My New Favorite Plaything.

Anyone who read my most recent post prior to this one probably knows the depth of despair that I was wallowing in due to finding out that I will never be able to own my own petite lap giraffe as a pet, but as a reader of my blog, you should also know that I am prone to extreme highs and lows. Which is why I have completely forgotten about lap giraffes, pets, and sadness, and now want to rave about my new toy. 

It's called picnik.com

Despite what you're thinking, it's not a website for packing tasty outdoor treats; no, it's so much more exciting than that. It's FREE photo editing tools that are on the internet. If you're wondering why I'm excited about this, then it's clearly because you haven't had the experience of thinking to yourself "Hmm, it might be kind of cool to have Photoshop on my computer so that I can touch up some of those pictures I wanted to put on my blog.", and then found out that the latest version of Photoshop costs a whopping $400. Furthermore, if you're like me, and your computer is a Dell-o-saurus Rex, it would probably crash if you put Photoshop on it. Picnik erases that problem, because not only is it all online, it also stores your pictures, and all of the edits you make to each picture on your account. Did I mention it's free?  It's literally God's gift to bloggers. 

So now, credit where credit is due: I found this website through a very cute blog called Kitchen Corners, which is written by an adorable Brazilian mother of two named Damaris. She initially was using Picnik to edit pictures which she then used to make t-shirts for her son's birthday party. Anyway, she's a doll, you can check out her blog here:  http://www.kitchencorners.com/

Without further ado, here's what I've been tinkering with on Picnik, and believe it or not, this is only a small sample of what you can do with the tools and filters they offer. Agh, I'm having way too much fun.

1. Swanky Calabasas birthday parties. Photo cred to the woman who kept bringing us appetizers.

2. The cute people who made me from scratch. Photo credit: Curtis Simpson Photography

3. Da Jabon Market at the Dominican/Haitian border when I visited in 2008.

4. Beach with friends in the Dominican Republic.

5. Busy streets of Monte Cristi.

  

6. B-dub being affectionate at an ice cream shop in DR.

7. Friends at Malibu Family Wines. Photo Credit: Liz Abend (soon to be Navarro!)

8. Roses from my Mom's garden (FYI this was taken on my Blackberry).

9. Droid phones and cuddle buddies. Photo Credit: Sarah D.

10. Co-chairs. Dodgeball. 80's Ladies. Photo Credit: Co-Kelly

Craving Colors

Maybe it's because of daylight savings time, and the way it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home, or maybe it's because I was sick this week and had to stay inside, but I've been craving bright colors. Venice is bursting with colors: the sunsets are gold and gray, the oceans are teal and navy, and don't even get me started on the murals, and the people, the food. I love it. I know I sound like a weird art kid now, but colors make me happy, and as it happens, this craving (and the fact that I've had a really gross cold) led me to hole up in my apartment for some nightly painting sessions lately, and I thought you guys might like a taste.

I've been hesitant to post pictures of my paintings because while I usually think they're not half bad, there's always the slight chance that they resemble something you'd find on Regretsy (as a sidenote,  if you're the crafty-artsy type, you should check out this website, because it is hilarious: "Where DIY meets WTF."). Nevertheless, I digress with the inappropriate side comments, here it is:

I whipped up some abstract thank you notes. Because everyone needs those.

Test painting of a friend and his dogs. By test painting I mean "rough draft I normally wouldn't show you" but hey, everyone has off days. This was my 1st attempt at painting someone I know personally, and I don't feel like I did him justice (sorry, DT) but for the sake of showing the process, I included it.

As you can see, I it's easy for me to get carried away in said process, and before you know it, my tiny apartment becomes an art hurricane that takes up all the floor space. Also note the paint blanket. I absolutely cannot work without it. Did I mention my weird attraction to bright colors?

 

     It's another mini abstract. Okay, I know, you're bored, I'll get to the good stuff. 

This was something I'd been toying with painting for a while, but again, I couldn't get up the courage to paint someone I know personally. Finally, after  the test painting above, I decided to go for it. Let this serve as warning to the rest of my friends: you might end up in a painting so, you should stay on my good side.

And here's a little paint/poetry work in progress.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll keep you posted on my creative endeavors. In the meantime, Happy Friday! Go out and paint or draw something this weekend. It's good for your soul.