Thursday, September 29, 2011

LCC: The first post of many

This was from a 50's musical we did in Spring. The outfits were adorable! I'm in the front.
The theater company that I am a part of, LCC Theatre Co., is coming together for the first official meeting of the year today. I joined last year, in my winter quarter, so by the time this quarter's done, I will have been with them for a year! I love everyone in the group; If I had to sum us up, I'd say we're a mix of all kinds of kids who just love creativity. I'm the Internal Marketing Director this year so I've already seen a bunch of people from the group, but I can't wait for tonight. We're doing cold reads, which means we're reading all of the scripts and deciding on which to turn into a production. This year my goal is to become better at improv and more brave when it comes to performing. It's so scary for a shy person! I'll write about my audition experience and little things from last year later when I have more time. But basically, expect a lot of behind-the-scenes pictures and possibly videos of these guys, because I love working with them!
<3 Linda

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Just Popping in to Say...

That I made my first sale! The bone clip is now gone and I will probably be making another one soon with different thread because I just love it a lot. I definitely wasn't expecting to sell anything within 2 months, so yay for little accomplishments! This is my first dollar... ever. (I never had a job before this, sad I know). But it's cool to think that my first dollar was an online one!

I wish this could be a longer and more picture-filled post, but alas, the time has come for homework. I'm already behind in reading even though the quarter's just begun. Oh college...
<3 Linda

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lusting For... Lavender

Has anyone read The Wildwater Walking Club? It's a book I read over summer about three women who walk and get to know each other as they begin to bond over different areas in their lives. One of those areas just happens to be lavender and it got me quite obsessed for a couple of weeks. Every couple of chapters there's a little recipe posted of ways to use lavender: in foods, in "dream pillows", in air fresheners... pretty much anything!  I love lavender, even the color.

Today, at the Last Hurrah sale on Modcloth, I fell in love with this Lavender Mist Dress, but it was sold out! It was so perfect in terms of what I was looking for in a dress; 3/4 sleeves, float-y sheer material, and muted color with a contrasting collar. I have no idea if it'll be restocked, but you can bet I'm crossing my fingers in hope!

I never used to like the smell of lavender until recently since I found it to be too strong. However, Yardley English Lavender powder smells like a dream! I'm not joking. It's brilliant, and every time I use it I feel very refreshed and clean. Random thing to throw on a list, I know, but this powder is amazing.

And now for some lavender-related things I really want to try...

Lavender honey. My sister's tried a flavored honey before and told me it barely tastes like honey and mainly tastes like the flavor, so I'm curious to see what lavender tastes like.

Lavender fudge from SpoonFudge or any kind of chocolate, mainly because I am a true chocoholic. Doesn't that look delicious? I'm thinking it's like Nutella but with a lavender kick. SpoonFudge also makes a bunch of other flavors that I'm curious to try!

Lavender syrup! Here's a great recipe to make some, but there's also a bottled form you can buy. It's great for adding to drinks, making things sweeter, or even putting in recipes as a replacement for sugar.

And lastly, before you suffer from lavender overload, check out this lavender essential oil! Lovely. It may not look that amazing, but while Googling I found out some really interesting things about lavender oil:

  • It can be used for lots of skin conditions, like burns, hair loss, cold sores, acne, sunburns, cuts, eczema, and stretch-marks. Stretch-marks!
  • It can be used as aromatherapy to calm you, but can also be used for stress, headaches, depression, and PMS.
  • It can help sooth the stomach by relieving nausea and improving digestion.
  • It can even be useful for simple coughs, colds, sinus, throat infections, and asthma!
  • Even more uses can be found here. It seems to be popular for most things, like cinnamon and honey.
Natural remedies, folks. That's the way to go. Hope you don't mind my lavender craziness. I blame it on the book.
<3 Linda

Monday, September 26, 2011

Movies & Mixes Monday: NPR


NPR. It's got something for everyone of course, but my favorite part of the site is the music section. Featuring first listens, articles, and mixes in a variety of styles, it's a lot of fun to delve through. The exclusive tiny desktop concerts take the cake! If you haven't seen one of these videos, click here. It's what got me into listening to Phoenix and what keeps me addicted to my favorite bands (Delta Spirit's full concert at Lollapalooza is available for free download!) so go check it out, you won't regret it.
<3 Linda

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Cramped Living Quarters

The full view
My favorite painting by Van Gogh, "Cafe Terrace at Night" and an L-shaped paperclip.
Gala Darling's self-love manifesto. Told you I printed it out! I changed the color to match everything else, though.
Go check out this artist's site at Arcane-Arts.com!
And lastly, my own scallops. I'm planning on making more for the shop, but I had to have them for myself too! Mine's a brighter mint green than the pictures show.

And there you have it. I'm living here full-time so my desk is pretty darn messy from all the things I have, but you can see a few snippets of my personality here and there! 
<3 Linda

Friday, September 23, 2011

10 Potential Strategies to Cope with Social Anxiety

Okay, so this is pretty much the worst thing I've ever drawn. But you get my point!
  1. Try to play someone else. This doesn't mean you should be someone else entirely, but it's a way to relax yourself. Encourage traits of what you want to be like, because acting confident often appears genuine when you try to think of yourself as already having those traits.
  2. Do a warm-up exercise before leaving the house. This can be either by telling yourself positive things, or even by imagining how the event will go. If you do the latter, try not to think of what could go wrong.
  3. Imagine the other people are like your best friends, and try to act like how you do when you're around people you're already comfortable with. I used this one during an interview for college, and though I didn't get in and have no idea if it helped with my demeanor, I do know that it made me stress a whole lot less!
  4. If you feel like people are laughing at you, don't shrink. Just try to laugh it off too or move onto another subject. Even though it'll be hard, it'll let people know that you're not willing to put up with mockery.
  5. Try to be a "Yes Man". That's the only way it's going to become easier. After a certain amount of time, you'll start to realize how many opportunities have opened up for you, and you'll feel more comfortable with saying "yes" as time goes on.
  6. Realize that sometimes other people don't even notice some of the tiny things that you do.
  7. Try to think positive things in your head when you introduce someone. Positive thoughts show through in your facial expression and demeanor. 
  8. If someone points out your awkwardness or whatever it is, ignore them. I know what you're thinking, sounds easy but it's not. And I agree. But you shouldn't let someone have that much power over you, that they can ruin your entire day! It's one person's opinion, you'll meet plenty more in your life.
  9. Slowly build up your confidence by going out with a few trusted people. Try to meet one person at a time, so that you don't feel overwhelmed. You can even test the limits on your own by going out of your house in public. The first time, you can go just outside of your house, and then in later times you can slowly go farther and farther until you're able to even go to a totally new city! Then, of course, treat yourself because you deserve it. For me, doing most activities considered mundane by a lot of people make me panic if I'm in public, like eating, crocheting, taking photographs, buying things, etc. So make it your daily goal to take one small step a day, and you'll feel like you've run a marathon exhaustion-wise, but it'll be worth it.
  10. Don't be afraid to seek help. A lot of people confuse social phobia with shyness, and there are plenty more misconceptions that exist out there. If none of the things I've suggested above work, or if you're going through severe social anxiety (involving panic attacks, etc) then by all means, go to a counselor. Sometimes the things we deal with get the better of us, sometimes it's just all out of our control. But sometimes, you can do something about it.
These tips can work for people with varying degrees of anxiety, and depending on the situation. Or any issue, really. A lot of people have problems, that's just the way it is. The difference is that at times, you can do something about it.
<3 Linda

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Things I Love Thursday: Houndstooth

Houndstooth is a bold pattern that only the stylistically brave can wear. I've loved it for a long time, it's probably the first pattern that I desperately wanted but could never find. I dreamed of days when I could wear a cute houndstooth trench coat... maybe one day it'll happen! I have to say, I'm still in love with houndstooth, even though I have no idea about whether or not it's considered trendy by other people. Check out these ones from Etsy...

1. Multicolor Houndstooth iPhone by PencilShavingsPaper
4. Stuffed Animal Cat Upcycled by Sweetpoppycat
Middle: Houndstooth Mega Paper Pack by SheryKDesigns.

<3 Linda

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

On the Road Again

I have so many pictures to share with you all that I decided to just show a couple at a time so that it's not a total photo overload!

I wasn't going to post any of these because they're all blurry towards the bottom (and to me they're really boring), but I figured that those of you who don't live in CA will probably enjoy these hills. I almost forget that they're not found in most other states, because I'm just so used to them! So far I haven't had anything to do since I brought the wrong yarn to college to work with. Sad! School's starting in a couple of days though, so I guess I should revel in this downtime.
<3 Linda

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Weekly Positivity!

I couldn't post anything on Sunday because I moved into my dorm this weekend... here's to a year of cramped living! Hurray! (It's really not that bad... for now.) Be prepared for a picture spam soon! In the meantime, let's start this year off right with some weekly positivity, because I have some amazing things to share with you all!

First off, GalaDarling created a Radical Self-Love Manifesto that I think everyone needs to read. I changed the hue to blue and put it up on my wall as a picker-upper. You can find the complete printable version here. Here's a bit from the post, since that poster was taking up the whole page...
"Strive to always be thankful & optimistic. Focus your gaze on what is good & positive; never dwell on the negative. Do not allow life to make you cynical or closed off. Remaining open & true to yourself is a life-long adventure, & the only one worth having."
Great, isn't it? I always find her posts to be thoughtful and inspiring.

For those of you who don't follow cracked.com, please start reading! You're missing out on one of the most important pieces of information on the internet. I recommend you start with this post: "5 Bits of Advice that Don't Make Sense Until It's Too Late". Is it a sign of growing up that I finally began to understand these this year? Maybe. I'm not sure if it fits into the category of "positivity", but it's definitely an interesting read.

I also stumbled across this site called Emotional Bag CheckIf you have something you need to vent, you can write something and get all that weight off your shoulders. But if you're in a good mood, you can also "take" other people's luggage. It's actually a music referring site, where you can anonymously dedicate the song to the person with the problem, which is a pretty novel idea.

And always remember,
<3 Linda




Monday, September 19, 2011

Movies & Mixes Monday: Daytrotter


Daytrotter drew me in from the start. I found it while looking for Delta Spirit recording sessions (They're one of my favorite bands!). It has a pretty layout with plenty of drawings to give it an authentic feel, and that's what I love the most about it. Apart from that, it also features exclusive interviews and free downloads from their own Daytrotter studio sessions recorded in between a band's tour dates. It's pretty neat to listen to each song... from time to time you can even hear the tinkling of wine glasses, or the mute chatter of people in the background. Just take a listen; there's something about it that you just have to adore. Trust me!

Explore away.
<3 Linda

Friday, September 16, 2011

Expectations v. Reality: Craft Rooms

Here's one we can all relate to...

Expectations:
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Where everything was color-coded and nothing hurt.

Reality:
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"I'm sure it's in here somewhere..."
"What?"
"The floor."

I cannot wait to have my own craft space, right now I'm working out of the living room. Sad!
<3 Linda

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Falling for Fall

Fall is my favorite season when it comes to colors, but I'm not such a fan of the weather. Normally I can never figure out what to wear! This year I'm armed with cardigans and sweaters, though. Fall hasn't set in just yet here in "The Golden State". Some of the things I'm looking forward to this fall are:

         The glass pumpkin is made by my sister's friend. Isn't it cute?
                      And the crochet is a recent creation of mine.
1// The afforementioned cardigans and sweaters! Oh yes. I love buying baggy sweaters from thrift stores and I feel like they're really comfortable, so I don't really mind looking like I'm wearing my mom's clothing. Ha. Still on the lookout for tights though, so that I don't have to wear tight jeans.
2// Pumpkin spice lattes. Or anything pumpkin-flavored. You can also replace pumpkin with vanilla, nutmeg, apple, cinammon, and anything else associated with fall. Hot drinks are the best, especially tea!
3// Seeing the leaves change colors. They look beautiful during the fall.
4// Having new shows begin for the fall TV season. I always told myself to not keep current with shows so that I would never have to deal with a cliffhanger, but it happened to be anyway. Sigh!
5// Getting the chance to decorate my dorm room for the year! Expect a post once I get to school.
6// Getting to wear knits! I love knits so much. This is probably obvious by now.
7// Meeting my new roommate, Tina! So excited. She's into the arts as well.
8// Growing my hair out and seeing other people growing their hair out again.
9// The feeling of a new year approaching. And with this comes other new LCC Theatre Co. production, so lots of creative projects are coming up as well!
10// Cuddling up in a million more blankets that I added to my bed after the hot summer season.

This year's going to be great, I can just feel it. Only a couple more days to go 'til I'm swept up in the madness!
<3 Linda

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bamboozled: Close Call

During the Labor Day weekend, I decided to keep busy by working on a print, knowing that I wouldn't get a chance to experiment with my tablet once school starts. This is what I came up with, and I'm pretty proud of it considering it's my first time using Painter as well as my first time completely using a tablet (sketching on the computer with no scanning involved):

Ooh, definitely have to clean some lines. It's going to be one of four nymphs, based on the elements.
After spending a day touching it up on Photoshop, I saved and printed it only to be horrified by the terrible pixel quality! Somehow, when I transferred the picture from Corel Painter to Photoshop, the image resized itself to just over ONE inch without my noticing! How? I have no clue. But my overly-paranoid self managed to save a billion copies of the unfinished normal-sized image on a Corel RIFF file, so I'm not extremely upset about it. I'm going to work to reconstruct it so that I won't feel like that weekend was a waste. I'm about 50% done so far! Not too shabby. That was a close call though, I'm so glad I saved a copy!

<3 Linda

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Things I Love Tuesday: Art Techniques

Being an art history major, I find myself drawn to (har har) the different ways that people can draw and paint an object. One artist can look at an apple and paint it with a veristic mood, while the other can create a more surreal image of the same apple. I have no idea why I'm rambling about apples. Anyway, here are just a few of my favorite techniques:


1. Stippling (using dots in one color) and pointillism (creating dots in many colors, with a more Impressionistic style from stippling). I'm lumping these two together because they're both equally amazing and similar in style. Recognize that man on the right?


2. The Human Printer: Taking stippling and multiplying the insanity by 100 percent. It's ridiculous! I know this isn't an established "technique", but when I saw the artists' tedious process, I fell in love with it. They slowly dot the piece just like an actual printer would, using only CMYK tones.


3. "The Droste Effect" is one that many of us have known and probably even done before without even knowing that it had a name. It's a picture in a picture in a picture in a... well, you get it. It's a great optical illusion that reminds me of nesting dolls. The effect is named after Droste's packaging-- I don't know about their cocoa, but their chocolate is delicieux!


4. Trompe-l'œil is the love child of realism and optical illusion. The paintings are so real that sometimes, you can't even tell what's real and what's fake! I'm still staring at the painting on the left trying to figure out which parts have been painted.... It's also useful when you want to create space in a small room. Recently I've seen it being used by 3D sidewalk chalk artists, it's ridiculously good!

This post has gone on for far too long, so I'm going to stop here. Click through each picture for the source, and to see them in full size. Which is your favorite? :)
<3 Linda

Monday, September 12, 2011

Movies & Mixes Monday: Downplayer


The Downplayer is great for people who don't want to purchase music illegally (I'm guilty of feeling guilty...hmm!). One of my friends showed me this site this year and I was really drawn into the idea. Each week, 10 different songs in varying genres are put up for download legally. It's a mixed bag, but I almost always find something that suits my taste. To top it off, you can find concert reviews and interviews as you scroll down. Such a great combination, and it's streamlined too! Just click and download, and you don't have to deal with confusing links and long lists. And a definite perk? They often post really awesome mixes, some of which are a little more rare than others! Quick and easy, just the way I like it.

<3 Linda

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Bzzy! // Antiques

I will be in a meeting from 1 to 6 PM today, so I can't talk much since I'm reviewing notes right now. It's with my theatre group, who I haven't seen in ages, but I shall be looking at all of their faces through Skype instead of in person. So excited to start planning things. In the meantime, here are some photos from my travels to an antique faire I went to a couple of weeks ago!




Stylin'
The flowers were so pretty.
And these giant sunflowers were too! I want to grow some one day.
It's crunch time, packing-wise, so I'm going to be pretty swamped this week. I'll still try to keep posting though! Hope your week goes swell.
<3 Linda

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Top Five Bravest Jobs

Sometimes, you've just got to admire some people for doing what they do, despite the enormous amount of pressure.
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1. Being a comedian is scary. I mean, can you imagine going out there and risking being laughed at, or, even worse, having no one laugh at all? And let's not forget the hecklers and half-drunk people that think they're funnier than the person up on stage. Putting out things that you think are funny takes guts.


Source
2. Entrepreneurs have the daunting challenge of starting off something from scratch. It can not only be overwhelming, but also a huge risk. One day you could be soaring, and the next, your employees could be bought up by the competition and you could find yourself being forced to do their jobs just to get the product done. (Okay, so I got that from watching too many episodes of The Cupcake Girls. But their show really got me thinking!) You have to do it all, and be good at it. However, it's probably the most satisfying of all jobs to be your own boss. The only thing is, being your own boss means taking full responsibility for everyone beneath you.

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3. I'm not sure of exactly what investors do or how they do it (My dad's answer when I asked for clarification: "Nobody knows"). But I would imagine it involves a lot of gambling and numbers, which are equally scary. And if you don't do your math right, you could be faced with a lot of issues, mostly financially. The thought of putting your faith in someone else's product is enough to make me not want to learn any more about it, but I can see why it's worth it. Forgive me if I'm ignorant!

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4. Doctors are often hailed as heroes, but E.R. surgeons probably have it the worst. Not only do they have a time crunch and have had to go through half of a lifetime's worth of education, but they have people's lives in their hands! It's so amazing to think of how many people owe their lives to surgeons working under pressure. And how brave a doctor has to be to keep working despite occasional failures.

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5. Teachers are my final choice for having a brave job, even though there are plenty of other occupations that are also considered brave to others. Teaching is such an important skill; it's how we pass our knowledge down to others. To be the person that is responsible for molding the minds of young children (or older) requires a lot of courage. And plus, working around the generation gap must be scary too! Getting your students just to think you're cool is probably a tough job in itself.

And there you have it folks! The most unconventionally brave careers that you can possibly have. Sometimes courage comes in different shapes and sizes, whether it be social, financial, or otherwise, and I think it's important to honor them all.
<3 Linda

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Things I Love Thursday: Online Comic Strips

I will be the first to admit that I'm not much of a comics person. Or manga person. Or anything like that... That is, until about a year ago, when I discovered certain online comic sites, most of which were created by artists just trying to get by on doing what they love. Since then...well, I'm still not a comics person. But these are my exceptions (in no particular order)!

1. Cat vs Human is my favorite of them all. Crazy cat ladies can definitely relate to the artist, Yasmine! All of her comics are cat-related, and mainly about her struggles and joy of living with cats. She's hilarious, too.

2. Stuff No One Told Me (But I Learned Anyway), abbreviated snotm (charming, I know) is all about lessons. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're serious, and almost all of the time, they're just downright true. The blog was created by Alex Noreiga, a freelance illustrator who started it when he felt himself falling into a rut at work and wanted to do something about it. He also has another blog called Your Mother Likes It, because...well, she does.

3. Everydaypants, as mentioned in this week's Weekly Positivity post, is a new find of mine. The artist, Ramsey Beyer, writes stuff about life and self-discovery. What stood out to me the most, however, was her honesty. And you can definitely tell when someone is speaking their mind versus when they're just trying to get a comic out for a commission. Her illustrations are obviously the former!

4. Everyday Cute is the originator of Pusheen, the web's most beloved internet cat. They just recently switched over to Tumblr, but you can still see their old comics by clicking the link on the sidebar. There is something ever so mesmerizing about all the simultaneously pulsating GIFs. And now they have non-Pusheen things too! My favorite new thing has been the Fuzzy Potter series. Kittendor-- Seriously?!


5. Adventures of an Asian-American Girl is a new blog started by my friend, Yannan, who is also a Producer for my theatre group for the upcoming year! She's really talented, and she's just begun to post, so show her some love, will you?


I guess the cat-related ones are the equivalent of ogling at cat videos on Youtube. But then again, I do that too. So...
<3 Linda