Friday's ATCs of the Week

A bit late but here are the cards I'm most proud of this week, including the Firefly cards that I mentioned last time.

 

 The top one is Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games. I did it for an MMH for another artist who requested him :) He was one of my favorites from the series, so I was more than happy to draw him. So excited for the movie, btw. The stuff I've seen from the previews look really good.

The pandas are for a panda swap. I did them with watercolor.

The bottom four are the Firefly cards. Shepherd Book, Wash and his dinos, River (doesn't look like her imho...oh well) from Serenity's reaver battle, and Kaylee with her umbrella :)

Until next time :)

Love and Hugs!

--Treen

Friday's ATCs of the Week

It's Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday! Everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend!

Blame Jason. He sings it every Friday now. Hahaha :D

Anyway, here are the cards that I'm most proud of this week! Enjoy!

 

 

1. Paint Chip Swap-Frosted Watermelon 2. Halloween Card for a PIF 3. Paint Chip Swap-Grand Smoky Mountain and Magic Purple Moon 4. Crowned Cats Swap 5. Paint Chip Swap-Lost at Sea 6. Bookpage Backgrounds Round Three Swap

That's all for today. I thought of uploading the cards I'm doing for the Serenity/Firefly swap, but I'll hold off until I have all four finished. They'll be featured (for sure) next Friday. I worked on one of Kaylee for three hours today! Eesh. It's awesome, though. Yes, I'm quite humble. :D

Love and hugs,

-Treen

I Hate Titles.

I can never think what to name these. Eh, oh well.

So Jason and I didn't do ceramics yesterday because he had to help his mom. That's okay because I had some swaps I really wanted to work on anyway. So I think we're going today instead. He told his mom that he had plans with me today so that she won't make him go to Costco or water the lawn or one of the other million things that she expects him to do. I love that he's helping her, but does she realize that when he gets a job he won't be doing that anymore? Hope so.

So, I think Dad talked to my sister yesterday about all the stuff that's been going on. But, of course, I wasn't invited to the conversation, and I didn't want to listen in, so I only know they were talking. But he didn't yell, or maybe I'd missed that part haha, so that's good. I hope that was the case, because that's what affects her the most. Yelling just gets her mad and she shuts down. If you have a real conversation with her, and if you are genuinely hurt or disappointed, that's what she pays attention to.

Well, that's all for now. I will reinstate Friday's ATCs of the week and the Saturday Slideshow this week, as those were the only real things in this blog, hahaha :D

Hugs and love

-Treen

Exciting Day!

Jason and I are going to Paint and Play together today. It's like Color Me Mine, where you choose a ceramic thing and paint it, then they fire it for you and you pick it up. I love doing it and it's nice to go with him, and not with my family, because he'll let me spend a few hours doing it, without complaining, whereas my family would start to complain (like they did the last time we did this) and tell me I was taking too long. I'm sorry, but I'm just kind of (definitely) a perfectionist!

Anyway, that will be fun. :)

Talked to my sister yesterday and she apologized for involving Jason and I in her behaviors, which was nice, and unexpected. I didn't think she'd listen or understand why it bothered me. So that was really refreshing and made me feel a whole lot better.

Also, I totally need to stop signing up for so many swaps. I always hit them a week before the due date so I feel like I'm rushing all the time. Even though I'm looking for a job, I'm a little glad that, for the moment, I have time to do all this art because it's really nice to have that time. However, I do need money, so, the job thing has to be resolved soon, haha :D

Have a great day :)

Hugs and love,

Treen

Eraser Queen's Workshop

I'm not doing very good advertising for Eraser Queen's blog/contest/art/workshop, since uh, no one reads this. But if you happen to wander by, and want to check out some legitimate art, please see a real artist's blog lol. Here's the link to the page with the contest info (she's giving away a cooler-than-anything-I-make ATC) so you should go try to win it. Or don't, so I might actually win :p

Eraser Queen's Awesome Indian Woman ATC Contest

So, like I said, go check it out. Or cross your fingers that I win because the card is so cool. I'd totally do the workshop if I had enough money and also if I could draw stylistically, which I've discovered I cannot do haha.

Hugs and love,

-Treen

Hello Again!

All righty. So, yeah, my goodness it's been a while. Too much of a while. I was swamped with personal issues lately so I haven't had a chance, or a desire, to write anything.

Quick update: Jason is clean, and has been for more than a month, and this time (and I'm not just saying this because I am his girlfriend and I love him) I know it will stick because the way he talks about it is different. Before, when he had 'epiphanies' they never lasted long and he would always talk about regretting what he'd done and how he'd never go back, but even though I wanted it to, it didn't sound genuine. Now, he is talking about it in a healthier way. Instead of saying that he regrets it, he stops himself and says, "No, I don't regret it. I'm just glad it's over." So, of course, I'm ecstatically happy about it :) He has seen me every day since he's been clean. Every. Day. Lol :D So, for the first time since we first got together (8.5 years ago! O.O) he's seen me for 34+ days straight. Yay!

But, of course, now that he's better, my sister's problems are increasing and now she's having problems with substance abuse....and mom said that she hasn't been giving her money, so...we don't know what she's doing to *get* money. I'm hoping her friend is buying it for her, because the alternative is just too sad to think about...Yesterday she texted Jason and asked if he knew anyone who could sell it to her, which made me so angry. I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it, because she spends as little time at home as possible, but when she gets home later I'm going to tell her how upset, and how disrespectful it was for her to do that....why try to involve us? Why try to involve someone who's had his own substance issues? It's just the lowest insult you could do, in my opinion. It was like a slap in my face, really. Jason's sobriety is strong enough that it didn't affect him, thankfully, but if this had happened a month ago...I don't know what would have happened, honestly.

Anyway, enough about my personal problems, let's talk about art.

My 1 year anniversary on AFA is going to be on Halloween this year! I cannot believe that it's been a year, and so much has changed. Usually about this time is when I give up on whatever art I'm doing at the moment and go on to something else, but with ATCs, things are always new and fresh so I have constant motivation and inspiration.

Last year, I saw ATCs for the first time at the L.A. County fair, and we went back this year and there was another collection (they display kids' collections and give rewards for it) of ATCs. It was another (as Oprah would say, lol) full circle moment for me. And someone in the art pavilion was selling ACEOs. I didn't have time to talk to him the first time, so hopefully he'll still be there when we go back to the fair next week. I'd love to buy one of his cards for my collection, and talk to him a bit :)

Even with the problems with my sister, I'm feeling so much more positive, so much better, so much happier. My mom has even been saying things like, "Wow, your art is really improving." So I'm finally getting some recognition from her about my drawing skills :)

The last two years, when I would watch those relationship shows and see people who'd been together for years who said, "The feeling never goes away! We're still in love like the first day!" I'd cringe and be like, "ugh, please." But the truth is, when you find the right person, and when you work at the relationship, it is like that. I love Jason. I can honestly say that I'm so proud he's going to be my husband some day. I can't wait for the day when he gets to stand at the end of the aisle for me :)

I promise (not that anyone reads this hahaha!) that I'll actually try to update this thing. I'm trying to take better care of myself, and this is definitely part of it.

Hugs and love,

Treen

RIP, Dear Ham...

My poor hamster died... :( She was out of water and I didn't know...and it's been so hot. :( I'm so sad. I really loved her and her small size and softness and her eagerness to say hello to me when I came up to her cage... Poor thing. She had her eyes closed so I'm hoping she just lay down next to her food and fell asleep there...I wish I could take better care of my pets, and myself.

At least student teaching is going all right...

-Katrina

Daily Challenge

I've been doing the daily challenge over at meyouhealth.com (google it. You need a facebook account, I think. Can't remember). The challenge for yesterday was to write your current self a letter from your self of five years from now, so I thought I'd share my letter here as well :)

Dear Katrina,

Stop worrying. Stop thinking about the things that could go wrong. They do go wrong. But I'm here to tell you that you live through it. I don't even think of the quarters of student teaching anymore. Yes, you made mistakes and looked silly sometimes, but it's all part of learning so just laugh and move on. You did the right thing by standing by your loved ones, even when times looked extra bleak...you know when I'm talking about. When others questioned your decisions, you stuck by them and that's what matters. You're still happy. You're still successful.

Just take a deep breath and your head high. Also, stop making excuses for not eating healthy. You need to take care of yourself. It's not about your looks. You're beautiful. Even you know that and have no trouble telling yourself that, so I know I don't have to make it an issue, but you have to be healthy. Trust me, I know because I *am* healthy (we are healthy) and it's so much better. Keep being who you are, but instead of taking care of everyone else all the time, spend time on yourself. I love you and so do many other people. :) See you in five years!

<3 Katrina

It was a fun challenge overall. :) You should definitely join the challenge. It's really inspiring and the things they have you do each day are really not that hard. Plus, you earn virtual stamps. I'm a sucker for things like that...probably one of the reasons why I'm going to be a teacher haha :)

<3 Treen

I'm Back :)

Oh goodness I know I haven't updated in two weeks. Had some off days and just wasn't motivated. So, this is going to be a longer one because I'll post my ATCs and a few pictures to make up for the updates I didn't do. Jason and I had a little bit of trouble for a couple of days after Kirstin's graduation, but he's doing better now and he's starting at CVS (a new one that opened near his home) today. I don't care about the type of job he has because, honestly, he could work his way up in this job if he stays there. He just needs experience and work atm. Anyway, here are the photos.

 

The top picture is all of us after Kirstin's graduation. Then there's a picture of a bee that landed on my mailbox. It stayed there for so long that I thought it'd died. I came back a few hours later and it was still there, then I blew on it gently. It started cleaning itself then stepped forward a bit, then just flew off! It was wonderful to watch it. Reminds you to pay attention to the small things :)

The ATCs come from some private trades. The black ones are scratchboard. I also have the Hamster swap cards, Kitties with wings, my tiger for the Lions, Tigers, and Bears swap, and the Gnomes at Work swap (mushroom painter, fox groomers, architect).

<3 Treen

New Day

Well then, the majority of my stress is over now.

We went to dinner last night and it's a good thing that mom came with us because Kirstin just isn't a big talker in general, so it would have been more awkward. Jason apologized, genuinely, for all the things that he had said and done in the past to her and I think she believed him. And he promised, pinky promised (cannot be broken under punishment of death), that he would never ever say anything like that again.

It's not 100% back to where it was, but we're like 3/4 of the way there now. And I have a feeling that Jason will be able to focus on moving forward in his life now that he doesn't have this hanging over him. I was just so happy that it was finally over with. I woke up this morning feeling tired (slept at two am lol) but happy.

And today is Kirst's high school graduation! O. M. G. wtf? Seriously? Ew, she's totally almost 18! Wow. I mean, it seems like we adopted her an hour ago....like mom and dad brought her home just the other day. I was seven when she entered our lives and it seems so odd now to say that she's adopted. Honestly, it's like an alien concept. And the fact that she's graduating just means that there's no way I can try to convince myself that she's a kid (not that I was really doing that anymore anyway, but still...). It's very bittersweet. She's come a very long way from where she was a few years ago, and I'm really proud of how strong she is as a person now, but I miss my little squishy sister. :( People get old way too fast...

Well, that's all. As it's Friday, I'll post some (awesome! lol...humble, I know) ATCs from this week later on tonight.

Best wishes :)

<3 Treen

Dinner

Having dinner with Kirstin, Jason, and Mom. Cross your fingers. Jason and Kirstin haven't really spent more than five minutes in the same area in the last year. I think it'll go all right, but I just get nervous. Want everything to work. Stresses me out....but I feel like this is the first positive step toward healing everyone. Please let it work out that way.

<3 Treen

Movies with friends!

Well, it was really just one friend. Katie and I hung out to celebrate the fact that she can eat semi-solid foods now. She had surgery on her throat to help with a swallowing problem so, until now, she was on a liquid diet. Anyway, we see each other at least once a month for movies or comic store trips.

This time we saw X-Men: First Class. I haven't been an uber fan of the other movies, just because I was never really exposed to the comics or the cartoon when I was younger. I saw the first movie a while ago, and bits and pieces of the other two, but I have a passable knowledge of the basic storyline and characters. With that said, I thought the movie was pretty good. I thought it moved a little slowly at some parts, but I like the background information about the characters and how they learned to develop their powers.

Kevin Bacon was really good. I wasn't expecting him to speak German so well. Is he fluent in real life? And he was believably evil. I was paying special attention to Jennifer Lawrence, since she'll be playing Katniss in the future and I haven't seen Winter's Bone yet. I thought she was pretty good. There were some moments of the movie that I especially liked, such as Xavier using the machine to find mutants and the training that they went through before their fight. Overall, it's a good introduction to the characters. I really want to watch the first one again now. Good day with a good friend :)

<3 Treen

Ouch!

Waking up, I was a little flubby, tripping around in my room before trying to make it down my hall. Little did I know that a killer cardboard box was waiting for me. Omg, worst fail ever. I tripped on the box, tried to catch myself on the wall, didn't manage that, then landed on my hip. And my hips are pretty large so I can already feel the murderous bruise growing there. Trust there will be pictures of the purple mass once it appears. Never had a fail that big. Thank goodness it was in my house and now like, in public...lmao. And I think I said the F word like twenty times because it hurt so much. Who leaves a box right in the middle of the hallway? Oh, right, my family. Thanks.

<3 Treen

Why am I still awake??

I wonder why I'm tired in the morning...or rushing to finish homework...oiy. I have three one page reflections to rush tomorrow...oh, and my final, which I haven't studied for or looked over. What is wrong with me?? Whatever, last day of cramming before I have a few days off. Then the new quarter starts on the 20th I think...or was it earlier? My goodness I've gotta get this stuff locked down!

Anyway, I know that no one is really reading this as of this moment, but if you are, and you're interested in art, I need your help! I just bought some ATC sized scratch board with silver/gold and the stupid sticks that I thought were meant for them are WAY too dull to scratch the surface, leading me to be frustrated, especially when I found out that most people use metal tools for this....SO, my question is, "Can anyone find me, or point me in the direction of, some really inexpensive tools to use? Or any makeshift ones?" That would be awesome, as I spent five dollars on this bag of useless sticks....feel so stupid. What the heck do I do with them now? And what were they made for anyway? There must be some cheap child scratchboard that they cut through, because they just aren't doing it for the ones I bought. And they're made by the same company! And on the bag, it said, "For scratch art" I mean, wth!? Oiy. Anyway, the one thing I've found to work best so far is a pair of scissors lol. HELP!

Alright, I'm going to bed so I can get at least six hours. Night! :)

<3 Treen

Delayed Saturday Slideshow

Hello :) Was too busy hanging out with Jason yesterday to post the normal update. We actually didn't even take any photos, lol. But I do have some from earlier in the week :) So here are the photos of the week!

 

Wasn't much going on this week since I didn't have class. I mostly worked on ATCs. However, I did get my hair done (only a grainy cell picture for that, unfortunately :p) and I watched Monroe. We went to Grandma's to say goodbye for the summer, since she'll be spending the next three or four months in Montana :( So sad. I already miss her. That's her strawberry plant. It's gotten a total of ten strawberries! Lol. 

And of course, Monroe's the best source of photos. I showed him that you could look through the hole so he was very fascinated by that afterward and kept going to the mirror to see himself as a dinosaur! :D He loves dinos. If I didn't mind parting with my book, I'd let him have it, but that's one of the ones I had as a kid, so for now, he'll just have to borrow it when I babysit :)

Well, that's all. I will say, Jason came through spectacularly with his role as boyfriend. He did make reservations beforehand, at Black Angus, and we enjoyed a really good dinner together :) It was good that we had reservations because it was a half hour wait. Hooray for responsibility! Our motto for the 8th year is, "Eight will be great!" so cheesy, I know :) I still love him, and that's what's important.

Until next time!

<3 Treen

Friday's ATCs of the Week

Pretty slow week. Most of the cards I made were for my own swap, Children's Literature Characters, to give as gifts to my swappies. But here are a few cards that I'm most proud of this week.

 

There's an all-types-of-art-athon going on at AFA this weekend and the first challenge was to use stamps in cards. The King was for a private trade I owed someone. It's based on the rhyme "Sing A Song of Sixpence". The Snake one just got stuck in my head. As soon as I saw that little green squiggle he was pushing into the window, all I could think of was "snake tail". And the last two are for my swap. I didn't draw Pooh or Piglet...just the backgrounds. The letters are from a cool rub-on sheet I got at Michaels. I love how they work. They always look great.

Well, sadly, that's all lol. Hopefully Jason and I actually do something for our anniversary tomorrow so that I'll have some nice pictures for the slideshow tomorrow. I'm hungry. Going to go figure out what I'm eating in this house all alone.

<3 Treen

Love Bites

 The Show's Website

I know it's only the first episode, and I'll probably end up forgetting about it (putting it on my dvr list just because I know myself :p) but it's actually really cute! It's a nice idea, since I tend to get tired of characters after a while. I love the actors and it's a sweet idea for a show. It's nice to see something lighthearted for a change. I love actually laughing at a show for once lol. Yay NBC! Oh and the music's great, too. Hope it lasts.

<3 Treen

O.O What??

My Facebook account is 'down for maintenance' and when I Googled the issue to see if that was common, some people said their accounts were offline for three or more days.

WTF? Damn it. Seriously, I know it's a sad statement on the world, but the fact is that Facebook is the ONE way I can actually communicate with people in my life on a regular basis. Yes, people text and call me and I see them in real life, but that is not the most common way. And I also have photos, games, and connections that I need to keep up with. So now I'm just stuck here today. It's like I lost the ability to be a human lol. Sad, sad pathetic comment on my life, I know. FIX IT, damn it. Lol... :( Seriously, though. This sucks.

<3 Treen

I swear...the blog post must have jolted them awake because literally the second I posted this...profile back up. Crisis averted. XD Seriously, though, how sad is it that my mind can not function without my computer? I need to get out way more.

Saturday's Slideshow

Not too many pictures this week. Thought I'd be taking more of Fynn, my dog-sitting dog, but I was too busy cuddling him, haha :) But, there were a few other photo opportunities. And Monroe got a hold of the camera and was busy taking photos. Also, my cousin's toddler daughter visited us! So, here are the pictures of the week.

 

Jason and I went to the laundromat together because he had a lot of the seniors' clothes to wash (his mother runs an assisted living home out of their house) and our dryer is broken at home. 

Katie and I hung out and got some Pinkberry and a smile formed in my yogurt (I have to admit, I added one of the eyes :p). 

Jillian was more than adorable. We're biased, but she really is one of the cutest kids ever.

I watched Monroe again and he put on my glasses. Adorable. Too bad he has 20-20 vision. Then he practiced photography and told me, "Say cheese!" He's a little behind on his speech, so it was super cute to hear him say that. And, of course, being three, we watched Jurassic Park together. I swear he brought the movie to me and said, "Dinosaur movie!" It was not my influence, I promise. But he was so excited about the dinosaurs that he stood right next to the screen and took photos of it. This was the best picture he took. Most of them were pixels because he was literally up against the glass. He's too cute.

<3 Treen

Friday's ATCs of the Week

A little late...as it's actually not Friday anymore, but ignore that! Lol. I spent the last few days at my friend's house, so I didn't have a scanner. But, here are the cards I've made this week that I am most proud of :)

The set of four were for the Edgar Allan Poe Swap. They come from The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, Annabel Lee, and Dream-Land. The other three were for the April Pick-A-Theme :)

My first zetti. I like how it turned out but I won't be doing any more unless they are for PATs because they're really out of my style and hard for me to do. It did not come naturally at all.

I'm using a lot more watercolor and I feel like I'm getting better at using them, so that's encouraging :) The giraffe was not even sketched before I painted it, although I did use a reference photo but that's no big deal.

Well, that's all for this week!

<3 Treen

Silly Me!

I thought my quarter was over today but I forgot that uh, there was a final test lol :p So it's in two weeks. No big deal since it's only 15 points. Kinda sad that it's not over. Blah lol. Good news, I get to watch Fynn again for at least three days! Yay! That's my friend's adorable dog. Don't worry. Pictures will be posted :) He's too cute. And now he remembers and misses me, so I get kisses when he sees me lol. CUTE. He's not slobbery, so it's all good.

Best wishes all!

<3 Treen

My Review of TICKET STUB DIARY

Originally submitted at UncommonGoods

Never forget those front row seats at a Bruce Springsteen concert, the standing ovation at the premiere of the Lion King or the roar of the crowd when the Red Sox won the World Series. With this Ticket Stub Diary you can preserve your precious memories from concerts, museums, movies, sporting event...

TICKET STUB DIARY

Great Product!

By Katrina from Pasadena, CA on 5/23/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Professional Quality, Durable Construction, Quality Writing Surface, Easy to use

Describe Yourself: Value Oriented

Primary use: Personal

It's great for keeping tickets of all kinds and will fit the long concert tickets as well. Some of the small ticket stubs you can double up and it's difficult at first to get the first one all the way to the end, but it's not too bad. Fun to have around for all those people who hoard ticket stubs inside their wallets or purses.

(legalese)

Tin Tin Movie!

Omg. Please someone tell me that I'm not the only person under 30 who has read these comics? They are so good. SO GOOD. And I heard about the movie months ago, and saw the first teaser pictures, but now the trailer and an awesome new poster are out for it. And the trailer is a must see...so I'm going to try to see if I can work the video feature on this and embed it here. I am so excited about this, you have no idea. I'm glad that they put real talent behind it instead of making it just one of the mass of comic movies that have been rolling out of Hollywood. *Happy Dance*

Okay...I officially love Blogger. What an epic way to include video. Anywho, watch the trailer. You won't be disappointed. Someone squee with me so I don't feel alone!

<3 Treen

Saturday's Slideshow

I'm reallllly trying to come up with themes, to keep me motivated in updating this swap. And since it's fairly easy to upload things to this blog, I'll be trying it out.

So, I take a lot of photos. A lot. And I got a digital video recorder for Christmas (like a Flip camera, but not that brand) so I can now take videos as well! I always take at least one photo a week, so I'll try to upload them on Saturdays :)

Anyway, here are a few that are older than a week, but that I just have to share because they're so great :)

So here's the scoop on these photos :) The little boy is my friend's son. I babysit him every Wednesday. He's adorable and has just started to get photo taking, so now he smiles for pictures. He put on my sunglasses after I showed him what they were for. Adorable :)

Jason's the wonderful man with the sandwich lol. We went to Canter's Deli a few weeks ago. I was sorely jealous of his pastrami sandwich as it was delicious.

Coffee is coffee. There's no explanation needed lol :) Lattes at a new-ish coffee place in Old Town Pasadena. Yum.

The final pictures are of the little lost puppy that came by grandma's house, afraid and alone. Her owner, thankfully, lived down the street and came by to pick her up. She was adorable and sweet and calmed down once her mommy came by :)

That's all for today. Best wishes to all :)

<3 Treen

Friday's ATCs of the Week

Here are a few of the ATCs I am most proud of making this week :)

 

Left to Right, top to bottom:  1-Postage stamp a-thon "Hybrid Pine", 2-Private trade "Polar Parent", 3 + 4 April PAT: Cameo and Thar Be Mermaids.

That's all :) I'm going to try to post one of these every Friday. I need structure in this blog if I'm going to really stick to this.