-fartsy or not, my gal pals are definitely into cupcakes. My real deadline for finishing my Burst piece was actually Sunday, not the end of the month, since we had a cupcake baking party. Cupcakes were made and mostly eaten up right away (with a few to take home for lucky sweeties). We had a surprise visitor from Portland. My kitchen was turned into a disaster area and then cleaned up. Songs were sung in the kitchen, icing was eaten out of the bowl, sugar highs were had. It was excellent fun. I highly recommend filling your kitchen with cheerful friends baking yummy things.


pretty cupcake papers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Painting ... a wall

flowers for the house
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I've been busy lately making my home feel a bit loved. I bought some more flowers, this time from the grocery store. I'm finding myself drawn to pink and white lately. I always make up my own mixed bouquets from the 2-for and 3-for buckets since I find the grocery-store-prepared bunches are always a bit random in terms of colour and flower type.


new wall colour
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

This past weekend, I also painted a wall with the beautifully named colour "Ocean Air" (Benjamin Moore 2123-50). This wall had previously been a bright spring green (you may have noticed it as a backdrop during green week). I liked the cheerful colour, but it was so bold that I noticed it all the time and consequently I was ready for a change. A bit of paint, a few coats painted while listening to some fun music, and it's a whole new space. Definitely worth the time involved.


burst idea sketching
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

And for those of you wondering what I've been doing for the Burst wordplay challenge, um, well, I've mostly just gotten ideas. I've done a mind-map kind of brainstorming, but I still haven't done my finished piece. I think it's a classic case of "student syndrome" ... waiting until the last possible minute before it's "due".

Flowers to beckon Spring

office flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Spring doesn't really show up properly in Montreal until mid-April. We get teased by March with a few nice days here and there, but there's always another snowstorm and chilly day up its sleeve. March is also usually filled with dirty humps of melting snow ... not at all reminiscent of the the velvety soft white it once was. To hold me over until Spring, I buy myself flowers from this little corner shop near the post office. It's not a fancy florist's, but their flowers are reasonably priced and they must be fresh as they always last well. Daisies are one of my most common choices as they're $6.99 for a huge bunch, and they'll last for 3 weeks. This week I splurged on 2 bouquets... a mixed bouquet of purply-pink daisies and a bouquet of some mystery spiky white flowers (I love the texture, no idea what they are).


march house flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

So all this is from $15 worth of flowers ... 2 large vases (one in living room, one in kitchen), 3 small vases on the coffee table, 1 small vase in the office/guest room, and 1 small vase on my sewing desk. If you're feeling impatient for spring, treat yourself to some flowers... even the cheap ones will cheer you up!


studio flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Green Week - Day Five

green books
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

The last day of green week is going to be a bit random for me. I decided to raid the bookshelf again for some delicious green books since I had a lot of fun with books during yellow week. And this morning, without even thinking about it, I tied a green ribbon in my hair. I was tidying up the tray on my dresser and rather than putting it away with the other ribbons, I decided to make a headband out of it. So in that spirit, here is an arrangement with the ribbon and some other crafty bits that were scattered about:


green inspiration
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Some other green I saw this week, but not through my camera lens... the green copper roof of the cathedral next to my office building (It's a funny coincidence, but both offices I've worked at in downtown Montreal have had beautiful old churches next to them.), a telephone pole with a strange green hue, the pipes in the metro, and various shades of green stair railings in my neighbourhood.

I've gotten the sweetest comments from visitors to my blog this week and it has really made me smile. Thank you for making it so much fun to play along with everyone.

And I'll finish with the kind of green that I'm dreaming about ... leaves!. These are some pictures from last spring and summer...

hiding under a leaf
Originally uploaded by allisongryski


green
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Have a lovely weekend!

Fruity green

green grapes
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Fruity green for today! Not much to say, though it's having the same effect as Yellow Week did ... I'm noticing green particularly. I only wish there was some outside to notice.


vase of citrus
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
And a close-up on the luscious grapes:


green grapes (closeup)
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Little green things are everywhere

green arrangement
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Moving right along in my green house tour ... above is an arrangement of green things found in my bathroom. And below is a green birdy clip on the string of cards by the door (it's currently overloaded due to 2 birthdays and valentine's day in the last month).


green bird
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

In case you're wondering what all the green is about ... it's Green Week.

Green in different textures

green chair and wall
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
So today, I found green in my living/dining room. With a green wall, it's hard not to see green, but the chair is also pale green. And there's some peacock feathers stashed in a vase beside a bookcase... I bought them for some crafty purpose (they're a bit beat up and consequently they were extremely cheap), but the final inspiration has yet to strike. Maybe a flashy hair accesory?


peacock plume
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Squeaky Clean Green

dish soap (aka "green")
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I decided to start the week in my kitchen, at the sink. We actually call the dish soap "green" as opposed to referring to a particular brand-name. It's not "we need more dish soap", it's "we need more green". It somehow got dubbed that by some roommates in university and it's stuck ... so we wash our dishes with "green".

The bottle is a lemonade bottle that we shoved a pouring spout (from the restaurant supply store) into.


green dish scrubbies
Originally uploaded by allisongryski